#pop strings orchestra

[reniadeb]

giddy up, pardner

[wanderingwithstars]

“Hide and Seek” now on Spotify.

For the whimsical lovers.

[purble-gaymer]

i haven’t really played for any longer than 20 minutes since like june so coming away from practicing these professional level pieces for an hour+ is absolutely killing my left hand

[depressedraisin]

thinking about her (the soaring climactic string lines in the "so do you wanna walk me to the car....." part of there'd better be a mirrorball)

[theheadlessgroom]

https://www.tumblr.com/beatingheart-bride/715448548820484096/theheadlessgroom-beatingheart-bride

@beatingheart-bride

“O-Oh,” Randall nodded as he set down his candle, allowing him to better see her as he grabbed the stool he’d left earlier, sitting on it so that they could see eye-to-eye.

For a moment, he was mesmerized by her eyeshine: He knew some creatures, such as alligators, had them (having seen the shine of a gator’s eyes a couple times in his life); Dorian once told him the scientific term, tapetum lucidum, a funny word he struggled to pronounce when he first saw it, and had long forgotten until he looked at her now, in the dimness of the bathroom. Her eyes had a sort of rose-gold glow to them that was haunting in its presentation (once again reminding him of an alligator lurking just barely on the surface, watching laxly from its place in the water), and yet beautiful in its own right. He felt as if he could look at that shine forever.

Snapping out of his reverie, he remembered himself, and so he stooped to pick up the little bowl; there was plenty in there. Shyly, Randall looked up at Emily, then to the bowl in his hands, and then back to her, asking softly, “D-Do you, u-um...d-do you want me to, um, p-put more o-on?” He repeated the rub action, well aware of how warm his cheeks were as he asked her this, absentmindedly fidgeting with the bowl all the while.

[bomnun]

pop music taking inspiration from classical music by using orchestras or even sampling it has soooo much potential but basically every kpop song that does it makes it so dull and lazy

[friend-dispenser]

Just realized I wrote these tags in their own post not in a reblog of the post I was trying to add them to!!!!!! Ugh!!!!!

AND I LOST THE POST!!!!!

It basically went like "I'm sick of hearing about taylor swift. Tag the most obscure band you listen to." If anyone comes across it please let me know cause I wanted to look through the notes again in a week or two! And also share my tags!

[javen-tiger]

sorry i think its so weird that i came out of like a 14 year musical education with basically no comprehension of musical theory. im like totally incapable of playing without sheet music. i need a conductor.

[honeyshiddendesire]

Virgin! Doflamingo Headcanon

Pairing: YANDERE VIRGIN! Doflamingo x Female Reader

Warnings: YANDERE DOFFY! loss of virginity! Vaginal penetration! Fingering! Dirty talk/teasing! Pussy drunk Doffy! mating press! Oral sex (male and female receiving)! Public sex! Misuse of d.f. Powers! Doffy with a Praise kink (fight me on this lol!) 

*Author's Note: An idea that popped in my head while chatting with my friends on discord that I finallllyyy got around to posting lol*

*banner*

VirginDoffy! Who was so focused on murder and overtaking the whole world that he completely forgot about sex all together…well forgot is a strong word more like it just never interested him. Sex wasn’t something that was in the forefront of his brain, murder and destruction, power, things like that. 

VirginDoffy! Who enjoyed stringing women up and fingering them till his heart was content, using them more like puppets to hear their cries but finishing the job never interested him. Well not with the women in Dressrosa or other kingdoms yet. 

VirginDoffy! Who was sitting on his throne one day when it suddenly dawned on him that he’s never actually sunk his cock into a woman before. Usually getting bored rather quickly before he ever actually fucked them. That all changed when he saw you one day strolling along in the streets of Dressrosa. 

VirginDoffy! Who you can’t tell me wouldn’t be a total yandere following you around the city, not talking to you yet but silently observing your every move. Having a woman peg his interest in this way was new afterall so he’d literally become a stalker. You wouldn’t notice him at all but everyone else around you would. 

VirginDoffy! Who would pay attention to your everyday routine and how you always get a morning tea or coffee with your favorite muffin. Going early to pay your tab in full for the next month leaving you in total shock but he was left more stunned when you still went out of your way to leave a tip. WHICH! Made him go back and tip for the next month as well hoping you’d get the hint to save your money.

Paying attention to how you eyeballed all the fancy dress shops and shoe stores with longing in your eye before sighing and going to the bargain shop on the far side of town. 

VirginDoffy! Who literally follows you home and goes back when you’re not there to rummage through your things finding out who you are and what size you are instead of just holding a conversation with you. 

VirginDoffy! Who goes back to all the stores you stop at and buys you all the prettiest dresses and shoes that you tend to stare at from the window. Leaving them at your door with flowers and a card that tells you to meet him at one of the best restaurants in the entire kingdom.

You think it’s a secret admirer and smile as you pick up the beautiful dress and twirl in your room with excitement. Getting all dolled up wearing the gifts you head out toward the meeting spot with a big smile on your face, glossy lips dropping in shock when you finally step inside the extravagant place. “Right this way your table is waiting for you.” The host says with a bow as he takes your shawl and leads you to the far back with a reserved sign, close to the stage where a live orchestra was playing Sad Romance by Thao Nguyen Xanh. It was one of your favorites and you sat down in your seat totally mesmerized barely noticing when Doflamingo came up behind you. 

“Is it all to your liking?” He asks, catching you off guard with a little gasp that makes him smirks. “Oops~” Doflamingo chuckles as he circles the table taking his seat. Your glossy lips catch his attention as they’re parted slightly in shock at seeing none other than Doflamingo himself. “Y-yes it’s all amazing. I just…” 

Raising a brow as he takes a sip of his wine that the waiter quickly poured upon his arrival, “Wasn’t expecting me?” He questions and you simply nod, making him grin. “What can I say…you’ve caught the eye of a King.” 

VirginDoffy! Who asks you tons of questions while wining and dining you, noticing how nervous you are and tending to ramble because of it. A trait he found oddly endearing. Simply giving you little hums and nods of acknowledgment as you ate. 

