#and raps is selling some of her art

[casperth3ghost]

ive recently been so obbsessed with the au/concept/thought/idek of rapunzel running away from gothel, but NOT finding out who her parents are

like if eugene didnt go to the stabbingtons after the boat scene, imagine how different their lives would be, and i can just imagine raps getting her first haircut and her and eugene getting married and they live probably out in old corona and they just live like that yk? maybe going on roadtrips together and visiting different towns and kingdoms

and idk why but them just having a pretty normal life just as commoners of corona would be so cute idk why😭🙏

[amayaonly1]

Verses Unwritten: A Rap Odyssey

Eminem x Rapper!OC

Verse 1

About: When a call from Dr. Dre brings a bold proposition to work with Eminem on his comeback album, Genji - a Japanese rap legend known for her underground roots - faces a new challenge that could shake the music world. Will she embrace the chaos, or is this collaboration too much even for her?

A/N: It all started with a trip down memory lane of 2000's hip hop. Then after listening to a few of Eminem's old songs, I went down the rabbit hole of his newer songs. And yeah... here we are. Anyway, hope you enjoy the first chapter of this series. :) *Italics: Speaking in Japanese

"Verses Unwritten: A Rap Odyssey" Chapter List: Verse 1 | Verse 2 | Verse 3 | Verse 4 | Verse 5 | Verse 6 | Verse 7 | Verse 8 | Verse 9 | Verse 10 | Verse 11 | Verse 12 | Verse 13 | Verse 14 | Verse 15 | Verse 16 | Verse 17 | Verse 18 | Verse 19 | Verse 20 | Verse 21 | Verse 22 | Verse 23 | Verse 24 | Verse 25 | Verse 26 | Verse 27

Disclaimer: This work is a work of fiction, and any involvement of the character Genji is purely fictional and not representative of any real person.

She reached for the red button, pressing it down before leaning into the microphone. A small smile tugged at her lips. "What do you think?" Her breathy Tokyo accent crackled through the speakers in the recording booth.

Takahiro let out an enthusiastic grunt, his smile beaming as he adjusted one earcup of his headpones. He leaned slightly over the music stand where a printout of the lyrics was clipped while a wooden pencil rested on the base on standby.

"You've really outdone yourself, Miss Genji," he praised. "It's just the first chorus and already I can tell it's going to be a hit."

"Thanks," the said woman sheepishly responded, nodding curtly. She kept her finger on the button, asking, "Would you like to go over the song again or...?"

"I think I'll run through the song on my own just in case, and then we continue with the recording?" he proposed.

"Sounds good." Genji spun in her chair slightly and turned to the production crew behind her. "Take a five-minute breather, everyone!"

"Okay!" the team chorused back.

The lull set in immediately, footsteps thudding as some wandered off towards the toilets or the pantry. Songwriters sitting on the leather sofa at the back of the room huddled around the coffee table, replaying the instrumental with their own printed copies of the lyrics. But none of it distracted the long, dark brown-haired woman, who leaned back in her swivel chair, thumbing through the scrawled pages of her B4-sized notebook. At the top of the page, written in her quick, messy pencil strokes were the words "ふたつの唇 (Futatsu no Kuchibiru; Two Lips)".

She'd known what sort of attention she'd been bringing to herself the moment she thought of collaborating with- or rather, writing a song for a boy band; if not, one of Japan's most famous boy bands. But trending on Twitter for a fortnight straight? Never once in her career did she see that coming.

Genji Drops the Mic… for Love? EXILE Collaboration Rumoured From street battles to heartbeats, fans react to the unexpected pairing.

popqueen_kiko Wait, Genji’s going soft? Where's the aggression? Where's the flow? …but also, I need to hear this immediately. 😂💕 genji_forever First a love song, then what? Genji in a music video doing EXILE's dance moves? I would sell my house to see that. 🕺🔥 lyricalSamurai When a rap legend like Genji picks up a pen for EXILE… legends support legends, people. Respect the art. 🔥🎤 hiroshi_inoue Genji writing about love is more shocking than my dad saying he loves me. Still, I’ll listen. 😂🎧 #EXILE #RapLegend

Genji laughed softly at the memory, the corner of her mouth quirking up. At least she got a good laugh.

She was barely halfway through the second hook when she felt her bag vibrating against her chair. With her gaze still fixated on the notebook, she reached behind, rummaging through the contents of her bag until she fished out her rose gold D905i. One tap on a button, and she placed it close to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon, Miss Genji!" came a familiar cheery voice. "I truly apologise for the inconvenience."

The said woman's lips twitched upward in recognition. She needed not to ask who it was, nor did she need to check the caller ID, considering she greeted the receptionist every time she arrived and left work. "No worries. We just happen to be on our break. Is there anything you need from me?"

"There is a man who wishes to speak to you in person."

Genji blinked. Had she been so engrossed in recording that she forgot something important? "A man? Does he have an appointment?"

"No, he doesn't. His translator relayed he said that he'll meet you in California? I'm not sure what he means... Should I send him away or…?"

Genji let out a chuckle. There's only one person in her life- or rather, in this world, who'd say that to her.

"No, no. Tell him to meet me in the lounge. I'll be there shortly."

"Understood, I'll let him know."

The call ended with a soft click. Sliding the phone back into her bag, Genji stood and stretched, tugging the sleeves of her oversized grey hoodie down over her knuckles.

"Hey, Atsushi," she called out.

The said man, adorning a pair of sunglasses, looked up immediately. Lifting his headphones, he responded, "Yes?"

"I have a surprise visitor waiting for me." She tugged the drawstrings before swinging the navy blue back onto her shoulder. "I'm not sure how long it'll take, so I'll need you to help me with the recording."

"That sounds like a lot of pressure already, Miss Genji," joked the lead vocalist. "I'm touched that you have this much trust in me."

Genji let out an amused chuckle, grinning at him. "Of course. You know your group's music style best. I might be able to provide the song, but how much it fits EXILE is up to you and the others." She pulled the strings and slung her bag on her shoulders. "I'll see you all later."

Giving them a wave, she walked briskly to the silver elevator waiting at the end of the hall. She pressed the down button, and the doors opened, welcoming her as she stepped inside. Pulling out a white access card from her left jeans pocket, she tapped it against the panel and selected the second floor. The doors slid shut with a soft hiss, sealing her inside as it slowly descended.

Her reflection stared back at her from the polished steel walls. Genji tugged at the hem of her hoodie absently, a small smile pulling at her lips.

"'California', huh? Let’s see what you've got to say this time."

Ding!

As the elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, Genji stepped onto the polished wooden floor, her eyes instinctively scanning the space. The vibrant contrast of teal chairs and the striking red bench caught her attention, but it's the familiar face in the softly lit room that drew her forward. Spotting the man wearing his signature leather jacket seated near the far table beneath the pendant light, she felt the corner of her lips lifted into a smile as she approached him, the subtle squeaks of her green CALIFORNIA 78 muffled by the herringbone floor.

The man looked up, his smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Well, well. I knew I'd find you out here running things, but damn, Gen. You haven't aged a day."

The said woman raised a brow. "Is that what you say to all the legends you track down, Dre?" she teased. "Or am I special?”

He chuckled, rising to his feet. "Oh, you're special, aight. C'mere."

She didn't hesitate, letting him pull her into a brief but warm hug. His cologne, sharp and familiar, triggered a rush of memories. Late nights in the studio, Tupac's infectious laugh, hip hop beats pounding through the walls of the recording booth; how she longed to return to those days.

Pulling back, Genji looked at him. "You still look the same -except maybe with fewer hours of sleep."

"Studio life will do that to you," he replied with a wide grin. "Ya know how that is." He motioned to the seat across from him, and she dropped onto the chair, leaning back with a casual ease. "You still in Japan, huh? I heard your name floating around again. Writing love songs for boy bands now?"

She let out a mock groan. "You actually saw the headlines? Didn't think it'd reach all the way to America..."

"Oh, I've seen 'em." Dre chuckled, settling back into his seat. "'Genji Goes Soft.' You've got the whole internet losing their minds."

"I thought they'd grow out of it by now," she muttered, though her smile gave away her amusement. "I can't even write a ballad without people acting like I’ve betrayed hip-hop."

He shook his head, an impressed look on his face. "You always kept 'em on their toes. That's what I've always liked about you since back in the day - unpredictable, always stirrin' shit up that turned out to be dope hits. Speaking of-" He paused, leaning forward slightly. "You remember our song, right?"

"How could I forget?" she replied, her tone softening. "What was supposed to be the worst year for me ended up becoming some of the best days of my life. You, Pac… the energy was just unreal."

His gaze turned thoughtful, his voice quieter. "Yeah. Pac really brought out something special in all of us, didn't he? I still think about that sometimes."

The woman across him nodded, a beat of silence hanging between them, heavy but not uncomfortable. Finally, she smirked to lighten the mood. "And you brought me in to do all the dirty work on the arrangements. You know you owe me."

"Please," he scoffed, grinning back. "You loved every second of it."

"Maybe," she admitted with a sly shrug. "But you still owe me."

He laughed, the sound deep and genuine, before his expression turned serious. "Listen. Part of the reason I wanted to track you down is because I've got something big in the works. You heard about Eminem, right?"

"Of course." Genji sat up straighter. "I'm aware that he's been laying low for a few years now. What about him?"

Dre's eyes gleamed with excitement. "He's making a comeback. The album's called "Relapse". We're still in production, though."

"So Slim Shady's back in business, huh? I can imagine the world getting set on fire."

"Exactly," Dre affirmed, leaning forward. "I'm pulling out all the stops for this one, and it got me thinking… You and Em could make something nobody's ever heard before."

Genji blinked, processing his words. "You're kidding, right? The internet's still recovering from me writing a love song for a boy band. Imagine how they'd react to this."

"Let 'em talk," he shot back, smirking knowingly. "That's what happens when you rewrite the rules, Gen. And you've always rewritten the rules."

She narrowed her eyes at him, lips twitching into a half-smile. "And you want me to bring those rules to Eminem? Slim Shady and my production in the same room?"

"That's what makes it perfect. I'm talking your beats and Em's words tearing through 'em, a sound that could hit harder than anything they've heard in years."

Genji's half-smile returned, though her eyes narrowed with scepticism. "You're dangerous, Dre. Y'know that?"

"Comes with the territory," he replied smoothly. "But I mean it. You've been pushing boundaries your whole career. Why stop now?" Standing up, he extended a hand, pushing for one last time, "What say you?"

Genji stared at his hand for a moment, the weight of the challenge settling in her chest. Slowly, she reached out and clasped it, a spark of that old fire dancing behind her eyes. "Aight, I'll think about it. But I'm warning you - if I burn down the internet again, it's on you."

"Trust me, I've got a fire extinguisher ready." Dre grinned, clearly satisfied. "Now let's grab coffee. I need to know how my Gen ended up doing love drops for a boy band."

The said woman sighed, trailing after him toward the elevator. "You never let me live anything down, do you?"

"Never," he shot back with a hearty laugh. "Besides, you owe me. 'California Love', remember?"

She threw him a sideways glance with a teasing smirk. "Owe you? Please. You still owe me for making that beat hotter than the California sun. If I wasn't humble, I'd be charging you interest by now."

