#but any song with a first verse ending 'these are the horse basics you should know' is perfect to me | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lunmelia · 4 years ago

Note

I praythee... more dadstiel raising Jack... please?

I was gonna hold off on this for a bit, but I’m feeling a bit sick and unmotivated to do anything else, so here you go. I’m putting the rest of the post under a line because I maybe got a bit carried away. maybe wrote just a little tiny story. just a small one. Maybe 2.

----

Okay, so maybe Dean did not like baby Jack at first. He had his reasons, okay? Weak reasons, but reasons. Firstly, a baby shapeshifter is very different to the baby of the literal devil. Secondly, that baby is the reason his mom and best friend almost died. Weak reasons, but reasons. But his dislike for the baby only lasted three days. Three days of the other three frowning at him and repeating, “he’s just a baby, Dean.” Three days of Castiel somehow succeeding in keeping the baby calm. Three days of Dean avoiding the room Cas and Jack were situated in. But on the night of the third day, Jack had decided he would not be persuaded to go to sleep. No matter what Castiel did. Dean and Mary had been holed away in Sam’s room, far enough that their ears weren’t damaged from the cries, close enough to act quickly if anything were to go wrong. Three hours into the crying, Dean decided he’d had enough. “Alright,” he snapped, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against. “I’m putting an end to this.” He marched towards the door. “Dean,” warned Mary, rising from her seat. Dean paused to turn back to them, throwing his arms out in exasperation. “I’m not gonna kill the damn thing, jeez,” he said before continuing his steps. A few minutes later, the door opened to the room where Cas was hurriedly shushing and bouncing baby Jack, and Dean strode in with a guitar in hand. Cas threw panicked eyes to him. He was worried about the nephil’s cries affecting the human’s ears. “Dean-” “I’ve heard worse, Cas. Had you screaming at me after I crawled outta hell, didn’t I?” He threw the angel a grin before closing the door. “I can deal. Put him on the bed, will you?” He gestured to where four pillows were assembled in a rectangle border. Where Jack had been sleeping, since there was no crib to be found in the bunker. Cas hesitantly did as he was told, settling Jack down as he writhed and screamed, his small face scrunched up, red and wet with snot and tears. “You’re terrible at this, by the way,” Dean commented after wincing at a particular loud scream. “You were basically shaking the kid when I came in. And you need to change into some softer clothes, man. Your suit’s too rough, and that’s all he’s been feeling since he was born, apart from that blanket we’ve got him in. No wonder he’s upset.” He settled on the edge of the bed, propping one knee up on the sheets and resting his guitar atop it. “Oh,” Cas said, “of course. I hadn’t realised.” “Hm.” Dean gave him an obvious look. “Now shush for a minute.” He looked down at his guitar, adjusting his fingers on the appropriate cords before beginning to strum a soft tune. Jack’s cry abruptly cut off as his ears caught on the new sound. Yet he quickly ignored it in favour of continuing his screeches. Dean plucked the strings for a few more seconds before taking a breath, and singing in a low baritone, “There is a young cowboy, he lives on the range.” Cas gave a short gasp as if he had just realised what Dean was doing. Dean spared him a glance before focusing back on the guitar. “His horse and his cattle are his only companions He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons Waiting for summer, his pastures to change.” Dean was now looking at Jack, who was looking back and releasing confused whines. Dean looked up to the angel and whispered, “sit down, Cas.” Castiel slowly lowered himself to the bed as Dean moved onto the next part of the verse. “And as the moon rises, he sits by his fire Thinkin’ about women and glasses of beer Reclosing his eyes as the doggies retire He sings out a song which is soft, but it’s clear As if maybe someone could hear.” By this point, Jack was still whimpering with tears gathering in his eyes, but his full focus was on Dean with a curious tilt of his head. Dean watched the baby, the irritation in eyes now lessened. Instead, he now regarded the nephil with a soft, considering look. Cas, same as Jack, gave his full attention to Dean, a twitch in his lips. “Goodnight, you moonlight ladies Rockabye, sweet baby, James Deep greens and blues are the colours I choose Won’t you let me go down in my dreams? And rockabye, sweet baby, James.” Jack was now soothed to soft coos, the red in his face having completely receded. Dean, unconsciously, was leaning towards the baby. A soft smile fought to pull at his lips. “Now, the first of December was covered with snow, So was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston Though the Berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frostin’ With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go.” Jack’s eyes were fluttering. It seemed that he was fighting sleep, however, as he kept blinking to gaze at Dean. A sudden yawn escaped him. Cas’ face bloomed with a wide smile while Dean let himself grin softly. “There’s a song that they sing when they take to the highway A song that they sing when they take to the sea A Song that they sing of their home in the sky Maybe you can believe it if it helps you to sleep But singing works just fine for me.” Cas huffed a laugh at Dean, who threw him a grin before turning his gaze back to the now asleep Jack. Dean pitched his voice quieter, almost a whisper so not to disturb the sleeping infant. “So goodnight, you moonlight ladies Rockabye, sweet baby, James Deep greens and blues are the colours I choose Won’t you let me go down in my dreams? And rockabye, sweet baby, James.” Dean let the last chord fade away, and the room was cast into silence. He gently laid his hand atop his guitar, afraid to make any noises that might awaken Jack. He gazed at the baby nephil with a soft smile.

“He’s kinda cute when he’s not trying to blow out our eardrums,” he admitted quietly. Cas smiled and hummed. After a moment, Cas whispered, “that was beautiful, Dean.” Dean snapped his gaze to the angel, alarmed and caught off-guard by the compliment. “I- oh. oh, y-yeah, sure, okay. um...” he trailed off, looking away back to the infant. Cas tilted his head, amused. Dean stared at Jack for a moment, a furrow working its way to his brow. “... We’re really going to raise Lucifer’s baby, aren’t we?” he asked. Cas frowned at the mention of the archangel, but nodded. “It would seem that way, yes,” he said. He waited for Dean’s response, for him to argue the fact one last time. But Dean sighed, his irises bouncing back and forth for a moment before he said, “okay. We’re going to need to buy supplies, then. This place is lacking. Not surprised by that, though. Not exactly the kind of place you’d expect the Men of Letters to be raising their kids.” Cas hummed his agreement. There was another moment of silence before Dean rose from the bed. “Right, I guess I’ll go discuss that with mom and Sam. You... keep watch over him.” He gestured to Jack, still sleeping. “I will.” Cas nodded. Dean nodded back. “Right.” He stepped up to the door. “Goodnight, Dean,” Cas softly called. Dean looked back to him, nodding again. “Night.” He slowly, quietly opened the door and stepped out into the hall, where Sam and Mary stood waiting. He raised a brow at them as he clicked the door close. “He stopped crying,” Sam said, stating the obvious. “He’s sleeping?” Dean nodded. Mary looked from the guitar to her son. “You sang to him?” she questioned. Dean paused a moment, then nodded with a shrug as if nothing were out of the ordinary. “Yeah. We need to make a list of baby supplies,” he said, quickly changing the subject. “And baby-proofing stuff. That should definitely be a priority. This is not a safe place to raise a baby without baby-proofing.” He waved a hand, scoffed while glancing around the hall as if observing the entire bunker, then turned and walked away. Sam and Mary looked at each other, both equally confused at Dean’s sudden change of attitude towards Jack. Sam then shrugged, grinned and chased after Dean, calling in a whisper, “what song did you sing?” “I ain’t telling you. Why’d you wanna know?” Dean gave his brother a look of disgust.

“Oh, come on. Was it Blackbird? It was Blackbird, wasn’t it? That’s so obvious.”

“No, Sam, it wasn’t Blackbird.”

Mary huffed a laugh, shaking her head before following after her sons.

(The song Dean plays and sings is “Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor, in case you wanted to take a listen)

Although, yes, Cas can put Jack to sleep with his grace, he refuses to. He’s afraid that would intefere with Jack’s natural growth, and that Jack will begin to depend on his grace and will never be able to put himself to sleep. So Cas doesn’t. Besides, Dean singing to him seems to work just fine. -- They were all afraid that they were going to have to feed Jack some weird, special combination since he’s a nephil. Like, milk and holy water, or something. But nope, normal formula works just fine. He’s actually a pretty normal baby. Just, plus deafening screaming, wings and healing. -- I’m honestly not sure how to approach Chuck with this AU. I don’t want him to be evil because I want this to be a soft, happy AU but he is an evil bastard, so. If anyone wants to handle the angst side of this AU that involves Chuck go ahead but I ain’t touching it. I will say this though; I can see Amara convincing Chuck not to kill a baby. Amara: it’s a baby, God Chuck: yes, but it’s a very dangerous baby Amara: ... it’s a baby. Chuck: ... a very dangerous baby. Amara: there is... no such thing as a dangerous baby. there is literally... nothing dangerous about a baby. nephil or no Chuck: but- Amara: do not kill a baby, God. Chuck: ... fine. -- The four of them were so busy getting Jack settled in the bunker that they just completely forgot to tell the other hunters that, y’know, they have a baby now. So it was a bit of shock to Jody, when she called to check in on them after not hearing from them for weeks. Jody, on the phone with Sam: yeah, we haven’t heard from you guys for weeks! what’s going on, everything okay? Sam, on the other line: uh, yeah, no everything’s fine, we’ve just been *glances over to where Mary and Cas are bathing Jack in the sink* busy. Jody: busy? you guys need help with anything? Sam: no, no we’re fine- Jack: *coos and smiles* Cas: *gasps* was that his first smile? Mary: it was! he smiled! Dean, jumping up from where he was sitting: he’s smiling!? Sam, hurrying over: wait, I wanna see! Jody: ... Sam. Sam: oh- uh, heh, yes, Jody? Jody: do you have a baby? Sam: we... might. Jody: why do you have a baby, Sam? Sam: uh, well, see it’s a long story- Dean: *laughs* look at him go! look at that little smile! Jody: oh my god I’m coming over- *hangs up* Mary: was that Jody? Sam: yep Dean: ... we completely forgot to tell the others about the baby, didn’t we? Sam: yep. -- Dean, with Jack in his arms: Claire, you wanna hold him? Claire: uh, no thanks Dean: no, I think you wanna hold him *steps up to her* Claire, panicking: no, I really don’t- oh my god no don’t- *squeaks as Dean passes Jack to her* Dean, directing her: put your arms like that, hold his head like this- there you go! look at that, you’re holding him Claire: I hate you so much right now. *looks down at Jack with wide eyes* Jack: *stares up at her* Claire: he’s so tiny. so fragile... am I holding him right? I don’t wanna hurt him- Sam: you’re doing great, Claire. Don’t worry about it Claire: okay... can I... can I keep holding him? or- Cas: of course you can, Claire Claire: okay, thanks... *goes back to staring at Jack* Jack: ... *pulls at Claire’s hair* Claire: ow ow ow ow okay no I changed my mind take him please now- -- Jack’s first word, or at least first coherent sound, was surprise surprise a simple drawn out “daaa”. After weeks of Dean, Sam and Mary and everyone else referring to Cas as “dada” “dad” and “daddy” to try and get Jack to say it, the moment finally happened. It came out of nowhere, in a moment where they weren’t even trying to get him to say it. Dean: *sitting on the floor, watching Jack crawl around and fiddle with his toys* Jack: *loses interest in the block he was holding, looks at Dean, giggles then disappears* Dean, scrambling to stand: shit- Cas! Jack’s flying again! Cas, appearing before him three seconds later and holding Jack at an arm’s length: Jack, we’ve discussed this many times. You’re not to fly when I’m not in the room. Do you understand? Jack, cooing and reaching a hand towards Cas’ face: daaa Dean and Cas: ... Dean: did he just- Jack, more enthusiastically: da! Dean: he did! holy shit, Cas, he said it! he basically called you dad! he- Cas? Cas, tearing up: I believe... I am going to cry. -- After that, Jack developed a bad habit of flying whenever he wanted to see or be held by Cas. Honestly, it got annoying at times, especially when Cas was busy with other matters. But what else were they supposed to do, let him fly around until he gave up? They did eventually solve the problem after Gabriel came back and they got some of the other angels on their side. When Cas wasn’t available, one of the other angels fetched Jack. Though, the first time Jack was caught by Gabriel and not Cas, he was extremely upset. He blew out all the lights in the bunker and shattered glass and porcelain with his cries.

He could not be consoled for hours, not even when Cas was holding him. He latched onto Cas and cried until he was sure Cas wasn’t gone or going anywhere. He could not be separated from Cas that night, screaming whenever someone tried to take him from him. They concluded that he probably had separation anxiety since he had never really been separated from Cas before. Cas was there during the pregnancny, there when he was born, was his primary caretaker since Jack’s crying didn’t affect him like it did the humans, and he always catches him whenever he flies away. Cas was worried that Jack was going to depend too much on his grace, yet in the end Jack ended up depending too much on him.

Trying to ease Jack’s separation anxiety was a process, and a difficult one. Especially with him being a nephil.

He seemed okay with being without Cas for an hour and a bit, so they started by increasing the amount of time that Cas is gone. Which failed because whenever Jack noticed it had been a while since he’d seen his dad, he flew away. And since they wanted to avoid another huge tantrum so soon, they let Cas fetch him.

Ultimately, the only solution was getting other angels to catch him, and braving through the tantrums. Increasing the time in which Cas had to wait before going to Jack. It was... very, very difficult.

Because it turned out that Jack wasn’t the only one with separation anxiety.

They discover this fact the first time they attempt to separate them. Cas broke three minutes in, and flew to Jack with a muttered, “I’m sorry” to Dean. A collective sigh fell over the room as they looked to Cas, guiltily holding a wailing Jack.

“Alright, then,” Dean said, scratching at the back of his head, “guess that’s just something else we gotta work on.” Cas looked to them with wide, apologetic eyes as he held Jack closer.

From then on the “sessions”, as they started calling them, weren’t just trying to calm Jack down in Cas’ absence, but also trying to get Cas to stay put. To not cave in and go running to comfort Jack. Which was hard, seeing as Cas was an angel and didn’t really have to listen to a bunch of humans telling him “stay.” It took a lot of convincing. Convincing from Dean, mostly. Because Cas listened to Dean. For some weird reason, Dean thought.

The third session was the most difficult one they had at that point. It was three hours into Cas being away from Jack after another angel caught him, and they were aiming for four. Dean had left Cas with Sam for a minute to get himself some water, taking Cas’ impulse control with him. When he came back, Sam was very nearly begging Cas not to leave.

“Sam,” said Dean. “Go check on how the others are doing, will you?” Even though they could clearly tell, based on Jack’s screams echoing down the hall.

Sam hesitated. “You- you sure-” he stopped at the flat look Dean gave him. “Right, yeah, sure thing.” Sam glanced at Cas before hurrying out of the room.

When the door clicked shut, Cas stepped up to Dean. “Dean, I have to-”

“Sit down, Cas,” he told him, placing his glass on top of the drawers.

Cas paused, then tensed his shoulders as a glare settled over his features. “No. Will you just let me-”

“Cas!” Dean snapped, standing straight and regarding him with a hard glare. “Sit. Down.”

A tense silence passed between them as they glared at each other. Then, with a huff Castiel looked away and sat down on the bed. Dean dragged the desk chair to the bed and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Now I know this is really hard for you right now, but you have to push through and stay. put. This is a good thing for Jack-”

“How!?” Cas threw his hands up, restless. “How is this a good thing for him? He’s crying, he’s inconsolable, he’s in distress. How is something that is having such a negative effect on him a good thing?” He glared at Dean as if he were challenging him to answer.

“It may be affecting him badly now, but I promise you that this will not last forever. I know it’s hurting, but there ain’t another way for us to deal with his separation anxiety. We gotta get through the shitty stuff to get to the good results, Cas,” he reasoned, imploring Cas with his eyes to understand that this just needs to happen.

Cas opened his mouth to reply when a particularly loud screech ripped through the air. It caused the lights in the room to flicker. Cas looked in alarm towards the door, a weak sound escaping him. He threw worried, scared, eyes towards Dean and pleaded, “my son needs me, Dean.”

Dean sighed. Right. It seemed the only way to get Cas to stay put was to ground him through physical touch. He scooted the chair forward, reached out and tightly grasped Cas’ hands in his own. Cas’ gaze snapped down and back up, surprised. Dean ignored the look.

“What happens if we decide to enrol him in school, huh?” he asked the angel.

Cas’ brow furrowed, momentarily confused. “What?”

“What happens if we decide to enrol him in school?” he repeated. “Say I let you go right now, say we give up and just let you stay by Jack all the time, come whenever he calls. Okay, then what? He grows up, only knows a world where you’re always by his side. Then one day, you tell him that he has to go somewhere without you for 6 hours, everyday of every week. He reacts, only this time he knows words. He says ‘please’ and ‘no’ and ‘don’t do this, don’t leave me dad I don’t wanna go’. What then?”

