#*spends ridiculous amounts of money just so i can hold my favorite shows and albums*

[graham--folger]

man i miss physical media

[jinned]

BTS React- You surprise them and take them out on a date

-”really?” he says with a cute blush

-does that shy smile

-asks what he should wear and asks about the setting environment

-he moans and whines but in reality he’s really excited that you decided to surprise him

-he’s not used to being spoiled so when you take him to an old music shop you found, he’s over the moon

-you watch happily as he bounces from bin to bin, picking up different CD’s and admiring the artwork

-he’ll grab your wrist and lead you over to some great finds he found, telling you all about the artist’s history and how much they’ve influenced his own work

-when you go to check out, he stammers as you pull out your own wallet and buy everything he picked out

-”Y/N. You didn’t have to do that. Just taking me here was enough!”

-you laugh and hand the bag of goodies over to him, a big, bright smile on your face. “I’m spoiling you today.”

-you sit in the parking lot for a good 15 minutes, Namjoon not allowing you to drive yet until he picks the perfect CD to show you

-once the PERFECT album has been selected, Namjoon loses himself, excitingly gushing about certain lyric meanings

-when you get home he rushes to his studio and proudly displays his new finds on his music shelf

-we all know Jin loves his food

-so it’s no surprise that you go on a lot of restaurant dates

-he loved showing you his new finds and gorging out with you, taking cute couple pics with your dishes

-so when you got the idea to take him to this new food cart area, you were almost buzzing with excitement

-when he got home from work on Friday night you were already ready to go

-”Y/N,” he groans, drawing out your name. “I just walked in. Let me get settled.”

-”Nope!” You beam. “Get changed. We’re going out!”

-It’s obvious he’s very tired, but he smiles and does as he’s told

-the air is crisp as you step outside your home. you grab Jin's hand and skip beside him

-Jin looks at you fondly before joining you in your joyous skipping

-when you get to the food carts, the sky is darkening and the street lights are just starting to turn on

-"what is this place?" Seokjin wonders in amazement

-"there's about fifteen different food carts here. and I'm here to buy whatever you want."

-"is this why you purposefully didn't pack my lunch today?"

-"bingo"

-"you're the best!" he kisses your cheek and runs off, ping ponging from cart to cart

-it's easy for Yoongi to get caught up in the little things in life

-you'd wake up in the middle of the night to find him sitting up, wringing his hands in his lap, clearly mulling over something that was bugging him

-all you could really do in those moments is rub soothing circles across his back, hoping to rub some of the worries away

-having had a particularly sleepless week, you decided that it's time to surprise him with a little getaway

-you spent the whole morning preparing a picnic with his favorite sandwiches, snacks, and juice

-when Yoongi wakes up, you tell him to get ready

-sleepily, he nods his head and gets in the shower

-while he's showering, you go into your bedroom and get his clothes ready for him

-"thank you, y/n." he kisses your temple as he gets dressed, his movements slow

-once in the car, you steal a few glances at your boyfriend

-he has his hand hanging out the car window, letting the wind carry it, his head bops to the beat of the music playing softly through the radio, completely lost in his own world

-you find a place to park and gather up the picnic basket and blanket from the trunk

-"here, let me take that." Yoongi reaches out and grabs the basket from your arms while you remain with the blanket

-you smile as he takes your hand, you leading the way to a favorite spot you both share

-the spot is in the grass by a grand willow tree foreseeing a large pond

-the sun is shining but it's not too hot thanks to the gentle breeze blowing against your backs

-you lay out the blanket and Yoongi wordlessly sits down with the basket and opens it

-watching him fondly, you see him smile while looking down at the contents

-"this is all for me?" he looks at you with a shy grin

-"of course! I wanted to spend the day with you. I've been kind of worried about you."

-Yoongi scoots closer to you and wraps an arm around your back, pulling your head against his shoulder. he rests his head on top of yours and rubs small circles against your arm

-"thank you," he mutters

-you spend the rest of the day enjoying the picnic you've prepared and watch the ducks swim around in the pond

-one week

-one entire week your air conditioner has been out

-in the middle of summer of course

-it has made both you and Hoseok miserable

-so much so that you've been picking fights with one another

-you're at work on friday in the nice cool ac, finally able to think straight when you realize how ridiculous you've both been

-you tried to think of a way to make it up to your boyfriend

-looking over at your coworkers desk and seeing a particular object made by their kid gave you a brilliant idea

-after work you rushed to the nearest store

-when you open the door to your home you can't even try to hold back your groan as you're hit with a wave of heat

-it's colder outside than it is inside and it didn't matter if you had the windows open or not

-the musky humid smell in the air is enough to make you want to turn back around and sleep in your office

-you adjust your grip on your grocery bags and stand firm with your idea and lock the door behind you

-"I'm home!" you yell into the house

-moving to the living room, you set down your grocery bags and take out a few items

-"what are you doing?" Hoseok sighs and looks at you

-"filling the coffee table. sit"

-he wordlessly complies and watches as you continue to take different snacks from ramen to raspberries to sour gummy worms to sour cream and onion pringles 

-after the table is set, you walk over to the ac unit and, with a smug smirk on your face, you turn on the air conditioning

-”whoa!” Hoseok baffles as he looks around the room, feeling the cool air being pumped into the room

-”I got us snacks, a working air conditioner, and some colored pencils. I figured we can have a stay at home date and enjoy our newly operating ac.”

-Hoseok smiles widely, eagerly searching for the colored pencils while you put in a movie

-Jimin had been working extra hard lately, leaving no room to lounge and rest

-and knowing him, he won’t stop until his body gives out on him

-the beginnings of fall have quickly arrived and walking outside in the chilly air has proven to be rather....unpleasant

-but on your way home, you walk past a new shop that has opened up 

-and ding ding ding LIGHTBULB

-Jimin comes home after a long day of practice and flings himself on the couch

-he looks utterly exhausted and it pains you to see him work himself this hard

-you’re sitting on the chair by the window pretending to read

-”so,” you say, nonchalantly turning an unread page. “I talked with your manager...”

-”yeah?” Jimin calls out, unmoving

-”he told me that you can have tomorrow off.” you smile as his head pops up quickly, his eyebrows raised high with disbelief

-”and I have a surprise for yooouu.” you sing and close your book, making your way towards him to leave a kiss on his forehead

-the next day Jimin is practically bouncing circles around you, begging for you to tell him what the surprise is

-”here it is!” you exclaim with outstretched arms towards the shop you saw yesterday

-”a...massage...parlour?” 

-”let’s go. our appointments are in five minutes.”

-as you lay on the table, face pointed towards your boyfriend, you smile as he shuts his eyes, the white towel covering his butt leaving the rest of his body exposed

-but you quickly shake those thoughts out of your mind. this is about getting Jimin to relax

-well...you can get him to relax in that way LATER

-you know he would never come get a massage on his own and honestly? who would turn down a couples massage

-you watch with delight as the masseuse rubs out the knots in his back, soft moans of relief leaving his lips

-you have the best boyfriend in the world

-one who caters to you, listens to you, and is always looking for ways to spoil you

-so you wanted to surprise him with your own thought out date!

-it’s a bright and sunny morning and you wake up buzzing, totally amped to take your cute ass boyfriend on a cute ass date to the zoo

-Taehyung speeds to get ready when you tell him what you’re doing today and the drive to the zoo is filled with loud singing and random dances in the car

-after you’re in the zoo, you give Taehyung some money

-and before you can tell him it’s for food and snacks for the day, maybe even a cute t shirt

-he bee lines it for the gift shop

-not even five minutes later he comes out with this big ol stuffed gorilla that’s almost as big as you are

-”HIS NAME IS HARAMTAE!”

-you just laugh and take Taehyung’s hand while he lugs the gorilla under his other arm

-throughout the rest of the date you take lots of pics with Haramtae and make silly faces at the animals

-it’s a day Taehyung talks about for a long time

-life seems to have been getting to Jungkook lately

-he constantly feels like he can’t do anything right

-and that weight has been getting heavier and heavier

-it’s been a while since the two of you have gone out and had a date night and you knew the basic dinner and movie scene wasn’t going to play out well during these times

-he needs to laugh and to have fun. judgeless fun

-you go to the bank and get as many nickels as you can before getting weird looks from the bank teller

-and you run out of the bank with your ziplock bags of nickels like the real goblin you are

-then you text your boyfriend where to meet you

-you wait anxiously by the front door until you see Jungkook stagger in, hands tucked deeply into his pockets

-a small smile breaks out as he sees you and then he looks around more

-”a nickel arcade?” he chuckles and shakes his head

-”person with the least amount of tickets buys dinner!”

