I have two mini-mixes for you today, born, seemingly, of an absolutely warped mental state.

They are not really companion mixes, but maybe they are. They would not appear to be very 8th of March.. but I'm feeling it. Maybe you will, too.

Soulsucker Blues is angry swearing (literally, so heads up), smirks and sneers, or that last cutting remark you regret before it's out of your mouth, it's the mean reds, and the acid greens, it's every colour of the rainbow that you ever did not want to feel like that day, it's a slamming door, and the four-letter word is life. It could also be a vampire rocker ballad, your call.

( I - Soulsucker BluesCollapse )

Know Woman No (besides being a weird bad translation pun) is a witch mix / picspam (a bit). It's a circle of hands with every nail painted and sharp, hair whipping in the wind and a loose-limbed fall, it's a smile that never breaks surface, and a bit of a fire in the stacks, and a trapped lighting.

( II - Know Woman NoCollapse )

( +15Collapse )

You're welcome to them, if you like! Comments & credit are nice.

So, because I have once again failed to congratulate the world on Elizabeth's existence in a timely manner, let me make up for that by offering music. As one does. So this is for antistar_e: happy birthday darling ♥ and the beautiful author of the story, Mary Borsellino, also sharpestrose on tumblr. The Devil's Mixtape can be found here on amazon. The art on the cover is by crowthis. QUOTES LOOK LIKE THIS. 

This is going to be a multi-category catalogue post of links to interesting or useful masterposts, writing tips, meta and other things I've tired of storing in my likes on tumblr (so, yeah, shortly speaking, tumblr aggregator). Maybe it will also be a way of being less tied down on tumblr. I'll link it in my sidebar and will probably keep adding to it -- or not; we'll see how it goes.

( NOTE TO SELFCollapse )

( REFERENCECollapse )
( FEMINISMCollapse )
( METACollapse )
( MOTIVATIONALCollapse )
( MINDLESS MISCHIEFCollapse )
( RECSCollapse )
( SOFTWARECollapse )
( TUTORIALSCollapse )

I have two words for you: КИНДРЕТ. It hit me suddenly over the last ten days or so and in the midnight space between today and yesterday it tripled in volume, but time is running out, so I'm posting as is, no proper tags or title or cover -- but then my lovely audience of three may choose their favourite illustrations to serve as covers, y/y?

( one of these?Collapse )

Now, the actual mix open-ended playlist turned out part-atmospheric/general, part-shippy, and more than a little cracky.  I did individual links, but I can upload a zip later tonight on request! And I'm not kidding about open-endedness: come, moar suggestions for things I missed, to the comments!

*drumroll*

( if you take away the humans, then the vampires, they will dieCollapse )

Yes! It is finally here! Months ago, antistar_e asked me for a Black Widow mix, and I broke my brain trying to come up with something for her that hasn't been mixed five hundred times (10,000+ songs: folk emo punk? easily! no-time-for-your-bullshit-dames? not so much). Finally, I have arrived to the conclusion (inevitable, in retrospect), that the only thing I can do for Natasha Romanova is give her a mix of Russian songs. Because everybody knows Russian women remain Russian women, and Russian women are Badass with a capital B. Thus, presenting:

No, don't run away yet, it's not scary, there's translations and everything!

Verily, there's English translations of every single lyric in every single song (one of the songs' even in English! it's a cover of a cult Russian song also included in the mix). On the other hand, I only included 'relevant' Russian lyrics, but you can find full Russian lyrics in the proper tab of iTunes song info.

I could talk the semantics of this for ages, I really could. But I'll spare you -- unless you want to, in which case, holler. Also, Russian-speakers, you'll probably find most of the songs familiar, so instead of individual links you may request songs, and I'll mail them to you.

Now, really presenting, gorgeous cover art by Jorston that really encompasses the in-between bits of Natasha and her past:






( these days are troubledCollapse )

STAR CALLED SUN
Звезда по имени Солнце | Кино

war

И две тысячи лет война,
Война без особых причин.
Война - дело молодых.
Лекарство против морщин.

Красная-красная кровь -
Через час уже просто земля,
Через два на ней цветы и трава,
Через три она снова жива.
И согрета лучами звезды
По имени Солнце.

И мы знаем, что так было всегда:
Что судьбою больше любим,
Кто живёт по законам другим
И кому умирать молодым.

