#anyway. woe. song from my playlist be upon ye.

[louhinks]

And that's alright

[gravedigg]

Angel Eliou Argyros, 1989 - 1998

[biblicallyaccuratecrow]

rambling about songs my brain associates with isat (pt. 1)

[woe, spoilers be upon ye!]

i have a 250+ song isat playlist. I am unhealthily obsessed with finding new songs to put in it. Here's a few that make me go absolutely batshit insane.

I've already rambled about this one on my art account a while back, but this song is so insanely loop-coded....

I'm standing on a stage Of fear and self-doubt It's a hollow play, But they'll clap anyway

You could give me any song that has some kind of reference to plays or theatre and I could probably find a way to make it about isat. but specifically this makes me think about twohats and how loop views their place in the world as a performance, a pawn, not even a character but a plot device... yeah

I'm living in an age That calls darkness light Though my language is dead Still the shapes fill my head I'm living in an age Whose name I don't know Though the fear keeps me moving, Still my heart beats so slow

I probably don't have to break this one down for you, but yeah, Island North of Vaugarde, the forgotten language... "still the shapes fill my head" has always in my mind referenced the stars and constellations, and how they're familiar but foreign...

-

thanks to @/ricecaqes and their trust ceremony animatic, this song lives in my head rent free. Even just as a whole this song is SO isat for me. literally from the first fucking lines:

Will I know when I’ve gone too far? Or frozen myself in time? An impossible brain with impossible wants Lost and astray, with impossible thoughts

like. it really can't get much more nail on the head than that?

then you got this:

So cold, I’m freezing Every piece of praise and sign that I’m believed in Solid in a crystal ball It bends the waves of the light to mend the rest of my life

and literally the first time I heard this song i paused it and said, out loud, "OH FUCK." Because. it's act 5 siffrin. Like, the slow descent into despair followed by the determination that the only way to perserve the life and the family they love is to keep them with him, to do the exact same thing the king did...

Do you also see your future starting with the farthest part? Live your life to close the space between the end and start And when it’s hard, do you hang onto any chance That you might be in control? That you’re the one who owns

For one, once you reach the end of act 2, you're constantly aware of the head housemaiden being as far as you can go, and then you're planning around it the entire time.

And then, you have. siffrin grasping for any kind of control they can have over the situation, desperately. and failing repeatedly because they simultaneously think that they are undeserving of getting what they ultimately want... yeah...

i won't go into the rest of the lyrics because honestly it's pretty well covered by the animatic but. yeah trust ceremony my sweet beloved.

-

rest in peace siffrin no middle no last name, you would have loved the mountain goats.

yeah uh. this one is also pretty high up on songs that make me go "damn that's siffrin alright".

I am this great, unstable mass of blood and foam And no one in her right mind would make my home her home My heart's an autoclave

i think for me it's the idea of siffrin feeling like they're nothing, and even if they are something or someone, they are bad, worse than bad, worthless. also referencing homesickness.... yeah...

When I try to open up to you I get completely lost Houses swallowed by the earth, windows thick with frost And I reach deep down within, but the pathways twist and turn And there's no light anywhere, and nothing left to burn

I mean, this one is also pretty self-evident. siffrin losing hope while being stuck in the house... wanting to connect with the party but being completely uncapable of doing so out of the sheer terror of being left behind... act 5, with the house literally warping...

I dreamt that I was perched atop a throne of human skulls On a cliff above the ocean, howling wind and shrieking seagulls And the dream went on forever, one single static frame Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name

siffrin feels responsible for the loops, every aspect of them. their deaths, their party-member's deaths, their failures, everything. and in the end, all they really wanted was for someone to truly see them? to have a family, to not be left behind and forgotten by the world.... the importance of names and siffrin's name in particular in the story also makes this hit home for me.

-

for brevity's sake i'll just start with these three- if people are interested in hearing me justify my insane music choices i'll probably do more.... for now, see ya!

[reverienne]

songs to ship by

I was tagged by @kawaterrier to list 5-10 ship songs. Thank you so much!

