Raven "Sable" Diego

Registry of the Evolved Database

File #26 Feb 2009 07:05

Summary

Name Raven Diego Aliases Sable Status Registered Evolved (Tier 0) Ability Reactive Reflexes (officially recorded as 'enhanced musical ability') Gender Female Race/Eth. White/Hispanic(?) Birthdate November 5, 1990 Age 20 Height 5'1" Build Slim Eyes Yellow Hair Dark Brown/Black Residence Eltingville Blocks - Trafford Residence, 12 Holly Avenue Employment Musician Formerly record store clerk in Greenwich Village Process Server (PENDING) The Ferrymen - Jack of a Couple Trades Parents Unknown Siblings Unknown Marital Status Living in sin with Delilah Trafford Children None First Seen Lighting the Flame Last Seen N/A Profile An acerbic, pugnacious and contrary young runaway with a talent for playing the guitar. She survives on her wits and her luck, not necessarily in equal proportions. Sable needs little excuse to harass anyone, and little reason to have wandered where she's wandered in a given day. She's available to scene with more or less anyone, chance-encounter-wise. Music is, of course, her most prominent hook, as well as her work, either as a process server or in her various errands for the Ferry.

portrayed by Yulia Volkova

Background

Background?

Never!

Check the spotlight, suckers!

Psych Profile

Sable is extremely abrasive, aggressive, tenacious and restless. She picks fights, starts arguments, and otherwise makes a pain in the ass of herself. At least, that's how she is with strangers and those she does not respect. She has a soldier-like loyalty to those she deems worthwhile. She is extremely disinclined to obey authority, and will often flout it as a matter of principle. She is, in short, a rebellious adolescent who's been forced to take on all the responsibility of an independent adult, which has made her scrappy in the extreme.

Evolved Ability

Sable's gift for musicianship isn't a simple accident of genetics. It's certainly an accident, insofar as any Evolved can be considered accidental. Though she doesn't know it, she has a gift, one whose relative subtlety makes it easy to miss. Sable has the uncanny ability to predict the physical movements of others, to react accordingly and, with enough time to observe, to mimic what she's seen.

When her adrenal levels are high, her unusual eyes gain a remarkable acuity, and link to the motor-cordination section of her mind on a fast track. As long as she's witnessing the movements of someone with a vaguely similar (i.e. human) musculature, she can 'see it coming', tracking the motions they are about to make with astounding accuracy. Which means if someone swings a punch at her, she will almost always be able to dodge if she's paying any attention. It also means that, given enough time to witness someone's macromovement pattern, she can learn at what points they are most off balance, in the weakest position, and otherwise exploit her instinctual understanding of their position and movements.

The final expression of this ability takes the form of mimicry; with considerable attention, time and personal investment, Sable can repeat motions she's witnessed with great fidelity, which is how she made such leaps and bounds in her guitar lessons, picking up advanced technique often before learning the underlying fundamentals. This does not permit miraculous recall, however, but instead reduces the learning curve for some physical activities and only those she witnesses in a heightened state. Accessing this tier of her power is difficult; without regular practice and observation she can't get further than reaction. Note, she must rely on her own talent to produce original technique, and she cannot properly mimic something that is outside her own physical capabilities (e.g. she cannot mimic an Olympic athlete, because she doesn't have an Olympian physique). Moreover, it is possible that she can predict something that she cannot avoid: if the punch is thrown fast enough, she'll have enough time to say 'oh shit' in her head, and no more.

Appendices

We tried to speak between lines of oration
You could only repeat what we told you.
Your axe belongs to a dying nation,
They don't know that we own you.
You're watching movies trying to find the feelers,
You only see what we show you.
We're the slaves of the phony leaders
Breathe the air we have blown you.
- The Punk and the Godfather, The Who

All that is now
All that is gone
All that's to come
and everything under the sun is in tune
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.
- Eclipse, Pink Floyd

And in the end, the love you take
Is equal to the love you make.
- The End, The Beatles

The Ongoing Saga - Compiled Logs of Sable

---

Can You See the Real Me?

Relationships

Who Are You

Sable's sense of attachment tends to manifest in outlier cases - she dedicates herself fiercely to some certain few while pushing others into the mental sidelines. The specific psychological reasons for this tendency are the usual, banal ones, but result is a number of relations delineated along strange and often stark lines. Presented here is a simplified and incomplete list of Sable's relationships, taken from her own somewhat unhinged perspective.

Time and Time Again

Sable has a particular sense of how the world works, about the intentions that guide the universe. She does not believe in God (though she still feels His presence, a product of her upbringing) but she does believe in Fate. Fate, though, is not what must be and will always be, but rather what should be and is up to her and hers to make sure comes to pass. Certain people have been elevated to the status of destined companions, and to them Sable ascribes a near-limitless importance.

