#Verse: Flight to Freedom: Main | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

indiatravelpackage · 2 months ago

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Hiring a Taxi in Agra: Your Gateway to a Seamless and Memorable Journey

Agra, a metropolis that echoes the grandeur of the Mughal generation, is a destination that every traveller dreams of exploring. From the majestic Taj Mahal to the bustling markets and hidden corners wealthy with records, Agra gives a tapestry of stories waiting to be observed. Navigating through this ancient town calls for a dependable and cushy mode of transportation, and Hire taxi in Agra is the ideal answer.

In this guide, we're going to discover the advantages of hiring a taxi in Agra, the sorts of taxi services available, and recommendations for ensuring a smooth experience.

The Advantages of Hiring a Taxi in Agra

When touring a metropolis as iconic and colourful as Agra, having the flexibility and comfort of a taxi can make all the difference in your travel enjoyment. Here’s why hiring a taxi in Agra is the desired choice for many traffic.

Convenience and Flexibility

One of the main motives travelers pick out to hire a taxi in Agra is the remarkable convenience it gives. Unlike institution tours or public transportation, a taxi provides the freedom to create your itinerary. Whether you want to go to the Taj Mahal at sunrise, take a leisurely walk through Mehtab Bagh in the afternoon, or explore the local markets in the nighttime, a taxi provider lets you devise your day precisely as you wish.

Local Expertise at Your Service

Another significant advantage of hiring a taxi in Agra is the nearby understanding that incorporates it. Professional taxi drivers in Agra aren't just skilled navigators but are additionally well-versed in the city’s history and culture.

They can provide valuable insights, endorse first-rate instances to go to popular sights, or even propose off-the-crushed-course places which you would possibly otherwise pass over. This nearby knowledge enhances your ordinary revel in, making your adventure extra enriching and memorable.

Safety and Comfort

Traveling in a taxi also ensures a better stage of safety and comfort. Reputable taxi services in Agra preserve their cars to the best standards, making sure that you travel in a clean, nicely maintained car. Additionally, the drivers are trained experts who prioritize your safety on the street. This is especially crucial in a metropolis like Agra, in which visitors can be demanding and navigating unfamiliar roads can be hard.

Types of Taxi Services Available in Agra

Agra gives quite a few taxi offerings tailored to special desires and preferences, making it easy to locate the proper alternative on your adventure.

Standard Taxi Services

For most travellers, widespread taxi offerings offer the proper balance of affordability and comfort. These taxis are best for everyday journeys around the town, whether you’re travelling to tourist points of interest, shopping, or heading out for a meal. With snug seating and AC general taxis provide a nice experience via Agra’s streets.

Luxury Taxi Services

If you’re looking to add a hint of luxury to your Agra experience, consider hiring a luxury taxi. These motors, which encompass excessive-quit sedans and SUVs, offer additional comfort and style. Luxury taxis are geared up with premium capabilities such as leather interiors, advanced climate management, and amusement structures, making them the appropriate preference for unique activities or vacationers who pick a greater upscale experience.

Airport and Railway Station Transfers

Taxi offerings in Agra additionally focus on airport and railway station transfers, presenting a strain-unfastened way to begin or cease your journey. These services are mainly beneficial for the ones arriving in Agra for the first time, providing a reliable and comfortable trip directly to your motel or preferred destination. Punctuality and professionalism are key features of these services, making sure that you in no way have to fear about lacking a flight or train.

Tips for Hiring a Taxi in Agra

To ensure that your taxi hire revel in in Agra is clean and fun, take into account these useful pointers:

Choose a Reputable Service

When hiring a taxi in Agra, it’s vital to select a reputable carrier company. Look for companies with positive critiques, professional drivers, and a properly maintained car. Booking via a depended-on service guarantees which you get hold of a reliable, secure, and nice carrier throughout your journey.

Confirm Pricing in Advance

Before starting your adventure, affirm the pricing with the taxi provider to avoid any misunderstandings later. Most official taxi offerings in Agra offer transparent pricing and do not use hidden fees. It’s also really helpful to discuss any extra fees, which include waiting time or tolls, upfront.

Plan Your Route

While taxi drivers in Agra are knowledgeable approximately the town’s routes and attractions, it’s a good concept to have a basic plan for your itinerary. Sharing your planned destinations with the driving force at the start of the journey guarantees a smoother journey and facilitates the driving force to recommend pleasant routes and timing.

Conclusion: Make the Most of Your Agra Experience

Hiring a taxi in Agra is more than only a mode of transportation—it’s your gateway to experiencing the city in the most comfortable and personalized way viable. With the power to explore at your very own tempo, the understanding of a nearby motive force, and the consolation of a non-public vehicle, your adventure via Agra turns into effortless and enjoyable.

Whether you’re inside the town for a day or every week, hiring a taxi lets you to attention what in reality subjects: immersing yourself in the rich records, way of life, and beauty that Agra has to provide.

#taxi #taxi service #taxi service in agra #taxi in agra

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amischiefofdeets · 3 months ago

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HUSKER

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CHARACTER SUMMARY

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Formerly an Overlord, Husk lost everything and was desperate enough to make a deal with Alastor to maintain some power. Unfortunately for him, that means being pulled in to work in the Hazbin Hotel as the Bartender and Concierge, a task he wasn't expecting to enjoy at all. However, he's found some sense of family there and even a touch of happiness. Too bad it's all marred by the deal that lingers in his thoughts, he can't help but wonder if he'll ever find freedom.

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MUSE DETAILS

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Name: Husker Nicknames: Husk, kitty, pussycat Race: Demon, formerly Human. Born: TBA Age: 67 Height: 5'8 Gender: Male Sexuality: Pansexual Location: Hazbin Hotel, Hell Occupation: Bartender, concierge Abilities: Flight, multilingualism, sleight-of-hand, agility, musical talent Reputation: Formerly an Overlord, he now carries very little reputation and is seen by most as one of Alastor's lackeys - a fact that is a sore point for him. Mental state: Suffering from alcoholism, he seems to be tired all the time because he has very little pride in himself- instead just trudging his way through existence because he doesn't want to die again.

Scars: N/A Tattoos: N/A Alignment: Neutral Good. Goals: Escape his contract with Alastor, find happiness in whatever form it takes. Hobbies: Drinking, practicing card tricks. Likes: Drinking, magic shows, smoking, gambling, authenticity. Dislikes: Being treated like a pet, Alastor, people ignoring his boundaries, needless harm on half-decent people. Disabilities: N/A Family: N/A

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VERSES

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#Last Orders - Canon - Set while he is working for Alastor at Hazbin Hotel.

Pulled into the hotel via his deal with Alastor, Husk works as the bartender and concierge at the hotel. He's begrudging, at first but he's steadily finding a sense of home and happiness- even if he still seems as grumpy as ever.

#Rolling Dice - HC Based - Set before he met Alastor, while he was an Overlord.

This man is talented with cards, there's an art to it and he's so sure he has it down that money doesn't seem to have the value it once had. Afterall, souls are where real value lies. He makes deals during games, letting people bet their souls as a last-resort to win back all they lost. Some are lucky, others are not and he's gained enough contracts to be considered an Overlord. Maybe best not to try and play a game with him.

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TAGS

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Main tag - Headcanons - Ask tag Likes - Aesthetics - Musings - Wardrobe

RELATIONSHIP TAGS

TBA

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bwoahtastic · 2 years ago

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I randomly thought about the idkiwp verse today so here;

There was some sort of commotion going on, of that Michael was sure, but since he was never certain of his place in the Pack - or if he even had a place in the Pack - he skirted the edge of the commotion. But after packing away Daniel's drivers room and then sitting in the empty room for a good half hour, wondering how even Daniel, talkative and loud, had managed to drag his media duties on this long, Michael had wandered to the communal Pack room looking for his friend and remind him they had a flight to catch.

It was quiet, calm, most of the group already heading home, until he finally heard a lot of noise coming from one of the private bedrooms further off the main room, and finally Michael realised what the unusual scents were filling the room.

Fear, panic, surprise, shock. Max, Daniel, Seb, Lando.

Lando. HIs would be Mate, the love of his life, who's come into his life like a whirlwind and changed everything for him. He'd been on his own so long, happy with his friends and a lose Pack around him, but mostly just enjoying freedom and travelling and never feeling like he needed to settle down. He'd love a family, of course, pups of his own to run around after, but it had never happened for him, and he'd learnt to be happy enough on his own.

But Lando felt like home for the first time since he'd left Australia, endlessly bubbly and excited and Michael felt butterflies for the first time since he was a teenager. They'd fooled around the past year now, and Michael so desperately wanted to show Lando off to the world as his Omega, but Lando was cautious. He was the baby of the Pack, basically Max and Daniel's surrogate pup, and he was terrified of them not accepting their relationship.

And now Lando smelt like fear, panic, and pain, and Michael could hear pained grunts even through the door as he edged closer, trying to keep calm so his scent didn't give him away. He couldn't just storm in, surely, that would give too much away, so he hovered outside the room a moment until he could work out what was going on.

"What's happening to me?!" He could hear Lando whimper in pain, followed by footsteps around him.

"Your pup is coming Lando," Seb responded calmly, never flustered, despite the words making Michael's eyes widen. What pup?!

"Hurts," was the only reply, still in a whimper before pained grunts took over instead.

"Breathe," Max reminded him softly. "It won't last forever, it's going to be okay."

But the pained grunts and moans just continued, and Michael could tell his scent was spiking in response - luckily everyone else seemed to be distracted right now.

"What's happening to me?" Lando just keep whimpering over and over again, and Michael couldn't help but let out a low growl in response to his Mate being in pain, his instinct to protect taking over.

Footsteps again, and the door wrenched open in front of him, Daniel stood in the doorway with wide eyes before squaring up in the doorway. "You did this to him?" He asked with a growl, clearly a challenge as the pieces put together in his mind, Lando's pain and Michael's reaction, their scents mixed together.

"Let me see my Mate," Michael growled in reply, shoulders back and teeth bared, ready to fight if need be.

"Michael," came a little voice from behind them, Lando reaching from his nest for the Alpha with wide, scared eyes, and Michael pushed past the other Alpha without thinking, dropping to his knees beside the little Omega on the bed.

"You're okay darling, you're okay," Michael murmured softly over and over again, soothing his hand through Lando's curls and pressing soft kisses to his head.

"Hurts," Lando just murmured in response, before yet again moaning in pain, Michael clutching his hand and continuing to whisper softly that Lando was safe, he was cared for, it would be okay in the end.

"M'sorry, didn't know," Lando murmured once his contraction was over, nosing into Michael's shoulder for comfort. "I'm scared."

"I know sweetheart, it's going to be okay. I'll look after you both."

AAHH PLSS BABIESSSS

Michael being so unsure of where he stands within the Pack and whether he can trust them, poor thing. And then being so worried when he smells Lando is scared and in pain, but not daring to go into the room immediately.

Daniel growling but Michael not being scared because Lando needs him, even if its a shock to everyone that it was Michael who got Lando pregnant! And poor Lando being in pain and scared but now at least having his Mate back.

I loved this! Thank you for writing.

#asks #drabbles #idkiwp verse #f1girluk

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arofili · 4 years ago

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I love reading what you write! It's always such good, easy writing no matter what it's about! Do you have any Russingon fic recs? I'm new to Ao3 and still figuring it all out.

Aww thank you so much <3 <3 that means a lot! and YES I have lots of Russingon fic recs! These are all taken from my bookmarks and I know there are other great fics out there, but these are ones that I have saved and come back to frequently!

(I’m also going to plug my Russingon fics bc I write them a lot and I’m pretty proud of some of those works!)

Blessed Hands Will Break Me by @absynthe--minded - WIP currently at 139k, lots of worldbuilding, from Fingon’s discovery of Maedhros’ capture to the Mereth Aderthad - Absynthe is an amazing Russingon writer, absolutely check her stuff out!

