#was clever enough to figure out the right verses and versatile enough to go for the guns when that failed

[everyryuujisuguro]

[thebluestbluewords]

fitting rooms have locks for a reason

Malvie + Ben, a little spicy, technically part of my queer parenting/babyfic/polyamory 'verse. Not explicitly stated, but it's got some pretty heavy d/s themes. ~1600 words.

*

“I don’t think this is ever going to be a good look on me.” Mal says doubtfully, fisting the extra fabric of her skirt up as she steps onto Evie’s fitting dais. “I might just be too short for this to ever look good.”

Evie does not roll her eyes, because she is a good girlfriend who is working with her girlfriend’s changing ideas about her body, rather than against them. “It doesn’t look good now, obviously. You have to shut up and let me finish pinning it first.”

Mal drops the skirt. “Fine.”

Finally, “Thank you.” Evie says graciously, and gestures for their boy to come forward. “Servant boy, more pins!”

Ben ducks his head. Evie’s got him on his knees today, his feet looped together with one of her scarves so he can’t move easily even if she wanted him to stand. He gets quiet sometimes, when they boss him around like this, but they’ve talked about it at length and he insists that it’s better when they let him get to that point.

He’s not that far down yet today. “Your highness,” he says, holding out the magnetic dish with the wickedly sharp straight pins that Evie uses for fittings. She could tie his hands too, but half the fun is pulling him around into odd positions and seeing how long he’ll be able to hold it before she either has to move or scold him.

It’s a good day, so Evie’s going to give him a fighting chance this time. “Stay right there for a sec, babe. Don’t move a muscle,” she says, pulling his arms, and the dish sitting in his hands, up so that she can reach easily. It means that his arms are stuck awkwardly just above his head, but his shoulders are already relaxing into the pose. “Thank you.” she adds, on second thought. A little praise never hurt anyone.

“Evie--” Mal tries, as Evie gathers the fabric she’s been holding up out of her hands. It’s a few simple tucks that honestly, Evie doesn’t even need her to model for. She’s been designing for Mal practically as long as she’s been designing for anyone other than herself, and between clothing and their other activities, she knows the shape of her girlfriend’s body better than her own.

“Shh.” Evie says, and brandishes a pin. “I’m almost done, just hold on.”

Mal shuts up.

It really only takes another second, and then there’s just the hem to get up, and their boy to shove around again, until he’s moving a little looser and easier, just like Mal does when Evie finally finds the dresses that make her feel like the best version of herself, and that’s it.

Evie drops the hem to Mal’s legs, and the spare pins back to the bowl. “Do you want to try walking in that, Mally?”

Mal steps down from the little fitting dais that Evie’s got set up, and does a little runway walk over to the mirror propped against the far wall of the studio. “It’s not bad.” she admits, swishing the flowy skirt around her legs. “I like the pleats.”

Evie tries not to talk up her own accomplishments more than absolutely necessary, but Mal does look a full treat. “Told you,” she says, because well, she did. “Lift your arms, how’s that?”

Mal raises her arms above her head obediently, and gives a little wave. “Good.��� she says, and shakes her shoulders out, like she’s dancing. The dress shifts with her, fabric floating along the elegant lines of her body. “I like it.”

“Excellent. Let me see you now, give me a twirl.” Evie says, gesturing. Her own dress is a simple one, form-fitting black with a sheer blue jacket that leaves her arms free for pinning and fitting her designs. It’s one of her new favorites, now that she’s been doing a lot more of the actual work end of her business lately, and a bit less of the studying end. She’s still got her team, of course, and two years of business management classes have taught her how to manage all the loose ends of the little world she’s made for herself, but it’s still nice to have a reliable outfit stable for getting shit done in.

Mal twirls. The hem lasts for two rotations, and then Mal, being herself, even though they’re old enough to know better, gets too excited and spins fast enough to make her hair fly up. The hem, predictably, falls out.

Mal looks guiltily up at Evie. “Oops.” she says, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “You might need to re-pin that one.”

Of course Mal wants to make them go through the process again. Evie should serve her right and make her hold her own pins this time, just to give their boy a break.

“That’s fine, I’ll get it set back up where you need it.” Evie says instead, kneeling down to gather the loose edge back up again. It’s not so bad really, just the front piece that’s come undone from her loose attempt at figuring out how high Mal will want her hem. “I’m gonna leave a pretty generous hem this time, just in case we need to take it out more later.”

“In case what, I need to run away again and we don’t do this for another month?” Mal says bitterly. “That’s clever of you. Knowing when I’m going to have another breakdown.”

“Or if you want to wear the dress again, M.” Evie says gently, repinning the soft fabric. “That’s also a thing you can do.”

“People will talk.”

