#aussie hip-hop

[phineas-and-herb]

can't stop thinking abt how ferb canonically has incredibly long, willow-y legs and his pants just have an extremely low crotch by design. lil british boy dressin like MC hammer

[brasideios]

'Language is a virus That breeds in the silence Feeds on the minds of people who devised it The books and the poems and the slang that designed it Reality defined by the words we assign it, We gave a name to the apple and the diamond...'

-- Tzu, from the song Axis Tilt, on the album Computer Love

[lordgreemo]

In 2021 this long awaited release by Seth Sentry was a bit hit and miss with me but still became a favorite.

Blue shell, cabin fever, cheap shots, and Castlevania are the clear stand outs on this.

But the most relatable has to be I'm not sad.

Super cool tree house is definitely worth a listen and has got itself 3.63/5.

Some instant classic just a few let downs, Seth's other albums will rate higher.

[thelensofyashunews]

THE KID LAROI HEATS UP THE SUMMER WITH ANTICIPATED NEW SINGLE “GIRLS”

After sending social media into a frenzy and building widespread anticipation for its arrival, multi-platinum chart-topping global superstar The Kid LAROI delivers his “Song of the Summer” contender “GIRLS” out now via Columbia Records. The accompanying video co-stars fellow Gen-Z icon Alix Earle, and nods to MTV’s bombastic video heyday as the two tap into the late nineties and early 00’s with fun and fiery energy.

Recently, “NIGHTS LIKE THIS” began to surge through pop culture with over 2 million daily streams. In case you missed it, watch the official visual from “the first time tour”.

The Kid LAROI has dominated the conversation this year. PlayStation tapped him for a viral campaign, utilizing “GIRLS” in the trailer to launch “Choose Your Color.” Plus, he emerged as “the first male musician to collab with Gen Z’s favorite LA grocer Erewhon,” concocting and formulizing the “GIRLS” smoothie to go along with the song. A portion of the proceeds from the smoothie will be donated the Laroi foundation, targeting underserved youth in Australia and the US. Earlier this year, he unveiled the single “Still Yours” and his documentary Kids Are Growing Up. The song which was featured in the doc, is a reflective recount of a lost love. Listen HERE. Watch the visualizer HERE. LAROI is currently on ‘THE FIRST TIME TOUR’ which kicked off last month. The 31-date leg hits cities across North America including Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, New York, Toronto, Detroit, and more, before wrapping up in Houston on July 22. Special guests glaive and Chase Shakur are support on all North America dates.

[fsfsfsgkgkgk]

Anthony Albanese vs Chamillionaire

[lukesalbumawheneverhefeelslikeit]

3535: "Dodo" by - Rapaport

EP

[vawsculturecorner]

sideFX: Fragments of Self Reflection, Appraisals in Broken Mirrors

On the final track of sideFX, JSV opens his verse with the following:

“Pauly said “My bro you start rapping better”

As you press play and immerse yourself in his brutal portrayal of society languished, it's difficult not to wholeheartedly agree.

That's not to say that this is the first notable release from Liverpool's JSV. The last 15 months have seen a smattering of quality releases, spanning from the single 'INERTIA' featuring the aforementioned boycottpauly, 2022’s 'SAVE ME' single, and this year's RELAPSE SESSIONS project. This is far from JSV’s first rodeo when it comes to releasing quality music - tracks like 'Freddie Gibbs' are worth a spin for those with a penchant for icy, tough-as-nails trap and hip-hop in the vein of Shadow of a Doubt by the track’s namesake.

sideFX though feels like a total level up - denser lyrically, more detailed instrumentals that emphasise the grimy content, and a stronger sense of discipline, clarity and identity. In 5 tracks (just shy of 15 minutes) the audience is immersed in the city of those forgotten, brute forcing through a life fraught with fiends, famine, and fatigue.

Stanza 1: Content and Construction

sideFX is undeniable in its technical prowess. Whether it is writing, production, delivery or mixing, this project does not skip a beat in keeping the basics clear-cut and polished.

Major praise must be given to producer GRIEFGANG, whose project-spanning production is a seamless fit for JSV. Leering and ominous instrumentals add weight and suspense to the album's bars, giving them that extra edge and bite. They provide a powerful sense of compounding pressure, building until they burst through with strong emotional potency.

Moments like ‘Pits of Hell’ detonate tight buildups into an overwhelming sense of dread as the verse intoxicates with unfurling frenzy. The transition from the previous ‘Gift of The Gab’ into this track feels like a proper ‘mask off’ moment and is an immensely satisfying musical payoff. Working with one producer adds a layer of cohesion that allows the project to transcend the sum of its parts, and results in an elevated and holistic listening experience.

