#filk #acoustic #acousticonetake #story #personwithpiano #finish_it This is an old set of lyrics from I don't know when. I wrote it after I finished the Hell's Library Trilogy by A. J. Hackwith. I loved this series! It's queer, it's full of found family and what it truly takes to forge said found family through difficult times. Monogamy is not assumed, etc. SPOILERS AHEAD:

These lyrics are full of details from the books. I'll sketch it out briefly, if I can. Hero is a character who has escaped his book. He is quick, charismatic and yet vulnerable at the same time. He desperately doesn't want to go back into his book, and so Claire (The Librarian of the Library of the Unwritten Books) and her friends have to go on a merry chase to try to see if they can force him back. Along the way, some demons decide they want to take over and suddenly the Librarians have to save existence. (But also there's lots of discourse about what makes a good person/character, what is goodness, badness, etc.) Oh right, a fallen angel joins the team. He's a big deal. Ramiel (the fallen angel) is fairly bemused and interested in what goes on in Hell's Library. The second book is mostly concerned with ideas of agency and memory. I'm trying to be brief and not give spoilers. Just read the books! Hero and Claire and Ramiel fall in love, but not like you might expect them to. It's my favourite. Hero (who, you may have guessed, was actually the villain in his story, whoops) tries to martyr himself to save everyone, especially Ramiel and becomes a Librarian of a long-forgotten part of the library. (Hint: Dead books aren't dead, actually.)

I love this character because he is a true exploration of what it means to be good, what goodness is versus niceness and the way experience shapes a person's perspective.

Okay, I'm almost out of room. Musically this is very formulaic to let the words shine and tell the story.

Who am I and what's my crime And where's the proof that I'm alive and What's my name and where's the proof How could you know I tell the truth A hero here, alone before you Scraps of soul can try to warn you There's no way out of this black thing It's cute you think that you can string It out

I'm made of everything that's fallen Warped and torn, but never polished Stained with skin and dreams and fears I quiver when I see your tears Dripping down to join the torrent Did nature make me so abhorrent?

Tracking down the rings of time Squished into this dotted line I've read my way back home again It's looking like this is the end

You never called me by my name A hero's face and villains game I'll prove myself to you in kind You'll know that I'm a hero when I die

Who am I and what's my crime I have no proof that I'm alive, but Bleeding scars and bruises too And then I dare to look at you Fractal grey in feather form Eyes of storm but still so warm As if that kiss would never end If I could only feel so brave again

I fell for everything that's fallen Once forlorn, but never tarnished Wrapped in skin and dreams and fears I didn't know that you saw my tears Dripping down from secret torment Did nature make me too abhorrent?

Tracking down the rings of time Squished into these dotted lines I've read my way back home again But now I don't want this to end

You never called me by my name A villains face and hero's shame You proved myself to me in kind I wished I was your Hero when I died I wished I was your Hero