“And what, are you going to listen?” Evie asks, glancing up at Mal from where she’s almost finished getting the skirt up again. “Don’t take criticism from people you wouldn’t go to for advice, babe. I don’t care what the gossip rags say about your outfits, and neither should you. I can make you something blingy to wear over it, if you need to change it up that badly.”

“No!” Mal exclams, smoothing a hand over the top of the dress, where it drapes over the faintly rounded curve of her belly. “I like how it is. Don’t change a thing.”

“Don’t complain if you don’t want to hear my solutions!” Evie says, gesturing with an empty hand. “You’re all pinned up again, if you want to get out of this and let my pin boy do his work with you.”

Mal does crack a smile at that. “Ooh, and what kind of work could that be, I wonder?” she asks, eyes sparkling. “I’ve heard good things about his handicrafts, but if you’re still going to use him for any other projects I’m sure I could find other ways to work with him.”

Evie glances over, just to make sure they’re all good.

Ben meets her eyes. He’s looking a little bit dreamy, but not like he’s in the stratosphere just yet. They’re fine. “I do have a few more designs that could use work,” Evie admits. “And it is easier to get those woven patterns you like nailed down if I’ve got a second pair of hands at my disposal.”

Mal smooths her skirt again. “I think it would be nice,” she says, looking at the both of them, watching them watch each other, “If we could. Uh. Test out the versatility of this dress.”

“See how it’s going to hold up for some extracurriculars?” Evie offers, sweetly. “Test the range of movement you’ve got in the legs?”

Mal’s a blusher, which is unfortunate for her and very fortunate for her partners. “Maybe I want to make sure it’s going to fit a little something else under the skirt?” she says, going for lofty and disinterested, and ending up somewhere around nervous-pleased and eager. “It’s important that it can accomodate, uh, my changing body?”

Good lord, if this is what Evie’s going to be dealing with in miniature she’s never going to make it through their kid’s youth. “You can do all the testing you need, so long as you don’t break anything and you have him back in one piece for the next time I need a helper, m’kay?” she says, and gives Ben a little nod.

He takes the cue, which is good, because it means he’s still in the game. It’s easy enough for Evie to guide the two of them, both of her beautiful idiots, over to the gold fainting couch she’s got in the corner for exactly this purpose. It’s not exactly set up for three, but it’s a simple enough switch for Evie to slip herself down beside Mal, half behind her, so that she can get her mouth on that soft spot behind her ear where she likes to be kissed. It takes a second longer for their boy to finish settling into his own position, but that’s to be expected when she’s got him helping like this. It wouldn’t do to have the help in place before they want him there. This is for Mal, after all.

Speaking of. With all the work that Evie’s just been putting in on the skirt, it wouldn’t do to have Mal messing that up either. Evie reaches down and flips it up, leaving Mal’s pale thighs exposed to the light.

Ah, and their boy is in place now. Good.

Evie trails soft fingertips down Mal’s side, until she’s got her nails, matte red and dark like old blood today, on the pale edge of her skin where it meets the dark fabric of her undergarments.

Ben is keeping his hands to himself, because he’s a good boy who knows what they need from him. He leans his head against Mal’s inner leg instead, nudging his mouth up against the opposite side as Evie’s fingertips.

“Mally,” Evie asks sweetly, directly into her girlfriend’s ear. “Do you want more from us?”

Mal shivers in response, which could be good or bad, and then pushes up into the touch. “Yes,” she breathes, and turns her head to press her next words up against Evie’s lips. “Please, Eves. Need you both.”

[abluescarfonwaston]

Shapeshifter Au 6

Heads up at the top this one is our “Last Wish Special”. It’s extra long and what should be no surprise to anyone- Jaskier does not have a good time! Please take care of yourselves as we move into plot territory.

Part 1   Part 5 Inspired by @spielzeugkaiser art here And Also now on Ao3 cause that’s probably easier for everyone.

Sometimes, when Geralt got hurt, he’d use his shapes against him.

Help was the word he’d use. To help him. But if Geralt preferred to think of him using his shapes against him then so be it.

“Get off me Jaskier.”

He looked down his snout at Geralt and grumbled his reply before returning to his composing. They would at very least wait until the bleeding stopped to ride back. Since Geralt insisted the injuries were not so grievous as to require proper attention.

He might very well have been right about that. Which meant they could afford to wait for it to stop before returning for the reward.

If Geralt wanted to treat his wounds then he’d let him. But he wasn’t going to let him ride off and make everything worse because he was a stubborn ass. That was Jaskier’s job. Being a stubborn ass. Not that he made a habit of being farm animals. The risk it would sour him to the taste of their meat was far too great. He refused to be vegetarian. Grass just did not taste very good. No matter what Roach claimed.

“Jaskier get off me or I will throw you off.”

He shifted more of his near 400 pound weight onto Geralt’s torso to demonstrate exactly what he thought about that.

“I can.” He growled.

He puffed up his fur telling him exactly what would happen if he tried.

