#her vocals and the production are just UGH EVERYTHING

[lamentationsofasinner]

'ceilings' by lizzie mcalpine is such a real song because i too love to project my feelings of emotional dependency and a need for romantic love onto things (really good hinny/jily fanfics binge read at 3am) even though i have never been in a relationship and i can't recall the last time i was kissed. she's so real for this omg

also if you need any hinny/jily fics to project your emotional dependency on check out 'An Alliance' (which is actually effie and fleamont potter, sorry!) and 'In Love and War' by Icepen (lmk if Icepen has a tumblr). also 'retrograde' by @mppmaraudergirl is absolutely fucking amazing (all on a03) oh and ofc 'The Path From You' by @takearisk-ao3, and her hinny amnesia fic who's title i can't remember for the life of me (sorry hannah!!!!!!!!!) i love it tho, especially how she handled harry's emotional response to ginny's amnesia, and how hinny had an explosive fight after ginny crashed her broom and then harry broke down and hugged her sm and my little heart broke omggg it makes me feral

[petruchio]

What songs would you say are considered to be the great Taylor Swift songs? Despite, of course, iconic ME!

i cant tell if this is sarcastic or not -- but i listed my top ten (not joking) taylor songs here and since you mentioned ME! im going to use this as an opportunity to be a hater. so here is a list 5 of my least favorite taylor swift songs that i wish i could erase from my brain:

you need to calm down. needs no further explanation, that song sucks ass. in my opinion its worse than ME!

i forgot that you existed. absolute garbage. like so much of taylor's songs that i hate, is more concerned with the real life drama and setting up a narrative than it is with being a good song. vocal delivery and production both sound lazy. it was an insane choice to open lover with this song, it sucks so bad, i hate it

so it goes. imo her most boring song and i think she agrees bc she didnt even play it on the rep tour. i posted a comment on reddit saying that once and got downvoted like crazy and i was like youre all lying to yourselves that song sucks

bejeweled. if bejeweled has one hater its me. i despise that song. the hook is so dumb and who allowed the sentence "familiarity breeds contempt dont put me in the basement when i want the penthouse of your heart" to be put to track. like enough of the mixed metaphors taylor. just say "set me free" or something and move on. and the stupid little repetitive synth on the chorus just grates on my nerves. ugh that song sucks. imo worse than vigilante shit even though that song sucks too.

suburban legends. hate everything about it, from the insane plastic summer line to the dumb title (its a bad attempt at a taylor swift "twist on a popular idiom" -- like that isnt even what urban legends means. its so dumb) to the insane wordiness of every line that just makes me doubt that it was actually written during 1989 era (like most 1989 era songs are ... simply not that wordy or obsessed with like 10 different mixed metaphors. taylor didnt really get that wordy until post folklore and i just think the 1989 vault (save for say dont go) is NOT actually from that era there i said it) anyway ya suburban legends haunts me god i hate that song

honorary mention for slut! also, because 1) it also sucks 2) there is no way she actually considered releasing THAT instead of blank space and that was such a bald faced lie i couldnt believe people bought it and 3) clink clink? be so fucking for real with me right now.

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

I was shopping for groceries today and I think they were having a 1D morning there. They played Harry “sign of the times”, then they played Zayn “drunk” followed by Niall Horan “slow hands”. They didn’t play any Louis while I was there. There is not much love for Louis here in Australia so I never expect to hear him out in public spaces anyway. Hearing them one after the other it was so clear how much effort was put behind Harry’s debut. The production was so lush, you could really hear it wasn’t a song crafted by a first time solo artist straight from his heart, everything was polished, there was nothing raw and real about it. The intent was launching someone to the grandest stage with the might of a full choir. Zayn’s drunk also had the same elements, a falsetto, melancholy but a little more mid tempo while still had him singing higher in the background. His vocals have a smoothness which Harry’s crafted notes can’t ever match, but the song itself seemed lazily put together. It didn’t have the might of songwriters behind it. Then Niall’s song, it went on and on. Why was it a hit? I guess I just don’t get his music. Maybe he is meant to be a true tiktok star because 20 seconds are more than enough for his songs anything more than that is excessive.

Hi!

Ugh I was at the dentist’s last week, and this was similar to the sequence they played— SOTT, then What Makes You Beautiful, then a Niall song (I honestly can’t remember the tune, and didn’t even know it was Niall until about halfway through), then a Zayn song, I think it was I Don’t Want To Live Forever. I live in the USA so of course there was no Louis song.

The thing is, it’s already not a pleasant experience to be at the dentist’s, but to have to hear a six-minute ballad about Harry Styles’ being chased by bullets is … excruciating. “The bullets. The bullets.” Honestly, the fucking privilege of that man.

In retrospect, Harry naming his first single after Prince and copying Prince’s album photo shoot for Fine Line, and wearing Jimmy Page’s dragon pants and having all those press releases at the time calling him Baby Jagger and his first concert with Stevie Nicks, and comparing HS1 to David Bowie’s Space Oddity and Freddie Mercury seems so funny now, with Watermelon Sugar and As It Was as his career highs and cocaine side boob choke her with a sea view as his signature lyric.

Harry’s vocals were fine enough for HS1, but he sings nothing like that now, and looks nothing like that, and as a wise man once said, “No matter how much you want it, some things change.”

[madhattersez]

K-POP BIAS CHALLENGE: JAN 2023

(PART 1 OF 2 BECAUSE I'M RIDICULOUS)

Okay, I should start by saying that this is a two-parter because I'm a doofy Pan that can get attached to members of groups even if I just casually listen to them (Seriously, though - K-Pop is a wonderland for Pans because there are just SO many incredible personalities out there, UGH).

I made all the gifs below to show you the exact moment I knew they were for me. Enjoy!

Chaeyoung (Twice) Soyeon (GI-DLE)

This sounds impossible, but I think Chae will be my ultimate bias, like, for as long as I live. We're going on over 5 years now that she has not only been my bias in Twice, but she has been shining over all other groups as well.

When I found Twice (which was my final step before finally tumbling all the way into the rabbithole of K-Pop), it was the "TT" video. Nayeon immediately caught my attention and I was fairly smitten. I think this is probably the case for all Twice fans at first, because she's a literal Siren. Like you read about in mythology.

However, Chaeyoung took over the second I saw the above part of the "Likey" video, which was my favorite song from them for such a long, long time. The swaggy rapping in a simple hoodie with all that trademark badass/adorable energy? Hook, line, and sinker. It's been her ever since.

Fast forward to nowadays, where she's only gotten more incredible, having the most writing credits in the group, an ever-growing amount of unique, artsy tattoos (which is still fairly taboo for idols), and absolute, unedited realness when she speaks (in her hypnotically deep voice, no less). I love her quirky art. I love her laid back views on life. I love her dancing, singing, and rapping, I love her goofy laugh. I love that her teeth aren't "perfect." I just love her.

Please check her wispy, beautiful "Off My Face" cover below. I literally well up whenever I sing along to this song:

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When it comes to (G)I-dle, there was never any competition. It's Soyeon all the way.

Look, there is going to be a lot of rappers on this list since I was a Hip Hop dude myself back in the day - I can recognize the talent and approach. When it comes to confidence in their ability, there's not many more in the world with as much as this tiny titan.

I had heard a lot of I-dle's music previously without really digging into the group or finding out much about them, which was my stupid, stupid mistake, hah.

It was when K/DA debuted that I finally started paying good attention. This is the fictional K-Pop group from League of Legends that releases music with incredible production, vocals, and animated music videos. It definitely helps that they invited Soyeon and Miyeon from I-dle in for some authenticity and talent, but all the ladies are great.

Soyeon immediately captured me in the clip above as she catwalked her way (with a smirk) out onto the stage at the utterly massive 2018 League of Legends World Championships.

It was a really rad performance that had me looking up everything about her afterwards, and finally led me to becoming fan of (G)I-dle as well.

She also unflinchingly pushes boundaries for what is "acceptable" for idols and women in the game in general.

I'd love to present a sassy collab with her and a few fellow badasses called "Is This Bad Bitch Number?" Her English is sometimes very... interesting, but the confidence in it is unmatched! That's all that counts, right?

However, I'd also like to present to you just how much she positively hates vegetables. They are seriously trying to kill her or something:

Yeah, she's a disaster. Hahaha.

CL (2NE1) HyunA (4Minute)

Awwww shit, it's CL from 2NE1. 2NE1 was dope - Their song "Come Back Home" is a favorite, but the classic "Falling in Love" should be on anyone's feel good playlist. CL stuck out like a sore big toe, though. Way above the rest for me.

Currently, she's been doing solo stuff for years. While 2NE1 was still around, CL stole me away like a damned thief with one of her early solo tracks "The Baddest Female." The clip above that got me was from the video for it.

The smooth-as-hell verses and the obviously slayer visuals caught me, but that little audible gasp shown at the end of the gif? She practically tossed me over a cliff, y'all.

Super swag at all times, she is also super involved in the fashion industry and often brings ridiculous Lady Gaga-ish looks and sets into her projects.

Recommended video to start you off on your own CL journey? Why, "Hello, Bitches," of course:

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Next up is HyunA, originally from 4Minute. 4Minute was a super rad group and the vast majority of their songs were fantastic.

Mostly doing solo stuff now (like CL above), HyunA always stood out from the rest. I don't know if it's her fantastic dancing, her unhinged attitude, or her lunatic eyes, but she scooped me up immediately as I watched the first few seconds of the "Crazy" music video, which is where I clipped the gif.

She was in an at least attempted secret relationship with labelmate (and hot as hell artist himself) Dawn for several years until their label kicked them out because of it, and Psy (You know, "Gangnam Style" Psy) swooped them both up for his label. The couple released an EP together that was adorable and sexy and amazing... Sadly, they also recently broke up, which tore me up a bit. :/

I could show you at least a dozen videos of her I really enjoy, but one that has always stuck with me to show all of her characteristics at once has been "Ice Cream," which - whoa - is now 10 years old:

I bet that one's gonna be in your head the rest of the day. You're welcome.

Karina (Aespa) Tsuki (Billlie)

I have lots of mixed emotions and opinions about Aespa. Most of the stuff I have issues with are on the part of their label, though, not them.

That being said, Karina has only ever had positives for me. Visuals. Dancing. Vocals. Kindness. Politness. She's really amazing to watch in candid videos especially because she just seems like a super great person in general.

She's also a superfan of a lot of groups she ends up collaborating or interacting with, and is adorable about it. That being said, she's also very mature about business-related stuff - A great public leader.

This clip from the Savage video is where I knew it had to be her.

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Awwwwww it's time to talk about Tsuki. Tsuki Tsuki Tsuki. Will you just look at her?! You know what? I'm just going to stop right here and show you the whole video my gif is from. Maybe you'll instantly fall in love, too:

Have you ever seen maximum effort before? Well, now you have! Haha. Tsuki is like the living equivilent of how you feel when your favorite song comes on and you're dancing alone in your room, all by yourself, no inhibitions.

She just makes me indescribably happy with her enthusiasm and joy of performing. And those facial expressions, d'awwwww.

She's from a group called Billlie - Yes, that's with three "Ls." They have a great selection of hits. I suggest checking out "Ring Ma Bell" for some Rock flavor, too. You'll notice Tsuki sticking out there as well.

Who am I kidding? She's all you'll be able to focus on, no matter what the group is doing.

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Jennie (Blackpink) Fatou (Blackswan)

Well, everybody knows Blackpink, even non-K-Pop folks. I think BTS and Blackpink have got to be the biggest draws to introducing people to the genre.

I was a Lisa bias from the very start, but when Jennie released her first solo track (Read: "Solo"), I switched before the video was even over. It was this scene, right here in the laundromat.

Jennie is so swaggy. So is Lisa, of course, but the swag... uh... meter? It tipped to Jennie for me here and has only gotten heavier since. And to be rapping all cool like this in some stylish underwear while soap suds rain down? And that eye roll. Fucking ridiculous, sign me up for that newsletter, no confirmation email needed.

Plus, I have a thing for laundromats just in general - Check that out here.

While this video is where it all happened, I'd instead like to show off her fantastic choreo performance version instead, because it's even more incredible:

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Whewwww, I'm sorry, was I talking about swag again? Because Fatou has it in spaaaades.

The first and only Senegalese idol in K-Pop, she obviously stands out and has all the associated hurdles to overcome because of it. Fuck any and all racists and haters - She is killer at what she does and stands out in the group because of her constant quality performances.

Her rapping? Top notch. Her singing? Striking. Her hater deflection skills? Strong. Her height? Nice.

Unfortunately, a lot of folks may never discover her or the group she's currently in (Blackswan), because the label they are on has been really rough at keeping things together and there has been unending drama surrounding the group, creating a revolving door of members.

The "Close to Me" video is a great watch - That's where the jail scene from the gif above came from. That's when I knew that Fatou was undeniable for me.

Gain (Brown Eyed Girls) Suga (BTS)

Goodness, Gain is dangrous. She hails from all the way back in the... First? Second? One-and-a-Half-th generation of K-Pop? Anyway, she's from the retro (but still around) group Brown Eyed Girls.

The video from this clip will explain everything, I think. It's from a song called "Warm Hole." And, yup, it's exactly what it sounds like. These ladies were pushing sex positivity in Korea a long time before this, but they laid it on thick here in 2015. And Gain is right there, front and center of the charge.

The sultriness of a mysterious lady with a murder mystery to unfold, sauntering into a 1940s detective's office? Check. Bunny suit? Check. Winks? I can't possibly count that high. Being super cute on top of all this? Yeah, she got me.

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Oh, look, it's time to put BTS on the list, haha. Thanks to everyone gliding in and reading this post just because of the BTS tag, I'm sure. <3

For the longest time, RM seemed like the only one for me in BTS, though J-Hope's always been hanging upside-down from the rafters above, ready to strike at any time. That was, until I saw Suga's solo video (under the "Augst D" pseudonym) for "Daechwita." That's what this sweet-ass gif is from.

The video features Suga as an Aladdin-style street rat, but he also plays a badass, sword-swinging king. They both are ruthless and want to kill each other. I can't even possibly explain how radical the video is, so just watch it already:

Yeah, um, I'm sorry RM. You are super talented and all that, and much respect to the paths you've opened and the collaborations with other fresh rappers out there, but... It's gonna be a whole packet of natural Suga for me.

Mia (Everglow) Yeji (Itzy)

Jesus, are we almost done with this list? This... part one of this list...? Haha. Apologies. I'm geekin' out over here!

Everglow is incredibly talented. Honestly, I want to say that they should be at (in the very least, but probably more than) Aespa's level of reach and popularity. I'm not sure why they're not picked up more, but they don't seem to get many promotions from their label.

Regardless, I know Everglow is amazing, and I enjoy them as such. Now, if you hadn't heard them before, maybe you'll give them a try, too? Please do.

