#corinne mercury

[lifeinwarmclothes]

“I was walking up on the heights enjoying the soft air and the sun—The sun was warm and only once in a while some cool puffs—as if from a deep cellar. The moist earth was steaming—there was a smell of rotting leaves—and how quiet it was around me—and still I felt how things were in ferment and lived—in this steaming earth with the rotting leaves—in these bare branches that were soon again to sprout and live and the sun was to shine on the green leaves and flowers—and the wind was to bend them.

Edvard Munch

I felt it to be a rapture to pass into, be united with— become this earth which always, always fermented, always shone upon by the sun—and lived, lived—and there were to grow plants up and out of my rotting body—and trees and flowers and the sun were to warm them and I was to be in them and nothing was to come to an end—that is eternity.”

[newmusickarl]

Mercury Music Prize 2024: Ranking The Contenders

My favourite time of year has arrived – the season of the Mercury Music Prize. Back in July, the twelve albums nominated for the 2024 prize were revealed and, as ever, served up a highly diverse and eclectic list of some of the best British and Irish music released over the last 12 months. Each of these nominated records is now vying for the prestigious title of Album of the Year, the overriding criteria for which has greatly deviated throughout the award’s history.

In terms of the competition, last year felt like a big watershed moment. With myself and many others previously writing off the jazz nomination as soon as the annual shortlist is announced, Ezra Collective’s pleasantly surprising victory set a new precedence for the prize – any album can win. Not only that, but this year’s Mercury Prize shortlist presents arguably the most open contest for some years, making it almost impossible to predict. But hey – let’s try and predict it anyway!

As I do each year, I’ve now listened to all 12 albums and tried to rank them based on what I think are their chances of winning. To be clear, this is not a “Worst-to-Best” countdown – this ranking is based solely on how likely I think they are to win the overall prize.

To determine this, I’ve considered:

The impact and artistic achievement attained by the album

The popularity of the artist

The level of critical acclaim the album has received

How similar albums have fared over the years

All clear? Good!

Without further ado, here’s my final thoughts and analysis on this year’s nominees.

12. Lives Outgrown by Beth Gibbons

The debut solo album from the Portishead frontwoman is an absorbing work, a heavy listen that can be tricky to love at first but will eventually win you over. It’s certainly won the critics over too, becoming one of the most positively reviewed albums of the year thus far.

So why bottom of the list? Well for me, Beth has several factors working against her. Firstly, she’s a well-established artist who wouldn’t gain much from earning Mercury Prize recognition this late into her career. Secondly, and most importantly, she’s a former Mercury Prize winner, having lifted the trophy with Portishead’s Dummy back in 1995.

There’s only ever been one two-time winner in the prize’s history (PJ Harvey for those wondering) and at this juncture in her career, I personally don’t see Beth becoming the second person to achieve this feat – particularly given the strength of some of the debutants on this year’s shortlist.

11. Bad With Names by Corto.alto

Having already been so familiar with a lot of the records on this year’s shortlist, this debut from Glaswegian multi-instrumentalist Liam Shortall has been my favourite discovery through this year's prize. Recorded in his bedroom, it’s a mesmerising collision of jazz and electronic music that is genuinely unique and pulls you back in for repeated listens.

However, why it is so far down on my list is mainly due to Ezra Collective winning the prize last year. Whilst this album from Corto.alto isn’t solely a jazz project, of all the records on the list it is the one that falls the most into that genre. While Ezra Collective historically bucked the trend last year of jazz records never prevailing and winning the overall prize, another longstanding trend is that Mercury Prize wins rarely come from the same genre in back-to-back years. So, with a jazz record taking home the trophy last year, it makes me think the judges will go in a different direction in 2024.

10. On Purpose, With Purpose by Ghetts

The fourth studio album from the acclaimed, MOBO-award winning rapper, On Purpose, With Purpose is an ambitious project that showcases Ghetts' prowess for strong storytelling and cutting social commentary. It also features a stacked list of collaborators, including Mercury Prize alumni Kano and Sampha.

Now Ghetts is one of the few artists on this year’s shortlist who has been nominated for the Mercury Prize previously, having been shortlisted for the 2021 prize with Conflict of Interest. While recent history would suggest this could work in his favour (Little Simz and Michael Kiwanuka both won on their second and third times of trying), I feel this is a weaker effort compared to Conflict of Interest. Not only that but it seems fans and critics agree, with this album one of the lowest scoring on review aggregate site albumoftheyear.org. With this being the case, this is one I am filing under unlikely to win.

9. Early Twenties by Cat Burns

Talk about sneaking in there – this debut album from British singer-songwriter Cat Burns was released on the 12th of July this year, the final day for eligible entries into the 2024 prize. Obviously the judges would have listened to it before that date though, and they were clearly taken in by the record’s uplifting pop melodies and soul-baring lyricism.

Now, there actually isn’t too much working against Cat Burns when it comes to winning the overall prize. It is a debut album which always fair well and she’s also had good success in recent years with critic-led awards, having come fourth in the BBC Sound of 2023 and earning three Brit Award nominations just last year.

However, with the late release date you do wonder if the album would have had chance to make an impact on the judging panel in the same way as some of the other records on this list. Additionally, the album hasn’t had too long to make an impact culturally on the wider music world either, which leads me to think this is another album that is unlikely to prevail.

8. Who Am I by BERWYN

Like Ghetts, British rapper, producer and songwriter BERWYN is another artist who has been on the shortlist before, having also been nominated in 2021 for his impressively raw mixtape, Demotape/Vega. Now back with what is being billed as his debut studio album, WHO AM I is a powerful force that is as lyrically spellbinding as it is emotionally impactful.

However unlike Ghetts, BERWYN for me actually has a lot pulling for him. Again it’s another debut, he’s a previous nominee and rap records have typically done well in recent years (see wins from Little Simz, Dave and Skepta). So why is it only 8th on the list I hear you ask? Well, I think it simply boils down to there being some stronger records on this list that you can argue are more deserving. Whilst a BERWYN win (or a BER-WIN if you want to be cheesy) is certainly possible, my gut tells me its also improbable given the strength of the field.

7. Black Rainbows by Corinne Bailey Rae

A record that made my own year-end list back in December finishing an impressive 16th, Black Rainbows is one of the most acclaimed albums on this year’s shortlist. Inspired by an exhibition on Black history by artist Theaster Gates at the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago, the album is a mesmerising collage of eclectic sounds that range from soul and R&B to frantic garage rock and sprawling electronica.

