#i like the other songs by the same artist ive heard (although shes like. a super diverse musician so like)

[bmpmp3]

it sucks when ur trying to find more music similar to a specific song but all ur “songs like ___” or r/ifyoulikeblank google searches are yielding NOTHING because everyone else looking wants more music similar to different criteria of said song that you do. point #834904985403 as to why we need to bring the hyper specific microgenre names of electronic music to all genres (joking. ....unless?)

[foulphantomllama]

The Pen: One-Shot | Pool Winner

Ahn Yujin x Male Reader (POV)

I was so tired that I go straight to bed when I arrived home. And then, of course I was late in the morning. I shouldn’t be late tho. Because today was a big day. I got out from the bed, brushed my teeth and wore my jeans and shirt in nearly just five minutes. I hoped into my car and drive straight to the record studio. I worked with many famous artists. But today, IVE  were visiting us to record a special track. I was too excited to see my bias, Yujin. I dreamed about this day ever since I knew that they were coming to our studio. I even prepared my albums and photocards in order to get them signed by the group. But especially Yujin.

But there was a big problem. I already got the text from my friend that says they’re about to be here. And the problem was that I forgot my bag in home. As you can guess, I was already there, at the record studio. I rushed inside my booth and make my preparations. It was that moment that I realized that I forgot my bag at home. Fuck. There was no turning back from there. They’re here, our secretary opened the booths door and said to me. I went out from the booth and greet the girls. They were even more gorgeous than they look on the screen. Especially Yujin, oh boy she was glowing. I briefed them about the song and the standart procedure, then we started. I turned back to my booth. And we did a part of the recording. I was so dehydrated and I needed a cofee break. I got out from the recording booth and went downstairs to get myself a coffee. Many of my friends from work knew that I was obssessed with Yujin. Some of them were encouraging me to talk to her. I mean, I did not see the point? What is going to happend? We suddenly start dating? I got my coffee and went upstairs.

I returned to my place and give the greenlight to the team to start recording again. But suddenly, power went out. Generators were not working. This happened to us before tho. I was familiar with the problem so we just used the backup generators. But sadly, they were no good for powering up our recording gear. It was just for lights and kitchen. So that we can survive in the studio and do the lightwork until the problem gets fixed. Sometimes it get fixed quickly, sometimes it takes a remarkable amount of time. I went out to talk to the girls agent. This kind of artists were using different artists in different countries, in US, they working with an American agent. I never seen or heard about her.  So I asked how many days will the girls will be around. She told me 4 maybe 5. I said that we may have to postpone the recording for today so that the girls go to their hotels and rest. She said it is a great idea. She went to the other room to make phonecalls to arrange a driver for the girls. During that time, I went into my cabin again and start looking at my phone. I never realized that Yujin was doing the same in the recording are. my eyes caught Yujin sitting in the recording area of the booth. She smiled and wawed at me. This was an interaction I was not expecting. I studied Korean in my University years and I was familiar with the language. Although has been a long time since I used it. I said, fuck it! When are you going to get the chance to talk to Yujin again? I got out of my section of the booth and get right inside to the recording area. She was wearing white knee socks, a crop tank top and jean shorts. And let me tell you, her shorts was literally short. I tried not to look at her legs and belly button so that I would not look like a creep in our first interaction.

I said hi with my broken Korean. She greeted me with a kind gesture. You know the little bowing they do when they greet somebody. I did the same. She asked me if I know Korean, or If i just know the basics like greeting and asking names. I said that I think that we can communicate in Korean. She said that not many Americans know Korean. “They barely know English don’t worry.” She laughed at my joke very loudly. I insulted my own people to make Yujin laugh. Totally worth it tho. We surprizingly started chatting about things about life and work. Then, their manager get inside the booth. And opened Google translate in order to tell Yujin something. She looked at me with a smiling face. It was a reference to the thing I said about Americans. I already fell into her humour. “I can translate.” I said to her agent. She relieved. “Tell her that we’re stuck here for a moment because I did not find any cars to drive them to the hotel.” I translated this to Yujin. She asked me to ask about the girls. “What about the other girls?” I asked. “They’re visiting the area with some guards. We can arrange a host for her if she wants to do so too.” I translated this too. Yujin replied “No, I will wait here. Thank you.” I was surprised. “She stays. Don’t worry she is in good hands.” I replied to the agent. She said whatever and went out. And she come back in “If the power does not fixed in a few hours we will go to the hotel somehow.” Again, I translated. She answered in English. “Okay.” The agent went out again.

Yujin continued in her cute english “She talks very much.” She giggled. I laughed. “You want a coffee?” She nodded. “Yes, please.” I went downstairs to get her a coffee in a flash. I grabbed a coffee want went upstairs very quickly. My friends were cheering for me. Of course there were cameras. I gave her the coffee and went into my recording booth, unplugged the camera and went back in. Our chat was too fun. We talked about music, industry, movies and many things. She is even a better person than you see and read in online. She is an angel. Literally.

My eyes were having a hard time trying not to look at her thighs and legs. But It was literally impossible. I tried to distract myself by saying that she is my bias in IVE. The moment I said this, her face blushed. I can see that she was embarassed. I tried to comfort her by saying “And you’re even prettier in real life.” I don’t think what I said helped her the slightest, but I wanted to say it anyways. But I can see that she was a little bit more comfortable about this whole situation when I said “I wanted to bring you my albums and wanted you to sign but..” She interrupted “What happened?” I answered, “I forgot them at home when I was trying to be here on time for you.” “Oh, that is so cute. I still sign them for you If you want.” I asked how can we do it. She answered. “Maybe I can come around with you and sign them for you. Is your house far away from here?”

