#mention: album title

[whollyjoly]

for some reason i can't explain i know saint peter won't call my name

nothing that lives, lives forever - an immortal soldier!alton more au

(1.1k of snippets from my old guard(ish) au where alton more is old, too old, and has been living and fighting far longer than anyone should. full description/other thoughts at the bottom. tw: blood, violence, mentions of death)

Alton clicked the lighter closed, running a thumb over the silver case. The night was warm, sticky in a way that he never could get used to. He sucked in a breath from the cheap cigarette, letting his head fall back against the rough side of the barracks.

It was quiet. Typically, there would be no end to the commotion coming from the small building, one of many that littered Camp Toccoa. The wall of sound was ever-present, no matter if it was shouting or laughing or snoring. But whatever the cause, there was always noise. 

No matter if it was a blanket of noise he knew well, unchanging except for the language and the scenery. Soldiers are soldiers, and some things are a constant. It could almost be comforting, if it didn’t also mean that the need for soldiers was a constant as well.

However, tonight was a Saturday, and it was one of the few weekends that Sobel had allowed Easy the use of their weekend passes. Almost every man in the company had jumped at the chance to get off base, to travel home if they could and spend time with loved ones. The ones with farther-flung hometowns had spirited off to Atlanta, happy to spend their time drinking and dancing and fucking instead of slogging through another run, three miles up, three miles down.

Normally, Alton would have joined them in their carousing - it was easier to pass the time with the effortless camaraderie built during a training camp than bored and alone. 

But today had been a bad day. The sound of swords and the shift of sand beneath his feet followed him out of his nightmares, the humid summer of Georgia morphing itself into the baking, dry heat of the desert. 

His shouts must have been real, because when a hand came to shake him out of his dream, the first face he saw was not that of a grouchy NCO, but of a blood-caked Saracen, eyes alight with righteous fury. 

Alton didn’t think. He had grabbed the knife from under his pillow, an old thing that had been sharpened more times than he could begin to count, and was on the man in less than a breath, pressing the blade into the side of his neck. The familiar thrum of blood beat against his fingertips, the grit of sand scratched his gums. He knew what he had to do, had done it a thousand times, a thousand thousand times, what was a little more bloodshed spilled across his feet-

Alton had blinked, and came to himself in a rush.

Instead of an unnamed Saracen, the ashen face of Johnny Martin stared up at him, eyes wide behind the knife.

Alton drew back his hand, retreating almost as quick as he had lunged earlier. He mumbled a quick curse and apology as he stepped out of arm’s reach from the man. It wasn’t until Martin’s eyes widened even farther that Alton realized his tongue was slipping out Arabic of all things.

Usually, Alton was better about remembering himself, who he was almost as important as where he was. But for whatever reason, his demons had decided to catch up with him that night.

After a quick smile and some quip about the Krauts in his dreams, he managed to wave an only-slightly-mollified Martin off. The shorter man apparently hadn’t forgotten it though, if his watchful eyes during chow that morning were anything to go by.

Alton was just glad that no one else was awake to see it, at least. That was the last thing he needed.

And so, instead of joining in on a weekend of broads and booze, Alton found himself waving away the invitation by an eager Smokey and bemused Alley. When the horde made their way out of the barracks, fantasizing in bawdy terms about their planned misadventures, he felt like he could breathe easy.

Fucking finally.

~~

Alton took another drag from the cigarette. He watched the smoke curl, up and up until it faded into nothing amongst the darkening sky.

The lighter was a welcome weight in his hand, grounding him to this time, this life.

The design was worn by now, details barely visible after a half century of worrying. It still managed to amaze him, sometimes, what people could do with the smallest of canvases. Alton didn’t feel the same wonder however, wasn’t as mesmerized by the beauty man could create as he once was.

But in the quiet moments, he could still appreciate the time some French craftsman took to transform a hunk of metal into a small token carried around by a dead man.

Luz had spied the lighter one weekend, and laughed at him for using something so old-fashioned. Alton just shrugged, not caring to admit that he was still getting used to having a light at his fingertips. It wasn’t all that long ago when he was still lighting a pipe with a flintlock pistol, and not so long before that when he would carry around a flint and steel.

Time was passing all the more quickly these days, technologies changing and advancing, and everyone was obsessed with needing things to be quicker, cheaper, simpler. Alton scoffed. He could hardly find it in him to care.

He glanced down at the lighter in his hand, shifting it back and forth in a practiced motion and watched as the light skittered across the sides. 

It had shown flowers, once. A veritable garden of carnations, daffodils, and lilies of the valley, with leaves spilling across the front panel onto the back. They represent good fortune, he was told. Good fortune, luck, and hope. 

When the merchant described it to him, eyes ablaze with a passion known only to those with wares to sell, Alton didn’t try to hide the snort that escaped his throat. 

Fortune and Luck had abandoned him long ago, and hadn’t returned since waking up in a battlefield abandoned by all but the dead, sword in his chest and blood in his mouth. 

And what the fuck was Alton supposed to do with hope?

