Gift for himundergreen by thingswithwings (Luke Cage)

[fv_poster]

Title of vid: Battle Cry
Recipient: himundergreen
Vidder: thingswithwings
Fandom: Luke Cage (2016)
Music: Battle Cry by Angel Haze & Sia
Summary: Misty, Claire, Luke: Truth, Healing, Freedom.
Content notes: Physical triggers (e.g., epilepsy or migraine: strobe lights, bright lights, "stuttery" cuts between 2-3 stills), Contains blood and injuries+ gun violence+ and two seconds of strobing lights (like the fire alarm kind).
Signed length: 05:53
Signed URL: http://thingswithwings.dreamwidth.org/225151.html

Lyrics
Money cannot buy

All the love that's here tonight

All the love that's here tonight

oh-oh, oh-oh

It’s just you and I

So lift your hands toward the sky

Lift your hands toward the sky

oh-oh, oh-oh



It seems like yesterday that I was nothin'

Then all of a sudden I'm a volcanic eruption

Then all of a sudden it's like spontaneous combustion

And I'm all up in your face yellin', "Bitch, you can't tell me nothin'"

'Cause I came from the bottom, now everybody's watchin'

I said it was my time, now I'm who everybody's clockin'

And I'm just out here sprintin', I'm runnin' right through my vision

I'm trying to outrun my past, but still trying to defeat my limits

'Cause you only get one moment in this life to be great

And you give it your all despite what it takes

And you never let 'em kill you, you take everything they give you

And throw it right fuckin' at 'em and tell 'em it doesn't build you

And no it don't ever break you, and no it can't overtake you

Life's like a bed of roses, you take the thorns and you make do

Sometimes you have to hurt for the 'cause to be reached

But one day you'll be stronger than all that you beat



And you can say

Money cannot buy

All the love that's here tonight

All the love that's here tonight

oh-oh, oh-oh

There's just you and I

So lift your hands toward the sky

Lift your hands toward the sky

oh-oh, oh-oh



I woke up one Sunday morning, stopped believing in Jesus

Stopped believing in churches, I stopped believing in preachers

I realized I was a teacher, not just one of the heathens

I'm born to destroy the fallacies, stop creating believers

Start creating the leaders, tell 'em who they should follow

Nobody but themselves, especially if they hollow

Especially when they empty in desperate search for fulfillment

You the only person alive who holds the key to your healing

So you take it and you run with it

And keep going even when your sun’s hidden

Because the time we spend in darkness when the rain comes

Is where we often find the light soon as the pain's done

There ain't material things in the world

That can change the fact that you feel lonely

Despite the fact that it gets hard, you take it all and you still go

Take the sun and you still grow, lose the light and you still glow

I been there, I'm still here and I know how you feel, so



Money cannot buy

All the love that's here tonight

All the love that's here tonight

oh-oh, oh-oh

There's just you and I

So lift your hands toward the sky

Lift your hands toward the sky

oh-oh, oh-oh

We don't wanna fight

So sing with me our battle cry

Sing with me our battle cry

oh-oh, oh-oh



It's hard to explain my way of living to people who never lived it

A minute in my position filled with my opposition

That anybody not different fighting to stay the same

I got lives in my hands and I'm fighting to make 'em change

Couldn't accept responsibility, find somebody to blame

The emotions that I'm harboring 'bout to drive me insane

Tried to say fuck everything, but I ain't have the heart to

Rarely had the heart to do a lot of things I ought to

So now I spit it for people who say their chords missing

Inspire life into anybody that's forfeiting

'Cause it's easy to keep pretending that there's nothing wrong

But it's harder to keep their head up and be fucking strong

So, now they telling me "go, Haze, they can't stop you

Heavyweight flow, if they can't lift you then they can't drop you

The pinnacle, if they can't reach you then they can't top you

Man, they can't do anything that you're about to"



Money cannot buy

All the love that's here tonight

All the love that's here tonight

oh-oh, oh-oh

There's just you and I

So lift your hands toward the sky

Lift your hands toward the sky

oh-oh, oh-oh

We don't wanna fight

So sing with me our battle cry

Sing with me our battle cry

oh-oh, oh-oh



Money cannot buy

All the love that's here tonight

All the love that's here tonight

Comments

[himundergreen]

Oh my goodness.

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

This is -- I am, shockingly, almost at a loss for words because I'm so moved by this vid. This is amazingly good, brilliantly edited, matching lyrics to actions and images, and it drew me along the narrative of each segment's character like the irresistable current of a raging river.

This, right here, is so much of what I loved about Luke Cage, and I applaud you -- whoever you are! -- for making this for me for Festivids. Thank you, thank you, thank you! :)

[himundergreen]

Oh, and FYI, thank you so much for introducing me to Angel Haze! I've listened to the entirety of the Dirty Gold album now and just maybe I have a vid idea for Black Dahlia. :)

[goodbyebird]

This is a spectacular vid! Great editing throughout, will definitely be back for several rewatches for sure <3

[ghost_lingering]

This is fantastic!