VirginDoffy! Who asks you to dance as the violin and pianist continue to play. His hands and eyes roaming all over your body in the tight fitting dress, his actions making your breath hitch and body heat up. Doflamingo’s hands are already holding you with a possessive touch that makes you practically melt in his grasp, eyes staring in awe up at him. 

VirginDoffy! Who despite never having sex he can tell by the look in your eye that he has you completely trapped in his sinister web, one that you’ll never escape from once he’s had you. 

VirginDoffy! Who’s hands slowly trail down your back to your ass as he leans down to whisper in your ear, “Would you like to accompany a King back to his chambers?” The question makes you shiver as you whisper back a shaky ‘yes’. Quickly leading you out of the restaurant after that and into his limo where he wastes no time crashing his lips to yours. 

Your hands wrapping around him to scratch at his scalp, tongue swirling around his in a clumsy kiss. You thought it was all the wine but little did you know the true reason behind his bewildered state. Doflamingo was groaning into your mouth as he pulled you into his lap, the smell of the perfume he purchased you was loud in the close proximity and it made his head spin. The strong floral, sweet scent smelled so enchanting on your skin that he couldn’t help but groan as he trailed sloppy kisses down your neck making you whimper. 

“Um…sir…we’re here.” The driver nervously interrupts and gets a glare of Doflamingo and a loud ‘out’ that makes him scurry away leaving the both of you alone. “Ah~” You moaned out as you felt Doflamingo grind into your hips, feeling his rather huge bulge through both of your clothes. 

VirginDoffy! Who’s so enraptured by pleasure and your scent that you literally have to tap his shoulder to get his attention. “D-Doflamingo~ Can…can we go to your room?” You whine as he continues making your head spring with each kiss that travels lower towers the valley of your breast, his large hands gripping your ass. Hearing your request and seeing the look of lust on your face only has him grin as he kisses at your jaw. 

VirginDoffy! Who can’t help but warn you of what was to come. “You know once I have you in my room I can’t ensure that you’ll be leaving anytime soon.” His grin only grows as you tell him you understand, greedy lips finding your own at the sound of your equal eagerness. “Oh my poor dove~ you don’t even realize the cage that you’ve flown yourself into.”

VirginDoffy! Who leads your heaving form to his room, your hair and gloss already a mess just from an intense makeout session. 

VirginDoffy! Who once in his luxurious room wastes not even a second to literally rip your dress off you. Pushing you down on his large plush bed making you squeal in shock at how quickly he spreads your legs. Kissing up from your legs, long fingers running along the sparkly heels that adorned your feet as he spread your legs more into a vulnerable position. 

“Already soaking this pathetic lace you’re wearing.” Doflamingo chuckles against your thighs, nipping the skin before sucking marks into your plush thighs. Trailing up slowly before using one of his hands to push your panties to the side before diving in to take a long lick at your cunt. 

VirginDoffy! Who has zero skills at eating your cunt but wasn’t stupid and knew to listen to every little reaction that you made. Any hitch in your breath, moan or whimper you let out only fueled the large man’s ego to dive further into your cunt. Long tongue working wonders to fuck into your sopping wet hole, circling around making your back arch as he sloppily kisses your aching clit. “AH~ Dof~Holy shit!” You cry out barely able to moan out his name as he sucks on the sensitive bud harder. 

VirginDoffy! Who’s hands literally can’t keep still. Running up and down all over your body, squeezing and groping your tits to run down your waist to pinch and claw at your thighs before moving back up with hunger. His tongue never gets enough of your taste and only eats your pussy with more fire in his chest. Never understanding how he hasn’t done this before when you sounded so sweet in his strong grasp. 

VirginDoffy! Who was starstruck when he finally started to sink his long fingers deep in your dripping pussy, tongue never letting up on your clit even as you pulled at his blonde hair. “Do~ah~Dof-fuck~!” His name dragged into a curse from your lips that had him grin wickedly, tongue flicking your bundle of nerves to drive you insane.

 “Oh fuckfuckfuck I’m gonna cum~ Doffy shit! How are you so good at this?” Your moaned out question has him pulling back with a sinister laugh as he also wonders the same thing considering he’s never done this before. Doflamingo’s greedy eyes looking down to where your wet pussy is swallowing two long fingers of his, your hands gripping the sheets beside your head. Your legs were trembling, heels digging into the plush blankets as you thrashed around. Screams only turning to a loud shriek as he curled them into that spot that made you gush, his brow raising at the magnificent sight. 

VirginDoffy! Who can’t help but lean back down, licking you completely clean with a luscious moan at the taste of you. Pulling down his pants to hungrily crawl up your body kissing your skin up along the way making you breathe heavier. 

VirginDoffy! Who is way too big for his own good and once he's dipping his long cock inside you needs you to literally beg him to stop or he'll keep going. Drunk on the feel of you wrapping around him until your nails are drawing blood from scratching at his chest so hard. 

“Shitshitshit too much too~ fucking much! Dammit just wait!” You cry out not even aware of how much blood you drew from the man, eyes blurry from tears. His body shivering at the pleasure wrapped around his cock and the stinging pain of your nails. Doflamingo’s breath is coming out in huffs as he leans down to suck marks on your neck, his fingers clawing at the sheets for some type of self control to stay still but it only lasts so long. “I’m not a man with much patience.” He’ll tell you, making you whimper as you feel him grind into you. 

Sucker punching the air out of you as he rocks into you with unskilled hips, is cock so big it did all the work for him. Doflamingo went on pure instincts and pleasure, kissing your body and stringing your legs up to stay wide open for him. Long cock pounding into you until you scream out his name for the whole kingdom to hear.

VirginDoffy! Who immediately grows addicted when you cum around his cock, needing to feel it over and over again. Your pussy gushing around his cock as he pumps you over and over full of his seed. 

VirginDoffy! Who mentally wishes he traps you forever with his child so you never leave the man. Your slumped form lay on his bed alongside with him both breathing heavy as his mind raced with thoughts of what to do with you the next round when he has gathered the energy again. Now that he’s had you don’t think you’ll be able to run. Like a bird you’ll be forever caged to quench his ever growing lust.