When I started listening to them, the super tall (she's, like, one of the top three tallest current idols) bombshell that is Aisha found me through the monitor and got my attention right away. She was my bias for a good chunk of time.

Then "La Di Da" came out. Even after seeing the music video, Aisha was right there. Then, like some sort of dark magic, I saw this Studio Choom version above - Right here at this very moment in the performance, my bias to Mia flipped like a switch. It's... Hmph. Was it the snarl on her lips while her hands covered her intense eyes for just a flash? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was it.

Something just... unlocked? I went back and watched everything. The music videos, the candid stuff. Somehow, some way, it was Mia all along! She's so incredibly warm and caring and for sure a top dancer in the entire industry.

Look, I know Sihyeon is technically the leader of Everglow... But it really seems that Mia holds everything together and is an incredibly hard worker who obviously struggles a bit to realize her potential and impact. I see that in her. And it's something that makes me love her more.

Just look at her effortlessly pull off this choreo, even extensive and difficult floor stuff (what Marvel comic book metal are your knees made out of?!) without any imperfections:

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To end part one of this absolutely unintentional monster of a post, let's talk about Hwang Yeji, the powerhouse leader of Itzy and the "secret weapon" of JYP.

Chaeyoung as my ultimate bias? Sure. Unwavering. But... If I had to pick anyone to even come close to that position, it would be Yeji. Absolutely.

A super compassionate leader who is always so on point in taking care of her sisters, she never misses a beat. I think she's probably the wisest, most intuitive, most protective, most active leader of any group in K-Pop I've seen. Both personal and business-wise.

When it comes to talent, it's like a superpower with her. I say that, because off-stage, she is a super nerdy fuckin' goofball who is polite to a fault and who can't stop giggling to save her life. On stage, she is an absolute moster. The light turns green and she instantly turns serious, becoming one of the top 5 dancers and vocalists in the entire genre. It's like a She-Hulk transformation without any of the green. And Light Fury instead of She-Hulk. Supporting documentation:

Anyway, to balance out the absolutely incredible human being she is, her fierceness on stage is rarely matched. From the second I saw her (the gif above literally shows some of the first seconds of the song and she had me instantly hooked with her unique looks and attitude), I've been so into her.

Until I wasn't... My bias switched to Ryujin for quite some time. Whoops. And, uh... then it switched to Chaeryeong for a stretch... Look, I can't tell you how hard it is to pick and stick with a bias in Itzy. They are so incredibly leveled out.

However, Itzy's first Japanese single "Voltage" hit the net last year and there's this one part where Yeji raps, but she starts by literally GROWLING. Fuck, nope, I hit the floor. Literally. Totally unfair sneak attack. Dead. NO DISASSEMBLE JOHNNY 5.

That was it. Fucking done. Yeji forever now, no more switches, hahaha!

Again, she can be such a confident, stage-killing monster, but then she turns around and almost burns down the company dorm microwaving chocolate while being a total Squishmallow:

She's just the best.

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

Well, I had to work on this (and the next post) over and over again as it drafted for a week, so I'm happy to say that Tumblr's draft feature WORKS, y'all. I'm a believer. Haha.

See you in part 2!

[allamericansbitch]

My fav songs off the album are definitely the bonus 3am songs, I feel like they are so so much better and different than the original 13? The only ones that stand out to me of the 13 are karma and bejeweled, maybe sweet nothing too. The 13 song album kind of fells like red+1989 to me? It feels like an old sound. like it's promo for 1989 taylors version in a way. the 7 3am songs are so, different and i much prefer them.. What are your favorites what do you think/feel abt the album?

i've seen a lot of people say they prefer the 3am songs which is interesting. i think they definitely go more in depth and have a more familiar type of writing for taylor, in terms of it being closes to folklore and evermore writing that people loved. I feel strange saying which one i prefer because they both offer two very different things. I think the standard version is easier and more fun to listen to, i can already assume i'll listen to it the most out of the two, but the 3am version is more to digest and has more interesting things happening. preference will all depend on my mood at the time i guess.

i do think having both options really shows how taylor can do the fun pop with catchy melodies and easy-listening and then also do experimental, less structured, story-driven songs. i am really curious on like... why she chose to do one and then the other. like she separated what she did on folklore, with the whole album being catchy pop melodies but interesting storytelling and instrumentals. it combined those two styles but this time she separated them into two different albums... i would love her for to explain why just out of curiosity.

im gonna put my thoughts on each side/song under the cut because i have a lot of thoughts and this is the first time someones asked lol

(update: i said so much im so sorry lol)

standard:

i saw some people hating the production and i do not understand them tbh. i love this style i think it suits taylors vocals so well. i think her vocals are so good on this album and her falsetto on lavender haze and labyrinth is INSANE. but her lower register on maroon and anti-hero are amazing too.

people saying it's a blend of rep and lover confuse me tbh because those are like... my least favorite albums but i love this so idk what thats about. i dont hear rep or lover influence at all... both had very rough, clunky production and this has softer smoother production and the lyrics are wayyyy more mature...

one thing no one can discount is her ability to write interesting melodies and hooks and this side of the album proves that, every single song has a melody i love on it.

lavender haze: obsessed with the production and again her vocals are insane. the r&b vibe is everything to me. and the bridge is so cool i love how she delivers.

maroon: the CHORUS?? those lyrics are so good and the story is so cute, that chorus melody is one of her best of all time to me.

anti-hero: perfect single choice and the way she described it i didnt think it would be upbeat btu is slaps. the lyrics are so good and the bridge is really interesting to see people react to. fans who are used to getting the meaning of things fed to them like in some of her other songs are just like 'well thats weird!' but it's one of the saddest things shes ever admitted under the disguise of a catchy upbeat melody.

snow on the beach: lana haters we won. this song is sooo calm i love it. i dont love the 'weird but fucking beautiful' line that much... i feel like she couldve done a little better than that tbh lol. but it doesnt ruin the song for me. i lose my mind at the way she sings 'and it's coming down no sound it's all around' ugh its gorgeous.

you're on your own kid: i've watch two reaction videos so far and they both didnt like this song and want to jump through my screen and put them in a chokehold wtf. im obsessed with the warm, fuzzy guitar production and the chorus melody. amazing. how it just keeps growing in energy is amazing and the story is beautifully told. her highlighting always wanting to feel special and wanted and for people to like her is a constant in her life, and then turning that into needing to remember the good things and wanting to appreciate them. she nailed it. the bridge is just euphoric and deserves to be screamed live i need it.

midnight rain: this one had to grow on me a little but it's a vibe. the melody kinda carries it for me. the lyrics are good and the production being moody but having these moments of sparkling keys or sound being representative of how she was moody but he'd bring in happy moments is cute.

question...?: i think this might be my least favorite, it's still good but i have no idea what this girl is talking about to be honest. i feel like she should've expanded on it way more because it feels like i walked into a story when it was halfway done already, i need more context lol. but it's cute and the melodies make it fun vibe to. the bridge is the highlight, the melody is so fun and the thing jack does with dragging out the last parts of the line is so cool.

vigilante shit: if we ignore the first line it's great lol. i can see why people dont like it and i can see why people love it. i'm in the middle. if it went longer i probably wouldn't like it. i think it serves the story of the album more than just being an individual song. the bridge is my favorite part.

bejeweled: i dont think i liked this song when i first heard it, it was a little too cheesy for me but once i leaned into it i think it's fun and catchy.

labyrinth: everyone give it up for my boy labyrinth!!! this is amazing and her voice is so gorgeous. the production is amazing and that chorus is so comforting? obsessed with the way she sings the plane part. the outro is so pretty too.

karma: she's soooo fun!!! the people with a sense of humor really won with this one. 'karma is my boyfriend' is literally the best sentence. her being like 'me and karma are so tight doesnt that like... suck for you?' the biggest song on the album for sure. the party song.

sweet nothing: the cutest song. i think it's something the album really needed a moment of cute sincerity. the melody in every part is amazing and the fact she highlights that he always says she smart and has a beautiful mind made me want to rip my heart and use it as a tissue. that bridge??? the lyrics are amazing. those classic jack horns go beautifully as well.

mastermind: this one was another grower but i like it. i think its a perfect ending track. the second verse is my favorite lyrically. but also the bridge is heartbreaking and beautiful. the part when she says 'because i carreeee' and a bunch of harmonies come in is amazing.

3am version:

the great war: i think this one is my least favorite simply because it gets a little repetitive. and it's very long for a song that doesn't really change that much from the beginning. and it's a topic we'd heard from her... relating her life to a battlefield. i do like the line 'diesel was desire you were playing with fire'. she's a fun song but i dont think i'd play it intentionally, if it comes on shuffle i'll listen.

bigger than the whole sky: this one is good but it suffers form the same thing as great war, it's too long and doesnt really go anywhere. i think the production is gorgeous and the lyrics are beautiful so that helps a lot.

paris: she's cute and she's fun and the idea is so cute. the first verse is so funny i love it.

high infidelity: calcium harvest come get you juice. i love the way she sings 'do you really wanna know where i was april 29th' and that whole part. that whole refrain is amazing and probably my favorite part of the song.

glitch: i LOVE this one. it's so experimental and weird. i love that guitar and the way she sings and drags out the end of certain lines. the melody of the chorus is everything.

would've could've should've: this is the other favorite of mine. im so glad she finally told him to fuck off again he needed a reminder, he was getting too comfortable. obsess with the production on this one and how dark and threatening it is. within 5 seconds you know shes about to kill someone. this is also one that goes really long but she has a lot to say and she should say it!!! the best part of the song is basically the bridge and every part after that. GIVE ME BACK MY GIRLHOOD!!! IT WAS MINE FIRST!!! best lyric on the entire album.

dear reader: a cute ending as well and the production is amazing, very similar to labyrinth. i've seen a lot of people think this is taylor giving the audience lessons she's learned overtime... and that's scary because she's telling people what not to do lol. she herself reveals she's an unreliable narrator by saying 'never take advice from someone who's falling apart' and she is very obviously that in this song. so... no one listen to the advice. it's really clever though and an interesting subject for a song. i don't think she's ever done that so it's cool.

[lunapaper]

Album Review: 'Past // Present // Future' - Meet Me @ The Altar

Part of the current pop punk resurgence that includes WILLOW, pinkshift, Olivia Rodrigo and (ugh) Machine Gun Kelly, Meet Me @ The Altar have fought to defend the genre at all costs, sticking faithfully to the blueprint mapped out by their forebears Paramore and Fall Out Boy on their 2021 EP, Model Citizen. 

Not much has changed on their debut album, Past // Present // Future. The propulsive beats and snarling riffs remain, along with the cliché-riddled angst that has long made pop punk the subject of ridicule.  

It’s rock by committee courtesy of Jonas Brothers producer John Fields, hell bent on watering down each guitar riff and compressing every vocal, hiding it all behind an impenetrably glossy veneer. In other words, it’s more Radio Disney that RIOT! 

‘Say It (To My Face)’ incorporates some drum n’ bass into its emo-lite punk thrash as vocalist Edith Victoria taunts back at the haters ‘You're so irrelevant, almost didn't commit/Almost didn't write you a second verse/Really wish I could stay, gotta fly to LA/Play a show at The Wiltern.’ I guess I’m considered one of them now (Though Australian homes don’t normally have basements).  

‘Try’ is Sum 41-esque, offering high school-level wisdom in the form of ‘I go through all the same things too/It sucks, it’s true.’ ‘Hello in there Mr. I don’t care/I’ve had better conversations with my wall and my dog,’ she later muses on ‘Same Language,’ its chorus eerily reminiscent of Katy Perry’s ‘Waking Up in Vegas,’ while ‘T.M.I.’ is rather Avril-like as Victoria bares her soul over fuzzy guitars and explosive drums. 

And so the clichés go: ‘I think I'm the worst/Criticize everything 'til it hurts’ (from ‘T.M.I’) ‘Still stuck in your mothers basement/Talk trash, but you're like a million miles away’ (from ‘Say It (To My Face’)) ‘Don't be afraid to let go of the pain/Flowers only bloom if you get through the rain’ (from ‘Rocket Science’), each one more vapid than the last. 

Some of this can be attributed to a trio of early twentysomethings still navigating their way through life, love and other anxieties. Most of it, however, reeks of others trying to mould the band into something they’re totally not, namely writer/producer John Ryan, who co-wrote most of the album’s tracks. 

He’s written for such artists as Harry Styles, Maroon 5, Rita Ora, Pitbull, Jason Derulo, DJ Snake, Fifth Harmony and, funnily enough, Katy Perry and Nick Jonas. He also co-wrote some of One Direction’s biggest hits, including ‘Story of My Life,’ ‘Steal My Girl’ and ‘Best Song Ever.’ 

Why some cheesy pop maestro was assigned to work with a queer pop punk trio of colour (the first ever signed to Fueled By Ramen) is anyone’s guess. Rather than make the songs feel like their own in any way, Ryan and the band just churn out a bunch of bland pop punk tunes about makeups and breakups indistinct from their peers. 

Though there are glimmers of what could’ve been: the hazy ‘Kool’ echoes the headiness, thrill and nauseating anxiety you feel when crushing hard on someone. ‘It’s Over for Me’ has a jackhammer-style energy, while standout ‘A Few Tomorrows’ is dream-spun folk pop straight out of the early 2000s, with Victoria’s snarky, razor-sharp wail softened into a soothing coo. It sort of reminds me John Mayer’s ‘Back To You,’ the kind of song that would play during a montage after the inevitable breakup scene of a teen film or in a CW drama (‘Back To You’ was in Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!, btw). 

Meet Me @ The Altar’s debut comes just as the pop punk renaissance seemingly reaches its saturation point. Everything here is just so bland: The riffs are repetitive, the writing uninspired and the production squeaky clean and painfully edgeless. 

And it’s a shame, because the band have proven in the past that they can do raw and real on 2019’s Bigger Than Me EP, a true love letter to pop punk that showcases the trio’s deft musicality and knack for punchy hooks, from the math rock-style breakdown on ‘Beyond My Control’ to the post-hardcore urgency on ‘Tyranny.’ Hell, even Model Citizen dabbled in a little nu-metal.  

2018’s Changing States is also worth a listen: The vocals are imperfect and the songs sprawling and loose, lacking any real structure. It sounds like it was recorded in a wardrobe, but that’s what adds to its beauty and charm. I’d even go so far as to compare it to Fall Out Boy’s earlier albums.  

What could’ve been a powerful mission statement for the band, a chance to expand on their scrappy, bratty charm, becomes yet another generic power pop record. Past // Present // Future will probably be an album that Meet Me @ The Altar end up distancing themselves from it once they creatively find their feet again. Hopefully no one linked to the JoBros will be involved in the next one... 

- Bianca B. 

