#is one of the reasons he loves these frankenstein guitars so much because he sees himself as a sort of frankenstein too?

[killthefuhkinglights]

you know, i was thinking about frank and his fixation on the Frankenstein's Monster character, and how it's always been this thing with him. I think it started by liking the character itself, especially the old hollywood frankenstein films. The drama and the story telling of the old films is alluring and the morbidity of the story Frankenstein itself is alluring, and we know that he loves the dark stuff.

Though, i really think that all started to shift at some point, once he started breaking bones and specifically after the accidents that threatened his ability to continue playing. So when I heard him talking about finding these frankenstein guitars and those being the ones he loves the most, it made me start to think: gosh does he see himself a little as a frankenstein, sort of like the guitars he collects, after everything?

i mean, we've heard it multiple times: he believes the only thing he's good for is making music and if he doesn't have that, he's nothing. He can't be there for his family and he can't be there for himself. We know just how hard he was taking the surgeries on his wrists. Heard him talk about his fear of never being able to play anymore and time and time again, we hear him talk with affection and wonder about some of his favorite guitars being what he likes to call frankenstein guitars, that he finds left in small music shops.

It makes sense though, doesn't it? He had to be stitched back together and made to work again. Learn to live again, struggling and fighting for it, and when he finds these mix matched guitars built with spare parts he finds them perfect because they play the way only they can play and it's exactly what he needs. He craves loving the weird mashed together creations, after all, isn't that what happened to him? a frankenstien collecting instruments he sees himself in, he sees music as his only real purpose here and maybe two frankensteins can carry that out together.

[weirdstuffinthewoods]

Bride of Chucky

A Review

Ronny Yu made the correct choice working with the one and only father of Chucky, Don Mancini. I feel like Don's seamless continuing control over the Chucky franchise paired with Ronny Yu's absolute lack of knowledge of the Chucky franchise (and his love of the monster) made for a one-of-a-kind franchise installment.

Writing- 5/5

This entire script takes the snark we know Chucky for and dials it up by giving him a dominating sparring partner in Tiffany Valentine. There are some jokes that kinda feel needless (repeating the "what a crock" joke only got an "eeh" out of me), but Voodoo for Dummies?

And lines like:

"For God's sake Chucky, drag yourself into the 90s"

"Martha Stewart can kiss my shiny plastic butt!"

When Chucky tells Tiffany to "act natural" and this is her response

The entire weird sex scene conversation that 100% does happen in a film about two sentient dolls? It was only a matter of time before we got here, let's be honest.

The addition of Tiffany Valentine allows for a totally valid reason to shake things up- creative kills, high-speed freeway chases with two DOLLS holding two whole adult humans hostage, and the film's only gay character (spoiler but RIP David) getting absolutely blasted by an 18-wheeler for no reason other than Don probably just realized the cast needed to shrink real quick.

Special mention-

The honeymoon suite kill scene. Yeah, it looks a little cheesy, but you best believe before I was old enough to watch horror movies, my older cousin was telling me about this scene in vivid, terrifying detail (much scarier than reality, but what can you do?)

Soundtrack- 4.5/5

Living Dead Girl starts this movie off with a bang and a moment I haven't forgotten for one second of my spooky sapphic life. These are the moments in which horror icons are made.

The soundtrack is mostly upbeat drums and chugging guitar riffs which I loved (it especially added to the freeway chase) I just didn't go full 5 stars because I didn't notice it as much as I'd want to in a party movie like this (because yes, if I ever do host a halloween party I will be popping in this exact VHS to play on repeat).

Also shout out to my boy, Graeme Revell. Been a legend since The Crow in my eyes (but also for so much iconic 80s and 90s horror....and Sharkboy and Lavagirl) and I'll always get excited when I see that name in the credits!

Effects- 4.75/5

First let me say Chucky looks fantastic. Can he emote as well as Tiffany with those pencil-thin eyebrows? Maybe not but this is the opus version of Chucky, so.

The animatronics are still my favorite thing to watch in a Chucky film because you forget that these aren't sentient dolls almost constantly (except when Chucky's body double is crawling on all fours- that's some nightmare fuel). Their faces are so expressive (for rubber doll faces) and there's even a shot of Tiffany walking across the floor of a Winnebago (maybe?) without a wire in sight! Oh, how far we've come.

The effects in some scenes are a little cheesy (the honeymoon suite kill, the gross, fleshy title card, etc) but it's easily overlooked because Chucky and Tiffany are by far the main event of the sfx team.

Extra ratings?

Queerness-3/5

Written by an out gay man, HELLO!

Alexis Arquette!! Easily the second-hottest person in this movie, I loved seeing her camp it up (in a masc role, but goths love to play with androgyny so I'll take it) as the try-hard Damien.

This also unexpectedly features the gbff trope usually reserved for rom-coms in David, a guy whose queerness isn't painfully exaggerated like some portrayals were at the time, and who's probably the most level-headed of the bunch.

RIP, -2 because David got blasted by a big rig and not in the fun way.

Bride of Frankenstein retelling 5/5

It's pretty obvious on rewatch, but this is a whole Bride of Frankenstein retelling. It even follows the title convention (I tell my younger self who completely missed the comparison). I haven't read the dissections of the original that explain why the bride is a metaphor, but in a more literal sense, this Bride has the power unlike her predecessor. Even though she falls in with a toxic ex, she has autonomy and pushes back, eventually sort of kind of helping the two teens (who are not interesting enough to put in this review) stop Chucky. And she gives birth to a weird demon baby while mostly charred through a non-stretch plastic vagina so. That's pretty metal.

Tiffany Valentine 11/5

TIFFANY VALENTINE THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE

THE COSTUMING

THE TRAILER SET DRESSING

But most of all the performance!!!

I may be looking through heart eyes, but I'm not wrong!

Overall, Bride of Chucky will never not be one of my favorites. The addition of Jennifer Tilly allowed the Child's Play series (and all future iterations), to have fun, but to also play with the tone of its installments. Seed of Chucky and the Chucky series tend to focus on Chucky (and friends)'s humanity and personalities, whereas Curse and Cult of Chucky take the franchise back to an exciting, sometimes scary, and eventually openly queer and complicatedly sapphic place. Ignoring the reboot (which he was thankfully not responsible for), Don Mancini's got quite a legacy going, and Ronny Yu had a key part in that.

[luna-tormenta]

Get To Know My Spirit Family

Dara, the Toddler Faerie

Dara picked this picture of Frankenstein because he LOVES Frankenstein. They have a similar experience, appearance, and Dara connects with Frankenstein very deeply, as you will see below.

Appearance:

Dara is a little bigger than Ella, about the size of 4-5 year old. He is dark skinned with bright, sky blue eyes. He has stitches/scars from stiches (like Frankenstein's) on multiple areas of his body. The main ones you can see are around his wrists, the lower area of his neck, and multiple places throughout his arms and legs. His hair is a deep brown/black, and is super curly. He likes to wear it like a 70's disco afro. His left leg is different than the rest of his body, as it is the color blue.

How We Became Family:

Dara is different from how the rest of my spirit family and I became companions. You see, my Dara, was apart of an experiment. This experiment took different parts of Faeries, Seelie and Unseelie, to create him. He has no biological parents, because he is many parts of different Fae toddlers who were taken from their parents. The person who created him was a Spirit Hoarder. They held spirits against their wills and performed many different, sad, and demeaning acts on them.

One night in February 2019, a friend was calling and texting me. Telling me her spirits and her had raided this "experimental spirit facility" and set free the spirits. Some had decided to stay with her and she needed a home for two babies.

One was an newborn infant, the other was my Dara. The newborn went to a person with more experience than I, and since I had actual experience with children, Dara was brought over to me by one of her Deities, Lucifer.

The instant Dara was brought home for the first time, he climbed onto my lap and wouldnt let go. He was just small enough to latch onto my arm and stay there comfortably. I fell in love instantly.

Since then, I call him my son and he has come to say; "Everything happens for a reason, if I wasnt there I would never had have a family like I do. I have a caring mommy, loving daddy, and a little sister!!!"

The Fae's Sacred Names

Faeries names hold power and it's a very, very, very well kept secret. A lot of us only get nicknames from the Fae because of how much power their true name has over them. I consider it very lucky and awesome to be trusted with their full name.

Because of Dara's upbringing, he only was nicknamed "Dara". I was so grateful to have the opportunity to grace him with his Fae Name. Of course, I won't be mentioning it in this post, but I wanted to cover it! It was like he was my TRUE son then. I was and am so blessed to have two children.

Magic and Spellwork:

Dara has the abilities of Sleep and Dream Magic. We both can sense so much more than that, but because he is so young, we are waiting to reveal those magical blessings. I believe he will have a little bit of everything because of the different Fae incorporated into making him.

"I think so too, mommy!" He shouts as I type this lmao.

When asked what he has learned so far, and what he wants to learn, he shouted; "I'm a Death Witch just like Mommy and I want to use the Stars like Dawn! And Twirl like Moona!! And mommy, can I learn everything?! Oh!! What about what Hanky and Aaron do?! And and and....*takes deep breath* CAN I LEARN FROM JAY TOO?!" I love him 😍

Dara's Favorites:

Favorite Way to Communicate: Pendulum, its the only way he knows right now! Well, and a bit of telepathy

Favorite Food: "My favorite food is strawberries with honies!!"

Favorite Toy: "Ellie's vacuum cleaner! I can clean like Bo!! And the rocks my sister and I collect together!"

Favorite Drink: Milk with Honey and "Appey juice!"

Favorite Thing to Do: "Color and Watch Coco and Paint and play with sissy Ellie and Watch Moona Twirl and Dawn takes me to the lake! Ooo, I like watching Aaron run and Hanky let's me touch his tentacles too! Mommy this is hard *sighs*"

Favorite Color: "Blue! Like my leg!"

Favorite Crystal: "moss stone? The one you put in the plants!!" He means Moss Agate!

Favorite Herb: Thyme, Lavender, Rosemary, and Juniper Berries

Offerings:

Rocks

Toys

Milk with Honey

Rain Water

Sun Oil

Rusty Nails

Why rusty nails, baby? "Because of Frankenstein!! Duh mommy!"

Last Words:

"Please dont make faewies like me!"

"Mommy, can I tell them about my favorite movie?" Of course you can, honey. "*claps his hands* so it's Coco and his family doesnt like music but he has a guitar anyways and finds out that his great great grampa is a huge person and then he goes to the dead realm because he stole the persons guitar and his dead family dont like that so he meets this dead guy who takes him to the big person but it turns out the big person isnt his grampa but the dead guy is! And he gets to see Coco again!"

"I love our kitty!! Meow!"

"Mommy says she grows plants but its actually Daddy who saves them! Its so cool!"

"Can I go play now?" Yes, of course. What do you say to everyone? *starts running away* "tank youuuu!"

Thank you to all who read! If anyone has any questions, please send them in!

Many blessings and love upon you all!✨

-Lúthiena🌻🌙 and Dara👶🏽💫

[ditch-witches]

Eyeliner II (Dean-Charles Chapman Smut)

thank you to the darling @chokopieeater​ for the gorgeous moodboard. i love you

(PART ONE)

requested: yes/no (I am but y'all's humble servant.)

pairing: band member!Dean-Charles Chapman x reader

warnings: smut shit, lots of filler crap as well

word count: 4k (º-º)

a/n: I just wanna thank my girl, Iv, again and that superior 5sos album for getting me through this.

After your first date, you and Dean became inseparable, quickly falling head over heels into your relationship. It had gotten to the point where even when you weren’t with him, he was always on your mind. Little things reminded you of him like the incessant pencil tapping or pen clicking from the guy sitting beside you during lab or your green sweater that he always seems to compliment and can’t stop touching whenever you wear it.

You could be gone for hours on end, not intentionally, but because of Dean’s shitty car. You didn’t know what make or model but it was some kind of Frankenstein’s motor-monster and you never complained about it. Most of the time it had a mind of its own, and Dean had made it his mission in life to tango with its independence from him. There would be times when he’d be driving the two of you to a movie or dinner---the both of you attempting to talk over the loud radio that had only two volumes: ear rape and silent---when it would just sputter out and die, leaving the two of you to walk towards the next town over in hopes of finding a gas station. In complete honesty, you enjoyed the car. It gave you more time with Dean, who never seemed to get frustrated at it. Whenever it did break down, you always expected to look over and see him red in the face, his knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel too hard, but instead you received a shrug and him holding his hand out to help you out of the piece of shit. That was another thing, the passenger side door was stuck shut so you had gotten pretty good at slipping in and out of the window. Dean claimed it was because the car was meant to race; “a stallion” to be more specific.

You knew the door was just rusted shut.

When you weren’t pushing the stallion to the nearest auto parts store on a Friday night, you and Dean found yourselves cooped up in one of your apartments or out with a group. Your friend still insisted on going to each of the band’s shows, which you really didn’t mind anymore, especially since you got to experience Dean’s confidence on stage being the one that mirrors his confidence in the bedroom. Your friend knew you and Dean had gone out a few times, but you were positive she wasn’t aware of just how much the two of you were together. And that you were thankful of, knowing full well she would blow everything completely out of proportion and make you think too much about having him around.

One day, when your late afternoon classes were canceled due to the professor’s spontaneous trips to Israel, you had the perfect opportunity to tangle yourself up with Dean. The warm glow in the room mixed with your after sex bliss as Dean lazily strummed a guitar (often finding ways to catch your attention with old riffs from The Cure, his favorite being Lovesong), propped up on the window seat tucked in the corner beside his bed. His curls, rather wild and untamed from the lack of hair product and working from your fingers. His eyes seeming brighter as the light from outside drew lines across his face. You twisted in his comforter to stretch your back as you watched him furrow his brows in an attempt at pulling chords from his memory and matching them with others.

You could prop your chin in your hand and listen to him hum slightly, in his own little world, until the end of time if you were given the opportunity. His voice was always slightly raspier, especially in moments like this. His acoustic versions, especially of the Cure, had become your favorite, mainly because you knew they were just for your ears and something about having such intimate gifts from him made your moods fuzzy and soft. The first time you stayed over, you were surprised there hadn’t been sheet music thrown about, expecting to find it shoved in awkward hiding spots of his room, but it was mainly on the window seat, where he usually played, or his desk on the other side of the room. You loved seeing him finally getting something he was happy with or constructing a lyric he liked and feverishly looking for clean space in his notebook to write it down before he forgot and it was gone forever. He seemed to have been writing a lot lately.

“Did you ever play an instrument?” He asked, his eyes darting up to look at you through his long eyelashes as he threw the notebook and pencil on the ground next to him. “I mean, besides in marching band.”

You snorted at his question. “Oh gosh. You’re gonna make fun of me,” you quipped.

“I thought that’s what we did, gorgeous?” He answered with a smug look on his face. “Come on, tell me.”

You rolled your eyes with a smile. “I used to be really into the Dixie Chicks, so I learned how to play the banjo.”

He laughed in disbelief. “No.”

“Yes,” you nodded, wincing slightly.

He giggled. “Wait,” he wet his lips and sat up slightly, beginning to strum an all too familiar song. “You’re going to have to help me with the words.”

“Dean, stop-”

“CoWbOy, TAKE ME AWAY-” You bolted from his bed and took the guitar from him as he giggled, grinning at you like an idiot. You took a seat across from him, tucking one of your ankles under your leg and shivering slightly, only Dean’s t-shirt and your shorts to keep you warm after being bundled up for so long. You rested the guitar in your lap and Dean crossed his legs, scooting closer to you.

“Never do that again,” you grumbled and he laughed again, lacing his fingers together. “Since you always play for me…” You strummed your hand across the wires, the instrument feeling more foreign than when you picked up a flute last year for the first time since high school. You chuckled shortly, “I’m a little rusty.” Dean couldn’t help but beam as you blushed mildly, beginning to play what you could remember of I Believe in Love’s chorus. As you sang lightly, trying not to seem like you were putting much effort behind what you were doing, you caught his gaze and he inhaled rather sharply, his eyes dancing with softness as he watched you. You smirked slightly as he watched you closely, seemingly loving every second of your short song, physically gushing as he usually bright smile eased blissfully. You finished, looking at him with a sarcastic, “Taddah.”

He leaned forward, his hand wrapping around the back of your neck to close the space between you, searing the moment into your memory with a kiss you could feel in your toes. He always kissed you like everything was relying on the way he did it. With Dean, every kiss mattered, but this kiss seemed to encompass everything he wanted to say. The sweet taste of your vanilla chapstick blended with the smell of his cologne as his warm breath flared over your cheek. You sighed against his lips moving your hands into his hair and relishing his actions.

You don’t remember getting home that night, but as you damn near floated into your apartment, you figured not even your essay due the next day could ruin your mood. Of course, that was until you realized your friend had gotten home before you and was standing in the kitchen with a juice box. Your eyes went slightly wide at the shock and she tilted her head. “Where’ve you been?” Her smirk meant she knew exactly where you were.

You shrugged slightly, “Studying. I had the afternoon off.”

“It’s seven.”

“...Right…” Your eyes darted around the room.

She bit back a wider grin before moving around the counter towards you. “Must have gotten a lot of homework done then. What subject? Anatomy?” You rolled your eyes at her joke and she pulled you into a hug, fully welcoming you home before leaning back from you quickly. You looked at her with furrowed brows and she narrowed her eyes. “You smell familiar…”

You chuckled. “Am I not supposed to?”

“No, you smell familiar, but not like you. You smell like Dean.” You pursed your lips together, looking at her like she was crazy. “Dean’s still the one you’re sneaking around with!” Her expression flipped on a dime to excitement and she giggled. “I KNEW IT.”

“STOP.”

“Jeez, that’s why he’s so happy. I mean, more than usual.” You sighed as she continued. “God it totally makes sense though. That why he ALWAYS LOOKS AT YOU LIKE HE’S IN LOVE WITH YOU-”

“QUIT. HE’S NOT IN LOVE WITH ME.”

“Dean wants to marry you. He wants to kiss you. He wants to lOooVe you,” she teased, dancing slightly to her own song. You closed your eyes, pinching the bridge of your nose between your index finger and thumb. “How is your boyfriend, anyway? I’m assuming that’s where you were today.” You threw your bag down on one of the kitchen chairs.

“He’s not my boyfriend, cut it out,” you grumbled.

“Sure seems like it. You blush every time I say his name,” she jeered, her voice still sing-songy as she moved back into the kitchen.

