#Constant Smiles

[ourladyofomega]

Two Constant Smiles singles. The single's cover for "The Things I Miss" was taken at 66-44 Forest Ave. in Flushing (Queens), New York; facing northwest. For "Run To Stay", that photo was taken at 57-33 Catalpa Ave in Ridgewood (Queens), New York; facing west.

📸 unknown

[omegaremix]

Summer 2022 Mixtape:

Front Line Assembly: Mechanical Soul

Omar Shooli: “Hab Isii (Hug Me)”

Iftin Band: “Sirmaqabe (No Secrets)”

Mukhtar Ramadan Iidi: “Baayo (Hey Woman)”

Musical Youth: “Pass The Dutchie”

Clancy Eccles: “Feel The Rhythm”

Days Spent: “Gaslighter”

Pure Hell: “American”

Tears For Fears: “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”

Girlpool: “Nothing Gives Me Pleasure”

Funkees, The: “Mimbo”

Krigshoder: “Aktiv Dodshjelp”

A Number Of Names: “Sharevari”

Nas: “Brunch On Sundays”

Constant Smiles: “Run To Stay”

King Woman: “I Wanna’ Be Adored”

Grandmaster Caz & Marley Marl: “Punk What You Gonna’ Do About It?”

Petrol Girls: “Fight For Our Lives”

Dalek: “Decimation (Dis’ Nation)”

Public Enemy: “Food As A Machine Gun”

Catharsis: “Choose Your Heaven”

Rid Of Me: “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Les Rallize Denudes: “People Can Choose”

Ho99o9: “Battery Not Included”

Alexisonfire: “Sweet Dreams”

Snooper: “Powerball”

Einsturzende Neubauten: Alles In Allem

Mom: “Things Comes Into Place”

Solomon Shibeshi: “Endet New Negerwa”

Alchemist: “Broken Bottles”

Benny The Butcher & P. Diddy: “Ten More Crack Commandments”

Anders Rhedin: “Mediation Music #1″

Nite Jewel: “To Feel It”

Camp Cope: “Blue”

Consolidated: “Two Minutes To Midnight”

Feels Fine: “Washed Out Blue”

Fontaines D.C.: “I Love You”

Grivo: “Fatal Blue”

Mount Kimble: “Maybe” (James Blake RMX)

Lou Reed: “Street Hassle”

Nick Klein: “Tambourine Player”

Unknown Me: “Traffic (Taipei)”

Public Service Broadcasting: “Lichtspeil III Symphonie Diagonale”

Shit Narnia: “Abundant, Scattered”

Ruste Juxx & Tone Spliff: “For Every Shell”

True Blossom: ”Serious Boys”

New Mexican Stargazers: “Santa Fe Cruiser”

Pinch Points: “Am I Okay?”

The Offset: Spectacles: self-titled

Corrosion Of Conformity: “Elphyn”

Deeper: “Only A Shadow”

Maraudeur: “Robot Machine”

Daniel Johnston: “In A Lifetime”

Taqbir: self-titled

Black Dresses: “Hertz”

Beauty Pill: “At A Loss”

Raooul: “I Had Richie Bucher”

KRS-One: “Raw Hip-Hop”

Las Eras: “Frio”

Revolting Cocks: Big Sexy Land

Rid Of Me: “My Own Summer”

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry: “People Funny Boy”

Iguana Moonlight: “V”

Haircuts For Men: ”Dead Friends”

Constant Smiles: “You Are Still Out There”

Chastity: “Innocence”

Dum Dum Girls: “Hey Sis”

Slant: “Casualty”

Glare: “Floating”

Rixe: “Coups Et Blessures”

Skanks The Rap Martyr ft. Ruste Juxx & Tone Spliff: “Double Cross Ranch”

Scary Hours: “Uvalde”

Men, The: “L.A.D.O.C.H.”

