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haledamage · 2 years ago

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A kiss as if trying to answer a question for Kira/Mason

surprising no one I'm sure, Mason won the honor of first post-Book 3 fic! ~1100 words, a few minor and vague spoilers for book 3. mostly sweetness with a hint of spice (and a fade to black at the end 😉)

A selection of songs Kira plays in this scene (all links go to youtube):

1. Come On In My Kitchen - Robert Johnson (video is a cover by Larkin Poe) 2. Just some lyricless blues guitar (example from Justin Johnson) 3. Fancy Drones (Fracture Me) - Amythyst Kiah 4. Shelter - Dorothy 5. Hard Learned - Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown 6. Hangover Blues - Amythyst Kiah

Kira could feel some of the tension ease out of her shoulders with the first strum of the guitar. She hadn’t realised just how much she’d missed it in the chaos of the last few weeks, how much she needed to unwind. Her fingers flowed across the strings, and she felt the music wrap around her like a warm hug.

She was halfway through “Come On In My Kitchen,” humming along with the melody, when someone knocked on her door.

“It’s open.”

Even before the door swung open, she knew who would be there. Mason was the only one who would seek her out at this time of night unless it was an emergency.

He leaned against the doorway like a figment out of a dream, all shadow and sharp edges. Effortlessly beautiful. Kira couldn’t help but let her eyes roam over him and drink in the sight.

He smirked as he watched her openly admire him. “Don’t stop on my account, sweetheart.”

It was only then that she noticed that her fingers had gone still, the guitar much less interesting than he was. She quickly picked the song back up more or less where she had been, ignoring how hot her face grew as she blushed. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a music-lover.”

Something passed over his face, but it was gone before she could tell what it was. “Neither would I.”

Mason kicked the door shut behind him as he moved into the room, climbing into the bed behind her without needing an invitation. One of his arms curled around her waist, fitting perfectly into the space between her and her guitar, and he pulled her backwards until her back met his chest.

A relieved sigh escaped her as the migraine she’d been fighting since lunchtime finally unwound as she relaxed against him. She could feel him react in a similar way, the tension in his body easing away as he settled them into a comfortable position.

Kira made a small contented noise when he pressed a kiss to the top of her shoulder. The distraction made her fingers stumble on the strings for a moment before she refocused.

They stayed like that for a while, letting the comfortable silence settle over them. The only sound was the warm, resonant hum of the guitar.

It was Mason that eventually broke it. “Didn’t know you played guitar.”

“Most people don’t.” She couldn’t see his expression, but she could feel his curiosity in the way he sat up a little straighter, angling himself to let her know he was listening. She smiled and let her head fall back on his shoulder. “Being a big name in a small town is like living under a magnifying glass. Everyone’s always watching me. This is something that’s just mine. Just for me and the people I choose to share it with.”

“Does that include me?” There was something pinched and strained in his voice, like he expected her to respond negatively.

Kira stopped playing so she could turn around and look at him. His expression reminded her of the night of the auction, an uncertain frown and a storm in his eyes that gave extra weight to his question.

She brushed her hand against his cheek, watching his uncertainty drain away as she did, before leaning in to kiss him. She tried to let her actions speak for her, pouring her answer into every touch. It will always include you. I want to share everything with you. I love you.

It was a long time before they parted, and even then only because she needed to breathe.

Mason rested a hand on the nape of her neck, pulling her closer until their foreheads touched. His thumb traced the curve of the crescent moon tattoo on the back of her neck, eyes still closed, a small smile tilting the corner of his lips.

“What was that song you sang before?” he asked suddenly. “At the antique shop?”

It took a few seconds to rack her brain and recall the song. She’d been so desperate to find something, anything that could provide him a bit of relief while his crystal was being cleansed that she’d latched onto the first song that popped into her head. And then several more after when he’d collapsed against her, his head buried in the crook of her neck like he wanted to be as close to her voice as possible.

“Fracture Me.”

“Can you sing it again?”

Kira stole another kiss before nodding. “I can do that.”

After a bit of rearranging on the bed to get them back to a comfortable position, she started playing again. It took a minute to find her rhythm again--not helped by the fact that she was now practically in Mason’s lap--but she settled into it before long, and began singing.

There was none of the usual nervousness she expected, none of the uncomfortable sensation of having a spotlight shone on her like she normally got when she sang in front of someone new. This was Mason. He’d seen parts of her - literally and figuratively - that no one else had in a long time. If ever. It felt completely natural to show him this part too.

Kira finished one song and went right into another. Then another. Mason stayed quiet the whole time, unmoving except for his hands, which had found their way under her shirt and were drawing small and terribly distracting circles across her stomach.

Halfway through the fourth song, the music came to an abrupt halt, ending in a sharp gasp when his lips pressed firmly against her throat.

She could feel his smirk against her skin as he tugged back the collar of her shirt to trail hungry, open-mouthed kisses over her collarbone and shoulder. “Don’t stop on my account, sweetheart.”

“Fuck,” she ground out, somewhere between exasperated and needy. “Mason.”

He chuckled, the deep rumble of it making her shiver. “That right there is my favourite song.” He kissed his way back up her neck so he could purr in her ear, “Want to sing it for me again?”

At her nod, he gently took the guitar from her, setting it on its stand by the bed with a surprising amount of care. Once it was out of the way, he pulled her close once more, hands and lips already roaming to the places he knew were most sensitive and could draw the best sounds from her.

Kira didn’t mind admitting this was her favourite song, too. Especially since Mason made an excellent duet partner.

#rhi writes #kira kingston #kira/mason #twc #I WROTE A THING 🥳 amusingly enough mason's the only one that didn't want to completely devolve into smut 😅#love the intimacy between them so so much #open and honest and understanding and nothing like either of them expected #love that she's able to provide him comfort with something that means so much to her #(fracture me isn't necessarily one of my kira/mason songs (shelter and hangover blues are) but it felt appropriate for that scene #come on in my kitchen is just here because it's been stuck in my head for like a week and hard learned is a very kira-book-3 song)

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allthemusic · 8 months ago

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Week ending: 2nd June

Three familiar songs, but all ones I do quite like - I suspect this entry will be an exercise in comparing different versions! I'm trying to think if anything similar could even happen today. I can only think of multiple versions of Wellerman trending a while back? And that was an unusual song for multiple reasons, at a particularly weird time anyway, mid-Covid.

Unchained Melody - Jimmy Young (peaked at Number 1)

The first version of this song to grace number 1, but not the last. Weirdly I only found other versions of the song at first - it took a bit of hunting to work out which "Jimmy Young" track was the real one.

Once I found it, I did appreciate it. It starts with some more vigorous strummy guitar than I expected, which makes it feel definitely different to Al Hibbler's version from the get-go. It's got the same thing that version did, too, where the rhythms just aren't quite what I expect. They catch me off guard on various lines, and I feel really stupid, because I've just realised why! It's in 4/4, whereas the later versions I know are largely in 3/4. Honestly, I don't know why I didn't work it out with the last version!

Apart from that, the voice and the guitar do give this one a slightly country vibe, which isn't hurt by the violin that is subtly assisting. And there are also some backing singers straight from a Western soundtrack. They kind of work, especially after Jimmy sings Wait for me and they chip in with a ghostly sort of Unchain me, unchain me.

The whole thing works nicely. Maybe a bit cheerier-sounding than the slower, more soulful version? Either way, sufficiently distinct as its own thing that I can't really complain. And the backing singers are a delight.

Stranger in Paradise - The Four Aces (6)

I'm interested in seeing where this goes, since the Four Aces is a vocal group, and the last two singers were very much from the "Easy listening crooner" tradition of solo men. I suspect the style will need to change.

Well, we start with some flutes and some familiar instruments and I wond if there will be any changes, especially as the iconic "ooooh" bits begin, but then they change the theme! It goes up at the end, and I don't think I like it. I know how the tune here goes, why would you change it?!

And then the modified theme ends and the vibe changes entirely, with a double bass coming in and the whole thing picking up a swung rhythm as the singing begins. I don't know if the pivot works, but it's striking, and it does feel like it fits better with the group singing.

What I do enjoy is the oboe countermelody snaking round in the background. It's pretty, and all the other little instrumental frills are equally lovely, even if they only pop in and out sporadically.

Oh, and we shift into a different, vaguely Latin sounding rhythm on the I see your face section, before slowing it down, and returning to the first rhythm finally for the verse's return. The overall effec is a bit jerky, and it' mostly just alarming when the whole group come back for the worlds biggest ending. This is a Big Old Ending on steroids: Take my haaaaaaaaaaaaaand!

Yeah, I don't think this one works, sorry Aces.

Unchained Melody - Les Baxter (10)

Oh, we're starting with the backing singers singing Unchain me this time, and strings playing the main rhythm. It's a very soft, gentle sound, and still a little bit country, like in Jimmy's version. It also repeats twice - at one point I even began to wonder if this was going to be an instrumental arrangement.

But no, we get what sounds like multiple male voices after a few repeats and a fade-out. I can't tell if this is Les and a friend or if he's really a bandleader or the leader of a vocal group, or something. The men, whoever they are, don't sing very much, though, just one verse and done, with the whole song over in a 2:33 take that honestly feels like less.

Yeah, a bit of googling tells me that Les Baxter was an American swing bandleader who branched out into easy listening and lounge music. And this is just that, it's easy to listen to and pleasant bur a bit nothing-y. I'd put it on in the background in a lounge or whatever, so it's doing its job, I guess. The idea of music that isn't designed for really listening to is interesting to me, since it's really not what I use music for. But I can appreciate it.

I do also like the big, cinematic ending, with the choir and the clanking tubular bells, or some such percussion. It retroactively does make the whole thing feel like the song you'd get at the end of a film, a sort of victorious "I've escaped prison and am going home" track. The pathos of it all is dulled down, leaving this big, soaring ending.

I don't think I loved any of those, but none were worth disliking. I kind of wonder how the alternate universe 1955 version of me would have found them, actually. Maybe I'd have been all aboard for lots of strings and backing singing?

Favourite song of the bunch: Unchained Melody - Jimmy Young

#uk charts #1955 #jimmy young #the four aces #les baxter

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ask-the-crimson-king · 2 years ago

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Music Shill of the Day: Bloodlines by Pyramaze

NEW PYRAMAZE LADS! I'll be going over my thoughts on each song + an album final thoughts at the end.

Rating system as per usual: 10: PERFECTION, zero complaints, best song. 5: Average. Whelming. Nothing to write home about. 1: Awful. Why did they make this?

Due to not wanting this post to be longer than it already will be, I'll only be including embedded videos for the top 3; I have a link for the various platforms you can stream the album in full here.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, we begin with...

BLOODLINES: 7/10

Similar to Disciples of the Sun and Epitaph, this album opens with a completely instrumental track. I will say, I do like this track, it sounds very nice and, after having gone through the album a few times, it does encompass a lot of the emotional themes that are present for the album as a whole. It definitely has a cinematic feel, almost something like Two Steps From Hell, but without the massive orchestral sound to it. It's a very pleasant track to listen to, the ethereal singing in the background meshes perfectly with the building instrumental elements. The inclusion of guitar is also very welcomed and not to jarring.

The only thing I wish this track did was have a bit more of a lead-in to the next song, but instead it ends off as it's own piece and I can definitely appreciate that. It breaks a bit of a trend I've been seeing in the musical spheres I've occupied -- see Gloryhammer, Kamelot, or arguably even Pyramaze's last album Epitaph. So for that it's definitely got my respect and I do enjoy the track.

2. TAKING WHAT'S MINE: 9/10

youtube

BANGER. Banger. Banger.

This song definitely has a more pop-ish influence on it but it's genuinely good despite that. It still definitely feels like a grounded and wonderful symphonic metal track. The guitars still carry this very heavy feel even while the instrumental elements give the piece a bit of a lighter tone throughout.

The vocals are fantastic, and they don't feel as though they're the only reason you're listening to the song. They fit well with the rest of the track, they're not too loud nor too quiet, it's perfectly balanced.

The symphonic break at about 3 minutes in? While it's short (literally only a few seconds), I LOVE it to pieces. The piano and strings highlight the sort of triumphant and yet melancholic feel that permeates through the song. It's very good.

Song good. My only complaint is that the song feels kinda shortened somehow? I'm not entirely sure why, but it feels like it could definitely have tacked on another minute and sounded a bit more complete.

3. FORTRESS: 8.5/10

youtube

Another banger, and if I remember correctly this was their second single for the record. And MAN did it get me hyped for this album.

It's music video has a sea-faring feel to it which is... genuinely interesting. I don't know why they went in that direction (there might be an interview somewhere with the lads to explain why that I haven't seen) and lyrically I don't really connect it to a story about an old lighthouse keeper, but it's still cool, and the instrumentals do reflect this. There's a few elements of a more sea-like ambience scattered throughout.

Despite the lyrics kinda being at odds with the narrative they told through their music video, this song is still really great. I loved it since it first dropped. It's definitely leaning a bit more heavily on its symphonic bits than Taking What's Mine, as the guitar sometimes does get a bit overshadowed and outshone by them, but I don't think this is a bad aspect. I do enjoy me some nice symphonic in my symphonic metal, after all. But that would be one of my few nitpicks. There is a bit also where there could have been a solo or something but with how the guitars are handled in general I do think it'd clash a bit too harshly with the song.

Still, Fortress good. Has been for a minute. Still is.

4. BROKEN ARROW: 6/10

This was their FIRST single off this new record, and it's good. This has a similar feel to it in terms of how the instrumentals are handled; there's a lot more emphasis on the symphonic parts and I feel like the keyboard shines a bit more in the song here. The guitars mainly are here to carry rhythm then stand out on their own.