The fact that Dean wasn’t your boyfriend seemed to echo through your mind until his next show, which happened to be in a much larger venue. You weren’t sure how you felt about coming to the realization that the two of you had never really set a label. Did you even want a label? The two of you hadn’t really been keeping your relationship private, but maybe it was for a bigger reason that you had given thought to. You and your little sidekick in the shape of your best friend made your way to the venue, her almost tripping over her shoes a few times with excitement. There weren’t any seats, in fact, the place reminded you of a warehouse and it made complete sense having been set up by the bassist and the drummer when Dean and the other guitar player just had to trust the guys. You couldn’t help but smile at the fact that it was incredibly packed. A sense of pride rushed through you, proud of the band slowly climbing the ladder yet still keeping it fun. You also knew Dean would be feeding off this high for at least a week after the show.

Your friend dragged you to the front by the tight grip she had on your arm, landing the two of you in almost the front row. The people around you smelled like beer and were already cheering and yelling, making you laugh slightly. Anytime college kids had the opportunity to throw each other around to punk music, they would. Your friend smiled at her phone before clicking it off and shoving it in her pocket, looking over the crowd and waving her arm in the air. You furrowed your brows, attempting to see who or what she was trying to wave down. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” she commented, biting back a grin and putting her arm down. You shook your head at her and someone came around you to pull her into his arms. She giggled wildly as he kissed her. You recognized him as the drummer. The two had been very vocal about their whereabouts after she had given him her number. Dean was at your side, giving your arm a nudge and furrowing his brows at the two, probably mimicking your expression. “What are you guys doing out here?” She asked, through a bright smile. You scoffed like she didn’t just wave them down.

“Relax, no one knows it’s us,” Dean joked from beside you. “They came for the booze.” He seemed oddly calm for such a big event, but there was something off about him. The two laughed at him before joining in their own conversation. Dean leaned closer to your ear, “Can we go somewhere?” You nodded and followed him away from the crowd and towards the backstage area before turning towards a bathroom. You looked around the space, it was disgusting but you didn’t mind.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. There was definitely something wrong. Was he nervous? “Are you okay?” His usually bright face was smothered with slight worry. You could tell he wanted to reach out to you.

You nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

He bit his lip. “I don’t know, you’ve gotten weird… Did I do something?”

You scoffed, shaking your head quickly. “No, I just…” You ran a hand through your hair and he watched you closely, the same look flashing behind his eyes as when you were playing for him. “She found out about us and,” you shrugged, “it just got me thinking.”

Dean fought against his smirk as he took a step towards you. “That’s never a good thing, love,” he joked, making the tension lighten. “What were you thinking about?”

You scoffed. “It’s not really a big deal-”

His eyebrows picked up. “Quit.”

“Did I become a groupie?” You asked, a smile playing on your lips, causing him to give into his grin. You hated to do this before his show, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

“Are you also fucking the other guys?” He sarcastically quizzed, his arms finally moving to rest on your shoulders before sliding down so his hands settled on your neck, the cool metal of his rings bringing enticing goosebumps to litter your skin. You looked up at him, quietly wishing you could take him home around this time. Damn, were you really this whipped?

“I mean, the bass guy has been looking awfully yummy lately…” You mocked, your eyes dancing between his lips and his bright blue eyes. He chuckled at your answer.

“Do you wanna be just a groupie?” He asked in more of a whisper.

You were surprised as your tone matched his. “No…”

“Fine, can I be your boyfriend?” He smiled into his question and your gaze snapped to his. “I wanna be your fucking boyfriend, okay.” His tone was so light you couldn’t help but laugh.

His thumb brushed against your jaw, making you melt. “Good.” You grabbed onto the front of his jacket, finally bringing his lips to yours. You made sure this kiss counted more than all your previous ones for him. You could practically taste the relief pulsing through him as his hands moved into your hand. The noise around you died away as you stood on your toes, feet fitting between his sneakers to bring him closer to your body.

He pulled away rather reluctantly, pressing his lips against yours a few times between attempting to talk to you. “I have to quit before I get carried away,” he groaned, kissing your cheek and jaw.

You chuckled. “Promise to get carried away later then?”

“I swear on my life,” he practically growled in your ear. He was back to being Dean again. He pulled away to look you in the eye. “You are so beautiful, you know?”

You rolled your eyes, shoving him away from you. He giggled. “Alright, go get on stage, lover boy.”

He leaned forward to kiss you briefly again before beginning to back out of the bathroom. “To be clear, I’m not going because you told me to. I’m going because I have to, okay?” He joked.

“Dean.” He sent you one last wink before slipping out the door, leaving you to finally grin like an idiot in peace. You joined your friend’s side again and the look she gave you was more than all-knowing as you shook your head at her again. As the band took to the stage, the crowd roared with excitement. Dean was wrong. They had come for them. Maybe it was Dean’s accent because each time he attempted to talk or swore during a song, the girls in the crowd would scream their heads off.

There was something about Dean’s performance tonight that was different for you. Maybe it was the rise he was getting out of everyone and the fact that he was going home with you. You bobbed to the music slightly, your mind flashing to the afternoons with Dean. The grungy man before you, eyeliner smudging from the heat of the lights and exertion of adrenaline, looked different and oozed with confidence that was somehow even more attractive to you now, but when he would grin at one of his bandmates or a sign in the crowd, he was exactly the same. He had made sure to find you in the crowd rather quickly, sending you flirty smirks and a wink every so often. God, he really knew what he was doing. There were times during the set when the bassist would introduce the next song as Dean would take a sip of beer or a puff of the guitarist’s cigarette and the girls behind you would make a comment about being jealous of whatever his lips had touched, making you laugh slightly---a fact you would have told him if you hadn’t known he would bring it up every chance he got.

After the show, the two of you barely made it up the stairs to his apartment before wrapping around each other, hungry to relieve the sexual tension between you during the show. You knew Dean was still running on performer’s high, and you were thankful. Your hands knotted in his hair as the taste of alcohol and cigarettes invaded your senses to blend with the smell of the concert on you both. Your back pressed against his bedroom door as you practically yanked his jacket off his arms, tugging his shirt over his head as he smashed his lips against yours in a disarray of teeth and hair. He slipped his hands under your shirt, pulling it off as well, his lips finding his favorite part of your neck. You moaned as his teeth clashed against your skin, his hand moving to grasp at your breast as he pressed you harder against the door. You ground your hips against him, feeling the wetness between your legs begin to pool.

You pushed off the wall, dragging him with you to the bed. As you fell back into the soft comforter, Dean climbed over you smiling before you locked your lips against his, your tongue pressing into his mouth with a neediness that he seemed to reciprocate as his fingers moved to your zipper, lightly unfastening your pants before dragging them down your thighs and over your ankles. He stood between your legs, getting ready to remove his rings. “Uh-uh,” you almost hissed, making him look up at you smugly. “Leave ‘em on.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek, his smirk making you melt as he hooked his arms around your thighs, his head dipping down.

“As you wish,” he divulged, his breath hot against your core before he began nipping at the skin of your inner thigh. He was in complete control as his mouth moved to press against your clothed center. You moaned slightly, a grin spreading across your face as your head tilted back, his tongue moving against you, drawing patterns as he applied pressure with it. He broke away from you sliding his hands between the fabric of your waistband and skin, your underwear soon falling to the floor. As he settled back into his previous position, you ran your fingers into his hair, pushing it off his forehead so you could fully see his eyes. He flashed you another smug look before attaching his lips to your clit, sucking slightly before slipping his middle finger into you.

“Fuck,” you hissed, your legs wanting to clamp shut around him as he began to curl his finger inside of you, moving to draw a reaction out of you with each of his actions. He flattened his tongue against your core and moved his head from side to side for more friction. You groaned again, needing more of him, which he seemed to notice as he added another digit. You could now feel the rings at the edge of your entrance, giving you a new sensation to moan over. The tension within you tightened as he continued, his tongue lapping against you, bringing you closer to the edge. “Dean, I’m close,” you almost whined, moving your hips to grind against his tongue.

He chuckled and leaned away from you, slipping his fingers into his as you leaned up to tug off his jeans. You scoffed as he connected your lips together again. “You haven’t been wearing underwear this whole time?”

He smiled into your kiss, pushing you back onto the mattress. “No one but you has to know,” he joked.

“Ew, Dean!” You giggled as he kissed your jaw and laughed at your comment. He pulled one of your legs to rest against his hip and positioned himself before you as you drug a hand through his hair. He met your gaze again and despite the fact that he still looked like his rockstar persona, the sparkle in his eye was consistent with the Dean that you would be confident in introducing to your parents one day. He reached a thumb up to brush against your cheek before kissing you softly, a sweet gesture that forced you to wrap yourself around his arms. He pressed into you, fitting against you almost too perfectly as he moaned, bringing music to your ears. He broke away from you only to settle a kiss beside your ear and against your shoulder, beginning to thrust into you. His breath fanned over your chest and you sighed in pleasure. His hand fisted the sheets beside the two of you as he ground his hips against yours. You moved beneath him wanting to find the right angle to push yourself over the edge. You tightened around him, drawing another moan out of him. If the man could be in your ear for the rest of your life, you would thank whatever higher being allowed it to happen every second you could.

He pulled your hips towards him more, driving himself deeper into you and reaching where you needed him most. “Don’t stop,” you moaned, kissing him again as he smiled. You began to feel every inch of him as he moved inside of you, hitting your sweet spot with each of his thrusts. You kissed his jaw softly, your fingers drifting to the curls at the base of his head again. Your toes curled as you finally reached your orgasm, calling out his name and feeling him release as well, riding out your pleasure. As he sank into the covers next to you, you couldn’t fight the smile playing on your lips. One of his arms jutted out to pull your back against his chest, wrapping himself around you and sighing into your hair. His lips brushed against your shoulder blade softly and you tucked into his arms more.

“Thank you for coming to my show,” he mumbled from behind you.

You smirked. “It was like pulling teeth, getting me there,” you answered sarcastically, hearing him laugh lightly.

“I meant the first time. I’m glad you didn’t end up as a groupie,” he hummed, joking rather lazily and you knew he was drifting off. You rolled your eyes with a grin, your hand moving to rest over his, lacing your fingers together.

“I’m glad, too,” you quipped, his heartbeat lulling you to sleep as well.

[meibemeibelline]

highlights from that 32k word doc i wrote when i marathoned gazette’s songs (2002-2007)

PART 2 | PART 3

Some quick notes:

This is a combo of thoughts on music, lyrics and sometimes just funny things I found while I was hurriedly typing at 11pm listening to these songs. Not every song will be featured in these, sorry

At times I directly quote translations and when I do I’ll specify who I’m quoting, but just so you know first they are all either Defective Tragedy, Heresiarchy or Trauma Radio

Also, I’m planning on writing some longer essay-type things with these notes so there might be some things I skip over (such as a recurring theme in their songs) bc I want to use them elsewhere

CONTENT WARNING FOR LYRIC DISCUSSIONS: suicide (Ganges ni Akai Bara). i will bold the title so you can skip it if you want. it’s one paragraph long

HHHH this is already 2k words but anyway hope u enjoy my ramblings

 “I’d have to take a break from feminism to appreciate [Akai One Piece]”

“His delivery is still highly emotional and [Okuribi] overall is really emotional. Like the fact you can still hear and FEEL the sheer bittersweet feelings (mostly sadness) of someone you love passing away is like...really telling of 2002 gazette’s potential”

(Doro Darake no Seishun) “Bitch Aoi and Uruha are serving LOOKS like the red tartan blazer with the black shorts???? And Uruha with the red tank top and the pleather skirt with the garters THE OTHER GIRLS WISH THEY WERE HIM”

(Haru ni Chirikeri, Mi wa Kareru de Gozaimasu) “it’s about a flower that’s in love with a one-winged butterfly, and i imagine the point is that even though they sing songs for each other, they’re just so different that they don’t understand each other and they can’t be together. and they’re just...fated to end, and maybe try again next spring. and you can see that in human relationships too.”

“Akuyuukai i think is such a significant turning point musically like i just FELT a significant shift where they were really painting with their music and having it be more closely connected with the lyrics”

“[Linda Candydive Pinky Heaven] is a happy and fun song!! it’s doro darake no seishun’s cuter and cooler older sister. this also gave me a lot of serotonin and i’m glad this is a classic. it’s also this band’s first fan song (or closest to a fan song) and i think it’s quite meaningful because they were picking up as a band and were starting to really connect with people which is always so so great. and i think it’s cool that many songs before this were fun songs to jam out to but linda is specially DEDICATED to that. it’s so carefree and i think like...this is the exact thing many musicians love about performing and what fans love about concerts. it’s the escapism and just the SPACE to be yourself and have fun. it’s so freeing.”

(Black Spangle Gang) “I can’t believe GazettE were doing 2005 Miyavi before Miyavi did 2005 Miyavi”

(The Murder’s TV) “I think it’s cool how playful they make it sound -> like a creepy show that kids might see and the last chorus is pretty good. it’s a bop AND THE BASS AND GUITAR SOLOS SLAP. The lyrics are really interesting too and I LOVE the way Ruki embodies them with his voice”

“BITCHHH MAD MARBLE HELL VISION SLAPS. THIS IS WHAT I CALL NOISE MUSIC!!!!!!!”

“The composition on Kawareta Haru, Kawaneru Haru is actually SO good (and the costumes are fucking ICONIC). And Ruki is STILL getting better at singing. The chorus is melodic and the effects on the guitar just go so well like I think the others (probably since Akuyuukai actually) have been really getting to play with all sorts of effects on their instruments to make this new variety of sounds which is super rad. AOI SOLO SUPERIORITY BTW.”

“Indie gazette really love their key changes in the bittersweet songs in the last choruses.”

“Comparing the lyrics of [Sumire] to many of the last ‘goodbye’ songs, there’s a lot more imagery and scene-painting as opposed to like, just direct thoughts and feelings. And that’s really Ruki developing as a writer, I think, as his lyrics are becoming more subtle and open to different interpretations which is super cool! Like this is really him finding his voice and I know he’s going to be doing more of this over the years.”

“ANATA NO TAME NO KONO INOCHI SLAPS BUT THE LYRICS ARE FUCKED. LIKE, I KNEW THIS FROM THE BEGINNING BUT I REALLY WISH I WAS JARED, 19.”

“I LOVE MISEINEN SO FUCKING MUCHHHHH. I can only begin to imagine just HOW significant this song is for Ruki. This is him acknowledging his weaknesses and his flaws, looking around him and seeing the people he has, he writes about what he’s afraid of, he writes about how he’s going to change and move forward, what is MOST VALUABLE to him. This is A LOT. This is A LOT for anyone. It is a song about GROWTH – how he wants to grow yet is terrified of change, but even so is going to do it with the help of his support system. This is EVERYTHING. It’s raw and brave and so very beautiful. It has Wakaremichi and BEST FRIENDS energy. These three songs are best friends. And also like, for the last couple of releases Ruki’s been doing lots of wordplay and metaphors and using euphemisms, but this set of lyrics is just completely honest and STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART. Like, there ARE metaphors and symbols but he’s talking COMPLETELY about himself and his FEELINGS. I get emo whenever I listen to this song.”

(Carry?) “Apparently it’s about Frankenstein’s monster, so I guess this is another Concept Song. So this explains the flat vocals – the monster is undead but also…very sad and confused about what it is and its place in the world. ISN’T THAT ALL OF US ON SOME LEVEL…HAHA…”

“Zakurogata no Yuutsu is that 2010 fb meme where someone sees their partner right before going into a heart surgery only to wake up to find they’re gone and the doctor is like ‘omg who do you think gave you the heart😔’”

“WHAT THE FUCK WHY DID I SLEEP ON HANAKOTOBA. THIS IS AOI SONG SUPERIORITY. THE GUITAR SOLO IS ALSO GORGEOUS. Also love what he did with the melody getting higher in the end when the narrator questions the existence of the love they lost. AND THEY DIDN’T RESOLVE THE FUCKING CHORD PROGRESSION OHHH MY GODDDD BECAUSE “I’LL WITHER AWAY, NEVER KNOWING THE ANSWER” //THROWS. THESE GENIUSES. THIS IS THE BEST SONG ON THE ALBUM SO FAR AND THAT’S👏ON👏AOI👏SUPERIORITY👏Also I know that, literally, Hanakotoba is a flower on the side of the road but LISTEN. This is a soul that just wants love...This is the anthem for us lonely invisible bitches <3 This song has the MOST yearning. Thank u Aoi for my life. Like he is TRULY the composer with the most emotionality.”

(Tokyo Shinjuu) “I LOVEEEE THE BASS. This has a very old, classic Japanese style and it’s just…so good. You can really hear it in the melody. Also there’s just something SO feminine about it and I KNOW it’s that classic Japanese sound and like…god I love this gender bending with music. I adore the guitars too I think there’s such a good balance between them.”

(Shichigatsu no Youka) “I love how the lyrics are between sections too – the most emotional parts are in the big, emotional chorus, and the verses are more mellow when the narrator is sort of…more detached and Not Crying… The guitar melodies are really pretty and the solo is just GORGEOUS. It’s such a bittersweet song as well (god GazettE just do bittersweet EXTREMELY WELL) like bruh…already being sad over a breakup and OH DOUBLE WHAMMY THEY’VE MOVED ON like. Ruki sweetie I’m so sorry.”

[a rant about how I know Saraba is well-meaning and is about the peace and unity of a nation and is EXPLICITLY anti-war which I can definitely appreciate but my Chinese ass was just NOT having the whole painting the Japanese army as heroes deal]

(Reila) “Ruki’s vocals are SO GOOD here. ALSO YELLING AT THE BASS AND KICK DRUM BEFORE THE SECOND VERSE WITH THE PIANO. THE WAY THE KICK DRUM PANS THRU THE EARS. MOTHERFUCKER. AND THEN TO COME IN WITH THE GUITAR SOLO HOW DARE!!!!! YOU PLAY WITH MY EMOTIONS LIKE THIS!!!!!”

“COCKROACH SLAPS. Love that he reframes being compared to a cockroach as like, resilient (I’ll never break through -> I want to believe I’ll break through), and he’s embracing his crudeness and taking a huge dose of PHUCEMOL.” (Cr: Defective Tragedy)

(Sugar Pain) “God Aoi’s intro though………..I HATE THE BREATHING SO MUCH. No I’m actually really angry right now why is it actually good. YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO BE GOOD.” (I then had to stop after the first chorus for obvious reasons)

“Idk why the first thing I thought of when Bite to All started was ‘yeehaw’…[Also] I hate how I know exactly who is screaming at the end and when.”

