#the fourth overture

[dyed-petals]

I wish I could fit into a poem,

how every year, without fail,

The first time I listen to the Nutcracker all the way through,

I just cry.

I think if I could,

it would be a very long poem

and take two decades to read

with a practical componant

and over a hundred repeats.

It’s not a poem I could write;

I’m no god.

But someone out there must be,

and must have,

for I’ve read it.

And every year I can’t explain why it makes me cry.

I hope I’m not done reading.

[mariacallous]

The 86th Anniversary of Kristallnacht: A Night of Broken Glass

The unprecedented pogrom of November 9-10, 1938 in Germany has passed into history as Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass). Violent attacks on Jews and Judaism throughout the Reich and in the recently annexed Sudetenland began on November 8 and continued until November 11 in Hannover and the free city of Danzig, which had not then been incorporated into the Reich. There followed associated operations: arrests, detention in concentration camps, and a wave of so-called Aryanization orders, which completely eliminated Jews from German economic life.

The November pogrom, carried out with the help of the most up-to-date communications technology, was the most modern pogrom in the history of anti-Jewish persecution and an overture to the step-by-step extirpation of the Jewish people in Europe.

Jews Leaving Germany

After Hitler’s seizure of power, even as Germans were being divided into “Aryans” and “non-Aryans,” the number of Jews steadily decreased through emigration to neighboring countries or overseas. This movement was promoted by the Central Office for Jewish Emigration established by Reinhard Heydrich (director of the Reich Main Security Office) in 1938.

In 1925 there were 564,378 Jews in Germany; in May 1939 the number had fallen to 213,390. The flood of emigration after the November pogrom was one of the largest ever, and by the time emigration was halted in October 1941, only 164,000 Jews were left within the Third Reich, including Austria.

READ: Sept. 16, 1935: Nazi Laws on Jews Put Into Effect

The illusion that the legal repression enacted in the civil service law of April 1, 1933, which excluded non-Aryans from public service, would be temporary was laid to rest in September 1935 by the Nuremberg Laws — the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor. The Reich Citizenship Law heralded the political compartmentalization of Jewish and Aryan Germans.

Economic Exclusion

The complementary ordinances to the Reich Citizenship Law, dated November 14-28, 1935, sought to define who was a Jew; it also created a basis for measures limiting the scope of Jewish occupations and the opportunities for young Jews to get an education. Following the March 1938 annexation (Anschluss) of Austria, which brought 200,000 Austrian Jews under German domination, exclusion of Jews from the economy began first through the removal of Jewish manufacturers and business chiefs and their replacement by “commissars” in charge of “aryanization,” the expropriation of Jewish businesses.

READ: Feb. 14, 1934: Jewish Agents Thrown Out of Reich System

Within a short time, from January to October 1938, the Nazis aryanized 340 middle-sized and small industrial enterprises, 370 wholesale firms, and 22 private banks owned by Jews. The November pogrom was the peak of a series of events intended to expel the Jews from economic life and to force a hurried emigration.

A sequence of normative legislation in 1938 heralded economic despoliation. Under the Law Concerning the Legal Position of the Jewish Religious Community (March 28, 1938), the state subsidy for the Jewish community was withdrawn. Under the decree of April 22, 1938 against “continuing concealment of Jewish business activity,” Jews were obliged to declare their assets–an indication that their possessions might be seized.

The Fourth Decree (July 25, 1938) under the Reich Citizenship Law deprived Jewish doctors, as of September 30, of their practices among Jewish patients. An edict by the police president of Breslau dated July 21 ordered that shops and businesses belonging to Jews should bear a notice: “Jewish Firm.” Air Ministry political-economic guidelines of October 14, 1938 were accompanied by a recommendation, summed up by Hermann Goring (then head of the ministry): “The Jewish question must now be grasped in every way possible, for they [Jews] must be removed from the economy.”

Goring also said that he was in favor of the creation of Jewish ghettos in German towns. His words gave notice of a general anti-Jewish offensive in the coming weeks. The most favorable opportunity for unleashing the attack was afforded by the fatal wounding of the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath on November 7th 1938 in Paris by the 16-year-old Polish Jew Herschel Grynszpan.

READ: Nov. 8, 1938: Polish-Jewish Youth, 17, Shoots Nazi Embassy Official in Paris

A Top-Down Pogrom

Ernst vom Rath’s death gave the signal to the Reich propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, to unleash the pogrom against the Jews. The news of the death was received by Adolf Hitler during the traditional dinner for the “old fighters” of the Nazi movement, held in the assembly room of the Old Town Hall in Munich on the anniversary of the bloody march on the Feldherrnhalle and the unsuccessful putsch of November 9, 1923.

The atmosphere for announcements of victory or incitements to hate and revenge was optimal, not only in Munich but also among Nazi organizations throughout the country, where Germans awaited the radio transmission of the customary memorial celebration and Hitler’s speech. The signal for retaliation had already been given by Goebbels (with Hitler’s agreement) in an unusually aggressive speech, which Hitler did not attend. The political propaganda initiative and management of the pogrom was in Goebbels’ hands, though he held no written authority from Hitler.

While the Fuhrer went to his Munich apartment, the propaganda minister told the Nazi notables and old fighters present that there had already been acts of revenge on November 8 in Kurhessen and Magdeburg against State Enemy No. 1 — the Jew. Synagogues and shops belonging to Jews had, he said, been destroyed.

His words were understood by his audience to signify “that while the party would not openly appear as the originator of the demonstrations, in reality it would organize them and carry them through” (secret report of supreme party judge Hans Buch to Hermann Goring, February 13, 1939). These intimations were immediately passed on by telephone to the headquarters of the various districts and were followed by telegrams from the Gestapo. Heydrich’s secret order, sent by teleprinter to all Gestapo offices and senior SD sections, was transmitted at 1:20 a.m. on November 10.

Once Goebbels had given the Nazi district leaders the impetus to unleash a massive pogrom, the further initiative lay in their hands. The execution of the pogrom, under direction of the highest Nazi party leaders, was entrusted to police and state agencies, to units of the SS, and in part to SA members. By means of the latest communications technology — telephone, teleprinters, police transmitters, and radio — within a few hours the pogrom had reached almost every part of the Reich without meeting any resistance.

Desecrated Synagogues, Looted Shops, Mass Arrests

During the night of November 9-10, 1938 Jewish shops, dwellings, schools, and above all synagogues and other religious establishments symbolic of Judaism were set alight. Tens of thousands of Jews were terrorized in their homes, sometimes beaten to death, and in a few cases raped. In Cologne, a town with a rich Jewish tradition dating from the first century CE, four synagogues were desecrated and torched, shops were destroyed and looted, and male Jews were arrested and thrown into concentration camps.

Brutal events were recorded in the hitherto peaceful townships of the Upper Palatinate, Lower Franconia, Swabia, and others. In Hannover, Herschel Grynszpan‘s hometown, the well-known Jewish neurologist Joseph Loewenstein escaped the pogrom when he heeded an anonymous warning the previous day; his home, however, with all its valuables, was seized by the Nazis.

