After nearly 2 years away from this hellsite (affectionate), I found that every other media platform out there sucks (even more), and so I return to the warmth of tumblr. I have been away for SO long and the fandoms and things I enjoy have changed a bit, so I'm looking to reorganise all the blogs I follow and find some new sources of witty banter and fanart. If any of my old mutuals are still out there and remember me, please send me any blog recommendations. Also, what is blaze? XD
Tagging my IRL Friends so they can help me get started because I trust their sense of taste
Today is exactly 2 weeks until our next 日本の旅行 (Japan travel trip)! I'm so excited to reconnect with this land and culture I love, and see what has changed since the pandemic. To complement my instagram, I've decided to go back to my Tumblr-roots and create this side blog. I want to make this a copy place to share and chat about nature, Australian and Japanese culture, travel, and of course, cats. Please look forward to more photos and posts very soon (this photo is from Jan 2020).
We race around the melted char of what was once a neutron star
And use the gravity to whip us into dark galactic rifts
Yet still somehow we can't escape, they have no flaw, they feel no pain
These twisted shadows of the men I once condemned
And here we get to what is arguably the best ‘bop’ of the album, the high energy banger that the band themselves acknowledge as their ‘poster child standalone’ for Abyss. As well as being a blast of a song on its own, the layers of story it presents are fascinating to me- here we see The Immortal’s regrets, and his humanity, which he projects onto the spectres of the four sons as well.
Just as she threatened, The Matriarch sends her ‘boys’ to hunt down The Immortal and The Legacy – terrifying, warped visages of four men, trapped somewhere between life and death, dreadful shades with twisted, savage purpose. These are what is left of The Matriarch’s four sons, those who The Immortal himself had rounded up and doomed to be sacrificed in her bloody ritual. Now they hunt down The Immortal under her orders, her fury theirs as they seek to punish The Immortal and The Legacy both for their transgression against their master.
These spectres seem devoid of life but there is something in their eyes
Refuse to see they can't be saved, I push to pull them from the grave
End their addiction to the thrall once and for all
But who am I to be their saviour, slave to time
When I am doomed to be in chains for all my life
Even as they are chased through countless solar systems in the vastness of space, The Immortal can’t help but feel guilt and sorrow, especially as he himself played a big role in condemning these phantoms to their eternal unlife. He wants to try to help them, and yet he realises that, he too is simply bound unconditionally to be a puppet for whoever calls upon him. If he can’t set himself free, what hope does he have of saving others?
Click the title for the spotify link, and see under the cut for full lyrics.
What is this?
Track 5/10. First Song. Next Song.
Full Lyrics:
We race around the melted char of what was once a neutron star
And use the gravity to whip us into dark galactic rifts
Yet still somehow we can't escape, they have no flaw, they feel no pain
These twisted shadows of the men I once condemned
(We can)
Why do you seek us
(See right)
You won't defeat us
(Through you)
Turn around while you can
(Your soul)
Try to remember
(Is ours)
Why you defend her
(This time)
Shatter the master plan
Soul bound
Endlessly forever
Locked between the darkness and the light
Don't drown
In the swarming, blackened rising
Hold on to humanity and fight
Tormented by the tethering of souls to phantoms that remain
These spectres seem devoid of life but there is something in their eyes
Refuse to see they can't be saved, I push to pull them from the grave
End their addiction to the thrall once and for all
But who am I to be their saviour, slave to time
When I am doomed to be in chains for all my life
Soul bound
Endlessly forever
Locked between the darkness and the light
Don't drown
In the swarming, blackened rising
Hold on to humanity and fight
I’ve never done one of these, and I seem to have a lot more followers recently (hello queer nerds! Let’s be real, most of you that follow me are just that, or at least one of those things), so this might be a cute way to get to know each other as internet friends and mutuals a bit more, haha! I was tagged by my sib from another crib and partner in crime @feelsallovertheplace, and I’d like to tag some people who I’ve been mutuals with for literally years, but never worked up the courage to actually chat to...haha! No pressure to actually do this by the way! And anyone else who sees this but isn’t tagged is welcome as well. ^_^
zodiac - Capricorn, not that I really care about horoscopes (which I’m told is typical for a capricorn)
height - I am... 4′11″ despite being a grown-ass person 🙃
last thing i googled - Doing Time by Jodi Taylor Review (I was in a book store and trying to decide what to buy)
song stuck in my head - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwXIpjQjEy8 This has been stuck in my head for literally 2 weeks now, please help me
no. of followers - 225 ?! Whack, I’m not that funny pals. I do try to kick out all the bots that follow me, but there’s probably a few included in that number that snuck under the radar...