It was the quote on the back that had caught his eye, all those years ago in a street market in Reims. The beveled edges had faded with time, the familiar letters Alton traced were more memory by now than any physical mark. Une vie honorable est une vie éternelle.

An honorable life is an eternal life.

Alton couldn’t help but stare at the message, both then and now. He hated that goddamn word. Immortal. Unending. Eternal. 

They were such flowery words, used by people who craved what they couldn’t have, what they shouldn’t. The romanticized idea of the everlasting, the fountain of youth, the gift of life! Alton was sick of it.

This wasn’t life. He was a fucking dead man walking. And he sure as hell didn’t do anything honorable to deserve it.

months ago, while thinking about the absolute insanity of the almost...cavalier? attitude we see alton more have over the course of the series, an idea hit my brain: what if there was a reason nothing seemed to phase him - not panzers, not being a breath away from a car wreck, not bastogne, not speirs? what if this wasn't his first war? that thought spiraled me into a minor insanity that is this: my immortal soldier!alton more au, loosely inspired by the movie the old guard (2020). the idea is that, once upon a time, there was a soldier in a land many centuries ago. one day, he died in battle. and then, he woke up. and then he died. and then he woke up. over, and over. drawn to countless battles, conflicts, and wars, each one etching itself into the core of his soul. a never-ending cycle...until one sweltering summer, where he found himself at a training camp at the foot of a mountain. anyways. at some point, i plan on writing this as a full story, but that is admittedly a long ways away. however, in celebration of alton more's birthday today, i wanted to post my favorite scene that i've written for this au! it's set sometime at the beginning of the story, in the early days of camp toccoa. mostly, it's just a character study of this version of alton more. hope you enjoyed! and of course - happy birthday alton more!

(song insp.)

taglist: @sweetxvanixlla @coco-bean-1218 @bucky32557038ww2 @georgieluz @samwinchesterslostshoe @xxluckystrike @next-autopsy @ronald-speirs @land-sh @ronsparky @panzershrike-pretz @theredrenard @kyellin

[its-bloody-and-raw]

Hozier lyrics no one (seems to) talks about but should…

Mentioned to me by @abunchofgaysinatrenchcoat

(Wasteland, Baby! Edition)

[obeetlebeetle]

tagged by @sophelstien, thank you!💜💜💜

the NO-SKIP albums: a tag game 🎶

rules: share the albums that you can listen to nonstop. those lightning in a bottle-albums that scratch ur brain just right. every single track, an absolute banger. u could not skip one if u tried. no notes. stunning, show-stopping, immaculate. ur no-skip albums. 🔎 bonus & optional (but imo, v fun) rules:1) add a track rec for us to listen to! AND2) share ur favorite line(s) from that track! 👀

tagging @waitingforgalois, @avantguardisme, @frogndtoad, @oranges-and-pears, @phosphorusandpetra, @cardwrecks, @swordatsunset, @gideonthefirst, @owldude, and YOU

🎧 album info/track recs/my favorite lines under the cut!! ↓↓↓

🌊 hideaway / the weepies (2008)

track rec: little bird ↳brush your gray wings in my head / say what you said / say it again / they tell me I'm crazy / but you told me / I'm golden

📼 in rainbows / radiohead (2007)

track rec: weird fishes/arpeggi ↳I'd be crazy not to follow / follow where you lead / your eyes / they turn me / turn me into phantoms / I follow to the edge / of the earth / and fall off / yeah, everybody leaves / if they get the chance / and this is my chance

🌉 narrow stairs / death cab for cutie (2008)

track rec: bixby canyon bridge ↳and then it started getting dark / I trudged back to where the car was parked / no closer to any kind of truth / as I must assume was the case for you

🚗 sam's town / the killers (2006)

track rec: bones ↳we took a backroad in my car / down to the ocean / it's only water and sand / and in the ocean we'll hold hands / but I don't really like you / apologetically dressed in the best / put on a heartbeat glide / without an answer / the thunder speaks for the sky

🕕 I forget where we were / ben howard (2014)

track rec: conrad ↳oh, I loved you with the good and the careless in me / but it all goes back

🔥 heretic pride / tmg (2008)

track rec: autoclave ↳when I try to open up to you, I get completely lost / houses swallowed by the earth, windows thick with frost / and I reach deep down within, but the pathways twist and turn / and there's no light anywhere, and nothing left to burn / and I am this great, unstable mass of blood and foam / and no emotion that's worth having could call my heart its home

🌹 violet street / local natives (2019)

track rec: when am I gonna lose you? ↳I remember you closing the shutters / and laying down by my side / and the light that was still slipping through / it was painting your body in stripes

🚪 retired from sad, new career in business / mitski (2013)

track rec: goodbye, my danish sweetheart ↳there's some kind of burning inside me / it's kept me from falling apart / and I'm sure that you've seen what it's done to my heart / but it's kept me from falling apart / now here I lay as I wonder about you / would you just tell me what I'm meant to do? / 'cause I've waited and watered my heart 'til it grew / you can see how it's blossomed for you