Free Kitten: “Oh Bondage Up Yours”

Snooper: “Come Together”

Grimes: “Shinigami Eyes”

Hesitation Wounds: “Guthrie”

Tewodros Mekonnen: “ሐገሬ (My Country)”

Ultimo Resorte: “Cementerio Caliente / Peligro Social”

Kriegshog: “Burn”

Neo-Punkz: “If I Watch The T.V.”

Yeastie Girlz: “Sue Your Friends”

[shoegazekid]

#constantsmiles #shoegaze

[yellowsnow77]

Novedades musicales: septiembre 2024

El final del verano está siendo de lo más prolífico en cuanto a novedades se refiere. Desde las últimas semanas de agosto no han parado de salir canciones y adelantos de lo más interesantes. Bandas de sobra conocidas, como Franz Ferdinand, Pixies, Primal Scream, o Manic Street Preachers, nos han dejado algunas de las canciones que formarán parte de sus nuevos trabajos. También hemos tenido…

[olaskoolkitchen]

Ola's Kool Kitchen excited to share the podcast of my 500th episode with Iraina Mancini, Corvair, Mildred Maude, Constant Smiles, Art Moore, The Darts - US, Water From Your Eyes & Petite Amie.

[omegaradiowusb]

APRIL 15, 2024 A (#373)

Thousandaire: "One Day I'll Finally Go Deaf" TV Star: "These Trees Heard The Drums" Slow Crush: "Thrill" A Beacon School: "Mantra" Absolutely Free: "How To Repaint Clouds" (***NEW) Sour Widows: "Witness" (***NEW) Verity Den: "Prudence" (***NEW) Grass Jaw: "Tic Tac" (***NEW) Soda Die: "Sit With It" Sprain: "Constant Hum" (***NEW) Shizuka: "Bloodsplattered Blossom" Haress: "White Over" Constant Smiles: "Sea Of Birds" Wednesday: "Love Has No Pride (Condemned)" Keep: "7 Days" Lower Plenty: "A Letter To Grief" Sonic Boom: "If I Should Die" Mountain Movers: "Bodega... / Sun Shines On The Moon" (***NEW) Dolly: "Process" cursetheknife: "cursetheknife" Downward: "Budge" Velvet: "Sunlight" A Very Special Episode: "Smolder" (***NEW) MX Lonely: "Rest In Salt" (***NEW) Honeymoon: "Like Suffering" Stargazer Lilies, The: "Dizzying Heights" There Is No Teenage Love: "Randezvous Zero" (***NEW)

Springtime is seeing better days, when Omega Radio arrives with three deluxe hours of new, current, and favorite sounds and artists for Springtime temperatures. From shoegaze, dreampop, bedroom pop, alternative, and jangle, we have it all for listeners to fly high and never fall back from grace.

It's only our first broadcast of the day. We return later in the afternoon for a special two-hour bonus set when we fill-in for Music Library Gems. After that, plenty of more Springtime sounds to go from now until late May. We'll see you in eleven hours.

April 15, 2024 (2-4PM): bonus Omega.

April 29, 2024 (Midnight-3AM): deluxe Omega.

May 13, 2024 (Midnight-3AM): deluxe Omega.

May 27, 2024 (Midnight-3AM): final deluxe Spring ‘24 Omega.

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

Live Concert Photography: Sweeping Promises with Constant Smiles and Jeanines at Music Hall of Williamsburg 8/10/23

Live Concert Photography: Sweeping Promises with Constant Smiles and Jeanines at Music Hall of Williamsburg 8/10/23 @swpromises @subpop @subpoplicity @SacredBones @jeanines_nyc @MusicHallofWB @bowerypresents

Live Concert Photography: Sweeping Promises with Constant Smiles and Janines at Music Hall of Williamsburg 8/10/23 The past month or so have been very busy in the world of JOVM. But earlier this year, I caught Lawrence, KS-based punk outfit Sweeping Promises play a headlining set at Music Hall of Williamsburg that primarily focused on their excellent sophomore album Good Living Is Coming For…

[bandcampsnoop]

7/28/23.