Adel - She who would be called Starkey, Adel claims - and Sable has no reason to doubt her - that she is her quasi-adopted daughter from an alternate history that carried on well past Sable's present. This means, note, that Adel can order drinks legally, and Sable can't, even though Sable is her 'mom'. Which is totally ridiculous. This accepted - and Sable has accepted it with her trademark, if slightly off kilter, ease - Sable's mystical beliefs about time and destiny have undergone a rapid realignment, compensating for this new craziness. In Adel's future, the band was never famous. Adel's future, thus, was not meant to be. Adel's presence, in this time and place, is a clear sign - here's your drummer, get to work! PENDING

Elaine - The Elaine experience was one that Sable was perhaps not prepared for. An education in the other side of the fence spiraled into a particularly torrid sort of affair, predicated on and justified by Sable and Elaine's separate commitments, Delilah and Magnes respectively. Stay true to these others, the reasoning went, and they could be forgiven for what they shared. This all made a great deal of sense in the heat of the moment, but moments are definitionally momentary, and when Elaine broke things off with Magnes, it signaled the beginning of the end. Sable cannot escape the two-timing caddishness reality of her behavior, and her shame is intense and potentially toxic to the relationship both with Elaine and with Quinn, whose own affection for their mutual acquaintance was revealed at just the same time. How this will work out, only time will tell. She prays its not too late to make amends. Little Miss Strange - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Magnes - Magnes is one of those special cases, a dweeb so thoroughly dweeby that it wraps around and becomes cool again. Sable would be hard pressed to find someone else who she thinks of as more thoroughly unlike herself in outward appearances, yet she senses a kindred spirit in Magnes, a shared way of being that Sable considers fundamental. A fool in love, a lion in friendship - Magnes seems to implicitly understand and live the very core of Sable's life philosophy: will yourself. He wanted to be a super hero? He built a bat cave. He wanted to save the world? Apparently he did! He wanted to join a rock band? He found her. And for this last she is limitlessly grateful. Uncomplicated, unselfconscious and unwavering in her loyalty to him, Sable counts Magnes as her dearest friend. Any insult against Magnes is an insult against Sable, personally, and she will not hesitate to defend his honor as if it were her own. Magnes has done her only good, and good on top of that. The Ballad of Barry Allen - Jim's Big Ego

Quinn - That Quinn's place in the band was meant to be is something Sable tries to convince herself of. The sheer improbability of the talented musician and DJ she had the glee and good fortune to hit it off with the first night she emerged from the ice-ringed prison of the Lighthouse being brought into audition is something Sable cannot simply ignore. Destiny or no, however, Sable's time spent with the virtuosic Irishwoman has led to a deep affection for and trust in her, which shared experiences (many difficult) has only helped solidify. Sable's particularly grateful for Quinn's tolerance of the debacle with Elaine, and is deeply relieved that Quinn's arms could be there for their friend when Sable's could no longer. As an artist, Sable has only the deepest respect and admiration, and looks to her most often for creative input when songwriting. 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix) - Gorillaz

All That Fancy Paints as Fair

There are certain things that drive a musician of Sable's temperament. Longing and desire are foremost amongst her drives, conditioned as she's been by endless songs about those very drives. At heart, Sable is a hopeless romantic, just waiting to lose herself in a feeling. In practice, love is hard work, especially if you wish to make it work.

Delilah - She doesn't remember their first meeting, but Sable sure does. Part first impression, part hearsay, part very real and very buxom redhead, Delilah has by sheer accident taken a central place in Sable's odd gospel of incidents taken for omens. This pushes Sable in the direction of harebrained schemes, romantic gestures, embarrassing attentiveness and grand declarations. By virtue of Dee's natural charm, and Sable's own vigorous and arcane interpretations of Delilah's words, all this is gave way to a simple determination - make this work. And it seems to. Delilah, as Sable has repeated stated, is more than good to Sable, but also good for Sable. After a whirlwind of trouble and a series of rapid and unexpected moves, Sable has found herself sworn off theft, in line for an honest job, and living under a roof with a girlfriend she can adore without reservation - in short, a good life. Unexpected. Cherished. Big Brown Eyes - Old 97's

With A Little Help From My...

Sable views most interactions instinctively like confidence jobs. Everyone wants something, or wants to want something, and you can steer people by their wants or, if they are uncertain, by the wants you give them. This attitude is not conducive to forming friendships, but when Sable does run across someone she does not feel the need to act cynically around, her dedication becomes ironclad.

Joanne - At first simply thrilled to have another good looking redhead within her immediate vicinity, Sable has quickly found that Joanne is everything she could possibly look for in a new acquaintance: clever, a smartass, adventurous, a girl, into girls. The body swap thing was sort of a trip, but Sable's on board for it. Whatever shape she's wearing, Joanne seems to have an trouble-making streak that Sable has already taken advantage of. Joanne may, honestly, be something of a bad influence, leading to a backslide into behaviors she was cutting down on, as per Delilah's implied wishes. She's also a lethal flirt, which is a danger all its own. But Sable is far from willing to back down because a person is too much fun. Joanne remains a delight, and a novel one at that.