Dre burst out laughing, shaking his head. "Man, it's good to have you back."

[talesfrommedinastation]

My redneck neighbor Doug on the Jedi in 'The Clone Wars'

Y'all have asked, and Dr. Meat Muffin might be a disgruntled old hag that chugs too much Trader Joe’s bourbon and doodles too much subpar art, but she keeps her promises!

Just so y’all know, if you’re a major character (Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, etc) you keep your name, because it was drilled into Doug’s head over 8 seasons of Clone Wars and the movies. Everyone else, though, Doug gave up and created his own catchphrases for them.

CW: This one's not as spicy as Doug's previous rants regarding Star Wars, but y'all know if y'all know. "It'll all come out in the wash."

--------------------------------------

Plo Koon: Ah, Shrimp Daddy. He looks like a shrimp that’s been boiled and left in the sun after a potluck. But my wife LOVES him, she says he has the nicest voice and she wishes he’d narrate some books. I loved him too, he was my favorite. That scene where he tells his clone boys in space that they’re important to him? Ah great. They should have him lead HR meetings. 

Aayla Secura: Babe-the-Blue-Jedi. They sent her away from the Temple because Yoda didn’t want that hotness distracting everyone. Is she and Miguel (Bly?!) dating? They are, right? 

Kit Fisto: Reggae Swamp Thing. Tell me that boy don't look like he lives in the Atchafalaya and bangs on the steel drums all day. I wonder if he stole those shorts from Michael Phelps. He’s cool but does he need to have a tank to swim in on his ship? Does he have gills? I need more info on this guy. 

Adi Gallia: Storm’s Cousin. Doesn’t this chick look like her? She does, right? Maybe she's a Jedi cause she can't control the weather. Didn’t Maul’s brother Saul impale her on his horns and that’s how she died?* Why didn’t Maul do that to Obi-Wan? Maul was obsessed with Obi-Wan, do you think it’s because he had a crush on him after he sliced him in half?

(Doug also ships Obi-Wan with Maul now? IS THERE ANYONE WHO DOUG DOESN'T SHIP OBI-WAN WITH?!)

Shaak-Ti: Ahsoka’s Aunt. They’re totally related. (“No, they’re not.” “Says who?” “Um, EVERYONE?!”) She’s cool, nice to the clone boys. I like her horns. 

Saesee Tiin : Angry Bull Boy. He looks like a minotaur whose daddy left him at a Wal-Mart instead of the Labyrinth after drinking too much.

Deepa Billaba: My Coworker Anu. Seriously! She looks JUST LIKE HER. I even texted her a screenshot, and she used that as her Slack Channel picture for the longest time. Nice lady, she's a good master to Lil Kanan. Hm, Lil Kanan sounds like a rap person my niece would listen to.

Ki-Adi-Mundi: Mutant-Mall-Santa. Look me dead ass in the eye and tell me the man don’t look like he was supposed to hand out presents and ask kids what they want for Christmas and ended up hanging out in toxic waste instead. He's a snotty asshole, I don't like him, he thinks the sun comes up just to hear him crow.

Luminara Undali: Lady-in-Drape. She’s a green lady, and she wears a drape. Meat Muffin, I'm tired and it's about to snow.

Barriss Offee: Little Lady-in-Drape. Man, she was awful, but she had good points, ya know? Kind of like Darth Maul. Do you think Darth Maul and Obi-Wan ever dated? Or would Obi-Wan’s boyfriend get jealous? 

Quinlan Voss: College-Hippie-Boy. Doesn’t he just look like one of those goofs that fart around with hackysacks all day long? I'd buy weed from him if he was selling, he looks like an exporter and consumer, if you know what I mean.

Even Piall: Dobby the House Jedi. Man he looks like he was on his way to help Harry Potter or something and ended up in a bathrobe with a light saber. Ah well. 

*= Savage is ‘Saul’ and Feral is ‘Paul’. So it’s Maul, Saul, and Paul. I strained a muscle laughing when I got this. 

Tagging my Redneck Doug stans here! @amalthiaph @sued134 @eyecandyeoz @thecoffeelorian @merkitty49 @megmca @skellymomam I missing anyone?

Let me know if I missed any Jedi, those were the ones that came up that Doug didn't immediately recognize.

[pansy-picnics]

First off I need to just mention that your Uknighted dream art is top tier elite and i am in love. Like you have no idea.

Okay, now thats said, do you have any soft ot3 headcanons/scenes that you can imagine happening but can’t figure out how to write etc etc.? 💕

God is all of them an option bc the answer is all of them

I SWEAR I. HAVE SO MANY IDEAS AND THOUGHTS TAKING UP SPACE IN MY BRAIN (Both for ukd and for the entire family tbh) that i just CANNOT bring myself to draw or write or anything. If i had the time to be able to draw everything that popped in my head it would be OVER for yall i stg. And then theres my in progress fic i have up right now which i last updated in like (checks notes) January but i swear i’ve been THINKING about updating it again and that counts right

- Ummm. this is just something i find very funny but i absolutely love the idea that before they “Formally” announce their relationship, the public have just been spreading rumors left and right about the princess’s “affair”. cass and rapunzel somehow NEVER notice this but for a while it seems like eugene cant go ANYWHERE without someone either awkwardly being like “Soooo how are things going with the princess ^_^;;;” or just straight up asking “Hey is your wife cheating on you?” with no hesitation.

and eugene, being the attention whore he is obviously just Went with it and was like “Well yeah duh. Who do you think set them up”

EVERYONE GOES CRAZY.

before long literally EVERYONE has heard about it. rapunzel’s fucking Parents have heard about it. people in other KINGDOMS have heard about it. Meanwhile eugene’s having the time of his Life. He’s got disguises just to go in and listen in on the servants’ gossip. at this point he’s just started Making shit up and every day he’s spreading a proposition thats somehow even more absurd than the last. Most of them don’t even make sense. Like “Oh yeah no the reason rapunzel and cass are always sneaking off together isn’t because they’re having a steamy love affair it’s actually because they’ve been making blood sacrifices to the underworld to make sure zhan tiri never returns. Just girl things yk?”

“No see you’ve got it all wrong thats not cassandra at all. That’s shorty. He and rapunzel are having a book club together. It’s not going very well because shorty keeps eating all the books.” Or his personal favorite, “Wait you thought RAPUNZEL was the one having the affair?” gets them EVERY TIME.

Cass and rapunzel finally declare things officially only for everyone to become even MORE confused and they finally realize eugenes been fueling the fire for the past 3 months and he had just Assumed they were already aware of it

eugene: ….Wait you guys didnt know about that?

raps: i

raps: NO????

eugene:

eugene: um. Oops

cass: THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN “OOPS”?????

- this is kind of random but i PROMISE its going somewhere bear with me. In my head eugene is NOT the captain of the guard because a character becoming a cop is literally a fate worse than death. instead i like to imagine he does some kind of social work and is also an author…Eugene has a rlly strong connection to literature and is a great storyteller, hes got a flair for the dramatic and a strong imagination and seeing how much the flynn rider books meant to him in his childhood, i think he’d absolutely want to create something like that for other people ���

Anyways one of my favorite ideas w them is a modern au where rapunzel and eugene are both starving artists who are making a webcomic together…Eugene is still trying to publish his first novel and is writing for the comic in the meantime. theyre aspiring towards turning it into a graphic novel. Cass is literally just forcing everyone around her to read it. You’ve already read it? Read it again /J. She’s their number one hypeman but she’s trying to act sooo chill about it to keep up her Cool stone cold butch aesthetic. She’s like going to cons with them and hands out business cards and helps sell merch and she has a side account on twitter where she gets into heated arguments with anyone who hateposts about it.

Bonus points: it’s a fantasy comic about a lost princess, her knight girlfriend and her rogue boyfriend and is loosely a reference to the events of the canon show

- OH OH something that DEFINITELY fits this category has to be the girls taking eugene to the lagoon for the first time…….I think cass and rapunzel still spend a lot of dates there just the two of them, and no matter what it is very much Their Spot ™, but after things become official it just. Doesn’t really feel right to keep it exclusively between them anymore. i have a LOTTTT of thoughts on this…..rapunzel bouncing around and showing everything to him and cass just being dragged along for the ride…picnics together by the water while cass and raps are eagerly telling him all the stories of what he missed out on. it’s their quiet place i think they escape to whenever they don’t want to be bothered at the castle LOL. eugene officiates the cassunzel wedding there….. not to mention if/when they have kids 🥹 Augh. They make sooo many memories there i think🫶🫶🫶

- Not a specific scene so much as just a silly hc but rapunzel LOVES it when they “fight” over her. Usually it’s just a playful thing and rapunzel finds it so cute and endearing. They have the exact same banter every time and the same fake “duel” for her hand and raps will NEVER get tired of it

- oh and SPA DAYS. God cassandra’s self care routines by herself have always been SHIT. I love that girl but i think she absolutely reeks. Her hair looks like something died in it and whenever it gets too long she just grabs the nearest sharp object and cuts it off in one swoop. Eugene and rapunzel are UTTERLY horrified by this and they do not let that shit fly as soon as she’s living with them. They have little self care nights at least once a week, sometimes just with the three of them and sometimes the rest of the family gets into it too, it depends on the day. eugene helps do her hair for her and they pick out all sorts of fancy products for her skin and her curls and just absolutely SPOIL her. at first shes kinda whiny about it but once she realizes how much better she feels on a day to day basis she reluctantly apologizes for ever doubting them

[liebeangels]

stanford —> seattle part 1

—☕️🎾—

stanford, 2018

liked by coffeehowie and 118 others

sandybrendan: the Coffea Cafe is open for the semester! Open Mon-Fri 6 am-9 pm, Sat-Sun 8 am-11 pm

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coffeehowie if sandy tells you to try her specials... don't do it!!

sandybrendan hey! my specials are great! coffeehowie they really aren't sandybrendan what about my chocolate covered strawberry frappe? i remember you making me make them even after the event was over coffeehowie ok, maybe some of them are good

sandybrendan people of Stanford, don't listen to Howie! my special events are wonderful!

sandybrendan in fact, there is an event for the start of school, and Coffea Cafe will be selling tree shaped cookies! (made by yours truly)

user1 best place to study!

user2 i've been missing this place all summer break!

user3 this being her senior year is horrible! user2 we're losing the best barista 😭

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liked by tashi_duncan, patrickzweig and 450 others

a.donaldson listening to coach is harder than playing

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tashi_duncan You should pay attention, you need to work on that backhand.

a.donaldson wow Tash, I was just making a joke 😔 tashi_duncan And I'm being serious. a.donaldson ok, i'll work on it 🫡 tashi_duncan 👍

patrickzweig what is up with that pose Art?

a.donaldson oh shut up, Pat. i've seen you doing much worse patrickzweig i'm sure you have a.donaldson don't you have a competition to get ready for? patrickzweig ok mom, i'm ready. i'm just waiting for the one before to end 🙄

user4 the two hottest tennis players on campus

user5 in the world!

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—☕️🎾—

art’s phone

—☕️🎾—

art’s pov

After practice, Tashi and Art make their way to the on campus cafe, the Coffee Cafe. Art was very anxious to see how “cute” Tashi’s barista was. The only thing he really cared about was that she could make a good coffee, how she looked didn’t really matter as long as he got his coffee.