In Berlin, where 140,000 Jews still resided, SA men devastated nine of the 12 synagogues and set fire to them. Children from the Jewish orphanages were thrown out on the street. About 1,200 men were sent to Oranienburg-Sachsenhausen concentration camp under “protective custody.” Many of the wrecked Jewish shops did not open again.

Following the Berlin pogrom the police president demanded the removal of all Jews from the northern parts of the city and declared this area “free of Jews.” His order on December 5, 1938 — known as the Ghetto Decree — meant that Jews could no longer live near government buildings.

READ: Dec. 5, 1938: Nazis Take Drivers’ Permits from Jews, Ban Use of Central Berlin

The vast November pogrom had considerable economic consequences. On November 11, 1938 Heydrich, the head of the security police, still could not estimate the material destruction. The supreme party court later established that 91 persons had been killed during the pogrom and that 36 had sustained serious injuries or committed suicide. Several instances of rape were punished by state courts as Rassenschande (social defilement) in accordance with the Nuremberg laws of 1935.

At least 267 synagogues were burned down or destroyed, and in many cases the ruins were blown up and cleared away. Approximately 7,500 Jewish businesses were plundered or laid waste. At least 177 apartment blocks or houses were destroyed by arson or otherwise.

It has rightly been said that with the November pogrom, radical violence had reached the point of murder and so had paved the road to Auschwitz.

[blindrapture]

OH GOD THE RAPTURE IS BURNING (Table of Contents)

While this book has many names and many people in it, all the events and opinions portrayed are fictitious. Some real names were used, with permission, but only for aesthetics’s sake. People often express confusion over some of the emoticons in the story. Most are self-explanatory, but just bear in mind that every one has eyes and a mouth. .w. has the periods as the eyes and the w is related to the "kittyface" of :3, with the former emoticon intended as an expression of humble happiness (something like "Aw, shucks!"). The < in <:D is intended as eyebrows, not a party hat, no matter who tells you otherwise. This story is long. The first draft was started in 2011 and continued until 2013, the second draft finished the story in 2013, the third and fourth drafts were refinements of the whole and came around 2014. The fifth draft added a lot more content, introducing an element you'll see as the "Attacheds," and this came in 2015. This formed the basis for the sixth draft in 2016, which was published on Amazon as the First Edition. That draft saw refinement and tweaking for several years (the seventh draft). What you are looking at now is the Second Edition, the eighth and final draft. The point of all this is: I have had many opportunities to change this story. I have taken many things out. The content and how it is treated will make you uneasy, somewhere, somewhen. It is best to read this story by yourself, where you can feel your emotions rawly and give them space. Privacy is a theme here. There are many more themes for you to discover. Good luck.

OVERTURE May 20 (Modern Invocation) May 21 (Title Drop From Red Sky)

ACT I May 23 (Donnie) May 24 (The Pillar) May 25 ("world with empty eye sockets") May 26 (Aubade feat. Mistress Dread) May 27 (In Blackpool) May 28 (Cipher for a Million Years) May 29 (Everyone's Benefit) May 30 ("Cakes mean the party funds") May 31 (Tropes) June 1 (Kissing a Corpse) June 2 ("le bouffon blanc") June 3 (Great Dodongo of the Congo) June 4 (SLCEM) June 5 (Womp Womp) June 6 ("Doppelganger") June 7 (The Minotaur of Lloret de Mar) June 8 (Vorke, the Face Stealer) June 9 (Systematic Chaos) June 10 (Clearly Exaggerated) June 11 ("Promise you'll never?") June 12 (Donnie Goes to London) June 13 (missing) June 14 (There Were Strangers at the Birth of the Earth) June 15 ("How are human minds biggest") June 16 ("I'll kneel.") June 17 (Going Brazilian) June 18 (In the Name of Comcast...) June 19 ("ENGLAND'S THEIRS NOW") June 20 (Tally Marks) June 21 (Bad Jokes) June 22 (Classic Jokes) June 23 (Ten Years in Jail) June 24 (Tell Us Yourself) June 25 (Liverpool) June 26 ("Fears. There's the rub.") June 27 (Secret Friend) June 28 (The Fourth Rake of the Apocalypse) June 29 (Rael's Exodus, I: Start with the Pronouns) June 30 (Rael's Exodus, II: Indisen) July 1 (Rael's Exodus, III: Fear the Day) July 2 (Rael's Exodus, IV: EAT) July 3 (Rael's Exodus, V: The Anatomy of Everything) July 4 (Rael's Exodus, VI: Wishful Thinking)

ACT II July 5 (Duck and Cover) July 6 (American Anxiety) July 7 (Ciphers of the Blind Man's Book) July 8 (The God Machine) July 9 (School Bus) July 10 (Family Expression) July 11 (Sempiternity) July 12 (Grimaldi's Mad Language) July 13 ("Operation: Rise Against Fear") July 14 (Guy Fawkes) July 15 ("yes, quite nice") July 16 (Infinite Series) July 17 (The Grand Gtheru) July 18 (A Conversation with Tiresias) July 19 (More Tally Marks) July 20 ("red ochre corridors") July 21 (Who Once Ruled the Streetlights) July 22 (Walking) July 23 (Goodbye, Swamp Queen) July 24 (Sanctuary Francisco) July 25 (Avoidance) July 26 (See, the Thing is...) July 27 (Maybes and Mysteries) July 28 (Synecdoche) July 29 (Crotch Museum) July 30 (King Real) July 31 (Ground and Pound) August 1 (Don't Speak Its True Name, I: Peace) August 2 (Don't Speak Its True Name, II: Mirrors) August 3 (Don't Speak Its True Name, III: Colors) August 4 (Don't Speak Its True Name, IV: Music) August 5 (Don't Speak Its True Name, V: Dominiere) August 6 (Don't Speak Its True Name, VI: The Ghost) August 7 (Don't Speak Its True Name, VII: Friend)

POST WILL BE UPDATED WITH EVERY LOG

SEE THE WEBSITE VERSION FOR THE IDEAL READ

(and for bonus rambles talking about the creation of the story, see here)

[kiwiana-writes]

oh this is gonna be fun! I can't wait to see what you come up with from these prompts! Any or all of these please: - “Shut up.”“Why don’t you come over here and make me.” - teasingly kissing the tip of the nose - “fuck. fuck fuck fuck fuck this shit. fuck.”

Thanks for the prompt! You, uh... you did want smut, right?

Too bad if you didn't.

HONEY LIPS AND WORDS SO TRUE for @rmd-writes [rated E, 1580 words]

Alex is sprawled out on top of the covers in nothing but a pair of navy boxer briefs and looking like the delicious temptation he has always been. He’s also narrating every move Henry makes, Attenborough-style, accent and all.

Henry really rather wishes he didn’t find that as endearing as he does.

