#also changed his name to Lou Howl

[mosneakers]

make me howell 😩

[mychampagne-mybubbles]

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Many are the coincidences & inspirations obtained from this novel that can be seen around Harry & Louis, especially recently. Come and let yourself look through the rabbit hole, this time literally.

The author-name

Lou, Louis, Lewis... Jenny Lewis... Lewis Carroll...

Queer vs Peculiar

In Alice in Wonderland, everything is described as "queer", which meant to be odd or strange to the late 1800s readers; until the early 1900s, when queer was beginning to be used to address a person's sexuality as being gay or lesbian.

Having that in mind "peculiar" is just taken literally, but also can be used to refer to someone's sexuality too, as in Adore You & it's “peculiar” boy

Painting white roses red

The rose and the dagger, the roses... always the roses, so they would catch out attention easily. In AIW the representation of two sides confronting a battle and how this metaphor was brought into LOT & AFHF.

Harry wore roses on 5 different occasions During LOT: white, red, black & green. Also did Louis in his green customized shirt for FAFHF (Aug 21) & during his 28 programme customized on World Tour 2022.

“Eat me”

Psychotropics are something extra to be considered present in many ways in this novel. Giving Alice sometimes the "little push" she needed to get out of certain situations.

From the beginning of Fineline, we find several stories related to psychotropics such as that time when Harry bit his tongue under the effects of shrooms while composing sessions. It's not a new topic to be related to AIW nor Fineline, plus Sunflower live had hippie vibes sounds & aesthetic.

Who does the pig represent?

The Pig Baby appeared in The Duchess's house as her baby. for some minutes Alice was also its nanny. It is a baby that constantly howls and sneezes because of the pepper. Once Alice takes the baby inside, it turns into a pig.

Eroda’s fisherman pub: “The only rule of the bar? Don't mention a pig in the pub.”

This baby pig was almost unnoticeable for me because it doesn't appear in Disney's version seen many times during my childhood but gained relevance by linking it to the boys once I reread the novel.

Who are you?

“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, Sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then"

Fineline is a self-discovery and inner look into who Harry is. He carefully chose his slogan "do you know who you are?" while still teasing on the unreleased album and end up answering every night on tour "When I am in front of you I do" o "now I do".

👉🏼Gender Fluid Journey

Love makes the world go around

`'Tis so,' said the Duchess: `and the moral of that is — "Oh, 'tis love, 'tis love, that makes the world go round!"' `Somebody said,' Alice whispered, `that it's done by everybody minding their own business!'

Every night Harry explained to his audience how the new 360 stage design worked: face vs arse. Fans literally danced around him.

The fish

“No wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise." "Wouldn't it, really?" said Alice, in a tone of great surprise. "Of course not," said the Mock Turtle. "Why, if a fish came to me, and told me he was going on a journey, I should say 'With what porpoise?”

Harry talked about "a special fish" in Adore You during the secret sessions for fans in NYC back in 2019, he let the fish go for good at the end of the mv, for 1 year, now we know it has a specific purpose.

Queen's croquet game

“the croquet balls were live hedgehogs and the mallets live flamingoes, and the soldiers had to double themselves up and stand on their hands and feet, to make the arches”. Alice has a difficult time breaking from her preconceived notions and adjusting to life in Wonderland, this echoes Carroll’s sentiment that everything in Wonderland is absurd and feels like some sort of cruel game.

We have seen Harry playing golf 7 times during LOT... what a curious number: 7 times.

Alice through the looking glass

I have to look deeper into this second part of the novel, but the first link to it is already interesting having in mind the situation Harry is rumored to be in.

The story starts with how Alice is promised, that she will become a queen once the promotion takes place — for that to happen she must advance, step by step, to the eighth rank in the chess game.

We have seen the chess game in Harry's game and recently in Louis's shirt in his WT22 European leg at Copenhagen.

As It Was

On April 1st this song & video was released. It is fair to say that both are not direct & simple representations of each other, however, I recognize how time & motion are key elements in both. How one's inner path can entail different stages, mean evolution & growth, trying to understand their role in a world that keeps spinning and taking them to the same places being a different version of themselves.

LOVE ON TOUR II

The queen of hearts ♥️

As a ruler of Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts is the character that Alice must inevitable face to figure out the puzzle of Wonderland. In a sense, the Queen of Hearts is literally the heart of Alice's conflict.

To be continued…

[generalskales]

Heyo i have a bunch of headcanons:

🔥 Kai learned how to style Nya's hair so she wouldn't feel left out whenever a new hair trend hit the village

💧 Nya refuses to sleep unless someone or something is next to her, no one minds this because hey free cuddle buddy

💧⚡ Jay specifically doesn't mind but also understands the struggle of being used to another body/a plushie being there, hence why he still has Mr. Cuddlywomp

⚡ Jay tends to chew on pencils while absentmindedly stimming, he has since bought a chewy necklace to save his poor erasers

❄ Zane finds the recaptcha memes the citizens make very funny. It's not a problem for a Nindroid to deal with recaptcha when you know how they work taps forehead

🌏 Cole will send his dad a message of some kind each day and if he's in the area and not actively patrolling or busy he'll swing by for something to eat or to see what Lou is up to

🐻 Kataru is autistic and flaps his hands to stim, his special interests include bears and fishing

🐻 Kataru also give some of the best hugs. He can make you feel very protected and warm with them.

🐺 Akita will howl at the moon if she's alone or with a trusted friend.

🐺 Akita thinks Lloyd is more like a brother or close friend than a romantic interest

🐉 Lloyd likes to surprise children at the hospital with carefully selected gifts for each of them. He gets really upset if he finds out someone died but is usually informed by the parents that he made their last moments very special.

🐉 Lloyd secretly enjoys cooking with Cole simply because regardless of outcome it's fun to get messy. Zane tends to be clean and organized but Cole will have everything be an organized mess he has a system and Lloyd knows it by heart.

🔥 Kai would never admit it to her face but Skylor is the one person that isn't family he would outright die for. The ninja he would obviously protect with his life, but he isnt losing Skylor as long as he's still standing

❄⚡🌏 Zane, Jay, and Cole used to share a bed before Kai joined the team

🌌 Literally none of them are cishet thats just how it be

🌪 Morro enjoys drinking tea but only Wu makes it to his tastes (he won't ever say this but its very obvious)

🌪 Morro would gladly throw down with Chen or Harumi if only to get a chance to fight someone worth fighting again

🔥 Kai likes it when his hair is played with, he finds it calming

🐉 Lloyd has pulled the "my grandfather is God" card on rude people before and will do it often. Said grandfather finds this a nice change of pace

🐉 This does not change that Lloyd calls him out for his treatment of his children he is Not Having It™

💧 Nya is the third tallest after Zane and Cole, standing at 5'11"

🔥 Kai is 5'07"

⚡ Jay is the kid who took their pen apart in school and put it back together

⚡ Jay freaks out if denied food for any reason

💧❄⚡👑 Nya, Zane, Jay, and Pixal all get together once a month to build Rube Goldberg Machines and its wonderfully chaotic

👑 Pixal signs each of her texts with kaomoji because she thinks it's adorable, specifically this one:

~ヾ(・ω・)

🌌 If you meet any of them on the street you have a 75/25 chance of either mistaking them for stupid teenagers/young adults or realizing that they are actually that young

❄ Zane may have the braincell but he will voluntarily go along with whatever scheme the others are planning

👑❄ Pixal will hum on the off chance that Zane is feeling unwell, he said it made him feel safe because she only hummed when they weren't in any sort of danger

👑 Pixal likes watching phineas and ferb, she enjoys seeing whatever the boys or doof come up with each episode

❄🐉 Lloyd is usually found around Zane if he's having a bad day. The Nindroid can tell when his younger teammate is feeling plain awful and will spend the day trying to improve Lloyd's mood. Lloyd in return helps Zane with cooking and cleaning.

🔥 Kai is usually the person to ask to pull double patrols, he has the shortest patrol route on a normal day and can use the excuse to drag Skylor away.

🍜 Skylor has been practicing combining powers she copied so she doesn't tire out as easily. Her record is three at once and she's working on four

🔥🍜 Kai has cooked for Skylor before and never thought of it as anything special or good compared to what she makes. Skylor however loves it and thoroughly enjoys the occasion

🔥💧 Nya would try to bring home stray cats or dogs she found and Kai turned away all of them after a day because of the extra mouth to feed. She eventually got her wish when Kai showed up one day after patrols with a tiny little shrimp of a kitten in his arms and she immediately claimed ownership over it. It's name was Socks because it looked like it had socks on

⚡ Jay cries seeing Socks because Socks is so tiny its illegal

🐉 Lloyd has a youtube channel based around his father's teachings and self defense tips. He's usually joined by either another ninja or an ally

🏅 Dareth is probably one of the few relatively sane adults the ninja have and he won't allow them to miss any opportunity to kick back and relax

🏅 Dareth (and Ronin on a good day) will not hesitate to give some adult life wisdom or a steady shoulder to lean on should any of them need it.

💎 Ronin will throw down if anyone disses his nieces and nephews those are his kids too he doesn't care

🐺🐻 Akita and Kataru have a braincell shared between them

💎🐉 Lloyd will on very very rare occasions slip back into habits from Darkley's and join Ronin in some theivery from the bourgeoisie

🏅🍜 On an off day Skylor may call up Dareth offering a free meal. He always leaves big tips regardless and a note saying thank you, it's her mood booster.

🌪💎 Morro would fight Ronin in hand to hand combat if he could. Ronin would rather the ghost go pester someone else rather than him for the 40th time

🌌 Everyone agrees that Socks is Babey™ and will be protected at all costs

🐺 Akita will sometimes just spend a day lounging in wolf form. No reason she just wants to loaf

🐻 Kataru gets urges to hibernate and is a pain to wake up during winter seasons. He also could beat Cole and Lloyd together in the amount of food he eats during the season

👑🔥 Kai and Pixal will spend their after patrol hours doing science experiments. The more fun ones are the more messy ones, so they tend to get home first so they have clean up time before the others get home

🔥 Kai has the shortest patrol route after an incident on a longer route that made him refuse to take anything longer than what he has outside of a double shift

[clara-licht]

Shattered

Summary: Tom looked through pictures of you and him.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Word Count: 1.2k+

Warning: ANGST ANGST ANGST (you’ve been warned!)

Note: I was in an angsty mood and this piece was born. The lyrics in this story is translated from Andmesh’s Hanya Rindu. I know that the song is dedicated for his mother, but the “heart misses” part can be quite universal. I recommend listening to the original song or the English/Indo cover on Kurt Hugo Schneider’s YouTube channel.

Also I wrote this in 2 hours in the middle of the night, so please excuse any mistake or rushedness!

Title Inspo: BTS - The Truth Untold

Song Inspo: Andmesh - Hanya Rindu

Marvel Masterlist | Main Masterlist

——————————

Alone, all by myself

I see through the memories, all with you

Through the pictures, long kept deep away

 Darkness shrouded the room.

He paid no mind to the lack of light nor the storm making itself known through rumbles of thunder.

How could he, when his heart felt the exact same?

After all, no thunderstorm could beat the one raging inside him.

His feet dragged him across the room to a bookshelf filled with not just literature, but also pictures and memorabilia. Books that weren't his lined up on the shelves. Pictures that also weren't his scattered stood in frames in front of those books. And on one of the shelves, a thick light blue book spine was calling him.

Before he could register what he was doing, his shaking hand already reached and pulled it towards him.

Memories of You and Me!, the cover said.

He chuckled humorlessly.

The only source of light in that room came from the window, where lightning would flash once in a while, followed by rumbling thunder. The sky was as dark as a pitch even when the clock on his screen-side down phone showed 03:12 PM.

After a moment of just staring blankly at the book on his hand, he finally gathered the will to flick the light on and sat down on his bed. The blue book, with its title practically laughing at him, felt heavy. Yet he opened it anyway.

A smiling picture of you was the first thing that greeted him.

So beautiful, he thought,

Below was another picture of you laughing happily, but this time he was also there. A hand snaked around your waist while yours covered your laughing face. He looked at you with a happy grin; his eyes twinkling with happiness.

How long had it been since he was that happy?

His fingers flicked the page.

Another of you, fully focused on the books and notes in front of you as you sat before a table. He remembered when he took that picture. You were studying for an exam wearing only his oversized t-shirt and had been sitting there for hours. He loved seeing you wearing his clothes and he thought, why not take a picture?

He looked through the pages slowly. More pictures of you. Of you yelling at his brother, of you grinning happily on your graduation, of you holding Tessa. There were also pictures of him, but he skipped them. Who cares about me, his mind whispered, when you're all that I can think about?

Then there were pictures of you and him. Of your first date, of you sleeping while leaning on him, of you holding his hand while walking Tessa, of you kissing his cheek, of you crying as he knelt on one knee in front you.

Tears started stinging his eyes.

 And though it breaks my heart

Seeing pieces of myself with you

But we know those moments are long gone

 He turned the page again, ignoring the tears starting to make their way down his cheeks. There was a picture of you looking absolutely gorgeous in a floor-length red dress with him during a premiere of one of his movies. Your left fourth finger had adorned a diamond ring that you proudly showed to the camera. You had looked breathtaking that day and he couldn't help but fell in love more.

More pictures of you and him followed as the pages kept turning. He dived into the memories, smiling fondly at the sweet moments captured into the photographs.

You had insisted on putting a photo album early in your relationship, saying digitals weren't too reliable. Easy to accidentally erase, you had complained. He agreed with you. Being not too proficient in technology himself, a photo album sounded amazing to him.

And it ended up being a great decision, especially now.

The album he held had pictures of you through all the time you'd been together. The dates on the pictures slowly progressed from your first date and kept moving forward.

However, he hadn't even reached the last page of the album when the photos stopped abruptly.

The last picture was of you kissing him, clichély, under the rain. His brother had taken the opportunity to immortalize the moment when she had run outside the house to greet him after a long month of filming.

Just remembering that moment had made more tears streamed down from his eyes.

 I keep on wishing that you could be back here beside me

I still remember the way you smile,

Laughing with me

 His whole body was now shaking. He held the album close to his chest. Silent sobs escaped his mouth before turning into a full howl filled with pain.

He missed you.

He missed your smile. He missed your laugh. He missed the way you run your fingers through his hair. He missed the way you say his name. He missed how you were always there for him.

He missed you.

There was nothing he could do. You were gone, and nothing could ever bring you back to him. Life was not a movie, after all. Once gone, forever gone.

But god did he wish he could just turn back time and change it all over.

Then again, what could he have done?

He didn't register the sound of his door opening. He only realized that he was no longer alone when a pair of arms pulled him into a warm and familiar embrace. As much as he loved it, it still wasn't your hug. He could feel the difference in the way the arms circled around him or the way his head was tucked into the embrace.

"Shh…"

The comforting gesture had only made his despaired whimper getting louder.

His heart had been broken before, but nothing could ever be on par with this.

 I'll give it all for a chance

Please God, give us one moment back

This can't be reality

 "God, please, give her back!" He howled.

"Oh, Tom…"

"Mom, please, I can't!" He sobbed out into his mother's chest. "Please! I'll give anything!"

Nikki swallowed back her tears. She tightened her hold on her oldest son. She, too, would give anything if it meant his son would stop being in pain. But what could she have done?