amount of sleep - aw man, 9-10 hours if I can...Since I’ve been on these anxiety meds my body just does NOT want to get out of bed in the morning...
lucky number - 79! Or 97. Or 7 or 9 seperately.
fave song - dang, I have such a wide and varied taste in music, idk...Right now I’m a big fan of Renai Circulation by Kana Hanazawa and Another Place by Bastille
fave instrument - I absolutely love the sound of the Cello, but I’ve never learned to play any instrument. Cello’s are hella expensive and difficult to learn though, every time I look into it I’m too intimidated...
dream job - uhhhhhhhh that’s incredibly tricky, mostly because I’m just starting out on my career, and also because my field (molecular genetics) is changing so rapidly, so the job I’ll have one day definitely doesn’t even exist yet...A job where I could do the science I love, while liasing with Japanese scientists...that would be ideal
aesthetic - ...I really...do NOT know? I’m a sucker for pastel punk and punk in general, but also really like retro 50′s housewife feels, or harajuku fashion or just...alternative and queer? It really does depend on my mood and gender of the day, you feel?
fave author - Ahhhh that’s way too hard, no fair?? I do love Erin Morgenstern, she’s only published 2 books so far but both have been international bestsellers and are GORGEOUS favs of mine (”The Night Circus” and “The Starless Sea”)
fave animal noise(s) - the little “brrrriip??” cats make when you wake them up from a nap, and also the contented braying of horses and donkeys
random - I’ve made it through a few rounds of interviews with a job I’d really like, which is a vetinary dermatologist and makes soaps and medicines for pets. Fingers crossed for me y’all, haha
Picrew made by https://picrew.me/image_maker/332600/complete?cd=V7S30npPIJ
Ahhhh, I swear, this website has literally NEVER properly given me notifications. I really need to get into the habit of looking at them... The lovely @feelsallovertheplace has apparently been tagging me in all manner of cute stuff lately, and I only saw it because I was going through my settings to block some triggers that have been coming up recently... I’m sorry lovely, I have not been ignoring you this whole time, not at all! Going through these posts and seeing all the cute, personal stuff you’ve tagged me in recently was really nice! You’re such an amazing person and I love you so much!
This picrew is actually really adorable, and I think that I’m going to use it for profile pic stuff now...haha
Return what you have taken from me
Rightfully mine, I will not allow this, thief
Think you know this weapon in your hands?
You are a fool, I am his only command
And here we are confronted with The Matriarch herself, a twisted being of fury and raw power quite different from when we last saw her – an ambitious and commanding figure to be sure, but still human then at least. Not so anymore it seems. She still views The Immortal as a tool, a weapon, though we’ve just seen in Through Stars that he yearns for freedom and a life beyond battle. In this song she shows off some of her vast power and sends “her boys” to hunt down The Legacy and The Immortal. She screeches that they have no hope of winning against her, swearing that she will chase them to the ends of the universe and time, unless they turn themselves over to serve her.
And so, you see how futile the fight
This is the end, why do you even try?
Kneel before me, swear to obey
And I'll let you live, serve for eternity
Click the title for the spotify link, and see under the cut for full lyrics.
What is this?
Track 5/10. First Song. Next Song.
Full Lyrics:
Return what you have taken from me
Rightfully mine, I will not allow this, thief
Think you know this weapon in your hands?
You are a fool, I am his only command
Attack! My boys are coming for you
Try as you might, you can't escape your doom
I am alpha, rule absolute
Think you can win? I know you only can lose
Now behold my finest hour, ultimate power
All the universe is mine, wind and water, earth and fire
And so, you see how futile the fight
This is the end, why do you even try?
