#you may say is that a hozier song lyric

[floralovebot]

I’d suggest you can try looking into Hozier’s songs for Helia’s playlist, like Work Song, In A Week and Moment’s Silence do give me helia vibes!

Thank you for the suggestions!! I've always really liked the idea of associating Hozier's song with Helia! I actually have like real people do on his playlist rn !

I really liked moment's silence but I actually added it to Nabu's instead! I liked the idea of it for Helia but I feel like the sound of it and even the lyrics really matched Nabu and aibu! I also really like work song and I've contemplated it for Helia before but I was never able to convince myself that it was his song yknow? While there are more intense songs on his playlist rn, I feel like it's a bit too intense? Or maybe the vibe of the song is too intense for him? I'm not sure what it is exactly since I do like the song and can definitely see it for florelia, but something about it just isn't quite right for them,,, :(

Also, I like in a week but i don't like thinking about rotting corpses so unfortunately i usually can't listen to that one ajldghladjgh

[thexsilentxwordsmith]

I'll Crawl Home To Her

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Fem!reader

Summary: Simon is away on a mission and you are on his mind. Having to extend his stay, he is going to miss Valentine's day, but coming across a recent trend on TikTok, he may have a way to say just how much you mean to him.

***So, this came from the TikTok trend I came across of military guys posting pics of their girlfriends/wives/fiancees/etc. to the song Work Song by Hozier and I wanted Simon to do it too for you. So here it is! Just a little something extra***

***Pictures are made by me***

Simon can’t sleep, again. 

It’s been a while that his team has been in the field on their current mission and though he knows he should focus on the task at hand, there is so much on his mind tonight. Even though he is tired, he cannot seem to get himself to drift off. There is something missing, or more like someone, that he wishes to be beside right now and that is you.

He feels guilty about still being gone as he should be in by now, just in time for Valentine's day, but that isn’t happening anymore. Things on this latest mission are taking longer than expected and instead of packing up to come home to you, he had to have that hard phone call to tell you that he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In that call he heard it there in your voice: that twinge of sadness that you always try to mask through hopeful and kind words, holding back the crackle in your voice as you choke back the tears in hopes that he won't hear it, but he does. He always does.

As much as he loves his job he is ready to be back with you again and hearing that does not make it any easier. 

The dark surrounds him as Simon lays in his cot, trying to numb his mind with his phone propped up in his hand, hopeful that with enough distraction sleep will eventually take him. He knows there is no better way to keep his mind from wandering back to those things he cannot change than by idly watching short content videos and he knows just where to go for that. He clicks on the TikTok app and begins to watch. 

Scrolling through the drivel and waste, past people spewing their nonsense, a video comes across his feed that instantly brings you right back to the forefront of his thoughts. The first slide is a picture of a young man in his fatigues and tactical gear smiling at the camera. He is clearly in the field on active duty and there is text across him that repeats the lyrics of the song playing. His picture is followed by a slide with what Simon assumes is his wife with the next bit of lyrics over her. It looks like a new trend amongst military personnel on the app, a tribute to the ones they are going to come home to in the future: children, pets, significant others, family. 

The song tugs at his heartstrings from the moment it begins; it's one he hasn't heard before, but the lyrics make his heart ache and his arms feel so incredibly empty without the weight of your body filling them as the singer speaks about how even in death they would find their way home to the one they love.

And fuck if that isn't something he thinks about a lot. 

It is a burden of this type of job, leaving all part of his heart behind back home every time he has to go out. He knows this lifestyle isn’t easy on either of you, that even though you’ve been together for a couple years now, having him constantly be pulled across the world and away from you still has a certain bite to it. Yet with all that stacked against your relationship, not once have you ever been anything other than supportive. Standing beside him through it all, constantly choosing to give him your heart no matter how hard this gets, loving him through the all the shit that gets thrown his way; if there is anyone his soul would seek out even in death, it would be you. 

He clicks on the sound at the bottom of the screen with a lump welling in his throat and starts to watch more videos of the same. One video turns into two and then three and now his heart is aching something fierce, like a physical burning in the center of his hardened chest that he tries to rub away with his hand, but he knows it's not going to go until he's near you again.

This longing is worse than it has ever been before. He misses your touch, all that soft, warm skin under his hardened hands; he misses your laugh, that sweet sound that can make the sunshine come out even on a rainy day; he yearns for your mouth, those full lips that he can lose himself in. It's almost too much to bear being away from you at that moment.

Simon was never one for big displays of sentimentality. No one ever seemed worth breaking down those walls that he had built up to allow himself to be vulnerable in such a public way like that. It never seemed worth the sacrifice. And for a long time, no matter who he met, that was true…until you.

You broke the mold when you came into his life. Now his heart can't help but burst at the seams whenever you pop into his head. He could be a thousand miles away from you, stuck in some hot, miserable shithole in the middle of nowhere, like he is right now, and yet the moment he thinks of you it doesn't seem quite so bad. 

Because he knows there is a piece of heaven waiting for him, something wonderful that is all his that the struggle of his other life will not touch, not if he has anything to do with it.

Simon may have to miss being there on the day when people show their loved ones how much they care, but that doesn’t mean he can do nothing. As the videos continue to play, he gets an idea, one that will hopefully show you just how much he really does care. 

As much as you go on the app, he is sure you have seen a video or two like this come across your scrolling. You have probably sat there and watched just as he did, thinking about him being so far away, missing him something terrible. Maybe you would like to see him make a video like that for you. Either way, this is something he wants to do, needs to do.

Simon has no pictures of just himself on his phone, none without you in them, and so that’s his first order if he wants to do this right. He tries to do the easy thing the next day and take a selfie, but he can’t get one that looks good enough for him to keep. The more he takes, the worse he thinks they look and that means he is going to have to get help whether he wants to or not, otherwise he is going to back out of doing this and he’s not going to let that happen. 

This is for you after all, he needs it to be perfect. You deserve that.

He decides his best bet is wrangling Soap into doing this for him; at least he is the most comfortable asking the sergeant. “Johnny, I need ya to do somethin’ for me,” Simon says as the team stands around awaiting transport into the designated location. “Don’t ask any fuckin’ questions, but I need ya to take a picture a me real quick.”

“Wanna do a beauty shoot here, L.T.? Seems a bit of a strange location,” Johnny jokes as Simon pulls out his phone from his pocket and shoves it into the sergeant’s open hand. Johnny watches him for a moment, taking a guess at what this is all really about. “Or is it for yer lass back home? Gonna send her somethin’ nice?”

Shaking his head, Simon laughs sarcastically. “Just take the damn picture, yeah? An’ make it look good. I want it ta look natural.”

This isn’t something the masked officer has much experience in and so posing is out; he instead goes for something where it looks like he is caught unaware that he’s being photographed. He’s looking off in the distance, his hand wrapped around his gun so they don’t just hang awkwardly at his side. Johnny quickly snaps the pic and hands the phone back to Simon to check. 

“That’ll do,” he says under his breath, satisfied enough with how it looks.

That night as he lays down for bed, he quickly pieces the video together: first his photo and then he needs one of you. He opens his camera roll and it is absurd how many different ones he has saved. There are so many to choose from that he has a hard time picking the perfect one, but settles on something recent. 

It’s one of you in the bathroom of your apartment, all cozy in the striped jumper he got you for your birthday. Your hair is pulled down out of the bun you keep it in for work, a bit messy from just getting in after you got off. Never has he seen someone more beautiful in such a simple state; you always could look like a dream without even trying. And even through your exhaustion you still give the camera and him the biggest, brightest smile. 

Yeah, it has to be this one. This is the beauty he does all this for.

Luckily it is a rather simple video to put together, he doesn’t have too much trouble getting it to look exactly like the others. He has to watch and rewatch it several times just to be sure he is happy with the product before he hits upload to his followers only. Being that you are the only person that follows him, that is exactly what he wants; he may have to be a bit secretive for work, but that doesn’t mean he can’t try and give you some normalcy.

To him you deserve the world and fuck if he isn’t going to try and give it to you.

He presses the button, the uploading dial in the upper hand corner spinning until it reaches 100%, and waits to see if you get it, hoping that it has the effect he wants in saying all he needs to for you to know how special you are to him.

Across the country, your phone buzzes with a random notification as you lay in bed. It's from Simon's account on TikTok saying he's made a new post. You can’t help how strange you think it is… He never posts anything on his account because he really only made one for you to send him stupid videos to watch whenever he needs to unwind and so it takes you by surprise to see that he has posted something. Opening the app curiously you go straight to check out what it is.

You are not prepared for the emotion that hits you the moment the video starts to play. It’s one of those military posts you have come across a couple of times while scrolling late at night, the ones that you have to quickly scroll past or risk crying at how sweet they are and how much they make you miss Simon. Now the heartfelt Hozier song is blasting through the speakers and it is for you.  

The sentiment behind the lyrics of the song mixed with the picture of him on his latest mission is almost too much. And of course he has picked the picture of you looking all natural, it’s like he can’t get enough of you when you don’t even try at all. You know better than anyone how Simon despises having his picture taken if it isn’t with you, so this a huge sign of just how deeply he cares. Instantly there is a stinging around the rims of your eyes as your vision shimmers. You let the video replay several times as the stray tears are let loose and stream heavily down your face.

Simon did this all for you.

Quickly you pull up your texting app and send him a message, hoping he’s still up to at least answer. You have to rub your eyes with the back of your hand to see the screen, but you type out your message as best you can.

I want you to know I'm crying right now because of you. Is that what you wanted? Make me something that has me crying?

A few minutes pass before your phone buzzes with a text from him, just as you finish wiping away more of the tears collecting on your cheeks. 

Guess you saw the video, yeah? I hope I did it right, sweetheart. Cause I fucking mean it.

You chuckle, swallowing down the lump of feelings that have lodged themselves in your throat, struggling not to start sobbing at how his sweet affection. Of all the things that could be said about Simon Riley, one that could never was that he didn't try his hardest when it came to loving you.

The emotion makes your hands quiver, but you text him back.

It is perfect, Simon. I love it. Really, you did so good.

Simon smiles to himself, glad that your deep connection allows him to share things like this with you. There is no one else that can see him like this, that he can allow his guard down around, and it feels nice to be this tender for the first time in his life. He truly feels as if he can be vulnerable, let himself love with his whole heart, and it is all because of you.

Maybe I'm going soft, but I wanted you to know that I am missing you like mad and that I hate I’m not there with you right now. Fuck, it's getting hard. Can't wait till you're back in my arms again, darling.

You close your eyes and press your lips to the screen as if he can feel your kiss through the screen.

Love you.

Not even a minute passes and the phone vibrates.

Love you too, my beautiful girl. I promise I'll be home soon.

