#fun fact! for the most part you can sing the poem to the tune of the pokemon theme song

[bernardellinewsagency]

If I weren't already so busy with other fics, I would absolutely start a new one where Sunday joins the Stellaron Hunters after the events of the Penacony quests, except it's not told from his POV.

It's Robin's.

The story would progress through her having to resume her normal life, despite how upheaved everything has just been. She's supposed to tour throughout the galaxy, continue coming out with more music, star on talk shows and be seen by her fans, none of that can stop jus so that she can process things. She probably wouldn't even know that Sunday joined the Stellaron Hunters until someone else finds out, and surprises her with a question about it during an interview or something.

Sunday's story would be told through the scraps of information she can get, on how she closely watches the bounty that the IPC places on him and how it grows over time, scrambling for any hint of his continued presence in this world that she can find just to know that he's still doing okay. Her memories of him would be interspersed throughout, reflections of the kind and caring brother that she can't quite reconcile with the actions he took (but also probably wouldn't stop blaming herself for. If only she hadn't left, if only the Charmony dove didn't try to fly).

I love doomed sibling relationships in media and yes, I was reading Emily Dickinson's ""Hope" is the thing with feathers" and thinking of these two with the lines "And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard/and sore must be the storm -/that could abash the little Bird/that kept so many warm -" because I was imagining Sunday as the mentioned bird and Robin not understanding how anyone could be mean to him because she's the only one who could even come close to knowing him, she's his sister, she remembers when they were little kids and he made that stage and an audience of stuffed animals for the performance that she still holds closest to her heart. She remembers the brother who wanted what's best for the injured dove, and who agreed with her dreams of wanting to help people. He may have changed, but he will always be her brother, even if every time she hears news about him now she'll have to silently pray to Xipe that it's not going to be about his death.

[mrs-monaghan]

Hi ☺️ you make me happy

Just read your post of Jungkook being the best boyfriend. Can you please make the same for Jimin,,,,?))

Absolutely. It would be my pleasure

Lost diamond is talking about this post.

We can start with a moment I've never seen until 2day....

But we already knew this yes? It's not the first time JK has said Jimin treats him the most. Even during one of the unfortunate moments when JK rated Jimin last, the latter was sure to remind him that he's the one who spends on him the most. So Jimin has always been generous with his baby since the very beginning. Which is why our next moment should come as no surprise.

-Jimin travelling across the world in 2019 for JK's birthday and then doing so again in 2023 for JK's solo debute. Anything for the love of his life it seems. #allthefeels 🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍

Next I just wanna bring this back real quick

(Thanks @chicknbunny13 )

It is not an underrated moment by any means whatsoever. In fact you will see this clip every few weeks on twitter on your timeline. Jikookers love this moment. But, we mostly talk about Jimin feeding JK which it's fine. Really. Its sweet and really nice to see. But all members feed eo it ain't a big deal. So what I like to talk about is what happens before Jimin feeds JK.

JK wants pizza. He stands, looks around, they've ran out so he sits back down. He glances at Jimin's one, but its whatever, pizza is finished. But here's the part I like; Jimin without even looking at JK, just knows what he wants and thats when he feeds him a bite from his own. So either a) He was watching JK on his periphery, or b) He is just that in tune with his boyfriend. I'm going with the latter coz it ain't the first time he's come through for JK even without him asking. That's what sets the moment apart from all the other times members have fed eo.

Next moment that proves how much Jimin loves JK applies to both since it also involves a whipped JK. Analysis time guys. 💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾

This is so fun guys I highly recommend watching it

I went there for this one moment coz I'm a big fan. BTS countdown Jikookery:

JK is the king

and other members are supposed to go appeal to him so he can choose one of them. Jimin of course is very eager

He was adorable saying that. He is calling himself hyung but he's totally baby in that moment 🤭🤭 Suga starts singing this one song and Jimin is the loudest shout-singing how crazy he is for JK

Wbk 💅🏾😏

He leaves all other members in the dust, in his rush to get to his JK. Eager much? 🤣🤣

While waiting JK closed his eyes and looked so blissful. I didn't fully understand why he was in this state

Or why editors put a heart there 😂 so I chose to read that as him praying and hoping his baby gets to him first 😌😌

Since Jimin took off before the others, of course he arrives first

So now JK has 3 options; suga, jimin or rm

Suga makes his case

Jimin wants to make his case with this one thing and JK is ready and waiting

But Jimin only gets to say one word:

Before Suga tramples all over his pitch

So in the end Jimin doesn't even make his case 🤭

RM then makes his case by way of poem

And now its time for the King to pick his partner

Remember Namgi both had chances to appeal to JK and why he should choose them. While Jimin essentially said nothing. So.... the king makes his choice.

But of course 😌😌😌

Editors with the hearts thou 🤭🤭

Jimin was really happy that JK chose him. 🥺🥺 However, anyone who really pays attention to JK during BTS games could have predicted who he would choose 🤭🤭 This is definitely a whipped JK moment seeing as Jimin won unfairly. Definitely some boyfriend privilege involved here. He he heee.

Members play the game and Jikook proceed to win

At some point JK raps and Jimin praises him immediately

If you've ever noticed Jimin praises JK ALOT. I would say he praises JK the most. He is always telling us how good JK is, how talented, how he's good he is at everything. Even though we already know. Jimin never hesitates to praise JK and I for one love to see it. Most recent being the flying yoga episode when first thing he said was how good JK was gonna be at it

Even though we all know he was the king of said flying yoga. Jimin seems to be extremely proud of JK's talents and prowess. Here we saw him drooling over JK bungee jumping so yeah... he definitely likes that JK is so good. Jimin has always been super proud to have JK as his boyfriend. Its a shame antis don't care to see it.

Another thing that shows how much Jimin loves JK, is always being there for him when he needs comfort

What i love about this moment is that Jimin thought JK was puking when he ran over. And yet the first thing he does is grab JK's face to check on him. Vomit be dammed 🥺🥺🥺

Jimin is always there for the members when they need comfort. Yes. But I love love love how soft he's always been with JK. Remember during summer package when JK wrote a letter for Army and then got emotional? I love how Jimin wrote a poem for him after

"My Jungkook" he said 😭😭😭😭😭

And we haven't even talked about how Jimin has always rubbed the back of JK's neck since time immemorial.

When JK is in distress, when he makes a mistake, when the rest laugh at him, when he's confused, when the others talk over him and introvert JK can't get a word in. Jimin is always there to rub the back of his head to make him feel better since satellite Jikook are always next to eo.

Emotionally supportive Jimin is a huge dynamic in their rlship

That last one brings us to our last point since I've ran out of image space; Protective Jimin that one time Suga did the thing. They were reacting to that last concert and JK who as we all know cries the most was being comforted by Jimin. Once again.

Jin is the one who pointed out that JK was crying.

immediately Suga was like;

Yeah... Jimin wasn't having it. He was like; bro you'd better shut tf up.

Pointed a finger at Suga, his hyung and everything. Suga picks on Jimin all the time. It's the most popular Yoonmin dynamic. And usually Jimin doesn't care. But he drew the line at Suga picking on his bae. 🤭🤭🤭 I love this moment sm!!! He seriously wasn't having it and that was so hot of him 🥵🥵

Look at his adorable worried face 🥺🥺 caught JK right on time too.

These moments are endless really, but i will stop here since there's no room for more imagery. But Jimin really is the best boyfriend and you can tell by JK's loyalty and how JK has always made Jimin his priority. He wouldn't do that, wouldn't be so head over heels if Jimin didn't treat him like a king.

Long live Jikook ✊🏽

[shepard-ram]

Antidote for the Lovesick [Antarctic Empire!Wilbur x Reader]

(Fluff, Not a request: Another one inspired by light anons asks- anyways I'm planning on working on my requests again after this. School will be out for the year soon so I will be writing more in a few weeks!)

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While the Royal family was well known by default, (and fairly well liked as far as monarchies go) none were as popular as the prince second in line for the throne. It seemed he made for the public eye, able to talk himself out of any situation. With the handful of poems and songs that made it to the people rumors and half-jokes that he must be part siren stired around him. There's no doubt that even without his crown he would have made himself an adored public figure.

It doesn't take much thought to see why prince Wilbur was a star in the empire's negotiations. The Emperor himself was a close second but he was often more fussed about internal affairs. The crown prince was intimidating and a genius when it came to battle, but all that confidence melted when it came to social interactions. Meanwhile the youngest prince... let's just say he hadn't developed the filter needed for the job.

So the poet prince sat at the table and charmed his way into countless treaties and alliances. Needless to say he got very friendly with many rulers and ambassadors alike. The more connections the better after all, but it was only a matter of time before the wrong person got a little too attached.

It was a simple meeting with some local nobles, and one enchantress. It could be It's own story. One starting with the prince's usual banter and a crush forming in its wake, but ending in a turned down confession and alot of shouting. By the time he retired to his bed a soon to be revealed curse was taking its hold.

That morning was filled with emotions and panic. At first he wanted to believe it was nothing more than a sore throat. However the more he tried to make any sound the more he was forced to accept what had happened. His voice was turned to a screech akin to a horse being stabbed. He desperately attempted to sing, only producing a sound that sounded as painful was it was to make. He wasn't just silenced, his voice was replaced with the one of dying demons.

His younger brother was the first he ran into. At first the youngest laughed, after all it was one hell of a noise, but he soon realized just how shaken the poet was. From there it was very quick, how the news spread to the rest of the family. The youngest still didn't stop trying to make fun of his brothers situation. But soon the royal doctors where at his bed chambers with whatever potions and medicines that they thought could ease the affliction.

As soon as they came they left without the barest hint of success. As much as the winged Emperor would've preferred to keep this a private matter it was clear they needed as much talent as possible. They needed more ideas and the skills to make a cure to the curse. So an invention spread to every city and almost every town. It was a simple one, explaining the princes condition and offering a hefty reward to anyone who could put an end to it.

This little piece of paper changed your life.

You were a rather young alchemist, specializing in all remedies natural and magical. The money stood out to you more than most. You weren't starving by any means, but no one in your little rural home town was exactly rolling in cash. Before you knew it you were packing up your things and getting the final "good bye"s and "good luck"s from your family and friends as you set off to the capital.

You weren't the first one to try, not at all. In fact you were one of last with the confidence to try. The thing is, you didn't have the herbs you planned to use.

"Why wouldn't you have them ready?!" You understood why the crown prince was on edge, things were looking more and more hopeless with each attempt. You stayed calm and explained it The best you could.

"The plants I need can be very precise with the conditions they need to grow in, and are often conned on the market. I trust my own abilities more than a salesman looking to make a quick buck." You knew your words reached the trio listening to the pitch, so you made your request. "All I need is the space to grow them and time, they'll take about two months at most. Maybe the royal garden?"

They shared a glance, but it seemed they already had the answer decided.

"How much space do you need?"

You quickly got to work, preparing the soil for the medicine and writing down some notes about the exact qualities of the future remedy. By sunset you were tidying up the servants quarters they had provided so you can stay close the growing ingredients.

On one of your first evenings you were tending to the young plants. That was until you heard a heavenly sound drifting from the other side of the garden. At first you just enjoyed the background music while finishing up your current occupation. As soon as you could you put your watering can down you stood up, very eager to track down the source of the wordless lullaby.

It was a painting, the clouds of bushes more than tall enough to hide the silent signer sitting in the middle of them. The grass while not gone completely was worn out, a clear sign the prince sat in the almost enclosed ring often. You stood in the opening of a leafy doorway. Watching in awe as he played a guitar, eye's closed with so much ease you'd believe it was creating the music by itself.

Eventually the music faded, and in a kick of humor you clapped. Startled he jumped to his feet, calming down a little when he saw that you didn't look at all hostile.

"Sorry for the surprise, my prince." You marked with a small bow. You didn't miss the little uncomfortable look that flashed across his face. "But I couldn't help but notice your song, it's absolutely amazing." You offered with a light voice. "I- I get the rumors now." You could tell you caught his interest with that. "Can you play some more for me, these plants grow faster and better with the company of music."

Rather or not that's just a myth you weren't entirely sure, but with a small smile he honored the request. He followed you out of his little hedge room and closer the area you were tending to. Sitting on a nearby bench watching you work on the newest attempt to reclaim his unnatural voice.

"How about I get to know my patient a little?" The music hiccuped in its players curiosity, silently prompting you to continue. "I ask you some questions, yes or no ones. It might be helpful when it comes to fine-tuning this" you gestured to the dirt that would soon be covered with fully grown medicinal plants. In return he gave his first answer, a nod.

Over the days you grew fond of the routine you fell into. Sometimes you would be asking questions, looking up from the garden to catch his answer. Sometimes you would be telling him stories from your home, about the many people who have come to you for remedies. Sometimes there would be no words, just the gorgeous calming sounds of his music. You could both feel how comfortable this was.

"Would you prefer if I called you only Wilbur?"

A happy nod.

Only Wilbur was very different from prince Wilbur. You've always thought of the prince as this fox, prideful and cunning and charming in untrustworthy ways. But only Wilbur wasn't on this higher devine level, he was a person. A person with passions and vulnerabilities. Only Wilbur melted ideas about himself you didn't even realize you harbored. You liked only Wilbur, that was certain.

You made a promise to both yourself and to him that day. You would lift the curse, you had to.

It had been 43 days, the herbs were ready. "Maybe music did make them grow faster" you entertained. It was the only day you were with the plants without Wilbur. He was in his bed chambers so you could focus on brewing.

You looked over your notes thousands of time over. When you took this job you knew it was going to be one of your most important ever, but now you weren't just curing a prince- you were curing a friend. You paused in setting up your equipment. The term friend felt, incorrect with how exactly you felt about Wilbur. You shoved down the thoughts and continued, now was not the time.

Was it hours, or was it a few minutes? You couldn't tell and you didn't care. In a glass bottle you held the product of your labor. Corked and wrapped in many clothes before being nestled in your bag just to be safe. You took a deep breath and set off for Wilburs room.

He hesitated taking the bottle from you, like he had grown attached to his own silence. When he did take the potion it was all still slow and methodical. As if taking the cork off wrong could ruin everything. It felt like your entire body was on stand-by, paused as he downed the entire container. With a small drink of water he waited for a minute.

Then with a little nod from you, he hummed. The simple notes never sounded so rich and deep, filled with over a month of built up thoughts and emotions. Two faces lit up hearing it.

"You- you really did it." Wilbur was so quiet. As if speaking too loudly could break the newly repaired sound.

Then laughter, and the rambling of words that didn't need to make sense. Because you could hear them.

Then a hug, one of so much more than gratitude. One accompanied with an over abundance of "Thank you"s.

"How could I ever make this up to you" He only now slowed down, only enough to take your input.

Looking over at a familiar instrument you gave that input to him, "Can you play some more for me, my prince." He chuckled, a sound that you already loved as he sat back down on the bed with his guitar.

You recognized the song. It backdroped your first siting of him. Only now did you finally hear it in its entirety. It was a love song. Lyrics sweet and sincere and raw all rolled up by the accompanying strumming. When the last cord drifted off he looked at you, eagerly awaiting your response.

"If I understood the rumors then, now I just might be a believer." How much of that was exaggeration, you honestly couldn't say.

"I'm assuming that's good."

"Trust me, it's more than good." Watching as put the instrument back. "You should probably go tell the others the good news. Especially so I can get my money" you added jokingly. With that you got one last hug and thank you before you both left the room.

As you were walking back to your room something hit you. The realization that this was over. You were going to your temporary room and packing up so you could leave. You never expected to bond with the prince this much, and in the moment you regretted it. If only a little. You swallowed the sudden mood shift and started packing.

"Hey where are you going!?" An already familiar excited voice rang out, running towards you.

"I'm getting ready to leave." You said, bluntly.

"Wait, really?" As if he didn't know you weren't moving in permanently. Without thinking he grabbed your arm like you trying to run away. "We're having a big feast tonight, to celebrate your achievement. You should probably be there."

"That sounds great." You could feel the wave of sadness fade off.

"I thought I always sound great." You chuckled.

"I really wish I could deny that."

"No you don't."

"Only because I wouldn't get my money if I could."

"Come on, that's not the only reason."

"Like it's any secret I care about you."

That put an end to his humor, "Here, let's get ready."

[mrpenguinpants]

Venti: Friendship HCs

YES! YES! YES! You’re absolutely beautiful anon, I love friendship HCs. I have yet to get a Venti rq at the time of writing this [I actually have another one that came in yesterday (?) but that one is a bit special].

I wasn’t sure if you meant MC as in a reader or the actual MC [Aether and Lumine]. I still used “you” but if you meant Aether/Lumine just lmk.

Also, these few weeks might be a bit slower since I’ve got major assignment’s coming up.

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Part 2:  Venti and Diluc: Friendship HCs

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Venti: Friendship HCs

If you want this bard to do anything, just run at him with some slime condensate on your hands and he’ll scream bloody murder.  

He likes apples and lively places so whenever he has free time, which is almost all the time, he’s either dragging you to taverns or out to pick apples. If you mention that you needed to buy cheese he might look at you differently.

If you’re both under the Mondstadt tree and just hanging out he might sing you songs or new poems he’s heard. Some of them are old poems or one’s he’s created. Sometimes he’ll just play the lyre as you both listen to the wind rustle the tree’s leaves.

Venti has a rather mischievous attitude and is quite bold so if anyone is giving you a hard time he’ll slide in without fear and insult them. Is the type to stick his tongue out at the offender as he drags you somewhere else.

It sometimes freaks you out when Venti switches to his Wind Archon self and start’s spitting metaphor’s like he’s Shakespeare. But he’ll switch back into his Venti persona and it’s starting to feel like he’s doing it on purpose to make your head spin.

No matter what season or weather, Venti want’s to have fun. If it’s raining then it’s a competition to see who can make the biggest splash. If it’s snowing and too cold to go outside, Venti is going to element burst snow at your face. You should have dodged he says.

He will push you to make friends with Diluc just to feed his wine addiction, even though there’s no way Diluc would let you sample anything. He’ll push your towards Diluc in hopes you’ll distract him enough for Venti to sneak something out but so far it hasn’t worked.

If you ever need a boost to justtt grab that apple or even to reach a jar on the top shelf he’ll skyward sonnet you. Even as paper’s fly or you’ve hit your head he’ll just ehe his way out.

If Venti is taking a bit too many liberties, just threaten that you’ll get a pet cat. He’s allergic to them so he won’t be able to hang out with you but you’ll have a whiny bard yelling at you in public with no shame. It’s not like you would actually do that but it’s nice knowing he appreciates your company. Sadly cat’s seem to like him. You’ll have to pry him away from a tree and telling him that no, cat’s are not vile archon killing beasts.

If we were in modern times he would be the guy that pulls up to a ice-cream shop with kids in the back and order’s for himself only. Best way to avoid Venti stealing hands is to eat something with cheese.

It’s always hilarious when people think he’s underaged even though he’s older than Mondstadt itself. When he turns to you to prove that he is, in fact, of legal age to drink just turn away and pretend you don’t know who this green bard is. I don’t know him officer.  

He’ll make a big deal of you being his disciple and writing songs about you but if you turn him down he’ll get immediately sadden, which is a kick in the heart, and you’ll take it back.