*

White snow, gray ice
Over cracked earth
A city in the hoop of a road
Like a patchwork blanket

Clouds drift over it
Blocking the light of the sky
There's yellow smoke over the city
For two thousand years it lives
In the light of a star called Sun

And for two thousand years, there's war
War without any particular reason
War that is the business of the young
The medicine against wrinkles

Red, red blood
After an hour it's just earth
After two hours, there's flowers and grass on it
After three hours it's alive again
And warmed by the rays of the star called Sun

And we know it's always been thus
Fortune favours those who follow different rules
Those who are to die young

(S)He doesn't remember the word "yes" and the word "no"
(S)He doesn't remember titles or names
(S)He can reach the stars without thinking it's a dream
And fall, burned by the star called Sun



TROUBLED DAYS
Смутные дни | Пикник

deception

Какие смутные дни,
Как веет ветер тревог,
И мы танцуем одни
На пыльных лентах дорог.
Как будто клятва дана -
Ничем не дорожить,
И только в этих волнах
Кружить.

И закипает в крови
Женьшеневый сок,
И чей то пристальный взгляд
Нацелен прямо в висок.

*

These days are troubled
How the wind of unrest blows
And we're dancing alone
On dusty ribbons of roads
As if we gave an oath
Not to hold anything dear
And only spin in these waves

So let ginseng juice
Boil in my blood
Oh, let my soul be lost
Earth, fall away from my feet
Head, fly with the leaves
Out and down

These days are troubled

And the ginseng juice
Boils in my blood
And someone's pointed stare
Is aiming right at my temple
And my head flies away
With the autumn leaves

These days are troubled



BURN, MOSCOW
Гори, Москва | Мельница

motherland

Говори-гуляй, Москва, да за околицу не выходи,
Гори-пылай, Москва, высоко кружат гуси-лебеди.
Говори еще, Москва, о темном золоте семи холмов
Гори свечой, Москва, как летний дым горька твоя любовь.

На семи-то холмах гуси-лебеди,
О семи сердцах лебедь каждая,
Уж как первое сердце жемчужное,
А седьмое-то сердце железное.

*

Oh, the dark night is my mother
And the moon sliver is my dad
My little sister is the killer noon
My big sister is the lightning's evil strike

Oh, night, my night, where is your daughter?

Speak up, go out, Moscow, but don't go beyond the ring-fence
Burn up, flame up, Moscow, the geese fly high up in the sky
Tell me, Moscow, about the dark gold of your seven hills
Burn like a candle, Moscow, you love is bitter like summer smoke

On the seven hills there's magic swan geese
Seven hearts to each swan's breast
Oh, the first heart is of pearl
But the seventh's heart is iron

Oh, night, my night, who is your daughter?

Speak up, go out, Moscow, but don't go beyond the ring-fence
Burn up, flame up, Moscow, the geese fly high up in the sky
Tell me, Moscow, about the dark gold of your seven hills
Burn like a candle, Moscow, you love is bitter like summer smoke

In my city bells chime --
Three-handed, six-winged,
Seven-arrowed, unquenchable,
My fire swans!

Oh, night, my night, I am your daughter

Speak up, go out, Moscow, but don't go beyond the ring-fence
Burn up, flame up, Moscow, the geese fly high up in the sky
Tell me, Moscow, about the dark gold of your seven hills
Burn like a candle, Moscow, you love is bitter like summer smoke



PEOPLE
Люди | Наутилус Помпилус

(super)humans

Я ощупываю пальцами свое лицо,

И внутри у меня холодеет от жути:

Неужели я такой же как все эти люди.

Они отдали б немало за пару крыльев,

Они отдали б немало за третий глаз,

За руку, на которой четырнадцать пальцев,

Им нужен для дыхания другой газ.

*

I'm scared of babies, I'm scared of dead people
My fingers map out my face,
And my insides go cold from fright:
Am I really the same as all those people?

People who live above me
People who live below me
People who snore on the other side of the wall
People who lie in the earth

I'd have given a lot for a pair of wings
I'd have given a lot for a third eye
For a hand with fourteen fingers
I need to breathe a different gas

Their tears are salty and their laughter is brisk
Nothing's ever enough to go around
They like to see their faces in the morning papers
But the papers drown in the trash the next day

People who give birth to babies
People who suffer from pain
People who shoot at people
But can't eat unsalted food

They'd have given a lot for a pair of wings
They'd have given a lot for a third eye
For a hand with fourteen fingers
They need to breathe a different gas



CARMEN HORRENDUM
Carmen horrendum | Зимовье Зверей

roles

Украдкою в круговерть
Тебя украдет не смерть, -
Тебя уничтожит жизнь.
А смерть - что тебе она!

Бродяга-рыцарь расплескал себя по кабакам.
Не приобрёл других врагов в ином подлунном сквере,
Где каждый молится собой придуманным богам,
А ты бы рад, да ты придумал ерунду и - не поверил.