He had bigger forms yet. If that’s how he wanted to play- well. He wouldn’t bet on Geralt winning. Witcher enhancements be damned.

Geralt, seemingly having realized this, ceased his struggling and ventured a new tactic.

Insulting him.

Which got him grumbling and growling at Geralt. But didn’t get him off him. Geralt knew well enough what he was saying. He didn’t need to transform to express his displeasure.

Geralt, a versatile and clever man, switch tactics yet again.

Reciting history facts but slightly wrong- the year was 1123 and he was a duke not a prince Geralt- asking questions about agriculture – cereal crops deplete the soil of nitrogen. Legumes fix this. A fallow field is left for weeds and grazing. The three fields are rotated. Together this system allows farmers to plant more crops and increase production. – and finally just asking him to play for him.

He, personally, admitted that his bear vocals left something to be desired but he didn’t let that stop him from belting out a few heavily modified versions of his favorite tunes.

Geralt covered his ears and glared at him.

It was only after three verses of Fishmonger’s daughter that he finally popped down into his human shape to do the finale justice.

Geralt shoved him off breaking his sustained note.

“Rude.” He squawked from the dirt as Geralt stood.

“I stopped bleeding three songs ago!” He growled at him.

“I’m well aware.” He grinned. “But I do so enjoy a captive audience.”

Geralt threw the bedroll at his head. Which did hit him. But he managed to catch it on the rebound, which counted as a win in his books.

“I don’t need you mothering me bard.”

“Is that what you think this is? I’m trying to keep Nenneke from murdering me next time you need her services. The woman terrifies me Geralt.”

She did. A little. Not in the way he suspected she expected to be feared though.

It was because her eyes always held too many questions about why he’d arrived before Geralt, knowing exactly the condition of the man’s wounds, even though he lacked a horse while Geralt road in on Roach.

He’d fly ahead, unhampered by the twisting of the roads, and set them to prepare for Geralt’s arrival. Or, when the situation was far graver, have them send a cart to meet him. Transforming on the road just outside of the temples view.

His skin itched when she stared at him too long. Like she almost knew what he was and if she watched him closely enough she might figure it out.

Luckily, “I mean the woman already hates me Geralt.” She was easy to annoy into not looking closely. “No need to worsen her to me by damaging the one reason she even tolerates my presence at the temple.”

If all she wanted to see was an airheaded flop of a bard that was all he would show her. Staying within the confines of expectations worked well enough to keep people from digging.

“She does hate you.” Geralt agreed with a smirk. Pleased he’d befriended someone Jaskier had not.

“Naaaah deep down she likes me.”

Geralt bobbed his head, half conceding the point.

People were complicated like that. She hated Most of him. But she liked that he cared about Geralt. Even if she didn’t always agree with how he cared about Geralt.

With how they cared for each other.

So maybe he shouldn’t have poked the insomniatic bear that was Geralt as he dredged up the lake at Rinde. But he was a bear often enough and he didn’t mind being poked. Sometimes Geralt needed to buck up and face his problems head on!

Then his throat started closing.

Which was scary. Sure. But there were plenty of forms that didn’t need his throat to breath. He’d play catfish or pike or bream or – he was just listing fish again- something while Geralt sorted out the curse the djinn smacked him with.

Except.

Except none of them would come.

He tried to shift bigger and his skin pulled too tight like it was yanking away from the muscle and he tried to shift down and his organs compressed in his chest. And he was left folded over in pain from his throat and his lungs and from being trapped.

Trapped in one form. Perhaps forever.

“Can you shift?” Geralt asked him, looking between him and Roach. Debating.

He managed a ragged sob that Geralt translated as the ‘no’ it was.

There was the bumpy ride on Roach- poor girl they weighed far too much together- and the elf with the painkillers – which helped a little. But the world continued its painful descent into darkness.

Geralt was scruffing him by the doublet. Dragging his limp form. Somewhere. He liked being scruffed. It reminded him of the old mouser in the kitchen who’d claimed him as kin when he was barely a boy. Whenever he got in trouble, or was lonely, or scared he’d just run to the old tom and pop down into a kitten. Instantly be scruffed and pulled under the cabinet for a bath and cuddle.

Scruffing meant that soon everything would be okay. He was in pain and terrified but soon. Soon everything would be alright.

 Everything was not alright.

There was a very scary woman with an amphora on her belly and-

And she was a mage.

A powerful mage.

Something in him was singing. Singing at her notice. Her attention.

He didn’t much like that part of him.

His knees near buckled under him as she gripped his nethers and pressed a knife to his throat.

“If you want to keep all you have familiar,” She squeezed him tighter. The singing and terror crescendo-ing in his ears. What do you want me to be? It sung, heart racing in his chest. “Make a damn wish.”

He reached. Reached for. Something. Some shape that would get her away. Small or big or cute or monsterous or something.