Castiel winced, his heart tightening as the image of a 6-year-old Jack begging him not to leave came to mind. “I...” he trailed off, not sure what to say.

Dean nodded. “It would hurt a helluva lot more, wouldn’t it? Be a lot more difficult to leave once he has words to express how much he doesn’t want you to. And let’s say you don’t. Let’s say you cave in, because he’s your son and you love him and you don’t wanna see him cry. So you homeschool him, continue to stay by his side. You know what’s gonna happen? He’s not gonna be able to do anything without you, Cas. He’s not gonna know how,” he said, words clear and expression honest as he tried to get through to the angel.

Cas lowered his gaze, narrowing his eyes as he considered Dean’s words.

Dean suddenly laughed, bitterly saying, “I should know.”

Cas looked back up at him, tilting his head with a silent question.

Dean sighed, his shoulders dropping. “I spent most of my life with Sammy by my side every single damn day.” Castiel’s eyes cleared with understanding, but he let the other continue. “A life with Sam in it was all I knew. When he left for college... I was a mess. A big ol’ rage-filled mess. I hated Sam for leaving me, and that’s what I thought he was doing. Leaving me. He was just trying to live his life, but... I just didn’t know how to live without him. I couldn’t. I still-” he laughed breathlessly, shaking his head before gesturing to his neck. “I still get this nervous itch when he’s away for a few days. And I’m almost forty.”

He felt Cas’ hands tighten around his, and he shrugged off the sympathetic look the angel was giving him. He raised his brow towards him, questioning, “do you want that for Jack? For him to be crying and begging you not to go when you drop him off at school? For him to not go on any camping trips or sleepovers because he’d rather stay home with you? For him to get a nervous itch whenever you leave even though he’s a full grown adult?”

Cas shook his head. “No... No, I don’t want that.”

“Okay.” Dean nodded, and patted his hand once. “Then this is what you gotta do.”

Cas nodded slowly, understanding and acceptance sinking in. The lights flickered as another one of Jack’s cries echoed through the bunker. Cas sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. “This is... this is really hard,” he finally admitted.

Dean gave a sad smile. He knew that. He knew how much Cas was struggling. He watched Cas look longingly towards the door, then made a decision. “C’mere.” He rose to his feet, tugging on Cas’ hands as he went. Cas hesitated, looking uncertain. “The offer’s gonna go away real quick if you don’t hurry up,” Dean warned. Cas stood and Dean wrapped his arms around him, tugging him in. Cas sagged against him with a sigh. He pressed his face into Dean’s shoulder, and his hands gripped at the back of his jacket.

After a moment, Cas began to cry. Dean was shocked for a moment, not expecting to hear the sniffles and hitches of breath. He had seen Cas cry quite a few times since Jack was born, but he hasn’t gotten used to it yet. He quickly got over himself. This wasn’t the time to freak out. His friend needed him. He began to rub a hand over Cas’ back. “I know it’s hard, but you’re doing the right thing,” he murmured. Cas hummed in acknowledgement, but didn’t say anything.

After another moment, Dean said, “y’know, I think I’ve seen you cry more these past few months than I have in the 12 years I’ve known you.”

“Clearly, Jack brings out the worst in me,” Cas replied, his words muffled by Dean’s shoulder.

Dean chuckled as a response. The two stood in each other’s arms, quiet apart from Castiel’s sniffling and Jack’s distant cries. The nephil caused the lights to flicker again with another screech, and Cas’ arms tightened around Dean.

“How much longer?” he asked.

Dean paused in rubbing his back to check his watch. “You got 27 more minutes to go.”

Cas nodded. “Okay. And you’ll... stay with me?”

Dean squeezed him, then resumed rubbing circles into his back. This was unusual territory for him. A hug that’s lasted this long was rare for him. But Cas was feeling bad, feeling awful, and Dean would be damned if he let him. If Cas wants Dean to stay by his side during this, then so be it. “Of course, Cas. Of course...”

----

Alright, that’s it for now. I got carried away ajshfkajhfaj but fuck it I’m actually invested in this AU now, dammit. This wasn’t part of the plan!!

Now to tag some lovely people <3 your comments brighten my day

@arimeii @marvelmisha @astermacguffin @cursed-byesexual @kichisk2020

71 notes · View notes

practicalmagicintuitions · 4 years ago

Text

HC’s family and this situation.

All information and statements made in this reading or any other post of mine are all alleged until proven to be fact and for entertainment purposes & usage only. All information stated is based on my intuition and my tarot cards. Opinion only. The readings have no intention to cause any harm for the individuals, people featured in it.

How does his family see this situation? ( cardes pulled on 22/4)

They are worried, that's for sure.

Judgment rx, 6 of Wands, 8 of Cups,

bottom card: Ace of Pentacles rx

There are a few cards I hate to translate for some reason and the Judgment is one of them. This card comes up a lot in HC’s reading, so I think we can say, his judgment is not the best and people around him see that.

6 of Wands normally, alone a very positive card. There is a king on it on his horse and the people around him cheering. It means success, support, fans, applause, victory etc.

But if you have a 2+ card reading everything depends on the surrounding cards.

His family thinks he (or them) absolutely misjudged his fans' reaction. I think they expected a cheering from them, a positive excitement. And this is a big win card so I don’t really understand why he expected this? Why should have been this a big win for him? It’s not a high profile relationship.

It also could mean, because this is a leadership card, that he thought he would be the leader in this situation, and this was a failed judgment on his part too.

8 of cups.

This card is losing interest and walking away. This card advises you to do something if you are not satisfied. It also could be a wake up call. So on one hand I think his family sees this situation as a potential wake up call for him. The way his fans reacted was different then HC thought and maybe, finally he will do something. This card also suggests someone doesn’t really know who he is and what he wants to do. And at this stage he can’t be rushed. This is something his family has to accept. Maybe it will be a slow procedure. I am not necessarily talking about a long relationship between him and NV, but this whole thing and its aftermath will be long and slow.

This card also suggests much inner and outer work has to be done!

In a relationship it’s a change of heart, lost interest. In this reading I think it’s more about the fans not NV. So I think his family definitely sees the change in the fandom’s feelings. And they think the recovery may not be possible , because the negativity, the sourness is too much.

And this led to us the last card, Ace of pentacles rx.

It is basically a money loss card, when you cannot hold the opportunities in your hand. It also means setbacks and delays in a project or losing a job. Again this card has a slow down and don’t rush meaning in terms of financial investments and business. So both 8ofC and AofP advise to slow down, take a breath. Probably this is something HC is lacking according to his family. He probably makes rushed decisions.

I do not want to suggest anything like this, I just have to mention this card could mean a corrupt use of money and shady business deals.

How his family sees NV?

The Magician, 6 of Swords rw. (Cards pulled on 23/4)

The Magician is a Major arcana card, so it’s a very powerful.

First of all this is a masculine card, so it could suggest a very powerful male presence. And maybe this is true, maybe there is a powerful male in this story behind NV’s back but I think this card is more about her.

I got more than one time The Empress rx in terms of NV so I think she has more masculine energy then nurturing female energy. Which is absolutely all right until we use those energies rightfully and not abuse their power.

The Magician is the manifesting card, the I get what I want card. The me, myself and I card, the ego card. The Magician is talented and can make things happen. Focused, determined. The Magician can tell you what to do, how to embrace your potential, how to be committed to your cause, how to use your resources.

On the other hand however, this card represents someone who can be manipulative. Who can use trickery.

Mary K. Greer wrote many amazing books on tarot and one part of her definition on this card is this : “ You could be promoting yourself or pitching a project or otherwise using persuasive tactics” she also said : “ At worst, you use guile and trickery to foster an illusion, manipulating the truth to serve private ends”

But either way this card represents someone who is very strong and determined. And this is what I see again and again if NV is involved. She is strong! She won’t go away just because boohoo, fans don’t like her. She is not immune to the criticism, but she stands strong. And this is obvious for his family, because they see her like this too.

6ofSw rx is staying on the turbulent water in a sinking boat. Again, staying, being stuck.

It also means you were named in some public scandal ( Sweet 16 maybe?). His family feels embarrassment because of this scandal and I think NV is emberresd too, but I don't see she will address her past behaviour.

This card strongly suggests someone who generates drama in her own life, who is gossipy, who is a troublemaker. It also means forced to leave. So, again, I think his family sees her as someone who is hard to get rid of.

All in all, they see her powerful, who has aims and goals and determined. But they also see someone who generates and causes drama, who in somewhat enjoys the wave she makes. They see her as someone who could be emotionally and mentally destructive.

When I was thinking about how can I translate what I feel or see in this situation the radio started to play Hall & Oates’s Rich Girl. Do you know this song? And I was like, damn…. this is it. I copy/paste the first 2 verses.

You're a rich girl, and you've gone too far

‘Cause you know it don't matter anyway

You can rely on the old man's money

It's a bitch girl but it's gone too far

'Cause you know it don't matter anyway

Say money, but it won't get you too far

Get you too far

And don't you know, don't you know

That it's wrong to take what is given you

So far gone, on your own

You could get along if you try to be strong

But you'll never be strong 'cause

You're a rich girl, and you've gone too far...

youtube

#henry cavill #henry cavill girlfriend #pmitarotreadings #opinion #alleged

20 notes · View notes

houseofsannae · 3 years ago

Text

A Fistful of Munny - Extended End Notes

Notes for A Fistful of Munny that don’t fit within the character limit under the cut!

Please, read the fic before reading this post

All right! Welcome to the extended notes, in which I go into excruciating detail over a bunch of stuff that doesn’t matter, because I like the sound of my own voice!

Let’s start with some more broad stuff that didn’t make the exclusive end notes space. To do the Fistful of Dollars homage, I needed a place where I could have two villainous factions intersecting for Strelitzia to play against one another. After some brainstorming and asking for help from other people working on the Entwined in Trine Sorikai zine (and ultimately ignoring all their very good suggestions (Sorry, guys!)), I eventually realized that the Wasteland from Epic Mickey was a perfect place for this story, both in the sense of having mooks to destroy without Strels committing actual murder, and in the thematic sense of forgotten characters. There was just one issue.

I hadn’t played Epic Mickey.

And that is how I spent my summer, playing both Epic Mickey games. Both, because I was looking for a good location to set the story in in-world. Since the Wasteland is based on the Disney theme parks, I was hoping to find one based on Frontierland, their Western section. Such a location did exist – Disney Gulch – but only in the second game. Which meant I had to play Epic Mickey 2, as well. (The first one is a better game, but that’s not really the fault of the developers; they were not given the time they needed to make it as good as the first one. Here’s a video with trivia about the series that goes a little into the development.) I also needed to learn the Mad Doctor’s ultimate fate, since I wanted his Beetleworx/Blotworx to be one of the two villainous factions. In the game, depending on whether you chose the Paint (Paragon) or Thinner (Renegade) path, the Doc is either redeemed… or dead. Neither of which was helpful, so I had to invent.

But let’s talk about characters and why I picked them in order. The short version for why these choices, at least on the Final Fantasy side, is set-up for later. Obviously I can’t go into detail why. Before that, let’s talk about the Beanie Baby.

Chi is, as I hope you were able to guess, Strelitzia’s Chirithy. I’ve brought it up several times, but I personally do not like mascot characters. There are a few exceptions, but Chirithies are not one of them. Like I said, KHUx isn’t what happened in this AU, so you’ll have to wait for in-universe answers on why it’s a cat now. Out-of-universe reason is this was the only way I could make it palatable for myself. I arbitrarily decided on a gender for it because as a real cat, it would have a sex. Canonically Chirithies appear to be genderless, and in Japanese refer to themselves with the gender-neutral (but masculine-leaning) boku. I would’ve left Chi that way, save for the fact that he’s a completely normal cat now. (And before you ask, no, not every real cat that appears in KHΨ from this point on is a Chirithy.)

As for Strelitzia herself, it’s hard for me to pick up a character’s voice when they’re… not voiced. Intonation and cadence do a lot for me mimicking the way a character talks, so it’s a bit more difficult when they don’t technically speak. I tried for a mix between Sora and Kairi, while still keeping her defining character traits of being shy, but also impulsive.

You may notice that while she’s started remembering faces, if not names, the Player’s name and face still eludes her, despite her (canonical. Deal with it.) crush on them. There is a story reason for this, and will become clear once Luxu takes centre stage.

The name “Jane” was chosen with more consideration than just “Jane Doe” being the standard name in (at least my corner of) the English-speaking world for a woman of unknown identity. See, the Man With No Name actually has three names. In A Fistful of Dollars, he is referred to (by one character in one scene, once) as “Joe”. “Joan” might have been a more clear homage, but I figure Jane makes sense. And as you might guess, in the next fic, Strels will be going by a different name, still not her own. She’ll remember her name… eventually.

One might think I could’ve picked any old Cid, and one would be wrong for reasons I can’t explain yet. In fact, I can’t explain much of anything surrounding him yet. What I can say is no, Cidney Aurum is not dead, she’s just not related to Cid Sophiar in this fic verse. An unfortunate consequence of where I wanted to put each of them in the narrative; making them not be related was the only way it made any sense, geographically speaking.

Hyperion on the other hand, I can talk about. He’s one of the Gremlins in Epic Mickey, and… wait, first things first. Gremlins are from an abandoned Disney film based on a Roald Dahl book, itself based on the cryptids that supposedly haunted airplanes and caused them to malfunction, the earliest known written-down mention of the concept being from the 1920s. The film never got made, but the designs Disney would have used were adapted into a second printing of Dahl’s book, and they were later used in Epic Mickey. Hyperion is, like the publishing imprint that Disney owns, named after a street that Walt Disney used to live on. In-game, Hyperion is in Bog Easy (based on the Haunted Mansion), not Disney Gulch, but his name stuck out to me as being particularly fun, so I picked him instead of trying to figure out what Gremlins actually are in the Gulch (they have names in the files of Epic Mickey 2, but not in the actual game, so it would have been a hunt).

Regardless of where the setting ended up, for the second villainous faction, I was always going to plop down the good old Don. More things I can’t talk about. For everything FF7, know that I’m always going to be pulling from a mix of the original game, Remake, and Machinabridged. Hence, Corneo’s outfit is a mix of his original and Remake designs (which basically just means he’s wearing blue jeans instead of brown). I didn’t think bringing in his three lieutenants from Remake was necessary, especially since this was supposed to be a kind-of small operation.

Leslie is picked up and dropped from Remake pretty much unchanged. I needed someone to do the murders Strels couldn’t, and even if he’s not a complete asshole, he’s still mostly an asshole. Have we ever seen small, Materia-like balls used to cast magic before…?

Onto the fun bits, which is the Disney characters. We’ll start with Percy, who is from a Goofy short called “How to Ride a Horse”, from 1950. And that’s about it. The conceit in Wasteland is that all of the Toons there were basically actors, and they wound up in Wasteland if they were forgotten (that’s not exactly correct, but I’m generalizing). This is interesting, since two of the Toons in Epic Mickey are Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow, both of whom… are residents of Disney Town in Kingdom Hearts, having shown up in Birth by Sleep. So that’s an interesting continuity snarl that I’m going to just ignore.

Persephone and Pluto, on the other hand, are from an earlier short called “The Goddess of Spring”, from 1934. It was one of the projects Disney tried as practice for Snow White. If you’re about to protest that his name should be Hades, not Pluto, then you’re going to need a time machine so you can tell them back in the 30s. The Goddess of Spring is a musical, in the sense that every single line is sung. Watch it for yourself. There’s a video with better quality floating around YouTube, but for some reason it’s the French dub. And that’s why both of them sing most of their lines. I tried matching the meter of their actual parts, but Persephone’s doesn’t actually follow a syllabic pattern that I could make out. I eventually gave up and just gave her the meter from the start of the short. Pluto’s was easier to manage (and more consistent).

The skeletons are Disney veterans, presumably the same ones from “The Skeleton Dance” (1929), but more specifically they’re mimicking what they did in “The Mad Doctor” (1933), the first appearance of our other villain. They’re fun.

The original Mad Doctor was supposedly named “Dr. XXX”, according to the name on his door. This was before the modern film rating system was put in place; it was a different time. In the original short, the Mad Doctor kidnaps Pluto (the dog) with the intent of cutting him in half and putting his front half on a chicken For Science!, and Mickey follows him to his castle to rescue the purloined pooch. The short wasn’t a musical in the same vein as “The Goddess of Spring”, but… the Mad Doctor’s only spoken lines were a song (aside from evil cackling). While I had already decided to do the “Toons that sang in their short can only communicate through song” with Persephone and Pluto before starting on Epic Mickey 2, I hilariously discovered that the game developers had done the exact same gag with the Mad Doctor, most of his lines in the game being sung. (In Epic Mickey there were no fully voiced lines, so he speaks as normally as anyone else does). Which made it easier to write his songs here, since I could just rewrite his songs from the game. I used to write alternate lyrics for songs back in high school, so this was an interesting trip back in time for me. They were stuck in my head for weeks afterwards, but it was worth it.

