#names similar to elegy

[vamp0rivm]

summary: You’ve been in Jackson for three months; you’ve been stuck in a perpetual cycle of guilt and ravenous grief, trying desperately to recover from what went down between you and your brother before you left home and came here. Needless to say, you’re fitting in like a lego block in an 1000 piece puzzle, and you realise you’re better off going back to the old house, where you can succumb to the thoughts that plague you. Maria tries to help here and there, shoving you into patrol with people she prays you’ll get along with, namely Ellie Williams. Rather than that, you expectedly remain strong in your stance, both of you as closed off as each other. You come to appreciate the mutual understanding you’ve reached, giving each other space, only ever making slightly critical remarks, to the point where you think you see cracks start to form in your iron shell. But iron is iron, after all.

ch. 1 -

You’re not getting better, definitely worse. Patrol is the only force beckoning you to leave your den of misery, patrol with Ellie. Not much luck there either, you return with an injured ankle and an Ellie who is slightly less awkward and icy, similar to you. Though, when you’re alone with your thoughts again, you are utterly helpless.

ch. 2 -

Progress is dwindling, regress is massive; you’ve been inside for a fucking long time, with your only motivation for getting outside off the table. The numbness is overwhelming, so the knocking goes unanswered as you merge with your mattress. You told yourself you’d leave Jackson once you can walk again. Then, Ellie breaks the door down, with a very important food delivery. She profusely apologises, but the blizzard raging outside captures your focus. She can’t get home now. Sleepover?

ch. 3 -

This chapter contains smut.

The tension is high after last night’s events. Ellie’s on her way soon after, and the consequences of her busting through your door fully set in when the woman from the infirmary manages to get inside to check if your ankle is healing well. Good news: it is. So, you can set off soon. Ellie returns, to your surprise, and she comes bearing gifts. You learn something new everyday, e.g. weed makes you and Ellie horny.

ch. 4 -

Ellie’s departure was a gentle slaughter of your heart, leaving you dazed and empty. It’s time to go. One last meeting with the people of Jackson at the party Ellie left you to help with, and you’re off, leaving nothing but a note and a confused Ellie to read it behind.

ch. 5 -

She’s searching for you, she’s desperate, and hungry, and exhausted, but she’s been worse. There’s no way she won’t find you.

ch. 6 -

This chapter contains smut.

Recovery is a slow process, but Ellie is someone you’ve historically found comfort in. Each day, she expands the bounds of that comfort, and each day, you’re sure you want to live to see another.

playlist:

[villain-byteniwoha]

ships i like and why i ship them: a small, affectionate rant before bed

zhongchi: probably the first ship i ever interacted with. i may have started playing genshin for them. I specifically remember reading modern, non canon au fics on ao3 when i was still low AR and did not have liyue unlocked yet just to enjoy content of them without spoiling the story too much. those were good times

love the betrayal, the reciprocated manipulations, their individual bloody pasts and their juxtaposing love for humanity/family. the marriage chopsticks. god, the amount of threads I've read explaining those... and ofc you can't forget the official art with them by the harbor with the gingko leaves falling cinematically. i think that's the art that drew me to them lol

there's also something so deliciously tragic about a near-immortal being who's fated to succumb to erosion in due time, falling in love with a mortal man who's always within death's cold embrace. not to mention the subtext of their themes and principles. geo and hydro, stability and turbulence, land and sea, they crystallize when they meet in the middle, etc etc

kaeluc: another pairing I enjoyed the absolute shit out of, way back when I wasn't even playing the game yet. I remember learning about them while I was deep in my mxtx phase, specifically tgcf, and I'm pretty sure I dipped my toes in after I learned that they used to be sworn brothers. keywords here being used to. hook, line, and sinker. before I knew it, I was also reading fanfics about them, but only modern, non canon au ones because genshin terms made no sense to me and i didn't want spoilers. then I played the game. and then—we get Kaeya for free. I mained the shit out of that man for months.

and then. I fully entered the fandom, only to be immediately slapped in the face with the mistranslation issue.

and I get it, honestly, if you like ragbros good for you, I'm happy for you, but me personally, I will scorn hyv until the day I fucking die because had they not messed this up? kaeluc would've have been so powerful. KAELUC WOULD HAVE BEEN SO FUCKING POWERFUL

how could they not be? they're childhood friends but they're also forbidden romance coded, and rivals/enemies coded, but they're also soulmates. they don't just know each other, they're two halves of a whole, they know each other.

and the themes, don't even get me started on their themes. fire and ice, red and blue... paimon's line about them being similar (i.e. kaeya's a shady mf who fights in the day/diluc's a bright fire in the night) is one of the most romantic lines ever. they're sun and moon but only because they complete each other. also, lamp grass and calla lily? that's them as flowers, but they're the other person's ascension material like hello???????? fucking wild.

and ofc this kaeluc section can't end without me mentioning arundolyn and rostam. for those who don't know or have read/heard of those names but never really dug deep into it, arundolyn and rostam were knights of favonius around the same time as the cataclysm, and you can read about them in artifact sets such as brave heart, defender's will; and partially from the elegy bow

the reason they're here is because there are too many damn parallels between them and kaeluc to just be a coincidence.

arundolyn was a claymore user (see: ferrous shadow), he was the "lion of light,"; he was naturally gifted in strength but still trained hard and would later become the grand master of the knights; he'd push rostam to drink wine and tell him to have a little fun; he gives up his title and weapon after rostam dies

on the flip side, rostam was the swordsman who created the art of favonius bladework (see: favonius sword), his title was, "wolf pup,"; when he and arundolyn played as children, he was the stand-in for the champion knight of aristocracy; he "ruled the shadows," by protecting mond with ways the knights did not approve; rostam dies in an expedition to expunge the evils poured forth from the cataclysm...

I'll let you connect the dots there. I just also wanna point out, as a final note, that in the favonius sword's description, it says, "the childhood friend and spiritual counterpart of Arundolyn, the Lion of Light, whose name was Rostam, the Wolf Pup." ok. yeah. moving on

xiaoven: i very quickly realized after reading the genshin webtoon that venti was gonna be one of, if not my most favorite character. and i was curious as to who the people wanted to pair him with. keep in mind, this was around 2.0~2.2 I believe, so when I searched them up, the only canon backing I could find was the music scene

and boy, was that scene enough because holy shit, the brain rot these two gave me??? of a god who embodies freedom, and the last remaining yaksha chained to his duty????? they were so thematically opposed and beautiful, it wasn't hard to fall in love with them

by the time 3.0 came rolling in, I've already stopped playing, but that didn't mean i wasn't aware of how we were well fed by canon. from the trailer to venti full on attending the lantern rite and sitting down with the liyue gang; it was one of those interactions that transcended everything

and of course, OF COURSE, they also canonically addressed the fact that venti's music soothes xiao's soul. that's intimate. that's deep. that's so fucking romantic and nice and beautiful in the most tragic way...

also, we can't forget the depictions of god and servant here. the holy themes, the worship. the promise of immortality and foreverness, but also the threat of it. i just think xiao doomed with karmic debt and venti vowed to divine erosion is such a soulmate connection, and I'm also delusional

that's all for now but there's so much more...

[ebonyfrostremade]

Let's talk about Forgotten Elegy!

Hey since the mods all blocked me preventing any sort of communication I'd like to expose what has been going on in there! Apparently because it makes people uncomfortable to say what's going on.

So the current plot in TimberClan involves an outsider group in which previous members caused problems for the group. Now no player was warned about what this group was going to face going in. Instead we were faced with erin hunter level anti-outsider xenophobic rhetoric.

Now as some of you may know... I am not white! In fact I am of arabic descent, which, as some of you know are not exactly a favorite when it comes to immigrants!

Some topics mentioned include:

A cat taking on the name of the colony's god to piss them off this was treated as funny!

Likening their burial practices to like prey or trash.

Treating the entire group as murderers when only one cat maybe did something.

Pining the blame on the group for a disappearance they had no paw in.

Calling the colony brutes and relating their distrust to their culture of fighting assuming they love fighting and shit because of it.

Keeping the colony prisoner for an extended period of time

Implying the colony should be grateful for receiving "food" and "shelter" while being kept prisoner and if they weren't they'd be ungrateful.

Having a literal concept of "the good ones" with the colony having the main captor the leader Scoutstar have a colony cat, Velvet, as her watcher to make sure the colony weren't stepping out of line. Allegories being made towards a dog on a leash.

Making cats who believe the treatment is wrong feel stupid and afraid of siding with them!

Oh this entire plot is suppose to end with the colony joining Timberclan despite the foul treatment!

Constant jokes about how the worst offenders did nothing wrong especially Scoutstar who is, as pointed out by her player, taking her paranoia out on the group but its "for the good of her clan" so i guess that makes it ok right?

Now call me not white but all of this sounds pretty bad!

Mmy way of engaging such things, as someone who has experienced similar things, would be to call it what it is that should be alright shouldn't it? After all as they told me this is an Adult Rp where we can talk about Adult Themes after all!

WRONG!

Apparently calling these cat's behaviors and the plot for what it is has made people "uncomfortable" and that members did not enjoy how I was commenting on their characters because of how people turned it to real resentment in the past.

I will have you know FE that trying to block me from speaking and being a hawk over whatever I say has made me more resentful that a character's actions!

I am an adult and I find it quite insulting you apparently think I cannot separate those things and have childishly blocked me rather than talk like adults as I didn't even want to repeal the decision. However because members were uncomfortable that was apparently enough, yet the real world rhetoric that was being used, despite asking for it to be tagged never was! In fact I had to get blasted with comments and sentiments like those above without any sort of content warning. Basically getting my cat experiencing bigotry like mine without so much as a warning despite "the obvious" needing to be tagged.

Instead of anyone, staff or complaining members alike, putting on their big boy pants and dealing with the implications of the plot they were in they rather cry and whine about the consequences of their actions and the fact it didn't make their little kitty look all that good. Such is natural for whites and the people who ride their dicks.

Now I can personally say there are plenty of members who agree with me that this so if you think blocking and kicking me is getting you out of this you are sorely mistaken! In fact they are quite pissed off with how staff handled things in kicking me for what they also agree were appreciating the writing from a standpoint of someone who is a real life victim of what this plot showcases. Isn't that funny! I know that my friend who I mentioned to you is still there!

