#masque album

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

“Darkness and decay and the red death held illimitable dominion over all” from "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe – Byam Shaw // You're On Your Own, Kid – Taylor Swift

[onlyhurtforaminute]

VIRCOLAC-TITAN

[sludgewarden]

"is my costume such a disguise that you don't recognize me?"

Vincent Price - The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

[harunayuuka2060]

Che'nya: You don't have baby photos, nya? *has been hanging out with them since he went silly from a catnip* *was looking for a baby album of them*

MC: No.

Che'nya: Why? Neige was an orphan, but he still has pictures to show.

MC: Neige is beautiful. And I'm ugly.

MC: No one would be interested in taking a photo of me.

Che'nya: How about your mother, nya?

MC: ...

MC: You could say she took a photo of me once.

Che'nya: See? There's still someone-

MC: So she would recognize me and leave right away if she sees me on the street.

Che'nya: ...

Che'nya: Darn it. *takes a photo of them and sets them as his wallpaper*

MC: ...

MC: Are you going to use that to scare off someone from touching your phone?

Che'nya: No, nya! :3

Che'nya: It's so I can appreciate your cuteness every day nya! *happy grins*

MC: ...

MC: You will get nothing but nightmares.

Che'nya: Nightmares are scared of cats nya~. :3

Rook: Ami masque has found a new friend! Isn't that great, Roi du Poison?

Vil: ...

Rook: Roi du Poison?

Vil: I heard you the first time, Rook.

Rook: ...

Rook: *sly smile* Are you not liking the situation?

Vil: I am not jealous, Rook. If that's what you are trying to imply.

Rook: Non! *chuckles* I wanted to say that you might be feeling lonely.

Vil: Ha. If I wanted MC to be here, it would only take a simple text message from me.

Rook: *chuckles* Bien sûr. There's no doubt about that.

Vil: Hmph.

Vil: *looking at his unread messages*

Vil: ...

Vil: *just then, he received a reply from MC*

MC - Vil, I apologize for not replying to you. I will be at your house in less than 15 minutes.

Vil: ...

Vil - I will wait for you.

MC - Alright. See you later, Vil.

Vil: *smiles*

MC: *has arrived at Vil's house and sees him standing at the entrance, waiting for them*

MC: Vil?

Vil: You said you would arrive in less than 15 minutes.

MC: Ah, yes. I'm sorry about that. I had to bring a customer home at the last minute.

Vil: It doesn't matter. It's getting cold. We should get inside.

MC: *nods* *then faintly hears the shutter sound of a camera*

MC: *immediately turns their head to where the sound came from*

A paparazzi: !!!

A paparazzi: That ugly thing couldn't possibly hear me, right?

A paparazzi: Still, I need to move places.

MC: Good sir, do you have any legal reason why you are hiding behind the bushes?

A paparazzi: Ah- *lets out a terrified scream*

Vil: *watches MC dragged the unconscious paparazzi out of the bushes*

Vil: ...

Vil: *smiles* You've caught that paparazzi off guard.

MC: ...

MC: *holding the camera*

MC: Vil, this person has been here for a few hours now. How come you didn't notice?

Vil: No. I knew he was there all along.

MC: Huh?

Vil: It's my little punishment to you for not replying to my messages.

MC: ...

MC: Vil, you shouldn't have done that.

Vil: Why? Is it wrong for me to want you to be worried?

MC: ...

MC: I will never neglect your messages again.

Vil: Good.

[toskarin]

Release: OMEN​/​CONSTANCE

Presenting OMEN/CONSTANCE - Soundtrack for Oneiric Roleplaying, the next release from Ri47 Heavy Industries

this album's been a while in the works, and I'm happy to finally have it done! following up the previous ttrpg soundtrack I wrote, NOMAD/VIRTUE, I thought it'd be interesting to make an album that focuses less on music for action sequences and more on those quieter moments that don't necessarily take place on the scale of mechanised warfare

so without further ado, here's 46 minutes of otherworldly atmospheres, unsettling revelations, and stories spun in astral silk

included in this album are ten tracks, including three experimental ambient tracks intended to lend a tense emotional atmosphere to any scene without necessarily implying a specific physical locale

while this album was assembled with gothic and eldritch horror in mind, pulling influence from survival horror classics, it also works nicely in plenty of other genres, bringing a unique otherworldly atmosphere to any table

as a bonus, two variant colours of the album art are included, whether you want to enjoy OMEN/CONSTANCE in tones of Masque Red, Royal Yellow, or Chaos Crawling

as always, thanks for listening!

[hernakedmuse]

Sorry if it’s been asked already but, what would horror bimbo wear to a concert date with Eddie?