I was flipping through my stacks and noticed that I've collected quite a few Rat Columns releases over the years. I've always enjoyed David West's work in Rat Columns (and other bands - especially Rank/Xerox)

Listening to "Thrift Store" from The Planes (Brooklyn, New York) upcoming LP "Dark Matter Recycling Co." really recalled the kind of indie pop peddled by Rat Columns. There's also a bit of The Suncharms, Constant Smiles and The Spires.

According to Austin Town Hall, this is a joint release between Totally Real Records (US) and Safe Suburban Homes (UK).

[dustedmagazine]

Constant Smiles — Kenneth Anger (Sacred Bones)

Kenneth Anger by Constant Smiles

Though Kenneth Anger is stylistically different to Constant Smiles’ last album, 2021’s Paragons, things start to make more sense if you visit Ben Jones’ Bandcamp page. Previous releases such as John Waters and Divine suggest that this new album is a continuation of Jones drawing direct inspiration from cinema and how film-makers create their own world on screen. The world that Ben Jones and his band portray here is one of highways rolling past at night-time, city lights, longing and grief. The album describes movement as both escape and a perpetual trap, locking the protagonist in the deluded belief that moving onto the next town, the next club, the next scene, will provide some relief. But there’s an underlying sadness here, a deep well of melancholy that seeps into your bones the more time you spend with it.

Though there are more synthesizers than guitars on Kenneth Anger, songs such as “Here and Gone” and “Loaded Anger” deftly integrate the sounds of Paragons into the band’s new palette, weaving plucked guitar parts through layers of droning synth chords and burbling arpeggios. This thread of continuity is initially hard to discern when the band opens the record with two of its most overtly motorik tracks, “Finding Ways” and “In My Heart.” It’s a strong, hypnotic one–two, emphasizing the energetic bass and drums, plus the textural density of their heavily synth-based sound. Though drummer Ryan Jewell tends to keep his parts simple and propulsive, when he cuts loose with more complex patterns, such as on closing track “Off Again,” the effect is especially potent. 

This move by Constant Smiles seems to be a recurring theme among guitar-based bands: discovering synthesizers on the cusp of wider popularity and making a radical shift in sound, for better or worse (Wild Beasts and Lower Dens are two examples that spring immediately to mind). However, Jones is a skilled songwriter and this is a confidently executed album, leaving the listener curious where they might venture next. 

Tim Clarke

[cintade90]

Constant Smiles - In My Heart

[ourladyofomega]

New game.

@lysistra has blessed me to name songs (favorite or now-playing) that spell out all the letters of my Tumblr name. No vowels to buy, no bankrupt spaces, and no puzzles to solve, but loads of ‘free spins’ and sparkly $5,000 spaces to give out. Pat Sajak is forever done with the show, so let’s see if Ryan Seacrest will ruin it like Drew Carey did with $The Price Is Right. That’s another debacle to expound on.

O: “One Way Flight” (Benny The Butcher ft. Freddie Gibbs)

U: “Ugly Truth (Hommo)” (Your Old Droog)

R: “Real High” (Nite Jewel)

L: “Light Song” (Emma Ruth Rundle)

A: “Ace Of Spades” (Heavy Joker)

D: “Down” (Mr. Elevator)

Y: “You Are Still Out There” (Constant Smiles)

O: “Outreach” (Chris Carter)

F: “Frio” (Las Eras)

O: “One Winter At Point Alpha Privative” (The Mountain Goats)

M: “Matador” (Model/Actriz)

E: “Eraser Soundgazer Forever” (Guerilla Toss)

G: “Guy Fawkes” (Vumani)

A: “Awaiting The Hour” (Ill Bill ft. Killa Priest)

All songs chosen are those I discovered in the last five Summers. As always, there's something for everyone.

[omegaremix]

Sacred Bones 15th Anniversary @ The Knockdown Center; May 28, 2022.