Her magic threw him to the floor and it crackled over his skin- she wants you to be human so that is what you shall be – lighting up every nerve with delicious power – do as she says. So that the powerful one might keep you – and burning the tapestry of thread he didn’t know was woven underneath his skin.

“Make your damn wish! Do it now!”

This one is better. Powerful. Be what she wants. “I don’t- I don’t know!” Lightning ran through his veins and fire blazed through his chest and- and- Be her’s. Wish to be hers. Exalted one.

He didn’t want that.

“I wish very much to leave this place forever!”

She turned from him, the burning fading. The singing loud in his ears. Scolding, screaming, begging him to go back to her as he scrambled from the building.

And Geralt was there.

Geralt was alive.

Geralt left him to that witch.

“Jaskier. You’re okay.”

“I’m glad to hear that you give a monkey’s about it.” He fumed.

The singing was quieter now. The smoldering in his chest easing next to Geralt-

Geralt was going back inside.

The building collapsing.

“She could not have survived it.” The elf from earlier- Chireadan- said.

There was coldness in the shape of the lightning flowing through his veins. Ashes in the stitching of his soul where Geralt once resided.

“Why did Geralt go in there? It doesn’t make any sense. What, to save a mad fucking witch?”

“Because she was magnificent.”

She was. The song wept.

His knees hit the ground, the pain of the gravel collision distant, over the shapeless void that pulled him to nothing.

“What am I supposed to do now, hm?” What would be left when this form collapsed into the emptiness in his chest? “It wasn’t supposed to go this way.”

You should have died with him.

No.

“I’m gonna write you. The best song. So that everyone remembers who you were, what we did, everything we saw.” There was a lifetime there. In the spaces they shared. Not a human lifespan perhaps. But it wasn’t like he was human anyway. “And I will sing it. For the rest of my days.”

“He always said I had the most wonderful singing voice.”

A joke. Between him and a dead man.

If he wanted to correct him he should have stayed alive.

Chireadan knelt before him, laying a hand on his shoulder. A tiny beat of comfort in a symphony of pain.

“They’re alive.”

They were very alive.

He ran his fingers down Roach’s neck, unsure how he was supposed to feel.

Relief that Geralt was alive? Jealously that he’d gone to Yennefer? Jealously she choose him over you?

Anger?

Joy?

Hollow. He felt hollow.

Roach nudged him.

He was nearly draped over her.

He wanted that old tom cat to scruff him and pull him under the cabinet. To lick and squish and purr him back to whole.

What would he be if he shifted now?

Nothing. It called to him that nothing.

Nothing wasn’t a shape. Nothing wasn’t Jaskier. Jaskier wasn’t nothing.

Still it called to him.

Roach lipped at a saddlebag. The one he’d nested in as his wing healed.

He shoved his bloody shirt in as a makeshift nest and fluttered in.

If Geralt wanted his peace he could dump him on the side of the road.

Until then. He breathed in the way the leather bag blended Roach and Geralt into itself and fell asleep.

 He drifted back to the shores of sleep welcomed by the gentlest smoothing of his feathers.

He readjusted, further nesting into the callouses of Geralt’s hand.

“I thought.” The pain in Geralt’s hesitating voice forced his eyes open. “That the djinn took your voice and your shifting from you.”

Geralt was laying down on their bedroll watching him with those big sad eyes. Which hurt.

But not as much as the fact Geralt had stopped petting him. He shifted into Geralt’s petting hand demanding he get back to work with a sharp chirp.

Geralt resumed his gentle stroking, lips twitching slightly upward. “So bossy.” He complained.

They laid there as the sun went down; quiet and exhausted.

“We used to do this a lot. When your wing was broken. It was nice.”

He softly trilled an agreement.

“I could smell you on Roach when I got back you know? I thought you had left. I understand if you’d left. After what I did.”

He blinked tiredly at Geralt before standing to shift up. He didn’t want to have this conversation now but if Geralt did then. Well then they’d have it now.

“Don’t.” Geralt’s hands shifted slightly, like they were caging him in. They weren’t. He knew he could get out. Knew that if he wanted to leave Geralt would let him.

He settled back into Geralt’s fingers, more than happy not to.

“Tonight. Can we be that again? Just for tonight.”

Be simple. Be easy.

Nenneke always scolded Geralt for thinking he could deny destiny. Because she cared about him and knew destiny would have her way, willingly or not. It would he agreed. Geralt couldn’t run away from her forever.

But he did help him run away from it. Sometimes. Like tonight?

Tonight destiny could go fuck itself.

Tonight they were just a bird and a man sharing each other’s company.

Tonight they were easy.