It hasn't been asked yet and even if it has been, I love this reply. I’ll make a moodboard, but horror!bimbo would look very Danzig girl, like a vampire nymphette. Black, white, or deep red velvet little dresses and tiny articles of clothing, lace ups, poetry blouses worn as dresses that hardly pass her ass, she will wear garters up her thigh, bdsm chokers and collars, dead girl eye makeup that makes her look dreamy and sleepy. She always goes for otherworldly slut,

–

She always spent the whole day of a concert preparing,

If it was a school day she would play hookey,

Eddie would hate it because he wouldnt get to see his sweet little moth, and would complain dramatically to her about it.

Hands splayed on her provocative hips before squeezing them possessively as he would bury his face in her sweet smelling neck that smelled of her lilac perfume and vanilla body powder, his mouth actually physically water. “You gonna leave me again until nighttime?” he complained.

She giggled and stroked his fluffy chocolate curls.

“Id invite you to stay, but I dont wanna bore you bear.” She always could call him that because to her he looked like a human teddy bear, a very sexy teddy bear.

He lifted his head from her neck, his doe eyes widened and pupils darkened. “Yeah? Youd let me watch you get dressed? Maybe help you wash that back…” he started kissing down the back of her neck causing her to shiver and preen against him. He was half hard thinking about it.

He spent the day getting ready with her. She ran a nice bubble bath with Vaseline vitamin e bath beads that turned the water teal, Crabtree & Evelyn rosewater bubble bath, and apricot kernel bath oil. She had to have Eddie join in her pre-concert ritual naturally, and no one was home but her. She lit lavender candles and played the Icon album Night of the Crime theyll be hearing tonight in Indianapolis.

She had Eddie joined her in the bath, she put an avocado masque on his face and hers and the Rave hair masque with a V05 hot oil treatment, She wanted him to feel pampered too, and they started kissing, he held her in his lap, she warmed his cock in the bath She felt so full like she ate a big meal, he is that big. She couldnt stop herself, felt too good, she started moving.

“Ooh fuck baby, if you dont stop that–”

“Youll what…daddy?” She put on her baby voice, the one that got small and sounded squishy and cute,

He stroked her back and she started to drool in anticipation. He took her face in his hand, turning her to face him and lick up her drool, his other hand squeezed her ample ass, “Fuck you have a perfect body for a whore.” He thrusted his hips up and she squeaked, feeling dizzy with pleasure. “Oh my fucking God!”

“Too bad youre just mine.” He laid a sloppy kiss on her shoulder and grabbed her waist before raising his hips and slamming up inside of her tight pussy, that gushed all over his cock. “Baby girl, making such a mess for daddy, what a messy baby.” He cooed.

After a steamy bath session, they got dressed. She used hot rollers for a sultry look, and slid on her french cut, black, lace panties, her puffy pussy sort of swallowed it a bit, and naturally Eddie had to have a quick taste.

She had a satin white garter with a pink rosette slid up her left thigh by his truly, her right leg adorn with a thigh high fishnet stocking, a revealing neo Victorian, lacey little slip with gaps terribly tied together by dainty bows, exposing her generous cleavage, the thin straps of her negligee falling down her shoulders, She slips into combat boots that contrast her attire, and one of Eddie’s leather jackets that was too big for her frame. She had black under eye to make her look like a haunted doll, and her lips were painted the same color as her nipples.

Her signature lilac perfume kissed her wrists, neck, and cleavage. Eddie realized the importance of getting ready for a concert.

@thepurplelovewitch

[henshin-9]

My fave BT song at the moment has to be Satan. It is SO good but so fucking underrated.

People be like "oh Dress is so good, Romance so good, oh Babel, Muma-" yes they are all great BUT SATAN!!! I never hear people talk about Satan (or almost any Arui wa Anarchy song tbh) like do y'all ever even listen to this album, other than Dada Disco? It has Satan, Keijijou Ryuusei, Baudelaire de Nemurenai, Sekai wa Yami de Michiteiru, masQue, Phantom Voltaire (also absolutely amazing and a very high fave of mine) I guess the only Arui songs I occasionally see mentioned, besides Dada Disco, are Mudai, Melancholia and Once Upon A Time. But there is more! This album is great! Like I can see that Not Found is never mentioned, it's... I mean it's not bad I guess but it's also nothing amazing... BUT THE REST OF THE ALBUM IS!!! GO LISTEN TO ARUI! LISTEN TO SATAN! LISTEN TO PHANTOM VOLTAIRE! LISTEN TO BAUDELAIRE DE NEMURENAI!

And friendly reminder, Arui tour final is even better than Arui album.