In fact a lot of the comments the cats in this rp have used have been almost word for word shit I've heard and shit my family and people like me have heard! Yet I'm the bad guy for making a comment about it.

All of this is to say I am in fact hurt and know that you all don't like me because I didn't roll over and take being put through a xenophobic plot without comment and called cats xenophobic for actions I saw!

So I am returning the energy you have given me! I think you are all unprofessional and have been for most of the controversies your group has been involved in. You run away from what the issue is and refuse communication then turn around in blaming the lack of communication for the reason why these things happen.

I'm sorry me engaging with a plot you crafted as a person effected by the very concepts you are putting into it offended you same with all the other little members who whined about it!

Actually that was sarcasm I am not fucking sorry. You all need to grow the fuck up and perhaps can this plot because you clearly cannot handle something as delicate as this without being xenophobic and racist. Just call me a fucking terrorist or towelhead or a camel jockey next time it'll be much more direct!

[topaz-witch-tea]

absolutely loving the au, here to ask a question and to offer up my own ideas because i am brainrotting and adoring this

my question is, are you ok with people writimg their own fics of this au? credit of course will be given to you if permission to post is permitted on ao3, and it'll also be gifted, but i haven't written anything for hsr yet and i wanna get to practising the sillies

second, what ideas/petnames/doting names did jy, yx and df call yanqing when he was younger? and alternatively, if there's ever a time where yanqing is upset, would they call him that, even when hes a bit older, to comfort him, just an old habit they can't shake?

and, also, what similarities do yoy think he shares the most with each respective parent? yingxing and him definitely bond over swords,but what about the others?

i have plentyyy more ideas brewing in the ol noggin but i adore this AU, i think its wonderfully written and i cant wait to see what happens in elegy! have a good day!

Hello!!!!

Yes! Please feel free to write your own fics of this au, just remember to credit me and let me know because I would love to read it. 🥰 If you want any information on my AU that I have not posted about/published yet, let me know I will be more than happy to provide you with the info. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. 😁

The main petname that shows up in the fics is "Little Bird". All three of them call Yanqing this because when he was little, the sparrows and fiches would like to perch on his crib to look at him and Yanqing loved to copy them. He would flap his arms to mimic a bird flying whenever he saw one. They still call him that in private, though it gets less and less common as Yanqing gets older.

It does show up when they are comforting him, especially when he is upset about something concerning them. When he is upset, Yanqing likes to hide in dark places where other people can't reach him. He'll hide in the corner of his bed with the drapes pulled down or in his closet behind his clothes. His dads will often call him "little bird" to coax him out to get them to talk to him.

You are correct, Yanqing shares his interest in swords with Yingxing. For Dan Feng, it's the arts, primarily music. The Vidyadharas are known for their music and profoundly sad ballads. Music has always had its place in traditional education, particularly those of wealth and nobility, so I see Dan Feng knowing music and incorporating music into Yanqing's education. I can see Dan Feng giving Yanqing his jade dizi as a present.

For Jing Yuan, I don't see it as any tangible like swords or instruments but rather politics. Even though he is young, Jing Yuan will also give him exercises. "Who is talking?" "Who is listening?" "Who is at this event and who is not?" "If this were to happen, who would benefit and who would lose?" Yanqing's birth has always been a focus of gossip and his every movement is judged due to his position and lineage. So Jing Yuan considers it important he knows how to defend himself in these situations. If the three of them were to pass, Yanqing would still inherit titles and fortune and Jing Yuan could not bear it if someone took advantage of his son after he passed.

AWWW!!! THANK YOU!!! I love answering asks so please feel free to send more. I am also excited for the next chapter. I want the angst to be perfect.

[mask131]

The myth of Apollo (5)

And here is the last part of Françoise Graziani’s article « Apollo, the mythical sun » (begun here).

IV/ The mystical Sun

The interpretation of the Sun as a symbol of royalty was already present during the Renaissance but was truly amplified by the baroque era. This iconological interpretation was first punctually associated with the panegyric (Ronsard in his “Elegies” wrote “Henry, the Sun that inspired me”), then to the emblematic, as the royal crown was depicted as a crown of sun-rays. While Tyard saw a positive symbol within the idea of the Sun “Prince and rector of the sky”, the baroque poet Drelincourt, in 1677, compared it to a “superb King, who shines in his Court, Crowned with rays” – but only to better accuse the celestial body of being a simulacra of God, a “weak painting”. Within the same idea, Du Bartas substituted the false pagan god to the real God: “The world is a cloud through which shines, not the bow-shooting son of the beautiful Latone, this divine Phoebus, but…”. It is very revealing that Drelincourt presents a critical and desacralizing interpretation of the sun, where it loses its mythical name and function… while writing within the court of Louis XIV, right as the king ideologically concretizes the literary allegories by depicting himself within Versailles (the “house of the Sun���) as Apollo, as the sun on earth. Drelincourt concludes his sonnet “About the Sun”, by insisting that the Sun is just the “portrait of the Primal Cause”: “your brightness is but a Shadow, and you are not the Sun anymore”. The mythical Sun is a false sun, but it is replaced in the metaphorical heaven by the real mystical Sun, the Christ, that the Renaissance paintings sometimes depicted under the traits of Apollo. As a reflection of the true God, as the interpret and the vehicle of God’s light, the Christ was a solar character, whose death was thought as bringing a “night” to the Western world (it was how the poets metaphorize the eclipse that occurred during the Crucifixion). This identification, very common within the mystical baroque poetry, was sometimes pushed to the point of including (in a very unusual way) some episodes of Apollo’s legends within the Christian allegory (such as Hyacinthus or Clythia).

V/ The Sun of intelligence

The mystical sun is, in a paradox that determined all poetic interpretations, linked to the decline of the mythical sun. And yet, the mystical sun is born from a very old topos, the one of the Deus Pictor: if God is a painter, and the Universe his painting, than the Sun (and the poets claim it since the Hellenistic times) is his brush. In the baroque era, the solar myth, heavily used in a metaphorical (not quite allegorical) way, leads this motif towards the realm of abstractions. Every time it appears, it is linked to two elements: on one side, the Sun as a divine principle and an instrument of creation which becomes the double of the poet (a poet that now dares associate himself with not just Orpheus, but Apollo). On the other side, the diurnal travel of the solar eye becomes the metaphor of the process of writing. Numerous baroque texts play on the similarity between the words “rayons” (the rays) and “crayon” (the pencil), to show the Creator in his picturesque and scriptural functions. In a similar way, it is traditional to punctuate long poems by various sunsets and sunrises, described in such a way that they establish an analogy between the rhythm of the days, and the rhythm of the poem itself.

It is for example the case within G. B. Marino’s “Adone”, where, at the end of the poem, the Muse answers Apollo’s call, and comes to “end the thread of this long canvas”, and the end of the last day is described in textual terms: “The sky is of paper, the darkness of ink, the ray a feather / Which with the sun erases the ending day to write / to the West, in letters of gold, the end of the long travel.” Within “Adone”, Apollo is present under different shapes. He is found, in a metaphorical way, in the character of the hero, Adonis, which ultimately is just a gaze that crosses the various spectacles of the universe (celestial world, terrestrial world, cultural world) and is often compared, due to the “shine of his youth”, to Apollo. As the sun is the eye that brightens the world, that reveals the world and that allows it to be, the first creating gaze over the poem is done by the poet itself ; but there is another sight, the image of the human eye that reads and interprets the great Book of Nature. Adonis, within Marino’s poem, plays this role of reader, the double of the creature to which the secrets of the creation are hidden. He is, too, a “false sun”, and this is why Marino show him as a passive hero who, throughout the poem, does not understand what he sees: it is a reverse image of the philosophical sun of the Renaissance. He symbolizes the human soul, in the idea that the human soul only perceives the appearances, and mistakes itself for the sun because it was created in tis image. Marino’s Adonis is a “lonely eye” to which the gods (Venus and Hermes) reveal secrets, but the only world that receives the light of his gaze is the one of the book, of which the real writer is Apollo, “he who brightens the wise minds”. He who shines upon the minds embodies the last avatar of the god of Poetry: the divine Intellect, he who makes the minds shining and insightful, he who gifts human with both invention and divination. The solar sign valorizes the human Intellect, and more so over the individual intelligence. The god doesn’t “inspire” anymore, but he does more by “shining” upon the artistic works.

Apollo is more and more disguised as time passes by, to the point of losing his name – he is substituted so much he is even refused the qualificative of a god. He keeps however, as a mythical sign, a great coherence. The abstract uses of the Sun as metaphors for the divine eye contain very clear remains of its mythical nature. The connotations tied to the solar figure are simply the transpositions, on a metaphorical plane, of the elements tied to the god. The frequency of his use throughout the 16th and 17th centuries proves its almost ritualistic value, even though literature splits itself from the myth. As such, it seems that, as soon as the poetry does not bear the myth of the inspiration anymire, the figure of its titular god is slowly abandoned. Even though the invocation of the Muses persists, as a convention or as a periodical element, all the way to the 19th century. The names of “Apollo”, “Muses” and “Lyre” are enough to designate, by metonymy, and outside of all myths, the very concept of poetry.

VI/ Hyperion

With Romanticism, Apollo becomes the Archer again. The divine inspiration of the poet is not an illumination or a revelation anymore, but a shock, a stupefying possession. The poet, as Hölderlin writes, is “struck by Apollo” and, confronted by the presence of the god, he can’t be understood by other humans anymore. The poetic vocation is assimilated to a curse, and to a suffering. Within Hölderlin’s work, Apollo is fused with both Jupiter, he who strikes with the blinding lightning, he who “shakes and vivifies”, and with Dionysos, to condense itself ultimately in the figure of the Christ. He also especially identified with the one who was, according to Hesiod, his grand-father, the titan Hyperion. Just like Hyperion, of which he bears the name in the allegorical novel of Hölderlin “Hyperion”, the poet is a fallen and exiled titan, whose rebellion (pre-apollonian actions) are doomed to failure, but who keeps the vague memory of his solar origin and of his mission, while still being, like the sun, doomed to loneliness. A loneliness which, in this context, bears both a positive aspect, as the solitude which brings exaltation, and a negative aspect, the solitude which makes the poet a cursed man or a mad man. Apollo and Dionysos become one within the Romantic conception of madness as a sign of both divine election and mystical drunkenness. The fundamental ambiguity of Apollo is found back within the duality of the poetry, perceived as both a grace and an eviction. This duality was felt by the Romantics on an individual plane, and not on a conceptual plane like in the Renaissance.