Koshka - Sable does possess some maternal qualities, rooted chiefly in a fierce protectiveness of those she considers downtrodden, a strange but central virtue in the Sabellian cosmology. Koshka, first and only real ward of Sable's short tenure as safehouse operator, has been the recipient of Sable's most obvious maternal leanings, however rough and foulmouthed she (Sable) may remain. Koshka has a mischievous streak, Sable knows it, has seen it, but wants to see more of it. As mother to strays, Sable thinks Koshka is a little too well behaved. But maybe, just maybe, she's saving her trouble for when it really counts. Sable would not put such a native wisdom past Koshka.

Nicole - First impressions are usually strong for Sable, and it's not that Nicole didn't make an impression - it's that Sable wasn't at first sure what to make of the impression she left. This was Colette's sister - older, seemingly less emotionally unstable (though maybe she's just better at hiding it), and (of course) a looker (Sable loves this city!!!) - but being Colette's sister means Sable is immediately on her guard. What years more of experience and responsibility, as well as some measure of personal control, could have honed a drive like Colette's into (if her sister has that same drive) was something Sable had to see. As it happens, any number of mediating factors kept Sable safe from whatever danger she might have perceived or even invited. Sable got the impression she's a pleasant dalliance for Nicole, a much easier thing to manage than the rest of her (Sable's) entanglements, and she was down for that. Why not? But mutual acquaintance with Colette proves a shared adversity, and while Sable has still only spent so much time with the elder Ms. Nichols, she's opened herself up as she does rarely, even for those she considers good friends.

Tamara - When Sable first heard of Tamara is was just as the name of the invisible fated obstacle between her and immediate gratification. When Tamara next appeared to Sable, it was in a vision of what might come. That the two were one and the same took time and opportunity to piece together, leaving Sable with yet another blotch of guilt on her already checkered conscience. She's had a few conversations with Tamara, and may in some further future have another, but already Sable feels like she sort of gets Tamara. The intuitive lyricism of the seer's phrasings make more sense to Sable than a lot of ostensibly sane talk. Whether 'making sense' to Sable means actually 'understanding' is a whole other issue. Regardless, Sable views Tamara with fascination and an affection born of instinctive affinity. Reciprocity of her good will is considered, to her, just a possible future road she hopes to stroll down. If she's going in the right direction, she figures Tamara will know before she does if they're genuinely friends.

Tasha - If only Sable could just make Tasha the enemy her life would be a bit easier. As it is, she sort of genuinely likes the girl, despite the constant niggling need to find some reason not to. After a particularly unfortunate detonation of an emotional bomb, Sable has had her relation towards Tasha badly screwed up, run through with guilt, resentment and God knows what else. Central to their difficulties are the not-fully retracted implication (okay, explicit insistence) that Tasha is 'bourgie', as opposed to the lumpenproletarian Sable. Whether this is a genuine issue of class, a redirected form of aggression over Colette, a personal madness of Sable's, or some combination of the above elements is unclear, most of all to Sable herself. Caught in this muddle, Sable is on and off trying to make some sort of connection with Tasha, prove to someone (Tasha, herself?) that their divide is not unbridgebale. When Tasha says that the past is past, Sable does not quite believe her. This may well be entirely a problem with Sable rather than with Tasha, but Tasha's Lazzaro-ness makes her seemingly unresponsive to Sable's grander gestures and statements, which leaves Sable feeling cold. Recent encounters seem to have reversed this trend, at least temporarily, and Sable dearly hopes she can say that things are more than mended. She just has to remind herself that just as much as Tasha is occasionally too Tasha, Sable can't exactly claim not to be excessively Sable at inopportune moments.

Tess - Quinn's stripper friend!!! Okay, let's be fair, Sable thinks more and more highly of Tess Winslow-Zarek than her assigned moniker suggests, but one of the reasons Sable thinks as well of Tess as she does is that she's sure the young woman wouldn't take offense. Always up for a good time, cute as hell and, okay, I guess being all gluey is sort of weird, but hey, Sable digs. A delta woman, and thus deserving of festive respect and a faintly leering admiration (yes, these are discreet terms in the Sableverse), Tess is considered a friend with an ease that, in and of itself, speaks to the value of such a friendship.

Ygraine - It's only Sable's resolve to start 'being good' that prevented a full on explosion during her first real conversation with Ygraine. Personalities and intentions almost exactly designed for friction, Sable's strong impression is that Ygraine is a stuck-up, self satisfied, snooty and judgmental bitch. And she doesn't think she's wrong in this impression. She also gets the sense that Ygraine thinks she (Sable) is a vulgar, presumptuous, vicious and aggressive asshole. Sable figures Ygraine's on to something there. Despite their differences, they seem to have struck an equilibrium. Perversely enough, Ygraine has even called Sable a 'friend'. Sable figures: why not? It is a task to remain clear of the ugly aftermath following the debacle with Elaine, a chronicle of heartbreak seemingly not content to stop with just one damaged relationship; Sable's motivation for retaining her neutrality is not without is selfishness - she's deeply concerned that, ultimately, her actions are responsible for the sum of misery caused.

To Me, Coming From You...