“I don’t know how much I believe you, Tashi”, he says as they leave the sports complex. “I’ve never seen another barista there.”

“You just haven’t gone at the right time, I’ve seen her almost every time I’ve gone”, Tashi says, rolling her eyes at him. “And it doesn’t matter if you believe me, because you’re about to see that I’m right.”

The two arrive at the cafe after a couple minutes of Tashi critiquing Art’s playing abilities. As soon as Art opens the door, he notices how different the atmosphere was to when he usually came in. The lighting is more cozy, and softer music is play, as opposed to the rap that his usual barista listens to.

“Well I can definitely tell that it’s a different person than my guy”, Art jokes to Tashi, “Whoever it is listens to much better music.”

Tashi ignores him, walking up to the counter. As they stop, they notice a bell in the middle of the wood, with a sign that says “Ring for Help”. Art beats Tasha to the bell, ringing it a couple times to get the attention of whoever was in the back.

“Coming!”, a voice calls from the back. After a couple seconds, a Black girl, probably a couple inches shorter than Art himself jogs from what much be the kitchen, judging by the flour both Art and Tashi can see on her apron.

“What can I get you guys?”, she asks, looking at Tashi first because she recognized her.

“I’ll get a medium iced mocha please.”, Tashi tells the girl, watching as she types it into the register, already grabbing the amount of money she had to pay. $2.50. The girl turns to Art.

“And for you?”, she asks, but Art doesn’t answer. He was too busy looking at her, the barista who Tashi had told him was cute, but he didn’t believe her. Her hair was in long braids, styled in two low buns with a couple stray pieces framing her face. She was definitely cute. He stands there like an idiot until Tashi elbows him in the ribs, alerting him to the fact that the barista, Sandy if her name tag was correct, had asked him for his order.

“I’ll have a medium caramel macchiato, please.”, he says after he tunes back into the real world. He pays and then the both of them stand off to the side to wait for their drinks.

“I was wrong.”, he says softly to Tashi. She turns to him with a smirk.

“Yes you were, but that’s ok. I like to watch you flounder like that.”, she says to him before moving as her order is called. They soon leave after Art’s drink was finished. As they walk to Tashi’s dorm, Art can’t help but think about the cute barista, hoping that Tashi will drag him to the cafe after practice more often.

—☕️🎾—

—☕️🎾—

sandy’s phone

[amazingabby300]

Random Ohio head-cannons / thoughts

Jessica buys the book Fourth Wing and instantly fell in love. Then buys the second book Iron Flame.

Remy and Tommy cosplay Marvel and Star Wars on their channel. Tommy will do Peter Parker Spider-Man and Remy will dress up as Miles Morales Spider-Man. Drew will dress up as Harry Osborn. Mel will be Spider-Gwen. Jessica dresses up as Mary Jane. Caroline dresses up as Peni Parker. Meredith is Spider-Noir.

Tommy gets into NASCAR and Formula One (European Motorsports) and watches it every Sunday. Decks his room out in Motorsports stuff.

Caroline tries to get the whole Spectrum 7 club to go to the Renaissance Fair and all of them come in different costumes. Jessica would instantly go up to a both selling mini dragons that would rap around her hand. Meredith would fact check every building and if it was from the Renaissance period. Tommy and Jessica found the fake sword both and bought two and had a fake sword fight and Jessica wins. Tommy “fake dies” and Jessica carries him in her arms and will avenge his death. Remy gets face paint down of a butterfly on their face and buys stuff for their cosplay channel. Mel starts quoting Shakespeare stuff. Mel and Remy get an idea for Drew and Meredith to reenact Romeo and Juliet. They get Caroline in there plan as well and she imagines Meredith on Juliet’s balcony and Drew is down below.

Drew - It is my lady, O, it is my love!

O, that she knew she were!

She speaks, yet she says nothing. What of that?

Her eye discourses; I will answer it.

I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks.

Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,

Having some business, do entreat her eyes

To twinkle in their spheres till they return.

What if her eyes were there, they in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,

As daylight doth a lamp. Her eye in heaven

Would, through the airy region, stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.

See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand.

O, that I were a glove upon that hand,

That I might touch that cheek!

Meredith - Me!

Drew - She speaks.

O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art

As glorious to this night, being o'er my head,

As is a wingèd messenger of heaven

Unto the white upturnèd wond'ring eyes

Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him

When he bestrides the lazy puffing clouds

And sails upon the bosom of the air.

Meredith - O Drew, Drew! Wherefore art thou Drew?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name;

Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,

And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

[astro-break]

New hypmic anime season and I'm BACK IN THE FUCKING BUILDING AGAIN (I feel like the Martha I'm coming home sweetie audio)

Thoughts on the 1st ep of Hypmic Rhyme Anima+. Spoilers beware

New plotline lets gooooooo I like that they're straying away from the drama tracks actually, Rhyme Anima is fundamentally a different experience from the core drama tracks which gives new material for both new and old fans OP is an actual banger, Ramuda's verse is the best fight me all you want but you know i'm right Nemu!! uh spoiler chara for anyone new to the anime I guess? Like they spoil her right at the introduction and iirc they didn't really build off her mystery in the first season. Makes her impact here a bit weaker but I'm willing to let it slide since some might not catch it (Post Editing Astro here: I haven't rewatched Rhyme Anima since it finished airing and uh. Nemu definitely was a plot point there lol they dropped it after ep 11 but she was there!) Jyushi my son I love you so much you idiot I love the little stingers for each team that they did for each team, its so cute and gives so much personality The visuals have definitely improved, a big step above the last season in terms of animation i don't see an improvement with story writing though… Pacing is still all over the place and very squished/fast paced makes sense since the cast has grown by a quarter since last season but still makes me sad that there isn't much time given to each character individually I forgot how much I love the localization of Doppomine Okay so Pink hair and Green hair in the flashback are most definitely the two in the white cloaks. Theres just no subtly with this series lmaoooo Nice that they were able to incorporate everyone somehow but too many people means that too many parts to handle I'm getting deja vu, this exact same thing happened last season…. Oh. Its the same guy. Makes sense lmfao Listen bud I have minimal rap experience but that rap was just embarrassing wow. No rhyme or flow, there was only straight passion which i mean props I guess but you suck ass Look at me being so smart and predicting all of these ahead of time without looking at any materials Did Rio just contact Jyuto with his hypmic???? Samatoki have I ever said that I love your for being a bullheaded idiot? bc I do. you're so silly Damn the typography has gotten even better, its just a lot more smooth and the animation too especially during Jiro's part is just so stylish The animation has improved a lot I'm glad it got a little more love compared to last season My guess is that maybe someone from the six divisions will fall under the anger thingy that's going around, something like the stage show. My biggest guess is that they might re-incite the Samatoki and Ichiro conflict again but I hope not. Another guess is that there will be old MCD or Naughty Busters beef which seems more plausible given that this is Sasara and Kuko's anime debut but I guess we'll wait and see THE OUTFITS!!! THE STUPID OUTFITS I LOVE THEM the art style of the ED is super pop punk and has a strong sense of style which i love. its simple but stands out really well which i love Very jjk but more toned down. Feels a bit like a cleaned up croquis drawings the smear frames is just so stylish and good, very simple and a bit messy and sells the gesture drawing kind of feel of the ED Ramuda's parrot costume i love you Those hand signs just make the first letter of each word which is really fun. Not proper JSL though I guess beggars can't be choosers esp for a series like this

Overall, a really strong start. It shows how it built off the first season and where it improved and while some things (like the horrid pacing) never change, at the end of the day its still a fun and delightful watch

If anyone wanted to read my thoughts on the first season, they're all archived here

[bl00dst41ned]

hey hey love, if u don't mind can u give me some book or music or television recs to start off the new year

books

romance , horror or thriller, ya , dystopia

television

sitcoms , rom coms / romance, docuseries, 90s sitcoms, British television

music

rap, r&b, sometimes pop, soul

anyways

hope u have a lovely day / night

omgggggg this is a dream come true wait

books:

I don't read that much so I don't have so much recs but I'm currently reading a book named Love Radio (it's a black romance). also for dystopia, I only have the books I studied in school so Animal Farm (this is a banger, I love it so much) and The Handmaid's Tale.

television:

you asked the wrong one because miss girl over here is a YouTube lover so I'm not really into series, films, etc. but I can recommand Boy Meets World, an old Disney channel series. If you know Girl Meets World, this is basically the story of her dad.

for music, I can recommand (this is going to be long):

Jordan Ward: I discovered him this year he is so talented. he brings such good vibes with his music. (song recs: FAMJAM4OO and SIDEKICK)

Khamari, my 2023 rnb king: His album A Brief Nirvana has been one of my faves this year (song recs: Drifting, Tell Me)

Turn Your Lights Down Low by Bob Marley: that is not his usual reggae, it is more calm and "sensual". (it's so weird to say this but hey, I know this is the right word)

jev. : my rap discovery of this year. i don't really know how to describe him but I love his song "who?" and I hope you like it too

Rihanna: this might be odd but hear me out. you may not know her 2007 album, Good Girl Gone Bad. The love I have for it is insane, it's my favourite (song recs: sell me candy, push up on me, good girl gone bad)

don't really know where to put her but seeing your preferred music genre, I think Pip Millett would fit: her voice is so soothing and beautiful, I love herrrr (song recs: downright and my way)

Jorja Smith: i'm pretty sure you know her already but just her album falling or flying is the most amazing piece of art that i listened this year and i will talk about it forever (song recs: she feels, falling or flying, broken is the man)

if i was a boy ;) by adanna duru: i love how groovy it is and just fun to listen to. a good one to put someone in a good mood and give them energy.

Broken Record by GSoul: discovered it in a deb smikle video and haven't let it go since. it is also a groovy song that i love.

Tyler The Creator: well, who doesn't know Tyler.....but this year i got into his music more so my love for him grew (song recs: Who Dat Boy, IFHY, A BOY IS A GUN*, GONE GONE / THANK YOU)

imma stop here because why am i making you an entire essay of music recommendations (but I'll gladly give you more) <3

edit: if you're open to other langues than english (more specifically french), i have more recs for you

[cloudbattrolls]

Rule of Law

This drabble is preceded by Vitiation, and followed by Underculture.

Hazard Ailaht | Selatak | Present Night 

Hazard stared blankly at the court summons sitting on the table in front of him, not comprehending a single word.

“What do you mean I’m accused of the deaths of dozens of clowns?” He said, completely bewildered as his blue eyes flicked up and down the page, trying to find any sense in it. 

“Probably that you’re accused of the deaths of dozens of clowns, Hazard.” sighed Lizzie impatiently, sitting across from him with her arms crossed as she leaned back in the dark wooden chair. 

He’d called her as soon as he’d opened the envelope and read it the first time, stunned, needing someone to show up and make sure he hadn’t lost it. Luckily, it hadn’t taken her long to come over; it was close to light out, they’d both long since gotten off work. 

A vague flicker of thought also reminded him he needed her legal advice. 