“whoso list to hunt” by vauquelin (elftrash) - 3k oneshot, post-Angband, 1st person Fingon POV - another incredible writer

“Old Pains” by @zealouswerewolfcollector - ficlet, post-reembodiment, Maedhros is unsure of reality

Did My Heart Love Till Now? by @absynthe--minded (with art by @felixwhetsel !) - 5k, Years of the Trees, masquerade shenanigans <3

“stay thy mind, and all the rest” by @mc-dude - 25k oneshot, get together, Fingon visits Maedhros in Himring, the ANGST and LONGING gahhhh !!!

“commit (to the bit)” by vauquelin (elftrash) - 4k oneshot, Years of the Trees, FAKE DATING FOR WORLD PEACE, this author has a GIFT for prose and the subtlety of interpersonal interaction

“cliffs of fall” by @arrivisting - 3k oneshot, nonlinear narrative but generally focused on post-reembodiment reunion with Complicated Feelings - another author with a truly inspiring talent for prose, I reread the wedding scene in this fic at least once a week and it never fails to make me emo

In Equal Measure by @siphilemon - WIP currently at 108k, time-travel fix-it, bullet point fic, not just Russingon but they’re the ones who time traveled and anyway their parts make me go insane

Your colors by @elesianne - 2 chapters, 3k total, Years of the Trees and then Beleriand, gift-giving and anniversaries and dirty talk, so tender and loving, Elle’s Russingon always hits me right in the heart <3

“Like the old season” by Tyelperintal - 1.8k oneshot, post-Angband, Maedhros and Fingon take a walk in the woods, super sweet

“Gifts of the Heart” by @wren-of-the-woods - 10k oneshot, Years of the Trees, really lovely get-together fic, gift-giving, just super sweet and fun

Our Houses Bound Together by @senalishia and @z-h-i-e - 5 chapters, 17.2k total, arranged marriage AU!!, mutual pining, lots of drama, very fun

“just one safe place” by sunflower_diode - 2.1k oneshot, post-Angband, homoerotic haircutting

“All About Your Heart” and its sequel “At Last Broke Silence, And The Ice” by @admirablemonster - first fic is 2k, second is 8k, modern AU ft. aspec Fingon and genderfluid Maedhros!!!, get together, family drama, ice angst <3

Life after Death by Sylanna - WIP currently at 69k, Fingon-centric post-reembodiment fic, slow moving and contemplative, the author is truly the sweetest person ever

What Is Wrought Between Us by @nikosheba - 90k series (with plenty of smut too), complete, canon compliant, ranges from the Years of the Trees all the way to after the Dagor Dagorath, a truly incredible work

“Kindness” by justonelastdance - 1.6k oneshot, Maedhros in a fucked up mental state post-Angband, hurt/comfort - this author writes a lot of Maedhros whump so if you like this check out their other stuff too (this one is just my favorite)

and under the cut, some smut recs....

smut recs

In a Jeweled Crown by @absynthe--minded - 3 chapters, 12k, complete, Fingon’s coronation and the aftermath - this one still makes me go nuts every time I read it

Reconnecting by nyromes - a series with 2 parts, 9k total, first time post-Angband + first time Maedhros bottoms post-Angband

“Bright Defiance” (1.7k) and its companion fic “Very Good” (800 word ficlet) by @edgeoflight - two oneshots, Fingon coaxes Maedhros’ story out of him post-Angband + some PWP - these are some of my favorites, I come back to them frequently

“all your perfect imperfections” by @stormxpadme - 1.8k oneshot, stumpfucking, I’m biased bc this was written for me but I do love it very much, Himring era

“These Games We Play” by @edgeoflight - 1.7k oneshot, the original stumpfucking fic, Himring era

A Surprise At Home by Findecutie and MayGlenn - 25k of pwp, Years of the Trees, newlyweds, crossdressing - part of the much longer Russ and Finno Verse but this was my intro to that verse and it’s good on its own!

“Fuath” by yeaka - 3k oneshot, first time, some truly disturbing manipulation by Melkor but the Russingon here fucking destroys me ;-;

“Rozanne” by yeaka - 2.8k oneshot, Maedhros recovering from Angband, I once saw someone use the phrase “lovingly described blowjobs” and that’s basically this fic

“Sleeve” by yeaka - 2.4k oneshot, trans!Maedhros, Years of the Trees, Fëanor invents the condom for Maedhros and Russingon are incredibly eager to try it out, they’re SO IN LOVE here it gets me every time

Passion and Anxious Care by LiveOakWithMoss - 12.5k total, 2 fic series, modern AU, oh my god they were roommates, get together and then first time, this is another one I return to frequently - this author is/was a BNF a few years ago but hasn’t been active recently

“For nimble thought can jump both sea and land” by TheLionInMyBed - 2.2k oneshot, palantiri foolishness that leads to video sex basically, Beleriand era - another BNF who is/was buds with LiveOakWithMoss

Treat me soft but touch me cool by LiveOakWithMoss and TheLionInMyBed - 4 chapters, 18k total, swoon kink/medical kink, relationship difficulties that are resolved, Beleriand era with a final chapter post-reembodiment, love this one

“Enthroned” by @ultraviolet-eucatastrophe - 4.5k oneshot, throne sex, fealty kink, King Fingon era

“A Disgrace to the House of Finwë” by @edgeoflight - 2.3k oneshot, get together/first time, Years of the Trees, they’re just super sweet together <3

“What Happens in Himring” by teasoni - 3.4k oneshot, reunion sex, Himring era, fealty kink, this fic is tagged “finally some dicks get sucked!!!!!!” and I think about that tag every time I write a Russingon blowjob jdkfhdkj

“a light in darkness, hope in woe” by @admirablemonster - 4k oneshot, trans!Maedhros, surprise baby Gil-galad in the middle of the Bragollach

“A lord and his prince” by @ultraviolet-eucatastrophe - 3.1k oneshot, early Beleriand era, reunion sex, super sweet and fluffy

“Made of Lava” by @edgeoflight - 2.1k oneshot, Years of the Trees, tender get-together fic with a kind of silly premise

Bend, bruise, beg by LiveOakWithMoss - 5 chapters, 13k total, part of a larger modern AU but tbh I haven’t read the main fic in that verse and this absolutely stands on its own, Maedhros discovering his kinks, chapters 2 (first time) and 4 (butt plug shenanigans) are my favorites

“in a field of stars” by Nacht - 3.4k oneshot, Years of the Trees, first time/get together, the writing style here is really unique and sticks with me

“a sword once sheathed” by @mc-dude - 3.5k oneshot, Beleriand era, reunion sex, the amount of horny longing is truly astonishing

Of Flight and Freedom by @admirablemonster - 2 chapters, 6.6k total, wingfic/wing kink, first time/get together, the Rescue and its aftermath

“Thorns” by yeaka - 2k oneshot, post-Angband, Maedhros with lousy self-worth, Fingon who punishes him with love, bondage

The Ice Between by angrymermaids (who has a tumblr but I don’t remember the url oops) - 7 chapters, 33.5k total, Beleriand era, piecing their relationship back together / trying to get back to being intimate, focus on Fingon and his trauma from the Ice

“much too tall for a boyfriend” by @i-am-a-lonely-visitor - 4.7k oneshot, fem!Maedhros x budding-transmasc!Fingon, Years of the Trees, I think about this fic ALL THE TIME I kind of want to write a sequel to it sjfdhdkjh

“the beat of your heart as my hand touches your skin” by @admirablemonster - 5.3k oneshot, part of the Elves in Pon Farr series, Years of the Trees, heat fic/mating cycles, first time/get together, Maedhros’ first heat catches him by surprise while on a camping trip with Fingon, accidental soulbond

“Beneath the Blanketing White” by @nikosheba - 2.3k oneshot, Himring era, pwp, cameo from little Gil-galad at the end

“What I Am (When I’m With You)” by @thatfeanorian - 5k oneshot, part of a larger modern AU, married fluff, Fingon with baby Gil, ends with some lovely smut, this was written for me so AGAIN I’m biased but I do very much love this one

“open your body and soul to me” by @the-quiet-fire-of-defiance - 2.3k oneshot, Years of the Trees, trans!Maedhros, pregnancy, exhibitionism, sex toys, they’re so in love that it drives me crazy, I can’t stop thinking about this fic djfhkjd

“Like the Golden Fire in Your Eyes” by @sianascera - 3.8k oneshot, Years of the Trees, Maedhros invents nipple piercings, extremely fun <3

#anon #answers #russingon #fic recs #tefain nin #maedhros x fingon #there are truly some incredible writers in this fandom; thank you SO much for all your contributions <3 #save #russingon fic recs

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voodoochili · 4 years ago

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My 75 Favorite Albums of 2020

Every year produces excellent music and 2020 was no exception. The exceptional thing about this year, though, is the loss of livelihood so many musicians suffered as a result of the pandemic. To better celebrate all I’ve listened to and loved this year, I’ve expanded my albums list from 50 to 75 albums and included a highlight track from each in the Spotify playlist below. If you like what you hear, why not throw the artist a few dollars on Bandcamp?

Check the Spotify playlist HERE.

Without further ado, my favorite albums of 2020. Happy New Year, and happy listening!

10. Playboi Carti - Whole Lotta Red: Carti’s long-awaited opus has only been out for a week, which is probably not a long enough time to give an album as sprawling and surprising as this one a full critical evaluation. But I do know when I’m hearing something that’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard: this album rearranges hip-hop at the molecular level.

Whole Lotta Red is overstuffed with invention, the glitchy, expansive production giving Carti ample opportunity to glom onto the contours of the beat and experiment with his voice. That voice is the album’s main attraction: it squeaks, it squeals, it roars, it spits, it shudders, and organizes itself into irresistibly ignorant mantras (my current favorite is “Lamborghini parked outside, it’s purple like lean”).

Across its 24 tracks (which feels like too many, sure, but only the 5-minute long Kid Cudi-infected droner “Metamorphosis” overstays its welcome), Carti plays with listener expectations, annihilating rap songwriting conventions (why do you need verse-chorus structure if every line is a hook) as he defiantly proclaims his desire to be unlike anybody else. Though it bears some resemblance in sound and subject matter to Future’s Monster (and much of the production owes a debt to the work of Lil Uzi Vert’s favored Working Of Dying collective), Whole Lotta Red firmly establishes Carti as a totemic figure connecting mainstream and underground sounds.

9. BbyMutha - Muthaland: BbyMutha is a natural born spitter, armed with a drawly stutter-stepping flow that routinely annihilates unconventional instrumentals. She glows with supreme confidence and comfort in her own skin, especially when she’s dripping with disdain with those who’d dare refuse her the respect she deserves. A 25-track opus that earns every minute of its runtime, Muthaland is an engrossing immersion into Mutha’s world, balancing a fascination with the occult (“Sorry I don’t fuck with n****s who don’t fuck with Satan”) with grounding interjections from close friends and her four children. Boasting rockstar fantasies like “Heavy Metal,” bad girl anthems like “Nice Guy,” and dancefloor-ready jams like “Cocaine Catwalk,” Muthaland is a tour-de-force by one of rap’s singular voices, and if she’s really finished with music as she’s claimed (rappers never really retire, but Mutha has indicated she wants to focus full time on her Apothecary), the game will greatly miss her incisive punchlines and crudely empowering perspective.

8. Westerman - Your Hero Is Not Dead: In 2020, Mid-’80s sophistipop grew into one of my favorite comfort foods. Westerman’s Your Hero Is Not Dead struck me directly in the sophistipop sweet spot, evoking the attention-to-detail and synth-heavy craftsmanship of that era and pairing it with harmonic complexity and a piercing emotionalism that recalls his idol Neil Young. On songs like “Blue Comanche” and “The Line,” Westerman constructs tales as twisty as his melodies, economically exploring how people relate to each other at the beginning and end of romantic relationships. Westerman complements his tasteful palette of synth sounds with intricate and lyrical guitar playing, most notably on the sighing, gorgeous instrumental “Float Over,” which softly segues into the title track to end the album on a gently-rising high note.

