#dido cover

[call-2-arms]

And when we meet Which I'm sure we will All that was there Will be there still I'll let is pass And hold my tongue And you will think That I've moved on

[nonenglishsongs]

Thursday's Covers Day! | Flans - Gracias ("Thank You", Spanish)

[thealexchen]

Big appeal of LIS franchise is the soundtrack for me, was curious which of the games in the franchise have your personal soundtracks? Either generally or like fav to least fav whatever works (:

I LOVE this question. Let me get this out of the way first, I think LiS has the best collection of licensed songs in probably any piece of media, ever. It's such a distinct, special mix of fitting lyrics and memorable moods that these songs set. No matter how many genres they go past indie folk, it all still feels distinctly Life is Strange.

I still think the montage set to "Red" by Mt. Wolf in Life is Strange 2, episode 2 is one of the most underrated in the entire series. The cinematography is unmatched, especially its use of fake depth of field and shaky cam. These montages are sorely missing from the later games!!

"Obstacles" to me feels like the theme song of the series. I really wish the Bae ending wasn't as half-baked as it was, but it fits for the ending. I also love its original usage in the ending montage of episode 1. You can really feel LiS's influences of shows like Twin Peaks (which again, is sorely missing from DE) to mimick these TV montages, and it adds depth to this small setting by showing what the other characters are getting up to and noticing/not noticing the strange snow at the end of the episode.

From BtS, I love the acoustic version of "Taking You There" during the neighborhood scene and Rachel and Chloe's first kiss. It perfectly captures that youthful nervousness, teenage elation, and fragile joy when everything seems perfect, just before the plot plunges into much more intense territory.

From TC, I was disappointed how most of the licensed soundtracks were relegated to Moments of Calm with looping shots or background music, so I really liked "Don't Matter" by Kings of Leon for actually playing during a fun moment. It also adds characterization and depth because it was one of Alex and Gabe's favorite records, and it's beautiful to see them reconnect and be silly together like no time had passed. On the flip side "Thank You" by Dido was used so well for encapsulating the tension, nausea, and dread of Alex desperately trying to drown out her father and brother's arguing in the flashback, and how tragic her broken home life had become since her mother's death.

I wish more people still talked about Captain Spirit because I think DN was absolutely brilliant for making a free sandbox game about Chris before LiS2. I also think they were geniuses for incorporating "Death with Dignity" by Sufjan Stevens throughout the episode: the gentle instrumental opener and different verses at different points, but only if you took the time to explore and piece together Emily's backstory. For example, once you discover the box of photos, then the second verse "I forgive you, Mother..." plays. It's a gentle and melancholic tune that reminds me of Chris himself.

Finally, nothing is quite as iconic as Max stepping out into the hallway, putting in her earbuds, and the title screen emerging with "To All of You" by Syd Matters playing. It's such a perfectly unassuming welcome to a game that will proceed to hurl you upside the head with feels.

Other songs I want to shout-out:

"Kids Will be Skeletons" by Mogwai in LiS1

"Mountains" by Message to Bears in LiS1

"D.A.N.C.E" by Justice in LiS2

"Blister in the Sun" by Violent Femmes (covered by mxmtoon) in TC

"Through the Cellar Door" by Lanterns on the Lake in BtS

"A Hole in the Earth" by Daughter in BtS

"I Don't" by Koda in BtS

"Santa Monica Dream" by Angus & Julia Stone in LiS1

Thank you SO much for asking!!

[catbaiyun]

Tagged by @hypnostallev Thank uu The OC 8 Track Prompt Mix There are a lot of characters from Wh40k as I see hehe But so far I only have one developed original character that I've started actively drawing. (not the protagonist of any games or anything, I mean) Morana the Paleblooded

Morana was only 16 years old when she was turned into a vampire, but by the events of Skyrim she's almost a thousand years old. Because of this, her vibes are quiet, melancholy. But light, because of her youthful appearance. Frieren as a reference might help you understand what I mean. She tries not to drink the blood of intelligent races, limiting herself to animals because she realizes her danger. You could say she's overly kind, merciful, even naive. But because of this, she has met many good people who have accepted her and become close to her.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida ( cover by J.Fla )

The cranberries - Empty

Palaye Royale - LONELY (cover by sonienchen)

River - Anonymouz

Dido - Thank You

Boadicea - Enya

Atomic Heart - Прекрасное Далёко

Мельница — Любовь ��о время зимы But yeah, since that's case, I made Pandora's mix as well. :333

Pandora von Valancius - Rogue trader

Funny how she's the exact opposite of Morana.

When I first started playing RT I was like, “Okay. I want to play as a femme fatale character for the first time in my life. It's time.” And yeah. The game totally allows for it and it's fucking awesome.