An exceptional occurrence of the figure of Apollo within literature must be studied, quite close to Hölderlin’s own interpretation. Apollo appears as the subject and the hero of a 19th century literary work in only one piece, an unfinished poem by Keats which was also called Hyperion (1819). This brief epic of a Miltonian style depicts the fall of the Titans, banished by the New Gods, and the rise to divinity of the young Apollo, initiated by Mnemosyne. Within Keats’ writing, just like within Hölderlin’s work, Apollo is treated as the symbol of a “new beauty”, and as the tutelar god, not to say the embodiment, of the New Poetry. For both men, the accent is put on the “divine future” of Apollo: for Keats, Apollo only becomes a god when, thanks to Mnemosyne (who is in mythology the mother of the Muses), he understands his divinity, and this accession to Knowledge is a painful process. Apollo, before striking the poets, suffers himself from an “agony as burning as death is cold”. And he screams painfully when he was his epiphany. Within Hölderlin’s, the name Hyperion symbolized, by an antonomasia, the splitting of the hero, a hero turned to the Ancient Gods, that feels himself as their interpret, and yet is destined to inaugurate the renewal of the Teenager Sun through a New Poetic Religion. The poet which is speaking here is not yet born, and Hyperion represents the mythical prehistory of he who will only become a god, a pure lonely spirit, the “Hermit of Greece”, free of all heroic temptations, only after Romanticism. In a similar way, Keats brutally interrupts his poem right as Poetry is born.

[theblimpfruit]

Female friendship in the Cosmere series

So after a few years of being out of the fandom, I got back into Brandon Sanderson books/the Cosmere, and have been devouring everything that's come out in the interim. It's been a fun time! But I've been reminded of something that bothered me back when I was getting into these books and world for the first time, and it still kinda does. This is a bit of a ramble, so bear with me.

Okay, so for those of you who didn't know, Sanderson's posted a draft on his website of "Mythwalker", a shelved novel he wrote very early into his attempts at getting published. It's a clunky read- it's got a lot of flaws, and obviously needs an editing pass, and I can see why Sanderson stopped working on it. I read it anyways back in high school, hungry as I was for more Sanderson.

There's a bunch that'll probably stick out to you if you're a Cosmere reader: the main character Devin has shades of Kaladin in terms of arc, there's the terms skaa and koloss (although here koloss are the nobles), and then there's another plot with "Siri" and "Vvenna". As you can probably guess by their names, these characters and their plot would be adapted into what became Warbreaker.

A lot of the broad strokes are similar: Vvenna is the perfectly poised, in control of her emotions, ideal noblewoman, engaged to a deified Emperor. Siri is the younger, more brash one, and more frequently flouts the rules of high society. But what really struck me reading this as a teen is this difference from Warbreaker: Vvenna and Siri are not sisters. They are friends.

Well, strictly speaking, they're lady and handmaiden, since Vvenna is so high a noble that lower nobles are her attendants, but they're a lot closer than their prescribed roles.

They still have a similarish initial relationship to Vivenna and Siri- fondness for each other tempered by some barbed feelings for each other's personalities, but the fact that they get to be really close with each other but not have their bond be familial really stuck in my head. And I think that was because that sort of connection between female characters was, and is, still pretty rare in Brandon Sanderson books?

I'll admit I don't remember all the details of all the books, but it seems like a consistent thing both in what was out when I read this years ago, and today. Please correct me if I'm forgetting or misremembering other relationships like this, with major characters.

In Mistborn era 1, Vin has basically no other women to connect with, there's Kelsier, his crew, Sazed, Elend.

Era 2 has Steris and Marasi, who are half-sisters. MeLaan is there but is mostly close to Wayne.

Stormlight has Shallan and Jasnah, but they're teacher and student, not really friends, although of course they do care about each other, but it's a different kind of relationship. Venli's main relationships are with her sister/mother. Lift is Lift, Syl by her nature is mostly with Kaladin and other male characters. I can see why Navani and Raboniel captured a lot of people's hearts though.

I can't remember much with Elantris and who Sarene interacts with besides Raoden and Hrathen.

Warbreaker is like I said, Siri and Vivenna are now sisters (and again to be clear I don't dislike the change inherently- it's not a worse relationship/book for it, and the change makes sense with how different the plot is).

I've only read the first graphic novel for White Sand so as far as I know, Khriss hasn't talked to another woman lol

And then, what's there in the others? Tress's major relationships are with Charlie/Huck, then Crow and Fort, and then ig the lady who's really into guns. Yumi's whole deal is that she has no one to talk to besides Liyun who piles pressure onto her, never mind a female friend. In Sunlit, again, Elegy and Rebeke are sisters.

I guess you could say this is a subset of the issues with having few female characters in general (and I'll be the first to say Sanderson is doing better than he has been on this front), but idk. This was something I hadn't even noticed until I read those Mythwalker chapters and found it really refreshing despite the fact that "women being friends and supporting each other" really shouldn't be something that's refreshing!

If you've read this far, I'll reiterate again that I do enjoy these books but this is something that's been really niggling at me, and I'd like to know if it makes sense to anyone else.

[foxes-that-run]

The Lakes

The lakes is about escaping the challenging aspects of Taylor Swift's life with her muse to form an artist community like Wordsworth and Keats had in the Lakes district in the 19th century.

Above, the Lyric video shows wildflowers, LK has referenced this song and Harry also has for a Pleasing campaign. In the vertical video Taylor is on a swing, reminiscent of the swing in Seven, possibly about Harry. Finally a photo with a swan in The Lakes District.

In the Long Pond Session Taylor said (I've shortened it)

'The Lakes is a testament of what I wanted to escape from and where I saw myself escaping to. We'd gone to the Lake District in England a couple years ago. In the 19th century you had a lot of poets like William Wordsworth and John Keats. There was a poet district. They had their own community of other artists, which I've always in my career.' Jack: 'it's not just I've found something worth escaping to it’s a person to escape with.” Taylor agreed "That's a huge sincere statement of hope, everything I'm naming is completely small compared to this love.” “Hoax as the ending song was interesting for a couple weeks but then I wanted the real last song. The Lakes shows you exactly what the overarching theme of the whole album of trying to escape and having something you want to protect, protect your own sanity and saying look they did this hundreds of years ago, I'm not the first person who's felt this way.

Taylor said they had gone to the lakes "a couple of years ago", and she described a poet district with an artist community, meaning fellow songwriters. She had been to the Lakes with a couple of years ago with on her first trip there with Harry Styles on her birthday in 2012. At the time Taylor said it was her best birthday since she was 6. Like Taylor, Harry has a similar experience of fame and is a lyricist. Harry has also sung about being in an artist community with Taylor, in Canyon Moon, which has a very similar idea as The Lakes.

I have seen people refer to the Invisible String Lyric "Our three-year trip / Getting lunch down by the Lakes" to point to Joe. While not photographed, their 3rd anniversary was October 2019, or 6 months before this song was recorded. 'A couple of years ago' rather than 'last year' implies the earlier trip. Joe is also not a lyricist, she spoke about an artist community. He is credited as a producer on Folklore. Taylor described how William Bowery wrote the melody's not lyrics.

Lyrics

Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me? I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones These hunters with cell phones

An elegie is the speech at a funeral, her songs, particularly those she is reclaiming are like diary. She lost her eulogie, the story of her life.

The last line refers back to 'I Know Places' "They are the hunters, we are the foxes" where she and Harry ran from paparazzi, now they hide from every person with a cell phone.

Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry I'm setting off, but not without my muse

Taylor is saying she is not cut out for the music industry life, she lost the rights to her diary, constantly photographed. In the Long Pond she referred to having this plan for years, which she foreshadowed for Lover, and I think Harry's Peace ring. I think they may have shared this plan when they first visited for when she turned 30 and into 2020. Folklore is about communication and how life differs to what a 23 year old planned.

The final line is so lovely, her muse is Harry Styles. No other partner has inspired so much work or so much success, they have inspired and encouraged each other to do their best work. Even when they are with others for years they still write about each other. When they see each other they are prolific. Harry has even sung about how he writes too much about her. I could list what proportion of awards and hits are about this relationship, but let's stay in the Windermere peaks.

Despite their success Taylor does not think they are cut out for this life. Taylor has sung about Harry's anxiety in New Years Day and Now that we don't talk, it's also apparent watching him at award shows in his solo career. This song and many (Mirrorball, I know places, Slut!, You're on your own kid) are about how fame impacted Taylor.

What should be over burrowed under my skin In heart-stopping waves of hurt I've come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze Tell me what are my words worth

The first line I think could have 2 meanings, one that the relationship should be over but it is not and the waves are hurt of not being together. Or, and I think this because of the second half, Taylor cannot let her masters go. The last line is a pun on the worth of her words and the poet William Wordsworth.

I want auroras and sad prose I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet 'Cause I haven't moved in years And I want you right here A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground With no one around to tweet it While I bathe in cliffside pools With my calamitous love and insurmountable grief

I want auroras and sad prose, refers to Harry Styles. She describes his eyes as “aurora borealis green” in Snow on the Beach. She also describes him as sad boy in Question..?, he does write sad prose.

In the Long Pond Session Taylor said "I could see this you know you you live in a cottage and you've got Wisteria growing up the outside of it and you just why you know of course they escaped like that." William Wordsworths cottage (below) has wisteria growing on the side, which is a slow growing purple plant, almost a lavender haze!

I love the imagery of 'Red rose grew out of rose in frozen ground', because it refers to Rose, which is a Haylor theme. But also because it refers to the track before Hoax: "My winless fight, this has frozen my ground" It also refers to a theme of hiding their love, "I would die for you secret" in Peace, that something beautiful and no one needs to know about it.

The last lines are so poetic and dramatic I love them. Calamitous love refers to a love that’s “built to fall apart (and back together)” in OOTW or "a crooked love in a straight line down” in IWYW. Taylor used a similar word discussing SOTB, calling it cataclysmic love. Taylor describes her dramatic and passionate relationship with Harry rather than staide and safe one described with Joe.

