#swap Shuffle Pisces

[atherflame-theconcubus]

Through researching Pisces Lore,I have come to the determination that Pisces is the perfect astral to swap with Gemini

[rayegunn]

Music for 2020

Been a while since i posted about music here, but was having a look at my last.fm (I mean, i know it’s kinda dead, but the plugins are still going, collecting what I’m listening to, so i check it now and then) and though there are fewer listens overall probably because i no longer scrobble from some sources like my phone/tablet, some new favorites have definitely emerged. So here’s what I was listening to the most  in 2020, a couple surprised me because it didn’t really feel like i had listened to them a lot, but... i guess  they came up on shuffle a lot, go figure. I know it’s not technically the end of the year yet, but this is unlikely to change a lot in the next few weeks.

1: top one for the year is a newish one for me, Lord of the Lost. They are a German band that have been around for a while, but I found them when they released their album Thornstar, I remember because I saw the video for the song Loreley when it was released because the costumes/makeup in the thumbnail looked wild. That came out in 2018, so a couple years now. Anyway, I love them. They’re usually classified as Gothic Metal but really it’s like.... ALL THE GENRES. They have influences from Metal, New Wave, Industrial, EDM, Classical, and more, and somehow make it all work. and Chris Harms has a great voice, I love how theatrical they are with the makeup and stuff, and they just seem like really nice guys from what I have seen of their social media. Here’s Loreley, the song that got me hooked on them:

2: Is Swedish metal band Avatar. Love these guys. Been listening to them for a while now and they are definitely up there as one of my favorites. They are also a highly theatrical metal band, I seem to like those, but they stick to their theme a lot more closely than Lord of the Lost. They have a gimmick and stick with it, though they do update the costumes in order to fit the theme of  each album, which are often concept albums, or at the very least they speak to a theme. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I really like Bloody Angel.

3: is Danish black metal act Myrkur. A somewhat recent find for me, and one that is a bit divisive because the black metal people don’t think she’s trve kult enough, or whatever, because she has a pop background, and the sound is more polished, but I love her. Good music is good music, I don’t care how closely it fits a genre or whatever. Love the ambience and just overall sound, both spooky and harsh and beautiful at the same time.

4: is Swedish band Ghost. Yeah, these guys blew up recently huh? They’re cool tho, despite the band drama that spoiled the mystery of the identity of Papa. Well, sort of band. Technically it’s just Tobias Forge and a couple other guys, but they hire musicians to play on stage, made easy by the fact that they all wear masks, so they can swap em out at will, but some of them decided they wanted more money/credit and they sued Tobias and his identity was revealed, it was a mess... anyway, they’re cool. I chose Rats for the song, because it is probably a bit more reflective of 2020 than they anticipated.

5: was a bit of a surprise to me because i didn’t feel like i had listened to them a lot this past year, but it’s one I have been listening to for oh, decades at this point, Finnish cellists Apocalyptica. Their  shtick is simple, they play metal/rock... but on cellos. They started out playing Metallica covers, but soon started writing their own music. On their more recent albums they have tended to have guest vocalists perform over their compositions. But personally, I always liked the instrumental songs, so i was personally really happy to see their new album Cell-0 was 100% instrumental. I hope it did well for them, because I really liked it, so I am including something from it.

6: The newest find on the list for me, I found him this year, Amigo the Devil (he’s American, since that seems to have become a thing in my list) This one is a lot more subtle and subdued than the rest, his genre is an obscure one called Murderfolk, basically he’s a blues/folk singer who sings a lot about rather dark subject matter. But sometimes hopeful, too, as with my pick Cocaine and Abel. Led me down a whole murderfolk rabbit hole, lot of cool stuff there, but he’s the only one who cracked the top 10. Can only add 5 videos, so linky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzjtLm0G49E

7. Is an old fave, American metal gods Metallica. I mean what’s to say? it’s fuckin’ Metallica, man. Kind of a basic choice, but hey. Been listening to them since high school. Didn’t feel like i had listened to thema  lot recently but guessing S&M 2 bumped them up! But just gonna link to  one of my old faves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM8bTdBs-cw

8. Is another American band I’ve been listening to for a while, Mastodon. I think these guys have such a unique sound, with the 3 different styles of vocals over the sludgey instruments, and they have some really great lyrics going on as well.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6WGNd8QR-U

9. Is Ukrainian band Jinjer! somewhat recent find, been aware of them for a a couple years now, i guess. Great songwriting, cool djenty sound,  and oh man, does Tatiana have some pipes on her! You may have seen this video, Pisces, because video gets shown around a LOT on react videos, and kinda went viral, because it gets a big reaction if you are not prepared for it. If you haven’t seen it, brace yourself.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNtGoM3FVU

10. I was a bit worried and a bit shocked that he almost missed the top 10 cus he is definitely one of my very favorites, i hugely respect him and think he’s a great talent... Canadian metal god Devin Townsend! I think part of the problem is that he recently went from The Devin Townsend Project to just Devin Townsend, and then you throw in side projects or even older projects like Casualties of Cool and Strapping Young Lad, so while i do listen to him a lot, it’s under different names, so he came up a bit low in the charts. But I love him, he’s on of my all time favorites, and sadly doesn’t get as much attention as he deserves. Massive talent, huge fun personality. He’s great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n7uvokARQ4

[r-of-the-z]

Where the Stars Meet

Every time Aries walked into that room, she saw memories. Shared laughter, tears, hugs, lots of long talks, even more nights of simply holding ice packs on each other...it was their meeting place, their safe space, their home.