Pandora is psyker-pyromance and bladedancer, as the cherry on the cake. The way she plays in combat is the same way she behaves in socializing. Bold, brash, sassy, sarcastic. Fire, in a word. But she's not without mercy. But just a little bit. (My roleplaying was in balance between all of convictions lol)

RIELL x Jim Yosef - Animal

Sam Tinnesz-Play with fire

Ricky Martin - Livin' La Vida Loca

Alessandra - Queen Of Kings

Sitar Tan - Flammable and Explosive

House of the Dragon OST - Queen Alicent's Entrance | The Green Dress

Tears into Wine - Billy Talent

Only Us - Miracle Of Sound

Still not sure who to tag, haven't made many social links here yet. ╮(︶▽︶)╭

[missionkitty]

i finally got around to recording a cover of lament of orpheus last night!

i've talked about it in tags, but i'm a classically trained opera singer and i focused on a lot of early/baroque music in college--

when i heard the way darren korb wrote orpheus' and eurydice's songs, it felt very much like henry purcell, whose works i absolutely adore (i was the spirit in purcell's dido and aeneas)

and on top of it all, i was then possessed to draw myself as a shade...i would come to listen to orpheus sing and then find a quiet corner of tartarus to sing by myself...maybe upon hearing him for the first time, i was able to regain some sense of self and look a little less faceless

aNYWAY i hope you listen and enjoy. i'm no darren korb, but i definitely had fun singing and teaching myself a bit about sound production in the process

[infiniteeight8]

I don't know if you watch White flage from

Dido MV or no, please if you didn't watch it and write an ironstrange but make it crack !

Thanks !

I had not previously seen the music video, although the song was familiar once it started playing.

I, uh, didn’t stick very close to the song. At all. Pretty much pulled one line and ran with it. You said make it crack, so this is what you get. LOL.

-

“Are you aware that some of your fans are writing fan fiction about you?” the interviewer asked, half smiling like she thought she was about to get some juicy reactions. And she was. Just not the ones she was expecting.

Steve, Sam, and Carol groaned loudly while Bucky and Stephen just shook their heads. Natasha shot Steve an unsympathetic look. “You had to know this would happen eventually.”

“Is it wrong to hope?” Steve said.

Tony, meanwhile, cackled like a madman. “Why, yes, I am,” he replied gleefully. “And while the quality of much of it is impressive, and I’m very gratified by the authors’ evaluation of my sexual prowess—” he winked at the camera, “spot on, good job, keep at it—I have a bone to pick with shippers.”

“The–”

Tony cut the interviewer off mercilessly. “Steve Rogers?” he demanded. “My most popular pairing is with Steve?” He turned briefly toward Steve. “No offense.”

“None taken,” Steve said tiredly. 

Tony turned back to the interviewer. “Completely aside from the fact that we’re not remotely compatible,” Tony went on, “his most popular pairing is with Bucky. Which is great! They actually work together. But more importantly, I am not second place!”

The interviewer’s mouth opened and closed for a stunned moment. “Then who–”

“I am so glad you asked,” Tony said, rubbing his hands together and grinning. “It’s got a canonical enemies to lovers arc–”

“‘Enemies’ is a little strong,” Stephen said, amused. 

“–it’s got opposites attracting,” Tony went on, “it’s got style, and, most important of all, it’s got excellent facial hair.” Tony waved his hands towards Stephen like Vanna White unveiling a prize.

“To be fair to the authors,” the interviewer rallied, “you and Doctor Strange really haven’t interacted much in the public eye.”

“Why do you think I agreed to this press tour?”

“That’s why you agreed?” Natasha burst out.

Sam covers his face with one hand. “This explains so much.”

“You don’t think that’s going a little too far?” Carol asked, amused.

Tony raised one finger. “I will go down with this ship!”

Stephen patted him on the knee. “And I appreciate that.”

“You realize that’s just going to encourage him, right?” Bucky said.

Stephen smirked.

[spookyji]

# 24 days with jjunie !! birthday event

hosted by mille (@majestyjun), inviting any 18+ writer who wants to celebrate the days leading up to yeonjun’s birthday on 9/13 <3

# overview

for 24 days (bc he’s 24 this year), one drabble a day by a different writer (unclaimed days will be filled by me)! all drabbles will be linked to a calendar style masterlist for every day until 9/13~! this event will run from 8/19-9/12 (est)

comment to claim a date. do not claim the same date as someone else, it’s first come first claim. claims close on 8/19, and day 1 is 8/20. day 24 is 9/12. you can claim any day between as long as it is unclaimed in the comments. tag your favorite writers or mutuals if they’d be interested in participating!

tag me on your drabble on the chosen date and i’ll add it to a master list, i’ll be publishing the m.list on 8/19 with users + dates so everyone can find the writer of the day !

rules + guidelines beneath the cut !!