[torialefay]

this may be kind of an unusual question so feel free to ignore it, but i tend to make lots of links and associations of concepts/situations with music and stuff and so i'm curious, what are some songs that you'd pick to describe what it would be like to be in a relationship with chan? or some songs that suit his placements (for example, i think work song by hozier is peak scorpio venus devotion level haha)

okay i LOVE this question!!! (also currently in a hozier phase so i love that you brought up that song.) if you have any other recs, pls send them my way, but here's some that had come to mind:

✨🎶 Dating Channie Sounds Like 🎶✨

the friendship/relationship stage:

i don't think it's just me who thinks that chan is gonna have to know & be friends with someone before progressing to a romantic relationship. i think he could definitely pine over someone for a while and be too scared to say anything. and then if something DID happen between the two of you, you would have to hide it for a pretty longgg time. that's why i chose these 2 songs :)

• human - dodie ft tom walker ✨

• hush hush - the band camino✨

actual committed relationship phase:

• medicine - royal sugar ✨ this gives me such new-relationship, pent-up sexual tension vibes. this man would not be able to stop thinking ab you sexually when you first get together... 100%. sex w/ him is likely initially more fun, like in this song, but once he gets to KNOW you, it gets wayyyy deeper

• tenerife sea - ed sheeran ✨ this one might be a cop-out bc chan has sung it multiple times on channie's room but i couldn't NOT put it in here. moving past the superficial, this song paints such a new, mesmerizing love story. you are elated you finally found your person.

• mess is mine - vance joy ✨ i'm sorry but the lyrics "this body is yours and mine" & "now your mess is mine" is so channie-coded to me. he is offering himself up to you. anything you want from him is yours & he will take on all of your hurt

• fire and the flood AND lay it on me - vance joy ✨ these were just so all-encompassing, i couldn't not include them. you become the most consuming part of his life. he quite literally can't go a day without thinking of you and how fucking attached his heart is to yours. you are his everything and only thing. "i always feel you in my blood" & "your love's always finding me out."

• until you - ahi ✨ this song isn't as relevant NOW, but it really throws me into a pre-debut channie love story tbh. bless his little heart 💔 i couldn't NOT include it bc it's still beautiful.

• anointed - miguel AND religion - lana del rey ✨ these have the same purpose, so i'm including them together. when channie is truly in love with you, he won't fuck you- he fucking worships you. well, you worship each other in the bedroom. and i feel this a million times. he needs something deeper and he needs to feel consumed in it. praising each other until you physically have no stamina left in your body.

tough times/drifting apart/ fights:

sorry but i had to add a couple of angsty songs that i could totally see playing out in a relationship w channie </3

• fleeting love - royal sugar ✨ i 100% see this song being about your struggles with a long distance relationship. not being able to work anything out, but also not being able to let them go. "in the elevator with your passport... goodbye is 10 floors down." you just want him so badly, but you don't know you can do this. you were so happy to have him, even if just for a little bit.

• berenstein - the band camino ✨ chan always talks about alternate universes, so i had to add this one in. the line "at another place in time, you were infinitely mine," it makes me think so much about if you were perfect with channie, and you both knew that... but you simply couldn't be with him because of his idol life. but you knew that somewhere out there in a parallel universe, he wasn't an idol, and you were together like you were meant to be :((((

bonus song:

this song reminds me SO MUCH of chris. the first time i heard it, i instantly thought of him. it isn't a love song by any means, it just makes me think of him && his life/all he's been through ❤️

• time's eyes - riley pearce ✨

if anyone has a song they automatically think of with channie, pls pls pls let me knowwww!!!

[annikin-annotates]

Lady of the Lake

Hi y’all! I’m so glad to be writing this for my dear kindred spirit for her 1,000 followers celebration! I hope you all enjoy the One Shot I’ve created using Hozier's Butchered Tongues as my base. Congratulations my dear @arcielee, you deserve all the love you receive, I hope this lives up to your expectations!. 

Let me know if you would like to be added to my taglists!

Happy reading.

Pairing: Aemond x Siren!Reader

Word Count: 3,069 (Nice)

Warnings; Blood, mentions of death, thoughts of ripping Aemond limb from limb. Minors DNI 18+

Chosen lyrics; They are buried without scalp in the shattered bedrock of our home.

The lake had been covered in misty fog, its eerie tendrils dancing just above the surface of the water, if one looked close enough they could see water sprites at work. Humans believed that magic was gone from the world, but if they only looked a little closer they would see that it was still here, barely; like the final embers on a candle wick. 

She lived beneath the surface of a pond, a safe haven under the ever changing waters of the stream that flows into it. It was always quiet in her small pond, the blue gills and catfish her only company. Though she would not say that it was entirely awful, it may be secluded and quiet but it was always safe, and being safe meant staying alive. 

Trees twisted and wrapped their way around one another, strangling one another for a chance at seeing the sun, oh how she longed for the sun’s warmth. The dense dark green thickets surrounding the edge of the lake, pointed thorns dipping into the water, another reminder of the cage she had put herself in. 

She slipped below the surface once more, sinking to the mossy floor, her head resting on a mossy rock, staring up at the underside of the lily pads. She spent the rest of her day hunting catfish and playing with the small water spiders that skimmed across the surface of the water.

She spent her night curled up in a patch of Hydrilla, its green tips making a space in the water. She stared up into the inky expanse and wondered what it was like above the surface. She wondered if perhaps one day, she too could walk amongst them. She had walked on land before, some centuries ago when she was only a girl.

Back when humans knew and respected the creatures that dwell out of sight, the rulers of nature. For a time they had lived in peace, silently walking amongst them, helping when needed, fighting in wars that were not ours, and aiding the sick with cures and magic long forgotten by mankind.

Somewhere along the path, we had become a threat, a danger to humans, they began to push them back into the woods and lakes, away from civilisations. Her mother was forced from her job as a maid in a keep not far from where she dwelled, it was not long after that, they began to cull them. All her family were snuffed out within a night, now all of them laid at the bottom of the God’s Eye.

All except her. 

She shook the thoughts from her head, she couldn’t bear to think about it any more. She reached a webbed hand toward the starry sky, the rippled surface obscuring the true beauty of it. Her arm came to rest by her side, disturbing the sediment as she sighed, an air pocket travelling all the way to the surface.  

Shimmering sunlight awoke her from her slumber, she sat up and stretched her arms and leant forward to stretch her back, the dorsal fin waying with the current. Perhaps today she would sun herself on the boulder in her lake, enjoy the sound of birdsong and they trickling water. The warmth of the flat rock warmed her cold flesh, her tail swishing in the clear water beneath her. 

The sun had just begun to beam down into her pond, refracting different colours like light onto a thousand precious gems. She spent time braiding her hair down the length of her back, small river flowers delicately weaved into it. She hummed the melody of a song her mother used to sing to her when she was young, the same one she would use to lure men to their watery graves. 

The sound of approaching hooves sent her beneath the water again, resurfacing in the safety of the water reeds. Directly across from her was a lithe man knelt by the running water of the stream, drinking handfuls of water. He was marvellous to look at, his deep green clothes and gold trimmed armour and his hair that looked like spun silver fluttering in the gentle wind. 

A familiar primal feeling came over her, it was stronger than she had ever felt before: have him, have him, devour him, feast upon his bones, it chanted. It frightened her, but she followed the feeling, diving below the water once more only to look at him from between the reeds. She could see all the features of his face now, a strong chin and pronounced nose and eyes that glittered like amethysts in the sun. He was handsome, but she could taste the sadness permeating from him, the wish to be anywhere other than where he was, she empathised with him. 

‘Come and find me,’ she whispered, edging him closer and closer to the water ‘Let me free you from your burdens,’ she cooed, watching him fall deeper and deeper under her spell. 

He was within her grasp, she surfaced from beneath the water, scaled chest glimmering in the sunlight, a webbed hand extended for him to take. Their fingers ghosted one another, his hands were soft and warm while hers were cold and slippery, ‘Come to me, my sweet,’ she hummed melodically. She could practically feel her teeth sinking into his flesh, tearing him limb from limb, the thought sent her milky eyes rolling back into her head. 

A woman with long dark hair grasped his shoulder, pulling him from her carefully laid trance, “You mustn’t venture too close to the water, my Prince,” she said firmly. By the time he had flicked his eyes towards the other woman and back to the water, she was gone. 

“Why?” she heard him ask, standing from the waters edge, his eyes hadn’t yet left the spot where he saw her. 

“Dark creatures lurk below the surface of these waters,” the woman replied, though the conversation had become less clear the further they ventured from the water. 

The woman in the water haunted him for days after returning to Harrenhal, the word she spoke to him ringing in his ears, ‘Let me free you from your burdens,’ she had said. She was slowly consuming him, mind, body and soul, and he had no desire to break free from her hold. He would never forget the feeling of being lured by her, both horrifying and euphoric. 

He saw flashes of her everywhere, peeking around corners, the melody of birdsong and in his dark haired lover. He saw her in the pursuit of his own high, chasing her from the recesses of his mind, Alys’ face slowly morphing into the face he saw below the water. Aemond could almost feel her talons ghosting along his skin, leaving rippling heat in its wake.

The feeling of fangs pressing against the column of his throat sent him into a frenzy of thrusts, his large hands guiding the body above him. The melodic song he had heard from her, guiding him like a boat through a tempest, had driven him over the edge. ‘Aemond,’ Alys moaned, though he heard only the melodic voice of the woman in the water. 

He didn’t dare look up at her, instead he slipped from beneath her, choosing to stand at the windowsill, looking over the God’s Eye, wondering about her. Slender fingers and soft lips trailed over his shoulder and down his arm, and yet it did not stoke the fire that burned deep within him as it usually did. 

“It’s her, isn’t it?” Alys asked her nose softly nudging the nape of his neck, her hands never leaving him.

Aemond thought for a moment, “Yes,” he replied, a cold edge to his voice. 

Alys pulled away from him, recoiling from the coldness of the  response “I see,” she said, clearing her throat. “I shall leave you be, my Prince,” she continued, making her way to where her clothes lay. She dressed silently and left through the servants corridor, to remain unseen. 

—

Muffled dragon cries woke her abruptly from her slumber, she broke the surface of the water, a panicked gasp tearing from her as she looked helplessly at the sky. She looked around her, as flickering embers and ash fell from the sky, she couldn’t stay here. Today would be the day where she would face her fears and leave the safety of her pond.

She heaved herself up through the bramble that surrounded her pond, thorns pricking and scratching her tender skin, half blind from the sun. Her legs wobbled as she took a few steps before breaking out into a stumbling run, similar to that of a newborn foal. She cried out in pain as she began to run, nothing good could come from two dragons warring above, she needed to clear out of the pond, she could return when it was safe. 

The pain in her legs and feet was extraordinary, each log she cleared felt as though she was stepping on shards of glass when she landed. It was so loud, the overlapping shouts of soldiers, the clanking of armour and screeching of metal on metal, it was cacophonous; it reeked of self assured destruction. Every bone inside her wanted to turn around and leap back into the safety of her pond, but now wasn’t the time for hiding, it was the time for running. 

She veered deeper into the forest, but something made her stop to look up at the sky, to the dragons wrapping themselves around one another. She turned away once more, determined to find some other body of water to bide her time, when an ear piercing screech sent her to a screeching halt. Her breath heaved in her chest, her lungs working overtime ‘He needs you,’ a pleading voice whispered.

It was enough to send her careening towards the waters of the God’s Eye. 

The larger of the dragons was falling towards the lake, its throat had been ripped open, flames escaping the wound. If its rider was to stand any chance of living she would need to rescue him, humans didn’t live long once they entered her domain. She threw herself head first into its frigid waters, disappearing into its depths untraced. Her eyes only needed a minute to adjust to her surroundings once more, the world around her becoming a little clearer, and it would be any moment before that scaled beast would hit the water.