I invite @aylaaescar, @consulaaris, @czandziowata, @etoilebinaire and @lavampira to also experience this Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known. (It's fun!)

I'm not nearly prepared enough to make them ~consistent ~, as in: from just a single ship playlist, so here's a bunch of everything.

Also half of them are in Polish and I'm not giving you any translations because I missed Tumblr's Speak Your Language Day for the xth time in a row and I'm taking this chance to make up for it. Woe, Polish be upon ye!

1. IGNACY - Czekam Na Znak

Tylko czekam na znak Czekam i tak Rób co tylko zechcesz Chwytaj mnie za serce

This is such a Juliander Strzygomski/Chase Trinaeste song. I won't explain it. It just is.

2. Sarsa - Tęskno Mi

Zobacz ile mogło być takich chwil Naiwne dziecko jestem i tęsknię dziś Do Ciebie, bez Ciebie miało być mi lżej

Does it fit the requirements? Anyway, I have this on my Emerald Aeducan/Alistair Theirin playlist so it counts.

3. Cleo - Za Krokiem Krok

Chodzę dziś znów (Chodzę znów) Tobie po głowie Za krokiem krok (Tup, tup, tup) Tupet masz i nie powiesz

If you know me, you know that annoyances to (friends to) lovers is one of my biggest weaknesses.

4. Feel, Lanberry - Gotowi Na Wszystko

Bo nic już nie liczy się bardziej niż my Gotowi na wszystko, na każdą z tych chwil Wciąż zaplątani w miłości nić Poprowadź mnie, poprowadź mnie (Poprowadź mnie) Chcę tam być

Technically, I don't have this on any of my ship playlists BUT I love this song so much and I guess I could make it about Bogumiła Niepołomska/Red Antiqua?

5. Happysad - Zanim pójdę

Miłość to żaden film w żadnym kinie ani róże ani całusy małe, duże. Ale miłość - kiedy jedno spada w dół, drugie ciągnie je ku górze.

The irony of me not liking this song only to want to scream-sing it from the rooftops. Classic Karolina.

6. Dua Lipa - Love Again

I never thought that I would find a way out I never thought I'd hear my heartbeat so loud I can't believe there's something left in my chest anymore But goddamn, you got me in love again

...my smug satisfaction when I saw the author of WTS confirm it as a K de Vries song. Can't wait to romance them and make this song fully canon.  <3

7. Saint Motel - Cold Cold Man

You're the only one worth seeing The only place worth being The only bed worth sleeping's the one right next to you

SCREAMING. Thank you, Dani, for introducing me to Saint Motel's music.

8. Travie McCoy - Need You

I know it's not your fault, but I’m a locked door And inside, I'm a mess by someone before And I wish that I, I could find a key To unlock all the things you want us to be

This song was a blast when I listened to it maniacally in Simlish, this song proved to be even more of a blast when I rediscovered it in English. Such an Emerald Aeducan song.

9. Ella Eyre - Deeper

And I don't think I'm ready To go in this heavy I thought we would take it slow And now you got that feelin' You say that you mean it But for me, I just don't know

Another Emerald Aeducan staple. I’m playing favourites, I know, but it’s because I’ve had my Emerald/Alistair playlist the longest.

10. Vance Joy - Riptide

Lady, running down to the riptide Taken away to the dark side I wanna be your left-hand man

I don't have a ship for this snippet just yet but I WILL. I will.

[undiscovered-horizon]

Imagine being the one who releases Morpheus. - Part 7

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [ENDING] [ALT. ENDING] || Sandman-inspired playlist

The mansion hasn't changed one bit. It looked exactly the same as it did the day you were forced to leave. A strange feeling sprouted in your chest - the very same sensation you felt when you saw Morpheus on the pier. How could it be that days had gone by but the fang of time did not bite down into this house? Was it built with the same arcane element with which Morpheus was created? And if so, was he, too, a house of horrors and woe underneath his handsome looks?

"What a strange feeling, to become a visitor in one's own home," you said quietly as you longingly looked at the bricks you had grown to know so well. Unbeknownst to you, Morpheus was watching your melancholic expression, silently wondering if you, too, looked at him this way.

