#and zephyrus has soap

[activatebutterflyshield]

Oh Hellos album creatures, again designed for possible patch and sticker making. The Four Winds can voltron together to make this original Oh Hellos creature.

Close ups under the cut

[soapcan18]

What I love abt Soap is not just that it’s called Soap and I love that silly ahh song name but bc it’s abt the narrator singing to the listener (probably their lover) how normally oil and water don’t mix BUT they do in order to make soap! So if the narrator and the listener (oil and water) put in the work they can make soap AKA their relationship work, PLUS there’s another layer to it since soap cleans, so the “soap” they create can heal their wounds and the pain they‘ve both gone through throughout their lives :)

ALSO the narrator has gone through three albums (even more if you consider this narrator to be the same one from the earlier LPs) of trauma and growth prior to this song and now they can finally pass everything they’ve learned to the listener so they don’t go through the same pain they did! And the last lyrics are “it’s gonna hurt like hell, but we’re gonna be well, I’ll give you my best shot” LIKE YES ITS GONNA BE HARD TO CHANGE BUT WE’RE GONNA DO IT TOGETHER also the “chorus” (if u wanna call it that) that the narrator repeats is “I think that you’re worth keeping around” LIKE AHHH IT’S JUST SUCH A SWEET SONG!!

Also I’m REALLY insane about the fact that in the song prior to Soap, Zephyrus, the narrator sings “So let me meltdown like mountain glaciers, break the bonds I've been holding onto” and THEN in Soap they sing “I think your worth holding onto” in the chorus. THEY’VE LET GO OF THE TOXIC UNHEALTHY COMMUNITY AND BELIEFS THEY USED TO BE ATTACHED TO AND ARE NOW HOLDING ONTO THE LISTENER AND THEIR NEW COMMUNITY THAT ARE GOOD FOR THEM!! It’s just a minor lyric connection and there’s tons of them in this song but I noticed that one recently and I love it

TL;DR Soap is an amazing song and The Oh Hellos are geniuses and you should listen to it and all their albums <3

[unboundprompts]

The Oh Hellos Prompts

➣ writing prompts from The Oh Hellos songs. feel free to edit as you see fit.

"The terrible fire of old regret is honey on my tongue." - Bitter Water

"There is beauty in the way of things." - There Beneath

"I am not the fool I was when I was younger." - Exeunt

"I am not afraid to die." - This Will End

"They were quick to recognize the devil in me." - Second Child, Restless Child

"I can't shake this feeling that I was only pushing the spear into your side again." - Passerine

"We have lived in fear, and our fear has betrayed us." - I Have Made Mistakes

"I want to be more than this devil inside of me." - Dear Wormwood

"I know I shouldn't love you." Bitter Water

"Leave the ruins where they fall." - Grow

"You can't take any gold or rings further than the grave." - Eurus

"I can see how this will end in all its bitter tragedy." - This Will End

"You'll bury me beneath the tree I climbed when I was a child." - Bitter Water

"The heavens can be both sacred and dust." - Hieroglyphs

"I cannot trust what you say when you're grieving." - Exeunt

"When I saw my reflection it was a stranger beneath my face." - The Lament of Eustace Scrubb

"Suffering is all there is to gain in life." - This Will End

"The sight held me fixed like a bayonet against my throat." - Pale White Horse

"We were born in the shadow of the crimes of our fathers." - The Valley

"My palms and fingers still reek of gasoline from throwing fuel to the fire." - Passerine

"You were the brightest shade of sun I had ever seen." - Like the Dawn

"I know that wicked shape to your smile." - Where Is Your Rider

"You have always been there in my mind." - Dear Wormwood

"I am coming home to you." - Thus Always To Tyrants

"I wanna give it all I've got, and I want nothing back." - Theseus

"I want to spin something out of nothing." - Zephyrus

"Blood was our inheritance." - The Valley

"I think that you're worth keeping around." - Soap

"I've got holes in my pockets burned by liar's gold." - In Memoriam

"You were the light that the fire would bring." - Passerine

"All the memories come flooding fast." - Grow

"Like the wind it slips again out of my fingers." - Eurus

"You've been too busy thinking ahead of where we're all going after we're dead to maybe consider our bodies are worth more than the dust that we can return to the ground again." - Hieroglyphs

"You were the song that I'd always sing." - Passerine

"We were born in the valley of the dead and the wicked." - The Valley

"Like the dawn you broke the dark and my whole earth shook." - Like the Dawn

"Death, she is cunning and clever as hell." - Eat You Alive

"They saw trouble in my eyes." - Second Child, Restless Child

"I stole from my father all I thought I could sell." - Wishing Well

"When I saw my demons I knew them well and welcomed them." - The Lament of Eustace Scrubb

"I was torn between my god and my Father." - I Was Wrong

"The rain will strengthen your soul." - I Have Made Mistakes

"If there's two things I know, it's that the sky looked white and then the water like wine when I first met you." - Lapis Lazuli

[moondirti]

call of duty masterlist.

darkfics are in red / mostly female readers! MDNI / AO3

cigarettes out the window ONESHOT. EXPLICIT. 9K WORDS

" It’s not hard to believe that the sidewalk could collapse in the weight of his presence. A distinct vacuum, all consuming yet contained. You wonder if he wears those layers for varied causes. Forked paths; keep out, stay in. " or: stakeouts and cigarettes

↳ IN THE SAME VERSE: jealousy / shotgun / nsfw alphabet / sad sex.

give peace a chance ONESHOT. EXPLICIT. 3K

" He’s surrounded by the safe walls of your home, but he’s in over his head. " or: you’re always there, waiting for him

cabin fever ONGOING. DARKFIC. 15K+

“Aren’t you supposed to be an– an animal… Or something.” You choke. “Or something.” It answers. or: you are a witch trapped at home by a devastating blizzard. ghost is the demon that answers your call. 