I believe that’s everything for the characters. Let’s talk about Keyblades.

It irks me that three people in KHUx have the same Keyblade. Ephemer, Skuld, and Strelitzia all have variations of Starlight. Now, in KHΨ, there is only one Starlight, and it belongs to Luxu, so I’m going to have to decide on different Keyblades for each of them. (Ephemer’s has already been decided, and I haven’t started brainstorming for Skuld yet. No I do not need suggestions, thank you). Pixie Petal bears a noted (by KHWiki) resemblance to one of Marluxia’s alternate scythes, so that tangential connection was enough for me. Both siblings have flower-themed Keyblades – it makes sense to me.

You might notice a few disparities in the magic. These are on purpose, and will eventually make sense. And that’s all I can say on that at the moment. ;)

Oh, yes, one important thing I probably should have said on the main notes: I’m not going for a realistic depiction of amnesia here. Anything I got right was entirely accidental, and I’m fairly certain there’s not much. There might be a story reason for why it works the way it does… and it might be the same reason why other people from KHUx have or had amnesia in the present day…

You know what’s funny? Although Orcuses look more impressive than Invisibles, their stats in Days are actually worse. I’m fairly sure that this is because the only time we see an Orcus, it’s actually an illusion cast over Xion so that Roxas will fight her to the death. There are no other stats for them (according to KHWiki), since they’ve never been used elsewhere.

A friendly reminder that Apprentice Xehanort invented the term “Heartless”, which was why Aqua didn’t know what to call them until Mickey told her. Thus, nobody from the era of the Keyblade War should know the term “Heartless” without being told by someone in present day. “Darkling” was the term they used instead. I’m fairly certain KHUx ignores the continuity on this (so why should we trust its continuity for anything else, hmm?)

I think that covers everything! Or at least everything I’m willing to share at this point. If you’ve read this far, thank you! I appreciate your dedication! ^_^

#kingdom hearts Ψ #fanfic #kingdom hearts #strelitzia #fic notes #a fistful of munny

4 notes · View notes

ducavalentinos · 5 years ago

Note

Hello ! Could you tell me facts about the life of Cesare Borgia? Thaanks.

So, I really wanted to make this a short list with basic facts, but somehow it ended up becoming a longer, detailed list with my favorites facts alongside facts that aren’t very well known or mentioned, here it goes: - Cesare received an outstanding, carefully planned education. He was brought up at Rome by private tutors until the age of twelve, in 1489 he left Rome to attend La Sapienza of Perugia, where he studied the foundations of law and the humanities, being placed under the charge of the preceptor Giovanni Vera of Archilla, to whom btw, he remained warmly attached until Vera’s death in 1503. In 1491 he continued his studies in Civil and Canon law at the University of Pisa, attending the lectures of Filippo Decio, one of most rated lecturer on canon law of his day. There he also became more acquainted with the Medici family, through Lorenzo de’ Medici sons: Giovanni de’ Medici and his brother Piero. - Paolo Pompilio, a Spanish scholar, dedicated his treatise on verse-writing, the Syllabica, to Cesare, where he praised him as ‘Borgiae familiae spes et decus’ (the hope and ornament of the House of Borgia). - His father, as Cardinal and Vice-Chancellor, invested a long list of benefices upon him, to name only a few: when he was seven years old, pope Sixtus IV conferred upon him a prebend of the cathedral’s chapter of Valencia. In 1483 he received the title of rector of Gandia and archdeacon of Játiva. Later on, with pope Innocent VIII he was granted the position of treasurer of Mallorca’s cathedral, following that of canon of Lérida, Archdeacon of Tarragona and then treasurer of Cartagena’s cathedral. By 1491, Innocent at last granted him the bishopric of Pamplona. - He learned the art of bullfighting from the Spanish members of his father’s court and it became one of his life passions. Whether in Rome or in the Romagna, at any celebration, there was almost always a bullfight and he was almost always participating himself. - He also loved hunting, so he was always looking for good hunting dogs and falcons. On May 28th, 1497 he even sent one of his men, Enrico, to Germany to request from the Archbishop of Mainz some “well-trained and sagacious hunting dogs; their quality to be more important than their number.” - He was the first person in the history of the Church to resign the cardinalate, eventually becoming commander of the Papal armies. - He was briefly hostage of the Colonna during the conflicts of the French Invasion in 1494, and later on hostage of the king of France, Charles VIII. Although that time, he escaped their camp at Velletri, with the help of a man named Francesco del Sacco, officer of the Podestà of Velletri, who was waiting for him with a horse. Cesare sped back to Rome going to the house of one Antonio Flores, where he stayed for a night and informed his father of his presence. The next day, he withdrew to the city of Spoleto, and remained there until matters cooled off. - In 1497, a sword was forged for Cesare, known as “the queen of swords”, for his visit to Naples as papal legate, to crown the new king, Frederick of Naples. Its design was attributed to many artists including Michaelangelo, but it is more likely that the artist was Pinturicchio. And the blacksmith/sword engraver was Salomone da Sesso (c. 1465- c.1504–21) who after his conversion to Christianity assumed the name of Ercole dei Fedeli. (more details about the sword here x) - Cesare appeared wearing a horned mask in the guise of a unicorn during a theatrical performance, in one of the many festivities held in honor of his sister Lucrezia’s second wedding. Unicorn are known symbols of female chastity, possibly a reference to Lucrezia and her wedding night, but it also shows off Cesare’s own sense of humour, since it was well known to all present that he was anything but a chaste man lol. And the unicorn horn, according to a Greek physician had the ability of protecting people from sickness and neutralizing poison, which could have been another humourous remark from Cesare in reference to his family’s reputation of using poison to dispose of their enemies. - His best known mistress was Fiammetta Michaelis, she was a cultured courtesan from Florence, but who lived in Rome since 1473 most likely. Her relationship with Cesare was such that even after his death in 1507, she continued to sign herself as Fiammetta Ducis Valentini (of the duke Valentino). And her will in the city archives was headed ‘The Testament of La Fiammetta of Il Valentino.” - On May 10, 1499, he married Charlotte d’Albret, and before his departure from France he appointed her governor and administrator of all his lands and lorships in France and Dauphiny. He also made her heiress to all his moveable possessions in the event of his death (a little more about that here x). On December 1501, he personally selected precious gifts to be sent to her acquired from Venice. It included moulded wax, white sweetmeats, fine sugars, syrups, nine barrels of Malvoisie, oriental spices, oranges and lemons and all kinds of cloths. - Under his patronage, the first printing press of any importance was established in Italy. It was set up at Fano by Girolamo Sancino in 1501. One of the earliest works was the printing of the Statutes of Fano for the first time in January 1502. - About his administration staff, also in the year of 1501, we know he had a beautiful young woman from Bologna named Jovanna, working for him in his chancery. She’s described as a “degnissma scriptora”, she wrote letters and maybe did other secretarial duties as well for 14 ducats. - Whether it was treachery or a legit, reasonable move against Guidobaldo's own plans of treachery against him, the fact is that Cesare acquired Urbino without bloodshed in any of the towns, in a brilliant coup that amazed the whole of Italy (and terrified the nobility lol). While leaving a military contingent at Camerino, Cesare road north through the Apennines, between Nocera and Urbino he covered more or less sixty miles in forty-eight hours with a mixed force of 2.000 men. Before anyone else knew, he had already took Cagli, inside the Duchy of Urbino. Simultaneously, two other points were taken too, Montevecchio and San Lorenzo. Di Naldo, one of Cesare’s captains came from the east. These three armies converged towards the capital of Urbino then, where they met with the castilian and the garrison was rendered by him. A few hours later Cesare himself entered the city without any resistence. - The famous Sleeping Cupid by Michelangelo that Cesare gifted it to Isabella d’Este when he took Urbino in 1502 had a history together. He had previously been the owner of this piece. Cardinal Riario Sforza bought in 1496, but apparently when he found out that the piece was a modern piece and not an antique, he didn’t wanted it anymore, so it was displayed across the street of Cesare’s palace and he bought before the end of the year and later on send it as a gift to Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino. - A popular canzona of the time, Donna contra la mia Voglia by Filippo de Lurano (c.1470-c.1520) was Cesare’s favorite song. (There is an excellent version of it too by conductor and composer Jordi Savall). - As another step to secure the unity of the Romagna, Cesare did a reform in legal administration of great importance, he established a supreme Court of Appeal, named the Rota, influenced by the famous Court of the Vatican with the same name. He appointed as The First President, a newly created office, to Antonio di Monte Sansovino, a distinguished jurist with high integrity, and who was universally beloved. This Appeal Court sat in the seven main cities of the Romagna: Fano, Pesaro, Rimini, Cesena, Faenza, Forlì and Imola. If it was necessary, this Court would sit for as much as two months. All expenses were met by a payment from each of these judicial circuits of 200 ducats per annum. - In October 1500 Pinturicchio wrote to Cesare asking for the grant of a well to be put in one of the lands pope Alexander VI had bestow on him and his descendents at Chiusi, a city in the province of Siena, but near Perugia. Pinturicchio went himself to see Cesare at Diruta to request for all the necessary permission. Cesare issued a letter to Alfano Alfani, vice-treasurer of Perugia, making the request and saying that: “he had again taken to his service Bernardino Pinturicchio of Perosa, whom he always loved because his talent and gifts; and he desires that in all things he should be considered as ‘one of ours.” This initial request wasn’t honored so Cesare wrote again to this Alfani reinforcing his wish to be granted within that year. In 1501, Pinturicchio was given an annual payment as Cesare’s personal painter as well. - Cesare hired Leonardo da Vinci as a military architect and engineer in the spring of 1501, he entrusted him with all sorts of projects, in Cesena for example he asked that Da Vinci planned a new quarter of the city with wilder streets, sidewalks, parks, and a functioning sewage system and many other improvements. He also issued papers from the city’s headquarters for the construction in Cesena of a new university building, a palace to house the Rota. - Cesare also commissioned Da Vinci to work on an alterpiece, that is now lost unfortunately, at the Santuario della Beata Vergine del Piratello, outside of Imola. Some scholars agree that Da Vinci at the very least begun this painting, but it was not finished by him. There are some sketches he made that are called: Three views of a bearded man and it’s generally accepted to be Cesare, in what might have become a portrait of him in this alterpiece. - Right after he conquered a city, it was Cesare’s policy to issue a stem proclamation against plunder, guaranteed the property of the citizens. At Forlì he took measures to safeguard the convents, listening to all complaints of ill-treatment or robbery at the hands of the soldiery. On December 7, 1500, he hanged from the windows of his headquarters, two of his own men, a Piedmontese and a Gascon soldier, who had disobeyed his orders against plunder in the town. On the 13th of the same month, other offenders followed the same fate as the first two, which showed his zeal and the level of his commitment for the interests of his Forlivesi subjects. - At Cesena, as in other places in the Romagna, that same policy was applied, the usual disorder was put to an end, and civic automony was fully restored, along with the suppresion of aristocratic feuds, which resulted on econonical security and internal peace. - During the conquest of Faenza, the only city where Cesare met a true resistance, he retired to Cesena through the winter months while the siege kept going there. One night, he was walking around the city when he found a baby girl abandoned in the street, he commanded the baby to be nursed, and settled an ample dowry on the baby’s mother until she was of marriageable age. Afterwards, when the father refused to acknowledge the girl as his own, Cesare himself acknowledged the girl and she was baptized that day. - On March 29, 1501, when he was informed of Beatrice of Naples arrival at Cesenatico, twice Queen of Hungary and of Bohemia, and sister of Frederick of Naples, he send off his staff to greet her and to present her with a 'royal gift'. He ordered his lieutenants to honor her in every city in the Romagna and the Marche region, where she made her way back to Naples. - On 1502, Cesare and his father, Rodrigo went on a boat trip to Piombino and the island of Elba so that Rodrigo could officially take possession of these territories Cesare had recently conquered. Everything went smoothly, and they were on their way back when a violent storm began, hitting them hard. During 5 days they wandered aimlessly. Everyone, but Rodrigo, were quite anxious and scared. At the second day, the crew saw an English ship, and Cesare proposed to go to this boat to request for help, but Rodrigo refused, not wanting to request help from strangers. Eventually they made it back ashore, but it was a close call there for them for awhile. - After the masterstroke at Senigallia, where he successfully arrested his conspiring condottiere, the city was in total confusion, and a part of Cesare’s infantry were starting to sack the city, so Cesare in full armour and on horseback gave orders for his men to stop the sacking immediately, he then gathered some of his captains and went about the city streets putting a stop to the abuses that were starting to happen, some soldiers however, refused to obey his orders, and they were promptly executed there for their disobedience. - On 25 October, 1506 he managed to escape the Castle of La Mota, in Spain, a fortress that at that time worked as State prison, of maximum security, and where he was imprisoned. With the collaboration of his chaplain, and a servant of the governor's, named Garcia, along with the outside help from Count of Benavente, a powerful lord from the neighbourhood, who visited him regularly, he managed to climb down the 40 meter high tower with a rope, and if memory doesn't fail me, he was the only prisoner to have ever managed to escape this prison lool.

#anon ask #ask answered #cesare borgia #césar borgia #house borgia #historical facts #a few of these facts are only found in cesare italian bios #(alvisi and sacerdote)#and some of them are not found in any biography about him at all #if the internet wasn't a thing #and if i wasn't so curious and obsessed #i'd have died without ever knowing about it basically djsdjsjd #and i find that unacceptable and it shows how his own biographers tend to ignore a lot of interesting details about his life #bc they are usually stuck on this same ridiculous formula of presenting him #and some of these info doesn't fit in the general profile they like to present him as nor with their narratives #so it's mostly ignored by the vast majority of them #anyways idk if that was what you wanted anon #but i hope you like it!#it was fun to make it #<3

126 notes · View notes

jamestaylorswift · 4 years ago

Text

The Archer - Analysis

I was nudged to write out my thoughts about “The Archer” and I’m honestly glad for the push. This song is so beautiful yet haunting. I don’t see people appreciating it as much as I think it should be appreciated.

Standard disclaimer that this is my own personal reading of the song. You are free to disagree with any or all of what I say. There are many good interpretations of this song out there. It helps that it’s a very evocative track 5!

This analysis is not short. Sorry.

——

Combat, I’m ready for combat

I say I don’t want that, but what if I do?

‘Cause cruelty wins in the movies

I’ve got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you

——

Unlike other tracks on Lover, there’s no concrete imagery such as a garden gate or prom dress in this song. Taylor is sharing what only exists in her mind. This is a story told purely with metaphors. It’s important to lean into them.

The purpose of the first verse is to contextualize the rest of the song. She introduces the idea of being torn about wanting a fight. She would only want to fight someone if she has a really good reason to do so. Her driving force is “cruelty winning in the movies.” Her thrown-out speeches are the thing that would start the fight. Tossing the speeches implies that she is unsure not of the content of the speeches but of entering the fray of battle that would ensue after delivering them.

It’s very hard for me to see these speeches as anything but coming out speeches. Coming out (even as a non-celebrity) is often stressful. Cruelty winning in the movies is a nod to the fact that mainstream media depicts LGBTQ characters meeting tragic ends. Taylor, as a wildly famous celebrity, has cultural influence. Her coming out would impact the culture; it could change the endings of those movies. But her impact would only be measurable years in the future.

This verse is also where she first addresses the “you” in the song. I think the “you” is essentially a random observer/everyday Joe Schmoe. It’s nobody in particular because it could be anybody. The only thing remarkable about “you” is that she’s directly addressing them. That makes this story personal.

——

Easy they come, easy they go

I jump from the train, I ride off alone

I never grew up, it’s getting so old

Help me hold onto you

——

If the “you” in this song is a random person who has some benign preexisting opinion (whatever that may be, including a non-opinion) about Taylor Swift, then the “they” refers to arbitrary people who are on the fan/hate train. “They” come and go easily and represent flux in interest in her. I read the metaphor about a train with momentum as the implication that general interest in Taylor waxes and wanes but is inherently self-sustaining because of her celebrity. In this song, “they” aren’t necessarily the enemy like the public was, for example, in reputation. She just doesn’t concern herself with “them” anymore. It’s the “you” who has her full attention and who is sticking around to hear the story.

Finally, we get the first of many “help me hold onto you”s. This one is her articulating why she’s telling this story in the first place. It’s “I want you listen to this story and try to understand.” It’s “help me,” but in a chill way.

——

I’ve been the archer

I’ve been the prey

Who could ever leave me, darling?

But who could stay?