“Don’t think you’ll be able to leave me now my dear. It seems I’ve grown quite obsessed.”

[himegureisu]

The Yule Ball [PTII]

Summary: The Yule Ball is about to commence and you arrive in the nick of time.

<< PREV

——————————— 🪄———————————

On Christmas Eve, in the sparkling silver frost of the Great Hall, students’ conversations come to a hush at the sight of their Potions Professor.

His usually greasy hair was clean and silky smooth. On the other hand, an open black double-breasted tailcoat, black vest, black high-collared dress shirt, black pants, and shiny black shoes replaced his daily robes.

It was different. Conservative but also very appealing.

Especially for the female students. Their grumpy Professor so pleasing in the ladies’ eyes has the boys reminding them why they didn’t like him in the first place. Their giggles and murmurs didn’t stop though, and one thought it would be the best if the scowl on his face disappeared, but alas, they could not make miracles happen.

“Would you look at that?”

“Is that truly Professor Snape?”

“Bloody hell,” Ron mutters under his breath, “Even the old dungeon bat looks better than I do,”

In a procession, the champions walk through the oak doors accompanied by their chosen partners, disrupting the comments,, and enter the Great Hall. Their thunderous claps and ever-so-curious gazes shift at the sight of Hermione Granger on Victor Krum’s arm allowing a moment of vulnerability for you.

In their distraction, from a tunnel behind the pine trees, you emerge behind the Headmaster, Severus none the wiser at your arrival, as he speaks.

“I will keep this short because you all might be sick of hearing from me,” the headmaster quips, and the Hogwarts students laugh, “This evening, I hope that every one of us creates meaningful connections and enjoys the feast. However, before we start, I would also like to welcome a special guest.”

Their students were truly the worst gossips as whispers started once again speculating who the special guest could be, making the stories known to their Durmstrang and Beauxbatons friends.

“I’m glad that you’re here and I am very much eager to indulge in your future antics,” Dumbledore smiles, saying nothing further, and turns, “If you’d please, Filius,”

Their students are curious and confused, a rather deadly combination, at the lack of information from their wily Professor as the orchestra starts the song. The sound of string instruments soon echoes throughout the space as the waltz begins.

On the floor, champions lead their partners through the beginnings of the waltz. Their audience is divided between finding the mystery guest and watching their friends glide seamlessly across the room.

In minutes, the headmaster nudges their Transfiguration Professor, who happily accepts the offer and joins the throng of dancing students, on the floor. His absence allows you to stand beside your husband whose gaze remains afront.

“Don’t you look dashing?” you say, breaking the silence among the staff, “I hope you saved me a dance?”

His gaze shifts at the sound of your voice. His eyes quickly take a once over of you. In your sage green dress that highlighted the very best of your features. Your hair in a braided half updo and holly pin presented simple but elegant.

“They’re only for you,” he answers, raising his hand for you to take, “Shall we?”

“On your lead,”

Onto the fray together, the students not so quietly observe. His hands, on your waist and outstretched hand, lead you to the floor. However, closer than appropriate for students, he whispers in your ear.

“You’re determined to do this?”

“I’d like for them to see what I see in you,” you cup his cheek, your gaze on his as the scowl slowly melts away, “Even just for a bit,”

He sighed in defeat.

Your gazes lock on each other, his steps slow but confident guide you through the symphony. In his embrace, the world blends to the background. To the awe of the crowd, a soft smile settles on his lips, his grip, however, tightened and your merry bubble pops at the sight of his restrained ire at the students who admired you from afar.

“You are the only one I desire,” you breathed, cheeks flushed and eyes only on him, as the veins on the side of his head vanished, “No one else can ever compare,”

His eyes softened at your words, breaking through his facade for the night. By the end of the dance, he places a protective hand on your back and gently leads you through. His form towers over you, briefly leaning on your ear to whisper.

“Being with you feels like a dream,” his voice barely audible as you weave through the people, “That I don’t want to end,”

“It will not end,” you declare, as you finally see his colleagues, and some others you don’t know, “We’ll see through it,”

The Headmaster smiles, at the sight of your hands entwined together, as you approach the faculty and guests. Minerva steps up much faster than the rest and says.

“I’m glad you could make it, dear,” she also smiles, as Severus stands behind you, “You two were lovely out there,”

“Were we?” you coyly ask, glancing at Severus, who resisted the urge to roll his eyes, “I didn’t notice. I’m glad I didn’t trip,”

“I would’ve caught you if you did,” Severus declared, as the others approached, and from there Madam Maxime interjected, “Severus! Who is the lovely lady?”

“Madame Maxime, Karkaroff, this is my wife, Madame Snape,” he introduces you, as you shake friendly hands, “At the moment, she works for the Ministry of Magic,”

“Oh!” the tall lady exclaimed, as Minerva cut the conversation, “I hate to break up this introduction, however, we must be seated for dinner,”

“Of course, Minerva, lead the way,”

In a flash, she transformed into her role as Deputy Headmistress, and seats you beside Severus and her, but also near the Headmaster and the new staff that hasn’t met you. Your friendly smile was a stark difference from the unimpressed line that formed on your husband’s lips.

“Will you be staying the night?” Minerva asks, as you observe Albus who spoke of what he wanted for dinner and it appeared, and answered, “Yes, the headmaster was kind to allow me to stay in the castle for Christmas break,”

“Did he?” Severus said as he looked at you, “Headmaster?”

“Merry Christmas, Severus,” Dumbledore grinned, his eyes twinkling mischievously at the light, as Severus exhaled, “Thank you, headmaster,”

“Do enjoy the feast,” Albus said, “There is more to come,”

On his words, you and Severus briefly give each other a look before shrugging it off, oblivious to the utter madness that would transpire once you left the Great Hall for much more amorous and festive pursuits.

There would be time to get to know the students during the break. However, a part of you admits that you were partial to your husband's little snakes.

But they didn't know that.