It's good, it's catchy, it's nice. Nothing to really write home about.

5. EVEN IF YOU'RE GONE: 7/10

DAMN this feels like Particle 2. And I really loved Particle off Epitaph, so I enjoy this. The keyboard hard CARRIES this song, it's beautiful and soft and sits right behind the vocals and it's wonderful. Again, this is not a song you're coming to for the guitars; they're here, but more for rhythm. It's partially why I call it Particle 2.

The vocals are also very good and very nice. The variance is nice, and the lyrics are... Something. I can't tell if this is a pining song or if this is borderline "I love someone who committed suicide" or potentially a strange "I want someone even though they didn't want me". To show what I mean, take some lyrics:

Lost in the fire Burning my skin like you warned me Breaking the walls you build to avoid all the pain outside

Will you finally be my destiny?

I see the light here I know that you don't But I wanna be the one you really want Through the nightmares we're chasing the dawn I'll be fighting for you even if you're gone Even if you're gone

[. . .]

Save me from myself I try to let go Take my pain away Away Save me from myself I can't breathe

It's kinda back and forth, which is neat cause it means there's a few different ways these lyrics can be interpreted. But overall, the song is still good.

6. ALLIANCE: 5/10

I'm gonna be honest, I'm not a ballad guy. The song is objectively good, but it's not for me. Here is probably the objectively best piano on the album, and the duet with Melissa Bonny is very nice. The vocals are good, the instrumentals are good, the song is fine. It kinda feels like Under Grey Skies by Kamelot. Kinda.

It's not a bad song, but it's just not what I enjoy too much.

7. THE MIDNIGHT SUN: 9.5/10

youtube

And we're RIGHT BACK into the action again with the Midnight Sun. WHAT A BANGER of a song, and what a wake-up call from Alliance. The guitars are BACK, they're at the forefront again and every element of the band is absolutely on display. Where the mid was a bit muddled through with a LOT of symphonic stuff taking a bit of center stage, now we got a bit of a more metal feel.

This song is still along the lines of a ballad in terms of the vocals, which is contrasted by some of the heavier riffs accompanying them in the best way possible. There's plenty of places for the guitars to shine, the piano is still easily heard in the back even with the symphonic elements around it. Song is GOOD.

The lyrical content is also low key trans coded, happy pride. Mainly this bit:

I was the son you never had But how come everything turned bad? After the rain had washed your sorrows away You took a new position Without my permission

[. . .]

Look at the ways of the world now It's a race of alarming it somehow And the further we get from the truth The sacrifice of innocent youths

Are we all but puppets at dance? A bittersweet, egotistical romance Built upon the remainders of trash Self-imploding as we crash

Am I absolutely inserting meaning here that doesn't exist? Yes. However. I am trans and this is my agenda.

Happy pride lads. Excellent song.

8. STOP THE BLEEDING: 8/10

The entirety of the back half of this album is definitely softer and more melodic feeling in contrast to the first, and it's a good thing. It makes for a very pleasant listening experience. Stop the Bleeding is a bit slower and less punchy than Midnight Sun, but I still rate it very highly.

While the guitars throughout most of the song are back to being a backbone rather than more of their own beast, there is a nice solo that lets them shine a bit more, which is nice. The instrumentals here are way more symphonic and orchestral in sound; there's a lot of very evident strings in the back, and the piano is still there highlighting the song. The vocals take a bit of the center stage during the verses but for the chorus, especially the last one? It all blends together beautifully. It's wonderful. Very good.

I compare this to Taking What's Mine and I say that this almost has the feel of that song but if it were allowed that extra minute. It's a very nice listening experience, and a good song in general.

9. THE MYSTERY: 7/10

I never thought I'd say a song is "adorable" but this song is legitimately adorable. It has a feel of whimsy throughout and it's a very delightful and joyous song. The lyrical content concerns our narrator just wondering about the worlds beyond Earth in the stars, wondering about what they may see, and wondering about the big "mystery".

The big "mystery", of course, is why humanity is here. What the purpose of life is. For a song tackling such a subject, I love that it feels so... I hesitate to say childlike, but it is a fitting descriptor. It's bright, where many other songs I've heard that tackles this existential question are usually very somber or reflective or even melancholic in sound. It's refreshing and it's inspiring. It's a very nice song.

10. WOLVES OF THE SEA: 7.5/10

ROUNDING IT OFF WITH ANOTHER INSTRUMENTAL PIECE. Which was a little surprising on a first listen through.

This piece is a HARD contrast to The Mystery, where it takes on the more solemn tones found everywhere in the album. This is also definitely more Two Steps from Hell than Bloodlines is, and it's good for it. Because while it definitely has that more drab and melancholic feel at the beginning, it does transition into this more hopeful and inspiring sound. It generally basically feels like all the musical themes of the album are brought together and rounded out in a really good orchestral track.

There's a couple of small leitmotifs sprinkled within to make it that much more whole and complete. It's a very nice way to end off the album.

OVERALL FEELINGS:

Bloodlines is a great album. It feels like it has something for everyone who is into the more proggy/symphonic side of metal. If you enjoyed Epitaph and Disciples of the Sun, you'll probably like this album too. It's very enjoyable to listen to and it's pretty short, only clocking in at 44 minutes. It's very good, and if you've never heard Pyramaze before, PLEASE check them out.

I will say, I do think I enjoy Epitaph just a bit more, purely due to The Time Traveller, Particle, and its title track, Epitaph. But this album is still not a bad introduction for newcomers, and it's a good new step in their catalog.

#pyramaze #music shill of the day #bloodlines #Youtube

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beevean · 2 years ago

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Favourite final stage themes in Castlevania?

Oh ho :D

10) Out of Time (C1): I feel Heart of Fire overshadows this one. I liked it ever since I played the game! It fits the clockwork stage and it also feels appropriate for the final level, it screams "this is the homestretch, give it the best you got!"

9) Pinnacle (DoS): I can't really explain why I like it, but I do. It just sounds appropriately climatic.

8) The Colossus (OoE): strangely upbeat for a final level, especially compared to An Empty Tome and Ebony Wings, but how could I not appreciate that organ and especially those strings? <3

7) Calling from Heaven (CB): from the last "final level" Yamane has composed to the first one lmao. Dat Genesis twang <3 it feels heavy, somehow.

6) Den (RoB): just a banger through and through. Shred that guitar!

5) Demonic Castle (HoD): yeah, you hear it first as the fourth zone of the game, but you also go through the same area before the final boss so there. One of the best pieces in the OST, dissonance on point, quite menacing and confusing.

4) Top Floor (AoS): why is the theme of the hardest area in the game such a danceable bop?

3) Gaze up at The Darkness (PoR): super duper underrated as the theme of the menacing castle keep. This one is straight up intense, with the strings and the driving drums.

2) Dracula’s Castle (CoD): apparently not many people like this one? And good luck finding covers when it shares a name with the far more famous SoTN theme. Personally, I love it. Yes, the harp intro goes on for a little too long (1:20 is more than enough), but after that, the strings and the guitars just feel like anxiety incarnate, this constant buildup that makes you feel like something horrible will happen if you don't hurry up.

1) Leon’s Theme (LoI): one of the absolute best pieces Yamane-san has ever composed. What a genius move to leave Leon's theme for the ending, after he lost everything he held dear! Because the tragedy that he suffered is what shaped him and the Belmont clan as a whole. And this is just a beautiful, raw classical piece that conveys Leon's sorrow and determination to kick Walter's ass in the most elegant way <3

Honorable mention to The Tragic Prince, which is only the "final level" theme of the normal castle and it's an optional area to boot, but how could I miss on this iconic masterpiece with an out of tune guitar that still somehow fits.

#castlevania #castlevania music #castlevania 1 #rondo of blood #symphony of the night #harmony of dissonance #aria of sorrow #lament of innocence #dawn of sorrow #curse of darkness #portrait of ruin #order of ecclesia #yes technically for aos and dos i should have put chaotic realm and the abyss #but i don't like them :V

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celeste-fitzgerald · 3 years ago

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The Electric Light Orchestra - ELO (album review/fangirl session)

I've decided to go ahead and start doing reviews of ELO albums for funsies (aka I am very bored right now haha). I use the term "review" very very loosely. Basically this will just be my very subjective, random thoughts on the songs. This is 100% my own opinions and I expect (and invite) people to disagree on lots of this.

And one more big disclaimer: I have a tendency to pay no attention to lyrics when I listen to songs. There are exceptions of course, but a lot of the time I have no clue what they're saying. Which means there may be times when I'll be like "oh wow this song is so pretty" when in reality it's a song about, like, death. Hopefully I won't screw up that bad, but if I make a bad error, please politely correct me!

With all that out of the way, here we go!

10538 Overture: 8/10 I'll be honest - the first time I heard this one I was unimpressed. It was so different from the ELO songs I was used to, and I didn't really understand the hype around it. But it started to grow on me a lot. It just sounds so...epic. The orchestration feels so full and heavy (thank you to Roy Wood and his army of cello overdubs). And I think it's a perfect encapsulation of ELO's vision to combine classical instruments with pop/rock music. Also, the god damn FRENCH HORN. I swear to god, you can't go wrong with french horns. Listen for the horn, it makes it all so much more dramatic and ahhhHHH.

Look at Me Now: 7/10 Hello, Eleanor Rigby (I'm sorry that's all I think of when I hear this one ahaha). More seriously though, this is probably the song from the album that gets stuck in my head most often. There was definitely one day last week when I kept going about my business and then suddenly bursting out into "aHHHH, LOOK AT ME NOOOOW." I just find it super catchy for some reason. And the oboe!! The oboe fits so perfectly with this one, I love it!

Nellie Takes Her Bow: 4/10 Eh. This one doesn't really capture my attention for some reason. Also it's very long, and a bit disjointed. The piano sounds quite nice though, and I like Jeff's voice in it. If someone has a favorite part of this song or something, please let me know so I can listen for it and maybe find a reason to love it.

The Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644): 5/10 I'm not particularly fond of the song itself, but the story behind the recording of it makes me laugh a bit. Bev refusing to play on it because it was so, in his own words, "appalling" is kind of hilarious to me. The song itself is interesting, but it really just sounds like an entirely orchestral song to me and feels out of place on the album.

First Movement (Jumping Biz): 9/10 I adore this one! It's just so much fun! Lovely little instrumental track with gorgeous guitar work. Plus...I think it's an oboe again? I could be wrong though. But it's a very interesting little oboe riff and it fits super well. I just all-around love this song.

Mr. Radio: 3/10 I have conflicting thoughts on this one. I feel like it's probably objectively a really good song, but there's something about it that just gets on my nerves. And I have no idea what it is. I just really don't like it lol.

Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre): 6/10 I really like the heavy, driving downbeat in this song. I do enjoy this one a lot, but it's not one of the standout tracks on the album for me.

Queen of the Hours: 7/10 Okay the string parts in this have to be inspired by Mars from Holst's The Planets, right?? Please tell me I'm not the only one who hears it. Anyways, I quite enjoy this one! I love the vocal parts when it goes up high, it sounds really cool. Just an overall great song.

Whisper in the Night: 10/10 AB.SOL.UTE.LY. GORGEOUS. My favorite on the album by far. It's so heart-achingly beautiful. And my god, Roy's voice is stunning on this track. So passionate, and the vibrato, god damn. It's just...SO good. Breathtaking. Perfect. And the way the choir comes in on "angels sing." AAAAHHHHHHHHH. IT'S SO GOOD.

Overall: 7/10 The album has definitely grown on me a lot since the first time I listened. I was initially caught off-guard by how unpolished it felt compared to ELO's later albums, but now that I've adjusted to the sound, it has a very nice charm to it.

Feel free to let me know your thoughts on any of this! And yell at me if I dissed your fave track XD

#elo #electric light orchestra #jeff lynne #roy wood #bev bevan

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jostenthusiast · 3 years ago

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perhaps.... if it is not asking too much... you could explain each taylor swift song u chose for the andreil playlist? 🥺👉👈

you BET i can!!!! (THIS IS SO LATE IM SORRY) i don’t think i’ll be able to go thru all of the songs since it’s like a 2hr playlist, but i’ll try my best!

i’m gonna be honest most of the songs on this playlist don’t have a super deep meaning for me?? a lot of them just have one or two lines or just a vibe that makes me think of andreil and i was like BAM! UR GOING IN THE PLAYLIST. there are a bunch that i have spent wayyy to long thinking about tho, and others that for me seem obvious why it’s a certified Andreil Song.

1. red

sorry for adding breakup songs to my andreil playlist it was necessary ok. “loving him is like driving a new maserati down a dead end street” need i say more? for the whole “ending so suddenly” part - andrew expects neil to leave at one point (at least in tkm), also andrew does lose neil at one point even if only for a short while

2. treacherous

EVERYTHING about this song is perfection and also major andreil vibes!!! seriously go through the lyrics there are a lot of andreil lines (“i hear the sound of my own voice asking you to stay”) especially the bridge!! late night car drives after a nightmare..!!!

3. king of my heart

ok tbh this is one of the songs that i just put because 1) it’s a love song so.. and 2) it has one really good andreil lyric: “up on the roof with a school girl crush” there are other songs that mention being on the roof that i added, like cornelia street (which i already talked about why it’s such a great andreil song) a lot of the other reputation songs i added for similar reasons or they just fit the vibe. also “your love is a secret i’m dying to keep” 🥺🥺

4. long story short

it’s just. going thru a bunch of trauma and eventually finding home in a person <3

5. paper rings

ok i think i’ve talked about this a bit?? basically the bridge is very andreil: “i want to drive away with you / i want your complications too”

6. peace

love won’t “fix” them or heal their trauma but they’re both there for each other. just. a lot of andreil lyrics.