[retvenkos]

ahhhh congrats on 2.5k! i am in fact using this as an excuse to put sommat in ur ask box (bc i certainly haven’t always wanted to but been too scared nO) 🔥- mayhaps.... a ship for Harry Potter, a series of unfortunate events and the marauders era (also Harry Potter lol). idm what gender the person is btw. I love to read, write about anything that comes to mind, write poetry, I love musical theatre, and my fav genre of music is songs that make you want to throw urself into a bog in the best kinda way. im smart, quite anxious, low-key a train wreck, I’m so sarcastic it’s bad, m pretty well-liked and kind sometimes. and i don’t like when ppl cross boundaries that have been clearly set out, or those foam banana sweets. other stuff is that I’m a Ravenclaw, intj, secretly a 7 year old. thank you!!! and well done again on 2.5k! (that’s a crazy number homie. not surprised they follow u but it’s a lot 😳)

I don’t write for “A Series of Unfortunate Events” so I can’t do a ship for that show, sorry!

HP Golden Trio:

I ship you with Ginny Weasley!

okay, quick side note but you would be best friends with michael corner, you cannot convince me otherwise. in my mind, michael corner is the most sarcastic ravenclaw and generally a disaster, and the two of you together would be peak friendship.

first of all, you’re both hella intelligent, even if it’s not the first thing people recognize, and you both have strong wills - you are a power couple if i’ve ever seen one.

i 100% believe that ginny is shocked by your sarcasm at first. you’re introverted and a little shy when you first meet people, so she wasn’t expecting you to come out with the big guns, but when you do she loves it. the two of you can rip apart anyone you come up against.

but, what’s also good about you guys is that you are also kind and pretty charismatic, when you want to be. you both are softer underneath your intense independence, and so in the vulnerable moments, the two of you can lean on each other for help.

ginny is a music lover, but i don’t imagine she’s too into musicals, so the two of you definitely do some music hunting together, finding songs that both of you adore. due to your natural curiosity, you’re open to new music, which is good because ginny has some that are very near and dear to her, and she can be just a little stubborn when it comes to her tried and trues.

we all know that ginny is the biggest extrovert we’ve ever met, and you’re more of an introvert, which is going to be interesting, to say the least. the redeeming quality here, though, is that you are fairly versatile and so is ginny, so both of you are willing to try out what the other loves.

i imagine that you were friends for a long while before you got together - and that happened kind of naturally, with ginny telling you, once she realized it - so you’ve definitely figured out activities that the two of you do well together.

but, both of you value your independence and are totally fine for the other to do something without you - as long as they bring you food after, or at the very least, a good story.

i think that ginny loves your way with words - your writing and poetry is something she finds very sweet and interesting. she’s never been one to pour her heart on on a page, and to see you do that is something really special.

(don’t @ me, ginny send harry that poem when she was in her first year and then never did so again. she probably got a really bad taste in her mouth for writing down the her feelings - the diary, anyone?)

at least once, you have convinced ginny to try and write poetry, but she insists that it comes out all wrong - she’d much rather use something like songs - ideas already written down - to profess her love for you.

there’s a lot of dancing in the living room in your relationship, the music on full blast.

HP Marauder Era:

I ship you with Remus Lupin!

i kind of went in the opposite direction, but stick with me.

alright, so we all know that remus is an awkward mess when he’s first meeting people, but then he has the (quiet) confidence to rival his fellow marauders once he’s warmed up to you. i imagine you are much the same way, so i’m going to say that the two of you end up meeting because you have a class together and end up being partners after the marauders get split up. maybe charms? either way, the two of you meet and over the course of the week that you work together, you become comfortable and get to know each other alright.

but then, because i am a cruel writer, you don’t properly talk again until you are in the same apparition class. the two of you definitely see each other in the halls or you pass in the library and you’re kind to one another, but you don’t have drawn out conversations until you are learning to apparate, and you are terrified that you are going to get splinched.

(which is a valid fear, tbh, remember how susan bones legit lost a leg? and poor ron?)

remus is, again, assigned to be your partner (no doubt mcgonagall told the instructor to split up the marauders) and having been well versed in coping with paralyzing fear, he help you calm down and over the course of the class, gets you to apparate multiple times (enough to get your license) without having a single accident.

it’s also during this time that the two of you start hanging out more. a couple times the two of you skip lunch (which is right after your class) and head to the library or courtyard to work on homework or studying. you’re very clever and very creative in the way that you study, so you are a big help to remus, who is perpetually behind in school work.

and on your little study dates (which are not dates, it’s not like remus has had a crush on you for years or anything) you both realize that together your sarcasm is unparalleled. it’s enough to shock lily evans, who is known for her sharp tongue.

and you realize you really like this side of remus - you love all of his soft kindness, of course, but this? this is legendary. remus doesn’t hold back��and his comments never fail to make you scoff and laugh in disbelief. he can be so savage in his remarks - it now makes sense why he is friends with the marauders.

eventually, you hear the marauders teasing him mercilessly about his crush on you - “ever since you were charms partners in 3rd year, moony!” - and he doesn’t even deny it.

and so you bring it up in some roundabout way the next time you’re walking to the quidditch pitch (you often keep him company when he has to support james’ matches) and remus stumbles over his confession, but you kiss him right as the game starts (and james is too busy rooting for remus that he gets hit with a bludger)

i can 100% see you and remus hanging out in the ravenclaw tower (it’s one of the few places he can go to escape his friends), reading or working on homework while listening to music. 

he especially loves musicals, and the two of you debate over what song in the show is the best, and whether contemporary musicals are better than golden age musicals. a lot of the time he’ll play devil’s advocate just because he loves the fervor with which you defend your opinions. 