# rules + guidelines

to participate, you must be a writer over 18 (as an 18+ blog, i’m not comfortable interacting w blogs underage). you don’t necessarily have to write smut tho!

depending on the number of participating writers, it is first come first claim for dates. unclaimed dates will be covered by me~~ please claim from 1-2 days depending on your comfort, and please choose a specific date to write for.

drabbles don’t have to be birthday themed, the event is just to have a way to celebrate leading up to his bday~~

if you are unable to fulfill your given date, please let me know ahead of time so i can cover !! it’s okay to back out, but please let me know in advance and not on that specific date !!

if you choose to write smut, you cannot write incxst, rxpe, pxdophilia, nxcrophilia, underage, or anything illegal. there are no exceptions to this rule. you will be expelled + blocked if you choose to write one of these.

let’s have fun with this~! be respectful and nice, please make sure to communicate with me if there are problems, it’s always okay if you can’t make it bc fr life is so hard ugh LOL and lmk if you swap dates w other writers so i can keep track of it all~~

lol if this flops i’m writing 24 drabble days watch me ahaha

# claimed days

8/20 - @nightlytyuns

8/21 - @wayhometogyu

8/22 - @dido-of-the-endless

8/23 - @hyewka

8/24 - @wayhometogyu

8/26 - @yo-yo-yeonjun

8/27 - @ttyunz

8/28 - @bibibinnie

8/31 - @dinoyuv

9/1 - @napofamoon

9/2 - @moadreams

9/3 - @huckleberrykai

9/4 - @moadreams

9/5 - @boba-beom

9/6 - @silvergyus

9/7 - @hyewka

9/8 - @banggyu0308

9/9 - @agustdiv1ne

9/10 - @hyuk4ngel

9/12 - @junniieesbby

20/24 check comments !!

[funeral]

Nothing can stop the wind. Least of all a branch of willow that weeps on the riverbank!

In vain, in vain I ran wildly, disheveled, on the steaming sand.

I tore at my heart, out of it black doves flew in droves. Until nightfall I remained motionless as a rock under the brutal pounding of the waves.

Observe: on returning home I no longer recognize myself. I find my house razed by the furies. I walk along roads covered only by a veil torn from shame; with only a band of despair circling my temples. And madness, a monotonous buzzing about me, pursues with the sting of a gadfly.

My friends watch through the veil of their tears; my kinsmen turn away their faces. Because misfortune is not a spectacle for all to contemplate.

Rosario Castellanos, “Lamentación de Dido”

[violethowler]

Thoughts on Atlas and Adrius

One of the things I realized while reading Light Bringer is that Atlas is a foil of The Jackal.

Both of them are Golds from families dating back to the Conquering, who oppose Darrow and have reputations for brutal and/or depraved methods – Atlas with his impaling of Republic soldiers on Mercury and ordering his Gorgons to rape Darrow in DA, The Jackal with his cannibalism.

Both are aligned with The Society but have their own faction of loyal followers – the Gorgons and the Boneriders – and even their own ostensible allies dislike and/or fear them.

Each of their respective groups also survived a harrowing experience together cut off from civilization – The Jackal and his Boneriders survived being buried underground together at The Institute, while Atlas and the Gorgons survived being marooned in the Kuiper belt in an endless guerilla war against the Ascomanni.

Both of them specialize in psychological warfare and manipulation – Adrius with his media ownership and things like MS mentioning him deliberately trying to make Darrow think Virginia betrayed him before he puts Darrow in The Box. Atlas with how he lured the Rim into the war and sent Xenophon to lead Sefi away from the Republic, etc.

Both of them also deliberately associate their factions with imagery designed to evoke fear and/or disgust – Atlas having his and the Gorgons’ armor covered in the faces of screaming children, Adrius and the Boneriders wearing the bones of their fallen enemies.

Both of them grow up separated from their siblings after the age of ten, and play a direct role in orchestrating the circumstances that lead to one of their older brothers’ deaths – Adrius paid Karnus to “sully” Claudius’s girlfriend, knowing that Claudius would challenge Karnus to a duel and get killed. Atlas used The Syndicate to sell the footage of Darrow destroying the docks to the Rim, which led to Dido’s coup and Romulus’ subsequent trial and death.

Both of them betray the family they were born into – Atlas with his attack on the Rim in LB, Adrius with the triumph massacre in GS – as well as the Gold they are allied with to carry out said initial betrayal – Atlas decides to betray Atalantia by putting Lysander in the role of his savior of the Rim plan, and Adrius attempts to usurp Octavia.

