#surrender your poppy field

[sinceileftyoublog]

Guided By Voices & Kiwi jr Live Show Review: 6/1, Thalia Hall, Chicago

From left to right: Bobby Bare Jr., Mark Shue, Robert Pollard, Kevin March, & Doug Gillard of Guided By Voices

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Robert Pollard sure has a way of making audiences feeling special. No, I'm not just talking about giving them their money's worth with regular forty-plus-song sets. As Guided By Voices walked out to chants of "G-B-V!" on Saturday night at Thalia Hall--a chant the band itself invented in studio on Propeller opening track "Over the Neptune / Mesh Gear Fox"--Pollard let the crowd know that it was Chicago itself who were the very first to chant the band's initials back at them, on their tour for 1993's Vampire on Titus. Perhaps it was a plea to continue supporting the band as they continue to release records, often upwards of 3 per year. "We can't just rest on our laurels!" Pollard proclaimed upon introducing "Serene King", the first single from their upcoming album Strut of Kings, the band's 41st (!) record. And rest on their laurels they don't, as evidenced by the band's 40th anniversary celebration last fall, and, really, by every show they continue to play.

Gillard

The year's shows so far for Guided By Voices are opportunities for many fans, even diehards, to hear live for the first time the songs from the band's 40th album, last November's Nowhere to Go but Up, as well as those released so far from Strut of Kings. As has been the case with this current lineup since 2016, the new material is often the highlight of the set, the songs the band is most excited to play. On Saturday, swinging opener "The Race Is On, The King Is Dead" proved to be more raw than its sweeping string-laden studio version from Nowhere to Go. It stood out has having a more urgent live sound without flourishes and could become a setlist regular in that vein, like "The Rally Boys". Elsewhere, Pollard's vocals were more upfront in the mix on prog songs like "Jack of Legs" and "Song and Dance". And two of Nowhere to Go's highlights certainly showcased the band's dynamism: "How Did He Get Up There?", with its choppy riffs and syncopated verses, and "For the Home", Doug Gillard's introductory guitar prelude giving way into a mammoth rhythm riff from Bobby Bare Jr. and drums from Kevin March.

Pollard

Even at 66 years old and less than two years removed from a busted knee, Pollard's still on stage crushing Miller Lites, taking swigs from a bottle of Jose Cuervo (which he somehow passed to the crowd reaching over the Thalia Hall photo pit), and launching high-kicks. If the crowd shows enthusiasm on its own, pogoing during career hits like "Game of Pricks" and "I Am A Scientist", it seems like Pollard takes the effort to amp them up with his leg up in the air for newer songs like Welshpool Frillies cut "Romeo Surgeon". The rest of the band, too, finds ways to subtly shift tunes night by night. Gillard's riffs on Tremblers and Goggles by Rank song "Boomerang" were a bit more bluesy than I recall, while the end call and response between Pollard and Bare Jr. during Pollard solo cut "Love Is Stronger Than Witchcraft" was straight up soulful, emulating the studio version's vocal layers. GBV are also careful not to oversaturate their material. Pollard joked that this would be the last time we'd hear Surrender Your Poppy Field's slow-burning "Volcano"--it won't going to make the cut on subsequent tours--but only after playing "Planet Score", a Motivational Jumpsuit cut that has found its way back into the rotation 10 years later. So, you never know.

From left to right: Mike Walker, Jeremy Gaudet, Brian Murphy, & Brohan Moore of Kiwi jr

Opening again for GBV, just like last September, was Toronto indie rock band Kiwi jr, culling from their three very good records. I thought of their opening set as a victory lap of sorts, the band now 3 years into their record deal with Sub Pop, having opened for 90s indie rock royalty like GBV and The Lemonheads. Live, they're becoming increasingly crispy, with wonderfully chintzy sounding synths introducing "Unspeakable Things", drummer Brohan Moore providing an appropriately wavy rhythm on "Salary Man", the band seamlessly diving into a galloping breakdown during the middle of "Waiting in Line". Vocalist Jeremy Gaudet's annunciation is increasingly Malkmus-esque, breathing out the final syllables of a melisma or laughing a tossed-off line like "nothing to worry about" on "Guilty Party". Yet, what separates him is his acerbic wit, clear as day even over the band's jangle. "It might take another year / It might take a shot-gunned beer / It might take a rifled deer / Head shot, night vision, sex tapе, head shot / Turn it out," from dark closer "Night Vision", sounds unexpectedly anthemic when coming from Gaudet's deadpanned delivery. Oh, and best of all, Kiwi jr played two new songs, the melancholy "I Want To Live in a World Like Polly" and the impressive "Blowin' Up". The latter started Cars-esque and punky before sporting a mid-song hip-hop drum beat with a synth freakout. If Kiwi jr continues to take the GBV route and morphs into something more kinetic, I don't think anybody will complain.

Murphy

Gaudet

[empressgeekt]

Trolls - An Accidental Knight and the Brotherhood of Idiots (Field of Forgetmenots AU Part 3)

Okay, ya'll here's movie three!

Construction for Trollstopia, has begun and as such a reform of the Forest Guard. For a month all the new innovations move slowly, but productively. Perfect time for a break, and that comes in the form of Bridget and Gristle's wedding. A week before the event Poppy, Branch and Keith move into the troll tree temporally...Branch's old pod is the only one available. The old royal one having been destroyed by the bergens years ago, an Keith has no idea where his dad used to live as a kid. It brings back a bunch of memories, for Branch. Keith wastes no time digging through the very dusty closet in what was once Branch's old room. He finds Kroco, and claims him, Branch doesn't mind. He's too old for a stuffy, and originally it was a hand-me-down, technically it was Keith's by brotherly right. Poppy thinks it's the cutest thing ever.

The Wedding is being preped for, Poppy taking her role of Maid of Honor very seriously, she helps with decorations, Bridget's dress (with the twins help of course), as well as her outfit and Keith's (he was made ring bearer, Bridget and Gristle got close to him When they and poppy were making the pop troll/Bergen peace treaty, as Poppy was taking care of Keith during Branch's hospital stay post first movie). Branch is in charge of security regarding wild life, so with them came a small crew of guards, and he would be wearing his usual uniform. Ironically, once a few decades ago, Trolls would be served as dinner during a royal wedding, now though they protect the meal from sneaks and bugs. He's also in charge of a handful of Bergen guards to ensure the safety of all troll guests

It's the morning before the ceremony, Poppy left the pod early early to double check everything. Branch was dressing Keith and getting himself ready when the trolling, stumbles upon the old Brozone records. Branch plays one, Keith isn't impressed, he just hugs Branch and says, "You're better than them." Que wedding medley.

The wedding starts. Keith is standing on the ring pillow. He's standing in the middle of the rings, their big enough that he can fit in them like a kid in a tire swing. So, he just stands in the center of them to keep them from rolling away. From where Poppy and Branch are standing it looked like the rings grew a little sprout of blue hair. They try very hard not to laugh at it.

"Stop the wedding!"

With the shout of the intruder, Branch is looking to his soldiers. They look sheepish at accidently letting a stranger in. Branch pulls his mask down, hiding his face. Gristle nods to him to confront the stranger. Branch know who he is, but desperately hopes that John doesn't know who Branch is.

John is on edge in the middle of a bergen filled square, but schools his face into a relaxed one when he sees how at ease the other trolls present are. As he walks down the isle (yes, he's a drama queen), he's scanning the crowd looking for his little brother. Then a troll with dark blue hair and dressed in a bright green suit of armor approaches him. John can tell he's tense, so immediately raises his hands in a surrendering manner.

J: "Hey man"

B: Who are you? And can I ask you why you decided to interrupt a wedding? A royal wedding? A royal bergen wedding? As a troll? You're jeopardizing more then just your own safety here! Peace has just been achieved after decades of murder and cold conflict."

J: Whoa whoa, chill man. I'm not here to cause trouble.

B: then Identify yourself!

J: OKay! I'm John Dory, and Like I said I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm looking for my brothers. I need-

B: You can stop looking here then.

J: what?

B: I know all about you and your brothers John Dory, and you won't find any of them here. So, best be on you're way before you make an even bigger scene then you already have.

J: And how would you know that they aren't here? Who are you?

B: Forest Guardian. I protect every troll in this tribe, especially when they have no one to protect them. There's nothing for you here, John Dory.

John turns to leave. Dejected and scared, was his bitty B really dead all these years, how are they going to save Floyd without him? Then he sees a pink troll walking up to Forest Guardian, with a blue haired trolling in her arms. He figured it must be the knight's partner and child...until

"Branch is everything alright?"

John freezes everything at that line. He remembers the knight's blue hair, and the trolling's blue hair, connecting the dots. He screams branch's old nicked name as he wraps the younger adult in a unexpected hug. Branch struggles against the hold, and as John attempts to pick up his younger brother. Poppy and Keith jump right in to the fray, Poppy demanding that John release Branch and Keith biting the older brother on the leg. John shrieks and lets go. Branch wanders away, putting space between him and John while picking up a growling Keith. The trolling knows who the elder troll is.

Poppy recognizes John, and calls him old. The brother revelation is revealed, and surprising to Poppy Keith says he already knows about Brozone. It's a little upsetting at first, but she gets it, she and branch had only been together for a month, while Keith had been living with Branch for a while now. Of course the kid would know. John then tries to get close to whom he thinks is his Nephew, but Keith corrects John proudly calling himself Branch's brother, enjoying the color drain from the elder's face as he announces it. John goes into denial at that news because Mom and Dad were out the picture before Branch hatched and to that he's called an idiot for not considering Keith's adopted. John wants to say more, but he brushes it aside to explain why he's here. Poppy volunteers them for rescuing Floyd.

Keith ends up liking Rhonda, which makes John happy, even if he's a little conflicted about the kid. After all it did kind of feel like Branch had replaced all of them with this weird cross-eyed kid. Maybe even a little jealous, after all Keith is allow to hug and banter with Branch. While his bitty remains hostile to him. Poppy still gushes over Branch's baby photos, and John tries to show Keith but the kid is not interested, wanting to help Branch make a clue board.

Branch through out all this still wears his mask down, along with the armor and handmade weapons.

When they arrive on Vacay Island, Branch is more pissed at John for driving through the ocean, since Keith nearly drown. Both younger brothers do like John's machete though. John's worried at Keith's interest in a weapon but rights it off, and is a little more convinced that the kid won't bite him again.

During the forest trek, Poppy and Branch talk a little deeper about Branch's un ease about this whole situation. He asks her if she could leave Keith or Cooper (Making them adopted siblings in this au) for twenty years. Poppy immediately says she couldn't/wouldn't. Branch asks, if she did, would she'd think things would be exactly the same when she came back? She says no, understanding the situation a little better, then vowing to herself to protect Branch. Keith crawls into Branch's hair.

Bruce initially only recognizes John, however after seeing's branch's blue hair and the little nervous hand clenching that he's done since he was a baby, Bruce runs up to hug his baby brother...only to get shoved away and bitten on the arm by a trolling who launched himself out of Branch's hair. "You don't have the right to hug him," Keith growls. Bruce takes it in stride, especially seeing how attentive Branch was to the enraged trolling. He also mistakes Keith for Branch's son. Bruce introduces them to his family, well Brandi and a hand full of his spawn. There practice song goes oaky, Branch is a little stiff in his uniform, but he makes it work, Keith joins in on the dancing, but doesn't sing.

On the ride to find Clay, Bruce asks about the suit and Branch explains his role as Captain of the royal guard and he was on duty when John grabbed him. Keith claims one day held be in Branch's position, branch says only if he works for it. They are both offended when they don't get credit for the clueboard. After getting Rhonda to track Clay, John pulls an annoyed Keith to the dash board and points out the hustle button, he tells keith to press it. And Keith does not like the results.

Branch puts Keith in his hair, and pulls out his bow when they arrive at the putt putt course. Clay doesn't recognize Branch at first, only after Bruce points out him does Clay gets excited he tries to run up to his baby brother only for John to stop him, and point out the growling trolling sticking out of Branch's hair. Bruce shows Clay the bite mark. Clay is very confused about Keith, like when did this happen? However, their next step is escape so he doesn't have long to dwell on it.

During the dress rehearsal, Branch refuses to change his clothes, and Keith growls at John when he tries to push or asks if Keith could fill the role. When the fight breaks out, Branch pulls Keith behind him, and motions to Poppy to stop the van. Branch tries to step in to deescalate only to get worked up. He let's loose telling them that he can't believe he actually came on this mission if they were just going to abandon him again, and that he can't imagine leaving Keith behind like that and what did he do so wrong that made them hate him. Someone (probably either Clay or John) says that Keith isn't even Branch's real brother. Keith whimpers at that, and Branch looses it, "He's more my brother then any of you are!" The fight only escaltes from there, and Branch takes off his mask revealing his scar to his brothers, telling them everything that he had to got through alone, Grandma, Greyness, The chef, the Rockapocalyse with Keith being the only one who didn't leave.

Branch, Keith and Poppy leave. She's lost all respect for Brozone. She loves Keith almost as much as branch at this point and no one insults him in front of her. Still their not going to leave Floyd to die. Sneaking in is easy, and the find Floyd easily. The pink haired troll is too tired to really pay attention to the strangers only looking at the grown up version of his baby brother. Sadly they can't free floyd, and they see the other idiots got themselves captured.

Car chase ensues-and apparently Keith memorized the controls on Rhonda from watching John, so he can hold it steady while they try to use the gummy hand to free the others. Viva Bridget and Gristle show up like in canon. In the fight on the boat, Branch and Poppy use their bows to shoot at Veneer first, giving Viva the opportunity to free John and Bruce, Keith stay nestled in Branch's hair during this. They try the same tactic with Velvet plus John and Bruce attacking her feet, but they only succeed in freeing Clay.

Keith's the one who tells Branch to sing. And turning to his (former) Brothers, he tells them that if they don't want Floyd to die they have to try this, and that they can go back to despising each other after ward.

The harmony succeeds and even Keith Joins in, singing while in Branch's hair. Floyd is freed, but he's horribly weak and the twins are arrested. They decide to got straight back to Pop village after ward, because it's the only place that has a doctor for floyd and a not pinkeye infested house. Branch ends up driving most of the way home, everyone takes a nap that first day. John, Bruce and Clay's first order of business is to apologize and make up with Branch and Keith. Both of them have been really cold since they left mount ragous. Branch eventually gives in and give them one more chance, but they have to understand he and keith are a package deal and he has no problem cutting them all off if it means protecting the trolling. After that is settled, focus is back on Floyd who hasn't regained full consciousness since they left.

Floyd is in for a long hospital stay when they arrive at the village. He's dehydrated, malnourished, and they aren't really sure what the remaining crystallization is doing, but his limbs remained cold and discolored, even when feverish. One brother always stays by Floyd's side during the hospital stay. They all move in to the bunker when this happens, further working through their problems and bonding again. The older three even start to get to know Keith, the kid is staying and if they want Branch as a brother they had to accept the trolling as one as well. Bruce lets keith help him in the kitchen, John bonds with the trolling over survivalist tips, and while Clay has trouble at first, they click very well over story books, and Clay loves Keith more morbid style of writing. Though they all have to deal with Keith watching them sleep at one point...

Changes are also prepared for during this time. Poppy talks with Viva and Clay about moving the Puttputts and reuniting the families who were separated during the escape. Branch says he'll get a team together to escort them through the forest, ensuring thier safety. VIva agrees and also asks if Branch had any openings in the military, she knows a lot of the puttputts would be interest in Joining the guard. Poppy also askes clay to help organize the finances for Trollstopia, he happily agrees.

Floyd comes home after a few weeks. Bruce sadly isn't there he had to go home but this point, but he promises to visit after the month was over. And it's a major adjustment for everyone. Floyd can't walk and no one really knows the long-term effects that the bottle had on him. He's scared, frustrated, and in pain. He tries to down play it, hopefully not making anyone worry. Then the crystalization on his limbs hardens and it hurts. His body is both freezing and burning, he can't breath, or think. It's his first flare up, of many. The doctors recommend, keeping him warm, and physical therapy to regain motion, but even they are out of ideas as to what was happening. This mentally wreaks Floyd, he thinks he's never going to get better. During the middle of a night where Floyd can't sleep due to nausea, Branch opens up about his recovery after the Chef blinded him, trying to comfort Floyd with it. It just makes Floyd break down, and beg Branch for forgiveness after everything. Crying makes Floyd throw up, and that makes him cry more, branch pulls him into a hug to break this vicious cycle. Floyd just keeps apologizing, Branch finally just gives in as his brother seems determined to have this convo right now. He asks why Floyd never came back,Floyd explains that he tried but the tree was empty, he thought Branch was dead. Keith has been silently watching from the door way, at that the trolling wanders in and joins the hug. All three of them share Floyd's bed that night.

Keith starts to do the same thing he did when ever Branch had a depressive day, for Floyd. Distracting him with his stories, underneath the guise of asking Floyd to help him edit. Clay joins on this too, when he isn't busy with other work for the move of the Puttputts. Floyd doesn't realise this, and is just happy that Branch's adoptive brother doesn't hate him anymore, and grows increasingly attached.

At the end of the au, Clay and Floyd have moved into the bunker permanently with Keith and Branch. Floyd becasue he can't live alone with his condition. And Clay because he has no where else to go. Bruce visits, and John wanders, but stays close. Viva and a bunch of the Puttputts join the guard and Clay now works as official CPA for trollstopia.