"I'm sorry, Tom…" She whispered. "I'm sorry…"

 Yes, deep inside I know

That everything has changed

Yet still my heart can't let you go

 The thing is, Tom knew there was nothing anyone could do. Your departure was inevitable. It didn't come out of nowhere; you had been struggling for years. He had been naïve and believed that nothing could stand in front of your and his happiness together.

When reality hit him, it had hit him hard.

Yes, there was nothing he could do, but that didn't stop him from wishing he had done something different.

 This can't be reality

My heart is still holding on

Oh, my heart is longing for you

 Now he could only stay there in his mother's arms, crying for someone he had lost and would never regain. In time, he would accept his new reality. But for now, he could only weep his pain away.

And he knew that even if this pain passed, his heart would always long for you.

——————————

To my Indonesian readers: SAKIT GA NGEDENGERIN LAGUNYA APA CUMA GUE DOANG

Permanent (Marvel) Taglist

@marvelexi​ @lou-la-lou​ @spiderbibby​ @hello--zuko-here​ @everydaymj​

Mutuals

@allegra-soleil​​​ @spideygirl2003​​​ @delicatepeterparker​​​ @parkerpeter24​​​ @terrifictomholland​​​ @quackeroos​ @angel-spidey​ @greenorangevioletgrass​ @the-crazy-fanfictionist​

[keyofjetwolf]

Bonus Question Answers! (non-anime animated heat 2)

I asked a silly question! You gave me incredible answers. SO VERY MANY INCREDIBLE ANSWERS. Now, I present my favourites!

If your answer is listed below, you’ve earned an entry in a random draw to win a GIFTENING liveblog OF YOUR CHOICE

—

Q: Mina and Hot Pocket have a brand new animated series in development. You're looking to join the team as a writer. Pitch me an episode!

*  Hot Pocket hustles Mina at competitive Hide and Go Seek. Mina does not understand how you keep finding her first. Can't be a combination of excited tail wags at the sight of you and not being able to slither into the dark abyss  --  @goosebytrade [Sold on the concept, super sold on the truth that Mina would always be found and never understand how.]

~~

*  Mina and Hot Pocket pull a mystery science theater of watching you watch -- Sailor MoonHecate  [No lie, I want to hear this VERY MUCH.]

~~

*  The show is done in film noir style, in black and white, and follows Hot Pocket through his day as he comments on the meaninglessness of existence, regularly quoting Chekov, Beckett, and Nietzsche as he watches his humans go about their days of impenetrable confusion. Mina is the only character in color, bounding onto screen and bringing joy, countering HP's nihilism with absurdism and chew toys. HP, watching a bird, attempts to pounce at it, but it flies away: *deep sigh* I can't go on Mina, bouncing into view, bumps into HP and scampers off: Yes! Go on! You're IT! HP: Argument is meaningless *chases after, mock ferocity ensues*  -- @incorrecttact  [Hot Pocket: Philospher, is in fact the animated series we need.]

~~

*  "Mother is the root of the problem, my good Mina." Howard H Pocket, Esq, PhD, sat above her on the dining room table, gazing down, Mina's tail wagging, tongue thirsty for slorps. "And we shall conquer." "I love Mommy!" Mina bounced excitedly. "Yes, yes, 'Mommy' loves you too, and that is why, my darling sister, we shall send you in as the decoy." Conscious of the tongue, but also a certain personal need for drama, he leaned a bit toward her. "It's the perfect crime. You do, I assume, want a biscuit?" "Oh, I love biscuits!" "I thought as much," he stood up, stretched, and padded down to the dining room chair, "Now, listen carefully. What we need to do is--Ah!! Ahh!! Mina!!!" Her tongue found his face and he batted at her with his sinful paws, a scowl resting on his brow. "I love you Hot Pocket!" "It's Howard H.--MINA NOT AGAIN" -- JEWSSSSSSSSSSS [Okay so if I use my next ‘fic commission for 2000 words of Hot Pocket and Mina shenanigans, know you did this to yourself.]

~~

*  Finding My Henshin: The Dog Must Sparkle!  Hot Pocket emerges from a cabinet covered in bits of flour.  To the humans, he looks like trouble: to Mina, he looks like a star field. Being named after a magical girl, she knows what’s happening: he’s going out to transform and fight evil, and she /must/ be a part of it. The only question: what will her transformation sequence look like, and /how/ can she activate it?  After a day of running in circles, trying to see if a squirrel is her magical companion, and testing every Magical Stick in the backyard, she’s almost ready to admit defeat. Will Mina realize that she’s magical just the way she is? -- Lou  [OH NO THE CUTE DROP LINE. I don’t think I’d have thought of Mina searching for her path to being a Magical Pup, and that is clearly a failing on my part.]

~~

* To be clear, the show's overall structure is one of charm and competition, with each episode geared toward a different task/battle. The animation is a combo of rotoscope and 90s era Nickelodeon style animated interludes (think bright and wiggly).The goal: to crown either Mina or Hot Pocket as Jetty's Best Buddy by season's end! My episode would be "Nap Battle!" Incorporating time-lapse video and highlight segments, the two fuzzbutts will be tasked with earning the title of Nap Champion (complete with the Pillow Crown). They'll face a number of challenges such as withstanding the distraction of forbidden toys and people food; as well as being presented with obstacle courses in which to choose the ideal nap spot. Points awarded for: overall time spent napping; longest individual nap session; number of positions; silliness of positions; snores and squeaks; and the coveted DOUBLE NAP CUDDLEBOMB - an act so cute all production is ceased until the crew can quell their paroxysms of delight. So like, three hours maybe? -- @rasiqra-revulva​  [AT LEAST. The descriptions were too good, I know legit loss in my soul that I will not see it.]

~~

*  Hot Pocket cons Mina into helping him pilfer the flour. "You will be told you are a good girl," he informs her. "I'M IN," Mina barks, tail wagging at mach speed. Together, they attempt to break the locks on the cupboards where the flour may be found, but oh no! They don't have thumbs!! They've just about managed to figure out a workaround when their human Jet catches them and CHANGES THE LOCATION OF THE FLOUR. This happens several more times. Hot Pocket and Mina's attempts to free the flour become increasing zanier and more desperate. At last, finally, finally, FINALLY, Hot Pocket acquires the bag of that delicious white powder he so craves, and tips it over into his open, waiting mouth...!

It's baby powder for the Jewlet. Hot Pocket's howls of rage can be heard on the other side of the planet. -- @ayu-ohseki  [TAKE THAT NAUGHTY LITTLE VOID MAN]

~~

*  Mina spends the episode looking for Hot Pocket, who keeps moving from place to place off-camera in search of the perfect warm sleeping spot. Just as Mina is about to pry open the lid of a cardboard box Hot Pocket is napping in, so close to victory, she hears the car of Jill, and takes off instead.  -- @thehubby  [Mina as Hot Pocket’s own personal chaos god is, as it turns out, exactly what I wanted.]

---

I’ll be drawing for the bonus liveblog around the start of THE GIFTENING 2020 (currently looking to be Monday, 11 January 2021). Each bonus question is another chance to earn an entry! I CAN ABSOLUTELY AND SHAMELESSLY BE BOUGHT.

[stereostevie]

‘Exuma’ at 50: How a Bahamian Artist Channeled Island Culture Into a Strange Sonic Ritual by Brenna Ehrlich

The performer known as Exuma channeled his Bahamian heritage into a captivating 1970 debut. Fans and participants look back.

Chances are, you’ve never heard a boast track quite like “Exuma, the Obeah Man,” the opening song off Exuma’s self-titled 1970 album.

A wolf howls, frogs count off a ramshackle symphony, bells jingle, drums palpitate, a zombie exhales, all by way of introducing the one-of-a-kind Bahamian performer, born Tony Mackey: “I came down on a lightning bolt/Nine months in my mama’s belly,” he proclaims. “When I was born, the midwife/Screamed and shout/I had fire and brimstone/Coming out of my mouth/I’m Exuma, the Obeah Man.”

“[Obeah] was with my grandfather, with my father, with my mother, with my uncles who taught me,” Mackey said in a 1970 interview, referring to the spiritual practice he grew up with in the Bahamas. “It has been my religion in the vein that everyone has grown up with some sort of religion, a cult that was taught. Christianity is like good and evil. God is both. He unlocked the secrets to Moses, good and evil, so Moses could help the children of Israel. It’s the same thing, the whole completeness — the Obeah Man, spirits of air.”

The music world is hardly devoid of gimmicks, alter egos, and adopted personas. But Mackey’s Exuma moniker, borrowed from the name of an island district in the Bahamas, was never just that — he lived and breathed his culture, channeling it into a debut album so singularly weird, wonderful, and enchanted that it’s not surprising it’s remembered only by the most industrious of crate-diggers. A cuddly Dr. John dabbling in voodoo Mackey was not; Exuma is a parade, a séance, a condemnation of racist evils.

“The eccentricity of [Dr. John’s 1968 debut] Gris-Gris is, like, ‘Let’s roll a fat joint,'” says Okkervil River frontman and devout Exuma fan Will Sheff. “The eccentricity of Exuma is more like PCP.” Sheff became hip to Exuma when his former bandmate Jonathan Meiburg (singer-guitarist of Shearwater) happened to hear “Obeah Woman,” Nina Simone’s 1974 spin on “Obeah Man.” Sheff was entranced by Exuma’s debut, especially the sincerity of its lyrics and Mackey’s whole-hearted earnestness. “There’s something about when somebody is very devoutly religious, where you trust them not to sell you something,” he tells Rolling Stone. “I mean, they may be trying to sell you their religious beliefs, but their religious beliefs are so vitally important to them that they kind of stop trying to sell themselves.”

“He was unique. He was good,” says Quint Davis, producer of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, where Exuma became a mainstay later in his career. “He was like a voodoo Richie Havens or something.”

Macfarlane Gregory Anthony Mackey grew up in Nassau, Bahamas, steeped in both Bahamian history and American culture. Each Boxing Day, he witnessed Junkanoo parades — a tradition dating back hundreds of years and commemorating days when slaves finally had time off — replete with music, masks, and folklore. At the movies, accessed with pocket money earned from selling fish on weekends, he saw performances by Sam Cooke and Fats Domino.

“Saying the word ‘Junkanoo’ to most Bahamians gets their hearts beating faster and their breathing gets shorter and faster,” Langston Longley, leader of Bahamas Junkanoo Revue, has said. “It’s hard to express in words because it’s a feeling, a spirit that’s evoked within from the sound of a goatskin drum, a cowbell, or a bugle.”

“I grew up a roots person, someone knowing about the bush and the herbs and the spiritual realm,” Mackey told Wavelength in 1981 of his life back home. “It was inbred into all of us. Just like for people growing up in the lowlands of Delta Country or places like Africa.”

In 1961, when he was 17, Mackey moved to New York’s Greenwich Village to become an architect, according to a 1970 interview, but he abandoned that dream when he ran out of money. He then acquired a junked-up guitar on which he practiced Bahamian calypsos and penned songs about his home. “I started playing around when Bob Dylan, Richie Havens, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Richard Pryor, Hendrix, and Streisand were all down there, too, hanging out and performing at the Cafe Bizarre,” Mackey recalled in 1994. “I’d been singing down there, and we’d all been exchanging ideas and stuff. Then one time a producer came up to me and said he was very interested in recording some of my original songs, but he said that I needed a vehicle. I remembered the Obeah Man from my childhood — he’s the one with the colorful robes who would deal with the elements and the moonrise, the clouds, and the vibrations of the earth. So, I decided to call myself Exuma, the Obeah Man.”

Mackey’s manager, Bob Wyld, helped him form a band to record his debut album, including Wyld’s client Peppy Castro of the Blues Magoos. “It was like acting. Like, ‘OK, I’ll take a little alias, I’ll be Spy Boy,’ and all this kind of stuff,” Castro tells Rolling Stone. All the members of Mackey’s band adopted stage names, which wasn’t that strange to Castro, who originated the role of Berger in the Broadway show Hair.

“Then I met Tony and then I got into the folklore and I started to see what he was about — this history of coming from the [Bahamas],” he adds. “It was great. It was inventive. We would do a little Junkanoo parade from out of the dressing room, right up to the stage. It was about the show of it all. Coming from somebody who wanted to learn music in a more traditional form, that was kind of cool.”

The band recorded Exuma at Bob Liftin’s Regent Sound Studios in New York City — where the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Elton John also laid down tracks — giving the bizarre record a slick sheen. Mackey once said that the music came to him in a dream, and he set the mood in the studio accordingly. “It was so free form. We turned the lights out, we’d put up candles, he’d get on a mic and he’d just start going off and singing crazy stuff and we followed it,” Castro says. “You would go into trances. In those days, I was a little hippie, so yeah, we’d be smoking weed there and getting high. It became a séance almost. It was like, ‘We’re going into this mode and we’re going to see where it takes us.’”

“There were no boundaries with Tony,” he adds. “It was free for him. It’s kind of like what people felt like when they played with Chuck Berry. If you talk to any of the musicians who played with Chuck Berry, you just had to be on your toes because he would change keys in the middle of the song. But there was also the spiritual stuff, you know, just the crazy voodoo-ish stuff. It was just so free for him.”

Everyone Rolling Stone talked with for this story compared Mackey to Richie Havens, but the similarities only really extend to, perhaps, Havens’ role in the Greenwich Village scene and the rich quality of his voice. “You can put on Dr. John and Richie Havens and water the plants. It’s good background music,” Will Sheff says. “But if [Exuma’s] ‘Séance in the Sixth Fret’ comes on shuffle, you’re going to skip it. It’s active listening; it sends a chill down your spine.”

Exuma is a kind of aural movie — fitting, as Mackey went on to write plays — that starts off boastful and proud with “Obeah Man” then descends into darker territory. The second track, “Dambala,” is a melodic damnation of slave owners: “You slavers will know/What it’s like to be a slave,” Mackey wails, ���You’ll remain in your graves/With the stench and the smell.”

“It reminds me of Jordan Peele movies — movies that deal with sort of the black experience, a collective trauma,” Sheff says of the song. “He’s cursing a slaver and there’s something so intensely powerful about that.”

Then there’s zombie ode “Mama Loi, Papa Loi,” a frankly terrifying story of men rising from the dead, featuring guttural yelps and groans. “Jingo, Jingo he ain’t dead/He can see from the back of his head,” Mackey sings. That leads into the comparatively peppy “Junkanoo,” an instrumental that recalls the parades of the musician’s youth. Things get dark again with “Séance in the Sixth Fret,” which is just that — a yearning ritual in which the band calls to a litany of spirits. “Hand on quill/Hand on pencil/Hand on pen/Tell me spirit/Tell me when,” Mackey intones. The more accessible “You Don’t Know What’s Going On,” follows, leading into epic prophecy “The Vision,” which foretells the end of the world: “And all the dead walking throughout the land/Whispering, Whispering, it was judgment day.”

The strange, gorgeous record was released on Mercury Records, and at the time, the label had high hopes for its success, as it was apparently getting solid radio play. “The reaction is that of a heavy, big-numbers contemporary album,” Mercury exec Lou Simon said at the time. “As a result, we’re going to give it all the merchandising support we can muster.” But the album apparently failed to break through, and Mackey left Mercury in 1971 after releasing Exuma II. His legacy lived on in the corners of popular culture: Nina Simone covered “Dambala” as well as “Obeah Man,” with both tracks appearing on It Is Finished, a 1974 LP that failed to take off. Mackey himself went on to drop still more albums but mostly operated in a quiet kind of obscurity.