——

The archer is the zodiac symbol for Sagittarius, the centaur, Taylor’s astrological sign. Taylor exists in parts, just like a centaur: she is part her celebrity persona and part her real self, an amalgamation who is a Taylor different than either of the constituent halves. To the “you” it’s Taylor in her purest form. It’s impossible to completely separate her celebrity from her person at this point.

The chorus is about the duality of Taylor’s being, her actions, and others’ investment in any part of her. As the archer (hunter) she has aggressively exercised control over her public persona. As the prey (hunted) she has been a passive victim chewed up and spit out by the public/industry/etc. for things outside of her control. Sometimes it is her own actions that drive people away or attract people to her. Sometimes it is by individual choice that people board or leave the train.

The archer, Sagittarius, is also symbolic of a prophet who can predict fate. The prey is a victim of a terrible fate that, by nature, cannot be changed. I prefer to think of the archer/prey metaphor as commentary about the duality of fate rather than intense combat (for which a bow and arrow would probably be insufficient). This song is Taylor trying to reconcile the certainty of her future with distress about the unknown consequences of present-time decisions.

(Note that this first chorus is where the bass drum beat starts. It represents anxiety about the future. The first part of the song is exposition. The drum only comes in when she starts worrying about the “what ifs.”)

——

Dark side, I search for your dark side

But what if I’m alright, right, right, right here?

And I cut off my nose just to spite my face

Then I hate my reflection for years and years

——

Nobody Joe Schmoe has no obvious reason to hate Taylor for anything that she just said. But Taylor knows what comes next in the story. She’s anxious about Joe Schmoe’s reaction to what she’s about to say.

Taylor admits to doing self-destructive things. Because of the context she provided at the beginning of the song, I believe this is a reference to staying closeted. The “reflection” could be the literal reflection of her now-noseless face. Hating it is pure personal regret for self-destructive actions. The “reflection” could also be the mirror which her fans/the public hold up to her. Her self-destructive choices manifest in others’ toxicity. Hating what they’ve become starts with hating the ways she enables that behavior. (It’s really both “reflections.” The duality of man, yadda, yadda, yadda…)

More important than blaming herself for any (*cough*) past decisions, she articulates the pain of being in the closet in two simple lines. Burying a significant part of yourself by hiding behind a carefully constructed lie is exhausting. It’s sad. It also provides protection and safety and it’s unfortunately all too common. Cruelty wins in the movies, thus people are cruel to themselves.

——

I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost

The room is on fire, invisible smoke

And all of my heroes die all alone

Help me hold onto you

——

I think people consistently underestimate just how morbid “The Archer” is. Taylor reveals that her prophetic future is death—specifically, becoming a ghost, thus leaving an imperceptible trace of herself. She already feels suffocated by that possibility. Her suffering is invisible. She might just be left to die a slow, agonizing death via asphyxiation. Worse yet, what happens afterwards? Asphyxiation from invisible smoke would make it seem like she just dropped dead of her own accord. Or if the smoke somehow became visible….well, if you could see a ghost in the first place, a smoke-filled room would make that impossible. The implications are staggering and they’re all sad.

Few, if any, of Taylor’s heroes have literally died alone. I’m going to go out on a short limb here and say that Taylor probably sees parts of herself in her heroes. Therefore, the “heroes” in a song supposedly about the dilemma of coming out are other famous people who were/still are closeted. Taylor identifies herself as a potential role model for the younger generation like her heroes are for her. Her heroes’ lonely metaphorical deaths are exactly what she fears. Dying alone is being in the closet indefinitely. It’s being misunderstood and not having any way to rectify that situation. Perhaps this song is about the mortifying ordeal of remaining unknown.

As evidenced by the invisible smoke in the room, she thinks her metaphorical death is certain and imminent. The “help me hold onto you” is now “help me,” but in a very unchill way.

——

‘Cause they see right through me

Can you see right through me

I see right through me

——

As a reminder, “they” = random people in the public and “you” = nice, ordinary Joe Schmoe whom she wishes could understand her predicament. Being see-through is being seen without substance. Therefore, what the bridge is not saying is “don’t you see how obvious it is, isn’t it wild that people don’t pick up on me and/or my lover being loud in public?” It is saying “I am literally a ghost to ‘them’ because ‘they’ look at me and don’t see any of this pain, I’m basically dead to myself too because I feel like I’m already doomed, you’re my last hope so please say you see me.” Who cares about reaping the benefits (love, adoration) from the mortifying ordeal of being known? At this point she’s pleading simply to be seen as herself. “I see right through me” is her worst fear. This is why this line breaks out of the bridge and bleeds into the surrounding choruses.

(The bridge, to me, is where it becomes clear that treating the “you” as her lover with whom she could come out does a serious disservice to the rest of the song. Her lover as “you” inverts the meaning of the bridge. This makes the story inconsistent. I appreciate the gravity of the “help me hold onto you” line if it were spoken to a secret lover. However, being seen/understood is more intimately tethered to being out as an individual than being out with another person. In my mind, it makes more sense for this attitude to be an invariant of the song.)

——

All the king’s horses, all the king’s men

Couldn’t put me together again

‘Cause all of my enemies started out friends

Help me hold onto you

——

The Humpty Dumpty rhyme is basically “anthropomorphized egg sits on top of a high wall, anthropomorphized egg falls off the wall and shatters irreparably.” Taylor as Humpty Dumpty makes the wall she’s on top of the pedestal of fame/success. She’s saying that coming out would topple her from her pedestal. Her image as a woman who became famous for writing heterosexual love songs is as fragile as an eggshell. When it breaks, what is left behind?

“All the king’s horses, all the king’s men” might be a reference to her fans whom she once considered as friends but whom can also be incredibly toxic. I read it as a catch-all for anyone who isn’t Taylor. The key of this verse is her musing on why an eggshell can’t be repaired. It’s not for lack of manpower. It’s that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men—everyone, literally—are enemies and don’t want to reconstruct Humpty Dumpty. They simply don’t believe Humpty’s death is so tragic that they would spend effort to change his fate.

Taylor fears that darling Joe Schmoe, a friend to whom she is addressing this story, could become an enemy by conscious choice. She can give Joe Schmoe the truth and plead to be seen, but Joe Schmoe can still choose to see right through her anyways. It’s terribly frightening to be honest yet have that vulnerability go unacknowledged. Taylor coming out is her facing the prospect of instant confirmation that good people do not care. She could die a ghost despite efforts to be visible.

——

Who could stay?

You could stay

Combat, I’m ready for combat

——

Coming out is a choice but being gay is not—it is fate. She has no control over how others react to that. Taylor slowly acknowledges throughout the song that her future isn’t in her hands. She ultimately shifts away from the prophet/victim binary by reiterating that she’s sure of herself and that whatever happens, she’s not going down without a fight.

Lover the album isn’t just about romantic love. This song is not construing an inherently unequal and sometimes toxic relationship with fans/the public as love. “The Archer” romanticizes the possibility of someone reacting to honesty with kindness and understanding. Love is being seen.

#gaylor swift #kaylor #lover #music analysis #my post

25 notes · View notes

doomedandstoned · 4 years ago

Text

An Evening With EMBR

~By Shawn Gibson~

Continuing his two-and-a-half-years' journey into the deepest, dankest corners of the heavy underground, Doomed & Stoned's intrepid sludge reporter Shawn Gibson continues his series of fun and lively interviews with bands in our still blooming and booming doom-stoner scene with this interview with founding member and drummer Eric Bigalow, whose partner Crystal Bigalow fronts the Alabama band EMBR. We hope you enjoy getting to know the band as much as we did, especially in light of their new album '1823' (2020) which was released recently on New Heavy Sounds. [Editor]

Eric, how ya doin?

Good. I am on my daily walk. Watching my “conspiracy videos.”

Ah!

How are you?

I'm good.

Glad to hear it! Were you able to listen to that album?

I did. Last night two times in a row!

Really?

Back to back.

Possible Album Of The Year? (laughs)

I would say it's up there, a contender for sure! I definitely like it alot!

Thank you.

In the song "Where I've Been," Crystal's vocals are amazing, beautiful, and haunting. At the end of the song Crystal has that growl!

She learned how to scream a month before we got in the studio and freakin' knocked it out! You know the song "Powder," where I'm singing to the verses?

Yes, that's definitely another one I like on '1823' (2020)

We are going to do a song where she's taking the reins on [vocals] instead of me doing it.

Is she doing dual vocals on that track? Clean, then a bit harsher vocals.

Yeah, she'll kind of mirror some parts. When I'm done singing, she will come in and sing.

"Vines" is another good one from 1823. Who's doing those growls?

That would be me. I pull it off live while I'm playing drums, too. I'm glad you dig it! It's weird when you come out with songs, as far as what you think will be people's favorite and what the band's least favorite is. You know what I mean?

Oh yeah.

"Vines" was kind of ours. We were kind of, "I don't know about this one." It seems that the people that have heard it like it.

You and I are friends on Facebook and I see good reviews for your songs and the whole album '1823.' You guys have gotten a great response!

Seems like we're getting good responses [on that song especially]. The count on our Facebook has been doing wonderful! Almost a hundred thousand views!

Very nice!

One thousand likes and four hundred and seven shares. Thats crazy, man!

Glad to hear that! You guys deserve it!

Thank you! It's always nice to hear that. In your opinion, buddy to buddy, do you think the response from the album will be as good as one song?

Definitely. I would envision praise and a very warm welcome from doom metal fans. Tell me about recording '1823.'

We went to Ledbelly Sound studios in Dawsonville, Georgia. The owner and engineer's name is Matt Washburn. He has worked with Mastodon, Royal Thunder, Artimus Pyledriver. We are real big fans of Artimus Pyledriver! They broke up years ago and it kinda hit us hard. We worked with Matt multiple times. He mastered 261. He recorded 271 and he recorded Spiritual Dialysis.

We always got along with Matt really well. He pushes you hard, but is also kind of laid back. It's a little hard to explain how that works. He has the same kind of sense of humor as we do, so it's always a good time there. We recorded this album 1823 in six days over the course of two weekends. As far as recording, we just plugged right in and Mark and Alan recorded the scratch tracks for guitar and bass while I was playing drums. I got my drums recorded pretty much on the first day.

Damn!

Yeah! Then we went back and tracked over the drums. We had the music pretty much done in the first weekend. The second weekend was pretty much a few overlays on guitar and Crystal laying down her vocals. Everybody knocked it out pretty quick, especially Crystal. Crystal goes in the booth and knocks out a song in one or two takes then moves on to the next one.

Glad to hear that!

She is really good at recreating what she does. She does the same exact thing live. She's talented that way.

Crystal has some angelic vocals, while the music is heavy as hell!

(laughs) That's what we are going for.

That is a beautiful contrast and compliment at the same time.

Thank you! She is good at finding the right notes to accompany dropped tuning. We are in drop A. The recording was awesome -- working with Matt is always awesome. We are scheduled to go back and see him in a couple months. Can't tell you why yet!

That shows you guys are working hard.

We are trying! We are trying to make a video for every song on 1823.

That's a great feeling to have plenty of songs written and recorded, always having material to put out there. You guys work hard and practice hard, so it is easier to record and lay down tracks quicker. If you're knocking a good chunk out on a weekend, that's good! If you're paying for studio time, I'd imagine you've practiced and are ready. Studio time can be expensive.

Yeah, you don't want to go in there and dick around. You don't want to figure out the song in the studio.

Right! Tell us about your backend.

At the moment we are using Orange amps. Crowbar is using those, too. We have two Orange heads and Mark tunes one mostly to mids and lows and the other one is mids to high's. The secret sauce -- well, it's not a secret now that I'm going to tell you -- I bought an old 1969 tuck and roll bass amp. It's three 15 inch speakers. It's only two hundred watts, but you crank it all the way to where it's just breaking up. He is running two guitar amps plus a bass amp to get his guitar tone.

Wow!

That's how we achieved our guitar tone. Our bass player Alan uses really good equipment, too. He uses a dark glass amp that sounds really awesome. Matt told me he loves recording my drums because my drums are the John Bonham version that Ludwig makes, so it's all really big sizes.

Damn.

Yeah, you get a huge sound out of it. To get the shells for that kit is $1200.00 bucks, which isn't that bad. You get monster sounds out of these things and I love em! I actually have two sets!

Awesome! Listening to '1823,' "Powder, "Vines," and "Where I've Been" are my faves. I love at the end of "Where I've Been" when Crystal screams, "Where I've been!" That is badass! "Vines" fucked me up with Crystal's singing and then those male growls!

That was good, huh? Thank you! We are hoping that the next one will be a little bit heavier. A lot of our older stuff we have seven and nine minute songs. We are trying to reel that back, where we are three to five minutes. Doing stuff that is memorable, not necessarily technical.

Are you guys going to try to get back to playing shows in the fall or winter if things open back up?

Yeah, we will start booking heavy when everything opens back up. Right now we are not doing anything because nobody knows what's going on right? When stuff opens back up we will hit it hard.

You should!

We have a business plan in place to do certain shows in certain months or so many shows each month. Certain states we want to go to. We all have full time jobs, so we are trying to figure out some four day runs to kind of "tour" for the album. It is just up in the air right now. We have thought about doing some Facebook live videos or videos of us jamming in the practice space. We talked about how to get a quality recording with the footage.

On that note, what do you see in the future for EMBR?

We are planning on releasing an EP sometime soon. Right now, we are focusing on writing riffs and songs for the next actual album. In the future, we want to play a lot more shows. Right now, we are focused on material. We are putting stuff in the bank like we did for 1823. Mark will send me a riff and show me how to play it. Then I'll record it on GarageBand and write more to it then put it into Google Drive so everyone can hear it. We have about nine song ideas right now for the next one. Some might not come to fruition. What the future holds for EMBR is more work! Keep working and keep truckin'! We are all a bunch of work horses.

Hell yeah! I think you have three or four EP's before '1823.'

Yeah.

That's why EMBR has such a great response. You guys work your asses off! Do you guys have shirts or any other merch?

Oh yeah.

Where can we find this stuff at?

Our shirts are made by a company called Amplified Tee. On album 271 we had a guitarist named Craig who worked at Amplified Tee. Basically you go online and order whatever you want. I think we have five or six different designs. You can get regular shirts, girl's style tees, or a hoodie. You can go on amplifiedtee.com/EMBR. We have that available right now.

I will have to check that out!

I am actually working on a newer design right now. There might be a new design soon.

Well that's about all I have for you, Eric. I hope that you and Crystal and the other guys in EMBR are well and staying safe!

Oh yeah, definitely.

Until next time I will talk to you later, Eric.

Alright. Thank you, I appreciate it!

