#james ii (your tears divine)

[defensivelee]

quiet night in for an au of your choosing? :)

-🪷

Of course !! Here is the full card if anyone wants to request something else!

This is for Your Tears Divine, featuring Marly and James :] little story under the cut, slightly suggestive material at the end!

Churchill thought there were many things absurd about these murderous robots, but maybe what was the worst was the fact that the planet they had chosen to live on had the ability to rain. Wasn't that sort of a tiny death sentence every time?

He heard the king speaking with his ever-booming voice, and who knew how far he was, but Churchill could hear the words loud and clear.

"Caution: rainfall. Stay inside. Caution: rainfall. Stay inside."

And he supposed that it was a very nice thing, but the kind yet authoritative voice made his skin crawl, and the repetition almost made him sleepy, as he stared outside at the constant, gentle rainfall from the night sky.

"D-Do you like my brother's v-voice, Churchill?"

Churchill blinked and lifted his head. He hadn't realized he was leaning it on the window.

"I used to l-love it too," the Duke of York said. In the darkness, his blue eyes were what illuminated his metal body, and it almost hurt to see. "But then you realize it wants to s-sing to you. That is dangerous."

"Dangerous, Your Highness?" Churchill looked up at the android as he stopped beside him.

"Any king must b-be," James said softly. He lifted a hand, a hand rusted around the fingers especially, and began to run those very fingers through Churchill's hair. Occasionally they would pause and tug at it, maybe on purpose or maybe by accident. But Churchill liked it anyway and lifted his head into the touch.

"You w-waited for me here all d-day?" James asked.

"Yes, Your Highness," Churchill said. "Just as you ordered."

"What a good boy," James purred, the fans in his head whirring briefly. "And there is nothing else you wanted to d-do today? You just waited for me here like a d-darling little pet?"

I....I- maybe? Churchill hesitated. In the morning, there was something he'd been thinking to himself-

"Churchill..." There was a warning in the Duke's voice, and Churchill looked up into his suddenly much brighter eyes, hearing a faint ring echoing in the air. It reached into his head and whispered dizziness, and Churchill winced, shutting his eyes.

...No. Nothing else. This is what I want, I want to serve you, let me be the only human that serves you. He didn't know who was saying that, if it was him in his own mind or something else trapped there. Either way, it felt good to obey, to listen and to know that.

"Of course not, Your Highness," Churchill said, opening his eyes. "Why would I want anything else in the world when I already have the greatest gift of serving and obeying you?"

"Ah." James tilted his head to the side, and the ringing seemed to fade back. "As all androids have th-their purpose coded into them at birth, so do you have a purpose that I have d-decided for you. And you follow it well, boy, better than most r-robots."

Churchill felt his face warm up at the praise. "Thank you, Your Highness." This was the right thing to want, the right android to obey, was it not? It just made him feel so good, the Duke made him feel so good...

"You have no idea how stupid you l-look right now," James laughed, digging his fingers into Churchill's hair and pulling his head up sharply. Churchill gasped slightly, and James laughed again.

"See, I do love that about y-you," James said. "There's this dim look in your eyes I adore. A pretty thing like y-you doesn't think of much anyway, does it?"

"No, Your Highness." Churchill winced as James pulled him forward, his grip on Churchill's hair tightening. "I only think about you."

"All about me, hm?" James used his other hand to stroke Churchill's cheek. "You cannot think that I actually b-believe that."

"It's the truth-"

"The truth?" James snarled suddenly, leaning in so that Churchill could see all the way into his mouth and down his throat. "Humans were n-never this easy to train."

"I am, Your Highness," Churchill whispered. "Believe me." There was something in his mind that wanted to shy away from that reality, but how could he, as he stared right into James' eyes?

"And is that something you take pride in? That you roll over on your back like Charles' dogs whenever I praise you?"

"Yes, always, Your Highness."

"Whenever I t-touch you? Is that what you like?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

James paused, now running his hand under Churchill's chin. "Too easy." He bowed slightly, placing his metal lips onto those of the human, and Churchill shut his eyes to meet the kiss gratefully. There was nothing soft about the Duke's lips, so that it was almost painful to have the long tongue jerk around in his mouth like a live fish. Even more so when that tongue shoved itself down his throat, and Churchill jolted, trying not to choke on the cold metal.

"Open your eyes, look at m-me," James said, the voice now coming from the speakers on his chest and not his mouth. Churchill obeyed, his eyelids fluttering as the tongue shoved itself deeper.

"Ah, there it is," James said. "Tears in y-your eyes. It's a lot, isn't it?"

Churchill nodded. It was the most unnatural thing he'd ever seen, to have someone kiss him and speak to him at the same time, and the realization made him shudder.

"Your throat is s-so warm," James said. "One of my favorite things about you h-humans."

Churchill shut his eyes, instinctively trying to pull away as he gagged on the tongue. But James held him there by his hair, and Churchill groaned involuntarily. There were tears in his eyes, he realized, tears that told him he had to try to breathe now.

Your Highness-

"There we go," James said, at last pulling his lips and tongue away. Churchill gasped shakily, trying to catch his breath, and James stared at him.

"That panting like a dog," he said. "I should have known. Y-You really are n-no better."

Churchill looked up to say something, but James waved a hand in the air. "Shh, no, no, no," he said. "Quiet, now. F-Focus on your breath."

Churchill nodded, bowing his head gratefully.

"Your lovely breath that you must s-save for later," James continued. "Save for me."

Churchill nodded again. He tried to muffle his heavy breaths, but when he looked up and saw James' face, he thought that maybe this android liked to hear them, just as he loved to see him cry.

And this is what I want?

Yes-- this is who you w-want.

[onestuarteveryday]

day two hundred and sixty six: figured out his colorsss

[pli1999]

Party Like It’s 1999 6/2/23

Holy Shit That Song’s 30 Edition (Songs with a * were either released in or a Top 40 hit in 1993) 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”*

Tears for Fears – “Break It Down Again”*

The Breeders – “Cannonball”*

New Order – “Regret”*

Belly – “Feed The Tree”*

Blind Melon – “No Rain”*

The Cranberries – “Dreams”*

Mariah Carey – “Dream Lover”*

Janet Jackson – “That’s the Way Love Goes”*

Ace of Base – “All That She Wants”*

Zhane – “Hey Mr DJ”*

Whitney Houston – “I’m Every Woman”*

Britney Spears – “(You Drive Me) Crazy”

Backstreet Boys – “Larger Than Life”

B*Witched – “C’est La Vie”

Mandy Moore – “Candy”

Sheryl Crow – “All I Wanna Do”*

Meredith Brooks – “Bitch”

Alanis Morissette – “You Oughta Know”

The Cardigans – “Lovefool”

Blur – “Girls and Boys”

Madonna – “Vogue”

Haddaway – “What Is Love”*

Corona – “The Rhythm of the Night”

Darunde – “Sandstorm”

Tag Team – “Whoop! There It Is”*

K7 – “Come Baby Come”*

Blu Cantrell – “Hit ’Em Up Style (Oops)”

Ginuwine – “Pony”

Ice Cube – “It Was a Good Day”*

Cypress Hill – “Insane in the Brain”*

Snow – “Informer”*

Naughty By Nature – “Hip-Hop Hooray”*

House of Pain – “Jump Around”*

En Vogue – “Free Your Mind”*

Janet Jackson – “If”*

Chumbawamba – “Tubthumping”

Blink-182 – “All The Small Things”

Jimmy Eat World – “The Middle”

Spin Doctors – “Two Princes”*

James – “Laid”*

Shania Twain – “Man! I Feel Like a Woman”

Spice Girls – “Stop!”

Aaron Carter – “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)

N’SYNC – “It’s Tearing Up My Heart”

Bell Biv Devoe – “Poison”

Boyz II Men – “Motownphilly”

Wreck-n-Effect – “Rump Shaker”*

Sir Mix-a-Lot – “Baby Got Back”

Salt-n-Pepa – “Shoop”*

TLC – “No Scrubs”

SWV – “Right Here/Human Nature”*

Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre – “No Diggity”

Big Pun featuring Joe – “Still Not a Player”

Smash Mouth – “All Star”

The Breeders – “Divine Hammer”*

My Chemical Romance – “It’s Not Okay”

Semisonic – “Closing Time”

Counting Crows – “Mr. Jones”*

Billy Joel – “River of Dreams”*

Annie Lennox – “Walking on Broken Glass”*

Rod Stewart – “If You Told Me Lately (Unplugged)”*

Tina Turner – “I Don’t Wanna Fight”*

Duran Duran – “Ordinary World”*

[valentineves]

A breathtaking grey sky stretched across the vast expanse, casting a sense of serenity over the land. It was the arrival of spring, adorning the world with a kaleidoscope of vibrant blooms. Little did anyone know that she, the venus, yearned for adventure, longing to explore the mysteries that lay beyond the galaxy walls. So let the story unfold.

Page I

The venus first appeared on the blooming month of Gladiolus. She goes by the name Kayla Evangeline, lovingly nicknamed Kay, Kayie or Yiya but you may call her with any nickname you desire as long as it is not offensive. And as she graced the world in the month of August, the stars bestowed upon her a celestial tapestry of a leo sun, a libra moon, and a gemini rising. Gracefully embracing her true essence, she proudly identifies with feminine pronouns and delightfully unveils her ESFJ personality type through a journey of self-discovery.

Page II

Fate may have brought both of you together, crossing paths and engaging in heartfelt conversations in wondrous settings. And among the magical locations where you can find her as Jane, Sanya, or other places, such as:

OA: The Brooks Club, La petit bakery, Monochrooms, La’Terrarium, dissnewclub, 22 Officers, Dittours (first batch), Haute Revue, Love Letter, The Good Doers, Rhythm Reel, Moon Gen Store, Carnival Day,

SQ: The 4395, Divine petals, Chaos Club, The Lonerz Club, Youngsters, All liners GDM

Page III

Should one possess a sincere curiosity to unveil the intricate facets of her regal persona, the princess would be delighted to present a tapestry of facts. She graciously offers a glimpse into her magical world with a few intriguing trivia about her:

She loves reading just as much as she loves her chocolate in the morning. Her go-to-genres are self-development and romance. If you’d like to be her read buddies, feel free to to notify her

Fashion is her favorite topic therefore you might find her account filled with pretty things from designers or fashion related stuff. Oh beware she talks a lot

A cherub once said that a day is incomplete without singing your hearts out to the music, so she always has her headphones on to hear Taylor Swift, SZA, Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo, Lany, Lauv, Ruel, Conan Gray, Keshi, Jeremy Zucker, James Arthur, Novo Amor, NIKI, Tate McRae, RINI, Clinton Kane, Justin Bieber, Tulus, Fiersa Bestari, Garamerica, and Hivi on the radio

Cooking is also her current obsession although she is still an amateur, she always tries to cook delightful dishes to boost her mood up or just… messing around with the recipe

She’s not much of a movie watcher but she looooves horror a bit too much. So hey, if you’re also into horror film, hit her up!