“What he didn’t have was the commercial base, you know, the formula,” Castro says by way of explanation. “Let’s face it, the music business is very fickle and it boxes you in. And if you’re going to join that world, it’s in your best interest to commercialize yourself and to come up with a formula that works. He didn’t have that formula.”

Mackey did find a home, though, at the newly minted New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1978, an atmosphere that seemed more in keeping with his spiritual aesthetic than mainstream radio. “New Orleans is the most receptive place in the world to the artist, this music spirit that flies around in the air all the time waiting to be reborn and reborn,” he told Wavelength in 1981.

“He was a Caribbean Dr. John, so to speak,” festival producer Davis says. “When I heard [his album], I said, ‘Well, that’s us.’ This guy with feathers on his head, his big hat. Everybody loved him and he became part of the festival family.”

“I think he was the first Caribbean act that we had,” Davis adds. “I hesitate to say that he was a trailblazer because there weren’t a lot of people following in his footsteps.”

[starfoxrry]

soooo no one tagged me to do this but i’m gonna do it anygays bc :O

1. Big White Lie (263k) by acrayonsmile (ao3)

You’re not running on three hours of sleep.

You don’t have a headache.

You’re not an omega.

You’re Louis Tomlinson: Beta.

Louis has been pretending to be something he’s not for as long as he can remember. Will the pack find out before it’s too late to fix him?

2. Cold Little Heart (194k) by @seduced-by-curls

Louis is a soft omega with an abusive past and an alpha child A few months after getting a divorce, Louis meets Harry, an ex-military alpha wolf that offers him something -odd.

In exchange for teaching him how to cook, Harry will babysit his son, Abraham Louis really could use the help.

3. Now In A Minute (150k) by @avocadolouie

13 feels like yesterday for many people, but for Louis it actually was.

More than anything in the world, Louis Tomlinson dreams of growing up. Simply skipping over all of the awkward, embarrassing years of teenage existence and getting on with life. Real life.

So when thirteen-year-old Louis wakes up in the body of his thirty-year-old self, he expected everything in his adult life to be picture perfect. And maybe it is. He has it all…or so it seems.

Except his favorite person and lifelong best mate, Harry Styles, is totally missing from the equation and Louis doesn’t understand why. He has a lot of catching up to do and as adult life turns out to be more than what he bargained for, Louis can’t help wondering why a life that seemed so perfect, feels so empty.

Or the 13 going on 30 au that should have been done years ago.

4. Apples Always Fall (As I Do For You) (54k) by @rainbowsandgucci​

Louis is staying at his Aunt’s farm in a small town in Minnesota for four months. To deal with the boredom that sets in a week into his stay, he starts working at the local apple orchard, owned by twenty six year old Harry Styles.

Louis quickly finds himself falling in love with the orchard, and he finds a family in Harry’s friends Niall, Liam, and Zayn.

He also starts to fall in love with Harry.

Falling in love with him turns out to be the easy part.

5. Only You Can Be My Alpha (194k) by @wubwubnparmaham

The one where Louis is banished from his tribe, and lands himself in Harry’s instead. The alluring Pack Alpha makes Louis question his nature and he doesn’t know how he feels about that. But you can’t fight destiny.

6. Where You Lay (86k) by @ham-palpert

When Louis’s upcoming heat threatens his success at his new dream job, he asks the best (and only) person he can think of to help him through it: his best mates’ best mate, Harry Styles. Harry reluctantly accepts, and together the two navigate a strange friends with benefits relationship that quickly turns complicated.

7. Tangled Up In You (45k) @missandrogyny​

Harry blinks once. And blinks again. And says, his voice dangerous: “Niall, did you get me a mail-order bride?”

Because what the actual fuck. It kind of looks like Niall’s just purchased a person. For Harry.

Niall blinks back at him for a few moments, before throwing his head back and howling with laughter. Harry throws a pillow at him. Hard. “No, what the fuck, Harry.”

“A prostitute then?” Harry also doesn't want a prostitute.

“Of course not!”

“A stripper?”

“No!”

Damn, he’s running out of ideas. He settles for launching another pillow at Niall’s head. Niall bats it away easily, still laughing. “Stop!”

“What did you get me, then?!” Niall must hear the tinge of hysteria in his voice, because he’s pulling himself together, trying to stop himself from laughing.

There’s still a big grin on his face, though, when he says, “I got you a professional cuddler.”

A professional…what. “What?”

8. Have You Coming Back Again (31k) by @crazyupsetter 

It’s five o’clock in the morning. Louis has a lecture at half eight. He could be using this time to study or to do his readings or to go to the gym, but - well. He doesn’t have any exams coming up, he’s not going to his seminar today anyway and he hates the gym.

Instead he’s using this time to fuck with Harry Styles’ poor little brain.

Louis jogs across the street and jabs the key into the car door. It opens easily, not that he was expecting anything else. He copied the key for a reason, after all.

He’s got Harry’s schedule memorized, more because the guy keeps following him around than anything, so he doesn’t bother looking around before climbing behind the wheel and setting his bag on the passenger seat. It’s a Monday, which means that Harry doesn’t even get out of bed before noon unless he’s planning on harassing Louis.

9. All The Right Moves (32k) by @cherrystreet​

This is the third game in a row that Harry has been distracted by the noisy boy in the stands, five rows back.

There’s really no reason that he should feel compelled to stare into the audience as frequently as he is, but he can’t help it. This boy is a nuisance. And he’s loud. Even from basketball court with nine other players running by him, shoes squeaking on the shiny hardwood floor, and thousands of cheering college students, Harry can hear this boy nearly shrieking, his laugh more like a cackle than anything.

It’s seriously obnoxious.

10. Worth Dying For (44k) by @crazyupsetter 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Louis says, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. In the center of the table, a set of three glossy photos stares up at him, mocking him.

“A security detail is non-negotiable, Louis, you know this,” his mum reminds him, tapping the middle photo with two fingers.

Louis doesn’t look back down at the pictures, gesturing towards them wildly, over-dramatically. “This is not a security detail!” he protests. “This is a lanky college student. In what world do you hire someone like this kid to protect me?”

11. Another Day Gettin' Into Trouble (25k) by @crazyupsetter

Harry’s drunk when the idea occurs to him. He’s also a pop star, so sometimes his drunk ideas turn into actual things instead of just ideas. The clone-a-willy kit is one of them.

In Harry’s defense, when he first thinks about it his intention is just to buy the kit and give it to Louis to make his own dildo with, because that’s what he wants anyway, right? To have a penis filling him up?

Then he realizes that it would be weird if Louis made a copy of his own dick to fuck himself with. It’d be super weird. Louis fucking himself? That’s a weird idea. Harry’s pretty sure Louis wouldn’t like that.

Clearly the only solution here is to use his own dick for the mold.

12. A Sea Without Water, A Compass Without Direction (84k) by sincerely_inge (AO3)

”Tell me, Louis,” Captain Styles said, leaning forward a little. ”D’you think I’m an idiot?”

”I—what?” Louis asked, surprised by the blunt question. He had expected something different, something along the lines of how he learned music, or how he ended up as a prisoner on the other ship.

”Do you think I’m an idiot?” The captain repeated, putting emphasis on each word as though Louis couldn’t understand him otherwise.

”Of course not,” Louis said, shaking his head. He’d be a fool for thinking such a thing, and an even bigger fool for saying it out loud. ”Captain.”

Captain Styles nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands in his lap. ”Then why did you lie to me?”

”L-Lie?”

”Out on the deck. You lied to me,” he said. He held up his hand, three fingers up. ”Three lies total. I hate liars.”

13. I Know How To Whisk (But Teach Me Anyway) (32k) by @2tiedships2​

Louis scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “I don’t understand. Unmated alphas don’t just go into a rut out of nowhere. Unless…”

Louis grabbed onto Niall’s arm in desperation. “Am I a homewrecker? Does Harry have a mate? Oh my God, was he not flirting? Did the change in his scent not have anything to do with my smell yesterday? Did I just make that up!?”

Louis let go of Niall and dropped his face in his hands. “I knew it was too good to be true.”

“You’re an idiot,” Niall stated. Louis looked up to find Niall rolling his eyes. He snapped his laptop closed and moved to stand up. “I need to get some work done. Why don’t you stay here and think back to ABO dynamics 101.”

With that Niall hopped off the couch and headed to his room. He stopped and turned to Louis before he made it to the hall and said, “Oh, and Lou. You may want to reconsider your outlook on soulmates.”

Louis yelled after him. “Soulmates aren’t a thing, Niall!”

Or the one in which banana bread just might make Louis change his mind about soulmates.

14. The Compulsion to Find Love (140k) by @toomanylarrytears​

The most prestigious English third-level institution, Candling University, accepts omega students for the first time and Louis Tomlinson applies with bright eyes and brighter ambitions. There he encounters personal obstacles, traditional mindsets and a beautiful boy who inverts every prejudice Louis has ever known.

15. Let Me Feel Your Heartbeat (34k) by @angelichl​

Harry is 98% sure Louis hates him. So he feels like his bewilderment is justified when the omega offers to help him through his rut.

16. For Reasons Wretched And Divine (94k) by indiaalphawhiskey (AO3)

Ten years ago, Harry Styles was just a nerdy kid with one friend and a debilitating crush on the captain of his school’s football team. He thought the stars were smiling down on him the day he and Louis Tomlinson were paired for their end-of-term Literature project. But because Harry’s life is decidedly not a fairytale, the budding friendship quickly leads to the least happy ending of all time.

Now, Harry Styles is a household name. Barely twenty-seven with two Grammy nominations to his name, the singer-songwriter is poised to take the music industry by storm with his highly anticipated third album. So, what happens when the best producer in the business is also the only person Harry’s vowed never to speak to again?

An AU in two parts. Two boys, two stories, and hopefully, two chances at love.

17. Friendly Neighborhood Spideypool (18k) by @shitucute

“Don’t fuck with me, I’m not in the mood.” Louis’ got the urge to punch him in the face, but he knows deep down that if anything it’ll just add fuel to Harry’s innuendo fire.

“You know I only fuck you, not with you. There’s a difference. It’s slight but still there.” He’s joking, but it’s sincere in a way that only Deadpool could make it. It gives Louis a strange mix of emotions, his body doesn’t know whether to fill with butterflies or to knee Deadpool in the balls again for insinuating them fucking.

or, Harry is Deadpool and Louis is Spider-Man and they’ve got way too much history

18. Strawberries & Cigarettes (74k) by @dimpled-halo

Harry looks up and immediately freezes. Next to Ms. Archie stands the boy from just the other day. The boy with the leather jacket and chipped black nails, that might or might not be sketched in the very book Harry has just placed on the table in front of him. The leather jacket is missing today, probably because they aren’t allowed as part of their required uniform attire, but Harry can still see the fading black nail polish on his nails, and eyeliner around his eyes. Harry’s mouth goes a little dry. This boy is so intriguing to him.

“Ye-yes, Ms. Archie?” Harry tries to play it cool, but he’s almost positive that his cheeks are burning red, and he’s relieved neither of them can tell how fast his heart is beating in his chest.

The boy seems to also recognize Harry, because his lips curve into a knowing smirk.

“Harry is at the top of his class. He’s your best bet at getting familiar with things around here.” She explains.

Louis nods, his smirk still very prominent on his face. “Thank you Ms. Archie. I’ll be sure to take advantage of young Harold here.”

Summary: Two stories, eleven years, and the two boys that never stopped loving each other.

19. Mark my word (we gon’ be alright) (35k) by harioandlouigi

“He’s always known that there would come a time when Harry would bond with some beautiful, quiet omega, and they would have lots of curly-haired pups and live happily ever after.

Knowing it and living it are two very different things, though. Watching the object of your affection desperately search for a mate and completely disregard you as an option is all sorts of painful, but it is what it is, and Louis is just going to have to learn to live with that.”

Or, an A/B/O AU featuring an oblivious Harry as the pack leader, a pining Louis as his second-in-command, and an entourage of friends and family who are a little too good at keeping their mouths shut.

20. Let’s Fall in Love in a Place You Want to Stay (134k) by @harryventura

A George of the Jungle / Tarzan AU where Louis is a model who meets Wild Man Harry in the Congo. He was raised by apes and barely speaks a word of English and turns Louis’ life upside down

21. Why Cant It Be Like That (63k) by @taggiecb

Louis Tomlinson, head of his local hospital’s charity fund, suddenly finds himself in the heart of the Royal family when his mother marries the third son of the reigning monarch. Such an upset in lifestyle brings a lot of changes for Louis, one of them being the need for a stylist.

Enter Harry Styles, a cutting edge fashion stylist who loves his job and prides himself on his passion. The first time he sees Louis Tomlinson on the cover of a tabloid he wants to dress him, style him, make him as beautiful as Harry knows he could be. When he’s hired to do just that, he knows this will be a perfect partnership. That is, until he actually meets the man.

A fashion AU with a royal twist, where Louis doesn’t need a stylist, Harry’s thrilled to have a real life Barbie doll, and they’re both very wrong about each other.

22. blind from this sweet, sweet craving (31k) by @missandrogyny

"So, I guess we'll go?" Louis asks later, when Harry has calmed down and eaten his weight in Chinese food. He plays with this chopsticks, spearing another piece of chicken and pops it in his mouth. "I mean, I wouldn't mind. We could make it an adventure."

Harry observes him, watches him seated across from him on their old living room carpet, with a container of food on his lap. He's fidgeting, avoiding meeting Harry's gaze–he probably knows that Harry's mad at him for ruining the one chance they had to get out of this situation. And he's not wrong, Harry is definitely very mad. Harry wants to strangle him and castrate him and smack him upside the head.

But he's also Harry's best friend, and despite everything, despite all the fuck-ups and the plot twists and everything just not playing out the way it should, he'd still rather be stuck in this situation with Louis than any of the other boys. He's got Harry's back, and in a weird, abstract way, he knows they'll be able to get out of this situation, together.

Harry sighs. "We're going," he says resignedly, his shoulders slumping.

Oh well. There are definitely worse ways to spend the weekend than pretending to be engaged to his best friend.

23. led by your beating heart (29k) by @missandrogyny​

Nick leans over. "Oh," he says, his voice smug. "Who is that?"

Harry just blinks at his phone. "Um," he manages to stammer out.

"Who's that, Harry?" Nick asks again, but this time he raises his eyebrows and smirks. Harry knows Nick is just teasing, and that he's not really looking for new Harry Styles gossip, but, um. He might have found something. Accidentally.

Harry opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes out is another 'um'. He really needs to work on translating his thoughts into words. But then it probably wouldn't be any helpful right now, would it? His mind is as blank as a newly erased etch-a-sketch.

"Oh," Nick says again, this time gleefully, seemingly having picked up on Harry's distress. "Looks like we've got a story here! Are you going to call or delete her number?"

Her number. So Nick thinks it's a girl. Well, Harry can't blame him: 'Lou' is kind of an androgynous nickname. His stylist's name is Lou.

But this Lou, well, Louis, he's kind of, really, really not a girl. He's really pretty though, which, is something.

(Or: AU where Harry's in One Direction, Louis isn't, and they reconnect over a game of 'Call or Delete'.)

24. Queen Of Arizella (197k - wip) by @seduced-by-curls

Stealing from Royalty is punishable by death.

Louis starts over, doing his best to keep his hands at his sides but he is hungry and he tries stealing from the wrong Royal.