The crash was unimaginable, sediment and rocks flew past her as she braced herself by a sunken boulder, she could hear the sound of the heart drumming in his chest. It was now a race to find him before The Stranger did, she at the very least could follow his heart beat. She had no idea why she was putting herself in danger for a human who was supposed to be her next meal, she was designed to consume them - not save them. 

She dove deeper and deeper into the lake, the sunlight filtering away, total blackness enveloping her. Though she could not see very well above the water in the sunlight, she could see perfectly in the dark. She did not dare look at the bedrock of the lake, in fear of discovering corpses she did not wish to see. She could see the roiling bubbles ascending to the surface and the immense heat emanating from directly beneath her, she wasted no time in diving again. 

She very quickly discovered the corpse of the beast, resting peacefully in the bedrock, her rider still saddled. She stopped directly in front of him, watching his hands shake as he struggled with the chains. Malicious thoughts slithered into her head; she could feast for ages on both dragon and rider, she would have no need to think about the surface for a long time. It would be so easy, all she had to do was wait for him to drown.

No. He didn’t deserve this, at the very least she could unbind him and send him to the surface, what happened to him beyond that was not her problem. Against her better judgement, she rushed him, shoving his hands away from the ropes around his waist and ripping them away with her nails. He struggled and thrashed in her grip, using all his might to get away from her.

‘Stop struggling! I’m trying to help you!’ She hissed. He ceased his struggling immediately, having become sluggish and slow, the lack of oxygen finally taking its toll on him, leaving him weak and defenceless. Everything in her screamed at her to devour him, to gut him like a fish and swallow him whole.

A helpless groan left her as she threw his arm around her broad shoulders, heaving him up towards the rippling light of the surface. They wouldn’t be looking for his body yet, but she didn’t have long before they would be descending upon them, she’d be damned if she would die for a human. With one final forceful push of her tail, she was able to push his lithe body halfway up on to a secluded bank, her heartbeat thundering in her chest.

He wasn’t breathing. Gods, he wasn’t breathing!

With the last of her strength she threw herself up onto the bank, kneeling beside him; his heartbeat was there, but faint, she needed to work quickly if he was to survive the day. His body felt as though it was made of lead as she dragged him away from the water, the further away they were from the water, the less temptation there was. 

He had taken water into his lungs, which meant she needed to get it out as soon as possible. She opened his mouth, placing her own on his, pulling the water from his lungs mouthful after mouthful, spitting it onto the lush grass. He had other wounds, cuts and scrapes but it was nothing she couldn’t use her magic to heal. With a final mouthful of water, air rushed into his lungs, sending him bolt upright coughing and hacking. 

The movement sent her toppling over into the grass, where he descended upon her, blade against her throat. Her slender taloned fingers spread out across his face, daring to take his other eye. 

“I saved your life, and this is how you repay me? By slitting my throat?” she asked, half daring him to do it, maybe then she would get some peace. His face seemed to shift in that moment, furrowed brows relaxed his clenched jaw loosening. 

“You are right, I am sorry,” He replied, taking the blade from her throat.

The woman in front of him was full of contradictions, she was both dark and light, sharp edges and softness, terrifying and beautiful. She had almost lured him to his death one day and then saved him the very next. She held no fear in her eyes, even as he had held the blade to her throat, her beautiful, supple throat, he shook the thoughts from his head. 

“Stop looking at me like you wish to swallow me whole, and let me heal you,” she bit at him, a gentle push sending him into the plush grass. She struggled with taking his chest plate, the leather straps far too finicky for her liking she took a sharp talon to the supple leather, slicing into it. 

“No, leave me here,” he told her, trying to force her hands away. 

“You will die if I don’t tend to your wounds!” she said through gritted teeth, pulling the chest plate away and straddling him, pinning his arms underneath her legs. Her hand hovered over the gaping wound in his shoulder, a calming blue light emanating from her palm. She watched the wound pull the deep red ichor back into his body, skin stitching itself shut, leaving no trace that there was ever a wound there. 

I’d like to see his witch heal him in such a manner. 

—

They took shelter in a cave deep in the woods outside Harrenhal, out of the sight of prying eyes and away from hands that would do them harm. In the time they had spent in the cave, she had learnt that the Prince's name was Aemond and that he was not one for conversation. 

“I wish I could leave all of this behind,” Aemond whispered, his voice laced with pain and exhaustion. She sat cross legged across from him, a pleasant prickling feeling crawling up her legs from sitting in one place. 

She tilted her head to the side slightly “Why can’t you?” she asked, her brows furrowed.

“I have a duty to my family, it's a matter of honour,” was the silver haired Prince's response, his jaw twitching as his arms came to rest across his broad chest. The dim embers illuminating the way his lip twitched upward as she leant forward, to press him further.

“Your family would rather send you to die than allow you to leave?” She responded, her voice laced with disbelief, she shook her head. It slowly became clear to her about what happened just hours ago, when he demanded she leave him to die. He had wanted that fate, he would have preferred death to failure. 

Aemond pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice taking on an edge “It is about honour, as I said,” his response did not invite any further conversation between them. And for a while there was nothing but the crackle of logs on a fire and the sound of their breaths. 

“Run away with me, it's not safe for either of us here. We can board a ship tonight and be gone by morning,” she offered, they could board a ship for Essos or Yi-Ti and never be found again. She would forsake the waters of her home for him, if it meant that he could live the life he desired. 

“No,” was Aemond's immediate response, face contorting into a scowl. She was beginning to break down the barrier of duty and honour he had surrounded himself with, for without those virtues, what would he become? 

She stood from her perch on a boulder, allowing the silk shoulder cape Aemond had given her to cover herself to slip away. Exposing the mounds and valleys of her body, the scales on her legs and cheekbones catching the firelight. “Come, My Darling. Please just give me your hand,” she cooed into his ear, running her delicate fingers over his shoulder and up the column of his throat, stopping to stroke his jaw. 

And so he did. 

Thank you to my darling @sylasthegrim for beta reading this! And creating the wonderful header/moodboard!

Please reblog my work if you enjoy it! it helps keep fan fiction alive <3

[cleolinda]

Here's another song I had wanted to write about: Hozier's "Movement." It is a fact of my existence that I get into a musical artist/band about 10 years after everyone else does, and then they become 30% of my personality (see also: Florence and the Machine). So I didn't really get with the program until Wasteland, Baby, and even then, it was for an unusual reason.

When did this album come out, spring of 2019? I had spinal surgery in early 2018. A discectomy, L4/L5; the disc had gradually become herniated due to a fall I'd had at a convention. My surgeon was required to warn me that surgery would come with a (low) chance of paralysis; it was my choice to make. After two weeks of seizing up in pain every hour or so, confined to my bed—hydrocodone did nothing—I chose the scalpel. Even then, it was another four weeks before he could work me into the operating schedule. Trust me when I say, no matter how I'm doing now, I do not regret having that surgery.

But he also told me, "You will always be a person who has had spinal surgery." Since anything was better than screaming every time I moved, I didn't fully understand what he meant until a year or so later, when I was still in pain—a chronic but lower-grade pain that came and went depending on how much activity I dared try that particular day. It was infinitely better than before. And, but, yet, I still deal with that chronic pain today. I will always be that person.

"Walk," he told me. I had a packet of therapy exercises to do, sure, but he was firm on this point. "That's the main exercise you need. Just walking." Which I couldn't do at first—I didn't have to learn to walk again or anything, but I was in a wheelchair early on, then on a wheeled walker for a couple of months. I also have inherited neuropathy in my feet, which was exacerbated by electrically painful sciatic nerve damage down my right leg while I waited for my slot in the surgery calendar. (I swear to God I will start talking about music soon.) I only walk across the longest side of my backyard. I don't leave it and walk around the neighborhood, because I generally have about two minutes upright to get back to the house once my feet start hurting.

So I had been struggling with my walking assignment for about a year when "Movement" came out. Of course it's literally about physically moving (and emotionally being moved), but that wasn't what captured me. The song starts out slow and reflective; it was a gentle tempo for a time when I couldn't walk very fast, and I still use it as a warm-up today. But there are two other things I love about it. One, the willow tree in the chorus, as I was walking my little runway back and forth under a canopy of wild water oak draped with wisteria, looking up into the sun through the leaves and snowflake flowers of an overgrown cherry laurel. Sound met landscape.

But the other thing is how—generous? accepting?—the words are of the "you" of the song. This person, the lyrics say, does not have to be a virtuoso dancer like Fred Astaire or Sergei Polunin (who's in the video up there). Instead, "you're Atlas in his sleeping, and when you move, I'm moved." My absolute favorite part is,

Move like grey skies Move like a bird of paradise Move like an odd sight come out at night

What the fuck even are these lyrics. I can't. That's so good. You ever sit there as a writer and think, I'm so mad I didn't come up with that? Just the pure unexpectedness, "I'm telling you how earthshakingly amazing this person is. Like a beautiful willow, like a rare bird, like some weird-ass cryptid in the night, I don't even know what that was about but I love it." What even. So good.

And I was for sure an odd sight shambling back and forth across the back of my yard: five minutes at first. Then ten the next week, working my way up to thirty, still in a dull roar of constant pain a year into my recovery. But this is a song that says, your efforts to move are moving, whatever movement is natural for you; you may be sleeping just now, you may be moving without moving, but you are wonderful not in spite of being strange in your movements, but because of it. The song always feels like a friend walking along with me, no matter how many setbacks I have, or how slow I have to go.

Anyway, Unreal Unearth comes out next Friday. The five songs Hozier's put out so far are ridiculously good, and I've scheduled a couple of months to be completely feral about it. When the weather is less dangerously hot, we'll find out which songs are good to move to.

[lovelyfaustus]

here's some more hcs about claude (my babygirl)

claude faustus x modern! reader hcs (platonic)

basically the setting is u somehow ending up at alois' place n chillin like a villain named dylan and also befriending claude 🎉 imma sneak in some alois hcs as well🙏

---------------

🕷️when you first showed up, claude honestly had no real opinion of you, just that you looked odd and very out of place (who are you???? what??)

🕷️after alois let you reside with them, claude's interest in you would only grow

-who are you? where did you come from? why are you here? what even.....???

🕷️claude would lie and say alois ordered him to come find you and ask some questions, such as your name, your age, why you look so....weird (fashion and perhaps makeup-wise), and how you ended up at the trancy estate

- alois asked you all that shiz when you first pulled up, claude will just say alois forgot or something

🕷️eventually you would end up saying you were from the 21st century, and he would look at you and think.."what"

-i mean if you got hoodies and sweatpants and sneakers, it wouldn't be hard to believe that you were not from the 19th century.