↳ CHAPTERS: part one. / part two. / part three

birdhouse ONESHOT. DARKFIC. 3K

" Aching jowls, frothy lips. Ageing, dirty beast – thrown the most delectable fucking bone. Because it's her. Cut straight from the centrefold of his favourite magazine and pasted a mere four feet away. " or: simon sees a familiar face.

jigsaws masterlist / THE SURGEON VERSE twice to own you masterlist / THE SAFEHOUSE VERSE

corruption / 18+ DRABBLE. praise / SFW DRABBLE. sunshine / SFW DRABBLE. rain / 18+ DRABBLE abrasive / 18+ DRABBLE the journal / 18+ DRABBLE hardware / SFW DRABBLE

thirsts –

teasing / taking charge / miscellaneous / throat fucking / chronically ill / nipple play / freak / ugly brute / rimjobs / watersports

charcoal. ONESHOT. EXPLICIT. 2K

" This is what the poets eulogise, this ‘swete breeth’ reverence. Zephyrus – he’s zephyr adjacent – the god of westerly wind. But he places you on a shrine like he’s not the being made of sun; touches you with a prayer imbued into his callouses – barnacled reminders of his life as Soap. " or: you and johnny draw portraits of one another

detectives / SFW DRABBLE

thirsts —

spit / what do i even call this / privateer / gooners / too much / sick

genesis ONESHOT. EXPLICIT. 8K

" It’s the first time you truly see him – this much of him, anyway. And he’s startlingly younger than you would’ve thought, hair still packed a uniform brown, the occasional wisp of grey speckled in the midst. " or: the progression of a spite-fuelled relationship

a pearl ONESHOT. EXPLICIT. 2k

" Still scarred; you don’t think he’s ever not been. Still scarred, yet vivid enough to accept a gentle caress he said helped muffle the phantom pain. He’d tell you the stories as you did (hardly ever pleasant), and you’d cherished them enough to remember." or: what follows bloodshed

angel of small death ONESHOT. EXPLICIT. 7k.

" So he sticks to what he has. Old familiars. Noxious inhibitors, palmed for upwards of ten pounds, crafted for old dodgers like himself. Tobacco, dry whiskey. Nicotine to spout fire to his hindbrain. Cheap, easy accesses that sate the itch behind his eyes, so long as he lights another. Ouroboros. It feeds itself and lasts. (Until you come off the tail end that is, and sever the loop with your own, clever little hands.) " or: he sees you when his vices take hold

thirsts –

romantic / forearms / farmer price / cockwarming

pink in the night STALKER x BALLERINA

part one. / part two.

best friend series

humping. / beach trip. / working your boys.

thirsts –

proving a point / tongue sucking / complex / arabic

antependium (slaughterhouse) ONESHOT. EXPLICIT. 3K WORDS

" The captain has not faded from the foreground. Though he sits, perched in an armchair across the parlour, Kyle still feels him weaving iron filigrees of influence around their every limb. Like he's standing above them, puppeteering — or, rather, making good of the years of practised obedience, their bodies whittled into vessels for his will. " or: a gangbang

the dahlia verse GHOAP x PREG! READER.

part one. / part two. / part three. / part four.

miss magic GHOAP x NANNY! READER.

part one. / part two.

↳ IN THE SAME VERSE: mother's day. appraisal / PRICEGAZ x f! READER hard to get / GHOAP x f! READER birdwatching / GHOAP x READER working your boys / SOAPGAZ x READER sharing is caring / 141 x f! READER protect your peace / GHOAP x READER he was mine first / SOAPGAZ x READER

thirsts –

the 141's top kinks / lingerie preferences / yoga headcanons / soapgaz / handle

headcanons / KÖNIG subbing / RUDOLFO PARRA wing man / RUDOLFO PARRA

[good-yonji-au]

So I discovered this AU about 5 hours ago and it has me in a chokehold. Your Yonji is a precious bean and he must be protected at all times, and Sanji being a big brother is everything I didn't even know I wanted. <3 I hope you don't mind the influx of questions I have after going through the whole tag.

So speaking of Sanji being a big brother, have he and Yonji ever hugged? If so, what prompted it? Is Yonji more touchy-feely than Sanji in general, or are they both pretty touch-averse?

How does Yonji fight? Did he develop his own style of fighting after leaving Germa 66, much like Sanji did, or does he still fight the way he did when working under Judge? Is he still really good at fighting, or does he easily become a nonfunctional, overwhelmed mess, bombarded on all sides with everyone's heightened and fraught emotions?

Does Yonji's prosthetic arm have attachments and hidden weapons? How does he upkeep it? Does he know how it works decently enough do to it himself, or does he have a mechanic that he goes to for tuneups?

Who taught Yonji tailoring and fashion? Sanji had Zeff to help him become a master chef, so did someone take Yonji under their wing in a similar fashion? Or is he entirely self-taught?