Her insurmountable grief is all she’s lost, her masters, the things she gave up in your own your own kid and things she has to pine about.

Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry I'm setting off, but not without my muse No, not without you

Love this chorus, such beautiful poetry about poets and love.

[vind3miat0r]

Send Me a Character & I'll Tell You game

Avoir (I had to lol)

KSJDHFKD YOUUUU /nm /lh

My first impression: oaugh he was so mean to us in the beginning :( honestly? i did not like him (shocker i know). setting aside not having context for why he was acting like that, his character just did not strike a chord with me. the only thing that i really liked about him is that he yaps a lot and uses fancy words, and im like a moth to a flame when it comes to that shit

My impression now: THAT IS MY HUSBAND RIGHT THERE!! ughhh i love him and his character development :( hes so tragic and just. augh. he lives permanently in my brain now, the brainrot is real. i dont think im "could quote word for word" levels of obsessed, but ive listened to his audios enough times to know what hes going to say next in some instances. really a whole 180 i did there

Favorite thing about that character: his absolute adoration for Starlight. in the flashbacks, you can hear how much he loves and cares for them, and i can practically see him gazing at them starstruck, its beautiful. literally makes my cry anytime he says "my starlight" im so deadass rn 😭

Least favorite thing: honestly theres not really anything i dont like about him?? hes literally my favorite character so ofc im gonna be biased 😭😭 if anything, id like to hear more abt his past. i know he told us that story abt him and Circinus, and presumably there was more from the first time they were in the trap together, and id really like to see that, as well as their initial growing closer (again, ik that we saw some of that, but id would still like to see a more detailed version of it. like, who dropped the first "i love you"? and etc). other than that, i cant name anything off of the top of my head that i dont like abt him

Favorite line/scene: OAUGH. I HAVE SO MANY.. for scenes, definitely the entirety of "Back to The Real World With Your Demon." i was screaming internally the whole way through, and Avior realizing Starlight had gotten their memories back will always have me in a chokehold. and shoutout to his hbs and springback audios too. for lines, "The things I feel for you fly in the face of every justifiable fear and suspicion that this situation has burned into me" GETS ME EVERY TIME MAN, HE SOUNDS SO SOFT AND IN LOVE AND GRRRHASGHFDGF

Favorite interaction that character has with another: considering that hes literally only ever interacted with Starlight and Circinus on screen, id have to go with when hes helping Starlight get to sleep and (again) his hbs and springback audios. while i do like angst (why else would i listen to his playlist mutiple times per month), im such a sucker for fluff its not even funny

A character that I wish that character would interact with more: again, considering that hes only ever interacted with Starlight and Circinus, there is a whole slew of characters that id love to see him interact with! probably another demon character, like Warden or Gavin, those would be fun!

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character: theres a character in a fandom named Caduceus Clay that my bf rlly likes, and i think him and Avior have a similar vibe :)

A headcanon about that character: augh i have so manyyyy 😭 ill just put down a few lol

Avior studied Greek and Roman mythology as a hobby during his first years on Elegy. he was at first intrigued by how thousands of years ago, the Greek had named the stars (which as you know, the d(a)emons are named after), and he just fell into a rabbit hole of legends and mytology after looking into it

he acted as a steward to Warden (the lore implications this would have would be CRAZY methinks)

after getting Starlight out of the trap, the areas of his body where his magic had torn itself away from him became white scars that resemble explosion scars. they're on his hands, arms, general chest area, and most of his tail. he also gained a facial scar from the fall he experienced

A song that reminds of that character: Upon Cobblestone Streets by The Family Crest. a while back i saw someone say that this song rlly fits Avior and Starlight's dynamic, i gave it a listen and immediately cried cuz they were RIGHT!!

An unpopular opinion about that character: two words: BODY💥WORSHIP💥 thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[exoticalmonde]

The Evealia Guide Through Babel (event) - Part II

Immediate first impression is again how beautiful the background is. I'm a sucker for all types of 'glass is cracked and you can see moments of the past' in media. One of my most proud pieces (unfinished) was similar to my favourite D&D group- That's beside the point.

[Hey, new blood. Look for that Djall running HR and do what she tells you. That'll prove you're worthy of clearing selection.]

Who in the absolute frick is Djall?

They can be distinguished by having curved horns that points upward above their head. Djall are one of the ten surviving ancient pure-blooded Sarkaz tribes of the Sarkaz Royal Court, but there are not many of the Djall left in modern Kazdel due to the chaotic situation of the city and their high sensitivity to negative emotions.

Yeah, negative emotions in Kazel? You don't even know.

This is so beautiful though, absolutely gorgeous. When it's not on fire. Kazdel could have been such a beautiful town, a lovely world where the Sarkaz were not in such a rut being equally hunted, hated and pursued for their own... hunting, hating and pursuing of the mercenary type.

But we're going to take a look at the full map at the end of our adventure.

BB-ST-1

Unfinished Goodbye

[A speck of blood red upon speckless white.]

Ugh... We already know that this is not going to be a happy chappy story just from the name. Alright. Here.

We're introduced to the scene of a boy and a girl struggling against the cold, while they listen to a Cyclops woman tell a story, or more so, a legend. Or a prophecy.

About how the previous Sarkaz King would lead his armies to endless war and then fall, giving way to six heroes but losing the previous wandering kingdom - the previous Kazdel. From those ruins, a black crown will appear for the Sarkaz twins. Leading them to an end, despite their righteous ideals.

Within an approaching Storm, Ascalon is facing off against a different Cyclops - the one who is now recalling this same story to her instead. They speak shortly about the futility of escaping prophecies and how neither Ascalon nor the Cyclops have cared for their involvement, even if it is undeniable.

When Ascalon assassinates the man she hears an elegy. We already know from Chapter 13 that elegies are the songs of dying Banshees, ones which Sarkaz are sensitive to.

Within Lundinium, Victoria Theresis is offering vengeance to the Sarkaz who have arrived with him. What for? For whom? It's clear from the 'Assassin's words that it's about Theresa and that now the Regent - Theresis - is the only one they can pledge themselves to.

Julie and the other deathmongers have their final mission - enter the Mausoleum of Kings and destroy all the Steam Knights. Julie immediately knows this is a mission where most of the executioners will die, but she takes up that task anyway.

In Rhodes Island of Babel, Kazdel, Kal'tsit is pursuing an assassin through the corridors. Vaguely, she either hears or senses the words of somebody precious to her fading away.

[Keep going, Kal'tsit.]

[I know that, even left on your own, your step will never falter.]

Mon3tr melts down to open the locked door.

[You believe loneliness is your alone, that you have none of the same kind. Yet, from the day you woke again, we've walked shoulder to shoulder, haven't we?]

[...Yet still, one day I'll choose to slow down, to stop in place where I am.]

We're familiar with these sad words, intent on saying a final goodbye. We know from the start that the story of Theresa begins and ends poorly. With betrayal from the person she trusted most. The one Kal'tsit had trusted with Theresa.

The Doctor. Us.

[When I do, Kal'tsit, don't grieve. Keep going.]

For the first time, Kal'tsit must bid, to the first who could ever converse with her as an equal, to her dearest friend, farewell.

[Because I believe in Rhodes Island, I believe in Babel... I believe in you.]

[Kal'tsit... I hope the Rhodes can be a place you name home, and Island you may always return to.]

---

I'm CRYING. I hate this so much, I don't understand. Why would the Doctor do this? Did they even do it in the first place? It looks so... mismatched. So many dead around them, so much blood on Theresa. How did Amiya end up there? How did the Doctor collapse? Was he set up?

I need a breather.

---

BB-1 Before

Great Aspirations

[I knew this day would come.]

Sixty-four years ago...

Autumn, 1030

Scar Market, Kazdel

---

Hey! It's the place we have in our base now! What a coincidence, I wonder what sort of place this is.

---

It's a slave market. And the first person we see is apparently the man we noticed in the trailer as well. Apparently, he was found in the desert, dying of thirst.

Slave Trader is looking for a tail on the Sarkaz and the Mercenary promises that he's 'clean'.

Whatever that means. It threw me in a wild debate and theory-craft about the meaning of tails for Sarkaz. The ones we know about who are confirmed Sarkaz and have tails are Flamebringer, If....rit?, Paprika, W, Typhon, Vigna, Ascalon, Closure, Scout... I don't know if I'm missing someone.

But Theresa and Theresis do not seem to have tails. They're called mixed-blood Sarkaz too, which could hint that only a specific type of pureblood Sarkaz has tails.

Anyways, they settle with the bartering - the slave for weapons. Just then, a pale white figure appears. The silhouette immediately tells us it's General Theresis.

He personally frees the slave that was just sold off. He only hints at changes that will be occurring in Kazdel, so he's in the Scar Market to wait for Theresa and accept challenges from Mercenaries.

On the other end of the Market, Theresa is talking to the Cyclops we saw die by Ascalon's hand. Now we know his name though - Scareye. They chat a little and argue a little. They mention the Leithanien-Gaul war that's happening right now. Including Victoria and Ursus who have declared war on Gaul.

Corsica I, who requested help from Kazdel and received Casters, by the way, was officially declared as K.I.A.. However, his body is still missing.

I'm curious to see how that is going to go...

Theresa and Scareye banter for a moment about Theresa's desire to create a Military Commission of Kazdel instead of a Royal Court to rule, so she's in the Scar Market to rally people to join the upperside of Kazdel.

My favourite part here is that Theresa asks the Cyclops

[Have you seen my death, Theresis' death, and the destruction of all that you stand against? And what about yourself? How do you behold your death? A slow and agonizing death by Oripathy? Slain in battle on foreign soil? Or drowned in a sea of plots and conspiracies?]

Leaves him fuming.

[Foresight? Prophecies? His own death?]

After the siblings leave, Scareye checks in with the Slave Trader from earlier about letting all the slaves go and questions about people who fought Theresis and survived.

Those who were noted down can go to the supplies for a little reward.

Outside, the siblings do confirm that in comparison to any other country, Kazdel is very behind both in power and technological advancement. The political tension on Terra, between all these large and prominent countries is worrisome.