By the same token, if you have been digging for more cold-blooded, pulls-no-punches rapping, you can find it here in spades. Look no further than the opener 'Gut Feeling' - the bars are strong and direct, with hard syllables and harder lines.

“Have a puff, don’t worry what I put inside the blunt

  Pfizer bars and cypher bars, it don’t matter, I eat em up”

JSV opens the verse by “packing it up”, starting at the close of a relationship exhausted. This double entendre relates the toxicity of drug addiction to the toxicity of a failing relationship, trying to distance himself and resist the urge to “hit just one more time”. A recurring bell toll paces the track; time is up, and he knows it. Tonally, it also establishes what JSV is all about - getting his bag on his own terms, in his own lane.

“I just mind my business, been up in around a bin or two

I don’t got no business where I beam on road at 3 or 2”

This is supplemented by an excellent and encrypted verse from boycottpauly; it's clear in speaking to him that hours could be dedicated to breaking it down line-by-line. It carries its own set of Easter Eggs and pop culture references -  the respectful nod to Kylie Minogue’s Fever doubling as a reference to his own track ‘Fever Dream’ from REDHOT Vol.1. Following the lead with his own set of clever bars, he wears his idiosyncrasies and high-speed lifestyle on his sleeve, regardless of the consequences.

“They only come around when I’m up, fuck I’m supposed to think?

  I’m curving more cunts each day it’s exponential”

Seconding the feelings of mental unrest, he intertwines attempts to find his footing with the duo’s geographical and cultural placement. It reads as an assessment of where they sit amongst their country's contemporaries and adds to the record's unique sense of locality. 

The following 'Gift of the Gab' features lighter production and maintains the uneasy tone of the intro, now apprehensive as if the music is in pursuit. Coupled with brief bursts of chirping synths dotting the instrumental foreground, JSV travels this beat with ease. He treats it like comp reps, sounding familiar and consistently focused as he floats through a verse.

Culminating with that incredibly satisfying transition mentioned previously, the instrumental is constructed beautifully and strengthens the sensory punch of the following 'Pits of Hell'. The atmosphere is oppressive and overwhelming; the delivery sounds infected with an uncontrollable fury being brutally staved off. His voice is deeper and more deliberate; solemn spitting rather than confident bravado. The atmosphere is so oppressive, it's palpable  - fuzzed-out guitar licks provide a hazy, static coating for blunt hits of percussion. Clever wordplay and references remain, with bars about lashing out on opps like a kill streak on Halo.

“Still I’ll put halos on seven they heads and i'm calling it kilimanjaro”

Bars like the above that are more fun are no less fluent and unflinching. At this point, we are given the project’s second feature - a devilish verse from indigomerkaba laced with wild and manic outbursts where mental hell breaks loose.  Whether he’s echoing the themes of stagnancy and time slipping away as he sits “wigging out at the clock turning”, or exhibiting genuinely demonic behaviour as his “tongue flicker(s) like i'm shard craving”, his rapping is so sharp and vivid you can hear it drawing blood.

The following 'Snakeskin' settles the turbulence and keeps it more low-key, complimenting a reflective and introspective JSV. Rotating through once-present figures, the wear and tear of distance reinforce decisions of solitude and self-medication as tragic chords texture the gravitas hanging beneath his hard exterior.

“Feel the speaker bumping homie script me bricks on something

Taking steps for nothing, still I feel my mental bombing”

The closer 'Fruits of Our Labour' is, true to its name, a salient moment of presence and self-reflection as JSV measures the space between aspiration and attainment. No less clever, ingenious turns of phrase like “gronk term memory loss” punctuate headstrong self-determination and a desire to press on in the hopes of providing for him and his.

“Fucks I give are sold separately  I see the call, I let it ring, forgetting what they said to me  That’s gronk term memory losses  Ignore the props, we cut the extras to get the profit”

These lines reveal just how tightly JSV can wind a bar. The five-word phrase “Fiends feeding off my energy” draws together three major preoccupations of the project; The devils of day-to-day life, scarcity as survival and the normalisation of an oppressive stagnation. JSV projects a self-assuredness that stands tall amongst missteps - frequent references to “fucking up” but still keeping it immaculate hammer home just how good he is even without a decade’s experience under his belt. Track like these are an obvious display of JSV’s lyrical depth, but keener analysis proves that pen pulls just as deeply in even measure.

