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moonlitceleste · 4 years ago

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straight up villain (Villain AU)

This is a songfic based on “Villain” by K/DA ft. Madison Beer and Kim Petras. There’s really no plot to it; I started with a vague idea and just went along with whatever my brain told me. It kinda jumps around and I didn’t proofread this at all, so sorry if it’s confusing!

I’d suggest listening to the song and watching the visualizer video because it’s honestly such a vibe. If I could animate I’d totally make a video full of epic fight scenes, but unfortunately I don’t have that talent learned yet.

This version of the song is a little more chill, so if you find the original too intense you can always listen to the slowed one instead.

On the low Only love myself, no more Take you to the grave, I'll ghost I know I can be so cold In the dark Where I like to keep my heart Know I'm all bite, no bark Like to catch you way off guard

A shiver ran down the crime boss’ spine.

His eyes darted around the room, searching through the darkness.

Shadows flickered. He swore he could see movement in them.

The night was crime’s time to rule; people feared the darkness it brought.

Now, he was the scared one.

I'll stay so deep inside your brain And take you somewhere far away

“Who’s there?”

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, revealing his false bravado.

Shaking hands gripped the gun around his waist, knuckles turning white with pressure.

Creeeakk.

The man whipped around, heart hammering in his chest.

Who—or what—was lurking in the shadows?

A snap echoed through the air as he fired a round.

Silence.

The only sound came from distant echoes of Gotham’s nightlife and the frantic beating in his throat.

He swore he had seen something sweep out in the corner of his vision, if only for a moment.

Perhaps it was the paranoia.

He slowly lowered his gun, shoulders relaxing—

Only to whip around when he felt a phantom hand brush his shoulder.

A pair of eyes flashed in the darkness, gone the next second, but he knew what he had seen, what he had felt.

Icy fear seized his body, taking hold of his limbs.

Something was watching him.

Time to roll the dice, you know I'm the type Type to risk my life, not afraid to die Type to make you cry, type to put a price All up on your head, do just what I said I'm a straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling Straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling

“Stop toying around.”

The gravelly voice was met with a cackle, almost cat-like in nature.

That was his only warning before it stepped from the shadows: a creature out of his nightmares, shrouded in darkness like part of the night itself.

Sharpened black claws glinted under the streetlights, and dark black orbs pinned him in place as it slunk forward. He couldn’t move, frozen like a deer in headlights.

The thing was so human-like in shape, but it was too monstrous to be one.

A wicked smile spread across its face, and his face blanched as he caught sight of the fangs protruding from the top.

The creature stalked forward like a predator chasing its prey.

Then, it pounced.

I'm alive, but I'm dead Hear my voice up in your head Watch it fill you full of drеad 'Til you go pow

It was common knowledge within Gotham’s criminal underworld that the Arkham Knight worked alone. He played by his own rules, merciless in his distribution of justice.

But lately, it was rumored that the Knight had an ally.

There was no proof of this, no sightings to go by, but there was a subtle shift that could be felt—an underlying sensation of imminent danger.

Gunfights and confrontations lessened, and the Knight’s enemies started disappearing without a trace. No blood, body, or evidence of struggle could be found; it was as if they had simply ceased to exist.

Whoever this new player was, they were dangerous.

Is it really a surprise if I'm playing with your mind And I treat you likе a prize, then I throw you to the side? And am I really that bad if l love to make you mad? And get happy when you're sad, only care about a bag

Jason shook out his hair, metal helmet in his hands, and leveled a glance at his companion.

“Did you really have to take so long to kill him?”

The two were in one of their few safe houses, recuperating after their long night of fighting.

“It’s the thrill of the chase.”

Marinette, no longer transformed, stated this as if it were obvious—which it was. Jason had been with her long enough to understand her concept of fun. She leaned forward and stretched, looking much like the animal after which her magic ring was themed.

“We can’t waste time playing around. There are more important things to be done,” he growled.

Marinette simply giggled, bounding over to bat her eyes at him with mock innocence.

Jason’s eyes narrowed. “You know what you’re doing.”

Her smile grew wicked, arms darting out to wrap around his waist.

“You look so good when you’re mad,” she purred.

Jason leaned down, and their lips met in a kiss.

In control That's how I like it and I'm never letting go, nah Never had a soul (soul) So you ain't taking nothing from me when you go, nah

Crack.

Marinette smirked as her staff made contact with the target’s skull.

Normally she would use Cataclysm for a more swift kill, but the remains were needed in order to send a message to Arkham Knight’s enemies.

They were growing more volatile, more desperate to expose whatever they thought she was.

Phantom Killer, they called her. The name sounded like something out of a badly-written horror movie. Marinette much preferred the one she had already: Reine de L'ombre.

Of course, she didn’t need a title, but Jason had come up with it. She was pleasantly surprised by his naming skills—it meant Shadow Queen, for she was a queen, and Jason her knight, as he put it.

She didn’t feel any remorse as the pile of bodies below her grew. Perhaps this made her soulless, but she didn’t need one anyway.

Marinette had all she wanted right beside her.

I'll stay so deep inside your brain And take you somewhere far away

“...you do what you gotta do, am I right?”

Marinette nodded at the man standing across from her, a smile on her red-painted lips.

He had been leering at her from across the bar the whole night, and although that was the goal, she was still disgusted. He had to be at least twenty years older than her. Heck, he was old enough to be her dad.

The intel she and Jason had acquired said the businessman had a thing for younger women, which was apparent. According to the same source, the company he ran was also a front for trafficking and drug rings.

Marinette wanted to see him bleed.

“How about we take this to my room?”

The comment was abrupt, and Jason would probably kill her for her indiscretion later, but she was getting tired of the man’s blabbering.

Her hand moved up his arm, the expensive material of his suit cool against her fingers. She bit her lips seductively, which seemed to convince him.

Bingo.

Time to roll the dice, you know I'm the type Type to risk my life, not afraid to die Type to make you cry, type to put a price All up on your head, do just what I said I'm a straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling (yeah, yeah) Straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling

Marinette gritted her teeth as the man tried to reach for her butt again.

She attempted to stop him by saying she wanted to wait until they entered her room, but he was persistent. She couldn’t wait to get rid of him.

As soon as she opened the door to her hotel room, she shoved him inside and up against the wall. He seemed to be expecting a kiss, but she punched him hard. For a crime lord he certainly wasn’t a good fighter. Maybe it was the drugs she slipped into his drink earlier that contributed to his quick defeat.

Marinette cuffed his arms behind his back with a pair she had stashed earlier. She could have waited for the man to undress so she could ensure he didn’t have any weapons, but she had gone through enough torture already. Her eyes didn’t need to see that.

She turned him around, giving him a smile that promised warmth and kindness, before pulling out a dagger and pressing it to his throat.

“Now talk.”

I'm alive, but I'm dead Hear my voice up in your head Watch it fill you full of dread 'Til you go pow

“Claws in.”

Marinette’s black suit faded away, revealing her now blood-spattered red dress.

She flopped onto the couch, not bothering to remove her shoes or dirty clothing.

After hours of trying to get information out of the businessman, she only managed to wring a few coded phrases from him. He seemed to only be a figurehead of his shady organization rather than its actual leader.

A Cataclysm later and here she was, back to the drawing board.

“Jay?” Marinette called.

It was unusually quiet in the safe house; usually after solo missions they’d greet one another with a kiss. Now, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Jason?”

Silence.

Marinette huffed. She knew exactly what this was about.

Bang, bang You can do anything No fear, no pain Listen to your brain go Go stupid, go dumb, go stupid and Then we go insane, woah Just do what I say Follow me, I'll lead the way

“Are you jealous?”

Jason whipped his head around, caught off-guard by the appearance of his girlfriend in his doorway. It seemed as if she wasn’t wasting any time.

“I’m not jealous. That guy couldn’t get you if he tried.”

“Then why are you mad?”

His jaw clenched.

He wished he hadn’t agreed to let Marinette extract the information alone; Jason almost wished he was there to see the man in pain.

“He was putting his hands all over you.”

“It was for a mission. Besides, I thought you said he couldn’t get me even if he tried?”

Her last words were said with a lilt, and Jason knew she was riling him up. He couldn’t stay mad, anyway—she had a point.

He deflated and leaned forward to brush his lips against her. Marinette smiled into the kiss, then pulled away. She looked him up and down, a glint in her eyes.

“I guess I’ll have to make it up to you, hmm?”

She paused, then wrinkled her nose.

“After I take a shower. I don’t want this guy’s blood on me any longer.”

Maybe they acted stupid sometimes, but the two always followed one another in the end.

Time to roll the dice, you know I'm the type Type to risk my life, not afraid to die Type to make you cry, type to put a price (Woo-ah) All up on your head, do just what I said I'm a straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling Straight up villain, straight up villain (Yeah) Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling (Woo-ah!)

Marinette panted deeply, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

A mass of bodies surrounded her, but she wasn’t paying attention. This wasn’t just a battle. It was war.

It was a fight for her life, and she wasn’t going down now.

Reine de L'ombre tore through her enemies like a terrifying force of darkness, one after the other. The Arkham Knight fought by her side, fueled by pure destruction.

Maybe they wouldn’t make it out, but they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

I'm alive, but I'm dead Hear my voice up in your head Watch it fill you full of dread

'Til you go pow

A week later, a couple rose hand-in-hand from the ranks as new rulers of the Gotham Underworld.

Reine de L'ombre and the Arkham Knight—a queen and her king.

PERMANENT TAGLIST @avengerthewarrior @enternalempires @freesportspalacesalad @h1sss @nathleigh

#maribat #celestewrites #jasonette #cel's fics

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poguesofthebau · 4 years ago

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dance partners

requested by: @danicarosaline (literally forever ago bc i suck)

summary: you and jj had been besties for as long as the rest of the pogues, but everyone always thought it was strictly platonic. one night at a kegger, though, your relationship with the blonde changes drastically. (we love a lil friends-to-lovers moment!) word count: 2.9k

“this is gonna be an epic night, guys.”

“jj,” you said, rolling your eyes with a light laugh. “you say that on the way to every kegger. we all know you’re just excited to get fucked up.” the rest of the pogues chimed in, agreeing with you as jj flipped you off. the walk to the kegger was longer than most people would be willing to trek, but it was always your favorite part of the night. walking from the Chateau to the Boneyard was one of those little things that probably wouldn’t mean much to anyone else, but times when you could simply bicker and laugh with your best friends meant the world to you.

“y/n, you need to learn to look forward to these kinds of things. you only live once, you know.” he reached out to you, wrapping one arm around your shoulders and pulling you into his side as the other hand, in the shape of a fist, lightly ruffled the top of your head. you grabbed the hand that was resting on your shoulder, spinning yourself out of his gentle grip and conveniently forgetting to remove your hand from jj’s when you were free of his hold. to your left, kie, pope, and john b were exchanging suspicious glances, immediately noticing the lingering touch between their friends. kie snorted in surprise, but other than that, they all kept their mouths shut.

soon enough, the five of you had arrived to the scene of the party. within a few minutes of getting there, you all had red solo cups in hand, spreading out on the beach to mingle a little. after kie got her first refill, always having been the quickest drinker of the pogues, you two broke off from the boys, arms linked together as you roamed around the beach. somehow there was music flooding the beach, and neither you nor kie could stop yourselves from letting out a few dance moves to the songs you knew. you chatted and laughed at the antics of the already drunk teenagers scattering the sand, pointing out those who were doing the funniest shit. “okay, wait. we can’t laugh at those girls,” kie said, nodding toward two kook girls who were clearly too far gone, dancing messily with each other. a small flock of guys had begun to cheer the two on, but they seemed too busy enjoying each other’s company to notice. “that’s gonna be us in like, an hour.” you both laughed loudly, clinking your cups together before downing the rest of their contents without anymore words.

once you had emptied your cup, you turned to figure out how far you’d strayed from where the keg sat. as you scanned the beach, your eyes met jj’s, immediately earning a smile from your friend along with a raise of his own cup. you flipped yours upside down with a joking pout, indicating to the blonde that you were already out of ammo. he waved for you to come over to him, and you nodded with a smile before holding up a finger and turning back to kiara. before you could say anything, you noticed the sudden amused glint in her eye and she began to talk. “pope and jb are making fools of themselves again. i’m gonna go get in on that. i’ll catch up with you later?” you laughed at the two boys she had pointed out, both seemingly trying to limbo without reason.

“yeah, i got jj, so i’ll find you later. good luck with the other morons!” and with that you were parting ways, kie heading straight as you turned and made your way over to jj. “you gonna get me a refill or what, pogue?”

jj bowed sarcastically, grabbing your cup and falling into step beside you as you moved toward the keg. “it’d be my genuine honor, princess.” you scoffed at the nickname, bumping jj’s hip with your own. once again, his arm found its way around your shoulders, and the two of you swayed clumsily over to the source of the beer. “two refills, dude,” jj called to the kid manning the keg. once your cups were full again, you and jj found yourselves a seat in the heart of the chaos, perched on a fallen tree branch that some other pogues were standing in front of. as you laughed at the scene playing out before you (a bunch of touron guys standing in the middle of a circle of people doing ‘parkour’), jj watched you with a smile. the two of you bantered a little, mocking the actions of the people around you as you tried to ignore the feeling of his eyes burning into you. after a few minutes of trying to avoid his glance, you finally gave in. when you caught his eye, the glance you expected to exchange was not at all what you got. in all honesty, you’d never really seen jj with that expression. he looked... smitten. you raised your eyebrows at him, laughing again. “are you laughing at me now? don’t you know better?”

your eyes widened at the question, your cup-less hand immediately coming up to his chest to hold him back from any attacks. “no,” you corrected. “i’m laughing at your face, because i think it might be broken or something. you can’t make a face like that and expect me to take it normally. don’t you know better?” you were leaning into him tauntingly as you spoke, smiles spreading across both of your faces as you did.

“y/n,” jj teased back. “are you trying to get me to kiss you? hm?” your hand then fell from his chest, and you let out a scoff. jj, on the other hand, wasn’t satisfied with that being the end of the conversation. he lifted a hand to flick back a piece of hair that had fallen onto your shoulder, and that same hand somehow found its way to the side of your face. though you were still smirking confidently and comfortably, your insides were getting all sorts of twisted up. what was he doing? was this whole thing still just a joke? “i don’t know if you know this, but, if you are, you don’t have to try that hard. kinda don’t have to try at all.” jj was now wearing an expression you recognized. it was his i’m hot, and i pull girls, and i know it expression. for some reason, that pissed you off a little. slightly offended, you knocked his hand away from your face, turning back to face the tourons. you felt his gaze linger on you, but before either of you could do or say anything else, the rest of the pogues had materialized before you.

all three of them decently drunk at that point, john b and kie were laughing hysterically as pope dazedly looked between you and jj. hopping down from the tree branch and taking a step toward them, you decided to ignore pope’s obviously noticing that something had just happened. “what’s so funny?” you asked, internally hoping whatever they were giggling at would be enough to lift your spirits again. while they explained the joke they couldn’t get over, you essentially downed your second drink. at the tail end of the explanation, jb and kie both broke into more laughter, and this time you joined them. when the laughter faded, you spoke again, this time only to kie. “come get a refill with me?”

kiara looped her arm through yours, nodding with a smile. “of course! we’re off!”

after one more fleeting look at jj (a glance he caught, and even tried to hold), you and kie were walking away. against your own will, you let out a sigh, shoulders slumping a little as you replayed the past few minutes in your head. this time, you got a refill and remained standing by the keg, kie next to you with a drunk but concerned pout on her face. ignoring her, you downed your third drink within a minute, quickly stepping back up for another. that’s a bit better, you found yourself thinking as all the drinks seemed to hit you at once. turning to kie, you smiled insincerely. “what are you thinking about, my little drunk?” her eyebrows knitted together at the question, her head tilting knowingly. she was asking you the same thing. letting out a puff of air, you rolled your eyes but explained yourself nonetheless. “i’m fine! jj just like... implied that he wanted to kiss me or something. i’m just confused, i guess.”