[hiraethwa]

one summer day

01 clear skies. where you run into the last person you want to see, ushijima

<< 00 guidepost. | >> 02 fly high.

pairing: ushijima wakatoshi x reader a/n: i’ve made small changes to the prologue that i felt did not line up with the tone of the following chapters… enjoy! - avery word count: 1k warnings: mentions of fear of parents, cursing terms: nii-chan -- older brother, baka -- stupid/foolish

june, first year

“shit” you curse as you run down the school hallways towards the volleyball gym. the violin case slung across your back thudding on your back with each stride, reminding you of your breathlessness.

you had stayed back after practice ended to make sure you had your parts right, and had completely lost track of time. you could only hope your brother is ready to go, otherwise… you shudder at the thought of the consequences of being late. 

pulling back the sleeve of your jacket, you look at the time again. goddamnit, my legs are so slow– shit– you see a shape in front of you out of the corner of your eye and swerve to the other side. shoes skid against the smooth wood floors as you lose your balance. 

to your surprise, your body stops before hitting the floor. your arm was flung out in front of you, bracing for impact against the floor, but it never came. then you felt it, a warm pressure on your other wrist. oh– the person you avoided running into had saved you from falling. 

regaining your balance (and your composure), you straighten and bow, “thank you!” your cheeks turn pink with embarrassment of a stranger seeing your almost fall. 

“you should be more careful” the voice that spoke sounded familiar, deep like the rumbling of the earth. huh? who– you take a peek at the owner of the voice. shorts in the shiratorizawa purple shade, with the standard school issued track jacket of the same shade running down the arms on a white clad torso. your brother’s practice outfit for the boys’ volleyball team. but at the same time, even though you are outside the volleyball gym, it could be any other boys’ sports outfit too, so it couldn’t be, right? 

you raise your head, praying to the gods that never answered you. nope. lady luck is so not on your side today. it is ushijima.

“sorry. i will be more careful next time.” you give him a sheepish smile about your clumsiness, raising a hand to scratch the back of your head. half hoping he would forget about you from the incident a few weeks ago, you slowly inch away from him. (you had not returned to the gym since that day from the embarrassment of your actions that your brother did not let you live down)

he frowns at you. “wait. you are hurt.” 

questions pop in your head. you are not hurt. in fact, he had just saved you from hurting yourself, so you had no idea what he is on about at all. 

you raise your eyebrow at him. earlier panic forgotten and all. he points at his own cheek. “wait here.” oh right. you had snapped a string during orchestra practice earlier. there was a burning sensation where it made contact with your face, but you thought it was just a light graze and forgot about it. 

setting your violin case down next to you, you plop yourself on the steps leading into the gym as you wonder about how serious the wound was to make a complete stranger worry. hm. 

“here.” ushijima returns with the first aid kit from the gym and seats himself next to you while he goes through the contents of the box. he pulls out a disinfectant wipe, some gauze and tape. “it might hurt.”

his hand is gentle against your cheek as you face away from him to give him a good look at the cut. you tense, clenching your teeth as the solution touches your flesh, and it burns. then you feel a cool gel being applied to your wound. the sound of a medical tape being pulled and torn off. he presses the gauze on your face lightly before securing it with the tape.

you touch your face, feeling his handiwork, and where the gauze is sitting on your face. “thanks ushijima-san.” while your older brother had taken care of you since you can remember, patching your wounds from your clumsiness and wiping your tears away when you feel lost, no one else out of your family had taken care of you like this before. or rather, you never had someone who was that close to you. even now, the closest friend you have is semi, and you have known him for a little under two months, with the unlikely friendship that grew between you. 

surprise colors ushijima’s face. “you know my name?” although it comes out more as a statement than a question. 

“my brother told me. he’s the setter on your team.” you fidget with the bandage, worried if he would think that you are weird for asking about him. 

“ah, miyamura-san.” he nods his face in recognition as he stows the items back into the box and clicks it shut. “well then, i will see you around.” 

you dust your skirt off as you stand up with him. “thanks again.” you open your mouth about to say something else before your brother jogs over to the two of you. 

“y/n! there you are. i completely lost of track of time–” he stops abruptly, glancing from the wound on your face to the first aid kit that ushijima is holding. eyes narrowing onto ushijima, “did you hurt my sister?” he places his hand on ushijima’s shoulder solemnly albeit menacingly. 

“nii-chan! it’s your fault! i had to wait so long for you. my violin string snapped during practice and he helped me bandage it,” you smack him in the head and start to drag him away. he makes a non-committal noise, relenting to your actions. 

all this while, both of you did not give ushijima a chance to explain himself. he steps to the side, quietly amused by the antics of you and his normally serious senpai. 

“apologize!”

“you’re siding with an outsider instead of your brother now?!” 

“you were clearly in the wrong!” 

“no!”

you turn and bow to ushijima, silently showing gratitude and apology for your dumb brother’s words before whispering to your brother, “baka, mom is going to kill us both” and just like that, your brother flinches. the shiratorizawa setter who is unshakable on court, flinches at the mention of your mother. 

well, that’s one thing you share in common.

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[meabh-mcinness]

Do you ever like think of the adult trio doing things related to their respective animal?

Like whenever balam is happy he involuntarily lets out soft peeps that kind like a baby chicken would do?

Does opera make biscuits when they're sleepy?

When there's something that kalego deeply enjoys does his tail pop out unexpectedly and just wags?

Deeply thinking on this matter STFD anon

So my answer to this is yes. Yes, I do think about this. Balam 100% fluffs up when he's happy, Opera purrs and Kalego? Well, Kalego has a little problem with-

Thumping (Naberius Kalego x GN!Reader)

On Earth, it's common knowledge that when scratched correctly, a canine's leg will start uncontrollably thumping. Even with this in mind, you really didn't see coming that the Babyls 'Guard Dog' would have the same issue.

It had been an average weekend when you had discovered a rather interesting titbit about the Naberius clan. 

It was a rare day when neither of you had any work to do, and could simply exist as you wanted. Both Kalego and you had been lounging on the couch at the time, you were peacefully on the verge of having a nap and curled into his side as he read. A gentle orchestra played in the background on an enchanted gramophone, a mix of strings and woodwinds playing along with the barely discernable scratching of the needle against the record. 