Stanza 2: Context and Cultural Thematics

An expedition inside sideFX’s hazy desert yields a myriad of intimate reflections.

Food, Sustenance and Getting By on Nothing

Allusions to food are peppered throughout sideFX, buying more explicit leverage amongst its collection of themes. Often, the notion is less about eating and more about staying fed, taking what you can of the little available. In this sense, hunger and starvation are more prominent motifs than the concept of food itself. It becomes increasingly relevant as he explores the struggle of staying straight on a winding path and keeping bare necessities locked down.

JSV’s lyrics draw portraits of scavengers; vultures, “Dogs preying on corpses” ravaging whatever they get their hands on. People resemble monsters - mindless zombies driven solely by the need to feed. As detailed as these descriptions are, JSV retains a degree of distance from them. His delivery holds a level of intensity whilst remaining sincere in its relative acceptance and understanding. This bleeds into tracks like 'Snakeskin' as he raps about friends and foes switching places - life is a cycle, pessimism-as-realism being pushed to the absolute extreme. To excavate another salient bar;

“Used to split a ciggie with the homie after chips and gravy

5 bucks fifty, split it 6 ways, we hungry on the daily”

Singles are halved and barely enough is broken down into further fractions - chips are evenly split, and the group takes turns with smoke. The hunger is perpetual - its existence goes without saying, commentary almost unnecessary. It simply is.

By extension, keeping yourself alive holds the same daily ambivalence. Some stay fed grinding, others steal. You can eat off the plate or scavenge leftovers - when it comes down to it sustenance is sustenance. The ultimate conclusion is that there is little room for big dreams and stadium aspirations; in the end, you simply try putting food on the table.

Maintaining Healthy Self-Criticism with a Devil on Your Shoulder

sideFX houses a strong back-and-forth between well-earned egotism and relentless self-criticism, a dynamic that appears painfully authentic and difficult to bear. JSV establishes a dichotomy between the restraint and control that he exercises over himself and the explosive volatility that bubbles beneath the surface.

No clearer is this highlighted than in 'Pits of Hell', where indigomerkaba serves as that unflinching, flickering foil to JSV’s stone-faced emotional resilience. Frantic, sporadic and ticking, he is the voice that JSV is perpetually juggling and making attempts to contain. It invites a utilitarian form of self-assessment, a mental wound primed and re-opened for inspection:

“How’d I get like this better yet think back real deep in my fucking core

Have I ever been eets?

The ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ complex (for lack of a better analogy) is not unfamiliar; what is interesting about this depiction is its volatile balancing act. Both are tools of living - sometimes your cunning keeps you alive and other times it's owed to your drives and hunger. Each pulls you to their side and ways of seeing as you try to select the appropriate methodology needed in the moment. These schemas of the philosopher and survivalist are in constant flux, conceptualising both aptitudes as requirements of a harsh world that passes no judgment on your place inside it. You are dependent on both that tough physicality and rational self-assessment to live.

“And I get real cold but I still wanna see you call

  I can rush to answer

  Rinse repeat now holes in the fucking doors

  Don’t wanna admit but I start to see with time I’m the fucking cause”

In-kind, his approach to conflict is measured, only exerting the force necessary to proceed. It's empirical and impersonal - the consequence of acting up is self-affliction as energy is stored to be used solely when required. If anything happens to you, it's squarely because you found yourself in the way.

“Tell a gronk meet death on your own accord”

Self-assessments are never clean-cut and prone to bias from natural impulses. They are founded on emotions - anger, resentment, longing, love - all blending in with one another. There isn’t a clean edge to separately frame all the things that make you what you are; you stare into a broken mirror, and with the cracked fragments you try to piece together something recognisable.

Time’s Up: Burning up as You Walk Through Hell 

Hellish and demonic illustrations blaze the brushstrokes of JSV’s verbal easel. You can even see it in the track titles - “Pits of Hell'' and “Snakeskin” are two more obvious examples. These are supplemented with portraits of illness and famine - the world JSV walks is infected with a fiendish sickness as it wastes away.

The diseased and demonic detailing is hardly set-dressing - it serves as a frame of reference for the world surrounding it. Life is hell more often than it is not, and travelling the paths that he has does not make this any less true. In such a gruelling world, cruelty is overcome by taking what you can and running with it.

Boycottpaully does exceptionally with strengthening this sentiment on the intro track. In conversation with him about this verse, he draws attention to lines like “live fast or have a slow demise” and how they reinforce the idea of “playing the hand you’re dealt”. This lifestyle is one of the few available options - when the alternative is waiting for the tide to pull you under, you “take what’s in front of you and you run with it”.