Uniform has had an effect on me that’s made all difference. Their live performance as then-unknowns at Output led me to the Sacred Bones label. Lead singer Michael Berdan repped Shame which had me finally visit Rough Trade NYC before their re-location and got me hooked on Totalitar. Not only that, I also sought out each and every band member’s projects (York Factory Complaint, Coca Leaf, Impalers, Liturgy, Anatomy) and discovered other labels in Dais and Wharf Cat. It took me six years before finally seeing the band in full and even bought merch- from Berdan himself. Did I mention they’ve become one of the hardest, most destructive, and pulverizing industrial-metal bands as of recent? All the reasons why they became one of my top ten all-time favorite artists ever.

Meanwhile, New York City label Sacred Bones housed some great artists such as Zola Jesus, Lust For Youth, Blanck Mass, The Holydrug Couple, Spellling, and Marrisa Nadler. They’ve praised the likes of John Carpenter, Mort Garson, and Suicide’s Alan Vega, plus had Boris and Black Marble come aboard. They’re based in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn. With what they’ve done and where they’re situated, how would I not support them?

They celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2017 with two separate shows. I bought tickets to both April and May dates, but I had doubts going as I was in the midst of recovering from life-saving shoulder surgery. Re-injuring it would not be a good look for my trust and my surgeon’s reputation so I ended up eating the cost. Another New York City-based label, Hospital Productions, celebrated their 20th anniversary which I attended, but I held out hope that Sacred Bones would return for their 15th. In short notice, they would. Five years later, I have a chance of finally attending my all-time favorite label’s showcase while keeping my New York City / Brooklyn quotient up. You wouldn’t even understand how fast my heart was beating as I got closer to the event. That’s the case with every trip to New York City because it’s always a big deal to me.

Long Island had a succession of greyscale cloudy days and rain. Saturday would be no different, I feared. Coincidentally, the clouds broke up while I rode the Central Islip line to Woodside. By the time I took the 7 line to catch the Q39 bus, it was a baking, bright and hazy 75*F by the time I got to the Knockdown Center. Security and detail dressed in full black asked everyone if they were here for Sacred Bones or Zero (an alternate techno dance event). After weaving through the guard rail labyrinth, showing ID, and having our tickets scanned, we were welcomed in. I took for granted just attending and supporting the label’s showcase because I knew it was an event. By the end of the night, this experience would be nothing I expected.

I entered the Knockdown Center’s huge lobby and through its conduits, observing several people sitting outside and enjoying the now shining skies like it was a university campus. I arrive at the huge main stage area and it was a dazzler. Once a thriving glass and door factory, this centurian structure is now out-of-commission for its original purposes and became a live venue and art space. It’s been internally repurposed and most of its original structures and aesthetic had faithfully remained intact. The bill would have seven artists across two areas and it would all start in the Texas room.

I walk in and the festivities had already started. Thirty people were here before me; some standing against the wall, some even sitting on the four-foot tall upper level. Everyone was totally silent and attentive as Constant Smiles’ sound welcomed everyone in with arms wide open. I look around and I see punks, metalheads, artist-types, longhairs, goth girls, girls in pigtails, an older silver gentleman wearing all-black matching sportscoat and miniskirt, and many more broad-minded walks of life coming in from Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. Ben Jones’ and personnel’s peaceful delivery of gentle long-distance drone, dreampop, and shoegaze painted this picture of total tranquility and serenity. Their sound perfectly juxtaposed with the setting sun’s rays beaming through the windows and into the Texas room. Nobody couldn’t have symbolically started the entire production any better.

All of us migrated to see The Men, the second artist up and the first to take the main stage. If Constant Smiles were the warm-up, then The Men got everything going with a such a slamming free-wheeling set. The line-up of Kevin Faulkner, Mark Perro, Nick Chiericozzi, and Rich Samis delivered a near-endless performance that sounded like it took forever and that’s not a bad thing. I stood about twenty feet away from the main stage and I zoned out letting the music take me to places. At this point, the people were sparse with lots of space to move around on the main floor but they were into it. One song of theirs I instantly recognized from their old line-up was “( )” because I did feature it on Omega WUSB.That was their most powerful one of the night. After their performance, things would take a turn to the unexpected.