Does Yonji ever feel bad for leaving his brothers and sister behind? Unlike Sanji, who had normal human emotions from the get-go, Yonji's been on both sides of the fence, and he knows what it's like to be the sociopathic killing machine their father turned them into. Does he wish there was some way to trigger what happened to him in them as well? Do he and Sanji ever talk about their family? We know Sanji was the only one to regularly go and visit their mother, but do you think Yonji has any memories of her as well? Does he beg Sanji for stories about her?

Where does Yonji live? Does Sanji swing by to visit him every so often, or do they keep in touch by air mail, does Yonji join the Strawhats or just travel with them?

Does Sanji ever have a "O shit, I think I might actually love him" moment when it comes to Yonji? It could be something domestic like laughing together in Sanji's kitchen they work together to prepare a meal, or something like seeing Yonji about to be injured or even killed in the middle of a fight and going "This is the only little brother I've got, not on my watch, dammit!"

Lastly, do you have any songs in mind for you AU, aside from the ones you've used for your animatics? Some that came to mind for Yonji are:

"Stray Italian Greyhound" by Vienna Teng

"To Be Human" by Sia

"Zephyrus" by The Oh Hellos

"Stigma" by V

And I think "Soap" by The Oh Hellos maybe fits Sanji's feelings toward having his brother back in his life and being willing to extend a second chance to him after seeing how he's changed.

Holy shit that's a long ask! Lemme see...

So speaking of Sanji being a big brother, have he and Yonji ever hugged? If so, what prompted it? Is Yonji more touchy-feely than Sanji in general, or are they both pretty touch-averse?

They've hugged, mostly at WCI arc. But for the most part they're touch adverse (despite being touch starved). Yonji enjoys instigating physical affection to anyone but he's not great at taking it.

How does Yonji fight? Did he develop his own style of fighting after leaving Germa 66, much like Sanji did, or does he still fight the way he did when working under Judge? Is he still really good at fighting, or does he easily become a nonfunctional, overwhelmed mess, bombarded on all sides with everyone's heightened and fraught emotions?

Yonji very rarely fights anymore. He usually quickly gets overwhelmed and becomes a mess, yes, due to all of the emotions. Whenever he gets into a fight he loses control of his Haki and it's a bad time. However, if he has a goal, (protecting someone, getting something etc.) he can power through it. His fighting style is still mostly brute force punching because he hasn't learned any other way. However, when he joins the Revs, he gets taught to be more smart about it.

Does Yonji's prosthetic arm have attachments and hidden weapons? How does he upkeep it? Does he know how it works decently enough do to it himself, or does he have a mechanic that he goes to for tuneups?

It used to! He broke a lot of them/refuses to use them. He knew how it worked enough to keep it functional up until he meets the Strawhats and upon finding the frankly horrendous state of the prosthetic, Franky helps make Yonji a new one, specialized for tailoring! He rarely gets issues with the new are but if he does he can usually troubleshoot himself or attempt to contact Franky.

Who taught Yonji tailoring and fashion? Sanji had Zeff to help him become a master chef, so did someone take Yonji under their wing in a similar fashion? Or is he entirely self-taught?

For the most part, he's self-taught! Maybe I'll give him a mentor but I'm usually pretty adverse to making OCs for my AUs. Hmmmmm. He definitely had a training arc under some big name shops at one point though.

Does Yonji ever feel bad for leaving his brothers and sister behind? Unlike Sanji, who had normal human emotions from the get-go, Yonji's been on both sides of the fence, and he knows what it's like to be the sociopathic killing machine their father turned them into. Does he wish there was some way to trigger what happened to him in them as well? Do he and Sanji ever talk about their family? We know Sanji was the only one to regularly go and visit their mother, but do you think Yonji has any memories of her as well? Does he beg Sanji for stories about her?

*smacks yonji on the head* This good boy can fit so much guilt complex in him! He's guilty about everything all the time! Yes, he does want to help Ichiji and Niji, which comes into play post WCI. While Sanji and Yonji tend to avoid talking about Judge or their siblings, Sora has been brought up before. I know I haven't mentioned it on tumblr yet, but I sometimes draw Yonji with a necklace, which is supposed to be a trinket of Sora's that Reiju gave to him when Yonji ran away. Yonji's memories of Sora is hazy and he pretty torn up about it. Yeah, he asks Sanji for stories about her. <3

Where does Yonji live? Does Sanji swing by to visit him every so often, or do they keep in touch by air mail, does Yonji join the Strawhats or just travel with them?

He lives on this random island along the Grandline! Something kinda like Saboady or Hand Island. The Straw Hats (specifically) Sanji has visited few times post the initial meeting but Yonji does not actively travle with them. He might had, like, one adventure with them but otherwise he's not part of the crew or anything. He does get the SH's den den mushi number and keeps in touch that way. Occasionally he'll send packages- usually at the behest of Sanji at the behest of Nami, lol. Later, Yonji ends up getting roped into joining the Revs and he splits his time between being at his shop and at Baltigo.

Does Sanji ever have a "O shit, I think I might actually love him" moment when it comes to Yonji? It could be something domestic like laughing together in Sanji's kitchen they work together to prepare a meal, or something like seeing Yonji about to be injured or even killed in the middle of a fight and going "This is the only little brother I've got, not on my watch, dammit!"