[vloggerliam]

The (looong) break down of Get Low by Zedd & Liam

(that nobody asked for) Now, there have been talks pertaining to the prominence of a more sexual approach to Liam’s lyrics. People are entitled to feeling uncomfortable to sexual songs in general, there’s obviously no dismissing that, but what’s particularly *fascinating* is to see how this fandom has taken to a close minded 1930s taboo-ish mentality even as they organise whole fan projects for a sexual song, aka, No Control (discounting the unabashed erasure in songwriting, since I’m feeling generous), never mind how about 98.9739% of the fandom indulges in kinky sexual fanfiction, aha.  The premise of the song is sexual but what’s particularly amusing is how this very fandom -- one that specialises in dissecting every syllable of a song -- put their feet up as soon as they sensed the sexual lyrics by someone aside from their fave. As with any other song or any form of art for that matter, each piece of work is open to interpretation. “Get Low” to me is much more than what it offers at face value. The lyrics aren’t abstract, yet they’ve got a poetic fluidity to them. Zedd is credited as one of the writers and I’m impressed, quite honestly. Because, the thing is, it’s not meant to be a song to evoke any deep emotions, like say, patriotism. It’s a dance number and it’s purpose is to make you want to dance and enjoy the song, and Get Low delivers. Yet, the lyrics aren’t just a few random lines strung together. There’s a narration that’s been followed throughout.  Personally, I interpret it as this guy -- the protagonist -- trying to reassure his partner to go all the way. Often in romantic relationships, sex is meant to be that pivotal, big step. Going by what the song offers, the partner, has had past romantic relationships that may have left them unsatisfied, and the protagonist is essentially reassuring them that’s it’s okay, that regardless of what happened in the past, they can trust them to /let go/, which is interestingly a phonetic word play of “Get Low” (this is totally me adding my two cents here, no projection on Zedd or the writers).   Before I get into the details, the way Zedd has handled the production and brought out the veritable versatility of Liam’s vocals is simply exceptional and Liam’s expansive inflections and modulation is what really elicited this out of my head.

// Chained to a love, that don’t mean much Sensitive tough, you don’t get enough //  -- possible nod to the previous (unhappy?) relationships  // Don’t care to get too loud, Sexy I want you now Bet I could take you there, whispering in your ear What do you wanna feel? Let’s just enjoy the thrill I’ll take over the wheel, Give you the touch you’re missing //  -- there’s no ignoring the sultry tone on here at all, but there’s also a tone of reassurance injected into these words, and I personally feel that Liam’s intonation has justified that tone so much. Reassurance but also alternatively trying to assuage the insecurity that the partner may have harboured from their previous relationships, etc. They’re clearly holding back and the protagonist is asking them not to. // As beautiful as you are, I wanna light all your dark //  -- perhaps one of my favourite lyrics in the song. There’s this thing about healthy relationships where when one of them tries to convince their partner to take that leap of faith, despite the insecurities clouding them, despite previous experiences haunting them or making them cautious. This line is so tender, somehow, and it contrasts the following set so coyly // Maybe you don’t believe in me, it’s hard to no what you see in me //  -- so the first few times I listened to the song, I only registered the latter bit and all I could think of was “aww no” but on listening to the combination of the lines, I’ve been interpreting it as the protagonist realising that their partner doesn’t actually “believe” in them, or that’s what they think at least. “It’s hard to know what you see in me” gives the impression of the protagonist’s own insecurity but it makes more sense as a follow up of the previous line, in that they feel like the lack of trust/faith by their partner leaves nothing to the relationship, anyhow. If you don’t trust me then what even are we doing? Thereby prioritising faith in this relationship. // Don’t be quick to say no, my chest is your pillow Come out of the shadows,  I know that you’re fragile Yeah //  -- the contrast I was talking about. The first line has a very sultry tone that soon flips back to being soft and tender by the end of the worse. Again, Liam’s voice does that trick and again, the protagonist is reaffirming by letting his partner know that they are fully aware of the other’s reservations but are still here for them, etc. and are asking them to take a chance. It’s interesting to note that this should sound pushy, and yet, the earlier “As beautiful as you are...” couplet along with the pre chorus that succeeds this verse (”Don’t care to get too loud...”) again make it sound reassuring. It’s very deftly handled.  //  I’m right here you know When your waves explode Escape the undertow know you’ve been broken know that you been hoping swimming in your ocean A new life is floating The stars were made to shine Reach up and make a wish It’s a beautiful time I hope you take a glimpse We’re the sound of lovers blowing crazy in the wind You don’t have to pretend I don’t care where you’ve been //  --  The premise is sexual, yet the whole aura is optimistically reassuring. See how the protagonist urges the partner to escape the undertow and admit that they’ve been “broken” despite “hoping”, urges them to make a wish, and all this merges with the reaffirmation of how they don’t care where they’ve been and how they are “right here you know”. The “You don’t have to pretend” is possibly alluding to how they were left unsatisfied in the past, and how they don’t have to pretend to be 100% okay when they are not.  To note, undertow is a clever use of word. It figuratively and literally lends to the song and that’s amazingly conceived of. Also to note, women failing to achieve a satisfying sexual experience is a regular occurrence so before people come after me, I’d like to say, it’s not that big of a stretch. Hmm. By and by, can we also appreciate the imagery throughout the bridge, it’s pretty remarkable and overlays this interpretation so so well. That beutifully rad falsetto that Liam hits adds more character to the song as well. Art. All in all for a sex song that everyone is quick to diss, I think here’s a pretty chill way of viewing it as well. There is insecurity and inhibitions which renders the partner to hold back and there’s a seductively reassuring partner, sounds pretty ace if we’re being real. And before people come at me saying “it’s not that deep”, I mean, yeah, I guess, but also, I didn’t have to force myself to extract a meaning out, this just naturally hit me and here we are. Any day better than unabashedly erasing songwriting contribution, isn’t it? (Oh what do you know, I’m not that generous after all.) Lastly, Liam enunciating “thrill, wheel and Get Low” uniquely just, aaaaah 