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

🔎 YA Under the Radar Part 6 🔍

for a long time, I've been keeping (and eventually posting) lists of YA books I read that have received less attention than they deserve. it's been more than 12 months since I posted the last list in this series but I finally hit 50 the other day so here it is, the latest instalment of my YA Under the Radar series 😊

all of these books have less than 15,000 ratings on Goodreads, give or take, and were books that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend. I've marked ones with queer rep with pride flag emojis and ones with disability rep with wheelchair symbols. be sure to check them out!

Vampires Never Get Old (ed.) by Zoraida Córdova & Natalie C Parker 🏳️‍🌈 ♿️

Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales (ed.) by Poppy Nwosu 🏳️‍🌈

How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow 🏳️‍🌈

This Poison Heart duology by Kalynn Bayron 🏳️‍🌈

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

Slipping the Noose by Meg Caddy 🏳️‍🌈

Into the Crooked Place duology by Alexandra Christo

The Scapegracers series by HA Clarke 🏳️‍🌈

Lakesedge duology by Lyndall Clipstone

Clean by Juno Dawson 🏳️‍🌈♿️

Meat Market by Juno Dawson 🏳️‍🌈♿️

Wonderland by Juno Dawson 🏳️‍🌈

Stay Another Day by Juno Dawson 🏳️‍🌈♿️

The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake 🏳️‍🌈♿️

The Witch King duology by HE Edgmon 🏳️‍🌈

The Not So Chosen One by Kate Emery

Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard 🏳️‍🌈

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson 🏳️‍🌈♿️

The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson 🏳️‍🌈

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson 🏳️‍🌈

Social Queue by Kay Kerr ♿️

Kiss and Tell by Adib Khorram 🏳️‍🌈

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger 🏳️‍🌈

What They Don’t Know by Nicole Maggi

Fix by J Albert Mann ♿️

The Holiday Switch by Tif Marcelo

The Killing Code by Ellie Marney 🏳️‍🌈

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore 🏳️‍🌈♿️

Fraternity by Andy Mientus 🏳️‍🌈

Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz 🏳️‍🌈♿️

At the End of Everything by Marieke Nijkamp 🏳️‍🌈♿️

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal ♿️

The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins

Wider Than the Sky by Katharine Rothschild 🏳️‍🌈

Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin 🏳️‍🌈

Crown of Coral and Pearl duology by Mara Rutherford

Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass 🏳️‍🌈

The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass 🏳️‍🌈

Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches by Kate Scelsa 🏳️‍🌈

Market of Monsters trilogy by Rebecca Schaeffer

Windfall by Jennifer E Smith

Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E Smith

Arden Grey by Ray Stoeve 🏳️‍🌈

Definitions of Indefinable Things by Whitney Taylor ♿️

Stars in Their Eyes by Jessica Walton & Aśka 🏳️‍🌈 ♿️

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White 🏳️‍🌈 ♿️

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

Henry Hamlet’s Heart by Rhiannon Wilde 🏳️‍🌈

Where You Left Us by Rhiannon Wilde 🏳️‍🌈

More of my rec lists can be found in my "book recommendations" tag

[fanmoose12]

modern AU levihan as kids: Kenny babysits Levi, and doesn't let him play with any kids after school bc he thinks all kids are brats, but he approves of Hange so he lets her come over to play with Levi. And Hange always brings dandelions that she picks from the ground for Kenny, Levi, and for Levi to give Kuchel whenever she comes home late from work

"I'm going out," Levi announced, coming downstairs already dressed and with his backpack on.

From his place on a sofa, Kenny put down his beer and raised an eyebrow.

"May I ask where are you going?"

"You may not," Levi retorted, his face dark. Kenny had to admit - for a little boy, his nephew had an impressively fierce glare. Even some adults found the kid to be unnerving. Not Kenny, though.

"Oi, brat, you better tell me where you're going. Or," he smirked. "I'm going to call your mother."

At that, Levi pouted and stomped his feet. He continued to glare at Kenny for a little longer, before surrendering with an irritated 'tsk'.

"I'm going out with Hange," he said with a sulky pout. Of course, it was Hange, Kenny had no doubt that Levi was meeting with the bespectacled kid from across the street. He asked him simply to see that awkward and constipated look on his nephew's face.

"Is your curiosity satisfied? May I go already?"

"You may not," seeing Levi's wide-eyed expression, Kenny felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Teasing the kid was so much fun. "Wait for a bit, until I get my shit. We'll go together."

"What? No!" Levi protested, clutching hands into fists. "I'm going with Hange! Not with you!"

"Your mother asked me to look after you," Kenny reminded, putting on his best ‘stern adult’ expression. "So I'm going to chaperone you and Hange. I'm sure she won't mind."

"I will mind," Levi grunted stubbornly.

Kenny rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Levi, stop with that tantrum. I'll drive you two to the park, get you some ice-cream, let you have some fun."

"While you keep watching us like a creep?"

"While I keep an eye on you two to make sure you won't get into trouble."

Crossing hands on his chest, Levi considered him. "You won't let me go without you, right?"

"Levi!" Kenny slapped him on a back with a loud chuckle. "And here I thought you aren't sharp!"

It earned him another glare from his dear nephew, but then Levi sighed, accepting his defeat.

"Hurry up, old man. Hange is probably waiting for me already."

"I'll be quick as lighting," Kenny winked and dashed to get his keys and wallet.

Once he was dressed and ready to go, Levi opened the front door. Hange was standing on their porch, her arm raised to the doorbell.

"Oh." She gingerly lowered her hand to the side. "Hi, Levi. I was just going to call you."

"Sorry, it took me so long. My uncle decided to go with us and I had to wait for him."

"Mr. Ackerman is going with us?" Hange's eyes widened. "Awesome!"

"See?" Kenny walked out, patting Hange's head with a smile. "I told you Hange wouldn't object."

"Of course, I wouldn't," she smiled. "You're so cool, Mr. Ackerman!"

"That I am," Kenny grinned, looking at Levi's disgruntled expression. "But please, Hange, we've talked about this. You can just call me uncle Kenny. Mr. Ackerman sounds like I'm an old man."

"You are an old man," Levi argued, scowling.

"No respect for his elders," Kenny shook his head, feigning disappointment. "C'mon, kids, let's get into the car."

Once Hange and Levi were seated at the back of his car and once Kenny made sure that they put on their seatbelts - Kuchel would have his head, if they didn't - there was only one thing left.

"So, Hange?" Kenny met her eyes in the rear mirror. "Where do you want to go?"

"Huh?" she bit her lip. "Why don't you ask Levi?"

"You know him,” Kenny said flippantly. “He'll go wherever you want. So. Have you decided?"

"Um," Hange glanced at Levi and leaned closer, whispering something in his ear. Levi gave her a small nod, and Hange smiled broadly, showing her still missing tooth. She turned to Kenny, giving him thumbs up. "We want to go to the park, uncle Kenny!"

"Your wish is my command," he winked, starting the car.

***

"Here you go," Kenny pushed two plates of ice-creams - mint chocolate chip for Hange and lemon for Levi - towards the kids.

Hange accepted hers with a loud and genuine 'thank you' while Levi just grunted something under his breath. Instantly, children dove into their desserts.

Sitting across from them, Kenny sipped on his coffee and watched them eat. It was quite fascinating - how different they were. Levi ate slowly and carefully, wiping his face with napkin whenever ice-cream got on his face. Meanwhile, Hange noshed enthusiastically and messily, her cheeks already stained. 

As soon as he saw the state she was in, Levi paused and put the spoon down. With a barely audible sigh, he took the napkin and gripped Hange's chin between his fingers, making her look at him. Then he proceeded to thoroughly wipe her dirty face, cleaning the remnants of the ice-cream from her cheeks and nose.

"You're such a clean freak," Hange muttered when Levi was finished.

"It's not my fault you're such a pig, four-eyes," he shot back, making Hange throw her head and laugh.

Kenny watched their interaction with amused expression, regretting that his sister wasn't too busy with work to witness this.

He had a feeling, however, that she saw a fair share of this back at home.

***

Kenny put the hat lower, shielding his eyes from the blinding sun. It was quite boring, just sitting there, but at least Levi had calmed down a bit. After they arrived at the park, Hange had dragged him out somewhere, claiming that she wanted Levi to see a pretty butterfly she found when she had visited the park with her parents.

Kenny wanted to follow, but one glare from his nephew, and he surrendered, taking refuge at one of the benches.

He let them go, because as much as he enjoyed giving Levi shit, Kenny knew that he was smart. Careful too. He was confident that Levi wouldn't get in any trouble. Besides, the kid deserved to have some fun with his best friend. It was the reason he brought them there in the first place.

He wished the kids would come back sooner, though. The heat and bright sun were making him quite drowsy.

Kenny looked around the park, and when he noticed that there was no sign of his nephew or his friend, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting them rest for a short moment.

***

"Uncle Kenny! Uncle Kenny! Look what I've made!"

"Oi, old man, wake up," Kenny felt a sharp poke into his side and groaned, waving his hand to get rid of the source of pain.

"Wake up." Levi repeated, poking him again. "Hange wants to show you something." That was followed by another pock.

"Stop it," Kenny hissed. "I woke up, woke up! Just stop pocking me!"

He opened his eyes and was greeted with the too familiar scene - his nephew, glaring at him with all the fierceness a six-year old boy could master. Once he took a good look at him, however, Kenny had to rub his eyes, because he could not believe it.

His gloomy and grumpy nephew was standing in front of him, holding a long wooden branch in his right hand. And on his head, he wore a flower crown, made of weeds and poppies. Kenny clasped a palm over his mouth, stifling his laughter. He cursed himself for not taking his phone with him. He should have taken a picture, Kuchel had to see this.

"Uncle Kenny!" Hange's loud voice attracted his attention. Kenny turned away from Levi, facing the other kid. She was wearing the same flower crown as Levi. In her hands she held another one - this one made of dandelions. Smiling from ear to ear, she handed it to Kenny.

"I made it for you!" she exclaimed, and something deep inside Kenny's chest warmed at the sight of her. "Would you like to wear it?"

"You better wear it." Levi threatened quietly, giving him another pock. "Four-eyes put a lot of effort into making it."

Kenny smiled, endeared by Levi's protectiveness.

"Of course, I'll wear it," he said. How could he say no these bright eyes? He took off his hat and lowered his head, letting Hange put a flower crown on top of it.

"Ah!" she clasped her hands. "You look so handsome, uncle Kenny! Just so you know," she leaned in, lowering her voice to a whisper. "This flower crown is special."

"Oi!" Levi interfered, glaring at Hange. Despite his angry face, Kenny couldn't help but notice that Levi didn't pock her with his stick. Someone was clearly showing his favoritism. "You said that mine was special!"

"And yours is special!"

"A-ha," Levi shook his head. "There can't be two specials."

"Of course, there can be!" Hange flailed her arms around. "It's just different kinds of special! Your flower crown is a special best friend's crown, and your uncle has the coolest adult's crown!"

"He's not cool," Levi muttered, but he seemed to accept the explanation all the same.

"What's the stick for, kid?" Kenny asked, pointing at it with his chin.

"Levi was a knight!" Hange answered for him. "He was fighting a fierce dragon and to win this battle, he needed a magical weapon! It was forged by the forest gods!"

"A fight with a dragon?" Kenny whistled. "Were you s princess then, Hange?"

"Nope," she replied with a wide grin.

"She was a dragon," Levi muttered.

"Oh." Kenny should have anticipated something like that. "Did it mean that you lost, Levi?"

Instead of answering, Levi kicked him in the shin.

"We took a recess," Hange said, pushing the glasses up her nose. "The dragon was getting kinda tired."

"Right," Kenny looked up at the sky, the sun was already setting. "Let's go home then. Your mother is probably back from work by now."

"I have flowers for Mrs. Ackerman too!" Hange opened her backpack, showing a small bouquet of field flowers to Kenny. "You'll give them to her, right, uncle Kenny?"

"Why don't you give them yourself, Hange?" he offered. "You can join us for a dinner, I'm sure Kuchel won't mind."

"My mom's making pasta this evening," Levi added, looking a bit shy. "And if you want, we can watch cartoons after that. Have a sleepover."

"I would love that, Levi!" Hange pulled him into a hug. Levi made a face, but- didn't protest.

"Thanks for joining us today, uncle Kenny!" Hange told him after she let go of Levi. "It was the best day ever!"

"You're always welcome, my dear," Kenny's lips curled into a rare, sincere smile.

"Let's get back to the car," he said, standing up.

"The first one to they car chooses the cartoon!" Hange shouted and sprinted off. Levi rushed after her, but Kenny couldn't help but notice - his nephew was purposefully running slower than usual.

Soon Hange reached the car and started jump around in victory, while Levi made a show of looking defeated. 

Kenny chuckled, watching them. It was good to know that his nephew had a friend like that, the one who made him so happy. It made Kenny happy too.

[stanzoeywade]

Dating Poppy Min-Sinclair

I lowkey headcanon Poppy to look like blonde Chungha, and omfg she looks so good in this gif.

Summary: An enemies to friends to lovers trope, sign me the fuck up. I hope you guys enjoy and if you want more please like or reblog. If you want to be added to the tag list please reply. :) I'm also working on the third part of my Poppy x MC series and I oop I'm gay.

Taglist: @somewillwin @origmansello @kamilahtrash @poppysminion @captain-hanadeleine​

SFW

It was hate at first sight (sure, jan), but in all honesty your first impression of Poppy was that she was gorgeous. The scowl on her face did nothing to change your mind. The very first words she uttered to you was "Oh, sweetheart, you don't have to worry about who she is. It's me you have to worry about.

As soon as those words leave her mouth, the only part of the sentence your brain focuses on is the word 'sweetheart' and the way she said it, voice dripping with sarcasm. It did nothing to stop you from thinking how hot Poppy was.

You're suddenly pulled away by Zoey, who tells you about the whole ranking system and she takes you out to hang out at a speakeasy, with your new outfit.

In order to get your mind off of Poppy, you decide to flirt with the stranger at the bar (who ends up being Professor Kingsley), but even as you spent time and slept with them, all you could imagine was Poppy, and how she would feel under you.

You learn that Poppy was the resident HBIC of campus, and a sort of rivalry forms between the two of you.

Poppy won't admit it to anyone but she actually found you attractive when she first saw you, even though you were wearing non-designer clothes. Probably annoyed that she actually found you attractive, she acts extra mean, because she's confused and not good with feelings. (PB please let me romance Poppy)

Not anyone is safe from Poppy's wrath, and its extra hard for you because she becomes extra mean, her words are harsher and actually stings a little.

Poppy seems shocked that you actually got hurt, and opens her mouth about to apologise until she remember that she's the queen bee, she doesn't apologise.

You don't back down and insults are exchanged between the two of you, whenever you meet or bump into each other.

Poppy actually starts to look forward to your banter with each other, and she makes an effort to bump into you a bit more.

When you learn of Kick-off day, you and the quarterbacks team up to create a performance for half-time.

Poppy for sure gets annoyed because who do you think you are trying to compete with her, the queen of Belvoire.

After you show her up and kiss Zoey, she feels a pang of jealousy, which she mistakes and takes out as anger against you. She has a meltdown, breaks up with Carter and everyone stares and start to berate her.

Poppy walks out the field and you run after her, feeling shitty because even if she was mean, she didn't deserve to be shit on in public like that. You feel really bad and run after Poppy to make sure she's okay.

You catch up to Poppy find her all the way on the other side of the campus, she's by herself and you see her crying her eyes out. Her eyes are red, and once you see her your heart breaks a little because seeing her like that made you feel like the worst human being, especially since she was crying because of you. Even though, she's crying she looks as beautiful as ever and you can't help but stare.

You approach her and she notices and sneers at you. "Come to kick me when I'm down? Go ahead, newbie. Here's your chance."

And if you thought you couldn't feel worse, you felt you heart break even more as the words escapes her lips.

You put your hands up in surrender and let out a sigh. "Look, you don't have to believe me but I just really wanted to apologise. Even if you were being mean, you don't deserve that." She eyes you suspiciously and says "What's it to you if I'm upset, Farmsville? Just fuck off, I don't need your pity."

Not backing down, you stare at her in the eyes and say sincerely. "I never really wanted to be part of this stupid ranking thing you guys have, I don't even want to be the queen bee. Especially, if it means that you or anyone else gets hurt in the process."

Poppy looks at you stunned, like she can't decipher why you're being so nice to her, and you continue "Plus, I can't say I didn't enjoy our banter, that was fun." You wink at her cheekily and she can't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

You smile at her softly, happy that you managed to make her feel a little but better and you realise that Poppy has such a soft laugh and you want to hear it again.

Poppy's eyes soften as she stops crying. She looks at you and says "Thanks Farmsville, I needed that." You don't know whether your eyes are playing trick on you but you can swear that you can see her blush.

Meanwhile, Poppy feels her cheeks burn and her heart beat a bit faster. 'Damn you for being sweet.'

Smiling sincerely, you ask "Truce?" and Poppy raises her eyebrow at you amused but agrees albeit nonchalantly.

This then starts your sort of friendship with Poppy, but instead of hurling insults at each other, the both of you engage in playful banter (no one knows that you guys are friends). She turns a bit softer, in a way where she always looks at you with an inquisitive gaze to check if you were okay with the banter.

Cue the late night messages, where the both of you stay up late to talk about random nonsense that happened that day, or when Poppy's annoyed she sends you rants where she complains about how stupid everyone is, and vice versa.

Both of you being confused af because is she flirting with me or is she being nice???? (basically is he gay or European but lesbian) The two of you have each other's back, if someone says shit about either of you the other one is quick to defend. Zoey notices your change in attitude towards Poppy and she asks why you're defending your "enemy". You shrug it off by saying "If they're gonna say shit, they should say it to her face, not talk behind her back." Zoey finds that a little bit suspicious, but she doesn't say anything.