Which is why Theresa needs to complete her plan of establishing Babel. It would be a place of utter equality, established by a Sarkaz, in hopes of making more people accept them.

It's a sweet scene because it shows how much they support each other. From previous chapters and stories you have the vague idea that something happened between them, they're on two different sides of history seemingly from start to end, but it's not quite so true.

Theresis loves her, it's so endearing. It's utterly sad to know how it ends. You sit through the whole story almost hoping it will be different, but...

The Slave from earlier manages to crawl out of the Scar Market and reveals to us the picture of Kazdel.

He's been gone for four months from the city and it seems there's been a huge change. Nobles are being pulled out of their homes by mercenaries and the royal guard is doing nothing about it. The remaining Sarkaz populace sneaks into the abandoned houses and does what they please with the remnants of life inside.

Pull-Top, the not-slave-anymore's name, retells to a friend of his the unbelievable story of how he was saved by the General, then was found by a Sankta and brought back to the wall. Proud of his luck, he just decides on the spot to change his name to Goodluck.

---

BB-1 After

Great Aspirations

Autumn, 1031

Off to a great start, there's trouble in Lingones, Gaul.

Within the Courtroom, Theresis, Theresa and the rest of the previous political figures in Kazdel have officially created the Military Commission which will replace their War Council in decision-making for political and military affairs.

... Logos' mother's name everybody. Read it if you can.

They're all giving their opinion on their involvement with the council so the tally is:

Cyclopes from Sami - N/A, they didn't respond.

Liches of Leithanien - Fremont doesn't show up, but he offers his services to Theresa would she finds a need.

Banshee Court - Will not participate due to the loss they suffered during the previous war. They will assist, same as Fremont.

Nachzehrer King, Nezzsalem - No objections, because Damazti Cluster.

Damazti Cluster - No objections.

Sanguinarch of Vampires - Reluctantly accepted.

Their whole plan for the new war is to plunder all the other nations and take revenge, taking back what was taken from them when they were forced to become Sarkaz and driven away as devils.

See, for those who are yet unfamiliar with the lore of Sarkaz and Sankta, they're both coming from the same race - Teekaz. During the 'Walk In The Dust' event we learned that Kal'tsit was doing her best to exterminate the Teekaz, when she ended up learning they should perhaps keep living. Unfortunately during those events, they were split into Sarkaz and Sankta, each group taking a different approach. One is in Shadow, the others are with a Worthier Than Thou attitude.

In the outskirts of Kazdel there are problems between the inhabitants and Babel occupants who are trying to help the netizens. Thankfully, Mon3tr was there to help.

Inside Babel, Theresa and Kal'tsit are talking about the construction of Babel, the new school, whether or not people even consider Babel something good and the fact that the Military Commission being established means another fight with Kazdel...

This means that the different-raced occupants of Babel will have problems with Sarkaz because every single nation is out for them and they (the Sarkaz) are struggling to understand the difference. They just see someone different and bare their teeth in rage.

A curious situation that occurred was - Theresa met a Sankta outside Kazdel. It seems Sarkaz and Sankta can connect through the power of the King of Sarkaz and Theresa could feel the Sankta's emotions.

Back outside, Goodluck is in a fight. The Sarkqz are trying to attack Babel Operators and he's doing his best to protect them. Unfortunately, he gets struck again when he claims to have been saving a female doctor.

Embarrassing, since his name was the last thing he could tell her... Goodluck.

Guess... Not so much.

---

Just noticed that this is raw sugar, which we already have refined back in RI of today and my heart broke a little. In so little time so much has changed.

---

Nothing to think about with the training stage, Doberman does her job well enough to teach us that whenever there are grills anywhere on the map, maybe it's okay to tether to a buddy that's 2-ish tiles away from you.

Frankly, I love the little detail... She's afraid of heights. The lady who's been tormenting me all day military style, because I just can't find the will to lift my pen up and sign these super important documents, is afraid of a little height.

... Okay but look at the map, it really is high. I can't see the bottom. Thank you Arknights for always finding a way to play with the aesthetic of my 3x3 screen's pixels.

---

BB-2 Before

Where Fate Guides

[Sarkaz has never been destroyed by war. We are strong.]

We're going to speedrun some of this, so hold onto your socks.

Twenty-Six years ago

Autumns, 1068

In Leithanien people are starting to talk against the Sakraz, very much aware that they're restarting their career as an existing species and are not happy about it. Pretty much gloated with the victory that the Witch King has had on Gaul, they're not planning to put any more effort into sabotaging Kazdel than to send an envoy and get someone on the inside to do the dirty work.

Although the negotiation between the Envoy and Scareye looks like it went well, he's a little bit more loyal to his home place, so he shows up personally to discard the trash littered by the Leithaniens in the Scar Market.

Even more interesting, Kazdel is about to go through a Catastrophe - proof of its many survivals past those being the many crystals that cover the entire city. Last time Kazdel was immobilized actually as it was braving a Catastrophe, so it took them almost a decade to fix it.

Is it healthy, from the standpoint of a Doctor, to not have cleaned all the originium shards? No. Are they doing anything about it? Also no. Do they have bigger fowlbeasts to roast? Yes. Why are there so many infected Sarkaz? TAKE A WILD GUESS.

Gee, they're sure proving the point.

Meanwhile we're informed that Goodluck not only married a Babel woman, but he also fathered a child with her. This Angry Sarkaz in particular was pretty much bullying the woman while she was trying to distribute some painkillers for their oripathy. Things are getting toasty between Sakraz and Leithanien and whether or not there is a fragment of Sarkaz that actually see how separate these other races are from their home country, it's difficult to keep under control.

Regardless, everybody is preparing to get off the ship as they pass through the Catastrophe, knowing that they might never return. Many are on the field to fight off enemies who might try to stop them as well.

And we spot a little cutiepatootie completely lost in the chaos. He gets knocked down by some Sarkaz lady and is picked up by no freaking other than--

Littol Manfred. They're both going to the battlefield - one wants to find their parents and the other wants to fight the people who are doing bad things to the Sakraz as his dying parents' wish was.

CUTEST scene in all the story is when these two go off looking for the dad first and since his name is Goodluck... they go through the crowd of Sarkaz calling out 'GOODLUCK' and they just accept it. Because everybody who sees them sigh when they see the young and naive faces.

[Good luck.] [It is what they all need.]

On that evening, the fleet that was pursuing Kazdel had broken off its pursuit. Nobody expected that they'd charge straight for the Catastrophe and would pass through it successfully.

---

BB-2 After

Although the pursuers have slowed down, they haven't yet given up the chase. Due to the rough terrain and the approaching Catastrophe, they're afraid to engage immediately and that probably leaves enough time for Kazdel to escape.

Unfortunately, there are TWO Catastrophies on the horizon now, clashing with each other and leaving a path between them that is possible to go through. Since the warriors see their leaders walk into the storm side by side, they follow with little hesitation.

Within the storm, Theresis sees a child. He takes off his gauntlet and reaches into the mists that are shrouding this strange, little figure. As the mist dissipates, he finds within his bloodied hand the stone blade that the child was holding.

It's slurring and it's difficult to understand what the child is saying, but it wrestles the blade out of Theresis' hand again and points it at him and the procession.

Theresa observes that the kid only emulates speech she's heard from people who pass by, having lived in the wastes for so long she barely recognises the difference between a person and a beast.

Theresis teaches her how to hold the knife properly and in return the child immediately recognises salvation, demanding they take her along.

Theresa and Theresis share an understanding look.

This was a part of the prophecy-

'A sword to slay the regent king, a spear to pierce the royal ring.'

They don't really care for the danger of a prophecy, so they take her in.

Without a name, Theresis is the one to name her: Ascalon.

Ten days later...

A Sarkaz woman and a Babel Doctor are chatting it up while the Sarkaz is sewing the other up. Although she was invited multiple times to go celebrate with the Soul Furnace, she refuses under a myriad of pretexts.

A Sarkaz stranger approaches her.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[monarch-moon]

Re: that last reblog

I might get a few raised eyebrows over this but here goes...

TL;DR: Thanks to that post, I'm accepting that I'm not cut out for producing consistent forms of media, internalized ableism might be why, I'm not cancelling Elegy, but Imma just do whatever I want.

Full thing with explanations below, but beware, Imma get personal for a bit, and my experiences with ableism will be mentioned, which...I never really talk about outside of my innermost circles:

In the last several years, I always thought my inability to make comics or games or literally any other form of consistent medias was due to the fact that I "lacked discipline". That was reinforced by the fact that the artists I follow, a couple of my friends, and my fiancee, are all webcomic artists that handle/handled things at a moderately consistent pace. This was also reinforced by shit I was told when I was younger IRL, when my undiscovered neurodivergency was excused by shit like "you're lazy" or "you lack discipline" and other similar statements.

In the last several years, I've tried time and time again to make some consistent medium in which my stories can be told, namely comics and games. I wanted to believe that I was doing it for the love of my stories, but in truth, I was doing it to "improve my discipline", which inevitably, ended in failure time and time and time again, and with each failure, hatred for myself increased, and in the last couple of years....it began to extend to my confidence and my stories. It all ended in one thought to everything: There's something wrong with me.

Recently, I felt like I experienced an artist's existential crisis, thanks to the one-two punch of burnout from doing Elegy Chapter 1 and being slapped with arthritis-related issues: why do I create, am I a good artist, why do I love these stories, is there really a right way to tell a story, do I ACTUALLY love the stories I make?

Well obviously, yes, I do love the stories and worlds I create, but for whatever reason, I genuinely cannot get myself to do anything beyond disjointed art pieces of stuff that would be classified as "spoilers". My followers want something more than that, I thought. They want stories.

But then that post came across my dash, and I felt like I was hit with an epiphany.

For one, I was projecting onto the followers I do have. I know those that truly stick around through my inconsistencies after all these years will love the stuff I create no matter the form or medium, and no matter how out of context it is. I should believe that rather than the imaginary expectations that have been placed on me for years.

Two, it was never about a lack of discipline....I was actively working against my neurodivergent brain, AKA how I function entirely. Of course it wouldn't work! It's like asking a mircowave to be a washing machine! Realizing that lifted a huge weight off my shoulders as both an artist and a person.