Corinne is also a previous nominee, having had her sophomore record The Sea shortlisted for the 2010 prize. Given the love and acclaim Black Rainbows has received too, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Corinne announced as the winner on the night.

However given the other nominees, my gut instinct says the judges may favour a newer artist, with Corinne almost in the same category as Beth Gibbons as already being too well established at this point. Whilst a Mercury win would certainly be deserving, my instincts are telling me this likely won’t be Corinne’s year.

6. When Will We Land? by Barry Can’t Swim

An album I’m personally a massive fan of and would love to see win tomorrow night. When Will We Land, the debut from Scottish musician and producer Joshua Mainnie AKA Barry Can’t Swim, is a vibrant and joyous experience like no other. Filled with a globe-trotting mix of sonic influences and textures, it is an incredible debut that has cemented Barry Can’t Swim as a household name in the electronic music world over the last year.

Now much like jazz albums, electronic records are good at getting nominated, but rarely do they win. In fact, you have to go all the way back to James Blake’s win in 2013 for Overgrown to find the last triumph from the popular genre. So not only is an electronic record long overdue a win, Barry’s debut has had such an impact in the space, not just for him but for the genre on the whole, it would be a well-received victory.

That said, as much as I would love Barry to walk away the overall prize winner, I think his chances are sadly fewer than some of the others on this year’s shortlist.

5. Silence Is Loud by Nia Archives

We’re into the real contenders now and this debut from record producer, DJ and singer-songwriter Nia Archives is certainly in with a chance. Heralded for its groundbreaking fusion of Jungle and Britpop with sincere lyricism at the heart, it’s an album that is truly unlike any other released in 2024.

With Nia such a trailblazer and pioneer for this Jungle revival that British music is now seeing, not just bringing the genre back to the fore but moving it forward as well, you have to wonder if Nia will get the nod in the same way Skepta won in 2016 for Konnichiwa. While that was arguably not the best record on the shortlist that year, it seemed like the judges were keen to recognise Skepta’s impact on the British rap and grime scene, helping to really bring it to a worldwide audience. I could easily see this reasoning repeated and with Nia’s record a debut too, it’s definitely one of the frontrunners in this very open contest.

Again, the only thing working against a Silence Is Loud win is the impact and quality of the others on the shortlist.

4. Brat by Charli XCX

An album that needs no introduction at this point. Let’s face it, has there been a British record in the last five years – or even decade - that has had as big of a cultural impact, in such a short space of time too, than Charli XCX’s Brat?

Although only released in June, the album has already cemented itself as one of the defining albums of 2024, and indeed the 2020s. From the iconic green artwork that has inspired festival fashion to instantly iconic lyrics entering the internet zeitgeist, to even politicians using the album’s lore in their political campaigns - the last few months have truly been a “brat summer”.

As we look ahead to tomorrow, Brat is currently the bookie’s favourite to take home the prize. In any other year, I would discount Charli simply for being too commercially successful and the judges tending to favour lesser-known artists when it comes to granting the overall prize. While I still ultimately think that will be the case, there is also a part of me that thinks the judges may see the impact of Brat and think it would be crazy to not award it the title of Album of the Year. In addition to this, Brat has received extreme acclaim too from critics, so it would be an incredibly popular win.

Back in 2006, Arctic Monkeys had the fastest-selling debut album ever at that time and as a result, would go on to win the Mercury Prize that year. Commercially successful albums winning when they’ve achieved cultural significance isn’t unheard of throughout the history of the Mercury Prize, so don’t be surprised if Charli walks away with it tomorrow - despite being one of the biggest popstars on the planet right now.

3. Prelude To Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party

Speaking of fast-selling debuts, upon it’s release back in February, Prelude To Ecstasy became the UK's biggest first week-selling debut album in nine years. Considering the buzz surrounding it, this came as no surprise as there are few bands as vehemently discussed as The Last Dinner Party. Yet in many ways they still feel slightly underappreciated, often criticised for the wrong reasons. When you focus on the musicianship of the record itself, there are few debut albums as anthemic, as dazzling and as accomplished as Prelude To Ecstasy.

Much like Brat, The Last Dinner Party’s debut feels like one of the defining records of the last 12 months and although also commercially successful, you could see the critic darlings crowned the overall winners for that reason. They are also less established than Charli, so may feel like a compromise as they are still technically a “new” artist. However, you also feel the judges may recognise awarding the London quintet the overall prize may sadly have an adverse effect, leaving them prone to more criticism and intense scrutiny from their naysayers.

This again makes me think the judges will ultimately go in a different direction, but personally I think this record deserves all the praise and awards in the world. Without a doubt, one of the year’s finest albums.

2. This Could Be Texas by English Teacher

Into the top two then and now we have arrived at the two albums I think have the best chance of winning the overall prize tomorrow. One is a choice of head, the other is a choice of heart. 

If I’m going with my head, everything points me in the direction of this debut album from rock quartet, English Teacher. Hugely acclaimed, particularly by the British music press, it’s an album that has captivated due to it’s soaring originality, poetic lyrics and broad eclecticism. In fact, when you look at the genres that typically make up the Mercury Prize shortlist each year – rock, jazz, electronic, pop, soul, R&B, folk, punk and post-punk – This Could Be Texas has a little bit of all of that.

This for me is a record tailor-made to win the Mercury Prize. It is a debut album, from a band that is still up-and-coming, that would benefit massively from the greater exposure, and an album which will surely tick a lot of boxes for the diverse music tastes on the judging panel.

It’s also interesting to note that there is a strong Leeds/Bradford contingent on this year’s shortlist, with a quarter of the artists nominated heralding from the area – which makes me think the winner is likely to come from one of those three albums. So, if you’re a betting person and are still trying to decide where to put your money, my head says English Teacher’s debut is the album to back.

1. Crazymad, For Me by CMAT

But that is what my head says, my heart says something different. While a good part of me thinks English Teacher is the one to prevail tomorrow, the one I am really rooting for is Crazymad For Me by Irish singer-songwriter, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson – AKA, CMAT.