Sometimes things just don't work out…

Holly - Sable well knows the draw of the pretty bourgeois girl. They represent a normality and stability the vagabond has rarely known, and often fantasized about. Holly is better than that, of course, better than just a fantasy, but when push came to shove, Sable doubted her destiny lay in such safe places. Sable feels like a world class shit for any hurt she's caused Holly, but better a shit with principles, than a shit without. The hope is that they can remain amicable. Sable still imagines Holly, as a journalist, can help make her famous. Or so she jokes to herself.

From Atlanta to Boston - Sable has left a trail of ex-girlfriends and former lovers on her long and winding path of four years. On one level, Sable's drive to find a woman to shack up with in each city she stayed in was motivated out of pure pragmatism - being homeless, moving in with a willing girlfriend was very much preferred to sleeping on the streets or in a shelter. On another, Sable was profoundly lonely and had never really received much in the way of affection, so her attachments to these women were genuinely powerful ones. The history of Sable is, in many ways, a history of her loves, both of her music and of her muses. They ended any number of ways, some less friendly than others, and Sable spent many a week or month without any tender loving care, out in the elements with a broken heart or a chip on her shoulder. Still, it's fair to say that any woman daring enough to take in this shiftless vagabond, anyone taken in by her charm enough to ignore her ratty clothes and uncertain provenance, would certainly remember the time they spent with the yellow eyed vagrant. ( Known Exes: Adelaide [Atlanta] - 'C.C.' [Boston] )

The Other Ones

Sable spent much of her life either stuck unwillingly, or restlessly on the move. This doesn't lend her towards making acquaintances, nor even many friends. Opinions of people, however, she forms quickly and forcefully.

Abby - The Mother Superior is hard for Sable to get a handle on. Magnes had some huge thing for her and yeah, sure, she's cute as hell, but… maybe it's just Magnes' blonde thing. Only she isn't blonde always so… does she count still? See what I mean? Hard to get a handle on. It's in Sable to find Abby a little scary - she's sensed reprove in her, but that may just be because they talked about Magnes, or because Abby apparently doesn't like curse words which… yeah. Sable is as Sable does. As of right now, Sable considers her distance respectful - at least that is what she tells herself.

Amadeus - It bugs the hell out of Sable that she sees a lot of herself in Amadeus. Vagrant - check. Grifter - check. Excessive profanity and lechery - check. His 'game' is like some strange shambling doppleganger of her own patented charm. It's all very eery. But she gets along with him (when she's not threatening him with physical harm) very well, because of all this shared territory. Plus he's got good weed so… He is also (accidentally) one of very few people in the city she knows knows her full name, though she'd do something very painful to him if he told anyone else.

Delia - This one's adorable. Too adorable, even, for Sable to make a solid pass at. It wouldn't seem quite right, temptation or no. Delia gives Sable a clear vibe of native innocence in the face of trouble, something Sable thinks ought to be protected in great part because she has no confidence that either it or its bearer is likely to survive - it's gotta be one or the other. Thus, Delia provides Sable with another reason to stick it out at Gun Hill. Simply put, Sable does not entirely trust the hand of the Ferry; she finds many of their tendencies dangerous Man-like. Deranged though this belief (and its believer) may be, Sable feels Gun Hill needs her, and Delia is imagined as one of the potential beneficiaries.

Doyle - Sable has had direct dealings with Eric Doyle only once, and the circumstances were less than ideal. It was Doyle that kept Sable from causing what may have been real physical harm to Tasha when the artificially infuriated rocker made her unexpected attack. It was Doyle that drove Sable into the very depths of regret by letting her know of Tasha's former good opinion. It's Doyle, then, who bears the blame for making Sable accept the consequences of her actions, and no one likes that guy. Further interactions have placed Doyle in the position of an authority over her, which should make her chafe very badly, but she has enough shame in her to keep her in line - an unintended side effect.

Elle - Magnes, this is a message from the heart: DON'T DATE BLONDES. Blondes are shifty, they can't be trusted; they play mind games, they're actresses, models, creatures of surface. Okay, not all blondes, but Elle does little to help her sisters of fellow hair-color. Being herself a highly theatrical crazy person, Sable can identify a being of like type, though of radically different method and application. She does not trust Elle one bit, plus she's way straight, so there's no need to even pretend to be tolerant. Well, other than fear of being shocked. Though, hey, maybe that would be hot. Only one way to find out.

Kaylee - Kaylee's blonde. But Sable will forgive her for that. Kaylee was kind enough to be remarkably forthcoming to Sable after roughly two meetings, going so far as to demonstrate her ability despite her misgivings and deeply seated guilt. Sable actually finds Kaylee's ability intensely fascinating, plus she also just likes looking at the telepath, so while she understands Kaylee moves in the more serious Ferry circles that Sable herself sort of distrusts, she keeps Kaylee in her good books.

Melissa - Magnes has a lot of cute friends, which is as much a curse as a blessing for him, as far as Sable can see. She's seen little of Melissa, but enough for name and face to stick in Sable's often mercurial mind. She even helped her knock down a wall in her house, which was awesome, because sledgehammers are fun and it gave her a chance to show off a little. After a heck of a party, Sable now regards Melissa as that best of creatures: the good hostess. Such a quality is currency of high value in Sable's personal economy - she values hospitality like she values few things.

