#happy hour album

[acaesic]

hey, dont be sad. dallon weekes big silly grin, ok?

<3

[fightingwithallreality]

Album of Horses (1951) written by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis

[omegalomania]

What are some of your favorite aro-/ace-coded fob lyrics?

oh fuck yes a little bowl of seeds just for me

boycott love from disloyal order of water buffaloes is a personal favorite of mine. its a lyric i really really want tattooed at some point. that's not the only lyric i latch onto from an aro perspective but it's probably the biggest one

basically the entirety of it's hard to say "i do" when i don't but a special mention goes to you are appealing to emotions that i simply do not have as well as the only ring i want buried with me are the ones around my eyes

it's true romance is dead / i shot it in the chest and in the head from the music or the misery is also a favorite of mine, also just that whole song in general

i thought i loved you but it was just how you looked in the light in hum hallelujah resonates with a lot of queer folks i've found, and it's no different for me

same goes for it's a strange way of saying that i know i'm supposed to love you from g.i.n.a.s.f.s.

i'm outside the door, invite me in / so we can go back and play pretend from alone together brings me back to when i was trying to perform heteronormativity/amatonormativity even if it was making me miserable

i also hold to a very similar vibe with she said "i love you 'till i don't" / i am just playing house, no idea what i'm doing now from sunshine riptide and also most of burna boy's verse, frankly. i fell in love but i didn't fall down and feel like i'm bulletproof, baby in particular

american beauty/american psycho, particularly the first verse. i think i fell in love again / maybe i just took too much cough medicine

golden is a big one for queer folks in general i've found. the chorus especially hits hard from an aro and/or ace reading. and i saw god cry in the reflection of my enemies / and all the lovers with no time for me

i've got a dark alley and a bad idea that says you should shut your mouth is a heavy song no matter how you slice it. but that chorus gets to me in particular: we can fake it for the airwaves / force our smiles, baby, half-dead / from comparing myself to everyone else around me

the kids aren't alright reads to me as one big anthem for platonic love above anything romantic, which resonates super hard with me. the second verse has a lot of good lines that i latch onto from an aroace lens too. your love is anemic and i can't believe / that you couldn't see it coming from me

pretty much the whole chorus of HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON'T does it for me, and those verses have got some good aroallo vibes too! i never really feel a thing... confidants but never friends...

the whole of fake out is a gimme. that chorus rings real true. starts with love is in the air, i just gotta find a window to break out and finishing with but it was all a fake-out

i've got all this ringing in my ears and none on my fingers is one that has another highly applicable title but the whole refrain of the truth hurts worse / than anything i could bring myself to do to you paired with the one-two punch of that second verse REALLY gets under my skin

and of course, the culminating one: you are what you love, not who loves you from save rock and roll. obviously there are a LOT of ways to read that line

there are a couple other songs i latch onto - wilson (expensive mistakes); a little less "sixteen candles", a little more "touch me"; the (after) life of the party to name a few - but the ones listed above are the big lyrics that resonate with me on a personal level

just in general i have a shitton of fob over on my aro playlist (which doubles as a general aroace/queer playlist but has a lot of emphasis on aromanticism) in case i forgot to mention anything but like i said those are the big ones

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 19: Lil' Beethoven (Ride 'Em Cowboy)

First of all, let this very important fact be known: the love I have for all three albums in the Lil' Beethoven trilogy cannot be overstated. I think I can safely call them my favourite pieces of art ever made. You know, when you look forward to something and it not only lives up to all your expectations but it's also just SO SO much more? Something about this neoclassical / dada / deconstruction of pop music / whatever-you-should-even-call-it approach is absolutely PERFECTLY suited for my tastes, and I didn't even know I was looking for something EXACTLY like this until I found it.

I think the circumstances of my first hearing of this album are pretty funny and something I got pretty lucky with actually (I often think about this with Sparks in general, as much as I wish I've known about them sooner I also do feel like they appeared in my life when I needed that the most. But anyway.) I was very eagerly looking forward to hearing it and finally seeing for myself what the genius of this album is all about. But I insisted that I can only do it through a physical format because yesss, let's make it even more *special*! The moment I've been waiting for! So yeah let's gooo, I need to wait until my CD arrives in the mail (that was one of the longest weeks of my life). And then I started to wonder, well, maybe I actually won't like it that much. To hype myself up to this extent and then be severly dissapointed - would have sucked!