-you throw a ziplock bag at him and rush off to find the easiest game that’ll give you the most tickets

-after a short period of time, a genuine smile is permanently painted on Jungkook’s face as the two of you run around the arcade like mad men, tickets flying over your shoulders and shouting back banter to one another

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

♡𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝓂𝑜𝓃𝒹𝒶𝓎 ♡

© do not copy, modify, translate, or repost. Jinitude 9/23/19

[weekendsabo]

Email Journal - Friday, November 30th, 2018

Well, I’m not going to sell my ticket, and I may be able to find someone to go to the show next weekend. I’ll ask Luna tomorrow when I see her, but she will most likely say no. Whatever. More than likely Polo will be the one to come with me, but that will be fun for sure! If I can’t find anyone to go, and polo does go, then I will just crash at his house. It’ll be cheap and easy. If by some miracle someone does come with me, I will get a room/airbnb. Either way, it’s going to be a great weekend with Erika, Ralph, Polo and possibly Isaac. I’m excited. Always nice to see them! It will be my last time going to Cali for a while.

Alright, I just went through the past year of spending and I spent $5600 on just alcohol. Plus whatever cash I used to pay for drinks and stuff. That is just ridiculous. I can’t do that anymore. I could have a fully functioning woodshop, or a motorcycle, or a new guitar and a bunch of pedals. I will do better from here on out. I will not drink more than two beers if I go out. Its so bad, I can believe it, but I can’t at the same time. I know I have a problem and it just got out of hand. I need a change of pace and change of scenery. It’s going to be a good year. I’m feeling determined and making small changed to improve myself. I definitely want a home gym. Nothing crazy, just a squat rack, bench, a bar and some weights. And an exercise bike. Running is great but it’s going to kill my knees for sure. I have some time to do it, but a bike would be great. Then I can alternate lifting and cardio every day. Get into good shape is all I want. I was so close last year and I just gave up. No more giving up. No more thinking of what I should be doing and not doing it. If I think it, I have to do it. I would like to snag one of these big calendars for my room so I have something that I look at every day to keep me on track! If I keep going with the running, and not have to many fail days, I will be back to running a 5K by the end of January. Two months that’s it. The time is going to pass either way, might as well make the most of it!

I have to go to Huntridge and ask her out. Still can believe I forgot her name. It’s ridiculous. What do I remember? She will be graduating with a Bachelors of Philosophy in two weeks. Her golden dog fish who is 3 years old that she got when she was 18 or 20. Her cat Michael who she gives massages to every day. She likes to stay home and chill and smoke and is okay with it. Brown hair and brown eyes. Her favorite philosophers are  Descartes and another that I have written down at work.

Gabby. Birthday is Nov. 26th. We have definitely talked before I deleted my FB. Graduating with a Bachelors of something. Business, but not the numbers side of it. More people management. Brother plays in a band that I forgot the name of. I don’t know if she has any pets or anything. We’ll see how tomorrow goes at Rebar. Get a couple beers and just talk. At the least, we can start the conversation about the show and how her brother played. If I didn’t want to be home early tonight, I would go to that show. Also not down to pay the cover.

I should try to get home early and go to the lighting of that house and possible meet some people. Then go to the store for dinner things. AND if I stay in tonight, I will definitely play my electric and jam on that. I’m just not stoked on my guitar but whatever. I have to switch it up so I don’t forget how to use the pedals. I should really sit down and may a reverb and delay that I like with what I got. I know I can find my sound in there and it will be tight! Get my fuzz toned in and I thing I will keep the metal zone pedal in my chain just for the joke of it. It’s not a bad sounding pedal, just ridiculous. AND if I don’t spend so much on booze I will be able to get some more pedals. Nothing crazy, but it’ll be fun to mess around with stuff.

I will get a desk this weekend. And get that stuff set up for sure. I should try to make it a goal to have an EP out by New Years. Do 5 acoustic songs. I will get some roughs done this weekend and talk to Kristin and Shea about doing a part on a song. I’m hope they will be down! And possibly get Austin in on Sax, or bass. Scrounge up an acoustic base. Why not get someone on all the songs. It could be calls Something Duet’s. Maybe. I kind of want to do an album like the Meladia album. We’ll leave that for next year. Find a way to power my laptop with a battery pack. Hike up somewhere and write and record a song. Would be really cool. I will probably do an album with fruity loops as well. I can do some cool guitar sample with crazy reverb/delay effects.

I won’t stay too long at Starboard tomorrow, just enough time to see them and talk a bit.  Stay for one beer, and smoke them out. It’ll be good! Home by midnight.

I have one month to fill out that entire planner. I think I can do it if I really want to. Ill figure out how many days are blank then figure out home many I have to write a day to get it all filled out. My guess is 5 per day. That would be 155 days filled out. I know I have a bit left to fill out. It would be so cool to get it all filled up before I start a new one. I’ll make sure I get the new one before the new year. I bet I can find a cool one. I should work on getting all the rest of my journals filled up, but priority is the year planner.

Its crazy how just writing everyday changes how I feel. It gives everything validity. Or just makes all my actions and thoughts accountable. Like I said, nothing is real until I get it out of my head. I can think whatever I want, but it’s not real. I mean, my thoughts are real to me, but that doesn’t matter. Not that it doesn’t matter, it just means I can think whatever I want and it doesn’t affect anyone but myself. And I have a hard time caring about myself most of the time. Probably why I binge drink and eat and smoke and consume. I just want to feel something and those are easy ways for me to feel anything. Even if it is just drunk/full/high. It’s something. I know If I keep up with the exercising I will be feeling something and that something is positive and improving my life. I have to keep with it. Stay determined and disciplined. Get used to this new way of life because I have to change. Not all at once, but over time I will make the changes and habit that I need to live the best life I can. Right now I make enough money to have a place to myself, a car, a bus and still have money to spend how I like and if I spend right I can save a good amount of money. I don’t know if I will stay in Boulder another year. I’ll start looking for a place to rent a couple months before my lease is up and see if I can find anything good downtown. I still don’t know about that, but by then I will be a different person on not just getting hammered all the time. That will stop. I want to retire at a decent age and be healthy enough to enjoy it.

December start tomorrow! Can’t believe it’s already December. It does feel like it’s already the middle of December though which is weird. It’s going to be a good month.

Goals. Minimum $1,500 in the bank on new year’s. Get that check engine light fixed. Get that EP recorded. Get under 200lbs. No fast food at all. Eat lots of veggies and fruit. I’m definitely getting my bass this month. It has to happen! Get the bus pretty cleanout would be great! Its free and fun and has to happen.

Man, it would be so great if we got out early today, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Ill text her after lunch that I’m going home after work. Ask her if she wants to join the lighting of the house and the Christmas tree and if she wants to make some pizza! It would be fun. Watch a movie or something. Make her listen to all my songs. Definitely not going to do that, but it would be great. I just want people to listen to my music. I won’t get famous or anything, but if I can make some peoples days or just their hour of that day, I will gladly keep writing and releasing music.

I’m excited to use a power washer! I’ll do the BBQ and the chairs and get them inside. I shouldn’t have left them out so long. They’ll be alright I feel. No harm no foul.

Sushi lunch was delicious. It was cool seeing Dan and Martin. I hope they do invite me to sushi next time they go. But the nigri today was delicious. I don’t think I’ll get the Philadelphia roll again. The cream cheese is just too much. Ill get one of the tuna rolls instead. I feel okay with my decision to sit where I did. They didn’t invite me over so it’s okay, I really did want to just have lunch by myself.

Christmas presents. Grandma is getting a sweater. I’ll ask Mel what to get Makayla. I may get her a studio whatever anime. I think she will like it. Mom  I have no clue. Dad I have no clue. Zeb I have no clue. Mel I have no clue. Maybe just do gift cards with a nice card? I just don’t know! I do want to get all this done the first week of December so I don’t have to worry about it.

White elephant party is coming up as well. I don’t know if I’m going to do the pictures. Probably should. I still think it’s funny. We’ll see. I’ll take some testers this weekend.

I definitely need to get some lube. And a new you know what. I think the stainless steel one, or a glass one would be best. I’ll be excited to get one. I’m excited to have a girl play around with it. Should be nice. I can’t wait to be in a relationship where I can basically hug and kiss that person whenever I want if they are okay with it of course. But I feel I wouldn’t be in a relationship with someone like that. Like Bob and Emily, they don’t have hardly and PDA, but I’m all for it. I mean, I don’t want to be making out right in a crowded bar, but I want them sitting next to me so I can hold their have and just be touching them in some way.

Man. What if Bridget does come over and we get comfy on my couch and end up hooking up. Or not even hook up, but I don’t know. It would be nice to just give her a massage and just intimately touch someone. We would really have to talk about things afterwards and see how we are both feeling about it. I don’t know if I would want a relationship with her. It could be fun for a while though. I am really trying to not go out and if I had someone that lived close, and it wasn’t a crazy drive to hang out it would be awesome. We get along very well and always have a good time together. I wonder if she is interest. I’ve asked this questions so many times, but never ask her. Because I’m not sure I’m ready to have that conversation. I really don’t know how I feel about it. I’m pretty down. I would probably have a lot of fun with her and I know she would be super understanding about my little problem.

