#love son of neptune walker!!!

[tacticalvalor]

«────── « HEADCANON » ──────»

@vendettavalor ASKED:

Inspo + Antonia !

MUSE INSPIRATIONS.

" IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO TAKE THEM OUT — WE HAVE TO SEND A MESSAGE. "

Chose to go the route of 4 topics and 4 specific individuals, because I think both are very crucial to how I've built up Toni's character.

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INDIVIDUALS

Black Widow - General disdain for Marvel aside (half joking), Natasha's character has become a subconscious point of inspiration. Someone who balances the line of good and evil, who has become a living weapon in their own right? Especially that latter point. Someone who has spent their whole life training and building their repertoire and is defined by their effectiveness. Toni has spent the better half of his life with the Ghosts, and it shows by the way people talk about her.

Medusa - We all know the story, or at least an iteration of it. A daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. Beheaded by Perseus as an act of valor, a declaration of loyalty/devotion to Athena. Pieces of her corpse used as a weapon. A mortal woman violated by the god Neptune, and punished for "her" misdeeds. She's become an icon of pushing back against a story that seeks to place the male, Perseus, at its center, blameless and heroic. Pushing back against a system that centers men, much like Toni has pushed back time and time again against the military culture and red tape that has victimized her and others time and time again. Medusa is such an inspiration to Toni's character, that he has a tattoo of her (placement is still up for determination, but I'm between a back piece or on the thigh).

Mike Ehrmantraut - Yes, another muse that I write, but shush. Anyway, a lot of the inspiration from him comes from that struggle to balance family and work, and to keep those lives as separate as possible. Canonically, Toni is... not close with her son. Their relationship has been strained due to the secrecy of her work. But with him about to have a family of his own, Toni wants to make things better. Whether or not he's successful is to be seen.

Šiduri - Big nerd moment here, but I loved reading The Epic of Gilgamesh in high school. And Šiduri's character just. Stuck. The way she rationalized Gilgamesh's grief, and tried to turn it into motivation... That hits close to home with Toni. The way he approaches a lot of his missions, both in part to the programming of the Ghosts, and in her own external experiences, is very much reminiscent of the idea that "this is fate, we may as well make the most of it".

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TOPICS

Betrayal - If there is one thing I will not shut up about, it's the betrayal arc that happens in Breakpoint. It's shown a bit in Wildlands, when Walker helps Toni realize that Bowman is going behind their backs to maintain destabilization within Bolivia, but it really comes to the forefront after. The killing of Vaugn, Walker being dishonorably discharged... And this all is so core to Toni's development as a character and her approach to things. As it stood with her work, he knew better than to loosely trust anybody. But after all this? Yeah... Yeah.

Identity - There are so many interesting intersections when it comes to Antonia's identity. Even before I made the executive decision to make him transmasc, the idea of being a woman (or perceived as one) within the military. Being a mother amidst that. Being a member of an organization that, on paper, does not exist and cannot exist. Knowing that your very being is classified. Redacted. That you could die at any minute, and none would be the wiser. But then you add onto this the realization of not being what you thought for so long you were, lest we forget Nomad's gender questioning doesn't take place until after the events of Breakpoint, where she's well within his 40s. Ultimately, I really want to explore just how elusive identity can be through Toni's character, and what goes into constructing one practically from scratch.

Revenge - Tying into the themes of betrayal is the act of revenge. How far is a person willing to go to consider things square? The betrayal of trust, the allies slaughtered in the name of a "greater good"... What is Toni willing to do? Is he really any different from Walker? What are her justifications? Can she pull the trigger when the time comes, or is he going to try and stop the inevitable?

Trauma - Bit broad of an inspiration, but like... This shit has got to weigh down on someone, and it does tie into the ideas of identity. How much does a person go through—how much can they go through—before losing themselves? How do they carry the weight of the literal world (re: Walker's plan to kickstart WW3) on their shoulders, and manage to stay focused on the road ahead? What would it take for someone in these circumstances to finally break? To potentially heal?

[chrancecriber]

Antenne Vorarlberg Chillout Lounge (August 15, 2023)