Running out of things to write down but that is all you need to know about her.

After a journey filled with magical moments and adventures, we find ourselves standing at the glorious culmination of our grand affair. The time has come to bid adieu to the wondrous tale that has unfolded, revealing the sweet chapters of her extraordinary life. With a tear and a smile, we gently close the book on this cherished tale.

Love, Kayla E.

[ascendingtostardust]

A

Abba - Arrival

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

B

Barbara Streisand - Stoney End

Beatles - Sgt. Pepper

Beatles - The Red Album

Blood, Sweat, and Tears - 3

Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever

Billy Joel - The Stranger

Bing Crosby - Merry Christmas

Bob Dylan - Real Live

Brandi Carlile - In These Silent Days

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run

Bruce Springsteen - Greetings From Asbury Park NJ

The Byrds - Untitled

The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man

C

Carole King - Rhymes and Reasons

Carole King - Music

Carpenters - Close To You

Carpenters - Horizon

Carpenters - Passage

Carpenters - Ticket To Ride

Carpenters - A Song For You

Carpenters - Christmas Portrait

Charlie Byrd - Aquarius

Claudine - The Look of Love

Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Self Titled

D

Daisy Jones & The Six - Aurora

Dan Fogelberg - The Innocent Age

Dan Fogelberg - Netherlands

Dan Fogelberg - Phoenix

Dave Mason & Cass Elliot - Self Titled

Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers

Diana Ross and The Supremes - Greatest Hits

Dolly Parton - Best of Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton/Kenny Rogers - Once Upon a Christmas

Duane Eddy - Lonely Guitar

E

Eagles - One Of Those Nights

Elton John - Honky Chateau

Elvis Presley - Blue Hawaii

Elvis Presley - Elvis’ Golden Records

Emmylou Harris - Quarter Moon In a Ten Cent Town

Erin Rae - Lighten Up

Etta James - At Last

Eydie Gorme - Don’t Go To Strangers

F

Fleet Foxes - Self Titled

Fleetwood Mac - Rumors

Fleetwood Mac - Self Titled

Fleetwood Mac - Tusk

Florence & The Machine - Dance Fever

Four Seasons - 2nd Vault of Golden Hits

G

Gallery - Nice To Be With You

Gladys Knight and The Pips - Silk n’ Soul

Greta Van Fleet - Black Smoke Rising

Greta Van Fleet - From The Fires

Greta Van Fleet - Anthem Of The Peaceful Army

Greta Van Fleet - The Battle At Gardens Gate

Greta Van Fleet - Live From Los Angeles

The Grass Roots - Golden Grass

H

Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds - Self Titled

Harry Styles - Fine Line

Houndmouth - Good For You

I

Ida Mae - Click Click Domino

J

Jackson 5 - ABC

Jethro Tull - Stand Up

Jim Croce - Time In A Bottle

Jim & Ingrid Croce - Another Day, Another Town

Joan Baez - Where Are You Now, My Son?

Joan Baez - Come From The Shadows

Josh Baez - Diamonds and Rust

Joan Baez - From Every Stage

Joan Baez - One Day At a Time

Joan Baez - Any Day Now

Joan Baez - Blessed Are…

Joan Baez - Noel

John Denver - Greatest Hits

John Denver - Greatest Hits Vol. II

John Denver - Seasons Of The Heart

John Denver - An Evening With John Denver

John Denver - Poems, Prayers, and Promises

John Denver - Farewell Andromeda

John Denver - Rhymes & Reasons

John Denver - Autograph

John Denver - Windsong

John Denver - Aerie

John Denver - It’s About Time

John Denver - Some Days Are Diamonds

John Denver - Rocky Mountain Christmas

Judy Garland - Judy

K

Khalid - American Teen

L

Lana Del Rey - Lust For Life

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II

Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door

Leslie Gore - Golden Hits

Linda Ronstadt - Greatest Hits

Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams

Lord Huron - Strange Trails

Lord Huron - Vide Noir

Lord Huron - Long Lost

M

Mac DeMarco - 2

Mac Miller - The Divine Feminine

Mama Cass - Bubble Gum, Lemonade, and Something For Mama

The Mamas and The Papas - Self Titled

The Mamas and The Papas - Greatest Hits

The Mamas and The Papas - Live At The Monterey International Pop Festival

The Mamas and The Papas - People Like Us

The Mamas and The Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears

The Mamas and The Papas - Deliver

McKendree Spring - 3

Monkees - Headquarters

Monkees - Greatest Hits

Moody Blues - Seventh Sojourn

Moody Blues - Days Of Future Past

Moody Blues - On The Threshold Of A Dream

Moody Blues - To Our Children’s Children’s Children

Moody Blues - Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

Moody Blues - This Is The Moody Blues

N

Nancy Sinatra - Nancy

O

Oklahoma - Self Titled

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils - It’ll Shine When It Shines

P

Peach Pit - Being So Normal

Peter Paul and Mary - 10 Years Together

Peter Paul and Mary - In Concert

Peter Paul and Mary - Late Again

Peter Paul and Mary - Album 1700

Peter Paul and Mary - Self Titled

Peter Paul and Mary - See What Tomorrow Brings

Peter Paul and Mary - Moving

Peter Paul and Mary - In The Wind

Pink Floyd - Animals

Q

R

Ricky Nelson - Ricky Sings Again

Robert Plant - Pictures At Eleven

Rolling Stones - Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass)

Rolling Stones - Got Live If You Want It

S

Selena - Ones

Sierra Ferrell - Long Time Coming

Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon and Garfunkel - Greatest Hits

Smokey Robinson - Smokey

Sonny and Cher - The Wondrous World Of Sonny And Cher

Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna

Styx - Paradise Theater

T

Tash Sultana - Flow State

Tom Rush - Wrong End Of The Rainbow

U

U2 - War

V

Van Halen - 5150

W

Whitney Houston - Self Titled

Woodstock (original recordings)

X

Y

Z

Misc

2001 A Space Odyssey Soundtrack

Valley Of The Dolls Soundtrack

A Chorus Line Soundtrack

Funny Girl Soundtrack

Sound Of Music Soundtrack

My Fair Lady Soundtrack

[alessandrxs-a]

*     ❪    ✏️    ❫     ◞     #𝘩𝘴𝘩𝘲𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬𝟢𝟣𝟥     ⤿     𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩   𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭   .

                                                      𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑜   𝑎𝑛𝑑   𝑘𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑦𝑎   .   @kscniya   .

𝐢   .   SAVAGE   ANTHEM   —   PARTYNEXTDOOR      |      𝐢𝐢   .   hard   to   say      (      feat.   I.E.      )   —   GRAACE      |      𝐢𝐢𝐢   .   selfish   —   SAINt   JHN      |      𝐢𝐯   .   by   my   side      (      with   SONIA      )   —   black   atlass      |      𝐯   .   chasing   fire   —   lauv      |      𝐯𝐢   .   lights   down   low   —   MAX      |      𝐯𝐢𝐢   .   love   me   again   —   PARTYNEXTDOOR      |      𝐯𝐢𝐢𝐢   .   know   you   —   saen.   ,   shiloh   dynasty      |      𝐢𝐱   .   invisible   things   —   lauv      |      𝐱   .   charleville   9200   ,   pt.   ii   —   snoh   aalegra      |      𝐱𝐢   .   crash   —   you   me   at   six      |      𝐱𝐢𝐢   .   jump      (      with   trippie   redd      )   —    julia   michaels      |      𝐱𝐢𝐢𝐢   .   i   do   —   astrid   s   ,   brett   young      |      𝐱𝐢𝐯   .   tired   —   gavin   james   .      (      𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧   𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞   .      )

𝐢   .   𝚂𝙰𝚅𝙰𝙶𝙴   𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙼   —   PARTYNEXTDOOR   .

don’t   hold   your   breath don’t   wait   on   my   love don’t   hold   your   breath don’t   wait   on   my   love

𝐢𝐢   .   𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍   𝚝𝚘   𝚜𝚊𝚢      (      𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚝.   𝙸.𝙴.      )   —   GRAACE   .

you   know   it's   been   a   couple   years i   ain't   been   facing   none   of   my   fears but   still   i'm   not   dealing   with   you   not   here

𝐢𝐢𝐢   .  𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏𝚒𝚜𝚑   —   SAINt   JHN   .

i   wish   we   were   both  somebody   else so   you   wouldn't   be   somebody   else's i   don't   wanna   lay   here   by   myself ain't   afraid   to   say   i'm   selfish

𝐢𝐯   .  𝚋𝚢   𝚖𝚢   𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎      (      𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑   𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙸𝙰      )   —   black   atlass   .

'cause   i   don't   see   myself   without   you   by   my   side so   i'm   not   wastin'   any   time and   you   know   that   i'll   always   need   you   in   my   life 'til   we   see   the   other   side

𝐯   .  𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐   𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎   —   lauv   .

i'm   chasing   fire   when   i'm   running   after   you   ,   you you   got   that   something   that   i   never   wanna   lose   ,   lose   ,   yeah it's   like   dancing   when   the   song's   already   over moving   without   getting   any   closer   ,   oh   oh   oh   oh i'm   chasing   fire   when   i'm   running   after   you

𝐯𝐢   .  𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜   𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗   𝚕𝚘𝚠   —   MAX   .

can   i   stop   the   flow   of   time    ? can   i   swim   in   your   divine      ? cause   i   don't   think   i'd   ever   leave   this   place

𝐯𝐢𝐢   .  𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎   𝚖𝚎   𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗   —   PARTYNEXTDOOR   .

i   need   you   to   see   my   eyes so   now   that   i   can   tell   you   different i   need   you   to   see   my   side so   you   can   see   what   it   is   and   what   it   isn't

𝐯𝐢𝐢𝐢   .  𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠   𝚢𝚘𝚞   —   saen.   ,   shiloh   dynasty   .

i   know   you   so   well   ,   so   well i   mean   ,   i   can   do   anything   that   he   can i've   been   pretty   patient come   on   ,   pretty   baby   ,   oooh

𝐢𝐱   .  𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎   𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜   —   lauv   .

do   you   remember the   last   time   you   felt   something   like   this      ? the   way   that   it   felt   when   we   were   kids

𝐱   .  𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎   𝟿𝟸𝟶𝟶   ,   𝚙𝚝.   𝚒𝚒   —   snoh   aalegra   .

say   ,   do   you   remember      ? back   when   shit   was   good      ? two   kids   in   the   night we   were   so   alive

𝐱𝐢   .  𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚑   —   you   me   at   six   .

just   crash   ,   fall   down i'll   wrap   my   arms   around   you   now just   crash   ,   it's   our   time   now to   make   this   work   second   time   around

𝐱𝐢𝐢   .  𝚓𝚞𝚖𝚙      (      𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑   𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚎   𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚍      )   —   julia   michaels   .