“BTS 🤝 GazettE Gunshots in songs”

[My personal interpretation of Nausea & Shudder is not that it’s about the pressure of being true to oneself in the face of success, but rather that success itself is not what Ruki expected it to be and he’s figuring out how to navigate that and move forward. It is also just a really good set of lyrics.]

“There’s just a hopelessness that’s so profound in [Bath Room]. Like if depression was a song IT WOULD SOUND A LOT LIKE THIS… Up until this point this is the Darkest song AND WE’RE ONLY GONNA GET DARKER FROM HERE *sweats in DIM*”

“I love these unsaid words Ruki leaves in the booklets. Adds layers and messages for the listener (usually of hope)”

(Silly God Disco) “After reading the lyrics I love this song soo much more. Like it’s actually really nice to think about dancing and living life because you have rock music and it makes you happy. Also the FUNK. The flavour. Not only that, but the way Ruki SWEARS he will live happily, without fear, and always moving past pain and towards freedom and glory. And he INVITES the listener with him. This is just SO nice.”

“I think it’s interesting that like…for an album that is sort of Known to be depressing as hell, there are quite a lot of songs about resilience and just…living and moving forward. Depending on what the rest of the albums are about, NIL might actually be, weirdly, the one with the most hope in it.”

(Worthless War) ““Do you shoot first so you won’t get hurt? / Do you call that sort of thing ‘justice’” damn Worthless War spilled. This sounds like a whole lot of anxiety surrounding war, and a very strong criticism against the government for caring more about power than people. Even though violence is despair, he also says that this age of political tension and FEAR is also despair. And he is correct. Ruki: ALSO THE EARTH IS DYING???” (Cr: Defective Tragedy)

(Rich Excrement) ““Lyric killer is erectile dysfunction” + “Biters should check it out too” -> you’re a limp dick who rips off other people’s work I AM SCREAMINGGGGGG.”” (Cr: Defective Tragedy)

(Crucify Sorrow) “The main metaphor here is someone who is an insect with a broken shell – an empty person. With depression, probably…And I cannot help but think about Utsusemi, in which he uses this EXACT metaphor to describe himself and his own depression, his loneliness and his desire to disappear. Was this a coincidence??🤔”

(GANGES NI AKAI BARA) “I really like this song – music and lyrics both. Like even though it’s sad that the girl was in a lot of pain, kills herself and is condemned by her church, the narrator bringing her to Ganges and doing a sacred ritual for her so that she can find salvation is actually really really kind and meaningful??? Not only because it’s an act of kindness but also because the pain she was experiencing was emotional/mental (with the constant tsu-tsu-tsura-tsura-tsurai), salvation could relieve her soul from exactly that.” (Apparently Ruki said the narrator is Buddhist but in the context of the song Hindu makes more sense, so I’m just going with that)

(Calm Envy) ““If you could love even these words I’ve thrown your way / I could keep trusting only you as you stand in front of me / It hurts every time you bring up the past you’ve suddenly shown me / I want to love even that empty space where I don’t exist / I’ll wipe away my tears so you wouldn’t notice them / So don’t smile in front of me anymore than this” – SHUT UP THIS SHIT IS REALLY UNCONDITIONAL BUT THEY’RE TIRED OF BEING HURT. GOODBYE. GOODBYEEEEE.” (Cr: Heresiarchy)

(Circle of Swindler) “Ruki writing "how much do you buy us for? let's negotiate [the] value of pain" in circle of swindler to demand respect and acknowledgement of his worth from the higher ups of the music industry because it's the music born from his pain that's making their money is Quite sexy” (Cr: Defective Tragedy)

“[Stacked Rubbish] is about the baggage we have, the baggage we give each other, the Errors we make precisely because we are People who have souls. I think the point (of this album being like an anthology) is that everyone could find something in this album that speaks to them.”

[poignantpulchritude]

Silly Pleasures-Chapter 7

*I TOLD YOU IT WOULD COME TODAY!!!!* Love the feedback folks, keep coming with it. This one is slightly shorter because the next chapter is following behind relatively quickly. Also, tell me how I already have smut scenes written before the chapters have even come to fruition:)

I had a cold. 

Of all the days to start having mucus fall from my nose, of course it was the day I asked Harry to come with me to the museum. I started to feel odd the night before, so when I woke in the morning barely able to breathe, it was not too much of a surprise. Even though I felt terribly icky, cancelling on Harry was not an option. It was not an option for two reasons; one being that he called me out about it and I could not back down and two, I really did want to hang out with him again. Our interactions were often so limited to parties and within large groups of people, I wanted to see what would happen when all of that went away. It was a test to see if we would have that much in common when the alcohol was out of reach. 

When Harry arrived outside of my flat at 1pm sharp, he took one look at my glossy eyes and rubbed raw nose and cringed. 

“Oh no! Are you poorly?” Harry asked in his hypnotizing accent. I shook my head defiantly, willing myself to ignore the discomfort even though it was present. 

“No, no, no,” I croaked, albeit comically as I was so not well. “I’ve got my vitamin C tablets and tissues at the ready,” I said all while holding both up proudly. With a wet sniffle, I said confidently, “Let’s go see a replica of the statue of David!” My last few words came out in a rasp like I had binged on cigarettes all morning. Harry gave me a skeptical glance. 

“If you want to do this another day, it’s okay. I don’t want you to be in pain the entire time.”


“No Harry, I’m fine,” I drawled out. “I invited you anyways because I wanted to do this.”

“Ooh, so you wanted this?” he asks with a small smirk, wiggling his thin hips in the process. I rolled my eyes and gently shoved his shoulder. 

“C’mon you twat, let’s see what school groups we disrupt today.” I closed my front door behind me and walked down the front steps onto the pavement, forcing a bounce in my step. I started to make my way towards the Tube station when Harry grabbed my arm gently. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” he questioned slyly. I quirked my left eyebrow up, confused. “My car is this way,” he said, pointing in the opposite direction. 

“Ah, certainly. I guess the Tube may be pushing it, I can tell you’re delicate.”

“Ah fuck off.” 

I felt a pleasant blush rise to my cheeks that I could tell he noticed, but did not speak on. 

*

Harry and I looked quite the pair in the elegant museum. We stood amongst sculptures and the paintings of Raphael while both cloaked in oversized black hoodies. Harry’s outfit was purely for disguise, while mine was used to further wallow in my grime. Snot residue would not be too obvious on the black material. 

The museum was sparsely populated, thankfully. I did not want Harry to be hounded, but I too had yet to feel the effects of being near him. As far as I knew it, there were no pictures of us on the Internet. I cannot deny that I liked the anonymity.

Most of our visit was silent, enjoying the art and design peacefully. Sometimes things do not need to be said. I realized after thirty minutes that I enjoyed being with him in our silence. I felt like I was sat in my favorite bookstore, enjoying the stillness. Our conversation slowly picked up around the costume collection. 

“I would have this right at my front door,” I told Harry in awe. 

“Hm, I guess I haven’t caught up on my home design skills. Didn’t know severed heads were the new garden gnome.”

“Psh, this is hardly a severed head, Harry. Honestly, Frankenstein’s monster was pieced together limb by limb. He’s just misplaced the bottom half.” Harry hums in amused acknowledgement. I was enamored with the bust of Frankenstein’s monster from the Bride of Frankenstein. Having permanent Halloween decorations was always something I desired, even though it could be quite off-putting to guests. 

“Now, this is what I want!” Harry spoke loudly, gesturing to a bright and feathered costume in the corner, formerly worn by Rocketman himself. His tone startled me. 

“Harry keep your voice down,” I whisper-scolded, attempting to hold back the giggle tickling my throat. 

“Jeanie, no one is around us.” I chose to ignore the nickname.

“Well…still,” I pouted nonsensically, even stomping my right foot down slightly. There really was no one around us, we had not seen another group or couple for at least 15 minutes. However, it went against every fiber of my being to be loud in a place that was typically reserved for quiet introspection. Lost in my worries that a museum attendant would pop down from the ceiling and scold us, I did not notice for a few long beats that Harry was staring intently at my face. When I recognized what he was doing, my first reaction was to feel self-conscious. “What? Do I have something on my face?” I asked, alarmed and nervous that some dried booger on my face was terrifying Harry.

“No, no. Just staring.”

“Well,” I paused and then cleared my throat. It was then that I remembered that I had a heartbeat. To disengage from the interaction, I walked towards Sir Elton’s costume, leaving him quickly in my wake. I heard Harry mutter an ‘alright’ behind me. “You would look good in this,” I told him in an attempt to move the conversation swiftly along, picturing Harry in all his feathered wonder.

“I think I would too.”

I rolled my eyes and shoved Harry jokingly, calling out his playful arrogance. It seemed that was all that I was doing these days, shoving and touching Harry as if I failed to age past 5. He usually did not respond to my spirited jabs, but this time must have been the exception. In retaliation, Harry decided to poke me firmly in the ribs. I could tell it was meant to make me laugh, but I don’t Harry was expecting the squeal that passed my lips to be in that particular octave. It went against my entire being to be that loud in this space.

“Oh shit! Did I hurt you?” Harry asked frantically. The look in his eyes told me that he instantly regretted touching my stomach. My immediate shock wore off and my cheeks began to redden. 

“No, but I’m extremely ticklish,” I responded to put him at ease. His look of concern transformed into a devilish smirk. I knew what he was thinking. “Don’t you fucking dare!” 

Harry started to stalk towards me with a mischievous smirk on his face. I gave a warning look in response, raising my eyebrows to appear stern. The space between us closed slowly, but eventually Harry was close enough for his fingers to brush across my ribs again. I decided, at that point, to shriek and run away-all decorum forgotten on my part. I heard Harry’s loud laugh behind me as he began to chase me around the room. My choked laughter and his heavy breathing echoed off the white walls in the empty space. 

Our chase concluded with a stand-off. I was left facing Harry, only a Les Paul guitar from the 1960s separated us. With nowhere left to go and my breath coming out in heavy pants due to my clogged nostrils, I held up my palms in surrender and squeezed my eyes shut. Not seeing the tickle attack would surely lessen its intensity in my eyes. I heard Harry’s footsteps round the guitar and felt his presence in front of me. The seconds ticked by and he still did not touch me. I cracked open my eyes to find him just staring again. 

“What now?” I asked softly. 

He opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again before any words could come out. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out a squished tissue. Then, he leaned forward and planted his lips on my cheek. His lips were soft on my freckled skin and I could feel the residue of his watermelon lip balm. I held my breath during the entire interaction. I said a prayer at that moment and thanked Zeus that the skin on faces did not form goosebumps. 

“Your nose started to bleed,” he told me as he pulled back. I mumbled a ‘shit’ and grabbed the tissue quickly from his hand. 

“I have weak blood vessels in my nose, especially when I’m all sick and worked up,” I replied, to explain my condition. His cheeks started to turn a rosy shade of pink. I cocked my head slightly to the side, confused at his reaction to my words. I realized only after we were walking out of the museum, while the hand not blotting my nose brushed lightly against his, that I told him he made me worked up. When I initially said it, I was convinced it was in reference to being tired from running around the room. I guess Harry knew me better than I thought he did. 

* “Could you take a picture of me?” I asked Harry as we sat inside a tiny, but bright ramen restaurant. He nodded and took my phone out of my hand. My face was free of nostril blood and the lighting in the restaurant was low enough to hide the dry patches around my nose. I made sure to collect the noodles perfectly on the chopsticks and exaggerate my face in amazement at the food. I’m sure Harry thought I was going to smile cutely for the camera. He chuckled at my attempt at food porn, simply saying ‘fabulous’ as he handed my phone back to me. 

“This is one of my favorite places, but I don’t think I’ve posted a picture here yet,” I told him. 

“You have an Instagram?” he questioned. I nodded and gave it to him, too distracted by my delicious food to preface that my Instagram came with a warning. I heard a deep and slightly uncomfortable “Whoa,” from Harry, which caused me to look up perplexed. He was silent for a few moments before he said, “Your hair is different here.” He flipped his phone around to show me the photo in question. My eyes widen considerably at the image. The ramen on my chopsticks fell unceremoniously down to my bowl with a plop. I cleared my throat awkwardly. 

“I totally forgot I posted that,” I mumbled. The photo was a bit brutal to look at in front of the boy I realized, only hours ago, that I had a crush on. In the photo, I was showing off my straightened hair, deicing on a different look that day than my usual dark waves. However, I showed off my straight hair only in a hot pink lace thong. To make it even more unsafe for work, I was on all fours, taking the photo in the obnoxious mirror propped up in my bedroom. The long dark strands of my hair perfectly covered my breasts in the photo. Harry still stared at me instead of the half-nude image on his phone, no doubt finding my reaction amusing. I decided it was best to own it, I was the one that posted it proudly after all. “Welp, my ass looks great too.”

“That it does.” I forced my eyes to remain unblinking.  

“I don’t think it was very gentlemanly of you to agree with me.”

“I completely disagree. You are complimenting yourself and I am simply agreeing with you. We support the same thing here.”

“Support what? Showing my ass off to random people?”

“If that’s what you want to do, then yea.” 

I did not say anything for a few moments, letting Harry’s words sink in. 

“Not too many people say things like that, it’s very kind of you,” I told him. My voice was my softer sounding than I really wanted it to be. My lips curled into a soft smile and I took as deep a breath as I could in my current state. “That’s what I do for a living.” I forced a light chuckle at the end of my sentence to appear blasé.  

Harry nodded gently, leaning his chin on top of his right arm balancing on the table. I could see a dimple begin to indent his skin. He thought for a moment before speaking. 

“So, would I be correct in saying that this photo is on brand for you?” he asked. 

I nodded, matching Harry’s posture across the table. He made a big show of his next action. Turning his phone around to me once again, he dramatically pressed the follow button on my profile. “Ta-da!” he said loudly, “I look forward to more nudes!” 

I choked on the phlegm in my throat and my nose started to bleed again.

[haledamage]

Kira Grace Kingston

female, she/her

5'6”, slender build

shoulder-length, straight dark-brown hair

pale, lightly freckled skin

light brown eyes

bisexual (though I play her in-game as straight because I just really connected with the all-male Unit Bravo for some reason)

Taurus, born 28 April 1992; 25 at the beginning of Book 1, turns 26 between Book 1 and 2

left-handed

Romance: all of them, I’m using the same Detective for all routes

(infodump about her under the cut, for my own purposes mostly but also for anyone interested)

--Was inspired to become a cop to help people after having one help her when she really, really needed it. Wanted to pay it forward, so to speak.

--Kira is a natural leader and very good at deduction and problem solving (it’s her second highest stat, after people/psychology). She would have likely gone out for detective soon anyway, but didn’t think she was ready or old enough to be in charge of the whole station yet and was surprised when the promotion came. The rest of the station had been secretly considering her their boss for years before Detective Reele retired, but Kira somehow has no idea.

--Totally shot Adam. Feels really bad about it but would never tell him that.

--Will drink tea or coffee, but prefers tea. Her favorites are cinnamon tea and masala chai. If she’s drinking coffee, she prefers the sugary, flavored, Starbucks-like variety, but will sometimes drink it black just to unnerve people (people mostly being Tina).

--Doesn’t wear much make-up, but likes to paint her nails. Usually black or some other dark color, a “layover from her misspent youth.”

--Wears contacts. Has gold-framed glasses that she wears when she has to, but hates them. She’s farsighted, so if for some reason she can’t wear her contacts, she only puts on the glasses for reading.

--Plays guitar and lap steel guitar. Prefers to play blues music, but can play just about any genre. A pretty good singer, but very shy about it. Probably only Rebecca and Tina have ever heard her sing as far as she knows. (she sings to herself at her desk sometimes, but doesn’t realize it. All of UB have probably noticed; Felix definitely has, and is likely waiting for a good opportunity to tease her about it)

--She’s always been very close with Rebecca. They’re both rather independent-minded, so she didn’t mind her mother’s absences so much. Mum was always there when she needed her, and always willing to listen, and that’s what mattered. Now that she knows what she does, Kira is sure that she’s called her mother while she was on a mission before, but Rebecca still always answered, and that fact makes her respect and admire her mum even more.

--Lost a bet to Verda in regards to The Reveal. Verda had said the Murphy case and its oddities were supernatural in nature, Kira said it was science experiments gone awry. Technically, they were both right, but Verda was more right. Kira looks forward to one day being able to tell him, even if she’ll be out £50 for it.

--The only reason Kira isn’t some reclusive hermit is because of Tina Poname. Tina and Kira met when they were both in a very low place, and have lifted each other up and helped put each other back on their feet. Their friendship is very important to Kira, and the fact that she can’t tell Tina that the Hot Secret Agents they’re working with are Hot Secret Agent Vampires is the hardest part of The Reveal. She’s not used to keeping secrets from Tina.

--Tina and Kira have a monthly movie night. One of them picks the movie and the other picks the food, then they swap the next month. It’s more like an adult slumber party than anything else, really, lots of wine and gossip and venting if need be. It’s a tradition going back years now and neither would miss it for the world.

--Is very good with people, it’s her highest stat, but doesn’t actually enjoy being around them much. Very much an introvert, prefers silence and solitude or the company of close friends only. She works very hard to be as approachable as she is.

--Curses like a sailor. Poor Nate.

--Loves to read. Anything and everything. You put a book in front of her and she’ll read it. Mysteries are a favorite.

--Her favorite color is wintergreen like Adam’s eyes.

--Apartment style would be somewhere between cosy and dark. Kind of a Spooky Grandma’s House vibe. Lush fabrics and textures, soft sofas and chairs, but subdued colors. Black, gray, navy blue, with pale blue and wintergreen accents. Artwork is mostly made by locals or by friends from university. Bookshelves nearly overflowing. Apartment is kept clean, but always looks a bit cluttered.

--Preferred clothing style is casual but professional. Jeans, most often paired with a t-shirt or button-up shirt. Mostly long sleeves, but with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Usually black, sometimes white or gray, very, very rarely dark green or dark blue. Black leather jacket when it’s cold. Almost always wears black boots; she paid more for those boots than she did for her car (but that says more for how little she paid for the car than how expensive her boots actually are).

--Speaks seven languages. English, Sign Language, Spanish, French, German, Welsh, and, because someone dared her to at university, Sindarin Elvish. With the exception of the elvish, she learned most of them out of necessity or exposure.