23:58 Nora En Pure - Oblivion (Extended Mix) 23:55 Sam Feldt Feat. Deepend & Teemu - Runaways 23:51 Schiller - Midnight In Shiraz 23:47 Shallour & Riah - Lie 23:44 Depeche Mode - Goodnight Lovers 23:40 Nora Van Elken - Interstellar 23:37 Kidsø - Finja 23:32 Perfect Silence - Di (Original Mix) 23:29 Edx - Neptune 23:25 Lions Head - Begging (Rami Remix) 23:22 Riva Starr Feat. Imaginary - Ride This Sound 23:19 Tiësto - The Motto 23:16 The Alan Parsons Project - Mammagamma (Instrumental) 23:13 Sam Feldt Feat. Lateshift - The Riddle 23:06 Jean-michel Jarre - Equinoxe, Pt. 4 23:02 Alphawezen - Out Of Sight 22:58 Bolier & Leandro Da Silva - Floripa (Extended) 22:51 Dale Anderson Feat. Anil Chawla - Pimento Grove 22:46 White Elephant - Sir John 22:44 Nora En Pure - Wetlands 22:41 Daniel Portman - Sensual Desires 22:31 Antenne Vorarlberg Chillout 22:27 Hearts & Colors - Lighthouse (Andrelli Remix) 22:24 Blank & Jones Feat. Mick Roach - Magnolia 22:19 Schiller - Ultramarin 22:14 Faithless Feat. Nathan Ball & Caleb Femi - I Need Someone 22:10 Blank & Jones - Into The Sun 22:03 Plus Minus - Meeting Of The Worlds 21:59 Alex Breitling - Faith 21:52 David Hohme - Fear Less (Hraach Remix) 21:49 Avicii - For A Better Day 21:45 Lucy Neville - Shameless 21:42 Mousse T. - Boyfriend (Alle Farben Remix) 21:38 Derrick - Love Away 21:35 Kryder & Natalie Shay - Rapture 21:31 Lstn - Sïstër 21:25 Nora En Pure - Don't Look Back (Extended Mix) 21:22 Audien - Blue 21:17 Flamingo Star - Lost In Music 21:12 Tinlicker Feat. Roos Jonker - Come Back Home 21:06 Anrey - The Forgotten (Extended Mix) 21:01 Jacob Gurevitsch - Lovers In Paris 20:58 Sofi Tukker & John Summit - Sun Came Up (Radio) 20:55 Blank & Jones - Coastline 20:51 Rithma - The Return 20:48 Purple Disco Machine - Hypnotized 20:45 George Geccoo Feat. Maik Pinto - Dolce Vita 20:39 Tom Odell - Another Love (Zwette Edit) 20:32 Colyn - Lightyears 20:28 Maxim Lany Feat. Freya Alley - Anymore 20:23 Velvet Lounge Project - Dimelo Tu (Mix And Magix Remix) 20:18 Tinlicker Feat. Hero Baldwin - Rebirth 20:13 Beanfield - Planetary Deadlock 20:09 Nora En Pure - Stop Wasting Time 20:05 P. Lion - Happy Children (Special Remastered ) 20:00 L' Art Mystique - Le Jardin Secret (Original Mix) 19:57 Rosa Linn - Snap 19:54 Olga Scheps - How Much Is The Fish? 19:50 Bedouin Soundclash - Brutal Hearts (Flicflac ) 19:48 Nora Van Elken - Honshu 19:44 Emily Burns - Im So Happy 19:41 Michael Gray & Shelly Poole - Borderline (Lee Muddy Baker Acoustic Mix) 19:38 Gamper & Dadoni Feat. Joe Jury - Satellites 19:35 Eelke Kleijn - Midnight Affair (Samaha Slow Edit) 19:30 Stefano Saletti & Piccola Banda Ikona - Tagama 19:23 Le Roy - See The Light Ahead (Extended Mix) 19:19 Rameses B - Never Forget (Original Mix) 19:16 Tomas Skyldeberg - Outside The Window 19:12 Loud Luxury Feat. Morgan St. Jean - Aftertaste 19:08 Mikael Delta - The Last Storm Of Words 19:01 Valeron - Jamal 18:57 Lstn - Sky & Sand 18:53 Sphere - I Fly Away 18:50 Avaion, Paulwetz, Nu Aspect Feat. Yuma - Sleepless 18:46 Jako Diaz & Margret - Mirror 18:43 Tenfold Loadstar - Sun And Rain 18:39 Bronson Feat. Lau.ra - Heart Attack 18:32 Edx - Conundrum 18:25 Fc Kahuna - Hayling 18:21 Passenger 10 - The Lonely Boy Who Wanted To Make Friends 18:17 Motorcycle - As The Rush Comes 18:14 Glockenbach - Dirty Dancing 18:11 Felix Jaehn Feat. Zoe Wees - Do It Better 18:08 Alan Walker Feat. Gavin James - Tired 18:05 Colorblast - Message In A Bottle (Colorblast Version) 18:03 Lucas Estrada & Henri Purnell & Neimy - In My Fantasy 17:59 Five Seasons - In Your Town 17:54 Deep Dive Corp. Feat. Dennis Le Gree - Water 17:51 Sons Of Maria - Always 17:45 Schiller Mit Moya Brennan - Falling 17:43 Dj Antoine Feat. Ablai - My Corazon (Dj Antoine Vs Mad Mark 2k21 Mix) 17:40 Vize & Alan Walker Feat. Leony, Edward Artemyev - Space Melody (Edward Artemyev) 17:34 Leftfield - Melt 17:31 Sum Wave - Milkyway 17:26 Frank Borell - Epic Dreams (Fifty Shades Of Dreams Mix) 17:23 Blank & Jones Feat. Kyle Pearce - All Of Me 17:16 Beyhude - Akasha 17:14 Zonderling Feat. Josh Cumbee & Damon Sharpe - Lifetime 17:11 Feder & Ofenbach Feat. Dawty Music - Call Me Papi 17:08 Eli & Fur - Come Back Around 17:02 Maestro & Cabal - Clifton Bay 16:58 Kid Massive, Yuji Ono, Dtale - Pray (Wolf Krew Remix) 16:53 Cecilia Krull - Agnus Dei (Benny Benassi & Bb Team Remix) 16:48 Agnostica - Lost 16:46 Buchs Feat. Nokyo - Cheverolet 16:41 David Guetta, Robin Schulz, Cheat Codes - Shed A Light (Blank & Jones Remix) 16:38 Rita Ora Feat. Alesso - Anywhere 16:33 Avira & Kiko Franco Feat. Nathan Nicholson) - Ocean 16:28 Bush - Letting The Cables Sleep (The N.o.w. Remix) 16:21 Boral Kibil & Gulec - Lost Language 16:18 Lost Frequencies Feat. Love Harder - Beat Of My Heart 16:14 Chris Coco - Letter From Erika 16:06 Mashk & Soul Button - Pensées 15:59 Hraach Feat. Iveta Mukuchyan - Sarer Jan 15:52 Hraach - Delirio 15:48 Klangperlenspiel & Puzzls - Kyoto (Wish You'd Move On) 15:44 Above & Beyond Feat. Justine Suissa - Little Something 15:41 Lucas Estrada, Twopilots - Bloom 15:36 Dreamerproject - Horizons (Glenn Main Remix) 15:34 Wave Wave Feat. Lena Sue - Repeating 15:30 Topic Feat. Nico Santos - Home 15:26 2raumwohnung - Wir Werden Sehen (Paul Kalkbrenner Remix) 15:22 Madonna - Nothing Really Matters 15:14 Super Flu - Mygut (Solomun Remix) 15:12 Nathan Evans - Wellerman (220 Kid X Billen Ted Remix) 15:08 Burak Yeter Feat. Danelle Sandova - Tuesday 15:04 Magnofield - Lupino 15:02 R3hab & Marnik - Candyman 14:58 Zhu - Faded 14:52 Goa Foundation - (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight 14:48 Robert Manos - Silver 14:44 Air - You Make It Easy 14:41 Vize & Leony - Dolly Song (Devil's Cup) 14:39 Mahalo - High Life 14:33 Channel 2 Feat. Tanya - Soulout 14:30 Ac Venture - Rain In Spain (Roberto Sol Remix) 14:27 M22 - Good To Be Loved 14:23 Nora En Pure - Epiphany 14:18 Mr.da-nos - San Francisco 2k20 14:10 Framewerk - Electric Religion 14:05 Lazy Hammbock - Surround Me 14:02 Moby - My Only Love 13:54 Andre Rizo - Hang 13:51 Gamper & Dadoni - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! 13:47 Golden Tone Radio - Glück 13:42 Esteban Garcia Junior - Deep Blue 13:40 Minelli, Filatov & Karas Remi - Rampampam 13:34 Good Guy Mikesh Feat. Filburt - Place Of Love (Mp Edit) 13:28 Bliss - End Titles 13:21 Monolink - Don't Hold Back 13:15 Antennasia - First Flight (Lemongrass Remix) 13:08 Bay Area - Dolphin Rider (Pianodreamsession) 13:06 Edx - Ecletric (Mixed) 13:00 Aaron Mcclelland, Marianne - Lets Get Physical (Touch & Go Laidback Dub) 12:57 Nora Van Elken - Okinawa 12:54 Consoul Trainin Feat. Steven Aderinto & Duoviolins - Obsession 12:49 Lux - Northern Lights 12:46 Blank & Jones Feat. Jan Loechel - Beautiful Life 12:43 Mike Candys & Séb Mont - What's On Your Mind 12:36 Claptone - No Eyes Feat. Jaw 12:33 Backstreet Boys - Chances (Instrumental) 12:29 Schiller & Peter Heppner - Leben... I Feel You 12:25 Patrick Baker - Call Me Up (Original Mix) 12:22 Chaël Feat Kaii - Don't Speak 12:18 Kygo & Whitney Houston - Higher Love 12:11 Atb - No Fate 12:06 Lstn - Times Of Sorrow 11:59 Stan Kolev, Yuji Ono - Try (Original Mix) 11:55 Portishead - Revenge Of The Number 11:53 Neptunica & Lunax - We Don't Even Talk Anymore 11:50 Depeche Mode - Uselink 11:48 Max Johann & Layrz - Tell It To My Heart 11:45 The Alan Parsons Project - The Turn Of A Friendly Card 11:37 Burudu - Sun Theory (Original Mix) 11:34 Mike Candys & Jack Holiday - Saltwater (Rework) 11:30 Above & Beyond Feat. Zoe Johnston - We're All We Need 11:26 Wamdue Project - King Of My Castle 11:19 Firtz Kalkbrenner - Golden (Fideles Remix) 11:16 Rihanna Feat. Mikky Ekko - Stay 11:12 Kygo With Avicii & Sandro Cavazza - Forever Yours (Tribute) 11:08 Gardenstate & Bien - The Best Part 11:02 Guenter Haas - Look Inside Yourself 10:57 Atb & Anova - Route 66 10:54 Wave Wave Feat. Evie - Real 10:50 State Of Sound - Wake Up Where You Are 10:48 Hugel - Can't Love Myself (Feat. Mishaal& Lpw) 10:43 Three Drives On A Vinyl - Greece 2000 (Sebastian Davidson & Melosense Remix) 10:38 Maa, Seven24, R.i.b. - Frozen 10:34 Alina Baraz & Galimatias - Fantasy (Felix Jaehn Remix) 10:32 Möwe - Bad Intentions 10:27 Beth Orton - Central Reservation 10:23 Alok Feat. John Martin - Wherever You Go 10:20 Sam Feldt - Be My Lover 10:17 Tomas Skyldeberg - Chillin With You 10:10 Blond:ish Feat. Shawni - Wizard Of Love 10:05 Espresso Del Lago - Come On 09:58 Armen Miran - Nani Jan 09:56 Steve Forest, Te Pai - Never Gonna Give You Up 09:49 Relaxraum - Endless Horizons 09:46 Chicane Feat. Bryan Adams - Don't Give Up 09:41 Schiller & Tricia Mcteague - Guardian Angel 09:37 Mandalay - Beautiful 09:34 Majestic & Boney M. - Rasputin 09:31 Ck West - Aldebaran 2021 09:26 Armin Van Buuren, System F - Exhale (Tim Besamusca's Lounge Mix) 09:24 Sans Souci - Fenton 09:15 Tactful - No Fear 09:12 Vamero & Lizot - Bleeding Love 09:03 Blond:ish Feat. Bahramji - Omnipresent 09:00 Klingande, Stevie Appleton - Sinner 08:57 Edx Feat. Jess Ball - Take Me Home 08:53 Loud Luxury - Cold Feet 08:49 Bebo Best & The Super Lounge Orchestr - Come As You Are 08:46 Klingande, Wrabel - Big Love 08:35 Monkey Safari - Hi Life (Cheeky Bold Cover) 08:30 Kosheen - Hungry 08:26 Fritz Kalkbrenner - Daylight Is Falling 08:23 Shapov & Avian Grays Feat. Kifi - Light Up The World 08:17 Mahoroba - Soft Breeze (On Air Mix) 08:14 Jan Blomqvist & Bloom Twins - High On Beat (Sofi Tukker Remix) 08:08 Mads Arp Featuring Julie Harrington - Alive 08:02 Rodg - Heights 07:57 Monolink - Harlem River 07:54 Blank & Jones - Fall In Love 07:50 Paul Oakenfold, Bolier, Luis Fonsi - The World Can Wait (Bolier Remix) 07:48 Alle Farben & Flynn - I Need To Know 07:44 Armin Van Buuren & Garibay Feat. Olaf Blackwood - I Need You 07:41 Nora En Pure - Sign Of The Times 07:35 Twocolors - Together 07:30 Nor Elle - Dubsolution 07:26 Armin Van Buuren Feat. Jake Reese - Need You Now 07:23 Kyla La Grange - Cut Your Teeth 07:19 Alphawezen - Gai Soleil 07:16 Nora Van Elken - Heaven Is A Place On Earth 07:11 Orbient - Transition 07:07 Christopher Von Deylen - Heliotrope 07:03 Sanah - Invisible Dress (Maro Music X Skytech Remix) 07:00 Era - Ameno 06:53 Hraach & Armen Miran - Nowhere 06:50 Lost Frequencies & Mathieu Koss - Don't Leave Me 06:41 Worakls - Nocturne 06:39 Hbz, Anna Grey & Agent Zed - Aloha Hey 06:32 Consolidation Feat. Moguai - Ode To Joy 06:29 Blank & Jones Feat. Coralie Clément - Jardin D'hiver 06:26 Together Alone - Let Go 06:19 Rìfìs Du Sol - On My Knees (Oliver Schories Remix) 06:14 Arnej - People Come, People Go (Chillout Mix) 06:10 Ec Twins, Oda Loves You - Wonderful Life 06:07 Sixth Finger - If I Can't Have You 06:04 Sans Souci - Condor 05:59 Hein Klein & Cheyenne - Every Breath You Take 05:54 Loui & Scibi Feat. Nuwella - Your Love (Ian Tosel Remix) 05:51 Armin Van Buuren Feat. Angel Taylor - Make It Right (Trinix Remix) 05:48 Kygo & Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It 05:43 Croquet Club - Awake 05:40 Topic Feat. Nico Santos) - Home (Alle Farben Remix) 05:37 Alex Zind Feat. Lisa Schwab - Cruel Summer 05:29 Pet Shop Boys - Love Etc. (Gui Boratto Mix) 05:22 Beyhude - Alabora 05:17 Rìfìs Du Sol - Alive (Anyma Remix) 05:12 Lux - Golden 05:09 Bernward Koch - Flowing Colors 05:06 Edx - Missing 05:03 Alan Walker Ahrix - End Of Time 04:59 The Hitmen - Turn Off The Lights 04:55 The Alan Parsons Project - Lucifer 04:51 Arty Feat. Cimo Fränkel - Daydreams (Sultan Shepard Echoes) 04:48 Nora En Pure - Life On Hold 04:44 Kygo Feat. Maty Noyes - Stay 04:38 Röyksopp & Jamie Irrepressible - The Next Day (Mind Against Remix) 04:33 Robin Schulz - Moonlit Sky (With The Void Pacific Choir) 04:30 Lissa, Freddy Verano - Move Like Me 04:24 Airstream - Your Tears (Del Mar Mix) 04:19 Shakedown - At Night (Afterlife Remix) 04:15 Xillions - Somebody Like Me 04:10 Lyke - Stay With Me 04:05 Alex Christensen & The Berlin Orchestra - Infinity 04:03 Tiësto & Karol G - Don't Be Shy 04:00 Le Shuuk Feat. Xilions - Goodbye 03:56 Elmara - Sky In Your Eyes 03:52 Trinix - Vision Deluxe 03:46 Deep Dive Corp. & Setsuna - Transatlantic 03:44 Julian Perretta - Miracle 03:41 R3hab X Lukas Graham - Most People 03:39 Sum Wave - Passing Clouds 03:34 Ganga - Time Spent 03:30 Cosmic Soul & Tom Novy - Like A Dream 03:27 Nora En Pure - Branches 03:25 Lost Frequencies Feat. James Blunt - Melody 03:19 Röyksopp Feat. Susanne Sundfør - If You Want Me 03:15 Kadebostany - Save Me 03:12 Sans Souci - Take My Breath Away (Original Mix) 03:09 Lunax & Zana - Gone Tomorrow 03:03 Camiel - Take Me To This Place 02:57 Monolink - Otherside (Club Mix) 02:54 Trinix - Soweto 02:49 Rodg - Life Is Life (Chill Mix) 02:45 Mandala Dreams - Mirror Lake 02:39 Lamb - Wonder 02:34 Fous De La Mer - Conmigo 02:31 Dizkodude & Dj Antoine - Your Eyes (Dj Antoine Vs Mad Mark 2k21 Summer Mix) 02:29 Dj Antoine & Flip Capella Feat. Evelyn - Dark Love 02:25 Federico Aubele - Postales 02:22 Gestört Aber Geil & Anna Grey - Thank You 02:18 Minnie Riperton - Lovin' You 02:13 Enui - Adieu (Arielle Lb Remix) 02:09 Thomas Gold Feat. Bright Sparks - Seventeen 02:05 Stone Van Brooken, Henri Pfr - Tarida (Original Mix) 02:01 Lstn - Floral Decor 01:57 Sons Of Maria - Elevate 01:53 Thievery Corporation - Bario Alto 01:49 John Summit & Hayla - Where You Are 01:38 Cell - Above The Clouds (Live Version) 01:35 Loud Luxury & Bryce Vine - I'm Not Alright 01:32 Brando - Don't Call Me (Galantis Remix) 01:28 Dvine - Unknown Reality 01:23 Chris Malinchak - So Good To Me 01:20 Twopilots - Take My Breath Away 01:17 Blank & Jones - Wyb (Deeper) 01:14 Italobrothers - Stay 01:10 Claptone Feat. Dizzy - Queen Of Ice Queen Of Ice 01:05 Nardis - Sunrise 01:01 Pretty Pink Feat. Mark V - Don't Dance 00:58 Shaun Frank & Takis Feat. Shells - Don't Say I Love You 00:52 Sven Van Hees - Ocean Jive 00:49 Alok, Zeeba And Iro - Ocean 00:47 Alok Feat. Alida - Love Again 00:43 The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This 00:41 James Carter & Ofenbach Feat. James Blunt - Can't Forget You 00:34 Avira & Diana Miro - The Worship (Mark Knight Extended) 00:30 Mr. Probz - Waves 00:28 Tiësto & Ty Dolla $ign - The Business, Pt. Ii 00:23 Boozoo Bajou - Lava 00:20 Munich Monstrs - Shine 00:17 Nto (Fr) Feat. Sofiane Pamart - Invisible (Piano Version) 00:13 Klangperlenspiel - Before The Sunrise 00:09 Sum Wave - Goodbye Earth 00:08 Christopher Von Deylen - Arco Iris 00:03 Lelo - On Your Mind (Lemongrass India Mix)

[overlooked-tracks]

Kelis Says She Wasn’t Told Beyoncé Used Her Music on Renaissance

The following article has been posted on July 29, 2022 at 06:46AM:

An Overlooked Tracks News Finding: Here’s an article you might have overlooked. Having a partnership with NewsAPI, we try to catch music entertainment news for you to view, read and possibly enjoy. We will continue to find what’s available in the world of music entertainment, concert information and music releases. But obviously you – the listener and reader are the biggest source for news in your area, so if you can share with us. For right now, look at what we found for you:

“From The Pitchfork Music Website – Kelis Says She Wasn’t Told Beyoncé Used Her Music on Renaissance”

While “Milkshake” is formally a Kelis song, she is not listed as one of its producers, composers, or lyricists, per Tidal credits. The track’s producers are Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams, Rob Walker, and the Neptunes. In addition, Hugo and Williams are the composers and lyricists of “Milkshake.” Kelis is referenced in the credits as the song’s performer.