Three, I create because I love to. That's it, that's all the reason is! I love the art of creating worlds and weaving stories and writing fun and complex characters, and I love seeing how they all interact and change and influence off each other! The world influences the characters, the character influences the story, the story influences the world.

Soooo, why not draw whatever I want, do whatever I want, and be whatever I want? Out of context sketches and arts and insane ramblings is just as valid as a medium right?

While I do have people who work on webcomics, I also know and follow people who do this exact thing: draw things relating to their story, attach a blurb to said pictures about their worlds and characters in various forms of medium, and nothing more.

So I'm going to try that. Forget the manga....well okay, I might still do smaller comics for funsies, but forget "proper" mediums, Imma do whatever I want, and I know people will love it, no matter the numbers! Gives me a LOT more room to experiment with different styles and mediums and the like!

If you've managed to read this far, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I do have a terrible relationship with social media and how the internet is nowadays, but I do cherish the followers that have stuck around this far. I wanna do things for y'all, but above all, do things for me.

[hhoneyglasss]

[FILE OPENED: SUNBOUND_ultraviolet_TEASER-IV]

So, You’ve Never Heard of Sunbound Wolves!

VOLUME I [DAHLIA VER.]

{Pamphlet written, provided, and distributed by the Department of Uniform Magical Practices (D.U.M.P). All sources courtesy of the Dahlia Academy for Magical Novices (D.A.M.N) Archival Library and Anya Buchanan, a sunbound wolf of the Shaw Pack.}

☀︎ Origin

Location: Nearly all sunbound wolves live in Aria, the magical realm.

Population: There aren’t many of them—there’s a central village in a plane of Aria where they are primarily located (there is no Elegian or Arian name for this village).

Recovery: Their numbers are still small due to most of them being wiped out during the Sol'Arya Dynasty.

☀︎ Abilities

Immortality: They are biologically immortal—however, they do not have this immortality until the Elegian age of 25. In order to gain their immortality, they have to consult the Oracle, an ancient deity located in the center of their village.

Shifting: Sunbound wolves have the ability to shift between a human and wolf form. On average, sunbound wolves are larger than moonbound wolves. Some sunbound wolves also have horns, similar to d(a)emons, but they are rare, usually only being seen on members of the Ruling House. — While in Aria, sunbound wolves are constantly in wolf-form and cannot shift into a human form.

Enhancement: All sunbound wolves are granted with enhanced speed, strength, and senses. However, these abilities are dulled while under the following circumstances: if they're in human-form, if they have not gained their immortality, and/or they are located in Elegy.

Charm: The Charm ability is possessed by all sunbound wolves, and it is similar to Trancing (see A Guide to Vampires! Volume I, chapter 23, pg. 21, section 23.2) in nature. Charm allows the user the ability to physically and mentally control the target receiver. Unlike Trancing or d(a)emons, sunbound wolves are not able to induce memory modification using Charm. Charm is less invasive and inherently weaker than Trancing. In Arian history, this ability was taught to sunbound wolves by moonbound vampires during the Sol'Arya Dynasty in order to protect them. It eventually evolved to take on its own name, abilities, and restraints.

☀︎ Weaknesses

Connection to the Sun: If a sunbound wolf does not have access to an Arian or Elegian Sun for an extended period of time, they will become more and more ill until death occurs.

Need for Human Sustenance: Since sunbound wolves are naturally in wolf-form, it costs them a different kind of energy to maintain a human-form in Elegy—a type of energy the Sun cannot provide. To remedy this, sunbound wolves also rely on human food and need the required nutrition of any other human to remain healthy.

Vulnerability: While they are immune to the effects of aging once they gain their immortality, they are still vulnerable to death by external causes.

Weakened Healing: Unlike moonbound vampires, sunbound wolves possess no enhanced ability to heal themselves while in Elegy and in their human form.

Weakened/Revoked Magical Abilities: If there is a circumstance in which a sunbound wolf is in Elegy under the Elegian age of 25, they are physically unable to use any of their magical abilities to their absolute fullest extent, including Charm. For reference, their overall powers are reduced to the same level as that of a weak Freelancer. This measure was put into place millennia ago in order to keep young wolves from hurting unempowered humans or themselves while in Elegy. On the other hand, if a sunbound wolf is in Elegy and is the Elegian age of 25 or older, then they have free reign over all of their abilities, albeit slightly weakened as mentioned before.

Blood: Sunbound wolf blood is harder to resist by moonbound vampires, meaning a sunbound wolf is put more at risk while possessing open wounds around moonbound vampires. If a sunbound wolf finds themselves in an altercation with a moonbound vampire for whatever reason, it is important for them to remain cautious.

Shades: Unlike d(a)emons, sunbound wolves are not immune to Shades. While Shades are not able to consume life force from them as quickly as they are able to to humans, they are still able to take life force from sunbound wolves in both Aria and Elegy.

☀︎ Relationships and Backgrounds with Other Races (Both Elegian and Arian)

Moonbound Vampires: You might be thinking, “Moonbound vampires and sunbound wolves are on complete ends of the magical race spectrum—shouldn’t their magical relationship be strained?” It’s quite the contrary, actually. Think of it like two opposite magnetic poles—they are naturally attracted to one another. This sentiment can be applied to relationships between sunbound wolves and moonbound vampires. For example, in a perfect world, moonbound vampires would have constant access to sunbound wolf blood, as sunbound wolf blood provides the most sustenance and nutrition for them. However, in order to somewhat remedy this issue, sunbound wolves living in Elegy are required to donate their blood to D.U.M.P blood banks in exchange for D.U.M.P services. — {More of their connected backstories will be provided in the next volume of this pamphlet}.

Moonbound Wolves: We can apply the opposite magnetic pole metaphor with the relationship between moonbound werewolves and sunbound wolves. Essentially, moonbound werewolves and sunbound wolves do not have a positive magical relationship. To provide an example, it is usually recommended by D.U.M.P specialists that sunbound wolves who move to Elegy should refrain from joining moonbound werewolf packs. However, some sunbound wolves go against this recommendation. — {Once again, events during the Sol'Arya Dynasty have caused a centuries-long rivalry that will be discussed in the second volume}.

Sunbound Vampires: Sunbound wolves’ relationship with sunbound vampires is slightly more muddied and not as clear as the two species mentioned above. Indifferent and cordial is the easiest way to describe their relationship in Aria, as sunbound wolves do provide energy for sunbound vampires to feed off of, but their relationship to one another does not extend far past that.

D(a)emons: D(a)emons and sunbound wolves rarely interact in Aria—lesser is known about Elegy. Their relationship is mostly neutral.

Empowered Humans: Neutral.

Unempowered Humans: Neutral.

☀︎ FAQs

“Are sunbound wolves ‘werewolves’?” — Sunbound wolves are not werewolves or wolf-shifters. Sunbound wolves are wolves, and their human form in Elegy takes energy from them instead of the other way around. If anything, sunbound wolves could technically be labeled as human shifters.

“Why haven’t I met or even heard of sunbound wolves before?” — Nearly all sunbound wolves continue to live in Aria—most only visit Elegy once in their lifetime. This is due to the fact that many sunbound wolves do not feel safe with the extreme prevalence of moonbound werewolves in Elegy.

“Are there any sunbound wolves in Dahlia?” — There are. There is Anya Buchanan, who was mentioned previously. There is also another sunbound wolf in the Shaw Pack, but they wish to remain unnamed at this time. So far, these are the only sunbound wolves we are aware of in Dahlia.

“How are sunbound wolves able to shift and use magic? Isn’t that impossible?” — It is not impossible, at least for Arian races. Sunbound wolves have both an extrinsic and intrinsic core, otherwise known as a bitrinsic core. This specialized core allows them to physically exert magic while retaining the ability to shift between human and wolf form. For reference, d(a)emons have a similar type of core.

[thetonethetollandthethunder]

Scythe chapter 16-20!!

Ayy we’re backk!! Let’s just get started shall we?

Chapter 16!!

-oh god the elegy—

-“Could you imagine me as a teenager?” OH YES I CAN OHOHO

-This also shows how much power scythes and especially Goddard has

-And also shows how bad of a scythe Goddard is as well

-Scythe Curie makes a good point that also relates to the toll, in which it doesn’t matter if they kill Goddard or anyone like him because another with the same ideology will always come along without fail

-this chapter didn’t have much but it IS good so ykyk

Chapter 17!!

-OHHH ITS THE MOMENT THAT EVERYONE LOSES THEIR MINDS OVER!! SCYTHE FARADAY IS D-D-DEAD or is he? :) :)

-Rowan instinctively trying to protect Citra!!!

-it makes sense for most disabilities to be nonexistent but that doesn’t mean I have to like it :/ like idk why the way it’s done is just :// especially as a disabled person myself

-The way the describe Faraday’d death is already suspicious if you already know he isn’t dead but when you’re first reading it, it does make sense!

-OH AND THE SEPARATE TRAININGS BEGINS!!!

-“If I ever take on an apprentice it will be for a different reason entirely.” OHOHO I KNOW I KNOWWWW

-Again not much to say BUT still rlly good!!

Chapter 18!!!

-Part 3 begins!!

-SCYTHE CURIE!!

-Again I always forget the names of these places, falling water is a very pretty name!!

-Citra being angry about Faraday’s death OUGH, she’s rlly going through 5 stages of grieve style

-Could you imagine ppl in the future calling our decor and shit old fashioned? Bizarre

-I love how they make Curie instantly charming and likable with only a few scenes, good writing man!!

-What hobbies would other scythes have? I wonder…

-Fun fact, i cannot drive, tried to learn and crashed the car, oh how I wish driving wasn’t necessary like in scythe

-Giving us little notes about the comfort scythes can give

-We hear a lot about being stagnant in the Scythe universe, and like, yeah, if you were in this utopia wouldn’t you grow stagnant even quicker than most? You have nothing to do literally

-You can really feel how observant Curie is, she noticed the small details

-Jesus even Curie’s yelling scared ME and I already knew what was gonna happen! She’s rlly intimidating—

-Gotta uphold your image!!

-“Another Scythe might have exacted a punishment far worse.” *COUGH COUGH GODDARD*

-Again shit names!! Barton Breen??? What??

-20 kids,, Jesus,,

-You can Curie’s own version of compassion, it’s different from Faradays yet still wonderful

-She did find her own way of gleaning!!