Some of us decided to march on to the Ready Room, Knockdown’s former main office-turned bar where they held conferences, panels, and small celebratory events. I had no idea who LD Deutsch was. When I walked in the almost pitch-black space, I seen plenty of people packed in and seated with a projector set-up in front. It looked so surreal. A lecture during a concert night? Where am I? I don’t believe this. This was the stuff my dreams were usually made of: odd situations, things, and re-arrangements that could possibly happen in real-life but never did. Now this was it. Am I now in my own dream? For a good firty-five minutes LD Deutsch presented to us “A Revised Lecture On Time: Reality at the Edge of Itself”. It was a compliment of her latest material “Mythologies Of Time And Timelessness” and her second one published through Sacred Bones’ press. As part of their 15th anniversary, the label chose a great opportunity to showcase their best example of featured authors and filmmakers.

Meanwhile, the next act already got going on the main stage. In the past five years, Sacred Bones really ramped up their signings. I’m more accustomed to their first ten years when almost every artist signed on the label played for their 10th. Anika released Change on the label in 2021 and…I didn’t know what to think when I first witnessed them. Here was Annika Henderson up front on vocals, sounding reserved, quite soft spoken, calm and in control. Her touring personnel behind her put together an amalgam of minimal post-punk, art-rock, and krautrock and it felt up there. Once they played “Sand Witches”, I started finding plenty of elements of their sound that had that specific something and that continued with “Change”. Both had that just-about-right hypnotic spell that drew me in and enough to at least give them another chance in the very near future.

Squrl was another unfamiliar unknown to me and recent signing on that night’s line-up. Anika’s set spilled a little over its end time so I ended up being a little late for the Texas room to see them. It was another attentive, quiet trip on the bill that painted a lively adventurous picture through long expansive guitar drones and a relaxing sound that went the distance. After one of their songs, a fan was dared by her friends to scream out “Jim Jarmusch!” and she did. What a surprise - that is him! Ghost Dog. Coffee And Cigarettes. Fifteen feet away was the closest I ever came in presence of a film director. Anyway - everyone knew it was him with the three of them creating another calm, pleasurable experience. P.S.: no one thought you were funny, you donkey.

I wasn’t too familiar with Spellling’s music but I was still auditioning it for a future use. I was also on the fence about her because she’s not my usual fare. I got to know her better as she performed on the main stage and she won it. Spellling had so much fun onstage and felt super gracious performing for Knockdown’s main crowd who saw her as an amazing performer and being. She was alive. Her presence was animated, playful, free-spirited, and boundless for her type of musical work that was imaginative, magical, and full of fantasy - the total opposite of where I was heading to next.

I wanted to return to the Texas room one final time as early as possible because I did not want to miss the next act, and promised myself to be in the thick of it when it happened. Brooklyn’s scream-core icon Jenna Rose (Anatomy) and Sacred Bones king-of-all-trades Ben Greenberg took to their instruments when were done chilling with their friends. Then their touring drummer (who to this day I still don’t know who he is) came aboard and finally lead singer Michael Berdan showed up wearing Salo / 120 Days Of Sodom to win the T-Shirt Of The Year award. Uniform finally got going and we all were ready for them. Berdan gave thanks and hat-tipped Bones label founder Caleb Braaten for signing them before delivering a few laugh-out-loud wisecracks. Like the last time I saw them at Saint Vitus last year, they kicked off the set with “Life In Regression” and brought the out-of-mind insanity and violence. During the second song, I got splashed hard with a cup of beer. Now it’s going down. About seven or eight guys (including myself) wailed and pushed each other like you would with any nihilist affair. People got knocked down and were promptly pulled up to keep going. Someone lost their glasses and frantically searched for them during the thick of the action. He found them all right: near my boots. That summed up my third time seeing Uniform. If not for them, I wouldn’t have been here. Simple as that.