That was an answer i did not expect. She just really wanted to come home with me? Should I do it? “It’s not very far away. A seven or eight minute drive and I’m home.” “Great!” she answered. As soon as we finish this recording, I will come with you and sign your albums she said. “We probably going to finish tomorrow. I bring them with me if you want.” She looked at me. “No, don’t carry them around with you. I can come with you.” I agreed. After a moment of silence, she took the last sip from her coffee and wanted a pen. I gave her mine. I always keep a pen in my pocket. She signed the paper cup and gave it to me. “Let’s start with this.”   And then her agent came in. “Let’s go” she said, our car is here.

And she went with her agent. It was going so good that I did not wanted it to end. At least, I got a promise from her. She will come to my home and sign my albums and photocards. I did not mention this to anybody. And I went home. Later that night I got a text from the studio. The problem was fixed and the studio was ready for recording. At least we did half of the song. Only a few hours of work left to do.

As I was getting ready to go to bed, I got a notification. IT WAS FROM YUJIN. SHE MESSAGED ME. It was saying, “I got your instagram from our agent. She asked so many questions. LOL.” “Oh, Hi!” I texted back. And I wanted to be a little bit funny. “Do I know you, princess?” She sent me a sticker of a cat holding a heart. And texted “Can you send me pictures of your photocards?” I got up and took a little video of my binder for her, then sent it. She replied quickly. “Even from IZ*ONE?”  “Yup.” I replied. “You deserve a lot of signs lol” She texted. And continued texting. “I need to sleep now but.. See you tomorrow.” She texted and sent that cat emoji again. I wished her good night. She liked my message. Then I went to sleep. Or at least I tried.

In the morning, if i completely be honest, I waited for a good morning message. I opened our chat and started typing things. But i did not sent anything. When I was doing so, she suddenly texted. “Morning. What were you typing?” I quickly had the control of the situation by saying; “I wanted to tell you good morning but i did not sure that you’re awake. And I did not want to wake you up.” The cat sticker. Again. “Your pen is with me right now. I forgot to give it back.” “You can keep it if you liked it” I replied. “Thank you, I will sign your albums with this. Haha.” She replied again. I said that I need to go to the studio. “See you at the recording.” I texted. She liked my message. But no cat sticker this time.

I arrived at the studio. The girls were already there. We quickly started the recording. It went pretty well. We finished even quicker than I expected. We wrapped up the recording and they left the studio. Except Yujin. When a K-Pop artist comes another country to record a special track, they had time to explore the country and buy some souvenirs. Yujin decided to spend her time with me. But her attitude was different from yesterday. She was like more.. intimitading. She approached me. This time she was wearing a skirt and a crop t-shirt. And a Nike shoe. That crop was a must. She loved to show her abs.

As we started to walk towards my car, she said that she needs a cover up before entering my car. She said someone might took her photos and start rumours. I gave her a cap and a long coat. We entered my car very quickly. And I drove her away from a safer zone. Along the way, she kept asking me personal questions. But the most important one was when she asked “Do you have a girlfriend?” “No” I answered. And I don’t know why i kept giving her my personal information but, i continued; “She cheated on me. So we broke up.” “What a bitch!” she answered. Then she quickly get emberassed because she swore. “Don’t worry” I said. You are still so cute when you are swearing. She laughed. “I wouldn’t cheat on you beacuse you’re a good person. And you’re handsome too.” She said. I was pretty shocked to hear this. I looked at her face. “Look at the road.” She turned my face towards to the road. “You will see my face enough today.” She continued. “It will never be enough tho.” I answered. “Sorry If i offended you by saying I wouldn’t cheat on you. I did not upsed you did I? “She asked. “Why would I be offended by that?” I asked. She kept her silence for a moment. And contiuned; “You always say I’m so cute, so beautiful, Aren’t I sexy and hot?” Okay. This was something different. She obviously trying to flirt with me. I was very close to get a one night stand with my bias. I was feeling confident.

We arrived my house. I opened her door and hold her hand while she got out from my car. She thanked me and we started walking to my house. I have a modest house. I am a successfull record producer. But also I try to live a humble life. She was fascinated by my house. I never understand if she was being polite or if she really liked it but, that was the situation.

After we entered the house, she said that if I have something fresh to drink. I offered her a beer or a coke. She took the beer. As he was drinking her beer, she got up and started to walk around my house. My record collection, my computer. She was taking a full interest in me. The she asked “Where are your albums and cards. I want to see them.” I gave her the bag. She started to sign them with my pen. And after some time she finished signing them. She put them onto my desk. And sit beside me. “Do you love me?” She asked. “What are you talking about?” I asked. “Come on, you said I’m your bias. Didn’t you ever jerked off to my fancam?” Okay. It was happening. “I think about it.” I said. I got a boner sometimes. But I did not jerked off to you.” She took of her phone and checked to clock. It was 2 P.M. “I need to be in the Hotel by 4 P.M.” She said. “We have two hours.” Two hours for what I asked. She didn’t even replied and just kissed me on the cheek. I hold her neck and started kissing her lips. She started to took my clothes off. I did the same. She was left with her socks and her bra. I was only with my pants and my socks. She took of my pants and sit on my leg. We were kissing very passionately. Our lips were sealed to each other and our tongues were dancing in each others mouth. I took off her panties. And I carried her to my bedroom. Throw her to the bed and get on top of her. I started to kiss her every inch. Her nose, her lips and her neck. I started to go down slowly. I squeezed her tits. My cock was rock hard. But kissing her soft lips and her soft boobs was feeling like heaven. But I needed to go down on her and eat her pussy. When I started to eat her pussy, her body was shaking with my every touch. She was getting goosebumps everytime i lick her clit. It was so wet and so soft. I started fingering her pussy. After a while, I gave her an orgasm. Her juice was all over my hand. I licked my hand and I turned her back and started licking her asshole. “Don’t, It’s so gross.” She said while moaning. I answered “No, I want this.” As she was moaning and saying things in Korean, I stopped licking her asshole. Gave her ass a good spank and turned her back to me. “I want to suck your cock.” She looked at me with her cute eyes. I lay down on my bed, she get up and started to suck my cock. Yujin was sucking my cock.