He wants to roam free and experience the world. Now that Dvalin has been saved and Mondstadt has returned to its peaceful life, he insist he must join you in your adventure. He say’s it’s for bard purposes but he might just be a bit lonely.

If you ever mention you would to see someplace in the sky or to be able to fly, Venti will actually treat it quite seriously. If you’d like a feather from an eagle he’ll immediately get one for you. It’s a bit of a somber time with him when he hands it to you but he quickly covers it up.

If you want to learn the lyre he’s actually a good teacher when he want’s to be. Do what you love while you still can. Make the world a place you want to live in.

Then he’ll ruin the mood by asking you to braid his hair.

“You know Venti, your hair is actually really nice,” you commented as you folded blue strands of his hair over each other to create his signature braids. You were both under the huge tree next to the Statue of the Seven. It was one of Venti’s favourite places and it was peaceful. Only occasionally a researcher might stop by but either then that, it was just animals.

“You think so?” Venti asked as he opened one eye to look up at you. He was lying on his back with his head resting on your knee, quietly strumming his lyre. You weren’t sure what tune he was playing but it sounded familiar.

“Yeah, how your hair turns to blue at the tips. It’s a really nice colour. Were you born with hair like this? Is this some special Archon power that gives you colour bending hair?” you chucked at your joke as you tied the end of the braid. There all done.

“We could dye your hair!” Venti exclaimed as he shot upward almost hitting your forehead if you didn’t dodge out of the way. Whenever you’re with Venti you always end up with friendly fire, maybe you’re developing a Venti reflex? Venti looked at you and you could almost see the excitement rushing to his brain

“Um, how?” you asked, you weren’t aware there were ways to dye your hair in Mondstadt. The most you could get was food, flowers, and materials. Maybe you could craft dye?

“Hmm...” Venti thought for a bit, the excitement that had been rushing to his brain started to simmer down. He shrugged in his happy-go-luck manner, “Well, we’ll figure it out! You know Liyue is a lot bigger than Mondstadt, maybe we can find something there?”

“Venti. I’m not letting you play mad scientist with my hair,” you deadpanned, the last time you let Venti “experiment” was with food and your stomach is still crying from that. This would either work or you’ll end up with all your hair burned off if his cooking skills were anything to go off by.

“Aww come on. Don’t you want to be colourful too? Oh, maybe we should make your hair a rainbow wouldn’t that be a sight, come on let’s take a trip to Liyue,” he laughed as he dusted himself off before offering a hand for you to take.

“Won’t you miss Mondstadt?” you took his hand as he pulled you up. He crossed his arms, giving an overexaggerated thinking face.

“Hmm maybe a little bit but I’ve been watching Mondstadt ever since I became an Archon. It doesn’t hurt to venture out and explore. Fly over new heights and see thing’s we’ve never seen before. At least while we still have the freedom to.” Venti smiled softly as his eye’s seemed to be staring at something far away, or maybe he was looking back?  

"Venti...” you started, before quickly taking the end of that sentence back. Venti doesn’t really talk about the past and you didn’t want to ruin the earlier mood, “Alright. Let’s go. No time like the present.”

“Oh, we should take the scenic route. I’ve heard Liyue is especially pretty this time of year. You think Liyue has any good wine? Maybe I can finally stop getting mistaken as a child or-”

You sighed as he kept rambling as you dusted the grass from your clothes. As much as tried to keep a calm face you could feel excitement building in your chest. You grinned as you clenched your hands still and ran past him cutting off his sentence.

“Come on Venti! If you’re too slow I’ll leave you behind!”

“Wha- Hey! That’s not fair! Time out! Time out!”

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Macavity

(WARNING! Macavity has broken every human law! He broke the law of GRAVITY!)

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity… except Moriarty, anyway, since Macavity is pretty explicitly based on Holmes’ greatest foe even as far back as the original poem from T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. But that’s really neither here nor there. Macavity is the “villain” of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s magnum opus, Cats. Villain is of course in quotations because Cats doesn’t even have a plot, so Macavity is really only a villain in the loosest sense, in that his “The Villain Sucks” song describes him as the ultimate evil cat and he does briefly kidnap Old Deuteronomy.

But no one told Tom Hooper this! When he decided to force a plot into a loosely connected showcase of singing, dancing cats, he also had to turn Macavity into a real antagonist! So how did he handle turning the Napoleon of crime, the fiend in feline shape, the monster of depravity, the one and only Macavity into an actual antagonizing force? And how does he stack up to the Macavity of the stage version (specifically the version from the 1998 film)?

Motivation/Goals: It can be surmised from the song that Macavity really just does what he does for kicks. The guy just revels in being evil, and so the real question is why wouldn’t he commit any given crime? On the stage, the evil we see is limited to kidnapping Old Deuteronomy and getting into a fight, but considering the song that describes him, which may or may not be exaggerated, the guy really gets around (though when you get to the scene of the crime, Macavity’s not there).

In the film, they actually managed to give Macavity a pretty interesting motivation to his constant kidnapping of cats throughout the film: he’s trying to spirit away the other Jellicle candidates so that Old Deuteronomy will have no choice but to let Macavity go to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a new life, a life where he will no longer be on wanted posters and can continue his crime spree unhindered. Say what you will about the rest of the alterations, but this is actually a pretty solid motivation.

Performance: Bryn Walters portrays him in the 1998 version, and with his limited time onstage, he manages to make Macavity memorable, though of course most of Macavity’s memorability comes from the song he has no part in. Of course, when Macavity does get his single scene, Walters costume and moves manage to really make Macavity a guy you’re not soon to forget.

In the movie, Macavity is portrayed by everyone’s favorite sexy British black guy, Idris Elba. Unfortunately, he is saddled with a design that makes him look like a nude man despite him having an awesome costume earlier in the film that is ditched later on so that he looks like Elba was streaking across the set, so the sexy is relegated to his voice here. Thankfully, that’s plenty enough, and it is evident Elba is having a blast as Macavity, which is always a plus for a villain no matter how good or bad the film is.

Final Fate: In the stage show, he just kind of vanishes after his battle with Munkustrap. In the movie, he tries to hitch a ride alongside Grizibella to the Heaviside Layer, only to end up stuck atop a statue. Now, you’d think this is stupid, since Macavity has been shown to have the ability to apparate throughout the film, oftentimes accompanied with him saying his own name or otherwise announcing his magical ability, meaning he has no reason to be scared or anxious since he can get out of this situation at anytime. But then you remember that despite everything, and despite the movie’s horrible ability at conveying the fact, Macavity is, in fact, a cat. And a cat would most definitely be an idiot to that degree. I think this might be the only evidence Tom Hooper has ever interacted with a cat for any length of time before.

Best Scene: Obviously his best scene onstage is his only one, since he only shows up once for his fight against Munkustrap, though his presence is foreshadowed many times ahead of the duel.

For the film, though, him joining in at the very end of the song about him is the cherry on top of a fun recontextualization of “Macavity.” Typically, the song is a “The Villain Sucks” song, as Bombalurina isn’t actually evil onstage, making the song an ode to how evil and nasty Macavity is. But in the film, she is unambiguously on his side, making the song an example of her singing his praises and turning the tune into an outright villain song, and Macavity joining in at the end really just ties the whole thing together,.

Best Quote: In the stage version, Macavity actually doesn’t speak, his only vocalizations being evil laughter – though what an evil laugh it is! In the movie, he has a lot of dialogue, but the very best bit he has is him announcing his own name like a Pokemon as he teleports. “Macavity!” I nearly had to pause the movie from laughing so hard.

Final Thoughts & Score: So Macavity is a very interesting villain in that he is just utterly incapable of being boring, though for entirely different reasons that seem baffling when you really think about it. In the stage version, he is barely onstage at all, has a single scene, doesn’t speak or sing… and yet how he’s described, how he looks, and how he moves just really ties him together and makes him into an exciting villain, one deserving of an 8/10. His actions are also the reason we get the wonderful homoeroticism of “Magical Mr. Mistoffelees,” and any villain whose actions lead to a cat prancing about a stage shooting lightning and having extreme amounts of homosexual tension with a swaggering rock star who is doing nothing but singing his praises as he does so is nothing short of amazing,

Then we have movie Macavity. This Macavity has a far stronger motivation, but the film both does and doesn’t handle it well. It kind of suffers because Cats and Macavity once again are not meant to have this sort of heavy narrative; they’re meant to be fun little bits of fluff. And that’s not even getting into how they changed Macavity from a ginger cat to a black and brown cat who, once again, looks more like Idris Elba is nude than anything, and unfortunately it’s really not as sexy as it sounds. Still, the fact Elba is having so much fun, the fact he jumps in on the song “Macavity,” and that kickass outfit he has near the start all really work and keep this Macavity from the bottom of the barrel. Much like the movie, there’s a lot bad with this iteration of the Napoleon of crime, but boy is he still fun and entertaining! That’s a 3/10 if I ever saw one.

All of this just goes to show that Macavity, no matter what way you slice him, is always going to be entertaining. Like, this character is an evil supervillain cat who is behind every single crime, and not only that, has broken every human law as well as the law of gravity! You can have a field day imagining how this cat has pulled off tax fraud, forgery, and genocide and somehow gotten away with it. Even through bad CGI, Macavity’s still there!

I would like to say I am a bit sad we never got the animated version of Cats from Amblimation, because I seriously would have loved to talk about that Macavity too. I mean, look at him!

Weep for what we have lost, because in this case… Macavity’s not there. Though, I will admit, as much as I love this design and how even if I didn’t have the name right there I’d recognize who it is, something is really lost when the character isn’t a man in cat makeup and a costume. Still, I don’t think this Macavity would be anything less than an 8 because Macavity really is just that fun of a character. Even in his worst showings he still manages to entertain and amuse, so I guess it really is true what they say:

There’s no one like Macavity.

[penninstitute]

Case #0140111

Statement of Ray Ashner regarding the most horrible performance he’d ever seen. Original statement given January 11th, 2014.

I am deaf, have been since I was young, and had it not been for the fact that I couldn’t hear, I would likely be dead and not currently writing down my tale of survival.

Let me just say first that it’s not bad, being completely deaf, but there are some things you miss out on when you can’t hear. People have told me the roar of the ocean is an awe-inspiring thing - but for me, it’s nothing. But still, I can live just fine without sound. I can read lips and use ASL, and I’m certainly not illiterate.

The town I live in is very nice - we are, or, were, a tightly knit community. Luckily for me, many people had picked up some ASL out of kindness for me, a gesture I will never forget, and carry with me in memory of all those innocent lives.

I’m getting sentimental. Sorry. Let me continue my sad tale.

Our town hall has two levels, the main floor and an upper one, which is more of a balcony. It looks over the stage in the hall, granting anyone up there a good view of the performances below. The local theatre group uses it for sound and lighting sometimes, but it goes unused largely. The only other person that goes up there is me: as a janitor, I have to regularly head up into the balcony to dust and sweep. Sometimes I like to sit up there and watch people dance below, unseen by everyone under me. It’s kind of fun being an unknown spectator.

What would’ve happened if I hadn’t decided to sit up there that night? Would it have lessened the knowledge of what I saw?

I don’t know.

It was late that evening, and I knew that there was going to be a performance later tonight. The band playing was called “Hamelin” - I’d never heard of it until now, and judging from the others, no one really knew them as well. But it’d been a dreary month and the mayor had invited this strange group to come and play, maybe liven things up. Standard stuff, yes?

My week was going quite nicely and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to treat myself to a look at this “Hamelin” band. I was very curious as to who they were. Maybe I couldn’t hear their music, but I could certainly watch them perform. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this situation at all.

There shouldn’t have been.

Night came, and the lower floor filled with people chatting and awaiting the band that had yet to turn up. I’d taken my usual spot up in the balcony, leaning over the railing eagerly. I found it kind of strange that the band hadn’t turned up yet - it’d been, what, over half an hour at that point? Usually bands showed up well before the audience did. Maybe I should’ve given more thought to this strange occurrence, but I kept trying to rationalize it, and so I didn’t think it was suspicious at all.

Then finally, someone showed up.

As I watched, a tall lean man strode into the hall. The crowd fell silent and parted to let him through. He got on stage and put down a guitar case he’d been carrying, unlocking it and pulling out a shiny looking instrument. I figured he was part of the band.

It was then I noticed he was the only member of the band that had shown up. Again, I didn’t think it was suspicious. Maybe the other members were late as well, I thought. Or maybe “Hamelin” wasn’t a band, but rather, a stage name. Clearly there were good reasons for him being the only performer.

The man situated himself on a stool and pulled a microphone close to him, adjusting the guitar on his knee. He had long, heavily textured hair, kind of like mine, with a short-sleeved dress shirt coloured in red and yellow stripes. His face was long and tired, his eyes haunted and dark.

Looking at his shirt, thinking of the band name, I was suddenly reminded of “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” Had you ever heard that poem? In that poem, the Pied Piper plays a pipe that enchants the horde of rats infesting the town of Hamelin. Through his playing he drives the horde into the nearby river, to which they all promptly drown. His music brings the rats death.

I thought that reference was just a coincidence. It couldn’t have meant anything. I wasn’t shivering at all.

He was speaking, the musician, his mouth moving, probably thanking the crowd for their time. There were still people whispering to one another in the audience. Everybody was just staring rapt at this strange, strange pied-clad man.

Then the man hefted his guitar, picked a note, and began to play. Everything was normal, his lips were still, people were gently swaying to the tune - standard. Normal. Perfectly normal.

Until he began to sing.

God knows how lucky I was to be deaf in that moment, because as soon as the man started singing, everyone went mad.

It was pandemonium like you couldn’t imagine it. Everyone immediately turned to the person next to them and lunged at them, their jaws snapping and hands reaching to rip at skin and shred at flesh. Some people grabbed weapons - one woman grabbed a bottle, another took his fork - while others simply threw themselves upon another, nails digging into pink, writhing bodies. People kicked and howled and broke. Blood flew everywhere.

All the while, that man sang. He would throw his head back wildly, leaning forwards and backward with an erratic rhythm. His mouth opened and closed. His teeth - they kept showing, flashing like fangs and knives in the light. His lips curled back in a raptured snarl. His eyes fluttered as if drunk in some horrid version of ecstasy.

He sang. And by God, did he sing.

A man tore another’s ear off with a flick of his head. A woman thrust her hand into someone’s eye. Brothers turned against sisters and mothers slaughtered their sons.

I should’ve run. I should’ve known that this would happen. I should’ve cried. But I just watched in abject horror as the community I knew and loved - one that had given and cared like humans - indulged in violent carnage like slavering animals.

It kept going. Everyone wouldn’t stop. The man kept singing. He wouldn’t stop singing. I couldn’t do anything.

Finally, the last person in the audience stood standing, a woman by the name of Agnes Tucker. She stood alive, bloodied and bruised, panting at the man on stage as he crooned his deadly melody. And then she grabbed her throat and violently tore it out. Her legs, at last, gave away, and the crowd lay dead amidst blood and bone.

The musician stopped singing. Everything was very still.

Then the man looked up, and met my eyes with a smile. He said something, and in that moment I had never read anyone’s lips with more clarity than his.

“Encore?” He said.

Our town hasn’t been the same after that. The police ruled the event as a drunken brawl and didn’t blame me for the massacre. The few people that hadn’t gone to the hall held a massive memorial, which I made sure to attend.

Nobody in the town talks anymore. We aren’t the close community we once were. Neighbours don’t get together and happily chat about the latest events. The town hall is abandoned and unvisited by anyone at all. Whatever people you do encounter on the streets will glare at you, as if your survival is an insult to that bloody carnage. Believe me, I know; that’s how they treat me these days.

We were once a lively place. But ever since that day, the town has been very, very quiet. And somewhere out in the world that accursed man still plays his merry tune.

FOLLOW-UP NOTES

- Mr. Ashner did not agree to give us a follow-up statement on the matter, as he claimed there was nothing else worth mentioning. Supposedly the town has begun to recover, but after a massacre of that size… I don’t have high hopes for them, to be honest.

- It’s notable that Hamelin is the name of the town in the tale of the Pied Piper, though that could just be a thematic coincidence. The theme of music with an almost siren-like effect on people certainly fits the story. There is even a survivor of the piper’s “attack” on the town of Hamelin who was deaf and could not hear the piper’s music.

- The monster here knows how to stick to a theme, I’ll give it that. I wonder if the hunting department has any files on monsters such as this one.

[monotonous-minutia]

How would you like your favorite opera to be staged ideally? (I went off in a Così post and now I need to know the deep opinions about everyone’s favs). Thank you!!

thanks, this is great!

I did a post on Don Carlo a while ago and how I’d stage it so this time I’m going to talk about my other favorite opera, Martha, oder der Markt zu Richmond. It’s very obscure so I’ll start with a brief description of the opera. 

It’s a German comic opera about a lady-in-waiting, Harriet, who is super bored with her rich life and decides to go to the fair dressed like a maid with her best friend, Nancy, and a knight, Tristam, who’s in love with her (she does not reciprocate his feelings). At the fair they meet two brothers, Lyonel and Plumkett. Lyonel was was taken in by Plumkett’s family when his mysterious father basically dropped him off at the front step, said “He’s yours now” and then died. Now Plumkett’s parents have died as well and they just inherited the farm and have no clue what they’re doing. So they go to the fair to buy some maids and come across Harriet (who calls herself Martha) and Nancy, who unwittingly sell themselves into servitude because they think it’s all a joke. Well, they get taken to the boys’ farmhouse and naturally they all fall in love with each other by bonding over household chores. Lyonel asks Harriet to marry him and she laughs in his face and he immediately overreacts because Tenor. The boys go to sleep and then Tristam comes and rescues the girls and the boys wake up and find them gone and are super depressed. An ambiguous amount of time later, Plumkett bumps into Nancy in town and she’s on the hunt and she pretends not to recognize him and gets her fellow huntresses to chase him off. Meanwhile, Lyonel is depressed and listless and wandering around and proceeds to sing one of the most famous tenor arias of all time, “Ach, so fromm” (look it up, you’ll probably recognize the tune); the fame of which SHOULD be enough to integrate this opera into common repertory, but alas that is not the case. Anyway, of course at this very moment Harriet is also wandering around in the exact same spot and bumps into Lyonel who instantly recognizes her but is confused as to why she is dressed so fancy. Harriet freaks out and also pretends not to know him and calls for help. Tristam comes and, seeing his rival in love, calls for all the available Big Strong Men to come and save Harriet. Everything gets out of control and Lyonel winds up arrested and is humiliated when he realizes who Harriet actually is. Turns out, though, that his deceased father was a Count and when Harriet finds this out she goes back to him saying they can get married now without backlash because he’s of a higher station. He rejects her because he thinks she only wants him because he’s a count and also he renounces his title. Harriet decides to dress up as Martha again to convince him that she still loves him and is willing to leave all her wealth behind to be with him. Meanwhile, Plumkett and Nancy sing an absolutely delightful love duet. Harriet sets up the farmers’ backyard to look like the fair where she and Lyonel met and he meets her out there and she renounces her title and asks if he will still marry her and he agrees. And Plumkett and Nancy get together too and it’s all just adorable. 

Okay so that wasn’t really brief but. Moving on.