(Also let me mention Survival Dance, Uchuu Circus and Devil'N Angel so no songs feel left out. I love Arui!)

[urween]

"Bon acteur"

Jake Gyllenhaal x GNreader

note : j'ai fais un rêve récemment avec ce contexte alors je me suis dis pourquoi pas écrire dessus ;)

résumé : tu effectues un stage d'observation aux côtés de journalistes spécialisés dans le contenu digital, et il se trouve qu'aujourd'hui vous devez faire une interview de Jake Gyllenhaal.

! warnings : aucuns

2 363 mots

Description à la deuxième personne

Tu as choisi ce stage parmi beaucoup d’autres, parce qu’il avait l'air intéressant et mouvementé. Sur le papier, tu dois simplement suivre ta référente à chaque endroit où elle va, tu ne dois pas intervenir sur place, seulement observer et prendre des notes pour tes rapports. La plupart du temps ce sont des interviews, pour la sortie d’un film, d’un livre ou un album, mais parfois tu assistes à des réunions de direction ou la mise en place des plateaux. C’est aussi pour ça que tu as postulé pour ce stage, parce que le monde du cinéma t'intéresse depuis ta plus petite enfance, et que lorsque tu as vu cette opportunité tu n’as pas hésité une seule seconde. De plus, tu aimes prendre des notes, observer c’est ta passion et ce stage est l’endroit idéal pour ça. Tu peux analyser les personnes et leurs mimiques, découvrir les équipes techniques ou même parler avec certains hôtes. Cette partie est merveilleuse, car tu rencontres des personnes célèbres plusieurs fois par semaine et parfois tu peux voir comment ils sont en tant qu’êtres humains, derrière le masque d’actrice ou d’auteur. Tu as d’ailleurs eu de nombreuses déceptions, certains acteurs ne sont pas aussi accessibles et gentils qu’ils y paraissent, tu le savais mais le voir de tes propres yeux est toujours dérangeant pour toi. À ce propos, tu as dû signer un contrat très strict sur le droit à la parole, tu n’es pas autorisé à raconter ce que tu vois ou entends lors des interviews tant qu’ils ne sont pas sortis ou si des moments sont coupés. Quelquefois, tu dois te mordre la langue pour ne pas cracher sur le dos d’un acteur ou chanteur que tout le monde glorifie, mais ça fait partie du stage.

D’ailleurs, ce stage a une durée de trois mois, et tu en es déjà à la moitié.

Ton regard se pose sur ton carnet de notes presque rempli, tu fais défiler les pages pleines d’encre, souriant en voyant quelques autographes que tu as réussi à récolter. Aujourd’hui tu as une seule interview, ce qui est assez rare, mais elle sera répartie en plusieurs parties. Sasha, ta référente, t’a demandé d’aller chercher cinq boissons différentes dans le café à quelques rues d’ici. La première fois tu avais renversé un verre, mais maintenant tu arrives à faire tenir les cinqs dans tes deux mains sans en renverser une seule goutte. Dans ses boissons il y a toujours un café noir avec surplu de crème pour Sasha, un matcha latte pour Amber, un cappuccino pour Erwan, un frappé chocolat pour toi et enfin la boisson surprise pour l’invité du jour. Aujourd’hui, c’est un smoothie kiwi-banane pour Jake Gyllenhaal.

« Ok je suis comment ? »

Devant toi, Sasha, faisant rebondir frénétiquement ses longs cheveux teints en blond. Objectivement, Sasha est très belle, mais elle a cette manie de vouloir mettre trop de maquillage et de bijoux lorsque l’hôte est à son goût, comme aujourd’hui.

« Magnifique comme d’habitude, tu réponds, forçant un petit sourire pour appuyer tes mots »

Sasha murmure des remerciements vagues tout en remplaçant ses bagues dans le bon sens. Autour de vous, l’équipe habituelle s’occupe de terminer l’installation pour les tournages de la journée. Seulement trois sièges, deux pour vous et un pour l’invité, une petite table haute à côté de chaque chaise et des fleurs posées dessus pour ajouter de la couleur. C’est toujours toi qui te charge des fleurs, parce que personne n’aime le faire, ils disent que c’est du temps perdu. Personnellement, tu prends tout ton temps pour choisir chaque composition florale, tu aimes ajuster les couleurs et senteurs en fonction des hôtes. Pour aujourd’hui, tu as choisi des myosotis bleues accompagnés d’achillées blanches, pour diverses raisons qui te sont propres.