“honey, i just watched you down a cup and a half of beer that you don’t even like. i may be a little bit drunker than you, but i think you’re something other than confused.” her arms crossed insistently across her chest, some of the liquid in her cup falling onto her arm in the process. she giggled at her own mistake, trying her best to wipe the drink away and looking back to you expectantly. “are you gonna explain, or should i go ask jj what he did to you?”

at that, you were vigorously shaking your head. “no, no, no. it’s not that big of a deal. it was just unexpected. i mean, jj hitting on me? that’s weird, isn’t it?” kiara simply shrugged, letting you continue the tangent she knew you were about to go off on. “it’s kind of annoying, too. i’m his best friend. at least, one of his best friends. and now he’s gonna try to, what, conquer me? like he does with the desperate tourons? i’m not a fucking touron. it could’ve been a really sweet moment if he hadn’t--”

“wait, a really sweet moment?” kie interrupted. “oh my god. you wanted him to kiss you!” without hesitation, your hand was clamping over her mouth, both of your eyes wide. peering over your shoulder, you caught eye contact with jj once again from across the beach. he waved nervously, and you threw him a tight lipped smile in return. easily distracted by the boy, your hand fell from kie’s mouth. when she realized she had some leeway to speak, she lowered her voice so only you could hear her words. “awww, you guys are so cute! seriously, since when was this a thing? and how come you didn’t tell me?”

you shook your head lightly, eyes fluttering shut for a second before you answered. “it’s not really a thing. i mean, i don’t think it is? i’ve had this little crush on jj forever, but i never let myself feed into it because it’s jj, you know?” kie nodded sympathetically, tossing a comforting arm over your shoulder. “but now he’s acting weird, and i don’t know what that means.”

taking a deep breath, kie forced you to fully face her, placing a hand on each of your shoulders. (actually, she had one hand on one shoulder, and the other held her full cup, which was being balanced on top of your other shoulder, but it was close enough.) “here’s what i think you should do,” she began, grabbing your full attention at the implication of a solution. “be you. it’s jj, y/n. he’s fucking weird. but, i don’t think you should assume he hasn’t had a little crush on you forever, too, because i’d say he has. but don’t tell him you got that knowledge from me.” you raised your eyebrows, opening your mouth to question her so-called knowledge but being cut off by your friend. “so what i’m saying is, just do what you always do. don’t freak out, or start avoiding him, or any of that shit. just be y/n, be normal, and i’m sure jj will be jj, in that terrifyingly concerning jj way. if something’s gonna happen, it’ll happen. and if not, you’re still y/n and jj, right?” you nodded slowly as you took in her words, your subconscious registering them as the truth. “oh, and one more thing: get drunk with me, please!” even when she was drunk, kie knew just what to say in times of distress. so you listened to her.

you took a few more seconds to let the nerves leave your body and mind, but soon enough you were back with the boys again, in that same spot next to jj. he seemed a little surprised by your return, but didn’t verbally question it. you bumped you shoulder against his with a smirk, and when he concluded that you weren’t upset, his arm was tossed back around your shoulder like nothing had happened.

within thirty minutes, you’d almost forgotten how weird jj was acting. instead, you were focused on being with your friends, and having fun. kiara, pope, and john b eventually began dancing foolishly, tripping over each other and laughing at their own actions. you and jj remained perched in your seats, both swaying and singing along to the music surrounding you. after a few songs of simply watching your friends’ drunken dance moves, jj was hopping down from his spot and putting a hand out for you just as the song changed. you looked at him hesitantly, laughing when he impatiently shook the hand that he wanted you to take. “c’mon, princess. you’re my dance partner. let’s go!” succumbing to his persistence, you put your hand in his and let him pull you from your seat and move you a few steps closer to the source of the music.

conveniently enough, jj had chosen a decently scandalous song for the two of you to dance to. the movements between you were goofy and innocent for the first few moments of the song, but when the bass dropped just before the first chorus began, you felt like every ounce of alcohol you’d had that night was hitting you at once, and your body was basically moving itself. you let jj pull you flush against him as your hips swayed with the beat, your back pressed firmly against his front. he followed your movements, one hand in yours as he tried not to focus too much on the way your ass was moving against him. with one particularly powerful roll of your hips, you had jj lightly groaning behind you, drawing a chuckle out of you as you spun in his arms. “what, you wanted me to be your dance partner and now you can’t handle it?” at that point, you were unbelievably aware of how close your face was to jj’s, but kie’s words were ringing through your head loud enough to keep you from moving away. if something’s gonna happen, it’ll happen.

jj’s arm snaked around your lower back as the two of you continued to dance while you quietly talked. “oh, no, princess. i can handle it.”

“then what’s the problem, dance partner?” your free hand came up to jj’s shoulder, fingers lightly grazing the nape of his neck, and you gave him a small, satisfied smile. maybe kie had told you to act normal, and this wasn’t normal, but it was fun, and you had gotten just as drunk as she’d wanted you to, so who was complaining?

“no problems here. absolutely none,” jj insisted quietly. suddenly, that smitten look from earlier was back on his face. before you could react, the hand that had been stationed on your back was moving to your cheek. he tugged you a centimeter closer, studying your face as he did. when your expression didn’t change, your eyes just flickering down to his lips and back to his eyes, he knew what his next move was. without giving himself another second to overthink it, his closed the gap between your mouths, both of your eyes now shut as you melted into each other. the music was long forgotten, and the (extremely loud) hoots and hollers of surprise from the other pogues were ignored. the hand you’d had around his shoulder was now raking through his hair, and his was holding the back of your head steady. neither of you moved away from the other until the song was changing, and you both realized that the volume of your friends would soon draw a lot of attention to the two of you. when you pulled back, you locked eyes with jj for a few seconds before breaking into laughter and burying your face in his shoulder. “what? am i that bad? you laughin’ at me again, princess?”

you pulled yourself away from the shelter you’d found in his shoulder to look at him again with a surprised smile. “that’s your main concern right now, jj?” he laughed with you, pulling you back into a hug. “by the way,” you murmured in his ear so none of the eavesdropping pogues could hear. “we’re gonna have to talk about that ‘princess’ thing, because i don’t know if i can handle it.”

jj released you from the hug, smiles plastered on both of your faces as you finally turned to face your friends, who were full-on applauding at that point. “we can talk about the ‘princess’ thing later, princess. let’s take a walk first.” and just like that, you and jj were waving sarcastically to your friends, refusing to otherwise acknowledge them (or answer any of the burning questions they were throwing at you), and heading off to a quieter part of the beach. the walk to this kegger had been fun, but you doubted anything could top the walk you and jj were taking now.

tags: @baby-bearie @g4bster @danicarosaline pls lmk if u guys wanna be tagged in all my stuff :)

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one-more-offbeat-anthem · 4 years ago

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ahhh, may I request a deancas fic with jealous dean and sam notices and lets cas in on it and...something along those lines? I know it's terrible cliche (and you def don't have to do it if you get other way more interesting prompts :3) but love your writing!!! happy 200 🌈

sheya no this is a great prompt!!!! and a great way to avoid reading chapter 13: water resources xD of my geology textbook :) thank you for submitting a prompt and being a pal :)

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

college au, sam pov (since I know how much you love sam!!!), let’s go :D

It’s no surprise to Sam that his older brother still hasn’t told Cas how he feels. Sam’s known Dean from the literal moment he was born, and Dean is nothing if not evasive and careful with his feelings, even with his best friend. It’s only gotten worse since Sam moved in with the two of them this fall.

Ostensibly, it was for all of them to save money--Sam wouldn’t have to pay for a crappy freshman dorm room, and they could split the rent three ways instead of two. But what is revealed to Sam is Dean’s epic jealously whenever Cas hangs out with certain people...and how much Sam hates it.

One night, while Dean is making dinner and Sam is doing homework at the bar in their kitchen, it all comes to a head.

“Is Cas joining us?” Sam asks, flipping to the next page in The Scarlet Letter.

Dean slams a pot down on the stove. “No.”

“Why no?” Sam glances up at his brother. “I didn’t think he had anything going on Thursday nights.”

“He doesn’t. He and Balth are meeting up to study. Studying, my ass.” Dean turns the burner on to boil the water with equal vigor. “Balth has had his eye on Cas since the biology lab the three of us were in sophomore year.”

Sam sighs inwardly and keeps reading his book. Dean’s never going to admit to being in love with Cas unless he’s pushed, is he?

Sam is binge-watching Parks and Rec on his bed later when he hears their apartment’s front door open and shut--presumably, it’s Cas returning. Cas says something Sam can’t hear, but Dean’s angry response is definitely audible.

“I’m so glad you skipped spaghetti for date night with Balth,” Dean says sarcastically (sarcasm has never been a good look on him, Sam would know).

“Who said anything about date night?” Oh, Sam can hear Cas’ voice now. That’s never a good sign--Cas reserves his anger for extreme circumstances, unlike Dean, who pops off at just about anything.

“I’ve seen the way Balth looks at you. You two sure as hell weren’t studying for that long.”

“And why would you care?” Cas challenges. Sam would bet his entire Millennium Falcon lego set that Cas has crossed his arms and leaned back on the heels of his feet, a strong stance against Dean, who most likely has his fists balled up at his sides. Sam’s been in enough arguments with his brother over the years to know.

“I--I was just--” Dean sputters but Cas cuts him off.

“That’s right, you don’t care. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.” Sam hears loud footsteps, and then Cas coming into his room next to Sam’s and slamming the door. Then he hears the TV turn on in the living room--classic Dean, watching a western instead of talking it out.

Well, if Dean won’t tell Cas what’s up, Sam will.

Sam slides out of bed, shutting his laptop (he hates to abandon Ben and Leslie’s wedding, even if he’s seen the episode six times, but he needs to talk to Cas), before heading out of his room and knocking on Cas’ door.

“Can’t you tell when someone doesn’t want to talk to you?” Cas says angrily from inside, and Sam knocks again. He hears footsteps, and then Cas is pulling open the door. “I told you to--oh, it’s you.”

“I couldn’t help but hear you and my brother yelling at each other,” Sam says, “Can I come in?” He’s already shouldering past Cas, though--Cas may be Dean’s best friend, but Sam has known Cas since he was a kid, and they have an understanding.

“Dean didn’t put you up to this, did he?” Cas asks as Sam commandeers his desk chair.

“Nope.” Sam spins around the chair for a minute before stopping to look at Cas. “You know why Dean gets so upset, right?”

“Because he’s terrible?” Cas replies, raising an eyebrow.

Sam rolls his eyes. “No. Because he’s jealous, Cas. Can I tell you a secret?”

“Hm?”

Sam lowers his voice--if Dean hears Sam, Sam can kiss finishing any of his classes goodbye, because he’ll be dead. “He’s been in love with you for years,” Sam says.

Cas’ mouth drops open. “No.”

“Yes. Since...” Sam thinks back. “Since your junior year of high school, when you took Meg Masters to prom. The two of you were originally planning on going solo but buying the tickets together to save money, and then she asked you, and you said yes. Dean sort of lost it.”

Cas frowns. “He never said anything to me about it.”

“Yeah, because Dean’s an idiot. Look,” Sam stood up, “He’s never gonna say anything himself, and you know that, because you know him just as well as I do. The only way to get him to talk about it is to confront him, and I’m tired of being stuck in the middle.”

“So you’re telling me this...”

“So that one of you will make a move.” Sam turns to leave Cas’ room. “Good luck.”

Sam heads back to his room and watches three more episodes of Parks and Rec before going to sleep. He doesn’t hear voices from the living room, but he also doesn't hear either Dean or Cas’ door slam.

The next morning, Sam pulls himself out of bed so that he can have breakfast before his nine am class--psychology--and notices that the TV in the living room is still on. Then he notices that Cas is curled up on top of Dean on the couch, both of them fast asleep, with Dean’s arms wrapped around Cas.

Looks like the intervention worked.

#thank u sheya for this prompt!#I hardly ever write sam POV so this was fun #destiel #fanfic #:D #offbeatwrites

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prouvaireafterdark · 5 years ago

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I make no apologies for this. Y’all asked for filth, so here’s 5k+ words of it.

Also, this fic exists in an alternate timeline where Michael never slept with Maria or went to her after Caulfield, but they’re still not together yet because they’re giving the whole friendship thing a go while they sort their bullshit out.

Written for this RNM Kinkmeme prompt. Should go without saying this is nsfw

Also on AO3

***

Intellectually, Michael knows this is a bad idea.

Not the worst he’s ever had, but it’s definitely up there.

Michael considers throwing his phone out the window of his Airstream to save him from himself, but he’s hard enough to pound nails and if his recent sexual experiments have taught him anything it’s that there’s only one person who can help him right now.

Before he can talk himself out of it, he sends a text.

Alex is sitting on the edge of his bed, about to take his prosthetic off for the night, when his phone buzzes on the nightstand. Buffy lifts her head up at the noise from where she’s curled up on the bedspread, but then huffs and lowers her head, disinterested.

Alex sighs and reaches for it, hoping to God it’s not that blue-haired twink he went home with the other night after the Senses Fail concert. A clean break is what they both need after that mess of a—

Oh. It’s from Guerin.

Alex unlocks his phone, strangely relieved that there might be some new alien emergency he’s got to deal with instead of the aggressively nice guy who couldn’t make him come no matter how hard he tried—and oh did he try, whispering encouragements as he jerked Alex off whenever he wasn’t sucking on him, trying and failing to get him hard enough to fuck him.

It wasn’t that the guy was unattractive or bad with his mouth or even that Alex didn’t want it, because he did want it. It was that every time Alex has tried to get off lately he just—cant. Sooner or later, his thoughts shift to Michael and it’s like a shock of cold water to his libido remembering that Michael’s not his and that whatever he’s doing is never going to compare to the, quite frankly, epic sex he’s had with him.

He’d hoped a meaningless hookup would be the answer to his problem, but leave it to Alex to pick up a hot guy without even a passing resemblance to Michael and spend the whole time they’re in bed together thinking about honey-brown eyes and unruly curls.

In any case, he’ll gladly take an extraterrestrial crisis over having to hear the words “Hey, it’s okay, dude, I’ve heard this happens sometimes to a lot of guys,” ever again.

Shaking the memory from his mind, Alex goes to his messages to read Michael’s text. When he finds it, he stares at it, caught somewhere between confused and annoyed.

U up? the message reads.

Is Guerin… Is this a booty call?

As sexually frustrated as Alex is these days, they’d agreed they weren’t going to do this. They literally had a sit down about it last month where they laid out boundaries for their new friendship so they wouldn’t fall into old habits while they got to know each other again and late night booty calls were specifically off the fucking menu.

Alex is calling him before he can even think to stop himself, his fingers braced on the bridge of his nose while it rings.

Michael picks up on the third ring and Alex doesn’t even let him get a ‘hey’ in before he’s asking, “Did you really send me a ‘u up?’ text like you’re some kind of undergrad fuckboy?”

Michael laughs abruptly like he wasn’t expecting Alex to say that. “Sorry. Too worked up to be original,” he apologizes, and there goes any doubt in Alex’s mind that Michael might not be hitting him up for sex right now.

A surge of want rises inside him in spite of himself and he wonders what Michael looks like right now. Is his hair mussed like he’s been running his fingers through it over and over? Is his bottom lip pink and bitten raw where he’s worried at it with his teeth? Is he spread out on his mattress in the Airstream, naked and fisting his cock while he talks to him?

His mouth waters just thinking about it, and—fuck, no, he can’t do this. Why is he even considering it? He can’t let Michael ruin their progress like this, he can’t—

“You called, though, so that’s a good sign,” Michael adds suddenly.

Alex is so distracted by his internal struggle that all he can think to ask is “A sign of what?”

When Michael answers, his voice is low and rough. “That maybe I’m not the only one who needs this.”

Alex hates how that voice turns his belly to liquid. His cock twitches in interest, but Alex refuses to let himself be swayed so easily. “That’s not—that’s not the point, Guerin,” Alex argues indignantly.

“So you do, huh?” Michael asks, a smug quality to his voice that wasn’t there before. “You need it too?”

“We said we wouldn’t do this,” Alex argues, holding onto whatever scraps of sanity he can grasp.

“Not an answer, baby,” Michael drawls. Alex can hear his self-satisfied smile.

“Just jerk off and go to bed,” Alex snaps, trying and failing to ignore the way the pet name makes him feel. God, he really needs to get off the phone before he does something stupid.

“Unless you wanna talk me through it, I don’t think that’s gonna work for me,” Michael responds ruefully and isn’t that a thought. “My solo act hasn’t been very successful lately.”

“Then go find someone else,” he grumbles, though it pains him. They’d agreed they could—should, even—see other people, but it’s one thing to vaguely know Michael’s sleeping around and it’s another thing to tell him to do it.

“No.” The simple negative makes Alex release a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding.

“Why not?”

“Because no one else can make me come.”

Michael says it like it’s obvious and Alex is about to argue that that’s ridiculous, but then remembers that he himself had the most uncomfortable blow job of his life the other night, so he supposes he knows what Michael’s talking about. Still, he’s not about to let that statement go unquestioned.

“I’m flattered, but what makes you so sure?” Alex asks.

“Empirical data.”

“What?” Whatever he’d been expecting to hear, it certainly wasn’t scientific jargon.

“I’ve been experimenting,” Michael admits.

“Experimenting,” Alex repeats flatly.

“I’m a scientist, it’s what I do.” Alex can practically hear him shrug over the phone. “Call it a scientific inquiry into my inability to orgasm. With terrible results, I might add, but I didn’t text you to tell you about all the bad sex I’ve been having.”

Alex doesn’t want to hear about all that bad sex either. “And how are you so sure it’ll be any different with me?”

“Because it’s always different with you,” says Michael softly and there goes all the wind out of Alex’s sails.

“Michael…” Alex whispers, clutching his phone to his ear. How is it that Michael always knows just what to say to break down all of his defenses?

“Look, I know we made a deal,” Michael starts. “It might not seem like it right now, but that does matter to me and I don’t want to go back on it if it’s going to break us.”

Alex’s heart beats faster at the word us, but he tries not to dwell on it. “I’m sensing a ‘but’ here,” he says.

“But,” Michael concedes, “I miss you. And, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you miss me too.”

“Of course I miss you,” Alex says. “This has never been about me not missing you.”

“What’s it about then?” Michael asks softly. “Because from where I’m sitting, there’s no point in denying ourselves something we need that we’re both so good at giving to each other.”

God, Alex wants to say yes. He wants to throw caution to the wind and crash into Michael like he’s always done. He wants to feel Michael’s warmth beneath him, around him, wants to hear those precious little gasps he makes as Alex fucks him, wants to look into Michael’s eyes as he comes undone, but… if they’re going to do this, Michael needs to make a choice.

“I can’t have casual, uncomplicated sex with you, Michael,” Alex says, and he hears Michael sigh, imagines him hanging his head in disappointment. Alex swallows before adding, “It’s all or nothing. If… If we do this, there’s no going back.”

Michael seems to digest that for a moment before asking, his voice carefully controlled, “What are you saying?”

The fact that Michael is asking for clarification instead of making assumptions gives Alex hope that maybe this can work. Maybe they’re ready this time.