I absolutely love this opera because the story is so original and fun, the libretto is ingeniously witty, and the music is fantastic, intricately portraying the comic but making sure to take the more sober parts seriously. ALSO, Flotow was using leitmotif before it was cool. But that is another rant altogether.

There is a film based on this opera that is actually really spot-on, but I’ll talk a little about my vision for this opera too. I’ve actually been curating it since I was thirteen and first heard this opera.

First off, I think I would have the sets and costumes be historically accurate. This opera is pretty straightforward and I don’t see the need to fancify anything with elaborate or weird sets and costumes. Plus, it being more obscure, I think it helps to keep things simple so the audience doesn’t get lost wondering what’s accurate and what’s interpretation.

The fair scene would be so much fun. It’s pretty obvious that the maids who are selling their services are, in fact, looking for boyfriends, and the farmers purchasing their services are, in fact, looking for girlfriends. Which makes it all the more ridiculous that Lyonel and Plumkett have no idea what’s going on. They’re just looking for maids while everyone else is looking to get laid.So there’s this whole chorus where the maids are saying what all they can do and in the libretto there is so. much. subtext that they’re not actually talking about washing linens and knitting and making beds, they’re talking about using the beds in a specific way...you get the picture. So there would be some suggestive body language and a LOT of flirting. And the maids would be primping and preening, and the farmers would be straightening their hats and smoothing down their hair, etc., and it’d all just be ridiculous. The Sheriff would be rolling his eyes the entire time because he a) wants to get this over with and b) wishes people would take their responsibilities more seriously. 

One thing about this opera is that, though it’s pretty short compared to a lot of others (it’s just under 2 hours--more if the scenes that are often cut are left in), but some of the numbers are long and repetitive while others are very fast-paced. So it would need to be staged carefully so that when the 2-verse duet stretches for like 5 minutes, they’re not just standing their the entire time. For example, when they first get to the farmhouse the boys are telling the girls for about 3 minutes that they’re home and will wake up early the next morning, and the girls spend an equal amount of time freaking out. I’d put some movement in here--Plumkett goes around lighting the lanterns, checking the doors, etc., while Lyonel stands awkwardly watching the girls as they huddle frozen in fear and then at the end Plumket turns and sees Lyonel doing absolutely nothing to help out and is supremely annoyed. After that a lot of the action is pretty well laid out in the libretto and I wouldn’t really need to add much because it moves along so quickly. Then there’s the duet between Lyonel and Harriet where he freaks her out with his Mad Tenor Passion and she sings a song to get him to shut up and then he professes his love for her and asks her to marry him and it all goes downhill. The song itself is kind of grim, and it’s sandwiched between these two duets that start lighthearted and then get serious when Harriet realizes “Oh, wow, my words can actually hurt someone, this is new information” and Lyonel goes “MY LIFE IS OVER THE WOMAN I JUST MET ISN’T IN LOVE WITH ME” so it’d have to be a careful balance of making sure the comic and dramatic elements are given equal weight. That’s kind of true for the whole opera.

An image I want to really utilize strongly is the rose. The song Harriet sings to Lyonel is “The Last Rose of Summer” but the librettist’s translation focuses more on death than the original poem which I find fascinating. Right before the song Lyonel takes Harriet’s “nosegay” that she had as part of her Martha costume and teases her with it, saying he’ll only give it back if she sings to him. My hot take: there’s a rose in her bouquet. He takes it when he takes the bouquet. She sees it and it’s what inspires her to sing this song. He takes it back when she rejects him and keeps it to remember her by when she runs away. He’s singing to it when he stumbles upon her in town. He drops it in the mayhem and she picks it up. She takes it with her and gives it to him when she goes to his house to try and win him back. He throws it in her face. When they split Nancy finds it on the floor, and then gives it to Harriet when she’s waiting for Lyonel to come out and find her dressed as Martha. She gives it to him when she renounces her station and pledges her love to him and he takes it and it ends with them both holding on to it.

One of my favorite things about this opera is the Nancy/Plumkett relationship and I absolutely do not want it to get swept to the side because a) mezzo/baritone couples need all the love and b) they have one of the greatest comic love duets in operatic history and I will fight anyone who argues that point. So I’d really want to make sure that stays as a big part of the plot. The libretto and music is so great at portraying the sweet, awkward feelings they have towards each other and I want the staging to reflect that. Also Plumkett totally learns his lesson: he tries to subordinate Nancy when he finds her in town and demands that she find her place, and she retaliates by sicking her huntresses on him and they chase him away. After that he has nothing but mad respect. He forgives her much more quickly than Lyonel forgives Harriet. Because though he is gruff and stern he’s a sucker at heart. One thing I’ll have to think more on is what happens right before their duet in the finale, when they come out of the kitchen after hiding there during the Lyonel/Harriet confrontation. Do they come out standing awkwardly distant from each other because they spent the last seven minutes silently twiddling their thumbs and eavesdropping? Or are they ruffled because they utilized much of that time to make out? Maybe it’s ambiguous, like Plumkett goes into the kitchen wearing a jacket and when he comes back out with Nancy he’s not wearing it anymore and we see who notices.

Also: Tristam is gay. Undebatable. He just thinks he’s in love with Harriet because that’s what’s expected. So he will possess all the stereotypes. He will be Extra and he will have the Gay Hands and Gay Eyebrows and all that. They will give him a flower crown at the fair. He will continue to wear it because he secretly likes it. He will be oblivious to the charm of the maids and instead become keenly interested in one of the farm hands. 

aaaaaaaanyway not sure if any of that makes sense because I ramble and talk in circles and also most people don’t know this opera. But I thank you for the ask and hope that it brings a little enjoyment into your day. It definitely saved me from some fuming. Thank you!!

[starbuck]

Choir Music Recs!

As promised, here is my list of choir songs that I recommend to everyone, not just choir folks. It’s definitely highly biased to my personal taste and experience (so much so that I’m organizing it by school year!) so this list is just a tiny fraction of the amazing choir music out there that you can find and listen to on youtube or elsewhere but it’s a good place to start at least!

I’ll be linking one or more recordings that are online free for each song and I’ll also include a little personal blurb with each rec because why not (but feel free to skip those and just listen to the music - I won’t be offended)!

Now, without further ado, here’s the list!!

Freshman year:

There Will Come Soft Rains by Kevin Memley

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn, would scarcely know that we were gone.

I’m a little short on recs for freshman year since I was in Select Women’s Choir rather than Chorale but I couldn’t make this list without including this song. This was the first of three pieces I sang in high school that’s an arrangement of a Sara Teasdale poem. Without this, I might not even know about one of my favorite poets! And the music is so beautiful that there’s no better introduction to Sara Teasdale. Fun Fact! I had a “solo note” in this song because all the other Soprano 1′s were afraid to sing a high A (cowards).

Sophomore year:

Jenny by Ryan Kerr and Nick Myers

In the darkness, in the starlight, I hear angels sing your name as they bear you through the heavens to the light from which you came. Quietly the strain falls out of tune. Shadows steal across a lonely moon. I miss you so.

This song was and is of such massive importance to me that I don’t think I could possibly overstate my love for it. The lyrics and arrangement are so gorgeous that Chorale just sort of melted together as we sang it. And we cried. There was a lot of crying. The recording I’m going to link is from one of my high school’s concerts last year because some seniors (who sang this with me when they were freshmen) wanted to sing it one last time and got a small group together to do so. There are possibly “better” recordings out there, but I could never listen to one that isn’t from my school because I know how much love it was sang with there. (Not pictured in the video: me, in the front row at the concert, quietly singing along to the Soprano 1 part.)

My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord by Moses Hogan

Do you love him? (Oh yes!) Do you love him? (Hallelujah!) Do you love him? (Oh yes!) God almighty! (Are you anchored?) Are you anchored? (Oh yes!) YES I’m anchored my soul’s been anchored in the Lord!

There are no lyrics I could possibly include that could hope to get across how truly incredible this song is so my advice is to just have a listen - you will not regret it! This was essentially Chorale’s anthem sophomore year; we seriously loved singing this because it was just SO fun! All I regret about high school choir is that we didn’t sing more from Moses Hogan because holy moly are his arrangements amazing!

Sleep by Eric Whitacre

Upon my pillow safe in bed, a thousand pictures fill my head. I cannot sleep my mind’s a’flight and yet my limbs seem made of lead. If there are noises in the night, a frightening shadow, flickering light, then I surrender unto sleep where clouds of dream give second sight.

This is the piece that got little fifteen year-old me to raise my hand during rehearsal and and say “I think this song might be about death” to which my choir director replied something along the lines of “no shit” (but in a nice way because she’s not a mean person lol). This is one of the most beautiful choir songs I’ve ever heard and the quintessential Eric Whitacre piece full of “big smushy chords” and dissonance. If you don’t listen to anything else on this list, listen to this one. Also! the recording I’m linking here is from Voces8 which is a group I highly recommend checking out in general.

Junior year:

I Should Be Glad by Susan LaBarr

I should be glad of loneliness And hours that go on broken wings, A thirsty body, a tired heart And the unchanging ache of things, If I could make a single song As lovely and as full of light, As hushed and brief as a falling star On a winter night.

This is an arrangement of my favorite Sara Teasdale poem, “Compensation,” which I have included the full text of above. When I sang this piece, I, and most of my Choralemates as well, I believe, misconstrued the text to mean “I ought to be glad” rather than its actual meaning, “I would be glad (if...)” which drastically altered our interpretation and made us dislike it quite a bit. Since getting into Teasdale’s work though, I revisited the poem and realized our error. With my reading now correct, I appreciate this arrangement a lot more and I wish I had understood it at the time because it truly is a beautiful work in all ways.

Rytmus by Ivan Hrusovsky

(uhhhh just listen to it lol)

Here’s a fun one! We definitely struggled to get our tempo up on this one because of how challenging the music was to learn but it’s quite the thing to listen to a choir that gets it right.

Only in Sleep by Ēriks Ešenvalds

Only in sleep Time is forgotten— What may have come to them, who can know?

Another Sara Teasdale poem! This one probably made the largest impression on me because Chorale ended up singing it at a funeral so it carried some heavy emotions for us. Another piece that is beautiful in every way.

No Time by Susan Brumfield

Rise, oh fathers rise, let’s go meet ’em in the skies. We will hear the angels singing in that morning. Oh I really do believe that, just before the end of time, we will hear the angels singing in that morning.

I almost gave up on looking for a good recording of this piece on youtube, not because there aren’t a lot to choose from by talented choirs, but because I think there’s a certain amount of awe one has to convey to sing this piece correctly. I sang it with Quartet to open our Spring Concert (which had been transformed into a memorial concert for a beloved teacher who had passed suddenly and also moved from our school to a massive theatre downtown, so you can imagine the kind of pressure we were under). Needless to say, we were terrified, but this piece is also terrifying so it sort of fit and we sang it well. (Note for the video: this choir is absolutely incredible but the person recording goes a bit nuts with the zoom function of their camera so maybe don’t look at the screen as you listen!)

The Storm is Passing Over by Charles Tindley and Barbara Baker

Have courage my soul and let us journey on, though the night is dark and I am far from home. Thanks be to God, the morning light appears.

The sister song to ‘No Time’ at the previously mentioned concert! This was my favorite piece I ever did with Quartet and we often randomly broke into it during rehearsals the next year because we loved it so much. I spoke up about this song during a Quaker meeting I attended at some point because I had an epiphany about the lyrics and it felt like the right thing to do in the moment. Afterwards people told me what I said was good but I think they were just being nice. (Notes: the song begins about one minute into the video I linked and also, check out the full original lyrics by Charles Tindley here - they’re incredible!)

This Marriage by Eric Whitacre

May this marriage be a sign of compassion, a seal of happiness, here and hereafter.

This song is just gorgeous. It’s relatively low-key for an Eric Whitacre piece but its understatedness highlights the beauty of the arrangement. I don’t have to tell you that Rumi was an amazing poet but also I love how the end of this piece just descends into joyful singing without words. When one is out of words to speak, then one must sing.

Loch Lomond by Jonathan Quick

Oh! Ye’ll take the high road, and I’ll take the low road, And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye, But me and my true love will never meet again, On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

I’m cheating a bit by including this on the list because I did not personally sing this piece. However, five guys who were in Chorale decided to form a small group and sing this song at both the memorial concert and the funeral so, having heard them sing it a handful of times in such emotional settings, it was special to me as well. (Note for the video: the intro is very goofy and the actual song begins at 1:10 so skip to that! It’s truly a fantastic performance and it sounds very like what my Choralemates did since it’s a quartet.)

Senior year:

Will the Circle Be Unbroken by J. David Moore

I was born down (I was born down) in the valley (in the valley) where the sun refuse to shine (where the sun refuse to shine) but I’m climbing (but I’m climbing) up to the highlands (up to the highlands). Gonna make that mountain mine!

This song was taught to us and directed by our student teacher from the local university. A lot of our student teachers in past years had been awkward and too nervous to truly engage with us but she was the best we ever had. This song was unifying for us and always a delight to sing. The recording I’m linking is from a concert at my school the year after I graduated where they reprised the song and it’s as wonderful as ever.

The Wisdom of the Moon by Susan LaBarr

in the dark of night, let me learn the wisdom of the moon. How it waxes and wanes but does not die, how it gives itself to shadow knowing it will return whole once more.

This was the song that I had the largest and most extensive solo in throughout my entire high school choir experience so it made quite the impression on me. And beyond that, the poem that forms the lyrics is so beautiful. Sometimes I’ll just be minding my business and suddenly think “(God of the two lights) I love the sun” and suddenly I’m singing the whole song to myself. There’s actually a recording of Chorale singing this song with me as the soloist so I’m going to link that version (although there are other wonderful versions out there as well that I encourage you to check out!). Credits to my friend Giovani for the first solo, mine is the second, descant-y one!

Hold On! by Moses Hogan

Nora, Nora let me come in; / de door’s all fastened an’ de winders pinned! 

Just keep yo’ hand on de plow, / an’ you hold on, yes, you just hold on! 

Nora said, “You lost yo’ track, / you can’t plow straight an’ keep a lookin’ back.”

At least we did one other Moses Hogan song while I was in Chorale and this one did NOT disappoint! It’s one of my all-time favorite choir pieces to this day. Further, it caused me to look into the parable being referenced here which led me to this wonderful article that I will never miss an opportunity to plug even though I’m not personally religious! The other day when I decided (for some unknown reason) to clamber up a steep rock face rather than just walking up an easily-accessible path, I got nervous halfway up but was too afraid to try to climb back down so, without even thinking about it, my brain supplied me with the beginning of this song and before I knew it, I was quietly singing to myself “keep on climbin’ an’ don’t you tire, ‘cause ev’ry rung goes higher and higher!” and I made it safely to the top. 

Ubi Caritas by Ola Gjeilo

(it’s in Latin lol)

Not a whole lot to say here other than that no choir recs list is complete without Ola Gjeilo and this piece is beautiful and haunting. 

Unclouded Day by Shawn Kirchner

Oh, they tell me of a home far beyond the skies, they tell me of a home far away, and they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise, oh, they tell me of an unclouded day.

One of my favorite pieces that I ever did with Chorale, even out of these. It’s so beautiful and uplifting and I think of it every time I step outside and the sky is perfectly blue. Another song that truly just has to be heard to be believed. The recording I’m linking is of the NDSU Concert Choir which has so much amazing choral content on its youtube channel and I highly recommend you check them out further!

I Will Lift Mine Eyes by Jake Runestad

The sun shall not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil, He will keep your soul.

Honestly, I’ve blocked out many memories of high school because it was such a truly awful time in my life, so when an old Choralemate of mine posted on her instagram story about how the time when Chorale sat down before singing this song and talked about our emotions and what this text meant to us, I was heartbroken that I didn’t remember it. What I do remember though is that, at our concert, an alumni who had graduated the previous year and had been through a lot of awful stuff sat in the front row and mouthed the words along with us while crying and we all cried while singing it. There was a connection we all made through this piece and, although things were pretty awful a lot of the time, we got through it together and that means a lot to me.

//

Now that the main list is done, here are some pieces I didn’t personally sing but I still love a lot and recommend wholeheartedly:

- I Can Tell the World by Moses Hogan

- Bright Morning Stars by Jay Althouse + bonus link of another version

- Lux Aurumque by Eric Whitacre

- Earth Song by Frank Ticheli

- Famine Song by Matthew Culloton

- The Seal Lullaby by Eric Whitacre

[djseaward]

a simpler sort of christmas

hello all, i hope you have  had a magical christmas wherever in the world you celebrated it, if you are in fact celebrating, that is.

once again, we had a truly czech christmas here in budejovice. normally we get almost two full weeks of holiday for christmas, and we opted to stay put this year mostly because 1) iceland, which i felt was almost like a christmas in and of itself, but also 2) our visa issues (from receiving it to reapplying for our next) making us a bit lighter in the wallet this time of year.

but no matter, we had decided to fully embrace a simpler sort of christmas this year. that is what christmas is really about, anyway. about giving, kindness, togetherness, and as i absolutely a challenge in resourcefulness, this holiday has been great for that! we decided not to give more than a few gifts this year and focus on getting our existing things (from watches to coats) repaired instead. i also made a lot of our decorations from natural materials, even more so than last year.

on the eve of christmas eve, we went out for one last christmas market hurrah and to sing some czech christmas carols and peruse the stalls one final time. a delightful folksy band with funny fur hats and jackets played traditional koledy, some that we now know most of just from spending seven christmas seasons here. now i know the names of them, thanks to my choir. my favorites are půjdem spolu do betléma and pásli ovce valaši. this was the year i finally understood the magic of czech carols and why we shouldn’t push our anglicized carols on czechs too much - these traditional carols are beautiful. 

i realized that after seven (and maybe more to come?) christmases in the czech republic that christmases may never be the same again. how we’ve come to love the festive atmosphere in the square, day after day. the smell of punch wafting into my path as i walk by the town hall. there’s too much to love.

on christmas eve, we went round to a family friend's and had a magical evening of gifts, playing games, schnitzel and potato salad, prosecco, walks with the dogs and traditions, like this czech apple-cutting tradition. if you cut the apple in half and see a star, this is lucky. if you cut it and see a cross, well, that's clearly unlucky. fortunately we all got stars - a good omen for the coming year. and i can't believe i got housed in a english language bluffing card game by a czech five year old. my poker face is the worst around. finally, i realized why we never actually eat carp schnitzels with the k family -- someone has a fish-related allergy. alas, i shall never know carp schnitzel, but třeboň is never far (the best place to have fish dishes in the country) so i can wait until then. 

i’m glad i took several minutes when i got home to sit in the glow of our tree by myself and listen to some acapella tunes, such as ave maria, o holy night, and silent night. there is so much noise and bustle over the christmas holidays that i find some time for quiet reflection on the holidays is essential. it just doesn’t feel quite like the holidays if this time is missing.

on christmas day we enjoyed a wonderfully lazy day at home and a delicious christmas smorgasbord-style lunch spread as we love to do: wild alaskan smoked salmon (that i stash away for special occasions), shrimp cocktail, mince pies, and this fancy vegan cheese wheel i made. as much as i love cheese, we have started to cut back on dairy in our household (more than before) and i promised i would forgo real cheese in favor of this cashew-based cheese*. no deprivation on any of our parts -- it came out absolutely gorgeously and we couldn't get enough of it -- running out of crackers in the process. note: always get more crackers than you think.

alex listened to his new albums he received and i read and watched airwaves videos (can't stop won't stop) of performances i had missed. we eventually settled down with some eggnog and a viewing of miracle on 34th street, the newer 1994 version which i hadn't seen. (the older one is the best! don't bother) he also read me a poem he had written to me for christmas. it was beautiful. i cried happy tears.

we also enjoyed the calm atmosphere outside on walks with nary a soul around, lit all the candles, chatted with my family, and watched our first czech christmas fairy tale: tři oříšky pro popelku. (three hazelnuts for cinderella) this is an absolutely beloved classic, and many of my students have told me they planned on watching it this christmas! it was so magical, and even though i didn't grow up with it, i can easily see why it's a classic. the snowy winter aesthetic is so perfect for this time of year!

fun fact: this film was a 1973 co-production between barrandov studios (prague) and babelsberg (potsdam/berlin) and was filmed with both czech and east german actors, speaking of course their own respective languages (!). this film is equally beloved in germany i have been told, except all the czech actors are dubbed into german (and vice versa when shown in czech!). if you're interested, you can watch it too right here.

we haven't much on the docket for the rest of the holiday besides reading, perhaps a bit of visiting with friends, and anything else that takes up a lot of time that we don't necessarily have during other times of the year. these two weeks are a blessing. you may have also noticed it seems sort of no-frills around here lately as i had to recover the blog from a hacking attempt the day after christmas... and then realized i’m kind of vibing with the blacks and whites lately. so there you go.

i hope you have or are still deeply enjoying your holidays! see you soon with a 2018 recap.

ps, you might like our last czech christmas from two years ago or thoughts on embracing a local christmas.