Having finished as my 12th favourite Album of 2023, it’s a record that I still find myself frequently returning to almost a year later. In fact, if I was to redo that list today, it would be in the Top 5. This is because with each new spin it feels more and more like a modern classic, with songs like California, Rent, Where Are Your Kids Tonight and, of course, Stay For Something, all timeless in nature.

It’s not just me with a great affection for this record either. It’s another album that has seen huge love and acclaim over the last year, even getting nominated for the Irish Choice Prize back in March. Which brings me onto another important point regarding CMAT’s album within wider Mercury Prize folklore, and that is the fact that an Irish artist is still yet to win the overall prize. That’s right, despite plenty of nominations throughout the 30+ years it has been granted, an Irish artist is still yet to take home the coveted Album of the Year title.

So, with a jazz record finally winning in 2023 and bucking the long-standing trend, surely it is time for an Irish artist to be recognised as the overall winner. At a time as well where Irish music is thriving – just look at recent albums from the likes of Fontaines D.C., Kneecap, Sprints, NewDad and The Murder Capital, to name just a few – it feels like the right time. With CMAT’s incredibly infectious and warm personality, as well as her clear love for music, performing and mastering her songcraft, I couldn’t think of a more deserving person and artist to make this little piece of history.

That’s my thoughts anyway ahead of the annual ceremony tomorrow night; I guess we’ll soon find out as always just how close – or not close – I was with my predictions. Best of luck to all the artists and as ever, I look forward to watching!

Watch the 2024 Mercury Prize be presented on BBC Four tomorrow night from 8pm.

[raccoon-coded]

Did you know there are Guardians of the Galaxy novels? Well, there are actually a few!

Here's a brief review / breakdown of the gotg books in my collection. (Not including children's books, retellings of the movies or books that aren't novels.) I love them all and would recommend any of them.

And if there are more out there, I will find them and add them to this list.

The Pirate Angel, The Talking Tree, and Captain Rabbit.

Written by Steve Behling.

A book read from teen Groot's point of view, for the most part, taking place during the flight to Nidavellir with Thor, (during Avengers Infinity War.) It focuses on the dynamic between Thor, Rocket and Groot, while Groot sneakily reads Rocket's journal. Through the journal we get to see Rocket go on missions with the original Groot, with Rhomann Dey and with the Guardians. We see him being the badass he is but also get plenty of insight into Rockets thoughts.

It also includes a short epilogue from Rocket's point of view during the battle of Wakanda.

It's fun and it's humorous with a couple of emotional beats, and an overall enjoyable read which acts as an interlude between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

This one is aimed at a younger audience (teens I suspect) but I still found it enjoyable.

206 pages, although it would be less if the font wasn't so large.

Marvel Wastelanders: Star-Lord.

Written by Sarah Cawkwell and adapted from the scripted podcast by Benjamin Percy.

This one is a novelization of the audio drama 'Marvel Wastelanders', (which I recommend listening to if you haven't.) It's based on the Marvel Wastelanders comics but is an original take on the stories. Includes many comic book characters and comic references but can be read/listened to without prior knowledge of the comics.

It features an old man Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon as they fight to save Earth from Doctor Doom's takeover. The story is told as a recount of events from a Rigellian Recorder whom they team up with along the way. Rocket and Star-Lord bicker like an old married couple and it's great. It's a good read, and has an interesting plot with a lot of fun characters. However it does have a tragic ending that the story never hid it was always leading up to. It's bittersweet. You might cry, but it's worth the tears.

The voice acting during these emotional scenes in the audio drama makes it worth listening to over reading but both options are good. Personally, I read the book first and then listened to the audio drama on Spotify. Sidenote, the characters in this are not voiced by their movie counterparts.

348 pages of the book, or 10 episodes around half an hour long each of the Star-Lord centric story of the audio drama.

Guardians of the Galaxy: No Guts, No Glory.

Written by M. K. England.

This is an official prequel to the Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy video game, (which is an incredible game that takes aspects from both the comics and movies.) Like the game, it's read from Peter Quill's perspective.

It switches between the 'present day' which is a time where the Guardians are only newly formed and struggling as a group, and 12 years before that during the Galactic War where Peter is a young ravager first meeting Nova officer Ko-Rel on Mercury as they battle a Chitauri invasion.

I really enjoyed this book. It's funny, heartwarming and action packed, and embodies the characters very well. I'd recommend it to any fans of the video game. It gives us a great preview of the relationship that Peter and Ko-Rel formed, and on the early dynamic of the Guardians.

If you haven't played the game yet, I highly recommend doing so and then going right ahead and giving this a read. Although in saying that, it'll still make sense if you read it without playing the game prior, it'll just make the experience more enjoyable if you have already played the game.

307 pages.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Collect Them All.

Written by Corinne Duyvis.

This novel is based on the comic versions of the Guardians.

The point of view jumps around between all members of the Guardians, so you get an insight on each of them throughout the story.

In this novel the Guardians embark on a quest to save Groot by collecting all the pieces that have splintered off him and scattered around the galaxy.

Gamora has her own significant arc in this story.

Another solid Guardians tale.

383 pages.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket Raccoon and Groot Steal The Galaxy.

Written by Dan Abnett.

This novel is also based off of the Guardians of the Galaxy comic versions of the characters and was actually written by comic writer Dan Abnett who has written numerous Guardians of the Galaxy comics, along with many other notable comics.

In this novel, Rocket and Groot find themselves teaming up with a Rigellian Recorder on a quest to save the Galaxy. Gamora also pops in for a bit.

The book is read from the point of view of 'Recorder-Dude' as Rocket calls him, with a few interludes read from the pov of other characters.

This book was quite enjoyable. Would read again.

359 pages.

Apologies that the last two weren't as detailed as the other reviews, it's been a while since I've read them. Will have to give them a re-read and edit.

[chic-a-gigot]

La Mode nationale, no. 25, 22 juin 1895, Paris. No. 10. — Groupe de chapeaux et costumes. Bibliothèque nationale de France

(1) Chapeau Corinne, en paillasson bleu, couvert de violettes, d'où s'échappent deux plumes princess de Galles.

(2) Chapeau rond en paille crème, orné par un large groupe de coques montantes en soie rose et jaune, entouré par des fleurs printanières devant et derrière.

(3) Corsage de mousseline de soie bleu, forme blouse, recouvert par un devant de corsage en tulle rose à pois, entouré par un volant coquillé, cravate Mercure. Manches empire à manchettes.