The moment was so tranquil and pleasant that your mind was permanently stuck in that in-between phase in the middle of being asleep or awake. It was why you didn't notice it at first. In your sleepy haze, one of your hands that was draped over his stomach lightly trailed up and down. Tracing non-existent patterns and going no particular way, your hand simply moved — following its own made-up path. Your hand moved closer to his side and continued its aimless wandering there, when suddenly you were more awake than you had been a mere few moments ago. 

You blinked, eyes bleary with sleep and confusion running through your brain. You weren't entirely certain what had woken you. In fact, you had no idea at all. One moment you had been dozing peacefully, the next you were staring across the room at the bookcases lined with novels and textbooks you had both collected. Mentally, you shrugged it off and settled back in again. You assumed it had been hypnic jerks, the sudden jerking awake with a muscle movement often accompanied by a sensation of falling. You had simply too close to drifting off to realize if you had moved, and hypnic jerks didn't always include sensations of falling specifically, or sensations at all really. Shifting to get more comfortable, you felt Kalego's arm lift slightly to give you more room to move, before falling gently again around you when you finally settled down. 

Once again, you slowly started to drift off, your hand moving once more to continue its aimless wanderings along his side. Tracing your fingers along, you suddenly jerked your eyes open again, only this time you knew why. It hadn't been you that had jerked. 

It had been Kalego. 

Blinking in confusion, you forced yourself not to give anything away, to continue moving your hand gently along as if you were still drifting off when you felt it again. His leg had moved. Just a quick twitch, but it had moved all right. You buried your face into his side to hide your grin. Who would have thought the great Naberius Kalego — the doom and gloom emperor—  would be ticklish? Though you had to admit, it was a bit odd that only his leg had twitched. Generally, someone who was ticklish had a full-body reaction, but you chalked it up to the famous Naberius control he had.  

Running your hand into a more deliberate pattern, you trailed it up his side and back down again, being sure to keep your breathing even as if you were still on the verge of sleep. Once more, you felt his leg twitch by your side, and you shifted gears to rub circles occasionally as you moved your hand along his side. The leg twitching grew, and yet he didn't even seem to notice from what you could feel. 

As it became more consistent, you suddenly realized something. Kalego wasn't being tickled, he would have gently smacked you upside the head and moved your hand if he was. This seemed more like an unconscious movement that he potentially had no control over. And the movement was so consistent in a way, always just the one leg moving, almost as if- but no, that wasn't possible. 

That was such a dog-like thing and while your mate was cursed with dog spirit, he did have some dog traits such as sensitive hearing, and constant snarling (which reminded you of a prickly hissing cat to be honest) along with some other more intimate similarities, you didn't think he would share something so, so mundane. So human world like. After all human world dogs only did it due to the way they were built, the neurons crossing wires they weren't supposed to, and it led to an uncontrollable movement. You didn't have enough experience with Netherworld canines to know if they did the same thing or not, but you wouldn't be too surprised if they did or didn't do it. 

Regardless, you never thought the day would come when you learned that Kalego's leg thumped when you pet his sides. 

You personally felt like this was such a monumental find in a way. The waspish, no-nonsense guard dog of Bablys thumps his leg like a common canine. You loved it. It was pretty adorable to find out, and you kind of wanted to tease him about it. At the same time, you were certain he would be extremely offended and find some way to turn it on you. The last thing you needed was for him to discover your tickle spots. 

A book thumped your head, and you let out an ungraceful squawking noise in surprise. Your hand jerked away from his side to clutch at the back of your head, lifting your face from his side to glare up at his smirking one.  As you glared up at Kalego's smirking face, you couldn't help but seize this opportunity to tease him about his unexpected quirk. With a playful glint in your eye, you decided to go for it.

"Kalego, my darling mate," you began, feigning innocence, rolling over on top of him so that you could look him in the eyes, "I must say, I've made a fascinating discovery just now."

Kalego raised an eyebrow, still smirking, but his curiosity was piqued. "And what, pray tell, have you discovered, my dear?"

Leaning in closer, you whispered with exaggerated seriousness, "I've discovered your secret weakness, your Achilles' heel if you will."

His smirk faltered slightly, replaced by a mixture of surprise and annoyance with a bit of confusion. After all, the Netherworld had no concept of the Greeks, much less who Achilles was. Probably for the best, you really didn't want to know what their version of the Trojan horse would be. "And what might that be, exactly?"

You grinned mischievously as you sat up, straddling his hips and pointed back to his leg, which had been twitching all this time. "This," you declared triumphantly, "your leg thumps when I pet your sides. Who would have thought our mighty Naberius Kalego is as ticklish as a common Earth dog?"

Kalego's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he regained his composure. "Nonsense," he huffed, trying to brush off your discovery. "It's just a reflex from staying in one position so long. A need to stretch, nothing more."

You chuckled and decided to push his buttons a bit further. "Oh, come on, Kalego. Admit it. You're not as impervious as you want everyone to believe. You have a soft spot."

He scowled and leaned up closer, his voice dropping to a low, threatening growl. "I suggest you drop this topic immediately, or I might discover your weaknesses as well."

You couldn't help but laugh at his attempt to intimidate you. "Oh, I'm not worried, Kalego. I can handle a little tickling. Don't worry though, this will be our little secret."

Kalego rolled his eyes, but you could see a hint of amusement in them despite his gruff demeanour. 

"Though now, I'm really curious," you stated, nails lightly drawing a line from his side down the prominent v-line before stopping right above his pants line where you were sitting. His stomach visibly grew taunt; breath coming out in quickening pants as he started to grasp your intentions.

"If you share this trait with earthen canines," Your finger lightly tapped the bulge forming in the tent of his skirt. "What others do you share?" You looked up and locked eyes with his. A slow smirk grows on your face, as you already know the answer to the question. 

"Shall we find out?"

[anmaje]

S&Co Sherlock recommended Vivaldi to John and I Lost My Mind

The fact that our Sherlock Holmes recommended Vivaldi to John so suddenly and apruptly is something SO personal! When I read a transcript of the mailbag episode (thank you @eardefenders ) I could NOT stop thinking about it, and have been listening to his many wonderful concertos since. I work in a church choir and am therefore somewhat classically trained, I have also played violin for many years as a child, and still do at times, so allow me to go on a geeky tirade about Antonio Vivaldi and Sherlock's understanding of John.