Tout le monde court de partout, c’est toujours comme ça avant l’arrivée d’un hôte, mais tu ne peux t’empêcher de rire en voyant Erwan et Sasha se rassurer mutuellement sur leurs apparences actuelles. Pour ta part, tu ne te prends pas autant la tête, tu t’habilles normalement, que ce soit pour rencontrer Chris Evans ou prendre des notes durant une réunion. Au début tu avais tendance à ajuster tes tenues en fonctions des invités, en espérant qu’ils te remarquent, mais tu as bien vite pris conscience qu’ils regardaient à peine les personnes autour d’eux. De toute manière, la plupart préfère sortir avec d’autres personnes connues, pas des stagiaires encore dans la vingtaine.

« Oh mon dieu il arrive ! Tu souris, tu dis oui à tout ce qu’il dit et surtout tu ne le regardes pas plus de quatre secondes dans les yeux, compris ? »

Ces règles, tu les connais par cœur, on te les a fourrées dans la tête dès ton premier jour, alors tu hoches la tête, de toute façon tu n’as jamais l’occasion de parler autant que Sasha.

Erwan passe en trottinant devant toi, Sasha le suit de près et bientôt tu entends leurs voix stupidement aiguës saluer l’invité. Tu te lèves de ta chaise haute et avance vers le couloir, deux femmes te passent devant sans un sourire et déposent des sacs dans un coin de la pièce, ce sont sûrement les maquilleuses ou manageurs. Tu prends une grande inspiration, préparant ton plus beau faux sourire. À l’autre bout du couloir, tu peux entendre une voix masculine saluer toute l’équipe, tu te dis qu’au moins il sait dire bonjour. Les gens commencent à se disperser, tu avances donc encore un peu et tu peux voir une silhouette élégante s’approcher. La lumière arrive rapidement sur lui et tu as un mouvement de recul, tu ne t’attendais pas à le trouver aussi séduisant.

« Enchanté, te sourit-il »

« Bonjour, ta voix tremblante réponds »

Ses yeux sont hypnotisants, tu n’arrives pas à le lâcher du regard, oubliant cette foutue règle des quatre secondes.

« Jake va t’asseoir sur le premier siège, ordonne au loin une des femmes »

Il obéit, tu ne le quittes toujours pas des yeux. Son pull vert accentue la couleur de ses yeux, les rendant presque de la même couleur, et ses cheveux semblent si doux. Tu décides de partir chercher Sasha, te servant principalement de cette excuse pour ne pas avoir à le fixer davantage, car il est vraiment attirant, tu dois l’avouer.

Quelques minutes plus tard, tu es de nouveau sur ta chaise haute, aux côtés de Sasha. L’interview a déjà commencé depuis environ cinq minutes mais c’était majoritairement pour faire les derniers réglages de son et lumières. Jake a toujours un sourire sur les lèvres, il a bu quelques gorgées de smoothie et tu as vu ses sourcils se lever en signe d’appréciation, tu as aussi remarqué que ses doigts jouent beaucoup avec le bord de ses manches. En le regardant, on pourrait se dire qu’il est serein et à l’aise, mais tu as souligné des signes de stress chez lui et tu te sens un peu mal d’être la seule personne dans la pièce à y prêter attention. Tout le monde lui sourit, le complimente et l’observe mais personne ne voit ses doigts agités, ses jambes nerveuses et sa manière de déglutir. 

« Je veux dire, c’est toujours formidable de travailler avec Denis, ses idées me fascinent toujours autant même après toutes ces années »

Sasha hoche vivement la tête, tu te retiens de lever des yeux parce qu’elle fait tout le temps ça pour faire croire que quelque chose l’intéresse.

« Mh mh je comprends, elle émit une courte pause avant de reprendre sur un ton plus haut, et Anne Hathaway ? Comment est ce que c’était de travailler avec une actrice comme elle ? »

Le regard de Jake passe du mur derrière vous à Sasha, et tu comprends qu’il n’apprécie pas la question, tout comme toi. Sasha est la spécialiste pour rediriger les questions vers le plan personnel des célébrités, même si ça peut être gênant pour ces dernières, elle sait que le public aime voir ce genre de choses.

« C’est une artiste que j’admire profondément, elle est extraordinaire dans ce qu’elle fait »

Ses mots sont bien choisis, il a l’habitude de ce genre de questions.

« Vous étiez tous les deux incroyables dans Love and Other Drugs, ça doit être compliqué de garder son sérieux face à une femme comme Hathaway, non ? »

Tu fronces les sourcils en regardant Sasha, elle n’essaie même plus d’être discrète. Jake entrouvre les lèvres, tu vois qu’il cherche une réponse, et il sait que cette dernière va être utilisée ailleurs en fonction de ce qu’il dit. Sans pouvoir le contrôler, tu prends la parole.