'cause   all   i   do   is   jump right   into   your   arms every   time   i   see   you   ,   i just   wrap   myself   around   you   ,   yeah jump   ,   into   something   real even   though   i'm   cautious   ,   i   just   like   the   way   it   feels   when   it's   us baby   ,   when   it's   us you   make   me   forget   that   i'm   not   ready   for   love   ,   i jump oh   ,   i   jump

𝐱𝐢𝐢𝐢   .  𝚒   𝚍𝚘   —   astrid   s   ,   brett   young   .

am   i   lonely      ? is   it   really   you   i'm   missing or   just   somebody      ? i   think   i've   got   mixed   feelings with   bacardi somehow   i   just   can't   explain 'cause   i   don't   want   me   to   want   you

𝐱𝐢𝐯   .  𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍   —   gavin   james   .

i   see   those   tears   in   your   eyes and   i   feel   so   helpless   inside oh   love   ,   there's   no   need   to   hide just   let   me   love   you   when   your   heart   is   tired

[whatisthiswitchcraft]

books I read in 2019 (not including rereads, favorites are bolded!)

Come Close - Sappho

Shanghai Baby - Wei Hui

Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair - Pablo Neruda

Bad Feminist: Essays - Roxane Gay

The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir - Jenifer Lewis

Sula - Toni Morrison

Reinventing the Enemy’s Language: Contemporary Native Women’s Writings of North America - ed. Joy Harjo and Gloria Bird

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel - Alexander Chee

Night Sky With Exit Wounds - Ocean Vuong

If They Come For Us - Fatimah Asghar

Heart Berries: A Memoir - Terese Marie Mailhot

Less - Andrew Sean Greer

The Astonishing Color of After - Emily X.R. Pan

Goodbye, Vitamin - Rachel Khong

Darius the Great is Not Okay - Adib Khorram

Exit West - Mohsin Hamid

Homegirls and Handgrenades - Sonia Sanchez

Heavy: An American Memoir - Keise Laymon

All You Can Ever Know - Nicole Chung

Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri

The Wife Between Us - Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

The Way You Make Me Feel - Maureen Goo

A Very Large Expanse of Sea - Tahereh Mafi

Water By the Spoonful - Quiara Alegría Hudes

I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé - Michael Arceneaux

Bury It - Sam Sax

White Dancing Elephants - Chaya Bhuvaneswar

Pulp - Robin Talley

Shit is Real - Aisha Franz

Silencer - Marcus Wicker

Forget Sorrow: An Ancestral Tale - Belle Yang

Bestiary: Poems - Donika Kelly

Monster Portraits - Sofia Samatar

No Matter the Wreckage - Sarah Kay

Violet Energy Ingots - Hoa Nguyen

Olio - Tyehimba Jess

The Kane Chronicles: The Serpent’s Shadow - Rick Riordan

There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé - Morgan Parker

Nylon Road: A Graphic Memoir of Coming of Age in Iran - Parsua Bashi

The Wedding Date - Jasmine Guillory

Fruit of the Drunken Tree - Ingrid Rojas Contreras

An American Marriage - Tayari Jones

Family Trust - Kathy Wang

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture - ed. Roxane Gay

Little & Lion - Brandy Colbert

A Girl Like That - Tanaz Bhathena

Suicide Club: A Novel About Living - Rachel Heng

The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary - NoNieqa Ramos

My Old Faithful: Stories - Yang Huang

Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan

Girls Burn Brighter - Shobha Rao

Moon of the Crusted Snow - Waubgeshig Rice

Kingdom Animalia - Aracelis Girmay

Happiness - Aminatta Forna

Devotions - Mary Oliver

The Proposal - Jasmine Guillory

The Kiss Quotient - Helen Hoang

When Katie Met Cassidy - Camille Perri

Heads of the Colored People - Nafissa Thompson-Spires

Friday Black: Stories - Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

The Word is Murder - Anthony Horowitz

Miles from Nowhere - Nami Mun

The Lost Ones - Sheena Kamal

All the Names They Used for God - Anjali Sachdeva

Confessions of the Fox - Jordy Rosenberg

Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir - Padma Lakshmi

On the Come Up - Angie Thomas

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali - Sabina Khan

See What I Have Done - Sarah Schmitt

Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter - Erika Sánchez

For Today I Am A Boy - Kim Fu

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings - Joy Harjo

They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us - Hanif Abdurraqib

Mongrels - Stephen Graham Jones

If Beale Street Could Talk - James Baldwin

Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime that Changed America - Mamie Till-Mobley and Christopher Benson

The Gilded Wolves - Roshani Chokshi

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before - Jenny Han

The Perfect Nanny - Leila Slimani, translated by Sam Taylor

The Travelling Cat Chronicles - Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel

Things We Lost in the Fire - Mariana Enríquez, translated by Megan McDowell

Sunburn - Laura Lippman

The House of Impossible Beauties - Joseph Cassara

Freshwater - Akwaeke Emezi

A Private Life - Chen Ran, translated by John Howard-Gibbon

Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster - Stephen L. Carter

Undead Girl Gang - Lily Anderson

They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera

The Friend - Sigrid Nunez

Severance - Ling Ma

Tiny Crimes: Very Short Tales of Mystery & Murder - ed. Licoln Michel and Nadxieli Nieto

Mapping the Interior - Stephen Graham Jones

Give Me Some Truth - Eric Gansworth

How to Love a Jamaican - Alexia Arthurs

All of This is True - Lygia Day Peñaflor

Swimmer Among the Stars - Kanishk Tharoor

The Wicked + the Divine, Vol. 7: Mothering Invention - Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

This is Kind of an Epic Love Story - Kheryn Callender

Gingerbread - Helen Oyeyemi

Where the Dead Sit Talking - Brandon Hobson

The Ensemble - Aja Gabel

My Education - Susan Choi

More Happy than Not - Adam Silvera

Nobody Cares: Essays - Anne T. Donahue

Kiss and Tell: A Romantic Résumé, Ages 0 to 22 - Marinaomi

Oculus: Poems - Sally Wen Mao

Let’s Talk About Love - Claire Kann

History is All You Left Me - Adam Silvera

Opposite of Always - Justin A. Reynolds

The Crown Ain’t Worth Much - Hanif Abdurraqib

The Weight of Our Sky - Hanna Alkaf

If You See Me, Don’t Say Hi - Neel Patel

Girls of Paper and Fire - Natasha Ngan

What if It’s Us - Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

The Map of Salt and Stars - Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard - Lesléa Newman

The Big Smoke - Adrian Matejka

Dissolve - Sherwin Bitsui

The Woman Next Door - Yewande Omotoso

The Refugees - Viet Thanh Nguyen

White Tears - Hari Kunzru

Electric Arches - Eve Ewing

The Black Maria - Aracelis Girmay

Bloodchild and Other Stories - Octavia Butler

Soft Science - Franny Choi

The White Card - Claudia Rankine

Mad Honey Symposium - Sally Wen Mao

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls - Anissa Gray

Next: New Poems - Lucille Clifton

The Marvelous Arithmetics of Distance: Poems 1987-1992 - Audre Lorde

Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea: Poems and Not Quite Poems - Nikki Giovanni

The Arab of the Future - Riad Sattouf

Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side - Eve L. Ewing

Gruel - Bunkong Tuon

Marriage of a Thousand Lies - SJ Sindu

Parable of the Sower - Octavia Butler

Good Night, Willie Lee, I’ll See You in the Morning - Alice Walker

That Kind of Mother - Rumaan Alam

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows - Balli Kaur Jaswal

Hera Lindsay Bird - Hera Lindsay Bird

Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams

And Still I Rise - Maya Angelou

The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead - Chanelle Benz

Everyone Knows You Go Home - Natalia Sylvester

Naming Our Destiny: New and Selected Poems - June Jordan

The 100* Best African American Poems (*But I Cheated) - ed. Nikki Giovanni

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 - P. Djèlí Clark

Bury My Clothes - Roger Bonair-Agard

Selected Poems - Langston Hughes

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston

Sonata Mulattica - Rita Dove

Winnie - Gwendolyn Brooks

Bicycles: Love Poems - Nikki Giovanni

The Black God’s Drums -  P. Djèlí Clark

Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos - Lucy Knisley

Annie Allen - Gwendolyn Brooks

Parable of the Talents  - Octavia Butler

After Disasters - Viet Dinh

Passing for Human: A Graphic Memoir - Liana Finck

Teeth - Aracelis Girmay

A Surprised Queenhood in the New Black Sun: The Life & Legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks - Angela Jackson

Peluda - Melissa Lozada-Oliva

A Map to the Next World - Joy Harjo

Magical Negro - Morgan Parker

Corpse Whale - dg nanouk okpik

Hawkeye: Volume 1 - Matt Fraction

Cenzontle - Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric - Claudia Rankine

Selected Poems - Gwendolyn Brooks

She Had Some Horses - Joy Harjo

The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hope - ed. Kevin Coval, Quraysh Ali Lansana, and Nate Marshall

Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories - Nichelle Nichols

The Past and Other Things that Should Stay Buried - Shaun David Hutchinson

Difficult Women - Roxane Gay

The Woman Who Fell From the Sky - Joy Harjo

The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays - Esmé Weijun Wang

Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest - Hanif Abdurraqib

The Frolic of the Beasts - Yukio Mishima

Hawkeye Omnibus - Matt Fraction

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations - Mira Jacob

Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope - Karamo Brown

Tipping the Velvet - Sarah Waters

When My Brother Was an Aztec - Natalie Diaz

Toxic Flora: Poems - Kimiko Hahn

Virgin - Analicia Sotelo

Easy Prey - Catherine Lo

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me - Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

Saints and Misfits - S.K. Ali

Intercepted - Alexa Martin

Love from A to Z - S.K. Ali

Gemini - Sonya Mukherjee

The Atlas of Reds and Blues - Devi S. Laskar

My Brother’s Husband Vol. II - Gengoroh Tagame

Black Queer Hoe - Britteney Black Rose Kapri

Internment - Samira Ahmed

Dothead: Poems - Amit Majmudar

With the Fire On High - Elizabeth Acevedo

Sabrina & Corina: Stories - Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Milk and Filth - Carmen Giménez Smith

The Key to Happily Ever After - Tif Marcelo

If You’re Out There - Katy Loutzenhiser

Farewell to Manzanar - Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

New Poets of Native Nations - ed. Heid E. Erdrich

Bodymap: Poems - Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Wolf by Wolf - Ryan Graudin

Tell Me How It Ends - Valeria Luiselli

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood - Trevor Noah

Down and Across - Arvin Ahmadi

The Tradition - Jericho Brown

About Betty’s Boob - Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau

Fake It Till You Break It - Jenn P. Nguyen

Storm of Locusts - Rebecca Roanhorse

Silver Sparrow - Tayari Jones

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors - Sonali Dev

Mongrel: Essays, Diatribes, Pranks - Justin Chin

When I Grow Up I Want To Be a List of Further Possibilities - Chen Chen

The New Testament - Jericho Brown

Fumbled - Alexa Martin

If It Makes You Happy - Claire Kann

Brave Face - Shaun David Hutchinson

Words in Deep Blue - Cath Crowley

Lost Children Archive - Valeria Luiselli

Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice - Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy - Ta-Nehisi Coates