7. delicate

early relationship andreil. them sharing truths with each other and getting to be honest for the first time. “is it cool that i said all that? / is it chill that you’re in my head?”

8. lover

this one might be a bit obvious but this song makes me cry like a baby so i’m gonna talk about it. other than it being about having a stable relationship with the person you could spend the rest of your life with, taylor talked about how this line “with every guitar string scar on my hand / i take this magnetic force of a man / to be my lover” is about loving someone despite their scars/what they’ve been thru and. yeah

9. cruel summer

i take this song to be about learning all about someone in a new relationship, which is also why i have willow in this playlist. both of these songs have knife imagery which is *chefs kiss* for andreil

10. dancing with our hands tied

the fear that your relationship won’t survive because your life is a mess and people are out to get you. i have to mention this lyric: “i’m a mess but i’m the mess that you wanted” which like,,,,,

11. stay stay stay

*clears throat* yOU TOOK THE TIME TO MEMORIZE ME MY FEARS MY HOPES MY DREAMS I JUST WANT TO HANG OUT WITH YOU ALL THE TIME. ALL THOSE TIMES THAT YOU DIDNT LEAVE ITS BEEN OCCURING TO ME I WANT TO HANG OUT WITH YOU FOR MY WHOLE LIFE. yeah

12. mine

andreil coffee shop au anyone?

13. cowboy like me

GODDD this song is so good. soulmate energy. forever is the sweetest con. fuck yeah. andreil could slow dance to this song

14. new years day

something about “please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh i could recognize anywhere” just screams andreil

15. wildest dreams

hey remember when neil thought he was going to die and just hoped that andrew would remember him the way he remembered andrew? me too

16. the other side of the door

sorry i put a breakup song about j*hn m*yer in the playlist but hear me out. while andreil usually has amazing communication, i think andrew is the type of person who would push people away to hurt himself. also the whole i wish i didn’t need you thing is very andrew imo

17. jump then fall

YOU GOT THE KEYS TO ME

18. state of grace

neither of them expected to find love/a home in each other but they did <3 i never saw you coming; i’ll never be the same indeed

19. come back…be here

long distance andreil. also the whole “i don’t wanna need you this way” thing again :( not wanting to admit how much they mean to each other; how much they couldn’t stand losing the other

okay that’s all i’m gonna get thru in this post. i hope this is what you were looking for? if you have any specific songs that you want me to talk about you can ask any time :)

#hope you liked this anon!!#songz #sorry it’s so late!!!!!#andreil #aftg #sorry #ask

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success-and-corruption · 3 years ago

Text

Macabre Album Review

DEG's second album! Oh yeah!

Track 1: Deity

This first track is definitely very interesting. It starts with a sleigh bell and then quickly turns into ominous chanting of some sort. Very spooky but also very different from their previous work which shows how versatile these five musicians are. The chanting eventually stops and we're met with heavy guitars and bass with Shinya playing a steady beat and Kyo vocalizing with a woman’s voice eerily making sounds. It sounds like he's gasping for breath (see what I did there)? That section ends and a clean guitar is played for a few seconds before the song goes back to the heavy riff after the chanting but this time Kyo sings in Russian to the tune of Johannes Brahms' "Fifth Hungarian Dance." This song definitely feels very religious to me which I suppose fits because the case for Macabre has prayer (?) beads in it.

I think Deity showcases DEG’s experimental side and sets the foundation for the rest of the album and it shows that DEG took a very different turn and became a bit darker.

Track 2: Myaku

Is this track in 3/4? 4/4? 5/4? 6/4?

Yes to all of the above. In the booklet it's indicated that this song was written by DIR EN GREY so no individual member wrote it specifically but the band definitely had some fun with time signatures in this one. Myaku was released as a single which is a bit different from the album version but I'm not reviewing the single. This song definitely departs from their late 90s VK sound which in my opinion is a good thing as it showed that DEG wanted to become more serious musicians. Plus, this track has one of my favorite basslines but I never got around to learning how to play it. Myaku is a chaotic song but it fits very well with Macabre.

Track 3: Wake/Riyuu

My boy Die does it again. This song is one of my favorites on the album and despite it being written by a guitarist, Toshiya’s bass really drives this track but we can’t forget the soaring guitars in the beginning and in the chorus. Kyo’s vocals are also great. Fantastic rhythm, instruments that all work very well together, and Kyo’s clean vocals? What’s not to like? This song really gets me moving for some reason. Not nearly as chaotic as Myaku, but Wake/Riyuu provides a nice structure and a consistent time signature (4/4) which is good contrast in my opinion.

Track 4: Egnirys Cimredopyh +) An Injection

Everyone probably knows this by now by Egnirys Cimredopyh = hypodermic syringe backwards. Despite that, this song isn’t about intravenous drug use. Kyo references a “white powder” a lot in this song and in one part of the song he sings “I started to speak to the wall with my lower half” (of course he sings that in Japanese) so I think this song is about abusing a drug called kakuseizai and... ejaculating onto a wall? To my knowledge cocaine isn’t very popular in Japan and kakuseizai (roughly translated to “stimulant” in English) is a type of methamphetamine that is used to improve pleasure during sex. Anyway as the lyrics progress it’s clear that the person in the song is battling between his good and bad side. They’re aware that their drug use is stripping them of their sanity but can’t stop and eventually gives in and “kills” the good side. In regards to the musicality of the song, again I really like the bassline (probably because I play bass) but the solos in the song, both bass and guitar, are seriously lacking in substance for me. However the rest of the song is fun to move around to i.e. it has a nice rhythm.

Track 5: Hydra

“I wanna be an anarchist”

“Dead born”

“Sid Vicious, suspicious”

What are those lyrics??? This song is another experimental one with electronic sounds throughout. It’s also fast-paced and has another chant near the end of the song that breaks it up nicely. Lyrically there’s not much I have to say but this song is definitely one of DEG’s most interesting sounding. I’m sorry that I don’t have more to say.

Track 6: Hotarubi

Hotarubi... what a beautiful song. It was very clearly written by Shinya. This track is, in my opinion, one of DEG’s best ballads but I think it goes on for too long but that’s just a very minor complaint. The strings complement the rest of the instruments and the part from 2:40-3:42 is stunning, with a surprising violin solo and a woman breathily vocalizing. Everything in this song works so well together except for the loud buzzing halfway through and Hotarubi never fails to evoke an emotional response within me. If it weren’t too long for my liking I would listen to it on repeat. At a certain point I just get bored. Also I think this song would be better suited towards the end of the album where the songs become more melodic.

Track 7: 【KR】cube

I’m not sure what【KR】cube means but what a fun song. Toshiya starts it out with that funky bass that we all know and love and then it transforms into a fast-paced song with a very nice rhythm on the guitars and Kyo’s clean vocals come in which is always nice to hear. I like the speed and rhythm of this song as it offers a pleasant difference from Hotarubi which is a very slow song. The chorus is very catchy as well

Kururi, furari, fuwari, kurari

Kururi, furari, fuwari, kurakurari

and so on. The music video is fun for this one. We love Hitman Die.

Track 8: Berry

This song is easy to figure out from the beginning dialogue of an English girl apologizing but then promising to blow her parents’ head off like raspberry jam (spoiler: she does at the end of the song). This one has more of a punk vibe and it’s kind of a fun song. What I can say is that I’ve never heard a song that features parents yelling at a child as part of a breakdown. It’s a good song but in my opinion it doesn’t really fit with the Macabre sound.

Track 9: Macabre -Sanagi no Yume wa Ageha no Hane-

WOW what a song this is. I believe that this eleven minute prog rock masterpiece was the first song I learned on the bass (go big or go home). I love Shinya’s drums in the beginning and as soon as the other instruments come in you just know you’re in for a journey. This song has a great composition with all of the instruments and vocal layers but I suppose I should get into the specifics. The beginning (after the drums) starts with guitars that, in my opinion, portray a certain sadness while the bass drives the the song. Kyo’s voice is great in this one and also portrays that same sadness. After the first two verses clean guitars come in which is a nice contrast from the beginning but this song truly comes alive during the instrumental breakdown where there’s a guitar playing a repeating riff while insects buzz and a church organ plays in the background. It then switches to Kaoru and Die playing the same notes but alternating between electric and acoustic guitars. The breakdown ends with a very beautiful solo and Kyo singing in a higher register and making slurping sounds which makes sense if you follow the lyrics. There’s a bass solo which is always nice to hear.

I think I’ve written too much about this song so I’m going to go on to...

Track 10: Audrey

What exactly were they trying to accomplish here? Country rock? It doesn’t fit with the album and it doesn’t even fit with DEG’s sound in general. I never listen to this song so I don’t have much to say about it.

Track 11: Rasetsukoku

This song fits much better with Macabre, but only marginally. It’s definitely more speed metal which at this point in DEG’s music career hasn’t really done. It’s fun to listen to but the composition is quite simple and it tends to be sort of repetitive. I do like the bass in the beginning but the guitars in this song are kind of boring to me. Maybe I should give it more credit.

Track 12: Zakuro

I have mixed feelings about this song. It’s very emotional but maybe too emotional. It starts out kind of slow but I like Kaoru and Die’s parts in the beginning because they harmonize very well. I think this song has one of the most beautiful guitar solos they’ve ever written and it conveys the sadness that is the central focus of this song. My problem with it (and it’s a minor one) is that it’s definitely better live.

Track 13: Taiyou no Ao

Another favorite on this album. Once again there’s a great bassline and while the song itself sounds sort of like a pop song the lyrics are rather sad. The prominent bass complements the guitars and if Shinya wanted a workout routine he could play this song a few times and he would get pretty buff. Can you imagine a buff Shinya? Neither can I. It just seems like his drums never stop for almost the entire song. It’s a nice way to close the album because it contrasts with the very dark-sounding Deity and it leaves me feeling good, albeit a bit sad because of the lyrics.

So that’s it. Can you tell I got a bit tired near the end? All in all I give this album 7/10. It’s a great album but there are some real duds in my opinion but it’s not my least favorite by any stretch. I’ll be reviewing all ten albums so you’ll find out which one I like the least...

As always feel free to comment your thoughts! I would like to connect with my followers a bit more.

#I have a very important licensing exam coming up #so my thoughts are more focused on academics #dir en grey #Macabre #album review #tw drugs

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strangetomato · 3 years ago

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🎃 Spooky Stories 💀

Okay, so I've seen people getting this ask and I have a number of things for this:

1. 🏠 We live in a duplex. We had the same neighbour for maybe about 6 or 7 years. During the year before she moved and put her house for sale, we would hear an odd irregular knocking sound through our shared wall. The only thing I could describe it as is if she was playing some sort of odd game with a ball she was kicking at the wall or very random dancing with shoes on hardwood floor. We've mentioned this to many others, and nobody has ever been able to think of anything that made sense. If it was her, why did it only start then? So clearly, poltergeist became an option. And the sound left after she moved, which fits. Yes, if she was making it herself that fits too, so maybe... but it took over three years for her to sell her half of the duplex, so...

2. 🕯️ When I was in university, I lived in a very old house in the older downtown part of the city with four other young women (we were packed in like sardines--I lived in a tiny room without a closet, but it did have a window). We we're fairly certain at least one person had died in the house, of old age. Not sure where that info came from, but that was what was said about the owners prior to it becoming a rental. One day I didn't have classes until later in the day, so I was alone there. I was getting ready to head out and as I walked by one of my roommates' room, I saw a candle left burning. I blew it out, but made a point to remind her not to risk burning the house down in the future. So later, I told her. She hadn't lit a candle. Nobody there had lit it. We collectively shivered. And honestly, it's the banal nature of this one that makes it all the more real to me.

3. 🎶 On a similar subtle note, I was visiting my friend's house as a teen. We left her room to go upstairs. Once there, I realized I had left something in her room and thinking I would forget if I didn't go back right away (true), I went to get it. As I entered the room, I heard notes being played on her acoustic guitar, right there on the floor. This time, I felt a chill go over me right away. A part of me wanted to get closer to see if the strings were moving, but another screamed not to. Don't see it. Don't. So instead I ran out of the room. Again, fairly banal. I didn't see anything, but that was because of an intense fear at hearing something that shouldn't be there. I went back to the kitchen and told her what I'd heard. She asked if I turned off the amp. I said it was the acoustic.

A common occurrence when we played with a ouija board was that the ghost of a young man would say they were in love with her and would sometimes visit her room, so *shrugs*

4. ⛵ Okay, so this is the best one. It's a freaking ghost ship. (Not to spoil the surprise.) There are quite a few folk ghost stories in my area about ghost ships, particularly on Halloween. So this one year, when we were teens, three of my friends and I dragged a ouija board (of course) and the trappings of some witchcraft we got off the then-new internet (so like Geocities or something), and climbed to one of the highest cliffs overlooking the bay (well, the arm--a bay off a bay). It was flat on top, a nice grassy area. So we were doing our nonsense up there, generally freaking ourselves out enough to last the rest of the year, when eventually we become aware of a large boat coming within sight of our cove. It didn't look ghostly, but it had a mast for sailing, and this was Halloween at 12 am, so not a time people tend to go out for a ride. It had no sails, but was moving, and didn't make a sound. Came right in next to us, turned, and shone a spotlight in our direction. We flattened ourselves to the ground and froze in place. Eventually, it continued to turn and went back the way it came.