I can’t believe that girl nailed it, but I did not like that she came to Starboard. It’s fine. I’m not going to hang out with you, but you’re more that welcome to be there. She paid the cover as well so good for her.

Maybe I will just get a bottle of tequila and not beer? Just do a few shots. It’ll save on calories for sure. Maybe get some soda water and lime? Keep it simple. Or diet squirt sounds good. We’ll see how I’m feeling, but that would be better than a bunch of beer. Stupid delicious beer. I love/hate you. Or maybe I’ll just not drink and smoke a ton of weed and call it good. Bust out the bubbler? That could be fun for sure! Yeah, no alcohol tonight. Maybe. I hate that I just can’t say no and have it be the final answer. I don’t have very good self-control and it sucks. How did this happen. Why don’t I have an discipline? It’s all my fault, I can’t blame anyone except myself for it. It’s crazy how little of it I have. I’ll get better. I was so good in Vermont cause I didn’t have access to going and hanging in bars with people for any of that.  

If we get out early. I will run home, change into my running gear and walk over to the house, then go for a run from there. Run up to Bicentennial park then back down. It would be pretty nice! I highly doubt Bridget will come over, so It’ll work out okay. And Maybe Ill just make some jalapeno poppers with pepperoni in the middle? That sounds pretty delicious! I don’t have enough jalapenos. I have enough pizza sauce for a pizza, all I need is some mozzarella. Maybe get some pineapple? The ones they have at Albertsons are small and don’t look too good. Mozzarella at the very least. Finish up the parmesan I have. I’ll clean out the fridge today as well. Get it all cleaned up and cleared out so I can see what I have. Sunday, I’ll get food for the week so I’m not eating out every day at lunch. It just so easy, but so bad for me. Oats for breakfast, salad for lunch, and something light for dinner. I’ll make a soup or just come chicken and veggies for dinner. Nice and easy. I have chips so I can do some nacho style thing for dinner. Maybe do like a pork roast and make tacos with it? That would be delicious. We’ll see. I haven’t really thought too much about it yet.

It’s crazy how much I listen to music but don’t write about it at all. I guess it’s just there and I don’t need to get it out of my head, but I should start writing about it. So here we go. Right now I’m listening to this band Space Mountain. Just super chill rock, the vocals are familiar, but I can’t place it off the top of my head, but they are cool. I heard guitar, bass, there’s an acoustic in there, drums, and possibly an organ. I like it a lot. I’ve been listening to a bunch of Into It. Over it. Not a bunch, but the same 2 albums over and over and they are so good. I watched their audiotree and Evan Weiss is so good. Pet Symmetry is so good too. But Into It. Over It. Is where it’s at. I’ll probably jam them on the way home so I have something to sing too.

I really want to get better at singing so I’m going to have to really start practicing without just singing along with other people. I’m sure it helps, but I can’t sing by myself. I have to learn what notes I can sing and how to do it. I’ll find a download of the ladies singing lessons and practice them every day. It will work. If I do it every day there’s no way I won’t get better. Then I’ll take IDLES mentality and just write songs about whatever I want. It’ll be fun. I’m excited, then I can get a band together and be the front man of it. Definitely want to write sing along parts and have dancey music. I want people to move around to the music I play. I also don’t listen to music of people I listen to on audiotree, and I should do that cause I check out a lot of cool bands on there and just don’t check them out. I will start to make a playlist of the music I listen too to start incorporating it into my spotify jams. Cause I get stuck on bands and it’s okay cause I really enjoy what I’m listening too, but I can broaden my horizon musically and just listen to a more diverse range of music. It’ll be cool.

Maybe for lunch I will do egg salad with some crackers? I have to eat those eggs if they are still good. It has to happen. I can hard boil them all on Sunday and be set for the week. Get some celery, red onion, mayo, mustard, jalapeno and obviously pickles. It would be delicious and not to calorie dense. Then once I get through the eggs I can do a week of tuna salad in a salad? More veggies for your buck!

I should save it for after I ask Huntridge girl out. My mind will just be in that mode where it doesn’t matter and I just have to get it done. But I have been teasing myself all day today with Reddit. It’s just so easy to have a quick peak,  then I want another and another, and before you know it, I’m just doing it cause I can. At least before in the bus it wouldn’t be dry all the time which is nice cause it’s a whole different would when I’m not death gripping it. I have to stop doing that for sure. Okay new policy. Just no more death grip and no more checking things out. Like I said. I f I want to get it done I have to just use imagination. It will help me out a ton. It’ll make appreciate more girls a lot more.

If Bridget doesn’t come over, I’ll take a bath. Maybe pick up some cheap bubble bath at the store. That would be nice. I should start taking baths with just my phone light and door shut to keep all that warmth in. preheat the tub for sure. I can’t believe how cold it was making the water so quickly. So yeah. Ill spray the tube down first and keep doing it while it fills up to keep the tub from cooling off the water. I bet them make tubs that have heaters in them. I bet it wouldn’t be too hard to convert a tub to do that since that guy just had those heating cables around his steering wheels. Tubs are cast iron I believe, so it should be able to heat up and retain that heat without a whole lot of work. When I buy a house I will look into it and see what’s up with it.

It would be so tight to have a Jacuzzi and a pool, but I would settle for just the Jacuzzi. One like Emily’s parents have is would be perfect. And it looked like I could find one for a couple thousand. It’s expensive, but not out of reach. It would take some time to save up, but it would be totally work it! I would probably go in it every day. Wake up early. Exercise. Jump in the Jaquz.  Outdoor shower it. Then breakfast and get ready for work. It would be perfect. That’s what I want in my life and it’s not even that ridiculous. Within a year and that’s happening.

That and getting motorcycle. That will be my next big purchase for sure. Well, a guitar first, then a motorcycle. Ill get signed up for the class in a couple weeks so I have the money to get the helmet and stuff.

I’m going to go simple with just a t-shirt and flannel. I’m hesitant on the flannel cause it just super cliché, but whatever. I’ve been wearing them for like over 18 years. I feel like I’m grandfathered in, but nobody knows that.  We’ll see. I’ll come up with something good.

I’ll get a Christmas list written today with stuff in the $30 range. It’ll probably be all kitchen stuff, but it’s all I really need. Or want. I don’t really “need” anything. It’s all want. Pizza stone. Sharpening stone. A high wall sauté pan. Immersion blender. Food Processor. Kitchen aid.  A carbon steel pan. Dutch oven. I am going to have to get a propane tank. But that won’t be too much I think. Like $40 at the most.

Well, like I said. Bridget was very likely a no show, so that make my night a lot easier. Home to change then head right over. Depending on the time I get out there. I may just run to the store first, then check out the lighting of the lights. That might be the best option. Then head out for the run after that. The run will only take about 30 minutes plus I’m just super chilling tonight so it works out for the best this way. Just need mozzarella cheese and possibly some bubble bath cause I’m feeling frisky. Maybe do some butt stuff in the tub. That could be fun! We’ll see. Either way, its going to be a good night. I’m excited. I may try to hit people up and invite them over, but at this point I feel it is way too late to do that. I don’t care to do that. I went for just one person and did my best so its okay. I will get may social fix tomorrow for sure, then I will be set for a week.  I am excited to see the parade tomorrow. I should pick up my G-ma to come as well. I’ll think about it, but as of right now it is a no. I don’t want to hassle around with that at all. It’s a lot of work especially with meeting with Tsvet and James, who I am excited to see! I’ll ask them about their holiday and all that fin stuff!

[onestowatch]

For dodie, a Bit of Madness Is Key [Q&A]

“Oh, I’m so human/ We’re just human,” confesses dodie on the title track of her third EP, Human. It is a simple yet profound sentiment that builds an impressive level of atmosphere, as well as the emotional crux for much of the English singer-songwriter’s touching musings. For whether dodie finds herself diving headfirst into an idyllic, lovelorn number or stepping back into a moment of stripped-back reflection, there is an undeniable human element to the entire affair.

Perhaps it is that very notion of accepting every facet of what makes us human that begins to explain dodie’s near-universal appeal. Opening up about her own struggles with mental health in both her music and on her various social media platforms, dodie has amassed a monumental following whose dynamic more closely resembles that of a collective family than that of your typical fan-and-artist relationship. 

We had the pleasure to sit down with dodie, who is currently in the midst of her largest headlining tour to date, to discuss what it means to be human, her friendship with Tessa Violet, being labeled a YouTuber, and gifting a purpose to your pain.

OTW: I was in the bathroom, which is a great way to start any interview.

dodie: Yes, it is.

OTW: They had this question written in chalk on the wall. “What keeps you up at night?” Very heavy.

dodie: And you stole it.

OTW: Exactly. I just thought, “That’s a good one.” So, what keeps you up at night?

dodie: Oh, man. Do we really want to start like this? Ok, let me think. What keeps me up at night? My friends talking in the other room. I guess the fear of death will creep in now and again. I think sometimes I’m guilty of thinking about the past a lot and what it used to be like. I feel like I’ve trained myself pretty well to fall asleep pretty quickly. If I’m not feeling great, I’ll be like, “Brain, time to turn off, and begin again the next day, just try again.” If I’m feeling good, I feel good enough to sleep.