Anger is a Gift - Mark Oshiro

The Bride Test - Helen Hoang

Not Your Backup - C.B. Lee

Prelude to Bruise - Saeed Jones

The Night Wanderer: A Graphic Novel - Drew Hayden Taylor and Michael Wyatt

Naturally Tan - Tan France

Bloom - Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau

Like a Love Story - Abdi Nazemian

I’m Afraid of Men - Vivek Shraya

Juliet Takes a Breath - Gabby Rivera

On Earth We���re Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

Let Me Hear a Rhyme - Tiffany D. Jackson

I Wanna Be Where You Are - Kristina Forest

Hurricane Season - Nicole Melleby

Split Tooth - Tanya Tagaq

Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Love and Food - ed. Elsie Chapman and Caroline Tung Richmond

The Night Tiger - Yangsze Choo

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls - T Kira Madden

Miracle Creek - Angie Kim

Ayesha at Last - Uzma Jalaluddin

Shout - Laurie Halse Anderson

The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 3: Halal if You Hear Me - ed. Fatimah Asghar and Safia Elhillo

The Tenth Muse - Catherine Chung

This Place: 150 Years Retold - various authors

Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens - Tanya Boteju

Midnight Chicken (& Other Recipes Worth Living For) - Ella Risbridger

Library of Small Catastrophes - Alison C. Rollins

Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune - Roselle Lim

No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America - Darnell L. Moore

The Book of Delights - Ross Gay

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton

Speak No Evil - Uzodinma Iweala

How We Fight White Supremacy - Akiba Solomon and Kenrya Rankin

A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend - Emily Horner

Here and Now and Then - Mike Chen 

The Ghost Bride - Yangsze Choo

Red White and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston

Becoming - Michelle Obama

The Wedding Party - Jasmine Guillory

Magic for Liars - Sarah Gailey

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer - Michelle McNamara

Brain Fever - Kimiko Hahn

Life on Mars - Tracy K. Smith

Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler - Juan Felipe Herrera

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude - Ross Gay

Tentacle - Rita Indiana

Hapa Tales and Other Lies: A Memoir About the Mixed Race Hawai’i That I Never Knew - Sharon Chang

Loose Woman - Sandra Cisneros

Duende - Tracy K. Smith

Mostly Dead Things - Kristen Arnett

1919 - Eve L. Ewing

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge

Negroland - Margo Jefferson

For Black Girls Like Me - Mariama J. Lockington

Super Extra Grande - Yoss

Home Remedies - Xuan Juliana Wang

You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain - Phoebe Robinson

An Anonymous Girl - Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

The Abundance - Amit Majmudar

I Shall Not Be Moved - Maya Angelou

Helium - Rudy Francisco

Teaching My Mother to Give Birth - Warsan Shire

Tomie - Junji Ito

Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay - Phoebe Robinson

This Time Will Be Different - Misa Sugiura

Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu - Junji Ito

Stag’s Leap - Sharon Olds

Black Card - Chris L. Terry

It’s Not Like It’s A Secret - Misa Sugiura

Washington Black - Esi Edugyan

From Here To Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death - Caitlin Doughty

I’m Telling the Truth, But I’m Lying: Essays - Bassey Ikpi

A House of My Own: Stories from my Life - Sandra Cisneros

The Terrible - Yrsa Daley-Ward

The Black Tides of Heaven - JY Yang

The Red Threads of Fortune - JY Yang

Little Fish - Casey Plett

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion - Jia Tolentino

The Black Condition ft. Narcissus - Jayy Dodd

The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

Dealing in Dreams - Lilliam Rivera

The Tiger Flu - Larissa Lai

The Island of Sea Women - Lisa See

America is Not the Heart - Elaine Castillo

Feel Free - Zadie Smith

Walking on the Ceiling - Aysegul Savas

My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education - Jennine Capo Crucet

The Unpassing - Chia-Chia Lin

Maurice - E.M. Forster

Permanent Record - Mary H.K. Choi

The Downstairs Girl - Stacey Lee

Red Dust Road: An Autobiographical Journey - Jackie Kay

The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You - Dina Nayeri

I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up - Naoko Kodama

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI - David Grann

Ordinary Light - Tracy K. Smith

Cantoras - Carolina De Robertis

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness - Susannah Cahalan

How to Be Remy Cameron - Julian Winters

The Marriage Clock - Zara Raheem

Moon: Letters, Maps, Poems - Jennifer S. Cheng

Where Reasons End - Yiyun Li

Pet - Akwaeke Emezi

Meddling Kids - Edgar Cantero

A Lucky Man - Jamel Brinkley

Maiden, Mother, Crone: Fantastical Trans Femmes - ed. Gwen Benaway

What is Obscenity? The Story of a Good for Nothing Artist and her Pussy - Rokudenashiko

The Umbrella Academy Vol. III: Hotel Oblivion - Gerard Way

Who Put This Song On? - Morgan Parker

The Souls of Yellow Folk: Essays - Wesley Yang

Wave - Sonali Deraniyagala

Love War Stories - Ivelisse Rodriguez

Baby Teeth - Zoje Stage

A Fortune for Your Disaster - Hanif Abdurraqib

Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers - Jake Skeets

Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen - Jose Antonio Vargas

The Marrow Thieves - Cherie Dimaline

Polite Society - Mahesh Rao

Patron Saints of Nothing - Randy Ribay

The Body Papers: A Memoir - Grace Talusan

A Woman is No Man - Etaf Rum

Travelers - Helon Habila

Trust Exercise - Susan Choi

The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides

The Intuitionist - Colson Whitehead

A People’s History of Heaven - Mathangi Subramanian

The Buddha of Suburbia - Hanif Kureishi

This is Paradise: Stories - Kristiana Kahakauwila

Brood - Kimiko Hahn

Don’t Look Now - Daphne du Maurier

How We Fight for Our Lives - Saeed Jones

I Hope You Get This Message - Farah Naz Rishi

Unmarriageable - Soniah Kamal

Bad Endings - Carleigh Baker

The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick - Mallory O’Meara

Shapes of Native Nonficton: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers - ed. Elissa Washuta and Theresa Warburton

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass - Mariko Tamaki

Even the Saints Audition - Rachel Jackson

Slay - Britney Morris

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women - ed. Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale

The Starlet and the Spy - Ji-min Lee

North of Dawn - Nuruddin Farah

Daisy Jones & The Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Drowning Boy’s Guide to Water - Cameron Barnett

They Called Us Enemy - George Takei

Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, and Advice for Living Your Best Life - Ali Wong

The Right Swipe - Alisha Rai

Full Disclosure - Camryn Garrett

Searching for Sylvie Lee - Jean Kwok

Gideon the Ninth - Tasmyn Muir

Stubborn Archivist - Yara Rodrigues Fowler

The Wicked + the Divine, Vol. 8: Old is the New New - Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

Never Grow Up - Jackie Chan

“All the Real Indians Died Off”: And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans - Roxanna Dunbar-Ortiz

In the Dream House - Carmen Maria Machado

Blame This on the Boogie - Rina Ayuyang

It - Stephen King

Sea Monsters - Chloe Aridjis

My Fate According to the Butterfly - Gail D. Villanueva

The Wicked + the Divine, Vol. 9: “Okay” - Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

The Deep - Rivers Solomon

I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl’s Notes from the End of the World - Kai Cheng Thom

Mooncakes - Suzanne Walker

BTTM FDRS - Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore

Hot Comb - Ebony Flowers

Notes from a Young Black Chef - Kwame Onwuachi

Bunny - Mona Awad

The Twisted Ones - T. Kingfisher

Shuri, Vol. 1: The Search for Black Panther - Nnedi Okorafor

I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir - Malaka Gharib

Thick: And Other Essays - Tressie McMillan Cottom

Royal Holiday - Jasmine Guillory

Boxers - Gene Luen Yang

Saints - Gene Luen Yang

Fox 8 - George Saunders

The Memory Police - Yoko Ogawa

Last Day - Domenica Ruta

Wakanda Forever - Nnedi Okorafor

The Revisioners - Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

The Future of Another Timeline - Annalee Newitz

We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir - Samra Habib

Somewhere in the Middle: A Journey to the Phillipines in Search of Roots, Belonging, and Identity - Deborah Francisco Douglas

Crier’s War - Nina Varela

Something in Between - Melissa de la Cruz

The Secrets We Kept - Lara Prescott

The Tao of Raven: An Alaska Native Memoir - Ernestine Hayes

One of Us is Lying - Karen M. McManus

Piecing Me Together - Renee Watson

Binti - Nnedi Okorafor

The Nickel Boys - Colson Whitehead

Recursion - Blake Crouch

Supper Club - Lara Williams

[strictlyfortheculture]

MY TAKE: 1,300 WORDS ON JAY ELECTRONICA’s ‘A WRITTEN TESTIMONY’

After 11 years of anticipation, Jay Electronica finally released an official study album, A Written Testimony featuring Jay-Z who was playing the role Ghostface Killah did for Raekwon on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.  

Jay-Z was the co-star; the Scottie Pippen to Michael Jordan; the one who complimented the headliner, assisting him in a win, and this album most certainly was a win.

Now I make the point of listing Jay-Z as a co-pilot in this audio journey because many in the Internet realm want to say Jay-Z "lyrically murdered" Electronica on his own shit. Ironically, something Nas claimed happened to Jay Z on the Renegade song years ago.

That didn't happen. Jay-Z did what he was supposed to do, he collaborated with an emcee who captured his ear and mind back in 2010. 

This was not Watch The Throne, Part II. To say such a thing is to disrespect what Jay-Z and Kanye West created in 2011. A Written Testimony was the overdue, formal introduction to the rap world Hip-hop's resident Willy Wonka - Jay Elect - the man who creates endless wonders while staying aloof. Jay Electronica is a real-life James Bond, a man who shook the Hip Hop world when he released the game-changing "Exhibit C", dated and fathered a child with Erykah Badu, sparked a bidding war between Puff Daddy and Sean Carter based on the strength of a couple singles, the man who disappeared for years, and was romantically linked to an heiress from the Rothschild family. 

YEAH, this man is a legend.

But those exploits coupled with several loose singles and two mixtapes were not enough to satisfy the appetite of hungry Hip Hop listeners, eager to devour the sounds of a man from New Orleans, Louisiana who is, lyrically, more like Rakim Allah than Soulja Slim ... and still, Jay Elect pay homage to his NO influences throughout the album (see "Ghost of Soulja Slim", in particular).  How can a Southern emcee come on the scene without having a stereotypical sound of a New Orleans rapper? He doesn't sound like Master P nor does he follow the path of Lil Wayne. No. Jay Elect made his trail unique; distancing himself from the pack.