Well, I was NOT dissapointed. Instead I was perplexed, confused, but also very intrigued and quite, ok not just quite, *completely* amazed already. That was the initial reaction and I think it's a rare but very beautiful moment when this happens - no need to *fully* grasp it right away, but enough to be all like "oh that was SOMETHING. I need more." As I said after that first listen (and I actually have my whole LIVE reaction to hearing LB written down lmao, that's how much of a big deal this was for me), I felt like it actually has to grow on me a bit still, gradually but surely with each next listen, rather than the 1st listen being THE prime listening experience. And that was very true! But it wasn't even gradual, it was very fast, seriously. And something very important that stood out to me right away too were the melodies - something about them, and that continues into HYL and ECOTD too. It's this classic feeling of: this always existed, or at least it feels like I've known it for years already. And as I listen more and become more familiar with them the magic still grows.

It's of course no coincidence to me that an album that relies so much on extreme levels of repetition is so addicting, even hypnotising. And once upon a time I thought that I couldn't like something that's too repetitive and therefore could be considered monotonous or "predictable". But nothing is predictable about LB actually. (Besides... ok, I'll get to that one bit later). But yeah, it's good for the brain. And it's been said before by others but this music definitely has this certain neurodivergent appeal thanks to all this, and, well, I love that aspect of it so much and I definitely relate to it on some level that goes even deeper than just song topics and instrumentation choices. It's in the structure and the fundaments of it all too.

I legally can't finish this without a dedicated paragraph to the 2004 Live In Stockholm performance because HOLY SHIT. Feeling so lucky again that all three of these albums got this treatment and we have recordings of these half-concert-half-performance-art pieces that we can now marvel at. I will say that like, a pretty big part of the sum of the appeal that LB has as an album is stored in this show and its visual and narrative elaboration on its themes. And also it's just so fun to watch! Sometimes I thought about how this might be an even better introduction to LB / this era of Sparks / Sparks in general than the actual album but well, never had a chance to test that and you know. Maybe shouldn't recommend Sparks with one of the most leftfield things there is to be found from them. Either way, very good, very important, felt like experiencing the power of LB for the first time all over again.

So now, please hear my exact reasonings for why I so deeply love (almost) every single one of these songs......

The Rhythm Thief

NO song made such a big impression on me the first time I heard it as this. I might have gotten more used to it after all this time but man, The Rhythm Thief, you will always be the realest one to me. This is what made me look forward to the whole album so much and convinced me that it would be like nothing else I've heard before. And that turned out to be so very beautifully true!

How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?

I could listen to this one a hundred times in a row over and over and not get sick of it one bit. That's it, idk what else to add, beautiful and ethereal in every way

What Are All These Bands So Angry About?

Mostly I just want to direct everyone's attention to the bridge section, at the 2:26-2:52 time mark, which as far as I can say is the most heavenly piece of music ever made. Feeling like that Winnie The Pooh soul leaving his body gif each time I hear this

I Married Myself

Aromantic anthem, to me. Not that much to say actually but it's just, a very sweet and pretty song even when it might be taken as just this sort of ironic piece, I think it's this situation where a song can be taken more or less literally and it doesn't lose anything, rather the sincerity takes on a new sort of meaning? Because yes, maybe this hyperbolic situation (marrying yourself) COULD be the solution to the heartbreak of failed relationships. Ever thought about that??? Ok, stopping right here and leaving my I Married Myself analysis for another day

Ride 'Em Cowboy

My mind is blank on this one suddenly. But it's so good believe me. I love it a lot. It just has this LB spirit that makes it very addicting to listen to

My Baby's Taking Me Home

This was sort of the first Sparks song I've ever heard, or maybe that I quote-unquote purposefully listened to, and I think that's pretty important considering that it was the moment that ultimately lead to... all this. This song has always been incredibly beautiful and powerful to me, but lately it just makes me emotional to an extent that makes it hard to listen to most of the time. I WOULD sell all my material possessions for even one chance to experience this song live by the way