We desperately wanted there to be a banal explanation for this. Perhaps someone was out to be spooky for Halloween. But then, the lack of sound, the trip not making much sense, the light... It didn't really look like a modern boat. Not many people have sailboats around here... It never really made good sense. So again, while this one was big and spectacular on one hand, it was also not see-through in a eerie mist. It was weirdly ordinary.

But don't get me wrong, it scared the living shit out of us. It was the last time we ever went out on Halloween trying to do spooky, witchy stuff. Or use a ouija board. I slept with a light on for a while.

#not sims #personal #random spooky stories #feel free to specilate on any of these

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mlbthoughtsandships · 4 years ago

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Compulsion--8/?

Read on AO3

[1-Imprint on Me/Soulmate–Imprint] [2-Jealousy] [3-Unconventional Proposals] [4-The First Night] [5-Who’s really the sap?] [6-Spoilers] [7-Ask Me Again]

This newest akuma was...different. This woman wore a white and pink maid's outfit; the apron was heart-shaped; and the chest was a giant clock with heart-shaped hands. It was in this clock that her powers lay; at random intervals--Ladybug couldn't stop moving long enough to nail down a pattern, a burst of pink light would rip through the center at in the direction of her target. Chat Noir had already been clipped; a giant, yellow timer counted down from 10 minutes above his head. No amount of questioning would result in an answer; the akuma had just cackled and said that they would both see at the end of the timer. She had announced herself as Countdown, but offered no more information. Since that moment, she had been trying to nail Ladybug with her beam.

"Why won't you stay still!?" She complained, furiously. Ladybug ducked behind a parked car as Chat redirected the beam into a post. He joined her behind the car.

"What do you want to do, milady? As curious as I am about this timer, I'm not very eager to see what it does," he stated.

"I think we're going to need some he-" The car was suddenly blasted away. Chat Noir barely managed force Ladybug's head down as another blast sent the car soaring into the park. They both vaulted to their feet, ready to dodge or fight, whenever another blast--not hardly 30 seconds from the last--slammed into Ladybug's chest. Chat cried out for her as she went flying back into a separate light post. She groaned at the painful strain to her back and looked up at her own timer--now blazing about her head. 5 minutes...and it was counting down faster than Chat's.

"Oh~," the akuma sang. "Oh my, kitty's gonna have a broken heart."

"You ready to tell us what it does?!" Chat demanded.

"If you haven't figured that out by now, then I'm definitely not going to tell you." Ladybug looked around. The epicenter of the attack was close; men and women bore the same timers-counting down. There was a sound of something chiming coming from Countdown's clock. Her eyes immediately darted almost manically around the square; Ladybug's eyes followed hers. One woman's timer hit zero and then she vanished. She reappeared, however, soon after--right as another woman's timer hit the same number. They stood in front of one another in a daze as a pink hue took over their irises. The akuma laughed gleefully. "I knew it~" She sang. "You two were totally soulmates!" She jumped up and down in delight. Ladybug's mouth fell open.

"You mean these silly timers are a soul-mate radar?!" She complained. The akuma's glee died down; a pout came on her lips.

"Yes, I can't believe I gave the game away..." Her pout disappeared as quickly as it had come. Her smile got wider. "There's also a compulsion charm imbedded into the beam. Those two will be going out to dinner. You two however...will deliver your miraculous once the timer reaches zero!"

Ladybug's lips twitched. The akuma realized it at the same time and let out a shriek of rage; they would be teleported to their soulmate. Which could be anywhere in the city. "Well, I suppose you'll have 4 minutes to try and take it, Countdown." She taunted as she dropped into a fighting stance. Chat, however, didn't move immediately; he was busy having an internal meltdown at the fact that Ladybug's timer was faster and lower. His timer had only just moved past 8 minutes.

"Ah," Chat shook himself. "I won't let such a silly thing as timers separate us, milady!" He declared with bluster, jumping upwards as a beam shot at his feet.

"Ah, but they are accurate," Countdown teased. "They'll transport you to your soul's one true fit."

"And how can you read our souls?" Ladybug asked as both of them crept closer to the distracted akuma. "What makes you the deciding vote?"

"I'm not~," she sang, "you are." Chat hooked his baton into a sewer drain lid while Ladybug kept the akuma's eyes on her. She shot her yoyo at Countdown's head. The woman dodged. "HA, you missed!" Her yoyo wrapped around the light post. Ladybug used the momentum of the string and the steadiness of the post to propel herself forward. The akuma dodged as Ladybug's feet flew past, but she couldn't dodge the sewer cap that Chat Noir hurled with his baton. It slammed into her and knocked her to the ground, but the clock did not break.

Which was unfortunate.

Ladybug's timer hit 0:00.

Luka yelped as a weight slammed into the deck beside him. He jumped up as he identified the mass on the deck. "Ladybug!" He cried out as she staggered to her knees. She pressed her palm to her forehead as if gathering her bearings. "Are you okay?" He asked as he helped her to her feet. She leaned into him for a moment, naturally, as if they had done it a thousand times, before pushing away.

"Yeah," she seemed to take assessment of herself and then gave a firmer nod, "yeah. I need..." She looked up at him, their eyes met, and her eyes glazed over in a pink film. Luka's stomach dropped. 'She's under the influence of an akuma,' he realized. He looked around the deck for something, anything that could snap her out of it or save him if the influence made Ladybug violent. "Luka," she called before he resolved himself to using his guitar for blocking. "Luka~" she sang. His eyes snapped over to her; first in alarm at the beautiful voice and then in true shock as her hands reached up for her ears. He realized immediately what the influence was. He grabbed her hands quickly and pulled them down by her hips. The action brought them closer--closer than he had ever thought he would be to the one who gave him the chance to be a temporary hero. "What are you doing?" She asked as she wiggled; a small giggle escaped her. He tried to ignore how jarring that sound was coming from the leader of the miraculous team and how familiar it seemed.

"Stopping you from making a mistake," Luka told her as he kept hold of her hands. He held her back into the depths of the boat, hidden from eyes.

"But you wanted to know my secret!" Ladybug protested. Luka almost tripped on the first step down into the hull, realizing that she was referencing his akumatization. He almost clipped his shoulder on the wall, but Ladybug pulled back just enough that he stayed on course.

"You don't want to do what you think you do," he told her soothingly. "I never should have asked."

"You should have! It was within your right to know!" Ladybug argued as she tried to wiggle her hands free. "I do love you, Luka," she said freely. His eyes widened; his grip on her hands loosened for a second. He scrambled to try and catch her hands as they darted up to her ears, attempting to make the most of her time freed. Luka did the only thing he could think of. He slapped his hands around her wrists and pinned them to the wall behind her. Her mouth fell open and a vivid blush spread across her cheeks. He took a deep calming breath.

"No, you don't." He argued. "It's the akuma making you-"

"No, it isn't." Ladybug retorted, trying to free her wrist in sharp bursts. Luka wondered idly why she wasn't overpowering him; in the suit, she was certain strong enough. 'But the compulsion isn't...there's something else to it. She didn't just appear to me randomly and she's acting almost...lovesick.'

"Ladybug, why are you here?" He asked.

"Countdown, the akuma, her beam is supposedly some soulmate timer or something corny like that..." Luka didn't have time to unpack all that, especially since her leg was now sliding up his. She could easily kick him away, all it would take was wedging her knee between them. He swallowed.

"I'm sorry about this," he apologized as he closed the small distance between them and pressed into her body. Her cheeks flooded with red and he was certain his own matched. "T-The, ah, compulsion is secondary to the timer?" He questioned. 'Get her thinking,' he rationalized. 'Engage her brain and she'll stop trying to expose herself...' Ladybug nodded. "Why is the thought that you love me more overpowering than the compulsion?"

"She's a matchmaking akuma," Ladybug clarified. "She said that I was the deciding vote about who I was transported to." Luka swallowed as he fought the urge to lay his head on her shoulder--even temporarily in exasperation. 'So, I'm gonna have to unpack it, huh?' He thought.

"So, subconsciously, you thought of me whenever she said soulmate?" Ladybug shook her head.

"No, I thought of you when she said 'my soul's perfect fit'. Soulmate is too...broad of a definition. If that were all, I could have just as easily teleported to Alya--since I consider her a platonic soulmate. But 'perfect fit' means more."

"That...doesn't sound like subconscious," he said weakly. It wasn't just her response; it was the name Alya combined with the way she said Ladybug smiled, but it was a trembling thing as if she didn't want to be saying all this. Luka's eyes widened. "You can't help but respond to me," he realized with dread.

"It doesn't seem like I have much of a filter," Ladybug agreed. Luka's mind raced.

"It's more than that, you have to be honest with your responses..." Ladybug nodded again. Luka pinched his lips together. "Shit, okay. Where is the fight happening?"

"Near the park that has the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue," she answered. Confusion had slipped into her tone.

"I want you to take me there."

"What? Why?"

"Because you are the only one who can purify the akuma."

"I'm not taking you into danger without a suit, Luka!" Ladybug argued; the first hints of her true self since before the pink glow. Luka pursed his lips.

"Please, Ladybug," he begged. She jerked as if he had slapped her; he bit into the inside of his cheek. A whine escaped the back of her throat as her head slammed into the wood of the boat.

"Don't," she protested weakly.

"Please," Luka repeated. He smothered the guilt as her pained eyes met his. He gave her wrists an apologetic squeeze as he stepped away and let his hands fall. His request seemed to overpower the compulsion as she stepped forward and let him out of the boat. She wrapped her arm around his waist and urged him to hold onto her. "Focus on the fight when we get there and I'll be safe," he told her as she swung the rope around a pipe jutting out from a house just a few feet from where they were docked. His breath caught as they were off. It was a jarring feeling, traveling by air-hanging from someone.

Before the feeling could make him dizzy, they landed at the fight. Chat Noir had broken the clock and freed the akuma. He had managed to cage it in his hands. The timer above his head read 4 minutes. He stared in astonishment at Ladybug and Luka. Luka caught her hands before they could dart back up to her earrings at the realization that there was no akuma, no fight to be had.

"The akuma needs to be purified," Luka tried. He didn't want to ask her to do something again whenever she couldn't resist. Ladybug's lips pouted.

"Yeah, but..."

"I need you to purify the akuma, Ladybug," Luka resigned himself.

"Thank you," Ladybug breathed, stunning him, as her yoyo wiped out. Chat's hands parted numbly, allowing Ladybug to catch it with her yoyo.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," she said as the purified butterfly flew off. Now that the akuma was cleansed.

"Is the compulsion still-"

"No, it's not," Ladybug sighed in relief. She turned to him. Her blue eyes were shining with relief and true affection. Luka's stomach clenched. 'Oh,' he realized immediately. The words she had spoken under the influence of the akuma combined with the way she was looking at him now--'Marinette.' And it was like the mask no longer existed. He could see the freckles across her nose that were hidden by the mask. He kept his expression as neutral as he could. Then, Ladybug hugged him; and he didn't bother hiding the shock. "Thank you," she whispered somehow more earnestly than before.

"You're welcome," he murmured as she stepped back and let him go. He was aware of Chat's eyes fixed on them, but the black cat didn't say a word. Mari-Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm and threw it into the air. The Miraculous Cure washed over the city, Chat, and herself in turn.

"I'll tend to the akumatized victim," Chat Noir said in the silence that had settled once the ladybugs had retreated. "You should take Luka home." He added to Ladybug. Ladybug nodded.

"Right. Thanks, Chat."

Like before, they traveled in silence. As they landed back onto the deck, Luka rubbed the back of his neck and readied to tell her that he knew.

"Luka..." She interrupted. "I...know you aren't stupid...and we can eventually come back to this," the this was loaded, "but right now..."

"Hey, I told you didn't I?" He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'll be here when you're ready." He reminded her with a slight smile. Her breath caught. Her own smile, trembling with both heartache and relief, pulled her lips.

"Yeah." They shared a smile and she turned to leave. As she put her foot up on the edge of the boat, she turned back to him. "I meant it, you know," she reminded him. 'I do love you, Luka.'

"I know," he reassured.

#pro lukamari #pro lukanette #lukanette endgame #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #soulmate au

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quickspinner · 4 years ago

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Month of Miracles - Dressing Up Part 2

Find the prompt list here!

Marinette tapped her pencil on the small stack of sketches and sighed. She felt dissatisfied with them, but that was nothing new. She was dissatisfied with almost everything she made these days, so why should this be any different?

Her thoughts drifted back to Luka for the hundredth time. She was going to have to face him again. He was expecting her and she really did need to source some materials from the wardrobe he was offering.

She might be able to put it off a day, though, she mused. Maybe it would be better to give him some space, anyway. She had just rejected him, after all. That had to sting, no matter how chill he acted about it. Marinette would be doing him a favor, staying away for a day. She could go shopping and see what she could get in the way of basic materials first. That was a perfectly plausible excuse.

Coward, she thought sourly at herself, and sighed, dropping her head into her arms.

It would be easier if she didn’t like him so much. Marinette turned her head and looked at her phone where it lay on the table in its cheerful pink case. She could text him, but...would that be weird? People here didn’t seem to do that, they just...popped up. He’d told her just to show up whenever, but…

I don’t have his number, she realized suddenly. How funny was that? All the times they’d talked, and they’d never even traded numbers.

She wouldn’t even be able to text him when she went back to the city. The thought made her ache, but she pushed it aside. That was the kind of problem you could push off for later, she thought as she packed up her things. Not like making out with a guy you were probably never going to see again once the week was out. Which was a real, actual problem that should be avoided.