In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, Kelis claimed that “she made nothing from sales of her first two albums,” suggesting that she was “blatantly lied to and tricked” by “the Neptunes and their management and their lawyers and all that stuff.”

“I was told we were going to split the whole thing 33/33/33, which we didn’t do,” she said. “Their argument is: ‘Well, you signed it.’ I’m like: ‘Yeah, I signed what I was told, and I was too young and too stupid to double-check it.’”

Kelis Says She Wasn’t Told Beyoncé Used Her Music on Renaissance

Kelis is not the first artist to be surprised at being sampled or interpolated on Renaissance. “Break My Soul,” the album’s lead single, contains elements of Robin S.’ “Show Me Love,” and, therefore, credits songwriters Allen George and Fred McFarlane (but not Robin S.). In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Robin S. said she had no formal contact with Beyoncé and her team ahead of the single’s release, and that she learned about the use of her music because her son told her she was “trending all over the place.”

Robin S. also thanked Beyoncé for using elements of her music: “This is Robin S, and this message goes out to the Queen Bey herself, Beyoncé, to Jay-Z, to the entire team: Thank you so much for giving me my flowers while I’m still alive. I am honored, and I’m excited to see what else can happen.”

Read More Music Headllines

and can be found on the Overlooked Tracks website: https://bit.ly/3Jlklep. Check out more music news from Overlooked Tracks! Music Headline News, Albums, Concerts, Kelis, Music, Music Releases, Performer, World

[cardest]

Solar System playlist

Look up!  It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s....the Solar System playlist.  Click play here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC18LD_V5saMr7QzWS1Q3VAU6 

What’s out there beyond our own planet? A mystery at every turn. Mercury to Pluto. The Sun and the Moon, even Phobos gets a mention here. So come by the Neptune Towers and enjoy this Solar System playlist.

SOLAR SYSTEM

001 Amorphis - Far From The Sun 002 The Beatles - here comes the sun   003 Swans - Song For The Sun 004 Mastodon - Once More 'Round The SunStiff Little Fingers 005 Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun 006 Isaac Hayes - Driving In The Sun 007 Tom Petty - dark of the sun 008 DREAMTIME - Sun 009 Circus Diablo - Red Sun Rising 010 Tiamat - The Sun Also Rises 011 Covenant - Bringer of the sixth sun 012 Agoraphobic Nosebleed - hung from the rising sun 013 Alice in Chains - When the Sun Rose Again 014 Lindemann - Children Of The Sun 015 Paradise Lost - Return to the Sun 016 Popol Vuh - Morning Sun 017 Spiritual Beggars - Blood Of The Sun 018 Queens Of The Stone Age - My God Is The Sun 019 TREMENTINA - Kisses in your eyes (Almost Reach The Sun ) 020 Voivod - Divine Sun 021 Blues Pills - Little Sun 022 Neurosis - Enemy of the Sun 023 Extol - Behold The Sun 024 Septic Flesh - Infernal Sun 025 Lamb of God - Straight For The Sun 026 Ensemble Economique - Red For The Sun 027 Black Sabbath - Under The Sun 028 Jesu - Opiate Sun 029 Orchid - Into the Sun 030 The Young Gods - Kissing The Sun 031 Iron Maiden - brighter than a thousand suns 032 Swans - I Am the Sun 033 Therion - Son Of The Sun 034 Sun Ra - Sun song 035 Pink Floyd - eclipse 036 Mike Patton - Eclipse Of The Sun 037 Bonnie Tyler - Total eclipse of the heart 038 God Is An Astronaut - First Day Of Sun 039 Elton John - Don’t let the sun go down on me 040 Eddie Fisher - Sunrise, Sunset 041 Hopscotch Songs - The Planets of our Solar System Song 042 Michael Schenker Group - Blood Of The Sun 043 Iron Maiden - total eclipse 044 Solefald - Sun I Call 045 Man or Astro-Man? - Antimatter Man 046 Kreator - when the sun burns 047 Creedence Clearwater Revival - bad moon rising 048 George Harrison - beware the darkness 049 Heretoir - To Follow The Sun 050 Cat Stevens - Moonshadow 051 Hypocrisy - Adjusting the Sun 052 Rush - Between Sun & Moon 053 Manfred Mann - blinded by the light 054 Sevendust - Black Out The Sun 055 Sunbeam Sound Machine - Real Life 056 Bill Withers - Ain’t no sunshine 057  Gwar - They Swallowed the Sun 058 Katatonia - Ghost Of The Sun 059 The Beatles - I’ll follow the sun 060 Sammy Hagar - little eclipse/sunshine 061 Stevie Wonder - you are the sunshine of my life 062 Pink Floyd - fat old sun 063 Sun Ra - Sunology 064 Mystic Sunship - out there 065 Cream - sunshine of my love 066 Diesto - High As The Sun 067 Sunwølf -  SOlar 068 Kyuss - Molten Universe 069 Moonspell - Shadow sun 070 Neurosis - A Sun That Never Sets 071 Therion - An Arrow From The Sun 072 Candlemass - The Killing Of The Sun 073 Xandria - Kill The Sun 074 Morgoth - Drowning Sun 075 Primordial - Wield Lightning to Split the Sun 076 Lake of Tears -When My Sun Comes Down 077 Jackie DeShannon - Where Does The Sun Go 078 Peter Criss - Down With The Sun 079 Walker Brothers - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore 080 Devin Townsend - Midnight Sun 081 Sigh - Midnight Sun 082 Black Label Society -  Dark Side of the Sun 083 AMORPHIS - Moon and sun 084 Cynic - Moon Heart Sun Head 085 Sun Ra - Planet Earth 086 David Lynch - Sun Can't Be Seen No More Sarah No More 087 Opeth - Moon Above, Sun Below 088 The Eternal - A Quiet Death of The Sun 089 High On Fire - The Sunless Years 090 The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Third Stone From The Sun 091 Bruce Dickinson - Navigate The Seas of The Sun 092 Voivod - Mercury 093 Melechesh - Of Mercury And Mercury 094 Gustav Holst - Mercury, the Winged Messenger 095 Clutch - Mercury 096 Soilwork - Mercury shadow 097 Satyricon - Mental Mercury 098 Moonspell - Moon in mercury 099 Poisonblack - Mercury Falling 100 Alejandro Jodorowsky, Ronald Frangipane & Don Cherry - Venus (Vond) 101 Boney M - Nightflight to Venus 102 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Subway To Venus Nihal Chahdi 103 The Nefilim - Venus Decomposing 104 Electric Wizard -Venus In Furs 105 Popol Vuh -  Venus Principle 106 Bananarama - Venus Venus Mosquera 107  Apocalyptica -  The Shadow of Venus 108 Archgoat - Sodomator Of The Doomed Venus 109 Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio - Phosphorus Ascending Anthem of Venus 110 Gustav Holst - Venus, the Bringer of Peace 111 Billy Idol - Venus 112 Boyd Rice - Between Venus and Mars 113  Dee D. Jackson - Venus, the goddess of love 114 Therion - Dark Venus Persephone 115 T-Rex - Venus loons 116 Television - Venus 117 Paul McCartney and Wings - Venus and Mars & Rock Show - 118  Theatre of Tragedy - Venus 119 David Bowie - Space oddity 120 The Byrds - Spaceman 121 To-Mera - Earthbound 122 Borknagar -  Inherit the Earth 123 Devin Townsend - Earth 124 William Shatner - Planet Earth 125 Clutch -  Earth Rocker  Jen Rocker 126 DEVO - Planet Earth 127 Misfits - Earth AD 128 Les Baxter - Earth light 129 Louis and Bebe Barron - Come Back to Earth with Me 130 Tristania - Tender Trip on Earth 131  Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts -  Lonely Astronaut 132 Voivod - Target Earth 133 Samael -  Son of Earth 134 Billy Preston - Space race 135 Alice Cooper - Last Man On Earth 136 Agalloch -  ...and the Great Cold Death of the Earth 137 Deep Purple - space truckin 138 Steve Miller Band  - space cowboy 139 Crowbar -  Liquid Sky And Cold Black Earth 140 Jesu - Mother Earth 141 Devin Townsend - Earth Day 142 Animals as Leaders -  Earth Departure 143 Amorphis -  Enchanted by the Moon 144 Goatsnake -  House of the Moon 145 Elton John - Rocket man 146 Cramps -  Rock On The Moon 147 The Stranglers - Rok It To The Moon (Bonus Track) 148 Frank Sinitra - fly me to the moon 149 Blood Ceremony - Drawing Down the Moon 150 Elvis Presley - flaming star 151 Les Baxter - The other side of the moon 152 In Flames -  Moonshield 153 Ozzy Ozbourne - bark at the moon 154 Fields Of The Nephilim - Moonchild 155 Iron Maiden - Moonchild 156 Blue Oyster Cult - stairway to the stars 157 Voivod -Moonbeam Rider 158 The Black Crowes -Black Moon Creeping 159 Grand Magus - Silver Moon 160 AC DC - next to the moon Craig Norman 161 Manilla Road - fires on Mars James Daniel danke 162 Alejandro Jodorowsky, Ronald Frangipane & Don Cherry - Marz (Esla) 163 Entombed A.D. - Down To Mars To Ride 164 Grateful Daed - dark star 165 Orange Goblin -  Return To Mars 166 Ascension of the Watchers - Mars becoming 167 Styx - come sail away 168 Faith No More - Woodpecker From Mars 169 Kreator -  Mars Mantra 170 The Misfits -  Mars Attacks 171 Gustav Holst - Mars, the Bringer of War 172 Judas Priest - invader 173 Electric Wizard - Priestess Of Mars 174 Queen - Flash Gordon 175 Stone Temple Pilots - First Kiss On Mars 176 Hoodoo Gurus - mars needs guitars 177 War Of The Worlds ~  The Eve of the War 179 Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool -  Mars Needs Women 180 Alice Cooper - Might As Well Be On Mars 181 Total Recall Jerry Goldsmith - First Dream (Total Recall) 182 Laibach -Mars On River Drina 183 Lantlôs - Neige de Mars 184 The Misfits -  Teenagers From Mars 185 Voivod -  Phobos 186  2001_ A Space Odyssey Theme Song (Also sprach Zarathustra) 187 Covenant -  Planetary black elements 188 Killing Joke -  Asteroid 189 Kyuss - Asteroid 190 Alejandro Jodorowsky, Ronald Frangipane & Don Cherry - Jupiter (Clen) 191 Blues Pills -  Jupiter 192 Samael -  Jupiterian Vibe 193 Earth Wind & Fire - Jupiter 194 Tumbleweed - Jupiter  Aje Morris 195  The Cure - Jupiter Crash 196 Devin Townsend -  Jupiter 197 Gustav Holst - Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity 198  Celestial Season - Jupiter 199 KATAKLYSM - EMBRACING EUROPA 200 David Bowie - I Took A Trip On a Gemini Spaceship 201 Isao Tomita - Space Fantasy 202 The Misfits -  Lost in Space 203 Gwar - Lust In Space 204 Alejandro Jodorowsky, Ronald Frangipane & Don Cherry - Saturn (Sal) 205 Älgarnas Trädgård - Rings Of Saturn 206 Electric Wizard - Saturn Dethroned 207 Les Baxter - [ Saturday night on saturn 208 While Heaven Wept -  Saturn And Sacrifice 209 Ash Pool -  On The Rings Of Saturn Adam And Eve Conceive Cain 210 Scott Kelly -  Saturn's Eye 211 Gustav Holst - Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age Ximenenes Y. Zeroth 212 Samael -  Born Under Saturn 213 The Devil's Blood -Everlasting Saturnalia 214 Stevie Wonder - Saturn 215 Circle - Saturnus Reality 216  R.E.M. -  Saturn Return 217  The B-52's - There's A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon) 218  Fu Manchu - Saturn III 219 National Geographic Space Kit - The Eerie Sounds Of Saturn 220  AYREON - To the Solar System 221 Voivod -  Meteor 222 Alejandro Jodorowsky, Ronald Frangipane & Don Cherry - Uranus (Berg) 223  Klaatu- Anus Of Uranus 224 Arcturus -  Kinetic 225 Gustav Holst -  Uranus, the Magician 226  Cathedral - Suicide Asteroid 227  Movie Moment - Contact (First Contact) OST 228 Alejandro Jodorowsky, Ronald Frangipane & Don Cherry - Neptune (Axon) 229 Lisa Gerrard - Neptune 230 Neptune Towers - To Cold Void Desolation 231 Fu Manchu - Neptune's Convoy 232 Altar of Plagues -  Neptune Is Dead 233 Lenny Breau -  Neptune 234 Gustav Holst - Neptune, the Mystic 235  Darkthrone - Neptune Towers. 236 Neptune Sounds - Celestial Love Songs (NASA Voyager Recordings) 237  Jimi Hendrix - Valleys Of Neptune 238 Vista Chino -  Planets 1 & 2 239  DEATH - Vacant Planets 240 Black Sabbath - Planet Caravan 241 ZZ Top -  Planet of Women 242 Alejandro Jodorowsky, Ronald Frangipane & Don Cherry - Pluto (Lute) 243 Alchemist - Brumal - A View From Pluto 244 B 52s - Hallucinating Pluto 245 Charlie Hunter - Astronaut Love Triangle 246 YES - Arriving by UFO 247 Ramones - Zero Zero UFO 248  Jefferson Airplane - Have you seen the saucers 249 saxon - watching the sky 250 Devin Townsend -  Planet smasher 666 Voivod - Moonbeam Rider Hit play: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC18LD_V5saMr7QzWS1Q3VAU6