Your Call Is Very Important To Us. Please Hold

Earns soooo much as a live version, but even without that I think it's genius in the same way as The Rhythm Thief, and maybe the most disquieting piece here overall... If we ignore the next one maybe

Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls

Sitting there hearing the intro of this song all like "huh, this is so chill and calm... too calm..." and then being hit with, well, everything that's going on in this song afterwards was truly THE MOMENT back in the day (and re: the predictability thing. idk though, it's not like, really an issue). Later on I decided that this sort of narrative nature of the song makes it have less replayability value than the rest (???) but I abandoned that opinion soon enough, thank god. I love it how long it took me to realize that this song and the ending of MBTMH are the only times when drums appear on this entire album (I mean no, I'm not very proud of that fact actually, as the self-proclaimed biggest LB fan in my area. And The Rhythm Thief literally saying "say goodbye to the beat"... come on man). So yes, sometimes less is more! I adore this song now it's such a treat I would gladly terrorize my neighbours with it

Suburban Homeboy

Ok, I'm sorry Suburban Homeboy fans but this is the only song here that I'm not a HUGE fan of. I still think it's brilliant and an incredibly fitting ending for the whole thing - the mood whiplash is amazing as this is the only "vaguely happy sounding" song on here, per my words from months back. And what's better than yelling WE ARE THE SUBURBAN HOMEBOYS! (I'm actually awaiting today's Sparks karaoke rating reveal very impatiently lol the reveal happened before I posted this and I'm very happy about it)

One more actually, a quick word on Wunderbar because it gave us two things that we might have not been able to do without: 1) this whole album actually (the fact that LB exists because of Wunderbar giving the Maels the idea to continue meddling with this style. Up there as one of my fav pieces of Sparks trivia) 2) anddddd the 21×21 performance of it of course

[rychazz]

Toploaders I decorated and pulls from today 🎀

[starryluminary]

They’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one, so light me up

Textless version so you can appreciate the portrait a little better <3

[redrattlers]

for those interested

[booksteaandtoomuchtv]

In The Lonely Hour (10/10)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | AO3

Summary: A collection of canon-compliant(ish) one-shots that provide glimpses of Killian's life based on the album "In the Lonely Hour" by Sam Smith.

Latch What came (wink-wink) after the party at Granny's ended?

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CHAPTER IS MATURE/EXPLICIT.

Author Note: As mentioned at the end of the last update, this story will end happily so that you don't have to dig for the happy ending in the canon. You, dear reader, have endured enough. Thank you for coming along on this journey with me. This was, I'll admit, an odd little, pet project. But, it gave me a fantastic outlet on the days in which I was struggling to find the words for Witchy Woman or having a shite day at work - it has been a bloody trying year, love. I am going to miss this strange little series.

Emma had not stopped touching him since Regina stormed off from Granny’s Diner. When she wasn’t touching him her gaze was heavy on him, as physical a thing as the little brushes when she was near him and the warm hand she placed on his shoulder when she reached for an onion ring from his plate.

“Hook, are you…blushing?”

The dreamy haze that had settled around him since Emma had kissed him earlier in the evening cleared instantly. His attention snapped to Snow; her face was the very picture of innocence, but her eyes were dancing with a mischievousness of which he hadn't thought her capable.

He could not well say, "Your daughter covertly brushed her hand over my lap. When she caressed a certain aspect of my anatomy before pulling her hand away, I found suppressing my reaction to her boldness was difficult. It is my embarrassment at such a quick response to her ministrations that has heated my face, Your Majesty."

"Oh, look! Neal has finally drifted to sleep." Emma's voice was soft and dripping with adoration for the infant in Snow's arms. Killian could feel, more than hear, the laughter in her words that were so clearly - to him, anyway - said only to save him from answering Snow.

Snow dropped her interest in him immediately and pulled David from his conversation with Leroy to gather their belongings. They were out the door dramatically whispering goodbyes a moment later. The gathered court of townsfolk started to make their own exits with the naming ceremony seemingly at an end.