« Je pense qu’il était plus dur de garder son sérieux en compagnie de Tom Holland, il se décrit lui même comme étant aussi maladroit que Peter Parker »

Le sourire dans ta voix fait baisser la pression. Tu peux voir les ongles de Sasha se resserrer sur son genoux, mais tu oublies très vite ce détail lorsque Jake t’envoie un regard, qui dit “merci”. Cette fois, il prend directement la parole, profitant de la perche que tu lui envoies pour changer de sujet.

« C’est un vrai gosse, il rit constamment et entraîne tout le monde avec lui, son regard s’accroche davantage à toi qu’à Sasha, il te réponds, on a dû raccourcir un scène à cause de lui d’ailleurs »

Tu ne peux empêcher le sourire sur tes lèvres, tu sais qu’il parle de la scène de présentation entre son personnage et celui de Tom et même toi tu as ri en regardant les images.

« On le remarque à peine dans le film en tout cas, ton regard ne le lâche plus »

Sasha reprend juste après la direction des questions, mais Jake continue de te regarder en répondant, et tu rougis très certainement. 

Une pause est annoncée, une des femmes de toute à l’heure vient inspecter Jake, remettre en place son pull et ses cheveux. Sasha se lève et quitte le plateau pour partir vers les toilettes. Toi, tu bois tranquillement ton frappé en relisant tes notes, tu te rends d’ailleurs compte que tu n’en as pas pris beaucoup.

« Quelle est la conclusion ? »

La voix de jake te fait relever la tête, tu le regardes pendant quelques instants sans savoir quoi répondre, te demandant s’il s’adresse vraiment à toi.

« C’est comme si tu prenais des notes durant un rendez-vous psychologique, alors quel est mon diagnostic ? »

En voyant son sourire, le tien apparaît par réflexe. Tu reposes ton verre presque vide et regarde encore une fois ta page peu remplie.

« Je pense que vous êtes un très bon acteur, il laisse échapper un souffle amusé à tes mots, j’aurais presque pû ne pas voir que vous êtes quelqu’un d’anxieux »

La femme repart, ne faisant absolument pas attention à votre discussion. Jake fronce légèrement les sourcils, gardant un sourire qui cette fois semble différent, un peu plus sincère peut-être. Son genoux arrête lentement de sautiller, tu refermes ton carnet et le pose sur la petite table.

« J’ai vu beaucoup de vos films, vous jouez vraiment bien, mais j’ai l’impression que les gens oublient qu’acteur n’est que vôtre métier, ses mains se croisent contre sa cuisse, en tout cas moi je ne l’oublie pas si ça peut vous rassurer »

Sasha arrive à ce moment-là, elle laisse une odeur de parfum derrière elle. Jake se repositionne correctement dans son siège, un petit sourire sur ses lèvres alors qu’il semble regarder dans le vide. Une voix annonce la reprise du tournage, Sasha reprend son grand sourire et toi ton carnet.

La nuit commence à tomber, tu es dans les dernières personnes qui restent, tu aimes aider à ranger après les tournages, l’ambiance est souvent calme et douce. Le reste de l’interview s’est bien passé, Jake semblait plus serein et tu as recommencé à prendre des notes. Vous avez ensuite enchaîné avec une séance photo, de Jake bien sûr, et enfin un deuxième interview dirigé par Amber. Le temps est passé plus vite que tu ne l’aurais imaginé, en fait tu regrettes même un peu de ne pas avoir pu parler davantage avec Jake. Mais il est déjà parti, tu as cru entendre parler d’un rendez-vous avec sa sœur.

« Tu peux y aller si tu veux, on finira demain, te dit Tommy avec un sourire de remerciement »

Tu lui réponds de la même manière, lui souhaitant une bonne soirée. Tu ne sais pas vraiment quoi faire de ta soirée d'ailleurs, peut-être regarder un film ou une série avant de dormir.

Lorsque tu ouvres ton casier dans les vestiaires, ton sac tombe dans un bruit sourd, tu te penches pour le ramasser mais quelque chose t'interpelle, il manque ton carnet. Pourtant tu l’as pris avec toi il te semble, ou alors peut-être que tu l'as laissé sur la table, tu ne te souviens plus vraiment. Tu arrives sur le plateau, Tommy est toujours là en train de prendre les fleurs pour les jeter, et ton carnet est là, sur la table. Tu souffles de soulagement, le perdre te ferait vraiment mal au cœur.