“I’m saying that I’m not going to fuck up the last chance I have to build something real between us for a one night stand,” Alex explains, laying it all out there. “I want a relationship with you, Michael, a real, committed relationship that neither of us is going to run away from so if all you want is sex right now, I can’t give it to you.”

“I don’t want a one night stand. Alex, there’s nothing casual or uncomplicated about the way I feel about you,” Michael says, indignant and more than a little desperate. “If you’re telling me that the only way I can have you is if I have all of you… I mean, fuck, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Alex closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as those words sink in.

“Fuck. Fuck, okay. Come over.”

Alex is pacing around his living room when he hears Michael’s truck pull up outside. His stomach clenches a moment later when he hears a knock at the door. He takes a deep, steadying breath before he answers it.

Michael stands before him looking slightly disheveled in his oil-stained jeans and a flannel that’s been haphazardly buttoned. The porch light gives him an almost ethereal back glow, making him look every bit as otherworldly as he is. Michael’s always been beautiful, but there’s something about him tonight that takes Alex’s breath away.

“Hey,” Alex smiles.

“Hey,” Michael echoes.

“Get dressed in a hurry?” Alex asks, eyes stuck on the expanse of Michael’s chest peeking through the collar of his shirt.

Michael huffs a laugh, taking a step forward. “Maybe. That a complaint?”

“Definitely not.”

“Good,” Michael says, his smile turning a little wicked. “Figured my clothes would just end up decorating your floor in a few minutes anyway. What do you think?”

“I think you should get over here,” Alex says as he opens the door wider, and Michael heads straight for him.

They reach for each other in the same instant, Michael’s arms wrapping around Alex’s waist as Alex buries his hands in those gorgeous curls, tugging Michael into a searing kiss.

It—God, it feels so right that for a wild moment Alex thinks he’ll cry with how much he’s wanted this, how long he’s waited to have Michael ready and willing in his arms again. Michael’s fingers dig harder into the skin of Alex’s back, as if to claim him, and Alex wonders if Michael’s thinking the same thing.

The door slams shut seemingly of its own accord and Alex flinches a little at the noise, pulling away to look at it.

“Sorry,” Michael soothes, and it’s the steady pressure of Michael’s arms around him that keep him grounded in the moment. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good,” Alex says, and leans back into Michael’s space to kiss him again.

Alex lets Michael crowd him against the wall as he deepens the kiss, opening his mouth under the insistence of Michael’s tongue. He’s pleased to find he doesn’t taste like cheap whiskey and relishes the way Michael melts against him with a groan when he tugs a little harder at his curls.

Michael grinds his hips forward, making Alex feel the hard line of his cock through the layers of denim separating them. They rut against each other like teenagers, pressed flush together, the need for physical contact overtaking higher brain function. Michael gasps against Alex’s mouth when he bites down gently on his bottom lip and Michael decides he’s had enough. He starts kissing a trail downward, lingering at his neck where he sucks wet bruises into his skin to a chorus of Alex’s moans, marking him as Michael’s for all the world to see. Michael leans back to admire his work, a slow smirk making its way onto his lips, before he drops to his knees with a loud thunk.

Already well on its way, Alex’s cock reaches full hardness fast enough to make his head spin as he looks down at Michael on his knees like that, pressing his mouth against the bulge of Alex’s cock like he’s about to lick him through the fabric. Michael looks blissed out already and they’re still wearing all of their clothes.

“I don’t want to interrupt the moment you’re having right now,” Alex says, fighting a smile as he reaches for Michael’s curls and sweeps them off his forehead, “but these pants are getting a little tight.”

Michael laughs and looks up at him with sparkling eyes as he says, “Sorry. Just getting reacquainted.” He fumbles with the button at Alex’s fly, but once he’s finally undone it he yanks the zipper down and tugs Alex’s jeans down to his mid-thigh along with his underwear.

“God, yeah, there it is,” Michael says to himself as he frees Alex’s weeping cock. “Been dreaming about this dick.”

“Yeah?” Alex snorts, not sure if he’s more amused or aroused by the filth coming out of Michael’s mouth.

“Uh huh,” Michael hums as he leans forward and catches the drop of pre-come beading at the tip with his tongue. “You better fuck me with it later or I’ll never forgive you.”

Okay. Definitely more aroused.

Michael takes him into his mouth and it’s so fucking good Alex barely stops himself from thrusting forward, the slow drag of Michael’s tongue nearly too much. Alex watches him with rapt attention, traces his thumb around the edge of Michael’s lips where he’s stretched obscenely wide over him.

“Fuck, Michael,” Alex gasps as Michael takes him all the way down to the root, gagging just a little. Michael moans, little shockwaves bursting over Alex’s skin and suddenly he’s dangerously close to coming. It’s a revelation in and of itself that Michael is able to do in barely five minutes what that blue-haired twink couldn’t in an hour, but Alex doesn’t want this to be over just yet. “Shit, Michael, you gotta stop,” Alex says, shoving gently at Michael’s shoulder.

Michael hums in disagreement, shaking his head as much as he can in his situation, unwilling to release him.

“Michael,” Alex warns, a little more force behind his voice. “I’m gonna come if you don’t stop.”

Michael pulls off with a pop, using his right hand to slowly jerk Alex off as he rasps, “Good.” He presses a kiss to the swollen head of Alex’s cock, his tongue peeking out to play with his frenulum. “I’ve missed the way you taste.”

That well and truly fries Alex’s brain, so when Michael grabs him by the hip and encourages him to feed his cock back into his waiting mouth, Alex can do nothing but give in to him, all thoughts of prolonging this out the window. Besides, Alex thinks as the head of his cock hits the back of Michael’s throat, we’ll have all night.

Alex’s knees almost give out as Michael immediately starts sucking harder, bobbing his head faster, on a mission this time. His hand comes up to play with Alex’s balls before sliding back to dig a knuckle into his perineum and Alex screams as he comes hot and hard down Michael’s throat, the pleasure so intense it’s almost as if he’s feeling every orgasm he’s been denied the last few months all at the same time.

Michael sucks him through it, pressing Alex’s hips back into the wall to keep him upright and moaning softly along with him. Alex hisses when the stimulation becomes too much and Michael finally releases him, standing up on shaky legs.

Alex pulls him into another kiss, groaning softly as he tastes himself on Michael’s tongue. Michael pulls Alex’s jeans back up as they kiss to make sure they won’t fall down and make him trip when they take things to the bedroom.

“Come on, Private,” Michael pants when they part, pupils blown. “My turn.”

Alex kisses him again, quick and dirty, before he grabs onto his hand and leads him back into the bedroom.

“Take your clothes off and get on the bed,” Alex says, pulling his own shirt over his head.

“Sir, yes, sir,” Michael says with a leer aimed at Alex’s newly bare chest.

Alex watches him unbutton his flannel and toss it on the ground, his jeans, boots, and socks quick to follow. Alex sits on the edge of the bed and removes his own jeans before getting to work on his prosthetic.

Michael climbs on the bed and settles behind him. “How do you want me?” he asks, dropping a kiss on Alex’s bare shoulder.

“On your back against the pillows is fine for now,” Alex says. Michael kisses him again, on the cheek this time, and does as he’s told.

Once he’s naked and his prosthetic is off, Alex reaches into his bedside table and pulls out lube, a box of condoms, and some wet wipes. He places them within arm’s reach on the bed as he settles beside Michael, facing him with his head on the pillow. Michael curls on his side and moves closer to him, meeting him in a kiss that starts slow, but builds and builds in intensity until Michael is groaning and rutting his erection into Alex’s hip.

“Alex,” Michael whines, throwing his leg over Alex’s hip and grinding harder into him. “Please, I-I need—“

“Shh,” Alex hushes, leaning in to kiss him again, just a barely-there press of his lips that makes Michael absolutely melt. “I know what you need,” he says, the hand that was cradling the back of his skull sliding out of Michael’s hair and down his back, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.

Michael instinctively hikes his leg up higher on Alex’s hip as his hand moves further south, cupping one cheek and giving it a gentle squeeze. His fingers slip between them and seek out Michael’s hole. Alex intends to reach for the lube in a minute, unable to resist teasing Michael a few seconds longer with the dry press of his fingertips, but he finds his hole already stretched and wet with what feels like lube. The angle isn’t ideal, but Alex sinks two fingers into him with ease.

“Oh fuck, Alex,” Michael moans happily, clenching down on his fingers, and it would be one of the hottest things he’s ever experienced if he wasn’t suddenly thinking about what Michael had said earlier about empirical data and wondering if maybe he isn’t Michael’s first booty call of the night. As soon as the thought enters his head, he has to know.

“Michael,” Alex starts, his fingers stilling inside him. “Did you—did you fuck someone else tonight?”

It’s stupid. He loves Michael, would move heaven and earth for him, and it’s not like he doesn’t already know Michael’s been hooking up with other people. They weren’t even together an hour ago, so, really, Michael could’ve fucked a whole football team tonight and it wouldn’t be any of Alex’s business. It’s stupid, he knows it is, but… but Michael is his now and the thought that someone else opened him up and fucked him tonight has the possessive part of him absolutely foaming at the mouth.

“No,” Michael pants, shaking his head. He pressing his hips back against Alex’s hand, encouraging him to put his fingers to good use. “I did fuck myself though.”

That ugly, jealous feeling curling in his belly dissipates as quickly as it had come with the image of Michael fucking himself on a thick dildo, desperately seeking release that never came. Alex moans and captures Michael’s lips in a bruising kiss.

“Couldn’t get yourself off, huh?” he asks, moving his fingers slowly out before pushing them back in again. He’ll need more lube in a minute, but there’s enough for now if he goes slow.

Michael shakes his head again. “Told you. Need you.”

“When was the last time you had an orgasm?” he wonders aloud.

“You should know, you were there,” Michael gasps as Alex nudges his prostate.

Alex has a sudden vision of himself sucking greedily at Michael’s cock with three fingers curling inside him while Michael screams loud enough to wake the dead.

“You really haven’t come since then?” Alex asks, head tilting to the side.

“You callin’ me a liar, Private?”

“No, it’s just—that was almost six months ago.”

“Fucking tell me about it,” Michael sighs in frustration, bucking his hips pointedly against him. “So you wanna quit teasing me already? After how good I sucked you in the living room I don’t think I deserve this.”

“I’m sorry, you’re right,” Alex laughs, and gently removes his fingers from Michael’s ass.

“No, what are you doing? Come back,” Michael whines, grabbing Alex’s arm as he tries to pull it away.

“Relax, I’m just getting the lube. You’ll need more unless you want me to hurt you,” he explains. Michael pouts, but lets him go.

He’s reaching blindly for the lube behind him when it floats down into his field of vision as if dangled on an invisible string. He looks to Michael who’s pout has transformed into a self-satisfied smile.

“Neat trick,” Alex comments, plucking it from the air. He flicks the cap off and coats his fingers.

“Baby, you got no idea,” Michael smirks, and then an invisible force is tugging him closer to Michael as he rolls over onto his back, settling him between Michael’s spread thighs. It’s an indescribable feeling, being held by Michael’s power. Alex doesn’t usually like giving up control, especially when it’s related to his mobility, but Alex can’t find it in himself to be put out about it when Michael wraps his legs around him and purrs, “Now get to work, Private. That’s an order.”

Alex captures his lips in a kiss that’s mostly tongue and does just that.

He reaches down between Michael’s thighs, sliding two lube-slick fingers inside him with little preamble. He watches Michael’s face, slack with pleasure, as he scissors his fingers to test how open he still is.

“Oh, fuck yeah,” Michael gasps, pushing back greedily onto Alex’s fingers. “More, baby, I won’t break.”

“You’re a real bossy bottom, you know that, Guerin?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t lo—oh fuck,” Michael keens as Alex works another finger inside, per Michael’s request, not giving him a second to adjust before he starts fucking his fingers in and out of him.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Alex smirks as he curls his fingers upward, watching the way Michael’s breath is hitching in his chest and his mouth has dropped open on a silent moan. “Feels good, huh?”

Michael nods his head and answers, breathless, “Yeah, fuck, so good.”

Alex leans over Michael to press open-mouth kisses onto the soft skin of his neck, his chest, anywhere he can reach. He swirls his tongue around Michael’s right nipple and bites just hard enough to sting a little, making him squirm.

“You’re so sensitive,” Alex says, feeling Michael clench down on the three fingers he’s fucking into him when he blows cold air over the nipple he’s been playing with.

Michael buries his fingers in Alex’s hair and tugs him, gently, further up his body until he can kiss him again. The movement makes him more aware of his own cock, hard once more now that he’s had some time to recover from the mind-blowing orgasm Michael gave him earlier.

“Alex,” Michael pants into Alex’s mouth when he works his fingers over his prostate once more. “M’so close, fuck, right there.”

“You want to come on my fingers or should I get a condom?” Alex asks, and without a word from Michael, the box of condoms flies from its spot on the bed to hit Alex in the chest. He bursts out laughing, but judging from the exasperated look on Michael’s face he’s the only one amused. “Guess that answers that question.”

“Like you had to ask,” Michael shoots back.

Michael whines as Alex removes his fingers from him to grab a condom from the box. He fumbles with it a little, his right hand too slippery to get a proper grip, but once he gets it open and rolls it on, he slicks himself with more lube and covers Michael’s body with his.

Michael wraps his legs around him, urging him on, but Alex takes things slow as he slips the head of his cock inside him. Michael’s hole offers more resistance than Alex is expecting and he groans at how hot and tight it is.

“Oh god,” Michael whimpers, bearing down and breathing through the stretch.

“That’s it, baby, let me in,” Alex encourages, smoothing a hand down Michael’s flank as he presses deeper inside, one inch at a time. His eyes never leave Michael’s face and all Alex can think is how beautiful Michael is like this—his eyes intense, lips red and shining, breathing ragged, skin flushed and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Alex never want anyone else under him like this for as long as he lives.

Alex starts moving once Michael is used to the stretch, a slow in and out rhythm that quickly builds until Michael is clawing at his back as Alex fucks him hard, just the way he likes, the way he knows he needs it.

“Fuck, oh fuck, Alex, I’m not gonna last,” Michael pants, brow creased as he looks up at Alex.

“Come when you need to, baby, don’t hold back for me,” Alex says, grabbing hold of Michael’s cock and jerking him in time with his thrusts.

Alex aims more directly at his prostate and Michael howls, his spine arched and his head tossed back against the pillow.

“Oh, oh, oh my god, right there, fuuuck, Alex,” Michael sobs as he comes in thick, hot pulses between them, all over his own stomach and Alex’s hand.

He’s vice-tight as Alex fucks him through it for what feels like an age, Michael’s euphoric cries spurring him on. He’s so focused on Michael’s pleasure that his own orgasm takes him by surprise and suddenly he’s coming right along with him, grunting as he spills into the condom and sinks his teeth into the join of Michael’s neck and shoulder.

Alex slows his hips to a stop a moment later, the post-orgasmic hum of his body and his own ragged breathing drowning out all other sound. It takes a few seconds for him to realize that Michael is crying.

As soon as Michael’s hitched sobs register in his ears, it’s like a bucket of ice cold water has been dumped over him.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Alex asks, lead sinking in the pit of his stomach as he pulls back to look at Michael’s face. He wipes away his tears with his clean hand, but Michael won’t meet his eyes. “Oh, baby, talk to me,” he pleads. “Did I hurt you?”

Michael shakes his head and pulls Alex back down on top of him, burying his face in Alex’s neck, unwilling or unable to speak. Jesus, he’s trembling.

Alex tries to move to pull out, but Michael stops him, not permitting a single inch of space between them. Alex relents and settles against him, stroking his hair and whispering sweet nothings against his temple until he calms down. It takes a minute, but eventually his breathing evens and he lets his head fall further back against the pillow.

“Hey there,” Alex says when he does, offering a smile he hopes comes across as encouraging and not scared and confused like he really feels. He’s known Michael a long time and he’s only seen him cry like that once or twice.

“Sorry,” Michael mumbles, eyes still glossy with tears.

“Don’t be sorry,” Alex says, kissing his forehead. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he says, voice rough. “Yeah, I’m okay. That was just…”

“A little too intense?” Alex guesses. It’s been so long since Michael’s had any sexual release, Alex could easily understand Michael being overwhelmed by his orgasm.

“Yeah,” Michael laughs softly. “Amazing though, Alex, Jesus. I don’t think I’ve ever come that hard in my life, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to walk tomorrow.”

Alex warms with praise. “You were amazing too,” he says, leaning down to press a soft kiss to Michael’s lips. “You always are.”

Michael gives Alex a fond look. “I love you,” he whispers, reaching up to caress the side of Alex’s face. “So much,” he adds, his eyes shining once more with the beginnings of fresh tears.

Alex leans into his touch. “I love you too, Michael,” he whispers back. “I’ve always loved you, even when I was terrible at showing it.”

Michael’s smile is blinding as he surges up to meet him in another kiss. It only lasts a few seconds because they’re both smiling too much to kiss each other properly, but it’s maybe the best one Alex has ever had.

The moment is ruined a little when Alex shifts and is reminded that Michael’s come is drying between their stomachs.

“So you think you can use your alien superpowers to get the wipes over there?” Alex nods to the package on the far side of the bed. “We should clean this mess up before it dries.”

Michael’s nose wrinkles in disgust like he’s just noticing it too and the package comes floating over. Alex gets to work and once the wipes and used condom are in the trash beside the bed, Michael hits the lights and Alex rolls onto his back taking Michael with him and pulling a blanket over them both as he gets comfortable against Alex’s chest. Alex trails his fingers up and down Michael’s back until he hits that ticklish spot right near his armpit and Michael whines as he jolts against him.

“Sorry,” Alex apologizes, not sorry at all.

“Mm,” Michael acknowledges him, burrowing deeper into Alex’s chest.