Both of them stab their ostensible allies in the back after they achieve victory in a battle around Mars – Adrius orchestrated the Triumph massacre at the end of GS after Darrow’s Iron Rain, Atlas launched his attack on the Rim after Lysander took control of Phobos.

Both of them also exterminate all but a limited number of a major Gold house of The Conquering and pin the blame on another party before the deception is eventually exposed and the aggrieved party changes sides to fight alongside Darrow against The Society: The Boneriders massacre all of House Bellona except Cassius and Julia and pin the blame on Darrow, with the discovery of the truth being used to flip Cassius over to Darrow’s side in MS. The Ascomanni invasion of the Rim was painted as the work of an independent warlord with no ties to either Darrow or the Society, but Diomedes and Darrow expose his involvement and flip not only the the Rim but also the Volk to the Republic’s side.

Both of them are killed in the third book of their respective part of the Saga without Darrow ever facing either of them in a direct one-on-one fight (at least not on-page in Atlas’ case. Who knows what happened during the war pre-IG).

And on top of all that, both of their factions demonstrate such a deep degree of loyalty that they’re willing to carry out their orders even after they die – Lilath and the Boneriders keep going with the plans to clone Adrius and place The Abomination as emperor of Luna even a decade after death. Meanwhile the constant references in LB to how Atlas “may be mortal but his work is not”, and that he trusts his operatives so much that they operate in Ilium on a perfect coms blackout, makes it extremely likely that Atlas has prepared contingency plans for the Gorgons to follow in case of his own demise just like The Jackal did.

But Adrius was only focused on himself and his own desires and glory, doing everything he did for either survival or personal gain. Neither he nor his Boneriders had any cause beyond doing whatever the hell they wanted, while Atlas and the Gorgons had a cause and did everything they did because they genuinely believe in the preservation and restoration of The Society as an institution.

Meanwhile the most prominent of their followers – both of whom use the same “horde of locusts” imagery to scramble their hologram appearances on comms – make deviations from Atlas and Adrius’s plans because of their own personal biases. Lilath edited parts of the information about The Jackal given to the clone because the reality of Adrius’s life and upbringing didn’t fit her personal image of him. Meanwhile Vagnar spares Thalia despite Atlas’s orders because of his own attachment to Volga and desire for his granddaughter to love him.

But unlike Lilath, whose decision fundamentally altars the Abomination’s psychological development, Vagnar’s deviations have no serious impact on the larger goal. If not for Lysander deciding to keep her as a potential future marriage option, all Vagnar would’ve done was buy Thalia a few extra days or life with no impact on the Gorgons’ larger plans whatsoever.

[maislovebot]

Thank you

Sigma x reader

(I was trying to come up with a title and realized Thank You by Dido fits this whole scenario sooo well. You should give it a listen!)

A request from my lovely mutual:3 I hope it’s to your liking!!

Contains: gn!reader, drabble, domestic fluff, established relationship, tooth rotting fluff, it gets a littleee suggestive but I don’t even count it, Sigma’s just shy about getting changed in front of you

You were relaxing in your bedroom towards the back of the casino. It was beautiful, covered from head to toe in big windows and large beds and silk furniture, very classy. The only problem was that Sigma wasn’t here with you! You understood it was because of all his busy work, but that doesn’t stop it from being demotivating. Oh the things you would do to sit with Sigma in your large, fluffy bed instead of sitting in it alone most nights.

Sigma does normally share the bed with you at some point, but he doesn’t typically get to bed until long after you’ve fallen asleep. Tonight was different though, as you heard the keys jingling in the deadbolt that lead to your bedroom. You perked up, knowing it was Sigma. You walked up towards the door, and Sigma giggled once he opened it and saw you in your comfy pajamas.

“Hey,” Sigma sighed, “I’m back.”

“Are you tired?”

“A little..”

You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, slowly swaying back and forth.

“Too tired to spend time with me?”

“Never.”

Now that’s what you wanted to hear! You guided Sigma towards the bathroom, taking off his blazer and his belt.

“I already showered, so I’ll meet you outside!”

You walked to the door, shutting it and sitting on the bed. You sat down on the bed for a few moments, brainstorming. What will help him relax? You thought.

You decided on tea.

You were in the kitchen, swaying your hips and holding two mugs in your hands when you heard the shower curtain being pushed back and the bathroom door opening. Sigma walked down to your bedroom, with you slowly trailing behind him.

“You look pretty..” you said.

“I could say the same about you.”

You smiled at his compliment and walked over to your shared closet, digging through it for some comfortable pajamas for Sigma.