This then leads to an actual good support system for both of you, and an actual friendship is formed.

This is when Poppy realises that she actually has feelings for you, and she's quick to yeet out of there, because ewww feelings. She starts to act distant and you're confused because you think you did something wrong.

It's not that Poppy wants to avoid you, she's just really confused about her feelings and she doesn't want to ruin the friendship you two have. Chloe notices that Poppy is acting weird and decides to confront her about it.

Whilst Chloe is usually oblivious, even she suspects that something is going on between the two of you, and she begins to ask Poppy questions. That's when she finds out that Poppy has feelings for you. After her small 'EUREKA!' moment Chloe decides to tease Poppy, and queen bee is not amused. "If you tell anyone that I have a crush on her, I will have you cremated and eaten by the dogs." yells Poppy as Chloe just laughs in amusement.

Chloe lowkey trying to be a wingman, but Poppy tells her off and you just think that Chloe's just being weird, and it just confuses you even more. Like what???

Mutual pining, because the both of you are too stubborn to confess how you feel. Poppy just doesn't even know what to do because feelings. And you don't know whether she likes you back and don't want to risk your newfound friendship with her.

Cue Poppy seeing you flirt with someone else, (Carter, Zoey or Veronica or whoever) and Poppy loses her shit because she's jealous.

Thinking with anger and not her head, Poppy decides to kiss you in front of the whole school. Long story short, everyone sees and it's all over social media, that's how they find out that the queen bee has staked her claim.

Poppy is touch starved and craves affection. This probably comes with the fact that her parents weren't really the affectionate type, which is why she acts the way she does. Her parents probably ingrained it into her head that she has to be #1 for everything and anything below that is the same as being nothing.

She would never admit it but Poppy adores cuddling and lazy days where the both of you just chill out and share soft and sweet kisses, in which neither of you stop until your lips are bruised.

She's also the little spoon (fite me), and you don't mind because she's so soft and you're weak for her.

Poppy is also the type to pamper you with expensive ass gifts, even when you tell her that she doesn't have to give you anything, but it makes her happy so you're happy.

Waking up next to her is probably the equivalent of seeing an angel. She looks so peaceful when she's asleep and you can't help but stare because you don't have the heart to wake her up.

Poppy can't cook for shit, because why would she need to know how to cook, she's rich??? Probably so bougie she's never had fast food in her life, so the first thing you do is take her ass to McDonald's.

Arguments usually occur when both of you are stressed and this leads to angry make out sessions where both of you are marked up with hickeys for everyone to see.

This girl needs some TLC, so please be gentle and patient because she's not used to affection.

NSFW HCs

People probably think that Poppy's a pillow princess and sometimes you joke and tease her about it, but in all honesty she can top. Her strap game is impeccable, 10000/10 would reccomend again.

When you go down on her she always tugs at your hair, and you can't help but groan as her nails brush against your scalp. Additionally when she's bottoming, she becomes a little bratty and you have no choice but to play rough and she doesn't mind.

When the two of you argue, this can lead to some intense angry sex, all bets are off when you're arguing, everything is messy, rough and passionate. The two of you don't remember the reason why you were arguing after.

The moans, groans and noises that comes out of Poppy's mouth is music to your ears. It's probably the sexiest thing you've ever heard, and you can't get enough.

When she rides the strap, it's the hottest thing you've ever seen. The way her sweat clings to her body making it glisten, and the way her body moves and convulses as she's riding makes you go insane. 10000/10 would do again.

The type to annoy you by sexting you in class, purposely riling you up, she especially enjoys annoying you when it's Professor Kingsley's class because she's petty like that. It gets to the point where you're so riled up that you just get up and leave class. She loves sending you photos with nothing on but her underwear, almost always pink or white. It's one of her favourite past times really. You can't even get angry because each photo is so good so you can't complain.

She's also the type of girl to get flustered when you sext her back, and it's honestly the cutest thing. It becomes a game of who can rile up the other person more.

These are just my headcanons and you don't have to agree with them hope you enjoyed reading. :)

[multifandomfanfiction]

Kingsman: The Bear and the Fairy Chapter 8

TITLE: Kingsman: The Bear and the Fairy Chapter 8 PAIRING: Jack “Agent Whiskey” Daniels/OC RATING: M CHAPTER: 8/? SUMMARY: When the Kingsman and the Statesman join together to stop Poppy Adams, the last thing Elizabeth expected was to fall in love with a tall, dark, and handsome cowboy named after a brand of whiskey.

Eggsy and Jack were tall enough to grab onto the handles at the top of the gondola.

Elizabeth was flung into Jack and he wrapped an arm around her waist.

“I gotcha darlin’.

The momentum picked up and both men were lifted off the ground.

Elizabeth screamed and tightened her arms around Jack.

“Darlin’, I’m gonna need you to wrap your arms around my neck.”

Elizabeth nodded and climbed up Jack’s body, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He reached up so he was holding the handle with two hands now.

“All the buttons are dead. Controls gone. Everything’s in shutdown. You’re on your own, Eggsy,” Harry told them.

The handles they were holding onto gave way and they were slammed up against the glass.

Elizabeth cried out in pain. Her wrists and her ankles were pinned behind Jack’s body.

“Sorry,” Jack groaned.

“Not your fault.” Elizabeth pressed her forehead to Jack’s as the pressure doubled. She felt Jack’s hand moving towards her thigh and she blushed until she realized he was reaching for his whip.

He pressed the button and it went electric.

It cut through the glass and the wires holding the gondola up. The gondola started to fall.

Jack made sure to keep his arms around Elizabeth, so he could break her fall.

The gondola hit the snow and they started sliding down the mountainside towards a retirement home.

“Shit,” Jack cursed.

Eggsy shoved Jack up against the hole. “Pull it!” Eggsy yelled to Elizabeth.

She reached up and pulled the release for Jack’s parachute.

It shot out and they slowly came to a stop.

Elizabeth let out a shaky breath and pressed her lips to Jack’s.

“Oi. You two can do that later,” Eggsy told them.

Jack detached himself from his parachute and gently lowered Elizabeth to the ground. Her legs buckled and Jack caught her.

“Bethy!” Eggsy yelled, running to her side.

Her wrists and ankles were swollen, but it didn’t look like anything was broken.

“Harry, meet us at the emergency rendezvous point,” Eggsy told him, “Whiskey, you’re gonna have to carry her.”

Jack knelt down and Eggsy helped Elizabeth onto his back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Once at the cabin, Eggsy wrapped Elizabeth’s wrists and ankles in icepacks and gave her a dose of painkillers.

“I’m sorry,” Jack told her.

Elizabeth gave him a sleepy smile. “S’not your fault.”

Jack kissed her forehead. “Rest, darlin’.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, only waking up when Harry arrived.

“Am I late?” Harry asked.

Eggsy showed him the antidote as Elizabeth sat up.

“You found the antidote.”

Jack nodded. Through the open door, Jack could see Poppy’s soldiers coming towards the cabin. “Get down!” He rushed towards Harry and Eggsy, accidentally knocking the antidote from Eggsy’s hands.

It hit the ground and shattered.

The soldiers started firing.

Elizabeth crawled over to her fellow agents and Jack put an arm around her, drawing her into his side.

“You fucking dickhead!” Eggsy yelled at Jack.

“Fuck you! I just saved your life!”

“Yeah, and cost millions of people theirs!”

Harry fired off a shot.

There was a moment of silence and Jack pulled out his six-shooters. He peeked out the window as Elizabeth grabbed her blades.

“All right, they’re going for cover and reloading. I’ll fix their wagons. Cover us, boys!” He looked at Elizabeth, who nodded.

She followed him out the door and the two of them danced around each other, blood from their enemies staining the snow beneath their feet red.

Jack ran out of bullets and the last guy pulled out a knife.

“Jack! Down!” Elizabeth yelled.

Jack ducked and a knife embedded itself in the guy’s skull. Jack turned around and grabbed Elizabeth by the waist, slamming his lips onto hers. “Goddamn darlin’. Watchin’ you fight takes my breath away.”

Elizabeth giggled and pecked him on the lips.

Jack turned and cursed. “We’ve got incoming.”

The two of them ran back to the cabin.

Jack ran to the emergency bag. “I’m out of ammo! Troop carrier comin’ in. What’ve you got?”

Elizabeth pulled out her guns and handed them to him.

“Those are yours, darlin’. I can’t take ‘em.”

“I’m better with a knife than with a gun.” She gave him a wink and he kissed her forehead in thanks.

Eggsy went over to the window. “Shit! There’s a fuck ton of ‘em!”

Jack pulled a few things out of the bag. ���The fuck’s this? Looks like you packed for a fuckin’ slumber party, not a mission!”

“And they’ve got fuckin’ Gatling guns!”

“You have 10 seconds to surrender before we open fire!” one of the soldiers called.

“Guys! Hurry up!” Eggsy yelled.

“10!”

“Hey!” Jack yelled at Harry, snapping his fingers at him.

“9!”

“Butterfly guy!”

“Harry? Are you okay?” Elizabeth asked him.

Jack stood up.

“8!”

“You don’t look like Ginger fixed you right.”

“7!”

“I said I’m empty! And Tinkerbell’s guns are only gonna hold me for so long!”

“6!”

Jack walked towards Harry and he held up his gun.

“Harry…” Elizabeth said, not liking how he was acting.

“5!”

“Harry, come on. Relax.”

“4!”

Elizabeth sat there frozen as Harry shot Jack in the head. “JACK!” She rushed to his side. “Come on, baby. Come on.”

“Harry, no!” Eggsy yelled.

Elizabeth put her hands on his neck, but there was no pulse. “Jack. Jack, please,” she whimpered.

“Beth, the Alpha Gel.”

“Oh fuck it. Fire!” the soldier yelled.

“Harry, get down!” Eggsy told him.

Elizabeth placed her body over Jack’s to keep him safe until she could apply the Alpha Gel.

Harry reached for his bag.

“I mean, honestly Harry what the fuck is wrong with you!” Eggsy snapped.

“He broke the vial on purpose!”

“Fuck you! It was an accident!” Elizabeth yelled at him.

“You’re a fucking idiot! You’re out of control, Harry!”

Harry reached inside his bag and pulled out a Kingsman flask. “If we made it out of here, he was gonna kill us both!”

“You’re insane!” Elizabeth yelled.

“For fuck’s sake, it looks like he wouldn’t have fucking had to!” Eggsy yelled.

Harry pressed down on the top of what looked like cologne. “Oh, ye of little faith.” He tossed out the window.

Turns out, it was some-sort of grenade.

Eggsy jumped up and looked out the window as Elizabeth scrambled for the Alpha Pack. But her hands were shaking too badly.

“This does not mean you are off the fucking hook!” Eggsy knelt next to Elizabeth and took the Alpha Pack from her.

“We need to go dark. We don’t know who else at Statesman could be working against us,” Harry said.

“Please, Harry. Just shut up,” Elizabeth told him.

“This is all my fault. You weren’t ready for the field and I pushed for it,” Eggsy said.

Elizabeth put a hand on his arm. “Egg, both of us vouched for Harry. It’s not just your fault.”

“He showed his hand. You think he’d have let us live?” Harry asked, “You should be thanking me for saving our arses!”

“Saving our arses? Try saying that to fucking Whiskey and how about Elizabeth? Look at her! Do you honestly think he would have killed her? He loves her,” Eggsy told him. He wrapped the Alpha Pack around Jack’s head and injected it with the Alpha Gel.

Eggsy stood up and turned to Harry. “You are unbelievable!” Eggsy stormed out of the cabin.

Elizabeth sat at Jack’s side with one of his hands wrapped up in two of her own. She hadn’t missed the pet name he called her right before he’d been shot.

He called her Tinkerbell.

She just hoped she could hear him say it again.

[thesurielships]

“This picture of me letting the snowflakes hit my face with my eyes closed in the forest is in the school newspaper as winner for a picture competition and you apparently took the picture, and I want an explanation… wow you have very pretty eyes.” - I could definitely see this being poppy x cas au just inagine how angry and then distracted poppy would get😂

gold rush (poppycas)

note: okay so i cheated a little hahaha.i wanted to write a poppycas au for this song, and i got your prompt, so i just merged them. i wanted to write something more bittersweet, true to the evermore vibe, but screw it. enjoy!

also i’m not very proud of this one tbh. but oh well.

evermore | masterlist | ao3

Poppy cannot comprehend what she’s looking at.

“What am I doing there?” she asks Kieran, her fellow photography nerd and best friend.

“You’re in the competition,” comes his dry reply.

“As a photographer!”

He shrugs, but his lips are twitching.

“You’re laughing?”

She’s not sure whether it’s her question or her outrage that finally breaks his resolve. Kieran laughs so hard he doubles over, slapping his knee.

Her eyes narrow. Sure, ending up as the unintentional model of the winner of a photography competition she participated in as a photographer is funny. However, she feels like she’s missing the real joke.

She studies the picture again. It’s in the Nyktos woods in Carsodonia, where they went for the previous year’s school trip. She’s standing amongst the pine trees, smiling at the sky as snow falls on her face. She can still remember that moment vividly. For someone born and raised in a coastal town where it’s practically summer all year round, snow is a mythical thing.

She peruses the newspaper, looking for the name of the winner.

The submitter is anonymous.

The hair at the back of her neck rises. “Kieran?”

Her traitorous friend is smiling like a fiend. “Penellaphe?”

“It’s him, isn’t it?”

She doesn’t wait for him to answer before she turns on her heel and stomps her way to the other side of school. Hell hath no fury like a woman photographed without permission, and she’s going to bring it down on the offender.

Casteel Da’neer is exactly where she expects to find him after school. He’s dunking on the basketball field, alone. He always stays behind even when his club leaves.

And so does his fanclub.

Poppy scowls at the girls fawning over him and yelling out flirtatious comments as he wipes his face with his shirt, exposing his abs.

He notices her and she can see his golden eyes gleaming across the distance.

She hates the rush of adrenaline as his gaze trails along her body, leaving scorching heat in its wake.

She hates the red flush on her face when he smiles at her, so wide both dimples appear.

She hates how she’s huffing and panting when she stops in front of him, yet he is completely unruffled after playing basketball for hours.

“I assume you’ve seen the winner.”

“Yes,” she grits through her teeth.

“Always such a sore loser, Poppy,” he purrs her nickname and her anger flares.

“How dare you submit a picture of me!”

He tilts his head, his eyes twinkling in the afternoon sun, and for one short second, she forgets what she’s so mad about. “It fits the prompt.”

“How is that what winter means to you?”

He steps closer and she straightens her spine.

“I grew up in Skotos.”

“I’m aware.”

He cracks a smile, and that damn dimple of his makes an appearance. “Winter is the most boring thing to me.”

“That sounds like your problem,” she snaps.

He takes another step, grinning at her, and she has to tip her head back to meet his eyes.

“Snow is just a wet pain in my ass, most days. But the way you smile at it in wonder, the way your eyes light up and you surrender to the joy of discovering something new… It’s beautiful, Poppy.”

She hates how the compliment turns her knees molten.

She hates how her heart stumbles when he reaches out and twirls a red strand around his finger. “That day was the first time winter meant anything positive to me.”

His eyes drop to her lips and she shivers at the memory he’s referencing.

“You’re a terrible flirt.”

“And a great kisser,” he whispers before his lips meet hers.

It’s sweet and slow at first, but quickly escalates when her hands slide up his chest and her fingers tug his hair. He groans deep in his throat and the sound unleashes her.

She bites his lower lip and explores his mouth with wild abandon. Casteel lets her take the lead, his fingers tightening on her waist. This new dynamic is a stark contrast to their first kiss in the snowy Carsodonian woods. Then, his kiss was determined but gentle, and she was too dazed to do anything but receive his affections.

She hates how each kiss with him is better than the last.            

She hates how falling feels like flying until the bone crush, and with every kiss the fall looms ever closer.

And she hates how she doesn’t care.

When they part, he's panting, his face flushed and his hair askew.

And Poppy is willing to risk every bone in her body if she gets to see him like this one more time.

"I love you."

"I know."

She punches his stomach and he roars a laugh.

"Ice cream?" he asks as he wraps an arm around her shoulders and picks up his backpack with the other.

"You always end up eating mine," she remarks, snaking her arm around his waist.

"You always get my favorite," he pouts, and she loves how adorable it is.

"Your problem, babe."

He kisses the top of her head, chuckling. "That you are."

[pressedinthepages]

*New Series Alert* - Hollow Things

Series Masterlist

Fandom: The Witcher

Pairing: Eskel x Reader

Rating: M

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24382063/chapters/58808479

Summary: Eskel x fem!reader AU. You are the only woman to have ever survived the Trials and live as a Witcher. You have been traveling alone for 30 years until you stumble across another Witcher, and he requests your help on a contract. The journey starts from there as they discover hidden pasts, dark secrets, long-repressed feelings, and just how human you both truly are.

Chapters posted on Sundays (I think)

a/n: Alright y'all, here we go! No one asked for this, but it's been stuck in my head for like a month and now it's finally out! The story doesn't really follow canon, but I tried to make scenes as in-character and realistic to canon as possible. 