If someone had told him at the start of the day that by midnight he would have Michael Guerin—now his boyfriend—in his arms, he would have never believed them. They didn’t get here quite the way he thought they would, but Alex wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Well… he thinks, considering.

“Pancakes or eggs?” Alex asks, nudging Michael back from the edge of sleep.

“Hmm?” Michael asks.

“Thought we could do some brainstorming over breakfast.”

“Brainstorming?”

“We are not telling people that we got back together because you booty called me.“

Michael giggles against his chest. “Why not? I think it speaks volumes about our sexual compatibility. Don’t you want all our friends to know how completely you’ve ruined me for anyone else?”

“Guerin.”

Michael laughs again and snuggles closer. “Yeah, okay. Pancakes sound great, baby.”

#malex #alex manes #roswell nm #michael guerin #malex fic #my fic #she's dooooooone #finally #idk why this shit takes me so long lol but here you go #hope you like it!

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doomonfilm · 4 years ago

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Ranking : Marvel Cinematic Universe - The Infinity Saga (2008 - 2019)

Outside of the Star Wars or James Bond franchises (or maybe even the longstanding BBC series Dr. Who), I am hard pressed to think of a bigger, more intricately connected set of films than those created by Kevin Feige for his Marvel Cinematic Universe (better known as the MCU to most people). With the help of numerous established and upcoming stars, a vast range of directors, and a rich history of characters and events the studio could play fast and loose with, Marvel Studios spent roughly a decade transforming “comic book” films from gimmicks into legitimized artistic storytelling, forcing many studios to attempt and emulate the success of a connected “cinematic universe” without laying the groundwork needed to do so.

With WandaVision in motion on Disney+, and the release future of Black Widow still up in the air, the trajectory in which the MCU will move forward is still a mystery, but these properties firmly close the door on the initial three phases of Marvel Studios releases, collectively known as The Infinity Saga due to their connection to Thanos and the six Infinity Stones. Individually, many of these pieces had impact, but as a whole, the overarching story that they tell is an epic feat yet to be matched.

But enough preamble, I know what everybody came here for. So, based solely on my opinion and nothing else, here is The Infinity Saga, as presented by Marvel Studios, ranked from least to most favorite...

23. The Incredible Hulk (2008) It’s a shame that my favorite Marvel character seems to be a conundrum when it comes to giving him a solo movie. With a decent slice of these characters, it’s about casting the “normal” version of the character, and in the case of this film, as great of an actor as Edward Norton is, I am not sure if he can play enough self-sabotaging behaviors to believably provide us with a Bruce Banner that audiences can connect with. As a result, The Incredible Hulk left us with an isolated protagonist (literally and figuratively) forced to carry audiences between long stretches absent of Hulk in his green glory.

22. Thor (2011) For a time, it seemed as if Thor was going to be the realm of the MCU where gravitas resided. The Shakespearean approach to mythic heroes adapted by Marvel was fresh at the time, as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and S.H.I.E.L.D. were around, but certainly more relatable. Bringing Thor, Odin, Loki and a host of other legendary Asgardians into the fold broadened the world, but with the entire picture of this stretch now laid out in front of us, it is clear that Chris Hemsworth had not yet found his voice as Thor. We knew he would have to earn his worthiness and his title as King of Asgard, but I doubt anyone anticipated Thor would become one of the consistently funniest aspects of the MCU... sadly, that was not yet developed in his first film, and as a result, his introduction falls to the lower realms of the list.

21. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

20. Ant-Man (2015) It was not my intention to lump the Ant-Man movies together, but in all honestly, they do work best in that capacity. The events of both movies, for the most part, seem to satellite around the bigger nucleus narrative, and up until Avengers : Endgame, and appearance made by Ant-Man in the other films was cursory or meant to “balance the scales” (as in the case of Captain America : Civil War). Don’t get me wrong... Paul Rudd is a fabulous addition to the MCU family, and listening to Michael Peña tell stories never gets old, but when it comes down to the big picture, Ant-Man and his two films are not the largest puzzle pieces on the table.

19. Captain Marvel (2019) The possibilities for an epic film were all there... Krees and Skrulls would finally get a chance at the spotlight, we were being teased going back in time without realizing how it would play into the resolution of our Infinity Saga storyline, and the final moments of the film made us question everything we’d been presented with up until that point. Sadly, however, Carol Danvers turned out to be an extremely overpowered and dangerously self-unaware character, resulting in a lack of stakes or emotional connection ever really being established. While Captain Marvel does have fun elements to it, much of the work that managed to stick was undone by her forced and underwhelming appearance in Avengers : Endgame. Of all the properties in the MCU, this one seems to have the most whispers and rumors surrounding it in regards to its production and future within the MCU moving forward, but I will be curious to see how time treats this film.

18. Iron Man 3 (2013) Up through Phase Two of The Infinity Saga, Tony Stark was always positioned as the loner of the group. With that in mind, it does seem a bit strange to me that his final solo film, and the first solo film after Marvel’s The Avengers, would find Tony back in isolation mode so vigorously. In all fairness, War Machine is there (during his brief stint as The Patriot), and Pepper Potts is given the most room to play out of all three films, but as interesting as the antagonist structure for the film is, the convoluted nature of having at least three tiers of villainy almost begs the inclusion of at least one more Avenger. Ultimately, the film does move Tony closer to the rest of the camp, but it’s odd that more Avengers weren’t involved in the actual film.

17. Captain America : The First Avenger (2011) Of all the characters fans were presented with in the MCU, it’s hard to argue against the fact that Captain America received the most rewarding arc of any character in The Infinity Saga. Every journey needs a starting point, and simply because it was the origin story, Captain America : The First Avenger was never destined to be the best of the MCU. Visually, the MCU was still figuring a few things out, so some of the scrawny Cap scenes look awkward, but by the time this film is all said and done, all of the honor, character and heart needed to propel Cap forward was present and accounted for.

16. Thor : The Dark World (2013)

15. Iron Man 2 (2010) Maybe it’s a recencey bias thing, but I really enjoyed Thor : The Dark World and Iron Man 2. Up until deciding to make this list, I’d not seen either of these films, and it was largely due to the negative reactions I’d heard from most fans and critics. Thor : The Dark World gave us brief glimpses of where the Thor character was headed, it was a great look for Jane Foster (who is seemingly on her way back into the mix), it opened up some mystic doors that we will likely be exploring moving forward in the MCU, and due to these mystic elements, we may have seen the beginnings of S.W.O.R.D., who is already making its presence felt in Phase Four. As for Iron Man 2, we are given the polar opposite Tony Stark from his introductory movie, and due to his seemingly unstoppable mission to erase himself, War Machine is given autonomy, and the beginnings of the Iron Legion are built. Perhaps its a bit of a revisionist lens as well, hence these two being grouped together, but time seems to have been very kind to these two films, despite their flaws.

14. Spider-Man : Far From Home (2019) Avengers : Endgame would have been a perfect place to close the door on The Infinity Saga, but that monumental task was appointed to Spider-Man : Far From Home. Perhaps it was that implied burden that made the film feel a bit buried under the weight of expectations. There are certainly calls to a post-Tony Stark snap present throughout the film, but Mysterio’s plan runs seemingly independent of any previous events shown. The mid and post-credit scenes certainly tease big things for the future, but even before COVID-19 flipped the script on the industry, it was uncertain where things where headed as the new phase unrolled. This film was enjoyable, but almost feels like a stand-alone trapped on a bridge between two worlds of narrative.

13. Iron Man (2008) The one that started it all. I’ve never been the biggest Iron Man fan, but I can certainly respect the large risk that Kevin Feige took by kickstarting his empire with a character seemingly caught between fame and obscurity. Tony Stark has enough Bruce Wayne in him to make him an intriguing character, but Iron Man and Batman could not be more different from one another, which immediately gave the MCU a fresh feel in light of them using a Silver Age character. The pool of household name talent was limited, as Sony was sitting on Spider-Man, the X-men and the Fantastic Four in 2008, but ultimately, Iron Man was a roll of the dice that paid off in a major way.

12. Spider-Man : Homecoming (2017) Spider-Man is such an iconic character that it is sometimes hard to believe that he was not always involved in The Infinity Saga. Tobey Maguire was the definitive Spider-Man to many fans, and Andrew Garfield was starting to build a cult following, but after a bit of legal ping-pong, Captain America : Civil War went from being an anticipated mess to possibly a shadow of its comic book counterpart when Spider-Man appeared in the trailer. Tom Holland brought a pitch-perfect voice and sensibility to the character, and Spider-Man : Homecoming drove those feelings home (no pun intended). It wasn’t like Spider-Man needed a boost in tandem with his entry into the MCU, but his introductory movie did most everything right (including assuming we were WELL AWARE of his often repeated origin story).

11. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Out of everyone that the MCU has introduced to the masses, it is safe to say that I knew the least about the Guardians of the Galaxy... in fact, my closest tie to knowledge of their existence came in the form of Howard the Duck, who shares that section of the Marvel comic universe with them. Marvel Studios had already made me enjoy films about Thor and Iron Man, two characters I did not consider myself a fan of prior to their films, so I went out on a limb in hopes that Marvel could sell me on characters I had zero connection to. Guardians of the Galaxy did provide another set of colors in the Marvel spectrum, and it helped open the door to Marvel’s space-centered stories, but it wasn’t until the sequel that I went back and really found an appreciation for Guardians of the Galaxy, which I will expound later. That being said, Guardians of the Galaxy is another Marvel film that has been benefited by time and revisitation.

10. Marvel's The Avengers (2012) The main pieces had found their way to the board by the time Captain America : The First Avenger was released, and it only seemed like a matter of time before the big players would cross paths. Rather than build to a mass collaboration via smaller duos and groupings, Marvel went all in to close Phase One by locking in The Avengers as the collective stars of The Infinity Saga. Loki found new agency as their protagonist, but he was really just a smokescreen for the big bad of the entire saga, Thanos. The entire run of 23 movies can be summed up or represented by the iconic shot that rotates around our heroes when they stand shoulder to shoulder for the first time, staring up at their enemy emerging from the sky. There was no turning back at this point, and this is largely due to the wonderful execution of one of the MCU’s key films.

9. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) I’m really not sure why Guardians of the Galaxy didn’t connect for me initially, but after watching Vol. 2, I felt a deeper understanding of Peter Quill, the relationship between Gamora and Nebula, and I came to love Groot and Drax even more (who didn’t immediately love Rocket Racoon?). Kurt Russell was the evolved mirror to Chris Pratt that I didn’t know I needed, and the soundtrack contained more songs that spoke directly to me than the first film. Some of the set pieces were downright beautiful in this film, I lowkey became a big fan of Mantis, and Yondu’s story culmination may have been the first time the MCU brought a tear to my eye. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 may deceptively be the most emotionally powerful of all the MCU films, short of Avengers : Infinity War, and for that, it must be respected, considering it all came from a little known band of upstarts.

8. Captain America : Civil War (2016) While Marvel’s The Avengers may be the first true “event” film in the MCU, the first major “event” attempted in terms of historic Marvel stories was the infamous Civil War run. A weird mix of anticipation and fear existed in the time preceding the film’s release, as a number of key players from the comic book storyline were either not available to the MCU or had not yet been introduced into the MCU. Speculation between who would be emerging, omitted and adjusted flew back and forth, but in the end, we were not only presented with a riveting triangle of emotion between Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Bucky, but Spider-Man and Black Panther stepped into the spotlight (with a little dose of Ant-Man thrown in for good measure). Had the MCU waited for a different phase, there’s no telling how many heroes and villains could have ultimately been involved, but considering what they had at the time, the MCU definitely exceeded expectations and created their own iconic version of a Marvel narrative hallmark.

7. Black Panther (2018) Outside of the final two Avenger’s, there wasn’t a more anticipated or well-received release (to my knowledge) than Black Panther. After bursting onto the scene in Captain America : Civil War, it seemed everyone was ready for more of King T'Challa, Black Panther and Wakanda. Chadwick Boseman became even more of a fan favorite than he already was, and Black Panther became the first MCU film to be nominated for Best Picture at the 2019 Academy Awards. Marvel presented Wakanda, and Africa in turn, with the utmost cultural, historical and social respect, and short of a slightly underwhelming finale in terms of visual effects, it was hard to hang a complaint on Black Panther. If the MCU had to pick a single film that they were most proud of, I would not be surprised if this was the one that was chosen.

6. Doctor Strange (2016) As a fan of science fiction, mysticism and overall weirdness, I was incredibly hype for the announcement and release of Doctor Strange. Of all the active characters in the MCU at the time, Doctor Strange was the most obscure that I was already familiar with, and his introductory film did not disappoint. The visual representation of the mystic arts was brilliant, casting Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One was a stroke of genius (despite many that voiced reservation to the choice), and the introduction of different dimensions and realms to the MCU hinted at the future that was to come. With Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness coming in sooner than later, it is almost certain that I will be revisiting this film, and I hope that as time goes by, it finds a bigger audience with a deeper appreciation for it.

5. Thor : Ragnarok (2017) If I think about it hard enough, I can probably find a character that will contradict this statement, but I’m hard pressed to think of a character than took a bigger personality jump between individual films than Thor did between The Dark World and Ragnarok. We got shades of a new Thor in The Dark World, and he was really starting to come out of his shell in Avengers : Age of Ultron, but I’m not sure if anyone expected for Taika Waititi to not only turn Thor into possibly the most loveable Avenger, but make his third film a psychedelic masterpiece of fun. Thor and Loki have never had better chemistry, Cate Blanchett was surprisingly well cast as Hela, and most everyone’s favorite MCU iteration of the Hulk came to life (not to mention a brief nod to Beta Ray Bill being present for keen viewers). It may not be the best film in the MCU, but Thor : Ragnarok is almost certainly the one viewers gravitate towards if they make a quick selection.

4. Avengers : Endgame (2019) How do you end a story arc that spans more than 20 films? Well, for starters, you bring every character to the table, collect every expectation that fans have for them, and then kick all of those expectations to the side and forge a completely wild, new and unexpected path. For a large portion of Endgame’s runtime, it is tonally and stylistically different than any other Avengers film, but near the end, when the rubber hits the road, Thanos and his legions of followers take part in one of the most epically satisfying stands against our heroes already present, only for the world of the MCU to open up and rain the most enjoyable and acceptable fan service ever to be captured to film, including the most iconic Captain America moment of all time.

3. Avengers : Age of Ultron (2015) For a long while, this film stood as my clear-cut favorite in the MCU. I didn’t even know I was a Vision fan until he emerged from his chamber, and the introduction of Scarlet Witch has brought me nothing but joy. David Spader brought some of the best antagonist personality in his powerful portrayal of Ultron, and the party scene provided one of my favorite non-action sequences in all of the MCU. The interactions between the Avengers had the best balance of all their collaborative films during Age of Ultron, and Scarlet Witch took each of our heroes to the darkest corners of their mind. Perhaps people had other ideas in mind when they learned that Tony and Bruce’s murderbot was due for a screen appearance, but for my money’s worth, Age of Ultron was the first Avengers film that blew my mind, and still stands as my personal favorite of the Avengers movies.

2. Avengers : Infinity War (2018) Easily the most epic of all the MCU films, Infinity War set the stage for a truly iconic struggle between the Earth’s mightiest heroes and the seemingly unstoppable Thanos that had been promised over many, many films, and in the opening rounds, Infinity War delivered. For all of the combinations of characters we’d been provided, we’d yet to see Tony interact with Doctor Strange or Star-Lord, and each of those meetings yielded hilarious results. The stakes had never been higher prior to Infinity War, and the costs had not been greater up to this point. I personally remember people in theaters being nearly moved to tears when their favorite heroes (especially Spider-Man) began turning into dust, like they were watching Schindler’s List. If the MCU collectively raised the bar for comic book movies, then Infinity War raised the bar for the MCU.

1. Captain America : The Winter Soldier (2014) The MCU has more than a handful of classic films under their belt, but Captain America : The Winter Soldier is probably the sole film of the MCU that feels like a proper action/adventure suspense-thriller, like it was penned by John Grisham. The connection between Bucky and Cap is kinetic in its swings between impending hope and tragedy, and the level of combat and action in the film is second to none. This was the film where the Cap that the masses know and love stepped into his own as a hero and a leader. Of all the directors that Marvel Studios has tapped, the Russo Brothers seem to have the secrets unlocked to make a great MCU film, and Captain America : The Winter Soldier is the pound for pound best they’ve offered yet.