Right?

Marinette groaned, and grabbed Gina’s car keys, marching out of the door. She had a job to do, and surely she was still professional enough to manage that much.

She had herself mostly together by the time she pulled into the Couffaine farm. The yard wasn’t empty when she pulled in, to her mild surprise.

“Ahoy, Marinette!” Anarka called, waving at her, and Marinette, feeling she should be polite, got her kit out of the car and walked over to where Anarka was working. Ankara was unloading some small saplings from the back of a pickup truck that looked a lot like Luka’s, only about twenty years older. “For a moment there, I fergot it was you and not yer grandma pulling up,” Anarka chuckled as Marinette approached. “Here t’see Luka, I expect? He said ye were comin’ by.”

“Yes,” Marinette tried to smile, and hoped she didn’t blush too hard at Luka’s name. Yes, hi, I kissed your son this morning and broke his heart, so this isn’t awkward at all. Lovely weather we’re having, isn’t it?

“He’s been working like a demon all day,” Anarka commented, lifting another tree down with a grunt. “He was drivin’ me crazy, bein’ so efficient, and I about bit his head off.” She glanced at Marinette, who tried hard not to look guilty. “Told him to make himself scarce for a bit. I think he went t’ take a shower, but he should be done by now.”

“Oh,” Marinette said lamely, trying very hard not to think of accidentally walking in on a freshly showered and not entirely dressed Luka. Maybe awkward small talk was for the best. “He, um. He said you were done for the year?”

“Aye, closed to the public fer the year,” Anarka smiled. “Though o’ course if there was anyone in town that needed anythin’ we’d open right back up. Nah, the public part of business is done for the year. Now it’s just all the work nobody sees.” She turned away from Marinette for a moment, walking over to the rail fence that separated the rows of trees. Marinette followed, unsure what else to do, her kit bumping against her knees as she carefully skirted the saplings.

“Never really thought I’d end up in a place like this,” Anarka said, leaning her elbows against the fence rails. “There’s a kinda poetry t’ it, though. Renewal. Rebirth. The old makin’ way for the young.” She winked at Marinette, and then went on. “I might not even be here by the time these trees are big enough t’ cut. Got a wandering foot, y’know, and it’ll take seven or eight years minimum for these to get the size where anyone would even consider cutting ‘em. Who’s to say I won’t be off to some new adventure by then? But they’ll still be here, growing, because I planted them. Endings, beginnings. Sometimes it’s hard to tell one apart from the other, aye?”

Marinette made a noise in reply automatically, but Anarka’s musings had put her thoughts on another track, and she barely heard the last bit.

Anarka eyed her sidelong for a moment, and then sighed and shoved herself off the fence, turning to smile at Marinette with her hand on her hips. “Out with it, lass, what’s on yer mind?”

Marinette blushed, snapping back to the present. “Nothing. It’s none of my business.”

“Maybe not,” Anarka shrugged. “Ye can still ask, though. If I don’t want to tell ye, I just won’t.”

Marinette shifted her weight and adjusted her grip on the handle of her kit, still uncomfortable, but...“Were you...disappointed?” she asked in a low voice. “When Luka gave up his career?”

Anarka laughed loud enough that it echoed back to them. “Nah, lass, I was proud . Luka was miserable, livin’ that life. It takes guts to admit that and come home, ‘specially when everyone around you is telling you how lucky ye are, having a talent and a chance like that. Like somehow you owe some cosmic debt and if ye don’t stick it out, yer wastin’ somethin’. Like success is a cookie cutter and ye have to slice away bits of yerself to make it fit.” She shook her head. “It’s not how I raised my kids. I taught them to take chances, and I taught them not to let fear make their decisions—and I also taught them that there’s no shame in what the world likes to call failure. There’s no shame in trying out the different shapes of success until you find one that fits, instead o’ tryin’ t’ force yerself into the one kind.”

Marinette blinked at her, surprised at the way her expression softened as she spoke.

Anarka was silent a moment and then sighed. “Still. You do your best to teach them, but you never know whether the lesson’s gonna stick. So when I think of the courage it took for Luka to walk away, to look so-called failure in the face and turn it into just another lesson learned, to find a way to believe that he’s still his father’s son even if he doesn’t follow in the old man’s footsteps—I’m so proud I could burst.” Marinette started slightly as Anarka suddenly stepped forward and put a surprisingly gentle hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “Luka’s never needed to prove his talent to me, lass. He’s still finding his feet again, and that’s okay. When he’s ready, he’ll make success fit him instead of the other way around, I’ve no doubt of that.” She squeezed Marinette’s shoulder, and looked at Marinette for a long moment. Marinette swallowed nervously, but couldn’t think of anything to say.

Ankara let her hand drop and jerked her head towards the house. “Go on now, we’ve both got things to be doing. Go straight on in, he’ll be expecting you.” She turned back to her young trees, and Marinette, clearly dismissed, turned towards the house, butterflies surging back to life in her stomach. She was being stupid, she told herself. Luka had accepted her rejection gracefully, and tried so hard to make her comfortable. Marinette was sure she’d hurt his feelings if she suddenly got awkward about being around him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

Marinette sneaked a glance back towards Anarka, and then despite what she had been told, she knocked as loudly as she could. She lingered on the doorstep as long as she dared (which wasn’t very long, knowing that Anarka could see her not going on in), and let herself into the house. She could hear guitar music even before she got the creaky old door open, and once inside, she followed it to the great room. Luka was perched on the same fragile-looking chair as before, with an acoustic in his hands this time. He looked up as she entered, and smiled, laying his hand flat against the strings. His hair was damp, and his t-shirt sticking to him a little bit. He couldn’t have been out of the shower long and Marinette was kind of glad she’d stopped to talk to Anarka.

Luka stood up and put the guitar in a stand, and Marinette realized she hadn’t even said hi, but it seemed too late now. “I was starting to think Mom was going to talk your ear off before you made it up here,” Luka teased gently as he straightened.

“Oh, we were just, um—” Marinette winced. “Talking.” She was so lame, ugh.

“I saw through the window,” Luka grinned. “Figured you’d get here when you were ready. The stuff’s all in the attic, so…” He gestured towards the stairs, and then reached for her kit. “Can I get that for you?”

Too flustered to object politely, Marinette let him take it, and then followed him. She should say something, she thought, but she couldn’t think of anything.

She sighed mournfully as they climbed the stairs. Part of her ached for what he was offering—but she was pretty sure that same part wouldn’t want to let him go, and that was just...and really, she was such a disaster, and he was amazing, and he deserved so much better than someone who was so mixed up and wishy-washy. Why did they have to meet like this? Would it have been different if they met before?

Except before, she was with Adrien, too dazzled and in love to even see anyone else, and Luka had been a rock star, surrounded by all the glamorous women he could possibly want, and she had never really stood out, as Audrey loved to remind her. She just didn’t have Adrien’s celebrity magnetism, nor Audrey’s force of personality, so she was always overlooked. It was no wonder that nobody ever really saw her until she came here.

“Well, here we are,” Luka’s voice broke into her thoughts. He was reaching up to grab a hanging cord.

Marinette shook her head and slapped her cheeks as Luka pulled the attic ladder down and ascended it. None of this was actually solving the problem at hand. She needed to keep her mind on the costumes. Marinette had sketched out some ideas at home, thinking she could probably get some sheets to use as a base, and then maybe she could source some of the less expensive things from Luka’s old wardrobe for embellishments on the fancier things like the angels, or for the snaps and things. There was a single big box store in town, actually; the selection would be limited but surely she could find some things there too. This project was ridiculously easy, when it came down to it. She had a plan that would work, and it was all simple sewing, stuff she could do in her sleep. No sweat.

So why were her hands shaking?

She lifted her hands and watched them tremble before her eyes. She felt her breath getting short.

She started when a large hand closed over both of hers. “Marinette.” She looked up, and Luka was there, framed against the light coming down from the attic. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” she said, a little too quickly, with a smile that was a little too wide. “Just, hoping there will be some stuff I can use.”

Luka smiled. “It’ll be fine. Come on up.” He shifted his hold to just one of her hands and drew her up the narrow stairs after him.

He let go of her hand once she was up, and Marinette looked around in mild surprise. The attic was cleaner than she expected. Cluttered, like the rest of the house, and full of things in piles and stacked, sometimes draped in sheets, but she didn’t encounter the dust she had expected, and the small, high windows were clean and let in plenty of light. She wondered if they were just carting things in and out of here so often that they kept it clean, or if they used the space for more than storage. There was a clear path to where they needed to be, and she followed Luka across the creaking floor.

Marinette waited nervously as he whisked the protective sheets off two racks of clothes. Marinette had to blink as the light hit the clothes; there were metal accents and rhinestones and metallic fabrics everywhere, and she was unprepared for the amount of light they threw back in her eyes.

“There it is,” Luka sighed, folding his arms as he sat on a trunk a short distance away. “Every bedazzled scrap of it.”

She had to giggle a little at that. Luke Stone had certainly favored ostentation, though that was almost unavoidable when you played with Jagged Stone.

Still, they didn’t have to, she thought, as she walked up and began mechanically sliding looks along the rack to have a look. They could have played up his simplicity. They could have made him stand out by contrast, rather than by imitation. She wondered if they were deliberately setting up an implied rivalry between father and son with their choices, or if they just hadn’t thought a rock star could be simple. Costume design wasn’t exactly the same thing as fashion design, but there was enough overlap that—

Marinette brought her thoughts back to the present, and swallowed as she stepped back again, suddenly overwhelmed. She turned away and opened her kit slowly, taking out the stack of drawings she’d left on top, suddenly profoundly dissatisfied with them. Rose and the kids expected her to work magic with this stuff, and all she had was a pile of generic toga-style costumes.

Simple. Uninspired. Pedestrian.

Her gut began to churn.

Marinette glanced at Luka nervously, and then jerked her gaze quickly away, but of course he caught it.

“I don’t have to be here if it makes you uncomfortable,” he said quietly. “I can go back downstairs and you can just call me if you need help with anything.”

That was so far from her thoughts that it gave her pause. “You...don’t make me uncomfortable,” she said, and looked back at him with a sad smile. “You never have. You’ve been...really wonderful, Luka, now matter how weird things got. I am uncomfortable, but it’s not about you.” Taking a breath, Marinette stepped back to the rack and ran her fingers down the fabric in front of her in a practiced motion, taking in the composition and the drape almost without conscious thought.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Luka asked quietly.

Marinette thought about that for a moment, and then turned back to the garments on the rack. “Not tonight.” She couldn’t afford to get worked up now, she had to figure something out. She...she had to do something, she couldn’t just…

“Okay.” Luka said simply, and Marinette swallowed hard, squeezing her eyes shut. He was so understanding, but—what was she going to do? She couldn’t just drape the kids in sheets and call it a day, they deserved so much better than that. She had to figure something out, she had to—She put both hands in her hair and pulled it, trying to focus on the clothes in front of her, but her eyes stung. She squeezed them shut tight and held her breath, trying to keep it together.

Luka’s hands closed on her shoulders from behind, squeezing lightly, and Marinette turned to him in a rush, burying her face in his chest.

“Marinette, look at me,” he said, pushing her shoulders back gently and taking her face in his hands. “Just breathe, and look at me.”

Marinette stared up into his blue eyes, reflecting calm and assurance while all that fluttered in her chest was panic and self-doubt.

“Slow down,” he said emphatically. “It’s okay.”

“But I—” she began, and he shook his head.

“Marinette. There’s no failure here. Anything you put together will be better than moldy, moth-eaten rags. Without your help we’d all be frantically cutting armholes in pillowcases or something. No matter what you do, Rose will be ecstatic.” He smiled encouragingly at her. “These are the lowest possible stakes. You can’t screw up, so just have fun with it.”

Marinette turned her head out of his hands, looking at the designer, rock star wardrobe laid out for her to use. “But—”

Luka reached over and grabbed her fabric scissors out of her kit. He grabbed a shirt at random off the rack, and cut it in half in a ragged line. Marinette stared as he offered her the scissors back. “That’s how little I care about this stuff,” he grinned.

Marinette’s mouth closed abruptly and she glared at him, and would have snatched the scissors from them if they hadn’t been—well, scissors. Well-sharpened fabric scissors at that. Instead she took them with the appropriate amount of care even as she narrowed her eyes at him. “I might have needed that,” she told him, kicking his foot lightly.

“I have faith,” Luka grinned wider. “You’ll manage.”

She huffed and turned back to the garments, and looked at the second rack next to her. Luka backed away, leaning his elbows on an old dresser as he watched her.

Marinette studied the racks, and suddenly she pulled out her phone, swiping to the group photo she’d taken at the library today. She looked over the children there, at their dyed hair and punk haircuts and all-black outfits interspersed with riots of color, and began to smile a bit. “Okay,” she muttered, picking up a leather garment studded with rhinestones. “I guess this Christmas is about to get a little bit rock ‘n roll.”

Luka raised his eyebrows slightly.

Marinette barely noticed him, eyes lighting up as her mind began racing. She picked up the stack of designs she had done earlier and crumpled them absently in her hands. “I need my sketchbook,” she muttered.

“I’ll get it,” Luka said, shoving off the dresser and crossing the room. “Where?”

“I left it in my car. On the passenger seat, I think.”

Luka clattered down the stairs and out of the front door to grab Marinette’s sketchbook. Halfway back up the stairs he hesitated, and ducked into his room to grab his own notebook. Marinette practically snatched the book out of his hand, digging in her kit for her pencils, and Luka grinned, sitting back on the trunk again and resting his notebook on his knee.