"This is not your home."

"And yet part of me longs for the days when it was. Curious, isn't it? I broke you out of here and now I'm dragging you back to your prison."

"I came with you on my own accord," he corrected you. To be honest, even if you hadn't asked him to help you, Morpheus would have found a reason to come with you anyway. "Your plan requires a significant amount of preparation and cunningness to be successful."

His observation was in no way revolutionary. "Yes, it does but we do not possess the time required. We must do with what we have. Non est ad astra mollis e terris via," you said. "There is no easy path from earth to the stars." Turning your head towards Morpheus, you met his intense gaze. He noticed how your eye lit up the moment they met his but Dream was quick to discard such sentiment. "Seneca's words. Sometimes I think he knew more about life than any of us."

Morpheus never cared much for philosophy - humanity might be a reasoning species but they are hardly reasonable, so they're pondering about the nature of the world were always wrong in one way or another. To a creature of his sort, human philosophy was as though watching a blind person paint a landscape. Despite his prejudice, he thought that you made Seneca sound akin to an oracle. Perhaps, if he were to understand the teachings of that ancient philosopher, he'd know more about you too? Could a wise Greek be a secret passage into your heart and soul?

"Be careful, Morpheus. If Yasmin was right and I have no reason to doubt her honesty, my father is unpredictable in his anger. It is beyond me to speculate what horrors he will bestow upon you should he catch you once more."

"I can not die," he reminded you.

"But you can still be in pain." Although his yearning heart exclaimed at such a notion, Morpheus couldn't quite understand why you would care about his discomfort. He was an eldritch creature, you have said that yourself multiple times, so physical pain wasn't something unbearable to him. Why did you treat him like he was a fragile human? Was that tenderness, too?

Having said that, you directed your steps to the back of the house, planning on trespassing inwards through the staff door. Seeing you disappear behind perfectly kept bushes and flower beds, Morpheus felt a sudden desire to stop you, to share some kind of blessing with you; to ask you to come back to him, perhaps. Nevertheless, not a word left his mouth. For a second, he even considered a prayer.

Gathering his strength and discarding his gnawing worry for you, Morpheus's booming voice called out to Rodrick who undoubtedly resided within the mansion. It was like challenging someone to a duel but Dream's pride whispered songs of greatness into his spirit - hymns that never once suggested that the wicked mortal could have a chance against him. Although this supposed summon to the contest was entirely your idea, Morpheus had his own reasons to see it through. Yes, it was high time he faced that villain, looked him in the eye and gloated in his triumph. You deserved justice and he deserved peace.

Minutes of complete silence and inaction went by as Morpheus waited for Rodrick in front of the house. Such dismissal of a king's challenge couldn't be read as anything but utterly disrespectful. Was that wicked man trying to humiliate him? Dream's anger only intensified with that thought. Who did Rodrick Burgess think he was? His fingers were growing strained as he kept one of his fists clenched but he couldn't let go - not yet.

Then like an omen of awaited death, the front door unlocked and from behind them emerged the awaited, elderly man. He had a scornful expression on his face but that was to be expected. Rodrick held the rifle high, aiming at Morpheus without even a tremble in his hand. He seemed to be determined for that confrontation to be final, to once and for all decide which one of them was the superior entity.

"Where's that wretched child?" Rodrick called out to Morpheus while pulling back the hammer of the rifle. Just a slight tremble of his index finger could end in a bloodbath. How strange it was, the trust that forms between enemies.

"I came alone, Rodrick Burgess," he lied. "I do not know what child you are speaking of."

"Of course you do, Dream King. That bastard that took pity on you or have you already forgotten that a brat proved to be smarter and more powerful than a supposed king, a god?"

"I do not care for your beliefs, human. I came to retrieve what is mine." Perhaps he meant his mask, which whereabouts remained largely unknown to him, or he meant vengeance. Morpheus himself wasn't sure.