[natashaaromanova]

okay i love love LOVE midnights, it's going to be on repeat all day ofc

the SOUND - the production is so DREAMY and SHIMMERY yknow??

the theme of things that keep us up at night tying it all together and even then the range of all those emotions UGH

she does everything so so so well, her soft vocals to the sleeker stronger ones she is just too good for this industry

love you queen @taylorswift

[dissonantdreamer]

Am I being oversensitive when I say I find some of the hatred towards TLOU2 to be disturbing? I saw someone post fanart of Ellie gleefully killing Lev in front of Abby and celebrating how it would've been the "better" ending. It's so hypocritical considering haters complain about the characters being 'ooc' but then have Ellie enjoy killing an innocent child. She broke down after torturing Nora and killing Mel, a pregnant woman, but sure, murdering Lev would be so "badass" of Ellie. Ugh. [1/2]

These are the same people who claim Abby is a sociopath and then they cheer at edits of Ellie murdering a child with ease. Every day I am more convinced some fans never cared about Ellie beyond her being Joel's daughter/sidekick, and that TLOU2's message of all-consuming hate and bias is more accurate than people give it credit for. Anyways, sorry for the long message. I appreciate your takes on this game and the TLOU community on tumblr is a breath of fresh air compared to other places. [2/2] (To make it a bit easier to answer I put your asks together) I don't think it's oversensitive to be aware of how horrendous some of the "fans" treat the women of the last of us. It can be annoying and upsetting to see. Ellie became the headstrong woman she is because of Ashley. She took a character that was initially going to be a basic sidekick type and made her into this feral little badass that was ready to say everyone she could. Part One is good because of that, they were able to make this world seem real and these characters alive because there is, among all the desolation and hopelessness, a child who not only has the cure for humanity, but still believes in a world long gone, one that is worth her time. That extends to Joel, not just the cure. Ellie is loved because she was smart, and reliable, and like she did for Joel, she grows on you. Yet she is still a product of that world, she has to fight for those things. That means fighting to survive. People forget that in this world that these characters exist in, most people don't derive pleasure from killing each other. Even Joel expresses his dislike of it, but he has to. If he is going to survive and keep his loved ones safe, he's going to fucking do it. We see that in his conversation with Tommy. Ellie isn't running around Seattle killing swaths of people for fun (and I'll point out depending on your game play style she doesn't have to) she's not killing Abby's crew for fun either. Jordan was to save Dina, Nora was her attempt to embody Joel and it visibly breaks her, Owen and Mel was brought on by high tension and panic and resulted in her feeling deep guilt. Holding a knife to Lev's throat (something done out of pure desperation for this pain to end) probably fucked her up too. Sitting in the water, thinking about how that could have been her and Joel at one point. Going after Abby was a twisted mockery of "after everything I've done it can't be for nothing" yes she has a loving partner and family, but she hasn't healed, Tommy hasn't healed and two broken people feeling hopeless doesn't mean they will enjoy the suffering, it means that if this Abby is dead, they'll heal. We saw Abby go through that process and we know, it doesn't. I say this often, but there are folks who love these games because they want a simple black and white Harry Wormwood view of the world " I'm smart; you're dumb. I'm big; you're little. And there's nothing you can do about it." There always is something you can do. That something will always take a lot of growth, and an active effort to want to grow. Joel changes, he grows. As does Abby. As will Ellie. When you play a series, you are going on a journey with this characters, not everyone wants to go on that journey. Unfortunately these people are vocal about it, even still. Which says more about them than anything. Life is easier when you put things into a binary, because you don't have to think about nuance, you don't have to view things as they truly are, you have your good vs bad outlook and you keep your head down at any sign that the world isn't that easy. Some people don't want to face that complexity. You play as these characters, but no one knows them better than the team that brought them to life. Joel was traumatized and that manifested in this anti-hero type that the some people love to play. But his character is more complex than that, the world he operates in is. Broken people always are. thanks for the ask anon, and for being patient with my response. Luckily we have a chill group here and there's always a place to discuss

elements of the game respectfully

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

Uppast's Cats Tour Comments: Act 1

note: i'm referring to the cats by their show names, however I may use the actor's name for a specific comment!

Overture

They did this SO well! I definitely missed seeing the cast in the aisles, but they projected the green eyes onto the stage, and it was the perfect amount of creepy/weird/hypnotizing.

I absolutely love the lights slowly being raised while shining all the spotlights, it sets the vibe PERFECTLY

also saying this now: the orchestra was incredible!

Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats

right off the bat, we’ve a super sweet Demestrap moment, with Munkustrap checking on Demeter after the car! It was adorable!

Devon's voice is SO good for Munkustrap, also the man is TALL OH MY GOD

Tugger didn't get his "can you say of your bite that it's worse than your bark" line, which I was a little disappointed about. However, Zach as Bill Bailey is absolutely 10/10.

Brianna… the babiest Sillabub… so precious... so small...

There were some Victor and Gus moments, with them either standing near each other or sharing looks/touches, so if anyone ships them, y'all got your rarepair moment!

THE BOOT WAS SO LOUD LMAO

They use the set so well!

The Naming of Cats

creepy, wonderful, everything I want from this number

A handful of the cats got right to the edge of the stage where the lighting was, so they were all glowing, and it was the BEST vibe.

Taylor was staring into my soul during the last verse so now I can say I've been vibe-checked by Coricopat.

Invitation to the Jellicle Ball

Hyla is the PERFECT Victoria!!!!! She's so incredibly graceful, she had the sweetest expression on her face, and ugh it was flawless.

Paul is also just an amazing Mistoffelees.

Munkustrap had literally the sweetest moment with Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer and I almost started crying. Right before Jennyanydots' song, when everyone's getting into place, Mungo and Rumple immediately went to Munkustrap and were cuddling his legs, and he gave them pets, and just oh my god T_T

Gumbie Cat

OKAY SO I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE KITTEN SQUAD SO MUCH MY HEART

When everyone's setting up for Jennyanydots' song, after the nuzzles, the lights start to switch, and the kitten squad was trying to catch the lights on the ground while Munkustrap was looking at them with the fondest expression and i swear i cried a little bit over how cute they were.

SKIMBLE LOVES HIS WIFE SO MUCH AND WAS HELPING HER GET THE KITTENS INTO THEIR MICE COSTUMES

Plato, Alonzo, and Mungojerrie were great cockroaches, 10/10

The Gumbie Trio was so good! Their voices sounded amazing together, and they were all just having so much fun!

SO MUCH MAMA JELLY AND SON TUMBLE I FEEL SO HAPPY

I'm going to go more in-depth in my Kitten Squad post!

Rum Tum Tugger

The way Zach said "Who will it be?" was absolutely amazing, i loved it, 10/10 character introduction.

Jennyanydots stomped off when he interrupted her accolades, she was very upset.

Zach and Devon nailed Tugger and Munkustrap's sibling dynamic PERFECTLY, Devon was the best Tired Older Brother Munkus.

Yeah, this number pretty much confirmed Zach as my favorite Tugger.

Mistoffelees and Cassandra did some lounging together in the background on the car.

Chelsea's Bomba is absolutely *chef's kiss*, I adore her

Obviously Tugger and Mistoffelees did their little dance, and it was wonderful. I'm not sure if other shows had Mistoffelees do this, but he went between Tugger's legs at the end of his little solo and Tugger was just vibing.

MY FAVORITE MOMENT THOUGH had to be near the end of the song, Munkustrap was 100% getting into it, and Tugger went over to him and was teasing him, poking him, and it was the cutest brother interaction.

They did have the camera! Zach did some very Tugger poses, and it was great.

Grizabella the Glamour Cat

haha Tugger went to hide behind the metal bars on the furthest side of the stage away from Grizabella, I'm in ✨pain✨

Sillabub goes to touch Grizabella, Grandpa Skimble pulls her back and starts scolding her, I want to hug the baby.

No, but I did really love that moment. It's off to the side, but you can see him giving her a talking to, and she's trying to say something back, but he's very firm.

Mungojerrie egged George on to scratch Grizabella, George sweetie don't be mean.

Taylor has such a perfect voice for Grizabella, and I loved her look!

OKAY SO LAUREN AND CHELSEA'S VOICES

Lauren's voice is so smooth and suave, and Chelsea's voice has a little growl that almost made me pass out, like ma'am i'm in love? But their voices mixed together, as well as how slightly different they are was such a great choice, and I kind of hope that other future productions take note and have two actresses with vastly different vocals for Demeter and Bombalurina.

Bustopher Jones

Mistoffelees and Victoria go to great Bustopher together and it was the cutest thing, they were so excited to see him!

Munkustrap immediately grabbing Mungo and Rumple by the necks and steering the gremlins away from the Very Important Cat.

Tugger was keeping watch so Munkustrap could be silly with everyone else during Bustopher's number, and that's not something I'm forgetting. Usually, obviously, Munkustrap's sort of in the background, standing, watching, and not really interacting. But Tugger switched places, and was up on the scaffolding watching, and it was CUTE!

My Tuggandra crumbs, thank you Zach and Lexy, I'm indebted to you both.

Tugger literally was just lounging on the car during the end of Bustopher's song, just waving his arms around, and I love him.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

Elana (Teazer for this show) had the PERFECT Rumple giggle!

They're so silly, I love them

They made the best facial expressions, especially when Mungo "stole" Rumple's pearls.

Very dramatic gremlin twins, jumping all over the place, not caring about anything!

They were so confident at the end of their song when they went to walk off, and immediately went into "oh shit" mode when Munkus, Plato, and Alonzo came out.

Run through the legs of Munkus! See Munkus, this is why you need to not stand with your legs apart when you're attempting to control kittens.

Old Deuteronomy

Saying it again, Devon and Zach are SUCH a good Munkustrap and Tugger.

The babies were so excited to see Old Deut! They could barely contain themselves, and then got cuddles! (Also Tanto was with the kittens and i love that for her, let her be a kitten!! I definitely got "big brother Cori/little sister Tanto" vibes)

Everyone's getting Deut nuzzles!!

Tugger did a VERY dramatic shimmy at his dad, and Deut laughed, and I cried.

Tugger and Munkustrap standing on either side of their dad!!!! He's so proud of them!!

Jellicle Ball

Sillabub was hiding on top of the oven before the Ball, sweet baby T_T

George got to sing with Old Deut!! Happy boy!!

TUMBLE FLIPS TUMBLE FLIPS TUMBLE FLIPS

Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks being the Supervisors!!

There was a really sweet Jellylorum and Alonzo moment (def going to talk more about it in the Alonzo post), but my "Jellylorum is Alonzo, Tumble, and Pounce's Mom" hc is feeling SO VALIDATED TONIGHT

I've said this so many times, but I adore that Plato and Victoria get their own little solo before their Big Solo. It's so sweet, and Hyla and Adam have wonderful chemistry!

Tugger chases Bomba offstage before The Moment, and I love that for them

CUDDLE PILE!!!

Munkustrap and Demeter cuddled together in the corner away from the pile and I want to sob because they were just so sweet, her head was on his shoulder, and he was holding her, and literally everyone in this show has such good chemistry with each other.

Tugger looks up with the psychic twins during Grizabella's reveal, once again making me think that Tugger and Munkustrap have magic like their brother.

OH AND TUGGER DID THE STUPIDEST LITTLE DANCE WHERE HE WAS SHAKING HIS BUTT AND HAVING FUN AND MUNGOJERRIE LAUGHED AT HIM AND THEY HAD A MOMENT AND IT WAS GREAT

Memory

ouch ouch ouch

Jennyanydots blocks the stairs up to Deut's tire so Grizabella can't go to Deut, my heart

steering the babies away from Grizabella even though Silla wants to give her a hug.

Taylor you hurt me in the best way possible

I always get emotional over Grizabella's dance before her song, it's such a telling moment, but unfortunately I don't think everyone understands that it's supposed to be a serious moment and not funny.

Deut sits on his tire the entire song and it's HEARTBREAKING

At the very end, Grizabella does the reaching back, and Deut reaches forward, and if you're sitting in the right spot it looks like they're touching and i'm NOT OKAY

[bamfdaddio]

X-Men Abridged: 1979

The X-Men, those globe-trotting mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. Want to unravel this tapestry? Then read the Abridged X-Men!

(X-Men 117 - 128, X-Man Annual 3) - by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Terry Austin, George Perez

See Jean? Dark Phoenix is nothing: this is how you turn evil properly. (X-Men 123)

So, these things have been getting longer. Whoops.

Last year, plotlines tended to bleed over in one another, but this year is a lot more arc-based, jumping from location to location. This is basically X-Men: World Tour. After hitting Antarctica and the Savage Land, our team of merry mutants visits Japan, Canada, Egypt, Scotland and even a theme park! (And really, both Murder World and Disney Land are run by capitalist scumbags who pretend to be in it for the art, the only difference being that Arcade purposefully murders his guests.)

But, before we check in with the X-Men, we return to the Institute. See, there’s a mutual misunderstanding that wouldn’t be out of place in a Shakespearian tragedy: Jean and Charles think Beast and Jean were the only survivors of their fight with Magneto in Antarctica, while the rest of the X-Men believe they were the only survivors and Jean and Beast perished. Since the X-Men have been trapped in the Savage Land, nobody has been able to clear up the confusion.

With their grief driving a wedge between her and Charles, Jean leaves the mansion to deal with her feelings on her own. (She’ll end up on Muir Isle.)

This is adorable! And, if the whole "Empress of the known Universe "-thing blows up in her face, she can always become a barista at Starbucks. (X-Men 117)

Lilandra successfully persuades Xavier to leave Earth as her consort, now that there is nothing left for him. Xavier agrees, but not before having a flashback to the time he met another telepath named Amahl Farouk in Egypt. (The Shadow King isn’t relevant just yet, but he’ll become an important villain later on.)

The X-Men, meanwhile, cross a treacherous ocean on a raft and are picked up by a Japanese vessel. The Japanese do not allow them to call anyone, for some reason. Sure. When they finally dock in Japan - six weeks later - some arms dealer named Magnum Moses has put Agarishima is on fire. Like, literally an inferno of such big proportions that even Storm can’t do much.

What follows is an uninspired, slipshod adventure. For some reason, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing are there too, because the president needed American detectives to investigate Magnum Moses (?) and for some reason, Misty doesn’t know Jean thinks Scott is dead, nor does she mention she just saw Jean to Scott. AUGH. It will take almost a year for Scott to figure out Jean isn’t dead and it becomes increasingly more contrived. I get that Claremont needed to isolate Jean to make her susceptible to, er, a certain someone’s machinations, but holy fuck do I have to suspend my disbelief for all of this bullshit.

The only good things about this little arc are:

Sunfire is still a dick.

Wolverine meets Mariko Yashida, a Japanese girl who actually reciprocates his feelings, as opposed to Jean. I’ve mostly been ignoring his budding feelings for Jean, because I stopped finding love triangles interesting since I was 16 and watched The OC, so I can only applaud this development. Mariko brings out Wolverine’s soft side and it’s very adorable. Later on, she moves to NYC for some reason and they start dating.