🕷️fast forward some few months after getting to know you a little more, you would find some way of getting your phone to work in alois' mansion

🕷️if you played some music out loud, claude would be curious, asking you what the song is about or how humanity has crashed so hard that it considered "that" music (only bc it's significantly different than the Victorian era)

🕷️claude would like hozier, dodie, some pierce the veil and get scared

🕷️he won't really like taylor swift much, but he can admit he may slightly enjoy some of her songs, especially the lyricism, but only a little 😉

🦋alois would absolutely fucking LOVE upbeat, 21st century music. like the kinda stuff that trends on tiktok these days

🦋he would also wanna play dress up with some of your clothes, because in his eyes, they are bizarre costumes (they look weird as hell to him)

🦋you would invite him to some karaoke type stuff and he would go all out, especially on songs that are suggestive (claude would sigh, what have you done to alois)

🕷️claude would consider you tolerable, but actually he does enjoy your company; it's new and it brings some sort of excitement to his long, boring life

🦋alois prolly forgot all about claude besides demanding him to do things or bring things for both of you. you're his best friend now, good luck🙏

[usmsgutterson]

I want a love like the movies- give me a trope/character dynamic from this list, a song (or a specific lyric from a song that you want me to base it off of, or even a poem, anything that is seen as art is acceptable here) and a time of day. I’ll use that to write a fic with a minimum of 1k words. 

kaz brekker with 29 (from the list) anddddd almost by hozier?? idk first song to pop into my head haha

Love- K.B x gn! reader

okay, this is the last of your requests and it's coming out on my official two year fic-iversary! I posted my first ever fic on maliciousbrekker two years ago to the day, and it's been a wonderfully wild ride in things ever since! No regrets with anything I've done here, honestly!

As for requests generally speaking, the goal is to have at least one more coming out over the weekend! My two year anniversary requests are taking precedent right now because I've been demotivated and haven't posted many of them, but after the two year anniversary requests are done, I'll go through my inbox and decide what I want to write vs what I don't and then I'll proceed and hopefully my requests will be open again by the date in my bio!

The prompt you chose was: reader/writer

Fic type- this is fluff!

Warnings-Kaz is probably a little ooc

"You and your books," Kaz observed as he came into your place. You lived in a flat not too far from the Barrel, one that was simultaneously within walking distance of the Crow Club and the Slat as well as Wylan and Jespers place.

You'd bought it to own it with a portion of your money from the ice court, spruced it up to your liking and saved a room to turn into a library. Bookshelves lined the walls, covered in every book you owned and organized to your preference.

You'd bought a desk for Kaz to use, and within it were countless heist plans, countless letters to Nina, Matthias, and Inej, and even a couple of the journals that Kaz had bought two years before but had only begun using in the weeks after the Ice Court job had been completed.

"I have my books and you have your heists, love," you said, shrugging as Kaz sat at the opposite end of the velvety couch you'd kept in the sitting room. "Everyone has their vices."

"How is it?" Kaz asked. You jabbed at each other for your hobbies occasionally, poked fun and delighted in the sounds of scoffs that eventually turned into barely amused laughter, but in the end, you cared about the other persons hobbies, too.

No matter how much you may have poked fun at Kaz and his love for unlined leatherback journals, for the expensive ink he purchased from a Fabrikator near the heart of the city, you always bought him the ink when you noticed he was running low before he did.

You bought him new leather journals when you saw one that he might've liked in a windowsil and bought him ones engraved as a gift on his birthday or during the holidays.

And, in turn, Kaz did the same. He bought you books from the authors you loved whenever he'd heard that a new one was releasing, took your most beloved books to a book binder when the covers were wearing out and the spines needed re-gluing.

He asked how you liked the books you were reading when he noticed you were reading a different one, bought you the books that your eyes lingered on whenever you'd see something in a bookshop window.

"It's good," you said. "How're the heist plans coming?"

"Decently enough," he responded. "A hundred thousand kruge per person on a seven person crew, if you're in?"

You grinned as you closed your book, looking at the cover for a moment.

"How convenient it is that you ask me to join you on a heist when the book I'm reading involves one."

"Is that your way of saying yes?"

You shot him a look, and he nodded. "Yeah. It's your way of saying yes."

You watched him stand, heading for your office, a pen, and one of his journals.

"Love you!" You called after him. You heard Kaz's amused laughter in response and smiled to yourself.

He didn't need to say it back for you to know he loved you in turn. If anything, he'd likely be the one to turn down the lamps and blow out the low-burning candles when he was done planning the heist he'd asked you in on.

He'd be the one to find you with a book in your lap, having told yourself "just one more chapter" even as your eyes were drooping and sleep was on its way

[stormberry-12]

Heyy,I love your writing! May I request a JJ fic inspired by the ‘Work Song’ by Hozier?

time comes around ~ jj maybank x reader

pairing: jj maybank x fem!reader (jj pov)

warnings: making out, jj's dad being a dick, mentions of jj's good ol' gun, language. (not very well edited)

notes: thank you so much for the request and I'm so sorry it took soooo long. it gave me so much to work with and it ended up being super long lol, i hope it turned out okay I kinda just went with what the lyrics reminded me of.

you also don't really have to read all of them if you don't want, they're all just blurbs off JJ and Y/n's life together. ❤

(i recommend listening while you read>>>>)

Boys workin' on empty Is that the kinda way to face the burning heat? I just think about my baby I'm so full of love I could barely eat

"Jayj!" she giggled, dropping her fork on the table and staring at me.

"What?!?" I laughed in mock offense, crossing my arms and leaning back in my chair.

"You haven't even touched your food," y/n complained, her pretty eyes squinting at me in confusion.

"I-"

"You love food." she interrupted me, a smile playing on her lips, "Probably more than you love anything else in the world, now eat!"

"Not as much as I love you," I whisper, she looks down at her plate with a smile and a blush. "I don't want to eat... I just want to watch you,"

"That sounds creepy when you say it like that, stop!" she choked on her food and I fell into a fit of laughter that squeezed my lungs, making it hard to breathe. She made it hard to breathe.

There's nothing sweeter than my baby I'd never want once from the cherry tree 'Cause my baby's sweet as can be She give me toothaches just from kissin' me

I hummed into her lips, they were sweet, soft, and warm. I tapped her thighs signaling for her to jump up, she wrapped her legs around my waist, hands in my hair.

Her back hit the wall and I slid my hands up her waist. She hummed into my mouth and we broke away panting.

"Missed you too-"

"Shut up." she said and I laughed, leaning my forehead against hers. I was so glad it was finally summer, her family would stay at their beach house for the next few months and we would spend every day together. Love only growing.

When my time comes around Lay me gently in the cold dark earth No grave can hold my body down I'll crawl home to her

Boys, when my baby found me I was three days on a drunken sin I woke with her walls around me Nothin' in her room but an empty crib

I woke up with the sun shining through the curtain, y/n was laying on top of me, her arms and body heavy like they were sheltering me from a storm. In this case, the storm was my dad.

She shifted on top of me, rubbing her eyes from sleep.

"Morning," she whispered.

"Mornin'," I said back, shifting our position and sitting up, pulling her into my lap.

"I'm so sorry," she rubbed patterns into my bicep, "I had no idea... do- do you want to talk about it?"

I looked down at her beautiful face and shrugged my shoulders. She looked up at me and I wrapped my arms around her tighter.

"He has no right to do that-" her fingertips ghosted over the scar on my cheek that she had patched up the night before. After I had come knocking away on her window way past midnight.

I felt a pain in my chest, "I'm sorry I bothered you with this, I'm so sorry-" I buried my face in her neck so she wouldn't see me cry.

"Oh Jayj..."

A sob broke my lips and my shoulders shook, god I was being such a baby.

She turned to face me, still sitting in my lap, holding the sides of my face with her hands. Her eyes were watering as she kissed each tear that fell from my face before wiping it away.

"You could never bother me," she said, voice more stern. I silently thanked her.

God, how did I get so lucky.

And I was burnin' up a fever I didn't care much how long I lived But I swear I thought I dreamed her She never asked me once about the wrong I did

"Y/n-" I said sitting on the couch, running a hand through my hair, "I can't believe I did that, I'm so sorry-"

She just watched me from the other side of the chateau, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest. Her expression was unreadable, eyes stone cold.

I had just pulled a gun out at the kegger, I was so stupid.

And not only did I put it up against Topper's head at some point but I fired it into the air. I let my anger get the best of me, it could cost me my freedom, my friends, or even y/n.

I hoped she wouldn't- oh god.

"Please don't dump me!" I squeaked out.

"Dump you?" she laughed shaking her head.

"I'm being serious, why are you laughing?!?!" I panicked standing up and bringing my hands to my head.

"Cuz your funny," she walked towards the back door and left the chateau. I followed her out back, she was walking to where the rest of the pogues were eating around a fire.

I sat down beside her and grabbed a hot dog and a roasting stick.

"So, we all sorted out?" Pope asked, raising his eyebrows at our sudden appearance.

"Did she give you shit?"

John B chuckled and I flipped him off, "No, actually..."

"Damn!" Kie said. "Your lucky JJ, not many people can put up with your shenanigans-"

The conversation shifted to something royal merchant related, I ate my hot dog and snuck glances at y/n. She was wiping sticky marshmallows off her finger, but it just kept spreading all over her clothes. I looked down and my plate and smiled.

Kie was right, y/n was the only one that could deal with me. But I was also the only one that could deal with her.

We couldn't live without each other.

When my time comes around Lay me gently in the cold dark earth No grave can hold my body down I'll crawl home to her

When my time comes around Lay me gently in the cold dark earth No grave can hold my body down I'll crawl home to her

My baby never fret none About what my hands and my body done If the Lord don't forgive me I'd still have my baby and my babe would have me

"Hey, y/n!" Rafe called from across the boneyard, "Your not still seeing that dirty pogue are you?"

"I'm sorry?" she said taking a sip of her beer.

Ward Cameron's evil spawn got closer and eyed me up and down, "Honestly, I can't believe you guys are still hanging on, normally JJ would have moved on to a new bitch by now-"

"Ohhhh shittttt," Kelce and Topper called from behind him.

I stood up lighting fast but y/n grabbed my arm to stop me, "How dare you!" she shamed him.

y/n knew I had a past on the island, I had slept around with a lot of girls. I made a promise to her and myself that I was done with that shit, and it was working out for the best.

y/n tossed the rest of her beer on the back of Rafe's shirt as he walked away, he whirled around fuming.

"Try us, I dare you," John B said, he and Pope were now beside me, and Rafe backed off.

Y/n was still holding my hand, rubbing her thumb over my palm.

Yeah, Rafe, try us, I dare you.

When I was kissing on my baby And she put her love down soft and sweet In the low lamp light I was free Heaven and hell were words to me

The sun from the hot day was setting behind the sky and the soft glow of the street lights began to shine. The breeze was warm and the ocean was crisp.

I dusted the sand off my board, "One more go before dark?" I asked her.

She nodded slowly, pulling her hair up into a ponytail and following me toward the water. "I'm still not so good at this Jayj," she said fidgeting with her fingers.

"No, you're doing great!" I encouraged, pushing the board into her hands, "Go on, I'm right behind you."

We joined the rest of the pogues in the water, I watched as y/n got up on her board and rode a wave all the way down. Pride rushed through me as the pogues broke out in cheers.

"LET'S GO BABY!!"

She laughed and sat down on my board paddling over to me, "I'm so fucking proud of you right now!" I said pulling her off the board and into my arms. She giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Nice one squirt!" John B ruffled her hair and Kie said something about celebratory french fries on her.

I kissed her sweetly and looked into her eyes, "Your fearless, you know that?"

She just grinned at me, but I only spoke the truth, she was.

Love felt so wonderful.