7. WizKid - Made In Lagos: The focal point of the sub-Saharan Afrobeats renaissance, Lagos is having one of the most exciting musical moments of any city since Kingston in the early ‘70s. WizKid is one of the scene’s biggest stars, with an ability to combine the sonic tapestry of his hometown with Caribbean-influenced beats and vocal styles. Made In Lagos is a masterwork of sound design, bringing creamy bass, chicken-scratch speckles of guitar, tasteful interjections of saxophone and brass, and an intoxicating mix of acoustic and electronic percussion, all offered in service to an immaculate vibe that matches the album cover’s shiny, monochromatic color scheme. Made with lockdown in mind, the album eschews uptempo dancefloor workouts in favor of stress-relief and romance. WizKid plays the perfect host, tamping down his melodic flights of fancy and embracing a song-serving smoothness. He’s a warm and inviting presence throughout, laying out the red carpet for a cross-continental cast of collaborators like H.E.R., Skepta, Burna Boy, and Damian Marley. The result is a truly global pop masterpiece, capable of brightening even the dourest day of a miserable year.

6. Ka - Descendants of Cain: Firefighter by day and rapper/producer by night, Ka is a master of allusion. He organizes his thoughts into themed collections of metaphor, illustrating the bleak realities of street life with gnomic symbolism. On Descendants Of Cain, Ka’s strongest work to date, the enigmatic rapper expresses himself through a litany of biblical references, drawing parallels between ancient parables (he goes far deeper than the Cain/’caine double entendre that rappers have been using for decades) and the stark code of morality with which he lives his life. The 48-year-old hermit produced the project himself, creating an immersive sonic realm, crafting expansive, noir-ish backing tracks populated by late-night saxophones, sparkling pianos, and the occasional shot of sweeping strings. Once again, Ka’s music comes almost entirely without drums (certainly without “beats” in the traditional hip-hop sense–every once in a while, he adds an open hi-hat or a subdued shaker), the artist preferring to let his music swirl around his half-whispered words of wisdom. The album ends on a tearful, sentimental note with “I Love (Mimi, Moms, Kev),” in which the artist ditches the biblical lyrical conceit and expresses his love for his wife, his mom, and his best friend atop light percussion and a warm soul sample.

5. SAULT - Untitled (Rise): Rise is the second part of a diptych that SAULT recorded in response to the movement that exploded in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Black Is, the first part, is a great album (you’ll find it in the lower reaches of my 2020 list), but the mysterious UK collective fulfilled their immense potential with Rise, a propulsive, powerful, and danceable album that doubles as a thought-provoking examination of the nature of freedom and liberation. The album tackles weighty topics–police violence, fake-woke “allies,” protest, cultural appropriation–but handles them with an inspiring effervescence and a propulsion meant to usher right-thinking people into the streets. The music itself is an intoxicating marvel, combining elements from every trendy musical movement from the early ‘80s (post-disco, post-punk, house, hip-hop, whatever the hell ESG was) into a percussive and surprisingly cohesive cocktail. The album immediately makes its greatness known with its first four songs, one of the strongest opening runs of any album in recent memory: the swaggering, funky, keep-your-head-up anthem “Strong,” which features a drum solo from SAULT architect Inflo, the soaring, club-ready vamp “Fearless,” concept-establishing, string-heavy interlude “Rise,” and especially “I Just Want to Dance,” the best song ESG never wrote.

4. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters: Fetch The Bolt Cutters arrived with the kind of universal acclaim that can make some people suspicious. The Pitchfork review got a lot of attention, not just for its perfect score but for its bold statement that “no music has ever sounded quite like it.”

That statement might’ve been slightly hyperbolic. Fetch The Bolt Cutters has the kind of propulsive left-hand piano figures, chest-thumping percussion, and impassioned vocal performances that we haven’t heard since...the last Fiona Apple album. But the album deserves its experimental reputation. These songs mess around with song structure and melody in ways that resemble avant-garde singers like Meredith Monk, use overlapping vocals that occasionally evoke the works of post-modern composers like Luciano Berio, and echoing modernist composers like Edgard Varese in the way she wrings pathos out of rhythmic elements.

Though Fetch might be a slight step down from The Idler Wheel, it’s an invigorating listen, packed with the soul-baring confessionals that only Fiona is capable of executing. Combining literary wordplay with plainspoken directness, Fiona forces the listener to confront her trauma and contemplate her diagnoses of patriarchal ills. The songs are uniformly excellent–especially opener “I Want You To Love Me,” the most “traditional” song on the record, and “Shameika,” a burrowing childhood rumination with a happy ending–but Fetch The Bolt Cutters stands out to me as a collection of amazing moments: when the jig-like “For Her” fades into an unforgettably painful cadence (“Good mornin’, good mornin’/You raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in”), Fiona’s ground-shaking vocal intensity at the end of “Newspaper,” her dogs howling over the outro of “Fetch The Bolt Cutters,” the winking repetition of the title phrase on “Ladies.” Her albums display more than enough ambition to forgive the long gestation periods, but hopefully we won’t have to wait another 8 years for Fiona to bare her soul once again.

3. Drakeo The Ruler - Thank You For Using GTL: Embroiled in a Kafkaesque legal saga that shines a light on the worst aspects of our horrendous justice system, Drakeo The Ruler spent more than three years wrongly incarcerated for a crime he not only did not commit, but for which he was acquitted (for more info on Drakeo’s ordeal, read Jeff Weiss). He’s now mercifully a free man, mostly due to the work of his lawyer, but at least partially because of publicity generated by Thank You For Using GTL. Recorded over the phone from prison during the height of the pandemic, it’s a miracle that an album created under such sub-optimal conditions sounds as excellent as it does, but credit producer JoogSzn–who not only supplied the creeping, head-nodding backing tracks but recorded Drakeo’s phoned-in vocals–and engineer MixedByNavin for the project’s astonishing fidelity. Drakeo and Joog spent hours on the phone to record the album, in the process paying thousands of dollars to GTL, the predatory telecom company of choice for the L.A. corrections system, whose mechanical interjections serve as a constant reminder of the injustice that made the album necessary. Of course, a good story is a good story, but that alone doesn’t get an album on 2020’s most prestigious Best Albums list (mine). It’s a classic rap album, perhaps the best ever released by an incarcerated rapper, and a thumb directly in the nose of the D.A. and the LAPD. The album is a lyrical marvel, packed with winding wordplay and outlandish flexes, as Mr. Mosley takes aim at 6ix9ine, cackles at sorry-ass Instagram haters, and sneers at American-made cars (“To be honest, a Hellcat isn’t a foreign”). Each song has a carefully considered concept, the rapper’s punchlines building upon one another to make an airtight case for his status as L.A.’s top dog. He contrasts his own whip-crashing lifestyle with flashy wannabes on “GTA VI” and “Backflip or Sumn,” mourns a favorite department store on “RIP Barneys,” and proves he still doesn’t rap beef on “Maestro’s Tension.” The album’s masterstroke comes with “Fictional,” the final track, in which Drakeo exposes the prosecution’s use of his lyrics as evidence in criminal proceedings as the farce it is: “It might sound real, but it’s fictional/I love that my imagination gets to you.” Drakeo’s story was a rare bright spot in 2020, and a rare one with a happy ending. Just last week, the rapper released Because Y’All Asked, a studio-recorded version of Thank You For Using GTL, giving the album’s songs the clarity they deserve. But I think I’ll mostly return to the original, which will live on as an excellent album and a vital document of post-George Floyd America.

2. Pa Salieu - Send Them to Coventry: Hailing from the middle of nowhere–or, more accurately city in the English Midlands only known in the states for its middling Premier League team–Gambian-British artist Pa Salieu served up the most distinctive, visceral, and daring rap debut of the year. His style fuses elements of grime, drill, afro-trap, dancehall, and the darker edges of U.S. hip-hop into a percussive slurry, injected with the urgency of his struggle to survive. The magic of the album comes from the way Pa’s fluid flows interact with the shimmering and foreboding production (Felix Joseph and Aod lead the cast of the project’s sound architects), which is perfectly suited for cold city nights. He slips effortlessly into the pocket, toe-tagging the beats with a combination of aggression and trance-like meditation and uttering casually powerful pronouncements (“I'd make a killa riddim offa any riddim/The grind can never stop 'til I'm wrapped in linen”) that make you believe he’s Britain’s next great rapper. Pa keeps the vibe consistent throughout, but the moments that stand out are the moments when he locks into an unbreakable groove over no-frills production, like on singles “Block Boy,” “Betty,” and “B***K.” The artist’s wry sense of humor and brash confidence keeps the album from feeling bleak, but Send Them To Coventry wisely ends on “Energy,” a warm and bright ode to keeping your creative spark safe from the prying forces of fame and fortune.

1. Kassa Overall - I Think I’m Good: “I think I’m good”–a phrase that’s ran through my head throughout this shitstorm of a year. Sure, I postponed a wedding, cancelled trips, and saw my friends and family much less often than I would like, but I count myself among the lucky ones. Still breathing, still sane. Though it was recorded and released before the pandemic started, Kassa Overall’s I Think I’m Good became a lodestar of sorts for me. It’s a brilliantly introspective and deeply personal album about existing in enclosed spaces–whether a jail cell, an NYC subway car, or the inescapable prison of your own body.

Kassa Overall made his name as a jazz drummer, touring with icons like Geri Allen, but his solo music incorporates elements of hip-hop, classical, and trap to create a wholly original milieu. The album features contributions from over 30 accomplished voices, ranging from luminary Vijay Iyer, to Kassa’s saxophonist brother Carlos Overall, to virtuosic pianist Sullivan Fortner, to venerated activist Angela Davis. But all the disparate elements come together in service of Kassa’s deeply personal and engrossing vision.

Taking partial inspiration from Kassa’s struggle with manic depression, the music fluctuates between meditative calm and unbearable tension, mimicking the patter of an unquiet mind. Album opener “Visible Walls,” is a mesmerizing prayer for salvation soundtracked by fluttering harps, piercing woodwinds, and heartbeat percussion. “Find Me” buries a plea for help within a cacophony of sampled voices and rattling piano notes. Fortner’s piano guides us through the hauntingly devastating “Halfway House” and the Chopin-indebted “Darkness In Mind,” each highlighting a different stage of grief (despair and acceptance, respectively). The arc of I Think I’m Good concludes with the hopeful “Got Me A Plan” and “Was She Happy (For Geri Allen),” a Vijay Iyer-assisted tribute to his late friend and mentor.

It’s ironic that an album that so deeply explores the feeling of isolation vibrates with such a collaborative spirit. I Think I’m Good feels like an answered prayer–a community coming together to check on a beloved friend who’s gone through a tough time: “You good, man?” “I think so.”

Here’s the rest of my list.

11. Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind 12. Shackleton & Waclaw Zimpel - Primal Forms 13. Bob Dylan - Rough & Rowdy Ways 14. Duval Timothy - Help 15. Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake 16. Moodymann - Taken Away 17. Secret Drum Band - Chuva 18. J Hus - Big Conspiracy 19. Headie One & Fred Again - GANG 20. Tiwa Savage - Celia 21. Andras - Joyful 22. Bill Callahan - Gold Record 23. King Von - Welcome To O’Block 24. Flo Milli - Ho, Why Is You Here? 25. Chubby & The Gang - Speed Kills 26. Madeline Kenney - Sucker’s Lunch 27. Empty Country - Empty Country 28. Smino - She Already Decided 29. Destroyer - Have We Met 30. Yves Jarvis - Sundry Rock Song Stock 31. Ela Minus - Acts Of Rebellion 32. Creeper - Sex, Death & The Infinite Void 33. Alabaster DePlume - To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals, Vol. 1 34. Good Sad Happy Bad - Shades 35. The 1975 - Notes On a Conditional Form 36. Kate NV - Room For The Moon 37. $ilkmoney - Attack of the Future Shocked, Flesh Covered, Meatbags of the 85 38. Eddie Chacon - Pleasure, Joy and Happiness 39. Kenny Segal & Serengeti - Ajai 40. Bad Bunny - YHLQMDLG 41. Kahlil Blu - DOG 42. Califone - Echo Mine 43. Boldy James - The Price of Tea in China/Manger On McNichols/The Versace Tape 44. Bufiman - Albumsi 45. Moses Boyd - Dark Matter 46. Thanya Iyer - KIND 47. Jyoti - Mama You Can Bet! 48. Obongjayar - Which Way Is Forward? 49. Rio Da Yung OG - City On My Back 50. Young Jesus - Welcome To Conceptual Beach 51. Owen Pallett - Island 52. Oceanator - Things I Never Said 53. Shootergang Kony - Red Paint Reverend 54. Shabason, Krgovich & Harris - Philadelphia 55. Six Organs of Admittance - Companion Rises 56. Lido Pimienta - Miss Colombia 57. Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song 58. Polo G - The GOAT 59. Actress - Karma & Desire 60. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher 61. Porridge Radio - Every Bad 62. Yg Teck - Eyes Won’t Close 63. Mozzy - Beyond Bulletproof 64. Ratboys - Printer’s Devil 65. R.A.P. Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages 66. Ulver - Flowers of Evil 67. Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA 68. SAULT - Untitled (Black Is) 69. Ezra Feinberg - Recumbent Speech 70. Davido - A Better Time 71. Hailu Mergia - Yene Mircha 72. HAIM - Women In Music Pt. III 73. Half Waif - The Caretaker 74. Key Glock - Yellow Tape 75. KeiyAa - Forever Your Girl

#kassa overall #pa salieu #drakeo the ruler #fiona apple #sault #ka #wizkid #westerman #playboi carti #bbymutha

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sihtric · 4 years ago

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Caged Birds Flying Free

A/N: This was almost too late so that's why it's so short, but it's for @tlkfanficfest . Also, I kinda want to write a part 2?

Prompt: Aldhelm has a nice day for once

Words: 1511

Warnings: none

Aldhelm found himself in the stables preparing for a midday adventure after a long morning of rain, reflection, and prayers. He was light on his feet as he circled his gelding, adjusting the mount and reins. His rides were an escape from Saltwic and everything associated with it — every political concern and every bit of feelings he had for the Lady Aethelflaed.

The stables were typically empty on Sunday afternoons, so Aldhelm was able to enjoy moments of peace with his horse before setting off. However, today there were two individuals in the stall beside his, voices raised argumentatively. He tried not to listen in on their conversation as he tightened his gelding’s reins, but his curiosity got the better of him. After all, what kind of scoundrels would disturb the peace on the Lord’s day? One, a female, raised her silvery voice in indignation.

“Lord Eowahl, I have done all that was asked of me! I have prayed in the chapel with the Lady Aethelflaed, I have read scripture, and I have delivered alms to the poor. All I am asking for now is the opportunity to go out on a ride and explore the land.”

Aldhelm’s brows raised. He recognized the voice as that of Lady Enid, a visiting Breton noblewoman. She had not been in Saltwic long, having arrived only a fortnight ago on her father’s orders. He wished to have her serve under the Queen of Mercia, where she would surely learn a thing or two about politics and Saxon civility. Aethelflaed was delighted to accept Enid into her household and here she was now — arguing with a Saxon guard in the stables while Aldhelm eavesdropped.

“Lady, this is no time for a jaunt outside the gates. You need to be protected, and much of the guard is busy,” Eowahl countered.

“Oh, just let me go alone. I know how to ride and use a dirk. I think I can manage.”

Aldhelm couldn’t help the small smile in amusement at her words. A noblewoman, using a dirk? He supposed the Waelisc did things differently. He didn’t mind, however, having become accustomed to the sight of Aethelflaed in the midst of battle, wetting her own blade with the blood of another.

Eowahl cleared his throat and responded, voice decidedly harsher this time, “M’lady, you know I cannot do that. The captain of the guard would have my head if I allowed the fairer sex to roam the land alone. You’d go feral, Lady.”

Here was Aldhelm’s opportunity to make his presence known. He let go of his gelding’s reins and gave him a quick stroke. It was only a few paces before he rounded the corner and came face to face with the raven-haired guard and the Lady Enid.

“Lord Aldhelm! I did not know you would be here. I- I was just telling Lady Enid she could not leave the gates,” Eowahl explained hurriedly, his face flushing slightly in surprise.

Aldhelm’s inquisitive gaze flitted from Eowahl to Enid, whose grey-green eyes lit up with something close to hope. “And why not, pray tell?” He questioned.

“You- I- well, Lord, it is not proper for a lady to go out unaccompanied,” Eowahl announced, as if it were the most scandalous concept he had ever heard. Beside him, Enid wrung her hands, visibly restless, and rolled her eyes.

He was at a crossroads. He could leave the lady here and go out for his midday ride on his own, or he could set her free. She was like a caged bird, singing a sweet, melancholic song. His heart softened as he met her pleading gaze once more. He would set her free, he decided.

“She is not unaccompanied.”

The corners of Enid’s lips curled up instantly and her eyes were alight with excitement. “Thank you, Lord!” She squealed. Eowahl gave her a judgemental side eye but kept silent, instead choosing to huff in resignation and march out of the stall.

When they were alone, Lady Enid bowed her head. “I appreciate the gesture, Lord. I have been waiting ages to leave these walls and get some fresh air.”

Aldhelm offered her a small smile in reply, folding his hands. “Well- I suppose we should go?”

It took them only a matter of minutes to leave the stable, as Enid had already prepared her own gelding. Once they cleared the gate, Aldhelm threw a glance over his shoulder at her. “I’d like to take you somewhere.”

“Oh?”

During the fortnight she had been at Saltwic, Aldhelm had interacted minimally with Enid but had seen her plenty. He had seen the way her shoulders were rigid as she took her place beside Aethelflaed in the main hall. He had noticed how she was always restless and fidgety during mealtimes. It hadn’t been lost on him how out of place she seemed amidst a crowd of Saxons. She was a stranger in a strange land. The least Aldhelm could do was show her the spot he liked to go when he needed his space.

With a click of his tongue, he was off with Enid close behind. The warm rays of the sun bathed them as they traversed the idyllic countryside, headed for the treeline in the distance. Aldhelm felt like he was flying as the soft breeze rippled his tunic. With each stride, he felt a piece of himself take flight. As much as he loved Mercia and his duties, he understood what Enid was feeling. The difference was, he’d felt that way for years.

As they rode, they exchanged looks. Enid looked at peace, the sun’s golden rays complimenting her loose chestnut locks. She wore a wide smile for most of the ride which cut into her flushed cheeks.

After some time galloping along a dirt path in the forest, Aldhelm signaled his gelding to slow and made a sharp turn to the left. They picked their way through the thick undergrowth covering the footpath. Aldhelm had to duck under a swath of low hanging branches which had not been there last time. It wasn’t long before he could hear the soothing trickle of a stream, which turned into the burble of a waterfall. Between the thick greenery, the waterfall could now be seen.

Enid associated the sound of the waterfall with release. The soft splash of water meeting water welcomed her. Her heart fluttered with excitement. A stream meant swimming, even if it was seen as improper to a man like Lord Aldhelm. To hell with what Saxon men found ladylike had been her mantra since arriving in Mercia. When their horses broke through the trees and into the open clearing, Enid flew off hers and bounded for the water.

“Lady!” Aldhelm called after her, amused at the flash of chestnut and pale blue that passed him. He grabbed both horses’ reins and led them to the water’s edge for a much needed drink. In that time, Enid had rid herself of most of her clothing and waded into the cool water. She let it envelop her, wading deeper until the small waves lapped at her waist.

When the horses had drunk their fill, Aldhelm tied their leads to a tree nearby and fetched a manuscript from his saddlebag. He seated himself against the trunk of a tree and peeled it open, studying the page he had marked. He loved the look of the dark ink and the light colors which danced on the parchment pages. The history of the land had been documented well in this manuscript, one of Aldhelm’s favorites. The stories of kings and queens were being told in long, flowing verses.

Aldhelm traced a finger over the image of the cross etched on the page. He couldn’t help but let his mind wander as he studied the dated manuscript before him. He wondered what his place would be in history, if his life would even be a story worth telling. It was inevitable , having a greater concern for the future than for the present. After all he’d been through with Aethelred, and now Aethelflaed, he wondered where he’d fit into everything, where he’d make a contribution worth noting. Lord Aldhelm, a skilled soldier and advisor to two Mercian rulers — one of whom he was in love with.

Suddenly he was dragged from his reverie by the sound of Enid’s voice, light and feathery, almost singsong, “Lord Aldhelm, would you care to join me?”

His eyes moved from the pages to the noblewoman, almost completely submerged now. Most of her hair was wet and clung to her bosom. Aldhelm couldn’t stop the momentary blush on his cheeks and forced himself to meet her eyes. After all, she was a lady.

Ah, but she was not like most other ladies, barring the Lady Aethelflaed herself. Before he could raise any more objections to himself, he set the book aside, rose to his feet, and headed for the shore.

They were caged birds no longer, and Aldhelm would truly enjoy his freedom this time.

...

TAGGING: @othermoony @lauwrite1225 @ucancallmechlo @cocchamscrew @n0rthumbria @hislivinglegacy @softestark @volvaaslaug

#aldhelm #tlk aldhelm #tlk fanfic #fanfic #aldhelm x oc #the last kingdom fanfic #the last kingdom #tlk #TLKFFF2020 #my writing #whit writes

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fmdjaewonarchive · 4 years ago

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► agree.

date(s): july 2020 - february 2021 mentions of: champion members, unity members (samsoo, yul & sunghee mentioned by name but like... blink and you’ll miss it) word count: +/- 2.3k words (870w lyrics/660 words composition/740 words production) warnings: mentions of anxiety, panic attacks and car accidents details: full lyrics and full composition verification for agree, 3/3 verifications for jaewon’s upcoming album escapism. jaewon doesn’t only know how to write sad boi music, he also writes angry boi music, the only two emotions he’s ever experienced rlly. (a/n: i lost my braincells within the first 100 words and still haven’t retrieved them, read at your own discretion)

the song is born out of frustration, anger blocking up his throat to the point it feels hard to breathe.

it’s the kick-off point of champion’s world tour, a concept that has jaewon disgruntled enough as it is, snatching him away from unity and dropping him in the states like he is supposed to care about this group, like he doesn’t have better things to worry about.

but alas that’s beside his point, as much as he detests the idea behind champion, it’s not his main source of frustration.

traveling out to the states, that part is hell. now jaewon has never been a huge fan of traveling, suffering from a crippling fear of flying ever since predebut that somehow has not gotten any less severe with the sheer amount of flying all over the place unity has been doing. jaewon also absolutely hates airports, they’re too crowded, too hectic and far too stressful to not immediately put him in a godawful mood.

the cameras shoved right into his face both prior to departure and directly after arrival definitely didn't help.

comparatively, champion’s trip to the states this time hadn’t been that bad. jaewon just happens to be in an extra foul mood today but rationally, he has to admit that he’s seen far worse throughout the years.

but maybe that’s exactly the problem, how common these things have become, that getting pushed and pulled at while trying to get on flight was considered to be mild.

jaewon’s frustration isn’t solely aimed at an isolated instance, it’s at the ridiculous standard that’s been set for idols, the things they have to accept like they are normal.