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clockworkswans · 5 years ago

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thoughts on mots:7?? *eyes emoji*

aaaaaaah it feels like SO LONG since we’ve had music, even though we get so much content! i feel so spoilt lmao.

think i’m gonna skip the tracks from persona, they’re all legends but i’ll end up making this ten pages long otherwise!

under the cut cause it’s looooooong, oops.

interlude shadow - this had some serious challenge coming after its god-tier predecessor, seesaw, ngl, but WOW. yoongi’s solo songs have such a unique style despite being different genres/moods and his lyrics are always what i especially look forward to diving into and shadow was no different! a lot of people say this too but the autotune works SO WELL for him and the way he plays with the rhythms in shadow is amazing. and that last section?? EXPLOSIVE. that’s gonna slay on tour oh my god.

black swan - i wish i’d made notes when it first came out but it took me a while to get used to this sound because it was so interesting and haunting. the topics in this song are so relatable and frightening tbh, it’s something i feel a lot recently, that fear of losing passion for your hobbies and job, etc, and surrendering to the darker emotions of giving up on those dreams (wow, dark, CHILL). after seeing the first performance of it as well!! omg!! some of their absolute BEST choreo yet, easily.

filter - mr. park. JIMIN. I was not prepared for this song and it’s so sexy and smooth and i want to scream thinking about choreo for this on tour, wtf man. this song was my jam right away!! the latin vibes!! rumba/salsa in a club at 2am vibes!! also idk if this is misreading the lyrics but i love the lowkey dark/seductive undertone of making anyone fall in love with you/celeb perception, etc. (probably reading way too much into it lol but still, loved the lyrics). But yes, WOW. Can he let me choreo pls?? i want him to have a CHAIR and a suit and tie and to absolutely destrOY us.

my time - before i go into this, i wanna say how much i loved the vocal line doing completely different stuff and defying all my expectations. the mood of this song is so unique and the slow rhythm with his just…absolutely gorgeous emotive voice makes it so refreshing. Also!! something i found really cool is jungkook doing stuff that’s more complex in emotion and a bit sadder/darker? he’s always had the happy golden perfect boyTM vibe and that’s cute af but also this song lets him be a bit confusing and mature and lost for once. This song hit me quite personally too because the lyrics about time and distance hit close to home as i have friends and loved ones moving out of my life and i just wanna feel not so stuck. I can’t WAIT to see what kind of staging he’ll do for this?? it could be anything lol, i really can’t guess.

louder than bombs - legit EVERYTHING i wanted from a troye/bts collaboration project oh my god. The music and build-up for this song is so bittersweet and haunting, the VOCALS oh my god?? truly stole my breath, wow. the rap line verses had some seriously hard-hitting lyrics too, the lower ranges of namjoon and yoongi made my heart STOP. (something i’ve always loved with bts is the way they play with flow through members taking different parts, which sounds so obvious lol, it’s what you do with a group, but i always love the way bts uses their members’ tones/styles to create a great mix in a song). I feel like this song truly sets up the recurring theme of acknowledging and embracing the good and bad, the wholeness of it is really vulnerable and - pun intended - explosive! it reminds me of the ‘sing louder to drown out the pain’ kind of mindset. sometimes you just gotta sing louder and sadder and ache.

ON - i actually don’t have much to say on this one because it’s just SO BTS and perfect for a title track and will absolutely GO OFF live. also the choreo is hard as hell lmao GOOD LUCK PEOPLE TRYING TO LEARN IT. also i’m gonna say it alongside everyone else but…JUNGKOOK’S HOLY BRIDGE!!!!!!!!!!!

Ugh! - *aroused and scared.* this beat!!!! slaps!!! rapline songs can never fail tbh, also….i think i already love this more than outro: tear and we haven’t even had a performance lol. I don’t have any coherent thoughts to add other than HOLYYY SHIIIIT. This will be so fierce live??? i’m gonna get whiplash headbanging probably. also…can they PLEASE do choreo for that last bit??? please. please.

zero o’clock - lol some songs just make you ugly sob and then you read the lyrics and ABSOLUTELY SOB. this little asshole right here came for my entire heart. it’s pretty spot on for how i feel right now: just get through the day and wait for the next and try and be a bit happier. the bittersweet, hopeful tone is so lovely and really touching. it’s heartbreaking ngl, but in a healing, therapeutic way. it’s so soft and mellow without being too air-y which is pretty hard to get right tbh.

inner child - my favourite vocal line solo!!! i’m always so in love with taehyung’s solo songs tbh, his voice and songs are always my cup of tea, thank you for being a true hopeless romantic sir. this song is SO end-of-indie-movie and i’m completely hooked on it already, i walk to work and keep looping it and it makes me smile and tear up just thinking about hearing it live already. I love how it’s a love letter to his younger self, comforting, sad and so full of heart and acceptance. We all find it hard to look back but to have a song that says it’s okay to be proud of every version of yourself and your growth is AMAZING. i haven’t stopped thinking of the ‘we gonna change’ and i’ll give you my world’ lines. truly magical.

friends - shut up this is the SWEETEST SONG EVER. so my best friend is finally moving away from the hometown we’ve shared for 11 years and i am very vulnerable about it right now, so this coming out when it did?? a bit of an attack lol. but it really made me smile and be SO GRATEFUL to her, and to everyone else in my life and the bonds i have around me. jimin and tae’s friendship is the sweetest thing and to have them release a platonic love song??? to sing on tour together?? after growing up and becoming legends together? wow. talk about bff goals. the adorable details in the lyrics make it so personal and genuine, and the crowd-chanting bits in the chorus are gonna sound awesome live. also not to get sappy and cheesy but this also makes me think of all the friends people have made in this fandom and community and how we’re all enjoying this awesome thing together? love that, man.

moon - THAT’S THE LOML, KIM SEOKJIN, SLAYING AGAIN. awake and epiphany were both so epic and emotional in the traditional ballad genre, so hearing this was just?? SO COOL. it’s so happy and sweet and shows off his high range effortlessly. this has such an addictive melody, i kept humming it at work today and driving myself nuts lmao. it makes me think of summer days and hanging out with friends or on your own in the sun, reading. i also love how he expanded on ‘beauty’ as it’s always a word thrown at him lol, but he made it so innocent and lovely, like idk if he’s fed up of everyone yelling handsome at him and embarrassing him lmao but it was so wholesome of him to then turn around and make a song about appreciating subtle beauty and the bonds between army and bts (god i’m LAME, blame this album).

respect - this song’s such a VIBE. love the founders of bts doing a song together, god, just bros being bros and jamming together?? WE LOVE TO SEE IT. I didn’t realise how much i’d love this duo together but it’s so natural and you can see how much they love writing and working together. the lyrics are so fun and snarky and the throwback old-school bts vibe is PERFECT. it’s that clever thing they do of re-visiting older works and combining it with your present self to make something familiar yet different. so so cool.

we are bulletproof: eternal - omg so the first line of this i started laughing so hard because i was SO SURE it would be a Concert Jam™. then i sobered up pretty quickly and cue the tears and emotions lmao. This song gives me heartbeat/sea/mikrokosmos energy, it falls in that ‘epic emotional singalong’ genre they do beautifully. you bet your ass i’m gonna be bawling at this on the tour. i lost it crying in that last bridge when they say ‘why are you still walking with us’, it just hit me that wow, i’ve been a part of this journey and tbh, it’s gonna stay with me for life. the emotions packed into this song are overwhelming af whilst still being a celebration of the 7 years bts have been together, and the individual achievements too, of them and also armys? idk it feels very collective ‘us’ vibe and it’s beautiful.

outro: ego - READY, SET AND BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAP OF THE SOUL MAP OF THE AAAAAAAAAAAL THAT’S MY EGOOOOOOOOOO. Oh my god, this song just slays everything tbh. When it came out i could not stop repeating it for the entire week and i’m still so in love with it. By far one of my favourite solos of the album! it’s so colourful, clever and A DANCE BOP. It’s everything about why i bias jhope and his style is freaking awesome.

okay wow, all done!!!!!

#bts #mots 7 #album review

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tangledgal · 5 years ago

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WARNING: SUPER BIG POST! This is a complete list of my ranking of the season 1 and season 2 soundtrack.

Alright, first, I truly like/ love all the songs in the soundtrack, so low-ranked songs are never “bad.” Second, I’m not counting the 3 scores we got with the season 2 soundtrack. Third, I know that once season 3 has released its songs, this list will become kinda irrelevant, but hey, I’m impatient. Lastly, this is all biased so if some songs seem like they should be lower or higher than others, then that’s fine. I don’t claim to be a genius musician. I just prefer some songs over others.

(P.S. this was written in a day so misspellings are likely)

21.) Hook Foot’s Ballad

I don’t think I need to explain why this is the lowest. XD I really don’t mind this song, but it’s so short and just makes me wonder why this was considered a song, but the Reverse Incantation wasn’t! Just . . . meh.

20.) Wind in My Hair (Reprise)

We’ve all heard this one a BUNCH of times, and it’s pretty okay on its own. I just don’t consider this as high on the list just because we’ve heard it a lot and it’s just “Wind in my Hair” but shorter.

19.) More of Me

Another song we hear over and over again, but I’m a sucker for upbeat Disney pop music, and the full song is pretty fun to listen to. Nothing special, but enjoyable.

18.) Next Stop Anywhere (Reprise)

I like this one, but the 30 seconds of just talking at the beginning is a little grating. Again, just “Next Stop” but shorter. Still, Mandy and Zac always sound amazing together.

17.) Let Me Make You Proud (Reprise)

As you see, I put all the reprises last since they aren’t the most . . . interesting, but this is definitely the best of them since this is the MOMENT Varian vows revenge and makes his arc. It’s very powerful and the singing is great, but again, reprise.

16.) Listen Up

A fun song that’s just right for Halloween. I particularly love how it has the same sound as “I’ve Got a Dream,” but in a minor key, making it spoopy! It’s just lower on the list since it doesn’t really add much to the plot. Just a good song.

15.) Life After Happily Ever After

One of the few songs that sound exactly like it came straight from the movie. I like how it fills us in on the plot and with a great melody. Just . . . lots of talking that wasn’t edited out. And not that it’s not good, but I don’t find myself listening to it as often. Still, this was great as the first song of the show and it’s great now.

14.) If I Could Take That Moment Back

Yeah, I’m a New Dream sucker, and this song made me choke up a bit on my first listen. ASIDE FROM THAT, it doesn’t sound too different from most sad love songs. I didn’t want to put it too high because it’s not particularly unique. Not saying it’s BAD at all! The melody is beautiful (especially on the piano), the lyrics are heartbreaking and match up with the situation pretty well, and of course, Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi duet #2. That’s a win in my book.

13.) Livin’ the Dream

Admittedly, I was REALLY surprised when we got a musical number in this episode, and the song did seem really random. Still, this is just a really funny and upbeat music number! It sounds similar to “I’ve Got A Dream,” but with a twist, it’s pretty catchy, the singer does a great job as a replacement for Brad Garrett. I know for most, this wouldn’t usually be this high, but hey, different tastes.

12.) Friendship Song

I will admit, I like this song A LOT more than most people do. Then again, sucker for upbeat-Disney-pop music right here. I love how the instruments are so clear and beautiful, the melody and fast tempo are really fun to listen to, the lyrics can apply to anyone with a bff, and it always puts me in a good mood!

11.) Set Yourself Free

This is a weird one. It is nice to listen to and sung well, but I think my main liking for this song is that I feel a little bit of an emotional connection with it. When I hear this song, I think of the beginning of January and waiting anxiously for the finale of Season 1. I remember seeing a sneak peek of this song briefly, then seeing the episode as all the past moments of season 1 flash through the screen. Idk, it’s not really my favorite, but the feeling I get from listening to this brings back a lot of memories to me. I wouldn't put it lower since it does sound nice and I feel sentimental when listening to it, but it’s not higher since, honestly, it really is just Wind In My Hair, but instead of Rapunzel wishing for something, she’s doing something. Overall, good song.

10.) Everything I Ever Thought I Knew

It’s . . . complicated. The song is so beautiful, I love the opening lyrics and Zachary Levi. Just. . . . just Zachary Levi. However, I’ll admit that I’m not a fan of the whole “Dark Prince Eugene” thing. I never wanted it to be true, and I was low-key disappointed when it was revealed to be true. (Not devaluing the DPE theorists. Just not a personal fan of it being canon.) Still, I think the song does express Eugene’s feelings pretty well and it is kinda amusing when you realize he’s just having an identity crisis. All in all, we’ve waited a long time for a Eugene solo, and though I wasn’t thrilled about the context, still a fantastic song, and I’ll listen to it many times over.

9.) Wind in My Hair

The first full song I listened to from the show, sung beautifully, gives the show a great starting point, feels like a classic Disney princess song, and I simply love it. Next.

8.) Next Stop Anywhere

Great intro song to Season 2! It’s catchy, has amazing singing from the 3, and just a wonderful song. Yea, more unnecessary talking here and there that should’ve been cut out, but I love this song too much. Just like Wind in My Hair, I don’t have a logical reason why I love the song as much as I do. I just do!

7.) I’ve Got This

I love the opening notes to this song and it drags you right into it! It’s really fun to sing along to and pretend to be the angry citizens. Mostly, I love how the song progressively goes from upbeat and positive, then to worry, then to panic, then eventually to sadness. It’s catchy and upbeat, yet depressing and slow, and I love it. (Also, kittens)

6.) Buddy Song

Okay, first, can I just say how much I love the context of this song. While the majority of the other songs have an important meaning behind them or are there for some logical reason, the literal purpose of this song is just because Eugene and Lance are drugged up on flowers and that’s it. Usually, I’d be critical to scenes that are pointless or don’t push the story, but here, I have NO problem with it. It’s so fun and enjoyable in how carefree it is. Not only that, but add Zach and James singing like they are having the time of their lives (and not about to die) all to a jazzy beat and you have a musical masterpiece. I was waiting for this kind of song, and I was not disappointed in the slightest!

5.) Ready As I’ll Ever Be

The first two notes of this song should win an award alone. I love the intensity of this song and how epic it all feels. It stands as an amazing group number, as well as its own song separate from the context. Everyone gets to shine in this song, and it all has a very grand feel to it. Also, it really is the only song of its kind in the whole soundtrack. It’s “the epic theme song before going into battle” song. It’s amazing and really deserves the praise it gets (and then some.)

4.) View From Up Here

Admittedly not the most “dramatic” song. However, there is just so much about this song I love. First, I never expected Mandy Moore and Eden Espinosa to sound so good together! Imho, their harmony is one of the best in the show. Their voices blend so amazingly together and though they are different kinds of singers, they sound so in sync and the difference in their voices add so much! Also, even though this is like “whimsical exploring song # 12943,” it has this energy and charm to it that I can’t describe. The way it’s sung + the instruments make it sound so carefree, weightless, and whimsical. I feel I have no care in the world listening to it. Also, it’s upbeat and catchy (as always) Love it, love it, love it! (Also, the entire song is actually extended from what they sing in the episode, so that’s even better!)

3.) Waiting in the Wings

3 words: Eden Freakin’ Espinosa. Her voice was absolutely perfect for this song. Cassandra singing about her dreams and feelings towards being looked-over are expressed so well in the lyrics, the music, and in the emotion and power in Eden’s voice. It’s not only just an amazing song on its own, but it also gives insight into the character and makes us understand her struggles. I love the how gradually it builds up emotion just like in a classic Broadway song and the final note. Holy crap, THAT HIGH NOTE THO. I adore this song, and it definitely deserves to be in my top 3.

2.) With You By My Side

I’ve been singing this all the time since the end of season 2, and it has never gotten old. The highs and lows each singer reaches in each part sound great, the melody is catchy and hopeful, yet a little solemn and sad. It sounds great and has so much emotion put into each note. The instrumentals are enough to get me to listen to this song! Also, the song itself is a milestone in the character’s relationship that went from acquaintances/ enemies to the best of friends who can’t do anything without the other. It’s a song that means friendship, trials, hope, and the end of a journey. (Or at least that’s what they thought >:))

1.) Let Me Make You Proud

No, I’m not a hardcore Varian fan or Jeremy Jordan fan. Not really even a Broadway fan. What I’m saying is that this song, to me, is perfect. The performance, the music, the context, the instruments, and even the nostalgic feeling I get when listening to this. It’s flawless. Jeremy Jordan is amazing at expressing emotion not through just his voice, but his singing as well. Him playing an emotionally vulnerable 14-year-old who is anxiously traveling through a snowstorm all to save his dad who he isn’t sure will even survive the mistake he made, but his motivation is what’s getting him through, adds so much emotion, personality, and power to this character and song. Also, my memories of watching the D23 panel (on youtube. I wasn’t there) when this was being played over a montage of clips we have and haven’t seen before, exciting us for what was to come, was one of the greatest experiences ever. What else can I say? Just . . . perfection.

Super long post, but I’m happy with my selection and I can’t wait for Season 3!

#tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #long post #thoughts #honest thoughts #soundtrack #season 2 soundtrack #tangled the series soundtrack #Rapunzel #Eugene Fitzherbert #cassandra #varian #lance strongbow

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sweetdreamsjeff · 5 years ago

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Obituary: Jeff Buckley

Pierre Perrone

Friday 6 June 1997 00:02 The Independent

Second-generation pop stars hardly ever live up to their illustrious parents. Jeff Buckley was the exception to that rule.

His considerable talent and distinctive soprano voice eerily echoed those of his father, the singer Tim Buckley, who died of a drug overdose in 1975. And, in the space of three years and one album, Jeff Buckley attained the cult status his troubled father had taken eight years and as many records to achieve. Yet, though they hardly had a chance to bond (Tim was estranged from Jeff's mother and died at the age of 28, when his son was seven), their tragic destinies mirrored each other.

Born in 1966, Jeffrey Scott Buckley was the result of a short-lived liaison between Tim Buckley and Mary Gulbert. In one of the few interviews Jeff Buckley later gave, he recalled that the couple:

broke up in the early Seventies. I was only about four when my dad left. I was really brought up by my mother and my stepfather. I owe them my most pregnant musical memories. They were together for about four years and the house was full of music. My mum would play piano and cello all the time and my stepdad had great musical taste. I would listen to anything: the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Judy Garland, Robert Johnson, Thelonious Monk, Bartk, Mahler. And I asked a lot of questions. Learning about music seemed effortless. I guess I must have had natural abilities. Looking back, it felt like instinct.

Indeed, at five, the young Buckley had picked up his grandmother's guitar and taught himself to play. In Southern California, he might have felt rootless and restless, but music already seemed to drive him on. Aged 13, Jeff even wrote his first song, "about a break-up with a girlfriend. It was awful."

Having graduated from high school, the teenage Buckley left home, studied at the Los Angeles Musicians' Institute and played in a few rock and reggae bands (including Shinehead). In 1990, he moved to New York and started hanging out on the Lower East Side, forming Gods and Monsters, a short- lived group. He also guested at a Tim Buckley tribute concert where he attracted the attention of the producer Hal Willner.