There is something sweetly disarming about calling Wolverine ‘beautiful’. (X-Men 120)

Anyway, Magnum is holding Japan hostage: either they give him what he wants - I think that might be money, sorry, wasn't paying attention - or he sinks Japan by activating the fault lines and you guys, I am sooo bored. Unsurprisingly, the X-Men stop him and for once, it’s Banshee who gets to play the most important part.

It’s a good thing I was terrible at science, otherwise I might have to point out that earthquakes and sonic waves don’t work that way! I simply get to be entertained by little rascal Colossus, plugging his ears like a toddler, and Sunfire’s gritty determination to not be impressed by some silly screaming Irishman. (X-Men 119)

Banshee pays a steep price for the victory, however: his vocal chords end up damaged, leaving him effectively powerless for the remainder of the year.

Oh, and here’s interesting fact about the above spread: you may or may not know that Chris Claremont and John Byrne were notoriously terrible at working together; this issue became a particular sore point between the creators. See, Byrne wanted to run the above panel without the sound of ‘Kra-Koom’, believing the art was strong enough to convey the destruction. He was livid when the finished product ended up containing a sound effect after all. I get your frustration, man, but if you want a writer who knows how to say less with more, you should maybe not work with Claremont?

(One of the reasons Claremont liked being so verbose and descriptive in his scripts was because otherwise, the artist would fill in the blanks using his own imagination. It’s no wonder these two found it hard to work together.)

On the flight to the US of A, Colleen Wing hits on Cyclops. It has to be the jawline, right? It can’t be the personality. All of a sudden, a snow storm causes their plane to be diverted to Calgary. The cause of this delay is Alpha Flight, who want their Wolverine back!

When even the narration is all “and they think they’re equal to any team of superheroes”, you know you’re a bunch of C-listers. Ugh. (X-Men 121)

Vindicator, previously known as Captain Alpha. He changed his name after accidentally shooting Moira that one time, which is exactly the kind of hollow gesture this dude would make. Ugh. If you think his new-found remorse won’t let him threaten an airplane chock full of innocent passengers, you would be wrong.

Shaman, doctor by day, magic user by night. Him and his magical little pouch are to blame for the snow storm.

Sasquatch, Canada’s answer to the Hulk. (Hilariously, the theory on why he turns furry instead of green is because he’s closer to the Aurora Borealis and this somehow messes with the radiation?)

Snowbird, a young Arctic goddess. Precious. To be cherished. Barely there for this adventure, sadly.

Northstar, an arrogant, hot-headed speedster, the twin brother of

Aurora, a lover, not a fighter. Together, they have light powers.

Vindicator and Shaman hog most of the spotlight, so Alpha Flight continues to be the ever-loving worst. They’re really wasting Northstar’s first appearance here. Here's why they suck:

Alpha Flight accidentally smashes a plane and keeps threatening to drag Wolverine back to the military against his will.

They push the cover price of the comic to a whoppin’ 40 cents.

Johnny fuckin’ Hudson even provokes Storm into an attack in the middle of a mall.

Shaman lets his blizzard get out of control.

After Storm fixes this mistake for him, Northstar has the gall to knock her out, “because she’s obviously the strongest”. Like, you’re not wrong, but damn, y’all a bunch of unpleasant superheroes.

To stop the fight, Wolverine decides to turn himself in. The X-Men leave, but while flying back, they already make plans to save their teammate. Wolverine saves them the trouble, casually sauntering into the cockpit while claiming that pulling a fast one on them was the easiest thing ever.

To be fair, I understand why you’d want to put a country between yourself and those bozos.

And finally, the X-Men are home! Xavier left them the equivalent of a Post-It saying “off to space”, so they try to pick up their life as best they can. None of them contact Jean’s parents, make an attempt to visit her grave or happen to see Beast on TV and by now, my suspension of disbelief is stretched so far that it could replace Reed Richards on the Fantastic Four.

Ororo, meanwhile, makes a little pilgrimage to Harlem, to the building she grew up in before she moved to Cairo.

I have failed you as a recapper, because I have absolutely no idea how to parse this scene. (X-Men 122)

I think I’d have to write a full-on thesis before I could properly analyse this, because so many things intersect here: poverty and racism, the boundaries of a superhero comic, confronting a (shared) past. I can’t even fully gauge if this is a clumsy, privileged attempt at tackling a serious topic or rather, a valuable moment in a comic that continually tries to expand on its themes of racism, exclusion and prejudice. One thing I will note is:

Luke Cage delivers the sort of trite conclusion that they’re superheroes: they’re better at fighting Galactus than at fixing the human condition. Point is, he kind of has to believe that, doesn’t he? It’s the sort of blind spot we all permit ourselves: you can’t fix everything. None of us have the power to fix the earth, or humanity, or the economy, or whatever: if you’re lucky, you can maybe tend to your own garden and leave it better than you found it, ensuring some happiness for yourself and a few loved ones.

Chasing bank robbers is easy. Superhero stuff. But here? Who do you attack here? These kids, or the system that failed them? You can’t really punch a needle exchange into being. Maybe that’s the appeal of superhero comics: there’s a clear villain, which is so sorely lacking in our day to day lifes. There, we are ruled by systems that are rooted in inequality, patriarchy, gender...

But Storm isn’t like Luke Cage, not in this regard. Before she became an X-Man, she used her powers to help people that came to her. And the whole point of the X-Men - other than beating up villains in colorful spandex - is that they want to change the system. They want to fix things, they want to fix a dark part of human nature, the part that hates which we fear.

Storm doesn’t really respond to Luke Cage here, but we know she’ll keep fighting the good fight, despite insurmountable odds. You can’t fix mankind, I don’t think, but you can sure as hell try.

*coughs*

Anyway!

Black Tom and Juggernaut hire Arcade… to kill the X-Men! I’m not sure why? I thought these two usually attempted to solve things on their own and Arcade’s fee is, like, a million bucks, so…? Maybe Black Tom asked his boyfriend what he wanted for his birthday and Juggernaut clenched his fists and said “I WANT THE X-MEN DEAD” and things escalated from there.

So, Arcade is a subtle villain. While Scott and Colleen Wing are on a date, this happens:

I can’t decide which is funnier: kidnapping people by sneaking up on them with A GARBAGE TRUCK or the fact that Spider-Man deduces this is Arcade’s doing by the noise alone. (X-Men 123)

Spider-Man doesn’t really figure into the rest of the plot, by the way.

Arcade successfully kidnaps all of the X-Men (and their dates: Colleen, Amanda and Betsy). Who is this Arcade? Well, he is an assassin who lets his victims run through a gauntlet of some sort, testing them with potentially deadly results in his Murderworld. He’s like a discount-combo of Saw and the Joker, except a lot less competent and a lot more spoiled rich kid. He barely kills anyone, ever, until maaaybe Avengers Arena, some forty years later.

Arcade veers heavily to the silly side of the silly-to-sinister scale, but he at least commits to a theme. Bonus is that trapping your heroes in a bunch of ricocheting balls fubars them ever-so beautifully. (X-Men 123)

This whole adventure is very silly and has very little bearing on the overarching plot, but it’s a fun enough romp: Cyclops nearly gets squashed by a hydraulic press, Nightcrawler gets attacked by bumper cars with chain saws attached to them, stuff like that. The absolute best part is when Colossus is hypnotized by an illusion of the KGB and becomes THE PROLETARIAN.

His insignia is Vladimir Lenin, y’all.

After various shenanigans, everybody is freed from their respective booby traps, everyone except Colossus. See, Piotr has been feeling down, torn between the exciting new loyalty to the X-Men and the more dutiful loyalty to his family and his motherland. (Also, he’s been feeling like a failure because he came up short a couple a times, aw.) Those feelings are exactly what Arcade has been abusing, but when Colossus comes in for the kill, Storm gives the most heartfelt plea:

I’m not crying, you’re crying. (X-Men 124)

Arcade’s all: “Eh, can’t win ‘em all” and yeets the X-Men out of Murderworld. The story has barely any other repercussions, except we stop seeing Colleen Wing and Betsy (Piotr’s date) after this. To be fair, being kidnapped by a super villain is a good reason to stop seeing someone.

Even more inconsequential is the adventure in the Annual. The only important thing to glean from there is that, when Thor is unavailable, Storm is a suitable substitution. Couldn’t agree more.

The quality of the comic has been steadily ascending throughout the year and ends on a supremely high note: Proteus. Because I think it might be Claremont’s best work so far, I’ll be dedicating a full post to that. (Man, that 10-picture-limit is a real bummer, huh?)

Ugliest Costume: I don’t care, I just want someone to cosplay the Proletarian.

Best new character: There’s actually a few options - Snowbird, Northstar, Proteus - but both Jean-Paul and Narya don’t really show their best sides this year, so I’m going in a different direction. My pick is the Shadow King. He is a very effective foil to Xavier, perhaps even moreso than Magneto. I know I rag on Xavier and his cavalier attitude to bending others to his will a lot, but imagine if you had his powers: wouldn’t you just make people do whatever you want? Just, like, all the time? The Shadow King is an effective reminder of what Charles would have been like, had he been immoral. (Well, more immoral.)

No matter how cool your psychic battle may be, this is what it looks like to the rest of the world. (X-Men 117)

Turns evil: Colossus, for the first time!

What to read: 117, 125 - 129.

[babylion]

Take your time but….. when the time comes I can’t wait to hear your opinion on the album

HEY! im just writing my thoughts down as we go

why does fire alarm instrumental sound like smth 2nd gen gg would do 0_0 love what the vocalists are doing in the prechorus!! WHO MADE THAT HOO noise its so funky lol renjun his voice ugh everything until cl sounds good everything after is …. a choice

glitch mode so basically marks verses went to the other……….rappers……..or whatever theyre called…….. anyway the song is alright the dance makes it really fun also the mmm mmms are nice haech's there was no you there was no me is the best part are we surprised .will be anticipating repack <3

arcade i had my eyes on her since the medley. yessss haech to mark pipeline in the beginning that’s a good indicator 2 me mark suits this song so well the production 4 this song is a lil tew good relax

its yours the chorus is a miss its not even cute its annoying actually the verses are mediocre too HAECHAN IN 2:33 ?? thank you our saviour LHC mk adlibbing near the end i giggled

teddy bear lol 0:32 the whole vibe broke off uh some voices are just not meant to be im so serious anyway hearing haech angel voice so were good love when i can mainly hear haech in chorus 🥺 second verse when mks part ended 😁🪓🪓🪓🪓 3:29 that was a nice touch anyway yessssss nct dream (mark haechan chenle)

ok replay HELP haech in the beginning reminded me of that edit of him singing boyfriend by btr sighhhhhhhhh SIGHHHHHHH mark step the hell up why are you just AWing and OHing me 😭 the 2nd chorus is hitting bridge to last chorus build up. that ot7 moment nice 👍

saturday drip thank you mark i love how jm sounds like he doesn’t want to be there . why is he there. (dont answer me.) the contrast is so….ugly lmao js in chorus sounds solid and mark 2:14 u tire me out god anyway happy for u 3j rapper enthusiasts. otherwise skipping after mk intro

better than gold now ahhh i love haech starting off songs what an interesting prechorus im not even mad at it vocal line in the last chorus I HEAR MARK IN THE BACK !! shes quite cute >3<

drive love the chorus it reminds me of those charity tv ads esp the 2nd half of the chorus anyway moving on Mark Vocalist a hit moment oh aw mark im happy when i hear u… its literally like im digging for gold rn bro </////3

nvr goodbye blease cl made me have high expectations but this song is making me snooze the beginning was cute i think the chorus sounds kind of gimmicky(?) but i will be making a trip 2 mkhc_mp3 i need their service

rewind is a good way to end the album! well i thought the instrumental in the beginning was good maybe i spoke too fast… i like everyones delivery in this song (kind of) the climbs in the song were rly nice wow but hm. idk how 2 feel abt the song as a whole

overall, none of the songs quite stick out to me tbh also um real question just bc you can. should you??????? teddy bear & arcade top 2 & ill be keeping arcade teddy bear replay better than gold drive and nvr goodbye

tldr mark n haechan thank U i love U did U know?

[angelic-serenade]

Alastor + disaster cook! S/O

headcanons

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

gif, original work and characters do not belong to me

you could not cook to save your life

any attempt at cooking would result in certain failure in the best case scenario and 5.4 magnitude earthquake damage in the worst

sure, you could make edible pasta and if you really put your best efforts into it, acceptable omelette too

but anything past that level of complexity was simply out of your league, a lost cause to put it mildly

don't you even think about making a cake, that shit's dangerous

as they say: as above so below

when you landed in Hell and found yourself joining the Happy Hotel soon after, you came to find out your culinary skills had not magically improved

which is quite ironic since Charlie had made you head chef of the hotel

the string of curses which had left your lips upon hearing the news had been legendary, even for Hell

you adored the demon princess with your whole heart (or whatever was left of it anyway), bUT REALLY CHARLIE? YOU DO NOT GIVE A GUN TO A CHILD AND EXPECT CASUALTIES NOT TO HAPPEN

at this point you were certain she was subconsciously auto-sabotaging

either way, you didn't have the heart to tell her no, so you decided to put your heart and soul into trying to learn how to properly cook, which didn't turn out to be the ideal choice of words since you were in Hell and your soul was probably rotten to the core

at least, nobody could say you hadn't tried your damn best

and hey! some days your cooking hadn't even been completely sickening

you decided to stick to easy, “safe” dishes though, you know, just to be sure

so pasta and eggs were definitely a thing

a constant and repetitive thing to be precise

you were trying your best, okay? nobody in your place with your limited set of skills would have taken the job, but you did and you deserved recognition for that feat alone

or a fucking donkey hat for your skyrocketing dumbness levels

things were not so bad at first

both Charlie and Vaggie were very supportive, each one of them in their own way - even though you had totally seen Charlie trying to swallow pure unadulterated fear that one time you had announced you wanted to try to cook something more elaborate

Angel Dust on the other hand... hadn't been as considerate as to lie to your face about what he thought of your cooking

"fuck me doll, this shit's disgusting"

*insert the I don't have friends they disappoint me vine here*

Vaggie had proceeded to give Angel quite the earful while Charlie tried her best to cheer you up

you went full hermit mode on them for two days after that

you were proud of yourself, handling criticism so well

anyway, the cycle kept repeating, with the only difference that most days Angel would grab something to eat outside of the hotel and join you during meals only to blankly stare at the plates and silvery

Charlie had tried to shield you from the truth, but you weren't that stupid

you respected Angel's choice, really, you did, and you had decided to be the bigger person among the two

that's why you began to put a lil bit of laxative into his portions whenever he decided to grace your efforts and actually eat your "disgusting cooking"

y’know just to spicy things up a little

at least now he had a valid reason to complain

with the whole fiasco on live TV and the sudden and suspicious appearence of the one and only Radio Demon at your doorstep, however, things started going haywire

Alastor's presence was eeirly demanding and unsettlingly charmimg at the same time

so it was only natural for you to gravitate the fuck away from him whenever you could

you always acted politely, greeting him whenever you bumped into him through the corridors of the hotel, but you only went as far as to appear courteous because you didn't want for him to go Hannibal Lecter on you. thanks, no thanks

“and what can you do my feminine fellow?”