“And now we see the Prince disregard his mate, instead continuing to put away his laundry. This is, of course, rather unexpected behaviour not often seen, especially given the blatant overtures being made in his direction—”

“Alex.” Henry keeps his voice perfectly pleasant as he says Alex’s name for about the fourth time in as many minutes, folding an undershirt as he speaks. He only has half a dozen pieces of clothing left; he just wants to get the task done. “My love. Do shut up.”

Alex flashes him a smirk and then slowly, deliberately, licks his lips. When he speaks again, the terrible attempt at poor Sir Attenborough’s voice is gone, and Henry could swear he’s laying on his usual drawl a little thicker than normal. “Why don’t you come over here and make me?”

Henry’s heart rate picks up as Alex lets his legs fall open a little wider, one hand sliding across his own abdomen, fingertips grazing the waistband of his ridiculously tight underwear, and… well. 

Laundry baskets were invented for a reason, after all.

[Read more on AO3]

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

Poor Nanami. Hes got all problems rn (one kid uncondcious, two kids really really insisting they did the grand theft auto, one going throufh the most insane emotional journey possible)

I keep thinking about how in the same conversation Yuuta both asked Nanami to neglect him more (insanely concerning) and then also said hed kill himself in front of him (also insanely concerning) after like 5 hours ago going youre *not* my dad. Parenthood is tough.

Nanami, going onto r/Parenting for help with this shit:

I (27M) am the father of three. My eldest (16M) was recently introduced to my two younger children (15F & 14M) under less than ideal circumstances. They all seem to be getting along well—my eldest son and daughter already appear to be friends. My youngest son had to be hospitalized, and the eldest has developed a very protective bond with him. This is one of the issues—I’m harboring some concerns that he may kill the people who hurt my youngest in his defense.

I have a series of other problems that have arisen in the last twelve hour span:

First, my daughter recently stole a car to transport her brother to medical attention after discovering his injuries. My youngest now insists that he was the one who stole it, despite being blind and bleeding out at the time of the theft. How do I convince him that it was okay that the car was stolen and to stop distressing himself with trying to take the blame?

Second, my eldest went through a medical issue recently that destabilized his emotional control, likely contributing to his strong bond with my youngest and the homicidal thoughts. I'm attempting to get him to rest; however, this makes him feel like he's failing to protect my youngest. How do I convince him to rest and take care of his own needs?

Third, the same eldest told me that I’m not his father, asked me to neglect him more, and told me that he’d kill himself in front of me if I tried to discuss puberty with him. Our relationship is very new, and I believe he was being hyperbolic in many of his statements, but I want to communicate to him that he can safely come to me with any issues he may face. How can I best do this?

Fourth, I have recently uncovered reason to believe that my daughter is harboring an active fear that we may one day cut her off from her younger brother permanently. We are currently parenting them through a non-sexual, platonic polycule, and I decided that I was obligated to share this information with the others so that we may address it as a family. Now, however, she has been avoiding me, and I fear she may trust me less. How do I address both the breach in trust and the likely fears of abandonment? I only want her to be happy.

Fifth, my eldest appears to have a relationship of indeterminate nature with his four closest friends. They were all found sleeping in the same bed together, are rarely apart, and he spends most of his time with his best friend/possible romantic partner (15F), though they have gotten in several physical confrontations in the twelve hours I have known them. It is unclear whether their relationship is platonic, romantic, or queerplatonic in nature, though his best friend does appear to be making romantic overtures to my daughter. I obviously support whatever their nature may take (both due to my pre-existing personal opinions and the obviously unique nature of the relationship I have with my coparenting polycule), but I do believe that the answers may affect what topics should be covered in any discussion we may have on puberty and sexual wellbeing. Obviously, this talk is not happening any time soon, due to the aforementioned threat to kill himself in front of me if I attempted to discuss such topics, but I’d like to be prepared should the need arise. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to casually communicate that I support him in whatever form of relationship he finds himself in? Should I cover all of the bases when I give him the talk just in case?

I consider myself somewhat of a veteran parent (I have been raising children for more than a decade now), but these last twelve hours have surprised me with how taxing they've been. Has anyone encountered anything like this? Any advice will be appreciated.

Edit: My youngest had to be hospitalized because his extended family, who is not allowed any contact with him, kidnapped him and injured him to the point of hospitalization. This is not what I'm seeking advice on. We are more than capable of formulating our plans for revenge without the aid of strangers on the internet.

Second Edit: Please stop asking how I'm able to be the father of three teenagers at the age of 27. All of my children were adopted. No one needs to call the police.

Third Edit: My eldest had not yet met his younger siblings because he was only recently adopted under rather dire circumstances. The ex-boyfriend of a member of our coparenting group recently attempted to murder him (for reasons unrelated to the group), and then in the aftermath a different group attempted to force him into indentured servitude. We were looking to allow him time to adjust to his new circumstances before introducing him to his siblings.

Fourth Edit: Yes, I adopted my first two children when I was sixteen. This was not so much allowed as no one could stop us. I fail to see the relevance in this to the problem at hand; however, due to the influx of questions I have decided to provide the information anyway.

Fifth Edit: Yes, I was the poster who sought advice all those years ago regarding the young children that my upperclassman had somehow acquired. No, I still do not know where he got them from. It no longer matters, because we ended up keeping them and are raising them ourselves. Please direct all further comments to the actual questions asked.

[desceros]

hi sam!! kind of a different request, but would you list as many of your favorite orchestral pieces as you can? association with turtles v welcome but also optional! i have trouble doing my coursework because i can't listen to anything in the background while doing it (shows, music with lyrics), but i listened to scheherazade because of you and really loved it, plus got some work done to boot!! i'm not sure where to start in looking for more music like that so i thought i'd ask you. :)

oohhhh what a FUN ask, thank you so much!! i promise i am going to TRY to be REASONABLE with how much i talk about this. if i really did mention "as many as i could" i think i'd find out if tumblr has a character limit in text posts, hahaha!

so my favorite symphony of ALL TIME is symphony 9 by dvorak. absolute must-listen. my favorite moment of the entire piece (which you HAVE to listen to the entire thing to get REALLY feral about) is the last huge chord progression in the fourth movement that takes the db major brass chords from the second movement and puts it to the BOMBASTIC TYMPANI EB MINOR EXTRAVAGANZA from the first movement and makes me want to CHEW THROUGH BEDROCK, RAHHH

aside from that, here are a few that i love a lot and totes recommend:

all of scheherezade is, of course, absolutely stunning. it's one of my favorite pieces of all time. if you haven't listened to the other movements, i highly recommend! in this same vein is you liked that are pieces like the stepps by borodin, the polovstian dances (also borodin), marche slav by tchaikovsky, and to some extent saint-saens piano concerto no. 5 has some similar themes, particularly in the absolutely DELICIOUS second movement. it's called "orientalism" and while the, uh, intent has a history of. to say generously. problematic undertones. the pieces themselves are lovely.

russian easter overture by rimsky korsakov. i played this one in high school and man. it's just so FUN and PRETTY.

symphonie fantastique by hector berlioz. it's the story of this dude having a really bad acid trip. no i'm not kidding. also the fifth movement has the dies irie in my favorite iteration ever. eat your heart out, mozart.