--English literature major. Doesn’t serve much in her job, but she’s still proud of it.

--Very shy when it comes to flirting. She hates it about herself. She’s very confident and self-assured in almost every other situation, but if someone starts showing the slightest bit of genuine interest in her she flusters very easily.

--Dated Bobby in year one at university for a couple months. With him in journalism and her in English lit, they had a lot of class overlap early on, and he was familiar and clearly interested and that was enough, for a while. She regrets that she fell so easily for his flirting and has resolved since to not be such an “easy mark” in the future. Hasn’t dated anyone since and hasn’t wanted to (until UB barge into her office, obviously). Kind of hates him, but would never let him know that; she is, instead, very meticulously polite to him, never any more or less.

--At the beginning of Book 1, she has 4 tattoos. Gets a 5th one during the 2 months between Book 1 and Book 2.      -a small, stylized crown on her right wrist (Rebecca has a matching one that she hides under her watch band at work) because Kingston     -bars of music wrapped around her right bicep (watercolour-style effect behind it - the music is Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down”)     -a quote on the inside of her left bicep (“I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein)     -a large full-color floral piece from her left hip almost to her knee (forget-me-nots for her father, lupines for her mother, lavender roses and verbena for herself)     -new tattoo is a simple, black crescent moon on the back of her neck to symbolize a new beginning (keeps it hidden under her hair most of the time, especially at work).

--Preferred method of working out is rock climbing/wall climbing. Has some combat training, mostly just from the police academy, but she tries to attend aikido lessons when she has time. She likes that it lets her defend herself without being stronger than her opponent, especially now that she deals with the supernatural so much.

--Kira didn’t realize how attached she’d grown to Unit Bravo until the attack on her apartment. She wanted to stay to help her team; on every route, she has to be dragged away in order to get her to leave. Completely, 100% ride or die for all of them.

Kira is my only Detective and I’m using her in all four routes (sorry, folks, I can’t do the Love Triangle. I tried, but I can’t, it already hurts and I’m not strong enough). It’s been very interesting, since she has the same personality no matter what, to see in what ways she connects with each member of Unit Bravo, and the slight changes in her personality stats based on how she responds to romance-specific scenes.

Adam: arguably my “canon” romance for her, though I legitimately and completely love all of them. On his route, her stats skew a little more toward Stubborn and Impulsive because she��s spiteful and he’s kind of an ass, especially to start with. 

They’re both headstrong and natural leaders, so they butt heads a lot in terms of authority. She doesn’t like that Adam tries to order her around, he doesn’t like that she refuses to listen to orders sometimes out of spite. But when they actually try to get along, they agree more often than not and could probably make an amazing team given time. 

She’s completely, head-over-heels in love with him, but she hasn’t figured it out yet, though she knows she feels something for him. He makes her feel safe, which is how she knows that she’s in deep. 

On Adam’s route, Nate is Kira’s best friend. Poor guy’s gonna be stuck between the immovable object and the unstoppable force for 7 fucking books.

Nate: On Nate’s route, Kira’s stats tend more toward Cautious, and also a bit more Heart on the Heart/Mind scale. 

Of all of them, Nate would be the one Kira would be most surprised to find herself falling for. She’s not much of a romantic, generally, but she’s also never had anyone look at her like Nate does, or treat her like she’s something precious and important. She feels completely off balance with him and has no idea how to react. She has never been so overwhelmed with a desire to kiss someone before. 

Personality-wise, they have a lot in common, both are good with people, compassionate, linguistically talented, and avid readers; to anyone except Kira, them getting together makes perfect sense. He probably doesn’t like how stubborn and foul-mouthed she is, but between Adam and Mason, he’s used to dealing with it. 

On Nate’s route, Mason is Kira’s best friend. No one is more surprised about that than they are, and they aren’t really sure how that happened.

Felix: On Felix’s route, Kira skews more toward Easygoing and Impulsive. 

In a word, Felix helps Kira relax. She’s a bit of a workaholic and he brings her out of her shell and reminds her that she’s more than just Detective Kingston. It’s refreshing and overwhelming. Romance with Felix is easy. 

He’s the only one where she doesn’t end up 100% shy because, even though she still gets horribly flustered by him, he doesn’t make her as tongue-tied as the others do. Maybe it’s because he’s so much less intense than the others, but also she kind of feels like she’s always known him. 

She wants to show him the world, all the little things about being human that she’s always taken for granted but he never had in Echo World. Paper airplanes and creepy travelling carnivals and movie theater popcorn and photo booths and everything. They’ll be good for each other, but them joining forces is probably very bad for everyone else. 

On Felix’s route, Nate is Kira’s best friend. Unlike with Adam, he isn’t so much trapped between two opposing forces as he is an exhausted parent trying to corral overly-curious children.

Mason: On Mason’s route, Kira’s stats tend even more toward Genuine than they do on other routes, as well as Stubborn. 

On the surface Mason and Kira probably don’t look like they’d work, but really I think they’re the pairing that makes the most sense. Mason doesn’t drain her social batteries as much as the others, even at the beginning when he’s as hostile toward her as possible. They both enjoy the quiet, and that’s where the first romantic feelings from her would form, in the calm and silent comfort she feels with him. 

But obviously, it doesn’t start romantic even a little bit. At the beginning, she’s neither intimidated nor put off by his sharp, brusque personality, and she’s very flustered and intimidated by his intense manner of flirting, though she’s not really put off by it either. She doesn’t know how to respond to it (though he clearly enjoys how she reacts), but he makes her feel desired in a way she never has before. There’s a certain comfort to knowing that he only wants her physically, that he’s straightforward in his interests. 

I imagine that she figures out she’s falling for him after he does something small that should be innocuous, some little off-hand affection that he didn’t even think about and she just goes “oh shit, I’m in love with Mason.” 

On Mason’s route, Felix is Kira’s best friend. He definitely sees them falling for each other long before they see it and does everything he can to get them to stop being idiots and realize that they’re in love.

[cocastyle]

The Lady Loves Me

Pairing- Tony Stark x reader

Word Count- 2,597

Warning- none

A/N- I’ve had this idea for a while and finally decided to sit down and write it. I really hope you all like it! The song used is The Lady Loves Me by Elvis Presley and Ann-Margaret.

“There he goes again,” Natasha muttered in amusement, her eyes on the host of the evening who was currently making his way over to where her best friend Y/N L/N was standing by the bar.

Tony Stark was going in for another one of his attempts to woo Y/N off her feet much like he did every evening that he hosted an event like the one tonight. She was the only reason he ever had parties at the Avengers Tower, each party just being another opportunity to convince the stubborn girl to go on a date with him.

Y/N hadn’t said yes yet, but that only made the man more intrigued, especially since he knew she had feelings for him. It was quite obvious really, but she was so set on denying it that she declined numerous invitations from Tony to be his date. Despite this, everyone still knew the two were head over heels for each other, Y/N was just too stubborn to admit it and Tony was too egotistic for his own good.

Steve and Bucky turned their heads to see what the red head was talking about and chuckled softly once they saw Tony approach the young girl, his hand gently resting on the small of her back as Y/N turned to look at him with a smile and a look that said she had been waiting for him to finally come talk to her.

“You think he would realize by now that her answer isn’t going to change,” Bucky said. “I don’t know, Buck. One of these days she’s going to break and say yes,” Steve told him.

Bucky glanced at his best friend and took a sip of his drink. “You think?” he asked.

“Please, Barnes. If L/N could just stop being so damn stubborn, the two would be married by now. I mean look at them,” Natasha said making all three turn to look at the couple who were currently leaning close to each other as they bantered back and forth. “I can smell the love and longing from over here,” the red head muttered with a shake of her head.

The three chuckled at that before looking back over at Tony and Y/N, each of them wondering what the two could be talking about.

“Come on, L/N. It’s just one date,” Tony said, his eyes shining down at the girl as he smiled ever so slightly. “What, you afraid you might catch feelings?”

Y/N rolled her eyes, a smile playing on her lips as she did so. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?” She asked. “Sorry, Tony. Just like the other hundred times you’ve asked me, it’s still a no.”

She expected the man’s grin to drop and for him to walk away only to return with two drinks that they would talk over for the rest of the evening like usual, but Tony didn’t move. In fact, his grin didn’t even disappear, it only grew in size as his eyes flickered over her face and the look he gave her was enough to make her cheeks heat up slightly.

“You know, I don’t think it’s that you’re afraid you might catch feelings for me if we go on a date,” Tony said. “I never-“ Y/N began to interrupt, but the man merely leaned forward, resting his arm against the bar counter as he looked at her with a smug expression on his face. “You’re afraid because you do have feelings for me,” Tony told her.

Y/N blinked in surprise, her mouth opening and closing for a second before she managed to get out, “What?”

This only made Tony smirk more and he leaned forward another inch before saying, “You like me, Y/N, don’t you? No, better yet, you love me. I know it.”

Y/N watched the man in silence for a moment before shaking her head. “You wish,” she retorted. Tony merely smirked at her, the look on his face saying that he knew what he said was true and that nothing she said or do could change his mind.

Frustrated and a little flustered by the look Tony was giving her, Y/N shook her head and began to walk away. She began to make her way across the room and over to where she could see Natasha talking with Steve and Bucky, but she had barely even made it half way before she heard the strumming of a guitar from behind her.

Y/N turned her head back in confusion and stopped in her tracks, a look of amusement and shock on her face once she saw that Tony had borrowed the guitar from the musicians and was standing at the front of the stage, his eyes on her as he began to strum and play a tune.

“She loves me, she loves me not

She loves me, she loves me not

She loves me, she loves me, she loves me

The lady loves me and it shows

In spite of the way she turns up her nose

I'm her ideal, her hearts desire

Under that ice she's burning like fire.”

Tony gently hopped off the stage and began to move across the room. Y/N gave him a look of amusement and raised an eyebrow at him, her arms crossing in front of her chest as he came to a stop in front of her.

“She'd like to cuddle up to me

She's playing hard to get

The lady loves me, but she doesn't know it yet.”

Everyone was watching at this point and Y/N knew what Tony was trying to do. The small mischievous glint in his eyes gave him away and Y/N narrowed her eyes at him as she smirked. Challenge accepted.

Y/N dramatically rolled her eyes at the man making him chuckle in amusement while she looked to the crowd and began to sing.

“The gentleman has savoir-faire

As much as an elephant or a bear

I'd like to take him for a spin

Back to the zoo to visit his kin

He's got about as much appeal as a soggy cigarette.”

Her eyes flickered over to Tony and she took a step towards him before putting a hand on his chest. Tony smiled down at her, continuing to play the guitar as he did and becoming totally entranced with the very being of the girl in front of him. Y/N gave him a smug grin.

“The lady loathes him but he doesn't know it yet.”

Before Tony knew what was happening, Y/N had shoved him away with the hand that was on his chest and had started to walk away. Tony blinked in surprise and was quick to step in front of the girl.

“The lady's got a crush on me.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and walked around him.

“The gentleman's crazy obviously.”

Tony took a few quick strides until he was by her side. He began to walk in an angle, forcing the girl to walk sideways as well until he had trapped her up against a wall. Tony smirked and took a step forward so that their faces were only inches apart.

“The lady's dying to be kissed.”

Tony leaned forward, but right when his lips were about to touch hers, Y/N turned her head and had slipped out of his grasp. Tony stumbled a bit in surprise and turned around to see Y/N smirking from behind him.

“The gentleman needs a psychiatrist

I'd rather kiss a rattlesnake.”

Y/N took her hand and made a fake gun with her fingers before putting it to her head.

“Or play Russian roulette.”

Y/N then pretended as if the gun had gone off before she turned and began to walk away and towards the bar. Tony smiled after her, the love and adoration in his eyes so evident that every person in the room could tell he was in love with the girl. Tony let out a small sigh of content and looked to the crowd and acted as if he were telling them some big secret.

“The lady loves me, but she doesn't know it yet.”

Tony walked across the room and over to the bar where Y/N was leaning against the counter. She didn’t bother looking at him, but Tony knew that she knew he was there by the way she tensed up ever so slightly and the small pink dusting her cheeks. Tony smiled and leaned in.

“She's falling fast she's on the skids.”

Y/N looked to the bartender and held up two fingers. The man rushed off to get her drinks while Y/N willed herself not to look at the billionaire beside her. Instead, she merely rested her chin against her hand and kept her eye forward.

“Both of his heads are flipping their lids.”

Tony smirked.

“Tonight she'll hold me in her arms.”

The bartender came back and set two shots down in front of Y/N. The woman grabbed the drinks and held them up and shook them slightly as she sang, making sure not to spill them as she did.

“I'd rather be holding hydrogen bombs.”

Y/N downed one of the shots before looking back at the audience that had circled around them. She held the empty glass in the air and gave them all an exasperated look.

“Will someone tell this Romeo

I'm not his Juliet?”

Y/N then downed the other shot and set both glasses down. Tony looked to the crowd and winked at them.

“The lady loves me, but she doesn't know it yet.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and turned her body so that her back was to Tony. The man leaned in, his lips brushing against her ear and making her shiver as he sang.

“She wants me.”

Y/N faked a scowl and looked at the man.

“Like poison ivy.”

Tony just shrugged and leaned back, a smug look of his face that basically screamed that he knew what she was hiding.

“Needs me.”

Y/N shook her head and turned back around.

“Like a hole in the head.”

With her turned around, Tony quickly walked over to the other side of her before she could realize it. He was standing right in front of her now and the smile on his face was enough to make her heart beat a little faster and her cheeks to heat up.

“Everyone can see she's got it bad.”

Y/N sighed dramatically and looked to the crowd as she held her hands up in defeat.

“He’s mad!”

Her gaze fell back on Tony and sat down on the seat by her side.

“The gentleman is an egotist.”

Tony merely smirked and shrugged in response.

“I'm simply aware I'm hard to resist.”

Y/N was trying to hide her smile, but the corners of her lips twitched up slightly as she looked at the man.

“He's one man I could learn to hate.”

Tony smiled and winked at the girl making her blush.

“How's about having dinner at eight?”

Y/N shook her head slightly, but couldn’t stop the smile that was now dawning her face. She couldn’t believe this man. Tony really was something else. She looked to the ground as she stood up and quickly composed herself before looking back up at Tony with a straight face.

“I'd rather dine with Frankenstein

In a moonlight tete-a-tete.”

Tony shrugged, that smug look on his face returning.

“The lady loves me, but she doesn't know it yet.”

The two stood there for a moment in silence as Tony continued to play the tune on his guitar. With their eyes locked, Y/N couldn’t hold back the smile anymore and Tony smiled at the sight of that beautiful grin of hers on her face.

“Oh yes she loves me.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow in amusement and began to walk towards the man, making him back up as she did.

“Dig that shrinking violet.”

Tony’s eyes flickered over her before locking with her eyes.

“Oh she really loves me.”

Y/N shook her head slightly as she smiled at the man.

“Here's one gal you'll never get.”

“She lo- lo- loves me.”

Y/N smirked at the boy and gave him a questioning look.

“Would you like to make a bet?”

Tony just smiled at her in response, too caught up in admiring her that he didn’t realize he was about to bump into a waiter who was carrying a big tray of drinks.

“I said the lady loves me.”

Y/N took one more step forward causing the man to step back and run into the waiter. The tray full of drinks all slipped out of his grasp and splashed down on Tony who stopped his playing as a look of shock appeared on his face. Y/N smirked and reached over to the bar counter before picking up a napkin. She leaned forward and wiped away at Tony’s eyes so that the man could open them and look at her.

“The gentleman's all wet.”

Y/N then shoved the napkin in his chest causing Tony to reach up and grab ahold of it before watching her walk away from him. Even though he was drenched and Y/N had rejected him once again, Tony still found himself smiling after her as he watched her with eyes filled with adoration.

Tony Stark was more in love with Y/N L/N than he was before if that was even possible.

“You still think she won’t break one day?” Steve asked as he looked to Bucky. Bucky watched as Y/N walked out of the room before looking over at Tony who had a lovesick grin on his face. “Yeah, she’s gonna break,” Bucky agreed before taking a long sip of his drink making both Steve and Natasha chuckle in amusement.

Out in the hallway, Y/N continued to walk around the corner until she knew she was far from anyone’s line of sight. She then went and stood against a wall and put her hand against her beating heart as the smile on her face grew tenfold and the blush spread from her cheeks down to her neck.

It took Y/N a minute to control her breathing and calm herself before she managed to look around the corner and back into the room she had just walked out of. Just like every time she walked into a room, her eyes immediately found Tony.

He was returning the guitar to the musicians and was smiling as he said, “Thank you.” “You’re welcome. That’s one girl you’ve got,” one of the men of the band told him. Tony smiled, a look of pride and adoration on his face as he responded without a beat of hesitation, “My girl sure is something, isn’t she?”

Y/N smiled softly at those words, her stomach erupting with butterflies at the fact that Tony had called her ‘his girl.’

As if sensing her eyes on him, Tony met her gaze. She didn’t think the sparkle in his eyes could get any brighter, but as soon as he caught sight of her, she was proven wrong. He smiled at the girl and sent a small wink her direction before being pulled back into a conversation with the musicians, not noticing that his wink was enough to make her a blushing mess once again.

Y/N smiled and looked at the ground bashfully before looking back up at Tony before whispering to herself.

“The lady loves him, he just doesn’t know it yet.”

And when Tony came up later that evening, asking Y/N on a date for what had to be the hundredth time, he got a different answer than he was used to.

Yes.

[popwasabi]

Top 5: Jazz, Taiko Drums, and Hurdy Gurdies. My Favorite TV Intros.

It was not long ago when most streaming sites began offering a “skip intro” option for TV show content. Hell, it seemed some intros to the Netflix, Hulu and Prime content began intentionally making their original openers short and sweet so that viewers could get all the info they needed as quickly as possible.

These were welcome changes for most binge watchers who sometimes watch entire seasons of their favorite shows within a day’s time not wanting to waste time on seeing the same names on the opening credits over and over again.

(Yes, God damn it! I’m a slave to the stream!!)

Though this has been convenient for myself more than a few times I for one enjoy the artistic quality of a good TV show opener. It’s part music video, part amalgamation of everything stylistically and tonally you need to know about a series and a truly great opener can hook a fan to a show for life.

There are many shows, no matter how many times I watch them, I’ll never skip the intro too because they sum up everything I love about the series in a single 30 second to minute and a half long video and hey some of those songs really do “slap” as the kids say.

