An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
LIF 4 (DUOLOGY)
P1: gone long enough (Yusuf)
Category: M
Word Count: 2386
Date: 19.02.24
I am deliberately not putting this under the cut.
Firstly, and most importantly, to darling Tim:
This song will always and forevermore belong to Isla, you and Sam. I promise you, I haven't (and quite honestly) could not listen to the song as I wrote. You are so loved and cherished and we miss and love you endlessly.
Fly high, dear boy <3
Alright, so, what I mean by this is I have written this piece from a place of incandescent fury, grief and an unfathomable level of disbelief. Did I mention rage? Well, yes.
As it so happens, all the Manzoors' LIF pieces are connected. Similarly, Suhani and Veer's will be connected, as they're blood family.
There are many vigorous nods, as it were to the brilliant @zeesqueere 's equally (obviously) incredible series installment for Yusuf. It has also been linked in my piece. My endless gratitude remains.
So, I'll try to keep this brief. I wrote Faruq's on the date my friend and I got tickets to see Hozier back in March of 2023. I wrote Saba's piece with the core integration of Anoushka Shankar's "Land of Gold". Faruq's "Foreigner's God" and this album are intrinsically linked.
I'd in fact chosen "ATE" as Afroz's song in April of last year - there are memos for this series everywhere you can think of - but as things go, the execution has changed. Her companion installment will be the second chapter of this piece - I have no wish to further isolate these characters.
Incidentally and beautifully so, I had the privilege of seeing Anoushka Shankar in concert last month and her set had a Land Of Gold sweep (naturally) so my mind went to Saba's piece. And then, as you'll see in this playlist:
"Ishq" and "Secret Heart" were played in succession with an incredible transition/ bridge. Yet, it all slammed into place today morning, devastatingly so. I apologise for any incoherence in this piece but I cannot remedy it.
My parting message for this is:
Protect Trans Kids. Protect Trans Lives. Protect Queer Lives.
Much Love,
Dhyan x
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapter Title: out of words
Word Count: 1935 [total: 4321]
Date: 19.04.24
Character: Afroz Manzoor
Linking the playlist for the duology once more:
Also, Andrew's newly released track (literally today) 'Why Would You Be Loved' is unsurprisingly incredible.
I listened to my concert recording of 'Ishq' - 'Secret Heart' (mentioned in the previous post above) whilst writing.
I'm also exhausted and this change to 'No Plan' is a significant deviation from my original choice for Afroz. Yet, in my eyes, it makes more sense than the previous idea did. I've run a cursory spelling and grammar check and any errors that remain are mine alone.
And with this, the Manzoor family's lif series installments are complete. Safe to say I didn't envision them turning out like they have and I have to say this:
Whilst Saba's is significantly different, I can't pick a favourite from these 4 - they have different meanings to me, different associations that cannot be placed in a heirarchy.
Nonetheless, I hope this reads well.
Your feedback is appreciated as always.
Much Love,
Dhyan x