...actually just literally anything by tchaikovsky. gun to my head, i'd say he's my favorite classical composer. i'm partial to his ballet work because that's what i played a lot of personally, but his overtures and concertos are quite fun. his romeo and juliet overture is extremely famous (though i personally vastly prefer the opening part over the latter, more famous part). every violinist you ever meet will be traumatized by him, though. so do be careful.

speaking of concertos: my favorite (ugh. i'm a traitor) is probably the barber violin concerto. it just has this. cinematic vibe to it that makes me think of something magical.

(....though the elgar cello concerto and the grieg piano concerto may have something to say about this.)

the planets suite by holst is very fun. you've probably heard mars, and you may recall the romance theme from jupiter if you've seen the movie braveheart. it's one of those mainstream pieces most people have heard. my particular favorite movement is uranus. it's so bouncy and fun!!! classical headbanger music here

beethoven is quite fun to listen to. for his orchestral work, i'm partial to symphony no. 5 since that was the first one i played and the drama of it is enthralling. (yes. i think it's better than nine. sue me.). that said, between you and me, i like the egmont overture better than his symphonies. that low open c on the viola is just so god damned juicy—[door bangs open] OH NO. IT'S THE PRETENTIOUS POLICE. THEY FOUND ME

i'll stop there. these are a few symphonic pieces, since you asked for those specifically. i also really love chamber music (which is just the strings section, sans the woodwinds/brass/percussion/etc), but i find those amazing to listen to as well! anywho i hope you enjoy some slash all of these and good luck with your studies!!

[bones-edition]

Made a fourth of July playlist consisting entirely of What You Own from Rent and Suburbia Overture by Will Wood

[ryttu3k]

Classic 100 weekend! My shortlist (and 41-strong longlist) are here, will be keeping track of everything beneath the cut! Bolded entries are from my shortlist, regular text will be longlist, others I really dig will be asterisked. Let's see how we go!

98. Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade (getting started on the longlist early on!)

95. Beethoven - Symphony No. 5* (listen I longlisted three other symphonies, 5th didn't fit)

94. Hisaishi - My Neighbour Totoro* (I do have Hisaishi longlisted, but for Spirited Away)

92. Rodgers & Hammerstein - The Sound of Music* (I think this was on either Mum's longlist or shortlist. Either way, I grew up on this!)

90. Strauss Jr - On The Beautiful Blue Danube* ([muffled space shuttle docking in the distance] Anyway I'm a quarter Viennese this shit's genetic)

86. Westlake - Babe* (got Westlake in my shortlist for Antarctica, but Babe is lovely too!)

84. Westlake and Lior - Compassion* (just a beautiful piece)

83. Einaudi - I Giorni* (huh, I thought I actually did longlist this)

78. Jenkins - Adiemus* (oh hey I know this! I have Benedictus from The Armed Man in my longlist, didn't realise this was his too)

76. Williams - Jurassic Park (longlist! For a very silly reason - my brother and SIL used the main theme as their wedding march, so got some lovely associations with it)

73. Jeffes - Music for a Found Harmonium* (didn't longlist it but totally should have!)

71. Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata (technically I longlisted it for the third movement and they only played the first, but oh well)

67. Williams - Indiana Jones* (how much Williams will be on here? Yes)

61. Elgar - Pomp & Circumstances (the first appearance of something from my shortlist! This one got on the list because my grandmother loves it so much and gets so much comfort and joy from it)

57. Ravel - Bolero (here is a super fun drum corps version! Lowkey want to be the cymbalist who looks like she's having too much fun, and also those two drummers at the end who are leaping into the air. Such great energy!)

56. Hisaishi - Howl's Moving Castle* (another Hisaishi! Still waiting for Spirited Away (Nausicaa wasn't on the nominee list, alas), but honestly, any is good)

54. Copland - Anthem for the Common Man (I also really like the Emerson, Lake, and Palmer version :D Oh, they just played a snippet of it!)

52. Powell - How To Train Your Dragon* (I do love me some Romantic Flight)

48. Saint-Saëns - Carnival of the Animals* (I have the Organ Symphony on my shortlist and Samson et Delilah (for Bacchanale) on my longlist, but I enjoy this too! Also Danse Macabre, but not sure that'd make it onto a list of music to make you feel good...)

47. Copland - Appalachian Spring (my favourite of the two Copland ones I had on my longlist!)

46. Theodorakis - Zorba the Greek (literally how can you not enjoy this piece?)

45. Sibelius - Finlandia* (pieces that make you want to visit the Arctic)

43. Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture (my first memory of this: the very first Symphony Under the Stars in the Domain, January 1992. I had just turned five. Featured live cannons, fireworks, and the bells of St Mary's Cathedral, and it definitely made an impression!)

39. Grieg - Peer Gynt* (I basically grew up on this, thanks to a Grieg-loving Mum)

36. Westlake - Antarctica feat. Penguin Ballet (it's a penguin ballet <3)

35. Beethoven - 7th Symphony (this was my top choice and it should have been much higher up ;_; And they only played the second movement, my fourth-favourite of four!)

34. Vangelis - Chariots of Fire (I mean I longlisted it, but better than the 7th?)

28. Orff - Carmina Burana (this was one of the first live concerts I ever saw. When Ave Formosissima transitioned into the O Fortuna reprise I got chills. I also goddamn adore Ave Formosissima into the techno version of O Fortuna, but...)

27. Richter - Four Seasons Recomposed (the reorchestration that made me fall in love with Four Seasons. I liked bits before but this is just... next level. You know how sometimes you have a super elaborate and detailed painting and there's so much you lose a lot of it, like, say, Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights? And then you see details and you're just, "I didn't know that was there!" and you can focus on that and just marvel at the genius of it? This is like the musical version, by taking excerpts and celebrating them!)

26. Saint-Saëns - Organ Symphony (hilariously one of my Sunday morning Traditions(tm) is listening to this, so. I still kept my Tradition(tm)!)

22. Williams - Star Wars (damn, I thought this'd be top 10!)

20. Dvorak - New World Symphony (thought this'd be higher too, honestly! Lots of surprises up this end.)

19. Beethoven - Pastoral Symphony (made it to the top 20! Unsure if Eroica will get in, so we're basically just waiting to see where Choral comes in. Top 5 or bust!!)

18. Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker* (one of my first ballets! Granted, one of a lot of people's first ballets...)

12. Shore - Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit) (surprised this did so much better than Star Wars, but very pleased!)