Harry is King of Arizella, he needs a Queen and who better than an omega on the run from death? Louis will learn to become the perfect Queen -the perfect fake Queen, but only for a few months.

A fake lover, a fake Queen, but a real bond.

i tag: @bottomlouis @iconichalo @tinytommoson @oioilarrie @chaoticsue @babyy-honey and anyone who wants to do it just say i tag u 

[ciestessde]

Chapter 1

When Ciestess arrives in our new world, her first thought is something completely pointless.

< Cold… I’m cold again… < … I HATE the cold. >

Tess knew she’d be cold. She starts off cold almost every time she arrives in a new world. And yet she always acts surprised by it each time.

She’s lying down. I can feel grass and dirt underneath our new body. So she’s outside, then.

There’s something poking her side, maybe a twig or rock. It hurts, but not enough to make her move yet, apparently. Always so careless about her health, I swear…

She opens her eyes. There’s a tree trunk in front of her. A forest, then? Ah, there we go -- she sits up. Not just a forest. She’s on a mountain.

She gives a long-suffering sigh. < Why can’t my body ever form with clothes on? No matter how many times it happens, it never gets any less annoying. < Noctu isn’t bugging me yet, at least. > Oh yeah? Looks like it’s time for Xihrae’s present!

I send the information our newest companion’s gathered into her brain, and her head throbs all the way to the eye sockets. < Jeez! C’mon, man, really?! I get making sure I’m prepared, but this is too much information! Now I’m cold AND I have a headache! It’s like I studied for over a hundred tests in five minutes!!! > One hand goes up to her head, the other to the ground to help keep her steady. She’s swaying, the world spins… < Ooooh, my head! I’m gonna be sick! I need a distraction -- anything but the pounding in my skull! >

She looks outward for a distraction, while inside her new brain synthesizes the rush of information and experiences about this world. She starts at her toes. This new body seems to be humanoid, as Tess prefers. Similar, in its basic form, to her original body, and the kind of form she’s been in for the past few worlds. Working to stand, she gets her feet under her, wobbling in the unfamiliar gravity, nervous system, and bodily proportions. < I’m… maybe average size for its age? Still smaller than I’d like. > < What were you expecting, > I interrupt her thoughts, < when starting out at prepubescence? > As her gaze moves up, I notice several differences about this body. It has fangs, I can feel a strength like iron in every muscle, and, although it’s night, she can see for miles in every direction.

< Greeeaaat. And just when my head finally stops pounding, I’m interrupted by yet another annoyance; as usual, I’ve arrived hungry. Be-a-utiful. > < Well, yeah. A new body doesn’t come with a full stomach any more than it does with clothes. > < Although… Wait, I’m hungry for-? > < -Yep! And on that note, Xihrae knew you’d be interested in this the moment he heard about it. > I point out a specific set of information in her head. < The world’s last vampire. Until you showed up, anyway. > She’s started grinning without even realizing it. < Aww, you two! Always spoiling me~! You really know how to brighten a girl’s mood! >

Now used to her newest flesh prison, she stretches her new prizmal body a bit. It seems that, while Prizmal itself is far from connected to the material aspects of this world, her own prizmal body can interact with any matter it touches. < Well. Having to drink blood isn’t exactly ideal, but, hey!- > The ground underneath her turns to shadow, then spreads up and envelopes her. < -at least I can make my own clothes, for once! >

She just makes a simple black dress. No need for anything fancy.

And no time, either. She hears something approaching -- a LOT of somethings.

She stretches her eyesight. < In the bushes. Is that…? -No way! > < Oh, no. >

She lets out a little scream of delight, “Ah! Wolfies!” She doesn’t love wolves NEARLY as much as vespers, but they are definitely up there on her “favorite animals” list. …Which means I’m gonna be stuck listening to her blather on about them the whole time we’re in this world.

Tess thanks her new body for its instincts as she transforms into a flock of bats, each only about two inches long, to get a closer look. She dodges through tree limbs and around foliage, and if I had a face, I’d cringe at the handful of times she crashes. We find a surprise when she reaches the nearest one. < JEEZ, it’s huge! I’d almost forgotten how big wolves are! > < Actually… > I do a quick calculation, relating the size of the wolf to the nearby elements, < It’s bigger than average by approximately- >

< -Yeah, whatever -Don’t care -CUTE! > But karma must exist here, because the wolf notices her, snapping at the air with enormous, drooling, teeth-filled jaws- < -Bigwolf,lotsofdrool,bigjaws,MANYTEETH! > She had also, apparently, forgotten how freaking high they can jump, because she only barely dodges in time. < Hey! That’s no way to treat a new guest! > < … Was that meant to be out lou-? > < I know, I know. I’m currently still ba- > < -Because bats can’t talk, y’kno-! > < -Shut up! I’m doing well for only, like… 5 minutes in! > < Haha! ~Whatever makes you feel better, sweetie~! >

She finds a nice-sized branch above the creature and transforms back to her humanoid fleshiness- and pauses to listen. < … Rustling? -Oh. It’s packmates! 1, 2, 3… > They stalk out of the trees slowly. There’s maybe ten of them, all growling and barking at her, their eyes reflecting the moonlight. She purses her lips. < … No. No, this just won’t do. They are all far too cute to have angry at me. < I want to pet them, dammit!

< Alright… Deep breath. > Oh! She’s about to start a hypnotizing song. I always love watching this part! I tune in more deeply to the senses of her body, trying to feel what she feels. The wind gusts, filling our nose with the scent of autumn- -When one of them starts howling.

The others all join in -- it’s SO LOUD!

We cover our ears, cringing in pain and realizing, belatedly, that of course Tess’s hearing is more sensitive than Xihrae’s! All of her senses are more sensitive than his! But still… Listening past the pain, it’s a rather beautiful noise… Almost a shame to interrupt.

But, in the shadows of the trees on the other side of the small clearing -- a new audience member is watching. So it’s time to put on a show. We take another breath. The wind slows. And Tess sings.

…

It takes a couple minutes to have an effect. But slowly, the howling stops. Once every wolf is silently staring at her, she jumps down -- a fall that would have broken both of Xihrae’s legs, yet she barely feels it. < Well well. You finally get a body that isn’t as fragile as PAPER for once! > I jab at her. It’s an exaggeration… But, more to my own annoyance than her’s, only barely.

The wolves approach her, blocking any escape. They’re large enough, and Tess small enough, that they can look her in the eyes. They sniff her -- then start licking her and pounding the ground with their paws. Tess grins widely, uncontrollably. < Aaaww! A group of giant predators, acting like I’m their leader?!

< So cute! > She scratches behind the nearest wolf’s ears. “Who’s a dangerous predator! Who’s a good giant puppy!?”

“...” As she’s having the time of her short-lived life, her mysterious audience member decides to show himself. He steps out from beneath a nearby pine, the shadows clinging to him -- then dispersing as he pulls away from them, evidently having only been held in place by his presence. An old man, almost twice Tess’s height. Wrinkled face, white hair reaching past his shoulders. Matching long white mustache and goatee. Dressed in a clearly expensive suit. Eyes the color of blood.

… And fangs poking out of his smile. He’s clapping with skeleton-like hands -- and chuckling.

The last vampire.

The name Xihrae had saved for her surfaces in her mind. < This must be “Dracula.” > Along with the name comes one of Xihrae’s master plans, solidifying itself step-by-step inside her head. Having watched him form it, I vouch for it; in this case, it (probably) isn’t a setup for some kind of chaos.

Still, it’s not impossible for him to hide information from me. And yet, despite my doubts, despite the number of times he’s tricked us, Ciestess insists upon trusting him! I just don’t understand… But. Even if I don’t agree, I… Well. Tess has decided to trust him.

So, I’ll let it slide. For now.

Having reviewed her course of action, Tess braces herself to play the long-game. < Well, then. Time to put on my best innocent act. > Aaah! A show I love even more than her singing: Watching the effects of her aura on brand new souls! Fumbling, she extracts herself from the mountain of paws, tongues, and wagging tails. < Time to make a good impression. >

She twists and fidgets her hands in front of her, makes her eyes go wide, eyebrows tilted up and in, the corners of her mouth tilted down -- and many other microexpressions, adding up to an overall fearful and guilty appearance. She squeaks out, “I’m s- I’m so sorry for trespassing! -” -But he interrupts her apologies, “I’ve never seen my wolves take so well to an outsider.” His voice is deep, but not as deep as I had expected.

He stops clapping, folding his hands behind him as he walks towards her. The wolves move out of his way quickly, sitting at attention on either side of his path like soldiers. Even the ones near her stop playing to stand and watch him, their ears and eyes trained on him, tails low and unmoving. Dracula only stops once he’s within arms reach of Tess, staring down with a calm, intrigued expression.

And that’s all he does, for a few moments. His eyes bore into hers. Then-

“How did you learn such an ability?” Still feigning nervous energy -- hands fidgeting, feet shifting -- she replies, holding eye contact, “I was… born with it. I think?” “You think?” Nothing has changed, yet the tension coming from him is palpable. Pursing her lips, Tess breaks the eye contact and rubs her arm.

“What is your name?” She looks back up at him. His expression still hasn’t changed.

She breaks eye contact yet again, looking to the right of him. < Innocence. Ignorance. > Trying to appear as though she’s struggling to remember -- eyebrows furrowed, mouth tense -- Tess replies slowly, “Ci… Cies…?” Then, as she looks back at him, she says her name with confidence. “Ciestess.”

His eyes narrow slightly -- but his head tilts just a little. < Good, good… Come on… > “Your accent. You are from… far from here, yes?” She regains her uncertain, “thinking” pose and doesn’t answer. He waits patiently for a bit, then asks, “Where are you from, miss Ciestess?” She transitions to feigning slight anxiety -- eyes wide, eyebrows tilted back up. Looking back at him, she replies, “I… I don’t…”

He doesn’t miss a beat. “How did you get here?”

< Yes! He’s falling for it. Time to seal the deal! > She looks down at the ground, wraps her arms around herself and starts shaking -- which isn’t hard, since she’s still cold. “I don’t know. I- … How did I…? Wh-” Tess looks back up at him, eyes even wider. “Where… am I?”

He considers Tess for a few moments, eyes narrowed even further. Yet, he almost seems to be grinning, slightly. < If he thinks he’s playing me -- EVEN BETTER! > “Do you have anywhere to stay? Anyone you’re travelling with?” She looks back at the ground, shoulders hunching slightly, and, after a couple of beats, shakes her head.

It only takes a couple more moments before it happens: “Why not come inside? You can stay with me. Until we find where you belong.”

His hand enters her line-of-sight -- he’s holding it out for Tess to take. She looks back up at him. With power in his voice, he says, “I insist.”

Outwardly, Tess hesitantly takes his hand -- still shaking and wide-eyed. Inwardly -- she’s struggling not to grin.

< Hook, line, and sinker! >

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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[mxliv-oftheendless]

Since you sent me two allow me to return the favor! How about a Gang AU with Vinnie and Bethie~?

(Okay, this was a bit confusing at first, bc I couldn’t think of anything to write. But then Shandi told me what she had in mind, and HOLY SHIT THAT’S A GREAT IDEA! Please enjoy this AU of the Starchild Assassin! Also this is really fucking long and I apologize. Enjoy anyway! And please send in more prompts!)

Vinnie kicked and struggled as the four men who’d jumped him dragged him out of the car and into the house. “Let me go! You fucking—”

“Ah!” one of them took out a gun and pressed it to Vinnie’s back. “That’s enough lip outta you, pretty boy. You’re gonna keep quiet while we bring ya to the boss. Understand?” 

Vinnie went silent at the feel of the gun barrel pressing between his shoulder blades. He could escape, maybe even kill them all on the way. He could then get back to Petey and tell him what happened. Whoever their boss was, Petey would make them pay. 

But at the same time... this house looked familiar. He knew this house. 

“Vinnie, please don’t leave me! Come back!” 

A flash of guilt came and went as the pleading voice echoed in his ears, and Vinnie found himself going still. The one with the gun nodded. “Good. Now move it.” 

Vinnie fell into step as he was half-guided half-dragged into the house. 

“What’s the boss even want with ‘im, anyway?” another one asked. 

“Shut up, Lou, ya know you’re not supposed to ask questions,” snapped the third. 

“I heard he’s the trophy fuck o’ the Brooklyn Wildcat,” the fourth commented. Vinnie felt the urge to hit him. He was not a trophy fuck. 

They brought him up the stairs and down a hallway, and finally came to a door. The third one knocked, and after a moment a female voice called out. “Who is it?” 

Vinnie’s eyes widened. That voice... it was so familiar. But where had he heard it before? 

“Delivery for ya, boss,” the first one called. “We got that package you’ve been waitin’ to get.” 

“Which one?” 

“The one that got intercepted by the Wildcat.” 

Another pause. Then: “Bring it in.” 

The third one opened the door, and the first one nudged Vinnie to go inside. It was a medium-sized study, with purple carpet on the floors and a large oak desk, with bookshelves lining the walls. Two windows were on either side of the desk that overlooked the street. And seated in the chair was a young woman in her mid twenties, wearing a nice shirt and blazer with her brown hair up in a bun. She looked up as the five of them came inside, and her eyes immediately met Vinnie’s. 

Vinnie froze, his eyes going wide and his jaw slack. It couldn’t be... but it was... 

Beth.

They stared at each other for a moment, then Beth’s eyes went to the one with the gun. Her eyes narrowed. “Mario. Are you pointing a gun at his back?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Put it away. We’re not savages here.” 

The man, Mario, sheepishly took his gun away from Vinnie’s back and put it away. “Sorry, boss,” 

“You’re forgiven.” Beth stood up from her desk. “Thank you, boys. That’ll be all for now.” She waved for them to leave. “You can leave now.” 

“Ya sure you don’t need anything else, Ms. Caringi?” Caringi? When did she change her name?

“No, thank you, Louie.” 

The four men turned and left the room, leaving the two cousins alone. Vinnie couldn’t stop staring at her. She’d been only eight when he ran away, scrawny and small, always clad in oversized sweaters and following him around like she was his shadow. But now... she was much older, wearing clothes that fit, and stood tall and confident like she was born to be the way she was. 

“B-Beth?” it fell from his mouth before he could stop it. He just couldn’t believe he was seeing her again. 

Beth smiled. “Hi, Vinnie,” 

Vinnie couldn’t stop his legs from moving, and he ran to her and hugged her tightly. Beth hugged him back. “Sorry about Mario, by the way, he’s kind of impulsive. He’s trying to stop, though. And, sorry for kidnapping you. I just had to see you, and I didn’t know what else to do...” 

“I-It’s fine, I just,” he pulled back so he could look at her, holding her shoulders. “I can’t believe it’s you... You’re so big... What’s going on? Why did they call you “boss”? A-And why is your surname Caringi now?” 

“I’m... Well, Papa died, a couple years ago. And in his will, he named me his successor. I’m the head of the family now. And to make it official, I changed my name to Caringi.” 

“Oh... How did everyone take it?” It was surprising; he’d never heard of a woman running a mafia family. 

Beth frowned a bit. “Some of our asshole cousins tried to stage a coup. Said they should be the ones to run the family instead of a little girl.” She smirked a bit. “I showed them who’s boss. They’re decomposing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean right now.” 

Vinnie smiled, then sniffed as tears stung his eyes. Beth noticed, and frowned in concern. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing, just...” he hugged her. “I’m so happy to see you again. I-I’m sorry I left you behind...” 