[ddaengyoonmin]

Out of this world

One shot series *comingsoon*

Theme: What if there was life on other planets? What if those planets just happened to be the ones in our own solar system? What kind of life would live there, and what kind of stories would unfold in the lives of the lifeforms in these strange worlds?

Fluff/Angst/Smut

A/N: Some cliche themes but with a sci-fi twist, as usual I took all of them way too far lmfao

Mercury <- (5.3k.)

Yoongi :

Genre: Enemies to lovers!au

Life on this fickle planet is a constant fight to survive. Temperatures that fluctuate from freezing to burning up in a single day.  Lifeforms on Mercury are built to adjust to the boiling heat of the day but when night comes...and the icy wind blows through the buildings, if you aren’t indoors you’re a goner.   So when your family kicks you out right before nightfall, they had basically left you for dead.  Frantically you run around the streets to get into one of the small heating pods that the city leaves out for emergencies. But, with the rate of homelessness going up in your town, just as you feared, they were all taken.  At the last second as the nightly alarm sounded telling everyone temperatures were about to hit deadly you see an empty pod. At full speed you jump inside and shut the door, unfortunately some rude man jumped in at the same time as you. You both are equally as annoyed with the other for having to share such an already cramped space.  Now you have to spend an entire night alone with this stranger while you wait for the heat to come again.  He's actually pretty cute...maybe this won't be so bad?

Venus

Jin:

Genre: Royalty!au

The capital of Venus is one of the most exquisite sights in all of the galaxy.  Tall crystal castles and buildings line the streets of the city.  They say the streets are made of diamonds and the cars are made of silver.  You’d always wanted to see it for yourself.  But, common citizens had never been allowed to enter the protected dome of the capital.  The small town that you and your family lived in was meant for the poorest citizens in all of Venus. You were tasked to shovel and dig through the ash and volcanic rocks to find gems to sell at a small price to the merchants that visited from the capital.  One day a masked traveling merchant lets you in on a secret. The Prince of Venus was going to be throwing a grand ball in hopes of finding a wife, and it was open to anyone of any nobility.  You had always felt like it was fate for you to see the capital one day, and now you had just the plan for how to make it all happen.

Mars

Jimin

Genre: Romeo/Juliet!au (with a twist)

The planet of war.  The great war between the two tribes of Mars had been going on for generations.  To the point where no one could even remember how it started, all anyone knew was that the Red horned tribe and the Blue horned tribe hated each other with a deadly passion.  You were the daughter of the Chief of the Blues, your family was from a long line of war heroes and leaders, but you could care less about the war.  Your father always seemed to have his horns in a knot about the smallest things that the Red tribe did.  You didn’t even think they were that bad, so what if their horns were a different color, how much different than your own tribe could they be?  You decided to sneak out and go to a party that was being thrown in the Red tribe’s capital.  You convincingly painted your horns red and crept your way in.  There you met the most amazing man you’d ever been acquainted with.  The two of you danced all night and took quite a wild ride between the sheets, so what if he is the son of the Red horn tribes chief?

Saturn/Titan

Jungkook

(If you haven’t seen the movie timer this was slightly based on it, worth the watch)

Genre: Soulmate!au

The way love worked on Titan was strange.  Everyone was born with a glowing tattoo on the inside of their wrist that always read --:--:-- .  On each person’s 13th birthday the clock would start.  It was a countdown to the day you’d meet your soulmate.  Some were told they wouldn’t meet them until they were old and gray, and some met them that week!  When yours activated it had read 08:22:20 which meant 8 years, 22 days and 20 minutes, you’d always been so excited and counting down the days until you met the love of your life.  Today it read 00:00:59.  You were an hour from meeting your soulmate, and were sitting cold, damp, and  handcuffed and on the floor.  You’d been kidnapped off your planet in a spaceship a few hours ago while you were walking around town, hoping that was how’d you’d bump into your soulmate.  You find yourself begging that he’s the hero that rescues you, and not the mastermind behind this terror...

Jupiter/Callisto

Namjoon

Genre: Hate sex

The famous races of Callisto...may the best pilot win! Unfortunately it wasn’t you.  You’d flown all the way from another galaxy with your best ship in hopes of winning the grand annual race hosted on this moon.  You lost to a brand new pilot, a native of Callisto and a member of the giant race named Namjoon who was a bit too cocky but lived up to it.  As the rules went, the winner gets to take all the spaceships of the losing racers for his own.  But you didn’t plan on letting your favorite ship go that easily.  You tracked down the towering 12 foot giant and told him you’d be getting your ship back one way or another.  With a mischievous look down at you, he decided to let you get your ship back...but only for something else in return. He had the perfect thing in mind, he was looking right at it.

Uranus/Oberon

Hoseok

Genre: Android!au

On your way back to your home planet, your ship malfunctions and crashes on to the moon Oberon.  It was a desolate and empty planet.  Or so you’d thought.   While searching around for food and water you happened upon a small shack with a powered off and rusted android inside.  You looked around and saw that no one had been here in many years.  The poor android seemed abandoned and alone, and you were starting to know the feeling, as none of your distress calls were being answered.  Since he wasn’t made up of any parts that you could salvage to repair your ship and you had plenty of time on your hands, you figured you’d fix him up. After some tweaking and remodeling he was now the most lifelike android you’d ever seen.  You powered him on, not sure what to expect.  His eyes were now lighting up and the quiet whirring of the mechanisms that powered him moving. The first words you heard were “Hello owner, I’m Hoseok5.0 the love companion bot, here to serve you in any way you need” That was not quite what you had been expecting.

Neptune <- 16k

Taehyung

Genre: Mermaid!au

No one with legs lived on the surface of Neptune, walkers such as yourself lived on the moons.  The spacecrafts that you traveled in constantly moved to and from all of the different moons, but  no one ever went down to the surface.  That's where the swimmers lived.  You’d heard the stories of the fishtailed people that swam in the great sea below the moons, some called them mermaids.  But no one had ever actually seen one before, well, until now.  You and the scientific research team that you had gathered together had built the first spaceship in your people’s history that could go into the waters below.  You’d figured you’d snap a few pictures and return within the month, but things didn’t go as planned.  Your ship was captured by the swimmers and they seemed just as in awe at you and your team as you were with them.   They decided to let you go but only on the condition that you to bring their leading scientist back up to the moons with you, so you could learn from each other.  You learn quite a bit from Taehyung and he from you, in particular, your anatomy seemed to be his favorite subject...

[crushedbyhyperbole]

Beyond Broken - Chapter One

Summary:  Thor struggles with his failure after losing The Infinity War to Thanos.  He spirals into depression, leaving both The Avengers and his Asgardian kin behind.  He is unable to cope with the scale of his loss so he seeks solitude in a small seaside town in Connecticut, where no one recognised him.  There he meets a woman (Jess) who has also lost everything.  Their connection leads to happiness but something looms on the horizon and threatens everything Thor holds dear.  Just as night is to day, light follows darkness, but as the couple learns in an all-too-bitter twist of fate, darkness comes right back around again to finish the job.

Famdom:  MCU, Thor, Avengers

Words:  30k WIP

Warnings:  Survivor’s guilt, depression, self-loathing, angst, sexual content (explicit and fluffy), mild/hinted homophobia directed to secondary character, violence of the canon-typical variety, bit of stalking, and probably some bad language (as standard).

A/N:  This is the first MCU fic I ever started writing, and I hope to do the characters justice.  It’s an angsty tale with feels but it’s likely to have an unhappy ending, so you have been warned.  There are spoilers for Endgame in here for those who still haven’t seen it, and eventually the story will come to be an alternate plot for Endgame. Once again, it’s going to be dark at the end, but there are other universes than these and this is but one of the fourteen million possible endings spoken of by Dr Strange in Infinity War ;)

For more chapters see my Thor Odinson Mobile Masterlist

The Life of Jessica Walker

It had been ten months to the day when a once happy-go-lucky girl lost her whole world.  Jess Walker remembered that day as if it were only yesterday. Each day since had felt the same; hollow, broken, desperate.  The emptiness was ravenous.  It engulfed and ravaged, sapping all but the bleakest of emotion from her.  Ten months without him.

Will Tanner had been the love of her life.  He’d been with her through the loss of her father and then, soon after, the loss of her mother.  They’d made a life together.  Had a nice house in New London.  Good jobs. Pet iguana.  Holidays around the world.  And an engagement ring with an open-ended shelf-life; they’d been married in every way other than the piece of paper that confirmed their status.  Eight years of love and commitment lost in a finger snap.

She’d awoken that morning to the blaring ringer of the bedside telephone.  Groggily she’d answered to a hysterical David, Will’s younger brother.

“Jess.  It’s David.  I need Will.  Mom’s gone.”

Confused and still shrouded in the slovenliness of sleep, it took her a while to realise that David was saying that their mother had passed away.

“Oh my god!”  She gasped, tears instantly springing to her eyes. Turning quickly on the bed to rouse Will she saw he was not there.  “Hold on, he must be in the bathroom.”  She said to David before calling for Will to come to the phone.

There was no response.

She shuffled out of bed quickly, taking the cordless phone with her out into the hall.  The bathroom door was open and the light was off. None of the lights were on.  Had Will stepped out for a walk or to get some breakfast takeaway.  The clock said 9.15am.  Shit!  They were late for work.

“David, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what to say.”  Jess returned to their bedroom.  Will’s suit hung on the wardrobe door where he’d put it the night before, ready for work. “He’s not here.  Let me try his cell and call you back.”

David sobbed as she hung up without waiting on a reply.