Ton téléphone vibre, un message de ta mère, elle te rappelle de lui envoyer une photo de l’orthographe de DiCaprio. Tu ris, ouvrant les pages de ton carnet pour répondre à sa demande. Une fois la photo envoyée, tu regardes rapidement les autres pages, un sourire aux lèvres comme à chaque fois. Les pages s’arrêtent sur celle d’aujourd'hui, pas des plus remplies, enfin, dans ton souvenir elle était moins remplie, mais là l'encre la recouvre. Tu t'assois sur la chaise et commence à lire tes notes.

"Enemy ; complicité avec Denis V, intéressant à ses yeux, araignées importantes

Donnie Darko ; meilleur ami français fait sur le tournage, Patrick S adorable, beaucoup de fou rires

Tom H -> belle amitié, tient à lui, drôle/maladroit

J.G ; autodérision, stress, beaucoup mimiques faciales, rire ++, yeux bleus"

Tu pensais n'avoir écrit que ça, mais une écriture plus grosse au feutre s'ajoute à tes notes.

" merci de ne pas oublier

j'ai dû partir vite, j'espère pouvoir te recroiser, et cette fois être seul à seul avec toi pour une interview, ou face à un verre peut-être, si tu es d'accord ?

- celui avec un rire ++ et des yeux bleus "

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Bails (of Flesh) • Rows (of Endless Waves) • Longing (The River of Ash) • Beneath the Mask* • I Wait • Outro

*samples the 1964 film adaptation of "The Masque of Red Death", a short story by Edgar Allan Poe.

Spotify ♪ Bandcamp ♪ YouTube

[great-or-terrible-beaste]

THE WIDE, CARNIVOROUS SKY & OTHER MONSTROUS GEOGRAPHIES - JOHN LANGAN

(currently unfinished, this will be updated as I continue the rest of the short stories in the book, but the ones ive read so far are listed below. i guess theres probably spoilers in here so disgres urself accordingly, tho i'll try to keep it vague)

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KIDS

Kids is a really interesting start to this book in a way I really loved. As a huge fan of that thing music albums do sometimes where they have a short little bit at the beginning as a way to prep you for the rest of the album, Kids does a similar thing here. Although in this case it's 3-ish pages about strange children eating a teacher, which in addition fo the writing being very good does really well in setting the stage for what's to come.

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HOW THE DAY RUNS DOWN

And what's to come certianly delivers. How the Day Runs Down is at it's core a zombie story. You wouldnt think that at first though given a number of things but the most important generally is the fact that the entire thing is written as a stage play. I was in general not so hot on this one at first, not for any particular reason but to be honest just for the sake of needing some time to get back into short story writing again. It really is a different mindset from most longer novels, especially the longer running trilogies etc i've been mostly reading recently. Switching from story to story so fast and with so little time to spend on each, it's jolting at times but it does still make for fun stories. It's just that sometimes you need a different perspective to remember that again.

In How the Day Runs Down's case, that came in the form of remembering the way that LITERALLY ANY OTHER ZOMBIE STORY HOLDS ITSELF. This story does, in a fraction of the time, something very interesting with the genre. This is put with the caveat that I haven't read/watched/played much zombie media and am fully open to points made about whether or not I should do that before being So harsh on other stories, but in How the Day Runs Down's defence. I have yet to hear about another zombie story that is set from the perspective of a being who's job it is to meet mortals after their deaths and guide them on to the next place, performing in and running a play that consists of everything that they have watched happen in the small area of the eastern US they preside over as well as discussing the implications of rebirth on the afterlife in very certian terms. On top of all this it's also just a really well written zombie story, even going so far as to actually give a reason why they dont call them zombies in the story. (they are reffered to as eaters mostly instead as it is "easier to not admit they're zombies") The story really loves to play in the areas of human nature in the face of it's own collapse at the hands of an unknown disease. None of the characters are really all that certian about themselves, the world around them, or how to act when confronted directly with zombies. It's a very emotionally well written take on it that I really enjoyed.

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TECHNICOLOUR

I have a bit less to say about this one. Mostly just because it's a pretty solidly fun story about a nonexistent book providing firstly new context to Edgar Allen Poe's "Masque of the Red Death", and then context to a ritual which will supposedly summon something unknowable into the world once again. It is written from the perspective of a university professor goving a lecture to a class which is a cool way of laying it out, but I didn't necissarily find anything more of much substance on first read. This, as a note seems to be a recurring thing to an extent with Langan's work. Not that it's necissarily a bad thing, but to a point the stories tend to be more about the expressed thing on the page than anything metaporical. I dont think that's a bad thing generally, my leanings towards preferring strong metaphorical undertones are personal for sure, but there are times I wish there was a bit more substance in the story. Regardless though, it is very well written.