By extension, the parallels to Breaking Bad’s Walter White dwell deeper than surface-level references. Both come face to face with the allure of reckless self-service and have had to learn to sustain themselves rather than succumb to it. It leads back to that same fundamental need - stay fed and keep moving.

“Act like we don’t know you, gave em shoulders that were cold as ice

Bro the one who knocks, he got a couple points off Walter white

Behold the sight, I told no lie, I’m taking no advice

You could live a fast life or have a slow demise”

Again, it's less about food than it is about famine. JSV’s hell is, for all its torments, sparse. Rather than recounting money earned or mileage gained he dwells on that not having and what to do with that lack. This infernal imagery is an interesting allegory because it subverts the concept of hell as a place of punishment, instead establishing it as a precondition to being alive.

With famine comes disease - a communal sickness, gingerly lifting those too tired to carry on and syphoning their life force to depletion. People become zombies; “sunken faces” aimless beyond their primal instinct to eat. They feast with an insatiable frenzy when and where they can because, despite their best efforts, they will never be fed. We aren’t falling into the pit of hell really - the dirt walls of our captivity are erected around us. It’s just easier to notice when that dirt becomes a mountain.

The hell housed in his rapping is also interesting it is communal immersion.  JSV has a personal connection to this hell because he is lurking in its shadiest corners, but the madness is all around us. For as much individual pain and suffering as he endures, there is a communal, joint trauma that bleeds into him.

The final lines of the album are a fantastic consolidation of themes:

"I nurture crops, the roots are bitter but strengthen the soul

Fruits of labour, pray we eat 'til the day that we old"

Self-criticism in the wake of unflinching anguish and torment is a bitter pill to swallow, but it is just physically sustainable enough to live day to day and spiritually nourishing in its provisional motivation to continue.

Stanza 3: Cultivating Greatness

This is my first attempt at a write-up of any kind - I have had no shortage of great Australian projects this year, but sideFX is ultimately what cracked that proverbial egg. Whilst this is most definitely because this project deserves to be more widely heard, I wanted to write about this project because it is intensely gratifying to sit and tussle with.

One of the record's most striking qualities is its observational eye and empathy in reckoning with intense emotions and obstacles. It's one thing to be a passive observer in a world that unfurls around you, but JSV manages to encapsulate the mechanisms of seeing itself. In a way, he captures a photograph of the artist mid-painting. Listening to someone transcend the very vices clouding them to provide a measured assessment of these vices’ effects while still respecting the inherent distortion of said assessment is both technically impressive and intimately engaging. It positions the audience very firmly inside his head and generates immense pathos - rarely do I find albums that have executed this as well as it has been here.

“Barely anyone next to me

  Demons getting thе best of me

  Got my head high

  I try to keep it thеre, she said just give your best try

  How we distant, hope we better in the next life”

Stuck in my head is that first line of 'F.O.O.L'. Perhaps it resonates so strongly because both this project and its context feel like the answer to someone (perhaps JSV himself) questioning the merit and ability of his body of work. It is evidence of an artist determined to keep their shit together and reaping the rewards of doing so.

A subtle irony in the depiction of life is its hollow lifelessness. Empowerment purely by being alive is not something subscribed to here - being alive is, at its core, only existing. This is yet another beautiful thematic pairing with his navigation of temporal stagnancy; despite the clock ticking and the sun rising/falling, you can’t shake the feeling that nothing is moving, breathing, living. The drive to press on is simply that - a drive, the final drops of petrol as you put the pedal to the metal. It is an optimistic spite that I can really get behind, a reclamation of agency and power stripped away by a socio-economic climate that would see us shit, grind and die, engaging in its whispers of quiet acceptance.

Typically, art explores our emotional peaks and pits - anger, sadness, and euphoria boiling up and intoxicating us from the inside and spurring us to action. In contrast, JSV’s writing is reserved and emotionally contained, though in a way that avoids indifference towards the suffering around him. Rather than letting it crush him he picks his head up, looks at the four feet in front of him and marches forward.

Witnessing someone so observant and seemingly overwhelmed by the hellscape they inhabit felt hauntingly familiar.  Attuned to the headaches brought on by the world's oppression, this project boasts a grounded and realistic optimism that is as affirming as it is bittersweet. The social awareness is compounded by his growth as an artist on a conceptual and technical level. He isn’t saying that all this shit is going to get better - it's not his place to do so. Instead, focus is directed internally as he puts his best foot forward and climbs up that next ladder rung.