Jess had been frantic after ringing Will’s personal and work phones to find them both in his briefcase. She’d scoured the counters and bedside units for a note he may have left.  It was then that she noticed the dust.  It was all over their bed, under the covers, swirling in the air as she moved the blankets.

What in God’s name was going on?  Maybe Will had somehow heard the news of his mother and left in a hurry, but both sets of car keys were still on their hooks.  Her panic increased.

It wasn’t until later, after an hour of stressing and crying, consoling David, speaking to friends and co-workers that she finally understood what had happened.  There’d been some kind of alien attack and half of the population had been disintegrated.  She didn’t know the ins and outs, she never kept up with the news because it was depressing but she turned the TV on now to see all channels reporting the horrors that had happened in the night.

Numb, and with the heavy lump of despair sitting in her chest, she stared but didn’t really see the TV as the news caster described the events.

They were saying the effect was world-wide, fifty percent of all life on earth, at random, all gone, turned to dust.  And her William had been one, his mother too.  Her friends and co-workers also, she’d not gotten responses from some, had they been vanished as well?  And Iggy? She looked over to the large vivarium but that too was empty.

She sobbed again, even their pet was gone, she truly had nothing left of their life save material possessions and memories.  She was alone.

Ten months on she still felt the pain of loss but she knew Will would not have wanted her to spin out in a downward cycle of despair and depression.  In some ways the world had moved on, in others it was impossible to fully accept the catastrophic changes.  Jess continued to work as a Dentist, she was lucky that the practice had not folded like so many other businesses, although she was just going through the motions each day.  It was difficult to plug away day in day out when you knew life could be sucked away in the blink of an eye.

Ever since that first day, she’d been as supportive to David as possible.  He took it very hard, losing mother and brother in the same day.  It gave her peace to know that she could help them; David and William Sr. were the last ties she had to the life she’d thought she had secured.  She’d found a purpose in this new world of broken things.

Jess finished at the practice and gathered her things to meet David.  The sky was overburdened with ominous dark clouds and the air was thick with the tension of an oncoming storm.  She walked the three blocks to the little coffee shop on Neptune where she and David met five days a week.  He was waiting for her outside with a cup of her favourite tiramisu hot chocolate, a genuinely warm smile, a soft kiss on her cheek and a yappy Papillon called Daisy Duke.

“It’s nice to see the weather has changed.”  She raised a sarcastic eyebrow, accepting the warmth of the paper cup in both hands. It had been weeks since she’d seen the sun.  She sipped and sighed.  “How are you?”

Today was Tuesday, the first day in her David support week.  Sundays and Mondays she had to herself, but Tuesdays were usually his worst. They walked towards the park.

“Not good.”  He shook his head, hunching his shoulders against the chill carried off the ocean by a strengthening wind.  “Dad’s pretty demanding, I can’t deal with his disappointment.  It’s like, even now, he can’t accept that his other son died and to treasure the one he has left.  To him, the wrong son died.  It’s crippling me, Jess.  You don’t even see it!  He acts differently when you’re there.”

“It’s hard for you both, you’ve lost so much.”  She gave him a reassuring squeeze on the forearm.  “Is he still going to that support group for survivors of Disintegration Day?”

“Yeah, he is.”  David looked at the ground.

“Well that’s great! That should help him loads.”  Jess beamed, her enthusiasm dropping away when she saw the look on his face.  “Why do I get the feeling that it’s not though?”

They crossed the street to Ocean Beach Park where David let Daisy off her leash.  The sky had darkened further with the downward progression of the obstructed sun and the thickening of the clouds.  He kicked pebbles as they walked the paths of the park.

“I dunno, Jess.” David sighed, defeated.  “He’s great when he’s getting ready to go out. Sunday afternoons are nice.  He’s chipper, you know?  Almost happy.  He goes to group in the early evening and it’s like he’s how he used to be when mom…” He swallowed hard.  “But then he comes home, sees me and it’s like he’s disgusted.  Like maybe he knows.  But I’ve been so careful.  I dunno what to do anymore.”

She drew him into a hug and squeezed him tight.  His arms tightened around her back as he sniffed into the shoulder of her jacket. Jess once thought, if she closed her eyes, it almost felt like holding Will again.  After all, they were the same height and build, slim and lean. She knew then, just as she knew now, that she couldn’t ever go down that road, no matter how much she wanted to keep Will alive it could only be in her heart.

“It’s not you.”  She crooned.  “You’re only trying to be happy, David.  No one can blame you for seeking something bright in times as dark as these.”

“I know.”  He nodded, pulling away.

“You’ll feel better once you’ve blown off some steam and that hot man of yours.”  She wiggled her eyebrows comically, grinning the goofiest smile she could muster.

Her reward was a genuinely abashed laugh that burst from him involuntarily.  It both soothed and pained her heart.  He reminded her so much of Will sometimes it nearly killed her.

“You’re terrible!” The blush suited him.  He stuffed his hands into his pockets and settled into a slow walk at her side.  “So what’s new with you since I saw you on Saturday?”

“Oh nothing much, you know me.  Same shit, different day.”  It was easier for him if she didn’t burden him with her feelings.  She knew he struggled enough with his own issues, and for the time being she was coping.   The mantra I can do this chanted over and over in her head each morning seemed to work enough to get her moving, and once she had momentum it was easier to follow it through the day.

At seven o’clock on the dot his phone rang.

“Got to go.”  He handed her the leash.  Daisy was still sniffing around the shrubberies and grasses nearby.  “I’ll meet you back at Neptune’s at ten?”

“Yep, the usual.”  She offered him a weak smile.

“Thanks so much for continuing to do this, Jess.  I dunno what I’d do without you.”  He grinned and dashed off in the direction of amazing sex and short-lived happiness.

It wasn’t that Jess resented being David’s wingman, so to speak, or that he was essentially living a lie. She didn’t even mind that she’d put everything else in her life on hold to be his anchor, or that five days a week she was out in the cold being a dog-sitter.  It was that he’d made no effort to help himself.  No counselling, no psychiatrist, nothing but her; he’d latched onto her almost immediately and she’d gone with it.  She wasn’t exactly one to talk about self-help, mind you, she’d gone to therapy two, three, and four months after Disintegration Day. She’d got to a point where she couldn’t see past the emotions she had, couldn’t see anything else for herself and she’d accepted that as her reality.  Accepted this as her life now.

Daisy came back with a stick, which she threw for the dog again and again.  She seemed to have boundless energy and be completely care free. Jess wished she could feel the same but the sickness of loss had settled too deep, so deep in fact, that she thought she’d never feel any different.  But that was all on the inside, and she covered it over with a warm smile and a bright disposition.  Smile even when the inside is nothing but ash.

Walking the boardwalk with the wind buffeting her hair into a wild mess, Jess was alone.  It was well after nine, all of the people had left save for a few coming and going from a gym up at the top of the park.  She’d been strolling and playing with Daisy for hours, thankfully the dog loved her so it wasn’t a hardship.

Jess hummed a tune into the wind as she walked, it was the most peaceful she felt on any given day. Just her, the ocean, the briny air, the sting of the wind on her cheeks and in her eyes.  The tears that welled up could have been attributed to the blustering wind but they weren’t.  When they fell hot on her cheeks and chilled instantly she swiped them away with her jacket sleeve.  She’d cried enough.  The next droplet to land wasn’t a tear.  The rain had begun.

Urging herself forward she picked up her pace, heading back to the café before the rain became a deluge. Ahead there was a man sat on one of the benches.  The lamp above illuminated his large form, hunched over, elbows resting on his knees. He wore a grey jersey hoodie with the hood up, grey jogging pants and a pair of running shoes.  The peak of a baseball cap poked from under his hood.

The rain had darkened his clothing over his head, shoulders and the tops of his thighs already, and he showed no sign of moving.  As she passed she felt a jolt of fear.  Muggings were rare in New London, but there were still those who sought a thrill in harming or terrorising defenceless women.  She wasn’t exactly defenceless.  She clasped the can of mace in her pocket tightly until she felt safe. The man hadn’t even looked up at her as she’d passed and several glances behind her told her what she needed to know; through sheets of slanting rain he sat there alone, unmoving.

David was apologetic and late.  The barista in Neptune’s had patiently allowed her to remain in the shop even after ten o’clock closing on account of the rain.  He accepted his, now cold, latte with pleading eyes.  A large hickey low on his neck told her that he’d well and truly enjoyed the unplanned overtime on his secret tryst.

With Daisy stuffed inside his jacket they ran the three blocks back to the practice.  In the underground parking garage David babbled about how amazing Silas was, how in love they were, how he wished they could just run away together.

Jess nodded and ahhh’d in all the right places, listening to the happiness bubbling out of him.  It was nice to see him smiling for more than a brief second.  Something must have really happened tonight to make him this excited, but she didn’t pry, he’d tell her eventually, he always did.

Home alone Jess flopped onto the cream leather couch still in her wet coat, where she fell into a troubled sleep.

The rest of the week things panned out in much the same way.  The storm that had blown in on Tuesday night was gone by Wednesday morning only to return again on Wednesday night, Thursday night and also Friday night. By the time she got home on Friday Jess had taken the hint and packed a long waterproof ponceau and some knee-high boots into the trunk of her car, for next time.

David had been late every day that week, leaving her waiting in the rain when the Neptune’s staff had inevitably had to leave at well after eleven o’clock.  Jess had been less than impressed with him, it had felt disrespectful. She soon felt guilty for being annoyed with him, and her frustration hadn’t lasted long.

Each night, on her walk along the boardwalk she had encountered the ‘lonely man’, as she internally named him.  It was as if he sat awaiting the rain, watching as the sky blackened and the air filled with cascading torrents.

On Friday the park emptied earlier than usual, the regularity of the rain driving people away back to their homes.  Jess had no such luck, having to wait on David and his booty call.

“Don’t be bitter.” She muttered to herself.  “He’s happy.”

She’d paused midway along the wooden decked walkway, watching the last of the light die, shrouding the rolling clouds in night.

A noise behind her made her jump.  The lonely man sat on his usual seat, in his grey hoody and jogging pants.  Maybe her talking to herself had disturbed him, maybe her presence distracted him from his meditations, but he looked at Jess with one piercing blue eye. The other was in shadow under his hood.

Daisy was pulling on her leash to go sniff the man.  He didn’t seem phased at all, or indeed amused by all the huffing and puffing the little dog was doing, straining to get closer.  He was stoic, troubled even, obviously wanting solitude.  She could relate.

“Don’t mind us.”  Jess offered a quick smile and a nod before scooping the dog up in her arms and turning back to the waves crashing on the beach.

Half past nine came and there was no rain.  Thunder grumbled in the distance but the sky did not weep.  Jess could almost feel the electricity in the air.  When this storm came it was going to be massive.

AC/DC Back in Black played from her pocket, shocking her out of her daze enough that she nearly dropped the dog over the railing onto the sand.  Fumbling for her phone she swore bitterly.

“Hello, David is everything alright?”

“It’s ten, where are you?” He sounded stressed.

“Still down by the beach, I lost track of time.”

“Seriously?”

“Oh I’m sorry, am I keeping you waiting this time?  Shoe’s on the other foot is it?  At least it’s not raining.”  She snapped.

“Ok I deserve that. Where are you, I’ll come down?”

“I’m by marker twelve. See you in a few.”  She stuffed the phone back into her pocket and repositioned the dog in the cradle of her arms.

David approached at a jog, breathless when he arrived, planting a hasty kiss on her cheek before accepting Daisy into his own embrace.

“I was worried.”  He said with gravity.

“You don’t get to lecture me on punctuality, David, you kept me waiting for hours in the rain three nights in a row.”  Jess let her annoyance flow into her tone.

“I said I was sorry!” He pushed back.

“Yeah, let’s just go.”

Jess turned to leave. The lonely man met her gaze with an amused half-smile, he acknowledged her with a slow blink and a nod.  She returned the gesture and looped her hand through David’s arm as they left.  Part way up the pathway lightning crackled its way across the sky and thunder boomed gun-shot loud overhead.  There was a pregnant pause, a long sighing sound of rain rushing over water and sand, before the curtain closed around them and they were soaked.