So, let’s talk a little bit about some of my favorite intros and why I love them so much in this week’s top 5.

Note: This isn’t just a discussion of the music used but the opening credits and imagery used to accompany it.

5. Cowboy Bebop

There’s a long list of truly great anime openers out there from the Karaoke-friendly J-pop tunes of “Neon Genesis Evangelion’s” “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” to the classic 80s vibes of Akira Toriyama’s “Dragon Ball” and “Dragon Ball Z.” But only one anime is going to make the cut for this list and that’s “Tank!” from the 90s classic “Cowboy Bebop.” It’s truly unique in the anime landscape as its one of the few that features Jazz and an opening that doesn’t overly rely on the tropes of more traditional anime drawing its influence instead from 60s and 70s spy movies and aesthetics. Fans of “Archer” will likely notice similar motifs in that shows own opening and Bebop’s “Tank!” is all about exuding this “cool” vibe of its show’s primary characters the fun and often dangerous missions they get involved in. It’s a hip, unique take that stands out distinctly in its genre and a truly un-skippable tune during a binge watch.

 4. Star Trek: The Next Generation

I think the first time I truly fell in love with a TV opener was watching the show I gained my namesake from.

Yes, I’m named after Wesley Crusher.

I know, I know.

Anyways, there’s something special about this intro and it’s not just its nostalgia or classic Star Trek vibes but the hopeful adventurousness of the music’s tone. “Star Trek” has always been about an optimist’s view of the future, a world where people of multiple creeds, backgrounds, races, species in this case come together not to fight but to explore the furthest reaches of the cosmos.

The music always got me in the mood to watch Captain Picard, Data, and Riker to go do there thing whether it was as banal as negotiating a dispute in the neutral zone, fun and often weird times on the holodeck, or taking on the dreaded borg. The music accompanied by the venerable Patrick Stewart’s brilliant voiceover and the sprawling, albeit dated, graphics of space helped make TNG iconic and I’ll never consider skipping it on a binge watch.

 3. Penny Dreadful

Though it’s later seasons never held up nearly as well as its first I became instantly hooked on Showtime’s “Penny Dreadful” largely because of Abel Korseniowski’s brilliant score, particularly the intro he wrote for the show.

Korseniowski’s use of classical and gothic tunes helped bring viewers back to horror’s more Victorian roots in the best of ways with an opener that felt touching, somber, emotional and chilling all at once. The images splashing across the screen of various classic monsters, arachnids, and ghouls as the haunting soundtrack played immediately drew me into the story in the same way the young Dr. Frankenstein in the show could not look away from the horrors uncovered in the narrative. It perfectly captures the ghoulish, dramatic charm of the show and though its later storylines don’t hold up as well it’s another intro that is undeniably un-skippable.

 2. Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)

Bear McCreary is probably my favorite composer of all-time and his work on the Battlestar Galactica reboot is a big reason why.

Though he wasn’t the initial composer on the two-episode mini-series in 2003, the themes, motifs and tones he took from Richard Gibbs work he quickly made his own and created a unique outlier in the science fiction music landscape that has defined his style ever since. The opener is a big reason why his work resonates so much with me because it captures much of the these unique tones and styles not just of the music but of the series’ story itself.

It begins slow like the opening crawl to a great mythical odydessy and tale of survival as we see the last days of civilization play out across the screen. As spaceships begin to caravan across the screen we get a sense of the desperation of the story’s heroes and the stakes they are up against and as it begins to close that’s when the percussion goes into full gear. The use of taiko drums in the soundtrack is brilliant and none more so than this opener as its speeds through frenetically the events of the episode giving us only passing glimpses of the action that is about to take place. It might feel like a spoiler for the narrative but it gave each episode that extra jolt before stepping back into the story and I enjoyed it every single time.

 1. Black Sails

I knew I was going to love “Black Sails” the minute the opening credits began.

The scratchy, aggravating yet hypnotic tunes of the hurdy gurdy playing over the creepy, blackness of the ocean gave the series an immediate dark and unique tone I wasn’t immediately expecting when I began watching the series. I had heard bits and pieces about the show’s plot; a sort of prequel to “Treasure Island” and an edgier take on the prototypical Pirate story is all I knew about it going in but the opener lets you know pretty much immediately this isn’t your typical tale of swashbuckling buccaneers. Like a twisted sea shanty mixed together with a pirate themed rock bank, “Black Sails” intro is dare I say a banger that has you howling along to the righteous vocals of music in the most epic of ways.

But the music truly captures the tone and theme of the story in more subtle ways as well. Like an itch you can’t scratch the music tell it’s viewer and listener of a rage lingering deep beneath the surface of the waves of its main characters, one that’s barely being contained as the music hits these powerful offbeat notes between the electric guitar play and the offkey piano drops. As the series progresses you begin to understand more who and what it’s describing it makes the series that much more memorable.

It didn’t surprise me in the least that Bear McCreary was the man behind the brilliance of this piece and it makes each episodes’ opening a must watch.

 So, what are your favorite intros? What music paired with a unique and captivating opening title crawl captured your imagination and emotions the most? Let’s hear it!

Me in my car to any of these songs. All the time...

[violetsystems]

#personal

I think life would worry me more if weird weeks consistently ended on a sour note.  As far as weird weeks go, this week was pretty strange.  Between my home and my office is still a bit of an adventure.  I live in a major city that the news always complains is shrinking.  If you were to survey the psychic war of personal space at any given time you’d see different results.   But we live in a society.  More so I live in America in a city as close to Gotham as it gets.  If you wanted to drill down to the essence of the terms, I’m about as incel as it gets.  Except I’d just tell you I’m celibate by choice.  Why I’ve chosen to refrain from intimacy for years isn’t something people really want to listen to.  Surprisingly I have lashed out at society any number of times on my commute.  Not unlike Robert Pattinson’s shirts people are often “on my dick” in the parlance of our times.  Most of this I’ve begun to realize is better to ignore than react to.  I look scary when I’m angry.  At least I see myself that way.  Twisted and scrunched up in pain.  I’m more like the hulk.  My secret is that I am always in pain.  I’m too tired from core strength training and yoga to give a fuck.  The penultimate hipster.  A smug left leaning liberal with a conscience.  I wouldn’t argue with any of those by definition.  But people who’ve come to know me here understand it’s not so simple.  The more patience you develop the more problems you are aware enough of to avoid.  I wrote a Nike survey for their training app the other day.  I described how pleased I was that it gave me the confidence to quit the gym.  A gym that I noted in the survey where I experienced constant sexual harassment and intimidation.  Ironically a summer later focusing on soccer routines in my apartment got me in better shape physically than I’ve ever been.  And yet here I am.  Lonely old man on the internet.  Lonely old handsome man on the internet.  I’m not trying to hit on anyone.  No new friends.  I write these mostly for my friends and the people I care deeply about.   The results used to be mostly apparent online.  These days it bleeds into the streets I walk daily.  Sometimes that is very hard to interpret but it’s easier when I’m open to receiving it.   People have heavy expectations on me.  This I’m fine with.  We live in a society after all.  And yet there are often times I want to lash out.  Mostly these days there are times I draw the line and set the boundaries.  I’m mad as hell and can’t take it anymore.  And my resistance to things looks far different than that of a Joker or even a Batman.  But I’m still just like you.  Often horny but never inappropriately so.  At least not in public.  That’d be fucked up.  And yet we still live in a society where men feel bothered by that very concept.  Their libidos enslaved and their expectations denied.  Who entitled these clowns to anything?  It’s called involuntary celibacy for a reason.  What makes people uncomfortable is the modern white male heterosexual’s expectation for sex.  Therein lies a problem to be engineered and solved in your life not a complete mental fucking breakdown.  This is why we can’t have nice things.  Thank you Mr. Incel.

My longest relationship lasted a decade.  It ended in a complex ball of fire where I crash landed in total ash.  There were times when it was amazing.  I don’t think I would have put so much into it at the time if it weren’t.  Never want to go back to that particular shit ever again.  But for whatever reason from there I spent a long time blaming myself.   Mostly feeling sorry for myself and drinking alone.  That evolved into drinking alone on the other side of the planet in places like Korea and Japan.  Then I definitely decided to quit drinking.  A decade later I’m pretty much a virgin again.  Whatever the fuck that means really.  It doesn’t make me any different from anybody else.  I’ve liked a girl for what seems like forever.  But it’s only been this last year where I saw myself in any sort of orbit.  If society is already so claustrophobic I often just want to be silent and alone.  People who can’t stand to be alone often hate themselves secretly.  I’ve been there.  The lowest possible place you could be for a single white heterosexual male.  I’m sure some of my audience revels in those kinds of statements.  Serves the straights right you know.  I ain’t mad at you.  Why should I be.  It’s mostly those communities that have voiced the most valuable criticisms about toxic masculinity.  And yet however good I am there’s still people out there who can’t stand to see me winning.  That’s called saving face.  And I guess the joker does it with a shit ton of clown makeup.  I do it with a daily moisturizer for oily skin.  It is true that society as a whole shares the blame.  So instead of lashing out why not just drop out of society entirely.  Or build society 2.0 the internet portal.  Society in orbit around the planet in the ISS.  You feel like you can take on the entire weight of the planet.  The joker is not Galactus.  These pieces of shit know they’re worthless and weak.  They run on reaction and pure adrenaline. They want to end with the most hurt incurred possible.  They want people to feel how bad they feel inside.  And I’ve been there.  And I realized nobody would want to share a side of my bed with that kind of attitude.  So  I slept alone night after night and thought about healing instead of suffering.  Still fucking horny.  It never ends.  Do I project that onto people?  Act gross on the internet or in public.  No.  And year after year people have grown to trust that I may not exactly be part of the problem.  Things start to feel romantic again in the strangest way possible.  What does it mean to be sexy and what does it mean to be repulsive?  I don’t think having expectations on other people is sexy at all.  You treat people like objects that way.  Objects can’t love you back.  And you lash out in pain that you can’t mature enough to see people as human first.  You become a twisted Frankenstein in the mirror.  You’ve had it up to here.  Nobody will ever love me.   Nobody has time for me.  Nobody around here anyway.  I’m glad honestly because I’m saving all my love for you.  People don’t get that.  I do.  And I see it reflected back at me in the streets.  A different kind of expectation.  A different kind of trust.  A different take on being a man.  A different kind of joke entirely.

And so here a troubled Conan sits on his throne seemingly without a queen.  What does he do?  Wage war on the struggles he was built upon?  Search for peace?  Go back to being a Barbarian and a thief probably.  That’s what I’d do.  Politics these days is the closest thing to dark sorcery.  And Conan hates dark sorcery.  I’m the one walking around in the streets being called a witch.  My only witchcraft has been inclusiveness.  And that includes me.  I’m as sexually frustrated as anybody else out there.  Frustration isn’t exactly sexy in all cases.  Just do something about it.  And what men mostly do with it has been ugly.  You’d think with so much failure out there it’d be easy to see the successes.  Male frustration is something people have grown to actually fear with good reason.  Systemic racism, homophobia, transphobia, religious intolerance, controlling behavior and whatever else you want to throw onto the heaping trash pile of toxic white male American Heterosexual identity in 2019.  I’m supposed to tell you I’m different.  Trust me babe.  If I know anything about America and the English language people love to talk about what they do.  How they’d build that time machine and save Anne Frank.  Sometime after brunch or expensive coffee.  The mind fuck is you have to do something about it.  And it’s more likely for me to solve the problem of toxic masculinity for myself and thrive than to just talk about it.  Solve it for the world when the world doesn’t listen.  I’ve been talking about it on the internet lonely for years.  Now people won’t stop hassling me in the streets.  I’m surrounded by an army of Pink backpacks at all times.  Cloistered together like bandits in the morning.  Some sort of tribal reaction to an assault on the very fabric of society.  You wake up one day and realize you are on the other side of the movement.  You didn’t expect to be but you deserve it.  And instead of lashing out you’ve worked to build a society that includes you.  That understands your frustrations and appreciates how you work to perfect them.  I’ve spat at the ground more times than anybody knows this summer.  I’m crying as I write this.  And I know it won’t get any better if I act like a child and kick over the sandcastles we all built together.  And yet society doesn’t stop fucking with you.  Nobody is happy.  Nobody goes out and takes life by the throat gently.  If they do they’re pathological, sociopathic and gross about it.  There’s no Crom above to judge them.  And the rich get richer.  And the scandals get deeper.  And people run around with shirts that I made from the trash and try to sell me guitars under the el tracks by my house.  Sounds like a great place to plant a garden or raise a family.  Maybe one day we can take a family picture in the joker face paint.  Let’s just hope our child doesn’t get expelled from public school because of it.  At least then I won’t be an incel. For now everybody else in the parlance of our times.  “Stay off my dick.” <3 Tim

[thetygre]

30 Day Monster Challenge 2 - Day #9: Favorite Zombie

1.      The Tarman (Return of the Living Dead II)

Tarman is just one of my favorite undead ever. When I look at Tarman, I see all the potential a zombie can have realized. He oozes, he drips, he rots, he’s a living personification of death. There are no mysteries about how the Tarman died, and he incorporates that death into his design. His every movement is jerky, but forceful, giving you the sense that Tarman could punch through a wall if he was hungry enough. The death’s-head face pierces into your soul without malice, but only a crazed and insatiable hunger. But it’s more than just his design; there are hints of a personality in Tarman’s wild eyes, the inklings of instinct. Tarman speaks, and his intellectual musings cut to the philosophical heart of the zombie condition by reaching out and expressing his utmost desire; “MORE BRAINS!”.

2.      Deadites (Evil Dead 2)

So this challenge is kind of different; I’ve split the list between my favorite individual zombies and my favorite ways zombies are handled. And my favorite overall zombie species, so to speak, are the deadites from Evil Dead. The deadites don’t even need to start as zombies; they’re demons possessing people, creatures, and objects. But corpses do seem to be their favorite hosts, and even the living they possess sustain enough wounds to be lethal. It doesn’t really matter to the deadites; as spirits, the line between living and dead is irrelevant to them. What’s even better is that their hosts start to mutate, growing faces, limbs, and deformities. The deadites make me think of Legion from the Bible, the old man full of demons scavenging around graveyards. Not to go around picking favorites, but my favorite deadite design is still Henrietta Knowby from Evil Dead 2; she’s the most deformed you ever see any deadite get in the core movies, and she becomes utterly inhuman.

3.      Lewis Legend (Lollipop Chainsaw)

My favorite of the Dark Purveyors from Lollipop Chainsaw. It was tough call between Lewis and Sid, but Lewis has a guitar that is also a machine gun named ‘Nosferatu’. Just take that in for a moment. Think about how much it rocks. Lewis represents the entire genre of Rock N’ Roll all the way from the beginning, including Johnny Cochran and Chuck Berry. His music is some of the best in the game, blending modern Metal with classic Rock. While he might get the least amount of screentime of the bosses, he makes up for it with an intense and spectacular boss fight. Lewis Legend doesn’t add anything to the zombie mythos or say anything deeper about zombies as an allegory; I just think he’s cool.

4.      Umbrella Zombies (Resident Evil)

There’s a part of me that wants to say I like Resident Evil zombies because they can transform into some of the cooler RE monsters, but I really just like them straight-up in the first game. The Resident Evil zombies feel like the perfect zombies as antagonists. The mixture of their damage resistance and aggressiveness helped form the survival horror genre as a whole. Even to experienced soldiers, a single zombie can be threatening, and can easily become overwhelming or costly. That, to me, is the best embodiment of a zombie and, as weird as it might sound, how I threatening I think they would be in the real world.

5.      Solomon Grundy (DC)

Grundy is a tragic character as a zombie. Frankly speaking, he works better as a reiteration of Karloff’s Frankenstein, but the line between Frankenstein’s monster and zombies has always been kind of blurry. There’s just something folkloric about Solomon Grundy to me; maybe it’s how his name is a rhyme, but I guess associate his quest for personhood with something like a golem or an ogre. Grundy’s a call-back to the old days of comics, the pre-Code time where horror and the undead ran rampant. That mark never really left, even during the Silver Age, and Grundy is a representation of that era. But most of all, I think about the Justice League cartoon, and Grundy’s character there. How he turned around, tried to fight for good, and died, and in doing so found his purpose. And then when he came back again, how heart-wrenching it was to watch Hawkgirl put him down like Old Yeller. That’s the kind of thing that should be done with zombies more often; having to face people at different times in a person’s life, and facing how they’ve both changed.

6.      Ragers (28 Days Later)

28 Day Later fundamentally altered what we expect from zombies. The ragers look the least undead out of all the zombies on this list, and pedants will even point out that they aren’t real zombies. What they are, though, is legitimately terrifying. Ragers’ defining feature is that they are fast, and that makes all the difference. The scene during the first movie in the tunnel still knots my stomach up; the shadows on the walls always gave me the feeling that there was some kind of thought to the ragers’ actions there for some reason. Ragers really can’t survive; they’re a plague that dies out after enough time. But that just makes me think that they’re some kind of fever for the planet; a burst of destruction to cleanse the world before cooling back down.

7.      Church (Pet Sematary)

Zombie kitty! Though maybe not so cuddly as that should be. In fact, kind of horrible and vicious. Church (short for Churchill) is the first creature to get resurrected in Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. When Church gets run over by a truck, his owner’s father Lewis takes him to a forbidden Native burial ground to bring him back in secret. And Church comes back PISSED. That’s why I like Church as a zombie; he actively hates being alive, and he blames Lewis for it. He knows he’s unnatural, that he shouldn’t be moving, so he does everything a cat can do to make his owner suffer. Sometimes, dead is better.

8.      The Witch (Left 4 Dead 2)

Left 4 Dead isn’t the only series with ‘special’ zombies, but it is the only one with the witch. The witch was a female zombie identifiable by her loud, moaning screams. As long as a team was stealthy, they could avoid her; but once she woke up, she was unstoppable. Witches were the bane of many co-op session back when I was in high school. But what I love is the implication of the name; this is a zombie that has evolved past zombie-hood. It has become so powerful that now it’s beginning to become a completely different monster. After the zombie apocalypse, how will society cope with living in a world where monsters are real again? How do we go back to living with goblins, ogres, and witches lurking in the night? It’s a question that I’d love to see explored more.