normally he would call soo to complain about whatever was bothering him but with the time difference, jaewon knew his boyfriend was ought to be asleep at this hour and he definitely wasn’t waking him up for something this minor.

he even humors the thought of perhaps finding sunghee or yul to complain to but with most of champion out for the night doing whatever (admittedly, jaewon didn’t listen when they were making plans, he wasn’t gonna tag along anyway) that isn’t really in the cards either. perhaps that’s for the best, jaewon isn’t the biggest fan of actually talking to the younger unity members about what was on his mind.

either way, jaewon is stuck in a hotelroom by himself, no one around to really vent his frustration too so instead, he might just as well write it all down.

and that’s exactly what he does, settling down at the desk in his hotelroom, scribbling on a notepad randomly found laying around.

on the plane the person in the seat next to me that’s not my fan apparently buying info off the airplane company

it’s not entirely relevant to what happened at the airport earlier but jaewon feels angry all over just thinking about it. unity has had it’s fair share of experiences with saesangs, seemingly only increasing the more popular they keep getting. sure, that makes sense but it doesn’t mean it’s okay, contrary to what dimensions seem to believe with how easily the company brushes it off under the pretense of it just being another part of the job.

at the airplane lounge there’s a war between the 200 mm guns privacy, panic disorder, they barter with one another...

in the first place, jaewon’s main concern is unity, it always is. he’s willing to put up with a lot if it means the younger members are left off the hook. but he has to admit, since the panic attacks have started to become more prevalent, it’s a lot harder to take that stance. it’s hard to take care of others when he fails to take care of himself.

jaewon tries not to think about what that means for his position as a leader.

from early morning put on a mask and fight on in short, call it being a puppet...

jaewon knows he’s not an ideal idol, he’s never been and he never will be. maybe in retrospect, he would have done things differently but there is no use in considering those what-ifs now. there is, however, no denying that all of it is just a bigger struggle with him, it will never go as easily as with people who were made to stand in front of the camera’s. why shouldn’t he get to be open and honest about that? he’s not the perfect idol they want him to be, he will never fit that mold.

i know, that’s right that’s right that’s right that’s right that’s right that’s right i know that’s right that’s right that’s right

written out, the chorus feels a bit silly, but jaewon feels justified in his creative choices. not that the song is ever going to be used for anything, it’s just an attest to his frustration. jaewon knows he’s ought to sit down and silently accept whatever is expected of him.

it’s been years since he’s been his own person. these days, he’s dimensions’ property first and that of the general public second, there is no use in fighting that, no space for his voice.

so sure, whatever, he agrees, what else can he do?

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

jaewon forgets about the lyrics he’s written down after that.

in the moment there had been no intention to turn them into a full-fledged song, a haphazard combination of lyrics that in their raw form, probably held very little meaning, too much filler between the few parts that he did properly think through.

so jaewon forgets all about it before he even sets foot back in korea again. unity is busy enough, the release of neo zone lurking around the corner and with multiple schedules of his own, jaewon can’t even think about the song if he wants to.

it only comes drifting back into his consciousness at least a month of two having passed since champion’s american tour dates.

the day in itself isn’t anything special, if there is anything remarkable about it it’s the fact jaewon isn’t working for once. he’s just hanging around his and samsoo’s apartment, scrolling through whatever app on his phone keeps his attention for long enough.

until an article pops up.

it’s a news post about a rookie group he’s never heard of from a company he doesn’t know the name of, it has nothing to do with him, but he finds himself reading through it anyway. apparently, they got into an accident on their way home from schedules as they were being followed by saesangs. no one got injured and truly, it’s not the first time jaewon has read news like this but it does fill him with the same sense of anger as what he had experienced that first day in the states with champion.

because this type of news shouldn’t be common, for how long are people gonna pretend it is?

maybe he should finish that damn song.

wait does he even still have the lyrics?

jaewon vaguely remembers at the very least putting the sheet of paper in his backpack after the concert as he had been packing up to move to the next city of their tour but after that, he can’t say he recalls having seen it lay around.

he’s really ought to get more orderly with his drafts.

luckily for him, jaewon does find the sheet of paper, not in his bag but shoved in between the pages of a notebook and with the draft of his lyrics obtained he makes a beeline for his home studio. normally he’d do this stuff at the company headquarters but truly, that sounds like far too much work in the moment.

obviously, the song is meant to have an angry undertone to it, supposed to convey the same anger and frustration that swallowed jaewon whole as he had written the lyrics.

the deep, resonating boom of low brass sounds for the opening of the song are a no brainer, the sound gives a bombastic, ominous vibe, immediately setting the song off on the right note. it’s supposed to sound grande and honestly a little bit intimidating, a dark feeling creeping around the corners.

of course, the sound is far too theatrical to be underlaying to the entire song so jaewon alternates it with a deep, booming bassline, the brass only reappearing right before the chorus other than in the opening section as if to give off a warning. to fill up the verses and the parts in between, jaewon adds rumbling, deep drums in the background, making them feel less empty.

what really makes the song however is the rapidly-cycling electronic stuttering a rhythmic pattern across almost all parts of the song. it feels a little distracting at first before jaewon decides that really, that’s exactly what he’s going for. the melody feels just a little too fast, uncomfortably so and in a song reflecting so much stress and strain, that only feels fair, reflectives of the way his chest tightens up when he can’t breathe, when his hands tremble and his heart beats so fast it might as well make him sick.

jaewon thinks it conveys his frustrations pretty damn well.

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

it doesn’t seem in the books for the song to ever be released until the process of selecting songs for escapism comes along. while jaewon regains some of his creative freedom, most of it had been under dimensions terms, leaving it up to them to shape the album in a way they prefer over his creative vision.

until somewhere near the end of completing the track list, the head producer asks jaewon if he has any songs laying around that could fit in with the rest of the album.

‘agree’ is the first thing to come to mind.

the head producer seems to like the songs, enough to approve it at least and jaewon can’t help but feel a flare of pride. the producer seems intent on leaving the creative process in his hands, letting him handle the production.

it makes ‘agree’ the first song ever that’s entirely his own that he gets to release, it feels like a milestone to jaewon.

he does get a little list of suggestions, mainly pertaining to the lyrics. the producer leaves a few remarks here and there about where lines could be stronger, what he would do differently but all of it are very loose recommendations, jaewon isn’t actually under an obligation to do anything with them.

in the end, he does anyway, shuffles some lyrics around, dares to be a bit more assertive in his wording, right onto the border of what he would consider too gloat-y for himself. but the producer is right, it gets to pack a punch, it gets to be a little bit self-important. somehow having the external confirmation makes it easier to write those lyrics without feeling like a fraud. it’s still his, his writing, his song.

with the last tweaks done they’re quick to get to recording. they’re still on a time crunch as jaewon’s manager reminds him (jaewon likes the man well enough but dear lord would he never let him forget). it's one of the last songs on the album to be recorded after all and at this point, they are cutting it close.

with everything else he needs done, all jaewon has left to do is fine tune the song, the last tweaks and sounds to be added like missing puzzle pieces now he has the bigger picture pretty much laid out in front of him, polishing and detailing it to elevate the song worth of something to be released on an album.

the instrumental is already pretty hectic, fully intentional of course, but with a proper, clear recording it’s easier to spot the empty gaps, spaces to add the last finishing touches. he adds more brass, less grande and dramatic than the ones in the pre-chorus, curling around the edges of the chorus to round them up neatly and as if to scale down again for the verses, still fast paced but somewhat a breath of fresh air between one chorus and the other.

he delays the part at the opening before the brass and bass kick in, a silence before the storm feels even if the hyperactive stuttering beat is already there, he considers taking that out at first too but the point kind of is that it is more or less omnipresent, it’s always there even when there is nothing else much, like the anxiety that feels permanently stuck to his head.

there is also the addition of an extra melodic line, lingering behind that main, slightly headache inducing electronic synth. it doesn’t really stand out, especially not compared to it’s main competitor but it does remain prevalent in the few parts the main instrumental motif is nowhere to be found, giving it small moments to shine. it serves a clear function, or to jaewon listening ear at least (maybe he’s overanalyzing at this point). the little bounces of the electronic beat all over the place keep up the pace of the song, making sure its explosive nature prevails over the dark dreary undertones of the bassline and brass sections, giving it an overall dynamic feel.

it takes some fiddling, jaewon pulls something close to an all-nighter to finish up the song with the sheer amount of detail he ends up focussing on but by the time he sends it in, he has a good feeling about it at least.

when he presents the final product to the head producer, there are no more suggestions. it’s good, and it’s all his own work.

#fmdverification #*:･ﾟ♛– «filled with all these empty moments» // solos.#«escapism // era.»#//SCREAMS INTO THE VOID #//finally... im freed from verification hell #panic attack tw #anxiety tw #car crash tw

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on-cerulean-wings · 4 years ago

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Verses

Hi, this is a post on the various verses (other than canon). Actual skin verses will be using Riot’s established lore plus my own added stuff. The rest are kinda my own spin on Quinn in the respective verse.

Phoenix Quinn: Wanting to understand more about the world, Quinn and her beast companion Valor decided to live life among the Targonians for some time. Hearing tales of the Ascended and the perilous climb that was Targon. Curious and determined, Quinn and Valor began the climb. The climb was beyond anything the two had faced and, with only a few paces until it's peak, Quinn collapsed and nearly tumbled off the mountain. Valor, tired as well, used the last bit of his energy to save Quinn from certain death and pulled her limp body to the peak before collapsing himself. Things seemed all for naught, Quinn staring up at the heavens that silently watched. She reached up, longing for something to answer. But, at first, nothing came. Then the heavens burst open in a bright, burning display. Before Quinn and Valor was the Immortal Flame. Judging the pair worthy, Quinn and Valor were empowered by the legendary Phoenix, becoming the Aspects of Rebirth.

Woad Scout Quinn: Member and main scouts of the Woad tribe, Quinn and Valor are the last thing the enemies of the tribe will never see. Part of an alternate universe Freljord, Quinn serves valiantly for her tribe, helping in any way she can. Valor was a pet gifted to her by her mother after a successful rite of passage to become a scout.

Corsair Quinn: Pirate for hire, keen eye even with only having one, and a damn good shot, Quinn left Demacia at a young age for the Islands of Bilgewater, wanting to seek out true freedom and prosperity. In recent times, she’s usually seen working with Sarah Fortune, but has taken side jobs for other aspiring pirate crews and

Heartseeker Quinn: Yeah no, sorry. I got nothing.

Modern: Former military ace pilot and soldier turned commercial and private airliner pilot, Quinn lives her life as best she can from her one bedroom city apartment. Valor is her pet falcon she occasionally takes for walks/flights.

Odyssey Quinn: Pilot for hire and lover of xenobiology, Quinn found her dreams among the stars at an early age. Her and her twin brother Caleb originally began training themselves to be conscripted into the Demaxian Empire to see distant stars from their coreworld home. This came to an abrupt end after getting in the midst of a crossfire between the Empire and the Syndicate where Quinn was injured and Caleb killed. With her brother and only friend within the empire dead, Quinn gave up the dream of joining the Demaxian ranks and instead became a pilot for hire and something of an alien tracker, capturing and trading alien animals off to the highest bidder. One such beast she couldn't possibly depart with was Valor, a juvenile skyscreetcher with a noble, albeit pompous, disposition.