8. Elgar - Enigma Variations* (particularly Nimrod, Mum's favourite)

7. Jenkins - The Armed Man (specifically Benedictus. I'm still uncertain if this makes me Feel Good or just makes me Feel A Lot, but either way: emotions)

5. Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue (my beloved <3 Lovely orchestral version)

2. Holst - The Planets (surprised it got in so high, but pleased!)

1. Oh, you know :)

Current count

Shortlist: 6/10 (Pomp and Circumstances, Penguin Ballet, 7th Symphony, Four Seasons Recomposed, Organ Symphony, Star Wars)

Longlist: 17/31 (Scheherezade, Jurassic Park, Moonlight Sonata, Bolero, Anthem for the Common Man, Appalachian Spring, Zorba the Greek, 1812 Overture, Chariots of Fire, Carmina Burana, New World Symphony, Pastoral Symphony, Lord of the Rings, The Armed Man, Rhapsody in Blue, The Planets, aaand Choral!)

[jgroffdaily]

Merrily We Roll Along to Release Broadway Revival Cast Recording

The digital album will be available for streaming very soon, with a physical release to follow later.

It started out like a song.... And now the Merrily We Roll Along Broadway revival is getting a cast album. Sony Masterworks Broadway and the producers of the revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along have announced the New Broadway Cast Recording will be released digitally Wednesday, November 15, at 12:01 AM ET.

Directed by Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by George Furth. The Broadway revival officially opened October 10, after beginning performances September 19. It has since been breaking box office records at the Hudson Theatre. The limited run is set to continue through March 24, 2024. Read the reviews here.

The physical CD for Merrily will be released January 12, 2024, and is available for preorder here. The recording includes new liner notes from Friedman and former New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley. See the album art below.

The track list is as follows:

Overture

Merrily We Roll Along

That Frank

First Transition

Old Friends — Like It Was

Franklin Shepard, Inc.

Second Transition

Old Friends

Growing Up

Third Transition

Not a Day Goes By (Intro)

Not a Day Goes By

Now You Know

Gussie's Opening Number

It's a Hit!

Fourth Transition

The Blob - Part I

Growing Up (Reprise)

Good Thing Going

The Blob - Part II

Fifth Transition

Bobby and Jackie and Jack

Not a Day Goes By (Reprise)

Sixth Transition

Opening Doors

Seventh Transition

Our Time

[dreamy625]

Overture and beginners - chapter 3

< Chapter 2

Words: 2435

Content: Nothing I can think of, this one’s pretty wholesome

-----------------------------

As they’d parted so hastily with no opportunity to exchange numbers, Steve had to wait until Monday for the chance to see Katie again. He volunteered for every errand around the factory, making a detour each time to pass the administration department in the hopes of spotting her. Finally, on the fourth trip, he almost walked into her, coming out of Packing with a sheaf of dockets in her hand.

Her face broke into a delighted grin. “What are you doing here?”

“Collecting this…” He held up the tool he was carrying. “Whatever it is, from Stores.”

“On the other side of the building?” 

“Er, I got lost?”

She raised one eyebrow. “Uh huh.”

Steve slid his eyes away from hers and cleared his throat. “Anyway, since I’ve bumped into you, quite by chance, I wondered if… well if… you’d like to come to the pictures with me?”

“Hmm…” She pretended to consider for a moment (as if she could possibly say no to those hopeful eyes). “Yes please.”

He beamed back at her. “Sunday? Only I’ve got band practice most nights.”

“Sunday’s good.”

“Maybe seven? I can come pick you up? Actually, best not, if your dad’s likely to be home. Meet at the bus stop on Worrall Road?”

“It’s a date.”

“Cool.” The ear-to-ear grin rather belied his casual tone.

He looked like he didn’t know quite what to do next, so Katie took pity on him. “Shouldn’t you be getting the whatever-it-is back to the workshop? Before they send out a search party?”

He looked at the object he’d forgotten he was holding, “Oh yeah. See you later then.” He ambled up the corridor and, with a final wave over his shoulder, disappeared round the corner. 

On his return to the machine shop he was informed by Simon, who worked the lathe next to his, that the foreman wanted to see him in the office and was, he added with a spiteful grin, ‘hopping mad’. Steve’s happiness of a few moments ago evaporated as he made the seemingly interminable walk across the workshop and knocked apprehensively on the door.

“Ah yes, Mr Clark.” 

He smiled a smile that to Steve’s eye looked very much like a hungry shark. 

“Y-you wanted to see me Mr Rafferty? Sir.”

“Mr Clark, you were late three times last week, you mixed up the metric and imperial die sets, your hair is too long, and your overalls are a disgrace.”

Steve glanced down, wondering how you were supposed to work in a machine shop without getting covered in oil - surely that was the point of the overalls?

“Look at me when I’m speaking to you, boy.”

“Sorry sir.”

“Without a significant improvement in both attitude and application, the chances of you successfully completing your apprenticeship are slim. Very slim. You need to buck your ideas up, young man.”

Steve, who was pretty much counting on becoming an internationally famous millionaire rockstar within the next eighteen months primarily so he didn’t have to finish his apprenticeship, just nodded, and then added ‘Yessir’ when that didn’t seem to be sufficient.

“And on the topic of your delinquent ways.” Mr Rafferty drew himself up to his full height, which was in fact slightly shorter than Steve, but he was about twice as wide as the slender younger man and seemed to loom over him as he leaned intimidatingly close. “What are your intentions towards my daughter?”

“I… er… nothing… You have a daughter? I… um… barely know her…” he stammered in a panic.

“DON’T lie to me, boy. I saw you with her last Friday.”

“Oh… right… Friday… that daughter…” Mr Rafferty’s face had turned an alarming shade of purple by this point and Steve sought desperately to placate him. “Lovely girl, a credit to you, sir.”

“That she is. The apple of my and her mother’s eye. She has a promising future ahead of her and I won’t allow anything that could derail that. So I ask you again, your intentions towards my Katherine?” 

His voice had dropped lower and quieter, but that didn’t make it sound any less dangerous. Steve’s petrified brain tried to think of something that sounded as innocent and honourable as possible. “I just… I just want to get to know her better,” was the best he could manage.

“Get to know her better?”

Steve nodded uncertainly.

“If you lay a finger on that girl…” This was delivered at a roar and Steve reflexively leaned back. “I will not be responsible for my actions!”

Already almost nose to nose, he took another step forwards, and Steve took a step back. Reverting to the hushed tone, the older man almost growled, “I can make your life a misery and I will not hesitate. Do you understand?”

He stepped forward again and Steve backed up again. In this manner he almost pushed him out of the room, adding a few more threats for good measure before slamming the door a mere inch from Steve’s toes. 

-----------------------------

At the cinema, their options were Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ice Castles, and something set during the Vietnam War, which they both instantly dismissed as depressing. Steve was steeling himself for two hours of romance and melodrama on ice when Katie piped up, “Don’t judge me, but I really like sci fi films. Can we see that one?”

“Of course, whatever you’d like.” (He would have sat through the ice skating one, for her, but he was rather glad not to have to.) 

The cinema was only about half full and they chose seats near the back without too many other patrons nearby so they could talk through the trailers without being shushed. 

“You can hold my hand if you get scared,” Steve offered.

“That’s very sweet of you, but whose hand are you going to hold when you get scared?”

“I’ll close my eyes.”

“Ohh, but that’s when the monsters get you,” she warned, before lunging at his neck with her teeth - fangs - bared!