“I mean that’s crazy!” The blueblood said, waving his hands. “Where would I even find the time? Not like I have a library to run or anything. Not like I’m any good at being stealthy, especially in a circus. Let me just hide behind the nearest tent pole, that’ll work. I’ll be invisible for sure.”

The legislacerator snorted. 

“Disguise tech, Hazard, you ought to remember given Goh Tat had it.”

“Well, I don’t.” He said, rubbing his eyes. “Can I just walk in, let them look at me, search my hive, and realize the odds of me pulling this off are about as high as the governor deciding he’s going to sponsor the arts next sweep?”

“You could’ve had accomplices, Hazard.” Lizzie said in a voice that was trying valiantly to be patient. “Use your brain, I know you have a good one.”

“Ughhhhh, I don’t want to go to court, Lizzie.” He said, voice muffled slightly as he held his head in his hands. “I hate court. It was bad enough I had to go with you to get control of the bloodline transferred to me, and I wasn’t in trouble then.”

“Stop whining.” She retorted, reaching across the table to rap him gently on the arm with a pen. 

“We’ll figure this out. You’re lucky they’re doing this official way instead of just having someone kill you. They’d technically be within their bounds, though without evidence their case is a lot shakier. Probably why they’re going through the courts; they recognize on the off chance they’re wrong, you’re the one person who might have more information for them.”

“I really don’t.” He said bluntly. “All I can think of is that someone at the hospital is synthesizing and selling my venom on the side. Okay, sure, that makes enough sense, but did they really think it wouldn’t be traced back to them? My venom - venoms - are a unique blend. Someone was going to get a toxicology report and figure it out eventually. Surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

Lizzie paused, looking thoughtful.

“Actually…that’s a good point.”

“I make them sometimes.” He muttered.

The tealblood rolled her eyes. “What I mean is that you’re right, the timeframe is odd. As dumb as some clowns can be, they’re not all stupid, and this letter says the killings have been going on almost since you fought Goh Tat.”

She took the letter from him and read it again.

“Hmm. Most of them are from all different sects, too, no more than two or three from each one. I want more information on the victims before we go anywhere.”

“Well, we have a week, right?” He said, thinking of the summons date printed on the piece of paper in bold black ink. “That’s enough time to look into the hospital and these poor dead purplebloods. I can take a night or two off work to do some research.” 

He sighed, feeling like he’d aged fifty sweeps, the full magnitude of the situation hitting him.

It wasn’t that he was any great fan of clowns. He tended to avoid them when possible, though in Selatak, staying away from them entirely was like trying to dodge moonlight. 

But not all of them were horrible. They varied like anyone else, especially in a city with at least a dozen diverse sects like this one had. 

It was very likely they hadn’t deserved to die such awful deaths. His venom didn’t work like it did in the movies when someone got bitten by a snake, or stung by a scorpion. While it took effect more quickly than it should due to the combined potencies, it still usually didn’t kill a troll for some time, especially highbloods. Not that being in agonizing, paralyzing pain was any fun. 

Unless whoever was using it had somehow gotten their hands on a truly ridiculous amount of venom. But if that was the case, why hadn’t it been discovered sooner?

His head hurt trying to unravel the mystery.

Lizzie’s mild annoyance changed to sympathy as she looked up from the letter, teal gaze resting on her best friend’s clouded expression.

“It’ll be okay, Hazard.” She assured him softly. “You’re innocent and we’re going to prove it.”

He smiled at her weakly.

—

ONE WEEK LATER

“Oh, you are totally fucked.” Said the leader of the Dreamweavers conversationally as they leaned against the wall in the court waiting room. They were a few inches taller than Hazard, muscular and long-haired with intricate makeup on their face.

“They’ve all got a bug up their arses and they want someone to blame. Me? Don’t care. This is a waste of my fucking time. So I lost two trolls! Let me phone the news rags, that’s so totally unheard of.” They said in a singsong, derisive voice.

Hazard looked at Lizzie, seeing his baffled expression reflected on her own face at this clown’s behavior.

But then, Plaske Wilhem was an oddity among the church leaders of Selatak; for one thing, they weren’t from the area, their voice’s accent very clearly Western Alternian, though he couldn’t quite place the region.

For another thing, uncovered gills were set along their neck.

“So you’re here only because you have to be.” Lizzie mused.

“Bingo! Got it in one, lawyer girlie.” They said with a yawn, stretching their arms. “The two I lost were just a pair of sideshow rousties anyway.” They said with a dismissive wave of a manicured hand. 

“Some of the things in their cages had more brains than them. But you know, rest in pieces and bless their souls to the messiahs.” They said in an extremely bored tone, accompanying religious hand gesture minimally enthusiastic at best.

“Don’t you mean rest in peace?” Hazard asked, puzzled.

“I said what I said.” Drawled the cuspblood.

“Hazard Ailaht.” Came a deep, rasping voice from inside the courtroom, one that stood the blueblood’s hairs on end, and he knew exactly what creature it came from.

Plaske’s eyes glittered. “Go on in, Ailaht, I’ll be right behind you.”

Hazard gulped and walked into the room.

Oh gods there were so many clowns oh gods they were all staring at him oh gods oh gods -

Lizzie laid a hand on his shoulder.

He remembered how to breathe.

“So are you going to move, oooor…?” Came the bored, impatient voice of the Dreamweavers’ leader behind him. He could hear their foot tapping on the floor.

Rude as Plaske was, Hazard couldn’t help but be grateful that they’d shocked him out of his panic moment enough to take unsteady steps forward to where he and Lizzie needed to sit down.

“Thaaaanks.” They said in a singsong voice and a flicked wrist. “You remembered how to walk after all. You can do that and talk at the same time! Still a step above my charming contemporaries.”

Irritated muttering and insults came from the assembled trolls, largely remarks about the cusp’s less than formal outfit (he was pretty sure it was fancy dancing silks) and their gills.

They didn’t seem to care at all, slowly turning to meet the gazes of the other clowns looking down on them with a wide, lazy smile that oozed disrespect and flippancy before they stretched luxuriously and finally went to take their place among the rows.

“Now that mix Wilhem has entered and the defendants have assembled, we can begin.” Came the voice of His Honorable Tyranny.

Then he looked directly at Hazard and Lizzie, and Hazard’s throat went dry. 

“We are gathered here tonight to discuss the accusation of multiple murders of members of various Mirthful sects by their leaders toward Hazard Ailaht. While there is no genetic or witness evidence, the cause of death in each case was ruled after psychic and physical investigation to the unique blend of venoms possessed only by this individual.”

The great black creature’s gaze was steady.

“Hazard Ailaht. Lizzie Eizzil. What do you have to say in regards to this accusation?”

“Plenty, your honor, all based on my submitted evidence.” Lizzie said calmly, opening her briefcase to take out her notes. “Footage of the accused being otherwise engaged when several of the murders happened. Scientifically verified information about his venom production rate, the amount needed to kill purplebloods of the victims’ sizes, and the inconsistency of the wounds when matched against his fangs and claws. 

And, naturally, testimonials from other trolls in the footage to verify that it has not been doctored and illusionary psiionics or anything similar are not being used to simulate his presence.”

Lizzie. What would be do without her? 

Hazard smiled weakly at how even she was, how ready to defend him.

The clowns didn’t look convinced, however, though he saw that some appeared skeptical as they scrutinized him.

For once, the librarian was glad that he was hard to miss for anyone with remotely functional eyes, and that he wilted in front of crowds. Maybe those facts would help convince these indigos he was innocent. 

“Very well.” Said His Honorable Tyranny, then turned his massive, multi-horned head to look at the circus leaders, accompanied by their assistants and guards.

“Ringmasters of Selatak and its surrounding regions. What evidence do you have to bring against Hazard Ailaht?”

“He is a mutant.” Growled one troll with gold-capped tusks and jagged face paint. “No troll should have venom as animals do. It is unnatural.”

“Easy, Honsui.” Came a deep voice Hazard had heard before at festivals, for this clown was known to frequent even those of his faith did not normally celebrate, its owner dressed in a neat suit with his hands folded politely in his lap. “There is no law decrying venom as a blasphemy against the messiahs.”

Chiloa Teroct, second in command of the Moons’ Eyes, the largest messianic sect in the city.

“Is there a law decrying stupidity?” Came Plaske’s drawling voice. Hazard looked up to see them now stretched across three seats with their feet in the air, entirely indifferent to the expected formality of the court. 

“Look at him. If you’re implying absolutely none of our guards, lusii, or voodoos caught this man, I think we should all just give the fuck up right now and call ourselves failures.”

The cerulean winced, but he’d heard far worse, and the cusp’s words were technically in his favor.

Unsurprisingly, though, there was more angry muttering and cursing from the other clowns; Plaske might have a point, but they were sufficiently unpopular that it might not matter.

Teroct raised his eyebrows.

“Don’t be so quick to judge by appearances.” The man chided. “Though, I must beg to differ with Ringmaster Honsui; venom does not a mutant make, and not all mutants are stains to be cleansed.”

Then he looked at Hazard directly, and the blueblood paled even though the higher blood’s face was calm.

“Ailaht. If you did not kill our kin, then who did? Can you illuminate us in any way as to who might have committed these foul deeds with your venom?”

Hazard thought.

He racked his brains as he had multiple times over the past week, trying to think of who aside from Goh Tat would frame him - Lizzie had investigated his ancestor, and found enough evidence that he hadn’t done it either.

That day, that hot and horrible day when he’d barely made it to fight his ancestor in time…

His eyes widened as he remembered something.

Could it be?

“I don’t know for sure.” He said, managing to keep his voice steady. “But I have a theory. On the day I fought my ancestor - the same day I was forced to stop keeping my venom a secret and had to go to the hospital after he stabbed me - someone else was there at the beginning. He turned up out of nowhere to give me a motorcycle ride.”

He paused, steadying himself, knowing the reaction this name would have on a room of clowns.

“Panzen Roscur.”

There was an immediate uproar of chatter that his Honorable Tyranny had to quiet.

Chiloa was one of the few trolls who remained calm. Both he and Plaske had, though the cusp’s expression was more amused than anything. 

His, meanwhile, was thoughtful.

“The mutant criminal.” Chiloa mused. “That would be a possibility.” 

Honsui hissed in disdain. “That filth would! It is an insult to our city’s sanctity that we have not culled him already.”

Then Chiloa looked more calculating.

“He’d also be an easy person to blame to throw suspicion off yourself.” He said gently. “And we have only your word he witnessed your fight with your ancestor, unless you have testimony for that too?”

Hazard had gone from hopeful to deflated in seconds. He could only shake his head wretchedly, slumped in his chair.

Plaske rolled their eyes.

“Even if he didn’t do it himself, I think you’re all missing an angle here, so wake up and smell the faygo! Maybe Roscur didn’t do the murders himself, but he sure could’ve reproduced and sold the venom. Do none of you numbskulls know what his power is?”

The only troll in the city who had the ability, rare as it was. Hard to forget once you knew, once you’d seen and felt it in action like Hazard had.

“Chromomancy.” Hazard whispered and Chiloa said out loud.

Then Chiloa frowned.

“Roscur has been seen to only be able to sustain solid constructs as long as his psi actively sustains them.”

Plaske smiled derisively.