“Make the most of the cards I’m dealt and I run me the fucking ball

Young GOAT, I know that I got that flow, OG's wanna hear me more

I stepped in the scene been carving away, at a way to the top to soar

I don’t care bout shit, just wanna show mum that her son gonna get it all”

In a society increasingly apathetic towards its destruction, there is strength in using spite to persevere; spitting at the universe by living until you can no longer. Ratified by its context the music’s messaging strikes with battle-sharpened reverberation - you aren’t hearing this from someone with the money to move to Mars. It’s spoken by a regular guy in a regular neighbourhood managing the regular cruelty carried by the everyday. 

Closing Stanza: A Must-Listen

If you have read this far, the blistering recommendation of this project will be far from shocking.  In an environment burgeoning with some of the most promising cultural exports so-called Australia has ever seen, this project testifies that these creatives and by extension the possibilities open to them are immense, seizing the day as they take the reins into the future.  Perhaps the most exciting thing about this project is that rather than a creative peak, this feels like the beginning of an incredibly impressive artist growing into the rest of his catalogue. An already high start on an upward trajectory, brimming with anticipation and potential. sideFX is the thesis statement of a wildly talented up-and-comer setting the stage and chiselling his mark in the musical landscape for the years to come.

Listen to sideFX on the streaming service of your choice HERE

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Because I have Hilltop brainrot

[jocrude]

HTRK is definitely another band for the "music to make you feel like a girl in a David Lynch film" playlist.

[famousskeletondreamranch]

Yooo.

Been a while since i had a jam on the decks, whack this one on, never ventured into hip hop and rap before so this is a first attempt at a vocal dance mix that has some eerie metal vocals that come across as haunting, coupled with some straight up fire from bliss n eso, snoop dogg, UK rap, american and aussie hip hop all in the one live set.

this is very much a starting point, an entry level first shot at mixing outside the box, so it is unpolished, but the fragments come together pretty well, enough to inspire me to continue gettin OG on my sets while dropping the bangers doubled down,

Bounce!!!!

https://soundcloud.com/corey-scott-5/vocal-warp-drive-gangsta-hip-hop-aussie-and-american-rap-edm-dance-blend-up-vocal-warp-drive

suss this out bitchesss. peace.

[lordgreemo]

Responsible for last week's album of the week. Seth Sentry's back catalogue has gotten him for artist of the week.

His ability to use humor to talk about serious topics is second to none.

I'd highly recommend how are you, dumb, dear science, I'm not sad, train catcher and my personal favorite my scene

[azizemsin]

Ryder x Mc (Too Hot To Handle, S2) One-Shot <3

— (My) Mc visiting Ryder in Australia for the first time after the show ended 🌊🐚🦋

🩵 song: test drive - ariana grande

Stepping off the plane, my heart raced with excitement and anticipation. The air was warm, and the sun shone brightly over Avalon Airport, but it wasn't just the weather making me feel this way. It was the thought of seeing Ryder again. Memories of our time together on "Too Hot to Handle" were still fresh in my mind-our electric chemistry, shared laughter, and the intense moments of connection that made my heart skip a beat.

As I made my way through the bustling terminal, my eyes scanned the crowd for a familiar face. Then I saw him— Ryder, with his easy smile and piercing brown eyes, standing tall among the throng of people. He started grinning as soon as he saw me, and I felt a rush of excitement bubble inside me that made me forget all the fatigue from my long flight. Fuck, I missed him. And it had only been a week since the show ended and we'd been apart.

"Jas, baby!" he called out, striding toward me with that confident effortlessness that had first drawn me to him. For the first time, I saw the effect he had on people, particularly women, outside the villa. The way they looked after him... and I couldn't even blame them.

"Ryder!" I exclaimed, squealing and running the last few steps. I dropped my bag to throw my arms around him.

Almost instantly, I smelled his familiar cologne scent and felt comforted.

He immediately wrapped me in a warm, strong hug, and for a moment, the rest of the world faded away. His hands wandered down to my lower hip where he jokingly squeezed the flesh under my biker shorts. I grinned cheekily into his chest.

"Damn, baby," he murmured into my hair, his voice a comforting rumble. "I missed my hands on you."

I laughed softly and slapped his back jokingly. "Is that the only thing you missed?"

I could almost feel his smirk as he shrugged nonchalantly. "I admit that I missed you a lot. Is that bad? How was your flight?"