OTW: Moving beyond existential dread for a moment, let’s talk about your latest EP, Human. What do you think it means to be human?

dodie: I think it means experiencing everything. Forgive yourself and forgive everyone else, because we are experiencing life. So yeah, feeling a lot, experiencing a lot, maybe doing shameful things, and forgiving yourself.

OTW: You’re very open when it comes to speaking about mental health. As someone who got their start on a very public-facing platform, was this sense of candidness planned from the outset? 

dodie: Nothing has ever been planned. I think I’m planning now, but when I began and the way my career grew, it was not planned. I think I started kind of experiencing different symptoms of mental health problems, and it was new to me. I don’t think I had it in me to keep up this happy pretense, so I started sharing naturally on various platforms. And I think at first, the response was very kind–people related -- and my community was small enough back then for it to be this really wholesome thing that didn’t have many consequences. It’s more difficult for me now, because there’s just way too many people and way too many opinions, so I kind of hold myself back a little bit more. But it was a helpful thing.

OTW: As someone who has personally and publicly dealt with mental health issues of their own, what do you think is the best advice or best thing a friend has done to help?

dodie: Just listen. It sounds like such a stereotype, but it really is the best thing you can do. When I think about all my friends, and the times I needed them most... I’ve called friends, sat on sofas as they stuffed pillows in my arms or just put everything down and listened to me cry, and talk it out. They don’t even have to pretend to understand. Sadly, a lot of my friends have mental health problems too, so they can relate very easily. 

I think just having the space to let me know that I’m being heard, and just that they’re there for me is so important. I have a friend called Shannon who says, “We will sort it out. We can do that.” That makes me feel so supported. When everything’s overwhelming she’s like, “We will get through this.” I love that so much.

OTW: Would you say a lot of your songwriting comes from personal experience then?

dodie: I think I play with themes that run in my life. More recently, I’ve been experimenting with writing from different perspectives. I saw Lin-Manuel today. He’s writing the new Little Mermaid songs, and he said something along the lines of “Oh, I should get out my Moana book, because he wrote all the songs from Moana, which are all water-themed.” And he kind of got over the Moana songs he wrote. I feel that way. Like, I’ve written about love and mental health a lot, and it’s hard to keep going back and being like, “I’ve already written this song.” So yeah, I think I kind of play with different themes in my life that come across. Life is so damn long, and so much happens that I don’t think I ever will run out of inspiration.

OTW: There’s an ongoing conversation of “Oh, you’re a YouTuber-turned-musician,” in spite of your very first uploads to the channel being your own music. 

dodie: I definitely understand it though, because I did grow up online. Basically, I don’t want to get mixed up with people who made YouTube videos solely, and then decided they wanted to make music for fun. Because my music has very much been intertwined with my videos since the beginning. I don’t mind the word “YouTuber,” or being called a YouTuber. It would be dumb to hide and say that I wasn’t, or that I’m not, because I still enjoy YouTube sometimes. It’s a little weird now, but it’s still really fun to sit down and make a video. So I don’t mind, I guess it’s just an easy title to say.

OTW: There is a whole new generation of apps and platforms, from Instagram, Spotify, to TikTok, which have allowed for an unprecedented level of visibility. Any thoughts on the present state of streaming and social media culture?

dodie: It’s interesting because there are a lot of talented people out there, and now there are so many platforms in which you can get yourself discovered. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think it’s a pretty cool thing -- to have the potential to create a portfolio on whatever platform you choose. It’s weird. It’s interesting. It’s terrifying. I’m kind of glad I came to it before, and I got to experience what it was like to have that world in a smaller way.

OTW: Speaking of fellow YouTubers, who have gone on to make some amazing music, what is the story with Tessa Violet?

dodie: I was a fan of Meekakitty. I guess you could say that Tessa was a YouTuber-turned-musician, but she’s a damn good musician. She deserves any title. Touring with her was awesome. She is the coolest woman. I love her songs. I can’t wait for her to blow up an become a pop goddess; that’s what she deserves.

OTW: 100% agreed as someone who has watched the music video for “Crush” far too many times. 

dodie: It’s so good. I remember when she was playing me her songs, because she’s just like me, she has a lot of self-doubt. She was sending me various versions of songs saying, “I don’t know if I like this.” And at that time she was spending so much money trying to make these songs, trying to make videos, and she wasn’t sure if it was going to work out. I just kept saying, “Trust me, when people hear this song, the world’s going to go mad.” And they did. I’m so glad. She has a ridiculous amount of views now, and she deserves it.

OTW: Have you had a similar feeling at any point? The age-old doubts of “I don’t know if this is right... is music for me?”

dodie: Definitely not with music. I don’t know, sometimes I’m like do I really want this as my career? Because I love it so much, and it’s always been that way with me. It’s tough when in interviews people ask, “What’s your hobby? What gives you joy?” And I just say, “music is my life.” I don’t know, but I always come back to “Well, why not?” It’s the perfect thing. 

If I can survive off of doing the thing I love most, then god, I’m so damn lucky. But, I think in terms of what musical career I want, I’m at a very nice place right now where I’m working on my personal project, which is my album and a lot of forthcoming things. But then I’m being hired to cover songs for TV shows, which is something else I really want to get into–like film and TV. I’m just very lucky, basically.

OTW: Any plans for an acting debut?

Dodie: Oh heck yeah! Actually, you know what, I want to be an actor. Acting actually was my number one. I didn’t think music could be a job, but luckily that happened. I was just like, “I’ll always have music in my life.” If I could write a song for an episode and then be in the episode, that would be great! Hire me!

OTW: I have to ask. What’s your tattoo?

dodie: Have you seen La La Land?

OTW: Of course.

dodie: This is a quote from La La Land. It’s the song Mia sings in her audition, called “The Fools Who Dream.” She sings, “A bit of madness is key.” It’s probably my favorite film of all time. It’s filled with music, color, and LA, and I love LA and all of its weirdness. Also, I feel like this quote, in particular, has a mental health meaning of whenever I feel really, really bad, I remind myself that I’ve used it, and I can use it again. It helps me in writing or being empathetic, so you need a little bit of this pain to keep going. Even though, when you’re really in it, you’re just like, “No, you don’t! I’d rather just not have it!”

OTW: Do you worry sometimes that people romanticize mental illness too much, especially when it comes to creating art? 

dodie: It is tough. I think about that a lot. I’ll start with the bad first, and then get into why I don’t believe that’s true. I can understand. You go online now, and everyone’s joking about mental health, anxiety, panic attacks, dissociating, and depression. It’s tough; it’s triggering. I think, growing up now, I would probably question my mental health, and I don’t know what that would have done to me.

However, in comparison to all the good that it’s made, that is so small. If you don’t have mental health problems, you might see that as a problem. In having mental health problems, you will know that making fun of the fucking shit that you feel is the only way you are going to get through. 

There’s so much good in gifting a purpose to your pain. Otherwise, what else are you supposed to do with it? Just fucking sit and carry it around? No! I think it’s great when people take what they have to have, because it’s so hard to get rid of, work through, process it, and make something good out of it. At least then, you’ve got something out of it. Especially when you’re in your worst moments, where you’re like, “What am I doing here? I don’t want this.” You have evidence to prove yourself and to everyone else that you have a purpose and that you can use whatever ails you for good.

OTW: What’s next for you musically?

dodie: I am trying to write an album. I’m really excited for whatever’s next. I don’t know when this whole body of work will come to fruition, cause I don’t have a lot of time but definitely some exciting things happening.

OTW: Who are your Ones To Watch?

dodie: Orla Gartland. She’s my good friend, one of the best damn singer-songwriters I know. Tessa Violet! She’s got a few years worth of songwriting and, let me tell you, they are bangers. I went on tour with KAWALA. They were great lads. Those are my Ones To Watch!

OTW: Any final words?

dodie: I’m thirsty, and I’m going to get a drink but not Kombucha. Those are my final words!