After 10 years of waiting, Jay Electronica announced his album WOULD be released in Match 2020. Now a lot has changed since 2010 when the original album was meant to come, and during that time tastes change and even the most loyal fans lost faith that it would happen. 

Was this real? Was Jay Electronica gonna drop or was this another instance where an artist over-promised and under-delivered? 

Finally, Friday the 13th, March 2020 A Written Testimony was released and the internet was flooded with the full gamut of emotions ranging from exhilaration to disappointed (can't please the internet critics or Joe Budden) to a renewed faith in the man of legendary reputation. 

Yes, people were pleased to hear that Jay-Z is still one of the best in the game, today, but for me, I was delighted to hear Jay Electronica slay the sound-waves. This 10 track album not only reinforced my appreciation for Jay Electronica; it made me want to study his lyrics; dissect these testaments to its very root.

The introductions to (1) The Overwhelming Event and (2) Ghost oF Soulja Slim featuring sound bytes of Louis Farrakhan speaking to the masses about the Black people in America being real children of Israel; the recipients of God's promise to bless the descendants of Abraham caused dissent from Hip Hop critics and listeners alike who felt the Nation of Islam leader's alleged anti-Semitic comments have no place in a rap album. Those people forget that Jay Electronica is a member of the Nation of Islam.

WRITER'S NOTE:  All of those critics are silent when rappers say of Nigga or calling Black women "bitch" and "ho". Where are they during those moments of controversy? Hmmm. This is a conversation for another time.

Controversy aside, the lyrical wordplay on display should have silenced any nonbeliever.  

(2) Ghost of Souljah Slim starts off the album right with both men trading verses, and more importantly Electronica showing that he can hold his own with Sean Carter. 

(3)The Blinding has Jay Electronica talking about the hesitancy to release his music to an audience that will undoubtedly pick apart his work rather than enjoy it for what it is. (4) Neverending Story is where Jay Elect laces an Alchemist beat with the tale of his come-up from humble beginnings and hostile surrounding to still being chosen by God; bestowed with divine greatness. 

(5) Shiny Suit Theory showcases Elect rhymes over a self-produced song proclaiming his forthcoming rise in the world of rap.

(6) Universal Soldier has both men share tales of their rise from hardship and criminal lifestyle to gaining knowledge of self and ultimately overcoming the hurdles placed before them

(7) Flux Capacitor has Jay Elect speaking on a preordained calling upon him to bring superior lyricism and teachings to the world while representing New Orleans. 

(8) Fruits Of The Spirits  is a song detailing the long wait for this debut album, Electronica lets the listener know that it was all part of his master plan for just like Thanos (from the Marvel Comics), he can defeat any competition with the snap of his fingers.

(9) Ezekiel's Wheel ties into the Biblical story of Ezekiel, the warrior who was placed by God to be the prophet over Israel, Jay Electronica declares himself to be a prophet to the children of Israel, whom Farrakhan, in the album intro stated were the Black people in America. 

(10) A.P.I.D.T.A. (All Praise Is Due To Allah) is my personal favourite is a song dealing with the loss of loved ones. According to reports, this song was written on the same night Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant died in a tragic helicopter crash in February 2020. Wow.

On this sombre track, Jay Electronica offers lamentations over the loss of his beloved Mother, speaking of how her departure from this physical form has cut him to his soul, rendering his spirit wounded. 

Eyes fiery, cry tears to my diary Sometimes a Xanny bar can't help you fight back the anxiety I go to my Lord quietly, teardrops on our faces Teardrops on my face, it's like teardrops become waterfalls by the time they reach my laces My eyelids is like levees but my tear ducts is like glaciers As I contemplate creation, the salt that heals my wounds pour out my eyes just like libations I can't stop my mind from racing, I got numbers on my phone Pictures on my phone The day my mama died, I scrolled her texts all day long The physical returns but the connection still stay strong

Jay Elect later rhymes,

Sleep well The last time that I kissed you, you felt cold but you looked peaceful I read our message thread when I get low and need a refill

All controversy and delay aside, Jay Electronica delivered a debut album that rivals that of your favourite MCs. FUCK Joe Budden and anybody who disagrees. I'm still waiting on Joe to release one record as meaningful as Elect's worst.  Anyway, I digress. 

In an era where the word Classic has lost its meaning thanks to the overuse of fans and critics alike, I won't give it that distinction, at this time. I do, however, feel this album will go down as one of the more significant releases of the last 10 years.  This is evidence of substance over style. No commercials tracks. No filler. Just two talented men delivering lyrical food to a hungry audience in need of manna from heaven rather than the pursuit of bread ($$$).

And man cannot live on bread alone.   Peace God. Holler at me

[zeverusznape]

EXTENSIVE HARRYMORT/TOMARRY RECOMMENDATIONS LIST (part 1)

4th February 2019

*** = the best I’ve ever read!!!!!!

** = amazing, must read

* = enjoyed

Death of Today by Epic Solemnity ********

COMPLETE LV/HP: Raised in a Muggle orphanage, Harry arrives at Hogwarts a bitter boy. Unusually intelligent, he's recruited by the Unspeakables and the Death Eaters at a young age. As he grows older, he constantly has to struggle to keep his footing around a manipulative and bored Dark Lord, who fancies mind games and intellectual entertainment. Words: 500,882 Chapters: 71/71

When in Rome by: XblackcatwidowX***

COMPLETE: When Harry and Hermione inadvertently tumble half a century into the past, they find themselves in the same year as the notorious Head Boy, Tom Riddle. Both Harry and Hermione's courage will be tested when they are confronted by chances of romance from the most unexpected of places, and unlikely enemies hiding in the tallgrass. Lost in the past, they may well forget the way home. Not DH compliant. Words: 162,416 Chapters: 31/31

When in Rome II: The Lost Children Connection by: XblackcatwidowX**

WIP: A year has passed since Harry returned to the present day. Voldemort’s empire is growing, but Harry remains set on saving the man he knows to be Tom Riddle. When unexpected circumstances lead him back down the rabbit hole of the past, he discovers the world to be a far less forgiving place than he remembers, and Tom is a completely different person from the one he left behind. With an empire to tear down and old and new faces to confront, it’s impossible to know who to trust. School’s out. SEQUEL TO WHEN IN ROME. Words: 14,288 Chapters: 4/?

Butterfly Heart by: The_Fictionist **

COMPLETE AU - Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal inspired. After recent events in his life, Hermione refers Harry to the renowned psychiatrist, Doctor. T. Riddle. He is unlike anything Harry ever expected or imagined, and soon proves to be a great help against the very shadows and name that haunts his waking hours. If only it remained that simple. Words: 103,747 Chapters: 40/40

Consuming Shadows by: Child_OTKW ***

WIP: On the night of the attack, Lily managed to escape with her infant son, but at the cost of her husband’s life. Distraught and distrusting of her friends, she fled to France with Harry, to raise him away from the corruption in Britain and the rising influence of the Dark Lord. She trains him to the best of her abilities, shaping him into a dangerous, intelligent and powerful wizard. But when Britain re-establishes the Triwizard Tournament, and Harry is forced to return to his once-home, he finds himself questioning whether he really wants to kill the Dark Lord. Voldemort finds an unexpected challenge in the child, and as his intrigue and amusement grows, so too does the desire to possess the spark in those defiant green eyes. Words: 252,474 Chapters: 38/?

Dreams and Darkness Collide by: Epic Solemnity (Dark_Cyan_Star) **

COMPLETE Major AU! SLASH LV/HP: Though he was raised without the expectation of saving the world, Harry still possesses a savior complex. Only, it's so dark and twistedly immoral, he created an alter ego to practice vigilantism. His second identity makes a name for himself and immediately ensnares Minister Riddle's complete and obsessive attention. A game of cat and mouse begins and morals are questioned. Words: 209,560 Chapters:30?

Mine by: ObsidianPen ***

WIP: After the incident at the Department of Mysteries, Lord Voldemort discovers what Harry Potter is. He reaches out to his human horcrux through dreams, and the course of the Second Wizarding War is forever altered. A dark fairy tale. Words: 4,906 Chapters: 2/6

No Glory by: ObsidianPen ***

WIP: The Dark Lord divines what Harry Potter is in the Forbidden Forest, and revelations lead to incomprehensible consequences. Lord Voldemort has won... and the dystopia is damning. A tale of a fallen hero, dark desires, and a Dark Lord's obsession with something he has lost and finds himself unwillingly lusting after; a soul. Words: 174,989 Chapters: 35/?

Field Theory by: machiavelli ***

WIP: They meet for the first time when Harry's ten. Tom tells him he's special - he's a parselmouth and he can do wandless magic. So Harry tells the hat to sort him into Slytherin, and learns to navigate the confusingly political climate of the House of Ambition. However, the more years that slide through his fingers, the more difficult it becomes to hold his best friend back from the path of dark magic he seems frustratingly intent on treading down. What Harry doesn't account for though, is that maybe it calls to him too. Words: 85,668 Chapters: 19/24

Corruption by: itsjustsilver ***

WIP: Hera Potter is the girl who lived, preparing to die at the hands of Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. Dark story. Words: 12,141 Chapters: 9/?

Enochian Prophecies by: Kalfu ***

COMPLETE: History is the sum of infinite minor events, each one contributing to the next. Some say this is written, this is destiny. Yet when those who walk outside Fate arrive, how can an unmarked invitation change the destiny of the world's two greatest enemies?

Or

Harry Potter was supposed to be the son of Lily and James. His destiny was to become the Boy-Who-Lived and he was fated to be irrevocably connected to Voldemort. But what if something had happened? What if Harry wasn’t James’ son and he never had the chance to survive Voldemort’s curse? What then? But when Fate is involved, a chance encounter between a boy and a Dark Lord can lead to a deadly duo and the end of the wizarding world as we know it. Words: 255,610 Chapters: 45

The Explosion by: AmyTheAuthor **

WIP: Usually, in other Fics, Harry goes to the past, meets an older or same age Tom in Hogwarts, and is sorted into Slytherin. Harry is usually there to change Tom and Tom is a “teenage Dark Lord.” In THIS Fic, Tom is a bullied 3rd year, believed to be a Mud-blood, and has his first ever crush on Henry Peverell, the 6th year Gryffindor, who is not there to change Tom, but rather...Words: 77,000 Chapters: 15/?

you belong to me (i belong to you) by: Child_OTKW **

WIP: After an accident, Auror Harry Potter wakes up in the body of fourteen year old Nathan Ciro, a tormented Slytherin who recently tried to end his own life. His return to Hogwarts causes quite the stir through the staff and students, especially when they realise he is not the same boy as before. He tries to keep his head down, but with the keen eyes of Tom Riddle hounding him through the halls, Harry finds himself unwillingly drawn into a dangerous game with an equally dangerous boy. Words: 50,719 Chapters: 10/?