YES! Specifically Yonji crying and gushing about how good Sanji's cooking is. Yonji is a little foodie and while he can't cook to save his life, he does happen to know a good bit about how food gets made and really learned to appreciate the effort that goes into cooking. Sanji is not normal over this fact. He has the "Don't touch my brother!" moment at WCI screaming at Judge. Which sends Yonji into a blubbering mess. (A lot of things happen WCI lmfao.)

Lastly, do you have any songs in mind for you AU, aside from the ones you've used for your animatics?

My ass doesn't actively listen to a whole bunch of music but I have made a playlist for this AU! The vibe mostly is like upbeat songs with sad lyrics lol.

Forgive my terrible terrible taste in music:

Thank you for the songs! Gonna snag 'em and add 'em to the playlist hehe.

Also, thank you for the ask!!!! <3 <3

[melit0n]

Something that irks me within The Oh Hellos fandom (and Half·Alive because I'm gonna talk about them too) is people who listen to their music, mainly starting off with Solider, Poet, King because that is arguably their most popular song for multiple different reasons, say they really like it, and then find out The Oh Hellos' are Christian based (similar to Half·Alive), and then suddenly they say they hate it.

(ranting and explanation under the cut)

Like yeah, Solider, Poet, King is originally written about Jesus (and his supposed second coming) and or about Judas, Mary Magdalene and Jesus (Judas=soldier, M.M=poet, Jesus=king), but I don't underestand why that has an effect on people liking it (A). Or even religious people getting straight up mad about others misinterpreting Soldier, Poet, King, or misinterpreting the song themselves in general (B).

(A). This is like, one of the hundreds of comments I scrolled through on just a lyric video for Solider, Poet, King. Like come on.

(B). Taken from @lovejoycdinnit post which inspired this rant.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why some people are adverse to Christianity, coming from someone who was raised on Catholic Christianity, I can easily understsand the traumas that revolve around the religion, and, considering how many Christians act, the general hatred towards them as well. But instead of denoting the song, just because it's Christian and you've got issues with the religion, think about how many layers that adds. In The Oh Hellos' music, they constantly preach about forgiveness, kindness and loyalty, especially in their newest albums (I mean, take a listen to Soap from Zephyrus).

Same can be said with Half·Alive's Creature. People will listen to it, say it's really good, immediately put it into their character playlist (either OC or fandom character), maybe even find themselves in that song and then find out Half·Alive is based within the religious faith held by the main singer, and suddenly people don't like it.

Further, people need to stop being hypocrites when it comes to religious bands and or musicians who take ideas from the Bible for their work and say they like them, but not others. It's impossible to say Hozier and Ethel Cane for their religious ideals and ideas they take out of different Holy Books, but then dislike The Oh Hellos and Half·Alive for the pure fact of being religious.

Just because the songs are religious (either about general faith, or Jesus Himself) doesn't mean they can't be about your blorbos anymore! Solider, Poet, King can still be about your DnD characters, your group of friends, your own OCs or just fandom characters in general. Creature can still be about your DnD characters, your struggle with being human in a mental and physical sense, your own OCs or fandom characters. It legitimately doesn't matter. I get finding out the true meaning of a song can make people dislike it, but when it's specifically religious that's just straight up wrong. At that point it's just misotheism.

[saxhleel]

I have a concept album rec!! It's a bit of a listen, but the Oh Hellos released 4 EPs called Notos, Eurus, Boreas, and Zephyrus. They're meant to represent summer, fall, winter, and spring respectively and kinda borrow lyrical themes and concepts from each other, and it works best if you listen to em in that order. Each of em are about 20 mins long to my memory, so I think in total about an hour and a half of music? They're very much folk/folk-rock so idk if that's up your alley, but they're my fav band and I like their lyrical style, it's very poetry-esque. :]

Hi! I’m back lol I spent the last 4 days or so listening to The Four Winds and replaying them over and over again not only for pure enjoyment but also to understand the narrative hidden underneath all its poetry.

VERY good albums, VERY good songs, love the lyrics, it’s very poetic as you say and every line has a lot behind it. I’ve added them to my music library and I’ll keep listening to them for sure. My favorite album was Eurus, followed by Notos, Zephyrus and lastly Boreas. As for the songs, my absolute favs in no particular order are: Grow, Hieroglyphs, Torches, Constellations, New River, Eurus, Rio Grande, Soap.

Here’s my take on the albums below:

To me the overarching theme of the albums is Change or the Cycle of Change, with a religious subtone as seen through all the references to Greco-Roman beliefs and Christianity.

Notos starts off as the Denial of Change, it’s about questioning yourself, your ideas, beliefs, perceptions, etc. Something’s off, there’s a grim underline hidden beneath, every good intention is interpolation a line we drew in the array. It’s your first glimpse into the realization that you have to change but can’t bear the idea of destroying everything that you are, destroy all that you were taught.

Eurus is the (Reluctant) Acceptance of Change, it’s coming, there’s no way to stop it, you understand that it has to happen and even though you are scared of it you have to let go and let yourself grow, tear everything down and rebuild it again.

Boreas…. idk really lol Death? Rebirth? Rebirth after Death? After many replays I struggle to grasp what it’s saying.

Zephyrus seems to me to be Enlightenment, fully understanding the Cycle of Change, being part of it and to keep repeating the cycle, not only to yourself but to endow it to others as well. We keep that old wheel turning over and over again, we lay the next spoke down, over and over again.