Jess glanced back at the lonely man.  He occupied her spot at the railing, his hood down now and face up turned to the sky. There was beauty in the sadness displayed there, in the way he sought to connect with something bigger than himself, maybe the rain washed away that which he wished to be free of.

They hurried to the car and were silent on the drive to drop David at home. Jess packed waterproofs in her trunk before turning in for the night.  Her bed just didn’t feel right, almost like it had those first weeks without Will.  She tossed and turned fitfully late into the night.  Sleep was just beyond reach.

[sir-gaylahad-of-the-round-table]

Liberation

*A tale inspired by my favorite song, Neptune, by the great queen S.J. Tucker*

I was born far in the depths, where men ne’er dived.

There was no light, but our spirits shined brighter than that star the race of land walkers have named the sun.

My tribe was and is unknown to your people, though we are akin to the selkies and fair merrows.

We are born with two layers of flesh, one being scaled and gilled, the other that of mortal kind.

As we rise closer and closer to the surface of the water, our scales fall away and find become legs.

In that first home of mine I was a great queen, dearly beloved by the chief of my people.

Time moves differently in the water. He had me only for two years, but it seemed to be a multitude of centuries.

We were unconquerable. Nothing could challenge us; not our being or our love. The wild beasts who hunted us for sport never hated their teeth when we two swam side by side. The chaos of the storms could not churn our waters.

We were immortal. We could have lived on love alone.

I was his goddess and I worshipped him as my lord of the sea.

But ever did the land beg for my spirit to merge with hers.

The muddied earth and rough hewn stones beckoned, sang a song more luring than any siren.

Too often would I abandon that solace we knew in our dark world and swim forth to the shoreline, where my blind eyes became seeing, and I became flesh.

At least in that secret space of my mind. My body lingered ever at his side, but my soul basked in the sunlight more often than even I cared to admit.

I grew restless. And as I grew restless so too did my dear love. Yet as I longed for the mountainous rugged, his soul sang for an even colder depth.

So as we grew restless, we grew fearful.

As we grew fearful, I grew vicious.

My teeth sharpened as blades and cut swiftly at the sturdy ropes of our heart strings.

Never was I able to sever them entirely, but they had frayed well enough that I could journey to the shore with no shame nor guilt...

As I washed up, naked and tired, thrown onto the sands of humanity, my heart was weary enough that I slept for forty days and nights.

In that time I thought I was dead.

In that time I prayed for death...

But I did not die.

I awakened to a world more cold and dark than even that region of sea where no wise man would dare tread.

My homeland was smooth and pristine. This world was grit and sharp edges and the stinking air of civilization.

I clothed myself in the stolen dress of strangers.

I lived,

If you may call it that,

In a cave where the tide could be heard.

I held close the fish skin which would lend me transport if so I desired, but I knew that holy place would never be home again, could never be home again.

I wept salt tears and let them fall to the ocean floor. I know their taste reacht the lips of my lost love...but never did he call for me.

Color was both blessing and bane. After years of lightless black, shades of green and yellow were my only comfort. Yet my mother the sea was as sorrowful a blue as my own soul. It seemed a mockery of my suffering. How could I have expected happiness to last in so...beautiful and terrible and vast?

I was taken in by a kindly family of Fisher folk. A young lad of their brood has heard tale of the wailing woman and in youthful exuberance sought her out.

The townsfolk believed me a ghost, ever crying for her husband the sailor, who died at the cliffs not far from their humble village.

The details were incorrect, but truly in that time I was a ghost and no more.

The family thought me simple, or perhaps injured. Their wealth was fine enough to support this strange woman who had gleaned only a portion of their language, yet seemed sane enough.

I was taught the English language by the children; I learned alongside them. Their mother ‘reminded’ me of the instruction of humble household tasks.

I proved myself far more intelligent and useful than any expected.

The eldest son took a great liking to me. Upon glancing at my mortal form in their cracked mirrors I could understand.

All wise men love broken things, and I was as broken as their mirrors leaving new trails of powdered glass at their edge each day. It shone in my eyes.

We were wed when it was apparent that I was indeed quite alright and far from a burdensome simpleton.

There was no love in my spirit for him; well, perhaps a small amount, no more than the live born of gratitude and first human bonding.

Our marriage was a move of security. He was of proper marrying age, and by the crude standards of his prudish people, I was well overdue for matrimony.

All was well, if passionless...until he found the scaled skin I had never brought myself to part with.

He was enraged...he was empathetic...he was loving...he was terrifying.

This was not the only secret I had kept for all the years it took for me to win my humanity and grow my marriage to this kind boy with humble heart...I still wept into the sea.

When time held me not captive, when most mortal folk had laid their tired bones abed, I crept away by nothing but moonlight and sent my deepest regret to my king of the deep.

Earth had never proven to me to be as grand a mistress as she had claimed when never I had set foot upon her soil. I would not pretend as such, and though I held affection in my heart for the Fisher boy, nothing could ever compare to what lingered in my memory and my shame.

As my husband spoke to me of his discovery, of his deep pity for me, something within myself was transformed. I had carried a piece of home with me always, a coating of shell around my form. This shattered.

I pierced his eyes with my own, tears falling like rivers from the sides, and laid my lips to his with more sincerity than e’er before...

That night, beneath the watchful eyes of distant stars and the heartless gaze of sister moon, he lit a fire. I threw within it my first skin and watched as I burned and charred.

The tide swept away the ash.

Still never did I hear my sweet Neptune’s call.

I’m ashamed to say that even now part of me longs to hear it...

Now I sit in a mountain home, far from the shoreline, clutching the hand of the man I’ve come to love as dear as my own flesh. Our hearth burns with sweet scented cherry wood, and our children dream in the loft above us.

I know my affliction has not evaded my dearest daughter. The folk here have said since the day she was born with a veil covering her face that she must be one of the fey.

I catch her playing at magic in the ponds on occasion. Her second skin has not grown yet, but when it does I know I have many questions to answer.

I pray to be strong enough to admit to the truth, and to lie and say that thin air can ever be as sweet as the waves once you have tasted them....

[darkestwings]

2017 TBR Shame Book Tag

I saw a post for this on the ThriceRead blog and suddenly had the urge to shame myself. Which works well because I also intend to participate in the 2017 Mount TBR Challenge and this would make a handy list for that as well.

The gist of it is, these are the books currently on my shelves that I still haven't gotten around to reading! (I won't be counting the few books I started and gave up on for whatever reason.)

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews

Wolfcry (The Kiesha'ra, book 4) by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Wyvernhail (The Kiesha'ra, book 5) by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

The Juvenilia of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte by Jane Austen & Charlotte Bronte

Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon by Jane Austen

Anything Goes by John Barrowman

Papa's Wife (The Franzons, book 1) by Thyra Ferre Bjorn

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown

Evelina by Frances Burney

Thank Heaven: A Memoir by Leslie Caron

The Girl of Fire and Thorns Stories (Girl of Fire and Thorns Novella) by Rae Carson

Graceling (Graceling Realm, book 1) by Kristin Cashore

The Adventures of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Postcards from No Man's Land by Aidan Chambers

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

The Joker is Wild by Art Cohn

They Never Came Back by Caroline B. Cooney

And Furthermore by Judi Dench

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

Eva by Peter Dickinson

The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas

The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday

Seven Tears into the Sea by Terri Farley

The House of the Scorpion (Matteo Alacran, book 1) by Nancy Farmer

Darkhenge by Catherine Fisher

Incarceron (Incarceron, book 1) by Cathrine Fisher

Sapphique (Incarceron, book 2) by Catherine Fisher

Midnight Blue by Pauline Fisk

The Ruins of Gorlan (The Ranger's Apprentice, book 1) by John Flanagan

The Burning Bridge (The Ranger's Apprentice, book 2) by John Flanagan

The Icebound Land (The Ranger's Apprentice, book 3) by John Flanagan

The Battle for Skandia (The Ranger's Apprentice, book 4) by John Flanagan

The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

Lies (Gone, book 3) by Michael Grant

Plague (Gone, book 4) by Michael Grant

Fear (Gone, book 5) by Michael Grant

Light (Gone, book 6) by Michael Grant

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt

Gifts (Annals of the Western Shore #1) by Ursula K. Le Guin

Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix

101 Things You Didn't Know About Jane Austen: The Truth About the World's Most Intriguing Romantic Literary Heroine by Patrice Hannon

The Making of the Wizard of Oz by Aljean Harmetz

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

My Life in Three Acts by Helen Hayes

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins

The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer Trilogy, book 2) by Michelle Hodkin

Kissinger: A Biography by Walter Isaacson

Touched (Sense Thieves, book 1) by Corrine Jackson

The Opposite of Hallelujah by Anna Jarzab

Surrender (Possession, book 2) by Elana Johnson

Need (Need, book 1) by Carrie Jones

The Exchange by Graham Joyce

The Word Museum: The Most Remarkable English Words Ever Forgotten by Jeffrey Kacirk

At Home in Mitford (The Mitford Years, book 1) by Jan Karon

A Light in the Window (The Mitford Years, book 2) by Jan Karon

A New Song (The Mitford Years, book 5) by Jan Karon

A Common Life: The Wedding Story (The Mitford Years, book 6) by Jan Karon

In This Mountain (The Mitford Years, book 7) by Jan Karon

Shepherds Abiding: A Mitford Christmas Novel (The Mitford Years, book 8) by Jan Karon

Light from Heaven (The Mitford Years, book 9) by Jan Karon

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Ophelia by Lisa Klein

Wildefire (Wildefire, book 1) by Karsten Knight

Dreamhunter (Dreamhunter Duet, Book 1) by Elizabeth Knox

Dreamquake (Dreamhunter Duet, book 2) by Elizabeth Knox

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen

The Oxford Book of Royal Anecdotes by Elizabeth Longford

Out of Control by Mark Lowry

Allan Pinkerton: The First Private Eye by James Mackay

Uninvited by Amanda Marrone

Stories I Couldn't Tell While I Was a Pastor by Bruce McIver

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Dead to You by Lisa McMann

Gone (Dream Catcher, book 3) by Lisa McMann

Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara

The Secret Service: The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency by Philip H. Melanson

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Her Husband: Hughes and Plath, a Marriage by Diane Middlebrook

Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology by Cory O'Brien

Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle, book 4) by Christopher Paolini

Hangman's Curse (The Veritas Project, book 1) by Frank Peretti

The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult

The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language by Steven Pinker

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Steven Pinker

Starters (Starters, book 1) by Lissa Price

Siren (Siren, book 1) by Tricia Rayburn

A Place to Grow: Women in the American West by Glenda Riley

The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, book 1) by Rick Riordan

The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus, book 2) by Rick Riordan

On My Own: The Years Since The White House by Eleanor Roosevelt

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

Lady Bird: A Biography of Mrs. Johnson by Jan Jarboe Russell

Glow (Sky Chasers, book 1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan

The Dead-Tossed Waves (Forest of Hands and Teeth, book 2) by Carrie Ryan

Vesper (Deviants, book 1) by Jeff Sampson

Doctor Who: Who-ology by Cavan Scott, Mark Wright

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Miracle by Elizabeth Scott

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

King Lear by William Shakespeare

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

A Paradise Called Texas by Janice Shefelman

The Safe-Keeper's Secret (Safe-Keepers, book 1) by Sharon Shinn

The Dream-Maker's Magic (Safe-Keepers, book 3) by Sharon Shinn

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Undone by Brooke Taylor

Doctor Who FAQ: All Thats Left to Know About the Most Famous Time Lord in the Universe by Dave Thompson

Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

Exposed by Susan Vaught

A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian

Orfe by Cynthia Voigt

Burnout by Adrienne Maria Vrettos

Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Taylor by Alexander Walker

Where the Truth Lies by Jessica Warman

Partials (Partials Sequence, book 1) by Dan Wells

Fragments (Partials Sequence, book 2) by Dan Wells

Peeps (Peeps, book 1) by Scott Westerfeld

The Last Days (Peeps, book 2) by Scott Westerfeld

The Secret Hour (Midnighters, book 1) by Scott Westerfeld

Touching Darkness (Midnighters, book 2) by Scott Westerfeld

Blue Noon (Midnighters, book 3) by Scott Westerfeld

A Certain Slant of Light (Light, book 1) by Laura Whitcomb

Sandpiper by Ellen Wittlinger

Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate by Bob Woodward

All These Lives by Sarah Wylie

Blood Red Road (Dust Lands, book 1) by Moira Young

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Personal and Public Life by J. William T. Youngs

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

What's Left of Me (The Hybrid Chronicles, book 1) by Kat Zhang

Prophecy of the Sisters (Prophecy of the Sisters Trilogy, book 1) by Michelle Zink

Dylan Thomas: A Collection of Critical Essays

Total: 141 books unread of 441 books owned!