In death we seek devotion by: flat_teeth (onetrickpony) **

COMPLETE: Voldemort lives, Harry does not. In which Tom Riddle has been purposefully killing his soulmate every time they reincarnate. Kill an individual enough times, when all they want is to be cared for and loved, to be accepted—of course they will come back different. They become someone else. Words: 10,229 Chapters: 4/4

47 Days to Change (a translation) by: snow_owl01 **

WIP: Harry Potter and Tom Riddle are enemies, born adversaries, prophesied leaders of opposite factions 2001 to 1932, forty-seven days to change the fate of the Dark Lord.

This is a 'Harry travels back in time to raise Tom' story. An unfortunate tale of one man's failed attempt to mold young Tom into a decent, law-abiding citizen. Instead, as Fate will have it, young Tom grows up to become the same twisted psychopath, who is hell-bent on winning the love of his adoptive father. Harry's consent be damned. Words: 113,201 Chapters: 51/?

Wear Me Like A Locket Around Your Throat by: VivyPotter **

WIP: “This is Mr Riddle, one of our Slytherin prefects. I’m sure he’ll make you feel right at home. Mr Riddle, this is Harrison Peters. He’s just been sorted into Slytherin and will be joining you in sixth year,” Dumbledore announced jovially, though Tom could see that sliver of constant suspicion in his gaze that had never quite faded.“Harry,” the boy hurried to correct. “Just Harry.” And then he stuck his hand out. How… plebeian, Tom noticed with delight. Walburga would probably faint. Words: 206,954 Chapters: 27/?

The Historical Importance of Runic War Warding in the British Isles by: samvelg **

WIP: After losing Sirius at the Department of Mysteries Harry is left abandoned, lost and alone with her uncaring relatives for the summer. She somehow finds herself sharing dreams with Lord Voldemort who quickly discovers that she is his horcrux, changing the terms of the game between them forever. Because not only is she a part of himself that he is now determined to reclaim, but thanks to the terms outlined in a centuries old will she is also the key to him claiming his birthright and conquering Magical Britain once and for all. And nothing is as seductive to the abandoned as someone who truly wants them. Words: 128,284 Chapters: 23/?

The Art of Hidden Personas by: whitedwarf reviews *

WIP: HP/LV Harry grows up relying on only himself until his adoption, when he is taught the manners and politics of high pureblood circles. Masking his dark intelligence at Hogwarts & intending to escape notice, past secrets and Dark Lords force his hidden hand. Words: 199,424 Chapters: 30

His Twenty-Eighth Life by: Lomonaaeren *

WIP: Harry Potter has been reborn again and again into new bodies as the Master of Death, some of them not human, none of them exactly like his old one—but he has always helped to defeat Voldemort in each new world. Now he’s Harry Potter again, but his slightly older brother is the target of the prophecy, and Harry assumes his role is going to be to support Jonathan in his defeat of Voldemort. At least, that’s what he thinks until Voldemort comes that Halloween night, discovers what Harry is, and kidnaps him. The story of a long fight between Voldemort’s sadism and Harry’s generosity. Words: 145,477 Chapters: 48/?

Harry Potter and the Slytherin Heirs by: SilverAngel621 *

WIP: Tom won. He got everything he wanted; immortality, the ministry, even Harry Potter. And yet though he knew he owned the young wizards body, Harry's heart still remained free from his greedy grasp. Words: 96,880 Chapters: 20/?

love is touching souls (surely you touched mine) by: ToAStranger **

COMPLETE: Voldemort is dead. It's Christmas, and Harry's just opened a gift from Fred and George Weasley. Words: 34,400 Chapters: 8/8

Guardian Angel by: TosMichiyo *

COMPLETE: Every human being gets assigned a Guardian Angel by birth. This angel watches over them and tries to steer them into the right directions. And even if we humans fall and make mistakes, they love us unconditionally. For they see only the good in us. No matter how deep we may fall, our Guardian Angels always watches over us. And as Voldemort looks up into those bright emerald eyes that seems so innocent and pure. He can’t help but want to taint his own guardian angel, even knowing it might be the biggest sin he would ever commit. Words: 80,824 Chapters: 26/26

My beautiful Angel by: TosMichiyo *

WIP: A voice in the distance kept repeating one sentence, keeping him sane amidst the chaos inside his mind. ‘You’re Harry James Potter, born on 31 July 1980.’

He was Harry James Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived. He was the son of James Potter and Lily Potter née Evans. Before that life however he had been Hadrian, Tom’s Guardian Angel. With all his memories intact, all lies were now revealed and there was no denying this utter betrayal he felt. Yet Harry’s path was clear and even now he would do anything to protect Tom. He would do anything to make sure Tom was safe and whole. This time he would make it right. This time he wouldn’t fail Tom. This time he had help from an unlikely source, Tom himself. Sequel to Guardian Angel. Words: 33,554 Chapters: 7/?

Your Name on My Heart by: whitedandelions *

WIP: Bearing the Dark Lord's soul mark on his chest certainly isn't easy when his family is firmly on the Light Side. HarryxVoldemort SLASH. Set in the Past. Words: 144,935 Chapters: 20/?

Death is but the Next Great Adventure by: TheObsidianQuill *

WIP: What if that night in Godric's Hollow went differently? What if Harry did die? What if Death stepped in and made a deal with the Savior of the Wizarding World? How different would Harry's life be after that deal? (Or, Harry makes a deal with Death and in exchange gains something Voldemort has fought his entire life for. Immortality. And a strange friendship with Death) Words: 253,128 Chapters: 53/?

Times of Peace by: conquerorofheaven *

COMPLETE: Harry is drinking his life away as usual. Suddenly, he's back in the past, 1943 to be exact. Harry's given a whole new chance at life as Harrison Evans and this time he's not planning on saving anyone.

Unfortunately, the Potter luck strikes again and Harry's sucked back into the conflict and face to face with one Tom Riddle. Somehow the more he tries to stay away the more entangled he gets. Words: 40,305 Chapters: 14/14

Times of Change by: conquerorofheaven *

WIP: Harry is still in the past and Tom Riddle is still as persistent as always. This time though, Harry won't get away with pretending to be weak. His secret's out and Tom has made it his mission to figure out his others as well. WARNING: Read 'Times of Peace' first! This won't make much sense and contains major spoilers if you have not read the prequel! Part 2 of Times of Peace Words: 61,851 Chapters: 17/?

Hem of Your Garment by: adVENTitiious **

WIP: How much can one person change another?

Words: 114,679 Chapters: 58/?

Inevitabilities by: EclipseWing *

WIP: Tom and Harry are inevitable in any universe.

OR: While Dumbledore and Grindelwald play their chess game across Europe, two young wizards form an unlikely friendship. [That one where Tom and Harry are born in the same generation.] Words: 95,543 Chapters:13/14

Words Fail by: NeaMarika *

WIP: Fighting a heroic battle in a room full of mysterious time pieces is not a smart thing to do. Words: 170,309 Chapters: 25/?

A Beast's Virtue by: Arliene *

WIP: Schooled at Durmstrang, forced into political upheaval, pursued by dark and light wizards alike, Harry Potter becomes a leader and icon for his entire generation, thus turning the Dark Lord's attention to him. HP/LV. Politician Harry. Words: 191,564 Chapters: 33

[douxreviews]

The Hollow Crown - Series Review

“Let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings.”

Occasionally, television reminds us that it can be a brilliant medium. It is easy to become cynical, believing that only a show that pretends to be reality or a comedy in which good actors spout terrible dialogue can be aired. Then, just as we despair, along comes something truly genius. The Hollow Crown is truly genius.

It is a series of four of Shakespeare’s history plays. Often performed together, these stories take us from the late years of Richard II’s reign through the reign of Henry V. Although we will never know if Shakespeare intended for these plays to be performed as a series, they work as one. The stories lead on to the next; characters appear in more than one; and, references are often made to earlier plays.

The BBC, once again, didn’t hold back when producing these four shows. Each has a dream cast and a dream director and they were all filmed on location in England. The music is gorgeous; the sets and the costumes are lush; the cinematography is stunning.

Shakespeare is not an author you can watch with one eye while doing the crossword. His language is dense and, because he wrote in the days prior to special effects, much of what is happening is spelled out in some detail. Your reward, however, for paying attention and concentrating on the play at hand is some of the most beautiful language ever written, at least in English. When that language is spoken by some of the greatest living English actors, it becomes magic.

Richard II

The story takes place over the last two years of Richard’s reign and shows us the rise of Harry Bolingbroke who will become Henry IV. The cast is magnificent, especially Patrick Stewart who, I would argue, is among the best of the RSC old guard. And, on a personal note, can I just say that James Purefoy in period costume works so much better than whatever it is that he is currently playing in The Following.

Like so much of Shakespeare, this play is much more complex than one would initially suspect. On the surface, it is about one king losing his throne to another. It is, however, so much more. It is the story of two men who face off against each other. One is a born leader; the other not so much.

Ben Winshaw, who deservedly won a BAFTA for this role, plays King Richard as weak and entitled, convinced by the divine right of kings that he is untouchable. As he makes the decisions he does, even without the benefit of history, we know that they are wrong and that he is making his downfall inevitable.

Rory Kinnear plays Bolingbroke, Henry IV by the end of the play. He plays the role with subtlety and grace, yet underneath it all is a man conflicted and tormented. He never wanted to be king; he just wanted back what was his.

The best example of this disparity is in the language used. Richard never strays from the royal plural; Bolingbroke never uses it once. Now Henry IV, Bolingbroke understands that the divine right of kings has been turned on its ear and his guilt at what he has done, both to his cousin and to the monarchy, is stunningly conveyed in the final scene.

This play is not performed often, but it should be. It is as strong as the three that follow it.

Henry IV, Part One

Many years have passed, and Henry IV is ensconced on the throne. He has aged and now is played by Jeremy Irons who is simply wonderful. “Uneasy lies the head” being a true statement, Henry has spent his reign wrestling with his guilt and with the constant threat of civil war as not everyone is thrilled about who is wearing the crown.

To make matters even more troubling for our king, his son and heir Hal is a right pain in the ass. Instead of hanging out with his father at court and becoming a mighty warrior, Hal chooses to spend his days hanging out in an Eastcheap tavern with Falstaff and other lowlifes. Tom Hiddleston plays Hal and does so with gusto.

Herein lies the tension of this play. Hal has two fathers; the king whom he disrespects and Falstaff whom he disrespects even more. Henry has two sons; Hal who makes him furious and Hotspur (one of the great Shakespearean names) who is not his son, but is the warrior supporting the crown. The problem is that Hotspur is hotheaded and feels that not only does he have a right to the throne as Richard’s true (and declared) heir, he has earned it.

The inevitable battle is truly epic and tough to watch. The producers did not hold back and the flying arrows and sword fights look amazingly real. Extras roll around in the mud and, at the end, all of our heroes look truly filthy and exhausted.