When my time comes around Lay me gently in the cold dark earth No grave can hold my body down I'll crawl home to her

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you y/n," I slurred drunkenly, but it was most definitely true. Drunk words, sobber thoughts.

She giggled and buried her face in my neck.

"I'm serious!" I complained.

"Same." Y/n said, sounding just as deadly serious as I was. We locked eye contact, her gaze reaching mine.

"What if you die before y/n? Like when you're a Grandpa and all your smoking comes to bite you in the ass?" John B countered jokingly.

"Well you know, like when I die, I'll probably get buried and shit-" I felt myself start to ramble, "but then Imma be all badass, and dig my way out!"

"What the fuck?" Y/n cackled, tears brimming her eyes from laughing so hard. Kie choked on her beer and Pope gave her a few good hard slaps on the back.

"Yeah, and then I'll come to find you," I said confidently. "NO GRAVE CAN HOLD ME DOWN!!!"

The pogues broke into laughter and I held Y/n's body tighter, I would never let her go. After all we had been through together, the ups and the downs, I knew at that moment it would always be her.

When my time comes around Lay me gently in the cold dark earth No grave can hold my body down I'll crawl home to her

[mazzystar24]

the edits once they go canon are going to be next level

(i also admittedly can’t wait to be petty too and comment on every single one of them going “look at this beautiful CANON ship” since apparently being canon is the only thing that makes a ship valid /j🤭🤭)

Our range🤩

we can be sobbing over edits while being petty 😭😭

No fr tho the minute gay Eddie or buddie are canon I’m giggling and making jokes like no tomorrow

I may not have the talent to make edits or fics or anything but I am a court jester at heart so I shall be making many many jokes

Back to the edits yesss I will personally be requiring:

My love mine all mine

Lover you shouldve come over (personally one of my ideal songs if the buddie confession/kiss required a soundtrack)

Paper rings

Lover

The alchemy

He could never love you (SHUT UP SHUT UP I GOTTA GO MAKE A POST OR ANNOY MY FIC WRITING FRIENDS ABOUT THIS ONE)

Until I found you (cos of the how could we ever just be friends)

We’re in love (boygenius l because it’s so underrrated and so unbelievably a buddie song - “we’re not swapping blood” “And I told you of your past lives, every man you've ever been It wasn't flattering But you listened like it mattered” “would you still love me if it turns out I’m insane I know what you’ll say but it helps to hear you say it anyway” “And I'll be feeling lonely So I'll walk to karaoke” “Who looks like hell and asks for help And if you do, I'll know it's you” “I can't imagine you without the same smile in your eyes There is something about you That I will always recognize And if you don't remember I will try to remind you”

Keep me warm - Ida Marie (also one of my buddie ideal soundtracks and also criminally underrated as a buddie song)

Anything from hozier’s discography that man can scream into the mic and it’d be the most romantic shit you’ve ever heard

Crack option: my best friend’s hot by the dollyrots (yes this was also my crack karaoke guess but listen I need this song to play around buck when in proximity to Eddie- whatta man scene 2.0 if you may)

Truly truly - grant Lee buffalo

So highschool - listen Eddie officially does know how to ball and you can’t tell me walking encylopedia has full ass bookshelves in the loft buck doesnt in fact know Aristotle - plus y’all already know they will have no sense of decorum (yes this is about the lyrics jk jk)

Lucky- Jason mraz, colbie caillat (I don’t even particularly listen to this song but “lucky I’m in love with my best friend lucky to have been where I’ve been lucky to be coming home again they don’t know how long it takes waiting for a love like this”)

Nothing- Bruno major (CMON THE VIDEO GAMES AND THE DOMESTICITY IT ALL SO BUDDIE)

Oh god you asked for none of this but you’re getting these songs 😭😭 sorry babe you should know I’ll take a simple ask and go on and on😔💔💔💔💔

[cricketandbooks]

THE EYES — Dead Boy Detectives

Crystal Palace Surname Von Hoverkraft: angry, selfish, lonely, kind, lovable, and the bringer of justice for young girls.

THE BRAWN — Charles' Playlist THE HEART — Niko's Playlist THE BRAINS — Edwin's Playlist

This playlist follows Crystal's life both before and after joining the Dead Boy Detective Agency. I hope you enjoy!

Annotations about the songs in the playlist below the cut:

Tracks 1-5: Before

Track 1: The Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene by Hozier

This song is my interpretation of both how Crystal perceives herself, and more so how others perceive her before meeting David. She is brash, mean, hedonistic, and selfish. She is also charismatic, inviting, and has a way of making you feel like she truly sees you. She abuses her power over people but is so captivating that people don't always mind.

The song opens up with these lyrics:

"I watch the work of my kin, bold and boyful Toying somewhere between love and abuse Calling to join them, the wretched and joyful Shaking the wings of their terrible youths"

Crystal does not appear to have true friends before joining the Dead Boy Detectives, rather she has people she toys with, reveling in her youth, beauty and power.

"With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene"

Much like the verse before, Crystal had the ability to draw people in, before cutting them down with her tongue. She used her beauty and charisma to her advantage like codeine, taking away people's pain only to use it against them later. She is able to see what people want, and use that against them.

"Feeling more human and hooked on her flesh, I Lay my heart down with the rest at her feet Fresh from the fields, all fetor and fertile It's bloody and raw, but I swear it is sweet"

This stanza discusses more of what it's like to me close to Crystal, the kind of person who would make you "walk into traffic" but is able to get away with it. Her beauty is captivating, but it comes with a price: blood. It is a very visceral description of her manipulation of people.

Track 2: Primadonna by Marina and the Diamonds

While the last song discusses how it felt to know Crystal, this is more my interpretation how of Crystal perceived herself and how she chose to live her life.

"Primadonna girl, yeah All I ever wanted was the world I can't help that I need it all The primadonna life, the rise and fall You say that I'm kinda difficult But it's always someone else's fault Got you wrapped around my finger, babe You can count on me to misbehave"

This song also has a strong opener, laying out her greed, in both material items but also how she is greedy with people as well, having them "wrapped around her finger". She dodges responsibility for her actions using the same manipulation, and if that doesn't work she leaves. Whether it be other people's boyfriends or using information she gained from her powers to tell people hurtful things that make them reliant on her for truth, she uses her abilities to misbehave.

"Fill the void up with celluloid Take a picture, I'm with the boys Get what I want 'cause I ask for it Not because I'm really that deserving of it Living life like I'm in a play In the limelight, I want to stay I know I've got a big ego I really don't know why it's such a big deal, though"

This first line of the lyric begins to show the cracks in Crystal's armor. As egotistical as she is, without other people's attention, without feeling "special", she has no true purpose in life. Celluloid is a material that was used in film, a tool to be seen by others. But it is flammable, delicate, and flat, like Crystal at this time. She needed the limelight because without it, she felt small and unlovable. She may always get what she wants, but all of her wants are superficial and she doesn't have a higher purpose to work for.

Track 3: XS by Rina Sawayama

Building on the foundations of Primadonna, this song also explores Crystal's excessive and shallow view of the world and herself. However, this begins to dig further into how all of her "excess" makes her a smaller, more selfish person. This song also offers a possible explanation as what could have lead her down this path.

"Flex, when all that's left is immaterial And the price we paid is unbelievable And I'm taking in as much as I can hold Well, here are things you'll never know"

This verse lays bare the fragile foundation that Crystal lives in. She takes on so many negative and self destructive aspects on, stealing people's partners, maxing out credit cars, hurting people and driving herself further and further into isolation. The theme of selfishness making her smaller continues.

"Make me less, so I want more (more) Bought a zip coat at the mall Call me crazy, call me selfish Say I'm neither, would you believe her?"

The next stanza in the verse lays out her true reasons for acting as she does. Her parent's have made her feel small, neglecting her for their own power and status. As such, she doesn't feel as crazy or selfish for doing the same, as doing so makes her feel like her parents were right in their treatment of her. If they are wrong, then she has been made to feel small and unlovable for nothing.

Track 4: The Louvre by Lorde

The Louvre is my interpretation of Crystal's feelings when David comes into her life. They saw each other across the line and fell in love. At first, I picture them as a sort of "power couple" of toxic behavior. While both powerful in their own right, David is able to see through Crystal's fragile ego and manipulate her secret desire to be truly seen and loved. He gave her a reason to exist beyond her excessive lifestyle, their relationship becoming her higher purpose.

"I am your sweetheart psychopathic crush Drink up your movements, still I can't get enough I overthink your punctuation use Not my fault, just a thing that my mind do"

This lyric is emblematic of how I believe their relationship first started. Crystal thought she found someone who truly saw her for who she was, but really he was feeding her ego just enough to keep her constantly vying for his attention, causing her to overthink little things such as punctuation. Her image is important to her as well as to her family, and he manipulated that as well. She wanted him to believe she was this cool powerful medium, so she changed herself further for him. It is also interesting that instead of saying "it's not your fault" the lyric says says "it's not my fault". This could apply to Crystal in that she is constantly assures herself she is doing the right thing, and on the right path. She also insists that everything is her choice, so she doesn't have to admit that she is changing for him and he has more power over her than she knows is right.

"Our thing progresses I call and you come through Blow all my friendships To sit in hell with you But we're the greatest They'll hang us in the Louvre Down the back, but who cares—still the Louvre"

As their relationships progress Crystal becomes even more isolated than she already was. By the time of her possession, she had no one left to even notice she was missing. However, the cracks are showing in their relationship. They're simultaneously the "greatest" but not worthy of being front in center of the Louvre, rather staying hidden in the back. She's beginning to realize that this relationship isn't healthy, but continues anyway because he's all that she has left.

"Okay I know that you are not my type (still I fall) I'm just the sucker who let you fill her mind (but what about love?) Nothing wrong with it Supernatural Just move in close to me, closer, you'll feel it coasting"

In this moment she decides she will let him possess her. She knows in the back of her mind it isn't right ("(But what about love?)") but she convinces herself immediately that it will work out for the best ("Nothing wrong with it"). She has no one left to stop her and she continues to fall. He says "just move in close to me...you'll feel it coasting." When talking to the boys about her possession, she states "he must have lied" about the nature of it. I imagine he framed it as a new and deeper form of intimacy, of being "closer", and a kind of freedom in the form of "coasting", leaving her with no responsibilities, guilt, or shame.

Track 5: Ptolomea by Ethel Cain

This song to me represents Crystal's possession, describing both David and Crystal's feelings during the event. Ptolomea is also the circle of hell those who betrayed friends and guests go, and David betrayed Crystal's trust.

"I followed you in and I was with you there I invited you in twice, I did You love blood too much But not like I do Not like I do"

This is David's perspective. He was able to lure her in, first inviting himself into her life as her boyfriend, and then inviting himself inside her body to posses her completely. He mentioned in the show asking her if she missed "enjoying that copper taste in your mouth when you cause someone a lot of pain". This could refer to the taste of blood, which can be metallic, referring to the metaphorical blood on her hands from her past. However he's saying as much as Crystal also reveled in violence and power, she was still no match for him.

"What fear a man like you brings upon a woman like me (show me your face) Please, don't look at me I can see it in your eyes, he keeps looking at me Tell me, what have you done?"

Crystal always thought she wanted to be looked at. Admired and revered. But what she truly wanted was to be seen and loved. David only looked at her like a possession and a toy, and when that became clear Crystal finally understood that she did not want to be looked at anymore by people who don't understand her.

