#Annabel’s lament

[screenshotsonpinterest]

Oh

Annabella in Numberland

Like Alice in Wonderland

[celestialseamysteries]

sometimes you're just listening to your music and then a song comes on and you're struck with a vision. idk what to tell you

[the-clockwork-three]

Annabel in numberland .......

[old-lemon-tree]

How the Old Guard Deals with Grief

How about headcanons on how the old guard deals with grief/loss? They've all experienced significant loss and we see glimpses of how they deal with it.. Dutch channeling each loved one's death into justification for his anger, Hosea's fond reminiscence of Bessie, and how Arthur avoids it, buries it and only speaks of it to his journal or in passing.

Requested by @kelpiekidd

Thank you for requesting this! I had fun writing these (fun!?!) it was very challenging but also extremely rewarding. I may have wordvomited all over this ops! I hope it makes sense.

TW: talk of death and grief.

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Arthur

When the wound is fresh he won’t cry about it. Not unless he’s sure he’s completely alone. Even then he would feel watched all the same, not realizing that feeling is his own pesky mind. If it happens, though, he’s not too pressed about it. The tears are already out, what’s he to do? Trying to wipe them off would just make him feel more guilty (of what? Nobody knows)

Isolating is not quite the word. He can’t very well take his sweet time coddling his aching heart, not when there’s people that needs feeding and depend completely on him. He will keep to himself more often, though. He will avoid the campfire and retire to his tent earlier, and he will eat at odd hours so nobody else is around the table, so he can avoid their worried looks. He doesn’t like to be looked at like he’s broken.

Mostly, he talks to his journal. All those words he feels he can’t string together with his voice turn out not so daft once he writes them down. He’ll be honest with himself in writing, nothing to hide from those pages, they’ve seen all of his ugliness already, they may as well see his sadness. He will write their name and a short goodbye, draw sketches of their face before time washes away the memory. Sometimes he will return to the page when the ache of loss comes biting in the night, or when he’s too far to go visit their grave. He’ll sketch a flower then, right above their name, to make up for the one he couldn’t bring in person.

He won’t talk about it with others for a while, but when he does, is only with Hosea. (and maybe Mary-Beth, but only if he doesn’t feel too much like a pathetic beast that day). Still, he won’t tell Hosea all that his journal gets to see. He’ll be pragmatic about it, practical. He won’t talk about feelings, he will talk about tasks. He’ll express frustration he can’t shoot as good recently because sometimes his hands shake. He'll lament that he hadn’t found the will to walk too far from camp to hunt them some better game. He won’t link those things with his grief, but he doesn’t need to. Hosea knows.

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Dutch

Somewhere down the line Dutch forgot that not everything he does needs to have a purpose. Grieving shouldn’t need other purpose than to stop feeling broken. But he can’t live with it if he doesn’t turn it into something he can do. Vengeance is the easiest and the one that serves him better anyway. He’d rather fantasize about Colm’s undoing, than lay in his bed at night and reckon with the fact he doesn't feel as broken as he should about Annabelle. He'd rather wander a cave and ramble about all the way everyone is wrong, than admit he’ll never again get to ask Hosea if he's doing the right thing.

His grief is spoken of only among closest ones, and once Hosea dies the number of those closest ones is drastically reduced. Mostly, he will talk about how much he misses. What he’s lost, what was there, what is now gone. He’ll miss their voice the most. Their face, that was theirs, he will live with forgetting it eventually, but their voice– when they spoke to him, in that moment their voice was for him. That was his. Most of his longing comes from how easy voices are to forget, much easier than words. So, in the end, all he’s left with is his own voice, parroting the words back at him.

Dutch has a hard time coming to terms with the fact not everything can be taken back once lost. America steals his freedom and he takes it back, Bronte steals his dignity and he takes it back. How is it fair that he can’t take life back from death as well. Dutch doesn’t think himself a God, not in the biblical sense at least, but it’s hard to accept how powerless he is in those situations.

Raw, unguarded emotions are something reserved for the moments right after death. There’s something in death being so close that makes him feel raw, like there’s nothing he could possibly hide anymore. He’ll get angry before he'll get sad, and they’ll both be equally destructive. He will break things, leash out on what he’ll perceive as guilty; his gun if it didn’t fire quick enough, or their deathbed for not keeping them alive. And only once the fury has simmered down he’d cry. Not always. Sometimes crying doesn’t feel like enough. Sometimes all he wants is to sit in the wake of his rage, thinking of how to turn the hollow in his chest into something with a purpose.