“Is this okay?” You asked, holding up a pink long sleeve and black silky pants. You swore he didn’t own any dark colors, outside of the occasional black accent piece or blazer.

Sigma nodded, walking over to you and getting dressed in his soft silky pajamas. He was covering himself to the best of his abilities with his towel. You laughed at how shy Sigma was about it, despite you two being in a rather long term relationship.

As Sigma was getting changed, you flitted towards the small kitchen, bringing the tea to him and setting it on his nightstand. Sigma’s eyes softened at this, and he carried himself over and reached over you to get the tea.

“Want me to brush your hair?” You asked.

Sigma nodded, moving to the edge of the bed, sitting on the floor as you grabbed the hairbrush and began brushing through his long hair. His hair was wet, so you took his blow dryer and put it on the lightest setting while he sipped his tea here and there. You kept brushing his hair, scratching his scalp and rubbing his shoulders every so often.

Once you were finished, Sigma grabbed the hairbrush from your hand and moved onto the bed, your back facing him. He wrapped his legs around your waist, locking you in place, a habit of his.

Sigma finished brushing your hair and left small kisses along the backs of your shoulders. He wrapped his arms around you and slid you up to the top of the bed, lifting the covers up and over you.

“Thank you.” Sigma mumbled as you fell asleep.

Wc - 0.5k

[afteriwake]

Fanmix for "Heart'Bit'-Burner" by Xenakis

This fanmix for "Heart'Bit'-Burner" was made for the @wipbigbang 2024 round.

Dutch Melrose, "RUNRUNRUN" | t.A.T.u., "All The Things She Said (Rusty Hook Remix)" | My Chemical Romance, "I Don't Love You" | S.J. Tucker, "Don't Get My Hopes Up" | Crusher-P, "Again" | Blackbriar, "Until Eternity" | Morat, "De Cero" | Cyndi Lauper, "Time After Time" | Richard Marx, "Right Here Waiting" | Dido, "Here With Me" | Jonah Baker feat. Celine, "Die With A Smile (Acoustic Cover)"

AO3 | DOWNLOAD | 8TRACKS (coming soon)

[justforbooks]

After the Funeral by Tessa Hadley

Class and character are sharply observed in this immersive collection

Tessa Hadley presents everything as fine at the front while it comes apart comprehensively at the back. The dozen short stories that comprise After the Funeral, her absorbing and thoroughly readable fourth collection, manage with a quiet dexterity the emotional situations that promote this kind of undoing.

Lynette, central character of Dido’s Lament, bumps into – or is bumped into by – Toby, her ex of many years. The collision, and what they make of it, will maintain a certain ambivalence. Who actually bumped into whom? Which of them, if either, has recovered from the damage they did one another in the past? Elsewhere it’s a different story, although as a story Old Friends occupies the same carefully curated kind of space: Christopher and Sally are made for one another – “she fitted into the shape of his own serious nature like a nut in its nutshell”. But Sally is still married to celebrity BBC war correspondent Frank, so she decides they’ll have to wait. Christopher isn’t sure what they are waiting for exactly, while the “whole exaggerated scale of Frank’s personal operation” continues to draw in everyone else “like a baggage train dragged after some showy emperor”.

That use of “personal operation” to describe a familiar kind of energetically middle-aged male narcissism sums up Hadley’s talent: the ruthless analysis of unstable situations, and of how we maintain them while we extract their resources. Her unpicking of character is focused, intense and yet always, somehow, in parallel, kind. What it does best is produce in the reader exactly what she offers her characters, for a sickening moment or two, in each story: a vast, difficult, unruly elation. For this to work, they need to arrive in front of us with comprehensive histories.

They’re often mature survivors of the 1970s or the children of those survivors: lecturers, musicians, civil servants, writers, comfortably off, less comfortably self-aware. Angie, for instance, has “escaped” a “posh county family” while Sally does “something or other part-time for the British Council”. Your overall impression – perhaps unfair – is that they have settled somewhere between Bristol and the Cotswolds in shabbily expensive old houses. The author lays off them a little but details their floor coverings and kitchen tables in gleeful closeup. They’re at ease enough with their class to enjoy the way someone holds a fork (“the poised, elegant angle of her wrist and her rather big tanned hand”). They support an affective regime in which everything from sex to nice cooking is a performance, a controllable resource that can be withdrawn instantly, “like a favour they were bored with proffering”. It’s not that the stories can’t be told without these densely worked characteristics of theirs, more that the character is the story. Often, perhaps, too obviously. Children at Chess, a study not much more than three pages long, remains unstorified by the strange little point-of-view flip in its last paragraph – although similar brisk redirections of readerly gaze are used successfully elsewhere to finesse endings that combine delicacy and horsepower.