"I am the face Of love's rage I am the face Of love's rage"

Rage and love are two major themes of Chrystal's character, and untangling that becomes a key part of her arc over the season, turning rage into empowerment. However here she is left angry and small as David's "love" for her is actually the power he is able to use when he is in possession of her.

Tracks 6-11: Becoming

Track 6: Midnight Train by Gus Dapperton

It is on a train that Crystal meets the Dead Boy Detectives, and they change her life forever.

"On the midnight train Only love's in my way Picture-perfect world Crop me out of the frame And no, it's not to say Things will never change I'm afraid this time It'd take an act of fate"

Crystal is trapped inside herself, betrayed by the person she loved. While the world continues without her, arguably better without her in it, she is cropped out of her own life. She believes she has nothing and no one to save her.

"How could I trust myself? Runnin' right off of the rails How could I break the spell? Up this high, the ride prevails"

Having lived her life so fast, that fact that she was constantly assuring herself that she was right and in control was part of what got her in this situation. Finally able to see her life from the outside, she's beginning to see all of her mistakes.

"I can't slow up, I need you show up I can't slow the ride"

She can't stop what she has started, and for the first time in her life, she feels completely vulnerable and needing to ask for help. It comes.

Track 7: Lead Pipe by Movements

Finally free of his possession, Crystal can see David and her relationship accurately for the first time.

"And here we go, here we go, back to basics Another round of all the things I've heard before I'm staying low, staying low, turning pages I thought I killed you, now you're knocking at my door"

Having lost all her memories, she has truly gone "back to basics", however she remembers enough to realize all of David's old tricks to make her feel small. Even though she was exorcised, to her horror he still has her in his clutches.

"And I'm never gonna Give you what you want me to give You'll never play, won't let you play me again I know you'll try to cheat me if I let you in So I won't let you win"

She is able to assert herself now without the knowledge of who she was and how much she felt she needed him. Feeling only the sting and rage of betrayal, she can confidently say that she won't let him cheat her again.

"And here we go, here we go, down a dead-end road Another lesson in confession like I sold my soul I wanna know, wanna know how that story goes Cause if we're betting then I'm guessing that you're blowing smoke"

While her and David are a dead end, she is finally free to explore a new version of herself, and see how the story goes. However, he is still able to taunt her with "confessions" of her previous toxicity and the memories that made her who she was. This leaves her in a sort of limbo, as she moves forward to create a new version of herself while simultaneously leaving her trapped in the shadows of her past.

Track 8: Simmer by Hayley Williams

Anger is a major part of Crystal's character, and of the show in general. In Crystal's case, being with the Dead Boy Detectives allows Crystal to finally be able to channel her rage to a higher and more healthy purpose. Using anger to help deliver closure and justice, as well as protect those weaker than her rather than to lash out like she used to.

"there's so many ways to give in (Eyes closed) another way to make it to ten, oh How to draw the line between wrath and mercy? Gotta simmer, simmer, simmer, simmer, simmer down"

Crystal often gave in to anger, yelling and lashing out at those who were trying to help her. But she also learned how to use it to help other's in a similar position to her, such as Becky Aspen, who was at the mercy of a supernatural force much more powerful than herself. Allowing her rage to simmer was what created the opportunity to use her feelings as a finely honed blade, as opposed to a bludgeoning force.

"If I had seen my reflection As something more precious He would've never And if my child needed protection From a fucker like that man I'd sooner gut him ('cause nothing cuts like a mother)"

Crystal, despite putting on a brash and confident front, never truly valued herself and her life. If she had the self esteem that she gains from being apart of the Dead Boy Detectives, who love her and see her as valuable beyond being pretty and powerful, then she never would have allowed herself to be treated that way. She is able to, via solving cases, get justice for other women who were also treated poorly like she was.

Wrap yourself in petals Wrap yourself in petals (control, control) Wrap yourself in petals for armor (control, control) Petals for armor

Instead of wrapping herself in both her shallow, self obsessed lifestyle and abusive relationship as protection from how small and unlovable she feels, she is able to protect herself in another way. Her "petals" are the newfound vulnerability between her and her friends, as well as her higher purpose. These petals, instead of suffocating her, allow her to grow and change while making her stronger.

Track 9: Fools by Lauren Aquilina

This song represents my interpretation Crystal and Charles' relationship. It can be found on both playlists.

Those hardest to love need it most I watched our bodies turn to ghosts Such good friends, it has to end it always does That's the way life is Do we take that risk?

Both Charles and Crystal have aspects of themselves that are difficult to love: their anger, Charles' inability to express his pain, Crystal's selfishness. However, they have managed to become friends who care about each other. It is a risk to let people in, and both of them have been hurt in the past.

And so it all boils down to this We've got our aim but we might miss We are too fragile just to guess And I've been in this place before Fine as we are but we want more That's human nature at its best

They are both aware of their feelings, but their situation is too fragile and could lead to ruin. However, feelings are often not lead by logic, as Niko stated. Both of them say they are "fine as they are", Charles saying he is fine "as long as I got my best mate and a case to solve" while secretly hating being dead and having his future stolen from him. Crystal believes she is fine where she is without her memories and with David haunting her, but that is a lie. Both want more than their situation, but are held back.

"The two of us so out of place My feelings written on my face Got what I want but now I'm scared"

Being a human and a ghost makes relationships difficult. Crystal used to always get what she wants, but now for the first time she reflects on the consequences of her desires instead of following them blindly, showing her growth.

"What if we ruin it all, and we love like fools? And all we have we lose? And I don't want you to go but I want you so So tell me what Tell me what Tell me what we choose"

Crystal even asking this question demonstrates how she no longer thinks of just herself. Going from stealing other people's boyfriends to questioning if entering a relationship is good for the both of them is a sign of her beginning to develop a sense of awareness and compassion. This reflection leads her to stop their relationship and stay friends.

Track 10: Happy by Marina and the Diamonds

For the first time in her life, Chrystal finds herself surrounded by people she loves, and a greater purpose. This song is the reverse of Primadonna, mirroring how she used to take everything for herself, while feeling empty. But now, while she has lost everything, she is on the path of fulfillment that was not possible before.

"I found what I'd been looking for in myself Found a life worth living for someone else Never thought that I could be, I could be happy, happy"

Instead of living solely for herself, she is able to form relationships with different people and find community and peace. As opposed to before when she never considered forming real relationships with people, this is the beginning of a true happiness and not merely chasing the next high.

"So now you know, you know it all That I've been des-desperately alone I haven't found the one for me But I believe in divinity"

While she doesn't have her memories and freedom yet, she is hopeful for the future. Before she was alone and neglected, but now she has people who loves her for who she is.

"From the concrete to the coast I was looking for a holy ghost Like the land joining the sea Happiness it followed me"

Going from London to a Port Townsend, she found her holy ghost in the form of the Dead Boy Detective agency. By joining them, she is able to find joy for the first time. This happiness is what allows her to begin to make sacrifices for her friends, as she loves them and knows they have love her.

Track 11: Third Eye by Florence and the Machine

Now that she has the ability to truly self reflect, Crystal is able to begin the process of changing into a better healthier self. But more than that, she gains a community of ancestors who allow her to further come into her power.

Hey, look up! Don't make a shadow of yourself, always shutting out the light Caught in your own creation Look up, look up! It tore you open And oh, how much?

Crystal never allowed herself to feel and to be who she is, instead creating an image of herself for the others. Now that she has community, she can finally look up and truly see herself, tearing open to begin anew.

'Cause there's a hole where your heart lies And I can see it with my third eye And though my touch, it magnifies You pull away, you don't know why

Her ancestors see her and her emptiness, and through the powers past down by them she is able to see it too. Her ancestors allow her to see her mind and her powers in a new way, bringing her closer to people instead of using it to dominate. As such, instead of pulling away blindly and burying herself in admiration and material objects, she is able to see what she must do to change.

Hey, look up! You don't have to be a ghost here amongst the living You are flesh and blood And you deserve to be loved, and you deserve what you are given And oh, how much?

Challenging Crystal to see herself and the world in a new perspective, her ancestors push her to become a self actualized person. Even though she was still living, she was cutting herself off from truly feeling anything. After feeling unlovable all her life, she is finally able to truly accept other's love and protection, and to be able to give that love and protection in return.

'Cause your pain is a tribute The only thing you let hold you Wear it now like a mantle Always there to remind you

Instead of using her pain and loneliness as an excuse to go back to David and surrender to his desires, she takes the lessons she learns and becomes better and more powerful for it. Between her new friendships and her new community of family, this allows her to finally defeat David and step into a better and more secure self.

Tracks 12-16: Growing

Track 12: Bad Friend by Rina Sawayama

With her memories back, she is truly able to appreciate the horror that she was, and the full extent of her toxicity.

I'm so good at crashing in Making sparks and shit but then I'm a bad, I'm a bad, I'm a bad friend So don't ask me where I've been Been avoiding everything 'Cause I'm a bad, I'm a bad, I'm a bad friend I'm a bad friend, yeah

Crystal is able to recognize the effect she had on other people's lives, disrupting their relationships, ruining their sense of self. While she had many people around her, like a hurricane she swept through their lives and then moved on with destruction in her wake. She did not deal with the consequences of her actions on others, choosing instead to avoid confrontation where she would have to admit her wrongs.

Put your hands up if you're not good at this stuff Put your hands up if you're not good at this stuff (I'm a bad friend, oh, bad, I'm bad

Unlike before, she is willing to admit that she wasn't a good person to be around, and to admit her faults. Being able to admit this is part of what leads her to returning to London so that she can right the wrongs there and accept responsibility for who she was.

Track 13: Better Version of Me by Fiona Apple

Accepting responsibility for her actions and her past, Crystal is able to look towards her future using the bonds she has made to begin to change.

What should I do? I'm a frightened, fickle person Fighting, cryin', kickin', cursin' What should I do?

Crystal accepts that she was a small and selfish person who lashed out at others and caused great pain. Now she must ask herself who she will become after learning this, and if she is going to stay the path she started with the agency.

I don't want a home, I'd ruin that Home is where my habits have a habit Why give it a turn?

While she is returning "home" in the sense she is going back to where she was before changing, she is not going there to settle into her old ways. Instead, she's returning to complete her transformation and break the cycle of abuse from both parents and David.

I've got a plan, a demand and it just began, And if you're right, you'll agree Here's coming a better version of me

She is returning to London with a plan. As a person, Crystal is very determined and has the conviction to follow through her resolve. By confronting her past, she will be have the opportunity to grow to her full potential.

Track 14: You Owe Me Nothing in Return by Alanis Morissette

As Crystal says goodbye to her friends, she affirms her love for them without needing anything in return, demonstrating change from selfishness and an appreciation for her newfound community.

You can speak of anger and doubts Your fears and freak outs and I'll hold it You can share your so called shame filled accounts Of times in your life and I won't judge it (And there are no strings attached to it)

Charles felt able to talk to her about his anger and doubts and she was able to listen. She also listens to Niko's feelings of fears of disappointing her mother and her grief over her father's death. Being able to listen to others is a part of her growth, instead of yelling or using people as a vehicle to feed her ego. She now loves and cherishes her friends and is willing to support them when they need her.