9.      Emily (Corpse Bride)

Emily is another tragic zombie. Admittedly, she works better as a ghost than a zombie, and she’s not even really undead, but she does briefly return to the world of the living. As you might expect from a Tim Burton creation, Emily is purely gothic, embodying romance, loneliness, and the sins of the past. Aesthetically, I do have to say that I like the blue coloring, and the link between a bridal veil and a funeral veil is always a funny connection to explore. I think I like Emily because she’s representative about how zombies can still explore old themes. And my thing for Helena Bonham Carter.

10.   The Sleeper (Edgar Allan Poe)

Okay, confession time. When I was a kid, I got a book of Edgar Allan Poe poetry for kids filled with creepy-ass illustrations, and the illustration for Poe’s The Sleeper was of a corpse slowly coming out of its tomb and pining at the window. And of course that’s not what the poem is actually about; it’s another Poe poem about the narrator dead love lying in her grave. But the IDEA stuck with me, and I kind of wrapped up all my conceptions about Gothic zombies into that image. Zombies do have a presence in gothic horror; they’re not called ‘zombies’, they’re just walking corpses, but that makes them all the more horrible. These days, we’re so used to zombies as a monster archetype we’ve grown kind of numb to the horror of seeing a loved one rising up from the grave and move around in unnatural agony. Every now and then, I feel, we need to go back to the classics to remind ourselves about how horrible a commonplace trope really is.

[davidcarner]

Chuck and Sarah vs The Breakup Ch 7, Beautiful With You

A/N: I didn't realized I hadn't updated this one in awhile, so I began to work on it, and then I realized why…Jill. It's such a shame, I like Jordana Brewster, but this character….yeah. So I'm condensing Fat Lady and Gravitron into one, just to get it over with. I'm beginning to realize I'm really about to leave cannon completely with the changes I've made because obviously there's no Prague, no Shaw, no Hannah, none of that stuff. Bryce's return should be fun….hehehe…okay, on with this chapter before Mojo01 hunts me down. He needs his laugh quota. Today's chapter title is inspired by Halestorm. Ch 7, Beautiful With You

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck, or Halestorm, but I do own a guitar…that I can't play…I am beautiful with you…You want me for myself…Look at me like no one else…

Sarah smiled at Ellie as she leaned up against the counter at Carmichael Solutions.

"If you look any happier you might explode," Ellie said. Sarah just beamed. John started into the kitchen when he saw Ellie and paused. "Any more bugs in my house, John?" she asked. John shook his head and scampered off.

"Five bucks says he send Morgan in here to get his coffee," Sarah said.

"Perhaps I should talk with him," Ellie said. Sarah laughed.

"He's not happy with Chuck and I right now," Sarah said, a grin on her face. Ellie perked up. Sarah looked around to make sure Chuck was nowhere nearby. "The last mission, we thought we were poisoned, so we jumped in the shower to wash off whatever we could."

"Makes total sense," Ellie said.

"Chuck took off all his clothes," Sarah began and Ellie's smile lit up. "I asked him last night why, and he said he didn't know he shouldn't. He thought he was doing the right thing, I've seen him naked, so, what the heck."

"Again, perfect sense," Ellie said.

"So, Chuck's thinking we're going to die, he's naked, washing me all over, and…" Sarah trailed off.

"And Bob's your uncle," Chuck said, walking in. "Really you have to tell my sister?" Chuck asked.

"I am the physician of this team," Ellie said.

"Co," Chuck said. "And don't you deal more with brains."

"We both know you weren't using your brain right then," she said. Chuck blinked and went back to his coffee. "Casey walked in?" Ellie asked Sarah. She nodded.

"Yes, he got to see my backside, and yelled something about brain bleach," Chuck said. Ellie was crying she was laughing so hard. "But, it gets worse. My diabolical, sexy girlfriend convinced Beckman that Morgan has to be protected, so he's moving in with Casey. That should also help keep Jill from trying to sleep with him, I hope."

"She's bad news," Ellie said.

"Speaking of protection," Sarah began, and Chuck and Ellie both looked at her a little wide-eyed. "Not like that," she said. "Ellie, I need you to look into seeing about getting Chuck some physical skills loaded into the Intersect. He's not going in the field, but if he could protect himself…" Sarah trailed off. Ellie was nodding.

"That makes sense," Ellie agreed, thinking. "Plus, I want to see you flash while you're hooked up so I can scan your brainwaves. I want to make sure there is no damage and make sure it's as smooth as possible. What about physical training? Knowing how is no good if the muscles can't keep up."

"I'm going to be working with him on that part," Sarah said. "We're going to train and spar. Plus I may get Devon to help us. Part of me thinks we should have opened a gym, but I guess Mr. Computer nerd over here would look out of place."

"Hey, the nerd has feelings," Chuck said.

"We're all quite aware," Ellie replied. Morgan came in to get coffee, and Ellie and Sarah began to laugh. "Hey, why don't you come down to the lab and I run some baseline sequences on you?" Chuck shrugged and followed Ellie. He jumped when something hit his backside.

"Sarah, careful," Chuck said.

"Your sister is aware of what we're doing," Sarah said, smiling.

"Not that, you don't want to damage the Intersect," Chuck said. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Chuck, the Intersect is not in your ass," Sarah said, smirking.

"It would explain a lot if it was," Casey said, walking by.

"How does he do that?" Chuck asked.

}o{

Chuck found himself hooked up to a bunch of machines with multiple nodes sticking out of him.

"Did I tell you I once had a dream that you were a modern day Frankenstein?" Chuck said.

"You do mean the doctor, and not Frankenstein's monster?" Sarah replied.

"You know how much I love it when you talk literary nerd to me," Chuck said. Sarah played with the curls that were available to her.

"You mentioned a Fibonacci sequence earlier, what exactly is that?" Sarah asked.

"Tsk, tsk, did you sleep during those classes at Harvard?" Chuck asked.

"I may have been saving the world with the CAT Squad," she said. Chuck flashed. "He's flashing, Ellie!" she yelled.

"Wow!" came Ellie's response watching the monitors.

"Wow!" Chuck said, looking at her. She gave him a wink and leaned down.

"I have that suit at home," she whispered. Chuck's eyes glazed over.

"Sarah, easy," Ellie called. "And don't tell me you didn't do anything, his prefrontal cortex just shut down."

"Sorry, Ellie, I was just playing with my Chuck," she said, grinning.

"Sarah," she said warningly. "Now I know how Chuck feels around me and Devon," she muttered.

}o{

"So it was fruit punch?" Jill asked.

"Rootin' Raspberry flavored Hi-C to be exact," Ellie said, still not comfortable with Jill being there. "I had it run on the mass spectrometer just to be safe."

"Guy is very paranoid and always has crazy ways to even open emails," Jill explained. Chuck was looking at the box.

"High C as in a music?" Chuck asked, looking at the box. Casey cocked his head to the side, and let out a perfect note. The box opened.

"That is so impressive, dude," Morgan said. He turned to Jill. "Isn't that impressive?" She just shook her head, looking at him. Morgan had turned back to Casey. "Why don't you sing in the shower?"

"I do, I just haven't since you moved in," Casey said, shrugging. Morgan shook his head.

"No, no, no, John. You don't cage that heavenly voice on my account," Morgan said. Jill leaned in toward Sarah.

"Should I be worried?" she asked. Sarah shrugged.

"I would have said no, but now…" Sarah trailed off. "Don't let Ellie become single is the one thing I can tell you." Jill leaned away. "I hate this assignment," Jill thought to herself.

}o{

"I don't like this," Chuck said to Sarah.

"I'm not crazy about you doing all you did today," Sarah said. Chuck nodded.

"They had my little buddy, Sarah," Chuck began. After they had found the USB, Morgan and Jill were captured. Chuck called Sarah, with a plan, and she had approved it. The trade happened with no bloodshed and the assassin was captured. Jill asked Morgan to go out with her, and Morgan, having no good reason not to, did. Casey put a tracker on Morgan. Chuck didn't even want to know where it was.

"I know," Sarah replied. "I just didn't like it. I'm just glad you trusted me to tell me."

"I'm glad you listened," he said. Sarah smiled at him.

"Always, Chuck, always." She started to kiss him, when Casey groaned.

"Do you two have to break in everyplace you are together with your bodily fluids?" Casey asked.

"I'm pretty sure it was in the new agreement Sarah and I signed," Chuck said.

"Common spy problems, Casey," Sarah said. Casey grunted, and then grunted again. The second one got Chuck's attention. He looked up, saw Jill was Fulcrum, then saw her codename, Sandstorm, and flashed. Sarah looked at him, he nodded, and they all dashed out of the room without a word said.

}o{

"Don't worry, Jill, it happens to a lot of people," Morgan said. "Everyone just thinks it's easy, but then they try it, and they're so wrong."

"But I can dance!" Jill retorted, hating this assignment.

"But as we can see you can't Dance, Dance Revolution can you," he said smiling. Jill just stared at him. "Yeah, let me go get some ice for that ankle you twisted." Jill waved him off, and was stunned when Chuck crashed into Morgan.

"You're okay!" Chuck said.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Morgan replied, confused. Chuck looked over at Jill.

"Oh, Jill was the one hurt," Chuck said, thinking fast. Casey and Sarah ran up behind Chuck, looking worried. "Calm down, guys," he said turning to them. "It's not that bad."

"Yeah, she only sprained her ankle," Morgan said slowly, trying to figure out what was going on. Sarah looked like she could cry and grabbed Morgan in her best Ellie simulated hug she could muster. When she let go, she looked as thought she was wiping tears from her face.

"But, how did they know I was hurt?" Jill asked.

"Well, you know Casey, he's worried about his little buddy," Chuck said. "You know, the way you broke my heart, he wants to be nearby. The big guy is worried." Casey wanted to throw up in his mouth, but he quickly gave Morgan a hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright," he said, and shot Chuck a death glare where only Sarah and Chuck could see it.

"I can't save you from this," Sarah whispered.

"Totally worth dying for," Chuck whispered back. Casey let Morgan go, and walked off.

"I've got to get some ice," Morgan said, and Chuck walked away with him. When they were out of earshot for Chuck, he pulled out a phone. "This is Jill's phone, it got a text." Chuck looked at it, it said Have you heard from Uncle Tobias? – Mom, and he flashed. The flash let him read the code, Meet Leader, Urgent.

"Jill is Fulcrum," Chuck said, shaking his head.

"We know," Morgan replied.

"No, she's been confirmed," Chuck explained.

"Thank God, there was no way I was sleeping with her, man how did you stand her all those months," Morgan asked. Chuck gave him a look. "Sorry, bro," he said, realizing that was a bit of a shot. "Now I can get out of here." Chuck just looked at him. "NO, Chuck, no!" Chuck gave a tight smile. "You're lucky you're my best friend."

"Sarah said we get a Call of Duty night," Chuck offered. Morgan thought.

"Chance of dying by an enemy organization, or a Call of Duty night," Morgan said.

"On the big TV?"

"Sold!"

}o{

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked Chuck. They were in their apartment, after Jill had been taken back to her place. Morgan was with Casey, talking about the best way to prune a bonsai tree.

"You mean am I okay, that my former girlfriend works for a terrorist organization and my best friend is having to fake date her, while the tree of us just sit here and watch?" Chuck asked. Sarah gave him a tight smile. "No, I'm not, but you're here with me, and I know you'll watch him, just like you would me. So, that means he's safe." Sarah just stared at him, and Chuck was looking around again. "I swear you don't move anything, so I'm not 100% sure that noise is coming from you."

"Bartowski," she said, making Chuck's eyes go wide. "I'm going to need you to lock it in so I can focus." Chuck gulped. "Unless you can tell me something to stop…this…you need to stay quiet."

"Once this is over, you're going to owe Morgan several Call of Duty night," Chuck said.

"That's a start," she said.

"No, you don't understand, all four of us," Chuck said. Sarah blinked several times.

"You mean, Casey and I have to join you?" she asked. Chuck waited for the explosion, but what happened he wasn't expecting. "You mean," she said, laughing. "I get to watch you and Morgan constantly kill Casey in the game, while you go on about one of your sandwich debates?" Sarah was laughing so hard she was having trouble breathing. She had been sitting on the arm of the couch beside Chuck, but with that, she fell onto the couch, her head on his shoulder, guffawing. Chuck heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" he yelled. Sarah was slapping his leg, while still laughing. Morgan walked in and he saw her. He held you his hand. Chuck leaned forward, Sarah fell behind him, still laughing. Chuck stood, pulled out his wallet and handed Morgan twenty bucks. "I still don't know how you got this right and I didn't."

"Simple," Morgan said. "In the past she has asked me to talk with you about sandwiches to keep you busy. I didn't know why, but at the time she was near tears laughing. Now I understand." Chuck turned to look at her, impressed with her deviousness.

"You are absolutely evil," Chuck said with a grin. Sarah, with tears streaming down her face and still laughing just nodded.

"Wait til April Fool's Day!" she said.

"I feel like your great romance with Casey is over," Chuck said. Sarah snorted and rolled her eyes. Morgan looked confused, so Chuck explained it to him. After he was done, Morgan was laughing, and then remembered why he was there.

"I just came to warn you, Ellie just burst into mine and John's apartment," Morgan said. Chuck looked confused. "The very Awesomes are coming." Chuck groaned. "Something about a cleaning team to your sister's apartment?" Chuck began to laugh.

"Does Ellie realize that you can't just misappropriate a cleaning team like that, and that's not really what one is for?" Sarah asked, sobering up. Chuck looked at her.

"You think John wants to cross Ellie, especially given the past few weeks?" Chuck asked. Sarah smiled.

"This assignment has turned out better than I thought," Sarah said.

"

"She also told John he needed to have them come up with a perfectly cooked Turkey, or he wasn't invited to Thanksgiving," Morgan said. "Casey tried to get her to uninvite me, but she said I was dealing with Jill, so there was no way." He paused and got a faraway look in his eye. "She still wants me."

"Buddy, you realize her future in-laws are coming," Chuck said. Morgan waved his hand.

"Minor details, Buddy, minor details," Morgan said going away to his Ellie happy place again.

"Doesn't that bother you a little knowing he's thinking of your sister like that?" Sarah asked softly. Chuck turned, gave her a look, and walked away. "I'm sorry," she called after him.

}o{

"I feel like this is all I ask you on this mission, but are you okay?" Sarah asked Chuck. Chuck ran his hand through his hair.

"You mean my ex-girlfriend trying to give us the slip and taking Morgan on a Farris Wheel ride the way I did her back at Stanford and then tried to hand her over to Leader, nah…all good," Chuck said.

"Two things, one, good work on figuring out where Morgan and Jill were, two, I know your all good's and that's not an all good," Sarah said. "Chuck, you wouldn't be you if this didn't bother you." Chuck turned to her.

"This is hard, because of what we are," he began. Sarah nodded and Chuck took a deep breath. "Her and I are so over, in fact, I'm not sure we ever were, because I may have been nothing more to her than a mission." Sarah pressed her lips together in silent agreement. "It still bothers me, and that bothers me. I am with the greatest woman I ever met, and yet this woman who has done nothing but cause me pain…." He looked up at her. "You deserve better than this, and I'm sorry."

"Wait, you're apologizing over how Jill is making you feel?" Sarah asked, stunned.

"Yeah, you don't deserve…Sarah? Not again!" Chuck said, hearing the low growl.

"Bartowski, you are hurting and you're worried about me!" she said, slowly walking toward her. Chuck started rolling back in his chair, but the wheel caught on something. He looked down, and by the time he looked back up, she had managed to straddle him. He gulped. "I've got something to make you forget her," she said as sultrily as she could. A minute later a door opened and Ellie walked in.

"Hey, Sarah, Oh! Excuse me!" she said. Sarah shot off her lap, and straightened her clothes. Chuck sat there, his mind gone. "What did he do?"

"He's worried about how it hurts me for him to be upset during this Jill mission," Sarah said. Ellie shook her head.

"Casey and Morgan have a location," she said. "You will be at Thanksgiving, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for anything," Sarah said, grabbing Chuck's hand, pulling him up, and leading him off. Ellie just watched them go, and headed into the room with Jill.

}o{

"Chuck, you need to watch this," Sarah said, bringing up the footage while they were gone. They both watched as Jill, hooked to a lie detector test, told Ellie, that she did love Chuck, that what they had was real, and that she didn't cheat on Chuck with Bryce. Sarah stood there quietly.

"It doesn't matter," Chuck said shrugging.

"I mean she could fool the test, that's true," Sarah said. Chuck turned to her, smiling.

"No, it doesn't matter, I'm with the woman of my dreams, the woman of my future, and the woman I want to spend the rest of my days with," he said, grinning, and putting his hand to his ear. "I swear I-" Sarah pounced. Ellie and John walked in five minutes later.

"Chuck," John began. "Oh what the fresh hell, my eyes!" John screamed.

"I need brain bleach!" Ellie screamed as she and John ran out of the room together.

}o{

"Good work, Sarah," Beckman said during their debriefing. "This could have gone horribly wrong at many points." Sarah nodded in agreement.

"Without the relationship of trust and honesty he and I have been working on…" Sarah shook her head and looked away for a minute. "He could have let her go, hell, General, most civilians like him would have."

"Did you ever see a moment where you thought he would?" Beckman asked. Sarah shook her head. "Then I think it's time to take this to the next level." Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Obviously, it would be best if you didn't do seductions any longer, I believe it would impact Chuck negatively, plus it would affect his ability to access the Intersect," she said with a smile. Sarah gave a tight smile and nodded. "You need another female member, and I'm not sure which way to go. There are two candidates, but only one is currently available."

"Is it Carina?" Sarah asked, wincing. "She's my friend, General, but she's…"

"Unreliable?" Beckman offered. Sarah nodded. "No, Sarah, we won't be using her right now. She is unavailable, instead we are going to try a different agent, and she WILL report to you, have no doubt. Agent Alex Forrest will be joining the team. Let's not tell her about the Intersect until you are sure she can be read in with few problems." Sarah nodded. "Happy Thanksgiving, Sarah." And with that the screen went blank. Sarah left her apartment and made her way over to Ellie and Devon's.

"Where's the Very Awesomes?" Sarah asked.

"Couldn't make it," Chuck answered. "Instead we got to add Lester and Jeff."

"Oh, goody," she said. Chuck gave her a light shoulder bump and she chuckled. "We're getting a new member to help with missions, specifically ones that would negatively affect our asset and his special skill." Chuck grinned and pointed toward his head. She smiled and nodded. "Keep that special skill to your self right now, until she's read in." Chuck nodded. "Chuck, seriously, thank you, that mission could have gone wrong so many ways."