He backed away in pretend terror, but actually the thought of her nibbling his neck was strangely appealing… 

As it turned out, the hand-holding started almost as soon as the lights went out, questing fingers finding each other in the darkness and coming to rest on Steve’s thigh. There weren’t a lot of jump-scares in the film, though they did both jerk and tighten their grip when a supposedly inert alien body suddenly opened its eyes. Then there was one scene which wasn’t frightening as such, but was pretty disgusting, with the slimy, half-formed pod people hatching, that made Steve, who did not have a strong stomach, hide his face against her shoulder. He then basically just stayed there, his head on her shoulder, and they watched the remainder of the film as cuddled up as they could be with an armrest between them, only pulling reluctantly apart when the lights came up at the end of the credits. 

“So… do you need to get back or…?”

Katie looked at her watch. “I’ve got a while longer before anyone starts worrying about me. What do you want to do? Pub maybe?”

“I think I’m hungry, are you hungry?”

“Actually, starving! I was too nervous to eat much tea.” She rolled her eyes at the needless jitters that had led her to stir lamb stew and dumplings round and round on her plate until it turned to mush. 

“Me too, my mam was livid,” confessed Steve.

“The Wimpy’ll still be open, we could go there?”

Seated in the restaurant, Steve ordered a cheeseburger and Katie opted for egg and chips, but was less decisive when it came to a drink.

“I want a strawberry milkshake, but I can never drink a whole one; they’re too cold and it makes my head hurt.”

The waitress shifted from one foot to the other impatiently. “Why don’t I bring you two straws and you can share?” she offered.

When their order arrived, Steve was momentarily distracted from his burger by watching the cute shape Katie’s lips made as she sucked on the straw. 

“Mm, icy but delicious. You have to have some too, save me from the brain freeze!”

He waited for her to push the glass over, but instead she put the straw back in her mouth and raised her eyebrows in invitation.

“Oh, Lady and the Tramp style.” He leaned over the table and angled his head to reach the other straw. After a few sips, he dropped the straw to remark, “You are very pretty, you know.”

“I am? How can you tell from this distance, I must be all blurry?”

Steve leaned back. “Yep, still pretty.”

“Thank you.” She lowered her eyes demurely, a pleased little smile turning up one corner of her mouth.

Steve put the cheeseburger back down and licked a splotch of ketchup from his thumb. He looked thoughtful. “Will you go out with me again?” he asked, a trace of uncertainty audible in his voice.

“Yes please,” she responded with no hesitation.

“Will you go out with me again, after that?”

“Probably. As long as you don’t take me to the opera or something!”

“No opera. And how about again after that?”

Katie laughed, “Why do I have to answer that now?”

“Because I want to get to something, and it’s too soon, but I can’t wait.”

Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what he was working up to. “Go on,” she said, a little guardedly. 

“Would you…” He wished belatedly that he’d picked a more romantic location for this. Not that he’d actually planned it at all. More that, once he thought of it, he couldn’t wait another week to ask it. “Would you be my girlfriend?”

The wary look softened into a fond smile. “Stephen Clark. You are very odd. But I like you. Sooo, yes.”

His face cracked into that glorious half-moon grin that had been so irresistible to begin with and, unable to celebrate the new relationship with an embrace because there was a table in the way, she settled for reaching across and squeezing his hand. 

“So now we’re official, I want to know all your terrible secrets!”

“Well I have tons of those. What d’you want to know?”

“Umm, what’s your middle name?”

“Maynard. Stupid name. What’s yours?”

“Meredith. After my grandmother. Second question - what’s hidden under your bed?”

“A guitar. It’s not hidden, there’s just nowhere else to put it.”

“Boring! Okay, here’s a personal one - is that your real hair?”

“Are you suggesting it’s a wig?” he asked with mock affront.

“Nooo, at least I hope not. But I don’t remember it being curly at school?”

“Alright, I confess, it’s a perm. My gran did it.”

“Ah ha! I thought so. It’s cute though, you look like Peter Frampton.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Definitely, he’s gorgeous! Ooh, that’s a good one - who’s your celebrity crush?”

“Frida from Abba. And I had a bit of a thing for Sophia Loren when I was a kid.”

“You and every man alive I think!” laughed Katie. “And on a similar topic,” she ate the chip from the end of her fork and held it under his chin like a microphone, “first girlfriend?”

“Really?” he said with pleading eyes.

“Enquiring minds need to know.” She waved the fork again in a more threatening manner.

Steve arranged and rearranged the ketchup and mustard packets on the tabletop. “It’s not a very exciting story, I'm afraid. First real girlfriend was not long after I started at GEC, Rebecca. I met her at the college where I was doing my training course on day release; she was doing catering. We went out for the rest of that year, but then she went on to proper catering school in Leeds. We wrote, and I got the train up there once or twice but… I guess it just fizzled out.”

“Aw, that’s sad.”

“A little bit, at the time, I suppose. But I’d started with the band by then, so I was focused on that, and she’d made other friends, so it wasn’t a big dramatic breakup or anything. The only one since then was Jenny, who’s Colin’s - he’s at GEC too, a year ahead of me - sister. That was just a casual thing. We just,” he looked slightly embarrassed at the revelation, “snogged at a couple of parties. But she met someone much more interesting than me, with a motorbike, and that was the end of that. Huh, pretty pathetic really.” 

“No, you’ve proved you’re not undateable at least!” she laughed.

“Okay, I’ve showed you mine, you show me yours.”

“Ah, also not much to tell. I had a boyfriend at school, but I don’t think that really counts. He went to Myers Grove and we just used to see each other at choir competitions and hold hands in the interval over orange squash and digestive biscuits. Then there were a couple of blokes I went on dates with that didn’t go anywhere. Then most recently there was Gary, who I was seeing for about a month and a half. But he was kind of dull. So I dumped him when I met someone else I liked and hoped might ask me out.” Seeing Steve’s questioning expression she clarified, “You, silly!”

“Ohh.” He grinned down at the remains of his chips. 

-----------------------------

Wending their way slowly to the bus stop, arms wrapped around each other’s waists, they tried to work out when they could next see each other.

“I’m on the swing shift next week,” explained Steve, “which mucks up everything.”

“Ugh, shift work is horrible. I’m so glad we just do regular office hours.”

“Swing is the worst. I mean, it’s easier for sleeping than the night shift, but at least with nights I can go to practice beforehand. Or on dates with pretty girls.”

He swung round, abruptly stopping their progress under a streetlamp. He held Katie’s face in his hands and kissed her until with a giggle she extracted herself. “We’ve got to gooo, we’ll miss the bus.”

“There’ll be another one,” he argued, but reluctantly he started to walk again, taking her hand in his.

“I’d love to see you rehearse one day. And meet the rest of the band.”

“Ah, no girlfriends allowed at practice. Joe’s rule; he says they’re too distracting.” In response to Katie’s moue of disappointment he offers, “You could come and see the rehearsal room another time though? It’s a bit manky, but we’ve got furniture and a heater and a kettle.”