I giggled at the change of topic. "Long, but worth it," I replied, pulling back slightly to look up at him. "I've been looking forward to this all week." For a short moment, I saw a soft sparkle in his eyes before he acted all cool again. But he couldn't fool me. My hands glided from his back to his chest where I touched him gently and felt him tense under my touch.

"Me too," he said, his eyes shining with sincerity and a hint of longing, never leaving mine before he captured my mouth with his and kissed me fiercely. Mhmm, so he wasn't afraid of PDA. I smiled against his lips and wrapped my arms around his waist again, to be closer to him. A few seconds later, which felt more like ten minutes, he let go of me and pressed his forehead against mine. His hot breath touched my face as he whispered, "Crikey, l've missed that taste." I just smiled at him before he spoke again. "Come on, l've got a surprise for you." He took my hand, and it felt so natural that I almost forgot this was the first time we were out in public together.

My curiosity was piqued as Ryder led me out to the parking lot. When we reached his motorcycle-a sleek, black machine that looked both powerful and elegant-my eyes widened in surprise.

"So that's your other girlfriend?" I asked, grinning. I walked around the bike and let my fingers wander over the smooth metal.

He laughed and shrugged. "Thought I'd give you a proper Aussie welcome," he said with a wink. "Ever been on a bike before?"

"No, but l've always wanted to," | admitted, feeling a thrill of excitement rush through my body.

"Well, today's your lucky day, love," Ryder said, coming my way to strap a helmet on my head and secure it. "Hop on, and I'll show you around Lorne. It's not too far from here, and the scenery is incredible."

I nodded, feeling exhilarated as I climbed onto the back of the motorcycle, wrapping my arms around Ryder's waist. Ryder took my hand and pressed a soft kiss on my knuckles and flipped down his helmet. Shortly after, I felt the engine roar to life beneath me, and we took off down the road, the wind whipping through my hair.

The ride to Lorne was breathtaking.

We sped along winding coastal roads, with stunning views of the ocean on one side and lush forests on the other. I felt a sense of freedom and exhilaration that I had never experienced before. No wonder Ryder loved this lifestyle. It was something else, really. I tightened my grip on Ryder, pressing close to him and feeling the solid warmth of his body against mine.

After a while, Ryder pulled over at a scenic lookout point. We dismounted, and I took a moment to drink in the view.

The ocean stretched out before us, its turquoise waves crashing against the rugged cliffs in a symphony of sound. The air was filled with the scent of salt and eucalyptus, and the sky was a brilliant shade of blue.

"It's beautiful," I said, turning to Ryder with a genuine, grateful smile.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed, but his eyes were on me, not the view. When I realized, my cheeks started to heat, and that made him grin before he wrapped his arms around me and plastered the back of my neck with soft kisses.

We walked down a path that led to a secluded beach, the sand warm beneath our feet. Ryder spread out a blanket, and we lay down together, listening to the waves and the calls of seabirds. I couldn't believe how clear the water was-almost clearer than the villa's. How was that even possible? I was speechless at the beautiful scenery before me.

"This place is special to me," Ryder said quietly, taking my hand into his and playing with my fingers gently. "I've been coming here since I was a kid. It's where I go to think, to clear my head."

"I can see why," I said, intertwining our fingers. "It's peaceful." For a while, we lay there in silence, watching the sun start to dip toward the horizon.

As the sky turned shades of pink and orange, Ryder looked at me, his expression serious as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm really glad you're here, Jasmine. I know things were complicated on the show, but l meant what I said. I want this to be it. With you."

I felt a flutter in my chest and buried my head in the blanket, a happy squeal almost escaping my mouth. When I lifted my head again, I smiled at him. I had been thinking the same thing, but hearing Ryder say it out loud made it more real and gave me the reassurance that he hadn't changed his mind on the outside. "I want that too, Ryder," I said softly. "I've been thinking about us a lot since the show ended. I feel like we have something special.“

He smirked, but then a slow, genuine smile spread across his lips, and I felt it in that moment. Yeah, my poor heart melted. "I feel the same way, Jas. I know it won't be easy, with the distance and everything, but I'm Willing to try if you are."

I had to smile sadly. I knew how his last long-distance relationship ended and how much it broke him. So the fact that he was willing to try it for me was a big surprise, honestly.

"But...I really don't think I can do long-distance with you," I said, smirking and leaning even closer.

Ryder cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing gently over my skin and then over my lips. "What are you trying to say, love?" he whispered. My eyes turned serious again for a second when I looked into his desperate eyes. "I want to live near you... or scratch that. I want to wake up next to you every day and, most importantly," I said, biting my lip mischievously as I leaned forward and whispered in his ear seductively, "I want to bend over for you to take me whenever you want to."