She was so good. As she sucked my cock, I felt like she was sucking my soul off from my body. “Are you coming?” She asked me. “Yes, a little bit more, then I will be coming.” She stopped and said; “Do you want to cum on my boobs or on my back?” “I want to cum on your belly button.” I said. “You do that.” I was about to cum, I said to her that I was about to cum. I hold my wet cock. And started jerking it off to Yujin’s belly. My ropes of cum were on her belly. She rub her belly with her finger and eat my cum. “You should have just cum into my mouth” She said. “We still have time” I said.

She asked me for a condom. I always carry one in my wallet. I took of my wallet and take the condom inside. She hand gestures me saying give me the condom. She took the condom into his hands. Her red nail polish looked so sexy while she is holding my cock. She put the condom on, and turn her back to me. She was bent over in front of me. I got closer to her pussy and kissed it. Then i put my cock into her pussy. She was moaning like hell. But I wasn’t gentle with her. I put the tip in, waited a second that put it all the way in. Very hard.  I was hammering her. Holding her waist. I was holding her waist so hard that it was starting to go red. I let go of her waist and started to spank her ass. Left, right, left, right. With each spank, she was moaning a little more. I realized that I was about to cum, so I changed the position. Since she is very tiny, I was able to turn her face to me. I put her legs to my shoulder and took of her socks. Her little feet was on my face. I was kissing her feet wile i pound her pussy. She was screaming in English at this point. Then I put her legs down and get a little bit closer to her face. I was kissing her face as I was fucking her pussy. She was also scraching my back like crazy. As I pound her, she started to scrach a little bit more. At some point, I can feel that my back was bleeding.

She came for a second time. This time it was all over my cock and my legs. I continued to pound her pussy. I was about to cum. I took off the condom in a hurry, get closer to her face and cum on her face. She licked the cum near her lips. I gave her a napkin. She cleaned her face. Her face was so pink. I can tell that I fucked her really good. She hugged me. That hug was better than the sex. She looked at the time. “We have 20 minutes.” she said. “Where is your pen? I need your pen.” She continued. I got up and brought her the pen. She signed my left chest. And kissed it. “I was thinking about singing your forehead but you need to drive me to the hotel.” She said. I laughed. “Now I have two reasons not to take a bath” I said. “What was the first?” she asked. “Your smell is all over me. I never want it to disappear.” I answered. She hugged me again. “Will you help me dress up?” “Of course.” I answered. I helped her wear her clothes. She did not wear her bra and her socks. “You can keep those. In case you miss my smell.” She said. Then I asked “Will I Ever see you again?” She hugged me again and said; “I don’t think so. But If you see me again, you can be sure that we’re going to do this again.” I was devastated to hear that but, what else was going to happen? “I will text you tho.” She continued. “Now, let’s go. I’m going to be late.” I get dressed up and carried her to the car. As we were getting closer to the hotel, a sadness was taking over my body. Her little hand was on my thigh. It was a feeling that cannot be described with words.

Then we arrived at her hotel. She took off the pen one last time, put on her cap and coat and signed my forehead. Gave me a kiss on the lips. “Goodbye.” She said. “Goodbye.” I replied. As she got into the hotel and disappeared from my sight, I was just standing here. Frozen. Trying to process what happened in the last few hours. I smelled my right hand. It was still smelling like her.

And I drove off to my home.

THE END.

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

Apropos of nothing, here are my thoughts on some albums I've heard recently:

I listened to Chaeyeon's new EP and gave her first one a listen again, and her music is pretty pleasant to listen to. It's not that unique, and her vocals are only passable (she's not versatile, her tone isn't unique, she's not a skilled singer, and her voice lacks emotion) but the songs are easy listens and she does a good job with what she has. Danny and Same But Different were pretty nice and Hush Rush is pretty nice too. I don't remember Over The Moon that well, but I disliked I Don't Want to Know (that style of song is cliché and doesn't fit her imo), and I think her debut album was better. Still, I'd have to listen to Over The Moon Again. (Edit: Still prefer the debut album but I Don't Want to Know isn't that bad and Line by Line is really nice. Don't Be a Jerk is pretty and Like a Star too.) I also prefer Hush Rush over Knock. Knock actually sounds like something Eunbi would release, but, truth be told, female artists from small labels generally have a similar sound.

I've listened to Aespa's latest EP a few times and I really like Welcome To My World. It's catchy and Ningning's vocals are really good. I think that song should've been the tt even if it's a bit slow; it's still more GP friendly. But apparently Spicy is doing well? It's more upbeat and conventional than their usual tts and I liked the MV (didn't make me feel claustrophobic and I thought the visuals were referencing movies like High School Musical). I can't remember the tt right now because I keep thinking of Salty & Sweet. These two songs are a bit similar to me and reminded me of Salt-N-Pepa's Push It at first. Spicy doesn't scream tt to me, but it's not bad. The lyrics are awful though. I don't know if I like Spicy better than their other tts yet. Thirsty is my least favorite song and reminded me of Taemin's Thirsty. I'm Unhappy is nice and addictive and 'Til We Meet Again is pretty nice too. Overall, it's a solid EP, nothing too great, very Aespa, but Salty & Sweet and Thirsty need some work.