🎻🌱🌻🍂❄

In the second mailbag episode, a question is asked "If you could make a Spotify playlist for eachother of your own favourite songs, what would some of the highlights be [...] ?"

John answers with the rockband Elbow, who use orchestra and especially strings in their music. Which is why he recommends it to armature violinist Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock says that he would probably never make such a playlist, as he wouldn't find the task fulfilling, but he has an epiphany and IMMEDIATELY interrupts himself, not even finishing his sentence, and he simply says "Vivaldi". I have not heard the delivery of this line(cause I'm poor ✌), but the fact that the answer falls to him so suddenly and it simply MUST leave him immediately so John hears is delicious characterisation. Sherlock also answers with pop, as John likes popculture (a somewhat less personal answer, but still very considerate).

After another question it is established that Vivaldi isn't even a favourite of Sherlock's. He much prefers Mozart, Bach(I will come back to Bach) and Tchaikovsky.  Now Sherlock is a violinist, so there is no way he has escaped the genius of Antonio Vivaldi, like he's escaped pop. And so this recommendation is really because he feels John would like it.

But why does Sherlock think that? What would John Watson, a middle class everyman, like about Vivaldi?

Let me tell you:

When we analyse the symbolic meaning of instrumental classical(in this case baroque) music, we often look at the biography of the composer (Vivaldi gives us a little more to work with, which I will return to). I will start here. Antonio Vivaldi of Venice was taught the violin by his father and was ordained at 25 but didn't work as a priest for long due to illness. He instead became a violin teacher and composer. (Who else do we know that took up a very respected line of work but ended up where his father did? Why John Watson of course!) Vivaldi taught abandoned girls at an orphanage for more than 30 years, and saw immense potential in them and their education. The most talented of the girls stayed into adulthood as a part of their renowned orchestra and choir. He wrote most of his music for these girls and women to perform. He also took the talented singer Anna Tessiseri Giro and her sister under his wing, and Anna became his protégé. What a great guy! Supporting the talents of young women! Of course John would love him.

Going into Vivaldi's musical genius, we have to talk about baroque music. Vivaldi left a huge mark on the late baroque period. Especially the form of concertos which I won't bore you with (🤓), but also the general style of the period. That style is characterised by grand ornamentation (like the baroque in general), driving movement (in rythm) and contrast such as ascending and descending notes. All this produces beautiful an grand pieces. Additionally, Vivaldi used melodic  repetition(his critics say too much), which is what gets the new hit pop song stuck in our heads. Something our John is very prone to suffer under. Vivaldi also took a narrative approach to music. Not only through his many operas, but also in his concertos. Everyone knows his Four Seasons, whether you want to or not. He wrote four concertos, one for each season, and for each season there was an accompanying sonnet(which he presumably wrote). These concertos and sonnets depict both the gentleness and wrath of nature, all beautiful. But also people: herders, shepherds, drunk peasants celebrating the harvest and hunters. These are working people that Vivaldi chose to portray. John has a working class background, despite his social climb, he still shares most empathy with these people. Of course he would enjoy a celebration of their troubles and joys throughout the year.

Now back to Bach. A baroque man that Sherlock enjoys. The baroque ends with Bach, that is atleast what I've been taught. All of the period leads up to him. His complicated polyphonic(2 or more lines of melody at once) pieces are iconic and definitive of the period. And who inspired J. S. Bach? Well Vivaldi of course! Bach adapted several of Vivaldi's works and quoted him directly in his own compositions. Bach used bigger orchestras and different instruments (organ and harpsichord as he played them himself) and his works are generally more complicated than Vivaldi's Italian one-melody-centric works, but Bach is the metaphorical student! And Sherlock must absolutely be aware of this.

To me reading the mailbag episode, Sherlock started out uninterested, but the question had him think through his favourites. All complicated and very much not to John's tastes. But when thinking of Bach he went back to Vivaldi, which you must, and he is different. Vivaldi the sick priest, Vivaldi the teacher, the life long supporter of young womens' and abandoned girls' careers. Creative Vivaldi, Vivaldi the storyteller, which John is also. Vivaldi who celebrates nature and the dramatic lives of incredibly normal working people. Vivaldi and his repetitive melodies, although not in Sherlock's taste, fits John's so well. Vivaldi who inspired Bach. John who inspires Sherlock. ❤🎻

Tirade over! Thank you for reading. If you want to listen to some of Vivaldi's work I recommend The Four Seasons and a spot near a window with a suitable drink for the weather in your part of the world. For Bach you might want to look up whether your local church/music school holds concerts or similar events where Bach features, organ is a thousand times better live (if not, stick to his piano or string work).

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I've been dreaming of the Benevolent Sovereign of the Oasis.

Sun and shadow. Two existences, locked in a perpetual cycle, unable to be without the other.

It hurts to part ways, but reunion is that much sweeter.

How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die?

His eyes flutter open, and the instant his awareness hits, so, too, does the lightning in his veins. He throws his covers off and scrambles out of bed. His phone is in his hand in seconds, the calendar app opened.

It's just as he anticipates.

“Today’s the day!!”

Kalim's exhilarated shout stirs the entire mansion. Various hired help glance up from their tasks—private chefs in the middle of their prep work, housekeepers tending to the laundry, gardeners watering the flowers—and tut or sigh.

"There goes the young master again," they’d murmur amongst themselves. "He's so excitable."

It's not an unusual occurrence, but this time is especially special. The notice had gone out months in advance, the most skilled laborers called in from all corners of the world for the event. He had counted down the days, cancelled all his meetings.

Just for this.

Kalim breaks into a sprint down the corridor, his sandaled feet pounding the polished floors. He skids around a corner and continues his frantic pace, almost knocking over a valet. The servant stumbles, but Kalim grabs his hands and pulls him up into a spin.

"It's today, it's today!!" he squeals, earning a blank stare from the valet.

"Yes, sir. The staff are all aware. The preparations are well underway, so you needn't be concerned."