[backchat]

Techno, Hackers

In the past I have discussed, at length, the ways that electronic music got into my life. But I can trace back that first listen- that promethean moment- to a movie theatre in Tustin, California, in 1995. It was a thing back in the 90's as you may well remember, that a movie had to have a good soundtrack. It made good business sense: one wholly separate revenue stream from CD sales that could make money even if the movie tanked. And since most movie studios either owned or were tied to a record label in some way, it really was low hanging fruit. It was also evil genius: want to break a band without spending boatloads on the requisite music video? Put the song on the trailer, then put the song on the soundtrack and do a compilation music video using footage from the movie, with some antics from the band and BOOM! New band for a fraction of the price. An ironical (and iconic) example is a video directed by Kevin Smith for a song featured in the Mallrats Soundtrack link here. Say what you will about Kevin Smith, but he sure knew how to nail 90′s cliché right on the head. Studio time could even be bundled into the movie budget. It was genius. But the odd thing is just how good some of these soundtracks were/are; "Can't Hardly Wait", "Cruel Intentions", hell the TV Show "Charmed" owes its intro song to "The Craft" soundtrack originally releasing Love Spit Love's far superior cover of The Smiths' "How Soon is Now?" and originally associating that song with magic and the occult. If you go back to the nineties and compare to soundtracks today- with some exceptions granted- it really was the golden age of the medium, even if the accompanying films left something to be desired, or didn’t age well upon review. These compilations ended up being free form dadaism, sampling music across styles and genres in order to generate reactions. Got an emotional yet outsider character on the screen? Throw Stabbing Westward onto the track list (The Faculty), need a sporto get-psyched and rebel song? How about Foo Fighters' "Hero" or "Nice Guys Finish Last" from Green Day (Varsity Blues), or go full Brit pop and launch or revitalize like half a dozen bands' careers a la the Trainspotting Soundtrack (e.g. Underworld, Iggy Pop, New Order, Primal Scream, Bedrock/Digweed). Bear in mind, "Lust for Life" was a cult classic but by no means a well known song (or record) for a whole generation prior to Danny Boyle using it to stunning effect in the film. "Lust for Life” was released in 1977, it didn't exist for babies of the eighties, but there Iggy stood, doing his signature heroin strut on MTV in 1996 alongside the cast of the film. It's absolutely ridiculous. These releases bent and rearranged pop culture, for what seemed like purely capitalistic, or ever anarchic ends. But sometimes, soundtracks changed music. And here we reach "Hackers." Dear readers, Hackers really is a terrible film. Few will ever appreciate such timeless lines like: "You guys! This is insanely great! She's got a 28.8bps modem!" A strong likelihood for someone in their thirties being able to quote Ginsberg can be attributed to this terrible yarn as well. The entire film revolved around consumer technology which was out of date the day the film was released. With a Rotten Tomatoes Score of 33% it does beat the 2015 "Fantastic Four" reboot, but can claim few other accolades. Except for the soundtrack. The soundtrack was apparently successful, so successful in fact, that 2 more compact discs of completely unused-in-the-film music were released. Kind of ridiculous when you think about it: A film that did not do well in any format it was released in had three soundtracks released using promotional material from the film... why? But I digress: a few years ago (read here: 2002-2007) I was one of many moderators on a message board for a now defunct website called the bt-network.org. At the time, discographies- especially for electronic music artists- were a hard thing to come by. Even if the artist was signed with a major label, they might be doing small releases, aliases, white label prints, unauthorized remixes and there was no Soundcloud to help the listener find such things, or really much of any method to post it online, of course leaving out early “deep net” (ICQ and Sharing Boards) that was all a bit too advanced for me. The bt-network website had the entire discography of one artist: Brian Transeau, aka BT. Brian was releasing a huge amount of music... some of it shameless and trashy house, but none of it really bad, in fact, some of it kind of earth shattering. Also, he was using a 303 (with the devilfish mod) to stunning effect on almost every track he was releasing, fusing piano and 303 melodies into a new brand of electronic music. At the time, the term “Dream House” was being thrown around, or Melodic Trance, but then the banner term- and equally pretentious- Progressive Trance label was settled upon. But he was, at the time, working at a prodigious rate: discogs.com credits Brian Transeau with 171 remixes and damn it all if I didn’t try to hear and or collect every single one. Along with that, as if by no effort at all, he released three incredible albums, Ima, ESCM (electric sky church music) and Movement in Still Life (to be referred after this as MISL). Though BT has since released important albums and some solid releases, these three represent my first experience with his music and here, we get back to Hackers. The first release of the Hackers soundtrack includes some truly heavy hitters in electronic music: Carl Cox, my favorite boys from Essex, Underworld, Orbital with the truly timeless “Halcyon & On & On,” Stereo MC’s, Leftfield, The Prodigy and Kruder & Dorfmeister, electronic music’s own Simon & Garfunkle. But the second album had BT, with his jaw dropping release, “Remember.” I think it’s hard to go back and remember that electronic music was so hard to understand back then, it was truly hard to know what sounds were “real” or if everything was synths, how the sounds were made and at that point I had no understanding of music production what so ever. Here is a track with everything; “Remember” opens with pianos and atmospherics, then jumps right into a stuttered two-step break beat, then enters an almost pop hook with clearly ripped off Peter Hook bass, a severely distorted, almost unrecognizable guitar and then finally transitioning into a classic four on the floor sound more clearly reminiscent of BT’s prior releases. Let’s not forget that Jan Johnston is also at her best here, passionately singing of longing and unrequited love. This song has it all, finally reaching a very solid pop/house hook with some truly wonderful production work that still holds up today. It is arguably one of Brian Transeau’s finest songs, his most creative time and at one point when he has not been tied down by his trademark “Stutter Edit.” This was my first discovery of BT and it was an incredibly important song, because his music brought me to discover so many other artists, so many other styles of music. I was locked in to his music for years after this, seeing him live on more than one occasion, again frequenting the bt-network but all of it was due to this first moment and the groundbreaking music that followed it. I can not say that BT’s current releases have moved me as much- excluding “Tomahawk” and some other recent tracks- but this music that he first released are to this day cd’s I still own and music I still listen to. His music was “my” music for so many years, it was the music I tried to get people in to and the albums I loved to share.

And all thanks to a ridiculously terrible nineties film, called Hackers.

It really must be said that without BT’s music, I would have had a hard time finding Adam Freeland, Sasha, DJ Rap, Paul Van Dyk, Beber & Tamara, Gabriel & Dresden, Grayarea and dozens more. Through remixes, DJ mixes where BT’s music was featured, raves and parties where he headlined, I found artists that I’ve followed since discovering them. For that, I really am grateful.

Remember, as I have not said it in a long time, keep your headphones on.

[sunnybimbo]

tfw i meant to post this late night but i put it in my queue by accident

ao3 link here

have some garrison trio for hunk’s birthday because B O N D I N G and also i was riding a big sugar high so it isn’t as Epic as i wanted it to be

but it was fun!

It was early morning. Or late night?

It was 4 a.m., about.

Target: Asleep. Probably having a good dream by the looks of those drool stains. His covers half thrown off the bed, and he was near suffocating in his snores.

Perfect.

Lance launched himself from his balcony to Hunk’s, nearly slipping on a clump of ice.

“Toss the goods, Eagle Two!”

Pidge rolled her eyes, but threw the ‘goods’ (an old backpack, stuffed to the brim with… secrets) at him nonetheless.

“Do you even remember how to pick a lock?”

“Uh duh. I’ve watched like… a million spy movies.”

Pidge shook her head exasperatedly. “Your funeral when you set off every alarm in the house.”

Lance flipped her off as she hopped over the banister, joining him on the other side.

Alright. Bobby pin? Check.

Credit Card? Expired, but that didn’t matter.

Spare key to the front door in case he couldn’t pick the lock? Back pocket.

“Let’s do this.” He grinned, cracking his knuckles. The bobby pin was then unceremoniously shoved into the keyhole.

And the door creaked open with the motion. No fiddling with locks needed.

“Huh.”

Pidge just barely resisted smacking her forehead. “You dingus. Rule one of anything ever is to always check if the door’s locked.” She climbed over him, and nearly face-planted into Hunk’s dresser as Lance tripped her.

“Oops.” He feigned innocence, fluttering his lashes at her as she rounded on him.

They began to loudly whisper out an argument. Pidge’s arms crossed, and then she flicked him. Lance gasped, offended.

They were just about to resort to a slap-fight when a loud groan interrupted them.

“What are you guys doing?” Hunk asked, sitting up to rub sleep from his eyes. His bedhead was a thing of beauty, hair framing his forehead like a crown. Or a halo.

“Oh, you’re awake! Good, good.” Lance didn’t bother with keeping his voice down any longer. Instead, he jumped on the bed (shoes and all) and began to bounce up and down excitedly. “Hurry up and get dressed, dude! It’s time!”

Hunk curled up in his fluffy comforter as his eyes drifted shut again. “Time for what?”

“Summertime.”

Pidge pulled on the back of Lance’s shirt, tugging him from his perch. “Don’t you dare quote High School Musical.”

“Pidge, you’re the one who showed it to me.”

“And that was a mistake.”

“Yeah, well - Hunk! Don’t fall back asleep, ya party-pooper. Sun’s shinin’!”

“No it’s not.” Hunk whined, but sat up again as requested. “What are we doing this early, anyway?”

Lance dug into his backpack and pulled out a badly drawn map. “We’re going on an adventure!”

“I swear, Lance, if you don’t stop with the movie quotes I will find every DVD you own and-”

He interrupted Pidge. “Hey, see, I wasn’t even trying to quote anything that time. You nerd.” Lance rolled up his map. “Now, help me get him out of bed.”

The two rounded on either side of Hunk’s bed and flipped the covers off.