I felt him visibly tense under my breath, and I pulled back slowly, but then he grabbed my thigh, pulling me even closer to him, and my leg wrapped around his side while he caressed the exposed skin under my shorts.

"That filthy mouth of yours will get me in much more trouble on the outside than with that cone-blocker in the villa," he whispered hoarsely and then he kissed me. My hands wrapped around his neck immediately as he sucked on my bottom lip and then slid his tongue inside my mouth, exploring every inch, and I felt myself getting heated. Leaning further into the kiss to feel him deeper, my fingers pulled on his hair roughly and I used the wrapped leg around his hip as an excuse to fully straddle him. I did that by pushing Ryder to the side so that he lay on his back, then bent down to keep kissing him. His hands immediately found the hem of my shorts and glided under them, massaging my ass gently, and he grinned against my lips. "I am at your mercy, Jas."

—

Hi! So after I replayed THTH s2 the past days I just couldn’t stop thinking of Ryder so I wrote a little something…and honestly wanted to share it 🤭 So have fun!! Btw, english isn’t my first language so excuse if the wording seems a bit poor sometimes lmao 😭

[imnameimswrld]

⃘ ֹ ִ 𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐒 ★ ִ a series ꒱

in which I make a moodboard and write some calculated nonsense about my biases as taylor swift songs (my queen) !

status, in session...

❪ kpop masterlist ❫

━━━━━━━━━━❪ 🖤 ❫━━━━━━━━━━

𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍 as ...call it what you want by taylor swift.

stray kids. skz. leader. producer. '97. aussie-korean. my ult / husband. christopher bahng. 3racha. vocalist. rapper. dancer. gnabnahc. don't touch his laptop aka the mother-load. swarovski knows what's up. peak husband material.

𝐕 as ...maroon by taylor swift.

bts. bangtansonyeondan. vocalist. '95. korean. daegu boy. celine's top model. kim taehyung. thv. yeontan's dad. his boxy-smile, ugh. he's served enough, send him home please. visual. actor.

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐘𝐔 as ...dress by taylor swift.

seventeen. svt. rapper. vocalist. visual. hip-hop unit. kim mingyu. my favourite tall tan boy. vampire. '97. korean. mr bullied by his 12 brothers. his lisp dear lord. cute puppy with the body of a greek god. dior, bvlgari & cartier doing God's work out here. min9yu_k.

𝐉𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐎 as ...gorgeous taylor swift.

blackpink. bp. vocalist. visual. mother. '95. kim jisoo. actress. ceo of blissoo. jisoo turtle-rabbit kim. i am so in love with her goofy ass. sooyaaa__. flower. pretty sure she's a billionaire. korean. blackpink in ur area (except for mine). blackpink is indeed the revolution.

𝐘𝐄𝐉𝐈 as ...new romantics by taylor swift.

itzy. leader. main dancer. vocalist. rapper. '00. korean. hwang yeji. a literal lightfury. the cat is cating with this one. the eyes chico. a total loser girl but I love her for it. lucy hwang. my oppa. yezyizhere. ms english is about confidence. visual. midzy's protector fr.

𝐒𝐀𝐍 as ...lover by taylor swift.

ateez. vocalist. dancer. demon liner. '99. choi san. korean. mountain. my kitty cat. the fluff is fluffing. blonde brought me to my knees. stage presence. the de-twinkafacation is too real. shoulders for days. mr flirts too much his photocard that I don't have should be sleeping on the porch. deja vu eyebrows... ya just had to be there. kq give my boys their own insta accounts right now. totally kisses his band mate jung wooyoung.

𝐓𝐀𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐆 as ...delicate by taylor swift.

nct. nct 127. nct u og. super m. leader. lee taeyong. korean. rapper. dancer. '95. a parent of 26. korean. bless his hair. mr ty. my bubu. he is peak comfort. I just want to hug him forever and never let go. ai. he bleeds neo-green. taeoxo_nct. please don't send him away, he's already been serving since 2016. sticker's no.1 defender. visual. tik_tyong.

𝐓𝐄𝐍 as ...king of my heart by taylor swift.

nct. wayv. dancing king. vocalist. rapper. '95. a cat dad. a sassy king. chittaphon leechaiyapornkul. lee yongqin. gender-envy is real people. mr oh no your have to taste it. nct u og. thai and kinda chinese too I thinks. I wanna say multilingual king but according to bambam he can't even speak thai (his mother-tongue) well. a 10/10 fr. tenlee_1001. birthday was a cultural reset. visual. pretty sure he's in love with a guy named johnny suh from chicago.