CHAPTER 1 - The Trials (Prologue)

Word Count: 4177

Warnings: illness, fever dreams, blood, sensory overload. I wouldn’t call this a happy chapter

    The heat poured off your skin in waves, yet you felt frigid under your skin. You lay on the floor, soaked in your own sweat and shit and piss and vomit and any other various bodily fluids that you couldn’t be bothered with. During the few hours of consciousness you’ve been able to hold onto, you’ve seen glorious men dancing throughout a giant banquet hall, women with jewels for eyes and giant, feathered wings on their backs, carrying you through a field of flowers bigger than evergreens, and even dark, murky water surrounding you as you’re pulled under by something that looks like a human but with far too many scales and gills. Years ago, after the Choice, you realized that the Gods weren’t listening to you, or, if they were, they were some shitty gods to believe in. What sort of Godly being allows this torture of helpless children? 

   But in this moment, after countless days of unrelenting fever and sickness, you found yourself praying. Praying for anything, any sympathy or end to this madness surrounding you. Your sobs, your screams, your prayers echoed in the tiny room, reassuring you that, no, no one is listening. But finally, with one final puff of breath, your eyes fell closed and your body grew still.

…

    You wondered if you had finally died. You were standing on a mountain path, rocky and uneven under your feet. It was dusk, the reds and oranges on the sky signaling a storm in the night. The songs of the birds in the trees brought you comfort, their lilting chirps carried on the wind that flowed through your hair. You suddenly sensed a presence behind you, and as you turned, you flung yourself from the trail as a horse barrelled past you, its rider clutching something heavy with blankets to their chest. You felt pulled in their direction, and your feet began following them without thought. You ran for miles, days, weeks, you weren’t sure. But when the rider finally slowed the horse to stop, you found yourself on a familiar stretch of land. You could see the peaks of Kaer Morhen over the crest of mountain, and you heard another set of hoofbeats approach from that direction. The rider dismounts, drawing one of the two swords from his back. You recognize him as Sorel, the asswipe in charge of training new witchers. But you see that his manner is deadly threatening, so you quickly raise your hands in surrender and slowly walk towards him. He doesn’t seem to see you though, staring only at the mysterious rider and their package. 

    “Sorel, I swear, I have no idea who this is...” Your voice trails off as Sorel steps forward, golden eyes never leaving his target.

    “I take it you’ve decided to accept my offer,” Sorel states, arrogance dripping from his voice like venom. 

    The rider nods, pushing the hood of their cloak back from their face. It is a man, plain and unremarkable. You don’t recognize him, but Sorel does.

    “Give it here,” he commands, his hand gripping the swords at his hide tighter. 

    The man clutches the bundle against his chest, burying his nose into the blanket and letting out a small sob. Sorel grunts impatiently and begins stalking towards the man. You can only watch as he steps through you as if you were air, and you are now fully sure that you’ve died. Your feet feel like they’re nailed to the ground as the rider finally drops from his horse, shifting the blankets in his arms to cradle them. You then see a small arm drop from the side, limp. You gasp, rushing forward to save this child, to stop Sorel, to do something, but you only glide through the men, their words falling unheard to your ears. 

    Sorel looks into the bundle, wrinkling his nose. His bright eyes shoot back to the man, instantly threatening him without uttering a single word. The man withers under his gaze, stuttering and babbling nonsensical syllables. 

    “We discussed this. We do not take girls here.” Sorel’s voice turning cold as you see him start to raise his sword. 

    “But she is not just any girl, please, we fear that if she is not changed, she will be all of our downfall!” The man cried, placing the bundle on the ground. Like this, you could see a young girl, maybe four summers old, dressed in rags and filthy beyond belief. “She entered this world on the day of the Black Sun.”

    Sorel stilled, his catlike gaze scrutinizing the man before him. You’d not heard of this, but again, it seemed that Sorel knew exactly what the man was saying. He sheathed his sword in a well-practiced motion and knelt to the ground. You saw him press his fingers to the girl’s neck, and knew he was seeing if she was alive. You’d seen him and the other instructors do this numerous times to the different recruits, leaving them on the ground to gather a shovel more often than not. However, Sorel slipped his hands under the blankets, standing with the girl in his arms and leveling his eyes back to the man. 

    “I gave her poppy milk with her last meal, she should be asleep until morning,” the rider whispered, shame leaking almost visibly from his pores. His shoulders were slumped, and his hands fidgeted at his sides, not knowing what to do. 

    “You may go,” Sorel said, “and do not return. Once we take in a wolf, it does not leave the pack.”

    Sorel watched the man clamber back onto his horse and open his mouth as if to say something else. The Witcher lifted an eyebrow, annoyed, and the mysterious rider closed his mouth and turned his horse back down the path, not once looking back. Once he was out of sight, Sorel called his own horse over, settling himself and the young girl astride it. 

    “Sorry man didn’t even give me your name.” He shook his head. Your eyes widened and you took a sharp intake of breath as you heard him whisper a soft sound, pressing his hand to the girl’s forehead. Everything clicked in that moment, and you ran, ran down the path following the other rider, screaming and pleading for him to come back, don’t leave her here, bring her home! 

    You rounded a bend, seeing nothing but grey stone and even greyer clouds in the sky, the rider nowhere to be found. You collapsed on the trail, the little bits of gravel ripping through your trousers and digging into your shins, sobbing and crying and cursing, replaying what you just witnessed over and over in your head until your senses went black. Sorel, the bastard, had given you your name. 

…

    When you next opened your eyes, you found yourself inside the walls of Kaer Morhen. You were sitting along the small stone wall around the training area, and there were two children fighting each other with wooden swords. They looked to be around the age of ten, the girl just a little shorter than the boy. He had unruly brown hair that kept getting in his eyes, making him huff his breath to get it out of the way. His eyes were a dark green, it reminded you of the tops of the trees in the summer. The girl had longer hair, falling just past her shoulders. It was pulled off of her face, tied and braided at the back of her head. This time, you recognized them both. You were watching yourself spar with your best friend, almost five years ago. You felt yourself melt into her, seeing what she saw and thinking what she thought.

You were circling each other, watching, waiting, when suddenly the boy lunged forward, swinging his sword in a long arc towards you. You swiftly rolled to the right, finding your footing and blocking his next attack in front of your face. Your swords were locked, your face straining with the effort of pushing his weight back. Suddenly, the boy gave a strong push, knocking you off your feet and onto your bottom, your sword clambering far from your reach. 

“You’re getting better,” the boy smiled, holding out a hand to help you to your feet. You groaned as you stood, rubbing your bottom ruefully.

“Yeah, and so are you,” you complained, “it’ll never be an even fight.”

“Who cares? We’re just practicing.”

“I care! I’m outweighed by all of the boys here, and I don’t know how to win against you! All you do is beat me, throw me onto the ground and claim victory, and I’m not learning how to beat you!” You threw your hands in the air, turning to retrieve the fallen sword. 

When you turned back around, you saw the young boy watching you, his hands on his hips and a smirk pulling at his lips. He always seemed older than he actually was, his mannerisms and personality aging him ahead of his body. 

“What?” You snapped, stalking back towards him.

“You know what Vesemir always says…” he said, and you groaned, your eyes falling to your boots. 

“To reject practice is the path of fools,” you both say in unison. The young boy sighs, placing his hand on your shoulder. You bring your gaze back to him, and he offers a small smile. 

“I know you can do this, even if you’re a little smaller than everyone else,” he says quietly, but so confidently that you start to believe him. But he can sense this, and his smile turns mischievous. “And I’ll always help you practice, I’ll never turn down a chance to beat you!” He quips, and you give him a shove, forcing him backwards. 

“You’ll regret saying that, Eskel!” You shout, and he breaks into a run, shouting back over his shoulder “No way in hell!”

You give chase, whooping and hollering across the courtyard, running in so many circles back and forth that you’re not sure who’s chasing who anymore. The bell in one of the lower towers rings, calling everyone to dinner. You stop, Eskel just behind you. He brushes around you before turning and pulling you into a hug, and gods he gives the best hugs. 

“Thank you Eskel,” you whisper into his shoulder, pulling back and giving him a bright smile. He always knew just how to cheer you up, and you always tried your best to do that in return. But boys were difficult, and gross.

“Don’t mention it, I promise, you’ll get the hang of this,” he says, letting you go and turning back to the sprawling castle. “Now c’mon, we gotta get to the dining hall before Geralt takes all the bread!” and you feel the darkness spreading through you once more.

…

    When you next awake, you are in the common area of Kaer Morhen. The stone is cold under your feet, and you are standing against the wall at the back of the sprawling room. You recognize yourself in the room instantly, sitting silently, cross-legged on the floor in-between Eskel and Geralt. There are a couple of other young boys on the floor as well, and you are all looking up at the four adults in the room. It seemed that everyone had tried to look as tidy as possible, even Geralt having gone so far as to pull his long, dark hair off of his face and tying it behind his head, allowing his deep brown eyes to scan the candlelit room. The version of you on the floor chances a look around the room, finding the eyes of a red-haired boy. He gives you a wink, and you grimace, rolling your eyes and looking away. He huffs angrily, and you remember thinking that Clovis needed to learn to control his temper better. You remember this moment as if it were only yesterday, because it was.

    Sorel steps forward, his golden eyes flicking across the children. You bristle at the sight of him, the revelation of how you came to be at Kaer Morhen and the role he played in it still tender in your mind. He stands confidently, legs shoulder-width apart and hands clasped behind his back. He looks almost identical to the Sorel of twelve years ago, albeit with a new scar at his hairline and the lines forming his ever-present frown are a bit more pronounced. 

    “You have survived your training up until this point. However, tomorrow begins your next steps,” Sorel states, his voice settling condescendingly over the others in the room. “At first light, you will all be administered the Trial of the Grasses.”

    At this, all of the children blanch, shifting and glancing between themselves uncomfortably. 

“Settle, pups,” Sorel sighs, “our experiments this year focus only on a simple matter of quantity. As there are six of you, we will administer the usual dose to all of you, and half of you will receive an additional dose after the sun has set. Those three will be chosen randomly, so I suppose you could say that we are letting Destiny decide.” Sorel smirked at his final sentiment, and you clenched your fists at your sides, the short nails still digging into your palms. 

“Ah, well, maybe we should just start with the preparations and get this out of the way?” One of the other men steps forward, placing a hand gingerly on Sorel’s shoulder. His hair is long and graying, but his body still shows immense strength and grace. His face does not show any emotion, but you can sense great discomfort behind his eyes, the gold betraying his intent.

“Vesemir, always so impatient to begin the Trials!” Sorel jabs, essentially shutting out the other Witcher. Vesemir nods and resumes his place among the other instructors, one of whom has his arm tightly wrapped in bandages. It is rare to see bandages among the Wolves, but the wound is still fresh. You know this because you witnessed what had happened only a few days prior, but were too far away to do anything. 

The man, Osbert, was another instructor at Kaer Morhen and had been helping the students with their horseback sword work. Geralt sat astride the horse, Osbert seated behind him. You had been waiting your turn, pretending to read about the invention of runes and how they’ve revolutionized the silver swords and blah blah blah. Instead, you found yourself fiddling with the hem of your tunic, stealing glances at the boy; no, the young man beside you. Eskel was reclined, not even pretending to read that drivel. The wind danced through his hair, blowing the scent of hay to your nose. Ugh, he’s been back in the stables with the goats again you thought to yourself. You had been fond of him for years, but you knew that romance (or any feelings at all) for a Witcher was never a good idea. You were settling back to tug at the threads of the fraying shirt when a high whinny pierced the air. You and all of the other students sprang to your feet, but it was far too late to do anything. You watched the horse rear back wildly, throwing both Osbert and Geralt from its back before bolting in the opposite direction of the castle. Osbert had broken his right arm, and the only wound that Geralt had suffered was one to his pride.

Blinking back to the firelit room, you realize that everyone had left, save for you and Eskel. You were holding him tightly, your face buried into the crook of his neck, your shoulder shaking with silent sobs. Eskel was still taller than you, and he rested his chin atop your head, humming lightly. After what could be moments or hours, you pull back, still holding Eskel’s shoulders softly, your fingers pricking at a pulled thread in the red fabric. His hands stay at your hips, letting you compose your thoughts before speaking. 

“I’m so frightened,” you start, but Eskel cuts you off before you can continue. He’s developed this habit recently, finding himself sticking his foot in his mouth on more than one occasion. However, he clearly hasn’t learned better yet.

“You’ll be fine!” He exclaims, full of false optimism and hope that you don’t believe for a moment. You pass a withering glare, and he relents, his hands tightening ever so slightly on your waist. You really wish that you could enjoy the feeling of his hands right now, but you just can’t bring yourself to that mind-frame. 

“Eskel, it’s not me that I’m worried about. I don’t want to wake up in three days only to find out that this had killed you, and I never got to tell you that I…” your voice trails off, unspoken words and feelings hiding in the silence. 

Eskel blinks, looking down for a moment before you see a shy smile grace his features. He lifts his gaze back to you, bringing a hand to your cheek, and you lean into it with a sigh. He moves forward slowly, resting his forehead on yours. You look into his eyes, falling into the sea of trees and serenity before you both shift, pulled by an invisible force to draw ever closer. Your eyes flutter closed, and you just barely ghost your lips over his. You hear his breath hitch and feel him hesitate for a heartbeat before pulling you back, pressing his lips against yours and bringing his hand back down your hip, trailing along your side tantalizingly slowly. You both cling onto each other, desperately trying to pour everything into this moment, this potential goodbye.

You feel the darkness closing in once more, and you breathe deeply, smelling smoke and old books and something sharp and unwelcome, hoping that this moment will be the last thing you will see before finally meeting Death.

…

    The first thing you notice is noise. You can hear voices, some close, some very very far. You can’t understand a single word, but they all sound as though they are screaming in your tight little room. You curl into a ball, pressing your hands to your ears and grimacing, trying and failing to shut out the relentless noise. You can hear the pounding of feet along floors, the rhythmic strikes of wooden swords from the practice yard, even your own heartbeat is echoing in your ears, but it feels far too slow. 

    You feel cold stone beneath you, and it shakes with every movement of something across it. Your loose shirt and light trousers are far too tight, suffocating you with any breath you try to take. You feel every thread, every stitch in the offending articles, every gather and bunch and fold starched into the clothes. Your nails desperately search for a respite from the torture, scratching at the fabric, tearing your skin, and almost effortlessly ripping the clothes from your body, rendering them useless. You almost cry with relief, and you feel the wind through your hair from the tiny window in the corner of the room and the dripping of blood from the wounds on your skin. You can feel the root of every hair on your head, the pressure of your own teeth and tongue against your cheeks, and you open your mouth to take a deep breath.

    Instead, you only choke on the persistent taste invading your mouth. It is something bitter and stale, reminiscent of when you wake after a deep slumber, but infinitely stronger. You quickly close your lips, your tongue unconsciously darting out to lick them. You taste salt from sweat and tears, and you can somehow distinguish the two from their tastes. Copper comes next, the sour taste of blood filling your senses. There’s not any in your mouth, but you realize that you’re tasting the blood on the air. You run your tongue along the inside of your mouth, able to feel every notch and ridge along your teeth. You try to focus, grounding yourself with a deep breath in through your nose, since there was no fucking way you were ever opening your mouth again if that’s what you’d taste.

    However, you were bombarded by the smells of everyone and everything. The first thing you noticed was something sharp and acrid, the same thing that pulled you from your last dream. It was you, you figured, since it smelled of someone in desperate need of a bath. But, as you focus a bit harder, you notice that it is accompanied by several others that are similar, but different at the same time. You try to close in on each one individually, and they comfort you by themselves. One is accompanied by grass and cinnamon, stinging the sensitive nerves of your nose. Another smells of smoke, no, fire, for now, you can tell the difference, and buttercups, and...is that onion? Yet another smells of orange and chamomile and hay, and you almost sob with the newfound knowledge. You’d know that smell anywhere, Eskel has always been weak for orange soaps, and he’s actually alive. But he’s in pain, you all are. You linger on his scent a bit longer, allowing yourself the small comfort of his far-away embrace. You come back to yourself, smelling bread baking and sword oil and goats on the air…and underneath it all, the rancid stench of death and decay. You gag, the scent now permeating your skin, every pore seemingly screaming with disgust and nausea. Your stomach heaves, but nothing comes of it, having emptied itself days ago.

    You roll onto your front, pulling your arms under you to push yourself to a stand. You want to run, fight, scream at all of the invading sensations. But gods, you’re terrified to open your eyes. You try to move forward, but you stumble on the little grooves in the stone that you hadn’t noticed before. You fumble to try to find something to lean on, encountering the rough wood of your small dresser under your fingers. You run your fingertips along the surface, feeling the grain of the wood and noticing the oddly sweet scent that it gives off. You hadn’t thought that wood would smell sweet, but at this point, you’re not sure what else could possibly surprise you. You steady yourself against the dresser, head reeling with the emotional turmoil of your dreams and the sensory overload of your consciousness. You clench your jaw, bracing yourself for the inevitable. You reach up, finding the edge of the little mirror secured to the wall. You take a deep breath, and blink open your eyes. 

    You instantly close them again, finching against the blinding whiteness that you saw. You force yourself to take a breath, for the moment ignoring the horrid taste in your mouth. You open your eyes again, slower this time. You keep them pointed down, and soon enough, the light fades and your eyes adjust to look at the top of the dresser in front of you. You can see all of the individual grains of wood and the tiny specks of dust spattered across the top even though you remember cleaning the morning of the Trial. You look at your hands, back to resting atop the dresser. They are eerily still, covered in days of grime and there’s blood under your fingernails. You slowly bring your gaze down to the rest of your body. You still look pretty much the same, but you can see the frantic scratches on your skin from tearing off your clothes. You remember them bleeding, but they’ve already almost completely healed over. You run a finger over a particularly deep one on your hip, awed when you feel no pain from the pressure. Your hair is hanging in your eyes, and you impatiently push it back, lifting your head and closing your eyes, hesitating before looking at the mirror. 