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

#D&S Interviews #EMBR #Ember #Birmingham #Alabama #Doom #Metal #Doom Metal #Atmospheric #Shawn Gibson #Doomed & Stoned

1 note · View note

juyeonrk · 4 years ago

Text

PROJECT HEARTZ ♡ MAY EVALUATION performing ✰ cherry bullet’s REALLY REALLY

난 네가 참 좋아, oh 정말 난 네가 참 좋아!

this month is neither last month or the month before. juyeon feels renewed, where should be. not overly confident but not in a place where she questions her place in the project. juyeon goes into the evaluation with a clear conscience, clear intentions. peculiar since this evaluation song is so far from who juyeon perceives herself to be. she wants to show sphere who she is and what she is capable of. and if it has to start here with this, then so be it. juyeon returns to march’s roots, in all pink. or almost. pink plaid tennis skirt and a cropped white polo shirt, her originals making a return. a pop of colour rests in her hair in the form of a pink headband. she opts for this look as it’s simple, it won’t take away from her performance nor make any bold statements. last minute she adds a small pink pin to the collar of her shirt, as a small statement, reminding them and also herself as to why she’s here. it’s all for heartz, of course.

it’s hard to believe that minhee is just about to debut, and luda too. minhee’s teasers were just released through sphere’s social media. it’s so strange to think that two months ago, they were all standing there in the practice room together, clueless as to where they were headed. juyeon lives with the question of when it’ll be her turn. it could be this week or it could be next month, or the month after that. she fears for the reality where she doesn’t make it into the project at all. she also fears the reality where she debuts without chungha who has become a good friend of hers.

juyeon finds herself on her feet, walking to the center of the room as she practiced at the end of last month and the month before. she smooths down the crinkles in her skirt as she waits for a moment. the coaches give her the green light to assume her starting position and she does, her hands resting firmly on her hips, a bright smile on her face. happy, upbeat sounding music fills the studio as cherry bullet’s really really begins to play through the speakers. it’s so unlike juyeon but it’s also that element which makes it so juyeon to begin with.

i really really like you, i really really like you.

juyeon is reminded of the singing element of this evaluation, the lack of rap and the although not horrible, basic choreography she has to hide behind. still, juyeon puts up a front and braves it; it was one performance and she was sure that it wasn’t going to be that bad.

at the moment when i looked at you standing before me, everything changed ( that’s right ), even my hang ups ( uh huh ), i’m gaining confidence.

because of your confession ( uh ), my heart is pounding ( so sweet ), you said you can only see me, my heart might be pounding.

the choreography is difficult, since the group switches centers between ten members. juyeon is forced to make the transitions between member to member seamless. it’s a lot easier with choreography like the one she’s doing, complex choreography is harder to glue together. so maybe there is a positive to routines like this one. her voice isn’t as shaky as she thought it was going to be, which makes juyeon performing feel a little bit more effortless. it’s evident that she has been practicing and seeking guidance where she can. but it’s also easy to be reminded that she’s in no way a vocalist. her long limbs executing even the most basic of choreography effortlessly is enough to state that she is and always will be a dancer.

i thought you were teasing me at first, really i i i was surprised i i i ( for what? ) you’re whispering to me, shyly looking at me. should i really believe this story?

i like you so much, i like you so much. oh i really like you so much. i like you so much, oh i really like you so much.

the chorus is enough to make juyeon smile that little bit wider, and genuinely. the beat and the lyrics are infectious. the choreography is also pretty memorable. it’s this sort of routine that she would like to see herself doing alongside the other girls. a big, fun summery number that makes everyone wanna get up and dance. it feels a little lackluster performing it by herself but juyeon hasn’t any other option. she has to turn up the cute dial a little more than usual, acting as she is expected to act. being coy and shy, girly and feminine. all feel out of place to juyeon but it was about the performance and staying true to the song’s message, not deviating.

love is mysterious, i find a different side of me. your words are like a magic. change me oh, change me. you’re different from others ( uh ), by your sweet whisper ( so sweet ), i’m changing, even i can feel it.

i thought you were teasing me at first, really i i i was surprised i i i ( for what? ) you’re whispering to me, shyly looking at me. should i really believe this story?

i like you so much, i like you so much. oh i really like you so much. i like you so much, oh i really like you so much.

a song doesn’t need a big, fancy dance routine to be taken seriously. juyeon has come to terms with that. she’s come to appreciate the simplicity of a routine where the artist can vibe off of the audience, where everyone can join in and have fun together, regardless of skill level.

the verse leading up to the final chorus leaves juyeon feeling the most nervous she has done for the entire performance. and while she’s practiced and practiced this routine again and again, ten fold, nerves regarding higher notes, above what she would usually sing always strike fear in her. but she swallows her fear, tells herself she can do it. it doesn’t have to be anything fantastic or mind blowing, she just has to believe in herself. she lowers the note in comparison to the original and to one’s ear, it falls flat of what one would suspect. but as long as no ones ears bleed then what more could they ask from her?

you came to me making my heart fluttering ( your whisper ), you made me love myself ( your love ), more than anything and any words in the world, your one word wakes me up.

i like you so much, friends say we make a cute couple. i really like you so much, i i like you so much. i think you really make me happy ( make me happy ), i really like you so much, i i like you so much. i like you so much, oh i really like you so much. i like you so much, oh i really like you so much.

juyeon always felt as though the end of her evaluations were like a montage, or at least that’s how they played out in her head. this month though feels like it falls short, or close to. it’s nothing monumental or showstopping, it’s merely juyeon getting back on the horse and finding level ground. gone are her sad, feeling sorry for herself days. juyeon knows that the only way she’ll ever really be able to meet her dreams is to keep focused and chase them down.

#✰ ╎ evaluation ;#✰ ╎ sphere gallery ;#✰ ╎ heartz ;#heartz:may20eval #( this wasnt as great as my others but )#( i wanted to post something )

4 notes · View notes

dailyaudiobible · 5 years ago

Text

04/08/2020 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 32:28-52, Luke 12:35-59, Psalms 78:56-64, Proverbs 12:24

Today is the 8th day of April, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it's great to be here with you today as we continue our journey through holy week. We move toward…we…we move toward this weekend, which is I was is one of the most important days in the…in the history of the world, Easter and today is the day of Passover. So, we just observe that, mark that as we continue our journey forward through this week, through this month and through this year. And turning to the Scriptures we pick up where we left off yesterday no matter what's going on and that's…that leads us back into the book of Deuteronomy and I believe we’ll be concluding the book of Deuteronomy on Good Friday this year. So, let's get to that. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 28 through 52. And by way of reminder we’re in the middle of a big song that Moses is teaching the people.

Commentary:

Okay. So, some of the most important advice about how we are supposed to live our lives right now right here is…well…comes from the lips of Jesus through the gospel of Luke today. So, Jesus says, “you are to be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. Blessed will be those servants the master finds alerts when he comes.” Okay. So, who is the one who is alert, right, the one who is awake with their eyes open to see, eyes to see because there awake and not asleep? And a lot of the time when we read a passage like this we think in terms of like cosmic destiny, like return of the Lord. We should be ready at any time for Him to split the eastern sky and come riding on a white horse and the end of all things and the beginning of new things and all of this…this is what we're thinking. We should be ready for this at any time. But is this the only time the Lord comes? How often are we raising our hands in worship and moving back and forth on Sunday and asking for more of His presence and for us to be able to see what we need to see because we have generally become unaware that we can never escape His presence and all we can do is become aware of it, it's always with us. I mean we’re always needing to go into His presence but what…what about went on about when He comes for us as a Father, as a friend, as a counselor, as a comforter? What about when He comes for us? Are we even paying attention? Do we at all have eyes to see? Are we alert at all? And isn't this central to what Jesus has been saying all along? “Wake up, open your eyes, open your ears. Something is happening among you now. Don't miss this. Don't sleep through this.” Jesus goes on to tell us, “blessed is the servant, whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.” And then listen to this, “truly I tell you”, which is Jesus saying, “I'm telling you the truth”, “He, God will put Him in charge of all His possessions.” In other words, if we are awake, if we have eyes to see, if we are looking for the movements of God and His kingdom in this world and we are able to see those things and we are awake and we are aware we are collaborating and we are participating then we will fully begin to realize we lack nothing. The God of all things is entrusting His possessions to us. That’s pretty huge. Then Jesus says some…some other things that are pretty huge. “I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze, but I have a baptism to undergo.” And He's referring exactly to what we’re going through as we go through this holy week. He says, “how it consumes me until it is finished. Do you think I came here to bring peace on the earth? No. I tell you, but rather division.” So, how does this work because we see Him as baby Jesus, the Prince of peace? How can He be saying these things? What does this mean? As we've learned, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear, then we can see the repercussions of the light coming into the darkness and the darkness first, not comprehending it then rejecting it, then trying to destroy it. Jesus then becomes this living metaphor for our struggle forward to wake up, to be aware of what's going on, to be light in the darkness and stand as a witness against the darkness exposing the darkness, knowing that the darkness is going to try to stamp out the light. But if lights keep flickering, if lights keep going on all over the world then at some point the light overcomes the darkness. And Jesus is telling us to be awake, alert, ready because the light is going to bring fire on the earth. And the funny thing is, these are the kinds of things we also pray for. We sing about them. “Send your holy fire upon us.” It's just going to consume everything that is in the darkness, including everything that is false within us. This is what we’re asking God to do and He’s saying “I’m doing it and I'm going to continue to do it” but we just so rarely embrace it. We run for comfort. We run into hiding. We want to go back to sleep. But Jesus comments on that. He's like basically, “you can…you can tell when rains coming. You can tell when it’s gonna be hot. You know how to read those signs, but you can't see the sign of the present time all around you. You just keep looking for somebody to tell you what time it is. Wake up.” And then He goes on to talk about a judge, like “if you’re…if you’re gonna go with somebody that is your adversary before a judge, own it, fix it, don't…like fix it before you go before the judge. Like, own this. Be awake. Stop waiting for everybody to do everything for you or to get into a position where a decision is made for you that is not the one that you are after, but now there's nothing you can do about it.” And fundamentally what Jesus is telling us in today's reading is, “own it. This is your life. It is a gift, wake up. It's not happening to you. You're happening to it. The darkness cannot…no matter how it rages against you…cannot come against you as long as you are in the light. Don't let the light go out.” In another passage, Jesus said, “you are the light of the world.” Own that, be responsible for that, be awake and alert. And I can't think of anything more poignant for a day like today as we move through Passover and Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday as we move toward the end of this season of Lent where we’re sitting with the cost of our sin and what it took to set us free for Jesus then to be telling us, “own this, live into this, be awake, be alert, have eyes to see.” There’s nothing more poignant for us.

Prayer:

Father, we invite Your Holy Spirit into that. We've been asking over and over for eyes to see and ears to hear, and we thank You for the way that You are waking us up. But what we see in the Gospels is that light is a disrupting agent to the darkness. It shakes things up no matter what. And although people are drawn to the light, the light exposes the darkness and normally we slink back into the darkness because everybody else is hiding too. And, so, come Holy Spirit as we move through these days, these days that have so significant of an impact on our hearts because of the things that we’re commemorating and observing. We invite Your Holy Spirit to shake us fully awake and let us own our lives before You knowing that You are not withholding anything from us, but we are withholding plenty and that…those things that we are withholding from You are the things that are the chains that, they’re things that are enslaving us when we are free. So, come Holy Spirit shine the light of truth within us, into all of the dank corners and the deep basements of our lives. Bring Your light. We trust You. Awaken us we pray. In Jesus name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it is home base, is where you stay connected. So, in…in times like these it's really important to stay connected and that's always possible.

So, the Community section of the website or for that matter, the app, just press the little drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner and you can get to these things as well, but the community section has all the different links to the different social media channels that we’re on. It's also where the Prayer Wall lives and that is always on that is always happening. Prayer is always happening there as well. So, be sure to stay connected in any way that you can and any way that you want to.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. Thank you profoundly. There is a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement can dial 877-942-4253 or just hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button at the top and you can begin to share from there.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello DAB family this is your brother __ calling from Nairobi Kenya just to say thank you so much for your prayers. I’m a long-time listener and for a while was busy with my activities. I’ve been traveling and yeah, I was not listening for a while but now I’m back. I thank God for the DAB family and for the prayers and for this community that it’s not affected by this coronavirus at this physical time that the community of DAB is more efficient because it’s been working online all this time, all these years __ community. We thank God for the blessings, we thank God for everything. Thank you so much for your prayers. God bless you.

Hi family this is his little Cherry in Canada and I’ve really been thinking a lot about the Holy Spirit lately. When Jesus left, He promised His disciples that He would send to them the Holy Spirit and He called him the comforter or some translations say advocate, helper, encourager. It’s hard to accurately translate that word because it’s so rich with meaning. But boy, I could use the comforter right about now and maybe you can too. I have been confronted by how shallow my devotion is, by the uncertainty and the fear that has gripped the planet and I’ve been swept up in it. And I just realized that God is giving me an opportunity to get to know in a deeper way the person of the Holy Spirit, the comforter. And I’m not talking about something denominational because some denominations talk a lot about the Holy Spirit, some not as much, but I realize now that the Holy Spirit is at work everywhere. I have been so comforted recently by the Catholic liturgy, which surprised me. But the Holy Spirit has been given to every disciple of Jesus, every believer and I need to know Him in a deeper way. So, Lord that’s my prayer for myself and for all of us, that we would get to know the comforter, the encourager in a way that actually lifts us up, out of fear. Lord, make it real, make it personal and comfort our hearts. I pray in Jesus’ name.

Aloha from Hawaii, I’m Robin first-time caller but I was inspired by Free Indeed from Maryland who encouraged us this week not to ignore calling in if we were prompted by the Holy Spirit. And I actually did feel prompted several weeks ago and started to call but then I didn’t follow through. I am just so touched by many people who share on this format, but I wanted, especially Tammy in Kentucky with the foster son to know that I’m praying for you and also your foster son and your family. Sierra in Florida who I think is a newer believer and you are so excited, and you planned to go to the mission field and then our whole world was changed with this COVID-19. I really believe one day Sierra you will go on the mission field but maybe right now the mission field is taking care of your unbelieving grandfather. And I know that that’s…that’s difficult but I’ll be praying for you. Diana Olive Brown I just love your sweet voice and every time you say “shalom, shalom” I just smile. All of you other faithful and passionate prayer warriors, you’re really an inspiration. I just so love all the various accents and the different styles of prayer. I’m so honored to be a part of this group and join believers around the world as we just plead for God’s mercy and healing upon our world. A personal prayer request is the healing of the dear friend’s chronic back pain. Thank you for that. And Aloha Kaya Koua. God is...

Hello Daily Audio Bible family today is April 4th just got finished listening to today’s broadcast and through the second to last chapter of Sneezing Jesus…Jesus. Anyway. in this…today’s broadcast, Slave of Jesus came on. He encouraged us to share the link to Sneezing Jesus. And I took a leap of faith and I shared it with my brother Danny with no preamble, no explanation just in faith that God will do something with that and will change the heart of my atheist brother like the same way that he changed the heart of Slave of Jesus who was also an atheist at one time. So, hope you join with me in prayer for my professed atheist brother, that he would…that this link would spark something in him that would open his eyes and his ears to the truth. So, as Brian has said just about every day this year, “come holy spirit, gives us eyes to see and ears to hear.” And Lord may You give those eyes to my brother and may You soften his heart to receive what he sees and what he hears and may he be a blessing to You one day Lord and __ in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hey everybody it’s Lisa the Encourager, just wanted to call in today after hearing the sweet woman that called in about her 13-year-old daughter and her 16-year-old daughter that were suicidal…who had suicidal thoughts. And her 16-year-old daughter was in a very dark, dark place. So, I just want to pray for these two sweet girls and their mom. Dear God I just pray Lord Jesus that Your hand will be upon this mother Lord and You will help her to be able to divinely say the right things to her daughters to get them into a place where they can be connected with the Holy Spirit and I pray…I pray Lord Jesus…I’m begging You God, I’m begging You from the bottom of my heart God to remove what thoughts take them there Lord God. Help them to see You God and help them to know that their loved and needed and their mother wants them to be a part of her life forever and that they are going to have something special, that they’re going to be able to bring to this world. Lord help them to see that, that they are needed and loved and wanted. And You God mostly help them to see You Lord, help them to understand how much You love them and how much You have for them and how much You are gonna bring into their lives. Lord, help them to see the future, help them to see what they can look forward to in this world Lord through You Lord Jesus in Your eyes. Please God change their heart. Please God help them to understand…

This Healing Shattered Fragments. I’m scared to ask for this and it’s just wrong to even ask but as someone who experienced satanic ritual abuse, I am struggling with __ awake until Easter. I’m struggling to believe that healing is even possible from horrendous abuse like this. I’m struggling with the memories that have come with the abuse and the lies and I just need to know that God is still there. and He cares and He sees me and healing is possible. And I can’t…I can’t do this alone. Can’t reveal the secret that Christians are afraid to talk about, I just need someone to pray…

1 note · View note

myupostsheadcanons · 5 years ago

Text

Books “Read” in 2019

I am going to rank these by how much i enjoyed them vs. any actual literary quality. often well written books aren’t always the most entertaining books.

Note: i listen to many of these books at work, which is why i am able to go through so many of them in a year.

List from 2017 List from 2018

------- My Favs of the Year ----

Novels from The First Law:

Best Served Cold (#1), The Heroes(#3), Red Country(#4), Sharp Ends(#5).

A Little Hatred (#2) (Age of Madness, sequel to The First Law)

I read “The First Law Trilogy” about a year or two ago and finally got around to reading the rest of the books, just in time for a new series taking place in the same world to start up (Age of Madness) and now i am waiting like everybody else for the next two books to come out in 2020 and 2021. A Little Hatred shouldn’t be read as a stand alone, a lot of what goes on is dependent mainly on knowledge from the first trilogy and in The Heroes, then bits and pieces from Best Served Cold and Red Country. So much of your enjoyment of each book is based on what you’ve learned in other ones (character development or seemingly useless information being not so useless later).

Age of Legend (Book 4, Legend of the First Empire)

This is more-or-less an “aftermath” book where the main characters are still reeling about what happened in the previous book and are trying to make plans for what they are going to do next. I still like the characters and the world/setting it takes place in.

House of Assassins (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior, Book 2)

I’ve been waiting for the next book in this series to come out the second i finished the first book in the series. It is one of those Science fiction in the disguise of Fantasy settings and I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see how that plot/revelation comes out (I am certain that the location the story takes place is Earth, more specifically around Asia/India, but in a post-invasion apocalypse setting where nobody remembers anything prior to the invasion). I also really like how much of a badass Ashok is... i have a thing for emotionally stunted badass characters, especially when their flaws are held up to a mirror and have real consequences.

R. R. Haywood’s Worldship Humility & Extinct (Extracted, Book 3)

I love the way Haywood writes characters and dialog. I was at-first iffy about WSH, but was won over after i warmed up to the new characters.