-Again FUCK Goddard!!

-I do wonder what would happen if Citra was trained by Goddard instead of Rowan…

-“Immortality has turned us all into cartoons.” GOD THAT LINEE

-Amazing chapter!! Told a LOT abt Curie!!!

CHAPTER 19!!!!

-Oo!! I thought this moment happened in Thunderhead but I misremembered!!

-Tho I THINK something similar happens??? Idk maybe my memory is fuckin with me ushejdj

-ALSO DAMN CITRA!! Pushin girls in front of TRUCKS holy fuck!!!

-Hate the eating descriptions!!

-TELL THE MOTHER YOU TWO!!! LIKE CMON??

-Cindy lmaoo, whenever someone whitewashes Citra im gonna call it Cindy instead <3 spite

-“err on the side of respect.” LMAO love that line

-RONDA ROADKILL IM DYINGGGGGG and so did she! (Temporarily but yk)

-“Can i throw you under a truck some other time?” She’s a busy person! I’d totally throw Citra under a truck! Would be fun!

-Morals change when theres little consequences, Citra would never even CONSIDER pushing Ronda in the mortal age, but since people can just come back it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing, it also shows how the concept of empathy and morality has changed in this society

-“the cloud” like icloud! Guess apple won in this world!

-“The machine had a purer soul than any human” NO IT DOESNT IVE SEEN AI ART YOU CANT FOOL ME!!!

-FUCK YOU SCYTHE GODDARD!!!

-OO TIME FOR CITRA TO INVESTIGATE!! I remember LOVING this plot so!!!!

Chapter 20!!

-Rowan finally!!! I missed you!!!!!

-He doesn’t wanna kill Citra!!! The beginning of his devotion to her UGHHH

-god hes only 17, I think we forgot how young these characters are, they really are just kids being pushed into this horrible situation god,,,

-“His was a life without substance, and now it would end.” God and here we see Rowan’s iconic self deprecating “emo” moments, people make fun of these scenes a lot but I fucking love em, it really contrasts Rowan and Citra. Citra has people who love and care about her, Rowan doesn’t, he knows that (in this moment) if he died no one would really care or remember him, so when he finds Citra, someone who does care about him and would care if he died, he clings to it. I mean when you’re that neglected and want SOMEONE to care even a little about you, wouldn’t you do the same thing?

-He already wants to change things!! And he will!! He will change a lot, though not as much as his girlfriend!!

-VOLTA!!

-“So is there a reason why you choose your robes to be the color of piss?” HA one of my favorite lines!!

-“the Change” god their ideology—, the fact they’re all thinking that they’re changing things for the better really shows how convincing of a man Goddard is, GOD i hate him!!!

-Ans here we have Goddard’s MANY parties

-my sensory issues would hate this

-I accidentally spelled Goddard’s name as Goodard which…Isn’t that so Ironic?

-“Bimbotech” Neal I’m BEGGING you to stop

-“Rowan wondered if the man had a diamond-studded bathing suit in his waredrobe as well.” He would because he’s a vain prick!!

-HES UNDERAGE STOP GIVING HIM ALCOHOL!! *Looking at you RAND especially ya creep—*

-“He was lucky if they even remembered to get him a gift” rowans parents man,,, He was really fucking neglected man it’s so awful, and the fact he still cares about them despite that GODDD

-See how goddard bend the rules? See how he twists them to make them fit what HE wants? Yeah, he’s gonna do that a lot; again, fuck you Goddard

-ESME!!! Shes backk!! And he’s right! She’ll be important!!

-GOD this is a good chapter, rowan my beloved!!

And that’s it!!! Next time will be chapters 21-25!! We’re going so fast aren’t we?

[creepywrites]

Ben

Warnings: death and cults.

After a big argument with Sarah, he ran away from home when he was 10, Ben had no plans and was just wandering until he met a recruiter and convinced him to go with her because she offered shelter and food.

Ben was slowly being indoctrinated, he realised quick to get a crumb of attention he needed to conform and fit in as much as possible.

he was drowned on his 12th birthday, and was excited but wary when he was informed he was going to be the first to be ascended and tried fighting back when they were drowning him.

After joining the eternity project he never saw his mum while alive again and never attended school, instead he was homeschooled.

Not many people took notice of his disappearance besides Sarah.

Because he was the first known to be successfully ascended they named the group after him, B.E.N.

During the ascension, he became the statue of elegy, unable to communicate to any of the others or interact with the new world.

This is because the leader knew he wasn't actually as dedicated and compliant.

His body was dumped and never found, because Sarah died, people completely stopped looking and his case was dropped shortly after.

Ben doesn't know he's dead and was wandering aimlessly, nearby where he died, confused and lost but feeling a connection to the place.

People often visit the lake and every time he hides away, too afraid to interact.

He loves legend of Zelda because of the puzzles and it was the series that helped him feel less lonely, one of the few games Sarah would play with him as well.

He really wanted to know more about his dad, even though he know he left them, Ben wanted closure.

He was a very lonely and insecure kid, people at school never liked him and avoided him, because of his lack of social skills he never talked to people with similar interests.

After Sarah saves him, he becomes Child Link, and Ben's spirit was able to separate himself from BEN when the Majora's Mask cartridge was reset.

Ben doesn't remember anything of what happened inside the game after the reset.

He's best friends with Sally and Lost Silver, Sally saw him and kept coming back to reach out to him, sensing his sorrow and convinced him to leave, believing she can help him.

Him and Lost Silver became friends very quickly, they met when Ben accidentally went into Pokémon silver.

His powers are intangiblability, hydrokinesis, super strength and teleportation. He can also go into games, he doesn't use any of them however.

The black goop from his sockets and mouth constantly drip down his face, it pours faster when he cries. He himself doesn't even know what it is, but tries to not question it.

Ben hasn't celebrated a single holiday since joining the Eternity Project, and couldn't celebrate much with Sarah, but does the most the can with Sally and lost silver.

Ben doesn't kill people, even though he easily can, he just wants to live his life and try to improve himself with his friends.

He doesn't surround himself with people that kill.

He collected a lot of things like stickers, magnets, and pins based on his favourite games at the time, mostly Sonic, Legend of Zelda and Mario.

He puts them on things to claim them.

He doesn't take drawing seriously, but he still likes doing it with Sally.

His favourite games are Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and Harvest Moon. However he likes a lot of other games, too. As long as there's some sort of action he'll probably enjoy playing it.

He enjoys Dungeons and Dragons, he used to play with Sarah. He's a big fantasy nerd in general.

Because he forced his way out of the cartridge,  he'll randomly start to glitch, appearing more like the elegy statue or child link for a few seconds to minutes, this usually freaks or worries new people that he meet's because they don't know what's happening.

Ben always unintentionally masked around the other members to try and fit in.

He doesn't mask nearly as much as he used to, and only really does it if he is with someone he doesn't know or like.

His special interest is Pokémon and legend of Zelda,

His stim is kicking his legs.

although he's gained a lot of knowledge over the years, he still has extremely childish mannerisms. The more upset he is, the more child-like he becomes.

Seeing others enjoy what he no longer can brings feelings of envy and resentment.

The first few years he was trapped in Majoras Mask, he felt scared and betrayed, he hated anyone who was in the project, and wanted them to suffer.

But after Rosa and Sarah, that changed his mindset after realising it wasn't some evil plan by everyone involved and everyone was just as confused.

Even though he couldn't interact with anyone, Rosa was always talking to him when she could.

He had no clue Sarah was the one helping him.

Ben mostly keeps to himself because he is afraid to lose the friendships he has - he will only interact with others when they are in the right state to do so. He knows that the people he holds dear are very fragile emotionally and deeply traumatised.

He doesn't speak very often, only a select few have ever heard him say anything.

He's completely blind, Sally is the one who usually guides him along, because they are on the move a lot, he doesn't have time to know the layout.

In 2018, another Great Depression occurred, leaving many people jobless, homeless and a decrease in international trade. Many people died during this period until it ended in 2020, Ben was completely convinced this is what the Eternity Project was preparing for and thought it was the end of the world and they were going to die.

Ben still keeps up with new Zelda games and enjoys the majority of them.

He's always wet, his clothes clinging to gaunt features.

Ben likes the other ghosts but can only hang out with them for so long because of all the different smells are overstimulating.

He’s fluent in English and has an American accent.

[the-parentheticals]

Oh my god it’s been a month. I am not very fast at art, as you may have gathered.

Anyway, this is the person whose crime is most similar to their prison number, honestly.

Name – Asano Hayami (浅野 速水) (the kanji in her last name mean “shallow,” “plain,” and the ones in her first name mean “quick,” “water”)

Age - 18

Gender – Female

Birthday – Sept. 6

Height – 190 cm

Blood Type – O

Image Colour - #F9E076

Occupation – High school student (third year)

Personality – To most people, Hayami is fairly blunt and straightforward. She can come off as rude most of the time, but she truly has no ill intentions for anyone.

However, if she feels friendly, she can be quite boisterous and lively, casually joking around with people, despite what she’s previously said.

Canon Cover – Half (one of these things is not like the others! Her voice is fairly deep, but not nearly as deep as this one goes)

DECO*27 Cover – Two Breaths Walking

Vocaloid Cover – Transparent Elegy

  “Es, isn’t it? Well, I can’t say I’m happy to be here. Who really wants to be in prison, ever if you are a guard? The name’s Asano Hayami, if you have to know.”

“…hey, tell me it’s not true. It’s not really her. Please, tell me…”

  MV – Red

Her MV would mostly be in shades of dark yellow and green, with two exceptions.

The MV starts with her, dressed in a soccer uniform, talking to someone with long, light purple hair in a locker room until a group of people in the same uniform as her walk past, and both of them disappear when they’ve passed. Throughout most of the video, the camera is angled so that everyone else is cut off at the neck, even when Hayami’s in the same shot as them.

Hayami lies across a row of desks with her eyes closed. The one just beyond the one she’s lying on has a white flower in a glass vase. She’s covered in bruises.

Hayami sits on the bench during a soccer game before catching sight of someone offscreen and running onto the field. The game continues, with her as one of the star players and scoring the winning goal. When the game ends, it begins raining, and Hayami shoves her cleats and another pair of shoes into her bag before leaving, away from the person who she looked at earlier.