* because i know someone will ask, it’s based on a recipe from sarah britton’s first cookbook (my bible).

[missytearex]

To Read List - Larry - Part 6

Chasing the High by Rearviewdreamer

Louis never thought a week away from his job could change things so much.

or

Louis is a therapist in a rehab facility and Harry has been court ordered to stay there for six weeks.

Perfect Sky by haloeverlasting

Deep, deep down, Louis knows Niall hadn’t meant to do this. He knows that this really was a last minute conundrum Louis had found himself in. Louis could’ve muddled the dates just as easily as Niall could have misremembered them. This hurts for other, more difficult reasons.

This hurts because it was supposed to be Louis’ honeymoon.

Louis meets Marcel at the lowest point of his life. A few poorly timed jokes, and a cigarette (or twelve) later, Louis starts to think love’s not a sham after all.

If we meet sometime in the after years, my darling, I trust I will find your love still mine. by lucidlou

1970s AU.

The boy at the dinner table isn’t as much of a stranger as Louis thought, and somewhere between the diners, concerts, and the way the moonlight falls just right, the summer is enough time for realizing just that.

falling, catching by tsuneni

Harry’s jotting down some more notes when he feels a thud on his right shoulder. He doesn’t flinch, thank God, because when he turns his head to the right his suspicions are confirmed. The boy has fallen asleep on Harry’s shoulder.

When Harry lets out the breath he had been holding, the sleeping boy pushes his nose further into the burgundy fabric of Harry’s sweater, and wraps his arm around Harry’s waist.

This boy is going to be the death of him.

-

Or; the one where Harry likes poems, soft sweaters, old novels, and that one boy in his Romantic Poetry course that keeps falling asleep during lectures.

The Haunting of Louis Tomlinson by HelloAmHere

“I'm not afraid of ghosts,” Louis said.

Every single magnet unstuck itself from the fridge and fell to the floor in a clattering cascade.

“I'm only a little afraid of ghosts,” Louis said.

*** OR: Louis is a plucky Gothic Heroine, Harry is a Mournful Spirit, and Big Country Houses are full of mystery and suspense, as Big Country Houses ever are!

Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow by 1Diamondinthesun

Harry spends most of his time in an empty house or a lonely darkroom, dreaming of leaving his small town for art school. He's invisible to most people. And then Louis Tomlinson sees him. Life will never be the same.

Or, the American high school AU loosely inspired by She's All That.

I Follow Rivers by harrys

It’s 8:25 when he rushes in, with his strong legs clad in striped trousers, a sleeveless turtleneck, and platform oxfords.

He’s waiting for his coffee two metres away from Harry and scrolling through his phone quickly, with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Harry decides to take a chance and clears his throat.

[Alternatively: Louis writes for a fashion magazine, Harry writes for a music magazine and dabbles in poetry. They like the same coffee shop, as well as each other.]

take my pure (and wash it all away 'til I'm cured) by resurrectdead

And Louis decides, as the boy slowly starts backing away with that cheeky grin lighting up that whole stupidly beautiful face, that he should sue him for emotional abuse just for the fact his pecs stretch the fabric of his shirt like that alone. He really should. He might even win the case. Fuck.

or: they're all 19. louis is a twink, harry is a frat boy hunk. harry for some reason wants his makeup done for pride, and louis is just trying so very hard to stay clear of all alleged fuckboys this year.

blind from this sweet, sweet craving by missandrogyny

"So, I guess we'll go?" Louis asks later, when Harry has calmed down and eaten his weight in Chinese food. He plays with this chopsticks, spearing another piece of chicken and pops it in his mouth. "I mean, I wouldn't mind. We could make it an adventure."

Harry observes him, watches him seated across from him on their old living room carpet, with a container of food on his lap. He's fidgeting, avoiding meeting Harry's gaze–he probably knows that Harry's mad at him for ruining the one chance they had to get out of this situation. And he's not wrong, Harry is definitely very mad. Harry wants to strangle him and castrate him and smack him upside the head.

But he's also Harry's best friend, and despite everything, despite all the fuck-ups and the plot twists and everything just not playing out the way it should, he'd still rather be stuck in this situation with Louis than any of the other boys. He's got Harry's back, and in a weird, abstract way, he knows they'll be able to get out of this situation, together.

Harry sighs. "We're going," he says resignedly, his shoulders slumping.

Oh well. There are definitely worse ways to spend the weekend than pretending to be engaged to his best friend.

Better Than Words by Ambereen

All Harry Styles had ever wanted out of life was to become a recording artist. A musician. A vocalist. A performer. He'd heard it referenced in a number of different ways, from strangers, from members of his family. But the point remained, whatever you wanted to call it, he wanted to be it. He wanted to get up on the stage, stand in the spotlight, and sing his heart out to whoever wanted to listen. He wanted to touch hearts and change lives and make people smile.

There was just one small problem standing in the way of all that.

you put your arms around me (and i'm home) by britishlovers

Louis snorted, laughing quietly. "Am I really so fun to hang out with that you wished we started talking months ago?" Harry was quiet for a few seconds before he answered. "You make me feel normal," he replied quietly, a blush spreading across his cheeks. At that, Louis dropped his soccer ball on the ground, rounding on Harry, bringing both of his hands up to cup the curly haired boy's cheeks. Harry stiffened, shocked at the sudden change of contact. "Harry you are anything but normal, in the most amazing ways possible." he said quietly. Harry's heart rate picked up, and his light blush become a bigger blush, he thought Louis could probably feel it where his hands were cupping his cheeks.

or the one where harry is blind but louis loves him anyway

i come alive when i hear your voice by thepriestthinksitsthedevil (stubliminalmessaging)

Harry let out a satisfied sigh and sat back in his cushioned office chair. He looked down at his laptop and tapped his fingers against his bottom lip in contemplation. He was fairly pleased with what he’d finished so far on his latest project; he just needed to fine-tune some bits and then send it off to his management for their approval. He sent his coworkers an e-mail giving them commenting rights on the document for any constructive criticism they might have, and cringed when his stomach let out an unholy gurgle.

Aka: Harry the mute songwriter falls in love with the single dad working at the bakery down the street from his studio

murmur by reveries_passions

"The sun warmed their skin, dried any and all remnants of Louis' tears, made Harry's curly hair glow. The sounds of the city below seemed to disappear; it was just them, overlooking everything, the only two people in the world who understood each other."

in which louis is a little bit empty, harry is a little bit new to all this, and, coincidentally, they're both just about as deaf as two lonely teenagers can be.

Run Until You Feel Your Lungs Bleeding by whisperingwind

Harry’s hands tremble, carelessly ripping each of his paintings, one by one, until his studio is littered with not only remnants of his masterpieces, but his despondency. "You don't love me." he accuses, tugging on the roots of his hair. "You never loved me. You pity me! And to make it worse, you told everyone that you pity me! You promised you would never..." his voice fades as soon as his cries intensify.

Louis can't manage to say anything. His eyes wander, gazing over each item that once made Harry happy, and he shakes his head. Harry spent years building the ambiance of his studio and it's been destroyed in mere minutes, thanks to him. "Harry I...no, that isn't true. Whatever you think you heard, I swear to god isn't true. I care about you more than - "

"Get out!" Harry screams, pointing to the door. His chest heaves with sobs. "You said it doesn't matter that I can't walk. You said I'm the most incredible person you've ever laid eyes on. Why did you lie to me?"

Or, Harry is an angry, starving artist isolating himself from the rest of society due to his disability. Louis is a pop-star pretending he doesn't care about anything, but when it comes to Harry, he cares too much.

Show Me Life Like I've Never Seen by Rearviewdreamer

Louis never expected to leave the small art studio three blocks down from his job with anything besides the painting he caught a glimpse of and simply couldn't forget.

there are no atheists in foxholes by suspendrs

“Do you think we’ll ever see it again?” Harry asks after a minute. “London?”

Louis blinks, looking down. They very well could spend the rest of their lives on this island, and they’re both very aware of that. Everyone probably already thinks they’re dead, anyway. Their flats are going to be sold, and their families are going to have funerals, and life is going to go on without them. Even if they do get rescued, it’s already been days. The news of the shipwreck has definitely reached London by now. They don’t know if there’s been any effort to look for survivors, but they also don’t know how far away from the wreck they are, or how far people are going to go to look for them, or if anyone even knows that this island is here and, like, it’s very possible that they’ve already looked and stopped looking for survivors, and no one knows they’re out here-

“I don’t know,” Louis says, before he can start spiraling. “I hope so, but I don’t know.”

Or, the sea takes everything from Louis, but it gives him back more than he ever could’ve asked for.

Accidentally On My Way To Loving You by larrymylove

“So,” H said, “Who are you.”

Louis froze. The fork nearly slipped from his hand. So this was it then. The jig was up. Louis would have to admit that he’d stumbled into the wrong party and that, after seeing H, hadn’t wanted to leave. Louis would be kicked out, never to see H again. And who could blame him. He sounded like a total creeper. If the roles had been reversed....Louis wouldn’t blame H for never wanting anything to do with him ever again.

Louis arrives at the wrong party, and finds he never wants to leave.

18 by aclosetlarryshipper

Harry hates Golden Boy Louis and he's pretty sure the feeling's mutual. It's too bad they're forced into parenthood together during the home ec baby project.

Featuring accidental fathers, an improv performance gone wrong, and an altruistic game of spin the bottle.

Metamorphosis by momentofclarity

And for Louis, Harry is light and wonder. Someone who doesn’t sigh exasperatedly at his antics, who likes the way Louis’ mischievousness sometimes gets the better of him. Someone who holds him through anxious nights and kisses him softly through gloomy mornings.

Then there’s the fact that Harry is absolutely ridiculous and Louis hasn’t even come close to getting over that.

This is the extraordinarily ordinary AU about two boys extraordinarily in love.

Falling All In You by dimpled_halo

“There’s a contest for a chance to meet Harry Styles and spend a day with him in the studio and go out to dinner. So we signed you up.” Niall flashes a satisfied grin as if he just gave Louis the best news of his life, when in reality he’s only just succeeded in confusing Louis. “Wait. Who’s Harry Styles?” Zayn scoffs. “You can’t be serious. You were only obsessed with him and the band he was in. One Direction? You used to have all of their albums and would make us listen to them any time we were around you.” Louis’ memory comes back to him as he remembers how obsessed he was with the boy band. It isn’t the proudest time of his life, but they were actually pretty good, and the guys were all hot as fuck. They were what contributed to Louis’ sexual awakening in realising that he was, in fact, very gay. “Wait. But One Direction...aren’t they broken up now or summat?” Louis asks. Even though there was a time when he was in love with the band, he sort of outgrew them and hasn’t been keeping up with them for years.

Or- Louis wins a contest to meet Harry Styles even though he doesn't consider himself a fan. What he doesn't expect is to win over the popstar's heart.

Shine Like Silver by asphodelknox

Sometimes what you never thought you needed is exactly what you need. Sometimes it's right in front of you. Harry find love when he's broken and abandoned, in the one place he never thought to look. Although once he figures it out, he's really not surprised.

Can't Wait To Consecrate This Wondrous Mess by graceling_in_a_suit

Harry wants to paint his nails. Louis has nail polish. It's a match made in heaven.

I'm Half A Heart Without You, Baby by homosociallyyours

When the adoption they've been planning falls through at the last minute, Louis does his best to help Harry through the aftermath, almost forgetting that it will be just as hard for him.

With Roots in the Wind by AlwaysAqua

Sometimes the language of flowers speaks volumes.

Let the Poets Cry Themselves to Sleep by graceling_in_a_suit

“My dearest God of Figs, I devote myself to you. Please accept the offering of my flesh, my body, and my soul, and in return bless me with your fertility and… fig trees,” Harry said, at first confident and then a bumbling mess. “If you offer me your flesh, your body, and your soul, are you not offering me your hand in marriage?” Louis asked cheekily.

Greek mythology AU. It's a fairytale with gods, husbands, and figs.

To Whom It May Concern by theweightofmywords

He was the ease in his chest after taking a deep breath. He was the tears that spilled in sadness and anger, as well as the relief that came after. He was the tether that kept Louis grounded when his head spun with insecurity and worry. He was the warmth Louis felt when he was happy.

They had never met, but he didn’t think there was anyone in the world he missed more.

You're like a Sponge (Abrasive and Colorful) by LadyLondonderry

Harry LOML Styles: Hey, can you recommend your fav shoe stores? Heels Abroad is closing and I know you know some good places

Butterflies have erupted in Louis’s stomach. This is the first time Harry has ever texted him. He glances down at the beat up old Adidas he wore for his run this morning. Harry thinks Louis knows some good places? He trusts Louis’s opinion on something?

Louis gulps, and then coughs up toothpaste, hastily spitting into the sink. Everything depends on this. Harry - Harry Styles - has texted him! Louis can’t mess this up. He has to be perfect. He has to have great shoe store recommendations. He feels giddy. This is it! A turn in their friendship! The toothpaste-y grin firmly on his face, he picks up his phone again just as another message comes through.

Harry LOML Styles: Sorry, wrong person

Oh.

Or, Louis's flirts look an awful lot like insults.

where your lips land by BriaMaria

A love story told through Louis' tattoos.

... or the Tyler Knott Gregson-inspired AU where Louis is a poet who lives in Montana and Harry is a photographer passing through.

From the poem: "I put new ink where your lips have landed/I cover your kisses with reminders" -- TKG

Feeling Hazy (In the Ballroom of my Mind) by dimpled_halo

The doors to the ballroom open and violin music fills Harry’s ears, his skin prickling as he tightens his hold on Liam’s arm. All eyes fall on him as he makes his grand entrance next to Lord Payne, Earl of Wolverhampton. According to the media, they’re the couple of the century, but little do they know they’re not really dating. Harry tugs on his collar, the tightness around his neck almost too much. He’ll never get used to being Prince of Cheshire. Not only are wearing his royal garments a pain in the arse, he also hates all of the attention it garners.

There’s only one person’s attention Harry really wants.

What Our Souls Were Meant To Do by Rearviewdreamer

All Harry’s father wants is for his son to marry as soon as possible and give their family another heir. All Harry wants to do is fall in love.

Thursday by dinosaursmate

Harry’s long curls were tied up in a bun, which looked lovely. Harry threw Louis a smile as his sister found them a table, and almost instantly he got back up and approached the bar. “Hey.” Harry lifted his hand in a short wave. “How’s it going?” “Yeah, good. You?” “So… you busy after work?” Louis grinned. “Nope.” “You wanna do something?” “Sure,” Louis said. “I‘d love to do something.” ----- Louis keeps busy juggling work, hookups, and looking after his flatmate. That is, until Harry comes along, and Louis finds himself living for Thursday. 

Life Was a Song, You Came Along by rainbowninja167

It's embarrassing how long it takes Louis to recognize his own song. Niall had sung it as a bright, hopeful love song, and that’s honestly how Louis had always assumed it should sound. But this new voice, slow and rough, stripped of any backing instrument, has infused the lyrics with just the tumultuous mix of fear and defiance that Louis can remember so clearly from the night he wrote them. It’s not a comfortable thing, to feel like someone is singing all your secrets back to you.

Louis is a songwriter trapped in a lie that could ruin his best friend's career. Harry owns a record store, distrusts everyone in the music industry on principle, but loves Niall Horan's newest album. A modern retelling of Singin' in the Rain.

The Actor by Velvetoscar

Harry Styles, the newest, most talked about actor of the 1890's, has taken the London stage by storm, eliciting rumors and scandals alike in the wake of his sold-out performances. So when he's set to lead in Zayn Malik and Niall Horan's newest play at the Savoy Theatre, a comfortably successful establishment owned by Paul Higgins and his son Liam, Louis Tomlinson is only all too eager to work as his personal valet.

From here, a star is born. Or maybe a universe, really.

Glow by dolce_piccante

Alien AU, with a hint of Royal AU. A summer barbecue at the Tomlinson's is interrupted by a naked visitor from a peaceful planet far, far away. Can an alien and a human survive a summer together for the sake of the human race?

The Dead of July by whimsicule

Being an Avenger means continuing to be Captain America and smiling and being honorable for the public and Harry does his best. But it doesn’t give him time to figure out who he is supposed to be once he takes off his uniform and puts the shield to the side. Just being Harry had always involved Louis, and Harry fears he doesn’t know how to exist without him.

or: Harry is Captain America, and Louis’ been dead for 70 years.

come on jump out at me by yoursongonmyheart

“you know, i offered for you to fake out me, but, i don’t know anything about you other than you being my biggest celebrity crush probably since posh spice.”

louis almost chokes on his chicken, “jesus christ,” he sputters.

harry takes a swig of his beer with a smirk. “i was very disappointed when you didn’t say i was your celebrity crush after you came out.”

louis almost cries. “you know i did plan on it. then i ran into you narrating taking a piss and talking about my ass and i thought ‘wow this kid does talk some shit’ and decided against it.”

harry barks out a laugh, his ears tinged red. he takes a bite of his pizza. “i suppose i do have no filter while high.”

louis rolls his eyes, “bit of an understatement, mate.”

harry giggles, “whatever pal,” louis screams internally.

----

Or, the one where actor louis tomlinson and one direction superstar harry styles try to fake a sex tape to help harry get out of the closet and they both get more than they bargained for.

For As Long As I Can Remember (It's Been December) by green_feelings

After recovering from a severe accident that causes Harry to lose his memory of three years, he moves to London to start his life over as a star chef. Little does he know that when he falls in love with Louis at first sight, it’s not the first time they meet.