Shades of Magic Trilogy (A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Shadows)

Solid multi-verse and magic system world. Well-written characters, some minor nitpicks on plot points, but can be easily ignored. LGBTQ rep, the gays don’t stay buried.

“Don’t you have enough [knives]?” “You can never have too many.” [me, every time: LOL]

One of the few times when a character deserves a redemption arc, doesn’t really get one, dies, and i am perfectly fine with it because it is done well.

Assassin’s Fate (Fitz and the Fool, Book 3)

I read this one in book-book form, but i already knew most of the emotionally painful parts of the book by spoiling it to myself when it first came out a couple years ago. The main appeal is the inner monologues of the two main characters, even if like 50% of this trilogy is basically spending weeks/months trying to go from Point A to Point B, when many other books would have glossed over the details of travel.. but you can really feel the stress as they dwell in their thoughts and struggles.

Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles & Circe

Re-Imagining of the Iliad and The Odyssey. Focusing not on the characters of Achilles or Odysseus, but on Petroclus (Achilles’ lover) and Circe the sea nymph witch that Odysseus had an affair and child with.

The Spear of the Stars (Cycle of Galand, Book 5)

Still love Dante and Bleys... This is where they really get into the meat of world building and solving the mysteries of the Arawn Cycle (the book/bible) and peel back the layers of their reality.

Dust (Silo Book 3)

A great ending to a good series, it answers whether or not humanity can or has survived what had caused them to be locked away in the silos.

Blackthorn and Grim (Dreamer’s Pool, Tower of Thorns, Den of Wolves)

I like the premise of the books, the two main characters first seeking out revenge, but end up wanting to become better people due to magic shenanigans.... One part Fantasy, One Part Mystery, One Part Lovestory.

The Dispatcher (Audible Free Book)

I want a whole series based off this novella. It is John Scalzi so he can write a good story. I had previously read Android’s Dream by him, which it didn’t make it into my top-10 that year, but was still decent, even if the subject matter was a bit gross... The Dispatcher world is a Sci-Fi Noir, not quite Cyberpunk, where people don’t die by anything other than natural causes. The Dispatcher’s job is to kill people before something goes does wrong and the person “resets” to when they where safe and sound.

---- this is the “Above Average” Zone ----

All the Pretty Horses & Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West

The master of bleak and depressing fiction. if regular Dark Fiction isn’t enough for you.... there is Cormac McCarthy books. Get use to the “purple prose” that fills up pages with no dialog.

The Golem and the Jinni

Supernatural world of the far past dealing with Edwardian New York and Immigration. It not only is a “fish out of water” story of the two main characters trying to fit in with society but they are among communities that are also new to America and trying to find their own place in the world. There are love subplots but most of those kind of fizzle out.

The Axe and the Throne: Bounds of Redemption Vol. 1.

“Discount First Law” book... it is lacking the dark humor that made TFL series far more entertaining. This was also the book that was prefaced by warning people about how grim and dark the setting was... Hahahaha. I still found it entertaining none the less, and hope the rest would show up on audible soon.

Black Snow, White Crow (Audible Free Book)

Another one of those short stories that should have a larger saga to its name. Fantasy Industrial Punk. It has the whole equality role reversal thing going on, it isn’t done quite as well as Left Hand of Darkness (but that book leaned onto the boring side of things).

Stephen King’s IT, Pet Semetary, and Carrie

It’s Stephen King. Classic King. Not much else to say.

Watership Down

Depressing Rabbit Book. Though I did like all the stories and mythology the rabbits had.

Bloody Acquisitions (Fred the Vampire Accountant, Book 3)

A series that is always fun to listen to. I wish the audio books were cheaper because they are rather short.

Lethal White (Cormoran Strike, Book 4)

shuddup, i don’t care if it is Rowling... i have a low-key crush on Cormoran.... he just hits that big-burly tragic-backstory man-shaped soft-spot of mine. These stories are also her “for adults” writings so... expect more racism and garbage values.

The Eye of the World (Book 1, Wheel of Time)

Classic set up to a long running series, though i am reluctant to go further as the middling books in this series are said to drag out the story too much.... It’s not as self-centered as Wizard’s First Rule and the characters are more relatable and stick to their fantasy tropes. This is the “mold” that other modern fantasy try to subvert by going “darker and edgier.”

The Exorcist

If you like the movie, read the book. There is a lot of back story that the movie wasn’t able to adapt.

---- This is the “AVERAGE, but Still Good” Zone ---

The Iliad and The Odyssey

Classics. I am still on the hunt for an unabridged version of Jason and the Argonauts story. I also have Virgil’s Aeneid in my wishlist to get too soon.

Phillipa Gregory’s Plantagonate Novels (The Lady of the Rivers, The Red Queen, White Queen, The Kingmaker’s Daughter)

Sometimes it is like reading the same book 5x in a row. other times you end up not liking the previous protagonist in a book you just finished reading because of how the current protagonist sees them from their POV.

Return of the King (Lord of the Rings, Book 3)

Read the other books last year and didn’t get around to this one for a few months.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Fuck... I’m a janitor... why can’t i afford a house? If you liked Stephen King’s “IT” go back and read this book.

Alien Franchise Dramatizations: Alien: Sea of Sorrows, Alien: The Cold Forge (Audible Free Book) Alien III (Audible Free Book)

I don’t mind that they all are done with a full cast. Though often I end up wanting to find the actual book and listen to them with just one narrator and descriptions.

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (Narnia, Book 1)

I would like to get the rest of the books in this series, but for books that are only 5-7 hours long they want 20$ a book for them. It needs to go into an omnibus.

Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets (Audible Free Book)

It’s Stephen Fry... he’s funny and a good narrator.

Wizard’s First Rule (Book 1, Sword of Truth)

I don’t like Richard. He started off alright, but even before he got tortured 2/3rds into the book, i was starting to dislike his personality. Other than that, the side characters and world are solid, but it was like taking an R-rated movie and cutting it down for TV. There is somethings that are vaguely described when i am use to harder fiction like ASoIaF, The First Law, Dresden, and McCarthy books actually describing those things.

Halloween (2018, movie novel)

Like I said when i first read the book, it would’ve benefited by a second re-write before being published. But, i like the movie and so I liked the book.

Don Quixote

Another classic read. I did find it hilarious that the Author spent a good chunk of the second book complaining about Fanfiction of his own book... in the 1600′s.

The Princess Diarist

I listened this book instead of going to see TROS. worth it.

Smoke Gets in Your eyes: And other Lessons from the Crematorium

Non-Fiction, If you want to know the ins and outs of the funeral business and get told in an informative yet non-clinical way with lots of tidbits and history facts tossed in as well as a semi-autobiographical account of the Author’s life.

--- These Books are “Alright” ---

Frank L. Baum’s Wizard of Oz books

I ligit got into an argument with a 70yo man in a comic book shop about how Canon the other Oz books were post Baum’s death. He was looking for Oz comic books and I brought up reading the first 14 books, and he’s like “There’s over 100 of them” and i was all “but all those are written by somebody else.” and he got all “they are still canon...”

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

If you want to know about the In//cel ideology in a classic literary form, this fits the bill. So much man pain.

A Christmas Carol (Tim Curry) (Audible Free Book)

Tim Curry, guys.....

The Poetic Edda (Norse God Mythology)

I listened this book twice. I bought two Edda books thinking I’d get some extra content, but no... same book just different production teams and readers. Returned the one with the worst translation.

Treasure Island (Audible Free Book, dramatization)

I need to read the actual book sometime, but i did like the cast and thought they did a good job.

Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic (Audible Free Book)

A YA coming of age story about diversity and acceptance... with wacky science fiction.

Carmilla (Audible Free Book, dramatization)

The vampire before Dracula. Victorian Lesbian love story.

Even Tree Nymphs get the Blues (Audible Free Book)

A novella from one of those “love on the Bayou” romance series with supernatural creatures. Could practically take place in the same world of either True Blood, Dresden, or Fred the Vampire Accountant.

Mystwick School of Musicraft (Audible Free Book)

Harry Potter lite. For 10yo girls.

A Grown-up’s Guide to Dinosaurs (Audible Free Book)

I like dinosaurs.

Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World (Audible Free Book, Dramatization)

Interesting way on telling us about the Fossil Wars and Puma vs. Adidas.

True-Crime from Audible: Body of Proof (Audible Free Book), Midnight Son (Audible Free Book), The Demon Next Door (Audible Free Book), Killer By Nature (Audible Free Book)

Why is True-Crime or YA fiction the only halfway-decent things Audible is giving us? But yeah, these are basically the type of reporting that the two journalists from Halloween were trying to do. Where they go around and gather up information about semi-famous cases and present it in a Podcast-like format.

---- Meh... ---

Camp Red Moon (Audible Free Book)

Would’ve been better if they were actually written by R. L. Stein.

More Bedtime Stories for Cynics (Audible Free Book)

No... half of these aren’t written very well.

The Darkwater Bride (Audible Free Book, Dramatization)

The setting is nice, but it is far too .... Soap Opera Dramatic.

Junk (Audible Free Book)

A cross between Alien Invasion and Zombie outbreak, read by John Waters and written as if it was a bad version of a Philip K. Dick Novel.

Rip Off!! (Audible Free Book)

Most of them are duds and boring. I don’t even remember half of them without having to look them up. The two that stood out the most for me where the “Other Darren/Bewitched” and the “Dark and Stormy Night” stories, the rest were rather garbled.

--- Garbage... ---

Dodge and Twist (Audible Free Book, Dramatization)

No, you are not being edgy or kool.

Unread:

Siege Tactics (Spells, Swords, & Stealth. Book 4)

Triumphant (Genesis Fleet, Book 3)

Earthsea (Tehanu and Tales from Earthsea, i am going to re-listen to the first three before i get to these)

Into the Wilds (Warriors, Book 1)

Pout Neuf (Audible Free Book)

House of Teeth (Audible Free Book)

Viva Durant and the Secret of the Silver Buttons (Audible Free Book)

The Other Boleyn Girl (Phillipa Gregory)

#the first law #legend of the first empire #saga of the forgotten warrior #realm of the elderlings #a darker shade of magic #the song of achilles #john scalzi #r. r. haywood #Cycle of Galand #blackthorn and grim #myu reads #long post

3 notes · View notes

365daysofsasuhina · 5 years ago

Text

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two Hundred Thirty-Four: A Harp ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Itachi ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Divine Light ] [ AO3 Link ]

“All right...this is the last town of any decent size we’ll pass through for a good while. We will head inside, find an inn, take a few days’ rest, and restock on any supplies we might need. Keep your guard up, and travel in pairs. Try not to attract any unwarranted attention, and always be back by dark.”

Gathering the reins of his mount, Sasuke looks over his group critically. As well as the healer has been doing treating his brother, he’s eager to give Itachi a few nights of proper rest in a bed, and a break from the road. Hinata too looks tired from their last leg of the journey. Best to take the opportunity while they have it.

When he hears no opposition to his plan, he gives a curt nod before turning to lead the way. There’s decent traffic in and out of the city, and that only helps them blend in all the more as simple passersby. Hoods drawn and eyes scanning, they make it in with little resistance save for the crowds around them.

Once beyond the gates, their path is still as busy, flowing with the others around them before the groups disperse through the main thoroughfares. Their first stop is the inn. Best to have a place to retreat to and reorganize before attempting anything else. Thankfully a place with as much traffic and commerce as this has many of decent upkeep, and the group soon finds a set of viable rooms to spend a night or two.

“You two stay here,” Sasuke instructs, nodding to his brother and the light mage. “Hinata and I will scout things out and pick up some supplies. Itachi...get some rest, and see what the healer can get done now that we’re stopped. We’ll be back before sundown.”

“Be careful,” the elder brother offers softly, nodding as the younger pair take their leave, the door shut behind them.

Taking inventory, Sasuke and Hinata compile a list of necessities, comparing it to the coin they’ve left after renting their rooms.

“We should be able to manage,” the Hyūga murmurs, tracing a finger down their list. “But sooner or later, we need to find a way to make some coin.”

“Easier said than done,” Sasuke mutters in reply. “We rarely stop anywhere long enough to find work worth our time and effort. And we can’t trust jobs based on our ven in case those against elves happen upon us.”

“I know...it’s indeed frustrating. But we’ll find a way. We always do.” She offers what she hopes is an encouraging smile. Rolling up the parchment, she tucks it into a pocket as they take up their coin purses. “Best we get started.”

“Hn.”

The pair strike out back into the streets. It’s early afternoon, but navigating busy markets can often be far more time consuming than one may think. Wanting to be efficient, Sasuke wastes no time in making his way toward the streets of stalls and shops. The sooner they finish, the sooner they can get back to their rooms and feel just a little bit safer. While larger cities tend to be more forgiving of their kind, it’s still best not to take any risks. You never know who you might bump into.

An hour passes in a blur of bartering and trading, Sasuke refusing to pay more than he must. They need to save whatever currency they can for any future stops they may have to make. It quickly sours his temper, but Hinata steps in when necessary with her calm demeanor, somehow still managing to fetch them decent prices.

Nearly finished, Sasuke looks over a selection of dried meats before noticing he’s suddenly alone. Where the hells did she go? Looking back the way they’ve come, he spots her a few stalls down, looking rather intently at something he can’t see. A curt breath huffs through his nose. What happened to sticking together and not wasting time?

Making his way back, he pauses as he sees what she’s eyeing. It’s a stall selling a few different instruments: flutes, harps, drums, and other completely frivolous things.

“Hinata,” he cuts in quietly. “What are you doing?”

“Thinking.”

Red eyes roll. “What use do you have for something like this?”

Rather than reply right away, she takes up one of the small stringed instruments. Fingers gently strum them, earning sweet notes. “I know how to play harp. I thought maybe it could be a way to bring in a few extra coins.”

“And it’ll cost you coins to buy one. You really think you can make up the difference and then some?”

“One way to find out,” is her answer, trading over the handful of gold for the instrument. It’s a rather basic little thing: a c-shaped wooden crescent attaches to a cross bar, strings drawn taut with rotating pins to tune them. Nothing to write home about, but...well, Sasuke isn’t exactly well-versed in such things either way.

“So, now what?”

“Now, I find a place to play, and we see if I can earn my keep. But first, the rest of our errands. I’ll set up in front of the inn. Should get plenty of traffic that way.”

Still skeptical, Sasuke nevertheless does as asked, gathering up their last few items before retreating back the way they came. They put away their things, checking on the elder pair to find them sound. Already Itachi’s taken to sleeping, the healer keeping a dutiful watch and mending garments.

And then, they make their way to the busy street before the inn. A narrow sidewalk is all that’s afforded from the crowds of carts, horses, and people on foot hurrying back and forth. Hinata sets up a spare jar for coin in front of a stack of crates, seating herself atop one and taking out her new instrument. Sasuke, with nothing else to do, leans nearby with folded arms and senses piqued for danger.

After a brief pause, she starts a song. It’s one of mild pace, a bit somber in its tune, but nonetheless entrancing. Watching from the corner of his eyes, Sasuke listens.

He had no idea she could do this.

Smiling softly, Hinata keeps up her playing, winding through the song with hardly a hiccup. And the longer she plays, the more people stop to listen, a few darting forward shyly to drop coppers, silvers, and even a few gold pieces into her jar.

Sasuke just...blinks. He’s seen such performers in towns before, but admittedly has never spared any pay himself. It had always seemed so...silly before. For someone to sit on the roadside and play music.

But now...he feels as though he understands.

Once her song finishes, Hinata pauses a bit sheepishly as a few bystanders clap. Her cheeks go a bit pink before beginning another.

For nearly an hour she goes through song she still recalls from her lessons her father had her take. By the end, her jar is decently full, and her well of songs nearly dried up. Bowing thankfully to anyone remaining, she takes up her spoils and beams at Sasuke, who just smiles and shakes his head.

Once back in their rooms, she counts out the coin she made, finding the total to be nearly what they spent in the market that day.

“...all right, consider me impressed,” Sasuke admits at her look. “You’ll have to get back to it tomorrow a few times. We might even make a decent profit by the time we leave.”

“We?” she asks with a light laugh. “I didn’t see you strumming any harp strings!”

“Perhaps Sasuke could give you a vocal accompaniment,” Itachi can’t help but tease from his seat, smiling as his brother goes red.

“There’s no way in the twelve hells you’d get me to sing in public,” Sasuke rebukes with a mutter.

“Oh? But would you in private?”

“I never said that.”

“Well, either way,” Hinata cuts in, wanting to avoid frayed tempers. “We’d all best turn in for the night. Tomorrow we’ll rest and take in the news, and then leave the following morning…?”

“That will be best. Thank you, Hinata, for your work with the harp. It will be quite the contribution,” Itachi offers sincerely.

“It was my pleasure. I’ve not gotten to play since I left home. It was...nice.”