The label listed six artists and one author appearing “plus more to be announced”. At the last minute, they added Black Marble to end the night. I can thank Chris Stewart’s unforgettable sounds for getting me by during an insurmountably difficult and surreal time. I already seen him open up for Cold Cave at Greenpoint’s Warsaw four years ago, so seeing him again was a nice bonus. Stewart returned to his hometown and his no-wave dressed suspects also took the stage. As a 2020 signee (and I was floored when that was announced), they leaned towards their newer stuff with that familiar cute synthpop and special lo-fi tonality. To me, Black Marble isn’t just a great artist but also a mood; a unique feeling I wouldn’t get from any other outfit. The idea that Stewart originated from New York City, the aesthetic of A Different Arrangement,how “A Great Design” resonates with me, and a sound that leads my heart to where it truly should be (Brooklyn, not Long Island) still makes Black Marble one of personal sentiment. Everyone got into them. The petites, too, as they danced and rocked out to “One Eye Open”. I always wondered what type of significant other would be into them as I never met anyone who were. Now I have my answer.

For five hours, I felt like everything lined up: the label, their fans, the setting, location, and how everything played out. The Sacred Bones fans repp-ing Spacemen 3, Sannhet, Health, and Converge who surrounded me were exactly the type I’d be associated with. Only in the city, because Long Island has nothing going for it. As I observed and took in everything, I couldn’t help having that feeling of someone, anyone such as a Brooklyn contact or a city-minded interest I met during the pandemic summer to come join me because it would’ve turned an already 9.5 to a perfect 10. I held it in knowing that having those contacts would’ve certainly made all the difference. Imagine if I were to meet someone new from the event? But that didn’t happen. My anxiety, fright, and uncertainty held me back.

But that didn’t even leave a permanent scratch. No. What did was the subway lines and bis rides on the way to Queens, the semi-sweet smell of old decaying wood, the high-definition visuals of heavy fog and sweet colored lighting, and another improbable-turned-unforgettable night written in the books. Spring couldn’t have ended on such a high note.

Once again, I faced the dilemma of getting to the subway in time, getting home early enough and not come to work sleepy the next day. I exited the Knockout and walked past all the groups of people converging on how great the event was or some other insignificant bullshit. I had an Uber pick me up and take me to the Woodmere stop heading east where I’d transfer at Jamaica and back home to Central Islip. As with all rail rides to and from the city, there’s always a pair of headphones plugged in my ears and the music playing from my iPhone. There’s always a playlist made to forever remember the day by.

[shoegazekid]

Playlist #294 inc: #daydreamtwins #constantsmiles @glaretx @cruushband & @thefaunsband #shoegaze

[wandering-pirate]

She went right back to sleep. I love her so much, but I think I'm gonna draw a mustache on her face.

-Daisuke [about Y/N]

[lovesickeros]

☆ even the gods bleed [ pt 2 ]

{☆} characters furina, neuvillette {☆} notes cult au, imposter au, multi-chapter, gender neutral reader {☆} warnings none {☆} word count 1.9k {☆} previous [ 1 ]

This had to be a punishment of some sort – some kind of divine punishment.

She was bored out of her mind just watching the sleeping body – she hadn't blinked once in the past five hours, her eyes were really starting to hurt. Yet they still hadn't moved so much as an inch since she sequestered them away to the only place she had known to be safe.

But it'd been almost a week since then.

The only solace she found was that Teyvat had seemed much less hellbent on collapsing in on itself like a dying star.

That counted for something.

Not much, but something!

..Even if their position was no better then it was a week ago.

There was, after all, still the issue of what to do about the false Creator – the actual imposter – and the Archons following them like blind lambs. The other Archons wouldn't listen if she tried to reason with them, and it would only risk the life of Divine One if she spoke of their location to anyone else.

She also was pretty fond of having her head still attached to her shoulders.