The albums play into each other and with each other very well, they reference each other, what’s about to come and what has passed, the coming of the seasons with the coming of the winds, Eurus (autumn) being scared of the sudden decay in Boreas (winter) and Zephyrus (spring) using that decay to rebuild anew, only for Notos (summer) to start the cycle again.

[coloursfalllikesnow]

Anemoi + OCs  Collection, Part 4 - Zephyrus

A small collection of drawings I’ve done, featuring an OC (or OCs) of my troupe with each song from the four Anemoi albums by The Oh Hellos. Unless noted, the majority are my own characters; notes that follow are courtesy of @noctuafoxglove

---

Mother (Rio Grande) - Given that this song has a lot of birth analogies, the connection is already fairly obvious by name alone. But it does go deeper than that. Rio Grande, as a song, is a celebration of the full-hearted embrace of the New, not just new life but new connections and new ideas. Being almost completely detached from both human and Garou societies at-large, Mother sees nothing but the glorious entirety of it all; no life is inherently more or less worthy and all should be embraced. When she sees that most don't hold this view, she resolves to be an example of all she believes. 

Reva (Holding on Where I Am Able) - Belongs to @moonlightsylph - The storm and uncertainty has passed, and the once-violent winds from Notos have settled into something warm and soothing. Far from having lost their passion or even fully their anger, these winds now direct it towards healing what has been broken, much as Reva devotes her life to helping those who have nowhere else to turn. This dedication can weigh heavy on one's shoulders, but better to be a handhold for someone than let them drift away. 

Nicole (Theseus) - Belongs to @noctuafoxglove - It's easy, when you've been through so much fear and pain, to wish that everything could just be destroyed. It would be freeing to spend your time praying that something will come and burn it all down and to hell with everyone else. Resolving to fix what's broken, even if it hurts and even if what comes after is barely recognizable, is worth the effort when it ultimately makes the world a better place for everyone. Nicole could have continued the cycle of violence she grew up in. It would have been so, so easy. But she rejects the idea of letting anyone endure that kind of pain and rejection again. 

Dirty Paws+Crimson Branches (Zephyrus)- Dirty Paws belongs to @antipathiczora - The World of Darkness, overall, is filled with division. Even the Garou, all fighting the same enemy in the same war, find themselves deeply fractured along ideological lines. And yet the potential to heal and reconcile is there, should they remember the Earth that birthed and nurtured them. Even two from extremely different backgrounds can put aside the baggage their peoples had once been weighed down by and resolve to grow something new and beautiful together. Even warriors can let go and soften themselves, given time. 

Signet (Murmurations/Reading the Augury) - Despite how far we may go in our journeys, we become aware that there are always those we'll encounter along the way that still need to learn the hard lessons we've accepted for ourselves. But we approach them with new, opened eyes, knowing how to read the signs that being buried under anger, fear, and despair can make us blind to. We don't clutch our progress close to our chests and jealously hoard it, but share what we've learned in hopes that we can reduce the suffering that comes with it, both for people and the world. 

Elijah (Soap) - Belongs to @noctuafoxglove - This is a song primarily about forgiveness and opening up, both for others and for yourself. Elijah's desperation to escape rejection and self-weakness lead him to a number of destructive decisions that eventually took him entirely. But what gave him redemption wasn't continuing to burn bridges and finding refuge in those that would blithely feed the worst in him, but to accept that softness in earnest and move on from the mistakes, allowing better influences into his life that would accept him as he was, and resolve to truly heal. 

Yata (Rounds) - belongs to @moonlightsylph - Every cycle must eventually reach the point where it began. Even as people grow older and wiser and approach the end of their paths, someone new is just coming into the start of their journeys. As such, conclusions are not to be avoided, not escaped through clinging to our egos that tell us to fear the idea that someone else will carry on where we left off. By telling our own stories and sharing our experiences and putting forward everything we are, we allow that which grows from our ashes to be more bright and beautiful than what we could accomplish on our own. 

[Notos - Eurus - Boreas - Zephyrus]

[bogkeep]

what is your favorite Oh Hellos album?

[scandalized gasp] you want me to pick a FAVOURITE album???????? i cannot

short answer: the albums all have different vibes and i love all of them in their own way and cannot quantify it enough to list them comprehensively, especially the anemoi EPs have a strong Do Not Separate vibe for me

longer answer: i own a physical version of Every Album, including the christmas album, which may very well be the only christmas album i will ever own. if i remember correctly, i got into the oh hellos in 2015, just at the cusp of dear wormwood's release. my exposure to them were people including their songs on 8tracks playlists (OH 8tracks, i miss you...), and while i Liked them i didn't get Hooked until i heard 'where is your rider' at which point i ended up listening to both of their big albums for their own merit and not just playlist pieces. since then, every EP release has sort of occupied a very strong emotional space in my life at each time, so it's like... i can't scalpel it out of that.

THAT SAID i can list my fave tracks from each album...! at the time of writing at least. music faves is a shifting beast.

THE OH HELLOS EP: lay me down; trees

THROUGH THE DEEP DARK VALLEY: like the dawn; eat you alive; second child, restless child; wishing well; in memoriam; the lament of eustace scrubb; the valley (reprise)

DEAR WORMWOOD: bitter water; exeunt; where is your rider; thus always to tyrants

NOTOS: on the mountain trail; torches; notos; new river

EURUS: o sleeper; grow; hieroglyphs; passerine

BOREAS: cold; boreas; glowing

ZEPHYRUS: rio grande; soap

[milk-and-violets]

What’s your favorite tohs song ?