IVE don't miss with their tts. I wasn't expecting Wave to sound like that, but I really like it. It's like a cooler, less conventional, and more kitsch Kitsch, but it's a bit repetitive. The chorus is the weakest part of the song and it's repeated too many times. And the post-chorus is magical and is only repeated twice. I don't know why they didn't do more with that sound or why they didn't give Liz that part both times and instead had Gaeul sing it the second time. I also don't know why they didn't give Liz some of the bridge too. She's the best at softer, angelic vocals. They've been giving Gauel more singing lines, which is cool, but I wonder if that's because they want Rei and Leeseo to have all the rap and talk-singing verses, which are often the killing parts. They've been pushing Leeseo a lot. It's not bad, but although I get that Yujin has the catchiest vocals, and Wonyoung and Leeseo have catchy vocals too, and that Liz's vocals don't always fit, neither do Rei's. Popularity is very much influencing the line distribution.

Oh, and the Wave MV was pretty low budget but the tennis court scenes are fun and creative, and the dance seemed cool, especially in the chorus.

[clumsyclifford]

u know what. i will give u all the lore u want. i’m 18, will be 19 decently soon so we are close to the same age. also the other band was r5. i have sent u asks about them and tde in the past. i followed you for atl content and got whiplash when u started posting about the first band i ever loved. i was like 10 when their first album dropped i have been around for entirely too long. i had a wattpad account and wrote r5 fanfic from the tender age of like 11-13. i discovered 5sos i don’t even remember how but i think the funniest part about it is that i never really got into their music?? i got into them as people by watching like interviews and compilations. and i mean at this point that was a While ago. SPEAKING OF FANFIC i did that like ao3 year in review thing like a month ago??? and you were my top author of the year so far. i read a lot of fic on ao3. your fics are very lovely and some of my favs. moving on. will not lie my music taste is kinda embarrassing and has barely changed since i was like 14 lmfao. been listening to a lot of waterparks lately. have been since their album dropped in may. i essentially go through phases of listening to solely one artist. or one playlist i made. most recently my taste has consisted of a lot of all time low, waterparks, paramore + hayley’s solo music (it really had to grow on me BUT now that it has it is very good), also been on a nostalgic r5 kick as well. hot take it has been quite difficult for me to get into tde’s music and i don’t really know why. some songs i absolutely adore (omg plz don’t come around is my fav by them. also scared of heights, feel you now, welcome to the end of your life are top songs too) but others i’m just. i have never liked preacher man and it’s the first song they released after they rebranded in like 2017. i love to see them finally free to do what they love music-wise but some of it is just. hard to listen to. i’m supposed to see them live in november (like 4 days before my birthday, kinda cool) and it’s the second time the show has been rescheduled so hopefully it happens. i’ve seen them live before but not since they rebranded. they’re dropping an album in october that i will have like a month to learn so it better be a fucking banger. now i’m just rambling about tde because i love ross and rocky with my entire being. rydel is annoying these days tho. also she named her baby fucking SUPER what kind of name is that why would you do that to a child. anyways. you ever need useless random r5 lore, i’m the person to ask. it’s the effect of being around to like a band for like 8 years. in conclusion my music taste? terrible. a cluster fuck. i will listen to luke’s solo album next time i’m focusing on a task because i like listening to new music when i’m concentrating on something. there’s some other bella lore for the day. - other bella

OH ALSO yeah idk. i’m currently on mobile. when i looked at your blog on mobile the first time last night it was blue. but now it’s pink. i have yet to see it on desktop but when i do i am sure it will be equally as pretty. - other bella again

hell YES some other bella lore. let's dig in

oooooh how soon? whens your birthday? 👀👀👀

ahhh yes i do remember the r5 asks !!!! that was a fun little era of clumsyclifford content huh. dont worry i wrote 1d fic on wattpad from ages 11-13 as well sooo same hat. that is super funny tho actually that you never bothered to listen to their music u really were staying loyal to r5 good for you

ao3 year in review???????????? say more?????? what is this?????????? thats very flattering regardless omg im going to ask you what your favorites are because im a leo just kidding its because i crave validation and im curious what ones you read/have read. also thank you for reading my fics lol

oh yeah theres a new parx album!! i dont listen actively to them but i really like all the parx music i know. im scared to get really into them because im genuinely afraid to fall in love with awsten knight. like im not joking thats the reason. i have to listen to more of their music tho cos i really enjoy what i know so...if you have recs...👀 i'm listening

mm thats a good lineup of music to listen to!! paramore is another band i never got super into, i meant to and then i listened to all of riot and then i learned that hayley williams is like pretty christian and that a few paramore songs are more christian than i anticipated and now i'm like. on the fence about it all. but i wanna listen to after laughter i just havent gotten around to it yet. and i did like riot. i like paramore. i like dead horse by hayley, i didnt like the other single she released, and i didnt listen to her solo music because i didnt like the first single so im not sure if i would actually like it? i am accepting vibe checks in that category though i dont really know what kinda music it is. actually now that im thinking about it doesnt she have two albums now???? i feel like the answer is yes. anyway. moving on

that is very fair the thing abt the tde stuff is that it's all so interesting and so different from every other tde song like they really just do something unique in each song which i think is awesome but also makes it hard to like every song bc it's not like one universal vibe you kinda have to decide for each song if you're enjoying it or not. i do LOVEEEE tde though, im very jealous that you're seeing them perform. although i dont know why im not, just looked it up and theyre gonna be in new york on november 24th which is a sunday so i miiiight.....be able to go.......maybe...........their website says the 25th which is a monday so maybe i was under the impression the show was on a monday?? but the ticket site says sunday. 👀 we will just...have to see......what we see.............