Nadira - Sable met Nadira at a zoo. She was in a certain state of mind, of a certain disposition, which probably explained how light handed she was with the Egyptian woman. Letting someone who looks like that get away without grabbing her number? Sable must have been feeling very gallant that evening. Since then, even if she regretted it, she had no way to track down this woman from a chance encounter. Until a night at a club. Sable knows where she works, now - same place as Quinn which is crazy convenient. She may just have to get over how terribly wrong that whole evening went, before she can drop by and get to know Nadira a little better.

Wish You Were Here

Living a wandering life didn't lend itself to attachments. New York City has changed that, but it is a cruel place - what it gives it can always take away. Some people are lost. Some people will be missed.

Colette - Few relationships in Sable's memory have been as fraught as her own with Colette Nichols. Strange events and Sable's own strange mind set Colette high in her internal pantheon, a potential emanation of Sable's first love, the hallowed Adelaide. Reason and sense tended to abandon Sable when Colette entered her life, too often leaving confusion and sometimes even strife when she left, often just as quickly. One day, Colette left for good - disappeared. Sable cannot make heads or tails of this, cannot bring herself to dress up the absence Colette has left with the trappings of her mysticism. She misses her, and that is all she can yet bare to let herself feel. Dire Wolf - The Grateful Dead

Prog Rocker

Sable's enduring passion is for music. And not just for music, but for a certain era's style and attitude about music and musicians. To her, the perfect mix of brilliance, success and (never forget) fame was embodied in bands such as The Beatles and The Who, combining artistry with invention with progressive thought with staggering success and true 'rock star' lifestyle. This means that while she's willing to appear and even live like anything from an ascetic to, well, Mick Jagger, it is only life at this volume that can capture her ideal.

This isn't to say it's only the style (and lifestyle) of a Townshend or Lennon she wants to emulate. She has a genuine dedication to rock as a matter of artistic and political expression. Her ideal form of artistry makes progressive rock bands such as King Crimson and Pink Floyd serious musical influences, and her ideal project would be a concept album, ideally topical, treating the issues of the time and (she dares to dream) capturing the Zeitgeist. Ambition, certainly, is not something she lacks. But neither is dedication. She'd be willing to risk death in the inky blackness of space while shooting for the stars.

She has formed a musical alliance with one Magnes J. Varlane (despite his totally square middle initial), who adds his skill on bass and keyboard to her guitar and half-decent vocals. Recently, they have acquired the virtuoso talent of Robyn Quinn, tipping them into true playability (though they still need a drummer).

Sable owns two guitars, each given to her by a different band member. Magnes gave her her first electric guitar, a Rickenbacker 330. Quinn gave her a Ibanez Talman Acoustic-Electric, replacing her old Fender DG-8S Acoustic, Adelaide, which fell to its demise during the city-wide blackout of June 10th, 2010.

Nowhere (Wo)Man

Sable is a runaway, a ward of the state that was passed from foster home to foster home until she ran at around age 15. Life was, predictably, difficult in a way Sable will reference generally, but very rarely describe in real detail. The fact that she turned out to be good enough at living off the grid and getting by on her guts and wits is something she is extremely proud of, but she rarely brags about any specific instance unsolicited. This is less difficult for her than one might imagine; she is very good at favoring the present and the future over the past, in her thoughts.

Since her discovery of music, she has remained so faithful to the cause that she tends to swiftly quit and or manage to get herself fired from the few jobs that are not at music stores. She often has to scrape a half-living by busking with her acoustic guitar, paying for new strings, toothpaste, and foods with long shelf (or, in her case, backpack) life, while lining up at food banks or soup kitchens. Some months are better, some worse, but she's made it from Atlanta, her home town, to New York. As of now she lives with her girlfriend in Eltingville Blocks, less stray than house cat.

Crazy Trainjumper

Sable has a weird affect, and a strange attitude towards life that borders on the pathological. Her obsession with musical success can, at its extremes, verge on obsession or delusion, but it's often hard to tell how serious she's being. Similarly, some of her more bizarre behaviors look somewhat performative, suggesting less genuine craziness, and more like a total lack of shyness and/or tact. The question remains, however, even if her obsessions and weirdnesses are just her acting crazy, how crazy would she have to be to feel she needed to put on that kind of show?

A particular feature of her craziness, voluntary or not, is the tendency to read events and occurrences as signs and portents. Sable's schizotypal tendencies don't tend towards the classically paranoid - she doesn't generally fear persecution or conspiracy. Instead, she insists on seeing connections and significances in the world and its happenings, much as one might interpret the words to a particularly poetic song lyric. Enough time and accrued experience has produced a weird, ad hoc system of divination cum philosophy that makes perfect sense to Sable but doesn't necessarily translate to others. Crucial to note: she doesn't think the events really pertain to her personally, not really. Her delusions of grandeur are not that delusive or grand. She simply uses it as a case-by-case guide when confused or uncertain.