“I can suck your dick!”

you had snorted a bit at that which immediately shifted the strawberry pimp's attention to yourself

“and what about you, pretty dame? I take it you're in charge of the kitchens around here?”

dressed in your chef attire, you were going to meekly answer him, but before you could, roaring laughter erupted in the room. it belonged to the one and only slutty spider you found oh so irritating

in the fraction of seconds, Alastor snapped his neck at an unnatural angle to stare at the spider with a strained smile on his face

needless to say, the cursed image would forever haunt your traumatized psyche

“hasn't your mother taught you it is rude to interrupt a conversation which you have no part in? that just won't do!”

static filled the air and you feared you were going to implode if the heavy pressure didn't lift off soon enough, so you decided to take action

“ugh... yes, I'm the head chef! but, well, I... could actually use some practice and proper training?”

you hated how uncertain you sounded, but Angel's comments and your own dissatisfaction with your culinary products made you quite self-conscious about your skills

“don't fret your pretty little head about it, my dear! I, for one, am a culinary connaisseur and wonderful chef, if I do say so myself. I'll be ecstatic to guide you through your training!”

how you'd be able to handle his booming voice during hours and hours of practice was your first and main concern, but you had never been one to refuse the chance to finally prove the people who had criticized you wrong *cough cough* Angel Dust

since that day, Alastor began to personally give you cooking lessons

he was exuberant and pretty sly when it came to veiled jabs about your dreadful cooking, but he really took his time to help you out

which you had been both grateful and suspicious about

“now, we can't have our future patrons starving to death, can we?”

he was strangely patient and an overall good teacher too (emphasis on overall)

he guided you step by step through each dish, simultaneously showing off his own flawless culinary skills

you hated that you daily found yourself boosting his already GIGANTIC ego, but you couldn't help it. you could only dream about reaching that level of artistry in cooking

he always came up with creative recipes to test your limits and cooked for you in order to make you more familiar with different tastes. his mother’s were your favorites, jambalaya being his one true specialty 

he had blindfolded you once and proceeded to present you with various samples of spices, oilments and all kinds of food so that you could acquaint yourself with the smells and flavors of the ingredients and figure out yourself which ones would best suit a certain dish

saying you were hesitant at first was an understatement, because you know? being completely at the mercy of a sadistic serial killer who had terrorized the seven circles of hell? not even being able to see him? not on your bucket list

he had tried to ease your nervousness with the whole “if I wanted to hurt anyone here, I would have done so already” thing, but it was getting kind of old pretty fast

“if I had been one to play with fire, I'd have joined a circus”

he found your sense of humor as endearing your sheer presence

(when he rolled up his sleeves to cook, you felt like you could catch fire any minute, you were a slut for strong skinny arms) 

yes, Alastor had always loved to show off his own impeccable skills but he unexpectedly found himself enjoying the moments spent in your company too

he relished in seeing you fail again and again, but he also admired the way you always managed to bring yourself back up to your feet each time

he had yet to fully understand if it was foolishness or stubbornness to guide your steps

either way, you turned out to be his favorite form of entertainment in the hotel!

no matter how many slights would he send your way, you'd always manage to find an appropriate remark that made his permanent smile stretch a little more in sheer amusement

“oh dear, this beef is so undercooked one could still hear the poor beast’s lament”

“the only noise I hear is the obnoxious ramblings of an arrogant boomer”

he wasn't technically a boomer but it was always so satisfying to irk him with terms he had no knowledge of

during your cooking lessons, when the only thing left to do with a dish was wait and pray for the best, you'd come to talk about everything and anything

he'd talk to you about his precious New Orleans as he remembered it and you'd fill him in on recent historical/social developments of your time

he always looked so taken when you shared with him that modern knowledge and it made you feel useful for a change

it was, dare you say it, almost adorable how he'd ask you countless questions about your home town, the catastrophes of the last century and had there been any other war since his death?

the topic switches almost made you dizzy though

once or twice, when the timing allowed, he'd even indulge in a musical show to pass time

on the days your mood soured because of a particularly complicated recipe or bad result, he'd drag you along and dance until you were so distracted by the absurdness of the circumstances that you forgot about your previous sadness

with time, his musical shows became more frequent as he realized you'd always offer him a genuine smile after his flashy performances

it was out of personal indulgence, not because he liked the way his music always seemed to cheer you up

he'd not been vocal about the way he tried to comfort you, but you were grateful nonetheless

the first time you managed to succesfully complete one of his complicated recipes, you had almost cried

“now, now deary, under my watchful eye, it was only a matter of time until you'd finally blossom into a fine cook!”

“Alastor can I... can I hug you?”

and how could he say no to such an adorable expression? he found himself stunned into silence, not being able to tell you yes either, therefore you slowly came closer as if trying not to scare a wild animal away

when Alastor passively stood before you, not moving away, you wrapped your arms around him

he really was such a dorky noodle

he didn't relax into the hug, but he kept still as you relished in the moment and let the pressure you had hoarded for months now loose

Alastor proceeded to show off your dish during dinner and even Angel Dust could do nothing but shut up and dig in

The all powerful Radio Demon was simply so proud of your progress - not that he doubted you'd prevail in the end, thanks to his expertise and guidance

from that moment onward things only got better and even if you didn't necessarily need Alastor's help anymore, neither of you ever mentioned going your separate ways

you were both secretly glad for the silent agreement

friendly banter and dad jokes were a daily occurrence and with your new-found confidence in the field, you'd always bite back showing off new delicious dishes instead than words

you still had trouble every now and then, but Alastor was always there to help you out

not that you'd ever hear the end of it if you actually asked him for help

“what was that, my darling? is the mightiest chef in Hell having trouble in Paradise?”

you had noticed however that he'd started sneaking glances your way more than usual lately and he also started following you around wherever you went in the hotel. he became your shadow both inside and outside of the kitchen

the attention soon became unnerving, even more so when you'd go in the kitchen only find a different flower on the counter each morning

you came to realize that Alastor's advances were rather old fashioned, but you would amuse the dork and yourself for a while before taking charge

gifts became an ordinary occurrence as well as praise and you preferred not to think about what praise could do to you when it came from Alastor

he enjoyed your reactions to his flattering words a little too much, he had to admit

you had had enough of his childish antics one day and you decided to finally put your plan into action

“Al, can you come here for one sec?”

he wasn't particularly fond of the nickname, but you just loved to get under his skin as much as he did when it came to you

“what can I do for you, my darling chef?”

“here, I have a gift for you”

he looked uncharacteristically unsure of what to do but slightly amused as well. in the end curiosity took the best of him and he finally decided to open the box you had handed to him rather unceremoniously

“what is this dear?”

the apron you had chosen was a perfect fit for your long boi

“read it, please”

“kiss the cook? well, if you ask me so nicely, I just might have to”

he then proceeded to peck your cheek and you swore you could have fainted right there and then by the sheer sweetness of the gesture

it hadn't exactly been what you had planned, but you weren't going to complain

your relationship was bound to be full of surprises apparently

[out-of-jams]

One Chance || myg

(Amazing, incredibly badass banner made by @kimtaehyunq​ )

↠ One Chance ↞ Min Yoongi was a lot of things.

A musical genius, a guy with a bad reputation, your assigned partner for your final project.

And the last thing you ever would have expected.

Word Count: 7.4k

Warnings/Genre: College!au. Music producer!Yoongi x Singer!Reader. Fluff. Explicit language. Some angst. Mentions of alcohol. s2l. Oneshot.

A/n: Hey all you cool cats and kittens. Hope you’re all staying safe out there! I wasn’t intending to write this, but I had no other choice.

All of my works are purely fiction. Everything I write is my intellectual property and therefore belongs to me. ©out-of-jams. Do not copy or repost without permission.

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Min Yoongi.

The name stared up at you in size twelve font, black letters printed onto the white sheeted paper. Every other word on the page blurred around the edges as you tried to place a face to the name. You weren’t good with names, never had been. So with a sigh, you leaned to the side and mumbled to the girl sitting next to you in class.

“Hey, who’s Min Yoongi?”

She--Mira? Mina? something like that--glanced up from her portfolio opened up on the desk and shot you a disbelieving look. You couldn’t blame her, not really. It was nearing the end of the semester and your vocal class had worked with the music production class multiple times throughout the course of the year. Neither class was very big, so you probably should have known the names of all twenty students. Total. Ten in each class.

But hey, in your defense you’d had a lot on your plate, seeing as how you were about to graduate from university and all. Which was a pretty big deal, so memorizing the names of people you only saw a few times ever-so-often wasn’t high up on your list of priorities.

But Min Yoongi.

You recognized him the moment you saw the soft outline of his profile through the glass window of the studio door a day later. He had his attention trained on whatever was on his laptop screen, pale hand sliding across the mousepad. His dark brows were pinched in concentration and you could see the tip of his tongue digging into the side of his cheek.

Even though the overly-bright lights in the room were on, the guy still somehow managed to blend in with the slate grey walls. Hell, his icy blond hair was the only color to stand out amongst all the black clothing. The oversized hoodie and black joggers he wore looked comfortable, and had you glancing down at your own outfit self-consciously. Had the sweater, skirt and high heeled boots combo been too much? Should you have dressed down a little?

Whatever. It was too late now.

Watching him through the door made you feel like some kind of stalking creep, but you couldn’t help it.

You’d seen him around campus a few times and recognized him from whenever your classes joined together and was a little disappointed at yourself for not recognizing his name. Even though you'd never spoken a word to him before, you were a little apprehensive about being partnered together. Min Yoongi had a reputation, and not a very good one. Sure, he was talented at what he did, producing music, to the point where a lot of people in the music department called him a genius. But he was known for being standoffish. Rude. And could cut someone down with a few words from his naturally pouty lips.

You didn’t like to judge a book by its cover, or by the rumors that circulated about them. However, that did nothing for the intimidating aura that bled from the man like cologne the second you stepped foot into the room.

He didn’t even pause in whatever he was doing to spare you a glance. Just announced in a dry, rumbling voice, “You’re late.”

“Uh.” You hesitated halfway into the room, the door swinging shut behind you automatically. Two seconds in and he already hated you. Great. “Sorry. I got lost.”

That made him look up and watch as you pulled the only other rolling chair back from the desk and plopped down. God, his eyes were just as daunting as the rest of him: onyx in color and cat-like in shape, they were bottomless as he blinked at you lazily. And he slowly raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

“You got lost.” Yoongi repeated slowly. So sarcastically that you didn’t even hear a question mark at the end of it. “Aren’t you about to graduate? How are you still getting lost on campus?”

Your mouth opened and closed, embarrassed heat blossoming across your cheeks. You were blushing hard and you knew it, but that sure as hell didn’t mean that you had to acknowledge it. So you just sniffed and dug through your backpack for an excuse to break eye contact. “I haven’t been in here before.”

It was true. In a way. The hall of studios that you were in now were for the senior music production students. There was a completely different area for each year, but each student had their own assigned as theirs for the semester. So you weren’t lying when you said you hadn’t been to his exact studio before.

Which he seemed to catch on to, if the way Yoongi’s second eyebrow raised to join the first told you anything. But he let it go and turned back to shut his laptop, which you could now see was opened to a music production app. You weren’t very schooled on how to operate it, but even you could tell that he seemed to be very far into whatever it was he was making.

Though you didn’t get a good enough look at it before he closed it.

“Even though we have a month to do this, we should figure out what kind of song we’re making now instead of later.” Yoongi stated in that gruff voice of his and clicked a few things on his laptop. “Since you’re the one singing, you’ll be setting the tone--”

“Wait.” You interrupted.

Yoongi stopped whatever it was he was about to say to give you a blank look, the corners of his lips turned down. “What?”

Clearing your throat, you continued on despite the way his expression tried to cow you into shutting up. “How’re we splitting this up?”

A valid question. Not every person who created music worked in the same way. Some liked to do things a completely different way than somebody else might’ve. Last time you’d worked with one of the students from the music production class, the two of you had butted heads the whole way. He hadn’t wanted to hear your input at all, and you weren’t about to be shoved off to the side like some kind of un-opinionated mouthpiece again.

Yoongi made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like a hum. “I normally make the track and leave the lyrics up to the singer unless they need help.”

He looked at you from out of the corner of his eye as he clicked a few buttons on the keyboard in front of him to bring the giant monitor above the control panel to life. “Can you write?”

“Yes.” The word left your mouth before you could even think about it.

“Good. You’ll take care of that then.” Yoongi slid a blank yellow notepad into the empty space on the control panel between you. “Though we’ll need to do the melody before that.”

The next time the two of you met was almost a week later. It’d been sometime late in the afternoon when you both finally had time in your schedules. Because for some stupid reason, even though both of your classes were combined to work on the project, it had to be done outside of class.

Ugh.

As if you didn’t already have enough things to stress over. Like say, securing a job for after graduation.

During the first meeting between the two of you, you’d already decided on what kind of song you wanted to make. Something upbeat, but not over the top, though not boring either. You weren’t a huge fan of sounding like every other music artist out there and apparently Yoongi had felt the same. So it’d been easy to come up with.

He’d texted over a few ideas for the concept and you’d been pleasantly surprised at how serious he took it. At how complex and layered the ideas he’d come up with were. They were a lot better than anything you could have ever dreamed up and you were beyond astonished.

Especially when he met you outside of his studio door, blond hair was secured back off his forehead by a white headband,  and greeted you with, “I finished the track.”

“Already?” Shock was clear in your voice and you watched open mouthed as he unlocked the door and held it open for you to follow him inside. The lights flickered on overhead, but you were too busy staring at his back to notice. “That was quick, holy shit.”

Yoongi shrugged off your awe and wiggled the mouse to bring his computer to life. “It was no big deal. And now we can work on the melody.”

Still gaping at the blond, you shuffled forward to drop your bag next to your chair. “Okay. Um. Where should we start?”

Pulling out his chair, he sat down and lazily dragged the mouse over to open up his production software. “Listen to it first and let me know if you want to make any changes.”

“Yeah, okay.” You plopped down into your own chair and watched as he pressed play.

The music that poured from the expensive speakers started off slowly until it tapered off into what you assumed would be the first chorus. And you found yourself unconsciously tapping your fingers against your thigh when the bridge finally hit, you had to bite your lip to contain an excited smile. The moment it ended, you twisted in your chair to see that he was already looking at you. Though he kept his face blank, you could literally see question lingering behind those cat-like eyes of his.