Featuring an unintentional game of hot and cold, Harry chasing memories that won’t come back, Louis burying himself in work to try and forget what he can’t forget, Liam being torn between two of his best friends, Zayn as a moral compass and Niall saving the day with good music and brutal honesty.

runnin' like you did by olaveya

“Should we tell him?”

When Lauren is met with everyone either nodding their heads or shrugging, she takes a deep breath. “I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious by now.” She stalls, sounding ominous and Louis doesn’t like it one bit.

“What is obvious by now?” Louis asks. He’s starting getting anxious. “I swear to God, spit it out. Stop being so damn cryptic.”

“I—We think it’s pretty obvious that you’re in love with Harry,” she states simply and shrugs as if she isn’t telling him he’s in love with the second—Nick being the first—most annoying person on the planet.

or, a college au where Louis knows how to hold a grudge and is definitely not in love with Harry Styles

knock knock, i love you by beautlouis

“Well,” Louis says, searching for something to relieve this tension. “I think if a bloke gets kicked out of his stats exam for a knock knock joke, he deserves to hear the punchline, yeah?”

“Oh!” Harry says, beaming. “I forgot where we left off, what was it again?” He looks overjoyed to be exchanging a shit joke.

“Ah, you said knock knock, then I said who’s there, and then you said Noah,” Louis supplies helpfully. He hates that he's actually curious about the rest of the joke. “So, Noah who?”

“Oh,” says Harry, in a much different tone, dragging out the syllable. He looks bashful now. Louis cannot keep up with this boy, it's going to kill him. “Right, well.” He shuffles his feet. Fuck, what kind of knock knock joke gets a boy nervous? “Noah a good place we could get something to eat?”

[Harry and Louis get kicked out of a statistics exam for passing a knock knock joke note, and subsequently fall in love. Harry's a virgin, there's a cat, a hot cocoa date, a lot of sex, even more knock knock jokes, and everything is lovely and happy.]

Sound Like a Song by allwaswell16

In high school, Louis Tomlinson lit up Harry’s world like nobody else, even if Harry did most of his pining from the safety of his tightly knit circle of friends. Ten years later, Harry is ready to make some changes. He’s tired of having so many regrets and not taking charge of his life, and he still hasn’t forgotten how brightly Louis shines. He’s about to get a long awaited second chance.

Or the one where Harry helps out at a farmer’s market and gives Louis free vegetables.

no better place than right by your side by velvetnoodle (goldfishsunglasses)

louis' in the maldives for a friends destination wedding when he meets harry at the reception. they agree to a no-strings-attached hook up: no last names, no phone numbers, no personal info, and no promises. only, the universe has other ideas.

aka the one where harry just won't leave louis alone (but he really doesn't mind)

From Christiania with love by sweariwouldnt

It's Louis' first field training day as a future police officer. It doesn't quite go to his plan.

Or, maybe, it goes exactly to some bigger plan.

All The Small Things by GMTYUniverse

Louis places a hand on Harry’s arm, and gives him a little reassuring squeeze which coincidentally provides him with a great opportunity to feel how firm his biceps is. An image of a sweaty Harry working out swiftly enters his mind, but he wills it away as he starts talking.

‘I wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t want you to join, God’s honest truth. Please don’t feel obliged, though.’

Harry snorts at that, then sends Louis a bright smile. “Then I’d love to come with you. I’ve always thought it’d be a really cool thing to go and see.”

He tries to hide his satisfied grin from breaking out, calming himself as he nods instead and lets go of Harry’s arm.

‘Great. You’ll have to tell me about it when we’re in the train, I’ve got no idea what it is we’re actually going to see. Is it just miniature buildings? Like a maquette?’

Harry grins at Louis’ questions. “You didn’t read the leaflet the ground stewardess gave you, did you?”

‘Not a single word’.

Or: The one where Louis & Harry meet and go on a shared adventure to miniature Netherlands due to a faulty plane, Louis' restlessness, Harry's excitedness and a healthy dose of fate & infatuation at first sight.

A Dangerous Night (To Fall In Love) by FallingLikeThis

“Hey, Harry!” Louis greets, walking up to Harry with a sunny smile.

Any other time, that smile would lift Harry’s heart even as it made it race. He could let himself get lost in it, would probably catch himself more than once hoping, wishing for it to be more than a smile aimed at a friend. He’d relish the moments he could forget that that’s all he is to Louis. Any other time, he’d be selfish and let himself entertain those thoughts. But this is not like any other time. Tonight is the beginning of the end.

or

Harry has visions and sees the destruction of Pompeii before it happens. Now, how does he tell his best friend what's to come?

In you, I see the dreams that I have always longed for by littleshoran

When Louis' parents find him a suitable wife to rule the country with, he has no idea how to let them know that he would rather not. Everything clears up a bit once the handsome brother comes into the picture.

The Finding Sea by angelichl

They met at the ocean, in a way. It makes sense for them to fall in love at the ocean too.

Harry is in love with his best friend. They go on vacation together.

- Fort Myers, Florida. -

We'll Paint the Town by kotabear24

For the Larry abroad prompt: Kleinfeld's, New York. This is a Say Yes to the Dress fic.

In which Louis can't flirt, Lottie does all the work, Harry just wants to get her in a damn dress, and Niall is an aggressive affirmer. It ends well for everyone.

Take It To The Limit by taggiecb

Louis Tomlinson enjoys the simple life. He has his house, his family, and his friends all in the tiny town of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland. When he isn’t spending the winters plowing out the residents and keeping Liam and Niall company at Payne’s pub, he’s out on the open water doing the one thing that he loves the most, fishing.

Harry Styles is a traveler. He lands in the tiny town to try to find himself. What he finds instead is a beautiful blue eyed man who seems to have everything figured out.

But even a brick house can be damaged by a storm if it’s big enough. Can Louis’ perfect life and their relationship survive the tumult that’s coming?

You've Got This Spell On Me by lovelarry10

My prompt location was: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Orlando.

Louis has been living in Florida for 3 years now, and loves his job working at Universal Orlando Resort, particularly in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. He's on a countdown to finally head home to Doncaster, but the arrival of a curly-haired boy from Holmes Chapel throws Louis' last few weeks in the Sunshine State into complete disarray...

Feeling Hazy (In the Ballroom of my Mind) by dimpled_halo

The doors to the ballroom open and violin music fills Harry’s ears, his skin prickling as he tightens his hold on Liam’s arm. All eyes fall on him as he makes his grand entrance next to Lord Payne, Earl of Wolverhampton. According to the media, they’re the couple of the century, but little do they know they’re not really dating. Harry tugs on his collar, the tightness around his neck almost too much. He’ll never get used to being Prince of Cheshire. Not only are wearing his royal garments a pain in the arse, he also hates all of the attention it garners.

There’s only one person’s attention Harry really wants.

Can't Wait To Consecrate This Wondrous Mess by graceling_in_a_suit

Harry wants to paint his nails. Louis has nail polish. It's a match made in heaven.

You Could Give That Aspirin the Headache of Its Life by LetTheMusicMoveYou

Louis had once heard that the chances of being struck by lightning are 1 in 700,000. He wonders now, how those odds compare to randomly being seated next to your ex boyfriend on a 10 hour flight.

Honestly, if the universe is going to insist on ruining his life, he really would have preferred the lightning thing.

(Or the one where Louis is a football player who gets stuck on a flight with his ex-boyfriend Harry. The universe might be conspiring against him, or is it?)

never shut us down by togetherwecouldbealright

Tumblr!AU.

Louis is an insecure mess and he hides behind his blog. Harry's a boy with a personality too bright and he's everything Louis thought he would hate. They end up falling in love.

Unintended by Cherrie

He watched as the guy threw his head back and giggled looking like a still shot from a romantic comedy. Fuck, he was beautiful. Of course he fucking was. Louis was short and stout there was no way he could fucking compare to that ethereal creature. Fucking Nick. Not only he had to cheat, but he had to do it with the most beautiful man on the planet.

Promises We Made by thekindofworld

Its been five years since Harry and Louis broke up; they were seventeen and nineteen and it was messy to say the least. Cue Louis, who is worked off his feet making clothes for celebrities, Harry dropping his debut album, Niall who likes to avoid his insecurities by dragging Louis on Holiday, Zayn and Perrie as Louis' right hand stylists, and Liam who wishes Harry would just tell him about his ex-boyfriends before he contacts them about working for him.

Its either going to be a disaster, or the perfect timing they've all been waiting for.

Whiskeyed Me Off My Feet by Snowy38

It was the twenty-eighth time he'd been in....the guy with the stunning smile. The fact he also had incredibly beautiful eyes and this mischievous little purse to his lips when his eyes crinkled was a small detail. The fact he had lovely features and the longest eye-lashes Harry had ever seen-well that was a minor observation. The fact he was kind of small and would fit perfectly in Harry's arms?

He had a lot of interest in that, definitely.

But he was with someone. The beautiful one was taken.

Well, of course, Harry arched a brow cynically. He was beautiful, of course he was going to be taken.

For You, I Give My Soul to Keep by Justalittlelouislove

Louis is presented with a challenge that changes his life forever.

Talk Dirty To Me by BriaMaria

They were both naked. And that seemed, again, like a catastrophically bad idea, but here they were anyway. Naked. In the dark. Only a few feet apart.

It hadn’t even been a discussion. The minute Harry flipped the lights off, they’d both shucked out of their clothes as if they’d been on fire.

“Alright darling,” Louis said, his hand wrapped loosely around his own cock. “Just remember, start slow. Lots of descriptions. Light on the hygiene, heavy on the compliments. You’ve got this.”

As if Harry were about to compete in some kind of athletic game. __

Or the one where Harry is absolutely terrible at dirty talk so he asks his best friend to teach him. And the one where Louis knows it's a catastrophically bad idea but agrees anyway.

Baby I got the power by rainbowslovehl (Larrymateforlife)

“That’s not actually half bad, you know?” “What?” Louis asked, furrowing his brows. “Yeah like it is silly, sure but so is this whole idea,” Zayn added. Liam made an affronted sound. “No offense Liam but you have to admit. It is a bit silly. But Power Rangers and nostalgia... Louis really has a good idea right there.” “I’m a little offended by that, Zayn, I’ll admit but you might be onto something there.”

Or where they dress up as Power Rangers and Harry is the Pink Power Ranger.

Far Afield by QuickedWeen

Harry Styles is a witch who owns the best flower shop in Manchester. Lottie Tomlinson is planning her wedding, and brings her brother along to her first appointment. Both men have been having a bad day and sparks fly.

Poison Me With Love by dimpled_halo

Gemma hums for a couple of seconds, and then, she gasps. “What if your flat is haunted?”

“Gemma, that’s not funny,” Harry says.

“No, I’m serious. I was just watching a show about it the other day. There’s, like, spirits and stuff that roam around different places. Maybe one of those spirits lives in your flat.” She says it like it’s such a common thing that Harry rolls his eyes. His sister would be watching shows like that, but Harry doesn’t appreciate that she’s telling him all this, not only because Harry is already spooked, but also because he lives alone in a flat that has weird things happening to him, and the last thing he needs is to be losing sleep over wondering if there’s some sort of spirit living in his home. * Or- There are strange things happening in Harry's flat and he's determined to figure out the cause.

Dusk Till Dawn by larryandgaystuff (cnd8544)

The witch/soulmate au no one asked for, published as part of Cocktober 2k17.

Got This Feeling In Our Souls by lululawrence

Louis sat up, awoken by something he couldn’t quite put a finger on. He scrubbed at his eyes, unsure if he was actually still dreaming or if he was awake. He didn’t dream often, but when he did they were always vivid like this. Louis opened his eyes and squinted through the darkness before jumping back, his heart racing.

Dream or not, there was a person sitting in the chair in the corner of the room. The chair that usually was only used by Charlie while Louis slept.

“Who the fuck are you and how did you get in my apartment?” Louis asked, voice a bit more squeaky than he’d like to admit. Suddenly there were two flashes of green, and the world went black again.

Just Around the Corner by FullOnLarrie

31 Days of Smut Prompt Word: Eerie

Louis' routine life is interrupted by the repeated appearance of... something. A ghost? A stranger? A hallucination?

Fallen treats by sweariwouldnt

Harry hates both Halloween and Louis Tomlinson. He does, however, love his little sister a lot. Hence why he puts on his ears and his tail and joins her, her friends and their big brother for a round of trick or treating.

My Arms Are Hungry For You by afirethatcannotdie

“Sorry, don’t tell me you’re actually a fan of the Red Devils,” says another voice, and Harry looks beyond Nick to see a guy standing there, taking long sips from a bottle.

“I-I am,” Harry stutters, pulse racing at the sight of him. His face is covered in white makeup, and he’s wearing a well-fitting white shirt, black pants, and a long black cape, a set of fake teeth in his mouth. “Don’t tell me you’re actually a vampire.”

Or the one where Harry and Louis meet at Nick Grimshaw's Halloween party and things go better than anyone could have expected.

Beep the Horn by kikikryslee

“Listen, I’ve tried to be helpful," Niall said. "But it's been three years. It’s time for you to make the move. There’s only so much encouraging I can do before it starts to get repetitive. And annoying.” “I feel so loved,” Louis deadpanned. “Of course we love you, Lou,” Zayn said. “We just need you to tell Harry how you feel so you can stop feeling so down on yourself.” --- Or, the one where Harry dresses as Miley Cyrus for Halloween, and Louis is the tiniest bit in love with him.

it's all fun and games until by louisandthealien

This is happening, he thinks dazedly, more than half hard in his jeans. Harry’s finally coming onto him, and they’re also about to summon a spirit.

or

“It’s the middle of the night and the ouija board just said we should fuck.”

Lips So Good, I Forget My Name by callmemal

On Halloween night, Harry and Louis try something new. As it turns out, Harry's insistence on baking the trick-or-treat goodies for the neighborhood kids is a sexy, filthy treat for them, too.

I'll be your trick if you'll be my treat. by happilylouie

Harry and Louis have been married for a while. Lately they have a problem in finding time for each other. As they plan to attend Niall’s Halloween Party a bit of trouble and dirty deeds occur.

Halloween Night by larrymylove

Harry and Louis spend Halloween night in. Just something absolutely cute and fluffy because I'm in a Halloween mood tonight!

Everyone's Waiting for the Next Surprise by crimsontheory

"Is that a banana in your pocket or are you just excited to see me?"

Harry jumps and almost drops the bottle he's holding in his hands and whips around to see Spiderman leaning up against the doorjamb to the kitchen. Harry can't see his face due to his mask, but he knows this guy has got to be deadly attractive if his body is anything to go by. He’s clad head to toe in a skintight spandex suit that hugs him in all the right places. His thighs are so thick, Harry wants to put his face in between them. And what the hell are these shots doing to him?

He stumbles a little when he reaches out to place the bottle back on the counter. And when did he become such a lightweight? He gently strokes along the bottom part of his banana costume that's sticking out between his legs and lowers his voice as best as he can. "I am very excited to see you. Banana's got a thing for men who are also spiders."

Or the one where Harry goes to a Halloween party dressed as a banana and meets Spiderman.

Tricking and Treats by embro

Louis takes his sisters Trick or Treating and just so happens to knock on Harry's door.

A Boo-tiful Relationship by lucdarling

Louis is hopeless in the kitchen and his daughter is demanding a smorgasbord of spooky treats. He gets help from the most unlikely teacher.

Turquoise Pumpkin by littlepinkbow

Louis is just trying to do the best he can for his daughter and along the way, he meets the most mesmerizing man.

Some Day My Prince Will Come by whitechimes

Based off of this prompt: Everyone thinks we came to this party as a couple because our costumes match what’s your name AU

or

Snow White and Prince Charming meet at a party.

it's only you that matters by togetherwecouldbealright

“I never used to care for Halloween, but now it’s my favorite holiday and, fuck, there’s no one else to blame except for you. You’ve made not only Halloween, but every day of the year better for me because I get to spend each and every one of them with you.”

The one where Harry and Louis meet on Halloween and Halloween somehow becomes their thing.

no grave can hold my body down by soleilouis

harry and louis find themselves stuck in an old haunted house. it may or may not be the fault of three friendly matchmaker ghosts.

Alone in a Sea of Stars by panda_bear21

He shifted his helmet, where it was still in his hands, watching the fluorescent lights shine off of Harry’s hair and reflect off his skin. Louis knew he would have to let Harry leave, but before doing so he licked over his dry lips, asking genuinely, “So are you going to follow me back to the ship again tomorrow or…?” Harry smiled in reply, dimples going all soft and sweet. “Going to wait until right before you close the doors again so you have no choice but to keep me.” Louis felt his skin warming and a small laugh bubbling up from his chest, as he bit down on his lower lip to stop his smile from growing. He cleared his throat, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I could probably kick you out right now if I wanted.” The thing was, Louis knew he wouldn’t. He could wait at least ten more minutes before he let Harry leave. Maybe even twenty.

Based on the prompt: Louis is an astronaut who is sent to Neptune and really he expected to find a few old rocks but instead he found some kid who claims to be ten thousand years-old

A King Beside You by stylinsoncity

When the aliens invade, the last thing Louis expects is to fall in love.

Beautiful & Strange by graceling_in_a_suit

Over the top of Niall’s cackles, Louis heard Zayn say: “I think it’s…. A spaceship.”

Louis and Niall turned to him in bafflement. Zayn put his hands up in surrender. “What! It’s clearly floating, so it’s not a rock, and it’s not made of wood or plastic or metal.”

Louis didn’t even bother telling him that, no, of course it’s not a spaceship, this isn’t the x-files.

OR: A story in which Harry is an alien looking to be found, and Louis does the finding. (And vice versa.)

Won't sleep (orphan_account)

Roswell!AU: After a situation at the pub escalates, Louis almost dies, but Harry is there to bring him back and nothing is ever the same again.

"Niall, Isabel and me," Harry says, voice strained and trembling around the edges. "We’re...not from around here." Louis frowns. "Where then?" Harry’s hand is unsteady as it detaches from Louis’ hip, his fingers trembling as he folds them towards his palm - all but one which he uses to point upwards. Louis raises an eyebrow. "Up north?" he asks. "Like, Scotland?" Harry shakes his head and lifts his hand further. "Iceland?" Another shake and the finger goes higher. Something niggles at Louis’ brain but he refuses to acknowledge it, his mind shying away from the mere possibility. "Greenland?" But he already knows that that’s not it either. He sees Harry gulp and raise his finger just that tiny bit more. "You can’t mean- You- No." An incredulous laugh bubbles out of Louis, threadbare and shaky. "Are you telling me you’re- you’re an-an a-" He can barely bring himself to say it. "An alien?" Harry’s face is pinched, his eyes wide as he gives a jerky nod.

through struggles, to the stars by thedeathchamber

Louis is a Starfleet captain trying to find his place in the universe. Harry is a prince just trying to do what's right. A Star Trek-inspired AU.

My Sweet, Sweet Love. by LouisFeels

Louis is an angel. Harry is a demon. They fall in love. Its forbidden.

Two different versions of the universe by Hazzalovescarrots

Harry is a demon, captured by hunters. but not just any hunters. Angels. Louis is his angel.