Hotspur and Henry face off and we see Hal become the true heir to the throne in front of our eyes. The language helps, but Hiddleston plays the scene to perfection as everything from the tone of his voice to the way he holds his head changes and becomes more regal.

Simon Russell Beale is the finest Falstaff, ever (he, too, won a well-deserved BAFTA). So many actors play the role going for the obvious laughs. Beale, on the other hand, manages to inject the character with pathos and humanity, and his paternal love for Hal is obvious to all. Admittedly, some of the humor is lost as a result of these choices, but I didn’t miss it. For maybe the first time ever, I understood what Hal saw in such a horror of a man.

This version is filled with wonderful character actors, too numerous to mention. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t send a shout out to Julie Waters who plays Mistress Quickly to perfection. These plays are slight on roles for women, but Waters manages to jump off the screen, going toe-to-toe with both Hiddleston and Beale and, more often than not, winning.

Henry IV, Part Two

This is my least favorite of the four plays, but I did like the choices that Richard Eyre (the director) made in his cuts. He turned what can be a turgid and, let’s face it, dull play into something interesting to watch. He turned it into a play about becoming old and facing death.

King Henry is approaching his death and he frets about the unsuitability of his son to wear the crown when he is gone. Although it takes a while to get there, the final scenes between Henry and Hal are mesmerizing. Irons and Hiddleston are wonderful as the mantle of power is passed, literally as Henry crowns his son. The very brief moment before all this happens, as Hal sits on the throne with his crown, tears running down his face, actually made me well up.

Hal’s other father is aging as well. Falstaff is completely deluded about what Hal’s becoming king will mean for his old friend. Convinced that a life of leisure and sack is just around the corner, Falstaff is biding his time. The scene in the tavern with Doll was tender and lovely. Here is an old man, aware of his mortality, trying to drum up sympathy for his plight. It is all too late, as his past actions are catching up with him.

Never do they catch up more than at the end of the play and Beale plays Falstaff’s final humiliation to perfection. Genuinely shocked by Hal’s change of heart, the emotion races across his face while the newly crowned king dismisses him out of hand. Hiddleston plays this scene extraordinarily well. It is clear that he is doing what he must and what he believes is right, but there are hints that he wishes he could have avoided this scene all together.

Henry V

The producers were up against it filming this play. Undoubtedly the best known of the history plays, it is filled with speeches that are so well known, they are quoted and paraphrased in nearly everything one watches. Additionally, every English actor worth his salt has performed the role at one point or another and Kenneth Branagh filmed a version that would be tough to beat.

It is also, arguably, the most English of all Shakespeare’s plays. By that, I mean it is patriotism in its purest form. The English king, a reformed bad boy, travels to France and, against all odds, triumphs over his adversaries. Throw in the St. Crispin’s Day speech, and I want to stand tall and salute the St. George’s Cross.

The Hollow Crown version, although not the best, worked in terms of the series. It brought to a satisfying close the arc of a weak king, succeeded by a stronger king, succeeded by the most famous king of them all. Hiddleston was better as the younger playboy than he was as a fierce warrior, but when Henry disguises himself to walk amongst his troops before the battle, he was believable -- we had already seen it.

The problem I had with this version is that Hiddleston is on his own, and he doesn’t quite carry it off. He does not have a Jeremy Irons or a Simon Russell Beale with whom to interact and his final scene with Princess Katherine should have at least some degree of sexual tension. This did not.

Having said that, I pity anyone who has to take on the St. Crispin’s Day speech and make it his own. This one was fantastic. Rather than shout it from the ramparts, the director chose to have Hal speak it to “a happy few” and to speak it from the heart. I found myself grinning at the end of it.

The end was also an interesting choice. The director chose to have Falstaff’s boy, who appears sporadically throughout the play, age and turn into John Hurt who had been voicing the role of the Chorus. He breaks the fourth wall in the final moments and it worked. It reminded us that we are watching is, indeed, history and that time passes for us all.

I’m convinced that if Shakespeare is looking down at some of the schlock being performed in his name, he is sighing with relief at these. I’d like to think that, like me, he wishes they hadn’t stopped, but had continued on with Richard III.

ChrisB is a freelance writer who spends more time than she ought in front of a television screen or with a book in her hand.

[defensivelee]

modify

[onestuarteveryday]

day two hundred and fifty nine: nude design for JAMES

[livmoose]

Chamber Music

James Joyce

I

Strings in the earth and air Make music sweet; Strings by the river where The willows meet.

There's music along the river For Love wanders there, Pale flowers on his mantle, Dark leaves on his hair.

All softly playing, With head to the music bent, And fingers straying Upon an instrument.

II

The twilight turns from amethyst To deep and deeper blue, The lamp fills with a pale green glow The trees of the avenue.

The old piano plays an air, Sedate and slow and gay; She bends upon the yellow keys, Her head inclines this way.

Shy thought and grave wide eyes and hands That wander as they list -- The twilight turns to darker blue With lights of amethyst.

III

At that hour when all things have repose, O lonely watcher of the skies, Do you hear the night wind and the sighs Of harps playing unto Love to unclose The pale gates of sunrise?

When all things repose, do you alone Awake to hear the sweet harps play To Love before him on his way, And the night wind answering in antiphon Till night is overgone?

Play on, invisible harps, unto Love, Whose way in heaven is aglow At that hour when soft lights come and go, Soft sweet music in the air above And in the earth below.

IV

When the shy star goes forth in heaven All maidenly, disconsolate, Hear you amid the drowsy even One who is singing by your gate. His song is softer than the dew And he is come to visit you.

O bend no more in revery When he at eventide is calling. Nor muse: Who may this singer be Whose song about my heart is falling? Know you by this, the lover's chant, 'Tis I that am your visitant.

V

Lean out of the window, Goldenhair, I hear you singing A merry air.

My book was closed, I read no more, Watching the fire dance On the floor.

I have left my book, I have left my room, For I heard you singing Through the gloom.

Singing and singing A merry air, Lean out of the window, Goldenhair.

VI

I would in that sweet bosom be (O sweet it is and fair it is!) Where no rude wind might visit me. Because of sad austerities I would in that sweet bosom be.

I would be ever in that heart (O soft I knock and soft entreat her!) Where only peace might be my part. Austerities were all the sweeter So I were ever in that heart.

VII

My love is in a light attire Among the apple-trees, Where the gay winds do most desire To run in companies.

There, where the gay winds stay to woo The young leaves as they pass, My love goes slowly, bending to Her shadow on the grass;

And where the sky's a pale blue cup Over the laughing land, My love goes lightly, holding up Her dress with dainty hand.

VIII

Who goes amid the green wood With springtide all adorning her? Who goes amid the merry green wood To make it merrier?

Who passes in the sunlight By ways that know the light footfall? Who passes in the sweet sunlight With mien so virginal?

The ways of all the woodland Gleam with a soft and golden fire -- For whom does all the sunny woodland Carry so brave attire?

O, it is for my true love The woods their rich apparel wear -- O, it is for my own true love, That is so young and fair.

IX

Winds of May, that dance on the sea, Dancing a ring-around in glee From furrow to furrow, while overhead The foam flies up to be garlanded, In silvery arches spanning the air, Saw you my true love anywhere? Welladay! Welladay! For the winds of May! Love is unhappy when love is away!

X

Bright cap and streamers, He sings in the hollow: Come follow, come follow, All you that love. Leave dreams to the dreamers That will not after, That song and laughter Do nothing move.

With ribbons streaming He sings the bolder; In troop at his shoulder The wild bees hum. And the time of dreaming Dreams is over -- As lover to lover, Sweetheart, I come.

XI

Bid adieu, adieu, adieu, Bid adieu to girlish days, Happy Love is come to woo Thee and woo thy girlish ways -- The zone that doth become thee fair, The snood upon thy yellow hair,

When thou hast heard his name upon The bugles of the cherubim Begin thou softly to unzone Thy girlish bosom unto him And softly to undo the snood That is the sign of maidenhood.

XII

What counsel has the hooded moon Put in thy heart, my shyly sweet, Of Love in ancient plenilune, Glory and stars beneath his feet -- A sage that is but kith and kin With the comedian Capuchin?

Believe me rather that am wise In disregard of the divine, A glory kindles in those eyes Trembles to starlight. Mine, O Mine! No more be tears in moon or mist For thee, sweet sentimentalist.

XIII

Go seek her out all courteously, And say I come, Wind of spices whose song is ever Epithalamium. O, hurry over the dark lands And run upon the sea For seas and lands shall not divide us My love and me.

Now, wind, of your good courtesy I pray you go, And come into her little garden And sing at her window; Singing: The bridal wind is blowing For Love is at his noon; And soon will your true love be with you, Soon, O soon.

XIV

My dove, my beautiful one, Arise, arise! The night-dew lies Upon my lips and eyes.

The odorous winds are weaving A music of sighs: Arise, arise, My dove, my beautiful one!

I wait by the cedar tree, My sister, my love, White breast of the dove, My breast shall be your bed.

The pale dew lies Like a veil on my head. My fair one, my fair dove, Arise, arise!

XV

From dewy dreams, my soul, arise, From love's deep slumber and from death, For lo! the trees are full of sighs Whose leaves the morn admonisheth.

Eastward the gradual dawn prevails Where softly-burning fires appear, Making to tremble all those veils Of grey and golden gossamer.

While sweetly, gently, secretly, The flowery bells of morn are stirred And the wise choirs of faery Begin (innumerous!) to be heard.

XVI

O cool is the valley now And there, love, will we go For many a choir is singing now Where Love did sometime go. And hear you not the thrushes calling, Calling us away? O cool and pleasant is the valley And there, love, will we stay.

XVII

Because your voice was at my side I gave him pain, Because within my hand I held Your hand again.

There is no word nor any sign Can make amend -- He is a stranger to me now Who was my friend.

XVIII

O Sweetheart, hear you Your lover's tale; A man shall have sorrow When friends him fail.

For he shall know then Friends be untrue And a little ashes Their words come to.

But one unto him Will softly move And softly woo him In ways of love.

His hand is under Her smooth round breast; So he who has sorrow Shall have rest.

XIX

Be not sad because all men Prefer a lying clamour before you: Sweetheart, be at peace again -- Can they dishonour you?

They are sadder than all tears; Their lives ascend as a continual sigh. Proudly answer to their tears: As they deny, deny.

XX

In the dark pine-wood I would we lay, In deep cool shadow At noon of day.

How sweet to lie there, Sweet to kiss, Where the great pine-forest Enaisled is!

Thy kiss descending Sweeter were With a soft tumult Of thy hair.

O unto the pine-wood At noon of day Come with me now, Sweet love, away.

XXI

He who hath glory lost, nor hath Found any soul to fellow his, Among his foes in scorn and wrath Holding to ancient nobleness, That high unconsortable one -- His love is his companion.