ANYWAY

RIGHT im so excited for their album i was mistakenly thinking it was coming out the same night as luke's but it was just the new single which i really liked on a first listen but have to listen to again cos ive only heard it the one time. but i hope it fucks. they announced that the album is called girlfriend which personally i think is really fun so i have high hopes

SHE NAMED HER CHILD FUCKIN WHAT NOW???????????????

wait eight years thats a long time but also thats roughly how long ive been around 1d wtf........insane. madness. and in fairness probably roughly how long ive been around 5sos but i took a hiatus from both of those bands during high school so im not sure how much i can count all of those years. ive been around all time low for six years though, that's pretty good. anywayyyy i hope you like luke's album but no pressure man listen whenever you feel like it. LOVE YOU

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

Radio Friendly Unit Shifter: The Complete Nirvana Videography

Heart-Shaped Box

Nirvana had originally wanted Kevin Kerslake to direct this video, who had written the initial treatment in July 1992. By the summer of 1993, he had written at least five treatments, which included a shot of Kurt Cobain kissing William Burroughs and another of the entire band hanging by their necks from trees. Yet by the end of August, the band decided to go with Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn. The director seemed initially apprehensive about agreeing to do the video as he had heard Kurt Cobain could act overly detailed in production. He would say, “But then I looked at it and I thought that actually it was pretty good. I was very amazed by somebody writing a song and having those ideas as precise as he did." The video begins with the band standing in a hospital room around an old man receiving an IV drip, then moves to a surreal Wizard of Oz type of outdoor setting. The same old man in a Santa and later Pope hat climbs on a crow infested cross as they sing the song. The video also includes a young girl reaching for fetuses in a tree, while at the same time an overweight woman appears with human organs painted on her chest with a pair of wings. Many of these ideas were actually conceived by Corbijn, not the band as he always came up with the ideas on his own for any of his videos. Upon the promotion’s release, Kevin Kerslake sued the band for copyright infringement, as the case would be settled out of court. Upon its release, the clip became the most played video on MTV eventually garnering two video music awards for Best Alternative Video and Art Direction. Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear accepted the awards as Kurt Cobain had already passed. New Musical Express named it as the 11th best music video of all time, while Time magazine called it the number 10 music video ever saying it was both “beautiful and terrible.” In 2016, Dave Grohl reunited with the young girl from the video, who had this to say about the reunion. “Today reminded me that I peaked at 6 years old but I was the most badass kid on the playground. Today was the absolute coolest. Or in Dave's words seeing each other today was a 'historic moment'! What a legend!”

Sliver

A music video for the song was released in 1993 to promote the compilation album, Incesticide. The video would be directed by longtime collaborator Kevin Kerslake. The clip begins with Kurt Cobain holding his young daughter up behind some cardboard as she dances along to the first few seconds of the track. The video moves to Cobain’s garage, where it shows the band performing the song. Dave Grohl is playing on the drums, even though he never played on the original song. Cobain only sings into a microphone, but he's never seen playing guitar. He is wearing a red mohair sweater that Courtney Love had purchased for him from a fan at a Nirvana show in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His whole garage is filled with toys and decorations the singer had placed in storage just before the release of Nevermind that he had collected over the years. The collection included a Chim Chim toy monkey that was given to him from the Japanese band Shonen Knife.

Come As You Are

This video would actually be the first one directed by Kevin Kerslake, who was hired after such a negative experience with the director on Smells Like Teen Spirit. The concept would be developed by Kerslake as Cobain could not come up with any ideas, so he let the director develop the video. The singer’s only requirement was that some kind of reference be made to the cover of the Nevermind album. The clip shows the band in a dark room as water falls around them obscuring their form. Other images include Cobain swinging from a chandelier, a dog wandering around the room, a baby swimming in a pool, and a pistol falling underwater. The end of the video shows the entire group lying on the ground as Cobain kisses the camera.

Lithium

This video originally had a concept of doing a short animated story about a female girl named Prego. This girl lives in a forest, when she finds some eggs and takes them to a king in a nearby castle. Unfortunately, both Kevin Kerslake and Cobain discovered that it would take four months to produce the video, so they abandoned the idea. Kerslake instead created a collage of concert footage for the video made up of their 1991 Paramount Theater concert and other footage from the 1992 film, The Year Punk Broke. Biographer Michael Azerrad would make this critical comment about the clip. "Although [the video] was enlivened by Kerslake's neat trick of using more violent footage during the quiet parts of the song and vice versa, it was something of a disappointment from a band and a song that promised so much."

You Know You’re Right

Chris Hafner directed this video released in October 2002 to coincide with the single of the same name. The clip shows a montage of The band in either concerts or interviews, but giving the impression that they are actually performing the song. The video would reach number two on Billboard’s music videos chart. New Musical Express would go on to nominate it for Best Music Video in 2002.