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Hosea

Hosea is open in how painful Bessie’s death was, in how much his life changed before and after her. The exact same difference goes for his grieving. He will never feel a pain as profound as he felt when Bessie passed. It’s not a lack of love or fondness, he will still feel sorrow. But now he is just incapable and unwilling of letting those feelings consume him, not again, not after her. Somehow selfishly, he’d like for that pain to only belong to her, no one else. Sometimes he fears going through the same with another would cheapen the feelings he had for her.

As soon as it happens, he’ll ask to be left alone. Which is unsettling for the man always first in line to comfort someone, but he’ll mean it, and he’ll be adamant about it. He needs the time to process what happened, he’s too dazed in the wake of it. Even before Bessie’s passing, death had an effect o him, like something utterly alien befell the Earth and he got left there to pick up the pieces. Loss is unsettling, as is the feeling of helplessness that washes over him in those moments. How does one cope with a thing so massive as the end of someone’s time.

He won’t cry, not after Bessie. Sometimes he’d joke he cried all his tears back then. Jokes. Yes, of those he still has plenty. Now the punchline has turned inwards, though. He’ll become the butt of his own jokes, the humor twisted meaner somehow, like he can’t let himself the benefit of too much pity. He’d hate if anyone pitied him, if he can help it, he’d rather they called him an idiot and moved on. Still, only because he’s flippant about it, doesn’t mean he will take it kindly if anyone takes it too far. God help him, Bill keeps testing him on that.

After, once the sharper edge of the pain has gone, he’ll come looking for comfort. An ear that would listen, a hand on his shoulder, just something to keep him grounded as he reminisces. He loves talking about the ones he’s lost. He may not had become a priest like he wanted, and never believed in any God up there, but that part of him that longs to celebrate the immortal soul is still there. And what better way to do that than telling stories, keeping the memories alive.

[nevermorgue]

Nevermore the Musical Concepts PART 3

I'm picturing how some of the character's solos/more personalized songs would sound. Firstly, I imagine the majority of the musical to be in minor keys. Major keys sound a bit too happy/not as catchy. Everything being in a minor key gives it a more eerie vibe, reminding us that everyone is dead. Maybe at one point one song is in a major key to throw off the overall sound. Maybe Merry and Mourn prefer major chords, or Montresor switches between the two to emphasize how he is "not like the rest of them". Imagine Eulalie's using the sounds of traditional Japanese instruments such as the shamisen, the koto, and the shakuhachi to name a few. The notes blend together, nice and soft like lullabies with eerie vocal scoops and enka sounds. Her melody occasionally is a nod to the Itsuki lullaby, the one she sang to the children before dying. Some of the notes repeat themselves throughout her vocals depending on the song/lyric choice. Berenice has a jazzy, faster paced influence. Her voice is rough, scooping and using vibrato as much as she can. I'm sure her vocal growls are fantastic too. I think her and Eulalie singing as a pair during the Ring the Bell song could be a really nice blend between a fast paced, jazzy percussion and softer tones of Japanese instruments. And do not even get me started on Will. He matches vocal style with whoever he is singing with. Most of his parts have a country sort of twang to them as a nod to Montresor, but he doesn't get anything unique on his own. The other characters' instrumental styles blend together and he just sings on top of it, contributing nothing special to the song. If he did get a song on his own (A lament of some sort, questioning his friendship with Montresor) I would assume it would start more country rock sort of vibe in reference to Monty, but slowly goes into something a bit more unique; classic rock. Classic rock with light guitars and a beat that feels much more upbeat, rather than the creepy/catchy vibe that Nevermore songs give. Not only is he "breaking away" from his previous manipulation, but in a way he's also stepping up as he too is now performing in a major key, which the other proper antagonists do. Annabel Lee and Prospero match each other a lot. Classical strings and a LOT of harpsichord usage. For Annabel Lee I specifically think of "ANTI THE HOLIC" by cosMo@Bousou-p in terms of vibes. Just imagine something fast paced and classical, matching her energy. Prospero I picture in a similar light, slower but still with the same elements of classical instruments pushing his voice forward and making them come across as ethereal; in charge. "Gothic and Loneliness" by Narushima Takashi has a fantastic instrumental that I envision a lot of the songs to have a similar vibe to. Fast paced but still classical and orchestral. The hints of electric sounds being nods to more modern characters. It all depends on who is singing and what the song is. Ada has a similar thing to Will where her instrumentals try to copy Annabel's but always seem to be missing something whether it be another instrument or a note goes up instead of down. Almost there, but not quite right. Morella having a Celtic influence and plenty of harp and violin. Imagine the other voices drowning her out, leaving her trapped in between a mess of voices and unable to choose what melody to sing along to, so she shakily creates her own. And lastly to end off for now, Duke is the only baritone in the misfits and tends to be the support, the foundation when they are all together. Lenore balances out in Alto, keeping the higher voices grounded with mainly harmonies and the occasional melody line. Normally, the main character sings melody always, but I think when all of the misfits sing together her going to harmonize makes more sense. She is the backbone; the one keeping them all together. Pluto is a tenor, Berenice is a mezzo, and Eulalie is a soprano. Morella is also a soprano, and she and Eula tend to harmonize a bit in group songs.