He watched her, fascinated, as her focus narrowed to her task, and she began sketching, making notes and separating out items from the stacks of clothing he never thought he’d look at again. Luka began scribbling notes to himself as well, just...idle thoughts, the web of concepts and ideas that eventually came together to make a song, but he kept looking up to watch her, intrigued by her creative process. She muttered something to herself or tossed something aside with more vehemence than usual and he grinned.

Slowly, the attic transformed, suddenly strewn with gaudy clothes. Several distinct heaps were forming. Every once in a while Marinette would stop, and go back to her sketchbook, scratching in new details or ideas, or crossing something out with a sigh.

He jumped slightly, though, when she tossed the book aside with a little scream, and buried her face in her hands. “I’m such an idiot,” she muttered. “Why didn’t I think of that? It’s never going to hold up with that kind of weight, I’m so stupid —”

“Whoa,” Luka said, a little sharply than he’d meant to, putting his notebook aside and getting up quickly to go to her. “Hey, hey, hey, slow down. What’s wrong?”

“I just—I should have accounted for this, and I didn’t, and now I have to change it—”

“Okay, so change it,” Luka said, putting his hands on her shoulders again to make her look at him. Marinette looked at him like he had two heads, and he almost laughed at her. “Marinette, you’re an artist, not a machine. It’s okay to backtrack and change your mind.” He smiled at her, hoping he looked reassuring and not enchanted. “I know every artist is different and music isn’t the same as fashion, but for me…” he shrugged. “Success comes from a series of small failures. You try something, and it mostly works, but something isn’t quite right, so you make a change and try again. That’s not something to be ashamed of or upset about. If you’re that frustrated, we could take a break. Or if you want to rework it some and come back tomorrow, that’s fine too. I’m not going anywhere.”

Marinette stared at him for a minute, her mouth working soundlessly. She looked down at the sketchbook in her hands, and then back up at him.

“Do you want to take a break?” Luka asked her.

“I...no,” she said. “It’s...it’s not that big of a deal, I’m pretty sure I can fix it if I...um—”

“Okay,” he said simply, giving her shoulders a little squeeze. He really wanted to hug her, to hold her tight and tell her how amazing he found her, how entranced he was watching her work, how alive she looked when she was creating, but—he couldn’t, so he squeezed her shoulders and then let his hands fall. “No need to explain it, I trust you.” He glanced down at the book, and then looked away. “Sorry, I’m not trying to peek, but that—that looks really badass.” He couldn’t help looking again, and, blushing, Marinette turned the book so he could see. His smile grew as he looked at it. “That’s amazing, Marinette, what are you worrying about? If it looks half this cool in real life we’re going to have to have someone standing by to give Rose oxygen.”

Marinette giggled, and looked back down at it herself. “You really think so?” she murmured, with a small smile that made his heart skip. Just when he thought she couldn’t get any sweeter.

“I definitely think so,” Luka told her, backing away. He sat down on the floor this time, leaning back against the trunk. He groped behind him blindly for his notebook and nearly knocked it off the far side of the trunk.

Marinette gave a pleased hum, and then took a deep breath before her brows furrowed into her concentration face. Luka drew his knees up and leaned one elbow on them, smiling like the fool he was.

There were a few more frustrated groans, but no more spirals, and Luka kept quietly in his place even as piles of fabric grew around him. Finally she sat back and sighed. “I think that’s everything I’m going to need.”

“Cool.” Luka looked up from his notebook and smiled.

“I’m so sorry about the mess,” Marinette gasped, looking around as if she had only just now realized the chaos she had created. “I can help you clean it up—”

Luka cut her off with a laugh. “You’re welcome to,” he chuckled, “but there’s really no need. Clutter is a way of life around here. Trust me, the only reason they were so organized to begin with is because they were delivered that way.” His eyes fell to her sketchbook. “Can I see what you have in mind?” he asked, unable to contain his curiosity any more.

Marinette tensed up immediately, biting her lip. She looked at the book and then at Luka, and then she offered it to him.

Luka took it, though his eyes stayed on her, concerned and a little baffled by her hesitation when the one sketch he’d seen had been so cool. Marinette turned back to the pile of garments she had chosen, though, and so he let his eyes fall and began looking through the few pages of sketches she had made, careful not to go beyond even though he was aching to see more. A slow smile grew on his face as he looked, and he shook his head slightly. “The angels are still my favorite, but these are amazing, Marinette. You might want to get some earplugs because Rose is going to shatter glass when she sees these.” He grinned up at her. “I knew you could do it.”

She smiled faintly, but looked away. “They’re just pictures, though. I still have to actually execute the designs.”

“Hey,” Luka said, reaching a hand up towards her. Marinette blinked in surprise, but she slowly stepped forward and put her hand in his. He tugged gently, and she sank to her knees in front of him. “ Yeah, you might have to make some changes when you go to actually put it together, but that’s part of the process for everybody. Sometimes a song I thought was finished doesn’t work out right the first time I play it with the band, and I have to make some changes.” He hesitated, and then went on. “I don’t know what’s going on in there,” he poked her forehead gently. “And I’m not exactly up on fashion, but—” he gestured at the racks of clothes. “I have some experience too, and I gotta say…” he shook his head, and turned the sketchbook towards her. “You outclass anybody else I’ve worked with by far.”

Marinette blushed deeply. “They’re just costumes,” she murmured, tucking her hair back as she looked away.

“They could have been, but they’re not.” Luka offered her the book back. “Marinette.” He waited until she looked at him. “Do you like them?”

Marinette looked back at the drawings, and bit her lip. Her face was growing red again. “Yes,” she finally admitted quietly.

Luka put his fingers under her chin and tipped her face back up. “Stop thinking so hard,” he said gently. “I know it’s easy to lose faith in yourself, but...you’re creating something, you have to find a way to tune all of that stuff out and just be in that moment. You can deal with the aftermath afterwards.” He grinned. “That’s what editing is for, right? Or so I’m told. I was never any good at it.”

Marinette smiled. “That’s why your music was so good. It was...raw, instinctive. Still polished, but deeply emotional. It’s why I always loved it.”

It was Luka’s turn to flame up red, and Marinette giggled.

“That wasn’t fair,” he huffed, pulling his knees up to hide his face in his arms for a moment.

Marinette laughed harder. “How many thousands of records sold and you blush at a little old compliment from a fan?” she teased.

Luka turned his face on his arms so that he was looking at her. “You’re not just any fan,” he said, and smiled at the pink returning to her cheeks. He sighed, raising his head, and letting his legs fall and cross beneath him again. “Don’t ever let anyone let you feel like you’re not special, Marinette.”

“It’s definitely not a problem when I’m with you,” she said, and then bit her lip, like it had slipped out without her intending it to.

“Good,” he grinned, and then decided he’d better move before he did something stupid. “So, show me what you need me to take down to the car for you, and we’ll just leave the rest of it like this until you’re done in case you need to come back for something.”

“Oh,” Marinette’s eyes widened slightly and she scrambled to her feet. “Right.”

She told him which piles of clothes she wanted to take, and Luka got some bags and gathered them up. Marinette made a token effort at tidying up, despite Luka having told her to leave it. She hung a few things back on the rack, and paused suddenly, hand hovering over a jacket still on the rack.

Marinette picked it up slowly, looking at it. The scent of leather and something like electronics hit her nose, and her eyes widened slightly. She felt around the bottom hem and found something hard and rectangular there. Another minute of searching, and the jacket lit up in her hands, the fiber optic lights sewn into the seam pulsing faintly.

Marinette laughed a little, and crossed over to the trunk Luka had been using as a chair all afternoon. She sat down and spread the jacket across her lap. She remembered this. He’d been wearing it at the show she’d gone to. They’d started with all the lights off and just Luka on stage, wearing this jacket and the pants that went with it, making him just an electric outline on the stage when the curtain went up.

Hard to reconcile that image with the guy from the tree farm, she thought affectionately. But then, he’d always had a reputation for being a sweetheart, good to his fans and generous with his time, so...maybe it wasn’t so hard to believe.

At least this contraption is well made, she thought, running a finger along one of the light tubes. It was still secure after all this time, and clearly in working order.

The lights began to flash and jump around, and Marinette giggled. It had started that right before Luke had swept his hand up and down in a dramatic power chord that had rattled her teeth. Once again it was hard to reconcile them in her mind. It was almost funny, now that she knew Luka, remembering those dramatics.

The light reflected back off something in the corner of her eye, and when she looked, she saw it was the metal coil of Luka’s notebook, half buried under a pile of clothes he had shoved out of the way. She picked the notebook up and smiled a little bit as she did so; the page was a mess, full of scratched out lines, and the writing went every which way in a complicated web. Was this how his mind worked? It was so different from her own process—

Jewels Diamonds in the sands of time Those are my memories with you And even if it’s only a precious few They’re the ones I’ll keep when everything else flows away

It made Marinette think of her first fashion show, when she’d been new and excited about the garments she was putting out there, excited and happy. That moment shone jewel-bright in her memory, despite all the drudgery that had followed it. That was she was working for, after all, another chance at that feeling. All of this frustration would be worth it if she could have another moment like that.

Marinette blinked back to reality and suddenly realized what she was doing. She slammed her eyes shut and turned the notebook over in her lap. Oh, she shouldn’t have looked at that, she thought frantically, her heart suddenly beating triple time. This—this was private, just like her designs were, and she shouldn’t have—but she hadn’t meant to—

Luka’s heavy boots thunked on the stairs and Marinette jumped, dropping the notebook so that it landed on the floor splayed open with an inelegant smack . Marinette scrambled up and hurriedly grabbed it again. She hastily smoothed it out as Luka came the rest of the way up into the attic. “Oh, I think this one is yours,” she said, holding it out to him.

“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Luka said, curling it in half and sticking it in his back pocket. Marinette tried not to wince. “Anything else?” His eyes landed on the jacket in her hands. “Oh, I see you found the switch,” he chuckled.

“Will you put it on?” Marinette blurted, and Luka raised his eyebrows at her. “Please?” she smiled, hunching her shoulders slightly as she held it up.

Eyebrows still raised, Luka took it, and slipped it on. He grimaced slightly as he zipped it up. “Definitely doesn’t fit as comfortably as it used to,” he commented, tugging down on the hem. “Not too bad, though.”

“You probably build muscles in different places, hauling trees,” Marinette said absently, stepping forward to adjust the way it sat across his shoulders for a moment. “Not as uniform a workout as using a personal trainer. It gives you a more natural build.” She smiled a little as she smoothed the arms and stepped back.

“It still looks good on you,” she observed. “You were wearing this at the concert I went to. The first time I saw you live.”

Luka smiled ruefully. “Doesn’t exactly have the same effect in my attic, does it?”

“No,” Marinette smiled back. “It was a wonderful performance, though, and I guess I wasn’t expecting to be reminded of it just now.” She bit her lip and asked in a rush, “Were you...were you writing a song? Just now?” She gestured vaguely toward his pocket.

Luka looked a little taken aback, but not offended. “I was starting to,” he admitted. “I...really enjoy the time we spend together, and it was really nice, seeing a new side of you today. I guess I felt a little inspired, yeah.”

Marinette’s breath caught. “It was...about me?”

“About you and me, yeah,” he admitted. “Does that bother you?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “No!” How could he think she’d be offended by such a thing? It was...it was amazing, that she’d inspired anything in him, when she was so—and—how she had felt, in that first fashion show, was he...was he saying he felt that way with her ? She shied away from the idea even as she thought it, it was so...so much, and she was so—she was—

Oh no. Luka was looking at her intently, a slight crease in his forehead. She tried to think of something to say, but her internal meltdown was too complete, and she just stared at him.

“You’re extraordinary, Marinette,” Luka said softly, and his expression was completely serious and not at all flirtatious. “Getting to see you work today was a privilege. I’m better for meeting you, even if my heart breaks when you’re gone. It’s...it’s a long way from being a song, but I meant it.”

“But I’m…”

Luka shook his head slightly, a smile softening his expression. “You’re what, Marinette? Tell me everything, I want to hear all of it.”

Marinette gaped. “You—you—how do you do that?” she cried, throwing her hands up. “You’re sweet and kind and you have an amazing talent but you’re so laid back and grounded and—”

“And you are all of those things too,” Luka laughed. “Except maybe the laid back part.” He grinned, and Marinette made a face at him. “You kinda maybe worry too—”

Marinette had taken two large steps toward him. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled. Luka staggered, grabbing on to her shoulders as she dragged him down and kissed him.

He made a very undignified noise even as his arms were coming down to wrap around her. Marinette couldn’t hold the kiss very long; she hadn’t taken a good breath and her nose was smashed against his cheek, so she was forced to break it before Luka really even had a chance to respond.

Luka sucked in a breath, blinking at her. “Are you sure?” he blurted, and then looked like he wanted to kick himself. Marinette had to giggle, giddy with elation and adrenaline, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest.

“No,” she told him when she was able, and a little shiver of fear went up her spine before she stomped it down again. “But I’ve never met anybody like you and...anyway, you’re right. It’s stupid to be tearing myself up over it when I could just be kissing you instead.”

“Very logical,” he laughed, and Marinette kicked his shin lightly.

“Take off this ridiculous jacket,” she told him, tugging. “I can’t take you seriously in this thing.”