“Oh, Chi, you ignorant fucking worm.” They said, almost fond. “You’d be right if you weren’t so dull. Mind honey, dummkopf. We know the Day Howlers trade in it. Even you can add two and two.”

The other clown didn’t seem fazed by his fellow’s insults, instead nodding thoughtfully.

“This might be true.” He acknowledged. “But it might also be pure supposition.”

“Who cares?” Snarled Honsui, and a few other trolls called out encouragement of him. “Roscur, Ailaht - each is mutant filth. I say we cull them both and do the world a favor! Even if Ailaht is not guilty, or was not working with Roscur himself, he is a risk to let live!”

Hazard’s heart sank to his shoes as he saw more trolls nodding along with the hateful ringmaster. Plaske was too unpopular and Chiloa was too even; sheer emotional scaremongering was so much more effective on trolls whose friends and quadrants had been killed.

They wanted revenge.

He couldn’t even really blame them.

His Honorable Tyranny interjected again.

“Order.” Came the hard, curt tone. “The case will proceed as attorney Eizzil makes her case for Hazard Ailaht.”

But as Lizzie opened her mouth to speak, as the clowns in the rows of seats glared the librarian down, a massive hyena wearing - armor? - bounded into the courtroom, coming right at him. 

At first Hazard thought he must’ve cracked and begun hallucinating from stress. 

Then the clowns began shouting, His Honorable Tyranny started calling for order again, and that unmistakable animal scent hit his nostrils.

The hyena somehow yanked him up with its mouth, tossed him in the air, caught him on its back as he clung for dear life and it bounded out of the courtroom into the warm moonlit streets of Selatak.

[loki-child-of-frigga]

"My preferences depend on my mood more than anything. There are times when the hard rock and metal fit my mood perfectly. Other times I prefer folk or classical and everything in between. I think rap is the only thing I can't actually stand. I respect the art of it but I can't stand the content of most rap songs." Loki replied with a wry smile. He had been listening to quite a bit of Midgardian music lately, just to see what he liked and what was out there.

By the time they reached the destination he seemed to be back to his usual self and willingly leaned a bit closer to make it easier for her to apply the lipstick to his face. He wouldn't have minded actually making out with her and if there were too many doubts about their relationship then he might arrange for them to be 'caught' making out in some mostly discreet place.

"Don't forget to smudge and blot your own lipstick a bit as well so it looks like some has rubbed off." He commented since he knew that attention to such details would help to sell their act. "Am I correct in thinking that we will be revealing the prank at the end of the night or were there further plans before the reveal?"

" You're in luck then since I'm not really a hard rock, heavy metal music fan." She told him with a side ways glance. She then turned on the music station making sure the volume wasn't as loud but just enough to hear the lyrics. " I'm more of an R&B fan myself. Particularly music from the 90s, 80s and maybe from the 2000s. I grew up listening to all types of songs but I have some favorites I like listening to." She told him as she found an R&B song called ' damage' from artist HER.

she would continue her drive while moving her head a bit with the music. Enjoying the fresh breeze from her open widow. As she was getting closer to where they needed to be she took a deep breath. At least it would seem like Luke was doing better and hoped things would go smoothly. She couldn't stop thinking of what he told her. Those awful events that also happened two years ago. No way it was connected right? She rolled her eyes at herself for jumping to conclusions.

" oh umm..sure why not." She said in surprise at his suggestion. They were a few minutes late so it didn't sound like a bad idea. Yet still the thought of making out with him didn't sound unpleasant. Again his teasing smirk made her face flush a bit. ' focus margo, remember this a just a fun prank that's it.' She thought to herself. " here let me do the honor of marking you." She replied with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she pulled out a red shade of lipstick from her purse.

After she had her car in park across the street she made sure nobody was around to see what they had planned. " okay I'll put a bit on your cheek and a smudge on your lips. Gotta make it look real right?"

[icarusthelunarguard]

This Week’s Horrible-Scopes

It’s time for this week’s Horrible-Scopes! So for those of you that know your Astrological Signs, cool! If not, just pick one, roll a D12, or just make it up as you go along. It really doesn’t matter.

This week we’re taking inspiration from a book about the 1,000 films you should see before you die. These are in NO particular order - just randomized. So if you don’t like the one you got, just watch it anyway out of spite.

Aries 

Sometimes a movie doesn’t need to have a direction; sometimes it’s OK for it to just be beautiful and fall into its visuals. Your movie to watch is 1997’s Princess Mononoke. It’s a beautiful 133 Minutes of mountains of art! What makes us call it that? Think about this: 133 Minutes is 7,980 seconds. If we go with the standard 24 frames per second, that’s nearly 200,000 images built for this movie! This week remember; it can take a lot of little steps to get you to your destination. Don’t lose hope. 

Taurus 

Black and White films are almost the order of the day. In your case we’re wondering… does this movie HAVE to be played exclusively in December? For you it’s 1946’s It’s A Wonderful Life. Yeah, it’s played every year and it’s gotten a bad rap for it being overplayed during the season. But the message is still a worthwhile one - we have no way of knowing just how important we all are to the people we’re surrounded by. This week learn how to crochet, even if you don’t do it to make anything.

Gemini  

This is where things get interesting. We’re going to take you to a classic horror movie that’s been redone years later. 1942’s Cat People. Leading the viewer on a path of curious encounters prompting more and more questions, trying to understand what’s happening, but without the overt sexuality of the 1982 version of the film. This week build up your stamina so you can tread water longer. It just might save your life. 

Cancer Moon-Child 

Let’s just get this one over with. 1990’s Pretty Woman doesn’t seem like it should be on this list on its face, but honestly? This movie, with only a few minor edits, wouldn’t have been out-of-place set in the 1940’s. A suave business mogul falling for his paid escort, who turns out to have a huge heart, is just the right kind of Feel Good Movie. The most unbelievable part would be how good a Hollywood Boulevard street walker in 1990 might look. This week, rent this movie… THEN look up all the other roles Hector Elizondo has played and watch some of those too. 

Leo 

We’re taking you back to 1957 and An Affair to Remember. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr have baggage and fiance’s they’re working with, unhappily. They agree to meet at the Empire State Building’s observation deck in six months if they can turn their lives around and live their lives together. This week buy extra tissues, curl up on the couch, and watch a double-feature with 1993’s Sleepless in Seattle.  

Virgo 

Your movie is one of those “Of CoUrSe YoU WoUlD pIcK tHaT oNe”. And reminding you it was 100% randomized… 1988’s Akira. Yes, you’ve likely seen it already, but this time how about you watch it with an eye to what’s happening inside the character’s heads instead of enjoying the flashy motorcycles. This week… find and return that Redbox movie rental.  

Libra 

Time to get you into a disturbing movie by Oliver Stone… which, yes, OK. That description doesn’t exactly narrow it down, but here you go! 1994’s Natural Born Killers - showing us that seemingly mild-mannered Woody Harrelson can be a cold-blooded murderer. This week, as you watch your movie, remember the old newspaper adage; “If It Bleeds It Leads”. Otherwise known today as “Clickbait Sells”. 

Scorpio 

It’s time to learn a little something special about love. For you, we’re suggesting 1964’s Gertrud; the story of a woman pursued by three men who claim to love her - her husband, a poet, and a young musician. None of them are willing to put that love first before anything else, so she chooses to reject them all, living in Paris, celebate, devoting herself to the pursuits of the mind. This week realize that you are loved, and there’s someone out there willing to give you all they have.

Sagittarius 

You’re suggested to watch a Universal Pictures CLASSIC: 1931’s Frankenstein. It’s not a 100% accurate-to-the-book version, but it’s still one of the most admired horror movies. One of the best parts has to be the opening credits saying the monster was played by… a question mark! Everyone had to wait until the END credits to see it was a 42 year old Boris Karloff! This week remember that your age is no impediment to fulfilling your dreams.

Capricorn 

Let's give you a movie that’s hard to avoid - 1980’s The Shining! The fact that it’s spawned such a popular catchphrase as, “Heeeere’s.. JOHNNY!” isn’t totally surprising, considering how it was played against with Shelley Duvall. The scene has her character of Wendy so terrified and stressed to the breaking point that it’s almost a palpable essence; which is blunted by learning how monstrous Kubrick was to Shelley to get her to that immortalized moment. This week, No Practical Jokes!

Aquarius 

Your movie is a very divisive one; either you love it, or you just don’t get it, and you’ve likely already watched it. You get to watch 1994’s Pulp Fiction. Before you start rolling your eyes just remember… you’re allowed to NOT like the movie. There’s nothing wrong with that. So this week, remember that you should never wave your gun around with the hammer cocked.

Pisces  

This week get a Duolingo account and learn Italian, because your film is 1960’s La Dolce Vita. Reminding you that the movie was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, this is a movie about triviality; condemning the fashion-party folk in Rome as being social parasites in 1959. You might find the theme disturbing because so little seems to have changed in the decades since. So, yeah… learn Italian so you can better yourself.

And THOSE are your Horrible-Scopes for this week! Remember if you liked what you got, we’re obviously not working hard enough at these. BUT! If you want a better or nastier one for your own sign or someone else’s, all you need to do to bribe me is just Let Me Know! These will be posted online at the end of each week via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Discord.

[xjoonchildx]

hi. i feel that newer armys—and by ‘newer’ i mean those who became armys post-2018—don’t know exactly what’s going on with the whole enlistment stuff so im going to break it down for you. this might be a bit too long so i apologize in advance, but please note that this all started back in 2018.

so back when BTS started blowing up in the west in 2017—which we dubbed as ‘the DNA era’—SK started ‘noticing’ BTS, in some way (im not talking about korean armys. im talking the SK general public). naturally, this made the whole kpop industry ‘held their breath’ and waited to see if BTS’ blowing up there was a mere fluke (and so did the boys themselves, because later on during MAMA 2018 AND in their docu-series Break the Silence, they revealed how during the period between the LY: Her and LY: Tear, they got so overwhelmed and didn’t know how to go on with their newfound fame, so they thought the LY: Her was their peak and they briefly considered disbandment. their song Outro: Tear was their almost-disbandment song where they rapped about how parting ways would destroy them, according to yoongi in Break the Silence).

turns out it WASNT a fluke because later on when they released the LY: Tear, it debuted at #1 on the billboard 200 and Fake Love landed at #10 on the Hot100. this caused a huge uproar in SK that even the biggest tv networks in SK reported on it—one of them was SBS and they even invited BTS in to talk about it in an exclusive interview, because BTS were the first Asian act to achieve this feat.

now, that moment was both of triumph and of the start of BTS’ years-long stress because entertainment companies (SM, JYP, YG, FNC, JellyFish) in SK started looking at BTS’ success as a way to lobby military exemption for their own idols. to put it harshly, they rode on BTS’ success for their own gain. they held a meeting with the Korea Management Federation in 2018 to discuss this WITHOUT THE PRESENCE OF BIGHIT OR BTS. used their name and everything, and even yoongi talked about this in What Do You Think (“woo woo, we’ll go serve in the military when the time comes. i hope all those bastards who tried to get a free ride by selling our names shut their mouths up”). basically that meeting went like this: “hey look, BTS blew up in the west! see, kpop is bringing prestige to South Korea!! so military exemption for idols, please? 🥺”

(now y’all know why armys are so prickly about BTS’ success being considered a win for the whole of kpop.)

and so that 2018 meeting started the 4-year long torture for BTS where the government kept dangling the POSSIBILITY of exemption—and BTS never even asked for exemption in the first place. never even attended ANY ensuing meetings held by the SK government and those companies after that first meeting where they KEPT using BTS’ name and success to push for exemption.

and then in 2021, the government allowed BTS to POSTPONE their enlistment until the age of 30 because BTS were holders of the Order of Cultural Merit (awarded to them back in 2018 for their outstanding achievement in art and culture, and please note that BTS are the YOUNGEST recipients of this order of merit because all the other recipients are in their 50s or 60s). this caused TWENTY SIX (including SM, JYP, YG, Pledis, Kakao, Naver) entertainment companies to file ‘complaint’. essentially the complaint went “tHaTs nOt fAiR!!1!1!!1 nOnE oF oUr iDoLs aRe rECiPiEnTs oF aNy oRdEr oF mERiT!!1!1! dOnT yOu tHiNk yALL aRe a BiT tOo hArSh?? pLeAsE LoWeR tHe sTaNdArD fOr pOsTpOnEmEnT 🥺”.