"If I don't get my pants off right now I'm going to commit murder!" Gemini already had her pants down to her ankles. 

"Mini?" Capricorn asked as she sat on the bed in the center of the room.

"Obviously." Gemini, Mini, flung her pants at Taurus. "I switched fuckin' hours ago and I've been screaming ever since!"

"Need help?" Virgo offered.

"Only if you're gonna give me your tits!" Mini slumped against the wall.

Virgo sighed. "If I could, I would."

Pisces laid across Capricorn's lap. "You guys done with the dysphoric screaming yet?"

"Never." Virgo and Mini responded in unison, as Mini pulled on Virgo's skirt and Virgo stole her pants.

Cancer flopped facefirst onto the bed. "Man, I'm sick of Léo's shit. Thinks he can boss us around just because he's Zodia's perfect little boy."

"One of these days I'm gonna throw him out a window." Taurus sprawled next to Capricorn. "Ground floor or top floor, I'm still debating."

"Do both." Cancer suggested. "If he doesn't learn from ground floor, he will for the top."

Virgo and Mini, having swapped clothes to be more comfortable, now joined the others on the bed.

Capricorn smiled. Her little siblings all huddled around her, just like old times.

Minus one.

"Eris? You've been awfully quiet?" Libra asked. "Are you okay?"

Aries still stood in the doorway, staring around the old hotel room. "I was just...” She hesitated. “This is Léo's room too."

Scorpio groaned. "I forgot that he knows about this place. I wonder if Zodia wiped it from his memory or something. Or maybe he's here, spying on us."

Aries could still remember when her little brother had been in the room with them. In fact, he would've been standing where she was, leaning on the doorframe, laughing at the other eleven, somehow all fitting onto one small bed. "No...it's just…when was the last time he came here with us?"

"He only came with us the first few months. Then he turned into Zodia's little puppet." Taurus snarled. "Not sure you can say it's his room too."

"But he found it for us, he fixed it up." Aries spoke firmly. "Tory, come on, he even caught that rat that scared you with his bare hands."

"It didn't scare me!" Taurus retorted.

Scorpio snorted. "Yeah it did, dude, you screamed like a little girl."

Aries looked up at the ceiling tiles. A few were a different color. "He fixed the ceiling when it leaked, he repainted the walls, he put a lock on the door. It's his too."

"This doesn't belong to Zodia Jr. and you know it, Eris." Taurus sat up. 

Capricorn sighed. "Speaking of Léo, we need to discuss what he told us tonight."

"You mean his little bluff? He's probably gonna go tell ‘Daddy’ about how we're okay with killing him." Taurus scowled.

"If he was lying." Sagittarius pointed out. "That last little bit of his sounded a little too real to be a lie."

"Yeah, but the U.N? Assassination? Sounds like fiction to me."

"Governments have been hiring assassins for millennia." Pisces responded. "Just because you are only now aware and involved doesn't make it fantasy."

Cancer shrugged. "Yeah, but it could easily be a lie. I mean, why would Léo want Zodia dead? He's a little daddy's boy, with everything he could ever want. He's not..." Cancer trailed off.

"He's not one of us." Scorpio finished. "Zodia loves him. Zodia spoils him, promises him a kingdom, an empire, Léo has no reasoning behind wanting to kill Zodia."

Aries wanted to think of the moments when she had laughed with Léo. She wanted to remind everyone that he had created the concept of being them, even if he was just being used as a puppet now. She wanted to think of the few months when he had been one of them. 

She could only remember the last time he came to the meeting place. How he had scolded her, while she was crying and bleeding, for disobeying Zodia. How he had told her it was her fault she got punished. 

"I'm sorry." She whimpered hoarsely. "I just wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. But I guess you're right."

Scorpio frowned. "Look what you did, Taurus, you made Eris sad."

"I did--" he looked at Aries, who was starting to cry. "I'm sorry, Eris. Come sit with us."

Aries sniffled and shuffled over to find a place tucked under Taurus’s arm.

Capricorn stood up, making Pisces fall on the floor. "This situation isn't that simple. Think about it: Léo called the meeting using Zodia's phone. He gave us the details using Zodia's email. Since when does he do that?"

"Kay has a point." Mini stood up too. "Léo doesn't ever call using Zodia's phone. He uses his own. He doesn't even use his business email to contact us, he uses his personal one, and would never use Zodia's."

"Without permission." Virgo added.

"But why? For a bluff? Neither Zodia or Léo is smart enough to cover their heels like that." Aquarius pointed out.

Pisces sat up. "No, they're both pretty clever. Remember, Zodia always used to know where we were and when, even if we left our cell phones somewhere else. Léo too. They aren't stupid."

"But they think we are." Cancer mumbled under his breath.

"Exactly." Capricorn crossed her arms. 

Sagittarius nodded. "Again, this is too well thought out to be a lie meant to catch us in something. Especially since Zodia has been content to let us do as we please for the past year."

"I still don't buy it." Taurus scoffed.

"Nor should you, or any of us." Capricorn placed her hands on her hips. "If it is a trap, it's an awful one to get caught in. If it isn't, we can't wait to find out."

"So what do we do?" Aries asked sheepishly.

Capricorn sighed. "We just play along until something looks wrong."