Considering that quietly, Sasuke gives a nod as the women retire to the other room. He’ll be glad to sleep in a proper bed. And come tomorrow...he can hear her play again.

.oOo.

More fantasy verse! A bit random, but I like how this turned out n_n Still getting back into my groove, lol - but we have Sasuke learning a bit more about Hinata...and Hinata proving she can have her own clever ideas! Anyway, I'd say more but I'm honestly wiped, so...best head off for the night! Thanks for reading~

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #uchiha itachi #divine light [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

8 notes · View notes

willfulbeautya · 5 years ago

Text

Lyanna Stark and the Possibility that she’s a Greenseer

I would like to preface this headcanon by saying that this is borne out of my own imagination + analysis of the text + hours of conversation with @prphecybound. There’s a very high possibility that I’m completely off the mark and of course, you don’t have to agree with me on this. But as far as this interpretation is concerned, I’m adapting this headcanon in all of Lyanna’s main verses, and things will have to change. I may have to drop threads which are no longer relevant because of the changes introduced by this headcanon, so I thank you for your patience and understanding in advance.

TLDR: Right before the tourney at Harrenhal, Lyanna Stark had a run in with a wildling who possessed the greensight. This was the first time she heard of the “prophecy” and she was told to “follow the path of blue roses”. During the tourney, after he found out that she masqueraded as the Knight of the Laughing Tree, Rhaegar Targaryen crowned Lyanna the Queen of Love and Beauty and laid a crown of blue winter roses on her lap. On the way home to Winterfell from the Riverlands, the She-Wolf contracted a fever. It took some time for her to recover, and she had fever dreams and green dreams while she suffered through her illness. The green dreams would continue even after she regained her health.

I’m in danger of repeating some key points that I’ve already discussed over and over like a broken record, so I’m just going to list them and you can ask me questions about them ( if you have any ), in which case I’ll probably talk your ear off:

PS. You can skip through the bullet points to get to the important parts!

Lyanna is the Knight of the Laughing Tree. I think this is as good as canon at this point.

Rhaegar found Lyanna out. As a sort of acknowledgment, he crowned her The Queen of Love and Beauty by the end of the tourney at Harrenhal. It doesn’t go any deeper than that ( a.k.a. they’re not secretly in-love, sorry ).

The Mad King also found Lyanna out and ordered for her arrest. I’ve written extensively about this here, but pretty much the mad king was triggered by the KOTLT and couldn’t let shit go.

In connection to the above, here are some of the popular beliefs about Lyanna and her character that I don’t really buy and will NOT be adapted into this interpretation:

Lyanna ran away with Rhaegar to escape the betrothal with Robert. While I don’t think Lyanna was the most eager to be married to Robert Baratheon ( or to be married at all ), I also don’t think she ran away with Rhaegar to escape her betrothal. She could have run away, point blank period. But with a married prince? I don’t think so. ( Considering too, that Lyanna’s initial reservation against Robert was his inability to keep to one bed. Based off of that alone, I don’t think Lyanna would willingly participate in infidelity of any kind. In this separate essay I will – )

Lyanna was not dutiful. True to a degree, if only because she was not raised to be dutiful, exactly. She won’t inherit Winterfell, unlike Brandon. The expectations of her were quite different compared to the expectations of her brothers. Her purpose was to marry and have children and that’s that. So yeah, she’s not exactly as committed to duty like Brandon could have been or Ned was, but that didn’t take away from the fact that she adored her family and she had a strong moral compass.

Lyanna was selfish. I see this around a lot and it’s the most mind-boggling of all. This was the girl who, at 14 years old, was ready to throw down against three grown squires to defend the honor of her father’s bannerman. She later fought in a tourney and won, and asked the lords that the squires served to teach them manners. If she would go that far to defend a sworn bannerman to House Stark, who was not just being bullied but also discriminated upon because of his culture, then I’m pretty certain she’s the type to stand up to injustice without regard for herself. In that similar vein, I don’t think she would besmirch her family’s honor on a whim, knowing how seriously she took the meaning of that honor as made clear by her defense of Howland Reed.

Now that we’ve gotten all of those out of the way, it’s time to dive in into the void.

As is already previously established by canon, all Stark children are wargs. I know this mostly pertains to the six children of Eddard and Catelyn Stark, but there’s literally no reason why it could not extend to the generation of Starks that came before them. Brandon and Lyanna for example, possess the legendary “wolf-blood” of the Starks of old, and thus are tied very closely to the Stark mythos of being descended from the First Men. According to AWOIAF, “Greenseers had the greensight and were wargs as well.” While not all wargs are greenseers, we have evidence in Bran that the greensight is definitely alive and well in the Stark line ( and in the North, as evidenced by Jojen Reed, a crannogman, and Brynden Rivers a.k.a. Bloodraven, whose mother was a Blackwood ).

Following this logic, I don’t think it’s extremely far-fetched to say that Lyanna might have been a greenseer. The ability in Bran was triggered by his fall, whereas it almost came too easily and too naturally to Rickon. Rickon and Bran shared the same dream about Ned’s death ( which they predicted even before Maester Luwin made the announcement ), and Rickon also knew when Catelyn and Robb left that they would never see them again.

In Lyanna’s case, I don’t think she knew what she was ( I don’t think the Starks ever realized how closely they were tied to what’s left of magic in the world ). She knew she was said to have the wolf-blood, and I’m guessing that that had something to do with her temperament ( a trait she shared with Brandon ). By all accounts, Lyanna was wild and brave; she thrived off of independence and did not do well with restrictions. She rode horses like she was half a horse herself according to Roose Bolton, and maybe that’s because she understood horses like no ordinary human could?

I’ve already headcanoned that my Lyanna was a warg, so I’m going to take it a step further and say that she was a greenseer as well. No, she’s not as good at it as Bran, mainly because it was not a talent she cared to develop. She knew how heavy the weight of the prophecy hung on Rhaegar’s shoulders, and she would not want to carry the same burden.

I need to write a drabble on this and I will, but basically, here’s how I see it playing out: right before Harrenhal, during the year of false spring, Lord Rickard Stark’s men caught wildling raiders not far from Winterfell. Now we all know the northern tradition that whoever passes the sentence should swing the sword, and as Lord Paramount of the North, Rickard had to be the one to do it. Lyanna and Benjen caught wind of this execution and went ahead of their father’s men to see the wildling raiders for themselves before they went on the chopping block. This was mostly at Lyanna’s insistence, and Benjen was happy enough to follow where his elder sister lead.

When they reached the field where the execution was to be held, they saw the wildlings manacled inside a cage ( not unlike the one that held Jaqen H’ghar and his two companions ). One of them, a wilding woman, saw Lyanna and Benjen and knew exactly what they were: wargs. But that was not all. Lyanna caught much more than a passing interest from the wildling woman who beckoned the she-wolf closer. Against Benjen’s wishes, Lyanna went, and when the woman seized her arms, the wildling’s eyes rolled back inside her head so far that all Lyanna could see were the whites of her eyes. And then the woman spoke:

Beware, child. The endless night is near and it will swallow the world. You must bring forth the song of ice and fire and pay in blood to stay the cold that never ends. You must follow the path of blue roses where it leads. One day the mountain will crush the sun and the lion will bleed the streets dry. One day –

( This sucks but bear with me. I’m not George R.R. Martin )

Before the wildling could utter more, Lord Rickard arrived and caught Lyanna speaking with the wildling. Needless to say, he was not happy, and grew ever more incensed when the wildling leaned in and whispered something in his hear. Lyanna never figured out what the wildling said and her father never felt inclined to share. Lord Rickard also decided that since she and Benjen were already there, they might as well stay and watch the execution. They both did. They held hands, but they didn’t look away.

Anyway, cut to Harrenhal. Lyanna was just given a crown of blue roses by Rhaegar Targaryen, and the wildling woman’s words were ringing in her ears. On the journey back to Winterfell, Lyanna who rarely ever got sick, caught a fever along the way and started to have odd fever dreams. In these dreams, she saw a castle burning. Dragons were flying all around, trying to escape the fire, and in the middle of the chaos was a girl dancing round and round, with flowers in her hair.

Lyanna dreamed of the same castle, now in ruins, and a short woman with floor-length white hair stooping against a cane. A harp was playing somewhere and the woman was weeping, calling out for someone named Jenny. She also dreamed of a sandstorm, with the air whipping around her face in tumultuous gusts, smelling of blood and roses.

The she-wolf dreamed of a great many things, not everything she remembered when she finally recovered from the fever. Afterwards, the dreams would continue, and though not as vivid as before, there was always a sense of urgency in them that she could not explain. Sometimes she would dream of a night sky, viewed from below, as though she was lying down on a stone floor looking up. In the days leading up to her encounter with Rhaegar Targaryen in the Riverlands, she would dream of the Isles of Faces, which was where she knew she had to go to, to make sense of whatever was happening to her. She would meet Rhaegar there eventually, and along with him, the Ghost of High Heart, whom she already had visions of prior ( the short woman with floor-length white hair ).

It was the Ghost of High Heart who eventually convinced Lyanna of the role she had to play in fulfilling the prophecy of The Prince Who Was Promised / Azor Ahai. Combined with the words of the wildling and her own green dreams, it became difficult for her to deny that she was somehow involved in the foretelling that Rhaegar was so obsessed with. The Ghost also repeated something the wildling had said to Lyanna prior, which was that she would “pay in blood” to fulfill her role, which Lyanna interpreted as her imminent death.

You might be thinking “well, that’s stupid” and yes, it kinda was. The thing with Lyanna though was that she really did not have anything going on for her aside from a betrothal, which she was not feeling every keen about. This prophecy though… was something bigger than herself, and was something which can potentially save the realm from an ominous threat. The KOTLT incident showed us that Lyanna had a strong sense of morality, and also a penchant for risky yet grand gestures of bravery. Saving the world was the kind of thing that she would not even think twice of doing, no matter the cost to herself.

Things Lyanna did not foresee: Brandon’s reaction to the news that she was missing and Brandon’s fast assumption that it was Rhaegar who took her. At most, Lyanna expected they would notice her absence and would assume she ran away from her betrothal, but for her brother to accuse the crown prince and storm the capital while doing so… did not occur to her. Also, IMPORTANT: Lyanna and Rhaegar had no idea about Rickard and Brandon’s death until after the Battle of the Bells, when Gerold Hightower finally found them in TOJ and asked Rhaegar to return to King’s Landing. By this time, Lyanna was already pregnant.

Whether or not Rhaegar and Lyanna were right about the prophecy… doesn’t really matter here. They could be completely wrong. Dany could be the TPWWP and not Jon. Heck, it could be Aegon ( if he truly was Aegon lmao ). Basically, this was just how they interpreted the prophecy, and they both paid in blood for it. Since they’re alive in mine and Bubbles’ main timeline verses, the blood is of their loved ones, which was infinitely worse for both of them than if it were their own blood.

Is this a ship now? Well, no. At least not during TOJ, and heck, not many years after that. Lyanna was miserable in that tower and I can’t imagine Rhaegar was all too happy either. They’re doing what they thought they had to do, and Lyanna was going into it thinking she would die. All things considered, that might have been her preferred outcome, now that she knew just how much blood she had to pay to assume the role that would make the prophecy come true. The only real consolation in the aftermath was Ned’s forgiveness and the fact that Jon was kept alive because her brother loved her enough to give up his honor for her. But even then, it was a bitter consolation, and Lyanna would spend all her life trying to make up for her mistakes.

#( headcanon. — they saw her beauty‚ not the iron underneath )#this is very badly written #if you read it i'm sorry #but i finally fucking wrote it #fixed the stupid tenses bc they were all over the place rifp me

9 notes · View notes

brandi-the-fine-girl · 6 years ago

Text

76th Golden Globe Awards Predictions

Let’s be real here. The Golden Globes are the biggest joke of Hollywood (right after the Emmy’s that is). Remember when they nominated The Tourist in the Comedy/Musical category? Or when they gave the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress to Jennifer Lawrence instead of Lupita Nyong’o? Or when Get Out was nominated in Comedy/Musical (even though, yes, it was a dark comedy at times)?

So it comes as no surprise that this year’s list of nominees follows the same path. The Golden Globes are the biggest wild card of all award shows and the Hollywood Foreign Press loves to throw curveballs. With that said, here are my predictions for the 76th Golden Globe Awards.

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Will win: A Star Is Born

Should win: A Star Is Born

Dark Horse: Black Panther

Look, I loved Black Panther. And the fact that it has gained this much momentum during award season is a victory for Marvel Studios. But I’m expecting a sweep for A Star Is Born. Now, that doesn’t mean ASIB will maintain this momentum for the rest of award season. The HFPA likes to play favorites and I’m sure ASIB will be this year’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (which won four Golden Globes last year). But a win for Black Panther would be huge and make it a bigger contender for the Oscars.

Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

Will win: Green Book

Should win: Crazy Rich Asians

Dark Horse: Mary Poppins Returns

The Comedy/Musical category is always the oddball category (see above about The Tourist and Get Out). And it’s typically the category where anyone can win. I’m going to go with Green Book since it won the People’s Choice at TIFF this year but with a diverse voting roster (it is the Hollywood FOREIGN Press after all), I wouldn’t count out Crazy Rich Asians.

Best Director

Will win: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

Should win: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

Dark Horse: Adam McKay, Vice

For me, I believe this is the only category A Star Is Born will not win. Cuaron’s beautifully stunning and heartbreaking semi-autobiographical film was featured on Obama’s list of films he saw in 2018. Bradley Cooper’s first directorial feature is a stunning accomplishment but it doesn’t match Cuaron’s ability to paint the anguish and loss in Roma.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Will win: Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born

Should win: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

Dark Horse: John David Washington, BlacKkKlansman

With a possible loss in the Directing category, Bradley will most like scoop up the Actor in a Drama award. Sure, his character was doomed from the start and it makes for a great challenge for an actor like Bradley. But Rami’s complete transformation into Freddie Mercury has me convinced he should win. Don’t count out John David Washington in BlacKkKlansman though. He’s new to the scene as an actor (he is Denzel Washington’s son) but his performance is definitely one to look out for.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Will win: Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

Should win: Glenn Close, The Wife

Dark Horse: Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Once again, I’m predicting a sweep for A Star Is Born but I don’t think Lady Gaga will snag two Oscars come Oscar night (that is, if she is nominated for songwriting and Best Actress). Glenn Close is well overdue for some awards love and it seems like her time might come.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

Will win: Christian Bale, Vice

Should win: Christian Bale, Vice

Dark Horse: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Poppins Returns

It’s hard for me to choose anyone else when Christian Bale is in a category. This is the man that got rail thin for his roles in The Machinist and The Fighter (the latter of which he did win Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars) and bulked up for Batman Begins (gaining 100 pounds) almost six months after filming The Machinist. His transformation into the notorious Dick Cheney seems like typical awards bait to me. But let’s not count out the lovable Lin-Manuel Miranda. The man works hard on stage and screen. I’d love to see a win for him

Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

Will win: Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Should win: Constance Wu, Crazy Rich Asians

Dark Horse: Emily Blunt, Mary Poppins Returns

The category is such a wild card for me. I’m sure by the end of 2019, everyone will know who Olivia Colman is. From the little bit I’ve seen of The Favourite, she’s amazing. However, I do think Constance Wu is more deserving of the accolades. This category could really go to anyone and with the lovable Emily Blunt also nominated, it could possibly go to the legendary Mary Poppins herself.

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Will win: Mahershala Ali, Green Book

Should win: Timothée Chalamet, Beautiful Boy

Dark Horse: Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman

Look, before you rip me to shreds, here me out. I have loved Mahershala Ali since he was on House of Cards and he was painfully robbed in 2017 when the HFPA gave Best Supporting Actor to Aaron Taylor-Johnson instead of Mahershala. It feels like Mahershala deserves the accolades as a “sorry we gave it to someone else and then you ended up winning the Oscar anyways.” However, I just watched Beautiful Boy last night and Timothée kills it. I’m not some crazy fangirl. I just know a good performance when I see one. Let’s not count out Adam Driver, though, who knocks it out of the park in BlacKkKlansman.

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Will win: Amy Adams, Vice

Should win: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

Dark Horse: Claire Foy, First Man

Since Amy Adams most likely won’t win for Best Actress in Mini Series (more on that later), I’m hoping this is where she gets her due. The woman is long overdue for the awards love (a lot like Glenn Close). She’s basically the female Leonardo DiCaprio, if you must. The fact that Regina King did not nab a SAG Award nomination for If Beale Street Could Talk is a little ominous (side note: the acting branch is the largest branch of the Academy and a lack of SAG nomination is very telling). I like to hope that she can pick up a Globe as recognition for her stunning work. To me, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone split the vote so my Dark Horse goes to Claire Foy. I wouldn’t be surprised if HFPA voters’ obsession with her throws us a curveball in this category.