(i mean that’s what you get for trying to lobby exemption for your own idols by using BTS’ name because of course the government would use BTS’ achievements as the standard/criteria like… what did you expect 😭😭)

but anyway. yeah. even after that postponement, the SK government kept having ‘meetings’ for BTS’ possible exemption—which let me reiterate, BTS NEVER ASKED FOR EXEMPTION IN THE FIRST PLACE. essentially the SK government kept going “oh to exempt or to not exempt you… that is the question :)” . president moon even kept using BTS for political shit like mentioning them to foreign dignitaries to form political alliances, giving them diplomatic passports, etc.

of fucking course this was fucking with BTS’ heads, and essentially just derailing all of the boys’ plans because of this uncertainty looming over. would they get exempted, or not? that’s why during PTD in Vegas, hybe finally put their foot down and basically went “hey you fuckers just be done with it already and stop playing with BTS. exemption or not?”

but nothing. still nothing, and THEN president moon is gone without any of this solved. and now we have this new alt-right president who’s a raging incel and hates women and disabled folks.

my guess is that if exemption or any form of compromise had been granted during president moon’s administration, BTS PROBABLY would have taken it. but since this new president essentially represents EVERYTHING the boys stand up AGAINST, this is why the boys took matters into their own hands and decided to enlist (SEPARATELY too at that) instead before the SK government was able to announce their decision regarding exemption (which would have been at the end of October). because if they went to enlist all at the same time, this new president would try to push the boys to do group activities for the SK government (like the Busan show. that whole thing was a shitshow because Busan refused to pay a single penny so everything fell on hybe and bts but that’s a whole ‘nother convo) DURING THEIR CONSCRIPTION. remember: YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE MONEY DURING CONSCRIPTION, therefore all profits would go to SK and SK alone; none of them into the boys’ own pockets. enlisting separately is a smart move on their part.

BTS are not anyone’s puppets. they know their worth, they know who they are, they know what they stand up for. and they’ve had ENOUGH. and they’re always ten steps ahead—as evidenced by them suddenly announcing to enlist separately instead of waiting for their decision to be made for them.

anon, whereever you are -- just know that i am giving you a standing ovation for this thoroughly researched post. you came with links, receipts, facts. we love you for it.

i think you hit on a lot of important points here -- the current political ideology of the government, the way they screwed around back and forth with HYBE and the members.

i was fully unaware that the memberrs can't make money during conscription? WTF? the members make money when they're sleeping so what happens to that?

also you're right -- they are no one's puppets and they are not going to sit back and let anyone else drive.

well, i mean except for namjoon. because he can't. you know what i mean.

[adamalade]

OSF’S 2023 ROMEO AND JULIET - FUCKING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD!!!!! I had the privilege of seeing it a few nights ago and it just… wow. It’s a creative take on an already awesome story, and the actors have great chemistry.

It’s set in a modern homeless encampment, which may seem daunting or uninteresting at first, but it adds another layer of interest to the story. It adds depth to the conflict— if they worked together and put aside this senseless feud, they might be able to help each other, but they don’t. It also creates amazing opportunities for setting and costuming. Juliet’s bedroom is truly stunning for how simple it is- just a bed in a room- but the creative way that they constructed the bed, with sleeping bags and cinder blocks and more, as well as the graffiti-style art on her walls makes it stunning. There’s a moment in the balcony scene when Romeo is sitting on the end of the trailer that her room is on top of, and he leans his head against the ladder. It’s so cute!!

The chemistry the two leading actors have is stunning. Ordinarily, I’m like, “right okay they’re getting married tomorrow whatever sure” but with these two, Jada and Jeremy, I can believe that they would get married within a week, because they are truly so admiring of each other. They keep the original script and their chemistry injects new life into it! In the scene after they wake up together and she’s begging him to stay, it doesn’t feel stilted with the 16/17th century language. It feels like two actual young people, putting it off for just a few more minutes so that they can stay together for just another moment. There’s a little detail in the scene where they get married that KILLED me, oh my GOD it was so cute. I know that if I describe it it won’t do it justice, it’ll just sound awkward and stilted, so I won’t, but if you see it you’ll know what I mean.

The acting is phenomenal. All five (?) deaths are stunningly acted; you can really feel Mercutio’s pain- he’s not just walking around, he is dying on the ground, he is dying for gods sake- Romeo’s terror when he kills Tybalt, the fight between Romeo and Paris has fantastic choreography, and Romeo and Juliet’s grief over each other. There’s a moment when Juliet kills herself and another as she dies that just really killed me; I was already sobbing, and it just gutted me.

(Also Jeremy is really cute and Romeo’s romantic lines only enhance that… everyone was fangirling over him during intermission, haha)

If you can afford it, you have GOT to go see this. If you can’t, I’ve heard that they may be selling recordings after the production is over, but that’s all the way in October. I really, truly, cannot recommend it enough.

(I also got to see RENT for the first time, and it was also really cool and amazing- the actors for Roger and Mimi have killer voices, for example- but I’ve never seen it before so I have nothing to compare it to. It’s worth seeing it just by itself however!)

Here are two videos from the OSF YouTube page!

I swear to god, Juliet and Romeo are my blorbos now but SPECIFICALLY jada and Jeremy’s Juliet and Romeo. Leonardo DiCaprio? Olivia Hussey? I don’t know them. Jada Alston Owens and Jeremy Gallardo ONLY.

I got to talk to some actors after the performance, and not only were they kind enough to sign my program, but my group got a group photo with Jada and Jeremy, a couple people got individual pics with both of them, my sibling got a picture with Mercutio’s actor, myself and two others ran into the actor for Tybalt at lunch the day after and got to talk and get a couple pictures, and my sibling got another picture with the lovely person who played Angel in RENT.

Little “spoilers” below — not plot, but little moments that you’ll want to experience live for the first time. My words won’t do them justice.

Characters like Gregory and benvolio making lewd gestures to go along with all the sex jokes in the first part

Mercutio rapping multiple times and doing it like a king!!!

A light-up cross rising up from friar Lawrence’s van. Everyone laughed lol

Balthasar playing his guitar for the marriage ceremony

The aforementioned moment in the wedding

The very, very sharp tone change from the comedic, romantic part to OH SHIT MERCUTIO AND TYBALT ARE DEAD

Romeo trying to not only get the murder weapon away from tybalt and failing so his friend is killed anyway but then trying to staunch the bleeding, only to be pushed away by Mercutio as he’s curled up on the ground

Lady Capulet losing it over Tybalt’s death

When Romeo is in grief over his banishment and Lawrence scolds him, but then tries to comfort him, and Romeo just turns away, because friar Lawrence was who he could trust, and he berated his grief

When Romeo and Juliet wake up together and he tries to leave without waking her to try and spare her from having to watch him leave…… they invented romance

Lord and Lady Capulet’s fantastic acting when they wake to find that Juliet is “dead”

Paris pulling the engagement ring he gave to Juliet OFF OF HER CORPSE

In the Romeo-Paris fight when one of them (I can’t remember which one it was) gets the upper hand and repeatedly slams their opponent’s head into the ground. Yikessssss

The two moments I mentioned earlier: Juliet pulling up with the knife once she stabs herself, plus there actually being fake blood on her—While Juliet is dying, she wraps Romeo’s arm around her, sobbing as she lays down and dies. That was the moment that really got me

[demigirlravenqueen]

Hello and welcome to part 3.5 of historically ever after the series of posts were I break down little bits of historical inspiration in ever after highs outfits because if we’re all going to spend all our time on the internet obsessing over a cartoon meant to sell dolls to little girls we might as well learn some stuff wile we’re at it.

Ravens Ruffs

(I’m very proud of that title)

Ok some background first.

What are typically known as Tudor ruffs or Elizabethan ruffs according to most of my sources started around the 1570s and apparently in the beginning they were just a little frilly bit around the collar, but they eventually got bigger, and bigger, and bigger.

okay, in fairness these extreme proportions weren’t that common in day to day life but it’s still really funny.

These ruffs were so huge they had to be supported by wire frame.

Rich wemen in particular would ware some pretty large ones and some would were these big fan shaped ones with an opening at the front. I always like to call theses ruffs half ruffs but that’s not what they’re actually called, I don’t think there’s a proper name for them.

Anyway the point I’m trying to get to is that Raven wears a lot of these.

The looks so iconic it’s starting to catch on 

I count the one on her main outfit as a collar not a ruff simply because of the shape. It kind of surrounds her neck rather than goes round the back of her head.

It’s also alluded to with the turned up collar on her date night outfit.

And after that I was really stumped on what to write next because that was really all I could see. There were a few little things that were neat character design choices but they weren’t history related so I figured it didn’t belong in this post. But then I rewatched legacy day and took another look at her outfit OMG.

There is so much to break down.  First thing I noticed was the opening at the front, these were fairly common in elizabethan gowns.

Then there’s the frills at the hips which reminded me of the pleats you sometimes see at the top of some noblewomen’s skirts in paintings.

And also the fabric patterns on her cape and the opening of the dress are very similar to the fabric patterns and embroidery of the time (the opening especially).

I was also able to find some paintings that show some jewellery that looks very similar to the chains she’s wearing.

And the brooch / fasten of the cloak looks fairly similar to some Tudor brooches, it has the beautiful elaborate frame with a jewel in the centre which  matches most Tudor brooches I’ve seen so even though it doesn’t look exactly like one it’s similar enough. 

have I mentioned how much I love Tudor brooches.

One other thing I noticed is the sleeves on their dressing gowns (or night robe or whatever you want to call it) resemble these big bell like sleeves from some dresses in the earlier Tudor era 

But in the cartoon they more resemble the ruffled sleeves of the 18th century 

this isn’t really that surprising, the dolls and the cartoons often have subtle differences designs which is why you’ll often notice in these posts that I go out of my way to find screenshots rather than just using the concept art that’s much easier to find. In this case I think that it’s simply because the smaller sleeves are easier to animate.

And that just about raps things up. As always feel free to correct me or add something if you want.