Lunari Quinn: Born to a father who was a Lunari blacksmith and a mother who traveled from the Freljord and settled at Mount Targon, the twins Quinn and Caleb were an inseparable duo. Each grew up studying the history and traditions of the Lunari, though Quinn preferred the martial aspects while Caleb preferred the spiritual ones. Where Quinn became adept in bows and crossbows as well as other weaponry, Caleb became well versed in Scripture and prayer. Caleb had tried several times to have Quinn study more about the spirituality of their people, though such lessons never seemed to fully take root. While she believed in her people's ways and fought for those beliefs, she was simply inept in the ways of spirituality. Quinn had become a tracker for the Lunari in adolescence, primarily being tasked with missions to find suitable hideaways and points of interest for the Lunari, as well as the occasional search and rescue mission should any of her kin become captured by the Solari. Early into her young adulthood after some years of service, Quinn was tasked with retrieving a moonstone that had been confiscated and hoarded by the Solari. Caleb offered his assistance, wanting to personally see such an artifact brought back safely. Quinn had denied the request, but Caleb persisted until she finally caved and allowed him to come along. Locating the moonstone among a variety of other Lunari contraband that had been apprehended by the Solari, Quinn and Caleb moved silently to recover the precious stone. It was Caleb who originally retrieved it, while Quinn discovered a bird she grew an immediate fondness to: a lunar osprey that had been imprisoned in a cage of gold. Their moments of pause to admire their bounty proved lethal as Caleb was stabbed in the back by a Solari guardsmen. Quinn cried out as blood soaked the pristine stone. Dispatching the guard, Quinn released the bird from activity, retrieved the now stained artifact, and absconded. While her mission was ultimately a success, Quinn was found guilty for negligence and ultimately the death of her twin brother and one of the Lunari's prime devout pupils. Quinn made no plea for mercy nor forgiveness, instead hanging her head in the shame and guilt she carried, expecting her own life to be taken as payment. But instead, she was made to find atonement and reconciliation through further service. No longer a mere tracker, Quinn had been made to serve the Lunari without question as an assassin until such penance has been paid. Quinn still carried that guilt within her, but now with a desire to atone for it. Although she was guilty, all those who served the Lunari were precious. So to ensure she lived while she worked alone, Quinn was granted use of a crossbow crafted from the moonstone that was stained by her brother's blood. Whenever she wasn't on a mission, she would study, meditate, and practice her people's spiritual traditions. So many nights, she trained herself to seek the moon in the night sky, even on cloudy nights during full moons where she would meditate for hours, staring up at its face, trying to see all it offered her with her bare eyes, straining for hours on end, trying to absorb as much as possible. Eventually, such strains lead to blurred vision which she took as a sign. Ceremoniously, she gave her eyesight in a spiritual sacrifice to the moon to further her penance for the life she was responsible for losing. Eventually though, her spirituality blossomed and a kinship grew between her and the lunar osprey she had freed. He quickly became her eyesight that she had lost, a connection forming deeper than what could be seen on the outside. Naming him "Valor", the two now continue their service to the Lunari as assassins of their faith, Quinn living a life seeking penance not just for the crimes against her people, but the guilt that still laid heavy in her heart.

#OOC; Out of the Skies #verses;

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fairestfall · 5 years ago

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@bxlakor asked: How does your character behave around children?

I would argue that Snow is most herself when she is around animals and children because their perceptions are relatively untainted by others. When most children look at her, they’re not quite as unnerved by her appearance as adults because they can sense her benevolent divine energy-- similar to the idea that children are more sensitive to the paranormal. They’re open and honest and innocent, and as a result, Snow opens herself, as well. She is more quick to smile and laugh, honestly answer their questions, and engage in simple intimacies such as hand-holding or shoulder rides.

Say what you want about Snow, but all of her children, adopted or otherwise, knew that they were loved.

@okcnshld asked: In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been? // in the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

In Tolkien verse, that would be practically every moment trapped in Utumno and Angband, although some notable events would be her separation from her mother, her failed escape attempt after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, and the War of Wrath. Regarding the second event, this occurred after she had finally gained her freedom. She could have remained in the forests, hiding away from her father and his spies, but she didn’t. She decided to aid the Noldorian elves and fight alongside them in an attempt to defeat evil and free Arda. She was risking her life and her freedom to do this; even though she feared her father above all else, she challenged him to single combat.

She was gravely wounded and dragged back into the dark. She remembers struggling and crying out for help from her allies, but none would risk death at Morgoth’s hands for her sake, a creature they trusted only as a weapon. They left her to her fate. So, you definitely have a fear of betrayal that’s in her to this day. Now, you have Snow after the battle whose main fear is losing people she can call her own-- her mate and her child. Although she originally seduced a high-ranking uruk in a desperate bid for escape, she did grow to love him. She let herself be vulnerable. She dared to dream of a future where she could be happy. She even conceived a child, before Sauron caught them on their flight out of Angband. She was forced to watch as her mate was executed for desertion, and she was thrown into a fiery shaft. Her child did not survive. She was helpless to protect any of them, and that’s still a prominent fear of hers. She frets day and night over her clan because they are all she has. She has to protect them. She cannot lose anyone else.

And, regarding the third event, the War of Wrath was just terrifying overall. Imagine that you have no real allies and that you’re trapped in a fortress that the Valar themselves are attacking. The Silmarillion describes the battle like this: “Beleriand was ablaze with the glory of their arms, for the host of the Valar were arrayed in forms young and fair and terrible, and the mountains rang beneath their feet... all the North was aflame with war... The Balrogs were destroyed, save some few that fled and hid themselves in caverns inaccessible at the roots of the earth; and the uncounted legions of the Orcs perished like straw in a great fire, or were swept like shrivelled leaves before a burning wind.... and all the pits of Morgoth were broken and unroofed, and the might of the Valar descended into the deeps of the earth” (Tolkien 270). Definitely a reason to panic. Snow fully thought that the Valar were going to destroy her and what few uruk-hai she’d hidden in caves with her. She is the Vala of the Night. Their resplendence burned her eyes, and she fell to her face, much like her father, begging for mercy. They did not punish her nor did they take her back to Valinor. She would have preferred either option at the moment. Instead, they consigned her to countless ages spent righting her father’s wrongs in Arda. She’ll never forget that day.

Now onto your second question: Snow will be the first to admit that she is flawed. She appreciates others’ honesty and correction, if they are someone she completely trusts and who she knows have good intentions. If a stranger were to criticize her, she will become extremely defensive. In her mind, if they do not know her, they do not have the right to critique her decisions.

#{ Listen to the mirror ;; Headcanon }#tolkien verse headcanon #child death tw #torture tw #long post /

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eriversible · 6 years ago

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Eri, The Child with a ‘Cursed’ Quirk (Proto!Eri)

Overview

NAME: Eri

QUIRK: Rewind

AGE: 6

HEIGHT: 3′7″ (110 cm)

BIRTHDAY: December 21 || Zodiac: Capricorn (Sagittarius-Capricorn Cusp)

PERSONALITY: ‘rebellious’; reserved; quiet; shy; anxious; sensitive; observant; somewhat direct; somewhat mistrustful; much more expressively, talkative and playful around those she trusts

TENDENCIES: crying when emotionally vulnerable/emotionally overwhelmed; fight-or-flight reaction at wide, sudden movements; trust issues towards adults; panic/anxiety attacks; dissociation; PTSD(?); some social anxieties

LIKES: apples [canon]

The Parallels & Differences between Canon & Prototype

Seems that the innocent child’s prototype wasn’t exactly as obedient as her captor would like in comparison. Ever since she was subjected to suffering, Eri had grown to be known as Overhaul’s ‘little troublemaker’. Aware of her ‘abandonment’ by her own kin, she refused to succumb to this fate that she never even asked for, unlike her canon counterpart. Eri is always in a conflicted state, always in a constant search for help and yet not being able to bring herself to reach for it once she even finds it. After all, there isn’t a single person in the outside world that she can trust. Besides, everyone always seem to act like they don’t care once she’s caught by her ‘caretaker’. Sometimes, it makes her wonder if heroes are even real.

Still, one thing is clear: Eri’s had enough of this suffering. All it’d take is just one person to prove that it’s okay to want this freedom.

Notable Proto!Eri Headcanons & Fun Facts

Although Proto!Eri also sprouts a horn upon using her Quirk, it’s often never shown if just as a little lump due to how frequent she puts up a fight with Overhaul’s experiments. Her ‘tantrums’ often come with the activation of her Quirk, and as a result, Proto!Eri is able to at least have some knowledge on how to activate it.

Deactivating it is a still an issue, however --- she’s never given the chance to try before getting overhauled.

Apparently, her hair is also affected by the activation of her Quirk, which explains why it often looks so frazzled and unruly. In a way, it’s similar to how Eraserhead’s Quirk makes his hair levitate.

Because of how ‘actively rebellious’ she is, it’s possible that Shie Hassakai in turn has had to double up their security measures, thereby making it more difficult for their hideout to be tracked down as well as hindering/slowing the progress of the Quirk-Erasing bullet.

It’s also possible that she’s suffered even more than in canon as a result or consequence to her disobedience, especially when she’s constantly making Overhaul waste time and resources (mostly men) just so he can get her to cooperate with him.

Post-Rescue is mostly about the same for Proto!Eri in terms of hospitalization for psychological trauma, character development and eventual residency in Proto!UA. The only major, significant differences would just be that Proto!Eri is more active in trying to control her Quirk, as well as being a bit more concerned over her own well-being. She’s also much less cooperative with adults as she assumes they’re prone to backstabbing, and is more likely to listen only to the high school interns involved.

It’s also possible that Proto!Eri has developed anthropophobia, or the fear of people. It’s not exactly the same as social phobia, which revolves around social interaction; instead, anthropophobia revolves around the presence of another human being in itself. In Proto!Eri’s case, it’s more so towards adults.

Proto!Eri is deathly afraid of needles as they instantly make her think she’s going to be sedated or have her blood drawn.

Read More On:

Main!Eri

Available Verses

Canon Eri --- in accordance to the BnHA Fan Wiki

#v.littletroublemaker (proto!au)#proto!eri #proto verse #verses #bio #overview #about proto!eri

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scarreddreams · 7 years ago

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tag dump, tbd

#bent over books and notes ✦ school verse #see the flames inside my eyes ✦ blind verse #flights of freedom ✦ young adult verse #when the moon fell in love with the sun ✦ wild child verse #in the body of those he loves most ✦ lotr verse #if only to protect the world ✦ kingsman verse #only a zoologist would ✦ nonmagic verse #welcome to the fire brigade ✦ main verse #only the purest blood ✦ death eater verse #growing up in fear and love ✦ child verse

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leonawriter · 6 years ago

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Angel’s Wings

Read it on AO3

Fandom: Final Fantasy VII

Characters: Cissnei, Genesis

Summary: When Cissnei finds herself in trouble hours from anywhere she can run to, help comes in the form of a very unexpected saviour that she hadn't been warned about.

Part of the To Change A Sombre Morrow verse. Takes place in the Original Timeline, before the time travel.

You don’t need to have read the main fic to read this.

...

Going back to Shinra being an option was something that neither she nor the other 'former' Turks had ever thought would be possible, after the way that things had happened. Even after President Shinra had been killed and Rufus had taken his place, it wasn't as though he'd made any formalities about excusing them.

Meteor had brought them all out of hiding.

Geostigma had drawn them out, though never working so openly as they had done once upon a time. Never without question.

They'd all thought that with the Remnants and their Reunion - that Cloud had stopped, if the reports were to be believed, strange as it was to think of that Infantryman they'd bumped into from time to time growing up to become someone like that - everything would be over.

It's just one thing after another, isn't it?

Cissnei swung with her shuriken, slicing at the leg of one vaguely wolf-like creature with furious, glowing green eyes. It started to bleed, but that didn't seem to hinder it like it should, just like with all of the others she'd faced down.

Of course, one of the downsides to specialising in a style that used a throwing weapon, was that once it was thrown you had to get it back before you could use it again.

She thinks that she has to be seeing things when a black feather floats slowly down through the air in front of her face, but she dared not look up-

The only things she could possibly see if she did, were either a winged monster bearing down on her, or... what they had all been warned was a terrifyingly real possibility - that one of these days their luck was going to run out, that he would appear among them once more. And Tseng had told them, you'd better hope that when he does, Cloud is there.