Lance shrieked.

“Dude, where are your pants?” He cried, covering his eyes.

Pidge rolled her own again. “He’s wearing underwear, Lance. It’s not like you haven’t seen him naked, anyway.”

Hunk grumbled as he rolled out from under his covers, finally.

“Yeah, well… I know you are but what am I?” Lance stuck his tongue out.

Pidge didn’t grace that with a response. Instead, she jumped on the bed behind Hunk and shoved her phone under his face. “Get up, Oh Yellow One. If we’re gonna beat traffic, we have to leave in five.”

“Where are we going?” Hunk yawned, ambling to the bathroom.

Lance stopped his feet exasperatedly. “I already told you. Road trip!”

“But- why?”

“It’s a secret.”

Pidge tapped idly at her phone. “It’s your birthday, dude. We’re taking you to the beach. You and Lance can spend your day being burnt by U.V. rays and swallowing dirty, salty water all you want.”

“Aw, Pidge. You know I’m gonna drag you along to do all of that with us.” Lance cooed, peeking over her shoulder. “But also, we are a little behind schedule. Our first plan was to kidnap you and shove you in a truck, which would have been a lot faster.”

“Thanks for not doing that.” Hunk said behind his toothbrush. “I’d rather not pee myself on my birthday.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now hurry up!”

---

They were stuffed into Pidge’s tiny Punch Buggy and were soon holding on for dear life as she barely kept within the speed limit.

“Hunk, if we die I want you to know I love you!” Lance squealed as Pidge cut between two cars in the left lane, only to swerve in front of another as she overtook it.

“You babies. I’m barely going that fast. Besides, we have to get onto the main highway by 5 in order to really beat rush hour. So hold onto your toes!”

Hunk screamed as it looked like they were about to rear-end someone. Then, Pidge turned at the last second to an empty H.O.V. lane.

“There we go. Smooth sailing from here, probably!”

With a groan, Hunk covered his eyes, shoving his head between his knees. “Oh, no.”

“Projectile, incoming!” Lance cried, flying from the front seat to the back to give him something to throw up in.

---

Hunk did not throw up, but Lance took over as driver as soon as Pidge pulled off at the next exit. She pouted as she climbed into the back. “We were making good time.”

“Yeah, but we’d rather get their late with our lives than on time without any bones.”

“Lame.”

---

Lance, unfortunately, was just as good a driver as Pidge.

“You son of a mother- USE YOUR BLINKER!” He pushed his hand on the horn and held it for a solid five seconds.

Hunk was going to die. He was definitely going to die on this, the day of his birth.

“I swear to all that is holy in heaven… GO! The light is green!” Lance revved the engine. The car in front of him flipped them off and Lance-

“Lance, no.”

Lance hunkered down, shoulder up to his ears as he squinted at the car. Target: sighted.

“Lance, yes.”

The car took off and Lance was hot behind it in pursuit.

They hadn’t even made it back on the highway yet.

---

Hunk sighed, apologizing once again to the police officer as they made their way back to their car. Lance had his arms crossed as he sat shotgun, and Pidge was barely holding in her mirthful laugh at his expense.

Looks like it was up to the birthday boy to actually get them where they needed to go.

“You guys are ridiculous.” He sighed, clipping in his seatbelt. “I’m gonna have a heart attack.”

Pidge burst out laughing, holding her stomach as she rolled around in the backseat. “Did you see his face? And the cop, and-” Her laugh evolved to breathless squeaks, and soon the other two were laughing along with her.

“Sorry, dude.” Lance nudged Hunk in the arm.

“No problem. Just remind me to never leave my balcony unlocked again, yeah?”

“Mm… I’ll see what I can do.”

---

Eventually, the other two passed out. Pidge, probably because she hadn’t gotten any sleep that night. Lance, most likely from the amount of food he’d stuffed into himself from the gas station. Seriously, a chilli dog, chilli cheese fries, a bowl of chili, three kinds of potato chips, and a slushie?

Hunk gagged thinking about it. But whatever made him happy?

He was given time to think, though, about his friends.

This was his first real semester away from his family back in Hawaii. Of course he couldn’t just drop money to buy a ticket to visit for one weekend, not when he was drowning in that much debt. But, they’d sent him well wishes through various phone calls and texts, so he knew they didn’t forget. They’d never forget.

But he knew that if he’d been left alone that weekend, he’d probably have fallen into a depression. Lance and Pidge probably knew that, too.

He needed to remember to thank them for thinking about him, later.

---

Rush hour came and went, and they passed numerous car accidents, construction workers, and hitch-hikers.

Pidge slept through most of it. Lance, however, woke almost as soon as Hunk reached a comfortable cruising speed about two miles under the speed limit.

“How’s the time?” His lanky friend yawned, curling his legs up to his chin. How he did that in such a tiny seat, Hunk would probably never know.

“We’ll be there in like an hour.” Hunk hummed, turning down the radio. “Maybe a little over. Looks like some traffic ahead.”

“Gross.”

Hunk smiled. “Yeah. You can go back to sleep though. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

“Nah… I feel bad making the birthday boy drive, anyway.” Lance fiddled with the radio stations, boredly rolling his eyes as they were stuck on commercial for every single channel.

“Let’s play a game. I Spy? Never Have I Ever?”

“I Spy doesn’t seem like a lot of fun when there are only cars, trees, and you know… highway stuff sitting around us. And don’t you need to drink something for Never Have I Ever?”

Lance threw his hands up exasperatedly. “Details!”

---

They ended up just singing karaoke.

Then some upbeat electronica popped on and Pidge gasped, throwing herself over the middle armrest to turn it up. “I love this song!”

“Pidge, seatbelt!” Hunk shrieked, narrowly avoiding a collision. She blew a raspberry directly into his ear before she plopped back into her seat, loudly clicking her seatbelt.

“I thought you only listened to country music.” Lance says, as if the words physically repulse him.

“Don’t make me bring up your song choices, Mister ‘Naruto Opening 7 Is In My Playlist Eight Times In A Row’.” She huffed.

Lance turned around in his seat, nose high in the air. “I’m blocking you.”

Pidge flicked him. “You love me.”

---

Their impromptu argument ended when Hunk accidentally flipped stations, and his favorite song was on.

This began the karaoke battle to end all karaoke. If they started a band, they would’ve risen to the top mere seconds after their first album dropped.

Traffic was at a stand-still, so Hunk was free to drum his hands across the dashboard. And so he did, not only hitting every single beat, but also able to find the right notes. Or, as close as he could get, on the plastic interior.

Lance was a master of air guitar. And head-banging. But the fact that he actually knew how to play the instrument made it that much more interesting to watch. Especially the way his fingers curled and flicked over the imaginary strings? It was captivating. Lance just had that kind of aura, though.

Pidge was… not as into it as the boys. But she was an amazing singer. Her voice was loud, unafraid, and boy could she hold a note. Hunk whooped every time she reached a high note, and whenever she sped through a rap, the other two went crazy.

It was a hell of a show, and Lance commented as much once they’d slumped back in their seats, voices dead and energy palpable.

“We should do this more often.”

“Only if you pay for my gas.” Pidge griped, rubbing at her throat.

---

They made it within 45 minutes instead of the assumed hour, despite the strange influx of traffic. And the beach was surprisingly empty, despite it being a weekend.

Lance just tugged a bundle of beach towels over his shoulders and raced off into the sand. “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!”

Hunk and Pidge shared a look, but they followed suit. Hunk grabbed the cooler, and Pidge grabbed the umbrella and backpack.

It was only about midday, but it was the perfect time to snack and sunbathe.

---

Lance had already flipped out of his clothes, revealing his bathing suit underneath.

“You’ve been wearing that the entire time??” Pidge’s eyebrows shot up beneath her bangs as she pulled her short hair into a tiny ponytail. “Wasn’t it uncomfortable?”

“Nah, it was just like plastic boxers.”

Pidge grimaced, but decided not to comment. Instead, she pulled her bag over her shoulder and left to look for somewhere to change.

Hunk had not brought a swimsuit (since he didn’t really have prior warning). But he didn’t really mind, since he didn’t plan on swimming much anyway. He always preferred building sandcastles to riding waves, anyway.

Lance, however, was probably born for the ocean. It showed, when he dove in and reappeared like a million miles away from where he started in the span of three seconds. Hunk shot him a thumbs-up as he began to fill in a moat for his sand-tower.

There was a quiet peacefulness between them for a long while. Mostly because they couldn’t really talk while Lance was neck-deep in the water, and Hunk shoulder deep in sand. But it was good. Relaxing.

Er, rather… it was, until Pidge rushed back to Hunk on the beach, flipping the beach towel from underneath him and nearly crumbling his sandcastle.

“Woah, woah. See a ghost, Pidge?”

“We have to go now.” She shrieked, face aflame. Hunk shot up, reaching out to place a worried hand on her shoulder.

“What happened?”

Pidge mumbled something into her hands as Lance dashed to meet them, saltwater dripping from him in every direction.  