Beth shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize. If you stayed, you probably would have been killed. What matters is, you’re here, and we can be family again.” 

The happiness faded at that. “You mean... I’m staying?” 

“If you want to, yeah,” 

He could stay here, stay with Beth... but Petey… Vinnie began to pull away, shaking his head. “N-No, I—I couldn’t do that to Petey…” 

For some reason, Beth frowned. “Vinnie...” Then she sighed. “Fine. But at least wait until tomorrow morning to decide. It’s late, and I don’t know about you, but sleep sounds great right now.” 

Vinnie felt the urge to ask for her to let him go back to Peter now. He’d be furious when he found Vinnie missing, and he’d come after Beth when he found out what happened. But if Vinnie went back now, then maybe he’d listen to reason. “I-I really should—”

“Please?” And there was the look. The innocent Bambi eyes. 

Vinnie’s heart clenched at the look. How many times had he wished he could see that look again? “... M-Maybe, Maybe I could stay the night...” 

Beth smiled. “Great. Let’s go get you set up in a room.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Smashing, thumps, and muffled shouting was what woke Beth from sleep. Almost immediately she was awake and alert, and got out of bed, grabbing the Ruger handgun she kept under her pillow. She put on her house shoes and went for the door, listening to the shouts. It all belonged to one voice, an older-sounding voice. The other one sounded like it was crying, and Beth recognized it immediately. Vinnie. 

Her blood boiled in her veins, and she wrenched open the door, going out into the hallway and meeting Vincenzo and Luigi, who were guarding her door. “You two,” she ordered, “with me.” 

The two of them fell into step on either side of her. “What’s goin’ on, boss?” Luigi questioned. 

“Well from the sounds of things, it seems a mangy cat’s broken into the house. But it’s not going to get what it came for.” 

As they neared, Vinnie’s room, the voices grew louder. 

“—tey, please, I didn’t mean to—”

“You think I’m gonna believe what you got to say?! I make you who you are and this is how you fuckin’ thank me?! By whoring yourself out to this new fucker?! You fuckin’ slut!” 

“I-It’s not like that, I—ah!” A cry of pain. 

“SHUT UP! You’re gonna shut the FUCK UP and come back with me. You don’t belong to this fucker, understand?! You belong to me!” 

Beth frowned darkly, and turned to Vincenzo. “Vincenzo, go get Mario and Louie.” As he ran off, she turned to Luigi and nodded. “Do it.” 

Luigi nodded, then kicked open the door. He ran inside and pointed his gun. “Drop your gun!” 

At that moment, Vincenzo returned with Mario and Louie, and they ran in to join him inside the room. “Who the fuck d’you motherfuckers think you’re talkin’ to?!” Beth heard the voice shout. 

She took that as her cue, and strolled in, working to keep her voice calm. “Well, from the looks of things, I’d say we’re talking to the Brooklyn Wildcat. Peter Criss, isn’t it?” 

When she saw what was going on, it became harder to keep herself in check. Peter was holding Vinnie against the wall, a hand firmly keeping him in place by his hair. Vinnie was shaking, crying quietly with tears streaming down his face. There was also a bruise forming on his cheek. 

Peter glared at her. “Who the fuck are you?!” 

“Smarter than you,” Beth fired back. “Coming here all by yourself, with no guards?” She shook her head, tut-tutting. “Unprofessional. And stupid. But anyway, I’m the “new fucker,” as you so eloquently put it.” 

A look of surprise flashed across his face, before hardening. “No fuckin’ way. There’s no way Bennie Caringi would croak and make a fuckin’ kid in charge.” 

Beth shrugged flippantly. “Well, that’s what happened. Now, if you wouldn’t mind,” she brandished her handgun, “get your filthy hands off of Vinnie, and get the fuck out of my house.” 

Vinnie’s eyes widened and he shook his head fearfully at Beth. Peter looked furious. “Like hell I’m gonna do that. He’s mine, and I’m taking him back.” 

“Wow, referring to him like he’s property. Wow.” Beth shook his head. “And here I thought you’d be willing to talk this out like a civilized person.” 

“Get in the know, honey: I ain’t civil.” 

“Clearly. You break into my house, smack around my cousin and call him a slut, insult my authority, and refuse to negotiate. Well... I guess there’s only one option left.” 

“Oh yeah, and what’s that? Gonna ask your bodyguards to do it all for ya, little girl?” 

Wow. Beth raised an eyebrow. He might as well have been begging her to do it. 

Without a word, Beth lowered her gun and fired, the bullet going right into Peter’s stomach. He howled in pain and stumbled back, letting go of Vinnie as he did. Vinnie scrambled away from him and clung tightly to Beth, shaking and crying into her shoulder. “Are you okay?” she asked quietly. He nodded into her shoulder. “Good. You can sleep with me tonight if you want.” After a pause, Vinnie nodded again. 

“You... You fuckin’ little tramp!” Peter yelled from the floor, glaring at Vinnie. “You can’t fuckin’ do this to me, Baby Doll!” 

Beth felt Vinnie tense against her, and glared at Peter. “That’s enough outta you. Boys?” 

The four of them lowered their guns and went over to Peter. Vincenzo and Mario hauled him up. 

“Take him to the... special warehouse, boys,” Beth ordered. “And make sure he can’t escape. Break his legs if you have to. We’ll deal with him in the morning.” 

As soon as the five of them left, Peter screaming obscenities at both of them as he was dragged away, Beth gently guided Vinnie out of the room to hers. Vinnie wouldn’t let go of her, clinging to her pajamas and keeping his head bent, his shoulders shaking with sobs. It made Beth angrier. Oh, Peter Criss was definitely going to get a slow death for this. 

But she would deal with it in the morning. For now, she was going to get Vinnie back to sleep. 

She let Vinnie get comfortable in bed, then got back into bed herself. And almost immediately, Vinnie hugged her tightly again, pressing his face to her shoulder. “I’m s-so s-sorry,” he sobbed. “I’m sorry...” 

Beth hugged him. “It’s okay, Vinnie. It’s not your fault.” 

“I sh-should have g-gone back...” 

“The same thing would have happened, Vinnie.” 

“N-No... y-you don’t know that.” 

“I do. And I think you know it too.” 

Vinnie lifted his head and gazed at her. Then misery overtook his face again and he sobbed. He knew she was right. “I thought he loved me,” he cried. 

Beth let him cry into her shoulder, rubbing his back. “I know... But he’s gone. He’ll be gone forever when we’re through with him. He won’t touch you again.” 

“W-Why?” 

“Why what?” 

“W-Why would you do that... f-for me?”

Beth looked him right in the eye. “Because you’re my family. Family doesn’t abandon each other. And they certainly don't let them get slapped around by some Brooklyn asshole.” 

“B-But I abandoned you,” Vinnie argued. “I l-left you behind. I d-don’t deserve—”

“I don’t care,” Beth stressed. She squeezed Vinnie’s hand. “I don’t care that you left. You’re here now, and if you want, you don’t have to leave ever again. Because you’re my family, and I love you.” 

More tears rolled down his face, and Vinnie sniffled. “I love you too, Bethie,” 

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 378: ENDON Bodies 

This is a 12″ featuring remixes of the Japanese band ENDON by Justin Broadrick and Vatican Shadow. I received it from the band’s manager after Russian Circles played with ENDON in Tokyo back in 2014. The band impressed me so much that I interviewed them for Noisey. The article is reposted below:

The first time I went to Japan on tour, I was treated to a performance by an opening act consisting of two tiny Japanese girls at a small club in Shibuya. One girl played acoustic guitar and sang in a cute, sweet, elfin voice not unlike Satomi Matsuzaki from Deerhoof. The other girl was playing some sort of motion-activated sampler device. She would make karate chop movements over the small glowing piece of equipment that would trigger samples of gong hits. It was the most Japanese thing I’d ever seen. I just wished there was a hologram Anime character doing lead vocals.

I toured Japan again earlier this year and our host informed me that we would be playing with “the most extreme band in Tokyo”. More extreme than the girl duo with the gong sounds and the martial arts moves? Doubt it. But then I bore witness to ENDON. I can’t say how the band weighs up against other acts in the region—this is a culture that birthed Melt Banana and Masonna, after all—but I’d be hard pressed to envision any other Tokyoites coming close to their level of aggressive dissonance. The drummer plowed through the set with an unrelenting barrage of blast beats. On stage left, a guy was beating a black box strapped to his chest. At first I thought it was old piece of stereo equipment—an old CD player, perhaps—but on closer inspection I realized it was some homemade device with a series of springs stretched across the front. He was beating the springs the way a heavy-handed guitarist strummed guitar strings. Harsh noise thundered out of his amp. Stage right, a guitarist churned out a caustic wash of distortion that sounded Burzum’s Filosofem and the Mohinder discography getting sucked into a turbine engine. Next to him, another band member hunched over a bank of blinking lights, cranking out electronic squalls. At the front of the stage, vocalist Taichi Nagura loomed over the crowd. Built like a tank with a shaved head and a well-groomed moustache, Taichi would be perfectly cast as the intimidating bodyguard Tamaru in a movie adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84. While the band doled out their sonic punishment, Tamaru shrieked, howled, whinnied, growled, and bellowed his way through the set, occasionally chucking a beer cans at the audience along the way.

I was shell-shocked by their set. A few weeks later, I was able to get a hold of Taichi to talk about what I’d witnessed.

Brian (B): I remember talking to you over dinner before seeing you play and you described ENDON as “noise metal”. That’s probably the most straightforward description of what you do. But in the States, noise metal usually refers to bands like Today Is The Day, Dazzling Killmen, or Deadguy. Those bands seem tame in comparison. For the sake of not confusing or misleading American readers, we need to come up with a different genre name for you guys. How about power-electronics-violence? Or white-noise metal?

Taichi (T): I love both of the suggestions, really appreciate it. They hit the mark. I know I should be modest, but how about “catastrophic noise metal”?

B: “Catastrophic noise metal” it is, then. So how does a catastrophic noise metal band like ENDON even start? Did you have an idea of what you wanted to sound like when you first got together?

T: Originally, we started ENDON in order to make noise music more functional on an entertainment level. In the extreme music scene in Japan, combining general rock sounds and noise has been a very popular subject for many years but it has mainly been made through collaborations between established bands and noise musicians. We were not satisfied or comfortable with it, because there were very few bands that focused on it as one unit. I think there should be more artists with these terms. Typically, these collaborations tend to add harsh noise as an addition to the higher frequencies of the guitar, like a shoegaze sound. We would like to stay away from that. We wanted to offer listeners a different style. And there is another reason we wanted to make our own sound: general noise and avant-garde styles in Japan have been too close to free-jazz or free music. We still like that stuff, but it’s gotten to be too much, too limiting in its criteria.

B: I would guess that the songwriting originates around guitar riffs, since the guitar seems to have the most concrete and recognizable structure. Am I right? Does the creative process ever start around the noise elements? Lou Reed has that famous quote about cymbals eating guitars—do you ever run into the problem of the noise eating the guitar?

T: Exactly. In most cases we wrote music with guitar riffs first just because metal and hardcore music was a major reference for most of the songs on this album. However, the guitar in “Pray For Me” was written last. For our previous EP, we did lots of jamming and improvisation over and over again to arrange and shape songs. But now we write more with the guitar first. When there is no context or specific ideas, a tiny little motif from an instrument is a great lead. With the invention of black metal, combining noise and metal is not so difficult to imagine anymore. Harsh noise and black metal have an affinity. At the same time, an affinity means a competitive frequency level, especially between guitar and noise. It is very important how we control and arrange them. That’s fun though; we never feel that the structure between guitar and noise is annoying. It is the best part of our songwriting. We usually adjust the equalization between noise and distortion, which leads to a definitive result for listeners. For example, we adjusted our amplifiers a little bit before a recent show and played our usual set. We saw a review later that said ENDON played a bunch of new songs that night.

B: I know Atsuo from Boris helped record your new album MAMA, and I could imagine there being some crossover between ENDON’s audience and Boris’s audience, just because you both have one foot in the metal world and one foot in the experimental music world. And Boris obviously has the occasional collaboration with Merzbow to add the noise element. But aside from that, ENDON and Boris are very different beasts. Do you feel like you have any musical peers in Tokyo? Do you feel a kinship with the Japanese hardcore scene?

T: Atsuo knows exactly what we would like to do, even more so than us! I am so proud of our first full-length being so well made despite our noisy and complicated style. I know we are absolutely in Atsuo’s debt. Yeah, Boris and ENDON have similar tastes in some ways, though they are the pioneers of this genre and no one can be like them. We respect them a lot. ENDON has also been very good friends with a sludge-core band called Zenocide and an industrial unit called Carre. They are the same age as us and often do collaborations together. We also have lots of friends in Tokyo’s grind and noise scenes. Personally, I don’t think ENDON belong to the hardcore music scene in Tokyo, though our favorite venue Earthdom is a mecca of the local hardcore scene. You can still see legendary Japanese hardcore bands there, bands we grew up seeing over and over again. My impression is that the cool and interesting bands at our age used to be hardcore bands that then try to do another thing. Zenocide, who I mentioned earlier, used to be crust punk guys, for example.

B: I think the hardcore vibe I was picking up on comes from the strong antagonistic vibe to your live show, as if the music and performance is meant to punish the audience. Do you feel hostility towards the crowd? Or do you ever feel like the crowd is hostile towards you?

T: No, it’s not intended to be against the audience at all, but against myself. It’s me against the world. In order to act like that, I prepare songs without words. I have no idea what makes me so irate. I see no major difference among each and every individual besides an unspecified mental condition. I try to put myself in that headspace for the purpose of the show. It is not only a punishment but also a sweet pleasure to me. When I act like a master and try to pretend to punish the audience during our show, I feel like I am released from my sin and am buried in happiness. My shows with ENDON are kind of a tragedy in that way. In fact, during the early days of ENDON, there was a lot of fighting between the audience and me…

B: A lot of singers in the world of extreme music tend to fade into the background on record because they have a limited vocal range. With ENDON, it sounds like you have 5 or 6 different singers because the timbre of your voice changes so much. It literally sounds like an entire family—father, mother, son, daughter, family dog—attacking each other. Is this a response to the monotonic quality of metal vocals? Or is it just what naturally came out of your mouth at the first practice?

T: To me, screaming and shouting within the limited range of extreme music sounds so boring. It’s just laborious, a kind of duty they have to fulfill. Of course, what I do is partially a response to monotonous metal vocals, but more than that I would like to keep myself happy as opposed to responding to or attacking others. In that sense, my vocals need to be done unconsciously. Most importantly, ENDON as a whole should prepare our sounds and arrangements to make our music operate unconsciously. As you’ve pointed out, I have tried to do several vocal styles, like one voice that has multiple characters. And I show a relationship among those characters in a psychoanalytical way, like family therapy role-playing. Certainly, there have been good examples of other people doing this. A few singers from great depressive black metal bands have an impressive scream that has both the characters of victim and assailant in one. Multiple characters in one voice… I wanted to move ahead in that direction.

B: Speaking of family therapy, have any of your parents ever come to see you play? And are you still welcome in their homes afterwards?