“Mm.” You hummed, nodding your head and trying your damnedest to keep the grin from your face.

When you failed to say anything more, Yoongi raised his eyebrows. “Mm?”

“Mm.” You finally let the smile touch your lips. “I really liked it. It’s good.”

“Yeah?” He reached out to stop the track from replaying on a loop. “Any changes?”

“Nah. I like it just the way it is.”

“Alright.” Was what he responded with, but you could tell that he was pleased beneath that hard exterior of his. “The melody then.”

“The melody.” You agreed.

Min Yoongi was extremely anal when it came to anything he attached his name to.

That was probably why he had so many music companies vying for his attention. Not only did he produce nothing short of perfect tracks, but he’d even made some cash on the side selling some of them. Or so you’d heard through the grapevine.

Which was exactly why you were left staring at the blank notebook settled across your crossed legs. The pen in your hand had yet to put ink to the blank pages hours after you’d gotten home. All because some guy intimidated the hell out of you.

Most of the songs you wrote were fine. But that was the problem.  

Min Yoongi didn’t do fine. And you had no doubt in your mind that he’d tear your work to absolute shreds should you present him something lackluster. Maybe you shouldn’t have been so quick to jump the gun and tell him you’d be fine writing by yourself.

It was way too late now.

“How long are you going to stare like that?”

Snapping out of your self-degrading thoughts, you turned to look over your shoulder. Jennie, your ever present roommate, was standing behind the couch shoving spoonfuls of cereal into her mouth. By the lack of makeup on her face and the messy bun her long black hair was thrown up into, she was more than likely about to go to bed.

“Stare like what?” You asked with a poorly concealed pout, pulling out your earbuds that’d been playing the track on a constant loop.

“Like you’re constipated or something.” Jennie waved her spoon at you before dipping it back into the bowl to scoop up more soggy cereal. “Project really giving you that much trouble?”

She didn’t necessarily know exactly what was going on with you, not exactly. Sure, she knew that you were partners with Yoongi and had been spending a lot of time with the man for the project. But she didn’t know just how much pressure you were under. Self-inflicted or not.

“These lyrics are kicking my ass.” Groaning, you leaned to the side until you were sprawled out on the couch.

“Why?” Jennie rested her arms against the back of it, bowl of milk and cereal hovering over you dangerously. “They don’t normally.”

She had a point. It wasn’t usually so difficult to write a damn song, but you also didn’t usually have a perfectionist genius as a partner. Instead of saying that though, you just threw your arms over your face. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just not cut out for this, ‘ya know? I should drop out while I still can.”

“O-kay.” You could hear her exasperated eye roll. “Don’t stress so much about it. You know, whenever you’re done being overdramatic.”

Jennie successfully dodged the couch pillow you chucked after fleeing footsteps. A buzz from your phone had you reaching for it blindly and the text on the screen had you burying your face into the cushions.

Min Yoongi: you free tomorrow?

Y/n: yeah. Same time?

His response came in not even five seconds later.

Min Yoongi: works for me

“So, see you tomorrow?” The question left your lips as you packed your stuff back into your bag. You still hadn’t been able to come up with any lyrics. At least none good enough to show your partner. So while you’d both been in the studio, you’d busied yourself trying to write and Yoongi had been doing whatever it was that he did.

He’d just powered down the computer he’d been working on and shook his head without looking at you. “I can’t tomorrow. I have plans.”

“Oh, really?” That came as a surprise. The fact that there was something or someone out there that could force the Min Yoongi to ditch working on a song. “What kind of plans?”

Ever since you’d showed up with food two weeks ago, he’d been a little more amicable towards you. Not as closed off. Which, of course, only led to you bringing some with you every day. Maybe food being the way to a man’s heart really applied to every man. Nonetheless, with the way the two of you would banter back and forth without heat made you hope that it wasn’t just you who considered him a friend.

Yoongi paused, only for a moment, but he paused all the same in throwing his bag over his shoulder before he answered. “I...have a show.”

“A show?” Your eyebrows raised in surprise as you stood up. That was the last thing you would have expected to leave his mouth. “What kind of show?”

“It’s not the type of show you’d want to watch.” He headed for the door and you scrambled to follow after him.

Leaning against the wall while he locked up the door, you folded your arms across your chest. “Why? You a stripper or something?”

Yoongi didn’t even spare you a look, just pocketed his keys and started down the hallway, apparently assuming that you’d follow. “You saying I wouldn’t be a good stripper?”

He’d assumed correctly. Your legs raced to catch up. “I never said that. You insinuated that all by yourself.”

An amused scoff passed his lips, but that was all you got in response. You weren’t about to letter the matter drop though. “So, are you?”

“Am I what?”

“A stripper.”

A pause. And then Yoongi met your sparkling gaze and shook his head with a huffing laugh. “No, I’m not a stripper.”

“Well, if your show isn’t anything rated NC-18, then can I go?”

“Why would you want to go?”

His question had you sending him a hesitant look. “Because we’re friends, aren't we?”

A heavy sigh escaped him. “If I say no, will you stop asking?”

You pretended to think for a minute before clicking your tongue. “Nope.”

He looked over at you, feline eyes squinting in contemplation. As much as Min Yoongi liked to act like he came across as aloof, he was a lot easier to read than he probably thought. And he must have found whatever it was he was looking for, because his thoughtful pout turned into a careless shrug.

“Whatever. Fine.”

“Sweet.” You grinned up at him and finally let him go on his merry way.

It was difficult to find a parking spot. You’d had to loop around the block at least ten times before you were finally able to squeeze your car into a space between two giant SUVs. The spot wasn’t exactly close to where you were supposed to meet Yoongi, but it was the best you could do.

When he’d texted you the address, you’d be lying if you said that you weren’t a little apprehensive at first. It was located on the outskirts of downtown where you’d never been before. Because the further out you went from the center of the city, the more dangerous it got.

Y/n: I’m here.

You sent the text off to Yoongi and cut the car engine. Throwing a glance at the clock on the dash, you silently thanked yourself for leaving a bit early in order to get there in time. The sun had long gone down and the moon had taken its place, so the streets were dark. Only lit up by the street lamps and lights that bled from apartment windows. Most of the businesses were closed for the night, the corner store half a block down was the only one still open.

You had about six blocks to walk and was just about to get out of your car when your phone started vibrating in your hand.

“Hello?” You answered the call, voice pitched with barely concealed amusement.

“Where are you?” Yoongi’s voice was even deeper over the phone, if that were possible. And you could hear the sounds of cars driving past him in the background.

You rolled your eyes even though he wasn’t there to see it. “I told you that I’m here.”

He sighed into the phone and you just knew that he was making a face. “Where is ‘here’ exactly?”

“Like, parked a few blocks away.” You popped your car door open, turning back to the passenger seat to grab your bag. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be there.”

“Stay where you are.” Yoongi demanded and you raised an eyebrow. “I’ll come get you.”

“You don’t have to.” You huffed a laugh. “I have two legs, ‘ya know.”

“Really? Never noticed.” In the background, voices blended in with the sound of cars. “This neighborhood isn’t exactly the safest. So just tell me where you are so I can make sure you don’t get stabbed or something.”

“‘Stabbed or something?’” It was difficult to hide your amusement now, but you obeyed and got back inside your car anyway, letting him know what street you were on. “My knight in shining armor, you say the most romantic things.”

Yoongi rolled his eyes. You knew he did. “Nevermind. Maybe I’ll just let you get stabbed while I make my escape.”

The bark of laughter that left you was impossible to contain. “I could run faster than you and you know it. So try me.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Yeah okay. You wouldn't--”

A click told you that yes, he would. And you were left staring down at your phone with open mouthed disbelief. How dare he? You were just about to call him back and tell him as much, when a knock on your car window had you jumping with a small shriek.

Yoongi stood right outside your door with his fist still raised and a gummy grin on his pouty lips. You just stuck your tongue out at him childishly and grabbed your bag before slipping out of your car. “You’re a bully.”

He slid his hands into the pockets of his dark colored jeans and shrugged. “Would a bully walk all the way over here to make sure you don’t get robbed?”

Now it was your turn to shrug, taking him in and pretending not to see his onyx eyes slide down your body. Yoongi was dressed casually like usual. With a plain white t-shirt and a black zip up jacket thrown over it, he pulled it off like he’d just stepped off a magazine cover. How in the hell he always managed to do that was a mystery to you. And you knew you didn’t compare to him, even with your high-waisted white joggers and grey crop top.

Whatever. It wasn’t like it was bright enough outside to matter anyway.

“That sounds exactly like something a robber would say.” You flicked your hair over your shoulder and took off down the cracked sidewalk, making sure to lock your car behind you.

“Not like there’d be much to steal.” Yoongi’s voice caught up to you right as he did, walking side by side with the occasional brushing of his shoulder against yours.

You responded to his playful jab by lightly smacking his arm. “Careful there. Keep saying such poetic words and you’ll make me fall in love with you, Min Yoongi.”

He went quiet, but you could feel him looking at you from the corner of his eye. His gaze was a weight that burned through you, a light shining through the night.

The rest of the walk passed by pretty quickly, especially when nobody jumped out of an alleyway to rob you at knifepoint. Whether or not that was because of the man walking at your side, or something else, it didn’t matter. Not when the building you were headed to for the night popped up in the distance.

It looked like any other building on the street, with rough brick siding and a glowing red and green sign advertising the bar. Situated on the corner, you were just about to head inside when Yoongi’s hand caught your arm.

“It’s this way.” He answered your confused look by tugging you gently down the alleyway right next to the bar.

“But I thought it was inside.” You glanced back behind you before looking back towards the dead ended alley.

Yoongi dropped his hand from your arm. “It is.”

“Ah, makes sense.” You nodded sarcastically, successfully drawing a smile from your escort.

“Be patient and you’ll see.”

True to his word, you saw what he meant when he came to a stop outside of a side door. There weren’t any signs or anything indicated what it led to, but you could take a guess as Yoongi pulled it open and gestured for you to enter first.

It was dark inside and you had to squint in the dim lighting in order to see anything. You were in what appeared to be some kind of entrance that reminded you of one of the speakeasies downtown. Though there wasn’t a soul in sight, just a staircase at the end of the short hall. Unless you counted the loud base of music pounding through your feet and straight to your bones. The door slammed shut behind Yoongi and then he was taking the lead towards the stairs.

The further down you went, the louder the music got until it was all you could hear. And once you got to the bottom of the stairs and turned into the room, you found out why. Bodies were packed wall-to-wall, some moving to the music pouring from the speakers and others nodding their heads with drinks in their hands. Red and purple lights made the room seem bigger than it actually was, made it easier to lose yourself in the crowd.

Yoongi had taken you to an underground club. Which just made you all the more curious about just what kind of show he was going to be performing in.

“Want a drink?” Yoongi’s voice, even though spoken directly in your ear, was barely distinguishable from the lyrics bleeding through the room.

You simply nodded, taking care not to bash your head into his nose from where he was leaning over for you to hear him. He said something you couldn’t hear, words lost to the crowd. But you assumed he wanted you to follow him when he started to merge himself into the throngs of people. Just when you thought that you’d have to try and fight your way through to keep up with him, he was reaching back to grab your hand.

Wrapped his slender fingers around yours without sparing you a second look.

He was just trying to make sure you didn’t get lost in the crowd. Yeah, that was it. There was no other reason for it, so therefore your heart had no reason to speed up. To thump in time with the bass as you followed behind him. Especially when the warmth from his palm slid into yours.

“What do you want?” Yoongi turned back to speak in your ear. Shit, you hadn’t even realized that you’d already reached the packed bar. So you forced yourself to focus on the two bartenders running around behind it, rather than the hand still in yours.

“Tequila.” You answered. Yoongi raised both eyebrows in surprise before turning back to the bar. With his eyes no longer on you, it made breathing a whole lot easier. And you turned your attention away from Yoongi’s slim back and towards the stage.

It was all the way on the other side of the room and you watched as a guy walked across it with a mic in his hands. The music was lowered and his voice cracked to life through the speakers. Whatever announcement he was making went in one ear and out the other because Yoongi turned back around with a plastic cup extended out towards you. His other hand was empty and you sent him a questioning look.

Whether or not he knew what you were silently asking, or was just making a general announcement, he answered your question. “I have to perform soon.”

You made an ‘o’ with your mouth and accepted the drink with a smile in thanks. “You still haven’t told me what you’re gonna be doing.”

You had to stand on your tippy-toes in order for Yoongi to hear you, which didn’t go unnoticed by him if the amused gleam in his eyes was anything to go by. “You’ll see.”

Which was exactly how you found yourself with another drink in your hands and your back leaning against the bar. If you were being completely honest, you hadn’t been sure what to expect. A lot of different things had popped into your mind about what kind of shows your partner liked to put on. Some ranging from completely ridiculous, to weird, to funny.

But none of them had been this.

Min Yoongi was a lot of things. A talented producer, a deep thinker, a musical genius.

Never would you have thought to add “rapper” to the list. You should have known, was a little surprised at yourself for not being able to guess. Like all other things Min Yoongi, he was incredibly good at it. Took to the stage like a natural. And you were completely awestruck, unable to look away the whole time he was up on that stage, letting words flow from his lips like some kind of poetic river.

Calm, yet bubbling over with the effortless way he captured the attention of everyone in the room. The track he rapped over was fast paced, but he had no trouble keeping up and keeping the crowd engaged at the same time. He performed three songs, but it wasn’t enough. And judging by the one last look at the crowd Yoongi took before exiting the stage, it wasn’t enough for him either.

Whoever took his place didn’t have one ounce of your attention. And maybe that was rude or whatever, but you didn’t care. Not when you caught sight of his blond head making its way towards you. He got stopped multiple times along the way by people congratulating him with pats on the back or short conversations.

By the time Yoongi finally made his way back to your side, your second drink was extended out to him with a grin on your face. You’d barely even taken a sip from it, so it was completely full and beginning to sweat water. “That was amazing!”

The performer on stage was loud, but you could tell that Yoongi heard you by the smile he tried and failed to hide behind the rim of the plastic cup. But you weren’t going to leave it at that, grabbing a hold of his shoulders and squeezing to make sure you got your point across. “Like, incredibly amazing! Why didn’t you tell me you could rap like that?”

“You never asked.” He shrugged. Yoongi wasn’t the type of person to feed off of compliments, you knew that. But that didn’t mean that he didn’t appreciate them. The way his onyx colored eyes glittered told as much. And when he tilted the plastic cup back and drained the contents, the confidence that flowed beneath his skin gave it away too. “You wanna get out of here?”

“Where are we going?”

“Patience, young padawan.”

A snort of amusement from the passenger side of your car had you throwing Yoongi a wink. He completely ignored you in favor of thumbing through the playlist on your phone. It was hooked up to the radio via bluetooth and ever since you’d left the underground club, he’d been focused on silently judging you for your music choices.