A Hadley story will often require an outsider, or at least someone who thinks of themselves as an outsider – someone who performs that role not so much for us, the readers, but to and for the other characters. Difference is to be cherished, from the ad hoc hippy rituals of My Mother’s Wedding through the faddy diet and spectacular dissociation of Robyn, titular child of Funny Little Snake, to the cast of The Bunty Club, in which three middle-aged sisters still unconsciously await the “all transforming mystery” hinted at by their ramshackle childhood in a house by the sea. Adults who don’t fully remember an odd upbringing are still trying to find somewhere to fit in while their hearts seem to understand that childhood long ago shaped their adult circumstances. You could find this conclusion banal, but the author’s deft switches from comedy to drama won’t permit it. Sometimes a kind of gothic is required to turn the trick: there are pungent, luxurious descriptions of magic gardens, magic houses, magic families, and especially of magic interiors in which something’s not quite right – though never visibly wrong. Rain “comes sluicing” across big windows, wheelie bins blow over, rooms are either “greenish and spectral or bleak with the lights on in the middle of the day”. The disaster is sensed, if never quite consummated.

And anyway, down the road somewhere another story is always already fermenting. In Men, two women called Jan and Michelle find themselves in a hotel bar. They are sisters, but in the Hadley way: that is, they haven’t set eyes on one another for 15 years. We want to know why. Beautiful Jan is “tall and serene, and pale”. Michelle works in the hotel office, never was beautiful, has “a little pasty face as soft as putty”. She’s instantly aware of her sister’s presence, “like an animal picking up a scent, a smear of something rank”. The men, meanwhile, unaware of this suddenly resumed, weirdly tense relationship, are loud and middle-aged; stand easily at the bar, relaxing into their money.

What’s revealed before the story ends might change something, even for them, smug as they are. More likely, it will make a small but significant adjustment in the reader’s view of the world. In a 2007 review of Hadley’s first collection, Anne Enright described her as “immensely subversive” – a judgment that has only gathered force since. Whatever Hadley’s characters believe about themselves, they’re always working hard for change, striving, consciously or otherwise, to knock the props out from under whatever life they’re leading.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[holycatsandrabbits]

So excited to get my author copy of Anna Karenina Isn't Dead!

The anthology

Welcome to the rewritten lives of thirty-two literary legends

From Russia’s Anna Karenina to Vietnam’s Lady Trieu, from Cio-Cio-San to Frankenstein's second creature, suffering, madness, or death is the fate of far too many women in classic literature. Anna Karenina Isn’t Dead undoes that.

In this anthology of literary women, these women live. Do they have a happily ever after? You’ll see. Do they have a happy-right-now? Oh yes.

These are the reimagined tales of the famous, the infamous, the barely mentioned women in myths, poems, and legends. These are the stories of the Lady in Black, Wendy Darling, Dido, and many more, each getting a better journey than the one she originally got.

Here Anna Karenina and her literary kin are not dead. Very far from it.

Edited by @atlinmerrick ; Cover artwork by Claudia Caranfa

My story

My mother and I loved the poem “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes, and I jumped at the chance to write Bess a better ending. In my story “Love Knot,” I gave her five minutes’ notice of the soldiers’ arrival, and she did the rest.

King George’s men saw Samuel only as a highwayman, a rogue, a thief. They knew his rich clothes, but not how they smelled of sun and sweat and the cold road. They knew the weapons beneath his coat, but not how he liked to use his rapier to cut apples from a tree, how he would flash his shiny pistols at the children who gathered to hear his stories of daring battles for yellow gold. They knew he’d given a confession of love to Bess. They didn’t know what it had sounded like in the earnest voice of a boy who was then only eight years old.

Order here

AO3 ~ DannyeChase.com ~ Linktree ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Women & Songs 4 2000 Adult Alternative / Singer-Songwriter / Pop / Adult Contemporary / Dance-Pop / R&B / Country-Pop

Me, sitting in a packed boardroom in the Canadian offices of Warner Elektra Atlantic in ~1997:

"OK, OK, hold on, hold on, wait..."

*closes eyes and lightly pinches bridge of nose with thumb and index finger*

"I just got this brilliant fuckin' idea."

*takes an enormous bong rip and then exhales while gathering thoughts*

"OK, so, y'know, like...people...they love women, right? But another thing that they also love is songs too, right? So, like...see if you can follow me here...what if, like, we took women, but then, like, what if we also took songs...and then, like, what if we somehow managed to...put them both together...?!? 🤔🤯"

*The CEO of the company takes the stubby cigar from his mouth and places it in his ashtray. He then removes his glasses, gently places them on the table, and rubs his eyes a few times as he carefully mulls over what I've just said. He then gets up out of his seat while a grin starts to form on his face, and proceeds to clap slowly, with each successive clap coming more quickly than the previous one, which then leads to a universal round of applause and standing ovation from everyone else in the room. The CEO then pulls me aside and says the following into my ear...*

"See, RV, this is why we're paying you the big bucks."