“What’s going on?”

Hunk shrugged. “Something happened to Pidge.”

She made a frustrated noise and covered her eyes. “I can’t believe I didn’t research this.”

Lance and Hunk shot each other a frightened look. “Research what, Pidgeon?” Lance spoke up.

“This is, uh…” Pidge couldn’t seem to stop fidgeting. “A nude beach. As in… full-on… penile action.”

“Oh.” The two pulled back. “Ohh…”

Pidge looked absolutely mortified, and Lance couldn’t stop himself from laughing at her misery. “Aw, Pidge! I already knew this was a nude beach!”

“You what.” Hunk deadpanned.

“Yeah, dude. This part isn’t really used, but yeah. It’s technically all a nude beach.”

Pidge shouted indignantly as she began to slap his arm with her tote bag. “You didn’t think to tell us that?”   

“Ow.” Lance whined, hiding behind Hunk, who had honestly given up on them already. “Sorry, Piggy Wiggy. I forgot.”

“Tell that to my retinas. I’ll never unsee that taint.”

Hunk made a disgusted noise at the back of his throat.

---

Despite the… slight disruption, the trio did end up having the time of their lives. Lance was 100% correct when he said that the part of the beach they were on wasn’t used. Throughout the entire five or so hours they loitered around, they saw maybe five other people tops.

Hunk and Pidge joined forces to create the grandaddy of all sandcastles. Complete with a miniature dragon that circled a tower. Pidge mostly did the structural engineering, but Hunk did the design.

Once Lance had had enough of tiny fish swimming up his trunks, he let out a low whistle as he took in the sight.

“Remind me to bring you guys in when Keith needs help with his art projects. This is amazing.”

Hunk grinned. “Thanks. I’m probably never gonna get sand from under my nails, though.”

Pidge put the finishing touch on the bridge over their moat and stood with a victorious dusting off of her hands. “Worth it.”

It truly was, though. Four identical towers (with one dragon) circled a large castle that tapered at the top. The moat took most of the eye, and was in a flowing, intricate design that probably should have been researched by professionals with how smoothly it stuck together.

“Looks like a spaceship, though.”

“A space-castle.” Hunk amended. “Sounds like a dream to me.”

Pidge turned up her nose. “Sounds like a hassle to clean. Who knows what kind of gunk gets stuck in a “space-castle” engine. And where does the waste go?”

“Hush, hush.” Lance checked an imaginary watch on his wrist. “We have to get going, so pack up your bags, little children. We’re already gonna get stuck in traffic.”

Pidge snapped a picture of their piece of art, and Lance instantly struck a pose behind it. Then, she took a few more of all three of them together, if only for Lance to post on his social media.

“Rest in pieces, space-sandcastle.” Pidge mourned, before shoving her foot directly through the middle of it. Hunk clutched his heart dramatically, and Lance clapped his hands together, holding them up to his mouth.

“It lived well.”

“May it find peace.”

---

“Did you have fun, though? Birthday boy? Light of my life? Hunky-hunkster?”

Hunk grinned, stretching his arms above his head before he closed the car door. “I did. A lot.”

Lance let out a cheer that Pidge weakly mimicked from her sprawled out position. She’d taken shotgun this time, and her feet were smudging the windshield as she spread them across the dashboard.

“I really appreciate it, you guys.” Hunk shyly spoke up, “I know we didn’t do much but… It means a lot that you spent all day with me.”

“Ohoh, Hunk… don’t think this is the end of it. We have a whole dinner-show combo planned out!” Lance reached up to hook his arm around Hunk’s shoulders. “We may have finagled the dining hall for private use for an hour or so.”

“You did not.”

“Never question what Pidge can achieve.” Lance said sagely, and Pidge shrugged as she nodded along with him. Hunk was inclined to agree.

“Wait, so…”

“Yep! Prepare your butt, birthday boy. The activities have only just begun!” Lance dropped back into his seat. “So, let’s hit the road! I convinced Shiro to put on a malo and do that dance you taught us a while ago.”

Hunk probably would have choked if he’d been drinking something.

“There is no way. Shiro??”

Lance grinned, and Pidge snickered at him.

“Guess you’ll just have to see, yeah?”

Hunk shook his head. “I have the most amazing friends in the world.” Seriously. Hunk probably would have started to cry, if he wasn’t trying to focus on the road.

His two best friends shared a meaningful look, and they winked.

“And don’t you forget it!”

Mission accomplished.

[from-story-to-screen]

A Compilation of some of my favorite Writing Prompts

The royal family employs no bodyguards. A would-be assassin discovers why.

Two gay guys and two lesbians have to pretend to be straight for an entire weekend, pretending to be each other’s dates for a wedding.

You, a time traveler, accidentally introduces 21st-century slang to Shakespeare.

Angel/demon romance, where the demon is the stuffy, orthodox one and the angel is like “hold my beer”.

A dating service where matching is based on people’s search histories. You’re a serial killer, you go on a date with a writer.

You have many of the abilities of a Disney princess. You can talk to animals, people burst into song around you, it seems every other day a “prince charming” type falls madly in love with you. As one of the most feared mafia enforcers in New York, it’s tough, but you make it work.

Dating an immortal and you find a photo album of their exes dating back a century. All the exes sort of look like you and the immortal’s been dating all of them in the hopes of getting you to remember your first life when you first met them.

You are what mankind believes to be the devil. However there are three things that they’re got all wrong: 1. Everyone goes to heaven, no matter what they do in life. 2. You’re the only one who’s ever escaped heaven. 3. Heaven is absolutely fucked.

The world goes through 2000 year natural cycles of magic and non-magic. The non-magical cycle is about to end any day now.

After Lucifer was kicked out of heaven, he decided to make his own paradise. Both compete to have the best afterlife, sadly you lived a sin-free life and got sent to heaven. God is throwing a very boring, sin-free party. You spend your time trying to get kicked out so you can go to hell.

You come from a family of highly respected heroes. All three of your big brothers are known as powerhouses, but you rarely see them since they’re always saving the city. One day you realize that the only way to see all of your brother is to become a villain. Turns out you’re better at it than you thought, and family dinners suddenly become the most amusing time of day.

Write a completely ordinary story about an ordinary person’s life with an almost unsettlingly idyllic environment, but at the end reveal that the main character is an unreliable narrator and has actually been on a murdering spree the entire time.

Your roommate is literally the devil, surprisingly, he is the best roommate you’ve ever had.

Every person on earth is born with a tattoo on each arm. One matches your soulmate, and one matches your worst enemy. However, most people have no clue which is which. You do, because they are both the same.

Grim Reaper, not tied to any particular religion, they just personify death and collect the soul and take them...where? What if they’re like afterlife HR? Where they go depends on their belief.

A show/book where each chapter has a new story with a new set of characters and each chapter ends in a cliffhanger. In the final chapter(s), they show conclusions for all the stories, and reveal that the stories connect like puzzle pieces.

Twilight, but Bella stays in Arizona and it’s about Charlie Swan finding out that his best friend is a werewolf and the town doctor he’s trusted for years is a vampire, and he helps stop the vampires that are murdering everyone.

A guy who runs for president and wins but suddenly realizes that he doesn’t want to be president and just starts doing ridiculous things to try to get impeached but it never works because they always end up miraculously being the right thing to do. 100% approval rating, most popular president ever.

The Purge but it’s 24 hours where retail workers can be as rude as they want.

You’re part of a community that lives on an island, no other land mass in sight. When a crime is committed, the person responsible has to “go find more land” to redeem their honor. Someone has yet to return. You’ve just been caught stealing.

Your alternate universe self comes to kill you. The only thing is, you are the evil version.

A seemingly bottomless pit was found, for which the depth can’t be determined. Over time, scores of people began using it to illegally dump trash, many have jumped in to die, while others jumped believing that they’ll find life’s answers within. Today, the truth about the hole is learned.

Your phone rings; the number looks familiar. You pick up to hear your own voice asking you for help.

Your daughter has been begging you for a pony, and you told her to write a letter to Santa. On Christmas morning, you find a fire-breathing horse in your front yard, and a package by your front door. Looks like she wrote a letter to Satan, and he delivered.

You’re an assassin with a 6th sense. You help ghosts seek out vengeance for the wrong that was done to them when they were alive.

If the eyes of an animal are on the sides of the animal’s head, they are a “prey” species. If the eyes are on the front, they are a “predator” species. Explain why nature designated dragons as a “prey” species.

In a world where what doesn’t kill you literally makes you stronger, you run a clinic that gives people near-death experiences.

The wrinkled fingertips are just the beginning of the transformation. We just always leave the water too early.

Since you were 8 years old, you’ve been helping people and giving things away for free; the only condition: that one day you’ll call on that person for a favor. You’re now 33 and owed 10,000 favors. You decide to call them in all at once.

As a babysitter you are putting a young girl to bed. She says, “Don’t worry, there aren’t any monsters in the closet. Daddy keeps them all locked up in the basement.”