    You meet the eyes of the person there. Her hair is wild, matted in spots from days of neglect. She is flushed and sweating, tracks through the grime on her cheeks marking the paths of shed tears. Her chest is heaving, and you can hear her heart speed up, but it’s still too slow. But none of that is what really catches your attention.

    Her eyes...they are a bright, shining gold. You lean closer to the mirror, intent on seeing every detail. Her pupils are tiny, little slits, letting in as little light as possible. From further away, they look as though you melted a golden ring and poured it into her irises. But up close, you can see the little nerves and veins, painting the gold with strokes of something darker and warmer, making it look as though her eyes are made of fire. They burn with their intensity and you stumble back, terrified of the girl in the mirror. Now, you are certain that the Gods, if they even exist, could not care less to listen to you.

    You scream.

[pomegranates-and-blood]

🎵everything’s coming up ivar🎆🎇 what a morning of fortunate revelations for him! i know i must say this after like every chapter, but you have truly done such an exceptional job building up these characters and this relationship. there were so many neat little tie ins to other things i noticed in the story! and every other line, i was just struck by how well theyd come to know each other. i remember after the first time he broke a bone (and smth similar in ch36??), she thought something to the extent of “if i try to push him on this, ill just hurt him. if i don’t, then he’ll just accept this situation as immutable, so im at a loss.” but she absolutely could not miss in this chapter. after all this time together, she knew exactly what to say—and he finally felt like he could completely sincerely trust her! “Of course you wouldn’t leave, he knows you wouldn’t leave him” 😣🥺😭 he’s got a new certainty!! also cracked me up to read half the lines and think “you’re gonna give him a heart attack!!!” only to move to the ivar pov to find that he was in fact having a heart attack. i Love that for them💕 sub ivar is like inspired choice #17266 for this fic but damn!! does it go hard you do just an excellent job!

it’s been such a convincing and satisfying journey for them. theyre really doing it!! i feel like my child has learned to ride a bike. you have been cranking out bangers only since the hiatus so thank you very very much for another fantastic chapter!!!❤️(bit of a tangent but i briefly looked up some baseline historical symbolism for lavender bc i was so struck by freydis and the mint smell and i wanted to get ahead of the game and like the first meaning that comes up is silence lmao—somehow i don’t think that’s it so ill have to keep looking!)

OMFG ILY  ❤️

I’m so happy you liked the newest update! That morning was A Lot™ for Ivar lol, all positives but still, his mind tapped out halfway through Gǫfga and none of us can blame him, poor guy was a tad overwhelmed lol. And yeah, her not really knowing if she should push or not is a thing that happens a lot (that will happen a lot more in a certain AU lol) because there really is no way to navigate around that until there’s the established trust and vulnerability that they have by now.

I’m so glad the fact that he now holds on to the certainty of her promising to stay by his side was noticeable!

Omfg yeah, the inside of Ivar’s head anytime she started talking was probably just a loop of a very loud alarm going off lol

I’m so happy you like sub!Ivar, it is a blast to write him actually surrendering to his lover like that. I cannot see him any other way to be honest, especially with my priestess. She’s been thinking about making him hers for a long time: “Even after he has imprisoned you, it would be a lie if you said you didn’t wonder what it would take to have the Viking underneath you, or the different ways you could make his proud façade crumble."

Thank you so so much for your kind words, they mean so much!! I am so happy you have been liking this so far, and that you enjoyed the latest updates. Thank you so much, you wonderful person!

I answer your intrigue about Lavender under the cut by the way, if you’re interested. It is not as interesting as with Mint and Freydis I’m afraid, but if you were curious as to why Ivar lingers on it, and why specifically Lavender, under the cut is the (very rambly, but that’s expected of me by now lol) answer 😉

As for the lavender, I commend your resolve to get ahead of any plot twists, but surprisingly this isn’t one. Lavender is actually the scent she uses in her baths, and thus her skin smells slightly of lavender. In a deleted scene of one of Ivar’s PoV’s it goes into how he has started to relate this slight lavender scent with her so much that walking into their room already makes him feel like she’s there even if she isn’t; and in his newest PoV he just lingers on it because it’s just one more way she clouds his senses.

As for why lavender? Ah, that’s where my irrational need to research everything comes into play. Lavender is a flower that symbolizes Persephone first of all, and it was (according to some of the sources I handled) one of the flowers used in the temples in Ancient Greece, so for the Priestess it has a strong meaning regarding her faith (and her retracing Persephone’s myth in the Goddess’ role, but she doesn’t know that lol). Also, Lavender was fairly common, and it has a lot of medicinal uses, including relaxation and the such, but most importantly for this story, it is one of the many herbs used to heal burn wounds. Lavender was one of the flowers used on the Reader (and that once she was better she used on herself) after the Eleusis thing, and either consciously or not she uses it still, it is a source of comfort in a way.

Cause here’s a thing/headcanon of the Reader/Priestess that really means nothing but I always snuck into my work: she is a healer first and foremost (is the one thing across all AUs and all the places she has been that remains consistent, from the Roads to Greece to Kattegat and beyond, in Nostalgia, and Hope and Alatheia and all others), and her insistence on keeping plants close to her is mostly because she wants life to be around her in a land like Kattegat, yes, but it is also because she trusts/relies on the herbs and what she can do with them. Her own sword and shield, her own way of fighting, like Sieghild told her in the flashback of Ch 33.

At the beginning of her time in Kattegat, stretched to her marriage to Ivar even, she mostly just kept plants like Lavender, Poppy, Summer savory, Field scabious and the such, which are all used medicinally to treat burns and as antibiotics. She is more scarred by what the Byzantines did to her in ELeusis than she would like to admit, or that she ever would in her PoV, that’s why I like sneaking in comments by Ivar and Freydis in their PoVs about how she flinches when someone breathes too much life to a fire, or how when she feels unsafe (even when she is freezing her ass off, bc she is not used to Scandinavia’s cold) she sits far away from any fire. Keeping plants like this is her way of irrationaly wanting to keep herself safe if they ever do the same thing to her again, even if it is incredibly unlikely. Slowly, she starts to be able to let go of that, and really all that remains by now (~Ch 42) of those plants is the Lavender.

When she marries Ivar (and more importantly when she starts truly caring about him) she starts keeping plants like Comfrey, Chickweed, Buckeye, which are used for broken bones or for rheumatic/arthritic pain, or for pain general, like Willow or Elderberry. Freydis makes a point of it in “Until spring comes.”, of how she has been relentless on keeping both the common/accesible ones like Comfrey and Willow around, but has also secured plants from the East, like Ganglong (which was traditionally used for bone fractures). Again, the plants and her ability to heal is her own way of fighting, her own way of keeping the people she loves safe and protected, limited as it may be. Which, around Ch 31 she uses (in a different way) to try to keep the man she loves safe, which is by making the wreath of flowers and praying to her Gods.

And once she really starts settling into her life in Kattegat, even if she doesn’t realize it, she no longer keeps plants only for the use they may have, and brings things like that Marsh Violet (that as far as my limited reseach told me has no real medicinal uses). Her own way of making the world around her a little more hers is by putting plants around her and caring for them (she did this in the Roads a lot too), and with time the stubborn little shit accepts letting this world make her a little theirs too by caring for plants like that one.

You are on point that I use plants and symbols a lot, most of them you know about by know. Ivar/Hades and snakes, Melinöe/Freydis (especially once the revelations of Ch33-34 happen, which is when the Minthe parallel comes to an end and she embraces the role of Melinöe in the Priestess’ eyes now that the lies are discovered) and howling dogs, Hermes/Galla and hawks/falcons. I used Snowdrops a few times I think, towards the beginning, which was a little nod to Freyja’s myth and the Priestess’ threading the line of it, because I like the parallels between some of Freyja and Persephone/Hecate (which by some sources could sometimes be intertwined, or one and the same, much like Melinöe and Persephone).

Anyhow, sorry for the long-ass answer, I hope it doesn’t dissapoint. I really cannot put into words how happy it makes me that you’d care enough about this story to search the meaning of lavender, thank you so much for your support, and for the undeserved love you keep showering me and Nostalgia with! Thank you so much sweetheart!

Sending you my love!! ❤️

[inforapound]

Ease The Dawn Pt.2 Ch.18

A/N -  The 36th and final chapter to this story (started nearly ten months ago). Thanks everyone for loving this pair as much as I do and you all deserve a metal for reading part one. Wow, I will edit it at some point. Previous Chapter 17.  FYI - my story Emboite is my Ivar and Aethelswith modern AU. MASTERLIST.

Pairing - Ivar and Aethelswith   Words - 1,400  

The door was yanked open with such force, it blew Hvitserk's hair out of place.

"What!" Ivar barked, standing on the threshold of his chamber, his ceremonial white tunic making him look especially commanding.

"Ivar."

"My bride is waiting for me, Hvitserk,"  he rasped, impatiently.

"I am aware, I apologize, but ships have entered the harbour."

Straightening, his expression went slack. "How many?"

"Sixty-eight....so far."

"Fuck." Turning, he peered over his shoulder at Aethelswith who sat on the edge of the bed. Still in her ivory high-waisted gown, her hair hung loose in smooth curls out from under her pearl headpiece.

Tipping her head to one side, she scrunched her nose, her expression asking if all was well. Looking back to Hvitserk, Ivar pulled the door tight to his side, shielding her from view.

"Alfred does not have sixty-eight ships," Hvitserk continued. "Ten or twelve at the most."

Staring down at the floor, Ivar's shook his head. "It is my wedding day and there is only one man brazen enough to see it spoiled. Those ships belong to Finehair."

"Harald? But sixty-eight? He does not have his entire fleet in one place this early in the season...unless..."

"Bjorn!" they said in unison, locking eyes with each another.

"He wants Bjorn on the throne," Ivar added. "He is a simpleton and easy for Harald to control. What ever offer was dangled, Bjorn would not have been able to resist Kattegat."

"All the bloodshed just to replace one brother with another? There must be something else. What does Harald want? The port?"

Lifting his brows, Ivar stared at Hvitserk, pushing the door wide open, bringing Aethelswith into Hvitserk's line of sight.

"No," Hvitserk's mouth gaped, looking back to Ivar.

Ivar nodded.

"We will not let that happen," Hvitserk said, dropping the volume of his voice.

"How long until they reach the beach?"

"Just over two hours. Maybe longer."

"We will lose the light in four. Get Loni and Brana. Bring them here and then sound the horns."

"What is the order, Ivar?

"Prepare the army."

---

Holding his sword steady, Hvitserk sprinted up the mucky path toward the gates on the North wall. When all were usually in their homes preparing for the last meal, the city, instead, was buzzing, preparing for battle. Villagers raced in all directions carrying baskets and weapons, and a young woman dashed out of a small thatched home, snatching up a toddler from the path.

"Ivar?" Hvitserk shouted as he reached the top of the slope. "Ivar?" he called again, spotting his brother standing, waiting, with Aethelswith sitting up on the chariot behind.

Stopping face to face with him, Hvitserk noticed that a bench, wide enough for two, had been built across Ivar's seat. Looking into Ivar's bright blue eyes, realization struck.

"What are you doing?" Hvitserk asked.

Nana and Gussr approached on the far side of the chariot, pulling Aethelswith's attention away. Raising his arm, Ivar flicked his hand, indicating for Hvitserk to follow him.

"Is everyone in place?" Ivar asked, stopping a few paces away, ignoring Hvitserk's question.

"Yes."

"How long?"

"The first ships will reach the dock in an hour." Hvitserk's eyes again darted to the chariot. "Are you going to tell me what is happening?"

The sounds of rattling wheels interrupted them as a flatbed wagon, pulled by two horses, passed by stopping behind the chariot. Driven by Loni with Brana sitting next, Hvitserk could see crates in the back, partially covered with a canvas, filled with what looked like provisions.

"Heading over the mountains to Gussr's son's near Gata," Ivar replied. "From there a boat west."

"You are sending her with Loni and Brana?" Glancing back, Hvitserk watched Aethelswith lean over the edge and embrace Gussr. An emotional looking Nana stood behind, drying her cheeks with a handkerchief.

"No."

Hvitserk eyes snapped back to Ivar's. "You are getting on the boat with them?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"Aethelswith deserves to see her brothers one last time and tell them, herself, about Burgred and our marriage. If Alfred loves her, and I believe he does, he will deliver justice to that snake. I will be there to see to it. Following that, I am not certain. Brana told Aethelswith about a place north called Dublin."

"You are surrendering." It was a statement.

"Never." Ivar frowned. "You have trained this army, and this is your chance to carve out your own legacy among selfish brothers."

"You want me to fight Bjorn and Harald?"

"I do."

"And, you are leaving the throne?"

"Your skinny ass will keep it warm," Ivar replied, a sparkle returning to his eyes.

"Will you be back, Ivar?"

"Perhaps."

"Why not stay and fight? They will not defeat us."

"I will not risk being parted from her. For anything," he adjusted his crutch under his arm. "My entire life I have felt that I had to fight. Had to show the world how ruthless I was, how cunning. This winter," he shook his head, "the finality of death....it all felt so...hallow. I never needed working legs or stacks of gold or to be the most famous king in Scandinavia, I needed Aethelswith and now I need to keep my family safe."

"You could lose your kingdom?"

"She is my kingdom."

"Ivar..." looking down, Hvitserk shifted his boot in the muck, "I underestimated you, brother."

"You would not be the first." With a quick nod, he turned and moved toward the chariot, sliding his crutch across the floor and dropping to sit. Unbuckling his braces, he slid them off and in beside him before turning and pulling himself up to sit next to Aethelswith.

Shifting on the seat, he lifted his arm for her to slide in close. Placing her hand on his thin thigh, she smiled as he wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her against him.

"You are certain?" she asked, resting the side of her face against his arm.

"I am," he replied, reaching forward to grab the lead.

"I love you," she whispered, glancing up at his profile.

Keeping his gaze forward he squeezed her tighter to his side. "I know."

Circling the chariot, Hvitserk, approached the side, stopping next to Nana and Gussr.

"Farewell sister," he bowed his head. "I hope to see you again."

Reaching her hand out, Hvitserk grabbed on. "Farewell Hvitserk," her soft blue eyes shone. "Be safe today. I know that you will lead well."

Nodding his thanks, he let go and Aethelswith returned her hand to rest, protectively, on her round tummy, barely noticeable through her heavy cloak. Picking up the reigns in one gloved hand, Ivar jerked his head to the guards, ahead, anxious to be underway.

"Ivar!" Hvitserk called out, stepping back to the chariot.

Both Ivar and Aethelswith turned to look.

"The Seer... he was right. It was never about Freydis or Burgred, or Harald for that mater. It was about Aethelswith; her strength to fight and her love for you, and the will of that little life inside her to survive the poison....and you," his eyes locked with Ivar's, "it was about you and what you would give for love. This Ivar, this," he raised his hands in the air, "is the ultimate sacrifice."

Looking over, Ivar studied her face, her rosy full cheeks and perfect bowed lips, strawberry flaxen hair, and face shaped like a heart. An unfamiliar feeling rolled through his body, spreading like the warmth of a flame. It was peace...contentment, a sensation confirming he was precisely where he needed to be, at her side, leaving the chaos and triviality behind.

The brightness in his eyes gave away his emotions as he stared into her beaming, grey-blue eyes; her pink lips softly smiling. Feeling the rise of tears, he quickly looked back to Hvitserk.

"Does not feel like I am sacrificing a thing."

Dipping down, he pressed his lips to hers, breathing in her sweet scent, finally, understanding that she had never been a prize or a reward for his suffering. Aethelswith was, in fact, his journey; the light guiding him to his destiny. Sweeping his eyes over her face once last time, he looked up and nodded his goodbyes.

Facing forward, they watched the guards pull the heavy gates open before signaling back that it was clear to go. With hearts filled with devotion and arms embracing the other, Ivar and Aethelswith looked ahead of the chariot, toward their uncertain future. Ivar cracked the reigns.

.

@youbloodymadgenius​​  @whenimaunicorn​​ @ceridwenofwales​​  @jaydelesley4​​  @sweeneythots​​ @funmadnessandbadassvikings​​@redama​​ @mdredwine​​ @didiintheblog​   @londongal2810​ @fields-and-fields-of-poppies​  @littlecarolina94​​ @oddsnendsfanfics​ @youbelongeverywhere @blonddnamedhandz​ @hecohansen31​ @naaladareia​

[1albumaday]

2020

2020

The Chats - The Clap

Easy-peasy punk rock album 

Loving - If I am only my thoughts

Charming sun-dappled folk-pop, clean, gentle melodies

Steve Spacek - Houses 

iPhone/iPad recorded, latino and jazz accented dance/house beats

Ghali - DNA 

Total Flop and failed expectations. Mishmash of bland and frivolous lyrics and arrangements.

King Krule - Man Alive!