A bit of happiness by hilarry13

Harry is a new angel, given a task to help a troubled kid, Liam, but a certain little Demon keeps getting in the way.

Run Like the Devil by benzos

Harry stops pouting, but his frown is still fixed in place. “Are you sure?” he asks. “You know it’s your soul you’re signing away.” He sounds…sad? No, that’s not right, but there’s something.

Christ. This is the most incompetent demon Louis’ ever met. If he hadn’t seen the red of his eyes he wouldn’t believe he was a demon at all. How’d he get this job if he isn’t trying to convince Louis to deal? Or is it just another trick? A ploy for sympathy?

“I’m sure,” Louis says. “Come over here and kiss me.”

*

Supernatural AU. Louis hunts demons; Harry's the strangest demon he's ever met, and he keeps fucking meeting him.

we've got unfinished business by suspendrs

“Maybe we have a ghost,” Harry suggests, frowning when Louis laughs. “Lots of people have them, you know.”

“Harry, ghosts aren’t real,” Louis snorts, shaking his head as he makes his way back to the kitchen. Harry pouts for a moment, until he hears Louis shriek on the other side of the door.

Or, there’s a ghost in Harry and Louis’s apartment that seemingly just wants them to date.

You and Me and the Devil Makes Three by moodlighting

AU. Louis moves in next door to Harry. Louis has a ghost, Harry has an extra futon and a crush.

Across The Lines by alex4968

With a camera in hand, Louis sets off on the road trip of his life to explore the most famous haunted houses of the UK. Things don't exactly go to plan.

The Haunting of Louis Tomlinson by HelloAmHere

“I'm not afraid of ghosts,” Louis said.

Every single magnet unstuck itself from the fridge and fell to the floor in a clattering cascade.

“I'm only a little afraid of ghosts,” Louis said.

*** OR: Louis is a plucky Gothic Heroine, Harry is a Mournful Spirit, and Big Country Houses are full of mystery and suspense, as Big Country Houses ever are!

They Never Quite Leave by kiwikero

When Liam Payne inherited his great aunt's mansion, he never expected it to be haunted. With the help of famous ghost hunters Harry and Niall, Liam is hoping to evict the ghost and sell the house once and for all.

There's just one problem: Louis has been in that house for a hundred years, and he doesn't much feel like leaving.

Alternatively; come for the ghost sex, stay for the feels.

Darkest Night Hour by YesIsAWorld

After spending thirty-five years hiding out with his face buried in ancient vampire texts, Louis comes back to New York City. While Louis is adjusting to city life in the modern age, Zayn just wants his clan to finally win at trivia nights. Louis needs to make a major decision and he's running out of time. The last thing he expects is to meet someone like Harry, who might be the solution to all of their problems.

Carnelian by thewherethefislouisface (theycallmelolo)

“It’s a donor matching center for humans and vampires.”

“Vampires.” Louis snorts. “Like pretend vampires, like for people who think they are vampires?”

The humor clearly lost on Zayn as he answers calmly, “No, real vampires.”

“There’s no such thing as vampires.” Louis rolls his eyes. “You’re fucking with me or something.” Louis flicks his cigarette to the ground.

“I’m not.” Zayn speaks, his tone harsh and deeper than Louis remembers. “There are vampires all around you. We are quite civilized beings. We have careers, business, and we enjoy nights out on the town just like humans do. We aren’t savages. We blend in with the rest of the world. However, no advancement in science has fixed our one problem that makes us different than humans...We still need blood to live and we love it fresh from the source.”

OR

Louis finds himself donating blood to the most beautiful being he's ever seen.

I Will Never Rust by stylez

What was Harry meant to say? Yes Louis, I’d date you. I want to make you come repeatedly so that must mean I have a thing for you yeah? No. Because it doesn’t mean that, because Harry refuses to get attached to anyone he wants to fuck.

or

Harry wants to suck more than just Louis’ blood but Louis refuses to sleep with Count Dickula.

Among the Humans by thecheshirepussycat

A gothic, modern day vampire romance between a young human named Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles, ancient vampire and gentleman.

Creatures of the night come with more trouble than they wish to make it seem.

Bad Moon by jacinth

Knowledge is the key to all. One could render even the most dangerous enemy powerless without even lifting a finger if they know the right buttons to push. Louis wants to be one of those people. And he will be, as soon as he figures out how to outsmart Harry, who keeps locking him in fucking janitors closets every time something goes down because he's 'in the way'. But that's a whole other big bag of worms isn't it?

Out of the Wild by jaerie

Louis has spent most of his life as a wolf in the wild, Harry has spent most of his life as a human in the city. Their worlds collide during the audition process for the hottest new singing competition. What happens next should have expected.

But Please, Don't Bite by shyserious

"Melodic little jingle sounded from a bell hanging over the doorframe and warm indoor air curled heavily around his shivering body for the first time in months. Harry suddenly felt a sting in the corners of his eyes and had to force down a broken sob. Fuck, he was a mess. Such a mess. He had to focus."

what's inside your imagination (is as real as anything else) by suspendrs

“Hey!” Niall shouts suddenly, scaring Harry nearly out of his hat. “We like your costume!”

The ghost turns to glance at Niall, producing a hand from under the sheet and giving him a thumbs up. Harry can’t help but laugh a little more, the casual gesture adding to the entire vibe of the sunglasses-wearing ghost.

The ghost looks at them for a moment longer before turning and disappearing into the crowd again, and Harry sighs. “I love Halloween,” he says thoughtfully.

Or, Harry's a witch who likes to pretend he's a human pretending he's a witch, and Louis's the human in a not-so-clever costume that keeps catching his eye.

Always Darkest before the Sunrise by LadyLondonderry

Salem, Massachusetts, 17th century.

“You have attacked without need and without mercy, you have used arts so dark they are of the Evil One, and for that you cannot be allowed to walk free.”

What?

Harry starts struggling. It’s no use, he’s not even doing it with any sort of rational plan, the whole town at this point stands between him and freedom, but the words leaking from the preacher’s lips are filling him with a bile more sickening than he’s ever known.

“Harry Styles, ward of the church no longer, you are under arrest for the use of witchcraft against the innocent townspeople of Salem, Massachusetts.”

Love Potion Number 9 by noellehenry

Harry is a witch, albeit a clumsy witch. His spells never work out quite as he expects them to and his potions are at least hazardous. He is, however, talented in the kitchen: his pumpkin pie cupcakes are heavenly. He bakes them as a welcome gift for his new hot neighbour...

Down Comes The Night by graceling_in_a_suit

Harry Styles is a not-at-all-magic resident of 23rd Century London in possession of a very weird cat, an occult store, and the budding friendship of an attractive homeless man named Louis.

There's a miracle afoot.

Bewitched by Snowy38

"I've got Louis."

He didn't mean it to come out that menacing but the naturally deep lilt of his voice wasn't helping. The female on the other end of the phone gave a hysterical squeal.

"Please! Don't hurt him!"

Harry frowned, lip protruding sullenly in mild offence.

"I'm not-I'm not going to hurt him," he argued.

"What do you want?" The woman cried, voice wobbling with emotion.

Harry frowned.

"I want Louis," he answered because wasn't that much already obvious? Maybe Louis' family were just really thick.

Work of Magic by Bekita

"C’mon Liam, are you really going to use this against me now? You know the kind of humans his kind is! You know very well why we hunt them!" Louis said, done with the conversation and walking down the hall.

"No! We hunt people who don’t care about others, and neither Harry nor anyone in his family is like that!” Liam exasperated, following behind. “Louis, it's been two weeks, don’t you wanna know how Harry is? Has this hatred taken over so fast?" Liam inquired, knowing the hit a nerve.

"You know what, Liam? I'm not going to have this conversation with you." Louis said decisively, turning his back to his friend ready to go to his class.

But life is never fair, is it? When he turned around he was face to face with Harry in the middle of the hallway. The two stared at each other. Do I hate him? Louis wondered as he watched Harry's eyes fill with tears and seem to be begging for something. He preferred to ignore the pang in his chest and the urge to comfort the boy in front of him. He lowered his head and continued on his way.

Or the one that Louis is a WitchHunter and Harry is a Witch and they keep it as a secret, but they fall in love.

The Sweetest Incantation by smittenwithlouis

Harry has been alive for decades, and yet he's never been as confused and dumbfounded. He's a witch, for God's sake. Can't get much weirder than all the magical things he's experienced throughout his lifetime. Never in a million years, however, would he have expected to be mere inches away from a hybrid. Or: Harry is a witch who's still working on developing his powers and Louis is a werecat who falls into his life and turns it upside down.

What Happened to 'Never Say Die'? by kiddle

The 80s were one of the best decades to be a teenager in America. Just ask anyone who's seen a John Hughes movie. Louis would beg to differ. At least today he would, while he was stuck cleaning out his family's basement - part of his grounding after a senior prank gone wrong. But when he finds a box containing details of the biggest unsolved crime in Luna Hills, he and his friends decide to sneak out for one last adventure before they're all off to college. That is, as long as the mayor, who also happens to be Louis' mother, doesn't stop them before they discover the truth.

Or, a coming of age American AU inspired by classic 80s movies like The Goonies and Stand By Me where everyone has a secret and no one wants to get caught.

my heart, in deadly rhythm by impetuous

There exists somewhere a very, very small list containing the names of people who don’t want Louis Tomlinson dead. Harry Styles may or may not be one of those people.

(or a Spies!AU in which Liam is the Wade to Louis' Kim Possible, Zayn seduces people for intel, Niall is an expert at blowing things up, and Harry is more than a bit famous in his particular field... or infamous, actually. And Louis? Well, Louis just wishes people would quit trying so bloody hard to kill him all the time.)

Dance Like Warriors On A Battlefield by whoknows

Down in the arena, the triumphant gladiator places his foot on the back of the loser, holding him there as he waits for instruction on his next move. Kill or let live. It’s barbaric, really, the bloodlust involved in this sport. Louis is pretty sure that if it wasn’t for his distaste for the killing there would be a lot more blood soaking that sand.

As it is, his father rarely gives the kill order anymore. He gives the order to let the loser live. Louis rolls his eyes, turning away. He doesn’t miss the way the gladiator’s eyes linger on him.

Another Day Gettin' Into Trouble by whoknows

Harry’s drunk when the idea occurs to him. He’s also a pop star, so sometimes his drunk ideas turn into actual things instead of just ideas. The clone-a-willy kit is one of them.

In Harry’s defense, when he first thinks about it his intention is just to buy the kit and give it to Louis to make his own dildo with, because that’s what he wants anyway, right? To have a penis filling him up?

Then he realizes that it would be weird if Louis made a copy of his own dick to fuck himself with. It’d be super weird. Louis fucking himself? That’s a weird idea. Harry’s pretty sure Louis wouldn’t like that.

Clearly the only solution here is to use his own dick for the mold.

Make A Run, Cause Some Rebellion by whoknows

As a general rule, kitten hybrids are small and disinterested in what other people want them to do, slightly evil and at least a little manipulative. Louis prides himself on being all of those things to varying degrees, but especially on being uninterested in what other people tell him to do. He’s still human goddammit, despite his pointy ears and penchant for curling up in the sun and taking naps.

He’s going about his daily business, knocking things over where he sees fit and leaving a trail of mess in his wake. As exasperated as it makes Liam he’s used to it by now, having shared a flat with Louis for almost three years now, and if Louis whines enough he’ll even clean up after him. It’s a great life, really.

With the exception of Liam’s stupid, broad shouldered, entirely too big mate, the one who always comes over to watch sports with him. Louis hates that guy. His hair is always greasy and he brings weird hipster beer with him when he comes that tastes like shit. And he won’t even let Louis have any of it, either. The only reason Louis even knows what it tastes like is because one time he stole a bottle from the fridge and fled to his room before Harry could catch him.

Been Gone Way Too Long by whoknows

“This can’t be happening,” Louis says, banging his hand against the window. “This seriously can’t be happening right now.”

Things like this only happen in the movies. Things like this don’t happen in real life. There’s no way that he’s seriously been snowed in. There’s no way that the heating is broken. There’s no way that it’s going to take upwards of twenty-four hours and probably a lot longer for the storm to break and someone to come and rescue them.

“Just sit down, Louis,” Harry sighs from somewhere behind him. He sounds miserable, like he’s already feeling the cold.

Louis whirls around and points a finger at him. “Did you plan this?” he demands a little hysterically. He regrets the question as soon as it’s out of his mouth, but he thinks he’s got a valid point. It’s not like this storm just came out of nowhere - it has to have been on the news for a couple of days, at least. Plenty of time for Harry to have canceled this excursion.

Back Where I Belong by whoknows

Harry’s trying to have a conversation with Nick, who he hasn’t seen in nearly three months, but the way Nick’s eyes keep darting over his shoulder every few seconds is quite distracting.

It’s ironic, because at least a quarter of the reason that he’s even talking to Nick in the first place is because he needs a distraction. He’s all too aware of exactly what’s going on behind his back.

Nick is the one who finally brings it up. “Do you think he’s doing it to spite you?”

“He’s definitely doing it to spite me,” Harry answers tightly, resisting the urge to crane his neck around so he can see. He clutches his drink a little tighter, trying to keep his tenuous control over his own movements.

Something in the World Today by whoknows

It shouldn’t be a surprise, the first time that Louis drops to his knees in front of Harry. It shouldn’t be, because it’s been something that Louis has needed for a long time. It shouldn’t be, because he’s been crawling out of his skin for weeks on end. It shouldn’t be, because Harry always makes him feel better. It shouldn’t be, because he’s needed this even when he didn’t know that he needed it.

Somehow, it still is.

End of the World Tonight by whoknows

“You remember when you told me that you wanted to live with me for the rest of your life?” Louis asks. His voice trembles a bit, exposing exactly how much he hates what he’s about to do. How much he wishes that he wasn’t about to do it.

“I remember,” Harry says. His expression is a little lost, like he thinks that they’re about to have a fight and he’s not sure what they’re supposed to be fighting about. Louis closes his eyes because he has to, has to take a second to regain his courage. He can’t keep doing this. He can’t keep suffering, can’t keep killing himself trying to hide this. He’s ready. He’s been ready for a long time.

Ain't No Tellin' Who's In Charge Here by whoknows

The thing about Louis’ and Harry’s dynamic is that while Louis is the instigator of 99% of the foolishness, Harry will always come back at him with something ten times dirtier than whatever Louis had thought up. Of course, Louis can’t let that go, so he does something else, so Harry has to do something else, and then it’s a vicious cycle that continues until one of them makes a plea for a truce.

It’s like that even when they’re at home. Sometimes it’s like that especially while they’re at home, because Louis gets bored easily and Harry is just such an easy target. The point is that the kind of foolishness that Louis is known for doesn’t stop when the cameras stop rolling, so when Louis lets himself into Harry’s bedroom at 5:30 in the morning to annoy Harry into waking up before he goes for a run is completely normal and to be expected.

Except that it turns out not to be so normal.

As Wicked As Anything Could Be by whoknows

It starts when Louis decides that he wants to lose his cherry and announces that he thinks the best way to do that is by going to a gay club. Naturally, Harry can’t let him go alone, so he tags along and spends the night rating guys with Louis until someone finally catches Louis’s eye.

Harry shoves him out to dance with the guy, and he can already tell that it’s going to be a quick and dirty hook up, so he’s not surprised that Louis and the guy disappear into the bathroom ten minutes later.

It is a surprise when Louis comes out not even two minutes later, pale and clammy, grabs Harry by the hand and drags him right out the door.

Somehow Harry comes to the decision that it would be a good idea for him to be in the room with Louis while Louis gets laid.

It’s a stupid fucking decision.

where your lips land by BriaMaria

A love story told through Louis' tattoos.

... or the Tyler Knott Gregson-inspired AU where Louis is a poet who lives in Montana and Harry is a photographer passing through.

From the poem: "I put new ink where your lips have landed/I cover your kisses with reminders" -- TKG

and marshmallows by BriaMaria

Louis Tomlinson’s ass was wet. Well the whole back of him was wet, but it was really, really seeping through the thin jeggings that he swore to Lottie were jeans. In this moment, though, lying spread eagle in the snow bank that was his front yard he admitted that they were indeed some kind of useless fabric that wasn’t denim.

“Ummm.” The voice was deep, hesitant and came from the little walk leading up to Louis’ house. Fucking fantastic. Someone to witness his misery. “Are you alright?”

Louis squeezed his eyes shut hoping that the person would just go away.

--

The one where Harry has a personal attachment to Louis' house, and Louis can't stop picturing the beautiful stranger dancing in his kitchen.

For Your Eyes Only by BriaMaria

Harry and Louis had never broken the two-week rule before. When they did, we got If I Could Fly and Home.

When The Stars Come Out by BriaMaria

Louis was about to reassure Harry further when Gemma bounded back over to him, slipping a hand around Louis' waist. Harry’s eyes followed the movement. And then that lip gnaw again. Christ. How was he supposed to survive this weekend?

He turned his attention to Gemma as her palm came to rest right above his heart. Laying it on a bit thick, dear. Or at least that’s what he hoped he’d conveyed with the simple tilt of an eyebrow.

In response, she went up on tiptoes and laid a noisy kiss on the hollow beneath his cheekbone. Louis didn’t take his eyes off Harry, who watched the scene play out with a blank expression. Once Gemma dropped back to the ground, Harry shifted away from them, his gaze dropping to his feet.

[Or the one where Louis pretends to be Gemma's boyfriend for her horrid cousin's wedding but fate is a nasty jerk and throws Harry in his way.]

An Ever-Fixed Mark by larryandgaystuff (cnd8544)

Louis has zero chance of passing Literature. At least without a tutor who knows Shakespeare well enough to recite it as if those words were his own. And he finds just that, and a lot more, in Marcel.

The course of true love never did run smooth. But is it worth it?

Just Stop Your Crying (It's a Sign of the Times) by larryandgaystuff (cnd8544)

My own imagining of the inspiration for Sign of the Times. Featuring boys in love, even after all this time.

Petrichor by larryandgaystuff (cnd8544)

Louis moves back home after graduating from college and finds out that Harry hasn’t changed much in the ways that matter and neither have his feelings for him. His hair is longer and his voice is deeper and he now owns the bakery where they worked as kids. But his eyes are just as bright and his dimples are just as beautiful and he’s still everything Louis wants. Niall and Liam basically help them both get their shit together because what else is new.

[lesbiancouplescounseling]

Are you tempted to ignore Valentine’s day this year because it smacks of tired, heterosexist customs? Or because of the cheesy V-day traditions meant to line the pockets of teddy-bear makers, high-priced restaurants, and chocolatiers?

Well, hang on one hot second. Don’t just write-off this holiday as one to be ignored.

Why?

Because valentine’s day is actually a platinum opportunity for you to be completely unapologetic in how you show the woman you love (and anyone else watching) how special she is to you.

(And by the way, if you’re in the camp that thinks of valentine’s day as Singles Awareness Day, then gather up some of your other single female friends and celebrate your friendship by doing something new and fun together.)

I want you to get your creativity engine revved up, and start dreaming about how you can create the best lesbian valentine’s date night, ever.

You can design a memorable, epic date. One where both you and your babe will remember exactly why you fell in love, and rekindle the spark all over again. Even if you’ve been feeling disconnected from your partner.