"Gahahah, everyone's already hard at work this early in the morning!" Kalim’s boisterous laugh bounces off the high ceilings. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Oh no, please leave the work to us... Y-Young master? Young master, where are you going?!"

"I'm going to check up on some things, don't mind me!!" Kalim calls back. He has already taken off, leaving the valet stunned.

"... Well, he's certainly become more proactive."

Kalim sticks his head into the dining room. The table is large enough to host his entire family plus several guests, but today it is set only for two. The seats are intimately situated across from one another, their best plates, silverware, and cloth napkins set out to welcome the diners.

The centerpiece, an ice sculpture of a viper with its hood flared out, sparkles in the morning sunlight. It would be a puddle by now, had it not been enchanted to never melt.

Servants are busy setting up a banquet: crisp vegetables, steamed fish, crusted breads, seasoned meats. His stomach tosses uncomfortably when he passes the seven kinds of curry laid out in a row--but he reassures himself with the reminder that his guest is sure to love them.

The kitchen didn't skim on the beverage selection either. There are sparkling juices, rich soups, spiced coffee, and black tea, accompanied by a large pot of white sugar with which to sweeten it. For dessert, fresh fruits (no dates!), flaky layered pastries, ice-creams, and cakes dipped in sugar syrups, topped with crushed pistachios and candied orange peels.

"Care to sample, sir?" a servant asks Kalim. They offer a trey of appetizers, each with an odd stone-colored dollop.

He obliged, popping one into his mouth. "Mmm! What's this gray stuff? It's delicious!"

"The head chef's secret recipe, young master. He thought to bring it out of his recipe cards today in honor of the celebration."

"Wow, he's really going above and beyond for this!!" Kalim glances at his staff. Now the orchestra is filing in with their instruments, and a massive roast duck on a bed of fried garlic and scallions is being laid out on the table. Another team is stringing up lanterns, and a skilled animal tamer enters, hauling a crate of colorful parrots. "Everyone is. I really appreciate it.

"... Oh, hey!" He snaps his fingers, a spark in his eyes--as though he has just come up with a great idea. "I know! Since you've been putting your all into this, I think it's only fair you get to get off work early and have a chance to relax too!"

"Erm, sir--that's very generous of you, but we aren't even done setting things up yet. The decorations especially..."

"It's fine, I've got this!" Kalim turns to the rest of the workers calls out, waving his arms. "Hey, everyone! You're free to go! Grab some nice food from the kitchen on your way out. I can handle the rest!"

The staff look confused, but not one of them protests. Some shrug and immediately exit, others anxiously wait for their peers to go before they follow. Before long, the room is cleared.

"Alright, let's do this...!"

Kalim produces his magical pen and waves it in an arc. Golden sparkles rain down, animating nearby objects.

Plates, forks, spoons, and knives march to the long table themselves. Flowers settle into crystal vases. Banners and lanterns float up, pinning themselves in place.

There we go.

"Squawk, squawk, squawk!!"

Kalim follows the cacophony to the cage of parrots left behind by the animal tamer. They're scrambling around, looking longingly at the decorations that had been raised to the ceiling.

He brightens with understanding. "Oooh, I get it! You want to get out and stretch your wings too!"

Kalim hesitates, turning the choice over in his head. "'Hmm, well... Technically, you're not supposed to be released until he gets here."

A showy spectacle--that is how Kalim envisions it. A whirlwind of flashy feathers to welcome him back. But the longer he looks at the wide, wet eyes of the parrots, the more the sadness swells in his chest.

Poor little guys, bound to a cage.

"... Okay, I've decided! You can come out and stretch your wings, I'll just need you back on the ground before the big surprise. Then you can fly all you want when he gets here."

Kalim kneels, fiddling with the lock on the cage. The door easily slides open, and--

FLAP, FLAP, FLAP!!

The entire flock rushes out, sending Kalim flying back onto his bum. He braces against the powerful beating of wings, the talons and beaks nearly scraping his skin.

A voice cuts through the noise.

"Kalim!"

Someone tackles right into him, forcing him to the ground. The world violently tilts, and suddenly Kalim is staring at a ceiling swarming with golden lights and a vaguely shaped shadow looming over him.

"I thought you had matured a little since I departed, but it looks as though you still have your moments where you're hopeless without me. I didn't think the first thing I'd do when I got back was protect you, but here we are."

He blinks rapidly. His vision slowly corrects, lines drawing together and forming a crisper image.

That face.

He recognizes it.

His old friend, dressed in sandals, khakis, and a bright yellow T-shirt embroidered with pink tropical flowers. He wears a cap that resembles a cartoon character--a dog with floppy black ears. The man had entered with suitcases, which were dropped by the door the instant he jumped to Kalim's defense.

"Jamil...!"

Kalim yanks him into a hug. His face turns, tears welling in his eyes. "Y-You came!! And you came so early...!!"

"Of course I did. I promised you I'd return home after my travels," Jamil sighs, patting his emotional friend's back. "I was planning on surprising you first, but..."

He gives the dining room and its extravagant flourishes a glance. Parrots are roosting in the banners, popping the balloons, or stealing vegetables and fruit from the flatters.

"... It looks like you've beaten me at my own game," he says tactfully.

"Yeah!" Kalim sniffs, wiping at his tears. "I... I wanted to welcome you home with a huge celebration!!"

"... Idiot. I didn't come back for any of this. Not food, not music, not pets, not decorations. There's one thing that the Scalding Sands has that no other place in Twisted Wonderland does: my best friend."

"Awww, Jamil...!" Kalim's eyes wet again. He lets out a happy sob, reburying his face in Jamil's shoulder. "It's good to have you back!!"

He sighs deeply. Despite this, Jamil still manages a smile. "It's good to be back with you, Kalim."