Have you read any of the books on this list? Let me know what you thought of them, please!

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[investmart007]

NEW YORK | Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer lead New York's Mermaid Parade

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/TtdDKG

NEW YORK | Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer lead New York's Mermaid Parade

NEW YORK (AP) — Throngs of people dressed as mermaids, fish and other aquatic creatures packed New York’s Coney Island on Saturday for a sun-soaked edition of the zany Mermaid Parade.

Crowds cheered as Neil Gaiman, the author of fantasy works such as “American Gods,” and his wife Amanda Palmer, a musician with the Dresden Dolls duo, led the parade dressed as King Neptune and Queen Mermaid.

The couple and their 2-year-old son were wheeled along the beachfront route in a wicker chair, taking in the colorful scenery that included everyone from a princess mermaid to a pirate zombie.

“We absolutely love mermaids and mythology and everything and this is like the most fun,” said parade-goer Carley Boltz. “We just get to go once a year and just dress up and have a blast.”

Cindy Lopez’s princess mermaid mashup was complete with a tail that she planned to take for a dip in the ocean. Sean Marz wore sequins, an algae crown and sea shells covering his skivvies.

“There’s a lot of shimmering objects pasted to my body,” he said.

The Mermaid Parade was founded in 1983 to bring mythology to life and give New Yorkers a chance to express themselves in public.

It draws hundreds of thousands of revelers to the beach each year.

By JULIE WALKER  By Associated Press

[chrancecriber]

Antenne Vorarlberg Chillout Lounge (July 03, 2023)