Alienating, violent, romantic, anguishing, doomed, noir / jazz, post-punk, soul, dubstep, electronic, garage rock, hip-hop

Justin Bieber - Changes

Disappointing comeback - boring r&b with zero sex appeal and cheesy lyrics and all-the-same songs

Guided by voices - Surrender your poppy field

Unusual time signatures, song lengths, and baroque-prog structures - mature rock and sometimes pixie / 80s dreamy

Corrections - Simply Activities

80s new wave and post punk nostalgia - cheesy vocals at times - first half more solid than second

Swim Mountain- If

A lovely mix of indie and funktronica, synth pop, r&b

Caribou - Suddenly

Sly and sofishticated sound design flits between uk garage disco and more - some tracks way less strong than others

Grimes - Miss Anthropocene 

Mix “Ethereal nu metal”, ambient, dance, electronic, drum’n’bass, country - is violent and dark but sexy, delicate and dreamy

Porridge Radio - Every Bad 

A dissonant lush indie rock sometimes dreamy sometimes dark and ironic with mantra-litany dusky lyrics from peaceful to desperate

Four Tet - Sixteen oceans

Wind instruments, synths and drum patterns gradually fade to calming ambient sounds, intense and meditative but also danceable and powerful

Kamaiyah - Got it made

Short, stripped-down, bubbling keyboards and drum-machine handclaps. NO current rap trends. windows-down bass-rattle record of one person’s confidence in her own sound and charisma

Poolside - Low season

Funk percussions, retro synths, pop and disco influences + indie vocals

Morioh Sonder - Is this psychedelia?

Surf pop and psych rock, dreamy post punk influences, danceable and whimsical 

KEYAH/BLU - Sorry, I forgot you were coming 

Perfect blend of rap, rnb, experimental pop, dark rhythms textured electronics, intimate tales 

TOPS - I feel alive

Pop, radiant and 80s romantic with a contemporary experimental palette

The Chats - High risk behaviour 

Classic old-school pure punk / cheerily undemanding fun

NIN - Ghosts V: Together

Buzzy ambient, melodic hooks, emotional palette of sounds 

NIN - Ghosts VI: Locusts

Together’s opposite, anxiety-inducing, despairing horns, breathing and devouring sounds.

Roger and Brian Eno - Mixing Colours

Feels like a balm for these anxious times

Fiona Apple - Fetch the bolt cutters

Handclaps, chants, makeshift percussion, echoes, whispers, screams, breathing, jokes, dog barks, rattling blues. Contains no conventional pop forms. freeing and powerful. 

The Weeknd - After Hours

Satisfying collision of new wave, dream pop, R&B, synth-pop nostalgia

BC Camplight - Shortly After Takeoff 

Jazzy eighties rock with some icy funk and electronic pop, painfully personal and uneasy but so self-deprecating it speaks like your best friend

Rone - Room with a view 

Deft splicing of beats-based electronics and dance music with classical influences. 21st century baroque chords, snatches of conversations, speeches, children’s voices

Other Lives - For their love

Bluesy acid-rock, dreamy meditation sounds, eerie string-crescendos, music for the afterlife

Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake 

Drill-influenced rapping, melodic crooning, trends-aware hip-hop beats, untouchable pop sound production

Squarepusher - Be up a hello

Frantic breakbeats littered with echoes of classic jungle, hardcore, and drum’n’bass, ’90s drill’n’bass, glitchy 8-bit chaos

The Orielles - Disco Volador

Cosmic, playful, funky dreamy indie pop, shuffling organs, woozy guitar, shimmy-shimmy hand percussion

Portico Quartet - We welcome tomorrow

Perfect dreamy sequel of ‘Memory streams’

Charlie XCX - how i’m feeling now

Quarantine creation / 2020 romance manifesto of club-pop, trap, k-pop, video game sounds, fuzzy synths and crackling bass

Holy Fuck - Deleter

Trippy, psychedelic tapestry of euphoric escapism, ‘90s dance, glitchy beats, airy vocals, experimental electronics 

Luge - Luge

Energetic and playful avant-garde and quirky math rock, zolo? 

Good With Parents, Triple Stephens - Comments & Reflection

Playful indietronica synth pop + classical instruments 

Wishing - None of this was your fault 

Lo-fi indie, ambient, slowcore w/ fragile lyrics 

Bibio - Sleep on the wing 

Indie folk treated like ambient / a gorgeous soundscape of strings, guitars and flutes, feelings of loss, hope and escape. Perfect picture of tranquil countryside memories

Piotr Kurek - A Sacrifice Shall Be Made / All The Wicked Scenes

Electroacoustic experimental, meditative-ritualistic atmospheric music / conceived for theatrical performances 

Military Genius - Deep Web

Meditative ambient, retro-futurist soundscapes / hypnagogic pop, dark, abstract and mysterious / early ‘70s folk interjecting jazz-brass sections 

Jockstrap - Wicked City

Melancholy waltz and winsome ballads, fluttering strings, soft piano glissandi mixed with gnarly and distorted hip-hop beats, buzzing guitars and synths / cherubic vocals, pcmusic-style manipulated at times

Georgia - String Token 

Experimental ambient electronic, minimal, melodic, futuristic, hypnotic and grim

EVOL - Madball Manners

Lingering experimental rave electronic, hardcore, techno 

Upsammy - Zoom

Playful, sampling, abstract IDM, ambient techno, melodic and rhythmic, surreal, futuristic, sparkling synths and billowing pads

Tomasz Kunicki - Muzyka dla Świątyń

Playful and abstract IDM, glittering synths, obscure pads, glitchy and bleepy

Tomasz Kunicki - The sound is gone, where did it go, I have no idea

Very bassy and very dubby IDM, atmospheric ambient and loopy electronics

Kate NV - Room for the moon

80s new wave, progressive electronic, synth pop, cornucopia of melodies and genres. Wriggling synths, chirping flutes, warm baselines, jazzy sax, woodwinds, marimba. Russian girly vocals cartoon theme-song-like.

Khruangbin - Mordechai 

Psychedelic / funk rock with some soul, dub, lounge, poolside disco - exotic and atmospheric 

Dalai Lama - Inner world

Chanted mantras rhythmically woven into wafting new-age flutes, chimes, strings and free-form guitar picking. 

K-Lone - Cape Cira

Tropical ambient house, warm, lush, soft. Zen yet bouncy rhythms. Digital and analogue recordings, at times feels like you’re underwater. 

Arca - KiCk i

Experimental industrial club rhythms with reggaeton and folk influences

The Beths - Jump Rope Gazers

Sleek and personal indie rock, romantic ballads, more sentimental and slow than the previous album

J Lloyd - Kosmos

Tasteful soul and funk pop in 25 tiny tracks, charming low-key, rich textures, good vibes

Julek Polsk - Tesco

Dissonant, ominous, dense, post industrial ambient, noise, sound collage, deconstructed club music

Taylor Swift - folklore

Folk/chamber pop, indie folk, bittersweet, mellow, melancholic ballads

Bill Callahan - Gold Record 

Contemporary folk, warm and deep vocals, pastoral, peaceful and melancholic 

Mura Masa - R.Y.C. 

Indietronica, post-punk revival, catchy indie/synth pop, early 2000 EMO, lots of hip collabs

Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death 

Post-punk, indie rock, art punk, gothic rock, raw deadpan male vocals, darkish and melodic

RAMzi - cocon 

Tribal House, ambient dub, balearic beats, downtempo, hypnotic and tropical 

Auguste - Indust 

Experimental ambient electronic + field recordings, glistening and splintered sounds 

Paul Blackford - Betamax

Dreamy and hypnotic trip hop, downtempo, synth wave

A.G.Cook - 7G

49-track archival collection of sketches, cover versions, volatile lab experiments, divided into 7 discs. a glimpse at the whirring cogs beneath hyperpop’s pristine casing.

Clap clap - Liquid Portraits 

Experimental musical tapestry and collage / high-energy concoction of unpredictable and wavy rhythms, exotic vocals and heavy, relentless bass and drums / UK Bass, ambient dub, footwork + far-flung field recordings

E.M.M.A. - Indigo Dream 

Progressive electronic, ambient house / 80s melodic atmospheres, goosebump-inducing synths, whimsical melodies and classical leanings

Leif - Music for screen tests 

Performed live @ Barbican as a 54min session ambient / drone film soundtrack (Andy Warhol's Screen Tests)

Crack Cloud - Pain Olympics

Post/art/dance punk, experimental rock - energetic, anxious, apocalyptic, dark, male vocals

Document - A Camera Wanders All Night 

Post-punk, noise rock, past-hardcore, distorted and raw male vocals

Keisuke Matsuda - Clumsily Back Up

Experimental electronic with playful hummed vocals, lo-fi beats, melodic, youthful, dreamlike

Coi Leray - Now or Never

Gen-Z superstar, melodic flows, bouncy trap, energetic killer lyrics 

The Ophelias - For Luck

Artful, string-laden indie-pop EP, grungy dream-pop, a quarantine remake and a Joni Mitchell cover

Romare - Home

Deep house, UK Bass, groovy and detailed sonic palette + soul and funk influences - dancefloor highs and after party wind-downs

Mulatu Astatke, Black Jesus Experience - To Know Without Knowing 

Ethio-Jazz, Cuban, funk, reggae workout + rapid-fire rap or Afrobeat drums 

Good Doom - Spider Temple Valley

Experimental psych-wave, gentle and peaceful lo-fi, dreamy and oozy with flute, sax and field recordings

Ralph Kinsella - Abstraction

Dark ambient experimental / instrumental electronic

IDLES - Ultra Mono

Post-punk, garage punk, hardcore, noise rock, raw male vocals, dense, energetic, angry, political

Mild Orange - Mild Orange 

Alternative, Indie rock, dream pop, 

Skinshape - Umoja

Experimental psychedelic rock - afro beats - afroswinig - funky - world music

Vulfpeck - The Joy of Music, The Job of Real Estate

Mixed bag of funk, jazz, soul, self-indulgent? classical reworks, progressive electronic, melodic and uplifting, groovy drums and bass lines 

OPN - Magic OPN 

Manipulated and sequenced archive radio and sounds collages as interludes, uncanny processed voices, poppish trope ballads, art pop, sentimental and surreal, dense, progressive hypnagogic electronic and more

Pa Salieu - Send them to coventry

Combined dancehall, Afrobeats, hip-hop and grime. Scattered drums, stop-start energy, handpicked words and rhymes. skips from trap trills to baile breakdowns.

Mama Ode - Tales & Patterns of the Maroons

Classic hip-hop album with jazz, funk, blues and reggae influences. Creole Sega Rap Roots music, afro-drum patterns and grooves

Tony Allen, Hugh Masekela - Rejoice

Live sessions of unique fusion of afrobeat and swing-jazz with lyrics in English, Yoruba and Zulu 

Miley Cyrus - Plastic Hearts

Pop rock, 80s synth-rock, grit and freewheeling sense of fun, rough-hewn panache of vocal performance, bittersweet eclectic and sentimental / collabs with rock idols

2019 

LCD Soundsystem - Electric lady sessions 

Live recording with some new wavy covers 

Harry Styles - Fine line 

Not catchy / mediocre pop 

Boothe - 8 or 9 Walled Room

10 minutes of playful electronic and soft vocals

Good with parents - Good with parents 

Clever indietronica synth pop, fun + ironic + millennial + sax 

Taylor Skye - Kode fine & sons 

Synth, beats and pop vocals 

Famous - England 

Wonky pop punk mixed to electronic sounds and raw spoken vocals

Orville Peck - Pony 

Simple pop rock Johnny Cash style ballads and 80s

Sassy 009 - Kill Sassy 009

Distorted electro pop with strong vocals + post-punk notes

J-Walk - Mediterranean Winds 

Jazzy electronica with glassy synth pads cheesy and chilled out

Mattiel - Satis Factory 

Punky garage rock strong female vocals

Ross Backenkeller - Come Around

Country dreamy and melancholy guitar and vocals 

Legss - Writing Comedy 

Art rock and a dark underbelly of post-punk + topnotch spoken track and electronic sounds

BEA1991 - The Lost Demo EP

Trip-hop with Bjork-style vocals

BEA1991 - Brand New Adult 

Chamber folk and yacht rock meld with R&B and trip-hop

Matt Maltese - Krystal

Lo-fi flowy bedroom pop breakup album

Faye Webster - Atlanta Millionaires Club

Folk-pop, mellow and melancholy soul with an r&b tinge

Infinite Bisous- Period 

Soothing and warm bedroom night album 

Achille Lauro - 1969

Trap changed into rock with romanticised lyrics 

Jerkcurb - Air Con Eden 

Indie-psych and retro Americana, atmospheric, sensitive, wobbly

Octo Octa - Resonant Body

Breakbeats and house bangers

ALASKALASKA - The Dots 

Jazz fusion, disco rhythms and high-gloss art rock

Orphan - Yijoda

Glitchy and sharp electronics + ambient-atmospheric sounds

Honeymoan - Body

Avant-garde pop tapestry of beats and synths with playful vocal

U-Bahn - U-Bahn

Traditional new wave DEVO-moulded, Hypnagogic pop, art-punk, some vaporwave synth sounds

Hail Conjurer - Erotic Hell

Obscure and raw Finnish black metal 

Ride for revenge - Chapter of alchemy 

Quality black metal with long and short tracks pretty smooth 

Boys Age - Neverchanging, Neverending 

Lo-fi, slow-tempo, soul, r&b, mellow tracks with sad very low vocals

MorMor - Some place else 

Indie-pop with sweet synths and delicate vocals 

Felicita - hej!

Overproduced pop dance hits broken down into harsh and jarring staccato melodies, hissing ambient and screams

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Ghosteen

Endlessly giving and complex meditation on mortality and our collective grief, scored by synths, pianos, and electronics

Portico Quartet - Memory Streams

Ethereal keyboards, hypnotic grooves, layered post-rock textures mixed with electronic, ambient and magnetic jazz build-ups

Charles Rumback + Ryley Walker - Little common twist 

Mellow and pastoral folksy guitar melodies and soft drums + ambient tones, drone electronic

Shadowax - Nikolai Reptile

Effervescent techno and mutant bass jams

The Rhythm Method - How do you know I was lonely?

Ostensibly witty and warm pop songs from hip hop to indie and electronic about romance and millennial youth

Martin Dupont - Accident of Stars

80s kinda goth new wave full of electronics, guitars synths and clarinets

Raime - Planted

Latin American and Chicago footwork influences merged with alien sounds, half-heard voices, dark and rhythmic bass and percussions

Sunn 0))) - Pyroclasts

Sunn 0))) - Life Metal

Slow-motion drone feels like a religious ritual / pipe organ and cello, guitars webbing together the space between notes

Special Request - Vortex 

Breakbeat barnstormers and house epics, with room for bleep, electro and gabber

Caterina Barbieri - Ecstatic Computation

Oscillating sequencers, rhythmic pulsations, cascades of synthesiser melodies echoing dance music/new age

Battles - Juice B Crypts 

Playful electronic wizardry, dense array of beats, bleeps and squelches, loopy keyboards and guitars, ecstatic vocals

Haruomi Hosono - HOCHONO HOUSE

Home-recorded aesthetic, funk shaped into minimalist space-age lounge music 

Florist - Emily Alone 

Thoughtful, calming and melancholic, full of hushed, enveloping guitar sounds and gentle vocals

Spencer Radcliffe - Hot Spring 

Alt-country, indie falk americana, very relaxed,pastoral and wry poetics

Ciamkam - Play-doh Dog 

Noise ambient / screeching, dissonant, surreal, ominous 

Equiknoxx - Eternal Children 

UK soundsystem style, reggae groundings, earthy dancehall with a vast range of puzzling vocalists

Eh hahah - Fissure

Experimental deconstructed electronic, sound collage, glitches and post-club music

Upsammy - Wild Chamber 

Lucid shades of IDM, bleep techno, perky synths and frazzling hi-hats, polyrhythmic drum patterns

Otik - Blasphemy

Fresh, vibrant, dark experimental club music, techno + dance + electronic 

Shanti Celeste - Tangerine

Tech / ambient / deep house, breakbeat, rhythmic and mechanical yet dreamy 

Bez - Banki Mydlane

Dream pop, shoegaze, noise pop, space rock, reverberated female vocals + spoken word

Yu Su - Roll with the punches 

Ambient dub, downtempo, tribal ambient, sampling, mellow, atmospheric with female vocals

Drive45 - Dried up 

Bitpop, Artpop, indietronica, quirky and playful, androgynous vocals 

Lala &ce - Le son d’apres 

French hip hop, trap, cloud rap, alternative b&b, dancehall / sparse dark and ominous, warm female vocals

Leif - Loom Dream

Tribal ambient / ambient techno + field recordings / pastoral, ethereal, atmospheric 

deathcrash - Sundown (a collection of home recordings)

Slowcore, drone ambient, post-punk, fragile male vocals

FEET - What’s inside is more than just ham

Post-punk, indie-rock, dance-punk, sarcastic, playful, technical, male vocals

Coi Leray - EC2

Trap, hyphy, pop rap

Ariwo- Quasi 

Dub techno, afro-cuban jazz, ambient techno, chants, programmed beats, pulsating relentless rhythms and percussions, loud sax

Floating Points - Crush

Strikingly melodic and elegant, cinematic, frantic and distorted rhythms, shuddered synths, vibrant breakbeats, sampling, UK garage nodding

Jacques Greene - Dawn Chorus

Bittersweet, sad but triumphant, mix of experimental electronic and lightweight techno + field recordings, hazy sampled textures, distorted drones + disco house + percussions + spoken word

Men I Trust - Oncle Jazz

Indie electronic, minimal, chillout downtempo, dreamy female vocals, jazzy

Raveena - Lucid 

R&B, soul, experimental, pop, groovy, jazzy and dreamy, with some field and spoken words recordings