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THE WIDE, CARNIVOROUS SKY

ive read this one but i Am falling asleep rn + i gotta think on it more

[rastronomicals]

3:35 AM EDT October 26, 2024:

Kansas - “Mysteries and Mayhem” From the album Masque (September 1975)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

The thoroughly modern cover painting was actually 409 years old at the time of the album’s release

–

[27thfirefly]

elaborate

feeling b along with the people who'd later found the inchtabokatables and a number of other smaller east berlin punk groups pivoted to folkpunk after the fall of the wall, most notably imo with the album die maske des roten todes, which for some reason is named after the edgar allan poe story the masque of the red death. very strange. anyway this album does have a good few songs that are covers of medieval songs but they've been... not translated but kind of. adjusted into german. like totus floreo (tempus est iocundum from the carmina burana) becoming tod des florio, which rather than being about the springtime of youth and all that is about the death of some guy called florio. in terms of the improvisational aspect you have tracks like die pest, which while probably not ENTIRELY improvisational as heard on the album does seem very rooted in just fucking around and seeing what sticks. a lot of feeling bs music was just fucking around - theyre called a funpunk band for a reason. a lot of the actual singing is also just very reminiscent of trying to sing along to something you dont quite remember the lyrics to. in any case id say this kind of stuff seems to be to be more alike to... maybe the "spirit" of medieval music than trying to straightforwardly reconstruct it. i could be speaking out of my ass though i dont know shit about medieval music

[neverhangd]

Jolly Rodger

JOLLY RODGER is a four-piece rock band of some small reputation thanks to frontman, co-founder, singer, sometimes songwriter, and networking expert Jack Rackham. Jack is joined by co-founder (ex-)girlfriend lyricist bassist Anne Bonny, guitarist Mark Read, and drummer John Silver*. Although the band hit a rough patch after the departure of Silver and the absence of Bonny, when Bonny returned to the band it steadily began to climb in popularity once more. The band continues to go strong today.

Or so Jack(ass) tells those that ask.

In reality, Anne, Mark, and Silver have long been the creative force behind the band. Though Jack sometimes contributes, it’s rarely for anything that doesn’t revolve around his vocal talents. Mark and Silver are musicals heavyweights, but have all the emotional sense of an upset teenager. Anne contributes where she can, in bass lines and lyrics for the most part. When the three come together, with or without Jack, it’s amazing!* The band is named JOLLY RODGER after both the pirate flag and to honor the memory of a now deceased mutual friend who actually brought the group together, their larger-than-life first drummer.

* Shut up, it’s my au and I’ll do as I please!

JOLLY RODGER serves as opening act for the Flying Gang, a much more famous rock band in the same genre. The tour is called the Queen Anne’s Revenge Tour, actually named for Anne. When Silver left JR, he joined TFG as their new drummer and ended up telling them a little bit about Anne from his own perspective. The conversation quickly became an impromptu songwriting session, ending with a new song for a new concept album called Queen Anne’s Revenge. In a twist of fate, Anne broke up with the band she’d co-founded the same day the album dropped. Anne went to ask Silver if she could crash at his since she was now, effectively, homeless. In a bid to keep her in work, Silver got Anne to agree to do the inevitable album tour, even going so far as to get her to agree to sing a few solo songs. That was huge. TGF’s record label was meanwhile contacting JR to get them signed on for that very same tour. Neither exactly knew what the other was up to until it was too late and worlds collided. It’s a very strange situation to be in.

Anne’s not handling her new fame well, and has come to resent Silver for telling the world her story before she could even tell it herself. She’s distanced herself from Mark, her self-admitted best friend, out of fear for his life. Jack believes to this day Anne was unfaithful with Mark, something that became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Anne and Mark only got together in the time between Anne leaving Jack and Anne leaving the band, a nebulous few weeks before Anne snapped and fucked off for Silver’s.

In applicable verses, this timeline is slightly altered, and represents the rise, fall, and recent reappearance of Red Death.

In my quest to find the perfect excuse for a spy story without having to tie Anne into an alphabet institution, I found a loophole that made me giggle in the persona of Red Death. Red Death is a singularly extraordinary individual, at once an expert hacker with extensive knowledge of several alphabet institutions, an enigmatic figure passing through high security spots without a trace, a brutal assassin, and a literary reference to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of Red Death”. Naturally, Red Death is a shared identity between a few people. By name, Mark Read and Anne Bonny. (Jack was never involved as more than an alibi, actually innocent in it all.) You can imagine what the new visibility on Anne is doing to her career as Red Death.