How do you create the best lesbian valentine’s date night, ever?

Mostly by giving yourself license to think outside of the date box. You can become a date night planner extraordinaire! And this year’s valentine’s date night can go down in history as the greatest one on record.

Don’t worry. You won’t have to do a major google search to find dozens of articles about valentine’s date ideas to comb through. I’ve got you covered right here:

Decide if you want a private or public date

A couple of things to consider… Is your budget on the tight side, or do you have some extra cash to play with? If you’re living lean, then a date at home may be the way to go. But if you’ve got the extra funds to spend, consider painting the town red.

And the other decision to think about is whether you want to use this day as a chance to advocate for gender equality and same-sex relationships by going out on the busiest straight-couples date-night of the year.

By choosing to go out on valentine’s day, you can proclaim with pride that love is love!

Whether you stay at home, or go out on the town, you can create a memorable date that highlights all the juicy nuances of your love.

You can plan a picnic in the living room or a candlelight dinner you cook together followed by dancing to your favorite tunes. Or you can opt to make a reservation for tapas at a restaurant you’ve not been to, followed by drinks at a jazz club or lesbian bar.

Whatever you choose, be sure to follow the next 3 suggestions to craft an iconic valentine’s date night.

Start your date night in the morning

If you’re going for epic, you can’t just change out of your exercise clothes at 6:30pm, spiff up your hair, and head to your favorite restaurant for a couple of hours.

Nope! Get the valentine’s vibe going early.

Start by bringing coffee, and breakfast nibbles to your beloved before she’s fully awake. Feed her grapes or strawberries with her eyes closed. And after every bite, give her a light kiss and tell her one thing you love about her. Watch her giggle with delight!

If you’re not a breakfast-in-bed kind of gal, then invite your honey to take a shower or bath with you when you roll out of bed.

Be prepared with a new, delicious-smelling body gel and a back brush. She’ll probably want to suds-up your back (and front) too. Then dry-off one another with a clean, fresh towel that you ran through a hot dryer before meeting in the tub.

Also, be strategic about letting your partner know she’s your special valentine starting early and throughout the day. You can:

Leave a sticky love note in her bento-box, jacket pocket, or her car seat before she takes off for the day

Send her cute and funny heart memes several times

Call her unexpectedly on the phone and tell her she’s sexy and you can’t wait to hang out with her after work

Flirt with her via text during the day

Hide her favorite snack in a place she’ll find it

Email her a love-poem you wrote just for the occasion (Trust me. It doesn’t even have to be a good poem for her to be amazed and feel totally loved!)

Make a date plan that hits all the senses

Call me a hopeless romantic, but I think the most wonderful, novel date imaginable will ignite all the senses.

You know…sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

So, whether you’re making a fancy dinner at home or dining out and catching a comedy show, be sure to bring into focus all five senses. And take time to linger in each of the senses. Be sure to amplify the sensory experiences by telling each other details about what you’re noticing and enjoying.

Sight…

Either craft or take note of the things that look beautiful, appealing, and even exotic.

Make or buy a valentine’s card that’s fun to look at. Wear something that accentuates your best features. Ask your partner to wear jewelry that you love to see her in. Watch the sunset or moonrise together and take an usie (as opposed to selfie). Spend some time looking at photos of your favorite outings or trips together.

And be sure to gaze into one another’s eyes for 60 seconds or longer.

Hearing…

Weave into your valentine’s date a variety of sounds.

Listen to your favorite play-list. Sing together. Whisper sweet nothings into her ear. Sit in a moment of silence. Talk to each other and ask interesting date night questions. As a bonus, you can improve your communication instantly.

Go outdoors and listen to the outside sounds— both nature-made sounds and human-created sounds. Can you hear the leaves quaking, the birds chirping, the airplanes flying, the cars honking?

What about the sound of caressing your love’s hand, or the tiny sound of your lips parting after a kiss? Listen and love.

Smell…

Morning coffee. Lovely bath gel. The aroma of her washed hair. A vase full of roses or wild-flower mix.

Garlic and spices of a new scrumptious entree (either at home or in a bistro). Fruity red wine or herbal tea.

The beautiful fragrance of a candle you bought for the evening. Clean sheets on the bed. Her lovely scent as you nuzzle her all over.

Taste…

Start with a kiss (even if you both have dragon breath)!

Later, feed each other berries dipped in whipped cream or dark chocolate covered almonds. Be sure to taste her finger when she gives you each bite.

Enjoy a delicious meal that you don’t normally splurge on. With lots of different flavors. Linger on every bite.

Treat yourself to an exotic cocktail, a different beer, or an unusual beverage that you’ve never had.

Kiss more than you normally do. And when you land in bed, kiss her all over.

Touch…

Ah! Be sure to amp up on physical touch this valentine’s day.

Enjoy giving and receiving touch that feels good. It can be non-sexual, sensual touch AND sexual touch.

Spoon as you’re waking up.

Hold hands. Kiss. Walk arm-in-arm. Slow dance. Hug at least 5 times. Play footsies under the table.

Take turns giving a foot rub or shoulder massage. Heck, get some massage oil and exchange full-body massages.

Follow the pleasure of touch. See where it leads.

Give a gift that says I get you!

What’s the best gift to give your wife?

By no means are fancy gifts a must for a great valentine’s day. In fact, sometimes simple, inexpensive, or cost-free gifts are just right.

The price tag isn’t what’s important.

What matters most, is that the gift you give your partner let’s her know that you’ve been listening and paying attention to her.

Your gift can let her know that you truly see her and understand her. That you really get her, and what matters to her.

Do not make the mistake of giving her what you’d like to receive.

Think about what she likes, enjoys, stands behind, craves, or highly values. What are her hobbies and interests right now? Look for a gift that would support what she’s currently into.

If receiving gifts is not one of her love languages, then consider giving her the gift of quality time, an act of service, or affirmations. Such as:

Have her car detailed

Take over a dreaded chore for the next month

Give her a jar full of hand-written compliments and affirmations she can pull from when she’s feeling down

Gift her a membership to the Botanic Gardens or Art Museum

Donate to her favorite charity

Hand write her a heart-felt love letter that she can read over and over

Schedule a private lesbian couples retreat in Denver

Again, the key is to be tuned into her likes, feelings, and interests. Don’t go for easy and convenient. Unless she’s really into roses, chocolates, and plush bears.

Follow these suggestions, and I can practically guarantee that you’ll create the best lesbian valentine’s date night, ever.

Have fun!

[dailynewswebsite]

All Zoomed out? How to deal with Zoom fatigue over the holiday season

In lieu of in-person gatherings, vacation and end-of-year celebrations can be digital due to the continued coronavirus pandemic. (Shutterstock)

Effectively it’s official. Throughout North America and most of Western Europe, the Christmas holidays are going to look very totally different this 12 months. Because the second wave of the pandemic hit, we’ve been informed to make use of digital instruments to attach with our family members for some vacation cheer. In actual fact, we might all discover ourselves declining to take part in in-person vacation gatherings in an effort to curb the unfold of COVID-19 previous to the discharge of a vaccine.

Sadly, nevertheless, we’ve already been doing virtually all the things digitally from our couches for months, and most of us are getting actually bored with the entire thing, with good purpose.

So will we write off the vacations altogether? Or will we attempt to discover new methods to make issues memorable? My analysis on digital literacy reveals methods we will join this vacation season, at the same time as we keep bodily aside.

Learn extra: Educating youngsters digital literacy abilities helps them navigate and reply to misinformation

Video for all the things

The primary few months of the pandemic was stuffed with Zoom fever. Folks had been zooming work, completely happy hour, board recreation nights and different occasions as effectively. Then many individuals felt like they hit a wall. Zoom fatigue is actual. And up to date analysis suggests that every one the efforts to attach utilizing video chat platforms (Zoom, Skype, Groups and comparable) would possibly truly be sporting us down.

So whilst you take into account the best way to unfold vacation cheer, you wish to discover methods to step away from doing all the things by way of video chat. As an alternative, study from the methods digital natives use digital communication instruments, and have fun the season utilizing a wide range of platforms, as I’ll define under.

Totally different platforms for various social teams

My analysis reveals that younger individuals are inclined to section their use of social media platforms by their relationships on these platforms. For instance, youngsters use Fb to remain in contact with household and academics, however use Snapchat with their buddies. They socialize in large multiplayer video games.

This type of engagement with digital know-how is smart for everybody. When you use Zoom for work, chances are you’ll wish to experiment with different applied sciences to attach with household and buddies, For instance, you might use an app like Rave, Airtime or Teleparty to observe films synchronously with buddies. Or you might go to family and friends just about in a recreation like Animal Crossing, World of Warcraft, or Minecraft.

Get digitally artistic

There are various different methods you’ll be able to join with family members to unfold some vacation cheer. The sky, and your creativity, are the restrict, however listed below are a number of of my favorites:

Curate and share a music playlist: Analysis on on-line music sharing has proven that sharing music is deeply linked to friendship. You could possibly curate a vacation music playlist on a streaming platform like Spotify, and share it with others this vacation season. This might deliver you nearer collectively as you play on-line video games, order meals or ship vacation memes to your WhatsApp group.

Ship textual content messages: A 2016 examine from the College of Minnesota confirmed that textual content message are perceived as being hotter and extra private than e-mail. Keep involved along with your family members all through the vacations by sending frequent textual content messages. Sending emojis and gifs in your textual content messages will even additional improve your emotional connection along with your family members.

Host a digital New Yr’s cèilidh on YouTube: A Christmas cèilidh is a Scottish vacation custom the place household and buddies get collectively and share songs, tales and dancing. You may create a digital cèilidh with these you like by utilizing a web site like YouTube. Every participant can add a video of themselves singing a music, telling a narrative, reciting a poem or enjoying a musical instrument. Then you’ll be able to curate the movies right into a playlist that the group can get pleasure from whereas consuming their Christmas cookies. In spite of everything, analysis reveals that YouTube is place the place communities are created, in addition to a spot the place movies are shared.

Tune in, activate, then cop out

Holidays are annoying, and you’ll really feel tempted to just accept each digital invitation, however you additionally must spend a while disconnecting from digital gadgets. Some universities suggest that their doctoral college students construct in digital detox occasions with a purpose to fight Zoom fatigue.

Typically you’ll actually wish to use a videoconferencing platform to recreate a vacation dinner or cocktail social gathering, so be sure to fight Zoom fatigue by balancing your video chatting with the opposite methods to attach described above.

And whilst you step away out of your pc, don’t overlook old style methods to remain in contact. Ship playing cards, choose up the telephone or mail presents to your family members. Typically these are most impactful as a result of we expertise them so not often in our hyper-connected world.

Jaigris Hodson receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Analysis Council (SSHRC) Canada Analysis Chairs Program.

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/all-zoomed-out-how-to-deal-with-zoom-fatigue-over-the-holiday-season/ via https://growthnews.in

[bomethius]

INADIQUIT: A STORY

Bomethius, inadiquit (2020) A full-length collaboration between Jonathan Hodges and his uncle, Dave Hodges 

My uncle Dave and I have been close for most of my life. He used to dip my pacifier in Jack Daniels — to “strengthen my immune system” — and he taught me to eat ants in my Mormor’s (grandmother’s) pantry, play chess, shoot pool, and debate my Sunday school teachers.

Our relationship has always been equal parts silly and serious, and we’ve always seemed to understand each other. The distance that frequently separates adults and children never seemed to come between us. We often sat at the piano and plunked about until we were sufficiently bored with our ideas and then listened to Paganini or Chopin, mutually cringing at our ineptitude and mediocrity. We debated over philosophers, history, and theology. Above all, we laughed.

Things changed around my 14th birthday, though, when my family moved from Atlanta to Austin, Texas. My dad was diagnosed with cancer shortly after the move, and I started writing music to cope. After Dad made a full recovery, we took a road trip to Atlanta to see our extended family. On that trip, I listened to Chopin’s entire catalogue. The drive is about 17 hours, and Chopin wrote about 17 hours of music.

I sat down at the piano as soon as we arrived at Mormor’s house. It was Sunday, and Dave was over. After lunch, I showed him my ideas for a piece. We messed around and ended up finishing a draft together. About a week later, my friend dropped by and recorded it. The result was my first professional recording, “Improvisation No. 1,” which is the fourth track on inadiquit. Dave and I had ironed out the song’s structure, but the performance was mostly improvised — I had never played it that way before, and I’ll never play like that again. As it was last played and recorded seven years ago, “Improvisation No. 1” represents the first time I had something to say with my music.

Years went by, and I left for college. I only got to see Dave whenever we were in the same town. We exchanged emails and texts now and then, but we could never talk the way we needed to. It’s impossible to spend all the time you have with only the people you want to see, so we just accepted that and moved along. Each of us became a story for the other: I’d do impressions of my ridiculous uncle for my friends, and he’d tell his friends about his semiserious violinist nephew.

Before college, I released an album called The Dressing to My Salad with my good friend Nate Zivin. We wrote and recorded the whole thing on a whim in about a week and a half, but Dave really took to it. He showed it to friends and family, and a few people actually listened to it, which was pretty neat. Nothing serious came of the record, though; it was just a fun little thing that happened.

A couple years later, when I was halfway through undergrad, I released a self-recorded album called Gender is a Fluid and sent it to Dave. He was confused.

“What are you doing?” he asked me. “You’re a violinist, right?”

I told him I wanted to do more than violin. It was a short conversation, and Dave left scratching his head. Regardless, he kept up with my releases and periodically sent me listening suggestions. We started talking over the phone a lot more frequently — often about music that made us cry. Our conversations became a monthly event.

After I released Sweet Nothings and the reviews started to come in, I began to feel stuck. While the record did really well, considering I’m nobody, I wondered if I’d written Bomethius into a corner. The music was all so serious, and the laughter I’d always tried to maintain didn’t come through as much. I remember telling Dave I hadn’t had a new or decent idea in a while, to which he responded, “Here’s a stack of things you need to listen to.” I needed the next Bomethius album to be different. I needed to stave off all the Elliott Smith and Andrew Bird comparisons and prove to myself that I wasn’t just another sad minimalist.

As I was finishing my last semester of college, Dave called me to see if I had any interest in setting an old poem of his to music. It was called “A Mazing Tonic,” which he described as an initialistic acrostic that touched on his experiences with an hallucinogen called AMT. I jumped at the opportunity, and we hung up. (Here's that poem!)

I heard nothing from Dave for several days, which meant he was probably having second thoughts about showing it to me, so I badgered him until he gave in and sent me the poem. I spent three days reading the poem aloud — and wondering if it even needed music — before I began to set it.

A few weeks later, Dave called again to tell me he’d be coming out to Dallas for a business project and that he’d like to stay at my place. So, he came over, and three bottles of wine later, we’d unpacked our adolescence, early frustrations with the church, drug experiences, regrets, love for Kierkegaard, and discovery of a God who’s completely different from what we were told to believe in as children. It was an amazing night. I woke up the next day with a terrible hangover and the beginnings of what would become the worst case of laryngitis I’d ever had, but I was beyond excited.

About a week later, I finished a demo for his “A Mazing Tonic” poem and emailed it to him. I heard nothing for a few days, and then he called me to say that he couldn’t stop crying the first time he heard the demo. We were both ecstatic. He shared some ideas for making the song better, and we hung up. After I finished a second draft of the song, I showed it to my roommate Travis. He asked me what we were planning to do with the song, and I said I’d probably just release it as a single. Over Christmas, I told him, I happened upon some old photographs of Dave and me hanging out when I was about 3 years old, and we could probably use those as cover art. Travis thought about this for a moment and then remarked that we should do an entire album together.

I got so excited I called Dave right then to suggest it to him. There was complete silence on the other end, and then he inhaled deeply — the way he does when he’s unsure about something — and finally replied with some hesitation. “Ok, I’m not going to say anything about this yet. Give me some time to think about it. My gut reaction is absolutely not, but I might just be scared. Let me call you back.”

He called me back fifteen minutes later. “All right, I’m in. Might just be an EP. I’d be surprised if we’re able to put enough material together for a full album, but I have to tell you that I’m in. Hold me to it. I know tomorrow I’ll hate myself for this. Tomorrow, I won’t want to do this.” As soon as we hung up, I immediately opened a Google Doc so we could start writing and discussing our album.

Dave has spent much of his life ashamed of his creativity. He might spend a few hours composing a piano piece, stop to take a break, and then come back to the piece only to be so completely disgusted with his efforts that he prints it off, sets it on fire, deletes the file, and reformats his hard drive. As hilarious as this sounds — and it is funny — it’s also terribly sad. A big part of this project came from the need to show Dave his ideas don’t have to stay buried and hidden — that he doesn’t have to be ashamed of what he can create.

As the project unfolded, Dave steadily grew to be more confident, and his ideas became stronger. It was a beautiful progression. Dave came into this project with some experience as a poet but not as a lyricist, so working with his lyrics was often challenging. The difference between good poetry and good lyrics is difficult to pin down, but I think it has something to do with the fact that, like a screenplay, you actually have to sing a song — whereas a poem is sustained by the words alone. I’ve never needed to hear Robert Frost read one of his poems. They’re already complete on paper. A good reading might add something, but it isn’t essential. Good lyrics only come alive when set to the right tune and sung. And that’s what I had to do on this album: I had to wring the music out of the poetry.

Neither of us can take 100 percent credit for any of the songs on this album. This album is a true, complete collaboration from beginning to end, and it was a joy to create something with Dave that captures our relationship, our personalities, and our experiences.

[longforgottenunofficial]

When the Spooks Have a Midnight Jamboree

They say that whatever music you loved when you were 17, that's the music you will love the rest of your life.  For Buddy Baker, who wrote the music for the Haunted Mansion, that would be 1935.  For X. Atencio, who wrote the lyrics to "Grim Grinning Ghosts," it's 1936.  That's just an interesting factoid to keep tucked away as you read what follows. No one doubts that a big part of the Mansion's appeal is its superb musical scoring.  The "Grim Grinning Ghosts" tune, written by Buddy Baker, appears in numerous arrangements throughout the ride, and however much it's rearranged and recast, it always sounds creepy.  Magic!

The lyrics are not exactly Shakespeare.  Actually, the title is Shakespeare.  The phrase "grim grinning ghost" appears in line 933 of the epic poem, "Venus and Adonis." "Hard-favour'd tyrant, ugly, meagre, lean, Hateful divorce of love,"—thus chides she Death,— "Grim grinning ghost, earth's worm, what does thou mean To stifle beauty and to steal his breath, Who when he liv'd, his breath and beauty set Gloss on the rose, smell to the violet? Too bad it wasn't in line 999.  Whether X borrowed the phrase consciously and deliberately or plucked it from a subconscious memory of his readings in Shakespeare—who knows? Anyway, there is no point in pretending that the lyrics are poetry with a capital P.  The graveyard jamboree scene (the only place you hear the lyrics sung) is not conducive to hearing a song with any kind of narrative.  "Grim Grinning Ghosts" is calculated so that someone can hear a line here or a piece of a phrase there and still get the general idea of ghosts and ghoulies coming out to party.  Except for the tagline at the end of each verse, you could almost put the rest of the lines in a hat and reorder them at random. [Edit 8/13: But see now the argument by T. Hartwell in the Comments.]  The song is a laundry list of spooky phenomena, explained at the end of each verse as ghosts coming out to socialize.  The arrangement is suitably rollicking and undeniably catchy: Grim Grinning Ghosts [Audio Link]

Grim Grinning Ghosts When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake, Spooks come out for a swinging wake. Happy haunts materialize, 
 And begin to vocalize. Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

Now don't close your eyes and don't try to hide. Or a silly spook may sit by your side. Shrouded in a daft disguise. They pretend to terrorize. Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

As the moon climbs high o'er the dead oak tree, Spooks arrive for the midnight spree.
 Creepy creeps with eerie eyes, 
 Start to shriek and harmonize. 
 Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize.