[cosmicabsurdism]

of lonely little girls, space, and the ocean [stay with me, into the woods//as i ebb'd with the ocean of life, walt whitman//fairycosmos//elysian night, paul shapera//annabel's lament, paul shapera//end poem, minecraft//transformocean, samuel gregoire//bedroom in arles, vincent van gogh//here's the life i've always longed for, anna haifisch//the monk by the sea, casper david friedrich//rapunzel, madalyn mcleod//lonely galaxy lost in space, nasa]

[lizziethereader]

January 2025 wrapup

not pictured: - In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecilia Ahern - Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher - The Fable Omnibus 1 (Vol. 1-2) by Katsuhisa Minami - A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart

January was an okay start into the new reading year - there could have been more highlights, but I enjoyed mostly reading books I chose to read myself (instead of having to read them for my students).

favorites of the month: The Call by Edith Ayrton Zangwill, A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart

nonfiction of the month (4): A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart, Unberechenbar by Harald Lesch and Thomas Schwartz, Half-Arse Human by Leena Norms and Study like a Champ by Regan A. R. Gurugn and John Dunlosky

classics (1): The Call by Edith Ayrton Zangwill

poetry (1): Millay: Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay

graphic novel/manga (1): The Fable Omnibus 1 (Vol. 1-2) by Katsuhisa Minami

[omgthatdress]

A doll version of Felicity’s best friend, Elizabeth, was released in 2005, along with her own book, Very Funny, Elizabeth! Immediately, there was controversy because in the classic books, Elizabeth had dark hair and eyes, and now, suddenly, the doll and book Elizabeth is blonde. The official reason was that they wanted to create more of a difference between Elizabeth and Felicity, but there was speculation that is was either done to match the actress in the movie, or that it was an act of Barbie-fication.

I’ve read some reviews of the dress lamenting the fact that it’s a very bright Barbie pink, but, the thing is.... pink was a very popular color in the 1770s:

So I’m not gonna knock it for being the wrong color. What DOES bug me, however is the shot silk. It’s made by having warp fibers of one color and weft fibers of another, and it creates that shimmery, color-changing effect. In all my years of looking at historical fashion online, I haven’t found any extant examples of a rococo-era dress made of shot silk. HOWEVER, after much scouring of Pinterest, I DID manage to find a few examples of portraits where the subject appears to be wearing shot silk:

So I’m not sure about the accuracy. It wasn’t super common but it wasn’t unheard of.

In the original Felicity books, it is sort of hinted at that Elizabeth’s family is wealthier than Felicity’s, but in the movie and Very Funny, Elizabeth! it’s made pretty explicit. The story revolved around Annabelle (UGH, Annabelle was the worst!) getting engaged to an English nobleman. Elizabeth wears her pink dress to the engagement party. So again, it makes sense for Elizabeth to be wearing a fine dress with her fancy accessories:

Giving a ten-year-old girl a pearl necklace and diamond earrings, the Coles had to have been loaded. Before the invention of cultured pearls, the only way to get pearls was for them to be formed naturally, and natural pearls are RARE!

The fan is a type of fan called a brisé fan, usually made out of ivory, horn, or shell, and they were more typical of the 19th century:

(ca. 1810-1820)

While they were more common later on, most 1770s fans were made of paper, which would probably make for a pretty flimsy toy, so I can see why they would have gone for the brisé style.

[velvet4510]

One day in history a brilliant AO3 writer by the name of Illegible_Scribble took Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” and transformed it into Frodo Baggins’ lament for his “Samwise Gamgee” while waiting for him in Valinor…and it is such a complete and utter masterpiece that I felt it was only my duty to share it here for those to read who will:

It was many and many a year ago,

In a country near the Sea,

That a fair lad there lived whom you may know

By the name of Samwise Gamgee;

And this fair lad he lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a lad and he was a lad,

In this country near the Sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love—

I and my Samwise Gamgee—

With a love that the fairest Valar of Aman

Coveted him and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this country near the Sea,

A strike fell from the dark East, chilling

And taking from me what was free

So that highborn Elf-lords came

And away from him bore me,

To heal me far across the Water

In a land beyond the Sea.