Oh, the fatal question! I could not tell you, but I can say my top from each album, and why a few oddballs may have been my favorites at certain times.

Eponymous Album: I think I underrate this album so much, and honestly going back and thinking about these songs has me longing to go listen to the live versions again. Honestly, out of all the albums, this one was the hardest for me to pick my favorite, and it kinda ties between "Lay Me Down," and "Cold is the Night," and the only reason "Trees" isn't also vying with them is because I just want there to be more of it.

The fact that "Second Child, Restless Child" echoes concepts in "Lay Me Down" hits me every single time and I love it so much for that reason alone. It speaks to my experience as a curious, energetic child stuck in church when I was little, and the feeling of being driven away from a place because you deeply believe the word isn't how people around you say it is?? Slaps. (I may or may not be having full song analysis thoughts about that now, h e l p)

As for "Cold is the Night," see: take away this apathy / and bury it before it buries me. Need I say more? The lyrics in that one are also just. Hauntingly evocative. They feel like a lullaby sung by a knowing older self to a younger one. Or vice versa? Just thinking about "bitter is the thought of all that time / spent searching for something I'll never find" and *reminiscing on loss of faith noises*

Through the Deep, Dark Valley (TTDDV): I love so many of the songs in this album, obviously. Mostly the first 3 and the last 4. However, I can say that (partially due to my love of niche live performances) my true fave is the combo set of "The Truth Is a Cave" running into "Valley (Reprise)." Nothing like it. Sublime. Heart-threatening. Makes you wanna jump off of something like a big box speaker and throw a tambourine straight at someone's head.

Dear Wormwood: This album deserves the hype it gets, really and truly. If I want to go really nostalgic, I can listen to it all through and have the full experience of human emotion. However, the two songs from it that Really captured my heart are "This Will End" and "Thus Always to Tyrants."

"This Will End" is just.... I don't cry a lot. Almost never. But I would happy cry if I got to see that song played live. I know it. "Thus Always to Tyrants" is the song that makes me channel Maggie's Pickathon energy and dance barefoot on any available surface.

Notos: (my beloved) "Constellations" was the song that Got Me Into The Oh Hellos. I owe that song my life. That at "On the Mountain Tall." I was having a relapse into LOTR phase and I think I listened to those two songs almost exclusively for at least a week. They were my favorite songs for a solid month.

Eurus: Eurus, from Eurus. The OG. The song that got me Really into the Oh Hellos. That made me stop and go: oh Word? Passerine gets a shoutout for being my blog title and also for the METAPHOR??? Like Maggie and Tyler did Not mince words and I love them forever for that. They really said we're gonna roast prosperity gospel & harmful theology and we will take no prisoners.

Boreas: Like the above, Boreas, from Boreas. But only for the period of time before the rest of the album came out. This song gets a shoutout for being my Most Listened To Song from 2020 even though it came out like halfway through the year. I listened to that song non-stop for like three days, and then burned myself out enough that I couldn't listen to it again for about a month and half. The other song I really love from that album is "Cold," which I went feral enough over that I wrote my first lyrics analysis post about it! (Lapis Lazuli slaps too, but everyone knows that)

Zephyrus: Ahhh my white whale of an album. My favorite color. The season of my soul's aesthetic. This album was so different. So spicy and delightful. I pulled a Boreas-Boreas with "Soap", and now I find it too sweet to listen to often. I think of it quite fondly though. My favorite song from this album is, without a doubt, Rio Grande. It feels like an adventure song, which I adore so much. I think my first 5 listens gave me at least a year of my life back. I have (1) draft on tumblr and it's my 6 paragraph unfinished analysis of that song.

[prinsesa-ng-musika]

My Reactions to Zephyrus (the EP) by The Oh Hellos 🐇

Hello yes I know this is months late but hey have it as a Christmas treat I guess XD (also stream The Oh Hellos’ Family Christmas album!). Anyway I had the recording in my phone for a couple of months now and it’s time 

Under the cut! Also btw I already read the lyrics before listening, for context.

1. Rio Grande

-WAIT I KNOW THIS MELODY this is hieroglyphs-

-”grand”

-wow this is so catchy

-aww okay i’m gonna cry

-thankfully this actually has a refrain (idk why i said thankfully i think i meant that it would be easier to memorize lol)

-okay. but whatever one of them says “our” it feels like their talking about all of us and not just like themselves, and it feels so personal <3

-awww that was cute

Intermission

-me, after the song ends: spotify you better not ruin my stream

-spotify: *proceeds to give me an ad*

-me: -_-

-well at least that means it won’t give me an ad between howiab and theseus bc that’s probably gonna be a more smooth transition, it’s better that the ad is before the instrumental rather than after

2. Holding on Where I Am Able

-this sounds like planetarium stickers (at least the vibe of the instruments becoming more prominent every now and then then fading out)

3. Theseus

-(in regards to the funky intro) um. okay, what- what is this- oh my goshhh the electric-ish vibe it reminds me of murmurations. maybe that’s where it got it from?

-”closing round it” ROUND!!!