"Thank you, Love," Killian said as they left the diner, his arm wrapped around her waist as they walked. She dismissed his gratitude with a shrug that brought her closer to his side. Holding her tight, he directed their steps toward the docks. He didn't have a plan; he just couldn't let this evening come to an end so soon.

"Wrong way."

"I thought we could walk the docks before you returned home for the night, Swan."

"I'm not going home tonight." Emma held up a room key from the Inn with a suggestive smile that promised him all manner of things.

Raising an eyebrow, he tugged her into him so that her chest was pressed firmly against his, and he could show her exactly how much he liked the ideas floating through his mind at her offer. His voice was low and filled with dark desire when he asked, "Love, are you certain?"

She pressed her hips into him, his cock jerked at the contact, a groan rumbled through him, and she laughed, a wicked little laugh, at his responsiveness to her touch. She pushed herself up so their lips could touch, but caught his lower lip between her teeth. She'll kill me.

"Show me that I was right to stay," she challenged him.

"As you wish."

At last, they pushed open the door to their room for the night and he realised that he really was going to have Swan all to himself for the night. He bit his lower lip against the smile pulling at his lips at the unexpected outcome of this evening. Her eyes tracked the movement. When he released his lip and ran his tongue over his teeth, her gaze darkened with desire. He kicked the door closed behind him, his eyes locked on hers.

"You've been thinking about this, us. Haven't you, love?" He crossed to her, pulling her against him again - a feeling he was growing addicted to already. He kissed her deeply, pouring his need into each kiss, tasting her desire in return, as he slowly backed toward the bed. She pressed further into him, a whimper escaping her when he broke from their kiss to nip at her neck. Soothing the bite with a warm kiss, he continued, his voice low, "Ever since you pulled me into your beautiful, cruel, lips in Neverland."

"Lips that I saw every time I closed my eyes for the last year. Lips that I will never tire of kissing." He returned to kissing her, any response she may have formed lost to the demands his kiss issued.

The bed hit the back of his knees. He turned them so that her back was to the bed and he nudged her gently onto the bed. Kneeling before her, he pushed off her jacket. A sudden vulnerability entered her gaze and he gave her a questioning look, hand teasing the button of her shirt, as he waited for her confirmation to continue.

She shook her head; he stilled immediately.

Killian cautiously removed his from her shirt and sat back on his heels. Stay the night, anyway. The words were right there, reassurance that he only wanted her presence. He wasn't going to ask for anything more from her. He licked his lips to speak, but she let out a breath and pulled off her shirt - let me do this and you do all that, she gestured vaguely at his assemble.

He complied with quick efficiency, managing to disrobe before her. He was rewarded with time enough to watch as she wiggled out of her tight jeans, peeling her underthings off with them. She stood up, looking at his face as if searching for any indication that he was not absolutely entranced by the goddess before him. She could search for days and she’d still fail to find one.

“Even more stunning than I imagined.” When she glowed at his words giving him her rare full smile (she had likely realised he hadn’t exaggerated or lied), his heart soared - she was trusting him, giving him a small part of herself. He was suddenly desperate to hold her, to feel her skin against his, to know how she tasted, to hear every sound she would offer him, to know every perfect inch of her.

He closed the small space between them and tumbled her onto the bed with him. She let out a surprised laugh and rolled on top of him, her legs straddling his waist. He drank in the stunning sight above him and the comfortable weight of her on top of him.

“Everything you imagined, Hook?” She smirked with confidence that hadn’t been there moments before, confidence that he helped her find. He pulled her down to him; it had been too long since he’d tasted her lips on his. His thumb rubbed soothing circles on the back of her head as his fingers dug gently into her hair, clutching her close to him. He dragged his hook lightly along her back and she gasped into his mouth.

“You enjoyed that, did you?”

She rolled her hips, dragging her pussy along his shaft, his hips jerked up, providing friction for her. “Take what you need, Love,” he purred, before sucking her nipple into his mouth.