T: It’s annoying to say that my parents don’t recognize I am crazy at all even though I am doing crazy stuff in ENDON. They are baby boomers that enjoyed Western art, culture, and music during their youth, and they view themselves as the first generation that brought that Western culture over to Japan. They still try to tell me what is best when it comes to music. That is one of the major reasons why everyone in ENDON and I try to focus on musical and cultural “parricide” with songs like “Parricide Agent Service” and “Etude For Lynching By Family”.

B: So I take it that’s a “no” then.

[blouisparadise]

As promised, here the continuing rec list of fics where Louis is called pet names. Part one can be found here, and when it’s out, part three will also be linked here. Happy reading!

1) Tie You Up and Make Me Scream | Explicit | 2166 words

AU where Harry teases Louis and it becomes a game until they cant handle it anymore and escape to have tent sex while the rest of the boys are in the other tents.

2) Feel The Need | Explicit | 4898 words

Louis and Harry attend Liam's Halloween party. Risky Business ensues.

3) Just Stop Your Crying (It’s A Sign Of The Times) | Explicit | 5864 words

My own imagining of the inspiration for Sign of the Times.  Featuring boys in love, even after all this time.

4) We’ll Stumble Through Heaven | Explicit | 6504 words

Louis likes to be a good boy for his alpha.

5) Raised on Rhythm and Blues | Explicit | 8034 words

“That look on your face makes me think you’re not cooking me spaghetti fast enough,” Louis announces as he walks back into the kitchen. Harry knows exactly where Zoe gets her habits from.

“Cooking for my two beautiful and insanely intelligent children, not for the weird bloke that sleeps in my bed and eats all my food,” Harry answers, tilting his head and wondering if he should add more sauce.

6) Forever, Uninterrupted | Explicit | 8578 words

Harry finds a mysterious picture in Louis' bag one night and drives himself crazy over it. It's definitely not what he thinks.

7) Spice Up Your Life | Explicit | 9501 words

After a conversation with his Uni friends, Harry worries that his relationship with Louis has lost it's spark.

8) Infinitely All For Me | Explicit | 10630 words

The Alpha Louis' been betrothed to since he was 14 has finally come of age and Louis' been delivered to his home.

9) Keep Holding Me This Way | Explicit | 13747 words

An English grad student, a frat jock, and an unimpressed rich boy walk into a bar. No one walks out.

10) Let’s Take the World By Storm | Explicit | 14656 words

Harry lifts his head off Louis' chest to look at Louis' face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

“I don’t know, but our sex life feels a bit boring, ‘sall,” Louis says, completely avoiding eye contact.

“Boring.” Harry says flatly. He doesn’t say anything more, and Louis looks up to see that Harry seems to be mulling it over.

“Yeah, boring," Louis says, and keeps talking before Harry can pipe up. “I mean, think about it. We’ve been dating since X Factor, and now things are starting to drag a bit. We don’t even have the time for handjobs anymore, much less actual sex.”

11) The Seed Inside You, Baby, Do You Feel It Growin’ | Explicit | 14793 words

Louis really wants Harry to get him pregnant.

12) Oops, Baby, I Love You (In That Order) | Explicit | 25344 words

The minute Louis Tomlinson decides he don’t need no man to start a family, Harry Styles literally falls into his arms.

13) Another Day Gettin’ Into Trouble | Explicit | 25619 words

Harry’s drunk when the idea occurs to him. He’s also a pop star, so sometimes his drunk ideas turn into actual things instead of just ideas. The clone-a-willy kit is one of them.

In Harry’s defense, when he first thinks about it his intention is just to buy the kit and give it to Louis to make his own dildo with, because that’s what he wants anyway, right? To have a penis filling him up?

Then he realizes that it would be weird if Louis made a copy of his own dick to fuck himself with. It’d be super weird. Louis fucking himself? That’s a weird idea. Harry’s pretty sure Louis wouldn’t like that.

Clearly the only solution here is to use his own dick for the mold.

14) Force of Nature | Mature | 25672 words

Louis is a shy, young musician who doesn't want to go to Harvard.

Harry is a confident,  second year athlete who likes to have a good time.

When their paths cross while their families are vacationing at the same lake resort, what begins as a summer of fun becomes a defining journey that might just change everything.

15) Up To No Good | Explicit | 26525 words | Sequel 1 | Sequel 2

Harry doesn’t think of himself as a womanizer, not at all. Sure, he enjoys sex, enjoys how women feel underneath him, and by some people’s standards he has sex with quite a lot of people, but that’s no reason to tell him that he can’t have a female PA anymore.

It’s especially no excuse for giving him a male PA who’s possibly the most gorgeous boy in the world who won’t even let Harry look at him for too long.

Sometimes Harry hates his life.

16) Always Come Back To You | Explicit | 28862 words

“I’ll do it,” Harry offers brightly. No one even blinks. “I’ll do it?”

Louis sighs irritably. “Shut up,” he orders, tossing a pillow in the general direction of Harry’s face. This is a terrible time for jokes, especially Harry’s lame, old people ones.

Not that it was an old people joke. Just that most of the time Harry’s jokes consist of knock-knocks or terrible puns. The type of jokes old people like, Louis’ pretty sure. His nan always finds them hilarious when Harry tells her one.

Harry bats the pillow out of the air without even blinking. “Be reasonable, Lou,” he says in his most reasonable voice.

Louis is perfectly reasonable, thank you very much, and he’s also frustrated and upset and tired and he really wants to punch something. Maybe he should have held on to that pillow a little longer.

“You’re not gonna fucking do it,” he snaps. “That’s the last thing I need.”

17) Blind From This Sweet, Sweet Craving | Explicit | 31170 words

"So, I guess we'll go?" Louis asks later, when Harry has calmed down and eaten his weight in Chinese food. He plays with this chopsticks, spearing another piece of chicken and pops it in his mouth. "I mean, I wouldn't mind. We could make it an adventure."

Harry observes him, watches him seated across from him on their old living room carpet, with a container of food on his lap. He's fidgeting, avoiding meeting Harry's gaze–he probably knows that Harry's mad at him for ruining the one chance they had to get out of this situation. And he's not wrong, Harry is definitely very mad. Harry wants to strangle him and castrate him and smack him upside the head.

But he's also Harry's best friend, and despite everything, despite all the fuck-ups and the plot twists and everything just not playing out the way it should, he'd still rather be stuck in this situation with Louis than any of the other boys. He's got Harry's back, and in a weird, abstract way, he knows they'll be able to get out of this situation, together.

Harry sighs. "We're going," he says resignedly, his shoulders slumping.

Oh well. There are definitely worse ways to spend the weekend than pretending to be engaged to his best friend.

18) Cupid’s Chokehold | Explicit | 35326 words

Louis is a Cupid who tries to match up Niall and Harry. It doesn't work out as planned.

19) Mark My Word (We Gon’ Be Alright) | Explicit | 35524 words

"He’s always known that there would come a time when Harry would bond with some beautiful, quiet omega, and they would have lots of curly-haired pups and live happily ever after.

Knowing it and living it are two very different things, though. Watching the object of your affection desperately search for a mate and completely disregard you as an option is all sorts of painful, but it is what it is, and Louis is just going to have to learn to live with that."

20) Who Would’ve Thought | Explicit | 44275 words | Companion Fic

The idea doesn’t come to Louis until they’ve been at the bungalow for a couple of days. Harry has no idea that he’s going to pop a knot. He’s been living his life with the expectation that he’s going to be a beta, and Louis isn’t going to tell him otherwise.

Louis is an omega, though, and most omegas want to be filled up with a knot,  fucked the way their bodies are made to be fucked, and Louis is no different. In ten years he wants to have an alpha waiting for him at home who will hold him down and fuck him exactly the way Louis wants to be fucked without worrying that they’re going to expect him to stay at home, open a joint bank account, raise a litter of babies, cook and clean and, most importantly, be submissive. For that to happen Louis needs an entirely different kind of alpha.

And so the plan is born.

21) Tangled Up In You | Explicit | 45152 words

Harry blinks once. And blinks again. And says, his voice dangerous: “Niall, did you get me a mail-order bride?”

Because what the actual fuck. It kind of looks like Niall’s just purchased a person. For Harry.

Niall blinks back at him for a few moments, before throwing his head back and howling with laughter. Harry throws a pillow at him. Hard. “No, what the fuck, Harry.”

“A prostitute then?” Harry also doesn't want a prostitute.

“Of course not!”

“A stripper?”

“No!”

Damn, he’s running out of ideas. He settles for launching another pillow at Niall’s head. Niall bats it away easily, still laughing. “Stop!”

“What did you get me, then?!” Niall must hear the tinge of hysteria in his voice, because he’s pulling himself together, trying to stop himself from laughing.

There’s still a big grin on his face, though, when he says, “I got you a professional cuddler.”

A professional…what. “What?”

22) Nobody Does It Like You | Not Rated | 58820 words

Louis isn't looking for a home, but he finds one in Harry.

23) Tug-Of-War | Explicit | 63000 words

Louis' husband dies suddenly and he is left with nothing. Well, not really nothing. He has Harry. And a St. Bernard puppy named Link, whom his late husband left behind for him. Louis takes care of Link and Harry takes care of Louis. Everything is okay until suddenly, it isn't.

24) Why Can’t It Be Like That | Explicit | 63567 words

A fashion AU with a royal twist, where Louis doesn't need a stylist, Harry's thrilled to have a real life Barbie doll, and they're both very wrong about each other.

25) Perfect Storm | Explicit | 80230 words

What do you do when your best friend asks you and your (now) ex to be the best men at his destination wedding? You can either tell him the truth, tell him you’re not together anymore, and deal with the consequences, or you can pretend you’re still together and roll with it, just pray you don’t spiral. Fake it ‘til you make it. You know, for the sake of the wedding.

Harry and Louis choose the latter.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[chiseler]

JOE DALLESANDRO: Body Worship

The faces and voices of movie stars past and present continue to be extensively written about and well covered, but what about the bodies on the screen? We saw most of Rudolph Valentino’s body, and enough of Clara Bow to want more. Jean Harlow iced her nipples to make them stand out and up at attention under her gowns, and Tyrone Power loved to wear the tightest possible pants to display his lower extremities. It was only in the 1950s, though, that Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando tested the limits of their clothes and wantonly imposed the fleshiest grabbable flesh. In the 1960s, the women in movies started getting rail-thin while one muscular and fleshy man took all of his clothes off on screen without any self-consciousness. In the area of exposing and idly flaunting on-screen flesh, this man is the all-time champion, and much more besides.

His name was and is Joe Dallesandro, a kid from the mean streets of New York who stole cars and went to reform school and acquired a scar on his knee after a gun battle with police. As a teenager, he began posing for nude photographs out in California, and he learned how to hit up gay guys for bread. “I’d come from New York where I’d seen people do the hustle,” Dallesandro said, “and I knew people could get away with anything if they just knew what to say. My hustle was about getting anything I could for nothing.” Back in New York at age eighteen in 1967, Dallesandro wandered into a Greenwich Village apartment where a movie was being shot, an underground movie made under the auspices of Andy Warhol and his Factory but controlled by Paul Morrissey, a mysterious, conservative figure who looked at Dallesandro and immediately liked what he saw.

Dallesandro went out to Arizona with the Warhol crew to make Lonesome Cowboys (1968), a queer anti-western where he does a hilariously open and polymorphously perverse little dance with sprightly Taylor Mead and is coached to do ballet pliés by another cowboy in order to build up his legs and butt (which certainly needed no building). At one point in San Diego Surf (1968), Warhol superstar Viva accidentally drops a baby and Dallesandro moves with a lightning fast reflex to catch it. At this point, it was clear that Dallesandro had a beautifully balanced and open face, with a sunburst smile that made him look innocent and childlike, and a body to make Michelangelo all hot and bothered. But he also had the pinched voice of a New York wise guy and skin that made it look like he probably ate mainly pizza. This contrast moved Morrissey, and maybe he was also moved by the knightly, responsible way that Dallesandro caught that baby before it fell to the ground.

In 1968, for very little money, Morrissey created a whole vehicle just for Dallesandro called Flesh, a film that nods to earlier Warhol experiments by opening with a two-and-a-half minute shot of Dallesandro’s sleeping face. After being rudely awakened by his demanding wife (Geraldine Smith), Dallesandro passively complains that she never does his laundry; he says a man’s job is protecting his family. He is wearing nothing but a cross around his neck.

Put-upon and beguilingly passive, standing in the street waiting for guys who might give him some money for nothing or for something a little more, Dallesandro in Flesh is as un-self-conscious as Louise Brooks in Pandora’s Box (1928), but his energy is more inward-directed. He doesn’t “act” so much as enter fully into any scenario Morrissey has given him like a little kid playing “let’s pretend” in their backyard. Every kid plays “let’s pretend,” but some kids are just more fun to play with than others, and the camera picks up on that, just as the person directing behind the camera can become entranced.

There are close-ups of Dallesandro in Flesh that stop the movie dead in its tracks. Like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, Dallesandro knew exactly what to offer to a still camera, assuming all the attitudes from Back Off to Come Hither to Take Care Of Me. And always, essentially, he is distant and removed, which is his real trick, the thing that keeps people coming back for more. Often fully naked on screen, Dallesandro offers all of that bounty to the camera, but he keeps himself to himself.

In Lou Reed’s hit song “Walk on the Wild Side,” one section claims, “Little Joe never once gave it away/everybody had to pay and pay.” But Morrissey in Flesh is saying, even howling, yes, you can all have or stare at his body, but look at who he is! Look at all the beauty there in his face, in the way he moves, and particularly in his innate sense of masculine responsibility. He’s very funny in Flesh when he looks frankly bored and forlorn with some of his chattier clients, like a kid made to stay after school in detention who would much rather be outside, but his face is usually such a patient face, a stoic face, and always rivetingly photogenic. Maybe his screen presence is a bit of a hustle, too, but if it is, I’ll gladly pay and pay.

Morrissey’s conservatism might not come through as strongly as he thinks in his early films because he often ceded them to charismatic speakers for hedonism like Holly Woodlawn, who made a comic and tragic thing of her love for Dallesandro in Trash (1970). In that movie, Dallesandro plays an impotent drug addict who seems more dead than alive as women and men paw him and clutch at him. When Woodlawn is forced to use a beer bottle to get off sexually, Morrissey makes sure to cut to a close-up of Dallesandro holding her hand, one of the most moving images of tender disconnection in all of cinema.

Morrissey played Svengali with Dallesandro, who worked at Warhol’s Factory, trying to mold him into an ambiguous and unchanging star like John Wayne or Marlene Dietrich (at this time, Morrissey often spoke of wanting to remake The Blue Angel {1930} with Dallesandro playing Dietrich’s role of the inactive femme fatale Lola-Lola). In Morrissey’s Heat (1972), Dallesandro is cast as a washed-up child star angling for a comeback amid the hothouse improvisations of Sylvia Miles and Pat Ast. He has moved even further into a kind of waiting catatonia, but even at his most sedentary and unresponsive, Dallesandro signals that he is always on the make, occasionally throwing out a zinger when you least expect it just to prove that he can pay close attention to what’s going on around him when he wants to (but he usually doesn’t want to). Morrissey took his star to Europe to make back-to-back horror films, Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula (both 1974), where Dallesandro has his funny, incongruous moments but mainly takes a backseat to the campy authority of Udo Kier.

Dallesandro decided to strike out on his own in the mid-1970s, and the results were rich and varied. “How’s it goin’?” he nonchalantly asks a moaning woman he is humping in Donna e Bello (1974), checking on her pleasure before sneaking a look at his wristwatch, like Jane Fonda does in Klute (1971). He made a lot of films in Italy where he was cast as psychos on crime sprees, yet those movies still captured moments of film-stopping purity in his face.