Kneel before me, swear to obey
And I'll let you live, serve for eternity
Now behold my finest hour, assured victory, ultimate power
All the universe is mine, to control, to define
No son, you can not run, I'll find you
No matter how far you fly
Hear me, fear me!
I'll follow you for all of time
Now behold my finest hour, ultimate power
Now behold my finest hour, ultimate power
All the universe is mine, wind and water, earth and fire
When I finally found the words
The ones I knew would wake you
To take you from her and to make you mine
Somehow all I felt was hollow
This is one of my absolutely favourite songs in the whole album, as I think the instrumentals really impress upon the listener the vastness and beauty of space, as well as the periods of time that these characters are dealing with. Here we are introduced to a brand-new character – The Legacy – who is brought to life with such emotional and energetic vocals. The Legacy has apparently been searching the whole galaxy for centuries for The Immortal – at first to enact vengeance, but then as he learned more, he began to turn his vendetta instead towards the one who had awoken and commanded The Immortal to commit the heinous acts in the first place.
As we stand in this place and you wonder who I am
Can't you see in my face I'm his son, his earth and ash
And you are here as servant one last time
Together we will bring her to the light
Here is where the true gut-punching emotion of the song comes in (and where I have to explain some plot from the previous album, but this is the longest exposition I promise!) – The Legacy reveals that he is the son of one of the four men who The Immortal had been commanded to round up and help sacrifice in the previous album. These men were the sons of The Matriarch, born only to one day be sacrificed in a ritual to grant her immortality and immense power. Though three of her sons had lived despicable and greedy lives as slavers and unscrupulous merchants, the last son was a just, honest man, and The Immortal had even felt remorseful and conflicted about bringing him to his doom. Yet this fourth son accepted his fate, making peace with his life and coming willingly. Earth and Ashes is a chilling, hallowing song as this man who has done nothing wrong accepts his fate, awakening conflict within The Immortal, who nevertheless cannot defy his given task. So to meet his son, his earth and ash, his legacy who still lives on, is a bittersweet reunion in a way.
The Legacy extends an alliance to take down The Matriarch, who in her power still reigns over and terrorises the universe.
I promise this, I vow to set you free
You are the answer, you are my legacy
He also swears to set The Immortal free once their task is done – but this has been promised to him before, and last time, The Matriarch betrayed her vow, choosing instead to keep him under her thumb and casting him back into slumber until she had need of his power again.
Click on the title for the spotify link (and similarly the title for Earth and Ashes), and see under the cut for full lyrics of both songs (for a bit of extra context).
What is this?
Track 4/10. First Song. Next Song.
Full Lyrics for Legacy:
As I was wandering the world
Trying so hard to find you
To give me purpose in this life I'd lost
And as I learned to forgive you
For all you'd done
Destiny opened a door
And showed you weren't the one
Worth searching for
But as time wore away at my will to carry on
Only vengeance could take what I'd give to see it doneWhen I finally found the words
The ones I knew would wake you
To take you from her and to make you mine
Somehow all I felt was hollow
Please tell me why
Nothing is ever the way
You think that it should be
It's not the same
As we stand in this place and you wonder who I am
Can't you see in my face I'm his son, his earth and ash
And you are here as servant one last time
Together we will bring her to the light
No more hiding away in your apex again
Not when spending your days as a slave is near an end
I promise this, I vow to set you free
You are the answer, you are my legacy
Full Lyrics for Earth and Ashes:
Calling out
I'm haunted again
The consequences far beyond repairI know he's waiting for me, I can feel him watching
The sound is deafening, begging me to walk the other way
But I cannot show mercy, no matter how deserving
There's no controlling fate, he was made to die for nothing
Let it go, no hesitating
Take him home, no point crying
He's no wasted life; open your eyes
Earth and ashes, when I'm gone will still remain
Fear not forever, I will wander once again
He takes me out to the hills, we're like old friends walking
But it's a charade, both of us know there's no other way
All despite what I'm feeling, he's such a wise companion
But I'm just wasting time, he will die
He's no wasted life; open your eyes
And I know you've come to take me home
I can't pretend that I want to go
But I know that death it comes for everyone of us
And I've lived a worthy life with no remorse
Earth and ashes, when I'm gone will still remain
Fear not forever, I will wander once again