И ты с утра готов удрать
В дремучие леса,
Но лестницы тебя опять
Не выпускают за
Домашние границы.
И боли в пояснице
Нас побратали
Крепче стали,
Крепче брани за глаза.

Но - влезай, Робин Гуд, в их сны!
Кромсай, Робин Гуд, их сны!
Стратеги обречены,
Когда в их мыслях - весна!

Ты примешь смерть от тоски,
В лесные попав тиски,
А вовсе не от войны.
А война - что тебе она!..

*

Knight-vagrant lost himself maneuvring out
He's hovering under this low ceiling, in a fight, after dinner
And you're on unfamiliar terms with fate, and knives out with truth
People make you nauseous and every day feels like the D-day

You window's glazed over
With a dumb mist
And mills have long ceased to inspire you
To madness in the name of--
I look at everything with you eyes
And slowly slide beyond the bottom

But go mad, Don Quixote
Keep going mad, Don Quixote!
Show them, show them all
What little their reason is worth

Sneaking into the whirlwind
Death won't steal you
Life will destroy you,
But what's death to you!

Knight-vagrant sloshed himself out in pubs
And found no new enemies in another moonlighted square
Where every one prays to their own made-up gods
And you'd have liked to, but you made up nonsense, and couldn't believe it

And every morning you're ready to run
Away to the thickets woods
But stairways lead you back
Into the home confines
Back pains have made brothers of us
Better than steel could have
Better than scolding the absent

But creep into their dreams, Robin Hood
Break up their dreams, Robin Hood!
Strategists are doomed to fail
When they're thinking of spring

You'll meet your death in blues,
Caught in a forest snare,
Not in war at all
What's war to you!

Knight-beggar broke himself like change for small things
Sent his image to the wind and rented out his steed
And never, ever again will Carmen bend over your wound
Singing Carmen Horrendum to the choir of sirens

No more strolling through moonlit bedchambers for you
No more aiming your slingshot at fortune
No coming back, no going on adventures
All your strength was spent on ouvertures
But we didn't count on it being
"A la guèrre comme à la guèrre"

But look for your own, Don Juan
Find you own, Don Juan!
And give her your last,
Posthumous volume

You'll take a spear to the heart
You'll meet your death in her
And whether it was worth it,
You'll understand some other time



MIDNIGHT
Полночь | Тэм

debt

Полночь
Оплачет холодной росою погибших в этом бою
Помнишь –
Горел закат, мы стояли с тобою на самом краю
Молчаливо молясь, позабыв имена
Но я знала, что будет война

Поздно
Исправлять перед боем последним судьбы филигрань
Звёзды
Что хранили от бед нам укажут дорогу за грань
Мы пока ещё здесь и ещё не конец
Но горит уже в небе возмездья венец

Мы уйдём, но вернёмся назад

*

Midnight's cold dew
Will mourn those who fell in this fight
Do you remember?
Sunset was blazing, you and I, we stood on the very edge
Praying in silence, forgetting names
But I knew war was coming

It's too late
To correct the intricacies of fate before the last battle
The stars that kept us from harm
Will show us the way over the edge
We're still here and it's not over yet
But the sky is blazing with vengeance

Flame will erase words and sayings
In ornaments on the page
The night sky is melting
With the distant crimson auroras
There's trouble on the doorstep,
The black messenger is in the saddle
We will find our death and our haven here

Heather will cover the ruins of our home
Over the years
Wind won't come back here
Loath to bring unrest
A sea of flowers will remain
A teary-eyed midnight
We will go
But we will come back



GOODBYE, BERLIN
Прощай, Берлин | Би-2

leaving

В двух шагах от земли
Догорали огни
В двух пустых городах,
В небесах

Море причин,
Зачем осколки берегут
Выход один,
Когда по звездам бьет салют

*

A stone's throw from Earth
Lights dwindled
In two empty cities
In the sky

There's a sea of reasons
Why you'd keep the pieces
There's only one way out
When fireworks aim at the sky

Goodbye, Berlin
Goodbye, Berlin

In a space of two hours
Between the lines
There's miles of roads
Paused two words away
From love

There's a sea of reasons
The wall will crumble to bits
There's only one way out
When the whole world's
Gone deaf from happiness

Goodbye, Berlin
Goodbye, Berlin



LOVE AS A STROLL THROUGH MINEFIELDS
Любовь как прогулка по минным полям | Ундервуд

not for children

Отмычка знает только то, что знает сейф
Однажды два влюбленных сердца на виду у всех,
Нарушив стоном тишину,
Шли в темпе вальса на войну.