[electricsynthesis]

lance - sorry to teenagers in fanon in 2016 but I don’t think lance would listen to the pop hits of the 2010s. I think lance is too hip for that. He is not listening to pop from 100~ years ago. (Or more, nobody can agree on when the show takes place & I think that’s beautiful). lance is listening to the billboard top 100. He’s listening to what people are talking about . I imagine their pop music as very synthetic, almost edm, with loud vocals over top of it. Less bass than we have in our pop music, more tenor. he’s into particular celebrities and while he likes their music, and he says it’s about the music, he’s more into the celebrities really than the music. he’s into his eras version of, like, Britney Spears. Because they’ve gotta have an edge to them. Some controversy. if they’re too squeaky clean he gets bored

hunk - whatever the sci fi future equivalent of melancholy, heavily vocal guitar indie music. the kind of music that’s more poetry than it is really music. Stuff made by underground artists. it’s all emotional, ranging from sappy to comforting to sad. he likes love songs about pining but they make him really emotional . He also likes pop music generally, soft hip hop and r&b. also atmospheric music. He strikes me as the type of nerd to listen to a lot of video game osts because of the sweeping orchestral vibes, but for some reason refuses to just listen to actual classical music. Feels too pretentious but then he just listens to orchestras perform the video game osts anyway so lol

pidge - god’s most annoying electronica. I think 100 years of sci fi future is going to make hyperpop one of the whackiest music genres and pidge is right there with it. She wants pitchy, bit-crushed squealing. she wants electronic shrieking. she wants voices autotuned to the point of nigh unrecognizability. I think she also listens to more normal electronica, which I think is more mainstream in their era. Stuff we would associate with weird youtube electronica is a whole cast genre. She’s really into it. She knows all the bands, all the subgenres, all the specific sounds of each one. Matt finds this so fucking annoying because she plays it out loud and he h a t e s it. After she joins team voltron lance gets to take over matts place here

keith - forgive me for this, but I do think keith listens to what WE would call numetal. But it’s like. Classic metal, to him. Og metal. Like I think he literally listens to linkin park. I’m saying that keith kogane listens to 100 year old music. He heard it all from his crazy ass paranoid conspiracy theorist father, who only uses analogue tech because he’s terrified of the garrison finding out about his fuzzy purple alien long distance wife and his alien hybrid child. so he plays like, breaking Benjamin cds on an old boombox. This is the only kind of music keith likes . He’s ok with modern metal but he prefers what we would call classic metal. he doesn’t like emo music

allura -

So I have really detailed thoughts on what constitutes “music” and how that may be defined for alien cultures in sci fi. I’ve thought about this extensively since I was 14 and the conclusion I’ve come to is that altean music is the most industrial, heavy, absolutely dark fast paced noisemusic ever conceived. Metal grinding against metal. Plates shrieking against each other. Dull thumping on thick glass. String instruments that squeak and squeal. sudden starts and stops. Heavy drums you can feel in your teeth. clanking. whistling. wheezing. All the kinds of noises you hear in altean music. coran prefers more “classical” altean music, which entails more drums and strings (of the shrieking variety). allura prefers the “modern” (of her youth) altean music, their equivalent to pop, which is more industrial & metal grindy.

She excitedly shows the humans some altean music only to find them absolutely repulsed. Just, like, they’re trying to be nice. But when I say industrial I mean like, a collection of noises that we wouldn’t even categorize as music. so they can’t help the just inherent misunderstanding. except keith, he fucking LOVES it. He goes WILD for it. Allura convinces him to actually dance to it and they just flail around wildly.

he tries to show allura the music that he likes but sadly divorced dad rock doesn’t do much for her. But through their & pidge’s combined efforts into the forays of Abrasive Human Music they discover that allura also really likes death metal

[edge-oftheworld]

a snapshot in time of my CALM orchestral arrangement

so I just discovered that this is a thing you can do on tumblr and i've been debating putting it up here (i'm not even sure it's legal) but at this point, to me it's worth the (very slim) lawsuit risk to show you guys the inspo behind making this blog. for @bluewrite who i've been meaning to email this to for ages but never got there. for @tleeaves who i think got a slightly older version as did @ghost-of-you but this is also for all of you who've heard me rattling about music things, for people i've gotten into 5sos by talking about this project such as @thevagabondexpress (thank you for drawing the U2 link).

anyway, as you probably know i'm a classical violist. i know my instrument and i know a fair amount of music theory and i know how to play the keyboard/piano as well and at the start of this project i knew very little about building orchestral scores or anything about wind instruments at all. i'd written arrangements and original pieces before but only for strings-only orchestras, and though i'm alright at pulling out instrumentation from songs my experience is largely in the more classic 2000s pop/rock/worship with very minimal synth activity and max 3 part harmonies. to say this was a challenge is an understatement.

it's also not finished yet. i've gone back and forth on this getting feedback from a bunch of people, much of which i didn't understand and wasn't ready to implement. i've also found ashton and calum's videos explaining these songs in more detail and the acoustic version of teeth and best years with the actual chords of the songs and now, differently to the week tfofu came out but similar, i'm on it again, noticing things. noticing musical trends. most of this was done by pure sound intuition and a handful of piano scores arranged by @/keudae on youtube i bought and played to get a feel of the songs. I feel really stoked to have picked up on the whole lover of mine setting us up for lonely heart and being a bit like ghost of you and some of the themes within the album!

but there is a lot i didn't pick up on. especially in the last movement i don't truly feel like i did any of those songs justice. nor lonely heart. and there is a stark difference between the quality of the songs that were played at the RAH and the ones that i only had a studio version to work off (my strings background comes out here). i've also looked at all the 22 individual parts and realised, hey, i want to be in the 5sos spirit and make every single one of these fun to play and right now the only one that is is the cello which carries luke's main melody line but it's also kinda working too hard.

and that's the thing i know, probably apart from that one keychange into lonely heart from ghost of you, this for the most part sounds good and i want to share it here before i rejig it too much, make it too much more orchestral, so we can remember it and see it evolve. because i have a bunch of juno and guitar and percussion and harmony parts i haven't put in. general song vibes. shake up the choruses and make them a variation on themselves each time. maintain the atmosphere it's got but add more layers to it, be more true to the original songs. make something i would be proud to show 5sos if the opportunity ever arose, something that would actually astonish them and I think I can. because their musicality in this album is astounding, and something i haven't seen in heaps of other artists, and i want to recognise that and draw it out in something that can do it justice like an orchestra.