🚀 how to: friend, love, freefall / rks (2018)

track rec: mission to mars ↳we changed the format completely, cut the filler for meat / it's just blood on your TV making killings for free / the ticket lines are past the sign down at the end of the street / meet and greet, VIPs go a million a piece / we delayed the show for entry and so expired on the lease / now we're gonna re-release it, t.b.d / change the title to: fuck you / it's what you want it to be / when you know it only pay to make nice / pack your shit and standby, please / your friends are trying to leave and get high

[sadgirlautumn]

idk idk idk I just don’t get why some fans took this album as a personal attack!! Even in the songs where she alludes to people judging her in general I really took it as “wow she must trust us so much to share this with us.” And if you took it personally then you either need to take a step back or maybe you should actually take it personally and maybe realize why your invasion into Taylor’s personal relationships can actually cause harm to her.

[flamingplay]

Mountainhead is clearly out NOW!

captured by Peter McGaughrin

[hide-your-bugs-away]

FINDING A RECORDING OF THE ANIMALS COVERING "LET IT BE" DURING THEIR 70s REUNION WAS NOT ON MY 2024 BINGO CARD.

[tayfabe75]

"This song goes out to Taylor Swift."

November 24, 2014: Matty dedicates Robbers to Taylor Swift at the South Side Ballroom in Dallas, Texas. (source)

[taenuviel]

slowly being a shinee solo stan but the solo is everyone

[jkpng]

top 5 on ly tear? 👀 solo songs included or not. whatever makes it harder for you

u just want to see me suffer dont u. and here i thought we were friends. but ill play along with ur sick and twisted charades i guess 🙄

NOT including solo songs bc its way too hard for me to place singularity. bc its magnificent and excellent and deserves top 5 easily but i dont actually listen to it that often cuz its a lil slow for me 😭 i mostly listen to it when i need smth calming or i fall sleep to it 😞 but one of the best songs for sure shes just in her own separate league in my brain yk

1) outro tear bc its like. the crown jewel of the album the namesake. and its got one of my favourite hobi verses of all time & every time i hear it my heart gets a new crack. u all get it. i just loooooove a song that sounds raw and angry and hurt i fear

2) the truth untold idk i just love her a lot they sound sooooo beautiful and story is beautiful too and also fucking SAD . simple but the “but i still want you” lines always get my ass 😞 maybe ill post jungkooks adlibs tomorrow bc they haunt me (complimentary)

3) 134340 one of my faves in terms of songs i listen to the most. so good and also the pluto concept is SOOOOOO smart n unique im obsessed. nothing else needs to be said everyone knows shes that bitch

4) love maze. another fave that i listen to a lot and also i love namjoons verse. but i dont wanna use my head i dont wanna calculate love aint a BUSINESS rather like a FITNESS! 😤↕️ real shit he just said

5) paradise ranked this high less bc of the sound and more bc of the lyrics cuz its like. one of the bts songs that personally speaks to me the most 😭 like ofc i like the sound too but the lyrics pushes it from mid tier to top tier for me yk….“we have to run we have to step on the accelerator you dont even have a destination” like howd they get in my head

[byrnedavid]

i was tagged by @wormdream to post my top 10 favorite albums and tag 10 people :) i have many favorite albums, but here are 10 in no order 🤸‍♀️

1. white album - the beatles

2. speaking in tongues - talking heads

3. tranquility base hotel & casino - arctic monkeys

4. songs of faith and devotion - depeche mode

5. paul’s boutique - beastie boys

6. the dreaming - kate bush

7. london calling - the clash

8. good kid, maad city - kendrick lamar

9. igor - tyler, the creator

10. skylarking - xtc

tagging if ya want to: @sonic-fizz @fivepiecechickendinner @timrothencrantz @mmmdrop @loiteringdiligently @rottapoika

[myatlantispoets]

tagged by @daimerpassionement

tagging @two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat @albertcamuesli

rules: list your top 5 albums from your top 5 artists (can't have a repeat of the same artist) on a poll, so your followers can vote which album they think captures your vibe the best

[motherforthefamicom]

I feel like I should listen to zebrahead I have no idea what goes on there but I've heard so many mixed things I feel like I need to know now

oh my god okay so like. i would say no cuz theyre honestly really mid. but also i have this playlist with their whole discography if ur interested… :3

[ereborne]

Song of the Day: December 6

"Your Body Is A Weapon" by the Wombats

[dennisboobs]

i love setting fic in '95 because '94 was a good year for music

[thehealingsystem]

nate please please please please I am shaking you by the shoulders right now no one needs to do this please you can make a actual thought provoking interesting thumbnail for the song you don't need to appeal to clickbait algorithms anymore you're still letting yourself be bound to it people loved your early original songs for what they were without this. please stop doing this please stop changing thumbnails I am going to cry

[signeficunt]

i was tagged by @shrimpdealer to name 9 albums i enjoy!

in no particular order:

tagging: @shiroselia, @cloevr, & anyone else who wants to join ^^