2018

Shit and Shine - Very high 

Lazy hippie funk with slowed rnb vocals 

Saloli - The deep end

New Age-inspired delicate only-synth music 

Adrianne Lenker - abysskis 

Guitar and sweet and warm vocals 

Ever ending kicks - Ideas relayed 

Sweet lo-fi similar to the previous two 

Negative Gemini - Bad Baby 

Solid synth pop with dreamy intimate vocals

Okay Kaya - Both

melancholy bedroom-pop sarcastic and harsh lyrics

Trust Fund - Bringing the Backline

Witty yet melancholy self-aware pop-rock

Jockstrap - Love is the key to the city 

A fusion of Bossa Nova, 1930s Disney-esque orchestra, and coarse electronica

Noah Cyrus - Good Cry

Pop and rnb debut album with a bit of gospel and melancholy

Carla dal Forno - Top of the pops

Alternative indie electronic, subtle instrumental backdrops with plaintive vocals

Lala Lala - The lamb 

Alternative/Indie rock with grunge tones and personal and warm vocals

Diamond Thug - Apastron

Progressive but dreamy pop, graceful vocals

Denh Izen - Storage Solutions 

Dark and charming sounds with warm and distorted vocals, desperate but calm

Imperial Triumphant - Vile Luxury 

New York Jazz mixed with top-notch black metal great for a sci-fi dystopian movie - especially Cosmopolis

Oliver Coates - Shelley’s on Zenn-La

Beat-oriented electronic music, sublime cello and synths

Dylan Carlson - Conquistador

drone-metal imaginary Western mostly solo electric guitar

Project Pablo - Come to Canada you will like it 

Dozy laid back deep house with  jazzy chords and subtly swinging drums

Ryley Walker - The Lillywhite Sessions 

Dave Matthews Band tribute with proggy folk, primitive guitar, free improv, Chicago jazz-rock on darker tones 

Grouper - Grid of Points

Empty room, piano and voice slip through your fingers like water

Kali malone - Cast of Mind

Glacial synth tones mapped to acoustic woodwind and brass 

Likes - New Pedal

Short tracks of fun glitch / hypnagogic pop

Jake Tobin - Fifth Thought

Fun and whimsical take on classical sax sounds and guitars

Jake Tobin - 135

Avant-prog / jazz fusion / romanticism / off-kilter melodies / psychedelic chords with the emotion and aesthetic of bedroom pop

Twig Twig - Darkworld Gleaming

Experimental pop, whimsical instrumentation, lo-fi uplift, beats and loops

George Clanton - Slide

Cult 2020s electronic born from vaporware influences mixed with whispery chillwave and downtempo R&B, feels like a 90s rave in an open field, no irony

Good Doom - Mood Life

Unique, very chill, dreamy sound, incorporates world music, trip hop beats, lo fi bedroom pop, krautrock and noise

Ex:Re - Ex:Re

Husky and mellow ambient pop, dream pop? Lethargic and melancholic 

Zaumne - Emo Dub

Minimalistic ominous and repetitive ambient house with ASMR-like spoken words

Ehh hahah - And the weather so breezy, man, why can’t life always be this easy?

Progressive experimental electronic, deconstructed club music, EDM, bubblegum bass, playful yet dark

Kate NV - для FOR

Progressive electronic, ambient, new age, minimalist, surreal, otherworldly and playful. wet, fleshy bleeps; bubbly, liquid noise

Leon Chang - re:treat

Mellow lo-fi hip hop, downtempo, electronic, future bass, sampling 

Coi Leray - Everythingcoz

Pop rap, trap, hyphy tunes, powerful + well produced 

Domenique Dumont - Miniatures de auto rhythm 

Sophist-pop, balearic beat, chillwave, dreampopish, soft female vocals, lush, summery and rhythmic

Big Joanie - Sistahs 

Pretty standard textbook indie-rock, post-punk with female vocals 

Darto - Fundamental Slime 

Haunting and spacious, deep male vocals, intriguing eerie melodies, dream state lullabies + sax and spoken word bit

Old Maybe - Piggity Pink 

Chaotic post-punk, unusual time signatures, strong shouted female vocals

Brad Mehldau Trio - Seymour Reads the Constitution! 

Elegant and melodic modal jazz - post-bop album, fragmented but coherent, ever changing time signature and tempo

2017

Ross Backenkeller - Bardo

Folk indie guitar melodies with honest and gentle vocals

Maruego - Tra Zenith e Nadir

Italian trap with disillusioned and ironic lyrics + cool collabs

Nervous Condition - Untitled 

Forceful drums, wails of sax and commanding vocals - mix of experimental rock, post-punk, no wave, jazz

Powerplant - Dogs Sees Ghosts

Synth punk, garage punk fast and fun

Wool & The Pants - Wool & The Pants

Experimental r&b / soul / hiphop vibez pretty smooth and lo-fi

TOPS - Sugar at the gate 

Soft rock tunes, vintage atmosphere, fuzzy, honey-dipped songs 

Slothrust - Show me how you want it to be 

Covers album with grungy sounds and good arrangements 

Rone - Mirapolis

Misty synths and heavy bass lines, dreary and melancholic industrial electronics, packed with doomed vocals of all sorts of guests. 

Ada Babar & Kasra Kurt - Nino Tomorrow

Weird pop and experimental DIY with MIDI keyboards and guitar, playful lyrics, video game menu music

Good Doom - New Shapes for you

Evocative, dreamy and atmospheric melodies, warm at times, chilly, spooky, grungy, dark at others, synth buzzes, glitchy drums

Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger in the alps

Atmospheric ballads for sad times, deeply personal stories of heartbreak and loss 

Florist - If Blue Could Be Happiness

Indie folk, soft and atmospheric, pure gentle quiet and soft female vocals about understanding light and darkness. Swooping guitar, dots of piano notes, gentle beats that recall Simon and Garfunkel

Wishing - Heat Death 

Ambient pop, lo-fi indie beats w/ soft vocals that make you feel things you haven’t felt in a while

Martyn Heyne - Electric Intervals

Ambient in the broadest sense, calm instrumental downtempo guitar-centric with electronic flourishes

Equiknoxx - Colón Man

Vivid and tactile masterful sound design, syncopated loops, wonky and scintillating rhythms 

American Pleasure Club - I blew a dandelion and the whole world disappeared 

Lo-fi acoustic guitar with raw male vocals

Andrea Laszlo De Simone - Uomo Donna 

Progressive pop, baroque/psychedelic pop + field recordings / bittersweet and pastoral 

Drive45 - Have you seen me? 

Bitpop indietronic, glitch pop, sequencer, dance pop

Drive45 - System Format

Bitpop indietronic, playful video game sounds

Leon Chang - bird world 

Bitpop electronic, sequencer, videogame music, future bass / uplifting mellow and playful 

dynastic - SPACE/SUMMER 

Glitch hop, electronic bubblegum, kawaii future bass, mellow and uptempo, cheesy sax, chaotic sounds + dance floor dnb

Darto - Human Giving 

Spacey experimental electronic mixed with post-punk, warm tones, 80s synths, soft melodic vocals + spoken bits

Pregnant - Duct Tape

Indie/art/soft rock, electronic, brilliant pop tunes, dreamy yet rhythmic

2016

Ever Ending Kicks - Music World

DIY colourful dreamy hazy songs 

Mild Eye Club - Skiptracing 

Low-key folk dreamy with 60s 70s vintage links

Loving - Loving 

Easy and dreamy pop melodies, wavy, warm and mellow

Lala Lala- Sleepyhead 

Alternative/Indie rock with grunge tones and personal and warm vocals

Gruff Rhys - Set fire to the stars

Soundtrack to the homonym 2014 film set in the 50s - soft romance rock, jazz-inspired, elegant and familiar

Oliver Coates - Upstepping

Deep house, techno, footwork blended with sharp and experimental classical strings 

Garden Center - Garden Center

Erratic pop music, fun and playful electronic sounds, silly vocals

Raime - Tooth

Ominus and gloomy sound of dub, electronic and post-rock / stripped down to the flesh 

Amiina - Fantomas 

Violin, cello, drums, percussion, metallophone, harp, ukulele and electronics fused in a contemporary classical post-rock gentle melody-focused experimentation

Jake Tobin - Sorta Upset

Short tracks of experimental rock, avant-prog - eclectic and dissonant, technical and manic

Jake Tobin - Accidentally on Purpose

Post-modern experimental pop, jazz influenced sounds, off-kilter saxophone, silly humour 

Vanishing Twin - Choose your own adventure

Swathes of percussion, exotic drum beats and funky guitars merge into a cosmic blend of reverberating bleeps with jazz skits / heady voyage across sound influences

Good Doom - Hug

Good Doom - Naps

Both off-beat lo-fi with a rock twists, spacey, fuzzy, grainy sounds

Zeal & Ardor - Devil is fine

Top notch black metal merges African-American spiritual slave music and some electronic beats and sounds

Shield Patterns - Mirror Breathing

Haunting vocals and sensual cello, clarinet and piano, all wrapped up in ethereal synths

Ashley Henry - Ashley Henry’s 5ive

Complex and uplifting post-bop jazz, imaginative flare, delicate and soothing piano

Florist - The Birds Outside Sang 

Lo-fi indie, ambient-dream pop,sparse, minimalist keyboard leads bordering on chilly drones + intimate and personal songwriting

CBMC - OOR

Acustic lo-fi bedroom pop with an airy tone and somber feel but still feels fresh and lighthearted 

Told Slant - Going By

Slowcore indie pop/folksy emo, ‘intimate spaces in which small town kids write memories of touch, togetherness, loss, love, depersonalisation’

Kate NV - Binasu

Art pop, progressive electronic, sequencer, joyful grooves but also atmospheric and ethereal sounds, eclectic and dense, melodic female vocals

Zaumne - Przezycia

Minimal ambient techno with a couple of spoken word bits 

Mauno - Rough Master

Enticingly and eclectic indie rock, smooth vocals, strings and moody guitars, delicate piano, powerful drums

Susso - Keira

Tribal house, tribal ambient, folktronica, Mande music, rhythmic and powerful chants

Phern - Cool Coma  

Psychedelic pop, lo-fi, mellow and playful 

Hellier Ulysses - Ulysses Hellier 

Experimental rock, math rock, jangle pop mixed with post-punk, technical, lo-fi, uncommon time signatures

Brad Mehldau Trio - Blues and Ballads 

Deceptively sweet-sounding jazz album, songs are played with variations and every phrase is a cliffhanger - gracefully executed + bonus of my fav song <3

2015

Adeodat Warfield - Pacific, Missouri 

Synth pop with electronic beats, vaporware notes

Ross Backenkeller - Rare Please

Folk indie guitar melodies with honest and gentle vocals

Grimes - Art Angels

Immaculate and authentic, synthetic and unreal but also super pop, folk, and dance / POST-art pop?

Jake Tobin - Third and Fourth Thoughts

Short tracks of weird avant-prog where the vocals follow the melodies all the time

Florist - Holdly

Vocals move slowly and sweetly through gentle meditation sound and soft guitars

Starry Cat - Starry Cat

Indie pop, lo-fi indie, wavy and shaky, bitter-sweet and personal male vocals 

CBMC - FOOTWEAR

Acustic lo-fi bedroom pop with a somber feel but still feels fresh and lighthearted nearly asmr-like vocals 

Wishing - To Forget

Lo-fi indie slowcore, fuzzy synths + acoustic sounds mixed with short electronic tracks / lyrics are whispered and very intimate 

Oren Ambarchi - Live Knots 

Two very long live recorded tracks of propulsive drumming full of tensions and releases + droning notes, plucked strings and mournful guitar 

Juxta Phona - we will not be silence 

Ambient, electronic, minimal melodies over crisp, tactile beats

Khruangbin - The Universe Smiles Upon You

Psychedelic / Funk rock, rhythmic and jazzy, tropical warm and peaceful

Red Sea - In The Salon 

Indie experimental rock, psychedelic pop, math rock, melodic yet uncommon time signatures 

Eyeliner - Buy Now 

Synth-pop/funk - vaporwave / instrumental, melodic, uplifting, lush, futuristic / great bass lines! 

2014

Ricky Eat Acid - Three love songs

First half found sounds, experimental electronics, fuzzy piano loops. Second half IDM beats and keys, choir-like vocals / “might be the sound of music having a dream within a dream about music”

Jake Tobin - Torment 

Jake Tobin - Life as a Clerical Error

Weird dissonant mix of avant-prog, art punk and jazz fusion but in an amazing way

Richard Dawson - Nothing Important 

Brittle, crudely amplified nylon-string acoustic guitar, experimental drones, folk sketches, imitation field cries, and free jazz diversions

2013

Ever Ending Kicks - Weird priorities

Sentimental chill instrumental and colourful with gentle vocals

Gruff Rhys - American Interior

John Evans-themes concept album - witty folk oriented retro-futurist music 

Michael Andrews - Spilling a rainbow

Well-crafted pop tunes, nostalgic and lighthearted memories of folk rock with a dash of avant-garde electronic haze

Pill Friends - Blessed Suffering

Lo-fi indie/emo noisy and raw with existential and stark male vocals 

2012

Told Slant - Still Water

Lo-fi/bedroom-punk with folksy guitars and delicate vocals as if they could break down in tears at any moment

2010

Hype Williams - Find out what happens when people stop being polite and start gettin reel

Ypnagogic vortex of incredibly canny hard to pinpoint music with distorted spoken vocals

Zach Hill - FACE TAT

Constant restless drumming, squiggly melodic instrumental hooks, mosaics of disconnected noises, fuzzy sounds and vocals

2008

Amplifier Machine - her mouth is an outlaw

Half-improvised ambient - drone - experimental - electronic - post-rock

E. Bandel, Victory & Good Hunting - s/t

Classical, piano, folk, melancholic, haunting

2007

Seabear - The ghost that carried us away

Indie/folk multi-instrumental dynamic floating sound, warm melodies, calm and gentle vocals

HEALTH - HEALTH 

A masterful noise/experimental rock with elements of post-punk, drone and electronic - disorienting rhythms, tempo-shifting, noisy outbursts

2005

The Darkness - One way ticket to hell

Hard / glam rock ballads and pop tunes 

2004

The Emperor Machine - Aimee Tallulah is hypnotised 

Mix of electro euro disco, post-punk, krautrock, sci-fi scores, jazz-funk. Thick dance rhythms and mind-altering synths

2002

ESG - Step Off 

Sweet soul with a punk attitude, jazzy sassy vocals

Hella - Hold your horse is 

Non-stop, indie-audio assault / Nintendo music / midi and electronic beats / head-spinning leading drums, very fast guitars

1998

Eels - Electro-Shock Blues

elegantly sad grief and death themed album, deeply personal, yet brilliant pop tunes, post-grunge, jazzy arrangement, archive sounds, electronics

Duster - Stratosphere

Bashful slowcore lo-fi experimental space/indie rock

1975

Bobbi Humphrey- Fancy Dancer 

Funky jazz with forms of world music, soul, club music and pop

1973

Kevin Ayers - Bananamour

Progressive pop, art rock with mix of soul, r&b, reggae - choirs and country type ballads

1972

Kevin Ayers - Whatevershebringswesing

Experimental new age prog rock, semisweet tunes, lighthearted, skewed sounds

1970

Kevin Ayers - Shooting at the moon

Experimental, progressive, avant-garde, rock with jazz influences, sound recordings, excellent songwriting

[sinceileftyoublog]

Live Stream GBV YLT COVID-19

BY JORDAN MAINZER

It started with the familiar sights: a bucket filled with Miller Lites and a bottle of Jose Cuervo, Robert Pollard’s button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and baggy pants, the rest of the band in their usual more fitted almost all-black uniform. As they played, Pollard leaned over the stage, belting classics and new songs alike, like he normally would into a crowd. Only this show from Guided By Voices was professionally prerecorded and mixed, played to an empty, socially distant venue, The Brightside, in Dayton, broadcast to the rest of the world, benefiting various venues the band has played. The idea of a GBV show where the crowd members didn’t put their arms around each other during “The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory” or scream to one another during “Game Of Pricks” is absurd and counter-intuitive in theory. But in practice, it worked.

While not quite the three-hour marathons of which the band’s usual tours consist, and containing almost no between-song banter or introductions, GBV’s set on Friday was still 53 songs, 2+ hours of well-paced four P’s (pop, punk, prog, and psych), and the best-selling Noonchorus concert to date. As if to ease us into the idea of a virtual show, the band didn’t immediately come out with rippers, instead playing the usual selection of tracks from the current year (Surrender Your Poppy Field’s “Year of the Hard Hitter” and “Volcano”, and the upcoming Mirrored Aztec’s “Haircut Sphinx” and “To Keep An Area”; there was nothing from MA follow-up Styles We Paid For), and deep cuts, including a jammed-out, tambourine-laden performance of the title track to Pollard solo album Moses on a Snail. About a third of the way through, they dropped not just the classic songs, but the classic live show experiences. Like before at a real show, I heard the opening snare hits to “Motor Away” from a bathroom--this one my own--and rushed to make it back to witness the performance. I laughed at Pollard’s tree pose introducing Doug Gillard-penned classic “I Am A Tree”. I remained grateful that the band’s brought pop masterpiece “Chasing Heather Crazy” back into the fold, while marveling at hearing “Hot Freaks” live for the first time in my life. The Guided By Voices community remains strong, even from a great distance; a few beers deep, my girlfriend and I spontaneously video chatted with a fan we’d never met (and now friend) in the Netherlands, where it was almost 3 AM.