Because if he isn't, you will die, went unspoken. They didn't need to hear it. They were Turks, no matter what and in spite of everything, and Turks always completed their mission. Always.

Even so, Cissnei felt her heart speed up, a thought passing through her mind of I wonder if this is what Zack felt like, at the end, when we couldn't reach him in time, when she thought of how she was already injured, how she'd heard a howl in the distance that was getting closer.

She readied her weapon. The already injured mutated monster came at her, and she was able to aim for one of its weak spots, but that left her wide open on her other side, from which she could hear the other one coming in fast-

-Although, not anywhere near as fast as the red-and-black blur that appeared beside her.

A sword cut through the newest addition with ease, before turning for its next target, which she was fully convinced was going to be her.

It wasn't, however.

The two monsters fell where they'd been slain, and Cissnei stayed standing.

It's only when she has the chance to back up and take stock of what's just happened that she understands - she's seen wings like this one, figures wearing coats like this, before. Years ago, maybe, but a Turk doesn't forget a face that easily, especially if he's caused her as much trouble as this one.

There were ways in which he looked different - the hair, the coat looking that much more out of shape than she'd ever seen it, the... lack of white streaks and overall exhaustion. She gets the distinct impression that this isn't one of the many Copies, either. That it's the original.

None of which explained why he'd just saved her.

"It's a long walk back to civilisation," he says, as if he isn't someone who'd been listed as Killed In Action by the higher-ups, and then on Shinra's Most Wanted list, preferably wanted dead.

But asking all of the questions she wants to ask won't get her anywhere. Or at least, not anywhere she thinks would be useful.

So she shrugs, and says that her bike had broken down, which is true.

He offers to take her back to Rocket Town at least, and she declines. Politely, but still. She needs to get there, but... the idea of letting herself be carried by someone she doesn't trust not to drop her from a fatal height.

"Have it your way," Genesis Rhapsodos, SOLDIER First Class, said with a shrug of his own. And then, "We might as well start walking, then."

Which wasn't what she'd expected him to say - or do - either, but a few minutes and a short distance later found him asking what she was out there for, to which she asked him the same question.

"I suppose I'm playing the messenger," he said, sounding amused at the obvious demotion. Which was... uncharacteristic, given what little she knew of him.

She nodded, though, and neither of them went into more detail.

Eventually, though, she had to ask.

"Did you find it, then? That thing you were looking for."

He looked at her appraisingly, in a way she recognised from when she'd say something that had someone re-evalulate her.

"The Gift of the Goddess, you mean? You could say that, yes."

She wonders if perhaps that's why he seems so much calmer, so much less likely to kill her as soon as her back was turned.

Not that she'd let that happen. Tseng and the others were waiting for her, after all.

...

She stops him once they reach Rocket Town, before he leaves to go play the messenger.

There's a look in his eye that reminds her a little of the way that Sephiroth would merely humour people when he had other, far better, things to do. Which makes sense, she tells herself, because they were friends, once. And besides, he stays. He could ignore her and go, but he doesn't.

"What's... it like?" Her eyes are, once again, drawn to that one single wing that he still has out. It's folded over him right now, giving some relief from the midday sun. Which is such a trivial thing, to use a wing for. "Being able to fly, I mean."

He blinks at her, and she feels as though she's being re-evaluated for a second time.

"Most people," he says slowly, "would look at this and immediately see the inhumanity of it. But I digress. Flight is..." For a moment he looks frustrated - an inability to choose his words, perhaps? - and then he shakes his head. "I did offer to let you see. You were the one who chose not to."

"I wouldn't be the one flying, and I had no reason to trust you," she says honestly.

Genesis smiles, a smile that reminds her that no matter that he'd saved her, this was still the same man who had killed everyone in his hometown, who had waged literal war on Shinra not even all that long ago.

Not without good reason. But then, they'd all had reason enough to hate what Shinra had become in the end. Not all of them had gone that far.

"I suppose... even when all I felt toward the wing itself was disgust at the thing that marked me as a monster, I can't say I never enjoyed the ability it gave me."

Cissnei smiled, and nodded.

"I told Zack this, a long time ago." She noticed his eyes sharpen at the name. "But... when I was growing up, all the stories I heard about people with wings called them angels. Back then, I always wanted to have those wings too. Because for me at least, they symbolised freedom, for those who have none."

She nodded again, this time a professional acknowledgment, and headed for where she knew Tseng should be.

Cissnei knew that she was doing what she wanted most, what she felt was doing the most good in the world right now.

She hoped that for all he'd done - all he'd been through, given the way he'd looked back there, and the way that he'd helped her - Genesis was in the same kind of place too.

#ffvii #final fantasy vii #ff7 stuff #Leona fic #cissnei #genesis rhapsodos #to change a sombre morrow verse

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mxladymorgan · 6 years ago

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❤ Under the cut there’s a drop of headcanons for Morgan across different settings. Some I had already addressed - here’s an updated list where some have been scratched out as I developed her further and some ideas are written down, yet to be thought about. Consider this post a cheatsheet for myself - I will have to insert these in proper information pages - and for you too - you might want to use something as an excuse for interaction.

ONE PIECE VERSE // DEFAULT IF NO OTHER SETTING IS SPECIFIED

It is not surprising at all but Morgan loves flowers and gardens. Her favourite flower is the camellia & the Carnahan house features a luxuriant conservatory where Morgan likes to read and have tea, and where her monkey Calico and Blue Bill, Silver’s blue macaw, like to play.

The night sky always reminds Morgan of home because of the way the minerals imbedded in the rock crown around the town of Shipwreck resemble diamonds. This glistening happens under a full moon and it’s for this reason the night sky feature Morgan admires the most.

Marriage to Morgan means being entitled to the rule of Shipwreck too, even if partially, for power is not automatically transferred to the man. However, were she to meet a tragic fate and leave no heir(ess) at least of age, her husband would be the sole ruler of Shipwreck. This is something Morgan’s first boyfriend, Melville James, was well-aware of, so much to the point it was his main reason to woo her in the first place.

Were she given the chance, Morgan would not eat a devil fruit.

Morgan is used to receiving love letters for Valentine’s Day, mostly from noblemen in the hopes of catching her attention and Shipwreck children who are motivated to write to “milady Morgan”. These last ones she always answers with handwritten notes and chocolates.

Morgan detests bugs. She finds them gross and is scared of them, mostly because her boy friends growing up once had the habit of dropping bugs on her. She likes ladybugs, though, only she prefers to call them ladybirds.

Morgan absolutely dislikes being called “princess”.

Favourites and associations.

MODERN VERSE

In the default modern verse, the Carnahans are a wealthy family - I have yet to think of whether Morgan’s mother, Elizabeth, is alive in this verse (or her date of death) and develop their careers, assets and dynamics.

Morgan is either Spanish, born to a Spanish mother and a Scottish father. For this reason, Morgan’s full name is Morgan Elizabeth Carnahan de León as per Spanish naming conventions, de León being Elizabeth’s surname.

As a little girl, Morgan went to an all-girls school (possibly Catholic, as a link with the Carnahan’s faith, but this point is up to be revised for what that would mean/how that would impact on Morgan).

She then took ballet lessons which she kept on having until hitting puberty. Naturally, she was a part of the “age’s” staples of Tchaikovsky, the highlight of this short-lived career being her participation in the Danse des petits cygnes.

She grew fond of the role of Odette and would have loved to play her had she not interrupted ballet. Because of this love, the swan is Morgan’s favourite animal.

(In unpublished writings I considered Morgan to do cheerleading as a teen but I want to decide between this activity and general dancing in a studio.)

A fashionista and fond of social networking, Morgan keeps a blog and Youtube channel where she shares her “OOTD”, shopping hauls, makeup tests and so on. (Will deffo find her a name/branding!)

After graduating, Morgan pursues a career as a museum tour guide (formerly flight assistant as per older headcanons), eventually getting a job at the local natural history museum.

If you marry Morgan, you can expect a bit of housewife magic and, opposing the OP verse, a good cook. However, you can also expect being scolded in Spanish and be told to sleep on the sofa if you do a big oopsie. You might also feel emasculated if working on the house is not your thing, as Morgan enjoys gardening and a little DIY and has got the handyman’s number on speed dial. Expect to catch her multitasking in the kitchen while holding a phone call with a Spanish friend or relative and/or listening to pop music. Britney Spears is the idol from her teenage years. If her new dish is delicious and you find a conspicuous bag of dog chow in the kitchen in spite of you guys not owning a dog, don’t fret - she bought it to feed the strays and hedgehogs should your house be in a hedgehog crossing area.

COFFEE SHOP AU

In this AU with a modern setting, the Carnahans are a middle-class family and Elizabeth is alive. For reasons of coherence, Elizabeth retains her original OP illness, here named lupus, of which the treatment takes a toll in the family’s finances, along with Morgan’s want to pursue a higher education and go to university.

The capuchin monkey replaces the swan as Morgan’s favourite animal in this AU and it’s this love for primates that dictates her wish to study primatology.

Morgan retains her love for fashion, though, naturally, not in the same moulds as her finances are different. The ensembles she blogs about are cheaper alternatives to looks from big fashion magazines and brands for everyone to copy, her makeup is drugstore bought and she loves thrifting. The one luxury item she owns is her signature red lipstick.

TITANIC VERSE

To be added.

ABOUT SHIPWRECK

Naturally, the island (and town!) owes its name to its origins - the first settlers having been shipwrecked on it. They started working in the town, making use of the resources available, as they saw the potential in the island’s geography acting like a natural fortress and eventually established sailing as a means to compensate the island’s flaws/lacking resources. The original shipwrecked galleon can still be visited and it has become a prominent landmark in Shipwreck. (In due time, a comprehensive history of the island/town will be written.)

Though hidden from unwanted eyes, Shipwreck is a relatively close neighbour to Baterilla, with which it makes commerce.

There is an old legend explaining why there are shiny minerals in the rocks encircling the town - presumably, there are the shards of a big diamond once offered from one deity to another. (This and other Shipwreckian folklore are yet to be developed.)

The Lord’s (or Lady’s) big duty is to make sure the townies abide by the law - the original codex written by the settlers of the island and which has been revised every time a change was needed, in order to accommodate the new realities and work for them. For this reason, Shipwreck counts on a jury, a body of enforcement that acts mostly on small bursts of violence or criminal activity, the Lord presiding over the court. Should the Lord/Lady be asked council directly by the townies over lesser things, it’s their duty to be of assistance. Each Lord/Lady enjoys the freedom to do as they see fit, provided they act in Shipwreck’s best interests - acting upon selfish intentions will sooner mean a destitution than tyranny. Lord Silver, being more of an active man, a seafarer, takes his crew on pirating ventures that generate revenue/bring treasure to Shipwreck, a part of which is invested in public works/put to public service. (The politics of Shipwreck will be developed in due time.)

Shipwreck architecture is mostly inspired by that of Spain. Here’s a visual reference.

LINKS TO RELATED POSTS

What flower are you?

Flaws.

What is your muse’s pokémon team? (Will use if a Pokémon verse is ever established.)

What is your muse’s personality type?

Writer aesthetics.

Elements statements.

Muse body language.

Your love type.

What kind of heart do you have?

Muse’s three archetypes.

Morgan’s most important possessions.

Morgan’s idols.

Morgan’s laughter 1, 2.

Morgan as a parent.

The story of Morgan’s crew’s demise as told in the first person.

#♡ ‘cause she’s just like the weather / can’t hold her together {development}#♡ water or wine / don’t make me choose {development / headcanons}#headcanon masterlist

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smokeybrand · 5 years ago

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Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Straight to the Dark

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. I hate this movie. I hate it. It’s bad, man. Fundamentally terrible. It’s a bad Star War. It’s a bad film in general. Everything is terrible. All of it. It’s so terrible. Here’s a list of the terrible stuff:

The Bad

Movie gives away the massive twist in a test crawl. It literally says that Palpatine called the galaxy and said, “Surprise, b*tch. Bet you thought you’d seen the last of me.” That’s how this movie starts. That’s how i knew it was going to be a bad time.