As she repeated the motion, with increasing pressure in each repetition, he scraped his teeth on the sensitive skin on her breast before teasing her nipple once more with his tongue. His hand was occupied with her other breast, rolling and pinching the nipple between his fingers. When her movements became more erratic and her breathing turned ragged, he flipped their positions and settled his head between her thighs. “Killian, wha-?”

“I need to taste you on my tongue, Swan,” he answered, his arms sliding under her hips and opening her up to him. His hook was heavy on her thigh, holding it in place, as he licked her dripping pussy with the flat of his tongue.

A satisfied mmm escaped him at the headiness that accompanied the first tangy taste of her. “Bloody delicious, bloody perfect,” he muttered into her centre.

He looked up at her answering moan - his name somewhere in that intoxicating sound- her eyes were closed and one hand reached down to fist his hair, pushing his head back down between her legs. He reached his hand up to her other one, gripping her tightly in his while he resumed licking and sucking her folds. She kept his head firmly in place, a demand to continue, as she began to ride his tongue, a sharp sweetness filling his senses.

“That’s it, love,” he encouraged as her movements became irregular again. Freeing his left arm from under her leg, he dipped his tongue into her core and provided her with the pressure she needed on her clit with the flat of his hook. She bucked hard against him, her creamy release on his tongue, and his name falling from her lips. She untangled her fingers from his hair as he softly sucked her pussy clean of her cum.

“Killian,” she whimpered, squirming away, sensitive after her orgasm. Killian pulled away from her, reluctantly, and dragged himself up to lie next to her. He rested his head on her chest, listening to the wild beat of her heart, enjoying the knowledge that he affected her so much. Her hand now playing gently with his hair as she basked in the pleasant haze following her orgasm.

“That was,” she breathed, “fuck, Killian. That was…”

“You were absolutely incredible, Love.” He wiggled his head, as if nestling further into her chest, and started to slowly, very lightly, drag the tip of his hook along the inside of her thighs, across her mound, and down the other thigh in a teasing pattern. After a few iterations, she slid her legs together capturing his hook for a moment, before relaxing her legs down again, a new slickness visible on her thigh.

“Look how eager you are.” He ran the back of his hook between her legs and lifted it up between them so they could both see the evidence of her desire on its surface, “so wet for me already, Swan.”

He shifted onto his elbows and slide his legs between hers. He kissed her again, hips gently moving his head against her slick entrance, the warm wetness coating him. “Love, may I -“

Emma wrapped her legs around his hips and slammed him into her tightness, they gasped in unison, and the warmth and wetness that enveloped him wrecked what remained of his control. Yes, Killian. He lifted her hips and continued hammering into her and she met him at every thrust. Killian, please, more. He tilted his hips, exploring new angles and depths with each stroke. Whatever you need, Love. Her inhale told him that he found what he sought and he focused his thrusts there. I-oh-Killy. He kept up the pace. You’re stunning. Demanding more. He lowered his hand between them, stimulating her clit with his thumb as he continued his deep strokes. I will give you everything, Emma, you only have to ask. Her walls tighten around him, squeezing him, his release following hers, as he watched her shattered, completely and openly, beneath him. “Go ahead, mo grá. I’ve got you.”

When he finally separated from her, rolling them so he could hold her close to him, he stilled. He realised the words that had slipped from him, words he’d never spoken to a woman - my love. It was unlikely this realm contained the same languages as the Enchanted Forest. It was unlikely that she would know the rare language that his mother had whispered for only him when he’d wake far into the night all those centuries ago.

Her head was heavy on his brace and her breathing had become soft and even, Killian smiled. She had fallen asleep, so quickly, wrapped up in his arms. He watched in awe- Emma Swan, the constructor of the most impenetrable walls, was curled up in his arms, sleeping peacefully, trusting him to keep her safe through the dark of the night. An honour bestowed on him that he didn’t deserve but would gladly accept any night she’d offer it to him.

He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and whispered into her hair, “Go ahead, mo grá. I’ve got you.”

[iwakuraz]

..

[gameraboy2]

Bob Harrington "Chaplain of Bourbon Street" - Holy Happy Hour

[hejihra]

.