"Sarah, thank you, for being there with me every step of the way, because without you…I probably done something stupid," Chuck admitted. Sarah smiled.

"I'm really liking my new permanent assignment," she said.

"I hear the asset is enjoying it himself," Chuck said. He turned to her. "I despise you, Sarah Walker." She gave him a quick kiss.

"I despise you," she replied.

"Break it up, you two," Casey grumbled as he walked by.

"He's jealous," Chuck loud whispered to Sarah. "I heard him tell Morgan he's never been happier with a building in his life." Sarah shook her head.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Nerd." Sarah said, shoulder bumping him.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Sarah," Chuck said, kissing her forehead and pulling her close.

A/N: …Does it make it weak if you're needing someone I'm not hold back and I know what I want…Til next time!

DC

[rodger-that-studios]

The (Actual) Final Countdown Part 2

My Top 20 Albums - Part 2

The ten following albums are sheer musical perfection, and in no order, I’m going to recommend that you check them out.

Did I say recommend?

I meant damn near demand.

It’s live. Lets go.

10 – Reggatta De Blanc – The Police – 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPwMdZOlPo8

Take a bow, Stewart Copeland

The Police were, simply, a revolutionary band.

We’re not going to talk about Sting on his own, though.

Why were they revolutionary? That’s easy. They combined so many elements when making music it was as if Dr Frankenstein signed a record deal. Reggae? Check. Rock? Check. You want falsetto? Opera? yeah, it’s in there. RDB was definitely their magnum opus, the Michelangelo’s David of their remarkable discography.

There are so many remarkable tunes here. Let’s have a crash course, shall we?

Message in a Bottle is an incredible song. It’s almost transformative, as if it starts as one genre, a rock and roll record, and then becomes something else. Once Mr Copeland starts to flex his muscles on the kit it changes and becomes a Reggae-licious affair. It’s unlike anything else I’ve ever heard, and it floors me every single time. Also offered here is some truly genius lyricism. Sting remarks that it “Seems I’m not alone in being alone”. How melancholy and unique is that? It’ll make your head spin, but god is it worth it.

The other knockout tune here is Walking on The Moon. Safe to say the lyrics are simple. Giant steps are indeed what you must take when you walk on the moon. Not all the lyrics are as profound as Message in a Bottle, but for me, with this song, it’s all about the drums. I fell in love with all things Stewart Copeland when I first heard this. Stewart is in his own little bubble here, and he knocks me for six every single time, especially the fill he cheekily adds before the final chorus. That is nothing short of magical. It’s a stunning performance, much like this is a stunning album.

9 – Greatest Hits of The Cure – The Cure – 2001

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3nPiBai66M

warm fuzzy feeling

The Cure are one of those mythical groups that have very few bad songs. I know the musical puritans among you will slate me for including a compilation album rather than the original works (it’s not the SAME, WILL), but this is just a silly list, after all, it’s really not worth you getting so worked up over.

As far as the album is concerned it features most of the usual suspects, but a few songs stand out to me, even at 20 years old. My mother first showed me our first standout, Just Like Heaven when I was no older than ten. It was captivating to me that someone could pour so much happiness into three and a half minutes. Originally the song came during that transformative phase of the band’s career when they went from their gothic ‘I hate everybody’ origins to ‘Friday I’m In Love’.

Wow

Yeah

Quite a change.

But Just Like Heaven is an ode to falling in love for the first time. It’s quite a beautiful thing to behold really. Also, my mum and I still sing it together and I’m almost 21. That still makes me smile.

Boys Don’t Cry is one of those songs that you’ll find yourself singing even if you have no idea what Robert Smith is talking about.

Boys Do Cry.

Honestly it’s gorgeous. It’s honest and emotional, which is where the best songs come from. That about sums up this album actually. It has a profound sense of emotion and a lust for life. Not one to miss.

8 – The Colour And The Shape – Foo Fighters – 1997

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBG7P-K-r1Y

This one will blow your socks off

If you’ve had the pleasure of reading my piece about my recent, ahem, experiences at the 2019 Reading Festival, then you’ll know how I feel about the Foo Fighters. They are one of the greatest, if not the pinnacle rock band of the last 20 years, and if you’re hoping to get into them, this album is the perfect diving board.

Following the death of Kurt Cobain in ’94, Dave Grohl, the guy in the Foos who looks an awful lot like the drummer from Nirvana, channeling his inner mad scientist, started a new project. The result was The Foo Fighters.

So logically a mere 3 years later they dropped this seminal, uncomfortably incredible record.

Every song on the tracklist is a home run, but there is something truly transcendent about a little ditty called Everlong. It’s a four-minute voyage into unrequited love and not wanting things to ever change, wanting things to stay the same. That’s the perfect description for the track because once you’ve listened to it, you never want to un-hear it. It’s remarkably simple, just Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins and the rest of the band making love to your eardrums with hypersonic mastery.

Side note – maybe I’m babbling because of how much I freaking love this song, or maybe it’s just that good. I guess you’ll have to listen to find out.

I’m having to restrain myself from gushing about every single song on this thing. Its one of those records that will never leave your memory once you’ve listened to it a few times. The Foos are an amazing collective of awesome haircuts, amazing instrumental technicality, and genius lyrics.

If I had to choose one other song to personally recommend (and it can’t be all of them) then I’d have to go for Monkey Wrench. It’s one of the most energetic rock songs you’ll ever hear. It’s angry, but that anger is harnessed by Dave and the boys and transformed it into a ridiculously cool song and indeed album. Kick. Ass.

7 – Black Holes and Revelations – Muse – 2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZIk5wIq2Qw

It’s about the song people, not the film

Oh Hell Yes.

Muse, but more specifically their jack of all trades irritatingly talented frontman Matt Bellamy have always had fans. They’re a fabulous band after all, but when this album came out in the summer of 2006 Muse went from strength to strength, and it’s not hard to see why this album is held in such high esteem by die-hard Muse fans the world over.

This is Muse at their most theatrical and most powerful. The lyrics are profound, the guitars are loud and the vocals are up in the stratosphere. Its a rock opera, an odyssey of epic proportions. Also the first standout, Supermassive Black Hole gained new notoriety when it was used for that scene in Twilight where the vampires play baseball (you know the one. don’t lie).

But there are other songs here that will leave you stunned. Let’s take Map of the Problematique for example. Its a brilliant bloody song, with Dominic Howard beating the shit out of the drums to create an almost trance-like listening experience, complete with soaring harmonies from Bellamy to boot. Its so cool. Bottom line.

And before we move on there’s the tiny little tiny matter of Starlight, which is one of the best songs the band has ever written, and my personal favourite of the album. It’s soaring. A song for the ages about wanting to be with that one person that means more to you than you could ever put into words. You need to experience it, but we’ve all felt those feelings. That’s why it works.

6 – Sweet Baby James – James Taylor – 1970

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOIo4lEpsPY

‘Who’s cutting onions in here?

Way back at the start of our list I warned that Mr Taylor may be making a cheeky appearance, and look who’s rocked up. I’m a man of my word.

This album is a family favourite, and one of the first albums that Mum and I ever listened to together. She used to sing me, Sweet Baby James, before I went to sleep every night, and I still get that same warm fuzzy feeling every time I listen to it. I’d never heard such a beautiful song before but I knew what that meant after the first time I heard some of the songs on this album. Taylor was an incredible songwriter and truly one of the greatest talents of his generation.

That talent is reinforced with our next song, Fire and Rain (tears, already). The song is melancholy and painful to listen to. But its not pain in a bad way its as if its a necessary pain to go trough because you know things will get better soon. Thats what I think Taylor was going for. The song has a certain distance to it, almost. The lyrics are desperately sad, but the instrumentation and interpretation that Taylor places round them is sonorous and achingly beautiful to listen to. The song is like an old friend after you’ve listened to it a few times. It simply will never let you down. Thats the perfect description for Taylor’s 1970 magnum opus. It will always be with you.

And side note – who knows if the ever speculated relationship between James Taylor and Carole King was real, or if it ever materialised. Frankly that doesn’t matter. If it was true that they wrote this album together, then that will only make your love for the record increase. Two people came together and made a fabulous and timeless piece of artwork. Well done them I say.

5 – Escapology – Robbie Williams – 2002

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHdvQmA2Ws8

Damn this is some funky shit

This was another album I couldn’t get enough of growing up.

Take That split up back in 1996, and Robbie Had been going it alone (and doing rather well for himself) for a good few years when this gem came out in 2002. The main reason Escapology is so resonant with me and still so relatable even in my 20 year old head is because of two things;

The honesty and realism of Williams’ lyrics

The unstoppable partnership between Williams and the albums super producer, Guy Chambers.

Escapology was a new direction for Williams. It was completely different from Life Thru A Lens (1997) I’ve Been Expecting You (1998) and Swing When You’re Winning (2000). Now don’t get me wrong. All three of those albums were great too, but this one would go down as being historically different.

The cream of the crop here, in my ever-humble opinion, is a tie between Something Beautiful and Feel. The former is a cheerful, life-affirming ode to happiness and prosperity, while the latter is a brutally honest and beautifully written song about wanting to find happiness. Maybe there’s a theme that connects the two, but they’re different in almost every other way, and both iconic because of it.

But that’s not where the magic ends with this album. Later on, in the stellar tracklist you’ll find Hot Fudge. This is one of the funkiest songs Robbie and Chambers ever wrote, and one listen to the thing will prove to you why. Its three minutes of killer keyboards, awesome vibes and that trademark Robbie Williams tongue-in-cheek.

Basically, this album is awesome. Get the message? Check it out.

4 – American Idiot – Green Day – 2004I don’t even have to explain this one. I wrote a piece about why this album was ahead of its time.

You can find that here. This one is special, but unbelievably it’s only in fourth. So lets press on.

https://wordpress.com/view/thefriendlycritic.org

Oh my god

OH MY GODDDDD

We’ve reached PODIUM POSITIONS PEOPLE

Look alive sunshine

I’m EXCITED!

Okay okay home stretch lets do this.

3 – Hotel California – Eagles – 1976

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tcXblWojdM

AIR GUITAR

I’ve always been in complete awe of The Eagles. They’re a bunch of freaking rockstars. Living legends. And boy do they know it.

This is the album that gave them that status.

Its a masterpiece. An absolute fucking masterpiece. I’ll try and explain why without squealing with glee.

The title track is the musical equivalent of willingly losing your mind. It’s a drug trip made of sound waves. It’s remarkable and will change the way you think about music. Probably forever. It almost goes beyond how the song actually sounds with this one, although HC does also happen to feature the single greatest guitar solo I’ve ever heard. Glen Fry, take a bow up there you beautiful man. We all miss you.

The lyrics warn you that you ‘can check out any time you like, but you can never leave’.

But let me ask you

If being held hostage by narcotics in blissful ignorance of your situation (somewhere in the desert) sounds this good, why the hell would you ever want to leave?

This song is that good. And its only track ONE.

This album is one of those mythical records that will surprise you more and more every time you listen to it. We continue with New Kid in Town and later Life In The Fast Lane. These are two equally beautiful, but vastly different songs. New Kid is quite melancholy when you first listen to it, but it grows on you. It makes sense really considering the song is about wanting to be accepted. Fry, Henley and the rest of the band really flex their instrumental muscles here, and the result is glorious.

Fast Lane is a different beast, though.

It’s my personal favourite on the album, and it features Glenn Fry at his most untouchable. A guitar hero if ever there was one. This song rocks, this song rolls and this song does basically everything in between. Its a song you can listen to in any mood and you’ll instantly feel better because of it. The harmonies here are phenomenal too.

Just like the rest of the album. Incredible.

2 – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles – 1967

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naoknj1ebqI

Uh, no clues for what they wrote this one about.

The silver medal goes to the fab four.

Everything these four incredible people achieved together, every album they released, every record they broke (that’s destroyed) simply added to their mythos.

The Beatles aren’t a band anymore, people, they’re practically a religion.

If you had the unenviable task of choosing a magnum opus album-wise, then Sgt Pepper makes a fabulous case for itself. It’s my personal favourite, but of course my opinion should play no part in how you choose to discover this band. They were the greatest pop group and the greatest songwriters of the modern age. You all know the stories, believe them. They’re most certainly true.

Sgt Pepper is, to be frank, the Bayeux Tapestry of 20th-century songwriting.

It touches on some incredible subject matter. Some of it is heartbreaking, some of it is exhilarating, all of it is perfection. Where do we even start with this thing? The title track and With a Little Help From My Friends sets the tone and begins to tell a story that spans the entire length of the album. Its a story of overcoming adversity and finding solace in each other, in people you care about. For that to be put so effortlessly into an album is why this one will live forever. It had never been done before, and odds are it will never be done again.

My personal favourite song here though is surprisingly easy for an album that cannot be categorised. That honour goes to A Day in The Life. Up until I discovered the album you’ll see momentarily at number one, this was the greatest song I’d ever heard. Even at 20, the song cracks my top three tunes ever. This is why.

I almost don’t consider this a song. It’s a narrative. A script, if you will. Lennon, McCartney, Starr, and Harrison guide each listener through exceptionally ordinary activities, catching the bus, oversleeping and waking up late for work, watching television.

Therein lies the genius of the piece, because what’s the best way to make a song memorable.

Easy. Make it relevant to everyone all at once.

I feel like the song gives off a profound sense of loneliness as if while you’re listening you’re just drifting, blissfully unaware. But it makes it so strikingly relevant to everything we do collectively in society today. Everyone has these feelings. Everyone knows where The Beatles are coming from.

Truly outstanding songs talk to you. You don’t listen to them as such, they speak to you, and you listen. I think A Day in The Life is the epitome of that. The song will affect each listener differently. But eventually, you’ll realise why it’s so resonant, so incredible. You’ll understand what it means to you, and you alone.

That is what Sgt Pepper as an album facilitates. Each listener will judge it how they see fit, but to me, it is truly almost perfect.

But it isn’t my greatest album of All Time.

This is.

1 – Fleetwood Mac – Rumours – 1977

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqjXn2NflqU

It’s a masterpiece, people.

What do you all know of heartbreak?

Simply, you don’t forget when your heartbreaks.

If you don’t immediately understand the significance of that then odds are you haven’t felt it yet.

Fleetwood Mac were the first band that truly changed my life. Once I understood Rumours it changed my outlook on where the future would take me.

Honestly the first time I listened to it I didn’t understand it. It took a few tries. But one fateful day I started it and everything clicked into place in my head. I was captivated, and sobbing uncontrollably by the end. I knew I wanted a career in music because of this thing.

The album was released in 1977, and it came at a turbulent time in the lives of the members of the band. The married Mick Fleetwood began a torrid and publicised affair with Stevie Nicks, who was married to Lindsey Buckingham. Meanwhile, the other members of the Band John and Christie McVeigh were also on the brink of divorce.

So basically everything was going wrong.

Rumours was the band’s response to the chaos, the eye of the hurricane and the light at the end of the tunnel.

Each song here is more like a thrilling story, and two of the most memorable are Dreams and Go Your Own Way. The incredible thing here is that these two songs are written from the perspectives of Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood respectively.

ABOUT THE SAME ARGUMENT

Dreams is brutal. Nicks’ lyrics tear into an unknown (but known) person who doesn’t want the same things as she does. It’s angry, bitter and painful stuff.

But even with the darkest subject matter, there’s an undeniable beauty to it. The lyric ‘women they will come and they will go’ will undoubtedly tear you to pieces. Its as if Nicks knows she isn’t good enough, but sings through the pain and uncertainty anyway.

The song, and album, almost reminds me of the music played by those brave musicians on the Titanic. They knew the inevitability of the ship going down but played on with courage. This song makes you feel desperately sorry for the circumstances under which it was written, but it will captivate you from start to finish.

But all stories have two sides

Go Your Own Way is the equally spiteful response to the story of Dreams. Fleetwood lays into an unknown (yet known) woman about how he’s feeling. Again the pain telegraphed here will leave you breathless, just as before.

The lyrics here are what makes the song so remarkable. Fleetwood almost begs for forgiveness but doesn’t back down. He tells the recipient that ‘packing up, shacking up’s all you want to do’. That line destroys me because again its a story of how both parties must have known what was coming.

Yet they bravely knew that the show had to go on.

Every song here is much like these two highlights. Just as heartbreaking, just as melancholy and just as stunning. The adjectives I could use to describe this seminal album just go on and on, so I’ll be blunt.

After almost 21 years Rumours is (thus far) the greatest album I’ve ever heard. I hope you find something to love within it too.

So

Deep Breath

Rest those eyes

We made it

It’s been a pleasure, and it’s been a wild ride. I sincerely hope that each person reading this was happy to dive into my head and pick my brain for a few albums.

I may be a professional musician, which means I’m probably biased, but that’s the amazing thing about music. It means different things to different people.

That means each person can react to this list however they want to.

Get listening. It’s been fun

[eyesaremosaics]

I loved your last two zodiac posts! Can you describe how you feel about Aquarius?

My father is an Aquarius. Aquarians are the biggest mystery of them all aren’t they? You know that quote from that blink 182 song where he says: “I traced the cord back to the wall, no wonder, it was never plugged in at all.” That is Aquarius.

They are always in the next moment, dreaming seamless dreams. They are poor listeners because of their active imagination running away with them constantly. They create their own world–for sure. They are Alice through the looking glass. They are a kaleidoscope. They are that stock character talking about random things in the background. They are the rainbow after the storm, the silver lining, the political protest, the Renaissance. They are revolution, they are unconventional lifestyles, they are the best of friends and the worst of lovers (not that they are bad in bed, they are very frisky and experimental. They just don’t do committed relationships very well. They like to be in the romantic longing, or outright refuse connection altogether).

Though fun and exciting, true intimacy is alien to them. So accustomed to living in their own world, everything else is like an intrusion. They enjoy spinning their web for others to see and admire in its unusual beauty, but they only want you at an arms length distance. They are not emotionally centered, they are intellectually centered. Very “in their head” at all times. When an emotion happens to them, they don’t know how to process it. It just sort of comes up like projectile vomit, and everyone has to drop everything they are doing to attend to them, but if you are hurting–they just cold shoulder you and shrug it off. They can’t easily access emotion unless they have water in their chart. If they have fire, they are ultra creative.