-waitttt this lyric (”at the edges of my fingers, never quite closing round it”  gives me eurus vibes, specifically “like the wind, it slips again, out of my fingers”

-”ways don’t ever...” that’s a good lyric

-ohhh this was the line maggie was talking abt abt canyons (the canyon line lol)

-is this the lapis lazuli melody??? it better be (the riffs in the background)

-aw yikes (in a “this called me out” sense”

-that’s the boreas theme-

-(a very niche reaction but) why does this remind me of reunion by paradise fears-

-d a n g

4. Zephyrus

-oh... aww

-this is so tender

- maggie got the lead in three of the titular songs oof

-*lots of active listening... i didn’t say much but i knew i was in love*

5. Murmurations/Reading the Augury -already heard in 10.2.2020

- I really really like this instrumental

-I’m aware this song is a mixture of many songs but I have a terrible ear so I literally do not here it lmao

6. Soap

-THE TRANSITION BETWEEN MURMURATIONS AND SOAP THO 😍

-already heard this before duh but still love it

-*bops and sings happily*

-this is the point where I started genuinely crying

-the callback to theseus and its theme of fixing

-I THINK THAT YOU’RE WORTH KEEPING AROUND!!!! 😭

7. Rounds

-ooo pretty instrumental

-i like how they decided to end it softly instead of going with an all-out closer

-*patiently waits for the vocals*

-*realizes this is gonna be a minute long intro*

-*starts crying even harder*

-this is bc i realized that i was focusing on the lyrics bc i wanted to get as much information/words in my ear as possible, but with this long instrumental, i felt like the heaths were giving me a break and telling me that hey, you’re allowed to slow down and enjoy the simple sound of instruments

-you don’t always need to analyze, you sometimes just need to feel

-THE BOREAS MELODY!!! (”on and on and on again” = “round around a round again”)

-it’s so cyclical... adore

-thank you to the oh hellos

Andddd that’s where the emotional ride of the Anemoi EPs ends folks!!! My favorite is definitely Rounds, especially since I’ve had time to relisten now. Thanks for reading!!!

[filia-secunda]

Notes from listening to the Zephyrus EP by the Oh Hellos

RIO GRANDE beginning instrumental sounds like "Hieroglyphs" "Somewhere south of here" - Mexico but also the general "global south" Bible references: Moses, faith the size of a mustard seed. Weren't there a lot of Old Testament passages that compared wisdom, or Israel, to a vineyard? (They can't be referencing the Last Supper.) Of course the camel thinks the needle's eye will be roomy and easy to go through. Does the "cable" mean anything Scriptural? the shout at 1:07, though quieted, sounds genuinely aggressive or pained "A seed of an idea, like mustard greens, like newborn fingers, stretched up and reached through the hardest part of me." An idea embodied in smallness/openness/vulnerability, like the Infant Jesus or Moses or the rabbit on the Zephyrus cover, will turn a heart sooner than an idea that incarnates as something violent/miilitant. "Tinfoil idols" jarred me at first because I'm still used to thinking of conspiracy theories as belittled minority ideas with no societal power and an anti-establishment bent. But with a US President suddenly promoting so many, maybe they are "established" enough to be called idols now. "Our pre-fab Mount Olympus / divided by the thousands" - YESS GO OFF. Our government is decided for us before we ever go to vote (you should still vote though, because maybe the mountain can be moved), capitalist industry has locked the poor around the world into pre-fabricated poverty, and I love to see a folk song fight it. I caught a whiff of the Malvina Reynolds or Woodie Guthrie spirit from this line. HOLDING ON WHERE I AM ABLE old-time-sounding fiddle gonna make me cry

THESEUS referencing the hymn "When peace like a river attendeth my way" "The slow trickling thaw that sets the banks in half / The sweet melody it makes when the canyons crack" - these lines show water as a force of good destruction like in New River, but I mostly just wanted to quote them because they're the most mellifluous stuff I've heard in a big week. "No single-use Ark to discard in an instant / Like Theseus's ship, we'll fix the busted bits / Till it's both nothing like and everything it's always been." I guess maybe the Heaths *do* consider themselves still Christian. They've replaced all the old planks of their Christianity - pruned all the feathers like leaves from a vine - but they do consider the replacement to be still Christianity, and claim we have to change it if we don't plan to discard it. "I want to mend what I've got instead of throwing away." Hm. "It's gonna hurt like hell to become well" - Soap before Soap! ZEPHYRUS Contrasting the first and last verses - wholeness not found in looking at the sky, but growing things from the ground? (Top-down vs. grassroots organization?) I really do not understand the next couple verses, but they're phrased extremely beautifully. "I want to spin something out of nothing / lead to gold" - alchemy but also writing with pencil-lead! I'm in love with the casual femininity of verse 6 - "I wanna help mother up an orchard / daughter phoenix rise" The gentleness of this song, and the joy the singer takes in giving life - here comes the spring! "Break the bonds I've been holding onto" - considering Soap, this is probably something about chemistry. I wouldn't have thought of this myself, but Genius Lyrics says the last verse is about death - specifically the part of the life cycle where your body (if buried) fertilizes the ground around you, like in Boreas - "let my body be a darker soil." I'm not sure I agree yet but am considering. MURMURATIONS Never noticed the laughter at the end before. No other substantial observations though.