Songs from a Carrion Bird

Kingdom Come

A musical project in progress.

ParaApocalyptic

ParaApocalyptic

Wherein heaven and hell wage war on judgement day, to great, prolonged destruction.

(chiefly instrumental, and features a sort of sonic battle between synth voice + harp [heaven] and electric guitar + violin [hell])

<spoken> When will the end end?

Blends into the next song ->

Overture

Overture

Wherein the shattered forces of heaven and hell parlay and decide to split the world between them.

(wind sounds -> quiet violin quiver, hesitant -> harp plucks in reply -> violin is twirling, charming -> harp starts to play in harmony -> voices + guitar join but kept seperate in content, rarely overlapping.)

Blends into the next song ->

Merger of Heaven and Hell

Merger of Heaven and Hell

Wherein Heaven and hell unite forces and form H&H, splitting the population into the saved and the damned, 144,000 of the former, many, many more of the latter.

(wind sounds -> quiet violin quiver, hesitant -> harp plucks in reply -> violin is twirling, charming -> harp starts to play in harmony -> voices + guitar join but kept seperate in content, rarely overlapping.)

Verse 1:
We'll call it a match 'cause
Opposites attract.
We started all together
And while we know we can't go back,
Let's be civilized, let's agree
there's us and then there's them,
We want a few,
We want what's left.
Well then.
Well then.

Chorus:
Say we do, we'll do it too.
Let church bells ring, and fiddles sing.
Where there's shadow there must be light
And we'll be wrong and you'll have right.

Verse 2:
We'll give you our stone to rebuild your tower.
We'll lend you the night sky whose dark shrouds our power.
We're beneath you but behind you
With you all the way
Be not proud, be not greedy
With what's ours
And we'll say
We'll say

Chorus

Bridge:
Swords to pens
Wings to quills
Armor to dresses
Suits and tresses
One good book up high
A million loose pages below
Shower down blessed and damned
A shake between right and left hand
We're your woman
I'm your Man.

Chorus

The Programme

The Programme

Wherein, some years in the future, we learn of an H&H funded program in which certain morals are placed in a system of observation and containment.

Port orphan
Whore's daughter
Tossed out
With dirty water
Half the world
Gone to slaughter

Yet what sadness
In a new birth
With life lived this way
What's it worth?
There's the lucky few
And the unlucky fewer
And the ones in between
Who never knew her

But eyes above
And hands below
Saw her and gripped her
Why?
We don't know
Don't know…

So slash slash that X
Fresh red on the thin line
Best way to keep them in line
In line
Let the whispers whisper down
The grape vine
Grape vine
Keep your sharp eyes eying
For the least sign
Least sign

Fresh linens
Deep bunker
Bare bulbs
Makes you wonder
The world above
Just distant thunder…

(drums like thunder transition into the next song by becoming…

Fourteen Girls (The Dark Room)

Fourteen Girls (The Dark Room)

Wherein the inductees of the Programme go through their daily routine under the oversight of the staff, and in which a single girl is set aside for scheduled isolation in a totally dark room.

…a marching beat)

<spoken> WAKE UUUP!

Verse 1:
The lights go up, our shattered sun
In rows we go, dressed all alike
Clip clip, slip slip
Through our ranks
With pens atwitch
Thirteen it used to be
Unlucky for the next to come
Who's she, who's she?
Odd many, odder one.

Chorus:
And it's
And it's
Day after day
Or maybe
Night after night
Time measured in
Portions of light
Take that away
Time disappears
Eternity, instant
Single, boundless fear

<spoken> GRUB'S UUUP!

Verse 2:
The staff of life, staff serves up
Eyes no surprise, watch us sit
Two four, seven fourteen
Head counting
For sights unseen
She's in black common
But we know they know
When they take her
Where does she go?

Chorus

Bridge:
(this section is starkly different from the rest of the piece, a retreat into a more melodic section where the marching drums fade into a steady heartbeat in the background)
Palm to palm
She gave me
Something to hold
Hold onto
Such a tiny flame
Such a minor magic
Don't gasp
Don't breath too quick
Next time
Next time in
In the dark
In the dark

<spoken> LINE UUUP!

(sound of a metal door swinging shut, closing; silence)

The Swallower of Light (Matchstick Symphony)

The Swallower of Light (Matchstick Symphony)

Wherein the 14th girl lights a match and reveals the ravenous demon that lives in the dark; struggle, followed by the devouring of the demon.

(sound of heavy breathing, animal-like)

(low growl)

(single match strike)

(sizzle, burn)

(sucking sound)

(caught breath)

(silence)

(Instrumental - low pants, growls, muffled and muted drumbeats and synthesized ambient noises; the whole of the sound executes through a curtain of sonic darkness until…)

(single match strike)

(sizzle, burn)

(Instrumental kicks into full swing, muffling gone, guitars and fiddles added to the sound layers)

(sharp inhale)

(silence)

Black or Yellow

Wherein the 14th girl emerges, having devoured the Swallower of Light, and chooses to run rather than fight.