[thuviaptarth]

I love how this is not just a great character study for Misty, Claire, and Luke, but draws on the wonderful sense of world and community that the show itself built for Harlem, especially in your opening and closing.

[leanwellback]

Shit that was SO AWESOME. Razor sharp editing, brilliant musicality and such a great choice of song. You made such excellent use of each verse to explore these characters and their world and tied it all together flawlessly. Fantastic work, will be watching this a ton more times!

[elipie]

Oh noooooo, I'm having so many feelings!! I had to watch this twice because my tears were blocking my vision the first time. <3

This was such a great song for all three of them. Also, please teach me how to make a 5 minute long vid that consistently holds one's attention, because you've mastered that.

[kiki_miserychic]

Whoa, this is so well crafted. Excellent structure for a three character ensemble study. The beginning brilliantly follows a formula to show the trio of focus, then dives deep into each of them and their connections. The lyrical interpretations are so tight and the editing is so good.

[talumin]

That was perfect! Misty and Claire and Luke all being badass and just a overall moving vid.

[amathela]

Oh, wow, I loved this so much. The entire vid was amazing, but the ending sequence left me in tears (in the best way).

[fairestcat]

Oh, wow, this is phenomenal. And I love your song choice.

[sasha_feather]

Wow, this is so moving and really captures all the love and hope of the show.

[valoise]

The heart of what makes Luke Cage some of the best tv of this past year, neatly, expertly distilled into 5 minutes of superb vid.

[beatrice_otter]

Amazing--so well done!

[bingeling]

I haven't seen the show, but you've blown me away with this vid. It's so powerful and intense and incredibly touching. I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

[himundergreen]

Ohhhhh, you definitely should! This vid condenses a ton from Luke Cage, as well as some measure of both Daredevil seasons and season 1 of Jessica Jones, but it's still well-worth the time spent to see all of them as well.

[bingeling]

I haven't really seen anything of MCU and I have superhero fatigue, but it looks like I need to make an exception for this.

[himundergreen]

If you want just enough for things to make sense but not get overdosed *grin* I'd recommend, in order, Jessica Jones s1 and then Luke Cage s1. Luke gets introduced in Jessica Jones and is a major supporting character.

Claire (the nurse who is a third of this video) has a cameo towards the end of JJ and a more significant role in Luke Cage. (Claire was introduced back in Daredevil s1, and also plays a role in DD s2, but the events in there can be taken almost completely separately from the things that occur in Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.)

[ironed_orchid]

I loved that Clare's segment included her in JJ (and what I assume to to be Daredevil). When she showed up in Luke Cage I almost cheered as she and Malcom were my favourite supporting characters in JJ.

[sanguinity]

Wow. I just... wow.

[anotherslashfan]

Wow, this is brilliant! Takes all the good things from the shows and makes it way way better. I loved how each character got their own verse, and the ending was just perfect!

[heresluck]

This. is. AMAZING. Seriously, I love everything about this vid -- this song, these characters, this song FOR these characters ("we don't wanna fight"), the way you've introduced each character in the intro and then structured it so that each protagonist hands off to the next and the whole thing culminates in those few (but so wonderful) shots of the three of them together. I can only imagine how much work went into making that progression feel so effortless and inevitable.

They are all superheroes. And so are you, anonymous festividder, for making this gorgeous, fantastic, moving vid. I will be rewatching this one a lot.

[felis]

Oh, wow. WOW. I have not seen the show (yet), but this vid kept me glued to the screen for five minutes and at the end I was surprised it had been that long. Wonderful work.

[calvinahobbes]

That was just stunning! So well done!

[ironed_orchid]

OH MY HEART!

This is spectacular.

[yarnofariadne]

Ohhhh wow, this is so perfect and wonderful.

[sabotabby]

Wow, what a gorgeous video.

[kore]

This is beautiful! Captures so much of what I loved about the show.

[danegen]

That was amazing, really powerful ending.

[such_heights]

This is so beautiful and emotional - it's really well paced and structured so that the feels keep on rising! As Claire and then Luke were introduced I gasped a little the first time. Really stunning work, I'm going to come back to it a bunch of times. AND I LOVE THEM AND THEY LOVE EACH OTHER. <3

[anoel]

Finally finished the show and WOW this is amazing and even more gorgeous seeing it again. I absolutely love the song choice that fits perfectly (we don't wanna fight!) and the structure of it works so well with the intro of all three of them and then the separate verses for all of them while you still show the connections particularly in the choruses. You captured the struggles and strength of each of the characters so well although I particularly loved the Misty section. I loved how you showed the happy moments between the three of them (especially Misty/Claire ;)) and then how Luke is eventually supported by the community at the end. This is so powerful and I love it so much!! Definitely one of my favorites of Festivids :)