This quality he had was picked up on by Louis Malle, who made Dallesandro look princely and storybook-like in his experimental feature Black Moon (1975). Best of all in this period, Dallesandro appeared in Je t’aime moi non plus (1975), a vibrantly strange road picture directed by bad boy French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. In that movie, Dallesandro plays Krassky, a gay truck driver who falls for Johnny (Jane Birkin), a roadside waitress. Maybe it’s because he’s dubbed in French, but in this movie something very romantic and almost Byronic emerges in Dallesandro, with elements of the goofiness that he had shown when he danced with Taylor Mead in Lonesome Cowboys.

While working in Europe, Dallesandro collaborated with a remarkable array of intriguing directors. In Walerian Borowczyk’s The Streetwalker (1976), Dallesandro himself pays for lady-of-the-night Sylvia Kristel. For the young Catherine Breillat, he was a sex object to a female director in Tapage nocturne (1979). During the making of Jacques Rivette’s Merry-Go-Round (1978, but only released in 1981), Dallesandro, his co-star Maria Schneider and Rivette himself were all in despair and trouble of some kind in their personal lives, so that the film has a very unsettling air of real desperation underneath Rivette’s suggestive, paranoid mise-en-scène. This is Dallesandro’s most touching work on screen. Even though he seems at the end of his tether in Merry-Go-Round, he still tries his very best to make sense of it all, like a kid trying to play a game when the rules of that game keep changing. Again, what comes across here is Dallesandro’s helpless sense of responsibility, the fact that he cares and wants to tidy up messes other people might make.

After beating a drinking problem, Dallesandro returned to the US and drove a limo for a while before being tapped by Francis Ford Coppola to play Lucky Luciano in The Cotton Club (1984), a film that he steals with his suave self-assurance in spite of limited screen time. In the movies he made after that, for Blake Edwards and John Waters and for many lesser talents, Dallesandro is never less than fully present and usually very inventively foul-mouthed. In Steven Soderbergh’s The Limey (1999), Dallesandro has a colorful small part as a slow henchman who manages to sink a shot on a pool table to his own much-evident and childlike delight. Let’s pretend!

In recent years, Dallesandro has managed a building in LA and he often single-handedly makes Facebook worthwhile with friendly quips, clips and all-around survivor humor. He’s cool with being a Sex God, skeptical of mythmaking, and quietly proud of his movies and his image. His Morrissey films secure him a place in film history, and his European work awaits further and more detailed investigation. He is an icon of a period and milieu when sex did not have boundaries, when pleasure was a vocation and a principle, and when a man taking off his clothes in front of a camera could not divert us from trying to find the part of himself that he would not give away.

by Dan Callahan

[penmansparadise]

Billy Hargrove Imagine Requested- Brooklyn Baby

*I DON’T OWN ANY GIFS POSTED* *CREDIT TO GIF OWNERS*

I also apologize that I couldn’t find a better gif lol.  Anyway, here is the imagine requested by @hcrleysqninn  .  It is based on the song “Brooklyn Baby” by Lana Del Rey.  I hope this is what you wanted and that you really enjoy it!  If anyone wants to request, please don’t hesitate to do so!!  

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Reader 

Warnings: Mild language (Like literally two words)

Listen to “Brooklyn Baby” by Lana Del Rey

You walked down the sidewalk leading to the only record shop in Hawkins.  The sound of your heeled boots hitting the ground created a sweet song.  As the wind blew the feathers hanging loosely in your hair around, a smile curved the ends of your lips upwards.  Approaching the shop, you felt a comfortable sense of relaxation wash over you.  When you pushed the door open, a familiar musky odor cascaded over your face.  You sent a wave to the cashier before showing yourself to the jazz section.  Your fingers traced over the cardboard covers of the records before stopping to browse.

The cooing guitar of a Lou Reed song whispered from one of the many record players.  You swayed back and forth to the beat before you realized people were staring.  It wasn’t anything new.  People constantly judged you on how your hair looked and the kind of clothes you chose to wear.  You turned your back to them and continued to explore the jazz section when you heard a soft scoff.  Looking up from the bin you were currently rummaging through you laid eyes on a very handsome boy.  He looked rough and rugged, but his soft blue eyes said differently.  “What the hell is this shit their playing?” He said more to himself, but loud enough for you to hear.  “It’s Lou Reed.” You said gently placing the jazz record in your hand back into the bin.  The boy’s eyes shot up to meet yours, unaware that you had been standing so near.  His mouth slightly fell ajar as he looked at you. Your floral crop top exposed a small part of your torso before your high waist bell bottoms covered the rest.  His eyes raked over your entire body before finally making their way back to meet yours.  “He’s actually a really great artist.  You should check him out.”  You said ignoring the fact that he was blatantly checking you out.  He cleared his throat regaining his composure.  “Yeah?  Well he must not be that great since I’ve never heard of him.” He said arrogantly. You bent forward slightly to see the music he was looking through.  Your eyebrows raised as you looked back to him, “I’m guessing your musical knowledge doesn’t go very far past bands such as The Scorpions and Twisted Sister.” The boy crossed his arms at your comment and smirked, “Maybe you should enlighten me then.”  You rolled your eyes at his lame attempt at picking you up.  “Um, no.  I have a boyfriend.” You said trying to ward him off.  A low chuckle shook his chest, “Do you now?”  Returning to your records you nodded.  “Yeah,” you said somewhat confidently, “he plays guitar in a band back home.”  Although you knew you were lying, you hoped this boy wouldn’t catch on.  The boy leant onto the bin in front of him trying to catch your gaze again.  “And where is back home baby?” He asked with a grin.  Your heart gave a jolt in your chest making your face heat up.  “Home is Brooklyn, baby.”  You responded saying the last word in a mocking manner.  The boy let out an airy laugh with a nod, “Alright. What’s your name?”  A small smile was playing on your lips as you looked up to meet his eyes.  “Y/N. And yours?”  He licked his bottom lip before pulling it under his teeth and giving it a bite, “Billy.  You busy right now?”  You furrowed your eyebrows at his question, “No I’m not, why?”  He smiled, “You wanna get out of here?”  Although you had just met him, you agreed and followed him out to his car.

His blue Camaro gave a low growl before roaring loudly as Billy took off. You rolled the window down and let the wind hit your face.  Billy looked over and watched as you put your hand out the window.  Your eyes shut letting the cool breeze and serenity blanket you.  You stayed that way for a minute before peeling your eyes open and turning to Billy. “What?” You asked softly.  He shook his head unable to conjure up a sentence. You gave him a loose smile, “You’re very tense Billy.  Very,” you stopped for a moment to think of a word, “rigid.  You need to relax a little.”  At that, you maneuvered your upper body out of the window and leaned back. Your eyes closed once again as the wind whipped your hair around your face.  The sweet smell of soil and wild flowers overpowered your nose.  After what felt like forever, you pulled yourself back into the seat.  Billy stared at you in awe, “You think you’re so cool, don’t you?”  You gave him a shrug and in the same arrogant tone he had before said, “Maybe.”  

The rest of the drive was silent until Billy pulled into a field just outside of Hawkins.  You looked out at the rainbow field of flowers before getting out.  “Come on!”  You shouted back to Billy.  He got out with a confused expression playing on his face, “What are you doing?”  You ran out into the field and spun around with your arms spread out wide.  A careless laugh rolled off your lips, “I’m going to enlighten you Billy!”  You heard the sound of his door close before you spun right into his chest.  His arms wrapped around you catching you before you could fall.  Your breathing was heavy as you gazed up into his mesmerizing blue eyes.  His eyes crept down to your lips for a quick second before breaking the silence.  “So how are you gonna enlighten me?”  You unwillingly removed yourself from his grip and took his hands in yours.  A relaxed sigh fell from your lips as you listened to your surroundings.  The dry leaves hanging from the trees rustled together and the wind howled in the distance echoing around you.  Slowly you began to sway back and forth before twirling around.  You looked up to Billy and smiled, “I already told you, you have to relax Billy.  Stop being so tense and rigid.  Life is only temporary, a wink of the eye and winking stars. Just like Jack Kerouac said.”  You could see the confusion settling onto his face again and chuckled, “He’s a Beat poet.  Look him up.”  When his expression didn’t change you rolled your eyes and tugged on his arms.  “Dance with me.”  You said before beginning to twirl again.  Billy stood back and watched as you carelessly spun in the wind laughing.  A smile fell onto his lips before he shouted, “You’re insane!”  Without missing a beat, you shouted to the sky, “I’m a Brooklyn baby!” Billy chuckled as he watched you and began to feel himself slowly fall for you.  

[dolfinsatdawn]

While I wait patiently for hurricane Irma to barge in on FL next week, I might as well do this question-y thing that my fellow Turn fan tagged me in! Might be stuff you were always curious about OR alternatively stuff you couldn't care less about, but hey. Here it is.

Thanks for the fun @greenofallshades​

  I think there's supposed to be 100 questions. I started numbering them, but because I'm spacy I totally forgot to do the rest. So, here you go.

I'm tagging: @lou-who, @dying-suffering-french-stalkers, and anyone else who wants to do this (because my computer is glitching when I try to tag).

1. The meaning behind my url:  dolfinsatdawn. This was me trying to upgrade to something more artsy sounding but still had something from my childhood obsession with dolphins it.

2. A picture of me: EHHHHHH. I'm kinda squeamish about this. If ya'll really REALY want to see a picture maybe I will.

3. How many tattoos i have and what they are:  Lol I don't do the whole "permanent on your skin" stuff. I do love henna tattoos though. Anything semi-permanent is super fun.

4. Last time i cried and why: I cried when I found out my grandpa was in the hospital last week. He's okay though. I'm going to visit him soon.

5, Favorite band:  THE BEATLES. Hands down. I also like a lot of classical and film scores so, the only real band I love 100% is the Beatles.

6. Biggest turn offs:  Not respecting my personal space. It takes me a REALLY long time to get used to people (especially boys), so touching without my permission is really upsetting and people who do are immediately on my NOPE list. Also, men who constantly talk about money. I REALLY hate that. I don't care how much you make compared to everyone else.

7. Top 5 (insert subject): Top five places I want to travel to next!  1. Tokyo!  2. Washington State  3. Germany!!! 4. China!  5. Nepal!

8. Favorite place to be alone? I love doing everything alone. I'm so happy to go out and just chill without the stress of other people. I love going on walks alone especially in really pretty places like beaches.

9. Biggest turn ons: umm....I dunno sense of humor? Kind eyes....Classy clothes are a MUST.

 10. Age: old enough to drink even though I don't

11. Ideas of a perfect date: One where my date doesn't "forget his wallet in his car" and make me pay for dinner before driving me home without paying me back for his half. (I'm not bitter about this dude AT ALL.)

12. Life goal: Publish my book series so there's something for people to remember me by.

13. Piercings i want: None really. I throw around getting my ears done, but I'm not really into punching holes in my skin.

14. Relationship status: SUPER SINGLE and livin it up.

15. Favorite movie: . UGH dude this is so hard. There's three main ones I watch whenever and I always love them: Pride and Prejudice 2005, Howl's Moving Castle, and Austenland!

 16. A fact about my life:  I've spent 13 years in the same house and I'm totally okay with that. (Yes I commuted to college from home and no I didn't regret it AT ALL.)

17. Phobia:  Spiders. Terrible fear of spiders. I'm also afraid of the dark a little bit and tornados.

.18. Height: 5'2"

19. Are you a virgin?  Heck yea! And proud of it! 

20. What is your shoe size?  4-5 depending on who makes them.

21. What’s your sexual orientation?  straight

22. Do you smoke, drink, or take any drugs?   Nope. I don't like alcohol and I'd prefer not to kill my brain cells I'll need those for grad school.

23. Someone you miss: My grandma. She was the most fun person and I could call her any time and we'd talk for hours. She died in February and I miss her all the time.

24. What’s one thing you regret?  I regret how judgemental I was in high-school. It caused a lot of problems with my best friend. We're okay now, and I've apologized, but it caused a lot of wasted stress and fights we didn't need to have.

25. First celebrity you think of when someone says attractive:  J.J. Field

26. Favorite ice cream?  CAKE BATTER!

27. One insecurity: Body image. I used to be very athletic and I miss that a lot. I feel really gross and lazy. I also stress eat a LOT.

28. What my last text message says:  To me - I finally found a Publix that has water.  From me - How am I like your dad?!

29. What's the most creative thing you've done recently: I decorated the house for fall!

30. What's the last song you listened to? Six Weeks by Of Monsters And Men

31. What do your favorite Pj's look like? I have a shirt that says "my cat doesn't like you" that I wear whenever we have guests over.

Have you ever stole money from a friend?  no.

Have you ever gotten in a car with people you just met?  Lol nope!

Have you ever been in a fist fight?  I punched my brother a few times, but like...we weren't fighting.

Have you ever had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back?  Yeah he had a girlfriend.

Have you ever been arrested?  No

Have you ever made out with a stranger?  Ew no

Have you ever laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by?  Yes I loved doing this at my grandma's house.

Have you ever been lonely?  HA. Who hasn't...?

Have you ever been to a club?  I went to a boat party once (I hated it) and they played that weird club music so that's the closest I've ever been to a club. I go to sports bars all the time for wings though.

 Have you ever felt an earthquake?  Nope you don't get those down here in FL really.

Have you ever touched a snake?  I LOVE SNAKES. They feel so fun. Snakes need love all the time.

Have you ever ran a red light?  Yes. It was 2 am. I was coming home from a theater show I was in. (They kept me late painting sets) and I turned left on red without stopping because I didn't even register that the light was red until I had already done it.

Have you ever been in a car accident?   Yes. They totaled my car. Scariest thing ever.

 Have you ever cried yourself to sleep?  Yah

Have you ever sang karaoke?  I think I did, but not in front of people. My grandparents had a Karaoke machine that my cousins and I all played with.

Have you ever done something you told yourself you wouldn’t?   Yah like continuing to eat Mcdonalds at 2am when my brother comes home lol.

Have you ever laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose?  No! XD I've seen someone else do it though.

Have you ever slept with someone at least 5 years older or younger?  nope.

Have you ever dream that you married someone? Nope. I don't usually have love-related dreams.

Have you ever got your tongue stuck to a flag pole?  No, but I got it stuck to an icicle that I licked once.

Have you ever ever gone to school partially naked?  I was homeschooled so I worked in my PJ's a lot.

Have you ever brushed your teeth?   ???? do people NOT brush their teeth????

Have you ever ever too scared to watch scary movies alone?  yeah I couldn't watch Black Mirror alone. Otherwise I don't watch scary movies.

Have you ever been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on?  Naw. I might be tiny, but I fight hard. People know better.

Have you ever been told you’re hot by a complete stranger?  nope

Have you ever broken a bone?  I smashed my finger playing softball once.

Have you ever been easily amused?  I mean yeh. I watched youtube videos of people organizing stuff once for HOURS. D:

Have you ever laughed so hard you cried?  Alll the time

Have you ever mooned/flashed someone? no.

Have you ever forgotten someone’s name?   Literally all the time. I suck at names.

Have you ever give us one thing about you that no one knows? Uh...no? Idk I think at least someone knows everything about me.