There, in the distance, you noticed a metallic glistening and your father's low voice carried by the echo of empty plains that surrounded the house. Because of the distance, you couldn't discern what he was saying but if he did face Morpheus at the moment, it couldn't be anything good. The strange shine made your skin crawl despite not being able to give it a proper name at first.

"Dear God, no," you whispered to yourself. Dread, like a lead weight, pulled your stomach towards the ground. If Yasmin was right...

Without much thought, you broke for the two men. Hearing your rushed footsteps, Alex turned around but you were already long gone. For a moment, he considered running after you but he was old enough to know better: he was your little brother, after all, and that meant he had to listen. Given the strange situation in which he had found himself, he wanted to listen, so he carried on expanding the distance from the home that was also his prison, from the father that never treated him like the son he was. If he makes haste, he could cross the Baltic Sea before midnight.

Panting and feeling your legs burn so intensely they were about to give out, you had finally found yourself standing next to Morpheus, your eyes flicking between the barrel of the rifle and your father's irate face. Acknowledging your sudden appearance, Rodrick aimed the firearm at you; on the other side of that barrel lay relief and eternity and, as far as you could tell, your father's fingers were burning to grant you just that. Unconsciously, Morpheus leaned towards you but you didn't notice it either.

"My own child against me," Rodrick spit out. His words were dripping with contempt and any unfamiliar to the case onlookers would never assume you were family. "I'm ashamed to have fathered such a treacherous mind. If I could exchange your life for your brother's, I would. Do not think I would hesitate even for a second."

"Please, father, you don't have to do this," you begged him. He, however, remained unmoved. "We will walk away never to disturb you again. Haven't we all suffered enough?"

"Do not speak to me of suffering, you bastard!" Rodrick's scream was loud enough to scare birds from the nearby trees. "I could have my son and you made sure that the only good thing in my life was never returned to me."

Perhaps that was the way your life was always going to end: with a whimper, as you bled on the doorstep of your childhood home. Like all things that belonged to nature, your life, too, was going to close in a cycle. "I forgive you, father, for all that you have done and didn't manage to."

A deafening gunshot rang in your ears. It was so loud you didn't hear yourself gasp. Once the shock subsided, you grew confused at the lack of pain. Maybe adrenaline had messed with your sense? But then again, not a speck of crimson stained your clothes.

Morpheus fell to the ground with a barely audible groan. Laying at your feet, he tried to prop his body up on one of his arms. For some reason, even the bullet tearing through his body couldn't force his fist to unclench.

"You could have simply granted my wish," Rodrick spoke as he frantically reloaded the rifle. "Tell me, Dream King, is this really worth dying for?"

"Yes," Morpheus whispered.

His hand was trembling but you weren't sure whether it was anger or pain that caused it. Morpheus opened his palm revealing powdery sand. With an effortless blow, he sent the grains drifting into the air. Immediately after, your father was rendered unconscious. Letting out a throaty groan, Morpheus got up on his feet. There was no blood stain visible on his clothes.

The moment Rodrick's limp body hit the ground, a sharp sound of breaking glass resounded. A black, thick mist appeared above his form. The slimy-looking cloud shimmered in the dim light of a cloudy day. It remained mid-air for a short while before dissolving, never leaving even a trace of its existence.

You felt something warm and wet on your hand. Looking down in confusion, you noticed a streak of blood staining your blouse. Its trail led from the burnt mark on your chest right to your fingertip, from where it slowly dripped on the dark soil underneath your feet. Strangely enough, the injury didn't hurt at all. Actually, you doubted whether you had ever felt such unbearable numbness before as though frostbite suddenly gnawed at every inch of your skin.

"A catalyst," you whispered. Truthfully, you should have expected your father to be brilliant in his wickedness.

Probably due to the overwhelming numbness, you couldn't keep your balance and so you stumbled, only to regain composure once you leaned against Morpheus.

"What sorcery is this?" Just when he thought he had finally righted a wrong, a new misdeed appeared. Could he not have even a moment of relief?

"Imagine a volcano in a jar," you said as you absentmindedly wiped your bloodied fingers on your blouse. "If you open the lid carefully, you might light an infinite number of candles. But once the jar breaks? The whole world catches on fire."