[thisaintascenereviews]

Book Review by Bradley Christensen Travis M. Riddle – Wondrous Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Release Date: January 10 2017

I can already hear some of you now, and the review hasn’t even started yet – “This isn’t an album, Bradley. Why are you reviewing a book?” I’ll be honest, folks, I don’t review books, movies, and TV shows for a handful of reasons. The biggest reason is that I’m not well-versed enough in literature, film, and television to really talk about it, at least in great detail, anyway. When something so wonderful, amazing, and captivating comes along, however, I just have to talk about it. Whether that’s a movie, TV show, or book, I can’t keep my thoughts inside. This one might be a bit tricky, too, but let me explain why. The author of this book, Mr. Travis M. Riddle, is a friend of mine. He has been for a long time now, too. I remember when he and his band DWHB, a hip-hop group from Texas, reached out to me back in 2011. They wanted me to cover their debut LP, True Facts, because they saw my reviews on AbsolutePunk. Hell, they’re one of the reasons that I got into hip-hop, because I listened to that album, ultimately being surprised at how clever, funny, and awesome it was. I’m getting off track, though, but my point is that I wouldn’t want to praise this book solely because he’s my friend. It would be unethical and misleading if I didn’t disclose that, but I promise that I’m not just saying how great it is, just because he wrote it. Either way,  when Riddle told me about his debut novel, entitled Wondrous, being released a few months back, I had to check it out. The question was, well, when. I had a lot on my plate, at least in terms of entertainment, so I wouldn’t want to pick it up, only for the book to sit on my shelf, as plenty of other books have over the last year (I’m going to get to those, though, starting with a Walking Dead book that my girlfriend got me for Christmas). If I was going to pick it up, I wanted to make sure I read it front to back.

This book is incredibly fresh in my mind, because I got it in the mail a day before writing this review (it took about a week to ship out, for some weird reason), and I finished Wondrous within a few hours that same night. Would you like to know why that is? Well, I’ll be blunt, folks, this book is great. Part of why I don’t review books, movies, or TV shows (at least not all the time, anyway) is that there are a lot more elements to consider, and it’s not as simple as merely listening to something, but this book needs to get talked about, regardless. In order to talk about it, however, I need to explain briefly about what the book is about. I won’t include any spoilers, though, because it’s worth checking out for yourself. Wondrous is centered around a nine-year-old boy named Miles that mysteriously winds up in a magical world. From there, he meets plenty of colorful characters, creatures, and monsters, such as Moritimer the Rompun, Jericho the Sykr, and Kricket the Omne. An evil monster, called the Veratt, has been summoned from another dimension, and the only one that can stop it is Miles, because he’s the only human in all of the land. Miles soon figures out that he has magical powers, but they come with a cost at digging up very painful, upsetting, and horrid memories. On the surface, the book seems like a lot of things that you’ve read or seen before, such as Stranger Things, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and even Star Wars to some extent (the characters never outright say it, but Miles is basically the Chosen One of the book), but it’s the way that certain elements are brought together, and certain elements with the story are told, that make for a very interesting, emotional, and powerful story. I don’t usually finish books in a single night, but Wondrous was just that – a wondrous tale that kept me wanting more. The more that I read through the book, the more that I had to read through it, whether it was for the great cast of characters, the places and environments, the overall themes and ideas that are within the subtext, as well as the action, adventure, and sorcery in the book.