Whereas Guided By Voices tried to recreate as much of the live experience as possible, another 90′s indie rock stalwart embraced the differences between the before times and the COVID times, using the opportunity to give fans a rare glimpse into their creative process. From their cluttered practice space (in between collections of old clocks and Simpsons paraphernalia were layers of cardboard and stacks of paper), Yo La Tengo broadcast two 30-45 minute performances of “formless” music, instrumental jam sessions that often act as the origins of the spaced-out pop songs they’re known for. In addition to releasing We Have Amnesia Sometimes, a five-track recording of similar socially distant sessions from April, Yo La Tengo took control of the moment, raising money for the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute fighting on behalf of democracy and justice, while giving fans a taste of their ability to improvise rhythms and melodies. 

The music during both shows was generally gorgeous. Saturday night started with all three on guitar, alternating between strummed, picked, and scratched rhythms and harmonic drones. There was plenty of randomness; Georgia Hubley twice hitting a cymbal with the end of her guitar was either a coincidental effect of a cramped space or extemporaneous controlled chaos. Both within and between tracks, the band members switched instruments, as the first ended with Hubley pivoting to a keyboard and James McNew to a Moog. The second track was more percussion-heavy, starting with Hubley on drums and McNew on the Moog but quickly moving to rhythmic guitar picking. Hubley and Ira Kaplan played dual percussion, the former using toms, then brushes, and Kaplan toms on a snare and tambourine. Eventually, drums were traded for guitars and then for more loops, drones, and layers, ending full circle with percussive shakes. Sunday afternoon’s stream was more of a groove, starting with all three band members on the keys, producing a whistling drone. As McNew switched to a reverb-heavy guitar, Kaplan was the one this time fully embracing randomness, playing at times with his wrists and knuckles. Eventually, it was McNew’s turn on the drums, as he provided tom rolls on cymbals, snare, and floor tom with a towel draped over it, his head nodding along to Hubley’s pedal guitars and Kaplan’s harmonic keyboard waves. The track ended sparsely with siren-like Moog playing and twangy guitar plucks from McNew; there were multiple times throughout when nobody appeared to be playing anything.

Just as these two bands represented polar opposites of the 90′s lo-fi spectrum, they both approached their live streams in converse, equally successful ways. It’s clear virtual concerts will never be a replacement for in-person live shows. But due to the pandemic and logistical difficulty of putting on safe, socially distant shows, the club continues to be open at home only.

[wrflmusic]

WRFL’s Top 30 Charts: March 3rd - March 10th

Khruangbin, Leon Bridges-Texas Sun

Sea Moya-Flamenta (singles)

The Cuckoos-I Hate Love

Dumbo Gets Mad-Thank You Neil

Dan Deacon-Mystic Familiar

Guided By Voices -Surrender Your Poppy Field

Sour Cream-Hey Holly (Single) Local

Wolf Parade-Thin Mind

Prophet-Don't Forget It

DRAMA-Dance Without Me

Tennis-Swimmer

SABIINE-On My Mind (EP)

Moondrive-Moondrive

Caroline Rose-Superstar

Arthur Russel -Iowa Dream

Sci-Fi Country-Sci-Fi Country EP

Various Artists-WXAXRXP

Patrick Keese-Gallery [EP]

Hari-Morning [EP]

Bleary-Gates

Nosediver-Alright

Nicolas Godin-Concrete and Glass

Tall Tall Trees-A Wave of Golden Things

Holy Fuck-Deleter

Squirrel Flower-I Was Born Swimming

Shadow Show-Silhouettes

Sunmates-Boomin / Unlearn (Double Single) Local

Verstärker-Aktivität Local

WAAX-Big Grief

Anna Ash-L.A. Flame

AJJ-Good Luck Everybody

glass beach-the first glass beach album

30/70-Fluid Motion

Laurie Speigel-Unseen Worlds

Joslyn & the Sweet Compression-Joslyn & the Sweet Compression Local

Leo Svirsky -River Without Banks

Red Mass-A Hopeless Noise

HMLTD-West Of Eden

The Coffin Daggers-Eleki Album

Doctor Florescent-Doctor Fluorescent

King Krule-Man Alive!

Live Island-Tian (EP) Local

Cindy-The Essential Cindy EP Local

Parlor Walls-Heavy Tongue

Nari-Julia / Dan (Double Single) Local

[loveforpreserumsteve]

Not Without You (Canon Divergence Stucky Fix-It-Fic)

Six:

Just as Steve instructed, he was ready to leave by seven. To his surprise, so were Scott and Cassie. Even if Cassie was openly yawning and her hair was thrown up in a messy bun as she stood there still in her plaid pajama pants. And Scott didn't seem much better in his sleep rumpled shirt and his short brown hair sticking up in different directions.

But they had a long day ahead of them. Really, they had a long trip ahead of them. With Steve, it had been easier. Faster. He was able to travel longer with fewer stops. He could drive through a night if he needed to. With the serum, he could go longer without food and could still function at a higher than average level.

To be honest, Steve wasn't sure how to travel with non-enhanced individuals. It had been a while since he had to take into account normal human functions. About four and a half years, to be more exact. And even then, Natasha was more efficient than normal. Sometimes she acted more enhanced than Steve, himself.

"Do you think we can stop somewhere to get coffee?" Scott quietly asked, his voice raspy in his drowsiness.

"Coffee," Cassie confirmed, tapping the tip of her nose with her finger as one did during a game of charades. She clarified, "I need coffee."

While Steve made sure that the motorcycle was secure and the camper was correctly compacted, Scott asked Cassie, "You drink coffee?"

"I mean..." the teen trailed off, letting that be answer enough.

Once he was satisfied that the camper wouldn't be lost from the van, Steve headed towards the front and informed, "There's a diner about 30 miles from here that has good coffee."

"Anything closer?" Cassie yawned.

Steve smirked, "Sure, but it's not as good."

"I'll be picky later," Cassie reasoned, climbing into the van.

Turning his attention to Scott, Steve asked, "That alright with you?"

"Perfectly fine," Scott assured, climbing into the passenger seat next to Cassie.

Climbing in behind the wheel, Steve took the keys from Scott and started the engine. Instantly, a poppy song with a young woman singing started playing.

We're happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time It's miserable and magical, oh yeah Tonight's the night when we forget about the deadlines It's time Uh-oh

Brows furrowed, Steve looked over at Scott. Happily, the man bobbed his head while he sang along, "'I don't know about you, But I'm feeling twenty-two. Everything will be alright, if you keep me next to you.'"

Glancing at Cassie, she mutely shrugged. Although the small smile on her face had Steve leaving the radio on as he pulled out of the field. Cautiously driving down the street and hoping that the trip back would be just as uneventful as it was there.

Although, if Steve was a betting man, he'd put money on it. As devastating as what Thanos did was, crime had significantly gone down. It was one of the main reasons why the world didn't need the Avengers anymore. Why Steve didn’t feel as guilty about leaving the compound. Of going on this solo mission. Sure, he felt bad about leaving Natasha all by herself at the compound to carry the light load alone, but he knew that if Natasha really needed him, she'd call.

So, Steve strummed his fingers to the beat of the song. It might not have been what Steve had expected. But, as Steve was constantly learning, life didn't go as expected. At least this start was better than the one Steve had taken the first time around. Even if he wasn't used to the choice of music that his passengers seemed to know every word to.

Admittedly, it was the most normal that Steve had felt in a long time.

Playfully, Cassie nudged her elbow into his ribs to gain his attention. Briefly looking away from the deserted country road, Steve glanced her way. With raised brows and a pointed look, she stiffly shimmied her shoulders. Clearly, she wanted Steve to join in.

However, Steve wasn't the type to dance. Even the serum didn't give him rhythm, and the only person that had ever gotten Steve to dance was Bucky. And since he wasn't here, Steve wasn't going to give in.

"Do you ever loosen up?" Cassie quizzically looked at Steve, subtly bobbing her head to the new song playing.

Luckily, Steve didn't have to answer because the diner came into view. Whether time sped by because he was preoccupied or because he was going ten over the speed limit, Steve was just glad that he had a distraction.

Cutting the engine and quickly climbing out of the van, Steve headed for the diner before Scott and Cassie had even opened the passenger door. Pushing open the heavy glass door, Steve was greeted by an older woman with graying red hair in a blue uniform while she stood at the counter, restocking straws.

"Sit wherever you like, sweetie," she kindly smiled, "I'll be with you in just a minute."

"Thanks," Steve nodded in acknowledgement as he entered further into the diner and chose a booth near the back where he could watch the door.

Cassie and Scott joined him in the diner soon enough, with Cassie leading the way over to the booth. As she slid into the seat across from Steve, she teased, "Is avoidance one of your super powers?"

"Cassandra," Scott reprimanded as he took a seat beside her. With wide eyes, he looked over at Steve and apologized, "I am so sorry."

Chuckling to himself at the teen's dig, Steve shook his head, "It's okay." A smirk tugging at his lips, he playfully admitted, "Yes. It's my most powerful super power."

Her grin grew at that, and even Scott seemed to approve of the camaraderie building between them. It made Steve ease in his seat as well. Especially when the waitress came over to them.

"What can I start you off to drink with?" She questioned, pulling out her pen and pad of paper.

"Coffee," the trio answered in unison, causing the woman to arch her brows.

Putting the pad back in her apron, she said, "Easy enough. I'll be right back with that."

As they waited, Cassie fiddled around on her cellphone, Scott let out a long yawn, and Steve glanced around at the diner's empty interior. When his eyes landed on the small racks of postcards, he quietly excused himself from the table and headed for them. A lot of them were simple beach shots, or of city landmarks. All the while, Steve wanted one with a little more personality.

"Do Avengers always give away their location by sending postcards to each other?" Cassie asked, causing Steve to jump and drop the postcard he was examining.

"Don't do that," Steve warned, holding his chest while he attempted to catch his breath.

Cassie held her hands up in surrender and apologized. Well, half-apologized, "Sorry, I thought you'd have super-sonic hearing."

Picking the postcard up off the floor, he accepted it, "It's okay. I just wasn't paying attention."

"Because of the postcards?" Cassie clarified, quirking a brow.

Steve's cheeks heated and he stammered, "I-I, I was just, uh, just trying to find a... good one."

Slightly narrowing her eyes, Cassie must've seen something in Steve in that moment because she didn't sass. Instead, she eased in her stance -- a calculated decision to appear nonthreatening -- and redirected her attention to the spinning rack. Carefully looking over them before choosing one.

"How about this one?" She asked, handing it over to Steve.

Holding the cheesy postcard in hand, his lips tugged up and he nodded, "This one is great."

"Cool," Cassie smiled, turning to head back to the booth. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Steve was following, and he held up a finger to let her know he needed a minute.

Using one of the pens near the cash register, he quickly scrawled another message.

[jondavissmalewife]

4-38

4. What is your zodiac sign?

leo😼

5. What is your favorite color?

Pink Red, Baby Blue, Pink, and Black

6. What’s your lucky number?

13 or 6?

7. Do you have any pets?

I have a dog, and a cat!

8. Where are you from?

My mother's womb😼

9. How tall are you?

Idk I'm short :cries:

10. What shoe size are you?

7? idk-

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

6

12. What was your last dream about?

It was weird? I remember kurt cobain was in it and he was taking a test and he said something about his sister and I said "YOUR WIFE IS YOUR SISTER?" and he said "no what". also apperantly me and my friend with other people were like- in this thing running from people because we were gonna be shot but we stopped in this big theatre room and this guy walked out and was like "GUYS OMG IT WAS ALL A LIE." and nobody actually died and everyone got sanrio plushies.

13. What talents do you have?

Art and crying😎

14. Are you psychic in any way?

probably not :(

15. Favorite song?

I have a list hold on

ok

money machine - 100gecs

stupid horse - 100gecs

hello kitty - jazmin bean

worldwide torture - jazmin bean

saccharine - jazmin bean

princess castle - jazmin bean

perverted - elita

I fucked on heaven - mom

pressure - yungster jack

never met! - cmten

pretty girl - clario

lover is day - cuco

4. mothership - saucy yoda

the tender surrender - eat babies

cartoon network - black dresses

death/bad girl - black dresses

wiggle - black dresses

in my mouth - black dresses

rehash - kurt cobain

bright smile - kurt cobain

underground celebritisim - kurt cobain

and I love her - kurt cobain

desire - kurt cobain

frances farmer will have her revenge on Seattle (demo) - kurt cobain

molly - mindless self indulgence

animal - sir chloe

girls in bikinis - poppy

anything like me - poppy

am I a girl? - poppy

lowlife - poppy

computer boy - poppy

blood money - poppy

literal legend - ayesha erotica

big juicy - ayesha erotica

emo boy - ayesha erotica

dog teeth - nicole dollenganger

mean - nicole dollenganger

angels of porn - nicole dollenganger

oleander - mother mother

arms tonite - mother mother

XIX - kismet

little lamb - jazmin bean

princess castle - jazmin bean (ft. cottontail)

bloodstains - 100gecs

legacy - black dresses

runner - black dresses

im earth - black dresses

thoughts and prayers - black dresses

eternal nausea - black dresses

baby shoes - badbooks (THAT'S A LOT SORRY)

16. Favorite movie?

Perfect blue probably?

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

*looks away*

18. Do you want children?

nop!

19. Do you want a church wedding?

I don't really want a big event wedding. just something small and then me and my partner can have our time together!

20. Are you religious?

Okay, so, I'm not Christan? but I'm not fully atheist either. like I believe in God, but I also don't, yknow?

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

Not for me, no. for other people I guess?

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

Nop😳

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

Nop😔

24. Baths or showers?

Showers. Baths are nice too :)

25. What color socks are you wearing?

I'm wearing black thigh high stockings rn

26. Have you ever been famous?

no😹

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

Ehhh, probably not,,,, Being famous could probably really overwhelm me :(

28. What type of music do you like?

Punk rock, hyperpop, Rock, etc(some genres I don't know how to explain pff. but anything but country)

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

No

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

At my house, I sleep with this giant stuffed llama I got a year ago? At my dad's I sleep with this big beanbag, and 2-3 pillows

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

On my side I guess

32. How big is your house?

My dad's house is like- it's a house apartment so it's pretty tiny. My mom's house has 2 floors.

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

I normally don't have breakfast. but usually it's cereal.

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

I have! Once with my grandpa, the other time with my grandpa and my dad.

35. Have you ever tried archery?

I think we had a field trip one time and we did archery there.

36. Favorite clean word?

Pee

37. Favorite swear word?

Piss, Titties, Fuck, Shit

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

Maybe a day? (I'm not sure?

[aziz-writes]

Rebekah's turning point

With much thanks to @corav1a for helping me brainstorm how to not completely destroy Rebekah but to still stay (mostly) true to my original plot.

Rebekah brushed a strand of Crystal's hair behind her ear. "I know this feels like a lot. You're not alone."

"No," Crystal said softly. "At least I have you."

Rebekah closed her eyes a moment and opened a jar of lotion. "You have Kirtus too. He..." What was a good thing to say about Kirtus Pheffer? "He is clever, and charismatic. He'll help you manage media and the board."

Crystal laughed and held out her arm for the lotion. "He's not you, though."

Rebekah smiled, saying nothing as she worked the lotion into Crystal's skin. Crystal tilted her head back and closed her eyes with a sigh. "This is my favorite scent. It smells like..."

"Petrichor." Rebekah closed the jar and sighed. "Paradise."

She lay Crystal back and checked the time. They would be here soon.

"Swingset," Rebekah paused, counting the hours. "Twelve half swings."

Crystal smiled, a blush running across her cheeks. She would be back to last night, but last night could no longer be the truth. Rebekah loaded up the application Kimimi had used so ruthlessly at the beginning of this mess. It won't be the same, Rebekah told herself. I'll only press it once. "Who are you with?"

Crystal smiled wider. "Bekah." She breathed.

A tear fell from Rebekah's eyes and she took a breath to steady her voice. She pressed the trigger on her phone. "Who are you with?" Her voice still held a quiver, but didn't break.

Crystal breathed in deeply, a moment of confusion flashing on her brow. "Kirtus?"

"You love Kirtus."

"I love Kirtus."

"Kirtus makes you happy."

"Kirtus makes me happy."

"You want to make a family with Kirtus."

"I want to marry Kirtus and have a baby."

"Paradise."

Rebekah checked the time again. She didn't have long. "Who is Rebekah?"

Crystal's face morphed into a confused smile. "Bekah?"

She still remembers. Good.

"Forest. Rebekah is hiding. Rebekah is a bluebird."

"My bluebird in a field of poppies."

Poppies? That's an interesting place to put me. Rebekah turned at the sound of steps in the hall. "When you need to find me, follow the bluebirds. Find me."

"Find the bluebird."

"Paradise."

Rebekah stood as the door opened. Crystal's doppelganger walked in, alone. "They let you out of your cage by yourself?" She said casually.

Alice smirked and handed Rebekah an envelope. "Your services are no longer required. Here's your severance pay."

Rebekah glared. "And?"

Alice held up a finger and walked to Crystal lying on the bed. "Who do you love?"

Crystal grinned and blushed on cue. "Kirtus. I want to marry him. I want a baby."

Rebekah turned away to hide her hurt as Alice approached her again. "Well done. Your father is in the envelope too."

Rebekah tore the envelope from Alice's hand and grabbed a waiting suitcase.

"I hope they fix you one day. I hope you learn to love."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Sex and love are two different things. Not needing intimacy is normal and lowers distractions. Or do you need a reminder of where 'love' got you?"

Alice's hand was on the phone now, thumb hovering over the trigger. She wouldn't be gentle. Rebekah raised her hands in surrender. "I'm leaving. I'll disappear, as promised."

Alice put the phone down and nodded. Rebekah left. I'll disappear, but I sure as hell won't be gone.

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