The Tower and the Shadow

Wherein the 14th girl escapes to the surface, and approaches the Tower to Heaven, and its shadow structure, the Shaft to Hell.

Face in a Thousand Pieces (The Cracked Mirror)

Take a Number

Change of Address

Straight Up and Crooked

Virtue, Levity, Charity

On Borrowed Wings

The Big Man (What Were We To Do?)

Burn Heaven, Drown Hell

Sable's Songs

Sable is fickle and distractible, but also energetic and creative. When she actually sits down to write songs, it's usually done all in one go, in a fit of inspiration. The following are lyrics from her completed works, penned entirely by herself, as opposed to any of the collaborations she has undertaken with her comrades in arms.

One Handed Blues

One Handed Blues

This song was written during Sable's recovery period after her arm was broken in a fight. It's meant to evoke an old style Blues aesthetic.

---

I sold my right hand to the devil, baby

So now I can't play the blues

Woulda given my soul instead, baby

But it's worth nothing without you

I wanna play my heart out, baby

But what can I do?

I got no love, I got no hope

I got just one more hand to lose.

---

You took all my lovin', baby

You helped yourself to your fill

You emptied my heart out, baby

And I'm hollow still

Now I standin' like a scarecrow, baby

On top of this lonely hill

I got no love, I got no hope

And I never will

---

I'd've given my sight to keep you, baby

I'd've given both of my eyes

I'd've lost both my ears, baby

So I'd stop hearin' your lies

But it's too late, yeah too late, baby

'cause no matter how I try

I won't see you again, baby

All I'll I hear is my sighs

Red Menace

Red Menace

This piece is dedicated to C.C., an ex-girlfriend of Sable's from Boston. It's a roots rock song influenced chiefly by the stylings of Joan Jett (and her Blackhearts).

---

You've got a flag, girl

And a book in hand,

You got a bone to pick

To pick with the Man

I like your style, girl

Let's get our solidarity on

Let's kiss at the rally

And sing some old French song

---

You're my red menace, don't you forget it

The ruling class better watch their ass

You're going strong, it won't be long

When you take the world, will you be my girl

Or, baby doll will you put me up

Up against the wall?

---

We watched that flick

'bout the R.A.F.

Cruisin' to the Who

The badass Left

Chicks with guns?

I can get into that

Smash the state, babe

Knock me flat

---

You're my red menace, don't you forget it

You blow my mind, every time

Come on love, we'll mix a molotov

When you take the world, will you be my girl

Or, baby doll will you put me up

Up against the wall?

---

You say the time is right

You sure feel right to me

I'm gonna rise on up, babe

I'll make you see

You say you wanna revolution?

I dig that sound

But love's what makes

The world spin 'round.

The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule

A soulful rock song, this tune switches between soft and loud, slow and fast, defeated and defiant.

---

I don't think you meant

To do this to me

'cause, babe, that'd be cruel

Certain I didn't mean

To fall like I did

Never aimed to be no fool

But here is where we are

And that's simple fact

And, hon, there's a Golden Rule

---

It says:

Do unto others

And what you done to me

Done to so many others

You're blind not to see

But I'll get you back, love

You'll end up lovin' me

---

Ain't sayin' you chose

To do what you did

But ignorance's no excuse

And you go ahead

Try playin' it cool

But we know there ain't no use

Love's a battle, doll

And we're both at war

No ceasefire, no chance of truce

---

So I'll

Do unto you

What you done unto me

I won't stand for no less

Just wait and see

The tables'll turn girl

You'll end up lovin' me

---

Not an eye for an eye, but eye to eye,

Not justice, hon, just the two of us

I'll start to play fair when you play along

This ain't no idle promise, it's an honest to God song

---

You gotta

Do unto others

And what you done to me

Done to so many others

You're blind not to see

But I'll get you back, love

You'll end up lovin' me

Some Nights

Some Nights

A relatively minimal song with a heavy, steady bass line, this some has some strong country influences mixed with a touch of punk and grunge.

---

Some nights

Some nights

Some nights some

God damned nights

---

Some nights I'm warm with memory

Some nights I ain't alone

Nights like that I feel

Like this place could be home

Like maybe I needn't worry

Like I don't gotta fear

Some nights I know you're with me

Even when you ain't here

---

Some nights

Nights like these

Some fuckin' nights

Some nights

---

Some nights the devil's in me

Some nights I don't think of you

Nights like this make me wicked

Liable to be untrue

A night where hearts are reckless

Such nights, they don't last long

A night of wine and wiles

No thought of right nor wrong

---

Some nights

Some nights some nights

And tonight I dunno

What kinda night

But some nights

Just some son of a bitchin' nights

---

Some nights I can't warm up

Some nights are oh so cold

Nights like this they make me

Make me feel so fuckin' old

I shoulda been better

Nights like this I know

That it was all my fault I lost you

The night you had to go

---

And every night

Every last night

Since that night

Is a night

A night

A…

(single hard chord)

Song for You Know Who

Song for You Know Who

Done in the style of Hendrix (most like 'Fire' and 'Foxy Lady'), this song's actual dedication is left unspecified. Questions as to it's subject are most liable to earn a smirk and little more.