In Bloom

Two versions of this video exist. The first one showed clips of the band walking around New York City and performing at Maxwells in New Jersey. In the clip, one can see Krist Novoselic in some shots has hair and others a shaved head. The reason for that comes from the fact that he had to shave it as punishment for a mediocre performance during a show at the Pyramid Club. They made this alternate version for a compilation dvd on the Sub Pop label, Sub Pop Video Network Volume One. The second version, which most people remember is called the Nevermind version. This promotional clip would be directed once again by Kevin Kerslake and released in November 1992. Kurt Cobain’s original concept for it was to tell the story of a young girl born into a Ku Klux Klan family until she realizes the evil nature of her parents, but the concept seemed much too difficult to work out. He then switched it into a parody of 1960’s television shows like the Ed Sullivan Show. The entire video was shot in original cameras of the period in Kinescope, while the band did the entire song without a script. The actor playing the host was Doug Llewellyn, who had worked as the reporter interviewing people after their case on the People’s Court. Cobain wanted to make a funny parody video to show that there was another side to Nirvana. He felt “so tired for the last year of people taking us so seriously . . . I wanted to fuck off and show them that we have a humorous side to us.” The entire band would wear suits during their performance, while the Nirvana frontman had glasses that eventually made him quite dizzy. He would later say in a Melody Maker interview that they wanted to parody groups like the Dave Clark Five, but not the Beatles. He would never mock the Fab Four due to their influence on his songwriting. In the clip, Novoselic is wearing short hair, which he liked so much that he never changed it. They eventually destroy all of their instruments and the stage by the end of the song. In Bloom would go on to win the 1993 MTV Music Video Award for Best Alternative Video.

Smells Like Teen Spirit

This video would be directed by first timer Sam Bayer. The director believed that he actually got hired because the work on his résumé seemed so below average that Nirvana thought that it would represent the opposite of anything remotely corporate. The concept developed by the band was to stage a school concert that ended in a riot. The idea had been based on the films Rock ‘n’ Roll High School starring the Ramones and The 1979 film, Over the Edge. The clip begins with the band playing the song during a pep rally in a high school gym as cheerleaders wearing sweaters with the anarchy symbol on them cheer along. Every so often, the camera cuts to a janitor dancing alongside his broom. The video ends with the apathetic students going from the bleachers to the gym floor in a full-scale riot. The apathy from the students was actually real as they had been sitting on the bleachers all day. Cobain was finally able to convince Bayer that the students should be allowed to mosh at the end of the video. The singer said, “Once the kids came out dancing they just said 'fuck you', because they were so tired of his shit throughout the day.” The Nirvana frontman hated the directors final edit of the video so much that he went in himself creating what became the final version. Upon its release, Rolling Stone’s David Fricke would say that it was “the greatest gig that you could ever imagine.” The video would go on the win MTV Video Music Awards for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Video. In 1999, the video was named the number three music video of all time on a list put out by MTV. VH1 named it number 18 in the greatest television moments in the history of music as alternative music now became a “commercial and cultural force.” At the end of 2019, the video had been viewed 1 billion times on YouTube.

[firstpuffin]

Changing elements of existing characters; race, sex etc

I remember when the F4ntastic Four movie came out in 2015 (and seriously, F4ntastic? What is this, the 90’s again?) and we saw that the new Human Torch was… different. There was some concern, admittedly even from me, about this change. I mean, Johnny Storm is white, right? Why cast a black actor?

  Well I could have let that slide without issue as long as they explained, even with just one sentence to not take up too much time, why his sister is white and him black. Yes, there could be a hundred-score reasons why, but it is unintuitive. Since then I have grown up and don’t mind nearly so much, but this “issue” comes up again and again. The new Doctor in Doctor Who is a woman and there has been rumour about a black James Bond floating around for a while. My favourite superhero died and there was a fuss when he was replaced by a black kid; Tony Stark let a black girl replace him as Iron Man (or whatever name she went by) and there was a fuss both times. Are you seeing the pattern?

  Established heroes are being replaced by children!

  I’m kidding.

  But there is always a fuss when a beloved character is changed and I must admit, a black James Bond would bother me. A female James Bond would bother me; the first and least important reason is that James Bond is an established white male character and a lot of his stories would be different if he wasn’t. The other characters in his stories would treat him differently, he would have had different experiences and would not be the same person.

  More importantly though, it’s kind of insulting (not to me mind, I’m a white male) that people seem to think that the James Bond brand is what’s needed to carry a black or female lead. Seriously, we already know that’s not the case, so make a brand-new character who fits your criteria. If you have the rights then put them in the same world as James Bond, sure. That could be fun.

  A female Doctor doesn’t bother me because it works in-world; they established long ago that it was possible to regenerate into a different sex so it’s cool. It works.

  It’s just a shame the writing was crap. Fingers crossed for the 2020 series.

  There were rumours for a while that Spider-Man, no cross that, Peter Parker was going to be gay in an upcoming movie. This didn’t happen and I’m glad. I probably shouldn’t be but I am. See, I let a lot slide in comic book universes because there is the multiverse and as long as we don’t know which universe exactly the story is based in, there is nothing wrong with Peter being gay. But again, why not make a new character who happens to be gay?

  Isn’t it offensive to think that a gay Spider-Man has to be the original?

  This is where Miles Morales comes in. He’s not a black Peter Parker, he’s a brand-new character. And yes, you could say my above argument should apply here, after-all it’s still the Spider-Man brand. But Spider-Man is pretty unique in that there has generally only been Peter Parker. Yes there is Miguel O’Hara in the future and similar variants but many superhero mantles have been picked up by other characters, but Peter Parker is usually Spider-Man and no-one steps up to take his place if he dies or vanishes.

  Except maybe Ben Reilly, Peter’s clone.

  But even if he wasn’t unique, it wouldn’t matter. Do you know how many Spider-Women there have been? Including another of Peter’s clones?

  So when the Peter Parker of the Ultimate universe dies, Miles Morales comes along and tries to pick up the slack. This is just comic book tradition, and it works. I like Miles Morales. He brings a freshness to the Spider-Man story; seriously, screw Uncle Ben I want to see more Uncle Aaron.

  Speaking of Uncle Aaron, I was a fan of Prowler when it was still Hobie Brown under the mask, but multiverse so whatever.