[aesonas]

DAYDREAM

[please-picturemeintheweeds]

Re: the end of your Joever/renegade post, it’s almost like wondering at what point does the “rough patch” cease to be a rough patch and just how the person *is*. As in, this is just how they choose to exist or are most comfortable living as a person.

(Not villainizing him at all, it’s just alluding to what you and others said… at some point it stops being a single issue or issues to fix and starts revealing itself to just be fundamental differences in compatibility and outlook.)

Just got this and I know it was sent pre-TTPD tracklist, but yeah!! Like it makes so much sense to me that a relationship would take over a year to go from Renegade to YLM and then another year to reach breaking up for good. That honestly feels like the most normal progression in the world, and I’m sooo interested to hear how she describes this experience and gives voice to something that I think a lot of people have been through.

I’ve talked about it on here before but my current relationship is 6 years old, and Renegade literally sparked some very VERY serious conversations for us when it came out because it gave voice to things we were dealing with and we were able to address using the language she offered us in the song. That was a definite “rough patch.” We nearly broke up, and had a real epiphany about things that we both needed to change in order to continue, and the types of support we both needed in order to stay safe and healthy. I felt so seen by Renegade and then in midnights as well- labyrinth and The Great War come to mind - the decision to stick it out. When I heard about joever it hit me (and others, from what I’ve heard!) suuuuper hard because it was like wait. Whatever measures they took after Renegade and the Great War actually didn’t fix it; what does that mean for me!? I was soo shaken up because of how strongly I related to the struggle (as it was portrayed to us). But that gets to the point of this ask: the difference between a rough patch and something un-fixable. I’m certain this will come up on TTPD, and it’ll be a deep portal time travel exploration of how she came to that exact conclusion. I can’t wait.

[vitamin-zeeth]

Don't mind me just learning the entirety of mammalian sighing reflex on guitar 👍

[banqanas]

As a person who got (back) into jsb3 around 2022 i didnt really understand the significance of Stars ~Land of Promise~ being their comeback tour

But i understand now. the group was on the verge of breaking up during the pandemic and all of the members have established themselves individually. Vocals Imaichi and Ømi has gone solo. Even the performers Elly, Naoto, Gunchan had their own solo too. Naoki and Kanjiro also have their own gigs. At that point, their own names have enough credibility in the industry. It was possible for them to live without hanging on to the JSB3 name.

And that's where Stars ~Land of Promise~ came in. The vibes you get from the setlist of this tour was "reassuring".

The first half was them establishing themselves as JSB3. Because of their hit songs (Ryusei, Orion) their group image is stars. And I really like that they started the concert with Kono Uchuu no Katasumi de, literally In the Corner of this Universe.

In this universe we crossed paths and in this universe we came together today. Thank you for coming to meet us again, this is JSB3, your Stars.

And then followed with VII (Seven) Crowns, which would remind old fans of the king royalty theme from their old tour, Raise The Flag.

I haven't watched all of JSB3 old concerts, but I can get the feeling that the first part of the setlist were references to their major tours. While at the same time reminding everyone that this is how JSB3 is.

This is the seven members everyone knows. This is us when we're hyped up, this is us encouraging, this is us moving forward, this is us in the seasons, this is us in spring, summer, autumn, winter, all with you (君となら)

They also had a lot of MC talk sessions on this tour. They literally had bar counters onstage.

Yes we had our own lives, our own businesses and that's normal. It's fine because we can just come together again in this BAR STARS and catch up with each other.

And it's such a good addition to this tour because you get all the members talking and you can see them interacting with each other. And they also made sure to interact with fans.

(unfortunately is not included in the live album)

And then at the final part of the tour you have them dish out all their hit songs that makes you dance together with them.

Remember these hit songs? Remember the fun we had? It was because of you guys that they became famous and we were known! It was thanks to you guys making them hits that we were given so many opportunities. It was thanks to you guys we could reach the stars.

Thank you, thank you, and this is our flower for you.

Ending with 花歌 (Flower Song) was not only just a love song for the fans, it's also such a good transition for the change to JSB3's image.

Where in this new chapter, we are roses.

[dandelionsandviolets]