So she avoided them all together. Partially because she wasn't sure she wouldn't have a breakdown at the sight of them..she'd never been a fighter, and fighting an Archon? Easy pass.

Instead she was forced to babysit the sleeping Divine until they woke up while Neuvillette handled taking care of the nation and dealing with the other Archons – and by extension the false Creator.

Really though, she would almost think them dead if not for the subtle rise and fall of their chest.

Though..this also left her with a lot of time to herself. A lot of time to think.

She really didn't like it.

There wasn't a lot to occupy her mind and what little there was only distracted her for a scant few moments before her eyes drifted back to the Divine like she was locked in their orbit, unable to escape.

She closed the same book for the twelfth time – she kept count – and returned it to it's meticulously designed place within her bookcase. A low, barely audible huff of frustration escaped her lips before she could bite it down, her stare boring a hole into the body of the Divine One with a sharp intensity she rarely showed.

She was tired, bored and constantly on edge, fearing that at any moment someone would find out about their presence here.

That, at the drop of a hat, she would be powerless to stop the greatest tragedy of her time play out before her eyes.

Neuvillette would have scolded her for being so petulant, especially around the Divine One, if he were here.

But he wasn't.

He was out running her nation, instead.

And what was she doing? Nothing!

She grit her teeth, nails digging harshly into the palm of her hands as she took a deep breath – now was not the time to think about that. She had..much more pressing matters. Sulking and letting her thoughts spiral helped no one, least of all herself.

Yet her attention was caught by a harsh inhale, the rustle of fabric – were they finally waking up? She was exhausted, but it all vanished at the sudden drop of life within the otherwise deathly still body of the Divine.

Her eyes followed the subtle twitch of their fingers, watching as their brow furrowed and their features twisted in something almost like..pain.

..She wasn't ready.

What was she supposed to say?

Should she even say anything? Would that be considered impolite? Does she wait for them to speak first? Should she kneel? Bow?

She doesn't get much time to find her own answer before their lashes flutter, chest heaving with every strangled breath. Every single thought vanishes from her mind the moment she meets their eyes.

For a long, silent moment she thinks that her heart must have stopped.

Their eyes glow like the cresting of the sun over the horizon, painting the world in hues of gold – yet it also reminded her of the dipping of the moon below the waves, casting the briefest, most gentle of lights upon the world engulfed in darkness. In the depths of their eyes was the birth and death of stars in the infinite cosmos – glittering stars in a sea of empty, blank space that left her feeling lightheaded and breathless.

Beneath the splendor is a spark of recognition in their eyes so vibrant it was like a shooting star piercing through the dark night sky, leaving nothing but the wonder in the eyes of the observer as the only proof it ever existed – brilliant in it's beauty, however brief.

It is the most beautiful thing she has ever seen.

"Focalors?"

The lilt of their voice nearly made her knees buckle beneath her – euphoria so consuming it left her feeling she was starving swallowed her whole, her mind blanking in a moment of utter bliss. It was..an indescribable feeling that she doubted she could ever hope to put into words – not in a way that could properly express it, try as she might.

She swallowed the words that threatened to spill from her lips – she couldn't make a fool of herself. Not in front of them of all people. She'd never forgive herself.

"Divine One," She rasps, clearing her throat and covering her mouth with a hand to mask both her nervousness and the small smile that creeps across her face. She quickly regains her composure, hand resting on her hip as she puffs out her chest with every bit of pride she can manage. "I am sure you must be confused, but worry not– your most loyal acolyte has seen the truth!"

The silence is deafening.

She opens one eye, peaking at the bewildered and almost distraught expression of the Divine.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

That..she was not prepared for. Surely they knew who they were! Surely they knew. They had to– she's been praying to them for as long as she's breathed, she's dedicated every hour of her life to living up to their ideals, they can't just–!

"Lady Furina?"

Neuvillette, thankfully, spares her the embarrassment of having a meltdown in front of the Divine, the gentle rap of his knuckles against the door making her and the Divine pause, the soft lull of his voice soothing her nerves and yet setting her on edge at the same time.