The Valar, not half so happy in Aman,

Went envying him and me—

Yes!—that was the reason (as all Men know,

In this country near the Sea)

That my wound came out of the East by shade,

Chilling and nearly killing all of me.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we—

Of many far Wiser than we—

And neither the Valar in Aman beyond

Nor the shadows far East of the Sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the courageous Samwise Gamgee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Samwise Gamgee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the brown eyes

Of the courageous Samwise Gamgee;

And so, all the night-tide, to the Sea I confide

Of my darling—my darling—my life and my guide,

Of our long parting across the Sea—

Alone at the edge of the Sea.

[sw33t-oubliette]

really normal about how jasper reprises the "ghosts of" lyrics from annabelle's lament . you ever think about everything he says is just a reprise of the mcalistair's lyrics or just mixes of other people's words

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Act 1 S1 Overture • Act 1 S2 New Albion 1 • Act 1 S3 Annabel Raises the Dead • Act 1 S4 Annabel Has a Doll • Act 1 S5 Annabel's Lament • Act 1 S6 We Bid the 1st Generation Adieu • Act 2 S1 New Albion 2 • Act 2 S2 Edgar Gets His Heart Broken • Act 2 S3 The Old Trunk in the Attic • Act 2 S4 Edgar Builds a Business • Act 2 S5 Fay Considers Edgar's Proposal • Act 3 S1 New Albion 3 • Act 3 S2 The Movement 1 • Act 3 S3 Voodoopunk • Act 3 S4 The Movement 2 • Act 3 S5 Elysian Night • Act 3 S6 The Suicide • Act 3 S7 Bonfire of the Dolls • Act 4 S1 The Ballad of the Gambler and the Monk • Act 4 S2 New Albion 4 • Act 4 S3 Priscilla and Jasper Play Cards • Act 4 S4 Prisiclla Contemplates • Act 4 S5 The Day They Come • Act 4 S6 I Will Bring You Down • Act 4 S7 We Bid You All Adieu

Spotify ♪ Bandcamp ♪ YouTube

[itspotatocatto]

Ghosts of love you never knew, you just construed like well penned plays. Ghosts of scenes, embraces, things you only knew in dreamt up days.

Annabel McAlistair in Annabel's Lament from The Dolls of New Albion by Paul Shapera

[cinderellaenjoyer]

Just realised that apart from 'New Albion 1' and 'We Bid The First Generation Adue' all the Act 1 songs have 'Annabelle' in the title. Annabelle raises the dead. Annabelle has a Dolly. Annabelle's lament. I think that shows how Annabelle only seems to be thinking about herself and not Jasper, Jasper is nothing but a toy here. Even the end of New Albion 1 is about Annabelle and the beginning of the We bid the first generation adue is still about her

[ao3feed-jonmartin]

In Lieu Of Sleep

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/WvnDQtY by AAAStarboyAAA This morning will come, after the night, revered or lamented, out of its chrysalis. On the Archive in his liminal state, hovering between truth and consequence. Words: 5307, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: The Magnus Archives (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood, Annabelle Cane, Peter Lukas Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Additional Tags: mag 199, Relationship Study, Character Study, all charas other than jmart are very minor, eye gore, the usual freaky beholding shit, Dysfunctional Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, it doesn't really work super well though, Dream Sequence, as much as jon can dream while not really sleeping, Passive Suicidal Ideation, basically jon just fucking losing it all night read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/WvnDQtY

[nevermorgue]

nevermore musical concept part 2

duke and lenore main duet in dreamland (ft the occasional pluto eulabee as it swaps back and forth between dreamland and the others looking for duke around the school. montrada cameo.)

pluto’s lament (ft eulalie and berenice) regarding dukes disappearance. he sounds much more tired (his eye bags are terrible when duke is gone. did you notice?)

battle song during ring the bell with lenore + spectre eulabee, monty and will

of course we get a lenore annabel duet, the main one potentially being after the maze when they meet late at night. and whenever they sing to each other throughout, it’s vaguely the same melody/similar notes to their song. for example if the groups are singing against each other, every lyric directed at one another vaguely matches the notes to their own private duet.

hideout song with eulalie starting it (it’s called ‘We’re the ghosts now’ and it’s fantastic.) and they’re all finally happy and vibing for once

lenore singing with past self while hallucinating in that one part of the maze (+ theo harmonizing just barely out of reach.)

prospero and annabel lee with a proper duet. in group songs with annabel’s group they tend to compliment one another as a nudge towards him sort of being the second in command, but as a duet on their own they’re singing as themselves rather than working to blend. they come together as themselves and sound real, better than as they do when blending in front of the group