You owe me nothing for giving the love that I give You owe me nothing for caring the way that I have I give you thanks for receiving, it's my privilege And you owe me nothing in return

Her parents gave her all the material privileges that could be dreamed of, but never truly gave her love. Now she is able to appreciated the ultimate gift of someone's unconditional care, and she is finally able receive it and reflect it back to them.

Track 15: Rainbow by Kesha

This song represents the culmination of all of her growth and change throughout season one, as well as highlighting that she still has far to go.

"I used to live in the darkness Dress in black, act so heartless, but now I see that colors are everything Got kaleidoscopes in my hairdo Got back the stars in my eyes, too, yeah now I see the magic inside of me"

Where she used to be small, now she feels empowered to be who she is. Her friendships encourages her to see the light and color in life. The magic inside of her isn't just random power, but the love and wisdom of her ancestors. She is better in every way.

Yeah, maybe my head's fucked up But I'm falling right back in love with being alive Dreaming in light, light, lights This kitty cat lost her mind Been lookin' for a star-sent sign that I'll be alright Look to the skies

While she is horrified and ashamed of her past, she is able to look to the future instead of wallowing in her guilt. She is still capable of looking up and keeping her mind set on a higher purpose instead of reverting back to her shallow ways that weigh her down. While she is unsure of the future and her ability to fix her mistakes, she is still willing to try.

I found a rainbow, rainbow, baby Trust me, I know life is scary But just put those colors on, girl You gotta learn to let go, put the past behind you Trust me, I know, the ghosts will try to find you

As a survivor of abuse herself, Kesha is able to brilliantly discuss how even though life can be difficult and painful, there is still a purpose if you find courage and meaning. Crystal still has to be able to put the past behind her, but she has people willing to support and love her through this difficult process.

Track 17: The Foundations of Decay by My Chemical Romance

This song is found on all Charles', Crystal's, and Edwin's playlists. The final track, this song discusses where the characters will go after Niko's death, and reflecting on what they've all learned so far.

See the man who stands upon the hill He dreams of all the battles won But fate had left its scars upon his face With all the damage they had done

All of the characters have been hurt and traumatized by their past, and sometimes it is not so easily healed. Their scars also kept them from truly connecting and communicating with each other. Niko was the one who united them all with her firm believe in love and hope, as well as her ability to listen to their deepest fears.

Let our bodies lay, mark our hearts with shame Let our blood in vain, you find God in pain Now, if your convictions were a passing phase May your ashes feed the river in the morning rays And as the vermin crawls, we lay in the foundations of decay

All of the characters were rotting in their own ways before they met each other. Edwin with his denial of his feelings, not just romantically but also in all aspects of life that would lead him to feel warmth and vulnerability. Charles was rotting in a silent rage, unable to truly confront his death and all that he lost, alongside how his parents continued on happy without him while causing him so much suffering. Niko was trapped in her room unable to connect with others in the world not just due to her sprites, but through her unhealed grief and fear. Finally, Crystal was rotting away in her selfishness and inability to love and be loved. She was trapped inside her headspace because she refused to see herself, thus not recognizing her mental world as hers. This allowed David the opening to abuse and control her.

You must fix your heart And you must build an altar where it swells When the storm, it gains and the sky, it rains Let it flood, let it flood, let it wash away And as you stumble through your last crusade Will you welcome your extinction in the morning rays? And as the swarm it calls, we lay in the foundations

I believe the thesis of the Dead Boy Detectives, as well as this song, is the lyric "you must fix your heart". By allowing your old self to rot, you are able to confront your trauma and begin to heal and grow again. As the characters continue to confront their decay, they will hopefully continue to become more self actualized and healed.

[buckets-and-trees]

Aspen's Enchanted Birthday Festival Announcement

October first marks one hundred days until my birthday! So from now until my birthday on January 9th I'm hosting a writing festival!

For this fest, I'm interested in seeing some mystical creatures we don't typically see, though you're free to adapt them and their lore however you see fit.

You do not need to follow me to participate (though it's appreciated). Details and guidelines under the keep reading/read more...

REQUIRED: Feature at least one of the creatures from this list:

Leshy/Leshen

Lampago

Lampad

Naiad

Dryad

Drows

Peryton

Tarasque

Skrat

The creature could be the reader, the leading man, or a creature they encounter. You can go with strict mythology, or riff off the elements of the base lore.

REQUIRED: Feature at least one of the characters from this list:

Bucky Barnes

Steve Rogers

Thor Odinson

Joaquin Torres

Nick Fowler

God the Bounty Hunter

Ari Levinson

Curtis Everett

Lloyd Hansen

OPTIONAL: if you would like some melodic or lyrical inspiration, here are nine songs I'm floating your way:

“A&W” by Lana Del Rey

“Holocene” by Bon Iver

“Never Let Me Go” by Florence + the Machine

“The Lightning Strike” by Snow Patrol

“If I Say” by Mumford & Sons

“Fine Line” by Harry Styles

“Abstract (Psychopomp)” by Hozier

“The Moment I Said It” by Imogen Heap

“Daydreaming” by Rosa Pullman

Writing must be an x reader story.

Minimum 500 words, maximum 9k words.

If part of an existing series, must be able to read as a stand alone piece.

Must be posted on tumblr between October 1, 2023, and January 9, 2024.

I will only read and reblog works that tag @buckets-and-trees and use the tag #aspensenchantedbday.

Stories MUST use a creature and character from the lists provided, but using song inspiration is optional.

All stories must be inclusive in nature.

No DD/lg dynamics, no pet play, no beastiality (if a monster cannot express consent, it is beastiality), no rpf (real person fiction), no scat play, no underage relations of a romantic or sexual nature.

Make sure to tag content and trigger warning appropriately and use a read more/keep reading cut after 300 words.

If you want to create something for THIS event that also aligns with other challenges or events, you can stack/maximize as long as that other event or challenge allows for it (doesn’t demand exclusivity).

I'm not obligated to read or reblog any works that fail to adhere to the requirements listed above.

If you're familiar with my library, you'll know I write a range of light to dark, fluff to smut, and so entries across the board are welcome as long as they meet the stipulated requirements.

May these creatures haunt your muse in the best way between now and January 9th!

[high-functioning-fang1rl]

The Ultimate Nica Pierce Playlist!

Nica is my favorite in the series and I couldn’t get the thought of creating a playlist of music that I think she would listen to/music I think represents her/reminds me of her out of my head!

So here is the Playlist with Songs/Artists/some explanations! Thanks to @barclaysangel for some input!!

What do you think Nica would listen to/what are your favorites?! Let’s nerd out over them!

*Dog Days Are Over (Florence and the Machine) - I mean come ON, this fits Nica’s vibe PERFECTLY (thanks to barclaysangel for the inspiration) and the lyrics to this song in particular are so perfect for Nica’s ultimate fighting spirit.

*Queen of Peace (Florence)

*Girl With One Eye (Florence)

*Shake It Out (Florence)

*Kiss With A Fist (Florence)

*Never Let Me Go (Florence)

*Free (Florence)

*Tag You’re It (Melanie Martinez) - This one gave me goosebumps when I connected it not only to what she faces with Chucky and Tiff messing her life up, but Chucky LITERALLY uses Nica to taunt Andy saying “Tag You’re It, Pal!” CHILLS. It works SO well I think!

*Training Wheels (Melanie Martinez) - Reminds me so much of the inner turmoil she’d face when falling for our very own Andy Barclay (they’re perfect for each other!)

*Milk and Cookies (Melanie Martinez) - The rest of the MM songs I put in because they fit so well within the context of the show/I feel like they relate to Nica very well!

*Teddy Bear (Melanie Martinez)

*Dollhouse (Melanie Martinez)

*Soap (Melanie Martinez)

*Lie In Our Graves (Dave Matthews) - I think when Nica is trying to relax/is smoking she may listen to music like this to help turn her brain off! Dave Matthews/ Glass Animals is perfect for that and I think she’d appreciate the vibe occasionally.

*Crush (Dave Matthews)

*Youth (Glass Animals)

*Ants Marching (Dave Matthews)

*Life Itself (Glass Animals)

*Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac) - For some reason I feel like Nica listened to a lot of Fleetwood Mac with her mother growing up, and she still has a fondness for it when she feels nostalgic

*Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)

*Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac)

*Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow (Fleetwood Mac)

*I Write Sins (Not Tragedies) (Panic at the Disco) - Growing up with her family, I think she had a little emo phase and listened to quite a bit of Panic/Fall out Boy/Paramore/Greenday. I love imagining a young Nica getting her angst out to these songs

*The Phoenix (Fall Out Boy)

*Bring Me To Life (Evanescence)

*Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)

*Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day)

*Memories (Panic at the Disco)

*Ain’t It Fun (Paramore)

*Still Into You (Paramore)

*Ready To Go Get Me Outta My Mind (Panic at the Disco)

*Still Breathing (Green Day)

*This Ain’t A Scene (Fall Out Boy)

*A Little Less Sixteen Candles (FOB)

*Just One Yesterday (FOB)

*Young Volcanoes (FOB)

*Sugar Were Going Down (FOB)

*Holiday (Green Day)

*When I Come Around (Green Day)

*Semi-Charmed Life (Third Eye Blind) - One of the songs Nica grew up with that she still enjoys to this day (like the next few)

*Everything You Want (Vertical Horizon)

*Breakfast At Tiffany’s (Deep Blue Something) - Despite the name Tiffany being a sore subject, Nica likes this song

*Valerie (Amy Winehouse)

*Rehab (Amy Winehouse)

*Don’t Let Me Get Me (Pink) - Fits when Nica would’ve been young and I think she still loves listening to this song when she feels a bit angsty

*You and I (Lady Gaga)

*Bloody Mary (Lady Gaga)

*ScheiBe (Lady Gaga)

*Wicked World (Matt Jaffe)

*Still Alive (Demi Lovato) - I mean obviously, this is a Final Girl anthem and she’s the best Final Girl there is!!

*Too Sweet (Hozier) - Fits her so well! I know our girl enjoys her whiskey neat ;)

[skepticalcatfrog]

My Secret Shanghai Playlist

Finally, the playlist is FINISHED! I gathered all the songs a while ago, the reason it took this long is because I wanted to make a nice cover for it, which I did! See above.

Click here for the playlist!

Now when I say "finished", I don't believe any playlist is ever REALLY finished. I may add songs later on, and if I do, I'll add them to this post! I'm also always open to suggestions.