The reaper does not bring death, he follows it. The reaper is not an omen of doom, he is a guardian, sent to protect your soul on its way from one world to the next. The things that wait between the worlds are...unpleasant.

A photographer and a sniper meet in a bar. Neither is aware of the other’s occupation. They talk about “how to take the perfect shot”.

You are the devil and you have been summoned via a satanic ritual. As you manifest yourself, you find yourself in a quaint living room and meet a sweet old lady who just wants some company.

Art museum guards don’t guard the painting in fear that someone might steal them, they guard the artwork in fear that someone might get too close and fall in.

The devil mixed up your paperwork and gave you someone else’s personal hell, which to you, is heaven.

When the police came to announce you the death of your husband, you refused to believe it. “That’s impossible,” you said. “Unfortunately, it’s the truth, miss,” answered the policemen. “It’s impossible,” you say again,” because he’s in the kitchen making dinner”.

A man who sees ghosts checks himself into a mental institution, oblivious to the fact that the facility has been closed for almost 30 years.

You’re in charge of assigning every child on earth the monster under their bed. One child in particular has caused every monster assigned to them to quit. You decide to assign yourself.

You have an ATM that gives you the exact amount of money you need to survive for the day, how you spend it is your choice. Today you are given $70,000,000.

Every time a person makes a promise or bargain, a tattoo is etched onto their skin. You just went out with friends drinking so much, you passed out. Upon awakening, you can’t recall what happened and realize that your whole arm has been inked black. Someone knocks on your door

“Welcome to hell! As the seventh human to ever arrive here, you are now an official member of the 7 Deadly Sins!”

Your oldest brother is a military genius. Your little sister has cured 3 types of cancer. The twins are working on a new method of locating planets fit for terraforming. And you...you are mom’s favorite.

I know i’m getting close to finishing my time machine because I’ve caught several older versions of myself trying to sabotage my lab.

Dream superpower: the ability to manipulate probability.

Every time you die your injured limbs and body parts are replaced by machines and you slowly become less and less human until the point where you have no human body parts left and must decide whether you will continue to fight for humanity, with which you have no remaining connection.

There’s a love triangle but then the girl realizes she’s asexual and gets a puppy and a cat and the two boys fall for each other. Boys realize they were only fighting for the girl because they wanted to impress one another other.

A ghost and a zombie come from the same person. Ghost watches their zombie body stumbling around with dismay.

A tattoo appears on people’s skin at key points in their life and they must figure out what they mean.

The asteroid that hit the earth and killed the dinosaurs was actually a UFO and humans are the aliens.

Four roommates are extraterrestrials who have taken human form in the hopes of learning about earth’s culture. Unfortunately, each alien is from a different planet and believes the other three are normal humans.

Your super power is that you are average at everything you do. (flying, communicating with aliens, curing cancer, etc.)

The year is 2030. The first astronauts have landed on Mars. They find a cave with a single human skeleton and 4 words written on the wall.

You have the ability to hear the honest answer to any question just by looking at a person and mentally asking the question. It was all fun and games until you looked in the mirror and asked a question you shouldn’t have.

A woman is cursed by the gods to kill any man she falls in love with. She falls in love with a man who was cursed by the gods with immortality.

The remains of the human race live in a glass dome with no entrance or exit, which protects them from the wasteland on the outside. One morning a dusty handprint appears on the outside.

Suddenly, all over the world, all children start drawing the same thing over and over again.

Your doorbell rings and it’s a person from an alternate universe who says “i just wanted you to know that you are my favorite book character and i know how it ends and i want to change it.”

You get a deep cut for the first time in your life; instead of bone or muscle, you see wires.

“My domain is time,” said the genie. “Instead of three wishes, you get three decisions. Go back and choose again.”

You’re an archaeologist working on a dig when you uncover a thick pane of glass. You dust the dirt away, and see the inside of a massive bio-dome, hidden for too long. Only one organism is inside, and it was meant to be forgotten.

A child is kidnapped. Outraged, the monsters living under the bed and in their closet vow to find them.

You die. As you go up to paradise, you notice it seems to be in ruins. Then you find the corpse of god.

“And the legions of Hell rose from the great split in the earth, but they did not emerge in a geyser of flame. The demons and monsters varied greatly, from delicate, sapphire wings to great, lumbering monstrosities. At the head of the army walked Lucifer himself, a dark cloak flowing beside him. The forces of Hell had arrived, to save humanity from Heaven’s wrath.”

Write a superhero story that’s narrated by the villain, who leads the reader to believe that they are the hero. However, due to the biased narration the reader only realizes that they’ve been misled in the final sentences.

Since the beginning of time, humanity has believed that death is universal. Everything that is born must also die. We’ve created our world around this single fact, worshipped gods, sacrificed and prayed, but when we finally make contact with the rest of the universe it is discovered that death is in fact not real. Most aliens believe it’s a silly old legend, and it is determined that only humans do in fact die. Write what comes of this discovery.

You’re alone in your room when suddenly, you disappear and arrive in an unknown location. Turns out you’re in hell and this time, the tables have been turned. You’ve been summoned by a demon who needs your help.

They say that “history is written by the victors.” Turns out, so are fairytales; they’ve been twisted by the “heroes” of the fairytale world to make themselves look like they’ve always been in the right. You are a fairytale villain at a support group for characters like you.

You’re a wealthy and famous writer whose bestselling children’s series, about a young girl escaping her house nightly to battle monsters in a fantasy world, has brought you endless success. Following your daughter’s eighth birthday, you start to notice strange cuts and bruises on her in the morning, which she casually dismisses. Your curiosity gets the best of you, and one night you enter your daughter’s bedroom far past her bedtime, but it’s not the room you know that you step into—it’s the world of your own series’ Book Five.

You’re a demon who governs the creation of Personal Hells; parts of Hell created for the truly despicable designed specifically around them. You’ve just gotten a submission for someone who doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything.

Apparently the tooth fairy is a pretty controversial figure among skeletons. some think she is a thief that steals mouth bones others think she is the true skeleton queen.

“I would probably win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in a biopic about my own life.”

Why can’t the pirate get the princess for once?

Conversation prompt: “We’re a team of highly trained professionals.” “No you’re not, you’re all wearing friendship bracelets.”

You have been accepted into a school for supernatural creatures. You decide to let your teachers and classmates guess what you are.

A story about vigilante Victorian prostitutes hunting down Jack The Ripper.

Every person, at exactly midnight on New Years following their 22nd birthday, possesses the body of their soulmate; people run around trying to figure out who they are so they can find one another, leave notes for the body’s owner to find with their address. There are language gaps so people have to translate it and travel to different countries carrying the notes they’re left. Write about the search and adventure of one.

A retired supervillain is in the bank with his 6 year old daughter when a new crew of super villains comes in to rob the place.

For as long as you can remember, you’ve worn glasses. Your parents always made sure you had them on and formed the habit. One day you forget them and realize you can see something no one else can.

The character wakes up multiple times a week with inexplicable bruises on their arms and legs. The day they graduate from college, an agent from the CIA approaches them and introduces them to Project Nightlight.

I hit play and watch myself in the recording. But what i see isn’t what i remember.

At birth, everyone has the date they will die imprinted on their arm. You were supposed to die yesterday.

Every baby is taken away by the government and returned when they are ten years old. They never remember what happened in those years, but they always recognize their parents. You, however, remember everything. And those aren’t your parents.

You were born with the ability to know what is buried beneath your feet. You have worked for years alongside archaeologists finding lost cities and ancient treasures. However, today is the first time you have ever said “We should not dig here.”

A man calls 911 and says in a soft voice, “I am currently sitting next to the little girl you are looking for. She is safe, for now, but if no one comes to get her quick enough, i will be forced to do something unspeakable to her kidnappers”.

Human emotions can be bottled and sold on the black market. You are in desperate need of money and sell yours. It will take months to grow back, leaving you empty inside. The next day you meet Her.

You are a recently hired psychiatrist in a mental hospital. Some of your patients insist that they were once staff, but are now being held prisoner/hostage by the actual patients that now run the hospital.

A depressed guy moves into a house which is inhabited by 7 demons, each one corresponding to a different Deadly Sin. But, they are trying to help him get back on his feet.

Your girl is a member of a shadowy organization bent on ruling the world. Your best friend is a CIA operative, and your dog is a secret escaped lab experiment. And you? Well, you run a website debunking conspiracy theories.

You slowly begin to realize that all your friends are undercover agents tasked with keeping you alive. Then, at your birthday party, with every one of your friends surrounding you, the people trying to kill you finally find you.

You adopt 4 teenage girls. As they grow up, you begin to realize that each one of them represents a horseman of the apocalypse. All hell breaks loose when Famine steals War’s significant other.

In the future, virtual reality has flourished. One of the more controversial uses is prisons. Whatever crime you commit, you have to relive it through your victim’s point of view. It’s your first day in prison and you’re terrified because of what you did.