Buckley only found his forte two years later when he started to perform solo with his electric guitar at coffee houses such as the Fez, Bang On and the Sin-e Cafe, in Greenwich Village. By the time the "Live at Sin- e" EP came out in late 1993, Buckley had evolved an amazing style, blending jazz, folk, rock, classical music, unusual covers (an epic version of Van Morrison's "The Way Young Lovers Do") and French chanson (Edith Piaf's "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin) to create a fluid hybrid in which both listener and performer could lose themselves. He soon signed to Columbia Records and, fittingly for an exponent of the neo-hippie tendency, set about recording his debut album proper at Bearsville studios, near Woodstock.

Buckley left nothing to chance. Since he'd only been playing with the bassist Mick Grondahl and drummer Matt Johnson for a month, he called upon guests such as the ex- Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas (who'd already helped him shape some of the compositions like "Mojo Fin") and the avant-garde composer Karl Berger who provided unusual, flowing string arrangements. Andy Wallace's production did the rest and, by the end of 1994, rock critics the world over were praising Grace to the heavens.

The soaring, yearning vocals drew comparisons with Robert Plant, Jim Morrison and, predictably, Buckley's father. The puzzling, wide-ranging choice of cover versions (Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", Benjamin Britten's "Corpus Christi Carol", "Lilac Wine", a standard covered by everyone from Nina Simone to Elkie Brooks) was discussed in hushed tones. Having added guitarist Michael Tighe, Buckley toured like there was no tomorrow, appearing at Reading and Glastonbury festivals and winning fans wherever he went. His vulnerable stage presence made girls swoon and he became an unlikely sex-symbol of the alternative music scene.

In 1995, Rolling Stone magazine named him Best New Artist and "Last Goodbye" became an alternative hit on US college radio. Yet, though Grace sold very well in Britain and France, Buckley never really appealed to the MTV generation. This suited him fine as he was keen to explore new musical horizons.

However, following up Grace's early promise proved difficult and Buckley marked time with various limited- edition releases ("Peyote Radio Theatre", among others). Last year, he guested with Jazz Passengers and appeared on Patti Smith's comeback album Gone Again. More recently, he paid tribute to the beat poet Jack Kerouac on Kicks Joy Darkness, a collection of readings which also features REM's Michael Stipe, the Clash's Joe Strummer, the actors Matt Dillon and Johnny Depp and the writer William Burroughs. Last December, internet fans could read a worrying message Buckley had posted on his website. It read: "I'm in the middle of some wild shit now. Please be patient."

Earlier this year, Buckley finally set about recording new songs in Memphis with former Television guitarist Tom Verlaine. But the resulting sessions had left Buckley somewhat frustrated and, having scrapped those and sent his backing musicians home, he was trying new material on his own while considering using the producer Andy Wallace again. There was already talk of a European tour to coincide with the album release in the autumn and Buckley obviously felt under pressure.

On 29 May, Buckley and a friend, Keith Foti, went to downtown Memphis and hung out at the Mud Island Marina with an acoustic guitar and a ghettoblaster. Having played some songs, Buckley decided to go for a swim in the Mississippi. His friend tried to stop him but Buckley jumped in fully clothed and still singing. As a boat passed by and created a large wave, Foti moved the ghettoblaster out of range of the water. When he turned round, Buckley had disappeared from view, probably caught by the undertow in the treacherous river.

Listening to Buckley's recordings again ("Eternal Life", dedicated to a long-lost lover, "Dream Brother", written about the father he didn't know), the sense of foreboding present in the lyrics proves overwhelming, never more so than in "So Real" during which the singer wails, "the nightmare. It sucked me in and pulled me under".

Jeff Buckley was fond of describing his wonderful songs as "dreamlike, coming from your subconscious. You have to let yourself go and it can scar you or destroy you. It's a bit like dying."

Jeffrey Scott Buckley, singer, songwriter, guitarist, organist: born Orange County, California 17 November 1966; died Memphis, Tennessee 29 May 1997.

#Jeff Buckley #Jeff Buckley Obituary #The Independent #Friday June 6 197

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patricksilvrrozartistry · 6 years ago

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Current Music Obsessions: December 1 - 16, 2018

I'm a bit late on posting this, but better late than never. I didn't listen to too much stuff this first half of December since I've been busy with life and also listening to and finishing my list of new releases (which the top 10 favorite albums post will come out either on the 23rd or 26th). But enough of that, let's see the honorable mentions.

Within the Ruins - Resurgence Sylvaine - Severance Helalyn Flowers - When it is Not Black Enough Meg Myers - Tear Me to Pieces Shattered Skies - Fall from Grace TroubleMe - Шрами Tragodia - A Temple in Time Enemy Inside - Halo Aesma Daeva - The Loon I:Scintilla - Human Conception - Into the Wild Conception - My Dark Symphony In the Woods... - Empty Streets Northward - Drifting Islands feat. Irene Jansen (Floor's sister) Northward - Northward Phuture Doom - Doom Terror Corps Circus of Fools - Smile Baby, Chelsea Smile feat. Antoine Marionette

And now for the main obsessions.

Heart of a Coward - Hollow

This song randomly got stuck in my head one day and I wound up rekindling my love for it. It's a pretty djenty death metal-ish track. I remember hearing it on Music Choice one day a few years ago and really digging it back then and I still do today. I need to check out the metal station on MC again, but I know I'll still not like majority of the stuff on there.

Enemy Inside - Falling Away

After falling in love with Lullaby, I had to check out the Phoenix album. It's such an epic album and was a close contender for my top 10 favorites of the year list. This track has such a cool flow to it that I really dig. And I love Natassja's orange eye makeup in one scene in the video. Definitely an awesome track that packs quite the punch.

Doorway to Salvation feat. Georg Neuhauser (Serenity, Phantasma)

Got another song from these guys. This and Lullaby are definitely my favorites off the album. Natassja and Georg's voices go so well together. I'm already a sucker for his voice because that lower register just makes my bussy quiver, but both of them singing together is perfection. It's such a gorgeous track and I absolutely recommend you guys check it out.

Sylvaine - Worlds Collide

This song is so pretty. It's so peaceful and lovely. A perfect song to just chill to. The vibe of it just seems like one of those songs that would be perfect to listen to on one of those days when you're just not feeling it or when it's raining outside.

Décembre Noir - Barricades

Found this song through their record label and really loved it. It's a wonderful death-doom track. The singer's cleans are absolutely gorgeous and I wished he used them more in the way he does on this track on the rest of the Autumn Kings album. That aside, I really love this track. The power and the production are absolutely wonderful.

Progenie Terrestre Pura - Toward a Distant Moon

I'm honestly surprised by how much I really dig these guys. I'm genereally not into this style of black/death metal, but I really like these guys so far. The aggressive riffs and overall vibe really contrasts against the transitions into ambient parts of their music, and that work is really present on this track and I love it. I also really dig the slight symphonic elements on this track.

Cupcakke - Dangled

This is her latest single and it's so bomb. I really love her more serious tracks like this. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE tracks like Duck Duck Goose, but homegirl really knows how to talk about life and things that really matter. It's a new dream of mine to see her live and to possibly even meet her one day. She's such an icon, especially for us queer folk.

Meg Myers - Take Me to the Disco

Just like Progenie Terrestre Pura, this is another artist I wasn't expecting to love as much as I do. This song is so different from Jelous Sea and Numb, but it still fits in with her brand. It's so chill and pretty, but there's this slight sense of melancholy to it that I really love. I'm a sucker for sad music. I keep finding myself humming the tune and singing the chorus throughout the day. It's so lovely.

The Great Discord - Army of Me (Bjork cover)

I was so excited when they started teasing a new song, but I wasn't expecting this. Army of Me is such an iconic Bjork song, so for them to cover it is such a bold choice, but that wasn't the only bold choice they made with this. They went on a full on industrial kick with this track. It suits the track so well, but I wonder how it would've sounded in their typical progressive metal sound, just simply out of curiosity. Anyways, I love this cover so much.

Starkill - Evil Inside

They did that. They fucking did that. This is a perfect single for them. Shows off every member's talents. I was beyond shocked when I heard Sarah screaming on this track. I wasn't expecting it. She keeps proving to be an epic more and more with each new track. And again, this track sounds the way Shadow Sleep should've sounded. The production is amazing.

The Hardkiss - Complicity

One of the big reasons why I absolutely adore these guys is the fact that even though they are a progressive pop/rock band, they aren't afraid to teeter alond the lines of metal, and this track definitely shows that off. I love it when they get like this. They just keep getting better and better with each album. I wonder when they're gonna drop a fullblown metal album. I'm so down for that. Anyways, go check this amazing track out.

Lighthouse in Darkness - Photography of a Ghost

They finally have a new single out and it is everything. Helen's voice is absolutely stunning here. I love how she sings in her lower register so much with this project so far. Also I'm so shocked by the operatic vocals in this track. If that's her, gurl. So much yes. I can't wait for the album to drop early next year. Flowing Tears will always be amazing to look back on, but I think this might be Helen's best work.

Kambrium - Ghost Shaman

I found this track through Unknown Power Metal on YT and I must say, I was shocked to hear something like this. You don't hear that many power metal bands that blend death metal into their music and it actually turn out great. The flow and energy in this track are epic. It's definitely a powerhouse of a track.

Within Temptation - Raise Your Banner feat. Anders Friden (In Flames)

THIS. THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR. It feels like it's been so long since these guys released a track with so much raw emotion. And the music video is everything. I can't wait for Resist to drop. Even though the power and rawness of the song are the main reasons why I love this song, I also love how relevant this track is today. Stand up against the oppressors and fight for freedom.

öOoOoOoOoOo - Rules of the Show

I got to listening to Samen again recently and wound up falling in love with this track. Chenille are one of the weirdest bands out there all thanks to Asphodel being the insane lady she is. This song is definitely the epitome of avant-garde metal, but holy tits is it weird. Like I said, Asphodel is a weirdo, but that weirdness gives birth to amazing shit like this.

Kalidia - Circe's Spell

I'm not into a lot of their music since it's too much on the power metal side a lot of times, but they also have amazing tracks like this that I absolutely love. I love the oriental vibe of the track. This track shows off Nicoletta's vocal range so well. She has such a good range and a wonderful voice.

Viktoria Modesta - Prototype

I found this track while listening to Kerli one day and holy shit was I blown away. I didn't know what to expect when going into this, but I for damn sure wasn't expecting that. This song goes off in the beat department. It's one of those tracks where you absolutely need to put your headphones in and blast it. Also, the video is divine. I love visual videos so much.

The 3rd and the Mortal - Ring of Fire

I decided to listen to Kari's old band after listening to her solo stuff one day and came across this song. It's so lovely. I kinda wish she would make doom metal these days, but the shoegazey experimental folk music will suffice. This track is so lovely and haunting. So good.

Beast in Black - Sweet True Lies

The 80's cheese is real with this one, especially with the video. The video is everything. These guys are definitely one of the few heavy metal bands I like and it's all because of the cheese and Yannis' powerful voice and range. I can't get enough of it. This song is just so good and beyond cheesy.

And that's it for the first half of December. The final installment of the year is just right around the corner. I wonder what's gonna be on it.

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randomrichards · 6 years ago

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THE BEST MOVIE MOMENTS OF 2018:

HONORABLE MENTION:

The Opening/Closing Credits from BUDDIES

I’m putting this as honorable mention because this is an older movie recently rereleased.

The first film about the AIDS Crisis, Buddies strikes at the heart with its opening credits with a typed list of AIDS victim up to 1985. Set to a mournful score by Jeffrey Olmstead, the never ending list of lives cut short puts you in tears.

Alex Honnold faces Boulder Problem in FREE SOLO

Most thrillers can only wish they could be as gripping as in the moment when Alex Honnold maneuver’s his way through the most challenging section of El Capitan Wall without rope in this Documentary.

Ray Offers Wisdom from Mid90s

“If you looked in anybody else’s closet, you wouldn’t trade your shit for their shit.”

Ray (Na-kel Smith) and his friends may not be the best role models for the impressionable Stevie (Sunny Suljic), but in this moment, Ray teaches him a lesson in perspective.

Glenn Close’s performance in THE WIFE

I’m not referring to any moment. Just Glenn Close’s acting. She speaks more volumes with her face than most actresses could with dialogue.

10) The Beach Scene from ROMA

Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) is an extraordinary woman. Sure, her life hanging towels and cleaning dog poo doesn’t seem like anything special. But like many lower working-class people, she endures. Boy does she endure a lot of shit in this movie. Not only does her deadbeat boyfriend ditch her to practice martial arts, but her baby is born dead. Despite all this, she not only continues her work, but she shares a close bond with the family. She showcases this bond and her strength when a fun day at the beach goes horribly wrong.

When Paco (Carlos Peralta) and Sofi (Daniela Demesa) swim too far out, Cleo walks into the ocean to save them despite not knowing how to swim. We watch in dread as she faces severe waves to find the kids, the camera always close to her.

This scene also contains a beautiful scene of the family hugging Cleo when she tears up over losing her baby. Seeing them all huddled together in front of a bright white sun captures the heart.

9) “A Place Called Slaughter Race” from RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

Admit it, it’s fun to take pot shots at Disney Tropes. Hell, even Disney gets in on the fun. And boy do they seize on every moment to mock Princess tropes when Vanellope Von Shweetz (voiced by Sarah Silverman) encounters the Disney Princesses. Of course, it helps that Director Rich Moore and Head of Story Jim Reardon creates some of the best episodes of the Simpsons. Though there are many hilarious moments[1], none can hold the candle to Vanellope’s “I Want” song.

As she reflects over a puddle, Vanellope sings about her longing to be in the gritty game “Slaughter Race.” Seeing this little girl perform this lighthearted musical number over a background of riots and dumpster fires is comedy gold. Nearly every element of this number elevates the comedy, from singing shark (with cats and dogs in its mouth) to the creative lyrics (“Am I a baby pigeon spreading wings to soar?/ Is that a metaphor?/Hey, there’s a dollar store”). And the number still finds time to emphasize Vanellope’s fear of hurting Ralph (John. C Reilly).

Kudos to Alan Menken for mocking the trope he (and the late Howard Ashman) introduced to Disney. Just as deserving of Kudos is Silverman, who faced to task of singing in Vanellope’s high pitched voice.

8) Charlie Loses Her Head from HEREDITARY

With her unusual hobbies, connection to her late grandmother and that clicking sound, you’d assume Annie’s (Toni Collette) daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro) would be the centre of the whole film.[2] Boy, were we in for a surprise.

Spoilers!

When Charlie suffers a peanut allergy reaction, Peter (Alex Wolfe) races her home. On his drive, he sees a mysterious figure in the middle of the dark road. In his attempt to dodge it, he doesn’t see Charlie hanging out the window. Seeing her head slam right into a pole leaves us as traumatized as Peter is. To see them kill off a main character so early in the film is downright shocking. With this death, predictability goes right out the window and we are left uncertain of what direction this film will go.

7) Neil Armstrong Soars in the X-15 Rocket Plane in FIRST MAN

It’s funny how the most exciting scene in this film isn’t the moon landing. Don’t get me wrong, the scene’s still breathtaking in its realism, but it’s surprising how thrilling the opening scene.

Damien Chazelle hits the ground running with Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) soaring the atmosphere in an X-15 Rocket Plane. He soars higher and higher into the skies until he flies out of earth’s surface and gets stuck in space

Albeit, you know he will be back on earth in time for the moon landing. And yet, I found myself on the edge of my seat, wondering how he’s going to get back to earth. Most of it is thanks to the visual effects, which contains some of the most believable since 2001: A Space Odyssey. The effects leave CGI in the dust with practical effects that look so real, you’d think Gosling was actually flying into space.

6) The Ferris Wheel Scene from LOVE, SIMON

High School Movies are home to many unforgettable romantic scenes. There’s Samantha (Molly Ringwald) and Jake (Michael Schoeffling) standing over a birthday cake in Sixteen Candles. There’s Patrick (Heath Ledger) singing to Katarina (Julia Stiles) on the bleachers in 10 Things I hate About You. And who can forget Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) blaring Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” outside Diane Court’s (Ione Skye) in Say Anything. Be ready to include the closing scene of Simon (Nick Robinson) waiting on the Ferris wheel for online pen pal Blue from Love, Simon.

After being outed by a student, infuriating his friends for deceiving them in his attempt to stay closeted and abandoned by Blue, Simon makes a plea to meet with Blue face to face on the Ferris Wheel at a carnival. As he rides on the Ferris Wheel, he, fellow classmates and the audience wait in anticipation for Simon’s happy ending.

5) The Book Heist from AMERICAN ANIMALS

When Spencer Reinhard (Barry Keoghan) and Warren Lipka (Evan Peters) plotted to steal extremely valuable books from the Transylvania University library in Kentucky, they thought they had the perfect heist. With the help of their friends Erick Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson) and Chas Allen (Blake Jenner), they thought they pull off a heist as smooth as Oceans 11.[3]

But reality hits them like a sledge hammer when they try to pull off the heist. Unlike their dreams, Librarian Betty Jean Gooch (Ann Dowd) doesn’t get knocked out with one taser jolt. It also isn’t easy to lug a six-foot book down a flight of stairs. Then there’s the fact the basement has no exit. That’s just a few of many problems they never consider. From then on, we witness them pay a huge price for their hubris and lack of real-world understanding.

Only youths as smart as they are to come up with such a stupid plan.