*He shakes my hand vigorously and then proceeds to give me a million dollars 😀*

---

Y'know, I've posted *a lot* about *a lot* of different compilations over the years, but the first installment in Canada's Women & Songs series is one that's probably going to stick with me until the day that I die; not because it presents a terrific encapsulation of the female singer-songwriter boom of the mid-to-late 90s—which it so totally does—but because of the plainly awful and absurdly low effort that went into both naming and packaging it. It's like, you'd think it was being put out by someone who had just decided to invest in a CD burner and then sell their own bootleg releases that'd been comprised of songs that they'd downloaded off of Napster or something; but no—this shit *actually* came from the greenbacked behemoth that was WARNER ELEKTRA ATLANTIC instead! And for whatever reason, the folks there *really* couldn't be bothered to spare a few more bucks or literally thirty seconds to come up with something that was even a little slightly better than Women & Songs and these atrocious album covers. It's really all just so ridiculous when you think about it, and because of that, it's also very unforgettable as well.

But anyhoo, just like its first volume, this fourth one from the series is really nothing short of excellent too, as it provides a fantastic and diverse array of female-led gems that had specifically been lighting up the Canadian charts in some capacity dating back to 1996. We've got superstar divas like Janet Jackson, Toni Braxton, Tina Turner, Madonna, and Whitney Houston; we've got the country-pop stylings of Faith Hill and LeAnn Rimes; we've got summer romcom staple "Breathless" by The Corrs, one of the single-greatest radio pop songs of the 90s in Natalie Imbruglia's version of "Torn"—believe it or not, she was actually, like, the fourth person to record and release that song—we've got Tracy Chapman, Veruca Salt's Nina Gordon on a well-translated adult alternative tip (anyone else remember "Volcano Girls"?), teen poppers All Saints, and we've also got Dido's "Here With Me," which was co-produced by none other than the great Rick Nowels, a guy whose own exploits have somewhat quietly managed to enrich the careers of so many other female pop stars too, from Stevie Nicks, to Belinda Carlisle, to Celine Dion, to Adele, to Alessia Cara, to Dua Lipa, to Lykke Li, to FKA Twigs, to Madonna, and Lana Del Rey 😯.

But because the Canadian music industry itself has a natural inclination to insularly market and promote a lot of the country's very own artists, there's also a showcase of some really talented women on here whose names you probably wouldn't recognize unless you were Canadian yourself; and that's a bit of a shame, because Pickering, Ontario's own Sarah Slean, for instance, really brings it with a beautifully woven and rich tapestry called "High," which first appeared on her independently released debut album, Blue Parade, in 1998. Trust me when I say this: if you really love all those singing-songwriting ladies of the 90s, like Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, Paula Cole, Jewel, Tori Amos, etc., you're gonna wanna hear this Sarah Slean song as well, because while it's definitely in a similar vein to all of those women, it's also pretty uniquely wonderful too 👍.

And speaking of Sarahs, I usually don't go for classical crossover-type fare, but Sarah Brightman's rendition of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" here is especially lovely. It's a highly effective combination of her own soprano, a lush arrangement of orchestral strings, and an unexpected infusion of a contemporarily cinematic trip hop-type of drum beat that really manages to satisfyingly bring the whole thing together. Awesome, and dare I say, (le) epic, stuff.

And I can't leave here without briefly marveling over Whitney Houston's "My Love Is Your Love" too, which Wyclef Jean and his frequent collaborator Jerry Duplessis lent their own subdued Fugees production style to back in 1999. Such a beautiful collaboration with that one, the likes of which I'm not sure that we've ever really heard anything similar to since. Maybe my favorite song on this entire album 😊.

So, in conclusion, women and songs are both great on their own, but once again, as the wea conglomerate has shown us, when you actually decide to combine 'em, it can really yield something special. And I know it's kind of a wild concept that might be a bit difficult to grasp at first, but I think if you give this thing a shot, you'll be able to hear a lot of the mid-90s-to-y2k greatness that came as a result of this purely abstract, out-of-the-box thinking. A bunch of quality music on here, and with some focus specifically put on Canada too, but just make sure to do yourself a favor and skip over the totally uninspired opening that is Madonna's cover of Don McLean's "American Pie," because that thing is BAD.