At that moment Morpheus realized that his anxieties became reality: your blood shall forever stain his pale skin, no matter the holiness of the water he washes them in. Instead of peace and justice, he had only caused more suffering. This universe could be nothing more than a cynical theatre play.

Dream's hand wrap around your waist before a whirl of sand encircled the two of you. You couldn't have blinked more than two times before your feet were once again standing on the old carpet in your living room. Feeling exhausted and lightheaded, you fell on the floral sofa. Perhaps it was funny or perhaps it was sad that history liked to repeat itself so much.

"Thank you for sparing him," you said in a weak voice.

"I did not spare him, he just did not deserve to die quickly. Now Rodrick Burgess will relive his worst nightmares until I grow bored of his misery."

Seeing as you weren't in the state to continue the discussion, Morpheus wandered towards the mantlepiece. He could, of course, simply leave but the sudden reminder of your mortality made him unable to. The gifts of the upcoming day were unknown to him in the most heartbreaking of ways.

There, on the shelf above the cold fireplace, stood a photograph he never noticed before - not that he had a chance, given the chaotic nature of the recent times he had spent with you. The picture in the frame showed you and your siblings, happily laughing at something. It must have been taken a long time ago as the smallest boy, Alex, was missing a few of his teeth. This happiness... was that what siblinghood felt like to humans? Some romantic part of him was convinced that if he had something like that, he could never truly be lonely. Thinking about his own family for a moment, that portrayed joy felt like Hell on Earth.

"Did we do the right thing?" you asked him quietly.

Dream didn't answer straight away. For a moment, he continued to stare at the photo, taking in the happiness saved in the past. "He who spares the wicked injures the good," Morpheus quoted. He turned his head to you as if he was making sure his point got across. "Also Seneca." Perhaps he didn't care about philosophy but one had to remember that he did live through the history of humankind. He was bound to learn some things even against his will.

For a moment, you were completely silent as you lay on the sofa with your eyes closed. Despite your appearance, he knew you weren't asleep - he felt it. Dream's eyes returned to the picture but he wasn't studying it anymore. Instead, his thought began wandering into utterly fantastic and completely impractical directions. Spending time with you must have planted a seed of wistfulness in him.

"Will you ever, Morpheus?" you broke the pleasant silence. At that moment, in that one sentence, he realized that until the day eternity calls upon him, his conscience shall always speak in your voice. "Grow bored of my father's suffering?"

"One day I will be forced to." He looked over his shoulder at you. Despite his calm demeanour, Dream was wondering whether there was anything he could do to aid your ailment but the more he thought, the more he became convinced that your fate lay not in his own but his sister's hands. Morpheus, an eldritch god whose nature was incomprehensible to the human mind, was powerless in the face of mortality. "When this universe caves to be replaced with another. Until then, it shall bring me joy."

"You deserve peace, dear Morphius," you spoke in a quiet, mild voice. "You deserve closure I can not give you."

His tongue wanted to spit out words of cynism, phrases that would remind you of his egotistic superiority but Dream kept his mouth closed. Between callousness and silence, he preferred to grace you with quietness. You could give him a lot more than closure and he knew that - he felt it.

Now that immediate danger had passed, you could closely inspect the strange markings that appeared on your skin the moment the catalyst vial broke. The black lines appeared like veins or roots, wrapping around your skin as if their purpose was to keep you in some kind of a cage. They were numb to the touch, rendering your own body completely foreign to you. Perhaps that's exactly what was happening: this strange force was pushing your soul out of the corporeal form you naively regarded as your own.

For a moment, you thought you heard the distant meowing of a cat but it was a silly thought that you quickly dismissed - no felines lived in the vicinity of your house. Strangely enough, Morpheus heard it too.

Are you ready for the 'super fin'?