Chapeau paillasson bleu, relevé derrière, orné de coques roses en demi-couronne avec de grosses roses sur les côtés, et une touffe de plues droites sur le sommet.

—

(1) Corinne hat, in blue mat, covered with violets, from which two Princess of Wales feathers.

(2) Round hat in cream straw, adorned by a large group of pink and yellow silk rising shells, surrounded by spring flowers in front and behind.

(3) Blue silk muslin bodice, blouse shape, covered by a front bodice in pink polka-dot tulle, surrounded by a shell flounce, Mercury tie. Empire sleeves with cuffs.

Blue mat hat, raised behind, adorned with pink shells in a half-crown with large roses on the sides, and a tuft of straight plues on the top.

[retropopcult]

"Breakout" is a song by British band Swing Out Sister. It was released in 1986 as the second single from their debut album It's Better to Travel. It slowly climbed the charts, eventually reaching the number four position in the UK and number six on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US (as well as number one on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1987).

Singer Corinne Drewery wrote the song while recovering from a fractured skull from an equestrian accident. Swing Out Sister had a two-song deal with Mercury Records, and the first song failed to impact the charts. The label said the band had to have the second demo in by the next Monday morning or risk being dropped, causing the band to compose "Breakout" under stress. This influenced the lyrics, as well as Drewery's desire to quit her day job as a fashion designer and be a singer.

[mediamonarchy]

https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240802_MorningMonarchy.mp3 Download MP3 Losing in front of your home crowd, crashing bores and shoplifters of the world + this day in history w/Woodstock cancelled and our song of the day by Joe Normal on your #MorningMonarchy for August 2, 2024. Notes/Links: ‘DEATH BY HOLLYWOOD’ by Stephen Bochco | Read by Dennis Franz https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/15227/death-by-hollywood-by-stephen-bochco-read-by-dennis-franz/ @mattsdriscoll: Waited a LONG time for this. [Unmuzzled with his muzzled and now-fatherless children.] (May 22, 2021) https://x.com/mattsdriscoll/status/1396260973468536836 // https://archive.is/wrjeC Boxers who failed gender tests at world championships cleared to compete at Olympics https://archive.is/m0H4N Video: Slowed down video from the boxing match between Imane Khelif and Angela Carini shows the biological male, who has XY chromosomes, touch her BREAST after humiliating her and reducing her to tears. https://x.com/OliLondonTV/status/1819160503056498980 After beating Italian female boxer Angela Carini at the Paris Olympics today, Imane Khelif, who is biologically male with XY chromosomes, will compete with another woman on Saturday facing off against Hungarian boxer Luca Anna Hamori. 🥊 Is this fair for women? https://x.com/OliLondonTV/status/1819116896320389602 Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered. #Paris2024 https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1819007216214573268 Video: Female Olympic boxer quits amid gender controversy (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1phdcY74Qto Morrissey – “Boxers” (Audio) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxers_(song) // https://genius.com/Morrissey-boxers-lyrics // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_jvm7aqoWQ Breaking News: Mike Tyson says he’s willing to Box Olympic DUDE with all Proceeds to go to a Battered Women’s Charity https://x.com/Rob1865_/status/1819056508425884144 ‘It’s Like a Game of Chess’: How 2 Members of the U.S. Breaking Team Prepared for the Paris Olympics; The American B-Boys discuss bringing breakdancing to the Olympics and why improvisation is key: “You never know what’s going to happen.” https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/team-usa-breaking-b-boys-olympics-interview-what-to-expect-1235741035/ 🏀 The NBA’s $77B swish https://sherwood.news/snacks/newsletters/the-nbas-usd77b-swish/ Video: This Woman’s Rant That Recently Went Viral On TikTok Has Been Banned (Audio) https://odysee.com/@TheSearch4Truth:8/7486293745281055283:d Mercury Prize 2024 Shortlist: Charli XCX, Beth Gibbons, Nia Archives, and More; Berwyn, the Last Dinner Party, Barry Can’t Swim, and Corinne Bailey Rae are also among the nominees for the year’s best British or Irish album https://pitchfork.com/news/mercury-prize-2024-shortlist-charli-xcx-beth-gibbons-nia-archives-and-more/ Mercury Retrograde will begin on August 4, 2024. https://www.almanac.com/content/mercury-retrograde-dates Singer Morrissey Slams Fauci, Schwab & Gates In New Song https://vigilantnews.com/post/singer-morrissey-slams-dr-fauci-klaus-schwab-bill-gates-in-new-song/ Video: “Singer Morrissey calls out Bill Gates, Klaus Schwab and Dr Fauci. During a performance in Las Vegas, the English singer sang about ‘criminals’ as he pointed to images of Klaus Schwab on the screen alongside images of Gates and Fauci.” (Audio) https://x.com/FatEmperor/status/1817875767038009789 ISTA – “The Sound” (Vinyl // Audio) https://istasound.bandcamp.com/track/the-sound #MagazineTime: MOJO 369 – August 2024: Stevie Nicks https://www.mojo4music.com/magazine/latest-issues/mojo-369-august-2024-stevie-nicks/ #MagazineTime: MOJO 368 – July 2024: Paul Weller https://www.mojo4music.com/magazine/latest-issues/mojo-368-july-2024-paul-weller/ #MagazineTime/Search: SPORTS ILLUSTRAT...

[musicnewsweb]

ICYMI: Corinne Bailey Rae reacts to Mercury Prize nomination http://dlvr.it/TBH1hx

[entertainmehub]

ICYMI: Corinne Bailey Rae reacts to Mercury Prize nomination http://dlvr.it/TBGwDV

[1901ghost]

1. What are you wearing? Short jeans, pink blouse and a pink bow.

2. Ever been in love? Of course, even though I don’t want to do that anymore.

3. Ever had a terrible breakup? Yup.

4. How tall are you? 1,56cm (5ft3).

5. How much do you weigh? Around 54 kg.

6. Any tattoos you want? None. I don’t like them, but respect them.

7. Any piercings you want? Nope. Not my favorite thing.

8. OTP? A what? I'm🤡

9. Favourite show(s)? Anne with An E, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Malcolm in the Middle and Courage the Cowardly dog.