Aquarians are the friends who always have their door open to you. You are always welcome to stay over, they are always down to travel, go to a concert, try something fun and spontaneous. You will never be bored with an Aquarian. They are always off in another dimension. Speaking random truths from the ether, or just completely denying any existence of that “space traveler” in them.

Aquarians are outraged by social injustice, and are natural humanitarians. That is… Unless they have a bunch of cap and Pisces like my dad. That makes him very dark and bitter a lot of the time, however, Aquarians by nature are silly, offbeat and playful. They will fascinate you with their keen insight and unique sense of humor. They march to the beat of their own drum, and are very objectively curious.

Aquarians are great and restructuring, or finding alternative routes or ways of thinking. Their mind traces every avenue, and often they have a wisdom, which seems to come out of left field at times. It is hard for them to line up with their emotions, but when they do it is so pure.

Aquarians generally vibe well with Aries and Sag because they are truth tellers. You will get a bare bones, straight answer out of them. However, their colorful imagination gives them a more delicate delivery as opposed to these fiery counterparts. Aquarius has a dreamy, yet very no-nonsense approach to most things. It is much more appealing to them to return to their own world as quickly as possible. Giving information will only be done when absolutely necessary, and at lengthy intervals. As social as they can be (especially with fire in their chart), they are the sign that most appreciates and values solitude.

They are champions of justice, and can’t stand to be a bystander. If something goes on that they don’t approve of, they will make it known. They are crusaders by nature, nothing fills them with more purpose than joining a meaningful cause. A good example of an aquarian in this position is Abraham Lincoln.

They march to the beat to their own drum, and follow a music that only they can hear. Aquarius are known for being free and independent thinkers that come to their own conclusions about things, as a result they don’t hold much stock in gossip or other people’s opinions. They are much more interested in coming to their own conclusions. They rarely (if ever) judge a book by it’s cover and prefer to keep an open mind when meeting new people, walking into unfamiliar surroundings, or new situations.

They are horrible liars. Like a kid with their hand caught in the cookie jar, “Oh gee I thought it was mine.” My dad was a flagrant womanizer, and could never keep all his affairs straight. When an aquarian is put in a position where they feel they are unable to tell the truth, they prefer to remain silent. It’s better to say nothing at all, hoping no one will notice so they don’t have to say anything, because it is actually deeply rooted in their nature to be brutally honest.

Also, aquarians live and breathe music. More than any other sign in my experience. I get my good taste in music from my father. When he was a young teen back in England, he kept handwritten catalogs rating albums and live performances, comparing artisits etc. He took me to my first concert at 12 years old, and it’s still an important tradition for us. Going to concerts are most of my favorite memories with my dad. For Aquarius, everything is better with music. An Aquarian I dated back as a teenager was in a band, and he idolized Tom Waits along with the Jesus and Mary Chain.

Negative side to aquarians is their fixed opinions, and determination to take the road less traveled. They need to do it their own way, and don’t listen to reason a lot of the time. They also brood, over analyzing things to a point that ALMOST puts Virgo to shame. Aquarians are also wickedly sarcastic. They are hilarious, and sharp as a tack. Even aries remains amused and interested in whatever aquarius has to say. They have keen insight, and unique observations to offer others.

Aquarius is selective about who they allow into their ‘inner circle’ and prefer quality over quantity when it comes to intimate connections.They would much rather have a handful of solid friends that they can depend on than a tonne of random name droppers who aren’t really invested. They don’t often show emotions, they feel them, but it is such an unfamiliar disconnect for them that they need solitude to get their head back on straight. Also, in a darker aspect, they are so detached from their own inner life that they can’t be present with anyone else’s feelings. If you go to them for advice, they seem agitated and tell you to “deal with it”, but if they have a problem….everyone needs to drop everything to attend to their feelings. That has been my one pet peeve with them.

They are incredibly independent and self reliant. A friend of mine hopped trains across country in proper aquarian joie de vivre. They have a huge desire to make it on their own. They hate taking hand outs or charity from others. They’d rather starve. My father is the master of this, and never asks for help when he really needs it.

Aquarians often feel deeply misunderstood, and that the world is against them, or that people just don’t “get” them at all. They embrace change, and can be quite unpredictable, almost erratic in their behavior. They come out of left field with something… all intense like and you are suddenly asking yourself: “where did you come from??”

Aquarians are the ultimate “James Dean” trope. A rebel without a cause, they hate being told what to do, or how to think. My father resents being forced into catholic school like you would not believe, and is now convinced that catholicism is bullshit (which I agree) and hat we are actually an alien experiment. My dad is a conspiracy theorist to the max. Another interesting thing about Aquarius, is that they actually LEARN from their mistakes, and they never make the same mistake twice. My dad has no problem washing his hands of something and never looking back. Although… contrarily, they want to believe the best in people, and believe in second chances. If you fuck up on the second chance though….you are through.

Aquarius is the melodious sound of music reverberating in your ears like kettle drums. The laser light show of a huge stadium, Fox Mulder in his dingy office balancing a pencil on his nose, the “I want to believe” poster blaring behind him. They are the children of the revolution, they are faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust, fairy like in their energy (if female), a waif with eyes (Mia Farrow is an Aquarius). Male aquarians are the mad scientist, the vulcan, (Victor Frankenstein, Mr. Spock). They are snorkeling off the coast of Hawaii, giggling as the colorful fish brush past heir skin. They are para sailing, astronauts, aliens, travelers of time and space. They are bloody knees beneath a silk party dress, building a toy rocket in your backyard. They are telescope eyes, metal teeth. Faulty explanations with no feasible alibi. The piece pf ribbon caught in the tree, the evidence of your departure, the proof that you came, you saw and you slipped away. They are escape artists, magicians, scholars, inventors, innovators. They are the groat of the cello, the twang of the electric guitar. The second star to the right, that shines in the night, unapologetically themselves.

[chorusfm]

Brand New – Science Fiction

If asked to condense Brand New’s career into one word, that word would be “reactive.” From the title of their second album, Deja Entendu, translating to “already heard” to the abrasive, pedal-infused guitars that dominate their fourth album, Daisy, Brand New have always been a band known to react to critics, fans, and perhaps most importantly, themselves. For many readers of AbsolutePunk.net (R.I.P.) and now this site, August 17th was a day eight years in the making. It started in typical Brand New fashion with fans receiving cryptic packages in the mail, sparking internet confusion and excitement. This time, however, that package contained the band’s fifth (and presumably final) album, Science Fiction – a fitting goodbye to fans who waited just as long for lyric booklets, let alone a new album. After all, frontman Jesse Lacey has been uncommonly direct about the band’s whereabouts this past year, announcing things like, “We’re done,” at shows, selling shirts predicting the band’s end (2000 – 2018) and even ribbing the band’s bad habits on standalone single “I Am a Nightmare” (“I’m not a prophecy come true/I’ve just been goddamn mean to you”). So here we are, less than a week after the band mysteriously announced a new vinyl LP to be shipped in October, and we finally have a new Brand New album. But before we look any further into it, you have to understand that many of us grew up with this band, either during their original eight-year run or waiting another eight for a new album. Brand New introduced me to an entire genre; their songs were among the first I would learn to play and eventually perform at numerous high school talent shows and parties. I made new friends and lost old ones while these songs played in the background; I graduated, got engaged and started a new life with these records in my collection. It’s nearly impossible to detail exactly what Brand New means to the kind of people who frequent this site, but it’s also integral to understanding why Science Fiction feels so vital. For many, it serves as the final piece to a puzzle they’ve been placing for 16 years, a send-off from a band whose music was always there when they needed it. And for Brand New, Science Fiction is a victory lap, an album that finally sheds all expectations in favor of something more mature, more grounded, more real. And it’s better for that. Put simply, Science Fiction is a sigh of relief. Those expecting another complete transformation should know that going in, because on first listen, Science Fiction is surprisingly tame (especially for a band who opened their previous album with “Vices”). The band doesn’t unearth an entirely new genre for themselves, despite strong Americana influences against a fitting dystopian setting. As promised, the songs hearken back to a place Brand New could’ve explored before Daisy, building most from that album’s slower numbers (opener “Lit Me Up” recalls the swirling, The Cure-esque guitars of “You Stole”) and the demos that leaked prior to the band’s third album, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. Also worth noting is the album’s cinematic scope, connected by a series of spoken word segments and eerie field recordings. Despite not playing into the fan service that would have been a more extreme change in sound, the album is designed to give fans the most before the band’s departure, running just over an hour despite excluding its pre-release singles. Science Fiction gives us hints of past eras and the artists who influenced those eras; the crunchy power-pop of “Can’t Get It Out” and “No Control” recall the straightforward rock numbers of Deja Entendu, as well as the recent output of close friend Kevin Devine. Career highlight “Could Never Be Heaven” further cashes in on Lacey’s best Morrissey impression, an influence often emulated but only truly realized in the second half of the band’s discography, while “Waste” plays like a sonic cousin to “Brother’s Song” with a shiny, new arena-rock luster. Brand New only truly repeat themselves once here, but when they do, it ends up being a standout moment. “451” is a foot-stomping blues number that recalls Daisy’s sharpened, twangy guitars and Lacey’s fiery vocals. Even if the band doesn’t entirely escape the shadow of previous experiments, they do fully flesh out those experiments here. “In the Water,” makes use of harmonica and banjo, effectively billing itself as Brand New’s first song to lean into country territory since “Good Man.” Lead guitarist Vincent Accardi lets loose sparingly, but when he does, he pushes tracks like “Same Logic/Teeth” and “137” into the stratosphere. The former frankensteins Modest Mouse- like guitars with jagged chorus-lines and a harmony-laden, near-acapella bridge while the latter is an exercise in restraint, slowly building to an explosive, “You Won’t Know”-sized guitar solo. Despite documenting his fatigue, Lacey is at the top of his lyrical game, painting pictures as realistic (“Not just a manic depressive/Toting around my own crown/I’ve got a positive message/Sometimes I can’t get it out”), apocalyptic (“Let’s all go play Nagasaki/We can all get vaporized/Hold my hand, let’s turn to ash/I’ll see you on the other side”) and biblical as ever (“Holding this mic to a pillar of salt/She won’t say anything at all.”) Sprinkled throughout Science Fiction is commentary on the band’s end; Lacey is “strumming with a heavy wrist” on “Can’t Let It Go,” while on the chorus of “Waste,” he sings, “If it’s breaking your heart/If nothing is fun/Don’t lose hope, my son/This is the last one.” There are even references to past songs treated like Easter eggs for longtime fans, whether it’s a line about taking your head apart or “At the bottom of the ocean, fish won’t judge you by your faults,” being sung in Accardi’s signature baritone. You’d be surprised how fast an hour goes by in the shadow of an eight-year wait. In that context, “Batter Up” is an understated career closer, one that acts much more modest about Brand New’s swan song than I do in this album review. Somewhere between “Jesus” and “Soco Amaretto Lime,” the gorgeous arrangement finds Lacey at the end of his rope, simply remarking, “It’s never going to stop/Batter up/Give me your best shot/Batter up.” If it sounds like a bit of a downer, well, it is, and that’s nothing new for Brand New. But there’s a reason I describe Science Fiction as a sigh of relief. Despite their weariness, the band never place the burden on their listener. Regardless of the divisive mystique surrounding them, Brand New have been consistently grateful and in awe of their fanbase, especially recently. When I hear “Batter Up,” I’m reminded of seeing Brand New at Stage AE in Pittsburgh on July 10th, 2014. It was Lacey’s 36th birthday, and as he closed the show with “Soco Amaretto Lime,” he made a heartwrenching change to the song’s refrain: I’m just jealous ’cause you’re young and in love. He didn’t sing it with hostility; he sang it with humility, the same humility that shines in the line, “We all see what once was beautiful turn old and grey.” But Science Fiction is beautiful, for all of the nostalgia it stirs up and all of the memories it has yet to detail. And goddamn, does it feel good to type that. --- Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/review/brand-new-science-fiction/

[oldnintendonerd]

First Pickups!

Score! I can’t believe I actually got a couple deals. One through a coworker friend and the other... Through LetGo of all places. LetGo! What!? I never thought LetGo would be a place I would get a hold of anything for a decent price, let alone for something I would be willing to pay. I know I am one of those people that are on the lower end of things when I am looking for stuff. I am not the guy that is going to pay hardly even half of eBay prices for most things. I want the Yard Sale prices. $1 - $2 a game, $10 consoles, $2 controllers, that type of pricing. True get it out of my house prices. Thats why I’m hunting, if I wanted to pay eBay prices, I would simply go on eBay. I have harped on that enough in past posts, on to the finds!

We’ll start with the LetGo find. Unfortunately, this was not Yard Sale pricing, but it really was too good of a deal to pass up. I could still flip this for a profit even if I used eBay.

The guy had a HUGE lot of Gamecube items. It was a big picture of like a 6 foot by 6 foot square on the floor. There were several GameCube systems, a ton of games, probably over 35 easy. Several controllers, and some memory cards. Up in the corner of the picture I see a Game Boy Player. So I check the “More Info”, and it says Game Boy Player - $20. Now ironically enough, I talked about a Game Boy Player last post and how I want one but they are kind of expensive, etc. I’m like well that is typical, this guy knows his prices, he has Double Dash at about $40, he has controllers at $15. The GBP is $20 and if he has the disc, he probably wants $30+ for that alone making the whole deal $50. Then I think, well, his other hardware is reasonable, the consoles are at $35 with a controller and cords, it won’t hurt to just message him. Maybe the Game Boy Player is a set. Long shot. So I message him and tell him I am interested in the Game Boy Player if it has the disc since the player is useless without it. He said it does have it but he’s selling the GBP alone for $20, the set for $30.

Damn! That is still a good price, only $10 for the disc. But you can’t not haggle, right? Haggling is part of the hunt! So I said oh, I would have thought that the $20 was for the set, could you meet in the middle? Would you take $25?

He said yes.

Bam!

There you have it ladies and gentlemen, the first actual game hunting score of this blog, a Game Boy Player with disc for between $40 and $50 under eBay prices.

Quite clean, very good shape, original disc holder and everything. I would have liked to have had the instructions too in case I decide to sell it, but what can you do? It is black, so it matches my GameCube, I can’t really ask for much more than that.

It does work, I have tested it briefly, and so far so good. I will need to snag a couple more Game Boy games though, the only ones I have left in my collection are Marble Madness and Revenge of the Gator. When I was testing it I thought there was some input lag on them but I am not sure. It seemed like there was, but it could just have been the fact I had not played either game I tried in a very long time. So if I can’t get any more games soon through hunting, I may borrow Metroid II from a friend of mine. That needs pretty precise control, so I should be able to tell pretty quick if there is lag.

If there is, I am not sure what I will do, probably go ahead and sell it for more game hunting cash as I will not tolerate input lag on my games. One of the primary reasons why I despise emulation and am after the real hardware and the real games. So more on that when I get a chance to test further.

As for the second pickup, a friend / coworker had a GameCube with a bunch of games. Probably 15 games. Among them, a copy of Mario Kart Double Dash. This is not an amazing deal, and yes I am mostly looking for games in the under $5 range while hunting, but this was a very nice condition copy of MKDD, with Bonus Disc, complete with manual, and it is black box.

This is the quintessential copy I would want for my permanent collection. I couldn’t not buy it. We agreed not to rip each other off, so essentially I wasn’t going to lowball him at like $5, and he wasn’t going to ask me to give him eBay fantasy prices by demanding $50. We checked eBay and saw $35 - $40 copies. Now, knowing eBay charges to list, Paypal charges to accept payments, and of course factoring in shipping, we figured he wouldn't get more than about $25 if he were to put it on eBay. So $25 for a $40 game, not the deal of the century, but I helped him out, he helped me out and we were both happy with it.

As you can see, it is very clean, only has very minor damage to the cover in-sleeve at the very top. About a half of a millimeter was exposed above the plastic and got some wear on it, and curled the upper right corner ever so slightly. No scuffs or discoloration. No creasing, no stickers (I hate stickers), no rings, dents, scratches, nothing. It is virtually flawless.

Manual is in great shape overall, there is room to improve with some slight curling on that upper right corner, but not much, and of course if a better copy comes along I won't hesitate to frankenstein the case/disc/manual/etc to make my copy the best, and sell off the other one. This one is near mint though, so it will be hard to top.

This game itself is fantastic, probably the best Mario Kart available on any console. Granted Mario Kart 8 Deluxe just released not that long ago and I have not played it yet, so I can’t make that statement with absolute conviction, but it is a really strong member of the Mario Kart line. A coworker told me he gets a lot of Mario Kart Double Dash feelings from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Like the soul of Double Dash lives on in the game. That is good news because I really like this game. Gameplay is unique to the MK series with two riders, each being able to hold an item. Because of this, and with the way some of the question mark block clusters are laid out, sometimes you can pick up two items as you drive through them by switching to the rider as soon as you pick up the first item. You’ll snag a second as you exit the cluster and have two from just one item group. It has a great drift mechanic. The difficulty is up there in the higher cc classes, so there’s lots of challenge. I just love this game.

So this one is officially in the permanent GameCube collection, which is now, in no particular order:

Mario Kart: Double Dash, Super Monkey Ball, Monopoly Party, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. Quite a bit of stickers to deal with, but I’ll pick up some GooGone and hopefully clean those up in the next couple weeks.

$25 spent on the Game Boy Player

$25 spent on Mario Kart Double Dash

So a total of $50 spent on approximately $110 worth of items. Not too bad of a start.

Just to make this post even longer, I’ll let you know that I brought some Wii and Xbox shovel-ware games I had laying around to a video game store recently as well. Just trying to recoup some money as we go through this process. I figured we hadn't gotten to the Wii collection post yet so no reason to show that garbage, and I won’t be covering Xbox so why not just dump them. Titles like Trauma Center Second Opinion, a couple Guitar Hero games, and State of Emergency for the Xbox, just some really terrible games. The video game store gave me $14 cash for those items. I honestly doubt I would have been able to get much more than $20 for them on eBay, and after fees and shipping, meh. Just was not worth the hassle, much easier to just be handed cash.

So the official business:

$83.09 - $25 for Game Boy Player = $58.09 

$58.09 - $25 for Mario Kart Double Dash = $33.09

$33.09 + $14 for traded in games = $47.09

$47.09 Game hunting money remaining.

That was an expensive week, while still a really good couple of deals, we are going to have to look for even better ones moving forward, or find some stuff to sell, less than $50 left.

2017.05.09