  So changes thanks to the multiverse is cool, as is taking up another hero’s mantle. What else am I okay with? Well for starters, if something is done well.

  It seems a lot of Iron Man fans weren’t too happy with the Mandarin but, and maybe this is because I didn’t know a whole lot of Iron Man lore, I thought that the twist was amazing. That is how you do a trailer. They set up this mysterious terrorist (yawn) who was dominating the Middle East, only for that to be a façade for the real villain. As a twist this is not only amazing but was set up incredibly well.

  And then there is Michelle Jones from Spider-Man: Homecoming who we discover is MJ right at the end. She is quite possibly as far from the MJ we know as is possible but then again, she isn’t Mary-Jane Watson. I really like what they are doing here, using an established character whose relationship with the hero pops up in nearly every iteration, to hint at future sub-plots without actually being the same character.

 So I’ve been pretty positive about the idea of “changing” a character, so why am I bringing this up? Because it doesn’t matter how justified the change is, the execution can ruin it. Doctor Who is a prime example of this.

I was pretty excited to see a woman portray the Doctor because there is a lot in his (I use the male pronoun for a reason) character that you don’t often see in female characters. Matt Smith was amazing at portraying an old man in a young man’s body; he was a treat to watch. Tennant, Smith and Capaldi were all very good at showing a character who was old, who knew, and had experienced, far more than any human could match. He took the lead, got angry when he needed to and had a fire in his belly, a sliver of ice in his heart, usually hidden by a cheerful and possibly forced optimism.

  To see that kind of female character would be new and awesome.

  Instead we had infantile episodes more focused on preaching than actually telling a story. I don’t know if Whitaker can act, I don’t know if she is up to the job of being the Lonely God, because we didn’t get to see it. I’ve been watching the old episodes, by which I mean 1963 onwards and I’ve just revisited the 2005 onwards series’; two companions really has to be the maximum number of companions and if there is a third then they should be the Doctor’s equal. Otherwise the Doctor gets ignored.

  River Song was never just a companion and while you could say that her presence detracted from his, it was in a good way that allowed the characters to bounce off of each other. In series 11 with Whitaker we saw more of Ryan and Graham’s relationship than we did the Doctor herself, that is when they don’t pause the episode to dump exposition onto the viewers (I’m looking at you, episode 3).

  Of course as far as I’m concerned, the greatest sin occurred in the second episode: she gives up. The Doctor gives up. For no good goddamn reason. Okay so there is a reason. Her time-machine, which has been coming and going for centuries isn’t there at that very moment! She didn’t see it disappear, not to return for another hundred years; it just wasn’t there yet and she knew it was due any moment. What the fu-?!

  Who is this woman? Certainly not the Doctor who chases away fleets of spaceships with a speech.

-what a speech- 

  How about another example? You may have heard of Spider-Gwen (don’t worry she doesn’t actually go by that name, that would be stupid), her series is based on Earth-65 as opposed to the mainstream series which is Earth-616 (who numbers these?). I don’t want to talk about her, although I totally could. I like her and what they wanted to do, even if the execution was poor. No, I’m bringing up the Earth-65 Captain America: a black woman called Samantha Wilson.

  The agenda behind that can already be practically tasted but I prefer not to whine about such things and she seems okay as a character. My problem is that if she went through the same process as Steve Rogers, which she did, then why isn’t she ripped like Steve? Seriously, that guy is jacked in virtually every incarnation so why isn’t she? Because she’s a woman and thus her biology is different? I think it’s safe to say that that is BS and the only reason she isn’t covered in rippling muscle is because it wouldn’t look sexy.

-seriously? Trump is Modok? He’s even quoting Trump! Urgh, the taste of agendas-

  Men can be huge but women? Nope.

  I don’t mind Gwen not being massive, depending on the artist then Peter can be pretty skinny too. But double-standards much?

 I’m going to close up here. I don’t mind changes to established characters so long as it makes sense: taking up the mantle of a superhero, an alternate universe or possible in the established canon; I do however think that rather than changing an established character, a new character should be made. But while I often like to see these new (or sometimes “new”) characters, I will not force myself to like something if the execution is poor.

[heilewelt]

In words: Americana Showcase Festival UK, Januar 2019

My favorite festivals are the small and relaxed ones where every venue is just a small club within walking distance and it’s comfortable to get in every venue because there are no massive lines, the people are relaxed, no pushing and everyone is playing on time. Those are a few reasons why I fell in love with the Americana UK Showcase Festival in London the other week. A small, wonderfully curated festival in the heart of Hackney. It’s made by the Americana Music Association UK and part of the conference which took place during daytime. This year I left the conference part out but I’m pretty sure I won’t next year.

I initially went to London to (finally) see Arkansas Dave live. We met in Nashville during Americana Fest 2018 and drove around downtown to do our interview – I just arrived to late to catch him live. So, London it was. I’m so glad I went. They were amazing. The stage was shaking. Literally. Dave is not holding back on stage and when he jumped the stage would shake. The drums were shaking. Mikey was smiling behind his drums. He had a different drummer than usual but he got one of my most favorite: Mikey Sorbello of The Graveltones. I love his style. He knows Rock. Their set was a little less Americana and more stomping Rock’n’Roll. Heating up the freezing cold room or just me because I couldn’t stand still. Of course their set was a little too short – round about 30 minutes. Maybe the only downside of a showcase festival.

Once again I was lucky. The line up of the whole festival was very, very good. Arkansas Dave’s performance had been the cherry on top of two beautiful days. I also want to tell you about my ice cream performances. I was very fortunate to see Kaia Kater again. She is a Folk musician from Canada. There’s always something very earnest about her performing her songs and the way she combines traditional with modern and - as you can hear especially on her latest album “Grenades” – her own and her families stories. The Empire Bar was full. And even some other bands were seen – like Birds of Chicago. Later that same night I’d see them on stage of the Night Tales. Another highlight.