𝐉𝐄𝐍𝐎 as ...mastermind by taylor swift.

nct. nct dream. dancer. rapper. '00. lee jeno. a samoyed doppelganger. so fluffy. leejen_o_423. hot sauce jeno is my roman empire. visual. korean. makes my heart so warm. kinda wanna put him in my pocket. he might be in love with some kid that goes by the name of na jaemin.

𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐀 as ...enchanted by taylor swift.

aespa. leader. rapper. main dancer. '00. real ? I think not. literally ai. my adorable stupid cheese cat. yoon jimin. korean. one of them laughing slappers. such a cutie pls just get in my pocket and let me protect your forever rina. katarinabluu. quite literally meows. a cat has never cat-ed like her before. run run run kitty kitty run run. visual.

𝐊𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐇𝐀 as ...dancing with our hands tied by taylor swift.

le sserafim. rapper. vocalist. dancer. ballerina. '03. zuha. japanese. literally lee hojung's sister because, huh. looks a little line jeon wonwoo too, but that just could be me. nakamura kazuha. my girlfriend (real). body goals fr, SLAY QUEEN. such a cutie patootie it makes me cry. the rizz is lowkey but so real. zuhazana. the swan song is literally her song. SOUNDS LIKE MONSTER BABY KING KONG, such a banger. visual.

𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐍 as ...wonderland by taylor swift.

txt. tomorrow x together. leader. vocalist. dancer. that dolphin song boy. '00. choi soobin. my favourite tall awkward and shy boy. he's just such a cutie pls. korean. I live in his dimples. I love that we collectively hate on math, my soulmate fr. you know you know soobin. page.soobin. so boyfriend dammit. visual. BRING BACK PURPLE HAIRED SOOBIN RN.

𝐉𝐀𝐘 as ...getaway car by taylor swift.

enhypen. enha. an all-rounder honestly. he plays guitar and that's hot. '02. blonde jay makes me spiral. korean but spent some time in america too. park jongseong. if angry bird, then why so gorgeous. he shouldn't be allowed to wear jeans because holy moly. he makes me giggle like a girl and I LOATHE IT because I'm supposed to be a feminist jason (his name isn't jason btw). I wanna kiss him. my boyfriend (REAL).

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐊 as ...paper rings by taylor swift.

p1harmony. piwon. p1h. rapper. dancer. such a cutie I can't take it. he likes almonds. hwang intak. intakie. intak-attack. taki taki rumba. '03. he's soooo... BEIDJEDKWNDKED. I can't think straight when I see the guy. I love him. korean. his music taste is bangin'. I can't handle short-haired intak lord haveth mercy. okay okay, but fr this time, he's my boyfriend.

❪ more might be added... ❫

[lukesalbumawheneverhefeelslikeit]

3534: "Death From Below" by - Suburban Dark

[brasideios]

Music Tag game

Shuffle your ‘on repeat’ playlist and list the first 10 songs that play, then tag 10 people.

I was tagged by @aro-pancake Thank you for thinking of me! 🙌🏼

(I don’t have Spotify so, as usual, I just shuffled my one giant YouTube music list that I use as default when I can’t decide what I want to listen to.)

The Buzz by Hermitude. Mellow Australian electro ftw.

Crushing Hard by Urthboy. Aussie hip-hop with a side of break beats. This song is currently making me write a fic I said I’d never write.

Blood - Gang of Youths. Just a solid emotional cover of… Mumford and Sons, I think?

Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars. Sometimes, you just wanna have a lil bop. That’s all.

Rock It by Little Red. Maybe also Australian - memory says yes but that may be contextual. This song feels like bottled nostalgia to me.

Oblivion by Royal Blood. This whole album (Typhoons) is fantastic, and this song is no exception.

Midnight City by M83. A song that speaks so powerfully of a place and time and feeling. I love it.

Pompeii by Bastille. Listen. Anything that speaks to a break up and the destruction of Pompeii at once is going to punch me in the feels.

I Don’t Know Why by Imagine Dragons. Their music is so singable and light.

The Money Game by Ren. I don’t know how this series of songs isn’t the anthem of Tumblr. It’s anti capitalist, anti colonialism, urges people to recognise their part in it all. But here we are.

Tagging my music loving mutuals (and forgetting half of them fr) @krankittoeleven @ainulindaelynn @findusinaweek @mini-uzzy no pressure ofc!