Tagging people who were interested in a follow-up: @rosaren2498 @jessiboobdbdb @chantzmar @lexi-anastasia @bisexualunicronrunningloose @farintonorth @oo0lady-mad0oo@all-bi-myselfs-blog @piperstofu101 @magic-magnoliaa @kotonei-molyneux @wheresmyboo @supermegapauselouca @sloanexx @rockergirl57 @aizawa-emma @ruyi-years @commanderfreethatdust @sapphireonline @izzicle@mxxny-lupin @shadowluna25

[tiredassmage]

I must know about Tyr’s playlist and what kind of songs are on there 👀

Hehehehehe, to uh what should probably be no one's surprise, unless you're newer around here (then you might not have seen how much this man owns my life), Tyr's is the longest I have of the moment - long enough that I've considered reorganizing it and breaking it down chapter by chapter of the agent story into like 3 or so different playlists. It currently clocks about 44 songs, just shy of 3 hours of nothin' but feels for my bestest boy, lol.

(Okay, I say that, but then I checked and uhhh... For comparison science, Len's is 30 songs, Savosta's is 20, and I've got about 20 on the Tyr x Shara playlist and around 10 on Oli x Cee's sO.)

I say that partially because it had a very good flow that scratched my brain real good in the beginning that sort of mapped the vibes from prologue to chapter 3 really well, but it got a little more chaotic when I allowed Spotify to just throw recommendations at me. I've definitely gotten some good ones out of it, but the flow's a lil messy now.

Organizing requires effort though, so it's ah. still jumbled, lol.

Woe! Agent playlist be upon ye! This is. definitely a Lot though, so I'll pop some of my personal favorite highlights + why they're on here under a cut. If I had to generalize a theme, naturally, it's a lot about Tyr struggling to find his place - who is he in Intelligence? Who is he beyond or beneath Cipher Nine? There's times where he embraces how much he's given over his life to Intelligence and there's times where he's weary of being trapped in the cycle of Sith politics.

The Unforgiven - Metallica

Metallica is in my life through my parents, lol. And this. Just. Says it All. The chorus is great. I'd take a highlighter to almost every part of this song trying to tell you how much it relates to Tyr, so if I have to only pick one verse, hrhhghghg, let's go

They dedicate their lives To running all of his. He tries to please them all This bitter man he is.

Throughout his life the same He's battled constantly. This fight he cannot win A tired man they see no longer cares.

Friends With the Enemy - Poor Man's Poison

Poor Man's Poison, my beloved latest obsession. Double agent my beloved. Pinning this one for how everything ultimately goes down - that adrift feeling in the interlude after chapter 3. More than anywhere else, Tyr struggles to define himself and his loyalties with a foot on both side of the lines.

(Poor Man's Poison is just. Exquisite, actually. This is also, fun bonus fact, probably the kind of music Tyr would listen to. A lot of their music would really speak to him.)

And them hard times keep comin' at the worst times And it's hard enough just to keep my head afloat And I pray to God that I make it through December I'll be on my way now walking this stretch alone Said I'll be on my way, I'm walking this stretch alone

The Kill - 30 Seconds to Mars

If I say chapter 2... I went out of order again, didn't I? Anyway. Chapter 2. I was reminded sharply of Keeper's check in on status while you're still in the thick of the SIS investigation - and, of course... there's no real time for that conversation. So, this one's tinged with Tyr x Shara feelings for that reason, and I think it speaks to how Tyr spends... far too much time talking circles around his issues and sidestepping how he'll run himself ragged for the job. Even if no one explicitly asks - because it's what he's gotten used to given the nature of... the shit he generally finds himself in the middle of. The Eagle's Network building up to Jadus, trying to work with Ardun against the tug of war between Intelligence and the SIS, and eventually the Star Cabal all have just high stakes that quitting isn't an option and it's so much of Tyr's Intelligence career that I think it definitely contributes to how much he refuses to cut himself some room to take a step back, to stand down.

What if I wanted to fight, Beg for the rest of my life, What would you do? You say you wanted more. What are you waiting for?

There's... there's a lot on this playlist that I love - of course, lol. I could go off probably about most of them, but I'd keep us here for a while, so I'll rein myself in here, for now, though of course, I can always elaborate on specific ones if there's curiosity. xD