“I don’t know, I’m suddenly a lot fonder of it than I was a moment ago,” Luka grinned, putting his hands over hers on the lapels. His tone was teasing, but his thumbs caressed the backs of her hands, and there was a light in his eyes that had her heart galloping all over again.

She slipped her hands away, and Luka fumbled at the hem until he found the switch, turned the lights off, and shrugged the jacket off, dropping it carelessly on the trunk beside them before reaching for her again.

They were still wrapped up in each other when Rose popped her head in the attic looking for them, and rattled the windows with her scream.

Fiction Master Post | Month of Miracles

#quickspins #monthofmiracles2020 #hallmark au #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #promptfic

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belovasangel · 4 years ago

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Come Back to Me

Summary: Shawn missing big events leaves to beautiful memories and Christmas miracles

Pairing: Shawn x fem!Nurse!Reader

Warnings: swearing, light angst, fluff, flashback heavy, holiday feelings

A/N: Yup. Surprise. Also flashbacks are in italics, per usual. Also I am not Canadian so I don’t know if y’all celebrate Remembrance Day. For the sake of this story, pretend that it’s the equivalent to Thanksgiving.

Shawn took your hand as you barreled down the sidewalk, laughs flying past you in the wind. Tonight had been a perfect date, something great to wrap the summer up, full of time alone with your favorite guy (and your favorite wine). He had been planning this for weeks now, and you can even remember him talking about this back in June when his tour had been announced. The pandemic put a damper on your two’s plans since March, but once the numbers started decreasing did he get calls from managers, and then... there was another world tour. You weren’t mad, music was his passion. Even though you two would be wrapped in each other’s arms after a lovely night, you could tell behind his eyes he longed to play the guitar for different cities.

That’s why tonight was so important, because he started packing and planning, then he would leave on Wednesday for Prague. And of course, your job needed you in Toronto. While Canada hasn’t experienced any significantly alarming numbers, there were still cases rolling in. You insisted that Shawn goes on tour, so much that you had to pay for his first ticket yourself (he payed you back, though. He insisted).

Shawn skidded to a stop, turning around and putting his hands on your shoulders. “Now promise me you’re gonna close your eyes, just for a few seconds.”

You huffed and shrugged your shoulders, “Shawn I’m out of breathe, you made me run in heels for about half a mile... Give me 5 minutes instead.” With a quick chuckle, he pecked your lips and turned you around. You heard his shuffling from those black boots he wears to rubble, then decided to look around. He somehow managed to find a quaint park, with a nice bubbling fountain and family’s scattered around. Dogs were running a lit in the distance, and the bustle of the city wasn’t nearly as booming as it usually is. This was nice.

“Okay, turn around.”

With a giggle, you turned around to see Shawn on one knee. Behind him was a tree strung with lights that were glowing, and underneath the tree was champagne and a radio playing your two’s song, Turning the Page (Yeah, we know it’s from Twilight, but that doesn’t stop it from being any less romantic). He was kneeled on a red and white picnic blanket, the typical one you’d see in catalogues for fall. On the blanket were rose petals scattered.

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N), you have changed my life for the better. The moment you saw me in the E.R., and had to take care of my broken hand, I knew you were just as kind and gentle as you looked. Once you let me in, and take you on that shitty first date, I got to see the real you. The you that cries during every Disney movie, the you that would bring me breakfast in bed when I had a rough day, the you that would rescue a damn pigeon off the street because it looked sad. You are the most sincere, selfless, and intelligent woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I don’t want ever want to stop or slow down. You have become my life and my rock, I’m completely lost without you. I am utterly in love with you, (Y/N). I want us to have a family, I want to make an album for you, and everything in between. Will you please marry me?”

You shuddered awake, looking quickly at your blaring alarm from the end table. Picking it up and turning it off, the time read 4:25 A.M., signaling it was time to get ready for work. You got up, and went to open the blinds to your bedroom, watching the snow fall steadily. Slipping on your socks and bathrobe, you shuffled to the kitchen to get a cup of tea brewing before you hit the shower.

Mornings like this weren’t incredibly tough anymore, once Shawn was gone on tour. He face-timed you once a week because of tour, sent you letters and packages from your favorite cities, and even had roses delivered on your birthday. And of course, he always said, “Lemme see it. I wanna see you wear that pretty ring. There it is, there she is, soon-to-be Mrs. Mendes.”

Slipping in the hot shower, you played some of his songs, some of your regular playlists, and when you were throwing on your outfit, your two’s song. You missed Shawn. He had missed your two’s favorite holiday, Halloween, where you two always did the cheesy couple costumes. He missed your birthday, but he sent his family in place. He missed Remembrance Day, because in Europe that wasn’t a thing. And tomorrow is Christmas, where he has no sign of coming home whatsoever. That’s fine, though, because you took the long shift at the hospital.

When the song came to an end, you threw on your coat and snow boots, grabbing all the food and equipment you would need for a 12-hour and began to head out. Shawn sent you his daily vlog and you watched that on the shuttle. Once that was over, you got to the hospital where you would forget about your slightly more aching heart. After work, the routine would basically go in reverse. Commute home, get back into your pajama’s, drink some tea, get dinner, and go to bed, where you would have a restless night in an empty bed.

“When do you think we should have the wedding?”

Shawn looked over, a piece of popcorn hanging onto his lip like a lifeline. His cheeks were flushed and he still looked a little sweaty from the show he just played at TD Garden. He knew you were doing the planning to keep yourself from descending into madness (well, not entirely, but you only brought it up when you really missed him). “I think we should do a summer/fall sort of wedding, like when the leaves are red but it isn’t freezing by 5, ya know?”

You hummed in agreement, a smile picking at the corners of your mouth. “I completely agree. Do you want it to be outdoors then, because of the leaves?”

Shawn took another few things of popcorn from the bag and popped them into his swollen lips, he always licked them when he was frustrated by how a show went, or just when his mind was reeling. “I think we should get married outdoors, and then have the reception indoors. Kind of like-”

“Twilight...”

You both looked at the screen and snorted, sending both of you into fits of hysteria. “Shawn, we really base our relationship off of those books, didn’t we?” He looked over, licking his lips once again. “Explain, babe. I get a little bit, but our whole relationship?”

You shuffled in the bed a little bit, “Hear me out, Shawn-y boy. We met when you were hurt and I had to save you, or more-so your career. Edward saved Bella from the car, right? Right. So, there’s that. Then that girl who you worked on the album with tried to get you on the few dates, but that was long after we were official. Boom, Jacob plot line. Then you leave me for your first tour, which I get 100%, so don’t be upset over that. But the girl you worked with saw you kind of sad and made it her mission to befriend you and then attempt to change your mind over me... And our song is the one from their wedding, and we want an outdoors-y wedding.....”

Shawn looked at the screen, then back to the popcorn leaking butter in his hands. “Damn. So you’re saying that I’m Bella?” You began to shake your head, cheeks turning red. “Maybe I meant that wrong, but-”

“No, no you’re saying I’m Bella. Does that mean I get to wear the dress? I cannot wait to get married with no emotions and then have the ugliest CGI baby in the history of cinematics. Aren’t you so excited for that, my love?”

“Absolutely thrilled.”

The alarm on your phone blared once again, pulling you from Shawn. You picked up the phone, getting a few “Merry Christmas” texts from family and friends. You assumed Shawn was out partying with his crew mates, plus it must’ve been a busy day altogether. Turning off the alarm and standing, you pulled on the slippers and followed your routine again.

Once it got to 6:07, and still no text from Shawn, you decided to call him. Immediately, you were sent to voicemail. With a sigh, you waited for voicemail.

“Hey bubs, Merry Christmas! I miss you more than ever, it’s snowing here pretty rough. I know you’d probably go outside right about now and insist to make a snowman or some angels, so that might be a mission for me after work. Um, I wanted to let you know that I love you so much, and I hope you’re having fun on tour... The apartment isn’t the same without you here, especially around this time. You’re probably having fun with your friends and I don’t wanna intrude on that, so I’ll hang up. I love you Shawn, be careful. Stay safe, come back to me soon. Bye.”

Wiping the tear that fell down your cheek, you stepped outside your apartment, hopped into the elevator and began the commute to your shift. You got to work on record time, beginning your patient rounds and vitals, then celebrating with the coworkers. Working 6:30 AM-9:30 PM would be a tough one, but whatever to keep you under that roof. Plus, double-time because of the holiday.

Once it hit 9:30, you booked it out of the hospital and onto the shuttle. Your eyes were barely open as you saw the texts from Shawn.

(Shawn) 7:59 AM: Hey babe, I’m so sorry I didn’t answer your call! I can’t wait to see your face tonight, you still up for FaceTime?

(Shawn) 9:26 AM: I bet you’re busy, but I’m gonna be in a few conferences and doing press so I won’t be able to talk for a while. Love you!

(Shawn) 3:14 PM: (Y/N) I don’t think we can FaceTime tonight, I have to do something for a fan and it’s really important. I am so sorry.

(Shawn) 8:44 PM: Are you mad at me or are you still working?

(Shawn) 9:32 PM: Something is waiting for you at home, it’s your gift. I hope this can make up for the call!

You hopped out of the shuttle, heart feeling extra heavy as you walked into the apartment. The string lights and streamers along the walls were taunting you as the elevator brought you to your floor, and you tried to compose yourself until you would get inside. Stepping up to your door, you looked for the present, to no avail.

(Y/N) 9:45 PM: Shawn I don’t see a package

(Shawn) 9:45 PM: Mom must’ve brought it inside, I’m sure it’s there.

With a huff, you shoved the key into the door, and walked inside. Chucking your purse and coat onto the hooks, while flinging off your shoes, you composed yourself enough to look for the package. If he got it express-shipped it had to be good. Checking the kitchen was no luck, and the living room looked normal.

(Shawn) 9:48 PM: Bedroom, babe

With a gasp, you quickly buzzed to the bedroom, and laid your hand on the door. You stopped, hesitant to what was behind the door. What if it isn’t him? Taking a deep breath, you dismissed the negative thought and opened.

The room was filled with lit tea lights, rose petals on the bed and the floor, and Shawn. He was standing there in that chunky-white knit sweater you loved, with flushed cheeks and watery eyes, holding a bouquet of flowers, and your favorite song playing softly in the background.

You gasped, running into his arms with a squeal and sob, him mimicking the sound. He held onto the small of your back, and one hand on the back of your neck, and you felt his tears falling onto your skin. “I missed you so much, (Y/N). You don’t even know.” He pulled back slightly pressing his lips to yours in a soft embrace.

After a minute of kissing, you pulled back. “Merry Christmas, Shawn.”

“Merry Christmas, (Y/N).”

#shawn #shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagines #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes x you #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes fanfiction #imagine #love #christmas #lumineshawn

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nobody-knose--archive · 4 years ago

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finally got around to listening to sketches 3d today and man! man! oh boy! liveblog under the cut!

-piano. exactly what i was expecting

-vibrato huh

-ayyy that's some. funky percussion

-this is like the fullerenes or something. a song about an Interesting Lady

-and there's that one grainy string synth/sample that andrew uses a lot & also appears in hawaii part ii

-more percussion. this is so cool

-i wasn't expecting this to be quite so minor key

-man if that was courtney on the flute there i think that'd be sick

-sing it andrew!

-i'm already having a more cheery time than i did with nat

-zubin???

-i will absolutely have to review that voice

-wait what the fuck is happening to her

-darling you good?

-anyway. classic andrew horowitz funky out-of-tune synths

-rattle rattle

-more out of tune piano. what song is this

-oh shit!!! this is the song my friends like

-tambourine <3

-you & me? sides of a coin? good & evil?

-so weird hearing all these lyrics i've seen in the song channel sung aloud for real

-andrew is doing some good singing here. he's good at carrying the melody on his own even though i've not heard much of that from him in the past save fate of the stars maybe

-he's always been good at that percussion

-all different types of percussion. tinny little gong like it's the whole world & you acoustic

-tambourine <3 <3

-so incredibly weird knowing what the lyrics are going to be without knowing what the song sounds like. i know how these words go in order but don't know how the melody carries them

-interesting thing about sketches so far. it's very strong & powerful but it doesn't block out the world like other new songs will. i'm not being taken somewhere else it's more like the whole rest of the world is being highlighted

-alright what's next?

-7/4 hummingbird????? or is this 6/4???

-no no no it's 5/4 and doing funky things with the onbeat i love this

-asking questions to a little creature is the best kind of pasttime and i mean that

-man andrew mixed this really well he's just. incredible at that

-he's making each song distnict while also giving sketches a clear theme

-a minor turn. i like that

-now what could this be?

-not lemons & pears yet?

-daisy fingers hell yes

-another song about a lady

-spoke mostly harmony oh you clever man

-thank you andrew for doing more with time signatures than tally hall ever did. first 5/4 and now 6/8

-the combination of very out of tune & rough percussions and incredibly beep bloopy synths is so cool

-conversations with a lady. this feels like a story of andrew visiting another world and being like "might as well write some songs about the fellows and stories round here"

-the whole album, i mean

-i am inspired by you, andrew

-this whole album is everything i could've hoped for and more

-the interesting thing about it is how few questions i find myself asking. i'm just looking at this stuff i have and being like wow! &, cool! not what i usually do with new albums

-divine inspiration bay be

-that's like. the opposite of an 80s fadeout

-oh that is absolutely the little sfx from the beginning of perfect at the end

-wait speaking of at the end

-no this is have a nice day interludinal

-is this a polyrhythm? there's a 4/4 type thing in the background and the foreground is. not on the onbeat i can say that much

-man i am going to have a nice day

-he's a good musician, able to make so much music out of a single interval

-lemons & pears!!!!