4) The Mutant Bear from ANNIHILATION

Biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) and her team find themselves in a quite a bind. After entering the Shimmer, physicist Josie Radek (Tessa Thompson) has barely survived an attack from a mutant alligator and Anthropologist Cassie Sheppard (Tuva Novotny) has been attacked by a bear. Now paramedic Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez) has gone mad and has tied up Lena, Radek and Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh). But when they hear Sheppard’s cries for help, they will soon find Anya is the least of their worries.

Their journey delivers many grotesque, nightmare inducing visuals (especially the slithering intestines.) But the most memorable moment in this film was the image of the helpless crew trapped in a cabin with a mutant bear. Bears are scary enough on their own, but a faceless one is pants spitting meeting. And then you hear it imitate Sheppard’s screams and suddenly you need a new pair of pants.

3) The Great Snap from AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

The whole Marvel Cinematic Universe had been leading up to this moment. The fact that nearly every character had a moment to shine in this one movie demonstrates the astounding direction of the Russo Brothers. But despite all the epic fight scenes, everyone agrees that this film’s greatest scene is the heroes moment of defeat.

Despite every effort made to stop in, despite outnumbering Thanos and despite Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) sacrificing Vision (Paul Bettany) to destroy the mind stone, Thanos still got all the infinity stones. And with a single snap, Thanos succeeds in wiping out half the universe’s population. One by one, we watch many of our heroes vanish into dust while others watch in helpless horror. But none are more heartbreaking that the moment when Spider-Man (Tom Holland) falls into Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) arms, crying “I don’t want to go.” All because some characters couldn’t make the sacrifice needed

Yes, we knew he was going to succeed in the end.[4] And yes, you know most of the heroes won’t stay gone.[5] And yes, their return will likely involve the surviving heroes sacrificing themselves.[6] But the ending still feels powerful despite this knowledge.

It all concludes with Thanos sitting near a cottage, content in his triumph. If the MCU ended here, it would have been a perfect ending. But I’m still curious to see how this will go.

2) The Closing Close-Up in CAPERNAUM

The closing image of Zain’s (Zain Al Rafeea) face will haunt you beyond the closing credits. Throughout the film, we’ve seen this kid struggle through hell on the streets of Lebanon, trying to protect his sister from their resentful parents and helping an Ethiopian Migrant Worker take care of her son. But when he’s sent to prison for assaulting a pimp who bought his sister, he decides to sue his parents for the crime of bringing him into this miserable world. Writer/director Nadine Labaki never looks away for a second to the brutality of Zain’s world and how it brings out the worst in Zain.

When the film freezes to the image of Zain smiling for a Passport photo, your heart breaks for him as Khaled Mouzanar’s haunting score plays out.

1) Tish and Fonny’s Walk Through the Park in IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

No other opening scene has done a better job of putting its audience under its spell than when loving couple Tish (Kiki Layne) and Alfonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James) stroll through a park holding hands.

There’s beauty in every element of this scene, from Nicholas Britell’s romantic score to the warm looks in the character’s eyes. But what really sells it is James Laxton’s lush cinematography. The colours pop through the yellows and blues on the couple’s clothes and the green of the grass. You are as in love with this couple as they are for each other.

Then the film cuts to Tish visiting Fonny in prison, this time the yellow is the prison, the blue is Fonny’s jumpsuit and the green is on Tish’ outfit. From then one, we know why their love is worth fighting for.

[1] Mostly at the expense of Ariel (Jodi Benson)

[2] Especially when she appears so prominently in the advertisements.

[3] As indicated by a fantasy sequence.

[4] Since we know this was going to be a two parter.

[5] Especially when there are already planned sequels to Black Panther, Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy. After all the money Marvel’s got from Black Panther? They’re not going to give up that meal ticket.

[6] What with Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans retiring their characters.

#random richards #Random Richards Reviews #If Beale Street Could Talk #ralph breaks the internet #Capernaum #Avengers #infinity war #annihilation #American Animals #Love Simon #Buddies #Free Solo #Mid90s #Roma #The Wife #First Man #Hereditary #a place called slaughter race

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darlingnisi · 6 years ago

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Some new ones!

CASSANDRA O’NEAL (Keyboardist, 2009-2016)

We were doing a residency at Madison Square Garden in 2011 and we had an aftershow and the late, great Sharon Jones, who opened some of the shows, was playing. We’re watching them and they’re killing it, she’s so dope, Prince is sitting next to me, it’s a party, it’s the cap on a perfect day. Prince had on these leggings and he says (low voice) “You like my pants?” “Yes, they’re gorgeous.” We go back to listening — you didn’t really strike up conversations with him, you just let him lead. Then he says “They’re killing, aren’t they? ” “Oh yes.” “I should give her some money. Do you have any money?” because he didn’t carry cash. I had a $50 bill so I gave it to him and he says “I’ll be right back, save my seat.” So he melts into the crowd, comes back and says “I gave your $50 to Questlove.” “You did? Oh, okay.” So later I run into Quest and we made some smalltalk and I said, “By the way, did Prince give you a $50 bill?” He says [surprised], “Yeah, he did.” And I kinda jokingly said, “He was supposed to do something else with it, can I have it back?” And he said “No, because every time he sees me he always gives me a piece of money and I hang it up on my wall. So this 50 will make $163.25” or some very specific number like that — he really knew how much Prince had given him. He was very nice about it, then he says, “I can’t give you back that 50, but here, you can have this instead,” and gave me a $100 bill!

REBEKAH ALPERIN (Universal Music Publishing/independent consultant, 2002-2004) One time he was playing a stadium in Hong Kong for maybe 15-20,000 people. He ran backstage while the band kept playing, said “Hello Rebekah,” in that deep voice, walked over to this full-length mirror, looked himself up and down and did that funky thing with his head just like in that [2005 Fred Armisen “Saturday Night Live”] “Prince Show” skit and puckered up his lips — like, “I’m Prince!” — and ran back onstage. I fell over laughing when I saw that skit, they had it so perfect.

REBEKAH ALPERIN We were backstage at rehearsal the day before he played the [2004] Grammys with Beyonce, and there were so many acts rehearsing that they had to share space. He suddenly came out of his dressing room and he looked straight at me and said in that low voice, “I’m sharing… a bathroom… with Justin Timberlake.” Nothing against Justin, of course, I just don’t think Prince was expecting to be sharing a bathroom.

SUSAN ROGERS (Engineer, 1983-1987) This is an aside, but at the very last show the crew wanted to play a prank on Prince and lower the penguin down onto the back of the stage when he was taking his long guitar solo during “Purple Rain” and he would be focused on playing and never know. So one of the riggers up in the rafters had a rope around the penguin and was starting to lower it. But you had to be really careful if you were trying to play a practical joke on Prince, because all of a sudden, for some reason, during the solo he started to turn around — I had a headset on, and the guy in the headset is yelling “Abort! Abort! Abort!” and they’re yanking it up into the rafters. I don’t know if Prince ever saw it but he must have noticed something black and white and purple flying upward at the back of the drum riser.

Anyway, by the end of the tour, the photo gallery [of taking Polaroids of people who had fallen asleep and the sleep penguin] was complete except for two people: Prince and me. No one had caught either of us sleeping on the job. We were at Sunset Sound in L.A. finishing an album, it was either [Prince and the Revolution’s] “Around the World in a Day” or Sheila E.’s [“Romance 1600”] album, and Prince had invited some people down to hear it. There weren’t enough chairs, so I sat on the floor. Now, I had been up all night, they’d dimmed the lights and lit the candles, and I’m sitting there and I’ve got my eyes closed, just happy we’ve got the record done, and I hear “Click! Bzzz…” It was Prince and he’d put the penguin on me! I was like “No! No! I wasn’t sleeping! This is fraud!” So I was determined that I was gonna get him.

Sure enough, a little later he’s in the chair, exhausted, listening to music with his eyes closed, and I saw my opportunity. So I came from the back and I’m slowly, slowly pushing that penguin across the floor, and I get it just to the back of his chair and I’m raising my hands to take the picture — and I hear his voice go, “Who do you think you’re gonna get with that?” [Laughter] Nobody got him.

MARC ANTHONY I tried to play a trick on him once. It was the first time he came over to the house, and I wanted to see how tall he really was. My plan was to tell him we have a no-shoes policy in the house so he was gonna have to take off his heels. So I meet him at the car, “Hey it’s great to see you, welcome, but I have to tell you, we don’t allow shoes in the house.” And he said, in that beautiful satiny voice, [drops voice to seductive purr], “Then we’ll talk outside.” [Laughing] He did not go for that. I tried, man!

RAPHAEL SAADIQ We were at the Oakland Coliseum in 1986 with Sheila E., opening up for Lionel Richie [Prince was there for a surprise guest appearance]. I’m from Oakland and I used to sit outside the Coliseum and say “One day I’m gonna play there” — my whole family was in the audience, I was 20 years old, this was my night. Prince had this prayer that he did sometimes before shows, so we say the prayer, the lights go down, everybody goes onstage, but I run back to the dressing room. You remember that line in the “Purple Rain” movie where Prince is holding a puppet saying “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the funkiest of them all?” I run to the mirror and I say it — “Who’s the funkiest of them all?” — and then I hear this voice go, “Is THAT right?” And Prince was sitting in the chair, looking at me! I swear, he appeared like a ghost, he wasn’t in the room when I got there. I screamed — “AAAAAH!” — and ran to the stage. It was the scariest shit ever, bro — that was weird.

#prince #funnies

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chibalein · 6 years ago

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Kalafina Live Review - 10th Anniversary

Finally it’s available and I watched the whole 10th Anniversary Live (again and again), so I thought I’d give a review on it. Here is my original Live Report -> click. My opinions didn’t really change much, though, so I’ll be repeating myself here and there :p Here we go!

Ring your bell ~ in the silence

I love that intro, especially with those flags opening

other than that, boring entrance -> the 9+ONE intro would have PERFECT for that occasion

Ring your bell

fuck that song

However, I like the performance, surely one of their best, I love their bright smiles and movements

BUT it gave me reminder of why I don’t like this song: the final “ring your bell”s, Wakana always makes me cringe

Quick opinion: I really came to hate Keiko’s dress. Not the colors or the golden/black pattern, that’s pretty cool: it’s those lace shoulder pads and the leather corsage. They make her chest area look super bulky and the chest part of the dress is not form-fitting at all. She has such a beautiful body but this dress just doesn’t support it.

Mirai

Fuck that sooong and everyone who voted for it

But even I have to say, I have a lot of fun watching them perform, they move around, interact with the audience, it’s lovely and more carefree

Lirica

Definitely one highlight of the night

I realized for the first time that the Strings are actually plucking their instruments lol I thought it was a background sound by the manipulator

I barely hear Hikaru in the chorus, is she singing high or low? xD

Keiko is the best here, so deep and dramatic!

Booooring stage show. No movements by the girls is one thing, but no special light show or anything? They could have been so creative with this dark piece..

Manten

OMG some choreography

Wakana is greeeeeat

Yane no mukou ni

First performance where I almost cried during the actual live, perfect and emotional

Still don’t like Hikaru here, she sounds like she is shouting which kills all emotions she might have had while singing

Cool plucking violins at the end, never noticed they do this

Hikari no senritsu

overplaaaayed

OMG light dude, DO SOMETHING

Best flute solo of all time

Quick opinion: all the performances where I criticise the lack of creativity, movement etc. look actually great on the DVD, because we have the cameras. Changing angles, focus on each girl, their faces, the audience and the band give variety and it makes it look a lot more interesting. But sitting in the actual audience is absolutely tiring, because there is just nothing happening on stage. It’s just like you listen to a CD, especially if you had a seat in the far back and could only rely on the screen. Such a shame and waste.

Storia

oh god no

their steps in the middle part are all over the place XD

fun and good performance

Quick opinion: almost all songs by now have been completely or partly illuminated in blue light. Uncreative? Yes.

Natsu no Ringo

Hikaru again sounds strange and shouting, she definitely was edited

Other than that super beautiful performance, Wakana was in top form that night

Serenato

Another big highlight, one of the best performances Kalafina ever did

Actually a nice, refreshing intro by the accordion, but I personally find it kinda dominant throughout the song, which was a bit distracting and which I didn’t really feel in the actual live

ARIA

Hikaru sings lower and I like it a lot, although they definitely enhanced her voice to sound a bit “prettier”

she did such an emotional and sad performance, you could see that is not struggling as hard as e.g. in Red Day

Sprinter

that Keiko hug

finally some action on stage and interaction with fans!

super fun to watch and OMG Keiko is using the pedestal

Oblivious

still bad place in the setlist

great AMV and surely also a highlight, sadly this is the only special treatment for their debut song, should have been celebrated more

Poor Hikaru gets always ignored during WaKei duet lol

Kizuato

Great performance, I adore that song

Keiko’s voice a bit too cute for me here

Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaeteyuku

Keiko’s stupid cutesy voice

Very emotional and those sad faces at the end kill me every time

I just realized that they have sung all Kara no Kyoukai songs in a row XD

Quick opinion: It’s like they only have red, white and green filters, all while the light technician’s finger is apparently stuck on the blue light button. This is BUDOKAN! This is ALL you can deliver?!

Kantankatan

I honestly wonder why this song made it into the setlist. Hyakka Ryouran sure, being their most recent single, but why this B-side song (and e.g. why not Tombo?). Since fans couldn’t vote for it, it makes me think that the girls just really love this song and wanted it included in their last recorded live performance.

Wakana is simply perfect, Hikaru... well... she’s there. Where has her “neverending” voice gone to?

Where is the second violin dude? Toilet break?

This song becomes so much better when the Strings join in the last part

Symphonia

I still hate Keiko’s dress

omg girls, please move around or something

good and nice performance

Red Moon

finally SOME DARK SONG and finally something for the eye with the video

Hikaru still sounds kinda weak, but during the actual live she was barely audible, so I guess that’s a plus here

Keiko is amazing, you can hear her so clearly! Wakana too! Epic performance

Waaaaay too much blue for a song called Red Moon

Adore

Flashback to After Eden with Red Moon -> Adore xD

Wakana is suuuper!

What the hell is wrong with you Hikaru? What happened after After Eden? She’s sooo shouty, this is definitely her weakest performance of the night

Great violin solo

OMG they use the pedestals FOR THE FIRST TIME and they use it for GODDAMN 12 SECONDS

And I noticed they actually played some video -> good!

To the beginning

finally after way too long, an upbeat song since Sprinter (which is 6 songs ago)

It took me years to realize that they sing “down to zero we go”, however Hikaru sounds suuuper strange singing that line

finally some light action, took you long enough, eh

That Keiko punch at the end xD Not enough of those cool shots

Progressive

YEAH SOME REAL ACTION

also one of the best performances of the night, I love Keiko here, she’s moving so much and having so much fun, it’s infectious

Hikaru killed it and that very last line is awesome

Ongaku

Aaaaw that hug in the beginning

of course, Ongaku is a must, I still think this would have been a better entrance or encore song

look at this power, fantastic

those band solos are the best thing of the whole concert, honestly I love them so hard

however, accordion solo is so out of place and unnecessary beyond belief

Bongo duuuuuuude, LOOK AT HIS FACE I can’t even xD

KONNO HITOSHI VIOLIN EPICNESS!!!!!!! With great justice he got the best reaction from the audience

They edited that Keiko jump/hug, it took her much longer to reach Wakana xD

The interaction between the girls is gorgeous, something we have been missing overall a bit

they included the flute at the end too, very nice (I suppose the accordion too, but fuck that)

that was the best Ongaku performance they ever did

Heavenly Blue

they still should have gone to MC after Ongaku

other than that, good performance I guess

Into the World

well hello there blue filter, it’s been a while

is it just me or has Keiko been made more dominant than she is supposed to be in the beginning?

Nightmare Ballet

come one, at least do that Zaregoto BGM THAT SOME ASSHOLE CUT FROM 9+ONE!

Great intro by accordion though, her duet with Sakurada is so cute

I feel I should take that blue spotlights to a date by now, because I have spent more time with them today than with my boyfriend

Great performance by the band, though too late into the concert in my opinion

Hikari Furu

best performance of this song of all time

Wakana kills it so hard, I feel bad for the others

fantastic mix of normal and acoustic version

that epic pause, THAT EPIC PAUSE

Quick opinion: I am not the biggest fan of those white “wedding” dresses. While their “final” version is pretty cool, I don’t like the veils, simply because they serve no purpose, especially since they’ll be thrown away immediately afterwards.

Hyakka Ryouran

nice flute intro

Red-Blue-Red-Blue-Red-Blue FUCK YOU

Ah, that middle HiKei dance, now you finally can see what I was talking about in my live reports. Wakana would have been better standing on the middle stairs though... #needless nitpicking

the flags are waving, that’s admittedly pretty cool

great performance of everyone, good that this song made it into the setlist

Alleluia

this doesn’t have many live recordings I think, so I am really glad that Alleluia made it as the last and most popular song of the night

definitely a marvellous farewell song for Keiko

look how powerful she sings, she knew this was her last big performance and she delivered

- Why is the manipulator celebrated to heavily? Is he particularly popular or something? XD

- Ehm, Wakana’s dress are actually pants? Do I have that correct? XD

- They should have thrown in “snow falling” as a surprise encore, just for the joke

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

+ the musicians brought in so much variety and creativity even in highly overplayed songs, they made this truly a special concert

+ very good camera work, some great and cute shots and not so many cuts like in 9+ONE for example

- apparently an intern did the lighting here, I can’t explain this amateur work otherwise

- it’s a pity that there wasn’t any extra content included like some kind of Making Of or something on the Commemoration Lives. Sure, they reserved it for the movie, but still, at least something would have been nice

I really love this Live, although I had a lot of criticism. Kalafina delivered and they gave some of their best performances of their career. It was worth it all and it’s simply sad that this is their last concert. They deserved better treatment for this and it should have been even more special, with more effort and creativity by the staff/the agency.