10. Favourite band? The Beatles 💕 then Queen

11. Something you miss? I miss my ballet and French classes, I miss the time where I didn’t have to worry about money.

12. Favourite song(s)? Well, there are many but the ones I have been listening to often for now are: Little Lamb Dragonfly, Maybe I’m Amazed, Hey Jude, Put your Records on by Corinne Bailey Rae, Starman by David Bowie, It’s all over now baby blue by Joan Baez, Romance in Durango and I Want you by Bob Dylan, Get it While you Can by Janis Joplin, Love you by Syd Barrett, Radio by Lana del Rey, All my loving by The Beatles, Führe Mich, Roter Sand and Dalai Lama by Rammstein, Ach so Gern and Platz Eins by Till Lindemann and Sola by Jorge Rigó.

13. How old are you? 31.

14. Zodiac Sign? Capricorn like Joan Baez, Janis Joplin, Elvis, Pattie Smith, Till Lindemann, David Bowie and Syd Barrett:)

15. Hair Colour? Dark Brown.

16. Favourite Quote? Many. “Kiss me, and you will see how important I am” ~Sylvia Plath

17. Favourite singer? Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Janis Joplin, Freddie Mercury, Lana del Rey, Corinne Bailey Rae, Leanne la Havas, Robert Plant, Jim Morrison, Syd Barrett, France Gall, Joan Baez, Till Lindemann and more.

18. Favorite color(s)? Pink, purple and black.

19. Loud music or soft music? Both actually, quiet music low and hard music louder.

20. Where do you go when you’re sad? I like to be in nature.

21. How long does it take you to shower? 30 minutes/one hour lmao, I have curly hair and it’s high maintenance.

22. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? 20 or 30 minutes.

23. Ever been in a physical fight? Nope, I'm pretty calm. Back in 2006 I had to kick a guy because he was already bullying me too much and the principal didn’t want to take action because she said he did that because he had a crush on me, so I had to put a stop myself and grabbed him by the shirt and kicked him on the head and stomach. He stopped bullying me after that.

24. Turn on(s)? Effective communicator, emotionally responsible, empathetic, being kind to others, helping others, respectful towards others, someone who doesn’t like conflict and prefers peace, that isn’t too negative, compassion, monogamous, good sense of humour, groovy sense of style, good taste in music, non-verbal communication, respecting my tastes, open minded but has their own opinions, willing to love on me, being able to let go and be free with me, piercing eyes, nice smile, pale, big shaped, being able to understand me.

25. Turn off(s)? Manipulation or gaslighting, being disrespectful, selfish, inappropriate jokes, misogynistic, speciesist, homophobic, edgy, believing that you are better than everyone, doesn’t support abortion or hates any kind of human rights movement, not being grateful or not having class, not respecting my tastes, etc, etc.

26. The reason I joined Tumblr? I wanted to get into a place where I can share my nonsense and taste, share my thoughts and my love for life. Twitter and Facebook are too toxic, so full of hate and spiteful people. The community here is pretty good💖✨.

27. Fears? Many people are afraid of the death of oneself but I am more afraid of the death of my loved ones, height and chainsaws scare me to death and I’m scared of soldiers and policemen.

28. Last thing that made you cry? A video about a 1 month old puppy being rescued from the river but he died anyway.

29. Last time you cried? Yesterday :(

30. Meaning behind your URL? 1901 Ghost is because I looove everything Victorian and Edwardian Era, I also love the Roaring Twenties the 60’s and 70’s, but Victorian-Edwardian Era is so meaningful to me, so you will see more of that in my Tumblr wall.

31. Last book you read? Anne of the Green Gables.

32. Last song you listened to? Mamunia by Paul McCartney.

33. Last show you watched? Anne with an E.

34. Last person you talked to? My mom and my sister.

35. The relationship between you and the person you last texted? They my mom and sis and relationship is bunderful!

36. Favorite food? Tofu. If you want to win my heart, gimme some good tofu:)

37.Place you want to visit? I want to go to Brazil, Holland and Switzerland :’)

38. Last place you were? At my fave coffee shop.

39. Do you have a crush? Yup, a guy manager from DD :(

40. Last time you kissed someone? Haven’t kissed anyone yet. I know it’s weird that someone in their 30’s hasn’t experienced any of that, but I want to be kissed by the person that will be my life partner. I’m too conservative regarding that.

41. Last time you were insulted and what was it? It's weird that people insult me because I don't usually do bad things and mostly when I'm surrounded by people they rarely notice me, so I really don't remember when they last insulted me.

42. What color underwear are you wearing? Calm down darling

43. What colour shirt are you wearing? Pink.

44. What colour bottoms are you wearing? Light blue short jeans.

45. Wearing any bracelets? Yep, one that my little nephew gave me that has my name on it.

46. Last sport you played? I know it’s an art form but it’s also physical form, I did ballet.

47. Last song you sang? Radio by Lana del Rey

48. Last prank call you remember doing? Idk, maybe when I was younger and called someone to tell them I was the devil lol

49. Last time you hung out with someone? Loooooooooong time ago.

50. Favourite movie(s)? Sunrise 1927, One Week 1927, Aelita 1927, Wings 1927, Picnic at the Hanging Rock, Aimeé and Jaguar, Pearl 2022, anything silent film especially if it’s from Buster Keaton 💕

[theimpossiblescheme]

Let me throw some thoughts at the wall here...

Bombalurina: A mix of riot grrl punk, R&B, and soul. She's got Bikini Kill, Lunachicks, Aretha Franklin, and Janelle Monáe playing back to back, and she can sing the best damn cover of "Fever" you've ever heard in your life.

Demeter: Also a lot of punk, but with a healthy dose of goth and indie as well. Think Blondie, Joan Jett, Sisters of Mercy, Cocteau Twins, and Fiona Apple. The more down she's feeling, the heavier and more discordant the music gets.

Jemima: Partially the same taste as her mama (although more on the "romantic" goth side), but she also loves both some dreamy instrumentals and symphonic/contemporary metal. Every Studio Ghibli soundtrack is her favorite, and she got Electra into Nightwish and Nova Twins.

Rum Tum Tugger: Exactly what you'd expect--all the rock 'n' roll and early punk staples. Little Richard, Freddie Mercury, Jimi Hendrix, the Clash, the Ramones, you name it. Probably has very strong opinions about vinyl, too.