"Neuvillette." She clears her throat again, her steps hurried as she marches to the door and pries it open none too gently, a forced smile pulling at her lips. She wastes no time tugging the man into the room, shutting the door behind him with a short huff. The silence is, somehow, even worse then before as the three of them stare at each other in absolute exasperation.

Neuvillette, for his part, manages to get his act together with a sharp clearing of his throat, bowing so low even she looks unnerved. She steals a brief glance at the Divine, and she's taken aback by the uncomfortability twisting their features into a grimace.

Their expression is schooled back into one of empty apathy when he stands back to his full height, but she saw it – she knows she did! Did they not like their worship? Were they not respectful enough? For a moment, she feared the Divine would smite Neuvillette down on the spot..but they just stared at him like he was a ghost.

"Why aren't you killing me?"

The defeated, resigned tone combined with the way their voice cracks makes her heart ache in her chest – it feels as though her entire world is crumbling down at her feet, and she cannot explain why she feels such emotions so strongly, but it is suffocating. It is almost as if Teyvat itself is weeping, bearing down upon her shoulders like a heavy weight.

She feels the urge to weep herself, but she powers through, gritting her teeth long enough for Neuvillette to take his place at the side of her – though it feels more like their – bed, kneeling like he was going to pray.

"Divine One," He offers a hand with a quiet rumble of his voice, the words slipping off his tongue like honey. It's like trying to soothe a stray cat..though she'd never voice such comparisons of the most Divine out loud. "I..we mean you no harm. I swear on my authority as the Iudex of Fontaine and Chief Justice that you are safe with us."

The skepticism she expected, but the reverence in which Neuvillette must convince them – or perhaps they are simply so tired that they simply did not care any longer if it was all some ploy to drive a knife between their ribs. She didn't expect them to actually place their hand in Neuvillette's.

He didn't either, judging by the way he visibly brightened – not that they'd notice, but she did.

..Not that she could really blame him, her heels clicking against the floorboards as she shifted her weight to the other foot with a nervous energy that was practically bursting at the seams, more then a little jealous of the attention he was receiving. She was the one who found them, she was the one who stayed with them the entire time..but he gets all the attention?

How unfair.

"O-of course! We would never lay a hand on our creator," She adds, her voice a little higher pitched then she would have liked as she placed her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest and brushing off the sting of jealousy. "Least of all I– your most loyal, most devout acolyte!"

She felt baffled when she heard the sound of their laughter, her shoulders hunching and her cheeks flushing on mere instinct – she was expecting mockery, but the look in their eyes, still dulled by a pain she cannot even begin to imagine, made her hesitate.

..It was, perhaps, the most genuine thing she'd heard from them ever since before the hunt began.

She wasn't sure why her heart hurt at such an idea, but it was enthralling to see the beginnings of a half hearted smile on their lips.

For a moment, her mask of theatrics was forgotten as she stared at them in a mixture of awe and adoration– and though she didn't look at Neuvillette, she could imagine he must've shared such an expression.

Had she any doubts that they were her Creator, that they alone were the most Divine..they would wiped clean now. There was no mistaking the way the world itself seemed to grow clearer as they glanced up at her like she was worth something.

For a moment, she realized how cold the false Creators gaze had been now that she has felt warmth so gentle it almost made her knees buckle beneath her. It felt like a pale imitation, now.

Nothing could compare to the warmth that spread through her body at the mere semblance of a smile upon their lips. She didn't even mind if it was her they were laughing at anymore, she just wanted to hear them laugh again.

She'd make a fool of herself, if she had to.

She'd never felt so..ravenous for such a thing, but just the briefest glimpse was addictive.

She simply couldn't help herself from striding across the room and clasping their free hand in her own, her smile wide enough to unnerve as she leaned her weight onto the bed. For a moment, she considered pulling away at the way they startled, but her mind was made up by then – there was no going back.

"Again."