-toy orchestra my beloved that's the fuckin toy piano bay be wooooo

-but man oh boy does this sound absolutely different with only a one single guy singing

-ukulele in the bg? toy orchestra <3

-interesting being able to actually hear like. all of the lyrics for real

-some of the little riffs are gone and there are quite a many more

-hello?

-oh okay

-yeah i heard about the fucking gunshots that doesn't mean i was prepared for them

-the chorus sounds so nice i love this

-guest vocals?????????? whomst????????????

-who is this lady i'm so curious is she from the old toy orchestra? that'd be amazing

-breakdown time and it sounds so similar to the toy orchestra one. man

-at the end is. not the end of the album

-i think the thing that's getting me and not prompting as many questions is the fact that like. i hear these songs and hear tally hall songs. andrew's singing & i could hear this on a tally hall album with ease. it's strange

-i think the hi-hat and other little bits in this song, for example, reminds me of ross

-andrew's always tried hard at rock, and percussion is a massive part of that-wait he's scat singing i can finish that thought later i love this

-his songs are also very easy to sing along to without meaning to. first time hearing them and here i go

-anyway percussion is a massive part of rock, andy's always had an affinity for percussion, i think that's what's making me think of tally hall so much, or at least be. comfortably experiencing this in the same way i would a tally hall album

-i can't say the same of hawaii part ii

-if there's anywhere that lists the credits somewhere i'd like to see if ross worked on this at all but. i'm pretty sure he didn't

-where am i-oh shit a crowd

-nowhere else this is a song i think i know nothing about

-all that shit i was saying about rock percussion and now there's a whole entire drumkit going here

-alrighty

-that is not only andrew singing! again! who are you

-.....casey shea?????

-you sound like casey shea sir??????

-you are either casey shea or someone else who sounds like a beatle (affectionate, instead of derogatory)

-good guitar shit

-is that a third voice or does andrew just sound like that?

-madi diaz???

-i'm probably just guessing her because of the rendezvous but. there's gotta be someone more

-a whole lot of love going on here and i do appreciate it

-is it 80's fadeout time now? hell yeah

-oh yes the rainbow connection! a cover and the final song of the album (not counting the bonus tracks, which i will be listening to)

-i think i may have heard this before? or at least the minor rendition

-stylophone?

-humming. classic move

-theremin??

-music box is also cool. i swear i won't just be commentating on the instrumence alright

-what on earth is this sample in the background. steadily getting louder

-man andrew is a great singer. the consistent double vocals/heavy vibrato suits him well

-i will assume these are samples from like. the muppets movie

-does sketches (3d or otherwise) have a pdf like hwptii & nat? i sure hope so because i will enjoy looking at it

-vocalizing again let's a go

-more gong wahoo

-bonus track time <3

-tomorrow & today is a song i know pretty damn well i hope he's more legible now

-mostly the same as the 2011 version but it certainly is updated i can tell. more echo on these beginning lines

-piano is stronger. there may or may not be some added flairs. not a whole lot blatantly changed but i can say. i'll remove the 2011 version and replace it with this one for charlie

-there's a riff in my right ear that i don't remember and i like it

-this bit right here is more legible in general thank god it was incomprehensible originally

-the stomping percussion is Goin places

-and to end the whole song- you know yesterday fueled by a listen of nat i came up with an abundance of thoughts on writing styles in tally hall and especially how andrew's songs go places and what the journey's like and while that essay really won't fit into this liveblog i really enjoy how tomorrow & today has no destination in mind and it's a gradual trip but you never look back

-such strong g&e vibes

-misfortune bay be! time to replace the other misfortune charlie has with this

-sheet music???? jenny where did you find this? [referring to the image used in the video she uploaded i listened to] also this is still not the whole song i know the original misfortune wasn't but it feels strange to start this far into the song

-chords my beloved i could fucking play this song i'm so hyped about that

-toy orchestra solid soda real <3

-the one and only studio recording toy orchestra did. this is some of the best evidence for steve gallagher's voice we have

-also the audio is higher quality than the yt upload i think

-oh a casio organ not a real organ. okay i can't complain

-i like the sound of the piano at least. also this is horrendously gorey i like it

-andrew horowitz horror writer extraordinaire

-these sound like the sorts of drum synths my electric organ has

-i actually can't tell if that one's a guest vocal or andrew just being a very very good singer

-this sounds like some sort of recording you'd take of your kid's music school performance

-oh it's over

-fuck that was good

#tally hall #shoutout to jenny yesac for uploading the version i listened to #and another shoutout to tallyall dot club for being my one-stop shop for charlie's tally hall mp3s #tis i #loolin liveblogs #i say this every time but if you want to know what the hell i'm talking about in these listen to the album as you read #and try to keep synced up as best as possible k #edu #anyway a few closing thoughts in the tags: andrew sure makes some good lengthy songs huh? less than nat but same in length #damn near all are over 3 minutes which i really appreciate. god why the hell wouldn't anyone listen to this album it's wonderful #i'm not sure if any of my guesses and questions about guest vocals & the like will be answered by anyone #but like. on that note. i have a sneaking suspicion i personally contain sketches knowledge few others have. only attained it very recently #as in like yesterday so good for me but. oh there's something to look forward to in about a month and a half #to the world and back again

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putschki1969 · 4 years ago

Photo

「KEIKO Live K002 ＊＊Lantana＊咲いたよ＊＊」Live Report

■KEIKO Live K002 ＊＊Lantana＊咲いたよ＊＊ Day & Time：2020/12/16　Doors open: 18:00／Start: 19:00 Venue：Zepp DiverCity TOKYO Live Stream Option: https://stagecrowd.live/4182631157/ Streaming Ticket Sale: 12/1 12:00～12/23 13:00 Ticket Price: 3,000円 Archive: 12/16～12/23

Everyone, SUPPORT Keiko and GO BUY a ticket if you haven’t yet!! (TUTORIAL) It was a REALLY cool live! Keiko was adorable! Koichi Korenaga and Hitoshi Konno added so much to so many songs with their guitar and violin. Also, we got May’n and KEIKO singing to the beginning, a May’n song AND a Christmas song together, all those collabs were AMAZING!!!

KEIKO in a leather jacket on stage. YESSSS!!! What more does a fangirl want? :P And she is wearing what seems to be a red skirt an embellished Christmas-y black top.

Find my first impression below the cut 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

1.Be Yourself: Still doesn’t sound good live. Not at all. Her version from the first live performance might actually have been better than this. I think she shouldn’t start her lives with this song. I feel like she needs to be more warmed-up to go this high.

2.ミチテハカケル (?): New song. She did tease us on Twitter that there would be some new songs performed at the live but I wasn’t expecting this. Meh...Another more or less forgettable up-tempo song that is not really up my alley. Kinda like Change the World’s Color. Her vocals improved a bit though compared to Be Yourself.

MC: She promises to interact with her online audience once May’n comes on stage. YAY!

3. Hajimari wa: Finally we are getting somewhere. The start of the concert was a bit bumpy but this is a solid performance.

4. 溜め息の消える街 (Tameiki no Kieru Machi): Another solid performance. By now you know this is not my cup of tea but the live version is enjoyable enough (especially since she is not singing super high).

MC: Hitoshi Konno comes on stage. Keiko remembers their first meeting back in the day. It was for a recording for the Sound Horizon live in 2008. Keiko was super excited to have live strings at the studio and she really idolised Konno back then for his gorgeous playing. She was dying to meet him because so far she had only heard his playing. She was imagining a figure like Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon coming out of the recording booth. But then only Konno came out XD Needless to say, Keiko was quite disappointed. Konno doesn’t seem to remember or he was barely listening to Keiko it seems XD He really has no idea why Keiko is telling us all of this. Keiko says she just wanted to try talking freely about something random.

5. Ray: Ohhhh, the first song I REALLY love from the performance. Ray benefits a lot from the added violin. And Keiko sounds great.

6. 夕顔 (Yugao): YESSSSSSSSS! I was hoping they would use Konno’s violin for this. The intro and bridge were so gorgeous. And the end literally killed me. I LOVED Keiko’s live rendition so much, her expressive vocals hit me right in the feels.

7. 茜 (Akane): Live violin FTW. Will forever love the verses. The chorus sounds better than in her first live (still not good though - that nobashite mo and kawakasu are just a little too painful for my poor ears).

MC: Let’s say hello to May’n. May’n is happy to have been asked to appear as guest in Keiko’s live. She is nervous and excited because it has been a while for her to do a live with an audience (+ a live stream). Keiko is going to sing Kalafina together with May’n! BANZAI. On a side note, they are so freaking cute together. May’n is complaining because Keiko so nonchalantly announced that they would be singing a Kalafina song. She thinks this is very special for all of us so it sould be announced accordinly :P Keiko is in a hurry to start singing :P

8. to the beginning: WOW, WOW, WOW! Keiko SLAYS!!! *sobs* The feels!!! And I don’t even like ttb all that much. Keiko got so emotional towards the end. And she sounded better than ever and was obviously so excited to sing a Kalafina song again. Didn’t reallypay much attention to May’n’s vocals. Obviously she is not Wakana.

MC: The excitement is real. May’n loves ttb and has listened to it MANY MANY times so to get to sing it together with Keiko was awesome. Keiko seems to share the sentiment. She is impressed by May’n stage presence and steadiness. Keiko then congratulates May’n on her 15th Anniversary. They finally take a look at the chat for a little while. Keiko is greeting everyone with “yahoo” which everyone in the chat seems to find hilarious because we have never really heard her say this. Someone watches from Korea so Keiko shares some Korean words she knows :P Lots of Macho-senpai talk XD Keiko explains the origin of macho-senpai. It’s from a program Kalafina atteneded and May’n hosted back in the day. Both of them like muscle training so May’n came up with the nickname of macho-senpai for Keiko even though Keiko isn’t even macho or anythin. May’n was shocked to realise that the nickname gained so much popularity and now it is even on Keiko’s Wikipedia page! May’n looks up to Keiko and wants to become macho like her which is why Keiko is “macho-senpai” for her. Keiko denies being macho but May’n is like, “you do so much sports, you are so cool, you love to eat meat, you generally eat a lot (and still stay so thin), you are definitely macho!!!” LOL Keiko thinks about calling May’n Maycho but May’n isn’t into it and she thinks the audience doesn’t like that nickname either even though they can’t see anyone’s face but she sees it in their eyes XD Her HOLA to Mexico is so cute. The tablet is getting heavy so they decide to return it. They are so touchy-feely with each other. And now they are singing a May’n song.

9. graphite / diamond: Never heard it but they rocked the stage together. SO COOL.

MC: Time for Koichi Korenaga. Lots of cat talk (fyi Kore-chan owns a cat). It’s called JOJO (Jocchan) and Kore-chan often posts pictures on Twitter. Keiko could talk forever about JOJO with Kore-chan.

10. 笑ってやる (Waratte Yaru): Another new song! With lots of English lyrics! Liking this A LOT more than ミチテハカケル I think. So badass. I am into it.

11. エンドロール (End Roll): Is still freaking cool. A mic-stand makes everything better!! Great transition from Waratte Yaru.

12. Change the World’s Color: While I am not a big fan of the studio live I do quite enjoy her live performances due to her being so enthusiastic. But End Roll and Waratte Yaru are much superior!

MC: Korenaga is about to leave when Keiko reminds him there is one more song to sing XD But before that: Band member introduction. She forgot the guitarist’s full name :P

13: 七色のフィナーレ (Nanairo no Finale): With both Koichi Korenaga and Hitoshi Konno. BANZAI. Sounds even more like a YK song now. Konno adds so much to the arrangement. Although I think they should have gotten rid of some of the super pop-ish elements of the arrangement to fit the violin more but oh well, it didn’t take away from my listening pleasure. Her final lalala part and the last bit hit differently. So emotional. She obviously felt at home with Konno and Korenaga at her side. So beautiful. Her vocals were a tiny bit better during K001 though and she did make a mistake at one point where her voice literally broke but I am not sure if it was because she was emotional or if she was just exhausted from singing so many up-tempo and high-key songs in a row.

ENCORE: An instrumental of Jingle Bells. May’n is back on stage with Keiko. They want to eat yakiniku for Christmas, not chicken but beef! YAY. MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Keiko loves May’n’s pants and is close to stripping her XD Keiko points out that the slit is very high. I think what she is doing counts as molestation :P Anyways, May’n is super excited to see a new side of Keiko in the future. She has known her for so long but there are still so many new things to discover and that makes her very curious and she feels like it will be the same for all of her fans. Keiko is touched by May’n’s heartfelt little message. Since it’s almost Christmas they need to sing a Christmas song

EN 1. 荒野の果てに (Angels We Have Heard on High): AHHHHHHHHH, one of my favourite Christmas songs. The beginning was FLAWLESS!! Actually loved the pop arrangement even though I usually prefer a more classical one. How I wish I had gotten to hear Kalafina sing this T_T But either way, their collab was great!! I will never like May’n’s voice and it doesn’t go too well with Keiko’s imo but hey, she still did fine.[What I would give to hear Wakana sing this with Keiko. We got a mini version during Kalafina Club once and even that sounded amazing]

EN2. 命の花 (Inochi no Hana): Really loved it.

MC: Keiko says she has many fun things planned for next year so we should look forward to it.

#kalafina #keiko #report #KEIKO Live K002 ＊＊Lantana＊咲いたよ＊＊#KEIKO Live K002 #to the beginning #konno hitoshi #korenaga koichi #may'n #I added a detailed summary to the MCs

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