Victoria: Showtunes (Great Comet and Cinderella are her favorite shows) and anything with really sweet vocals and instrumentation. Raveena, Anaïs Mitchell, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Stevie Nicks's more ballad-y songs are her favorites, and she gets a lot of music recommendations from Cass since their tastes overlap quite a bit, including a love of classical of all kinds.

What would be in Bombalurina's playlist? Or any of the jellicle's playlists. I wanna hear your thoughts.

[spikeface]

mercury glass

Written for @teenwolf-meta meta week, Day 7: Parallels

Do you ever think about how season 5 had each of the main crew confront themselves in a cloudy mirror? 

How they see someone who is their opposite? What they fear they are? 

Someone only the pack can save them from? 

Because I do.

we can't all be perfect / and I don't know how to fix it

Theo Raeken & Scott McCall

The Big One. The driving force of season 5. Might as well write they're foils for each other in smoky ink all over Beacon Hills so we don't forget. Scott is a werewolf, a True Alpha, someone who brings out the best in everyone in his pack. Theo is a chimera, an ordinary evil, obsessed with bringing out the darkest parks of Scott's pack—before he destroys his own. 

Scott takes pain to help people. Theo takes pain to destroy them!

Scott works for a good doctor, Theo for an evil trio of them!

Theo is a killer and Scott is murdered! 

Theo resurrects a pack and Scott resurrects himself!

Theo is an atheist and Scott once sacrificed himself to a dead tree god! Gah!

But it doesn't stop there. They were both wheezing little kids in Beacon Hills, once upon a time. They both got snapped up in a war that wasn't theirs. And they both, in this season, crack under the weight of their own expectations. After years with the Doctors, Theo is hopelessly obsessed with perfection, and petrified of failure. But so, in his way, is Scott. After years of scraping by through sheer force of will, and especially after the Berserker episode, Scott expects the impossible of himself as tragically as Theo wants the impossible for himself. 

Theo claims that he wants a pack, but what he really thinks he wants is power. He needs a success on the level of becoming a True Alpha: to become a true chimera, an impossible dream, stealing Scott's pack and power through his own personal alchemy of manipulation and murder. When that fails, he turns to Deucalion, the Alpha closely connected to Scott's own rise, and becomes obsessed with stealing power the way a Demon Wolf might. In the end, he cannibalizes his own pack, and winds up alone.

Scott, meanwhile, has a pack, but becomes increasingly convinced that he can't rely on them—that it all comes down to him, and that he can't afford any mistakes. In one of the most heartbreaking moments in the build up to his death, Scott sits on the floor of his closet, holding the leash of a dead dog he couldn't save.

"Something's different, with me and my friends," he explains to his mother. "With all of us. Something's changed... I think it's because of me. And I don't know how to fix it" (5x08).

This season is flooded with enemies from every corner, but between Theo's manipulations, his friends' silences, and his own, Scott is convinced that everything is all his fault. That he has to fix it. That no one else can help him. That he’s destined to fail.

Both Scott and Theo think they're alone. They're lonely. 

And in the end, they both have a pack.

But where Theo destroys his, Scott returns from the dead driven to get his pack back. He rescues Lydia, helps Malia defeat Corinne, faces Theo, escapes the Doctors, saves Mason, and kills the Beast by turning to his greatest strength: his ability to connect with people, to make not just friends but friends of his old enemies, and allies in times of need.

you don't really know who i am, do you? / good

Donovan Donati & Stiles Stilinski

These two make me froth. There's plenty to be said about Donovan as the Stiles-oriented counterpart to Theo—another retconned chimera from the past with a personal connection to one of the crew, and a vendetta against the pack—but his parallels with Stiles are even more absorbing. Both of them are cops' kids, protective of their fathers (who were partners! Aaah!). Both of them are so angry this season. Both of them are Theo's targets. But where Stiles struggles with it, Donovan crumbles. He goes where Theo tells him. He lashes out at Stiles for his father's injuries even though Stiles had nothing to do with them. The wendigo aspects of Donovan even recall the nogitsune—its needle teeth, its endless hunger. Donovan isn't going to kill Stiles. He's just going to eat him.

The mindfuck of it all is just so good. Stiles is convinced he's like Donovan, and you can see how the possibility might eat at him. Didn't he taunt Donovan at the sheriff's station, he could tell himself, the way Donovan taunted him at the library? Didn't he enjoy Donovan's death the way Donovan would have enjoyed his? 

Wouldn't he do anything if something were to happen to his father?

I think what really gets me, though, is the silence of it all. Donovan is so loud. From the very beginning, he can't shut up, even when it costs him years in prison. "You don't really know who I am, do you, Stiles?" he asks Stiles in the library, before telling him as much as he can. He talks the entire time he stalks Stiles (5x05). 

No wonder the Doctors made him a chimera that was all mouths.

Stiles, meanwhile, one of the chattiest members of the pack, turns to silence. It starts in the stark moments after Donovan's death, and only gets worse as Stiles tries to keep this secret that wouldn't be a problem at all if he could just tell someone. But he can't! And in the end, that pushes him to the moment where he comes closest to actually being like Donovan, when he lashes out at someone because his father was hurt, even though that person wasn't actually responsible—because of Theo's machinations.

And then, ultimately, Stiles moves past it. Where Donovan was hopelessly stuck in the past and his own fury, totally alone, Stiles finally opens up, lets the past go, and turns to his pack.

i'm taking back what you stole from me / i want my family back

Corinne & Malia Tate

This one is so much! Corinne is so fun because she's the only one who actively tries to recruit her opposite to the dark side. Donovan just wants to destroy Stiles, and only as a way to get back at the Sheriff. Theo spends a lot of time trying to get the rest of the pack to embrace their dark side, and to tear Scott down, but seems to recognize—and resent, and admire—that it would be fruitless to try to corrupt him.

Corinne, on the other hand, is intrigued by the idea of making Malia like she is. She resents the whole fact of her birth, convinced that Malia "stole" from her by being born (5x20). She's been trying to find and kill her for a while now, but when she chats with a furious Malia in "A Credible Threat" (5x17), she turns speculative.

"What if there's a compromise?" she asks. "What if you come with me? We can try to solve our little predicament, and maybe I start calling you 'daughter.'" 

Malia, of course, refuses. "I'm going to kill you."