The video cuts back to her lying across the row of desks, until the shadow of a fellow student shows up, and Hayami scrambles back to her seat while the person walks forward and stops at the desk with the flower.

Hayami falls on the floor, and the scene around her changes to the soccer field again. She’s visibly in pain from being struck in the chest, and a bright red card lands right in the middle of it.

The MV cuts to a school assembly where all the students are holding up a flyer with the vague figure of a girl with long hair, except for Hayami. She finally holds it up, but the scene is shot from behind so that the girl’s face isn’t seen.

In the last scene, the white flower in the classroom has all its petals fall off.

  Trivia

She acknowledges that what she did was bad and does regret it, but she doesn’t believe it was unforgiveable. Just a mistake anyone could have made.

As you may have guessed, she’s a bit like Mu in that her crime involves bullying.

She and Tamaki have the theme “relationship ignorance.”

[joemuggs]

Albums of 2023 part 2

And so, on from part 1, we continue. This is more dreamy synth-dub that sits perfectly next to the Harrow album: Richard Norris is another artist with an extraordinarily long and illustrious career but who also has never lost the exploratory urge and total delight in sonic finesse.

Honestly Uruguayan-in-Ireland Lila Tirando a Violeta is right up there with the very best of the "deconstructed club" generation - dark, gothic, complex, VERY WEIRD - and this collab with Berliner Sin Maldita is up there with her best. It's really, REALLY intense!

Just impossibly beautiful elegies from ambient harpist Mary Lattimore which builds towards the final track collaboration with Slowdive's Rachel Goswell that is so lovely it will single handedly bring back swooning as a popular pastime.

Officially an EP but there's enough here to cement Nia Archives's place as a heavyweight - add "Off Wiv Ya Headz" and that Jorja Smith remix, and she's had a humdinger of a 2023....

Saw some discourse suggesting that Burna Boy is resting on his laurels here, but I don't hear it. Maybe it's the fact that the cover looks dashed-off? But musically, this bangs: it expertly joins so many dots but keeps his voice and personality right at the heart of it.

I mean come on there was no way a collab between Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist was going to be anything but good, right? Just purest essence of deep and dreamy stoner hip hop. Yet another small (27min) but beautifully formed album - definitely a trend there.

Feels kind of (literally) sacrilegious to say I prefer Cleo Sol's more personal, less scriptural records (e.g. Rose in the Dark) - and this is, top to bottom, a gospel album - but the conviction to her performance and the whole realisation of it here is still really magical.

From Coventry via Skopje, man like NOT_MDK's first album in 23 years, and he's zooming into the deep flows that join grime and dubstep into the longer, deeper electronic funk continuum... These tracks are so crisp and crunchy!

She's from Turkey but Ahu's been plugged into the London Plastic People / NTS / etc scene for years - file this with Yazmin Lacey and similar LDN soul-jazz, also it's very Boho and vibesy and incensey, definitely one to light your best candles for.

Can't remember who put me on to this, possibly Radio 3? Anyway if cold wet misty Scottish hillsides are your jam Claire M Singer has you covered - these slower-than-slowly unfolding organ-led pieces practically smell of wet moss, and are extremely beautiful.

He's lent vocals to a who's who of electronic music, but it turns out Paul St Hilaire's own studio craft is the equal of just about any of them - this is just a stunning, ocean-deep album of dub abstraction and subtly potent lyricism.

Icelander Eva Jóhannsdóttir aka EVA808 has already made a name in the dubstep/grime world but this is her really spreading her creative wings. Mad psychedelia, elemental abstraction, movie-theme composition - there's not much she can't do. Big things beckon!

There's still SO much to say about amapiano, and so much incredible UK, SA and wider world stuff last year (this isn't even the only great DJ Maphorisa album - he had THREE out in 2023, including a mini album with Shino Kikai and a 25-track one with fellow originator Kabza De Small!!). Suffice to say this has gorgeous songs, primal grooves, endlessly sophisticated mixdowns and bass that'll take your breath away.

Just gonna link to my review for this one (it's got the music embedded) - but TL;DR Darren J Cunningham aka Actress is the holy prophet of the era of enshittification, yet for all that his music is constantly "off" and made for a world that is "off", he alchemises it into real gold.

Yeah I'm going to be THAT space-jazz hipster and say this is the record I wish Andre3000 (who is on it, and Carlos Niño co-produced his album) had made. It's just a more lavish, free, FUN way to cavort with the five-dimensional fractal machine elves.

Zoning in on the platonic breakbeat mathematics that underly Jersey / B'more club Chicago hip house, UK rave, trip hop etc, Bored Lord could seem arch or retro if her beats weren't so gloriously functional and bumping.

Fed up of generic records? You will never EVER find another one that sounds like IFS MA. Polish abstract slightly Autechre-y footwork / drum'n'bass with Japanese rapper MA sounding like a cyborg beat poet Taliban Trim and I.... 🤯

Every man jack and their dog are doing high bpm retro rave lately but you can trust Meemo Comma to put a fresh and uneasy twist on it. These tracks will get you proper buzzing up loud! I got to DJ for her live performance of this at Spiritland earlier in the year, hearing them on that system was a real treat.

You get a twofer with this one. Phil Kieran's ode to Belfast is gorgeous in studio form here, but he also recorded and released a version with the Ulster Orchestra that single handedly revivifies the idea of electronic music done classical style!

Two true underground troupers teaming up here - Jordan GCZ from Juju & Jordash and David "Move D" Moufang with some otherworldly good-dream ambient, deep house and space-soul jams heavy on the Fender Rhodes, fuzzy reverberation and sensually sweeping portamento.

My musical safe place for so much of this year. Brooklyn "electronic jam band" Purelink somehow burrowed into electronic music history and found the softest, happiest, warmest fur lined chamber and then invited us in. I cannot emphasise enough how LOVELY this record is.

More modular synth grooves from E Ruscha aka Secret Circuits, but no over-indulgence here and the grooves REALLY DO GROOVE. Trippy as a weasel circus and twice as funky.

Talking of trippy, here's Optimo Music's second acid-drenched entry, from the man formerly known as TB Arthur and the mighty Magda trading as Blotter Trax, it's a kind of parallel universe early 80s alt disco where everything gurgles and melts.

More from South Africa - King Mzaiza Sound via the reliably tough Parisian PSSNGR label - not 100% sure what you'd call this though it definitely has some gqom sonics, some trap drums, and some strident rap vocals... It's HARD AS NAILS is what it is.

EVEN HARDER - Nyege Nyege brought us a sampler of this (and I don't use mental health language lightly) FUCKING MENTAL shrieking, raging, solvent-huffing sound from São Paulo stewarded by the young DJ K, and it's extremely funky and scarily thrilling.

OK there we go, part three is here.....

[samismusicjournal]

Ethel Cain’s “Preacher’s Daughter”

1. Family Tree (Intro)

This song is so cinematic, I love it. It’s a walking-in-slow-motion song and very badass. It’s a powerful elegy about generational trauma (”The Fates already fucked me sideways” meaning she was doomed from the start due to her circumstances).

2. American Teenager

A tonal and emotional shift from the previous song. Very fun and angsty.

3. A House in Nebraska

We really explore Ethel’s artful lyricism in this song. The images are so distinct. It’s a very mournful song that anyone going through a heartbreak would probably vibe with and cry to.

4. Western Nights

There’s a very desolate and resigned atmosphere to this song. It talks about being “in love” with someone with serious problems and red flags.

6. Hard Times

This is such a sad song about abuse. It has a similar resigned tone to Western Nights, like we’re experiencing the abuse in real time, just having to let it happen. It’s terrible to think that someone who you idolize and respect and love so much could hurt you so bad.

7. Thoroughfare

I love the folksy vibe this song has. It has a romantic western/rock feel to it. Oh my god I’m listening to it now and it’s quickly becoming one of my new favorite songs. It has the same adventurous and devil-may-care attitude that America’s Horse With No Name has.

8. Gibson Girl

This is another badass- sounding song, but this one is about the dark parts of her new relationship. She’s being objectified and drugged by someone she thought she could trust.

9. Ptolomaea

Instantly, I’m creeped out by this song. It is so doom-filled and foreboding, it sounds like the soundtrack to a nightmare.

10. August Underground

If what I’m reading is correct, Ethel is dying in this song, and she’s being held hostage by Isaiah. For not having any lyrics, this song sure does pack a disturbing punch. I recognized the title as the infamous snuff film, so it makes sense that the subject matter is so terrible.

11. Televangelism

What I read about this song is that it’s her ascension into Heaven after her brutal death.

12. Sun Bleached Flies

This was the first song I heard before listening to the album in its entirety. It came up on my Discover Weekly on Spotify, and I really liked it. Now, hearing it in the context of the album, it’s even more emotional. This is Ethel processing her traumatic journey. At the end of the song, she admits that she never stopped loving Willoughby, her first love.

13. Strangers

Isaiah takes Ethel out of the freezer and eats her, but she warns him that she will be “turning in his stomach and making him feel sick.” She also laments the fact that she will never get to see her mother until she gets to Heaven, and that her mother will “wait up” for her when Ethel appears on the side of a milk carton as a missing person.

Final Thoughts

This is a haunting story. It shows how people trapped in the cycle of abuse are more likely to find themselves in troubling situations. Although Cain’s demise of being cannibalized is a little extreme, it serves the album well by using the shock factor to make the listener pay attention. The whole story just makes your heart ache for her because all of her circumstances are so unfortunate, and none of them are really Ethel’s fault. Generation trauma that was handed down to her by her father’s abuse, her strict religious upbringing, losing her first love, losing her second love in a shootout, running away from home, and being betrayed by one of the only positive male influences in her life. I’m definitely going to do more research into the story of this album because I’m very intrigued by it. This was a great listening experience, although I would never have figured out any of the plot if it hadn’t been for the numerous articles and Genius annotations I read. I like when artists include little hints as to what’s going on in the story of their music, and Cain does a decent job of that (especially the part where she is cannibalized). However, the loss of her second lover in a shootout with the police after a robbery was not clear to me at all. Neither was the transition between her being drugged and her death. But knowing the story makes this album all the more enjoyable. I’m glad people online have come together to figure it all out. Will definitely be listening to Thoroughfare a lot over the next week at least!