Highlights:

Faith Hill - "Breathe" The Corrs - "Breathless" Chantal Kreviazuk - "Before You" Janet Jackson - "Together Again" Natalie Imbruglia - "Torn" Tracy Chapman - "Telling Stories" All Saints - "Pure Shores" Toni Braxton - "You're Making Me High" Dido - "Here With Me" Nina Gordon - "Tonight and the Rest of My Life" LeAnn Rimes - "How Do I Live" Tara MacLean - "If I Fall" Whitney Houston - "My Love Is Your Love" Sarah Slean - "High" Sarah Brightman - "A Whiter Shade of Pale"

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Jeff Buckley Meltdown Festival 1995 (full show)

Meltdown Festival Program 23 June - 1 July 1995 (England) Saturday 1 July Queen Elizabeth Hall 8pm

THE SONG Part 3 Glad to be Unhappy

-June Tabor -Elvis Costello -Jeff Buckley -Steve Nieve -Marc Ribot

... "The tone of Part 3 is defined by the Rodgers and Hart song Glad to be Unhappy, epitomising the beautiful melancholy of this final set".

1. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 2. Grace 3. Corpus Christi Carol 4. Dido's Lament

Ian Bolton, violin Philip Shepard, cello Catherine Edwards, piano

Jeff played the last day of the festival.

Note: I believe they forgot to include the song The Other Woman, a Nina Simone cover.

[joannaliceevans-fanficblog]

Phone Sex

Warnings: There is mentions of phone sex. Blow jobs, dildos.

Didn't say I warned you.

Ari Levinson x Wife Reader

It was late at night, in this cool fall London evening. Ari paid the taxi driver and headed inside the hotel he's staying at. As he walked in, he noticed a lot of beautiful women staring at him.

Giving them a polite smile and wave, Ari just headed to the elevators and pressed the 9th floor. Once the door dinged, he got out and headed to his room.

Closing the door behind him, stretching his tired muscles. He collapsed onto the bed. But as he did, there was something missing. A warm body, the steam and the body shampoo of roses flowing out bathroom.

You, it was you that he was missing. His ring, on his left hand glowed in the dark, and it reminded him of you.

You were back home, left behind and taking care of the family. He missed you. Rolling over to his back, he looked at the ceiling.

He let the your images flow through his mind, letting you take over his mind.

The more he thought of you, the more he needed you. Ari laid down for a few more minutes, until a thought hit him. He quickly got up, grabbing his phone with him and headed to the bathroom.

**

Ari looked at himself in the mirror and smiled. He knew that you would like this, because he would always catch you looking at him, when he got out the shower.

And of course the same with him. Even with having 3 kids (5, 3, and 3 month old) you are still the most sexiest woman.

**

In bed, after placing all threw kids down, you let out a long tired sigh. A loud vibration came and you looked to the side to see your phone light up. You swiped the screen to see your husband's name. You smiled and received the message.

The moment you do, your whole body went on fire. His bare chest and hair, his strong muscles arms, and his thick beard. Just staring at him, was getting you wet.

So, you called him right away. And it didn't take long, and Ari picked up on the second ring.

"Hey honey."

"Ari, your a menace."

You knew that was a smile over the phone.

"Oh am I? What did I do?"

"Oh you know, sending me spicy naked pics."

"I did nooo such thing honey. Maybe you have a stalker."

You laughed, "Oh I do? Okay, so I'll just rub myself tonight, looking at this hot stalker."

Ari's famous laugh came, and you laughed with him.

"So, what are you going to do?" Ari asked. You bit your bottom lip, and your hand went down your waist. You finger tips, went around your covered pussy, and you let out a small moan.

"Going to crawl between you, and lick my tongue over your cock." You moaned, while your hand, slowly rubbed against your now harden pearl.

"Baby, grab your toy from the drawer. I want to fuck you."

And you didn't waste any time and quickly grabbed it. You then had your legs spread, and you started to rub the toy around your moist pussy. Getting the juices.

"Ari, I need you."

"Okay honey, put it in. Thrust it nice and hard, just how I fuck you in bed. Imagine, my cock, hitting your walls. Tell me how you like it baby."

"Fuck Ari, so good! Fuck me!" You nearly yelled.

"That's it honey, I'm almost there. Moan for me honey. Want my cum? Want me to fuck a another baby in you? You like that, huh? Keep you nice and round?"

"Yes, fuck me-" Was all you can get out, as your walls began to tighten around the dido, and your body started to heat up. Your eyes rolled the back of your head and you let out a loud moan. You collapsed onto the bed, and you can hear Ari panting on the other end.

"Well, I do have a mess on my hands."

"Damnit, I want some!"

"When I get home honey, then you can suck me anytime."

"Good, cause you owe be big time Mr. Levinson!"