"You're definitely my daughter," Corinne replies dryly—and ominously. Corinne's response implies that even if Malia chooses to kill Corinne instead of coming with her, it's still the same in terms of becoming like her. Being her daughter.

Malia isn't, of course. She refuses to kill her mother. But what kills me is that the key to Malia's victory over her mother is, essentially, doing to her what her mother had planned to do. The claws of Belasko allow her to take her mother's power, just as Corinne had been planning to do to her. Malia, however, takes Corinne's power without killing her, a feat she manages with the help of her pack, who get her Belasko's claws.

my voice is like a bomb going off / they're all going to die

Meredith Walker & Lydia Martin

If Corinne wants Malia to be like her, Meredith is the most devoted to making sure her opposite is nothing like her. 

By the time season 5 rolls around, Meredith has already been more or less established as a kind of tragic version of Lydia. She believes supernatural creatures are monsters—even herself—while Lydia has by then come to see that not all monsters do monstrous things (4x10). Meredith's arc in season 4 ends with her realizing that, for all of her good intentions, she's done terrible things. When we see her again in season 5, she's a lot more clear-eyed. Although she's a pretty terrifying presence in Lydia's mindscape at first, she assures Lydia that she's only there to help Lydia escape—and make sure she doesn't turn out like her. 

In "The Sword and the Spirit" (5x14), Meredith tries to help Lydia break the glass of her prison at Eichen House. Frustrated by her failures, Lydia begs Meredith to just tell her how she managed to do it herself. Meredith, however, is petrified of that possibility. For her, using her banshee scream has always been about losing control:

MEREDITH: My way got people hurt… Some days, it was quiet for me. Other days, all I could hear was screaming. People dying.

LYDIA: What people?

MEREDITH: Everyone. Everywhere. I was in chemistry class when it happened. I had my hands over my ears. The teacher was trying to figure out what was wrong. I took my hands, and I started hitting the desk... until I couldn't take it anymore, and I just screamed. All the windows shattered. I saw kids with glass in their arms, in their faces. Some of them had blood coming out of their ears. They said it was an explosion caused by chemicals, but everyone knew it was me… Find a better way, Lydia. My voice is like a bomb going off.

And what I love about Lydia's arc is that, in the end, the bomb of her voice actually goes off. And it's nuclear! Valack amplifies her banshee powers to a terrifying extreme, making the threat of her voice even bigger than Meredith's had been. When Lydia does finally give in and scream, it's about her losing control over the voices in her head, just as Meredith did. 

The only reason Lydia doesn't kill everyone is because Jordan Parrish, with the pack's help, gets to Lydia in time to throw himself on the bomb of her voice. Even so, she still kills Valack. She makes windows shatter. She makes Stiles' ears bleed. Everyone knows it's her. The difference between Meredith and Lydia is not in their attitude; they're both kind people, trying to help. It's not in the nature of their powers; if anything, Lydia's voice becomes the greater threat this season. The difference is that Lydia has a pack. They rescued her from Eichen, contain the danger of her voice, and refuse to leave her even when she makes their ears bleed. Meredith's explosion was probably what got her sent to Eichen House. Lydia's is the price paid to get her out of Eichen House, just to have her back.

Ultimately, Lydia's control over her own voice will be central to saving Mason, and the pack's victory over the Beast. Lydia does find a better way. But it only happens after the worst has already occurred, the true catastrophe of it averted because Lydia can rely on her pack.

and when I am done killing, everyone will know / i am the messenger of death

Sebastian Valet & Kira Yukimura

I'm certain this one wasn’t intended by the canon at all, but I don't care! It's there in the text and the writers are fools and cowards. Kira is at odds with her kitsune nature this season, which appears almost as a separate entity from her, one she's not even really aware of for much of the season.

Does that give her an interesting parallel with Mason and the Beast? Yes. Yes, it does.

But I'm not gonna talk about that right now. Right now is for Bad Guys.

I wanna compare Kira & the kitsune with Sebastian Valet & the Beast. Both the kitsune and the Beast loom large this season. The kitsune is bigger than Scott has ever seen, and intent on chaos and destruction in a way that chillingly recalls the nogitsune. The Beast is even bigger than the kitsune spirit, a killing machine the likes of which no one has ever seen before.

And what's even more interesting to me is that both the kitsune and the Beast are obsessed with being known. The Beast's human identity was lost to damnatio memoriae, but the legend of the Beast has been passed down for centuries. Valet is obsessed with everyone knowing who he is and what he's done: "I am the famous and feared Beast of Gévaudan! And when I'm done killing, everyone will know. I will have done such horrors that all of history will remember my name!" (5x18)

Meanwhile, the kitsune grows larger, more insistently visible. Even more shockingly, it begins to speak—Japanese, a language Kira doesn't even know, as if the two were separate entities. It announces itself when it tries to execute Lucas. It speaks while Kira is asleep. It wants everyone to know that it is "the messenger of death" (5x06).

The big difference between Kira and Valet—well, you know, besides all of the other ways they're different—is their relationship with the beast inside them. Valet has totally embraced his inner beast, to the point that he claims he is the Beast, even though the Beast's name and Valet's are treated as separate entities—one erased from history, the other living on. Valet represents the ultimate indulgence in one's own violent id. 

Kira, meanwhile, wrestles with her kitsune through the entire season. She suspects something is wrong and asks Scott about it. She struggles to control her powers. She goes to the desert and she fights monsters and she risks pain and ultimately sacrifices almost everything, just to try to figure out how to make peace with the kitsune again.

Sidenote: This is also why I think it would have made so much more sense for Kira's big victory to be over the Doctors instead of Theo. Theo causes plenty of damage to her and her pack, but it's the Doctors who are directly responsible for the chaos of her kitsune spirit and powers. Even more insultingly, they do it with barely a second thought. Kira isn't a potential host for the Beast, the way the chimeras are. She's just a stepping stone to getting to Valack in Eichen. She's a footnote in their history.

How fitting it would have been for their end to have come not from the Perfect Evil they spent three hundred years obsessively trying to raise, but the girl they thought they'd destroyed in mere minutes? 

I think it would have been a nice message, is all.

Since, however, I am forced to deal with the absolute insult that is Kira's fragmented arc in 5b, I want to focus on the way that her biggest victories come when she hasn't actually resolved her conflict with the kitsune yet. There's still a huge threat of the kitsune or her powers taking over throughout the entirety of season 5, but the pack still wants Kira with them. All of them, in the end, have faith in her—in who she really is. Kira, instead of the kitsune. 