[ardent-fox]

✨ Tag Game Master Post ✨

Hi, all! Catching up on these two games I was tagged in during the holidays 💖

First up, thank you to the lovely @lupeloto for creating and tagging me in this fun Tag Game! 🥰

📺 Favorite tv show? At the moment, Our Flag Means Death (shields self from tomatoes being thrown at her 😁)

🕴️ Favorite character? Oof, this is difficult. Gonna have to go with my precious baby boy, Stede

💋 Favorite relationship in the show? Blackbonnet (shocking, I know)

👯‍♂️ Fav sibling relationship in the show? No blood relations but the entire crew is chosen family, so… all of them?

🎨 Favorite art form? Music, with a heavy focus on lyrics/words

⚡️ A talent you wish you had? Being able to draw would be cool

☀️ What is one thing that can always make your day better? My toddler nephew saying the most hilarious things, he's barely 3 and already the funniest person I know

🎬 Favorite fictional character of all time? Atticus Finch (any works he appears in besides To Kill a Mockingbird do not count)

🌅 Dream place to travel to? Thailand or Ireland (either "land" would do, get it? 🧍‍♀️ ...I'll see myself out)

🎈 You’re planning a huge party, what’s the theme? The Masque of the Red Death, get fancy and spooky, bitches 🎭💀

🍕 Favorite pizza topping of all time? All kinds of cheese and extra mushrooms

🥂 You can pick ONE celebrity to have dinner with… Who? Andrew Garfield, {Marge Simpson voice} I just think he's neat

🎥 Favorite movie that you kinda know is bad but you still love? Rocky Horror Picture Show 👄

👖 How would you describe your style? The "I gained a substantial amount of weight in the past 5 years and haven't bought anything new since, so I now wear whatever I can fit into and lots of dresses and skirts cause pants are uncomfortable and shopping for them is a nightmare" style 😬

🖤 Finally, something making you smile this week? My mom's reaction to a present she really wanted, seeing her that touched was soul ascending ✨

----

Next, I got tagged by @deedala, @tanktopgallavich, @suzy-queued and @lupeloto to complete this round of Weekly Tag Wednesday, thank you my darlings! 💙

Name: Lyds

Location: Unknown location in Europe

Astrological Sign: Taurus squaaaad ♉

What's a TV show or movie you plan to re-watch this year? Hubby has never seen Giant, so I'll be rewatching it soon as well as some other classics like Some Like It Hot and Philadelphia Story, I'm sure I'll rewatch Frankie and Johnny for the umpteenth time as well. As far as shows go, I rewatch Our Flag Means Death at least once a month since it's my comfort show, and might do a Shameless rewatch since I've only seen the whole thing once (excluding all the Gallavich scenes)

What's a book or fic you will probably re-read this year? The entirety or The Menagerie by @crossmydna and Honeycomb by @metalheadmickey with artwork by @heymrspatel 💕

What is a song you will likely continue to play on repeat? I've been replaying One Of Your Girls by Troye Sivan for days and don't plan on stopping anytime soon, also still listening to Hozier's entire Unreal Unearth album whenever I'm chilling

What's a tasty treat you look forward to eating more of this year? Gonna steal Ri's answer here and say cinnamon buns, as well as my husband's homemade pizza rolls that I previously mentioned, as they're our favorite thing to eat while binge-watching

What's a time sink that you will continue to sink time into this year? Scrolling this beloved hellsite

Did you pick up any habits in 2023 that you plan to continue? Only unhealthy ones that I plan on ridding myself of in 2024 👋

What's your toxic trait? Inflexibility and freaking out when things don't turn out the way I've planned

What is a coping mechanism you will continue to indulge in this year? Staying in my burrow with my hyperfixations

Tell me something you like about how you look! My full, rosy lips against my smooth, pale skin

Give me at least three adjectives describing things you like about yourself. Honest, open-minded, creative 🌸

I'm out of the loop (which is about to change since I celebrated the last of the festivities today) and haven't been keeping up with the tags lately, but am still going to tag some peeps if you want to do either or both of these: @heymrspatel, @stocious, @too-schoolforcool, @xninetiestrendx, @krysmiss, @sleepyfacetoughguy, @michellemisfit, @whatwouldmickeydo, @vintagelacerosette, @metalheadmickey, @rereadanon, @francesrose3, @darlingian and anyone who sees this and wants to play! ✨

[toskarin]

because of this album's eldritch theme, it actually has three different cover variants to pick from. naturally, they'll be included with the download

Masque Red

Royal Yellow

Chaos Crawling

[jordaneprestrot]

New album : « CASOAR »

43 minutes - 9 tracks

Casoar

Au quotidien

Bas les masques

Vénétie et Lombardie

Sans armure et sans arme

EuroAirport

Comme des étoiles

Noël approche

Sur un navire sans capitaine

all tracks by Jordane Prestrot

available now at Lotophagus Records