Sh*t goes into montage of Kylo Ren murdering a bunch of nameless asshole. No plot progression of thematic weight. We don’t know who any of these assholes are, he’s just in the woods, with an entire battalion of Stormtroopers, murdering cats for one of the many, many, mcguffins in this fetch quest of a goddamn film.

Where did all of the Stormtrooper bodies go? They just f*cking disappeared. There’s, like, three of these asshole. Kylo had an entire ship of troops. The f*cc is shot continuity??

The movie doesn’t tell you this because f*ck being good at telling a story, but the people Kylo is slaughtering are Vader Occultists. hat’s right, they worship Darth Vader as a god and yet, here they are trying to murder his living, breathing, grandson? For real? He’s their version of Jesus and you’re going to fight him to the death over some sh*t that probably belongs to him anyway by birthright? Okey-dokey.

gain, none of that is stated or shown in the actual film. F*ck thematic weight or unique story telling, we got an entire original trilogy to wank instead.

So, five minutes in, Kylo finds Palpatine and the “Emporer” is like, “It was me, Barry.” and shows him a bunch of Snoke clones in a jar or some sh*t. Wat. What the f*ck ws all that sh*t Snoke was talking then? About being older than the Sith and talking all that good sh*t? How could Snoke have trained anyone in anything if he was a f*cking puppet the whole time??

Smash cut to Finn yelling about some sh*t. F*ck, they murdered the agency in this character, man. Former Stormtrooper, abandoning his space Nazi rhetoric to became a freedom fighter, who is possibly force sensitive? And he’s one of the six black folks in a galaxy, far, far, away? Hell yeah! Two movies later, syke! Finn is a weenie that can’t do anything by suck Rey’s dick. Welcome to Kathleen Kennedy’s “Force is Female” agenda, boys! Take all of the agency and creativity for the male leads and give it to Rey because f*ck you!

And before you brand me some neckbeard chauvinist, i have no problem with all of the mary sueness that is Rey. There are ways, in-universe, to explain that. No, i am upset that all of that mary sueness came at the expense of literally every other main character in this goddamn trilogy! It’s dope Rey is so strong for no goddamn reason. whatever, f*ck you, but to sacrifice and semblance of an interesting supporting cast? Really? are you serious right now? How does that a good story, make? specially when there was so much fertile ground to develop at the end of Awakens.

Uncanny valley Carrie Fisher. They cut old footage of her into this flick because Rey needs a master. guess what? Se had one. Guess what? Mark Hamil is actually still alive! Why did you need Fisher when you could have just not killed Luke or had him actually train her in Last Jedi or not killed him off so he could be around to enrich Episode IX like everyone had signed up for? Instead, yall decide to Frankenstein old footage of Carrie Fisher into this flick in the most clumsy way possible.

How the f*ck is Carrie Fisher versed well enough in the force to teach Rey anything?? What does she even know?? She literally stopped 30 f*cking years ago! How are you a master of anything?

So, the exposition in this movie is absurd. Cats just sit round in a group and tell you the plot. Constantly. There is literally no time for this film to actually show you hings barbecue we gotta get this sh*t done, so they just TELL you EVERYTHING in a goddamn MOVIE!

This movie feels like the climax of a film, for 2nd a half hours. And not just any film because Endgame did that to wildly different results, but a bad film. Like, a Michael Bay film. It feels like the ass shots and explosions of the end to a Michel Bay film, but the entire movie. It has about the same amount of substance and urgency as f*cking The Rock or some sh*t, with all of the narrative strength to boot.

They keep referring to Anakin’s lightsaber as Luke’s, this entire trilogy, and it’s pissing me off. Luke’s saber was green because he was a Jedi Sentinel. He wanted to know the ways of the Force. That was his path to Mastery. Anakin’s was blue because he was a Jedi Guardian. He wanted to use the force to protect those around him since he had lost so much. That’s why he was so skilled at dueling. Luke’s lightsaber f*cking disappeared or some sh*t. It ws never addressed.

Bro, this teleporting sh*t. For real? The Force is basically telekinesis and telepathy. It’s not magic, my dude. What the f*ck is this teleporting bullsh*t all of a sudden? There is no precedence for this in Legends or canon. you can’t keep ex machina-ing sh*t, especially when the driving force of your narrative is a goddamn mcguffin chase!

Jetpack Stormtroopers that launch from the back of desert motorcycles. The entire sentence is some sh*t a fourteen year old try-hard would write in his fan fiction. It has no place in a proper Star War. Bad J.J. Bad.

Stormtroopers can hit the broad side of a barn yet, this one jetpack trooper not only blew up both of your getaway vehicles, but did it mid flight? For real? b*tch, how? Were THEY using the goddamn force??

Nope! Plot contrivance because they needed to get tuck in that specific quicksand, right specifically now!

Force Heal? Really? F*ck, whatever, man. Force Heal. Force Teleport. F*ck, I’m surprised there’s not Force Time Travel. Sh*t man, there might be. Palpatine is alive and he blew the f*ck up when his Death Star did!

Everything about C-3PO and this stupid Sith dagger mcguffin. Everything.

Oh, Poe. I thought they did Finn dirty bit you? Holy sh*t. Dude was a Spice runner? Really? Not even a hint to any of that before but now, because there’s no time to actually flesh out his character properly, you just drop that? When we first met, you were an ace pilot and hero for the Resistance. Rian Johnson got his claws into you with Kathleen Kennedy’s blessing, and you became a mutinous manbaby. Now, you’re an outright space coke runner. Character assassination at it’s finest, if you can call what they gave Poe a character to begin with.

First Order blockade mcguffin, i choose you! Thank you faceless character i just met that Poe has apparently known for decades or whatever, f*ck you!

More Force Teleport fighting!

Dyad in the Force, huh? okay. I thought Snoke did that to f*ck with Kylo in the last movie but whatever. I don’t care anymore. F*ck you.

So Rey finds out she’s a Palpatine and has an emotional crisis. For less than a minute because f*ck emotional levity or character growth, we gott get this sh*t done!

So you introduce an entire platoon of Stormtrooper deserters, give Finn a non-Jedi love interest, and just gloss over all of that with a single conversation of exposition? Really? That could have been a really great part of his person journey but NOPE! F*CK YOU!!

Leia dies for no apparent reason. apparently, when you use your Force powers after a long time, you just croak? Okey-dokey.

Kylo Ren outright dominates Rey until he feels his mom die and Rey take an opportunity to sucker stab him in the gut. AND THEN she feels Leia die. Really? Why do you never see the force when you’re supposed to? Your f*cking master just just croaked and it visibly traumatized her sun and your first instinct is to f*king murder him? for real, b*tch?

Han Solo ghost. Apparently, that n*gga was a secret Jedi or some sh*t. I dunno. F*ck you.

So Rey heals Kylo, steals his ship, and flies off to Luke’s hermit world just to throw a goddamn tantrum until Luke’s Force Ghost shows up and tell her to calm her tits. He physically interacts with her. He raises his old X-Wing so she can fly to Pappy Palpatine’s Ice Shack. WHY HAS HE NOT BEEN HELPING TO TRAIN HER THIS ENTIRE F*CKING TIME???

Speaking of that X-Wing, how the f*ck can it even fly?? It’s literally been underwater for at least two decades.

Also, Luke had a Jedi wayfinder? n*gga, how? Rey destroyed the one she got off the Death Star II corpse. Where the f*ck did this other one come from??

Pappy Palpatine has spent the last two or three decades creating a fleet of Star Destroyers with Death Star cannons connected to them and, in that time, he couldn’t clone himself a proper body? Are you serious?? I feel like resources probably should ave been devoted to that first. Motherf*cker has jars upon jars of Snokes but you expect me to believe that they couldn't create one, legitimate, clone? Are you serous? These motherf*ckers hollowed out an entire planet and put a gun in it that use suns as bullets, but you can’t clone a decent body to put yourself in? For real?

Speaking of these Death Star Destroyers, why do they still have the same goddamn weakness of the Death Star I?? Bro, you had sixty f*cking years to fix this ONE goddamn problem and Nope! Blow up the gun, blow up the ship! My guy, two Death Stars and a Starkiller Planet but you ain’t fix this one flaw??

Okay. Okay... Palpatine’s grand plan, aside for try-trying-tryinging-tryinginging the world gun plan again, is to have Rey kill him so his Force Ghost can Force Possess her body. What is she just walks away? What is he just says no? This is a bad plan, man.

Oh! i forgot. Hux was the spy. Because he outright says it, audibly, in the middle of a First Order starship, which is notorious for having all sorts of monitoring system like cameras and microphones, right before he’s murdered for being the spy! Bruh.

Ben Solo shows up, redeemed for some reason, and promptly gets his ass handed to him by the Knights of Ren. Until Rey Force Teleports his grandad’s light saber to him, at which point his entire style changes and he slaughters his bros. MAGIC!!

We Force Draining life to regrow my zombie body out’chea, manq!

After Rey properly Mace Windu’s Pappy Palpatine into oblivion, she dies for no apparent reason. WHY??

Wasn’t this EXACTLY what Pappy wanted? he WANTED her to kill him so he could haunt her titties or some sh*t? You did exactly the plan, man! Why didn’t it work?? PLOT CONTRIVANCE, THAT’S WHY!

F*cking Reylo, dude. F*cking Reylo...

Ben dies at the end. For no goddamn reason. And fades away to Jedi Ghost immortality. Proper Skywalker boss sh*t!

I hope he Forced Knocked Up Rey. Gotta keep that line alive and Ben was caressing her tum-tum real passionately.

Why the f*ck would she just move into Luke’s house on Tatooine? That place is the worst! it’s got terrible history with all of the Skywalkers, including Anakin! That’s just bad juju right there.

Where the f*ck did Rey get that Yellow Kaiburr crystal from?

“I’m Rey. Rey Skywalker.”

You had forty, real life years, worth of material to pull from and seven years to come up with a way to stick this landing and you sh*t the bed this hard? Really? Nothing is earned. Nothing is deserved. It’s all just a sticky wet fart.

The Verdict

Admittedly, those are issues i had as a fan. I would put on my movie critic hat and properly critique why, functionally, this is a bad film but i am too tired to do that now. Look, man, this thing has potential. There are so many plot threads that could have gone somewhere but Rise is not about that life. They’re here to do everything in their power to retcon everything Last Jedi and Kathleen Kennedy allowed to happen therein. And they do that well enough but at the expense of their own goddamn narrative. This was course correction that should have been two, entire, separate, films. So much good sh*t could have been gleaned from this narrative if it was two proper movies but corporate was like nah, bruh. Get this sh*t done. We’ll stop making these things for two years and people will forget. Nope.

You can’t forget this sh*t. I can’t forget this clusterf*ck i just wasted my life watching. And it didn’t have to be! That’s what kills me! There is more than enough in this film to redeem the franchise. If this specific story was broken up; If these plot points and characters were given enough room to breathe, sh*t could have worked! Ther eis so much fertile ground here to craft a dope story for fans, old and new but NOPE! F*ck that! Cowabunga it is! We’re going to cram all of that sh*t into one movie and f*ck you! We’re going to spend half the narrative erasing The Last Jedi instead of progressing this plot because f*ck you! We’re going to bring back someone who had to be unspoken, impossibly, resurrected to win back the fans because f*ck you! Give them some goddamn Reylo because f*ck You! That’ll shut you the f*ck up! F*ck this movie, man. This sh*t could have been special but you let an ego driven, misandrist ruin forty years of canon for the clout.

Watching this goddamn movie made me piss blood, man, that’s how much it hurt.

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