Part 0.5   Part 1  Part 2  Part 4

[dojae-huh]

is it possible to an artist to make their album on their own money ??? I mean then the profit goes only to tae? I dont think SM would allow that...

Depends on a contract, I would assume. Wasn't there an SM artist who invested some of his own money into an album to enlarge the budget SM gave?

Taeyong gets money for the songs he writes. If he produces, he gets money as a producer as well.

As for "own money". Assume Taeyong has enough money to spend on an album. And enough of high-end producers, sound engineers, etc. outside of SM as friends to record songs for him. How is he going to promote it and distibute? Pay SM for using their YT channel? Pay Kakao for using their distribution chain? Hire a company to PR him? Unless he makes his own label he can't do that. And if he delegates it all to SM than where is the point in paying for an album in the first place? Have the final say in what he wants? He got it with his first solo album anyway. All songs but the title track were written by him.

An idol and an idol company have a contract: the idol company invests money in producing the idol, gets interest from his/her success in return after years. Taeyong didn't become a celebrity and a song-writer on his own, he wasn't born this great and loved. SM paid for his lessons, gave him the association with its established name, put him in a successful project (NCT, where other members also worked towards his career), showed him to different investors, looked for songs, helped to clean his image from the accusations of bullying, etc.

An idol is supposed to return the investment and pay the interest for 7 years. After it he is free to go.

Think of it as student debt. Instead of taking a loan from a bank or the state, an idol takes a loan from an idol company and "pays" for rap/vocal lessons, accomodation, PR, albums, songs.

I absolutely agree that idol companies (as other Korean companies) take advantage of young naive trainees and overwork their employees, that changes and improvements should continue to happen (13 year contract->7 year, transparency with profit and royalties from songs, bigger breaks, psychological evaluation and help, bigger say in concept and genre of music chosen, etc). However, idol companies are not charities. Artists have to pay back. And, surprisingly, SM artist actually become rich, so the contract works both ways. Fans like to be delusional, like they don't live in the real world.

Art galleries that sell paintings take 50%. And all they do is rent a room and pay the shop clerk a salary. Online art galleries take 5-15%. Idol companies not only gather money, invest them for years without a return, bring an idol to fame with the inhouse expertise (experience, music sense, concepts), they also risk to not get anything, lose their money. That's why smaller companies make idols go in debt instead of themselves.

Taeyong is allowed to produce his own music because he is good enough, SM believes it will get money back. Still, they don't risk with the title track (it is the only song not written by Tae).

[biglisbonnews]