As promised, under the cut I'll be putting brief descriptions of why I added each song! If you want a full, line-by-line analysis, I definitely encourage you to send an ask about any specific songs to my inbox!

~~~

Song List:

1. Chinese Satellite by Phoebe Bridgers - Everyone already knows my feelings about this song and OVE-era Benedikt (if they looked at this other post I made that is).

2. Stiletto by Billy Joel - Again, if anyone looked at this second other post I made they'll know why this is Roma and Juliette, but SPECIFICALLY from Benedikt's POV.

3. Killer by Phoebe Bridgers - This is Roma and Juliette, specifically in TVD/OVE (see also the drawing I made inspired by this if you so choose).

4. Salt in The Wound by boygenius - This is Rosalind and Dimitri to me, they may also appear again later in this list.

5. Eat Your Young by Hozier - I mean. I feel as though this is quite obvious if you've heard the song.

6. The Bomb by Florence and the Machine - See, as I said up above, this one is Rosalind and Dimitri once again.

7. Wish That You Were Here by Florence and the Machine - I've posted about this before too, not in as much detail, but this one is Benedikt and Marshall to me, specifically in early OVE.

8. Funeral by Phoebe Bridgers - This is on here for Juliette, I need to go in depth about this someone PLEASE ask me about it.

9. Please Stay by Lucy Dacus - If you read my fic you already know, this is on here for Benedikt and Marshall.

10. Abstract (Psychopomp) by Hozier - Honestly this one is on here for pure vibes, feel free to match it specifically with whoever you like.

11. Queen of Peace by Florence and the Machine - It's possible that this one may not fit EXACTLY exactly, but it just really gives Celia to me and there are enough lines in the song to prove it.

12. Dream Girl Evil by Florence and the Machine - Again, this is Rosalind and Dimitri, I know this is happening a lot but it's because I listen to just enough songs about messed up relationships.

13. This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race by Fallout Boy - This one is also on here for pure vibes, it just works very well.

14. Sedated by Hozier - This one is sooooooo FLF/FHH, I don't make the rules.

15. Broken Crown by Mumford and Sons - This is Roma to me, in the way I interpret this song and these lyrics.

16. No Choir by Florence and the Machine - I've also posted about this but I don't think many people saw it, this gives me sooooo Roma and Juliette after they flee the city.

17. Dinner and Diatribes by Hozier - Roma and Juliette. I have no explanation for this other than how antisocial Roma is and how absolutely horrendously they want each other throughout the entire series but specifically LVC.

18. Hospital Beds by Florence and the Machine - This song can be associated with so many things in these books that I will simply let YOU choose what it means.

19. Alone Together by Fall Out Boy - This gives me many feelings about the main four in TVD and where they all end up after the two books.

20. Fourth of July by Fall Out Boy - This one is for Roma and Juliette, specifically in OVE when their relationship has become infinitely more complicated.

21. The Calendar by Panic! At The Disco - This one is on here for OVE-era Roma and his conflicting feelings about Juliette.

22. Hungover in the City of Dust by Autoheart - Dear god this song is so good, and it's here for my beloved Benedikt, once again in his depression era.

23. Share Your Address by Ben Platt - I feel like this one could be very sweet for Rosalind and Orion, from his POV. I just like it for them.

24. New Invention by IDKHOW - If you like Orion Hong and you want to feel MISERABLE about him, this is the song for you I promise.

25. Guns for Hire by Woodkid - Another pure vibes one. Give it a listen.

26. My Immortal by Evanescence - This is another one that I feel could have a number of interpretations, but to me it is Benedikt Montagov (in early OVE, obviously).

27. Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys - An unconventional choice, I know, but I put this here for Roma and Juliette, because wouldn't it be nice?

28. Romeo & Juliet by Peter McPoland - I mean. Come on.

29. Vienna by Billy Joel - Again, so many interpretations, choose your own adventure.

30. Francesca by Hozier - I don't know if this is more romajuliette, more benmars, more rosorion, or more olivercelia. Obviously I lean towards benmars (you know me) but there's evidence for all of them

31. I Love You Too by Peter McPoland - This one is for Oliver and Celia, in honor of that one scene in FHH. You know the one.

32. Back to December by Taylor Swift - Thinking about romajuliette to this song makes me incredibly sad so it goes on the playlist.

33. peace by Taylor Swift - Again. Romajuliette. I'm right.

34. Ease My Mind by Ben Platt - This is benmars to me and no one can change my mind.

35. Run Away by Ben Platt - Think of this as Roma and Juliette and if you don't become deeply emotional I don't know what to say to you.

36. Absinthe by IDKHOW - Pure. Vibes.

37. Bleed Magic by IDKHOW - I dare you to listen to this song and NOT think it's FLF.

38. I Wish I Was by The Avett Brothers - Something about this just feels like olivercelia to me in a way I can't describe.

39. Marjorie by Taylor Swift - Imagining this as Alisa after Roma “dies” made me very emotional so I had to add this one.

40. Just A Girl by Florence and the Machine (or whichever version you prefer, but this cover is my favorite) - I feel like if I say Phoebe Hong I won't need to explain more.

41. Things We Lost in the Fire by Bastille - This definitely gives OVE to me in a major way.

42. Mermaids by Florence and the Machine - Okay this song does reference England twice but if you just ignore that then the vibes are ON POINT for specifically TVD.

43. Out of the Woods by Taylor Swift - Chloe Gong herself said this is Benedikt, so I must add it.

44. Jump Then Fall by Taylor Swift - Same as above, but for Marshall.

45. mirrorball by Taylor Swift - Again, same as above, for Celia this time.

46. Murder in the City by The Avett Brothers - Just the very first verse of this is Marshall to me, but the rest of it (give or take a few lines) is very Roma.

47. Soon You'll Get Better by Taylor Swift - WHATEVER YOU DO, don't imagine this as Roma visiting Alisa in the hospital in TVD.

48. Hunger by Florence and the Machine - This is very very TVD duology Rosalind.

49. ivy by Taylor Swift - I know this song is about infidelity, but through another lens, it's actually about romajuliette.

50. Safe & Sound by Taylor Swift - This is here for TVD/OVE Alisa and her only.

51. Honest Man by Ben Platt - Sooooooo rosorion.

52. Agoraphobia by Autoheart - This song is Benedikt to me, not in any particular instance just in general.

53. Impossible Year by Panic! at the Disco - This is really everyone at the beginning of OVE, but I put it here specifically for Roma.

As I said above, I 1000% encourage you to ask for more details about any songs you're curious about! I'm happy to discuss. Enjoy!

[redwolf17]

When did he say it was about Palestine? He said it was about reproductive rights. He said it when it came out. He didn't say it was about Palestine. Stop lying to serve your own agenda.

Like I get it I want Palestine to be free too but making shit up isn't going to help Palestinians (in fact, since it's not true, it's going to make people lose trust in the Palestinian cause and its advocates! You are doing something that is actively going to make people mistrust and dislike us and by extension what we stand for and you don't at all see how that's a bad thing?)

You're not helping. You're actually kind of being a nuisance.

I'm not lying, and I'm annoyed that I'm being accused of lying for correctly interpreting lyrics which are not especially subtle.

Yes, Swan Upon Leda is mostly about abortion, but it is also about the colonization and occupation of Ireland and that of Palestine. Hence the lyrics "empire upon Jerusalem" and "occupier upon ancient land."

Nor am I an outlier in this interpretation. The Genius annotations reference Palestine, as do many reviews of the single when it came out. As the Harvard Crimson notes:

In the last line of the chorus, Hozier broadens the scope of resistance covered in the song, connecting the interpersonal violence of the “swan upon Leda” to the international violence of Israel’s “empire upon Jerusalem.” Previously, the singer has compared colonialism in Ireland and Palestine; in May, 2021, he signed a pro-Palestine open letter that highlighted the similarities between historical English policies in Ireland and Israel’s actions in Palestine.

More recently, Hozier has shared calls for a permanent ceasefire, issued a special vinyl release of Swan Upon Leda to raise money for Warchild, spoken about the conflict on stage at some of his concerts, and shared various insta stories on the horrific death toll in Palestine, as well as a couple charity posts from Irish Artists for Palestine.

Accurately stating views which Hozier has repeatedly expressed in his lyrics and in public statements is not lying, and pushing back on people falsely accusing me of lying is not "being a nuisance."

[cleolinda]

Weekend links, April 21, 2024

My posts

Initially I wrote, “I ran my mouth about the Watcher streaming/paywall situation because I make bad decisions,” but I think the post has actually gone over well? In short, I want to see them succeed but I am also deeply fuckin’ baffled. I so desperately want the tea about what was really going on behind all this, and how the guys are reacting to it now, and I really hope they can turn this around somehow. 

Side note, Friday was CHAOTIC. 

Reblogs of interest

The Hot Vintage Lady Polls are escalating in round four. We got to a point where I posted propaganda for Ava Gardner AND Dorothy Dandridge in their matchup. Probably the biggest scandal of round three was Vivien Leigh getting knocked out, but she’s now High Chancellor of the Shadow Realm. The most contentious matchup this time seems to be Judy Garland vs Natalie Wood, which is nearly 50/50 as of this writing. But keep your eye on Hedy Lamarr, who may have Mifune Sweep energy. 

(I think I love these brackets for the same reason I love Dracula Daily: it’s delightful that thousands of people on Tumblr actually have deeply-held opinions about things from many decades ago, and if they didn’t before, they do now.)

(“I’m Katharine Hepburn, and this is Jackass!”)

--

Happy Bread Day (Observed)!

Hozier Watch 2024: “Why Would You Be Loved” has arrived on the Wasteland, Baby! special edition. I like this post about how that song is in conversation with “No Plan,” one of my favorites. (I wrote about “Movement” a while ago, but I could have fully inflicted an essay on you about how “No Plan” pulled me out of my six years of hiding from the internet. Anyway, it’s a great album from a few years ago, check it out if you haven’t.) 

Generally I keep my mouth shut about Taylor Swift, but the new songs sure have some lyrics. I love Florence Welch, but I’m scared.

You’ve heard of spoon theory, now check out spell slot theory

“You’re either frolicking in this field with me, or...” is funny, but then you get to the reblog.

What if we lay in this field together and held feet

A deep breach of etiquette with a little dog named Gucio

A story about statue vandalism with a delightful twist

You gotta fight mint with mint (like I can bring in my lemon balm, but at what cost?) 

I saw this post about feeding wild skeletons on Pinterest and I loved it so much that I tracked down the original. 

Once again, Holy Shit, Two Cakes theory

Remember the haunted house I grew up in? Yeah, it had a carpeted bathroom like this.

“gonna start formatting my posts like fics on ff.net circa 2008” will do you exactly the psychic damage you’re imagining 

The Round Table attempts to use Zoom

Video

Lil Nas X covers “Jolene,” Dolly Parton loves it, and @oscar-wet-and-wilde has further Black Country recs

A big loud steppy

“He’s retrieving”

Crispy meows

Watching this angel of a Doberman get a full spa treatment is also self care

AND YOU DARE SAY NO MORE TREATS??!?

The sacred texts

I don’t like thing, now with artist credit 

Personal tags of the week

I love when I can use a really niche, specific tag, and this week, it’s mouth perfect size for meme, with a little shaped on the side.

[melit0n]

What is the best part of the song NFWMB by Hozier? 🎤

AHHHH HELLO TONNEEE!! Stored this away so I could have another break (exuse) from studying.

I think, outside of general lyricism, just how his voice sounds so airy in the whole song is the best part. Like, I can just imagine walking through the woods and hearing it on the wind; a song from a bygone age about a man and his lover that I'll never know. Maybe an old forest God lamenting on his mortal love.

Plus, unlike the songs I have listened to so far from him (which is growing! I'm getting there and I fear I may turn into a Hozier blog at some point lol), the time he sings it in gives it a sad, almost eerie undertone. There's a comment under the official video which says something among the lines of "love song for the end of the world" and I think that fits perfectly.

And, y'know..."If I was born as a blackthorn tree, I'd wanna be felled by you, held by you; fuel the pyre of your enemies".