This, in turn, is part of what helps Kira have more faith in herself, one of her biggest concerns in 5b. By the end, just before her victorious return to Beacon Hills, Kira declares her faith in herself and her pack: "I'm coming back to help, I promise. Because you're right, Scott... if anyone's going to save Mason, it's you. It's us" (5x20). When Kira finally returns and banishes Theo to the dreamscape, it's the closest she comes to being like the kitsune; she is literally acting as a messenger for the dead. But here, it's a moment of triumph! She's in total control! It's not the kitsune but Kira who is the messenger. 

And she's got the whole pack behind her.

Teen Wolf is very interested in distorted mirrors, and as with almost everything else this season, s5 is when they go bananas with it. This plurality, however, is also a way they explore what it means to face the most terrifying version of yourself. Theo, Donovan, Corinne, Meredith, and the Beast all offer dark reflections for members of Scott’s pack, but each forms a unique relationship with their respective opposite. Victory over them looks different for each member of the crew, with one major common thread—they all do it as part of a pack.

[forbidden-sorcery]

From the Balkans, hazel wood was revered and used in traditional witchcraft. A hazel wand was and is still often carried by witches. From ancient myths come the use of a hazel stick to kill the Devil, revive the deceased, and to turn people into other creatures. From this area also mentally ill people were made to walk three times around a hazel tree to help cure them and people made confessions of their transgressions to the nearby hazel trees rather than to a priest.                 A ritualistic amulet made in the Balkans is called the ‘Military Hazelnut’. This is a brilliant and detailed example of operative folk magic. It was traditionally made by the man who needed it, when he was summoned to war or on a long and dangerous journey. This information is relayed from Balkan Traditional Witchcraft, Radomir Ristic (2009). The folk ritual involved the man in need going to a hazel tree the night before Ascension Day between midnight and cock crow, clean shaven and dressed in clean clothing. He is then to undress and face the east, and bends down near a previously chosen hazel branch and attempts to pick one or even better three flowers with his buttocks. Then he finds the first nearest fern bush and picks one ‘flower’ (possibly a frond with spores) again with his buttocks. Upon returning home, he waits until the following morning and assembles the amulet while sitting on the threshold of his home. A healthy hazelnut is chosen, including the shell, and a hole is drilled into it, to help remove the insides. Then he places within the shell the following: a little mercury, a duck’s feather piece, incense, a marble, a piece of grass that was not cut during harvest tie, a piece of gold, clipping of a fingernail from an illegitimate child, a small bone from a wren and the flowers that he picked with his buttocks. The following words are then recited: ‘Just as no one can catch mercury, as the scythe couldn’t cut this grass, as the water didn’t wet this feather, as the rust cannot harm gold, the bullet cannot harm me… let it go to blooming ferns.. just as the marble is strong, and cannot be harmed by the knife, let me be strong. Just as the incense chases away evil, let it stay away from me. Just s the bastard is born happy, so I want to be lucky. Let me stay alive, clean and sacred like the stars in the sky and the morning dew.��� This amulet is sewn into the man’s clothing or he can carry it wrapped in something in his pocket.

Corinne Boyer - Under the Witching Tree: A Folk Grimoire of Tree Lore and Practicum

[derelicthorror]

fiberglass fragments

[or, scraps and snips abt tenno operator corinn shinoda and her strange proto-armor excalibur frame.]

The more she listens, these days, the more her Warframe exudes an acute sense of exhaustion; it isn't unkind, but he does seem almost permanently wounded even in his nobility; a perfect mirror with a hairline fracture marring the whole.

Her Warframe is very stubborn, and he is very principled, but above these things he is very, very tired.

She wonders just a little at what could have made this spent soldier push himself so far past his limit in order to save her life.

-

Before I woke up, I thought I was Excalibur.

Me. You thought you were me.

-

He exudes more and more personality every day, she thinks, and it has her biting her cheek and stifling a soft laugh to think that, yes, he's been every bit as sick of the Infestation as she figured him to be.

Great. The thought is decidedly not hers, and drips with dismay at the sight of the blinking details on the Orbiter's nav system. Mercury.

If he could, she thinks, he would be grimacing - rubbing his temples, long-suffering.

"Should I tag in Octavia instead?" Shinoda asks, and he meets her suggestion with a distinct pulse of resigned disagreement.

No. Better I watch your back down there than worry up here.

It's unclear whether it's a testament to their close bond or his profound mistrust in her abilities, but it warms her all the same.

-

She wonders sometimes at exactly who it is sealed up in this ancient proto-armor, but at her curiosity, he seems to shrink back. Like it doesn't matter. Like he doesn't want it to matter.

He wears a calm nobility, gliding from mission to mission with ease, and it's a long time before she realizes that it is only the product of vigorous discipline and years and years of practice.

Wasn't like that before. I wasn't nice.

Well, you definitely are now, noble Excalibur, she thinks back, simple. An image comes to her as she speaks, of laughing Ostron children showing off their matching masks, clinging from his arms. Whoever he had been, now he was one of the faces of Tenno might and honor, and little kids adored him.

He gives her a mental sigh at this, tempered with maybe the slightest bloom of humor.

-

He makes observations, shows subtle responses, to the myriad acts of hubris they witness. There is distaste lingering on the edges of her subconscious when it comes to the topic of Alad V, his infestation, his tactical gambles. She wonders if this is part of why he recoils on instinct upon seeing Infested, what sorts of things he’s able to recall.

Lasria made the same mistakes, thinks Excalibur, absent-minded, and Shinoda takes a second to be floored, that he is so ancient that even her mother - archeologist, philologist - had never encountered the name.

She wonders about it, later on, and it’s as if he doesn’t recall it at all.

[gefdreamsofthesea]

I am reading Under the Witching Tree by Corinne Boyer. It's a book about tree folklore and one of her sources has instructions for a charm called a "Military Hazelnut" which are supposed to protect men going to war. It involves stripping naked and picking the flowers of a hazel branch with your butt. Then you stick the flowers and a bunch of other things (including mercury and a nail clipping from a bastard) and then wear the nut.

I guess if you're going off to war you might be desperate enough to pick flowers with your butt.