“Mmm, what girl could resist that tempting offer?”

Chapter 4 >

[avoicefromthestars]

“To be fair,” said Ki, “the Federation did make numerous overtures, at least in the beginning. They were dealing with their own problems in the aftermath of their war with the Dominion, but they continued their outreach attempts despite repeated rebuffs from King Buhi. Even so, the Federation accepted any Xaheans wishing to emigrate. Then your people became involved in the effort to relocate the Romulans from their homeworld and other planets they believed would be affected by the supernova that eventually destroyed the Romulan star system. You know what happened during this period, of course.” “The Mars attack.” The words were almost a whisper as Burnham spoke them. Learning of the devastation wrought upon the Utopia Planitia facility and indeed the whole planet had made her heart heavy, but not so much as what happened after that tragedy. Wounded in so many ways both literally and figuratively, the Federation retreated. In the immediate aftermath of the attack and with the loss of so many vessels being constructed for the evacuation effort, Starfleet suspended its attempts to assist the Romulans. Two years later, the supernova consumed the Romulan system, shattering the once powerful empire and annihilating billions of people. Perhaps motivated by shame, Earth and other core worlds disengaged from the interstellar stage. Turning their focus inward, they began reassessing the advantages and detriments of adhering to principles that had guided them since the Federation’s founding. By the end of the twenty-fourth century, borders were redrawn, severing lifelines to planets and civilizations that relied upon trade and mutual cooperation with the Federation despite not being members themselves. Regions once patrolled and secured by Starfleet vessels found themselves on their own and forced to improvise their own methods of enforcing law and order, with varying degrees of success.

— Star Trek Discovery: Somewhere To Belong, Dayton Ward

[skitskatdacat63]

Would you mind if I asked for any classical recs. I started listening to Bartok and something clicked (also because I like hearing you talk 🗣️ )

- Penalanon

Aaahhh omg penalanon hiiii!! 🥺 so glad you liked Bartók! That's on such the deep end of classical honestly so I'm rly so glad to hear you like his work! Alright sry in advance if any of these are basic bcs im not sure what you've listened to before. But here you go, in no particular order

1812 Overture - Tchaikovsky

Okay hear me out ik this is pretty basic but I love this recording so so much, I listen to it constantly. Tho it's especially fun to listen to when I'm drawing something Napoleonic, it's very fitting

Marche Slave - Tchaikovsky

Another Tchaikovsky piece! I just really like this one :)

Piano Concerto No.2 - Rachmaninoff

Most beautiful piano concerto of all time?? Perhaps. I just love this one, and the story behind it is very sweet to me(Rachmaninoff was very depressed but his therapist helped him get back to composing, and he dedicated this piece to him)

Rite of Spring - Stravinsky

If you liked Bartók, you'll definitely like Stravinsky!!

Firebird - Stravinsky

Also must link this hilarious vid that I always think of every time I listen to this piece

Gayaneh - Khachaturian

My fav ballet EVERRRR. Okay bear with me, I know it's two and a half hours long, but I listen to it constantly

The Planets Suite - Holst

You've prob heard these before but ahhhh one of my favorite pieces, it never gets old. They are all so unique, and I love how you can tell how much they inspired modern film scores like Star Wars

La Follia - Vivaldi

My fav Vivaldi piece other than Four Seasons(not linnking it here bcs I think most people have def heard it, but go listen to it again ofc dklaskjl.) But man Vivaldi always goes off so hard

String Quartet No.8 - Shostakovich

I linked this in my prev music reccs but I'm not sure if you listened to it so I will again!!

Symphony No.5 - Shostakovich

I love Shostakvich so much waahhhhh, his life makes me sad :( But he's one of the reasons I got more into classical music!

Symphony No.7 - Shostakovich

The story behind this one is so sad to me :( It was a song of resistance for the people of Leningrad while they were being seiged in WWII. Also I love how the conducter in this vid literally looks exactly like young Shostakovich

Battle on The Ice - Prokofiev

such a sick piece

Dance of the Knights - Prokofiev

Symphony No.2 - Weill

I randomly heard this at a classical concert, and I've been in love with it every since!

Masquerade Suite - Khachaturian

Gnossienne No.1-6 - Satie

I can't link all of them so just start with the one I linked!!

New World Symphony - Dvorjak

I love the fourth movement especially, there's parts that sound like Jaws and Star Wars

Danse Macabre - Saint-Saëns

The Swan - Saint-Saëns

This song is what I imagine falling in love feels like. It always makes me teary eyed. Also Vienna has stars like the hollywood stars in some subway station, and I took pics of both Saint-Saëns and Debussy when I saw them, and two people I was with had no idea who they were SOBBB

Raindrop Prelude - Chopin

Arabesque - Debussy

I'd recc Clair de Lune but I'm sure you've heard it, so here is another Debussy piece :)

Miserere mei, Deus - Allegri 

IDK I LIKE CHOIR MUSIC BE QUIET

Lacrimosa - Mozart

You've def heard this before but GOD it makes me cry every time, soooooo iconic

Funeral March (Orchestral Version) - Mendelssohn

There's such a cool video of this as an actual march but it's for Thatcher's funeral ugh, so here's the orchestral version too

[atamascolily]

princess tutu rewatch, episode 1

Ahiru singing her song to the tune of the Nutcracker Overture is adorable, full stop.

So is the fact that all the birds love her. And I think she has a stuffed animal in the shape of a duck, too?

Every time Drosselmeyer appears, without fail, I yell, "SHUT UP, DROSSELMEYER!" He doesn't.

the ballet teacher (who is a cat) has to stop and groom himself every time he gets flustered, which is a lot. Do you think he subconsciously recognizes Ahiru is a bird?

Drosselmeyer's design makes him look like a nutcracker and extra creepy even without his habit of breaking the fourth wall constantly, and being all smug and obnoxious. I HATE HIM SO MUCH.

Ahiru's friends are totally ride or die for her romantic ambitions for wildly different reasons and I love it

Fakir, you bastard (affectionate).

oh LOOK, a raven showed up, I wonder who could have possibly done that (sarcasm).

Mytho falling out the window to the "Waltz of the Flowers" is so freaking funny lmao

SHUT UP, DROSSELMEYER.

he doesn't. :(

[celestiall0tus]

Fourth Changes for Siren's Song AU

Alright, these I'm hoping are the last of the changes before I reveal the finalized version of the characters and what not. The biggest shift you'll see is the jargon. I'm dropping the hero and villain binary for something more gray and, oddly enough, aligns with the themes in my novel, Overture (working title).

The world is not black and white, but shades of gray. Every story has two sides. What we think is a villain may be a hero to others. This idea and theme was further pushed and inspired by the song Real One by Smash Into Pieces.

I'm the good and I'm the bad guy

Every little story has two sides

I'm the villain and the hero

And

I'm the good, I'm the bad, yeah, I'm the bad

Bad, I'm the good, misunderstood

Be the real one, break the rules

These verses have always resonated with me, and you'll see that come in through Siren's Song. The heroes and villains here are a matter of perspective. Even Grandeur herself. No side is right, and no side is wrong. And I think that's what's going to make this so much fun to write.