What was your last dream?   I had pants that changed colors but never matched the outfit I had on. (It was the first dream in a week that wasn't an awful nightmare so I was thrilled!)

Would you be up for interplanetary travel if it was a thing?  YES YES YES. SEND ME TO SPACE! Its like being in the age of sail all over! Adventure! new planets! LET ME GO!

If you could travel back in time, where would you go?  18th century or Victorian era.

Do you prefer tech or real books for reading?   Books!!!

Do you dread doctor visits or do they not bother you?   I think they're a waste of time, but I'm not afraid of doctors.

Favorite fashion decade of the twentieth century? 1910's or 1920's. Edwardian (Titanic clothes) or Flapper (Gatsby).

Are you wearing nail polish and if so, what color?   YES I'm wearing the Northern Lights OPI color from the new Iclandic line. I LOVE nail polish.

 Are you into working out or no?  Yes, but it has to be fun. I hate machines and gyms. Dance is much more my style.

Do you have a temper?   Doesn't everyone? Mine's really buried though so you really gotta mess up and push me to get it to come out. I don't have the energy to be angry about a lot of stuff.

Do you have one item you treat yosef with, and if so, what is it?   SUGAR SCRUBS

Do you eat meat?  YEA I basically live at Chickfila.

If yes, how do you like it cooked?  Depends on the meat. Steak Med-Rare and chicken usually grilled well (no thank you to salmonella).

Ever had a boss or a teacher you absolutely hated?  HA basically every professor at my school who gets political. I'm sorry I took a literature class not a political science. You can critique the world later. Please teach what I paid for.

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?  Tea!

Do you wear makeup?  Yes, especially when I go to work.

If you wear perfume, what’s your scent type/favorite fragrance?  I wear the cashmere perfume from bath and body works. I don't really like high end perfumes they make my throat hurt.

Do you have a girl crush?  nah

Candles, wax melts, or incense?  Candles. I love their little flames. It reminds me of fall/Christmas.

Favorite season of the year?  FALLLLLLLLLLL

Fanfic—do you prefer smut or fluff?   Fluff. Not into smut really at all.

Do you like taking selfies?  Why or why not?   I hate taking selfies. However, when you travel alone and you want photos of yourself you gotta suck it up.

Do you want children?   Eventually, but that means wanting a husband and meh - i'll wait.

Do you prefer lots of friends or just a few good friends?  Definitely just a few. People stress me out.

Introvert or extrovert, or mixture of both?  Raging introvert.

Ocean/beach or mountains?  BOTH?!!?! Beach because it doesn't give me altitude sickness, but I love the mountains anyway.

Morning person or night person?  Night owl 10/10.

Do you initiate conversations with strangers?  not if I can help it.

Milk or dark chocolate?  Dark

What do you post on your blog?   Star wars...historical romance gifs...artwork sometimes...random other aesthetic stuff and cute things!

Is it hard for you to apologize when you’re in the wrong?   Yah I kinda have a pride thing that is hard to get past. I do apologize though. The person won't know you're sorry unless you say it.

Love at first sight?  nope.

Best/funniest Halloween memory?  This one year my best friend and I went as spies and everyone thought we were the blues brothers. It was hilarious because my friend had no idea who the blues brothers were and it got to the point where we both just said YES when people asked because it was too exhausting to say otherwise.  

Did your first crush work out or was it unrequited?  Unrequited

Do you like old movies—and by old, I mean OLD old?  I watched a silent version of Phantom of the Opera that was cool once, but usually those movies are a bit slow for me.

Do you tan or burn?  Both, but right now I'm tanning.

Do you think people deserve second chances?  Depends on what they did. Cheating? Not a chance.

What animal would be cutest if scaled down to the size of a cat?  ELEPHANT!!! Imainge the tiny round feets and the little trunk!!!!!!

Do you have any weird food likes/dislikes?  I hate lots of foods. and I hate any food if there's too much of it.

.What’s the funniest real person’s name you’ve ever heard?   (I don't want to use his real real name, but the last name is real)  Harry Dingledien.

[latestnews2018-blog]

Obituary: Aretha Franklin, a genius of American song

New Post has been published on https://latestnews2018.com/obituary-aretha-franklin-a-genius-of-american-song/

Obituary: Aretha Franklin, a genius of American song

The glorious ‘Queen of Soul’, who died Thursday at her home in Detroit at the age of 76, ruled unchallenged as the greatest popular vocalist of her time

The clarity and the command. The daring and the discipline. The thrill of her voice and the truth of her emotions.

Like the best actors and poets, nothing came between how Aretha Franklin felt and what she could express, between what she expressed and how we responded. Blissful on (You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman. Despairing on Ain’t No Way. Up front forever on her feminist and civil rights anthem Respect.

Franklin, the glorious ‘Queen of Soul’ and genius of American song, died Thursday morning at her home in Detroit of pancreatic cancer. She was 76.

Few performers were so universally idolised by peers and critics and so exalted and yet so familiar to their fans. As surely as Jimi Hendrix settled arguments over who was the No 1 rock guitarist, Franklin ruled unchallenged as the greatest popular vocalist of her time.

She was ‘Aretha’, a name set in the skies alongside ‘Jimi’ and ‘Elvis’ and ‘John and Paul’. A professional singer and pianist by her late teens, a superstar by her mid-20s, she recorded hundreds of songs that covered virtually every genre and she had dozens of hits. But her legacy was defined by an extraordinary run of top 10 soul smashes in the late 1960s that brought to the radio an overwhelming intensity and unprecedented maturity, from the wised-up Chain of Fools to the urgent warning to Think.

Acknowledging the obvious, Rolling Stone ranked her first on its list of the top 100 singers. Franklin was also named one of the 20 most important entertainers of the 20th century by Time magazine, which celebrated her “mezzo-soprano, the gospel growls, the throaty howls, the girlish vocal tickles, the swoops, the dives, the blue-sky high notes, the blue-sea low notes. Female vocalists don’t get the credit as innovators that male instrumentalists do. They should. Franklin has mastered her instrument as surely as John Coltrane mastered his sax.”

The music industry couldn’t honour her enough: Franklin won 18 Grammy awards and, in 1987, became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But her status went beyond “artist” or “entertainer” to America’s first singer, as if her very presence at state occasions was a kind of benediction. She performed at the inaugural balls of Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, at the funeral for civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks and the dedication of Martin Luther King Jr’s memorial. Clinton gave Franklin the National Medal of Arts and President George W Bush awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Franklin’s best-known appearance with a president was in January 2009, when she sang My Country ‘tis of Thee at President Barack Obama’s first inauguration. She wore a gray felt hat with a huge, Swarovski rhinestone-bordered bow that became an internet sensation and even had its own website. In 2015, she brought Obama and many others to tears with a triumphant performance of Natural Woman at a Kennedy Center tribute for the song’s co-writer, Carole King.

Her voice transcended age, category and her own life. Franklin endured the exhausting grind of celebrity and personal troubles dating back to childhood. The mother of two boys by age 16 (she later had two more), she struggled with her weight, family problems and financial setbacks. Her strained marriage in the 1960s to then-manager Ted White was widely believed to have inspired her performances on several songs, including (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone, Think and Ain’t No Way. Producer Jerry Wexler nicknamed her “Our Lady of Mysterious Sorrows.”

Despite growing up in Detroit, and having Smokey Robinson as a childhood friend, Franklin never recorded for Motown Records. Stints with Columbia and Arista were sandwiched around her prime years with Atlantic Records. But it was at Detroit’s New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father was pastor, that Franklin learned the gospel fundamentals that would make her a soul institution.

Aretha Louise Franklin was born March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee. The Rev CL Franklin soon moved his family to Buffalo, New York, then to Detroit, where the Franklins settled after the marriage of Aretha’s parents collapsed and her mother (and reputed sound-alike) Barbara returned to Buffalo.

CL Franklin was among the most prominent Baptist ministers of his time. He recorded dozens of albums of sermons and music and knew such gospel stars as Marion Williams and Clara Ward, who mentored Aretha and her sisters Carolyn and Erma. (Both sisters sang on Aretha’s records, and Carolyn also wrote Ain’t No Way and other songs for Aretha). Music was the family business and performers from Sam Cooke to Lou Rawls were guests at the Franklin house. In the living room, the shy young Aretha awed friends with her playing on the grand piano.

“A wonder child,” was how Robinson described her to Franklin biographer David Ritz.

Franklin was in her early teens when she began touring with her father, and in 1956 she released a gospel album through J-V-B Records. Four years later, she signed with Columbia Records producer John Hammond, who called Franklin the most exciting singer he had heard since a vocalist he promoted decades earlier, Billie Holiday. Franklin knew Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr and considered joining his label, but decided it was just a local company at the time.

Franklin recorded several albums for Columbia Records over the next six years. She had a handful of minor hits, including Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody and Runnin’ Out of Fools, but never quite caught on. The label tried to fit into her a hodgepodge of styles, from jazz and show songs to such pop numbers as Mockingbird, and Franklin struggled to develop the gifts for interpretation and improvisation that she later revealed so forcefully.

“But the years at Columbia also taught her several important things,” critic Russell Gersten later wrote. “She worked hard at controlling and modulating her phrasing, giving her a discipline that most other soul singers lacked. She also developed a versatility with mainstream music that gave her later albums a breadth that was lacking on Motown LPs from the same period.

“Most important, she learned what she didn’t like: to do what she was told to do.”

In 1966, her contract ran out and she jumped to Atlantic, home to such rhythm and blues giants as Ray Charles. Wexler highlighted her piano playing and teamed her with veteran R’n’B musicians from Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The result rocked as hard as the Rolling Stones while returning her to her gospel roots.

Her breakthrough was so profound that Ebony Magazine called 1967 the year of ‘’Retha, Rap and Revolt’. At a time of protest and division, Franklin’s records were signposts to a distant American dream — a musical union of the church and the secular, man and woman, black and white, North and South, East and West. They were produced and engineered by New Yorkers Wexler and Tom Dowd, arranged by Turkish-born Arif Mardin and backed by an interracial gathering of top session musicians.

“In black neighborhoods and white universities, in the clubs and on the charts, her hits came like cannonballs, blowing holes in the stylized bouffant and chiffon Motown sound,” Gerri Hirshey wrote in Nowhere to Run, a history of soul music that was published in 1984. “Here was a voice with a sexual payload that made the doo-wop era, the girl groups, and the Motown years seem like a pimply adolescence.”

The difference between Franklin at Columbia and Franklin at Atlantic shows in a pair of songs first performed by Dionne Warwick: Walk On By and I Say a Little Prayer. On Walk On By, recorded at Columbia, the arrangement stays close to the cool pop and girl group chorus of the original. I Say a Little Prayer, an Atlantic release, was a gospel workout, from Franklin’s church-influenced piano to the call-and-response vocals. From her years at Atlantic and through the rest of her life, she would rarely stick to anyone else’s blueprint for a song, often revising her own hits when she performed them on stage.

One of her boldest transformation came on her signature record and first No 1 hit, Respect, a horn-led march with a chanting “sock-it-to-me” chorus and the spelled out demand for “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.” Franklin had decided she wanted to “embellish” the R’n’B song written by Otis Redding, whose version had been a modest hit in 1965.

“When she walked into the studio, it was already worked out in her head,” Wexler wrote in Rolling Stone magazine in 2004. “Otis came up to my office right before Respect was released, and I played him the tape. He said, ‘She done took my song.’ He said it benignly and ruefully. He knew the identity of the song was slipping away from him to her.”

In a 2004 interview with the St. Petersburg Times, Franklin was asked whether she sensed in the ‘60s that she was helping change popular music.

“Somewhat, certainly with Respect, that was a battle cry for freedom and many people of many ethnicities took pride in that word,” she answered. “It was meaningful to all of us.”

She was rarely off the charts in 1967 and 1968 and continued to click in the early 1970s with the funky Rock Steady and other singles and such acclaimed albums as the intimate Spirit in the Dark. Her popularity faded during the decade, but revived in 1980 with a cameo appearance in the smash movie The Blues Brothers and her switch to Arista Records, run by her close friend Clive Davis. Franklin collaborated with such pop and soul artists as Luther Vandross, Elton John, Whitney Houston and George Michael, with whom she recorded a No 1 single, I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me). Her 1985 album Who’s Zoomin’ Who received some of her best reviews and included such hits as the title track, a phrase she came up with herself, and Freeway of Love.

If she never quite recaptured the urgency and commercial success of the late ‘60s, she never relinquished her status as the singer among singers or lost her willingness to test herself, whether interpreting songs by Lauryn Hill and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs on her acclaimed A Rose Is Still a Rose album or filling in at the 1998 Grammy ceremony for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti. She covered songs by Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke, but also music by Stephen Sondheim, Bread and the Doobie Brothers. At an early recording session at Columbia, she was asked to sing Over the Rainbow.

“If a song’s about something I’ve experienced or that could’ve happened to me, it’s good,” she told Time magazine in 1968. “But if it’s alien to me, I couldn’t lend anything to it. Because that’s what soul is about — just living and having to get along.”

Being ‘Aretha’ didn’t keep her from checking out the competition. Billing herself on social media as ‘The Undisputed Queen of Soul’, she lashed out at Beyonce for even suggesting that Tina Turner deserved the title and had sharp words for Mavis Staples and Gladys Knight, among others. She even threatened to sue Warwick in 2017.

Her albums over the past two decades included So Damn Happy, for which Franklin wrote the gratified title ballad, and Aretha Sings the Great Diva Classics, featuring covers of hits by Adele and Alicia Keys among others. Franklin’s autobiography, Aretha: From These Roots, came out in 1999. But she always made it clear that her story would continue, and that she would sing it.

“Music is my thing, it’s who I am. I’m in it for the long run,” she said in 2008. “I’ll be around, singing, What you want, baby I got it, having fun all the way.”

[labellerose-acheron]

# Howlelle, SFS, Fayecliffe ok im done

HOWELLE

what your muse’s name is in mine’s phone: The Great Wizard Howl Pendragon

what your muse’s picture is in mine’s phone: none unless tink took one adn changed it herself

your muse’s ringtone is in mine’s phone: standard one unless he changed it and then to some ABBA song that makes her roll her eyes every time it goes off

my muse’s last text to your muse: awww!! look at her!! she is getting so big!! hope you had a fun time and procured lots of amazingg ingredients…anything that could help with hades’ predicament?

SFS

what your muse’s name is in mine’s phone: la piquante Daisy Canard

what your muse’s picture is in mine’s phone: also a red carpet picture, probably the one from them at the opera house this summer

your muse’s ringtone is in mine’s phone: some edith piaf song probs

my muse’s last text to your muse: she’s alright, i think. getting away for a little while was good. we’re coming home tomorrow, i’m sure she will let you know when we’ve arrived. [[[hc that lou kept daisy up to date on the paris trip bc he knew annette turned her phone off and also hc that it’s rly the only talking they’ve done since they came back from france lol except maybe daisy sending condolences about ber]]]

FAYECLIFFE

what your muse’s name is in mine’s phone: Rog Radcliffe

what your muse’s picture is in mine’s phone: some dorky selfie of the two of them tbh or maybe rog with the kids–yup yes def a pic of rog with one of the babies strapped to his chest

your muse’s ringtone is in mine’s phone: if i was a rich girl, because perdy thinks she’s funny

my muse’s last text to your muse: y’know happy for you and anita but if you hurt her i’ll kick you’re ass and you know i will 😏😏