Kimbra Embraces Life's Many Reckonings Throughout history, the emotions of women were branded as a series of harsh, clinical words. Hysteria was most prevalent, serving as a diagnosis for sexually active, irritable and/or anxious women. When existing within society's margins, every move is pathologized. For Kimbra, an unraveling was brought on by the pandemic, when she exited her massive deal with Warner Records and heartbreak propelled her into a period of self-examination. The signs of life that emanated from New York streets in the dead of lockdown eventually morphed into a more cautious but nonetheless bright-eyed community of people looking to reconnect with art, their peers and the world around them. It was a period of reflection that the New Zealand-born artist desperately needed after a decade of standard industry fare.Kimbra's contribution to Gotye's 2011 smash hit "Somebody That I Used To Know" crystallized after she signed her Warner Records deal. While tinkering with songs she wrote throughout her teenage years and making new ones to eventually land on her debut album, Vows, she struck gold on the song. It was an unexpected hit that took the world by storm in the midst of the early '10s obsession with electro-pop, folksy stomp-clap anthems and bubbling Soundcloud rap. Instead of relishing in having one of the best-selling digital singles in history, it was on to the next thing. Kimbra's subsequent albums following Vows highlighted the conflict of artistic freedom and the pressure to follow up a hit with an even bigger one. Nonetheless, she took advantage of the wealth of resources to check off dream collaborations and experiment with new sounds, even if it didn't always spell a commercial hit.Related | Kimbra Gets Stuck on 'replay!' in Explosive New VideoReinvigorated by her independence and a close working relationship with Ryan Lott, best known as a member of Son Lyx, Kimbra channeled these emotions into her music – both visible and invisible. She wrote songs that never intended to see the light of day and wrestled with inner conflict. Inspired by near-universal experiences such as the strange urge to stare at your reflection a bit longer after a good cry, a split-second thought of violence while in the face of adversity and the primal urge to thrash and shriek, A Reckoning was born, putting sound to emotions without a proper name. Kimbra is free, her voice reaching soaring highs and sultry whispers over Lott's textured production. Punk, hip-hop, electronic and R&B tumble as she writhes around in a state of ecstasy. There's an almost orgasmic quality to Kimbra's work, capturing tragedy, sensuality and release in a multi-sensory overload. In her world, there's no such thing as the tragic female lead, irrationality, hysteria or subtlety. It reassures the ugly parts of humanity that are pathologized, mocked and dismissed through a uniquely feminine perspective. Read on for PAPER's conversation with Kimbra about A Reckoning, what it means to capture uncomfortable emotions and life's many taboos. What has changed between your last album and now that informed your headspace?I already had a lot of songs floating around by the end of the last album. I knew that I wanted to write a lot of new material, especially because I've gone through a lot during the pandemic, like the end of a relationship in 2020. So I was committed to sitting down at the piano every few days, my Wurlitzer at home, really trying to write some very heartfelt ballads. When songs like "save me" and "i don't want to fight" emerged, it became clear that I was going to be touching on some really big themes. One of them was the theme of conflict and anger. Where do these parts of us live and how do we find healthy ways to express them? How do I lean into the ugly stuff? I'm like, I don't want to look at my own rage and I'll probably have to if I'm going to evolve. When I had that theme in mind, I started collecting photographs of people about to break. I love those four seconds when you watch someone and they're deciding whether they're going to react or respond kindly. I wanted to capture that moment of reckoning with yourself, facing yourself and deciding how you're going to move clearly. That was the inspiration. So then out of that, I brought back songs like "gun" that I had written for Rihanna at a songwriting camp back in the day. She never picked it up so I brought that back. Then I wrote "replay!" and I was like, Wow, this is about a woman really reckoning with a lot of her difficult emotions and trying to break cycles. I'm really interested in loops. I've always been interested in looping cycles, circles, patterns. I think the way we evolve as humans is often to witness those loops, see the habits we have and then work to soften them and break them. That's kind of where it all came from. Then I picked my co-producer Ryan Lott from Son Lux. That was my person that was going to sonically present these characters. I had the vulnerable softness of a woman surrendering and then the fighter, the warrior, the aggression. So his role was to be like, How do I make characters out of this? How do I make synthesizers that sound like knives?One of my notes is about the textures on this record. The sounds are almost tangible. I want my songs to sound like my internal landscapes. I have these inner worlds. Some of them are calm and controlled, and then some of them are schizophrenic and claustrophobic and the way that I keep myself in check is to make music from that place. What does it sound like in my head today? Do you feel that making music to let these feelings out is healthy for you, or do you have other outlets?You gotta have other ones. If your life is only about music, it can become a bit single-minded. I try to do yoga and run and do things that are physical. I like to do watercolors and express myself, but the impulse to create is to bring clarity out of confusion. When I'm confused about what I'm feeling, it's a very scary place for me. I sit down and make a beat that sounds like my internal rhythm and sing a melody that sounds like the longing or the regret or the fear. If I make that melody, then I relax like, Ah, I made something invisible, visible. I made something that was abstract and scary into a tangible thing that can now help someone else and turn suffering into joy.How does that process work, to create something that intuitively feels like something invisible?It's an act of faith. You don't know what's going to come out and it might be shit, right? And you're scared of that! If I lean in, start tinkering and playing chords, I might strike on something that needs to come out. It's kind of like a dance with the subconscious. You're trusting that something in the subconscious is going to emerge. If you just stop trying to control it, you have to be out of it. You have to be like a child. And when you're playing, guessing, stepping into the dark, then you land and are like, "That sounds like how I feel." You see how that's fate? You're not controlling the process. You're leaning into something more divine and you're hunting and smelling around to see something.Going back to the fear of something sounding like shit, is that something you are still conscious of?Of course! That's the risk you take every time you try to create because you're immediately face-to-face with the inner critic who's going to sit there and go, that's not good enough, you should be making better music. You're gonna have to wrestle with the inner critic. It's faith that you'll create something that is meaningful even when you're scared because creatives are scared. There's an illusion that an artist just walks into a creative space and unfolds something beautiful. No, they're scared that it's not going to be good enough. For example, "save me" was a song that I wrote because my therapist told me to write something that no one would ever hear. So in that sense, it took away the inner critic. Now I decided to put it out, but initially, no one's gonna hear this so it doesn't matter if it's shit. I'm just gonna make it for me. A really great way to write something is if you take away the audience and the witness altogether. You might find that you want the witness later. But for the moment of creation, you're trying to get rid of that voice of where it's gonna go and just do it purely for the sake of expression, with no outcome with no life span. Just pure expression in the moment.It must be strange to make music without the intention of anyone else hearing it after spending so long doing the exact opposite, creating with the purpose of eventually releasing it and having an audience always in mind. Of course. It's been a lot easier on this record because it was just me and the co-producer the whole time. We didn't have any record labels assigned to the record. I parted ways with Warner Brothers so I didn't have people in the room saying, "Make the chorus bigger," or, "This isn't commercial enough." I just made the record I wanted to make. I made what I wanted to listen to. It is easier when you remove the industry voices because that adds a lot of pressure.You can really hear the difference between a squeaky-clean record and one with more freedom, although it may be my own bias. I'm guessing working so intimately with one other person definitely helped rein in some of the ideas.[Ryan Lott] oversaw a lot of the final ideas. Of course, I'm at the center of a lot of sound design and coming up with arrangements and stuff, but it was always me and him. Even though there are other people involved, it was always me and him aligning our vision for the ultimate sound, which I think creates cohesion to this record and a feeling of not too many cooks in the kitchen, which can make a record sound confused sometimes.It's also a shorter record! I think albums are getting longer and I kind of enjoy a journey from start to finish. It's very focused and takes you many places, but I lean toward a slightly conceptual idea. And I like the number 10! It provides such symmetry to an album. You get a middle point and then you get act two. Those were the 10 [songs] that told the story for me. Of course, there's plenty of others, but I just wanted to make a statement that didn't have filler or songs that were there to bulk it up. I wanted every song to be very much a side of the central theme. To be fair, I have a lot of work ready to go up to this. I've been piling it up for shorter releases rather than one long one.I love that you're talking about an almost universal taboo about female anger and the label of the "hysterial" woman. What was it like to embody those emotions? I would say they're all different sides to the experience of conflict, rage and anger that lives within us. It's confronting. It's almost difficult to live inside these songs because I'm having to get so intimate with the parts of myself that are difficult to look at. When I'm making whimsical fantasy music, I get to escape myself. For this record, I went into myself in a very direct way, so sometimes I have to take a breather. Even the music videos are exhausting. The work is exhausting, because it is. It's very raw in terms of the things that I feel within, but this is what I do as an artist. As I say to my audience, I'll go there so you can join me too and feel less afraid to go there. It always helps when you've got a hand, someone to lead you through the darkness or into the fun! There's a lot of fun on this record. There's a lot of playful sexuality and discovering your womanhood in these really cool, exciting ways. You can only do that when you go through the hard stuff and see what's really there. It's scary, but then it opens up all these other parts of yourself and you can let go of shame and regret. There's a whole multifaceted experience of being what I identify as, which is a woman. We're scared to look at all these different sides of ourselves. We put people in boxes and for me to break out of my box, I have to first take a good look at what's in there. That helps me expand. And like I said, there's a heaviness to the first half of the record and then it's a real freedom that emerges towards the end. Songs like "GLT" and "new habit" are about the other side of anger. And when you move through that stuff, you get to see all the beauty that is there too.Did you feel like you were going through this process of rediscovering yourself, your womanhood and sexuality when making this record?Yeah, for sure. I express myself in new ways. You know, I think part of looking at the emotion of anger is that it's tied to your life force. Your life force is also erotic and sensual and sexual, and so when you look at this emotion and its deeper root, you find all of these other expressions of vitality. They are all good things for our world. Protest is fueled by the same thing that makes us violent. I think I've grown into my own skin and my own body. I've wanted to embrace my physicality in new ways and incorporate dance and movement more into things. I'm contemplating motherhood now that I'm in my 30s, so there's also that strong female experience of realizing that you're wanting to think about being a creator, a mother. I think there's a real strength in seeing your body as a vessel for life. It takes time for everyone to feel comfortable expressing themselves on those different levels, and that's the journey of an artist! You're accessing yourself in different ways. Sometimes I do it through escapism, sometimes I do it in this really grounded, bodily way. This is why it takes four to five years to make a record because you live with yourself for a bit.It seems that even while you were at a major label, you were able to work on your own artistic timeline. Right. I tended to push back on that. I think there's always that pressure to deliver sooner, but I tended to be quite forthright about needing time and I'm glad that they were understanding of that. And often, I just want to wait until I actually have something to say that's worthwhile. There's a lot of music out there. There's a lot of female pop artists. What do I have to contribute here that is authentic to my experience, and is going to be helpful to other people?Are you nervous about bringing these songs on tour when they are even more vulnerable than usual?I'm mentally preparing. What gives me life is looking into the eyes of other people and seeing them reflect back the same emotions and feel the same things. It makes me feel safer to say these things out loud because there's other people in the room. It's like the beauty of an AA meeting. When people come together and all share their experiences, everyone goes, "Thank you for sharing. I understand that." It's a lot better than me sitting alone in my apartment going through it on my own. The community that comes from live performance is very healing for me because the music basically has a second life after you release it. I've lived with the songs and I've cried to the songs and I put them on my headphones and I've gone, "Fuck yeah, this is exactly what I want to say." But now they're yours. Now they're someone else's. I'm on to the next thing! It's like a service that you are giving. You're now allowing for the songs to unfold in the lives of others, and I look at that as my offering.On "gun," you open with the line, "I earned the right to talk this way." I think that was when the album really started come together for me and communicated that internal conflict of anger and femininity.I've spent a lot of my career and time in my life giving my power over to other people, so there's a reclamation of finding yourself again in this record. And sometimes you forget your sense of self in this industry. "gun" is really realizing that a lot of the words that people spoke over me which were meant to free and empower me were actually like a gun to the head. They're actually trapping me. Sometimes you think that you owe a lot to other people but at the end of the day, you're the one that turns up for yourself. You're the one that gets you through the hard times. I wrote those words for Rihanna, so I wrote it for a woman that I felt was stronger than me. I think there was that reclamation of like, Why can't I say that? I need my music to be my strongest self because sometimes I can't speak like that. I am shy, I get nervous, but in my music, I get to say those things like, "I earned the right to talk this way." Was there any emotion that felt particularly difficult to create?I think "la type," which is a song about my experience dating in LA and just some of the bullshit that comes with a city that's built on entertainment. That one was hard because I had so many different versions and approaches. It's a tongue-in-cheek song. It's obviously having a bit of a laugh. I love LA and I'm not bagging on it, but there's also a culture that I'm talking to that is very distorted and superficial, right? But it was hard to capture the nuance of that. I wanted some sparkle and that Hollywood feel, but I also wanted it to be sassy and feel like Betty Davis. It had to shine. That was the hardest one to finish. And the final icing on the cake was actually getting Questlove to play drums on the track! We cut that at Electric Lady. So he played on that song and it suddenly had just the right feeling of pocket and groove and throwback, because the thing is, I'm always nervous to do throwback sounds — I don't want it to sound derivative. For "la type," I had to make it feel modern but also had to throw back to stuff that I loved. It's hard when you have a Prince-inspired song to not go full Prince. That's why I lean into juxtaposition and duality because that's when you get something original. When you mix regret with sexual desire. When you mix guilt with pride. That's where originality comes in. I like to find the paradoxes in me.Have you written a lot for others?A little bit! I do get called in to write for other people. I think there's a cool thing that happens when you step outside of yourself and your own insecurities and you write it for someone else to sing. You're not overly attached to whether or not you mean it from the bottom of your heart. It's for them! You imagine a different character, like the version of Kimbra that walks into a room and says, "I earned the right to talk this way." What's that version of me that can say that? And then when I take on that character, I get better at living it out in the real world. It's like my practice. What does it feel like to speak like that in industry meetings when I speak to men who make me feel small? It has now been over a decade since "Somebody I Used To Know." Do you still feel bound to that song and wish for that not to be the main focus of your catalog?Probably. Luckily, I love the song and the world loves the song and it's a great song. So it's like, I'm proud to be associated with it. It's not a moment of my career where I'm like, Oh, that was embarrassing. That was an amazing moment. There's a little bit of a punk in me that says I'm gonna make something totally different. I just want to say I like to subvert expectations. That song gave me a lot of faith in pop music that you don't have to conform. It's a pretty weird pop song and it's not traditional. It made me dream big about what I could do as an artist, and if that's what people can connect with, it's just raw emotion not presented in the Top 40. It made me really ambitious as an artist, rather than shrinking and thinking that I have to play by all the rules. So have you always wanted to be a pop artist?Well, I like pop because you get given this format of verse one, chorus, verse two, chorus, bridge. But then within that, you can kind of do whatever. Look at artists like Prince and Michael Jackson. They made weird shit poppy because they put a hook on it and they performed it with theatrics and entertainment. I like the theatrical aspect of pop and the way that you can make it larger than life. I think that's cool! Pop has the potential to reach so many people. I like the challenge of making a pop song while integrating stuff that would not normally be pop, like listening to Brazilian music for a month and then sampling something Brazilian or taking a vocal technique from that style and making it palatable and understandable for people that might be intimidated by that kind of music.The pandemic must've allowed you to sit with some music that ended up really impacting your process.Yeah, we had to face ourselves. I was thinking a lot about how certain artists use danger in music to shock people and wake them up, like a Kanye West record. It just subverts. There's a Nina Simone sample and then a symphony! It reminds me of waking people up! I didn't want my contribution to just be flat. I wanted it to be really dynamic. So for A Reckoning, it's a fucking direct conversation record. Artists like, I think Rosalía came into the scene at a really exciting time. She had this slap-in-the-face attitude and I love the nature of power in that work.It's an exciting time for pop music. Think of Chloe x Halle! The R&B artists coming out of this time were just very different. You know, James Blake and other great songwriters were doing these weird sonic worlds that are so haunting. Stuff that's memorable while also trying some more simplicity at times. I can hide sometimes behind a lot of vocal effects and ethereal production and I wanted there to be a directness to this.You're a hip-hop fan, and with this record, it feels like you're really finding the confidence to approach that space more.The project I'm working on is going a lot more in that direction. I'm always making a lot of collaborative stuff and rap is one of the biggest influences on my sound world and rhythm. Rap has so much punk in it and so much rebellion and exciting rhythmic information — Kendrick is still probably the most influential artist for me as a songwriter because he can make his voice sound like so many different characters! It's so jazz to me. It's totally jazz, which is protest music, right? Jazz is nonconformity, so I think integrating rap more into the work featuring rappers I love feels very natural to me because I take so much inspiration from the rhythmic world of rap and hip-hop. And yet, there have been many collaborations that I've been working on that haven't felt quite right for this record, so I've continued to keep them aside for an eventual new release that will be very focused on some of these bangers with rappers and venture into just exploring that side of my influence. I grew up with so much '90s and '00s R&B and hip-hop and my work as an artist is keen on unfolding the little pockets of who I am because that's all I've got to work with. It's the raw material of my life and my influence. You're taking from the world around you, but I believe that you first have to go within to be able to make comments about the outer world. Each project is a way to search for something within. What do I want to say with this and what pocket have I not yet discovered inside of myself? What have I not looked at yet? Is there a specific moment on this record that you're attached to?"the way we were" is a song where the melodies have a really classic feeling about them, especially the chorus. I really like when I write melodies that feel like you've heard them before, but you've never heard them before. You know, that feeling where it's like the song has always existed. It almost reminds me of some of the '80s anthems that I love where the chorus just soars. I'm proud that I was able to achieve a moment that really reflects what it's like to miss someone and the longing for the way we were. It's great when you nail an emotion you're trying to convey.What dualities are in this record and what are these central characters?I think the two characters are chaos and energy or vitality. And then there's contemplation, reflection, peace, surrender. It's true of my life! I live in New York, but I also come from New Zealand. I come from this contemplative, peaceful land where there's only four million people. I go and I meditate and be quiet and sit with the trees. Then I come back here to improvisation, collective jazz punk, stimulation, anxiety. I have a lot of anxiety, but I'm always going back and forth between this very controlled calm state. Instead of trying to annihilate that, I'm gonna just try to accept that and make it my gift to the world. Do they work together? Yeah, because they live in me and they live in all of us. They do work together. We can't have one without the other. Also, the record is a woman trying to wrestle with something that is misunderstood, like rage. We've been told that it's mania. We've been told that when you're angry, you're having a breakdown instead of a breakthrough. That's reframing. It's looking at what is beautiful about the original emotion. There's something really powerful about vitality and people feeling the urgency to act. It's an important emotion, you can't shut that down. You've just got to find healthy outlets for it.What do you get from going back and forth between New York and home, especially emotionally and creatively?I think of it as an inhale. New York is an exhale. It's an output. But when I'm there, I try to be very present to my family and to the trees. I get a lot from being in a forest. It's really about input. It's really about quiet and just being around other people's lives. My life in New York is very self-focused. I spend a lot of time looking at myself, and when I go to New Zealand, it's a time to be focused on the people I love and go inward a little bit and realign with the self that isn't a musician.Do you feel like people can't separate the watercolor and yoga Kimbra from the performer Kimbra?There's always going to be that disconnect because of social media and the ways that people see you on the outside. They make assumptions about who you are and your day-to-day. You must be so glamorous and confident and extroverted. Not at all, but it's nice to keep that for yourself and have a world that looks very ordinary and just hang out with my dog and make food and just watch dumb reality TV and all those things. I really hang on to my community of friends who see me as just Kim. That's very grounding — to not have people consistently viewing you through the lens of your career.Photo courtesy of Spencer Ostrander https://www.papermag.com/kimbra-a-reckoning-2659314389.html