Best Screenplay

Will win: Adam McKay, Vice

Should win: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

Dark Horse: Bryan Hayes Currie, Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga, Green Book

This is usually a difficult category considering the Oscars split the Screenplay category into Adapted and Original. The HFPA likes to play it safe by awarding previous winners and nominees so I’m going with Adam McKay who won the Oscar for The Big Short. Alfonso Cuaron is equally deserving if Best Director doesn’t go his way. But come Oscar time, I’m expecting a win for Green Book.

Best Original Score

Will win: Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs

Should win: Ludwig Goransson, Black Panther

Dark Horse: Marco Beltrami, A Quiet Place

Alexandre Desplat won last year for The Shape of Water (a well-deserved win if I do say so myself) but I feel Ludwig Goransson may have a chance here.

Best Original Song

Will win: “Shallow”

Should win: “Shallow” or “All The Stars”

Dark Horse: “Girl in the Movies”

Probably the easiest category of the evening. You can’t turn on any radio station without hearing “Shallow.” And rightfully so. The dynamic between Bradley and Gaga is mesmerizing and Gaga’s high note is the most memorable part of it. However, I wouldn’t mind some recognition to “All The Stars.” Personally, I feel like “Pray For Me” is the better song but let’s give some love to Kendrick and SZA if we can.

Best Animated Feature Film

Will win: The Incredibles 2

Should win: The Incredibles 2

Dark Horse: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

I mean, no contest, this one goes to The Incredibles 2. Very rarely does Pixar lose an award (exceptions go to Cars 2 and Monsters University) but if it does, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse might take it.

Best Foreign Language Film

Will win: Roma

Should win: Roma

Dark Horse: Girl

Again, no contest, Roma. But Girl could take it since it won the Caméra d’Or and the Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018. Unfortunately, the film did not make the short list for the Best Foreign Language Film category for this year’s Oscars so maybe it may get its due here.

Best Television Series - Drama

Will win: The Americans

Should win: The Americans

Dark Horse: Pose

After six seasons, The Americans ended on a high note. It felt painfully under-appreciated at the Emmys this year, so maybe this is where it will get its due. However, don’t overlook Pose since everything Ryan Murphy touches turns to awards gold.

Best Television Series - Comedy/Musical

Will win: Barry

Should win: Barry

Dark Horse: Kidding

After winning big at the Emmys, I’m predicting some major love for Barry. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is last year’s winner which may hinder Barry’s chances but the HFPA does tend to choose different winners every year.

Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama

Will win: Matthew Rhys, The Americans

Should win: Matthew Rhys, The Americans

Dark Horse: Richard Madden, Bodyguard

After scooping up an Emmy, Matthew Rhys will probably continue his awards sweep with a Golden Globe. Billy Porter may give him a run for his money in Pose (he was also wonderful in American Horror Story: Apocalypse). If we want a shocker, the HFPA could go with Richard Madden in Bodyguard. Good looks aside, Madden portrays a former British Army sergeant with PTSD fantastically. It is unclear if Bodyguard has been greenlit for a second season but a Globes win might cement that status.

Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama

Will win: Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

Should win: Keri Russell, The Americans

Dark Horse: Julia Roberts, Homecoming

One half of our emcees for the evening, expect Sandra Oh to pick up a Globe as well. Keri Russell was horribly robbed at the Emmys so she is more deserving for her final season of The Americans. America’s Sweetheart Julia Roberts is a threat to these two with the inaugural season of her Amazon Prime series Homecoming. Here’s where you can possibly expect a big shocker but I’m still sticking with Ms. Christina Yang herself.

Best Actor in a Television Series - Comedy/Musical

Will win: Bill Hader, Barry

Should win: Bill Hader, Barry

Dark Horse: Jim Carrey, Kidding

I’ve always had a soft spot for Bill Hader since he was on Saturday Night Live. Starring as a former Marine-turned hitman-turned aspiring actor is the most Bill Hader thing that Bill Hader could possibly do. Jim Carrey has been placing himself more in the comedy/drama (aka “dramedy”) category as of recent years so don’t count him out in this race.

Best Actress in a Television Series - Comedy/Musical

Will win: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Should win: Alison Brie, GLOW

Dark Horse: Kristen Bell, The Good Place

Rachel Brosnahan could possibly be a repeat winner here. Season two of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is getting just as great reviews as season one did (if not as great, then better). Personally, I feel Alison Brie deserves it but Candice Bergen may come through with the win as well. However, this Kristen Bell’s first-ever Golden Globe nomination so she could very well take it.

Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film

Will win: Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Should win: Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Dark Horse: Hugh Grant, A Very English Scandal

We’ve come a long way since A Very Potter Musical, haven’t we? Darren Criss’s portrayal as Versace’s murderer Andrew Cunanan is one of the best performances I’ve seen in recent years. The creepy smile underneath his hand as he sees the news that Versace has been killed makes him a lock for this category.

Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film

Will win: Laura Dern, The Tale

Should win: Amy Adams, Sharp Objects

Dark Horse: Regina King, Seven Seconds

Like I said above, I’m hoping Amy Adams will get her due in the Best Supporting Actress category because it seems like she won’t get it here. Laura Dern is a favorite of the HFPA so she most likely will win. Amy Adams is the more deserving here but if things don’t work out for Best Supporting Actress, I’m hoping the HFPA does a flip-flop gives it to her here. Regina King won the Emmy for Seven Seconds but she seems like a long shot here.

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film

Will win: Henry Winkler, Barry

Should win: Edgar Ramirez, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Dark Horse: Kieran Culkin, Succession

It’s always been odd to me that the Golden Globes don’t split their supporting television categories. Sure, it makes for great competition but it’s also incredibly unfair. I’m going with Henry Winkler in Barry (who was well overdue for that Emmy) but Edgar Ramirez definitely should be the winner in my eyes. Kieran Culkin (the only nominee for HBO’s Succession) could pull a surprise win here.

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film

Will win: Penélope Cruz, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Should win: Penélope Cruz, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story OR Patricia Clarkson, Sharp Objects OR Thandie Newton, Westworld

Dark Horse: Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid’s Tale

This is, quite possibly, the most competitive category of the entire award show. And, yet again, another reason why it’s absurd that the Golden Globes don’t split their supporting television categories. Alex Borstein and Thandie Newton both have the upper hand in this category since they both won Emmys in the supporting actress categories in comedy and drama, respectively. But their recent Emmy wins could cancel them out, making way for either Penélope Cruz or Patricia Clarkson to nab the award. I’m going with Penélope though since she was robbed of the Emmy. I am hoping for an Emmy win for Patricia Clarkson come September.

Best Miniseries or Television Film

Will win: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Should win: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Dark Horse: A Very English Scandal

Riveting from start to finish with stunning performances from the cast, Versace is a lock. In any other year, I’d give it to Sharp Objects but the show also lagged a bit. If I hadn’t read the book, I might have been bored. The series was more of a performance piece for the actors instead of being a masterpiece as a whole. Versace has it all. And, of course, it’s another Ryan Murphy masterpiece.

Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh host the 76th Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, January 6 at 8 pm EST/5:00 pm PST.

26 notes · View notes

topweeklyupdate · 6 years ago

Text

TØP Weekly Update #53: Out (7/6/2018)

This is it, boys and girls. The “hiatus”, as we’ve called it for the last 364 days, is finally, finally, finally over... probably. Let’s cover the week that was, and look forward to the new era that could be.

This Week’s TØPics:

“New” Music Discovery

The Last Message From Dema

The Return of WILD SPECULATION

Major News and Announcements:

On any other week, new music from Tyler Joseph would be the biggest news story. And... well, I mean, I guess it should be, so we’ll cover it first, but it really doesn’t feel like it. That’s really weird, isn’t it?

@ultrawafflehouse shared a unique piece of content with the world in the middle of the week. After a friend of a friend received an old Tyler Joseph mixtape from a local youth pastor trying to prove his street cred to the middle schoolers of suburban Ohio, Ultra discovered that two of the unnamed tracks were pieces of music that had never previously found their way onto the Internet.

One of the unnamed tracks is a slick instrumental with elements of some of Tyler’s other early works like “Two” and “I Need Something To Kill Me” on full display: i.e., an extremely promising but unfinished arrangement from an extremely talented novice with no training or experience and a dozen better ideas than this that he decided to actually flesh out. Little wonder it, like presumably most of Tyler’s work, never made it to the general public.

The other track, however, actually sounds like a full song. Dubbed “Going Down” due to the phrase’s repetition in the hook, the track fits in perfect with the general No Phun Intended/Self-Titled sound; passionately-sung heart-on-sleeve lyrics supported by a simple piano arrangement with some basic hip-hop elements thrown in. I’ll be real: I was not blown away by this song. The writing in general, particularly on the hook, is low-energy, all over the place, and stretches the metaphors real thin. Tyler’s vocal delivery is at peak teenage whine, and his bars in the sole rap verse seem amateurish and out of breath.

But I wasn’t expecting to love it- most of Tyler’s stuff pre-Self-Titled, and even some tracks on the first two albums, are clearly made by someone who has no real clue how to do the whole music thing. “Drown” and “Blasphemy” are the only truly great songs from No Phun Intended, and they were both repurposed later down the road when Tyler had a better idea what he was actually doing. I still think Tyler is a genius, but he was not born the songwriter and performer he had become by the time Fueled By Ramen signed him. I still appreciate tracks like these, but more as historical curiosities, stepping stones to what Twenty One Pilots would become with brief flashes of Tyler’s insightful introspection and genuine brilliance.

The biggest news of the week, as with last week’s update, was not new music, but updates from the world of Dema. To start, we got three updates from dmaorg.info on Sunday. The first was a gif of a creepy vulture slowly turning to camera. Not too much to derive from this one. There’s the iconography of vultures, aka the carrion feeders who consume the bodies of the dead left at real-world Towers of Silence. The vulture can be seen to “blink” with its thin transparent eyelid, aligning it with the fifth Closing Eye Lyric: “Nobody dreams when they blink.” This correlation is strengthened by the name of the gif itself: “i”.

The second post, another letter from Clancy, was much more intriguing. The letter contains some great prose, with Clancy describing how the bishops have robbed the denizens of Dema of their dreams using something referred to as “smearing” and pledging to not let them crush his hope. The references to nighttime and light connect it to the sixth Closing Eye Lyric, “remember the morning is when night is dead”. The image title of this update is “e_sr_eve_r.jpg” (”reverse” in reverse), and that’s reflected both the content of the letter and its organization- you can swap the order of the sentences, and it still makes perfect sense. But why this command to reverse? To what end? Hmm....

The answer to that comes in the third update, a simple smattering of yellow marks slipped out of chronological order in the middle of the list the list under the date of the band’s Grammy win. When laid over the Clancy letter, the markings for individual letters again spell out the word “trench”, which connects it to the audio clip from the previous Dema update, while the solid vertical lines highlight the phrase “We are banditos.” When you connect all these dots and reverse that audio, as several people had already discovered previously, it becomes pretty clear that Tyler is singing “We are banditos.” What does that mean? Well, hold your horses, kid, because the circled letters in the message spell out “end”. That looked like it might be it...

Until the gif that originally revealed the Dema site made its way back onto the main website. Many interpreted this to be the fulfillment of the last Closing Eye Lyric, “Now I just sit in silence,” due to the gif ending with the finale of the “Car Radio” music video, and a sign to the Clique to pay attention to the site if they weren’t already.

dmaorg.info finished its mission on Thursday with another rush of content. First, a photo of a vast desert with a single small figure possibly visible on the horizon. The image was simply titled “o_ut.jpg”. Not much else to say; once again, the big reveal was delivered to us by Clancy.

This letter is honestly the best fiction writing and world-building I’ve seen from Tyler yet, good enough to make me wonder if he’s been considering writing a Hunger Games-style YA series if this whole music career thing doesn’t pan out. Clancy lays out his plan to break out of Dema: since it will be impossible to sneak past the huge walls unnoticed, he plans to make a big commotion during the enclave’s biggest holiday, the Annual Assemblage of the Glorified, to distract the “watchers” and permit those from the “other side” to find a way in, then avoid being “smeared” by the bishops until the others can show him the way out. There are tons of great details and turns of phrase (”concrete coffin of a city”) and really cool moments (”They don’t control us” should sound way more cringey than it reads here.) They even snuck in a final hidden message message: following the dotted lines up the same number of rows as there are squares reveals one last “Wake up.”

The biggest takeaway from this letter, though, is how direct it is. It makes reference to it being “a year since the last convocation” and directly says that “by morning, everything will be different.” And, if you still didn’t get the message- *poof*. Within minutes of the Clique posting and dissecting these new posts, dmaorg.info was gone. They pulled the plug. The only evidence of the last few months of theorizing, speculating, and decoding will be on Reddit threads lost to the dust of time, as our thoughts become occupied with a whole different type of Twenty One Pilots content...

WILD SPECULATION:

As of the moment I’m writing this (7/6/18, 1 am PST), the band has not released any new music. I am not bopping to “Jumpsuit” right now. But something is totally happening within the next 12-24 hours. The only question is... what?

Well, I have zero information beyond the registration of the song titles “Nico and the Niners” and “Jumpsuit” and the implication that the songs will relate to this unfolding tale of Clancy and the Bishops of Dema. But I do have some theories/wishes.

First, I don’t think we’ll be getting a whole new album all at once. Twenty One Pilots ain’t Beyonce. They don’t have the clout (yet) for FBR to let them get away with dropping a full project with zero mainstream promo (also, there’s no other registered song titles, so nothing for at least a few weeks). I think that, in following the standard pop music tradition of the last few years, we’ll get two singles dropped on the first day (the aforementioned registered names), with a music video for one to tide us over, then a trickle of songs for two or three months before an album in time for the holidays. I suspect “Jumpsuit” to be the main radio-play single (I’m already picturing a prison break from Dema for the video), while “Nico” serves as the song for the fans that lays out more about this concept.

The thing that excites me most about the whole Dema idea is that, unlike the rather straightforward metaphor of Blurryface, the ARG content we’ve received so far has laid out an entire world populated with multiple named characters and concepts that we aren’t clear on just yet. Because of that, I think we might get quite a few songs (like, hopefully, “Nico”) that focus more on storytelling (and, also hopefully, killer soundscapes) than just affirming the importance of staying alive. I really hope “Nico” is, like, a nine-minute long rock/EDM opera that lays out all the different bishops’ plans and motivations while mashing genres in the classic TØP style. I really want to see Tyler and Josh push themselves artistically, and I think that what we’ve seen so far is really indicating that is the case.

A few more questions (and some speculation):

What other songs are coming? “Trench”? “Heavy”? “Banditos”? “Wake Up”? “Coconut Sharks: Requiem”? (No clue, can’t wait to find out.)

What will the promo look like? Will the band bother to participate in local radio interviews anymore? (Depends on how early sales go, I think.) Will they do any long-form/in-depth sit downs? (Rooting for Zane Lowe, but also hoping a mag like Rolling Stone that’s willing to put artists in the hot seat puts Tyler on his toes and asks some of the difficult questions.)

What can we expect of tour? (I’m calling amphitheater followed by arena shows, just like with Blurryface and a lot of the bigger FBR acts. Praying for more live musicians and maybe some theatrical stuff with Dema.)

What will the album be called? Dema? Silence? Tower of Silence? Iris [remember that, holy crap]? Blurryface 2: Electric Boogaloo? Hard to say (Probably the first one, let’s be real).

Will it be successful? (Almost definitely not as much as Blurryface. We’ll have to see how hard they focus on the Dema concept or an alternative sound, since radio hates weird.) Will it be good? (Yes. I was unsure for a long time, but I’ve got a really good feeling now. A really, really good feeling.)

Community Spotlight:

This is technically cheating, but I am part of the community, so I’m gonna write about myself today. Forgive me.

Last year, on my 21st birthday, Twenty One Pilots posted a shut eye and some mirrored lyrics on their social media and then, for all intents and purposes, disappeared. I spent my whole twenty-first year of life without ‘em (the irony is not lost on me), which was weird considering how much they had inspired and impacted me throughout high school and college.

I did a lot of stuff when I was 21. I graduated college. I got a new job. I made friends. I lost friends. I got in fights. I learned to let go, but not soon enough to spare someone I cared about from unnecessary heartbreak. I turned corners in my mental health, only to run into new walls. I listened to a ton of music. I grew up.

Today, I turned 22. The irony of the absence of Twenty One Pilots aside, I’m so glad I had the chance to figure out who I was without this band by my side every step of the way. I learned that I could make it. And now I get to have them back while I continue to make it. How sick a birthday gift is that?

Power to the local dreamer.

|-/

#twenty one pilots #tyler joseph #josh dun #dema #hiatus #top weekly update #music

392 notes · View notes