SOAP Others have already pointed out most of the things I've noticed in this song. How do they make phrases like "molecular rift you can't fix" so flowing and fun to say? The two verses about softness, not toughness, being what's necessary for growth - connected with how the EPs' covers depict progressively softer animals? A cicada is hard-shelled and alien, a goose is at least a vertebrate but not a very relatable one, a bear is a soft mammal but big and dangerous, but a rabbit basically embodies and inspires gentleness.

Rounds

An epilogue kinda thing where they break the fourth wall to talk about the preceding songs. To say, "Wait, I'm still speaking? Well I'm gonna take a break," to apologize for not speaking as well as other "prophets," and to hope that their words lead to some good effect. It's a sweet, humble goodbye, like the end of a small friendly concert.

"I'll go on and on and on" (Boreas), "echoing hymn" (Passerine but with different connotations) "around again" (Torches, Hieroglyphs), "we start where I end" (Boreas again).

"Be the sun as my witness / Better prophets could pen / A thousand words for every chord / I ever could begin. / May their carbon given / Be an echoing hymn / That goes on and on and on again / So long as I live" - pencil-graphite is a form of carbon, so I think they're rephrasing the "lead into gold" line of Zephyrus, but they're also talking about the carbon we're made of ("we are matter and it matters"). Some of these "prophets" write, but others just live out/embody their own messages and use their own hands to mend what's broken around them. They let their bodies breathe life into the corners, be a darker soil, and water deep to the roots of something greener.

This whole EP is very Incarnational actually

[halcyonmirage]

Mage Swap AU (Placeholder name for now)

In an alternate universe, time and space warps the lives of the six mages. Nix, Valerie, Astraea, Zephyrus, Atira, and Indra in their younger years find themselves in a completely different world and time from their own.

Some of them come from different time periods than the others. So although normally Zephyrus is a few years older than Nix, the Nix that wakes up in this new world is in his teens whereas Zephyrus is much younger.

Confused and lost, the 6 young mages have no idea how to return home...

Luckily, they aren’t alone. Each of them finds themselves next to one of the 6 Champion Mages of the world they have come to.

Just as confused as the children, the mages Chelsea, Ethan, Elena, Arete, Etienne, and Seth have no choice but to take the young mages in and try to bring them back to their original world and time.

As the mages and children split up into pairs, their adventures and their time spent together forges new friendships and unforgettable memories.

Seth Callaway:

The most powerful Justice mage of his time, Seth is often referred to as a "lone wolf". He is constantly on the move and never stays in one town for too long. Most of the time, he camps out in the wilderness.

The reason? Seth is a vigilante and a bounty hunter, running on his own sense of Justice.

Although some consider him a hero, many see him as a criminal and a threat. And so, he has quite a few enemies.

In combat, Seth has an incredible sense of accuracy. He wields a projectile based rune weapon similar in appearance to a rifle. However, the weapon is flexible and has the ability to change shape, adapting to rapid fire or slower more powerful shots. Depending on the severity of their crime, Seth will adjust his magic to lethal or non-lethal means when dealing with his targets.

Meeting Indra:

- Seth meets Indra while on the run from some bandits who weren't so happy with him taking out their leader.

- He's annoyed at the little kid at first, and tells him to leave. But eventually ends up dragging Indra with him in order to keep him safe.

- Seth agrees to find Indra's mother and take him home before they go their separate ways.

- Upon realizing that Indra may not exactly be from around "here", he decides to care for him longer.

- The two journey from place to place while Seth finds work, and develop a bond like father and son! Even though Indra doesn't approve of all of Seth's actions.

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

Seth: Aghh, fuck! I'm out of smokes!

Indra: *He gasps.* YOU SAID A SWEAR!

Seth: ???

Yeah? Kid, you better not have a problem with that. I curse like a damn sailor.

Indra: *He pouts.* Swearing is bad! You have to wash your mouth out with soap now! And that's gross.

Seth: Wash my mouth out with- Kid, who the fuck told you that?

Indra: YOU SAID IT AGAIN! YOU SAID THE F WORD!

Seth: OH MY GOD IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER, I'LL CUSS IF I WANT TO!

Indra: NOOOOO! YOU CAN'T SWEAR! ONLY BAD PEOPLE SWEAR, AND YOU CAN'T BE A BAD PERSON!

Seth: I THOUGHT KIDS LIKED SWEARING! DON'T YOU LITTLE SHITS THINK ITS COOL OR SOMETHING? WHY ARE YOU THE ONLY RUNT I'VE SEEN WHO HAS SOMETHING AGAINST SWEARING!?

Indra: *He looks at the bounty hunter in horror.*

You...You say the S word too...!?

Seth: Oh for fucks sake-

CRY ME A RIVER!

[prinsesa-ng-musika]

i have more zephyrus thoughts later i promise but i literally cannot keep quiet about rounds!!! the BEGINNING INSTRUMENTAL especially!

it has a minute long instrumental at the start of the song. that's LONGER than either of the individual instrumentals in the album. it made me cry. (i was already crying during soap but that got me, along with the boreas' "on and on and on again" reprise)

the oh hellos really said "hey we're giving you a li'l instrumental to remind you to maybe breathe and reflect and calm down instead of immediately just waiting for the lyrics" and i'm just,, thank you??? it's my absolute nature to focus on the lyrics of a song than the instrumentals so that hit HARD. there are so many things about rounds (and all of zephyrus!) i loved but the instrumental had me floored 😭💚😭💚😭