23:57 Armin Van Buuren & Avira Feat. Sam Martin - Mask 23:55 Above & Beyond - Quieter Is Louder (Original Mix) 23:51 Gitano & Deep Josh Feat. Koo - Residence Lounge 23:48 Ofenbach & Ella Henderson - Hurricane 23:46 Trinix & Ian Urbina - Bad Things 23:40 Nora En Pure - Polynesia (Extended Mix) 23:36 Nora En Pure & Lika Morgan - In The Air Tonight (Sons Of Maria Remix) 23:33 Sons Of Maria - Elevate 23:27 Alejandro De Pinedo - Cancer 23:24 Daniel Steidtmann - Pigeon Lake 23:22 Troels Hammer - Azur 23:19 Mount & Emdey - Venus 23:16 Nora Van Elken - Honshu 23:12 Emmit Fenn - Blinded 23:09 Ck West - Aldebaran 2021 23:05 Blank & Jones - Sunshines Better (Feat. Mick Roach) 23:00 Thievery Corporation - It Takes A Thief 22:57 Together Alone - Let Go 22:54 Schiller - Once Upon A Time (Cahill Remix) 22:47 Cell - Idea Spiral (Ozora Festival 2011 Live Edit) 22:44 Vize & Tom Gregory - Never Let Me Down 22:41 Klingande, Wrabel - Big Love 22:38 Nancy Sinatra - Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) 22:35 Gamper & Dadoni - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! 22:30 Lux - Secret Fish 22:26 Passenger 10 - Voices In Her Head 22:20 Dreamerproject - Horizons (Glenn Main Remix) 22:13 Nora En Pure - Birthright (Club Mix) 22:10 Alan Walker X Hans Zimmer - Time (Alan Walker Remix) 22:07 Paul Oakenfold, Bolier, Luis Fonsi - The World Can Wait (Bolier Remix) 22:04 Mike Perry Feat. Shy Martin - The Ocean 22:00 Brendon Moeller - Emerging 21:55 Tinlicker Feat. Nathan Nicholson - Always Will 21:52 Melosense - Polarization (Original Mix) 21:47 Schiller - White Nights (Don't Let Me Go) 21:44 Bernward Koch - Lonely Dream (Solo Piano) 21:38 Mollono.bass, Ava Asante - Feeling Good 21:36 Tiësto & Karol G - Don't Be Shy 21:30 Mm Project - Sand 21:23 Monolink - Don't Hold Back 21:21 Luca Schreiner Feat. Johnny Chicago - Its All Gonna Be Good (Junge Junge Edit) 21:16 Lamb - Gabriel 21:12 Arden - Open 21:04 Doyeq & Jay Medvedeva - Break Into My Walls (Armen Miran & Hraach Remix) 20:59 Oliver Koletzki - A Tribe Called Kotori 20:56 Lizot - Daddy Cool 20:52 Nora En Pure - Epiphany 20:49 Sam Feldt - Show Me Love (Original Mix) 20:46 Consoul Trainin Feat. Steven Aderinto & Duoviolins - Obsession 20:43 Robin Schulz Feat. Alida - In Your Eyes 20:39 Sanavé - Deja Morinor 20:36 Magnofield - Lupino 20:29 The Orb - A Beautiful Day 20:26 Cotone - Faded Glory 20:24 Meduza Feat. Goodboys - Piece Of Your Heart 20:18 8000below - Turnaround 20:15 Tomas Skyldeberg - Outside The Window 20:10 Valante - Rissa 20:05 Kinobe - Lotus Eater 20:01 Eli & Fur - Come Back Around 19:56 Mike Candys & Jack Holiday - La Serenissima 19:53 Blank & Jones - Flaming June 19:45 Kygo - Freeze 19:42 Nora En Pure - Wetlands 19:37 Loui & Scibi Feat. Nuwella - Your Love (Ian Tosel Remix) 19:32 Eelke Kleijn - Woodstock 19:25 Menachem 26 - Hal (Anatolian Sessions Remix) 19:22 Lucas Estrada & Henri Purnell & Neimy - In My Fantasy 19:19 Avaion X Vize X Leony - Pieces 19:16 Sting - Cool Breeze 19:08 True & Berger - Imprint Of Pleasure 19:02 Bay Area - Dolphin Rider (Pianodreamsession) 18:55 Tom Odell - Another Love (Zwette Edit) 18:52 Sneaker Pimps - 6 Underground 18:43 Super Flu - Mygut (Solomun Remix) 18:37 Coastline - Adriatic Sea (Milews Remix) 18:34 Undressd - Forever Young 18:30 Arty Feat. Cimo Fränkel - Daydreams (Sultan Shepard Echoes) 18:26 Blank & Jones - Grown Minds 18:24 Chris Avedon - The Letter 18:19 Moby - Extreme Ways (Bourne's Legacy) 18:16 Avaion, Paulwetz, Nu Aspect Feat. Yuma - Sleepless 18:05 Cell - Above The Clouds (Live Version) 18:01 Karen Ramirez - Looking For Love 17:58 Dennis Kruissen Feat. Liza Flume - Another Soul 17:54 Avira & Kiko Franco Feat. Nathan Nicholson) - Ocean 17:46 Boris Pillmann - Love You 17:43 Dj Antoine & Dead-line - Shout 17:40 Felix Jaehn, Cheat Codes Feat. Bow Anderson - I Just Wanna 17:37 Jan Blomqvist, Elena Pitoulis - More (Original Mix) 17:34 Edx - Neptune 17:29 Cats On Bricks Feat. Zach Alwin - Planes Over Ushuaia 17:23 Depeche Mode - When The Body Speaks 17:21 Mount & Illian - Fool 17:16 Chicane Feat. Bo Bruce - Still With Me 17:12 Lstn - Undecided 17:09 Vize & Alan Walker Feat. Leony - Space Melody (Edward Artemyev) 17:05 Tania Zygar, Sofia Zlatko, Vijay - Wildest Dreams (Extended Mix) 16:59 Rìfìs Du Sol - On My Knees (Oliver Schories Remix) 16:50 Martin Roth - An Analog Guy In A Digital World 16:47 Schiller X Ro Nova X Tricia Mcteague - Illuminate 16:43 Ac Venture - Penang Waltz (Roberto Sol Remix) 16:37 Shkoon Feat. Fruiterama - Napauken 16:31 Morcheeba - Trigger Hippie 16:29 Reece Lemonius, Munich Monstrs - Miss You 16:26 Zoe - C'est La Vie 16:19 Thievery Corporation - The Glass Bead Game 16:16 Blank & Jones Feat. Jan Loechel - Beautiful Life 16:13 Sway Gray Vs. Sal De Sol - Crosses 16:08 Blank & Jones Feat. Zoe Durrant - One Evening (Lofi Selection) 16:04 Tinlicker Feat. Hero Baldwin - Rebirth 15:59 Lenny Ibizarre - Smooth Temptation 15:56 Blank & Jones - Swept Away 15:53 Glockenbach Ft. Clockclock - Brooklyn 15:49 Ypey - Life Time 15:44 Faithless Feat. Nathan Ball & Caleb Femi - I Need Someone 15:42 The Alan Parsons Project - The Turn Of A Friendly Card 15:37 Jazzamor - Way Back 15:35 Sons Of Maria - A Kiss Like This 15:33 Buchs Feat. Nokyo - Cheverolet 15:28 Lovers Lane - Island Memories 15:24 Mike Candys & Jack Holiday - Saltwater (Rework) 15:21 Dynoro Feat. Gigi D'agostino - In My Mind 15:18 Majestic & Boney M. - Rasputin 15:16 Möwe - Bad Intentions 15:09 Phil Mison - Lula 15:06 Nora En Pure - Stop Wasting Time 15:02 Julian Wassermann - Painfully 14:55 Adana Twins - Strange 14:48 Avira & Diana Miro - The Worship (Mark Knight Extended) 14:45 Milk & Sugar Feat. John Paul Young - Love Is In The Air 14:38 Richard Grey - Need Your Lovin (Murjd Remix) 14:34 Purple Disco Machine - Hypnotized 14:32 Lunax & Zana - Gone Tomorrow 14:28 Liberdade - Otra Vida 14:26 Mila Feat. Uwe Worlitzer - Teil Von Mir 14:19 Watermat - Bullit (Original Mix) 14:15 Filous - Let It Snow (Original Mix) 14:11 Passenger 10 - Serving The World 14:08 A-ha - Take On Me (Kygo Remix) 14:04 Junge, Junge Feat. Jamie Hartma - Wicked Hearts 14:01 Nora Van Elken - Interstellar 13:58 Blank & Jones - Fall In Love 13:55 Rosa Linn - Snap 13:51 Sofi Tukker & John Summit - Sun Came Up (Radio) 13:48 The Alan Parsons Project - Mammagamma (Instrumental) 13:45 Raffa Fi - Ritmo 13:38 Jean-michel Jarre - Equinoxe, Pt. 4 13:32 Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing (Kygo Remix) 13:26 Tebra - Suton 13:20 Groovecatcher - Intoxicated 13:16 John Summit & Hayla - Where You Are 13:12 Pretty Pink Feat. Mark V - Don't Dance 13:07 Deep Dive Corp. - Guitaria 13:02 Passenger 10 - The Lonely Boy Who Wanted To Make Friends 12:58 Sound Nomaden - The Morning After 12:55 Kygo Feat. Parson James - Stole The Show 12:52 Mike Candys & Séb Mont - What's On Your Mind 12:48 Nora En Pure - Enchantment 12:41 Heather Nova - Aquamarine 12:38 Sam Feldt & Sam Fischer - Pick Me Up (Vavo Remix) 12:33 Pete Tong & Tale Of Us Feat. Jules Buckley - Time 12:25 Deep Dive Corp. - Bali Hi 12:23 Alok Feat. Alida - Love Again 12:19 Karsten Kiessling Feat. Zach Alwin - Live It Up (Peace, Live And Love Mix ) 12:16 Lucy Neville - Shameless 12:12 Fritz Kalkbrenner - Good Things 12:06 Max Denoise Feat Claire Willis - Bring To Me Life (Original Mix) 12:02 Lstn - Sky & Sand 11:59 Loud Luxury - Cold Feet 11:55 Mila - Herzlos 11:53 Lika Morgan - Ding Dong 11:49 Klangperlenspiel & Puzzls - Kyoto (Wish You'd Move On) 11:43 Schiller - The Future Iii 11:41 Viva La Panda, Finding Molly - Chances 11:38 Tiësto & Ty Dolla $ign - The Business, Pt. Ii 11:33 Tosca - Gute Laune 11:26 John Kah - Carina (Enui Remix) 11:22 Max Johann Feat. Pearl Andersson - Bette Davis Eyes 11:20 Nora Van Elken - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) 11:16 Robert Manos - Silver 11:11 Afterlife - Solstice (Vocal Mix) 11:08 Gibbs & Code X - Close To Your Heart 11:04 Nihoni - After Sun 11:01 Light Of Aidan Feat. Note For A Child - Loving You 10:58 Alle Farben & Fools Garden - Lemon Tree 10:54 Laniia - Fireflies 10:52 Lost Frequencies & Zonderling - Crazy 10:49 Munich Monstrs - Shine 10:47 Carstn, Jason Walker - Could You Love Me (Munich Monstrs Remix) 10:40 Lstn - Sïstër 10:37 Oovee Feat. Alesha Dixon - Higher Love 10:33 Above & Beyond Feat. Justine Suissa - Little Something 10:30 Hagen Feetly - Cry 10:24 Lemongrass - Feel Good 10:20 Gestört Aber Geil & Anna Grey - Thank You 10:15 Tebra - Istok 10:09 Nora En Pure - Tears In Your Eyes (Extended Mix) 10:06 Glockenbach - Dirty Dancing 10:04 Gil Glaze Feat. Dante Thomas - West La 10:01 Crying Robot, Abi F. Jones - Different Sides 09:58 Chaël Feat Kaii - Don't Speak 09:56 Feder & Ofenbach Feat. Dawty Music - Call Me Papi 09:52 Jazzamor - Song For Maggie 09:49 Audax Feat. Ron Caroll - Falling For You 09:42 Faithless - Crazy English Summer (Brothers On High Remix) 09:36 Anrey - The Forgotten (Extended Mix) 09:33 Rita Ora - You Only Love Me 09:30 Serafim Tsotsonis - Small 2 09:24 Good Guy Mikesh Feat. Filburt - Place Of Love (Mp Edit) 09:22 Kamrad - Feel Alive 09:18 Kygo Feat. Valerie Broussard - Think About You 09:15 Fedde Le Grand Feat. Vince Freeman - Devils 09:10 Goa Foundation - (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight 09:04 Alex Cortiz - Enter The Matrix 09:00 Karsten Kiessling Feat. Helin - Fight Like A Lion 08:52 Garlington - Falling To Pieces (Extended Mix) 08:49 Kygo Feat. Kodaline - Raging 08:40 Dino Lenny Feat. Artbat - Sand In Your Shoes 08:35 Rameses B - Never Forget (Original Mix) 08:33 Avian Grays & Azteck - Endlessly 08:29 Klangkarussell And Givven - Follow 08:25 Tiesto - Everything (Acoustic Version) 08:22 Daniel Portman - Sensual Desires 08:17 Eelke Kleijn Feat. Diana Miro - You (Frankey & Sandrino Remix) 08:11 Electribe 101 - Talking With Myself 08:08 Pulsedriver & Tiscore Feat. Anna Grey - We Are 08:06 Carstn & Ten Tonne Skeleton - Safety Dance 08:01 Faithless - Evergreen 07:55 Consolidation Feat. Moguai - Ode To Joy 07:51 Armin Van Buuren & Avira - Illusion (Mixed) 07:44 Hraach - Delirio 07:39 Rìfìs Du Sol - Next To Me 07:35 Calvin Harris & Disciples - How Deep Is Your Love 07:32 Above & Beyond - The Inconsistency Principle 07:29 Nightcall X Henri Purnell Feat. Eke - When The Morning Breaks 07:26 Klingande, Stevie Appleton - Sinner 07:22 Audien - Blue 07:18 Sofi Tukker X Mahmut Orhan - Forgive Me 07:15 Bob Marley - Sun Is Shining 07:12 Iossa, Ken Holland - The Seed Feat. Iossa (Original Mix) 07:09 Dj Antoine Feat. Ablai - My Corazon (Dj Antoine Vs Mad Mark 2k21 Mix) 07:06 Emmit Fenn - Lost In Space 07:03 Sono - Trusting You 06:56 Armen Miran & Hraach - Gravitation 06:53 Norman Feller - Retrospective 06:50 Valerie Dore - The Night (Zyx Edit Remastered 2021) 06:44 Afterlife - Breather 2000 06:41 Blank & Jones - Coastline 06:36 Kid Massive, Yuji Ono, Dtale - Pray (Wolf Krew Remix) 06:33 Clangusar - I Promised Myself 06:30 Hugel - Can't Love Myself (Feat. Mishaal& Lpw) 06:27 Gibbs - Waiting For Lonely 06:22 Jazzamor - Lovin' You 06:19 Blank & Jones Feat. Zoe Durrant - Erase Rewind 06:16 Moby - My Only Love 06:11 Schiller - Mittelerde 06:04 Beyhude - Alabora 06:01 Maxim Lany Feat. Freya Alley - Anymore 05:56 Mind Against, Dyzen - Freedom 05:54 Christopher Von Deylen - She Never Told Him Her Name 05:49 Martin Böttcher - Old-shatterhand-melodie (Orbient Mix) 05:46 Kai Schwarz, Cayus & Yass - My Love Is Your Love 05:43 Hanns Feat. Lu - Chemistry 05:38 De-phazz - Anchorless 05:34 Above & Beyond - Is It Love? (1001) (Original Mix) 05:30 Edx - Vommuli 05:26 Duke Dumont Feat. Jax Jones - I Got U 05:20 Blank & Jones - Coh 05:17 Nora Van Elken - Okinawa 05:11 Tosca - Dave Dudley 05:09 Steve Forest, Te Pai - Never Gonna Give You Up 05:03 Beyhude - Terso 04:56 Kruder & Dorfmeister - Black Baby 04:52 Dvine - Unknown Reality 04:49 Ennio Morricone - L'estasi Dell' Oro 04:43 Sirius & Nyla - Infinity (Remastered Remix) 04:36 Julian Wassermann - People 04:33 El Profesor - Bella Ciao (Hugel Remix) 04:31 Srtw & Mave Feat. Sønlille - Last Train Home 04:28 Fritz Kalkbrenner - Daylight Is Falling 04:24 Kygo & Rita Ora - Carry On 04:20 Above & Beyond Feat. Zoe Johnston - We're All We Need 04:15 Blank & Jones - Twilight Moon 04:12 Tim Plvnk - Just Tonight (Extended Mix) 04:09 Gamper & Dadoni Feat. Joe Jury - Satellites 04:07 R3hab X Lukas Graham - Most People 03:58 Royksopp - Sordid Affair (Maceo Plex Mix) 03:55 Kryder & Natalie Shay - Rapture 03:51 Lenny Mac Dowell - Summertime 03:47 Stepha Schweiger - When I Was A Bird 03:43 Ambyion - Motion 03:39 Robin Schulz - Sugar (Feat. Francesco Yates) 03:36 Sons Of Maria - Always 03:32 Kyla La Grange - Cut Your Teeth 03:29 Junge Junge Feat. Kyle Pearce - Run Run Run 03:26 Nora Van Elken - Let It Go 03:23 Twisted Harmonies Feat. Mougleta - You & Me 03:18 Yantra Mantra - Ascension Into Heaven (Chandini Mix) 03:14 Blank & Jones - Sunny (Summer Vibe Mix) 03:11 Shouse - Won't Forget You 03:07 Jaques Raupe, Stereoact, Peter Schilling Feat. Peter Schilling - Terra Titanic 03:03 Trinix - Vision Deluxe 02:59 Stephane De Lucia - Trippin 02:55 Freischwimmer - California Dreamin 02:47 Miyagi, Sascha Braemer, Dan Caster, Jan Blomqvist - Woodpeckers Love Affair 02:41 Fous De La Mer - Waiting For The Sun 02:34 Le Roy - See The Light Ahead (Extended Mix) 02:31 Monoir, Eneli - 3 To 1 02:27 The Timewriter - Soulstickers 02:23 Milkwish - From The Earth To The Moon 02:16 Dale Anderson Feat. Anil Chawla - Pimento Grove 02:13 M22 - Good To Be Loved 02:11 Rene Rodrigezz & Tristan Henry - Let Me Go 02:07 Armin Van Buuren Feat. Angel Taylor - Make It Right (Trinix Remix) 02:03 Redondo, Bolier Feat. She Keeps Bees - Every Single Piece (Original Mix) 01:59 Jean-michel Jarre - Oxygene, Pt. 4 01:55 Alok Feat. Bruno Martini & Zeeba - Never Let Me Go 01:49 Banderas - This Is Your Life (Easy Life Mix) 01:45 Mefree - Horizons 01:39 Marra Kesh Khetama - Sunshine 01:31 Maxim Lany - Riding The Wave (Extended Mix) 01:28 Lucy Neville - Ransom 01:23 Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy 01:20 Paratone - Time After Time 01:16 Lstn - Thoughts 01:10 Depeche Mode - Sister Of The Night 01:06 Glide - Y Môr 01:03 York - On The Beach (Kryder & Jenjammin Sax Edit) 00:59 Morcheeba - Under The Ice 00:56 Kygo & Sasha Sloan - I'll Wait 00:52 The Alan Parsons Projekt - Eye In The Sky 00:49 Hypnosis - Pulstar 00:45 Robin Schulz & Felix Jaehn - One More Time 00:41 Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line 00:38 Martin Trevy Feat. Hedara - Talking To The Silence 00:36 Above & Beyond - Quieter Is Louder (Original Mix) 00:30 The Rhythm Slaves - The Light You Will See 00:27 Armin Van Buuren & Garibay - Phone Down 00:23 Blank & Jones - High Fly 00:18 Melounge - Too Much Sugar 00:15 Mike Candys, Sb Mont & Salvo - Turned To Dust 00:13 Kush Kush & Sickmellow Feat. Kazhi - Blacklight 00:07 Massive Attack - Teardrop 00:04 Wave Wave Feat. Lena Sue - Repeating 00:01 Lilly Wood & The Prick And Robin Schulz - Prayer In C

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NEW YORK | Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer lead New York's Mermaid Parade

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/TtdDKG

NEW YORK | Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer lead New York's Mermaid Parade

NEW YORK (AP) — Throngs of people dressed as mermaids, fish and other aquatic creatures packed New York’s Coney Island on Saturday for a sun-soaked edition of the zany Mermaid Parade.

Crowds cheered as Neil Gaiman, the author of fantasy works such as “American Gods,” and his wife Amanda Palmer, a musician with the Dresden Dolls duo, led the parade dressed as King Neptune and Queen Mermaid.

The couple and their 2-year-old son were wheeled along the beachfront route in a wicker chair, taking in the colorful scenery that included everyone from a princess mermaid to a pirate zombie.

“We absolutely love mermaids and mythology and everything and this is like the most fun,” said parade-goer Carley Boltz. “We just get to go once a year and just dress up and have a blast.”

Cindy Lopez’s princess mermaid mashup was complete with a tail that she planned to take for a dip in the ocean. Sean Marz wore sequins, an algae crown and sea shells covering his skivvies.

“There’s a lot of shimmering objects pasted to my body,” he said.

The Mermaid Parade was founded in 1983 to bring mythology to life and give New Yorkers a chance to express themselves in public.

It draws hundreds of thousands of revelers to the beach each year.

By JULIE WALKER  By Associated Press