Тротил, искру целуя, говорил: "Да будет так!"
В науке страсти нежной важно не что, а как
Когда до взрыва ровно такт,
И замыкается контакт

Кто придет на память, тот на помощь не придет
Но что толкает нас вперед?
Мы набьем подушку снами, и приснится нам
Любовь как прогулка по минным полям

Часы на то и рождены, чтоб бомбу приютить
Я хоть лирический герой, но я могу убить
Хорошее решение -
Огонь на поражение.


*

A skeleton key only knows as much as the safe
Once, two hearts in love, in plain sight,
Broke the silence with a moan
And went to war to a waltz tune

TNT said, kissing the spark, "So it shall be"
In the tender science of passion, it's How over What
When there's exactly one bar to the explosion
And the contact's sealing in

The one who comes to mind won't come to help you
So what is driving us forward?
We'll punch our pillow full of dreams, and we'll dream
Of love as a stroll through minefields.

Clocks were born to shelter a bomb
Sure, I'm a storybook hero, but I can kill
A good decision is:
Fire for effect.

The talk is that a planet is too small for two
What happens to us next we'll read in a book
There will be a story about
The first white on your temples



SWAN STEEL
Лебединая сталь | Аквариум

team

Я всегда был один - в этом право стрелы
Но никто не бывает один, даже если б он смог
Пускай наш цвет глаз ненадежен, как мартовский лед,
Но мы станем как сон и тогда сны станут светлы


*

Take ash into your palm
Take ice
It may be by chance
It may be home

Here is your pain
Let it become a wing
Swan steel in the clouds is waiting still

I have always been alone
That's the right of an arrow
But nobody's ever truly alone
Even if they could help it

The colour of our eyes
Is treacherous like ice in March
But we'll become as a dream
And then our dreams will grow light

Take clover into your palm
Take honey
May the hunt following you fade like a shadow
We've lived through the night
Let's see what day looks like
Swan steel in the clouds --
Go!



STAR CALLED SUN
Star Called Sun | Brazzaville

purpose

Near a star called Sun
It was there that my mom came undone
Sounds of a summer parade
90.5 in the shade

She drifted off on the 4th of July
A holiday look in her eyes
Said goodbye to a lifetime of pain
She died in a mid-summer rain

She said
There’s one million stars
For every little grain of sand down there

She floated up like a rocket in space
The misery gone from her face
Flying through comets and stars
Out past the canyons on Mars

She saw the future and she saw the past
She said, Don’t worry, it’s not meant to last
Everything’s always OK
Even the worst of your days

There’s one million stars
For every little grain of sand down there

So now she’s there when I look at the sky
Or when I drink whisky or wine
Or when I feel frightened at night
Or days when I’m sick of my life

She says, Son, it’ll all be alright
Everything’s already fine
If only you knew what I’ve seen
You’d never feel frightened again

There’s one million stars
For every little grain of sand down there

This is for ikel89, whose definition of the pairing is basically creeps, sex and Shakespeare.

The initial version of this mix only had one of those things, and it was vaguely Shakespearean angst in spades, mostly because I intended to keep it canon. When I realized that was not working, the reworking inevitably brought AU with it, and the AU fic that gives me the best, the most mindblowing, the most visceral feelings about Death Note is Tithe to Hell by ningenfucker (and a separate thank you to antistar_e who is provider of all recs golden!) So this is respectfully dedicated to the fic, as well -- which, if you're clicking through, heed the rating (!) and read responsibly.

The quotes used in the mix are all from the aforementioned fic (all safe safe/gen), and the internal narrative follows the plot of it, as well, i.e. AU starting after the Yotsuba arc in canon -- hopefully it'll still make sense? I'm good with just hoping rn!

Curiously enough, the "theme" song remained the same, and I cannot stress enough how much I love it; however, in a complete perk-bonus surprise, a lot of my favourite bands basically showed up and said, here, have this song, it totally fits what you're doing. Suffice it to say, there was much yay.

Last but not least - the gorgeous artwork I used for cover sadly came to me unattributed and reverse pic searches didn't help -- so please, if you know the source, let me know!

Oh, and the creepy crosses are the individual listen/download links. I hope they are appropriately creepy, darling ♥




( how do you say you're sorry, and there's nothing to be afraid of?Collapse )

This was inspired a long, long time ago by this tumblr post -- linking to my reblog, sources of the brilliance all noted. Intended as a crack mix, but I don't really do straight-up earnest crack, sentiment always creeps in. Faux-interview drabbles do, too, but I suppose I can blame that on The Devil's Mixtape (incidentally, goodreads, tumblr post -- which got the writer's reblog!!!111!).

Back to business! Presenting: Sherlock!indieband!AU, an album by 221B (except it might have come out not 100% indie).