I won’t go into too much detail here, like I said, but there are a lot of elements that kept me wanting more. For starters, I love the characters. Miles is only a little kid, but not only is he written like a real kid, he’s a kid that we enjoy reading about. He’s naïve, sure, but he’s also clever, smart, and curious. He makes mistakes, but he learns from them as he goes on through the story. He goes through a wonderful character arc throughout the story, which has a lot to do with the overall themes of the novel. We learn more about Miles through flashbacks, and the way these flashbacks are done is very clever. Miles will be speaking to a character, or even thinking about something that’s happening in the magical world, and the dialogue will seamlessly flow into a memory that Miles is thinking of during that moment. Without spoiling the story, or even going too much into it, if you’re a child of divorce and/or you were very young when loved ones passed away, whether it was relatives or not, you’re going on a “feels trip.” Hell, I can’t quite relate to those things, but even I was finding myself getting quite emotional over certain moments during the story. The other characters are great, too, but there are not a lot of main characters. Some characters leave for awhile, and other ones don’t really make too much of an impression, but the cast of characters that we have are great. Miles is the main one, though, and similar to many stories like this, Miles serves as the reader’s guide through this world, because we’re seeing and learning things at the same rate as he is. One thing that caught me off guard was how quick the story picked up, because I thought there was going to be some kind of backstory with Miles, but no, there’s not. I appreciated that, honestly, because Riddles wastes no time sucking the audience into the story. Instead of wasting time on some boring, long-winded backstory, we learn about Miles while he’s in the magical world.

Speaking of this magical world, as well as the overall action and adventure in the story, it was very, very interesting. There are a lot of fantasy novels, movies, and TV shows out there, so they all need to do something interesting and memorable, but this one does. The characters feel tangible, but so does this world. Riddle does a great job describing the scene, as I can see myself in this world, imaging everything that he’s talking about. I love when books can do that. I feel as though I’m there. That helps with the action scenes, because I feel as though I’m right there in the middle of it. I can picture everything that’s happening, and believe you me, there are some scenes that had me at the edge of my bed, because I was starting to get frightened for what happened to the characters I’ve begun getting attached to. Even the bad guys, despite being on the wrong side of a feud (that started because of the king and queen getting into a dispute) are characters we grow to like. There was one in particular that actually ends up being a big help at the end, and I was very surprised, because the character seemed very disposable. These characters are three-dimensional, and we learn more about them as the story progresses. It’s all of the elements, especially within the story itself, that make the themes of the story a lot more heavy-hitting. You’d think this is a kid’s book, just from the title, as well as the overall synopsis, but I was very surprised at how adult, complex, and interesting its themes were, all the while coming from the perspective of a kid. It’s about a child trying to come to grips with the bad things that happen in life, especially when it comes to the death of a loved one or being a child in the middle of your parents’ divorce. These are subjects for a kid, and even for an adult, but it’s tackled very well.

It’s funny, because Riddle’s lyrics in DWHB (which is very, very explicit, mind you, especially compared to this book, which is very kid-friendly; I really appreciate that, actually, because it’s good to see something that’s not vulgar for the sake of it) are very funny, silly, and clever, but they never got deep, introspective, and heavy-handed. That’s exactly how this book is, and it’s actually quite impressive to see how diverse and versatile his writing abilities are. That’s not to say this book isn’t funny, because it’s full of very dry, subtle, and clever humor that isn’t necessarily laugh out loud stuff (if your taste in humor is in the vein of The Hangover trilogy, the humor in this book won’t be your speed), it’s still very funny, because it sounds realistic. I think that’s one of my favorite parts about it. It’s so realistic. Everything about this world, these characters, and the whole story just feels real. Like I said, I feel as though I’m right there when this is all happening. I do have a couple of small issues with the book, but they don’t get in the way of enjoying it at all. I will admit that the end of the book was rather ambiguous. Not quite “sequel-bait,” or anything like that, but I had a few questions at the end that could be answered within a sequel. In that case, it’s not really a problem, it’s just that I didn’t quite leave the book feeling as though every question I had was answered. There are some big questions that I had at the end of the book, but I’d be fine with a sequel. I would love to explore this world again, even if it’s later on in Miles’ life. There are so many possibilities for a story like this. To sum everything up, Wondrous is great. It’s a book that left me wanting more every time I put it down, and hell, it left me wanting more when I was done, because I want to keep exploring this world. If you’re into Stranger Things, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and any other whimsical fantasy novel, book, or TV show, you’ll love this.