Now, without further ado:

People who are fighting to maintain tradition, history, pieces of the past:

Luka/Masetro

Mylene/Honey Bee

Zoe/Wyvern

Juleka/Banshee

Rose/Venus

Felix/Aetolian

Alix/Megalodon

Nathalie/Neith

Marc/Eros

Sabrina/Seeker

Aurore/Sea Breeze

People fighting to abandon the past, create a better future, and/or usher in a new age:

Tomoe/Grandeur

Kagami/Lady Beetle

Marinette/Iridescent

Sabine/Weaver

Gabriel/Golem

Max/Formica

Nino/Director

Chloe/Mariana

People fighting for their own personal reasons that don't align or oppose either side of the war:

Ivan/Razor

Adrien/Scourge

Alya/Oblivion

Colt/Lyncus

Nathaniel/Belphegor

Ondine/Siren

Lila/Pettirosso

Amelie/Artemis

Emilie/Eleutheria

Amelie and Emilie's position can somewhat be argued considering their motives. One could argue that they're looking to create a better future, but not in favor of Grandeur. Rather personal reasons.

[saintyveningstar]

Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Op. 21: Allegro di molto

Cliff gets his little sister out of drug trouble with their parents

Cliff turns down the volume on his bass when he hears shouting coming from the living room. Like a child, he peeks his head out of his bedroom door to snoop. 

"Simone, a fourth of the alcohol is missing, and then this?! Explain this!" Their mother shouts, and Cliff is surprised. His little sister Simone has always been a goody two-shoes, as far as he could remember. 

A fourth of the Alcohol missing? He thought, What else did they find?

"Simone, answer your mother." Ray says, and Cliff has a feeling that whatever they found was bad. Of course, his mother didn't particularly like it, but they let him grow weed in the house and sell it out of his backpack — so whatever Simone had must've been horrible.

He heard his little sister's voice, "I-It's not mine."

"It was in your bathroom, Simone!"

"Mama ... I—" She's at a loss for words now, she doesn't know what to say.

Cliff decided he should intervene. And hey, It probably wasn't hers. Oh, and that alcohol missing? Yeah, that was him. What, he didn't think they'd actually notice.

He pulled the guitar strap over his head, and left his bass on the nearest flat surface he could find — which happened to be his cluttered desk. Whatever, he'd fuckin ... buff out the scratches later, he guesses.

He stalks into the living room, where Simone is standing sheepishly in front of their parents, crying. There was a little baggie of yellow, red, pink, and white pills. Then, there was another little baggie with white powder in it.

Holy shit.

"Oh shit, Ma, you found it! I've been looking everywhere for those!" He said.

"Mind your language, Cliff, c'mon." Ray said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Is that what all this is about, these pills?" He asked.

"So these are yours, then?" Jan asked.

"Yeah, you didn't know? You thought they were Simone's? C'mon, Ma."

"You said you wouldn't use marijuana as a gateway drug, Clifford. That's what we agreed."

"Mom, I have them with the intent to sell. My bass is coming out of the shop soon, which means I have to pay soon. Relax. Hey, maybe you should take one of these." Cliff said, matter of factly.

"Alright, boy." Ray said, "That's enough. Get your ... pills off the table. Take your sister with you."

Jan crossed her arms, practically turning her nose up. Cliff took the drugs off of the end table, looking his sister in her eyes and nodding towards the hallway. Simone followed him back to his room, and he closed the door behind them.

"Have a seat." He said, going over to his radio and turning the volume up. His parents didn't need to hear this conversation. Cliff sat down on the bed across from her, wiping his nose and sniffing. "Ya owe me, Simba."

Simone was still crying, wiping her eyes. "They really aren't mine, Cliff. I swear—"

"Hey, I believe you. You're going to make yourself faint if you don't calm down. Breathe, you're not in trouble anymore." He said. "Now, why do you have PCP ... and whatever this stuff is?" he held them up.

"My friend, Libby, her boyfriend is like a dealer, I guess, and he was going to get in trouble at school. We were on the bus, and she stuffed it in my backpack right before her stop. And I didn't know what to do, so I hid it in the bathroom." She looked up at Cliff, barely meeting his eyes. She expected him to be disappointed in her, but she only saw his heart breaking.

Cliff clicked his tongue,"Libby's not your friend, Simone." He said, softly. "She sees you as a scapegoat. You don't have to snitch or anything, but cut her out of your life. It's as simple as that. Did you take any?"

"No, never." She shook her head.

"Good, that's good. Cause then, I'd have to kick your ass."

Simone smiled and laughed, "But what are we gonna do with them? I can't just keep them."

"What, did you think I was kidding? Those repairs ain't gonna pay for themselves, Simba. These are my drugs now." Cliff chuckled.

"Seriously?"

"Hey, what do you say I give you 'bout .. mm, 20%. Can we call it a deal?"

Simone held out for hand for him to shake, smiling widely, and Cliff took it. Then, he pulled her into a hug. 

"Yeah, we can call it a deal."

[gnostichymns]

Congratulations on another successful event, everyone! We hope you all enjoyed Overture, please let us know how you felt about it on our feedback form! It's important for us to know what you did and didn't like to better shape our events going forward. And if you haven't already, check our closing post for information on claims and prizes!

We are going into December with our biggest cast so far, and for this we are all exceptionally grateful. With any growth, it is our duty to adapt, and so we have a few changes to bring to you all.

Muse limit changes:

No, it's not the fabled fourth slot. However, after some deliberation from the mod team, we have decided to no longer limit one mun to two muses per individual game. When Gnostic Hymns opened, we were a Genshin only group. Then, we only allowed two muses per mun to preserve the smaller roster for other interested parties. When we expanded, we kept this ruling for the same reason. However, six months after opening our doors to the Honkaiverse, we've determined that it's not the concern we had thought it would be. We want active members of our group to have the same rights to it, whether they play all three games or only one.

Activity changes:

Previously, we've allowed multiple asks to count towards the monthly minimum despite discouraging them being a blog's primary activity for a month. Going forward, we will only count 1 ask/meta/drabble or otherwise non-thread post towards monthly activity. This does not include OOC posting, memes, or art reblogs. We would also like to take this moment once again to remind everyone that OOC and meme posting on the dashboard should be kept to a minimum.

Moderation changes:

Our mods page has once more been changed, this time with a new addition to our team. Everyone give a big thank you to our brand new mod, Mik, for joining us in helping to keep this community running!

Artifact claims are open for November posts! This form will close at 11:59PM EST on December 7th, so don't delay. Instructions are included on the form.

Celebrating their 1 year anniversaries this month are: Muns: Darcy (4th), Kanoesa (11th) Muses: Lyney (4th), Navia (26th)

And with that, our final commission board for the season, Crystallize is now available! Check that out here.

And just in case you missed it, don't forget to fill out our feedback form for the month!

-Mod Alina