XXII

Of that so sweet imprisonment My soul, dearest, is fain -- Soft arms that woo me to relent And woo me to detain. Ah, could they ever hold me there Gladly were I a prisoner!

Dearest, through interwoven arms By love made tremulous, That night allures me where alarms Nowise may trouble us; But sleep to dreamier sleep be wed Where soul with soul lies prisoned.

XXIII

This heart that flutters near my heart My hope and all my riches is, Unhappy when we draw apart And happy between kiss and kiss: My hope and all my riches -- yes! -- And all my happiness.

For there, as in some mossy nest The wrens will divers treasures keep, I laid those treasures I possessed Ere that mine eyes had learned to weep. Shall we not be as wise as they Though love live but a day?

XXIV

Silently she's combing, Combing her long hair Silently and graciously, With many a pretty air.

The sun is in the willow leaves And on the dappled grass, And still she's combing her long hair Before the looking-glass.

I pray you, cease to comb out, Comb out your long hair, For I have heard of witchery Under a pretty air,

That makes as one thing to the lover Staying and going hence, All fair, with many a pretty air And many a negligence.

XXV

Lightly come or lightly go: Though thy heart presage thee woe, Vales and many a wasted sun, Oread let thy laughter run, Till the irreverent mountain air Ripple all thy flying hair.

Lightly, lightly -- ever so: Clouds that wrap the vales below At the hour of evenstar Lowliest attendants are; Love and laughter song-confessed When the heart is heaviest.

XXVI

Thou leanest to the shell of night, Dear lady, a divining ear. In that soft choiring of delight What sound hath made thy heart to fear? Seemed it of rivers rushing forth From the grey deserts of the north?

That mood of thine Is his, if thou but scan it well, Who a mad tale bequeaths to us At ghosting hour conjurable -- And all for some strange name he read In Purchas or in Holinshed.

XXVII

Though I thy Mithridates were, Framed to defy the poison-dart, Yet must thou fold me unaware To know the rapture of thy heart, And I but render and confess The malice of thy tenderness.

For elegant and antique phrase, Dearest, my lips wax all too wise; Nor have I known a love whose praise Our piping poets solemnize, Neither a love where may not be Ever so little falsity.

XXVIII

Gentle lady, do not sing Sad songs about the end of love; Lay aside sadness and sing How love that passes is enough.

Sing about the long deep sleep Of lovers that are dead, and how In the grave all love shall sleep: Love is aweary now.

XXIX

Dear heart, why will you use me so? Dear eyes that gently me upbraid, Still are you beautiful -- but O, How is your beauty raimented!

Through the clear mirror of your eyes, Through the soft sigh of kiss to kiss, Desolate winds assail with cries The shadowy garden where love is.

And soon shall love dissolved be When over us the wild winds blow -- But you, dear love, too dear to me, Alas! why will you use me so?

XXX

Love came to us in time gone by When one at twilight shyly played And one in fear was standing nigh -- For Love at first is all afraid.

We were grave lovers. Love is past That had his sweet hours many a one; Welcome to us now at the last The ways that we shall go upon.

XXXI

O, it was out by Donnycarney When the bat flew from tree to tree My love and I did walk together; And sweet were the words she said to me.

Along with us the summer wind Went murmuring -- O, happily! -- But softer than the breath of summer Was the kiss she gave to me.

XXXII

Rain has fallen all the day. O come among the laden trees: The leaves lie thick upon the way Of memories.

Staying a little by the way Of memories shall we depart. Come, my beloved, where I may Speak to your heart.

XXXIII

Now, O now, in this brown land Where Love did so sweet music make We two shall wander, hand in hand, Forbearing for old friendship' sake, Nor grieve because our love was gay Which now is ended in this way.

A rogue in red and yellow dress Is knocking, knocking at the tree; And all around our loneliness The wind is whistling merrily. The leaves -- they do not sigh at all When the year takes them in the fall.

Now, O now, we hear no more The vilanelle and roundelay! Yet will we kiss, sweetheart, before We take sad leave at close of day. Grieve not, sweetheart, for anything -- The year, the year is gathering.

XXXIV

Sleep now, O sleep now, O you unquiet heart! A voice crying "Sleep now" Is heard in my heart.

The voice of the winter Is heard at the door. O sleep, for the winter Is crying "Sleep no more."

My kiss will give peace now And quiet to your heart -- Sleep on in peace now, O you unquiet heart!

XXXV

All day I hear the noise of waters Making moan, Sad as the sea-bird is when, going Forth alone, He hears the winds cry to the water's Monotone. The grey winds, the cold winds are blowing Where I go. I hear the noise of many waters Far below. All day, all night, I hear them flowing To and fro.

XXXVI

I hear an army charging upon the land, And the thunder of horses plunging, foam about their knees: Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand, Disdaining the reins, with fluttering ships, the charioteers. They cry unto the night their battle-name: I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter. They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame, Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil. They come shaking in triumph their long, green hair: They come out of the sea and run shouting by the shore. My heart, have you no wisdom thus to despair? My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone?

[seekfirst-community]

SEPTEMBER IS THE MONTH THE CHURCH HONORS THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AS THE SORROWFUL MOTHER. SORROWFUL & IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, HAVE MERCY ON US.

"While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.

He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.

"Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.

Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

"After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water [Duc in Altum] and lower your nets for a catch.”

"Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”

When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.

"They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking.

"When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,

“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

"For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon.

"Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

"When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him." (Luke 5: 1... 11).

Thursday 1st September 2022 of the 22nd Week of Ordinary Time.

Our Scripture today is one of my favorites. Duc in Altum as St John Paul II like to call it. "Put out into the Deep" is the call of Jesus to follow Him into Deeper Waters.

My friend, may be the time for the Next & More Step in your life. Or perhaps in your ministry. Are you ready for the ride?

“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Peter obeyed the command which seemingly did not make sense to an experienced fisherman. When Mary heard similar words from the Angel Gabriel, she answered: "Be it done to me according to Your Plan."

Do you remember Mary's counsel to the stewards in the Marriage Feast at Cana? "Do whatever He tells you." They did what Jesus told them and water was made into high quality wine.

Note that in this miracle, Peter, James and John recognized that a miracle has occurred. "For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon." Recognition of God's intervention in history is a sign of faith.

Our faith is expressed in obedience. Peter exercised obedience of faith and a big miracle took place. He fished all night and caught nothing. But at the words of Jesus, Peter was willing to try again. He took a second chance. Peter showed a disposition for obedience of faith. Is this why Jesus tapped him for leadership in the Church?

When God speaks His word to you through the Scriptures, locution, inspiration, prophetic individual and you do not respond with obedient action, what is wrong? Perhaps you think it is not worth the trouble trying a second chance. Our God is the Father of Second Chances.

When Peter responded in faith, he received his calling.

“Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him."

Some saints who responded to Jesus and put out in Deep Water:

Maximilian Kolbe, Mother St Teresa of Kolkata, Mother Angelica of EWTN, Father Albert Lauer of Presentation Ministries, Maria Faustina of the Divine Mercy and many others.

Jesus is calling everyone of us to intimate friendship with Him in the great adventure of Evangelization.

"Priests and religious who are tempted to follow a false philosophy of activism, pragmatism, and utilitarianism, or who waste their time on entertainments and distractions, will suffer God’s loving judgments. He will make bitter their false delights, destroy their enterprises, and weaken the efficacy of their work in order to wake them up to their calling of intimate friendship with Him as the source of happiness and the condition for all fruitfulness." (IN SINU JESU page 266).

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

[a-fools-jester]

The Problems of Loving a God- A Poem about Sherlock Holmes

I.

Sherlock was a god born into a time he didn't belong in

who had eyes that reflected the depths of the ocean,

his hair like the waves

and a heart that kept on drowning.

He was a young god living to die, to feel alive, to steal fire so he can light up his cigarettes,

breathing out the smoke of glory and light into every room he entered.

His eyes, resplendent with color and devouring light with their intensity

reflects his struggle of having the insight and knowledge to tear nations into dust,

knowledge no man should carry on their shoulders.

His curse is that he sees everything and knows pain no mortal man can endure. But he must.

II

He bled gold and silver,

and you, a mortal, a dreamer, kept on collecting the droplets to sell

not seeing the wounds.

You were his prophet, his mouthpiece, his messenger,

the one tie he had in the world to connect himself to it.

You bent your knee in worship, but your knees ached

You stood too fast

and didn't understand why you felt so dizzy,

III

A spell, you said, a curse.

IV

There was something beautifully devastating about breaking a god

and ravaging their hearts surrounded in ivory pillars, something which

you can safely say no other man had done before.

There's something about drawing blood, which is not truly blood,

because the blood of other mortals wouldn't make you feel delight as if you'd struck a goldmine.

Your name on his tongue, hissing and whimpering, begging and delightful,

is sin. But you love every minute of it.

You keep drawing your name from his mouth.

V

You call him by his real name one night,

a name he hadn't been called in centuries.

He screamed and the rain poured outside like the heavens were collapsing,

his eyes darkened with his agony, and his wings trembling like he wanted to fly away.

Maybe he did.

Atlas, you call him, touching his face. He recoils from your touch.

Atlas,

Atlas,

Atlas

You will carry the weight of the universe all your life, Atlas.

Endure.

His screams echo from the walls of the castle, but the thunder outside drowns it out.

VI

His eyes see through every part of your soul.

He can dissect you to the bone marrow and know every word you've left unsaid,

every word you've never meant,

every single thought that runs through your head.

You tell him you love him

and he smiles like he smiles at everyone that lies to his face.

You wonder if one day you'll receive the same fate as them.

Or if one day he'll finally believe you.

VII

His wings are colored in shades you've never imagined,

and his halo cuts you when you dare to touch him.

Your blood is red, useless, common,

but he forgets to breathe when he sees it, his eyes going wide at the reminder of how fragile you truly are.

You step forward to take his face into your hands

but he heals your wounds in a blink of an eye and in the next one,

he's gone.

He's a god, after all. You cannot find him if he does not want to be.

VII

He says he did not realize how easy it is to break humans.

VII

You revolve around one another,

and history has you both written into its script.

His legacy will live forever, and you-

You, you mortal,

cannot die because you fell in love with a god and his touch is divine.

You cannot die.

Your name is written into the book of history

and you will live forever alongside your beloved.

You hope the wax wings he gave to you can hold you up,

and the sun will not blind you to your love for him,

An ambiguous Sherlock poem! Tagging folks. Hope they don’t mind. 

@isthisfandomenough @loveinthemindpalace @its221blu @88thparallel @davin-james-gethin-vernon-mcgann @savedbyholmes @addignisherlock @thisbitchisjohnlocked @littlebeekeeper @alexxphoenix42 @shag-me-senseless-watson @inevitably-johnlocked @sadieandmo @squeakpigsrevenge @starfishes-are-cool @catloverkid00 

[murrayoneil123]

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