Oops, that became longer than intended, sorry! Thanks for reading!

#kalafina #10th Anniversary Live #review #not sorry

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thesweatycollectiontyrant · 6 years ago

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35MM

Today, we have more of a song cycle than a musical all based on 35MM photographs. Today’s Bop is 35MM.

Background Info

One of my friends told me about one song from this show. On the way home from rehearsal that night, I listened to it. Wow. I was hooked. I think this show really decided to go in a different direction and it did it successfully.

Writers

Music and lyrics are by Ryan Scott Oliver, who has written a few stand-alone songs I’ve played for people and heard at performances, and also wrote music and lyrics to Jasper in Deadland. The concept came from Matthew Murphy, a popular theatrical photographer. The show is based on 35mm photographs taken by Murphy.

Character List

WOMAN 1 (Soprano) - plays Woman 1, Image 1, Nightmare, the Lover, Cantus, Watcher, Soprano, Betsy, Nightwalker, Lonely, Jessy, and Chorus WOMAN 2 (Mezzo-Soprano) - plays Woman 2, Photographer, Nightmare, the Broad, Altus, She, Watcher, Les Voix en Dessous, Alto, Lindsay, and the Balladeer MAN 1 (Tenor) - plays Man 1, Image, the Idle Boy, Tenor, His Savior, Watcher, Les Voix en Dessous, Alex, A Friend of Jules and Jessy’s, and Chorus MAN 2 (Tenor) - plays Man 2, Image, Nightmare, the Manny, Bassus, the Sinner, Watcher, the Cajun, Bass, Jay, Her Mister, Jules, and Chorus MAN 3 (Baritone) - plays Man 3, Image, Nightmare, the Long-Tethered Knight, He, Watcher, Ben, Radio and Chorus

Who’s Singing

I chose to listen to the only available cast recording, featuring Alex Brightman, Ben Crawford, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Lindsay Mendez, and Betsy Wolfe.

Let’s Do This

I’m really excited to get into this show. From the songs I’ve heard, the show is really fun to listen to. A lot of good audition songs will come out of this. I’m also following the vocal score offered by Samuel French, so the songs might be somewhat out of order from the recording.

The show begins with an Ensemble number called “Stop Time”. I started the song, and got about twenty seconds in and I was so shook I had to rewind. That’s how good this is. Betsy is singing high soprano notes and I’m a sucker for that, of course. I really love Lindsay Mendez’s voice. Just so smooth and gorgeous. Her chest voice is so strong.

The next song is called “Crazytown”. I have heard a little bit of this song because of the strange noises the Ensemble makes during it. The first two verses are interesting. Then this got weird REAL quick. I’m here for all this rapping. That song was pretty dope.

The next song, “On Monday” is one of my favorite songs in this show. There’s kind of a “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen meets “Backseat Serenade” by All Time Low vibe. It’s very pop punk, so in all reality we’re just revisiting middle school. Not to mention, Betsy Wolfe’s voice is perfection in every genre. I love the “sol-mi-la-mi-sol-mi-la-mi-sol-mi-re” theme on the chorus on the word “juvenile”. Her voice is just so crystal clear. She’s literally wailing on a High G. She’s such a versatile singer. This song is one of those that puts me in a good mood regardless of what I’m doing.

“Caralee” is another fun song in this show. Before I start talking about Jay Armstrong Johnson and the song in general, let’s talk about the intro. We’ve got some sort of percussion, strings, and a harpsichord. First of all, a harpsichord? Interesting choice. It fits so well despite it being an “out-there” choice for a show like this. Another thing I’m kind of obsessed with is the strings at the end of the measure. It’s playing thirds, and on the last eighth note, it is a C# and an E, and the C# is so flat. I’m pretty sure it’s on purpose, but it kind of gives the rest of the song a funny vibe. The song starts and it’s about this manny who watches this brat named Caralee. She practically tortures him by just doing normal, little kid stuff, like playing with scissors and getting into his stuff. This song is so funny to me. There’s a lot of clever wordplay and rhyming. You can envision this situation. We’ve all seen it before. I don’t want to spoil too much. This song is also really easy to listen to.

“The Party Goes with You” begins and the intro is so lovely. I could listen to that on loop all day long. It’s got kind of a chamber music sound to it. It almost reminds me of Evanescence in a way. It’s a shame I didn’t listen to this song earlier. Lindsay Mendez is so lovely in this song. The song is very simple. During the chorus, there’s a rock organ with some tremolo that comes in, giving it a more modern sound. The melodic line during the verses is mostly just up and down the scale, and it’s so satisfying. This is a great song for an Alto. It sits pretty low in most female voices. It has a melancholy feel to it. Check this one out. It’s special.

Now we’re back to a seemingly zany piece of music with “Good Lady”. It starts out with sort of a medieval chant by the Ensemble in 5/4. Then a faster rock feel starts with Ben Crawford on the lead, and WOW. This dude’s voice is so nice! It reminds me a lot of Steven Pasquale. This song is really cool. A lot of different stuff. I’m about a quarter into the show, and I think this show would be really good driving music. The song begins and ends the same way.

I’m probably gonna skip most of the Transitions, but “Transition #2″ is really nice. It foreshadows the melody of “The Ballad of Sara Berry” which comes later in the show.

“He & She” has a quirky feel at the beginning. THIS SONG IS SO GOOD. The runs and riffs. Wow. Ben and Lindsay really did it in with this one. I wasn’t too fond of “Crazytown”, but since then, I’ve liked every single song. Completely. That’s really great. This is a fantastic duet.

Now we’re on “The Seraph”. The song is slower, but it has a really easy-going, coffee shop feel. That song is really nice. Go check that out.

“Immaculate Deception” was nice. It’s one of those songs where I’d like to sing it, but I’m not crazy about listening to it. It’s cool to hear everyone together.

Next is “Leave, Luanne” which a lot of people have talked about, but I’ve never listened to it. The tempo marking describes it as a “Southern Gothic Ghost Story”. I was so transfixed while listening to it, I can’t write anything about it. This is an epic song. seven and a half minutes. Wow.

“Mama, Let Me In” is a nice little chorale sung by four of the members of the company.

The next song, “Why Must We Tell Them Why?” starts out and it sounds like anything straight off the radio. It literally could be a Walk the Moon or The 1975 song. THIS SONG IS SO FUN OH MY LORD. UGH. Go listen to this. I know I’m saying that after every song but it’s just because I mean it and it’s so good. Literally everything about it. The music, the harmonies, the singing, the stories, the everything. Do yourself a favor and listen to this song and this album in general. This song also reminds me of “Ready to Go” by Panic! at the Disco.

I’m pretty sure “Twisted Teeth” is about vampires? Hopefully? The lyrics to the song are really weird, but I really like the music. Betsy and Jay did a great job on that one. It starts off strange musically, but it gets better.

“Hemming and Hawing” happens, and this song is so beautiful. Just simply beautiful. I don’t really know how to describe it, other than gorgeous. A nice 9/8 meter, kind of a “The Only Exception” by Paramore feeling.

“Cut You a Piece” is one of those typical I gave you my heart and you broke it songs. But there’s something special about it. The song is really nice. I’d say it’s worth listening to.

“The Ballad of Sara Berry” is a murderous prom-queen song. It’s also the first song I listened to from this show. It describes Sara Berry, whose goal is to thwart Julie Jenkins to win Senior Prom Queen. She is encouraged by her parents because they tell her that there’s no room “for a princess at prom”. She goes to all odds, killing all other candidates until Julie Jenkins calls the cops on her, all while Lindsay Mendez is belting up a storm. This song literally ranges two octaves. It is goosebump-inducing. GO CHECK THIS OUT.

The “Finale” reprises all of the songs sung throughout the show.

Audition Songs

A lot of these songs are solos that just have background vocals. If used for an audition, just cut the background vocals. The way this show is cast is that there are five singers and they all play different characters throughout the show. The characters will be labeled as the character they play in the specific song, followed by which singer it is. The singers and voice types are labelled in the above Character Descriptions section.

“On Monday” - The Lover (Voice 1), G3-G5

Good for a soprano with strong mix; potential character piece depending on interpretation.

“Caralee” - The Manny (Voice 4), D#3-G4

Great for Tenor with good comedic chops.

“The Party Goes with You” - The Broad (Voice 2), F#3-D5

Really good for a low Alto who can sit comfortably on the lower notes.

“The Seraph” - The Sinner (Voice 4), C3-A4

Good for a folksy Tenor or Baritone. Just cut the other parts, and this would be a great audition song.

“Hemming and Hawing” - Radio (Voice 5), A2-F#4

Awesome song for a Baritone. Cut the other line, and it’s perfect.

“Cut You a Piece” - A Friend of Jules & Jessy (Voice 3), C3-F4

Beautiful storytelling song. Cut Jules and Jessy’s parts.

“The Ballad of Sara Berry” - The Balladeer (Voice 2), F#3-F#5

Great song for rock Mezzo. Cut ensemble parts.

To Wrap It Up

This show is so different and unique. I recommend it to all MT fans. Rights are available through Samuel French. This is accessible for High Schools if you guys cut the language. This would also be really good for colleges and professional and amateur theatre companies. You’d need a dynamite Music Director and a fantastic cast, but it’s very doable. I love this show, and I can see myself listening to this for a long time. I was very pleasantly surprised by this amazing show.

Get it.

#35mm #musicals #musical theatre #contemporary #rock #belt #song cycle #ryan scott oliver

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moriiyun · 4 years ago

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(sort of) first listen: day6's the book of us: negentropy - chaos swallowed up in love

i say sort of first listen because i've heard the first 3 songs on this album before, i just haven't heard the rest. and honestly, day6's music is so complex so this reaction definitely does not do it justice, so yea!!

also reminder these are just my opinions and takeaways pls don’t kill me thanks :D

everyday we fight

i heard this before but why am i noticing so many things now???? like the funky synth bit after the first chorus and the way the 2nd chorus transitions into the 1st part of the bridge wha,,,,,, and there are 2 sections of the bridge which are completely different and i was so baffled that i went backwards to hear it again because i couldn't believe it LMAO. only day6 things i guess. also dowoon is really doing the most on the drums because there is a lot of marching band snare stuff going on especially in the pre-chorus. that's interesting tho cos it's like a battle cry, the snare drum. plus at the end of the song there is a 'ding' which is like that sound when you win a boxing match and it's like 'everyday we fight' so day6 really said fight references this is genius i love this i think it's called wordsplaining?? idk

you make me

i've heard this so many times so now whatever is here is just me nitpicking LOL but seriously, there is so much detail in this there is so much to unpack geez. like first off structure wise there are so many music breaks it actually doesn't make sense but it does. idk. also the bridge literally goes straight from the 2nd chorus non stop and then we transition into a final chorus type thing (or is it a 2nd bridge?) and i have no idea what went on there but it is good. and the pre-chorus is like 2 lines long?? strange but it works so oh well who am i to complain. also on the instrumentation,,, there seems to be like 3 layers of drums, 1 is definitely an edm beat cos it's too fast to play so that's a synth thing, 1 is dowoon playing the legit actual drums during the chorus parts but the last one is strange. it's mostly used during the verses and pre-chorus, and in the background during the chorus. it sounds like a drum pad so not the actual drum kit but the black thing that works like a drum when u hit it, but during the chorus how do u play 2 drums??? like nani?? i suspect he plays drum pad during the verses and the chorus is just an edm synth track that they recorded before hand. either that or they used a loop machine thing for the drum pad sound. i really dunno cos there's no live stages so rip. if anyone asks why i pick up drums soundwise first when i learn guitar, i have no idea okay,, i just do lol. also can we give a shoutout for vocals for 5 seconds,, especially wonpil's falsetto-belt-falsetto in the bridge like damn. talent.

healer

okay i've heard this one before too and this song is. interesting. cos it made me realise that this album so far has basically been even of day's sound with fuller instrumentation. it's more synth than piano based and that's not bad, it's just new for day6 imo. this song is mostly interesting structure?? like the synth bit at the intro was funky and the verse dropping down into the pre-chorus before going up into the chorus just works?? idk. also i'm gonna take a moment to talk about the post-chorus because this is one of the most effective post-choruses i know. i'm not the biggest fan of post-chorus stuff cos it's kinda weird sometimes but this works idk. the synth melody that they play during that part is addicting and also for some reason very destabilising? like idk feels like i'm flying in the sky with peter pan or something. it works for me it sounds really nice. also once again the bridge is a strange one because it's basically a whole section of loud crowd-cheering type sounds and then 1 actual proper line and them BOOM chorus again. a bit like the bridge of shoot me except that bridge has 2 sections 1 cheering one actual singing. this doesn't really have that but somehow it works for the song. day6 are magic i don't make the rules. also can you imagine this in concert with an actual crowd T_T

only

what. WHAT. i haven't heard this one before and i kid you not my mouth was open for the whole song in SHOCK. remember when i said so far the album was very even of day style? well the intro of this song said SIKE and now i can't process SHIT. like what even happened???????? it all sounds good tho. this song is really calming and i will probably start registering it when i start listening to it more. but i'm just gonna talk about verse 2 for a second because ???????????????????????? im so shook someone sang in a low timbre and i was like ??? who this ?? and i was like oh maybe it's jae and i couldn't figure it out until the end of the verse TURNS OUT IT'S FREAKING BRIAN/YOUNG K WHAT EVEN THAT DOESN'T EVEN SOUND LIKE HIM ????????????? im so confused day6 vocal kings i guess. also the bridge...sungjin just kept climbing up and i was like wait his range isn't gonna make it to the end of the bridge but nO IT TRANSITIONS TO BRIAN SO SMOOTHLY AND ONCE AGAIN I AM BAFFLED HOW DO THEY DO THIS. many questions no answers. also outro bit was really nice and it led into a fadeout that i don't usually like but was expected for this song cos this song definitely needs a fadeout so yknow, it works. anywho good song still very baffled but good song. also last note i forgot about this but they were doing a lot of voice echoing like choir-esque bits and that was super cool.

above the clouds

first things first: the return of shaker, acoustic guitar and piano my beloved <3 like the sounds were so pretty and acoustic in the first verse i knew there was gonna be a drop somewhere but the drop came in a place i didn't expect and in a way i didn't anticipate - turns out it's the one melody i remember from the teasers and now it's gonna be stuck in my head forever because it's that good of a melody. i also didn't expect the drums to go that hard but they did and it works out so yknow what i can't complain. once again day6 are wordsmiths and musical geniuses because they started the song very softly with the sound of wind, as if you're flying in the sky cos 'above the clouds' but not only that they end with a similar windy sound and they also end similar to landed (by even of day) which is so poetic and ironic because landed = on the ground and this song is 'above the clouds' like seriously this is the biggest brain shit ever. the bridge has an ascending bit which is super cliche but idk this is one of those songs where you want them to follow the cliche melody??? idk but it worked for me and this might be one of my faves in the album so far.

one

this song ................... wack. it starts with an almost hip hop beat and i was like ??? but then it slowly layers more vocals and instrumentals and suddenly it sound like well, a day6 song. and i cannot explain how in love i am with the chorus, it feels like the rallying cry of the broken people, and it just reaches you in a very different way from the rest of the song and is completely different. also there is someone singing a lower harmony at certain parts of the verse and it is so LOW and i cannot figure out who sings it but it almost sounds like dowoon so like DOWOON MAYBE VOCALS???? idk but yea it is one interesting harmony because usually day6 layer upwards and not downwards, but this really adds depth, like so much of it and it works for that portion. also the bridge is super cool cos it starts right after the chorus but the drums cut out but then they come back in so you focus on that and then as it's building up it abruptly just stops. and the music cuts out for a good 3 counts and you're so confused and then suddenly mini drum solo !!!!!! and it makes you anticipate and look forward to the chorus that much more because it just stops and you're left wanting so much more, especially because it echoes off at the end and DOESN'T RESOLVE NICELY. it makes you feel like the song isn't done or is too short. overall it's an incredible song and it really is just that good aaaaaa

so let's love

woah. literally this song is so......idk anymore. it starts off super acoustic and just very mellow but it just suddenly cuts to what you think is the chorus but nO it's actually the pre-chorus so it feels like you false started and it's so mind boggling and suddenly instrument breaks everywhere and no proper second verse, we immediately get a pre-chorus and second chorus and then drum and electric guitar break ????? and then bridge which is CRAZY because we go from falsetto airy stuff to BELTING and suddenly it goes quiet and then INTENSIFIES WITH 2 LAYERS OF SINGING before quieting down and ending. and it really is such a fitting ending to the album because it encompasses the absolute chaos because there isn't a regular proper structure and yet it's beautiful and melodic and sings about soft things and it feels like a warm hug. basically 'chaos swallowed up in love' put into music. and it's so fitting and just works because this is just a day6 sound that is so. them. and it's what this album is all about, the strangeness of it all with something familiar, which is probably what makes it such a welcome listen.

edit

figured out why this song hits different: it’s desperate and sad as fk. hits you straight in the feels because it’s as if they’re yearning for something but it’s so out of reach that they just. stop. idk it really is just heart wrenching in every single way. someone compared it to ‘i need somebody’ but idk i feel like it’s same but different.

overall, day6 never disappoints and it's once again an epic album from them. this is my first ot5 comeback as a myday so this album is super special to me and to have such a beautiful tracklist is amazing. it's incredible what day6 do every single time, they are insanely good at what they do and i'm so glad that i have their music.

#the only disappointing thing is no dowoon vocals but it's okay we'll live #also yes i am reacting to music again!!#─ music #day6 #a: the book of us: negentropy - chaos swallowed up in love

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