When you hear the knell of a requiem bell, 
 Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell. 
 Restless bones etherialize, Rise as spooks of every size.(Laughter)

Incidentally, those singing busts have official names, which are on the blueprints and the film strips for each one (before things went digital).  Left to right you've got Rollo Rumkin, Uncle Theodore, Cousin Algernon, Ned Nub, and Phineas P. Pock.  We've already met Rollo and Phineas as tombstones in the original outside queue.  "Cousin Algernon" is the name of a character in the Oscar Wilde play, "The Importance of Being Earnest."  There was originally going to be a sixth bust, Aunt Lucretia, but they went with an all-male chorus, and Aunt Lucretia found useful employment elsewhere in the Mansion.

But let's get back to our topic.  When it comes to comic songs about ghosts and goblins coming out to party, the first one that comes to most people's minds is probably "The Monster Mash," but long before that record came out the theme was popular.  In fact, the heyday of such songs was the 1930's and 40's.  If you listen to some of those, you're probably hearing the inspirational roots that led to GGG.  Put another way, GGG is part of an established genre of novelty songs rooted in the 30's and 40's.  At times, the lyrics to some of these songs come so close that you could almost suspect direct inspiration, but there are no smoking guns that I know of.  Nevertheless, I've highlighted a few such lines in what follows.  These songs are a real kick to listen to, whatever the excuse for doing so.

The Skeleton in the Closet [Audio Link]

There's an old deserted mansion on an old forgotten road, Where the better ghosts and goblins always hang out. One night they threw a party, in a manner à la mode, And they cordially invited all the gang out. At a dark bewitching hour, when the fun was loud and hearty, A notorious wallflower became the life of the party. The spooks were having their midnight fling, The merry making was in full swing, They shrieked themselves into a cheerful trance, When the skeleton in the closet started to dance. Now a goblin giggled with fiendish glee, A shout rang out from a big banshee, Amazement was in every ghostly glance. When the skeleton in the closet started to dance. All the witches were in stitches, while his steps made rhythmic thumps, And they nearly dropped their broomsticks when he tried to do the bumps. You never heard such unearthly laughter, or such hilarious groans, When the skeleton in the closet rattled his bones.

That's Satchmo himself, of course, Louis Armstrong, from the soundtrack of the 1936 film, Pennies from Heaven.  The similarity of theme between "Skeleton" and GGG is obvious.

Swingin' at the Séance [Audio Link]

In a house up on a rock along the countryside, At precisely twelve o’clock the spooks begin to rise. Swingin’ at the seance, twelve ticks, Swingin’ at the seance, hot licks, With the medium in trance, How that horn began to dance. Swingin’ at the seance, five men, Swingin’ at the seance, jive men, When the trumpet blasted out, All the spooks began to shout. That music came through so sweetly low-down, Yet nobody knew who was riff-riff-riffin’ around. Swingin’ at the seance, black coats, Swingin’ at the seance, blue notes, While the trumpet could have won a cup, Its jivin’ broke the seance up, And who do you think was a riffin’ away? No one else but Billy May.

That's the Glenn Miller Orchestra, with Dorothy Claire, in 1941.  Looks like it may have been written by Billy May.

The Headless Horseman [Audio Link]

Now, gather ‘round while I elucidate On what happens outside when it gets late. ‘Long about midnight the ghosts and banshees Get together for their nightly jamboree. There’s ghosts with horns and saucer eyes, And some with fangs about this size. Some short and fat, some tall and thin, And some don’t even bother to wear their skin. I’m a-tellin’ you brother, it’s a frightful sight Just to see what goes on in the night.

When the spooks have a midnight jamboree, They break it up with fiendish glee. Ghosts are bad, but the one that's cursed Is the Headless Horseman, he's the worst.

When he goes a-joggin' 'cross the land, Holdin' a noggin in his hand, Demons take one look and groan, And hit the road for parts unknown.

And there's no wraith like a spook that's spurned. They don't like him, and he's really burned. He swears to the longest day he's dead, He'll show them that he can get a head.

So close all the windows, lock the doors, Unless you’re careful, he’ll get yours. Don’t think he’ll hesitate a bit, ‘Cause he’ll flip your top if it’ll fit.

And he likes them little, likes them big, Part in the middle, or a wig, Black or white or even red, The Headless Horseman needs a head.

With a hip-hip and a clippity-clop, He's out lookin' for a top to chop, So don't stop to figure out a plan, You can't reason with a headless man.

So after dark he’ll get the goods. Head home, the way that you should, ‘Cause right outside, a-waitin’ there, Is the Headless horseman.  Beware!

Now we're closer to home.  This was sung by Bing Crosby in Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).  Nothing at all against Bing, but I prefer this version by Kay Starr, released only a few months after the original Crosby version.  Kay's lyrics are slightly different, as you can see, since I've printed the BC version.  When she and those background singers get to "...what goes on in the nighhhhht" you know you got your money's worth for THAT record.

The Haunted House [Audio Link]

When the doors all squeak And the windows creakAnd the ceilings leak ‘Cause the roof’s antiqueAnd you hear a shriek And your legs feel weak— It’s a haunted house

There’s a dismal moan Like a weird trombone And the old hambone Is suddenly thrown You are all alone With the great unknown In the haunted house

There’s only one good spirit, it’s the spirit in the bottle. With shaking hands you pull the cork and pour some down your throttle.

There’s a clank of chains And a smell of brains And a gory stain Where the Duke was slain And you’ve got chilblains And varicose veins In the haunted house.

When the old oak beam Feels a corpse [?], you seem To feel a wet stream With a sinister gleam And you wake with a scream From a horrible dream Of the haunted house.

When the cavalier With the dreadful leer Tried to disappear Through the chiffonier And you cling with fear To the chandelier It’s a haunted house.

The air is full of clammy claws that clutch you by the collar. So gargle night and morning just in case you have to holler.

There are lights and sprites And awful frights In flesh-pink tights But the dead of night Comes a woman in white So you’re quite all right In the haunted house.

When the old church clock Strikes twelve, there’s a knock. With a sudden shock You remember the lock On the door is a crock— Oh, why did you mock? At the haunted house.

It is black as pitch And your eyeballs twitch In the darkest niche Sits a dirty witch And the lighting switch Is out of reach In the haunted house.

When the slavey’s filled with gravy why is she so pallid? Something pushed her in the pantry when she fetched the salad.

“I’m filled with dread. Yes I’m nearly dead. I saw a head Underneath my bed. Come out if you can. I could do with a man In the haunted house.”

That's the oldest one of the bunch (almost: see below).  1931, Ray Noble and the New Mayfield Orchestra.  It's British, and there are a couple of pop culture references in there that are hard to decipher at this distance.  "Slavey" is slang for any menial servant.  What the flesh-pink tights are all about, I don't know [Edit: see comments].  The opening line is startlingly like GGG, and the structure of the song is similar: a litany of spooky phenomena with an explanatory line repeated at the end of each verse.  No partying spooks in there, however. This list could easily be extended by quite a bit.  You can buy a whole CD full of these '30s-'40s novelty ghost tunes.  But you get the idea.  "Grim Grinning Ghosts" features a contemporary arrangement (for 1969), but it feels right at home with some of these old chestnuts, don't it? Reader Melissa has directed our attention to a Gilbert and Sullivan ditty that may be the granddaddy of all these songs, and as it happens, it's a very good match to GGG in a number of ways.  The laundry list of spooky phenomena followed by an explanatory final line.  The topic?  Ghosts having a midnight jamboree.  The repeated lines at the end of each stanza explain that to us.  This is a lot like GGG.

When the Night Wind Howls by: W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911)

When the night wind howls In the chimney cowls,  And the bat in the moonlight flies And the inky clouds Like funeral shrouds, Sail over the midnight skies--

When the footpads quail At the night-bird’s wail, And black dogs bay at the moon, Then is the spectre’s holiday-- Then is the ghost’s high noon!

Ha! Ha!

Then is the ghost’s high noon! As the sob of the breeze Sweeps over the trees And the mists lie low on the fen, From grey tomb-stones Are gathered the bones

That once were women and men, And away they go, With a mop and a mow, To the revel that ends too soon, For cock crow limits our holiday-- The dead of the night’s high noon!  

Ha! Ha!

The dead of the night’s high noon! And then each ghost With his ladye-toast To their church yard beds take flight, With a kiss, perhaps, On her lantern chaps, And a grisly grim, “good night!”

Till the welcome knell Of the midnight bell Rings forth its jolliest tune, And ushers in our next high holiday-- The dead of the night’s high noon!  

Ha! Ha! 

The dead of the night’s high noon!

W. S. Gilbert (1836-1911) Taken from: Ruddigore: or, The Witch’s Curse (London: G. Bell & Sons, 1912)

We will revisit this song and go into greater detail in THIS post.

Originally Posted: Friday, August 13, 2010 Original Link: [x]

[officialmishwhes-blog]

“mishwhes” - the items

before we start... here’s part of what’s in the mishwhes book and also some “rules”.

“We all know you’re Misha Collins and no one tells Misha Collins what to do, but we sure do hope that you might at least consider checking out the items we put in here. they’re not all terrible, promise.

So, this is mishwhes. Basically, it was created right after gishwhes, your annual chance to make people all around the world suffer just the way you like it. (”suffer” in the best way possible, of course). :) it’s simply just a short list of things, items as yu call them, for you to do whenever you feel like it - if you ever feel like it”

the “rules”:

have fun.

“official” start and end dates: 22nd may 2017 - 4th of june 2019 (yes. two whole years because why the hell not. just felt like setting some dates to make this all sound more serious than it is. but they don’t really matter. obviously.)

if you feel like sharing the results:

the items are to be submitted by using the hashtag #mishwhes + the item number (for example: #mishwhes #item7) on twitter for everyone to see.

THE ITEMS

hug four people at once.

get your kids to paint your nails.

do something nice and actually allow yourself to be given credit for it.

take a photo trimming the “lawn” on your astroturf sandals.

do the Kid n Play handshake with a fellow cast member.

draw a self portrait.

let West paint your face to look like his favorite animal.

live stream for once minute, just showing your eye or nose. don’t provide any context for the viewers.

the most outragous spelling or version of Jared’s name.

tell your lamest dad jokes to your kids.

tweet 5 different penguin facts + an original drawing of a penguin.

“you ARE here to perch on his shoulder.” forced perspective photo of you on Jensen’s shoulder.

give someone a piggyback ride.

put on every t-shirt you have in your closet.

put on a full face makeup on yourself.

pretend you are a russian tourist while getting coffee and film it.

write a 4-line poem. tweet it.

find the padamoose in it’s natural habitat. document.

business suits + yoga.

give West and Maison a spa day and do everything they tell you to do.

misha and jared: each must pick one of jensen’s cheeks and use the freckles to play a round of connect the dots. post your masterpiece on twitter.

scare someone of your choice.

go grocery shopping with a wheelbarrow.

recreate a meme.

breakfast in bed for vicki. the queen.

cooking/baking fast & fresh: a pie with only the things you can find in the kitchen.

call jensen. tell him he’s a meme. hang up.

send a card to someone you look up to.

recreate jensen’s old photos from his modeling days and share the results.

say “I am not the pheasant plucker, I’m the pheasant plucker’s mate. I am only plucking pheasants because the pheasant plucker’s late.” quickly.

make up a song based on 10 random words your kids tell you. record yourself singing it.

we all know how beautiful jared padalecki’s hair is, but it would look so much better with adorable braids. document this fresh look.

have your kids decorate you. lay on the ground and let them cover you with whatever they want. (frosting? sprinkles? whipped cream.)

draw the faces of your family/friends/cast members on vegetables/fruits.

stage a dramatic photo.

fairy herpes: try gliter bombing jensen. record.

haiku about llamas. tweet it.

sing your favorite shows theme tune.

facebook live stream: new interpretation of “crossing streams”, misha collins style.

throw a tea party with some unlikely friends.

FYI: the lovely people who came up with these items have been credited in the mishwhes book that was given to misha. however, they are not mentioned in this tumblr post due to the legibility of the items.

[ultraqueer]

hey y’all! so i’ve recently gotten, like, really fucking invested in @charminglyantiquated‘s Elsewhere University world, and I just started scrawling this out in my notebook last week - so i decided that hey, i might as well post it. it’s loosely based on a few of my own experiences - in fact the whole thing was inspired by one - so, yeah. here we go!

“Faeries’ Ring”

………….

You knew what you were getting into.

Raised on Irish traditions and tales of the Fair Folk, you grew up carefully avoiding fairy rings and treating nature with an almost reverent air. Every few weeks you would gather up all the vines and leaves and fresh flowers you could find—never, ever stealing from bushes or nearing that one, shimmering part of the forest in your search—and build small houses for whomever and whatever may wish to rest there. Each night you left out small offerings—a pretty bead you found at school, a crystal you bought at the museum, and a homemade raspberry-lemonade cupcake among them—and some mornings something new awaited you in return.

It was obvious that the best course of action was to hold on to these treasures, for safety’s sake, and so you do, tucking each one in an antique jewelry box that you take with you wherever you travel. One of these such gifts stays on your person at all times: a large ring, dried flowers suspended in the glass center and surrounded by colorful stones. It was tucked on the lip of a fallen rose petal on a chill March morning, taking the place of the tiny replica of a Lady Gouldian finch you’d crafted in art class. You wear this ring on your middle finger of your dominant hand, showing that you did indeed win favor with some of the Them without being all too obvious about it.

After all, the Fair Folk can be a bit indecisive (though you’d never say this aloud). It can be difficult to tell if they will simply appreciate you wearing this token or if they might take it as an invitation for something you want no part of. So you keep it on most hours of the day, even when you sleep, twisting it and turning it and rubbing your thumb across the smooth glass when you’re nervous. It only comes off once in a blue moon, when you wake up to the stones glittering and shining in the pitch darkness, and the air around you seems to buzz. That’s when you rip the ring off and set it down carefully on your bedside table—you’re frightened but not so much that you lose all common sense—the glass and stones pointing away from you.

You still start your day with an offering—now usually one of vanilla creamer or some shiny bauble that caught your fancy at the dollar store—and you still try to build houses, though that at first seems more habit than anything else. The Fair Folk, as you’ve learned, can be far larger than your childhood imagination led you to believe, but they seem to appreciate the gesture nonetheless. Your best days come the week or so following when you’ve built a new house, before it’s been destroyed by weather or raucous parties thrown by who- or whatever took a liking to them, and in these weeks you leave a pouch of your favorite loose tea on the stoop (you’ve found them particularly fond of the berry-orange-honey white and red blend, though you try to rotate flavors to avoid boring any potential guests). You’ve learned to always do this come finals.

Students come to you sometimes, asking how you do it—how you seem so well-favored, how you stay so safe, how, even when you did take a “vacation,” you came back sprightly and hardly changed at all—and you have little to tell them. You give them advice, sure, tell them what you’ve learned in the past just-over-two decades of your life, but so many of them simply laugh and turn away, young and carefree and maybe just there to poke fun at the undergrad who spends her weekends shopping for flowers and sketching out plans for the grandest home imaginable—just in case.

You know, though. You see it in the iron clasps finding their places around their necks and hear it in the hushed tones as they ask themselves, but what if she’s right? And those who don’t show any signs—well, you like to think They will be lenient, but when they suddenly start eating a little too healthily and avoiding group selfies, you know. You’ll put out something special as an offering that night, something tied to the person (be it a pair of earrings or their favorite cake recipe), and add on to whatever house is currently sitting in your garden. Sometimes they return and sometimes they don’t, and sometimes there’s a headband sitting there in the morning, or a lone left sock—being honest the results are more dependent on the student’s major than anything else—but at least the renovated housing and special offerings earn you a bit more reputation, a bit more respect.

Newer students seem convinced that you’re actually one of Them—who else would seem so in the know, or would dare live in the one, virtually abandoned dorm with a massive apple tree right by the door?—but the sophomores and above Know you. They call you Archie, short for architect (a name you’ve come to accept—you’re no architect major, but at least the name doesn’t make your actual major immediately obvious), and some give flowers and trinkets when they know you’re about to begin building. You appreciate it—after all, you’re a poor college student who can’t exactly afford to buy fresh flowers several times a month—but always take care to add your own offerings and flowers on top of whatever they give. The Fair Folk may accept a gesture funded by others, but you know you’re safest when you give something of your own.

For this reason, you’re one of the “lucky” ones. An English and music double major is virtually guaranteed to be stolen away at least every few months, but in your four years here you’ve only left once. You wear your clothes inside out so often it’s more habit than precaution now—though you doubt you’ll ever truly be used to the feel of underwire biting into your skin in an even more uncomfortable way—and you leave out trinkets even when you’re at home, on break, far from any signs of Elsewhere U. You’ve prepped, you’ve prepared, you’ve readied yourself for whatever may attempt to come for you on the way home from your recital, or the poetry reading, or the spring musical.

Yet still, you feel the strangest tug. Be it a spur-of-the-moment detour through the woods to get to class a bit faster or the desire to sit next to Denise (who isn’t Denise, not really, and hasn’t been for nearly two months now) in workshop, you feel more and more drawn to the Elsewhere the closer you get to graduation. You’ve become incredibly invested in your architectural exploits, building bigger and better homes with increasing regularity, and you’ve added a bit of spice to your offerings. You continue to leave small trinkets and creamers, but every few days you leave a few lyrics of an original song, or a bit of dialogue from a piece currently in workshop that you desperately need to get back to editing, or something else equally as personal, special, and, hopefully, intriguing to the Fair Folk. On rare occasions you grow even more desperate, throwing yourself outside all night in a truly desperate plea for something, anything to happen. To appear.

You despise acknowledging them, but tonight is indeed one of those nights.

It’s a night for music and you sit in the bitter cold beneath the apple tree, bundled up in a periwinkle coat, fingers numb as you pluck at the strings of your ukulele. You’ve finally set your favorite poem to a tune, and though your hands shake violently you still manage to hit the proper chords. It takes a moment, a tense one, but it passes and before long you’re humming and singing and swaying with the beat, singing out about the girl you once loved, a long, long time ago. Your tongue slips and sets free your true name but you don’t care, you don’t care, you don’t care anymore. The song ends and you leap into the next, stopping for neither breath nor a moment to regroup. Something happens and the world feels almost trancelike as you pour your heart and soul out beneath the apple tree to the sound of a perfectly-tuned ukulele and the wind—or something else—rustling the bushes.

Your eye catches a glimmer moving across the strings with you. For once, you leave the ring be and decide to see what happens.

………….

This time, maybe you won’t be coming back.