---

(spoken)
Ah ha ha ha
You won't get away
Oh no
No no girl
No matter…

---

(sung)

Y'all think you're smooth?

I'm sure you're fine as silk

But I'm your lady tailor, babe

I'll whip you int' shape

You don't make eyes at Sable, sweetie

And think you get 'way clean

You dunno who yer dealin' with

Trouble is, it's way too late

---

(spoken)
Hooo yes
You gone 'n'
Crossed on over
Just a matter
Matter of time, babe

(kickass guitar solo!!!)

(spoken)
Jus' like that
Like thhha- t

---

(sung)

Play with fire darlin'

Bound to get burned, burned up

Feel the flames a-lickin'

Hot on your heels

Run go on run

I know th' steps to this dance

But you'll stop, stop right in your tracks

The way I'm gonna make you feel

---

(spoken)
And then you won't never
Never be the same
Ha ha!

(another kickass guitar solo? you better fuckin' believe it!!!)

---

(sung)

Try and hide all you want

It won't change a thing

Think I can't see what I do to you?

You're pulling wool over your own eyes

You ain't no innocent no more, babe

Ain't no pure white lamb

And you're running with the wolves now

That's one howl you can't disguise

---

(spoken)
So I will
I'll make you
You're gonna
Oh yeah
Ah ha ha!

(holy shit another guitar solo!!!)

Clenched Fist

Clenched Fist

Written for Ygraine FitzRoy's 'Liberty' project, this song has a certain beat/hip hop element to it, with a very steady, strong backbeat.

---

You gotta

Get up

Get up

Dontcha know you gotta

Step up

Rise up

All I'm gonna say is that you gotta

Wake up

Wise up

Get those fingers closed together raise your

Fist up

Strike out

Lift your legs and dare to

March out

Shout out

That this is the day we're gonna

Say no

Won't go

Down the street like we're blind

Down the street like we're blinkered

Gotta free up your mind

Be a fighter and a thinker

And I say-

---

Get those fingers closed together raise your

Fist up!

Ain't nothing can stop us when we get the

Noise up!

And we won't stand for any of this

Bullshit!

Raise a clenched fist and fuckin'

End it!

---

We gotta

Move fast

Move fast

The time is now but it

Won't last

Die's cast

And the roll has gotta have some

Rock to it

Let's do it

Knuckles bloody from the wall we gonna

Hit it

Split it

Open up those gates and let the

Flood rush

Cheeks flush

As our red blood's pumping from our

Free hearts

Let's start

To show the people how to mass

To show the people how to move

Ain't no empire gonna last

When we get into the groove

And I say-

---

Get those fingers closed together raise your

Fist up!

Ain't nothing can stop us when we get the

Noise up!

And we won't stand for any of this

Bullshit!

Raise a clenched fist and fuckin'

End it!

---

And I can't say it'll take a day

Rome won't be fast to fade away

Nor Babylon to topple way down

But we're heading to a show down

And when the riot shields are lined up

And try to round our kind up

And the gas it stings your eyes

We'll raise a fist up to the skies

'cause we're finished with the lies

And it's time

It's time

It's time

It's time!

---

Get those fingers closed together raise your

Fist up!

Fuckin' mean it don't you ever

Give up!

Battle's on let's charge to

Meet 'em!

Raise a clenched fist and cry:

'Freedom!'

Ruby Slipper

Ruby Slipper

Written for (as opposed to merely 'about') Delilah Trafford, this song features a central acoustic guitar riff with simple accompaniment - though it's ballad structure makes it easy to adapt.

---

Long's the road that took me

To the city where you live

Long's the journey

Wild and winding

Great's the effort I give

Still every day, tryin' t' give

---

And you lift me up, up

Up into the blue

And you set me down right, right

Right where I belong

With you, babe

With you

---

And I know I ain't a spare inch taller

But y'all can see how much I've grown

You're my ruby slipper, baby

I beg you, take me home

---

Ain't too much courage left

In this poor battered heart

Had I brains

Cleverer, wiser

Maybe I'd have made a better start

Spent less time apart

---

But it's a lesson learned

Well learned, and saints above

I know now what matters matter

All that matters, babe -

It's love

It's love

---

And I know I ain't an angel

And I been reapin' what I sewn

But mercy, love - pray, click your heels

And bring this poor gal home!

---

It's like a dream, each wakin'

When daybreak opens my eyes

And I see your colors burning

Poppies 'neath a technicolor sky

There's nothin' kept behind no curtain

I got nothin' left to hide

To me you're great 'n' terrible

I'm stickin' at your side

---

And I know I ain't a spare inch taller

But y'all can see how much I've grown

You're my ruby slipper, baby

I beg you, take me home

Yeah, you're my ruby slipper, baby

I beg you, take me home

Remember This Face!

In Younger Days and Down the Road