When Yoongi had suggested bailing on the club, he hadn’t really had a particular place in mind. Which you’d soon figured out the moment you stepped out the door. He’d taken the subway to the place, so you’d all but shoved him into your car before he had a chance to say no.

“You really have Ariana Grande on here?” He wiggled your phone in your peripheral and you would have rolled your eyes if you weren’t too busy merging off the freeway.

“What’s wrong with Ari?” You huffed in mock offense.

“Nothing.”

“I can literally hear the judgement in your voice.”

“Maybe you should focus on the road then.”

Now you really did roll your eyes. Though the bark of laughter that accompanied it showed your lack of annoyance. “I would if we weren’t already here.”

Yoongi looked up from your phone just as you were putting the car into park. His eyes squinted into the dark with a furrow of his eyebrows. “We’re at the beach?”

“Nope.” You popped the ‘p’ and turned off your car, quickly hopping out before you could fall victim to his flatline stare.

The scent of sea salt lingered in the semi-humid air and you paused for a moment to inhale deeply. There was nothing quite like the smell of the ocean, and when the passenger side door opened and closed, you rounded the car to wave Yoongi along. He caught up to you right as your shoe hit the wooden planks of the boardwalk. You’d had to park way back in one of the lots far away from the beach for whatever godforsaken reason.

Shopfronts, closed and shuttered by metal grates due to the late hour, greeted you as you walked down the path. And Yoongi’s presence at your side was calming. Hell, everything about that man was. Never would you have thought that about him, not at first. Not with the rocky way your friendship had started.

Neither would you have expected the warmth that bloomed in your chest everytime he looked at you with those pretty eyes of his. Or flashed you one of his patented gummy smiles. He’d somehow wormed a place into your heart with that sarcastic wit of his. No, the last thing you would have expected from your final project was this.

But you didn’t mind. Even if he didn’t feel the same way, only looked at you like a friend, you didn’t mind. Because you’d take anything he offered you. And if a friendship was all he was willing to give, that was okay too.

“Where are we going exactly?” Yoongi’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts and you glanced up at him to see that he was already looking at you.

“Do we need to have a destination?” You shot back with a wiggle of your eyebrows. “It’s all in the journey.”

He rolled his eyes skyward as if silently asking why me, but let a smile touch his lips anyway “And this journey leads to the beach I’m guessing?”

“Maybe.” You dragged out the syllables, nudging your shoulder with his playfully. “Don’t tell me you don’t like the beach.”

“Who doesn’t like the beach?”

“That’s exactly what I’m--whoa.” Your feet came to a halt right as you stepped out from between two shops, where the boardwalk met the beach. Yoongi stopped at your side, but you didn’t even notice.

Because you were too busy staring at the apparent concert that was being held further down the beach. Apparently the loud music you’d heard from the parking lot wasn’t from one of the many speakers placed throughout the boardwalk. Well, that would explain the lack of parking at least.

Even from where the two of you stood, you could tell that the crowd was huge. They took up a big chunk of the beach, bodies nothing but a dark mass in the distance as they danced to the music from the stage. You couldn’t tell who it was, not that far away. But the multicolored lights flashed into the sky like a beacon.

“I wonder who’s performing.” Yoongi’s mumble had you bending down to unlace your shoes. “What’re you doing?”

“You wanna know who’s performing?” Slipping off your socks, you threw both those and your shoes into your bag. Once it was closed up, you sent Yoongi a conspiratorial wink. “Let’s go find out.”

He didn’t move, just gave you a look before realization dawned on his face. “You want to sneak in.”

It was a statement, not a question, but you nodded your head anyway. “Come on, when will you ever have the chance to do something like this again. Don’t tell me you’re scared we’ll get caught.”

Yoongi scoffed, but leaned down to slip off his shoes in an uncharacteristic move. You knew he wasn’t much of a partier and didn’t do things like this very often. So the fact that he was caving to your suggestion had your mind whirling. “I’m just surprised, is all.”

“At what?”

A smirk was thrown your way as he stood back up, but that was all the answer you got. After all the time you’ve spent with the man, you’d like to consider yourself a Yoongi Whisperer. So that smirk probably meant something along the lines of: I’m surprised that you’re a super awesome badass.

Or something.

“Just come on.” You grabbed his hand without thinking, dragging him behind you onto the sand. When he failed to complain, you took that as a greenlight to continue doing so.

When his fingers linked themselves with yours, it took all you had to not falter in your steps. To pretend like you weren’t affected by such a thoughtless action. To calm the rapid beating of your heart.

The closer you got to the concert, the louder the music got, until you could hear the roar of the crowd over the artist on stage. It was EDM, or at least sounded like it. Of course, as soon as you got closer, you spotted your first hurdle. One you’d been unable to see from far away.

A chain link fence stood between the two of you and a night of fun. It had your shoulders deflating before you even realized it, and you turned to the blond at your side. “Should we climb it or something?”

Biting your lip, you eyed just how far up it was. Even if the two of you managed to climb it, there was no way that you wouldn’t be spotted by security. And being arrested was the last thing on your to-do list.

“Or.” Yoongi crossed over to the fence and wrapped his hands along the bottom of it. With a quick glance around to make sure that no one was looking, he lifted it up and back, bending it backwards with just enough space left at the bottom for someone to squeeze underneath.

There was no way that he would have been strong enough on his own to lift it, and a closer look had you snorting a laugh. Apparently the two of you weren’t the only ones who’d had the idea to sneak in.

“You going?” He questioned and you started forward before a smartass remark could leave his mouth.

The sand was cool beneath your body as you shimmied underneath the space between the fence and the ground. And once you were on the other side, you crouched down and grabbed the fence from Yoongi to pull back towards your side. “I’m surprised that you’re going along with this, to be honest. Don’t you hate music like this?”

He grunted as he crawled across the sand towards you. “You wanted to.”

“So?” Your voice was soft, but he was still able to hear you over the pounding bass. The fence dropped from your fingers once he was on your side, but you didn’t move, just stared up at him as he stood.

“So.” Yoongi started, extending a hand down to help you up. “Are you coming?”

His answer had warmth blossoming in your chest and a tiny smile blooming on your face. Had you reaching out to let him help you up off the sand. He didn’t let go while you brushed yourself off, but he did guide the both of you towards the writhing crowd, if only to avoid being spotted by security.

It was a good thing that Yoongi was a slim man, because it made slipping through the numerous dancing bodies closer towards the stage a whole lot easier. You’d made it to about the middle when he stopped and tugged you closer to join him in a pocket of space between two different groups of people. The scent of marijuana mixed in with sea salt from the ocean in a cocktail that usually accompanied things like that.

“Dance with me.” You spoke into Yoongi’s ear, ignoring the excited flush you felt at being so close to him.

“I can’t dance.” He stated, despite the hand he slipped around your waist and pressed into your back. Whether or not to move you out of the range of the group of girls dancing wildly behind you, or something else, you didn’t know.

Chest to chest, you’d be surprised if he couldn’t feel how fast your heart was beating. “Mm. I don’t believe you. Everyone can dance.”

“That’s a lie.” Yoongi’s lips were titled up at the corners and his gaze on you was soft. Gentle.

The flashing lights on the stage flickered through his dark colored eyes. Turned those once pools of onyx into a glittering galaxy that you couldn’t look away from. That hypnotized you like the beat that pulsed beneath your skin and drowned your ears.

“That’s not true.” Your mumble was lost to the crowd. Buried somewhere underneath the music as he moved closer. And the butterflies nestled deep in your gut fluttered their wings when his other hand cupped the side of your face.

Your eyes fluttered closed when his nose brushed yours and his breath fanned across your cheek. That was the only warning you got before his mouth was on yours. His lips were soft and he tasted like the strawberry chapstick he liked to wear. And the kiss, like everything Min Yoongi, was slow. Not in a lazy way. More like he was taking the time to savor it. To remember what your hair felt like as he slid his hand into it.

Or the way you involuntarily sighed into his mouth when his teeth caught your bottom lip. How your fingers found their way into the short hairs at the nape of his neck when you pulled him closer. How he’d had to hold back a laugh at the way you were standing on your tippy-toes in order to reach him.

You probably wouldn’t have pulled away and neither would he, if it weren’t for the rain that suddenly tore from the sky like an opened dam. Drenching anything and everything around it faster than you could blink. It had you forcing yourself away from the magnetizing pull of Yoongi’s lips to give him an eye crinkling smile.

“What was that for?” You didn’t care if you were getting wet.

Neither did he apparently, because he ran a thumb over the lips he’d just kissed, sending shivers down your spine. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“No. Break it down for me.”

He met your imploring gaze almost bashfully, eyes squinting from the rain. “I’ve liked you since practically the beginning of the semester.”

Your eyes widened in surprise. “What? Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Yoongi shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t know how.”

Shaking your head in disbelief, you let out a small laugh. “I can’t believe you, Min Yoongi.”

He opened his mouth to respond when he was cut off by a loud clap of thunder. Both of you glanced up at the dark sky at the same time.

Everyone around you was either ignoring the torrential downpour or shrieking and attempting to use anything to shield themselves from getting wet. Once the sound of thunder echoed a streak of lightning, you knew what was about to happen next and turned to meet Yoongi’s eyes. He, like everyone else, was drenched and his blond hair stuck to the damp skin of his face. It had you grinning at the pout on his mouth and you leaned forward to press your lips to his one final time before pulling away.

“We should get out of here before everyone else decides to do the same.” You had to shout to be heard over both the rain and the noise from everything else. It was only a matter of time before the concert got either canceled or postponed due to the thunderstorm and you didn’t want to be caught in the middle.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Yoongi wiped water from his eyes and grabbed your hand to start navigating the hell out of there.

And as your eyes trained themselves to his slim back and your fingers interlocked themselves with his, you smiled. The lyrics that you’d been struggling so hard to write came to life beneath the fire in your chest. You had no one but the man in front of you to thank for the inspiration.

Min Yoongi was a lot of things.

A musical genius, a poet, a light in a sea of darkness.

Min Yoongi was nothing if not beautiful.

[thisisthestoryofanotherus]

Hey, so can you write something like person at Starbucks collides with calum, coffee all over her... Meet again a week later at same place, both hungry, so calum offered lunch, forgot to exchange numbers... Both want to get to know each other more but don't have contact... Just add your flavours after this please. This is like a dream I had a long time back and I really wanna know what happens in the end lmao. It's kinda cringe but I really hope you will work your magic and make it better <3

For me the cringier the better haha. This idea was actually great!…and gosh I’m so jealous of your dreams shoot mine are just confusing af and very Calum-less haha Thank you so much!! Hope you like it!!! Idk about magic but you made me very inspired!

Requests for drabbles, mtls, reactions, and fake texts are OPEN!! Please send in requests!

  Fuck. You could not believe your boss. I mean sure you were his assistant but to send you on petty errands like coffee…fucking coffee, when the office was in a rush trying to complete all these orders. But no… you totally had time to go pick up his fucking americano despite the fact you had a million other things to do that actually related to him being productive rather than some caffeine intake. But here you were at the infamous Starbucks, packed as usual from the looks of the long line you could see from the window. You felt your pocket buzz as you approached the door. Reaching for the door handle you read the words “Y/n can you also get me one of those sandwiches?” from your boss when you felt the impact of someone colliding with you and the sensation of cold liquid running down your blouse. You screamed in surprise, looking down to see the iced coffee staining your blouse a caramel color. Your muttered quite the string of expletives and was ready to curse at whoever had the AUDACITY when your eyes met the most apologetic brown puppy eyes and all your anger faded away…

Tell me you wanna come over… wanna be closer…wait no that doesn’t sound right. Calum had been working on these lyrics for what felt like ages. The tune always came easiest to him, but lyrics was something he was always very particular about because it had to capture everything perfectly. He kept running what lyrics he did have for the chorus through his mind, trying to get them just right, as he walked out of Starbucks with his coffee in hand. Tell me tell me tell me you wanna come over…I wanna be closer… or no you’re telling me you’re telling me you wanna come over, you wanna be wanna be wanna be closer. Do-duh-do do-duh-do do-duh-do closer… shoulder rhymes… duh-da-duh hair over your shoulder… hold ya…duh-da-duhsshhhhiiittttt

He did not realize someone was on the other side of the door, so he was surprised to suddenly feel someone colliding with his chest and the crush of plastic in his hand. He noticed his caramel macchiato all over her blouse, looking up to her face he found her quite cute despite the frustration across her features. Before he could apologize, because he truly did feel sorry, suddenly all the frustrations were vocalized. Several curse words later she looked up at him, he prepared himself for your obvious rage to be directed at him, cursing himself for not paying attention since this girl clearly has been through enough today. Meeting her gaze, he watched as her features softened. He took this as his chance to finally apologize.

“I-I’m sorry…I didn’t see you-I wasn’t really paying attention-”

“No…it’s-it’s fine don’t worry about it” she said, cutting him off. “I just-ugh… it’s just the kind of day I’m having you know?”

“And I just made it worse…look let me get you some napkins and I’ll get your coffee. It’s on me…really the least I can do” He said as he walked back into the café, already grabbing napkins and handing them to her. “What is it you’re getting?”

She wiped the coffee stain as she recited her orders to Calum, running to the bathroom to get whatever else she could out as he placed her order. By the time she returned, he was already handing her the carrier of the various assortment of drinks.

“Thank you… you really didn’t have to do that I was on a coffee run for some coworkers” she said, blouse in better shape and a soft smile on her face.

“It’s really the least I can do. Can’t have a pretty girl like you having a completely shit day” Gosh that was cringy…he regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth…what was he thinking?!

She laughed in response as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

“Hello? WHAT? NOW!? Ya-no I’ll be right there” Panic filled her features as she glanced back at him.

“I’m so sorry-I gotta go… work is-yeah…maybe I can...um maybe we-uh um bye” She muttered as she practically ran out the door, leaving Calum wondering what on earth just happened.

You left the poor guy, the poor oh so attractive guy, as a stuttering mess. The right words refused to leave you mouth. You wanted to say SOMETHING that would allow you to see him again, but you were distracted by the incessant vibrating in your pocket and the thoughts of the chaos unfolding at your job. By the time you finally got out of work (two hours late, honestly how surprising) you couldn’t help but walk past that very same Starbucks hoping to spot the stranger who’s name you never did get, much less his number. Sure enough you couldn’t see the beautiful man through the windows…just employees wiping down tables ready to end their own shifts. When you got home, slipping on your pjs, you almost stopped yourself from spraying stain remover on your white blouse. Staring at the remnants of the coffee stain, you wanted some proof that today actually happened (even if you did nothing but completely embarrass yourself). After several moments, you finally pretreated your poor blouse and started the washer. The memory being washed away along with whatever minuscule chance you had with the beautiful stranger.

That did not stop you from trying though, oh no. You walked past Starbucks every morning on your way to work, and every afternoon after. Along with whenever you could sneak away during your lunch break, you weren’t stalking him, although you couldn’t help if this may be borderline stalking even though he never came.  After several days passed though, you wondered what on earth you would say to him if you had the luck to actually run into him again. Fate was not on your side however, since each time the man was no where to be seen. He probably didn’t remember you anyway.

Today. If he is not here today then this will be the end of it. It’s been nearly a week if I don’t see him now then I never will. You thought, making your way to the Starbucks entrance once again. Today you actually got the afternoon off now that work had slowed down. Your boss thought “you deserved it for you hard work”, as if you hadn’t put in dozens of hours of overtime. After a quick glance around the café, he was once again nowhere to be seen. Surprise, surprise. You gave your order to the barista at the counter and sat down at one of the nearby tables. You pulled out your phone to pass the time when you heard someone clear their throat next to you.

“Uh-hey” Calum said, almost in disbelief. After coming to this very Starbucks practically every day at various times hoping to run into you. So when he walked in, imagine his surprise when he looked around and saw you sitting at the table next to the counter. You looked frustrated, probably another bad day, so Calum almost didn’t approach you however he couldn’t stop himself. After saying hello, he was glad he did because the smile that lit up your face was breathtaking.

“Hey” you laughed. “I didn’t think I’d see you again” Your eyes widened after making this statement, redness spreading across your face as you put your head down in embarrassment. Calum chuckled as he sat across from you.

“Neither did I. I hope this doesn’t sound weird but I’ve been coming here a lot hoping to see you again…I mean…I just um… wanted to apologize”

“No I-I’ve been here a lot too… I had to leave so I didn’t get your name…”

“Calum”

You smiled holding out your hand “I’m Y/n”

Calum smiled back as he took you hand in his, holding on to it for longer than a simple handshake would require. “Do you wanna get out of here and get some actual food or something? There’s this great pizza place up the street and-”

“I’d love to” you smiled wide, pulling on his hand still wrapped around yours as you led him out the door, leaving your coffee order forgotten.

[plutoandmoon]

I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it / The 1975

I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it is The 1975’s second studio album. This iconic alternative album was released in 2016 and continuously has over a million streams combined. In addition, the English rock album has received variety of awards from being on the 100 Greatest Albums of the 2010s to reaching the Gold platform in the United States. The 1975 incorporates all sorts of new sounds into this album such as synth-pop, disco, electronic house, and R&B to deliver the overall mood of all 17 songs.

The introduction to the album, “The 1975”, is incredibly beautiful. It sounds like the beginning of a coming of age trailer that captures all the overwhelming emotions of the film and story.

Love Me is quite a legendary song in terms of how catchy the lyrics are and the musical layers of the band. I’m not sure how to properly describe it but it reminds me of a new age of 80s music with the electric guitar, synths, and drums. I do love the use of trumpets too to emphasize certain notes. The guitar solo is the perfect session to have a full jam out in your room. I really love that piano sound in the beginning and end of the song that sounds futuristic.

The beginning of UGH! sounds like an intro to a 2000s coming of age movie. It reminded me a lot of Clueless and Mean Girls. Again super catchy lyrics and melody.

The instrumentals of A Change Of Heart make me think of that slow dancing part of a junior high prom/dance. The way I visualize it is the main couple slow dancing underneath the bright light around their classmates after they just won prom king and queen. I love the electronic vocals and the piano synth used in this song. Again it still has that 80s feel to it that is perfect for this album and band.

I’m not sure why but the guitar rift in She’s American gives me Michael Jackson vibes. This song feels very American for some reason LOL. Again, it makes me visualize a scene in a coming of age movie where the main character is running and feels lost on what to do with her life. Catchy lyrics and melody. Personally don’t think this is their strongest song as it just feels similar to the others above but still a good song.

If I Believe You is very different from the songs we have listened to so far. I love Matty Healy’s vocals in this song so much and the production is literally beautiful. It is a very R&B inspired song with the slower pace tempo, back up vocals, piano, and drums. The 1975 still incorporate their own unique style in the song with the usage of electronic elements with the high hats, reverbs, and futuristic sounds. The middle of this song with the trumpet (3:30) is very jazz inspired. It is a beautiful intermission of the song. It is musically layered filled with so much emotion and sensation. The pizzicato from perhaps violins and harps really up lift this song. It adds an angelic layer to it as Healy continues on with the lyrics “If I am lost / how will i find myself?”. For me, the addition of these instruments makes me feel as I am ascending towards heaven or a higher awakening. One of The 1975’s most underrated songs in their whole career.

Please Be Naked is a perfect transition from If I Believe You because it sounds like the ending of a chapter and an opening to a new one. When looking at it through a coming of age lens, it appears as if the main character has said goodbye to their old past, old version of themselves, and everything that does not serve them. They are coming to terms with the reality of life and looking forwards for a new and higher purpose. Although there are no lyrics to this song, it is keep to pay attention to the instrumentals and the dynamics of each note. You can also hear the sounds of someone walking, closing the door, opening paper, etc that adds layers and meaning to the song. It is not another simple lofi or instrumental piece but rather it is an important one for the album and the 1975’s message. It tells a beautiful story over 4 minutes if you choose to really listen to the main character’s journey.

Once again, the introduction of Lostmyhead sounds like the continuation of the story from If I Believe You and Please Be Naked. The beginning is heavily rock inspired with the overwhelming guitar, piano synth, electric guitar solo, and much other sounds. I believe this is the point in the character’s journey where they are probably overlooking a building or a crowd and thinking to themselves that this is a start of something new. They are going onto this journey and not looking back anymore. I also love the use of string instruments here and how at the end of this song, everything finally drops. It is like we have finally bursted this bubble and allowed everything (emotions, purpose, life, etc) to hit us. You can hear this with the aggressive drum kick, the crescendos of the violins, and how dynamic everything else is. Then the song slowly crescendos and all we are left to hear is the futuristic sounds.

The Ballad of Me and My Brain has a very interesting introduction with the background vocals being manipulated with their dynamic and pitch. This song is heavily influenced by rock and synth pop as Healy’s vocals are more aggressive.

Somebody Else. The most iconic songs in our generation, the 1975’s career, in alternative pop music. Everything about this song is perfect from the lyrics to the musical production to simply everything. This song can put you into two moods: dance or sadness. You can visualize yourself dancing to this at a party/club or blasting this in your car at 2am as you sob. The versatile of this song is something that I believe many over look. Like you cannot just ignore the most help advice ever “Get someone you love / get someone you need / fuck that get money”. 

Loving Someone is another LEGENDARY song from the 1975. I love everything about it from the lyrics, melody, musical production, and the execution of it. The introduction of the song is unlike anything you have heard of. It sounds like Matty Healy is rapping (perhaps) but it sure does have the influence electronic and indie pop. The flow of Matty Healy’s verses is very different from all the rest of the songs on this album. It shows how musical diverse the 1975 is and how they executed this new style perfectly. The ending is cute with the piano (sounds like ones we used to play as a child) and the monologue softly being played.

The self titled album song sounds like another intermission in the band’s album. This instrumental sounds to focus more on futuristic electronic sounds. It could be another story that Healy and the band is explaining to us through a coming of age lens. It sure is more optimistic than the other instrumental songs we have heard from the band in this album. I love how more towards the end, the overall pace and tone of the song is changed up as it has more of a dance feel to. Listening to it more, it sounds more of a song where everything is at a peak and peace. Where you can just jam the fuck out and not care about anything at all.

The Sound sounds like new beginnings. This could be why it is put in towards the end of the album. With the optimistic beat and melody, it could be referring to a new perspective on life. It does sound similar to a few of the 1975’s songs at the start of the album and that is due to the synth pop style the band is famous for. Overall, it is quite a catchy song and a nice one to jump around to.

This Must Be My Dream has a really unique intro. It really gives the song a 80s/90s feel to it. I believe the band uses a dream like bell sound for the melody. This song feels dreamy hence the title of the song. Towards the end of the song where the breakdown begins, it feels like the part where the dream starts to slowly warp and then the main character is reflecting on what just happened.

I believe everyone holds the song, Paris, in a special place in their heart. It is such a cute song with the melody, instrumentals, lyrics, and vocals. I would definitely listen to this song in my own room and sway alone under the flashing lights pretending I’m at a dance with my lover. The chorus after Healy says “How I would love to go to Paris again” is very dreamy with the echo background vocals and the synths. It is quite a slow song though so for me, I feel like 4 minutes and 53 seconds is drag for the song (that is just me because my attention span is short …)

Personally, I find Nana to be boring. Perhaps because of how slow it is but other than that, it seems like a nice song.

She Lays Down is another soft slow song but this time it is just Healy’s vocals with an acoustic guitar. I think it is a nice and beautiful way to end the album. It is a huge contrast to how the 1975 began this 2nd studio album. They began with their intro (The 1975) and Love Me, that immediately set the overall mood and tone of the album. It was very electric and energetic, while She Lays Down is a more mellow and reflectional piece. Overall, this album is a memorable work of art as many associate these songs with their teenage years. Some songs to mention are If I Believe You, Please Be Naked, Somebody Else, and Loving Someone. The 1975 is a powerful band with Healy’s vocals, lyrics, and style. Hopefully they will be able to create more music as similar to the ones in “I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it”.

[jan31]

Rambling Review Episode 33

So..... what can I say apart from it was not good, not the worst, but just frustrating.  I looked at my watch after an hour and thought, oh well this next hour will definitely lead somewhere, and of course it didn’t.

Interesting that after Seline and Deniz found Serkan and Eda in the cabin asleep in each others arms, that all she could scream about was he had missed her birthday, not sure if she forgot her lines but she said it many times!!  And of course it was all Eda’s fault, Serkan is starting to see another side of Seline, how she talks nastily to Eda and isn’t even interested in following her into the night when she storms away.  I am wondering if Serkan heard Deniz talking to Eda about the “game”, as he was on the verandah and the door to the cabin was open.

Finally Eda has a new car and whipped Serkans ass in the race!

Seline checking herself out in the car mirror before getting out the car to see Deniz, definitely something going to happen there.  The sooner the better, they are both evil.  I just don’t see the attraction these women have for Deniz, he always looks like he needs a good wash to me! 

Seline knows how to play the victim game and will take every opportunity to make Serkan feel bad about the cabin.  And we see if almost immediately when he call a meeting to give Seline 5% of his shares

She makes a point of refusing them so she does not look like Eda (taking the shares just cos she was with Serkan).  Of course in the end she accepts, but insists Serkan controls everything, this woman is so dangerous and knows exactly what to say.

Serkans mind is confused at the moment with thoughts of Eda, he has no idea he is falling in love with her as he doesn’t know what love feels like. He was about to sign the document Engin gave him without checking it first and he forgot that Layla said she would be out of the office for a few days.

When Engin confronts him he admits he cant stop thinking about her, her scent confuses him and he does not know what is happening.  He is getting flashbacks from the past which he is not sure are true or not.  Engin tells him he must decide, return to Eda, or marry Seline as it is not fair to either of them

He lets Seline go off into the night from the cabin, but Eda leaves the office after the shares meeting and he actively seeks her out!  He can see love in her eyes, which she denies, but speaking to herself she is still so in love with him but needs him to take a step forward.  Then Deniz who is always lurking interrupts them, he is so creepy and annoying, Eda did not seem pleased that he arrived.

Again when Eda leaves the office and doesn’t say where she is going, he finds out from Erdem where she has gone and follows her there.  Its so nice to see them doing something together and laughing, we need Edser back together, its been too long.  Again creepy Deniz arrives and sniffs Edas neck, that was so ugh and even Eda was shocked.   Seline is also watching them from her car, does anyone in Art Life actually work.

Seline deliberately crashing her car shows how psycho she is and the lengths she will go to gets Serkans attention away from Eda.  Despite Eda asking if there is anything she can do to help, Seline snaps back at her that she wants nothing from her, this doesn’t go unnoticed by Serkan. He is slowly realising that Eda is not this manipulative, cruel woman Seline has portrayed to him, and perhaps makes it easier for him to realise why he is thinking about her all the time.

I hate seeing Seline at Serkans apartment, she is really loving the attention after the crash, but is too stupid to see he is not even sitting next to her and is deep in thought about Eda.  

Ferit and Melo still the only two outstanding characters since the amnesia plot started.  Ferit still bringing Ceren coffee and trying to convince Seline not to go running after Serkan.

I am really not sure why Serkan suddenly decided he wanted Melo and Ceren to set up a surprise dinner for him and Eda, perhaps its what Engin said about deciding who he wants to be with, 

He brushes Seline off with excuses of matters to sort out when she unexpectedly turns up at his apartment wanting to go for dinner, so of course she does the usual thing and follows him.  For Seline this is not about loving Serkan, I don’t believe she does, obsessed yes, but not in love, this is about revenge on Eda for being happy with him, she never got that Serkan when she was dating him.

We see photos of Deniz and Seline kissing being delivered at Art Life, and there has been much speculation on who is behind it, I have heard Ferit, Leyla, Ceren and even a spy for Babanne!  We see Seline opening the envelope in the next episode but it is not clear if anyone else has seen them ie Serkan or Eda, and these photos will be the start of the downfall for Seline and Deniz, hopefully they will be gone in Episode 35.

The kiss in the restaurant is real, even though we all assumed it was a dream so lets see how Serkan explains why he did it.

We are getting the promised falling in love of E and S, but with so little screen time its getting frustrating as they are meant to be the lead characters and appeared for less than 30 minutes in this episode.  i am not even going to mention AAS scenes, honestly they weren’t bad, but too much screen time.  Pryl is getting on my last nerve with her screeching and whining and her storyline was so pointless, i have never been a big fan of hers, and Engin is just wasted in this story line.

The amnesia plot would be easier to tolerate if we did not have Seline and Deniz ruining every one of S and E scenes together, its enough.  Seline and Serkan have been together longer that Edser which is absolutely ridiculous.  Fans are getting vocal and downhearted, twitter is burning with hatred for Seline, Deniz and Serkan right now.  I have never seen such negativity and I cant blame people, they love this show and it is being ruined by bad writing , ratings are tumbling and if its true about a big meeting at Fox on Monday about the shows future then I am worried.  The only thing keeping this show together is the popularity of Hande and Kerem and the other cast and crew members.  The new writers and production team need to listen to the fans who watch the show, they need to know that the show is losing its charm, and why is there so little marketing.  The two fragmans showed nothing, and while i appreciate they want to keep some things a secret, they also need to entice viewers to watch the show live on Saturday.  And get rid of Selin and Deniz, they serve no purpose and have overstayed their welcome.

on a brighter note I have just finished Her Yerde Sen, omg i loved it, so little stress, lots of laughs and the leading actor Firkan is gorgeous, I am so shallow!!!!