The duo, JT Nero and Allison Russell, were joined by Steve Dawson on guitar. One of the things I like about these guys is that Allison Russell actually plays a clarinet, an instrument I don’t see to often on stage. And I love how the voices work together – the roughness and the smoothness. Beautiful. My favourite moment of their set was the performance of “American Flowers” at the end and how all the music industry people joined in to song along the chorus – according to JT Nero something you shall never attempt. Haha. Well, it worked fine and was such a beautiful moment.

Ida Mae is a duo who moved from London to Nashville, musically being more at home in Nashville than in London. I’ve seen them last year in Nashville and now again in London and they’re wonderful. Growing love with every time I see them live. There’s something very comforting in their music and Chris Turpins voice and the harmony with his wife’s Stephanie Jean’s voice. I absolutely love their newest single “If You Don’t Love Me” – live it becomes even more emotional. These two are one of the bands who I believe have a big and bright future ahead of them. They’re endlessly on tour.

Here is my universal tip for you: never leave the venue when a white haired man with beard and cowboy hat enters the stage. That’s why I caught Asleep At The Wheel as a duo at a packed Moth Club. Well, a quarter of Asleep At The Wheel: Ray Benson and Katie Shore. Of course I’ve heard of them before but never saw them live. What a shame! Country right from the heart of Texas, plenty of stories and laughter. Some great cover versions, Asleep At The Wheel Songs and a song written by Benson and Shore over skype – modern times are not all bad. I’m not sure what venues they usually play but seeing Ray Benson on such a small stage felt pretty special.

I’ve only recently heard about Ethan Johns for the first time – he produced two albums which will be released soon: William the Conqueror’s “Bleeding On The Soundtrack” (release date: 15th of February 2019) and Ida Mae’s soon to be released debut album. Both on my watchlist. Johns didn’t play alone. He had The Black Eyed Dogs with him, his everchanging backing band, more a collective of musician/friends who meet on stage to play together or a public rehearse. It was fascinating to watch him as he has this way of directing the music even while they play.  Keeping it all together and then again let lose for a little jam at the end of a song.

I guess every festival must end with a bang. That’s why Whiskey Shivers were the perfect last band. Barefooted, moustache wearing perfect last band. Barefoot in a venue that was basically an open garage at temperatures around 0°C. They sure kept warm as there is no way that they or us could stand still. Trashgrass at its best, although I don’t know what it would sound like at its worst. Joyous last gig, especially when they played a song amongst the audience. Would have been even better without cell phones and cell phones’ flash lights but you can still close your eyes and listen and dance.

The Americana Music Association UK also held an award show at the Hackney Empire on the third day of the conference. There were winners, wonderful speeches, Bob Harris and performances from artists like Mary Gauthier, Graham Nash, Ethan Johns, Israel Nash and more but for me the most outstanding, remarkable performance was from Rhiannon Giddens! She left her banjo behind and sang without any amplification. How it used to be in this impressive, old British theater and even in last row on the balcony I’d get goosebumps. So amazing. I’m so glad I finally got the chance to see her live after so many years of listening to her music.

I can’t wait for the next edition of this wonderfully curated little Americana festival. You can feel the passion in every moment and the love for the genre when you talk to the visitors. I just loved it. 

Thank you for reading,

Dörte

P.S. all photos (c) Dörte Heilewelt, a few more photos on my flickr.

[rennyji]

July 16th Mid Afternoon Tweets...

July 16th Mid Afternoon Tweets...

Milliard organic cacao power is got to be the cleanest chemical free healthiest version of this superfood…can find it on Amazon...

The song “Take It Off” by Kesha- the highlight of my Thursday evening…

Doesn’t this look like Kenny from South Park: ((><))

Whatever happened to Avril Lavigne? Liked her songs “What the hell?” and “Skater Boy.”

Heard some Mariah Carey Songs, like “Obsessed” or “Touch My Body”…there just aren’t enough Mariah Carey’s…

“Aisha” - by Outlandish- another great song…

“La Vida Es Bella” music video…love the looks and moves of the female singer…

---

On Monday, after eating lunch, I shook hands with this guy named "Wah." He’s Asian, friendly, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of the martial artists that Master Roshi grew up with, in the Dragon Ball series, when he was fighting King Piccolo…-

-that is one cool dude, and if he does know martial arts, I hope he’ll patiently teach me...

---

so a thought...-

So there’s a Biblical saying, “Anyone who loves father, mother, etc. more than Me will not inherit “The Kingdom.” Let’s assume “The Kingdom,” in this context is, “salvation”. Let’s look at it in the perspective of people who follow instructions or impulses to harass others, or the orchestrators doing this Elleven+ years phenomena. You may crave escaping punishment for this or getting the best stuff in life, but if you know what ur doing is wrong to reach your favored destination, with the sole intent of saving ur a*s, not only do you risk the ultimate Salvation, but you also risk the earthly safe place you may be seeking. Why? Because you love your own interests more than what is intrinsically right. Doing what’s right results in its own reward. If you think doing the wrong thing is the only way you see “out of something”, then there’s another Biblical saying to keep in mind: “if ur eye causes you to sin, then cut it out, for it is better to go though life with one eye, then your whole being, or all of you, being thrown into Gehenna I.e. hell or eternal damnation. This does not mean to literally cut off ur eye. But, in order to do the right thing, if you have to risk getting in trouble, people thinking ill of you, or going to jail or whatever, then that is better in the long run, then your loved ones being cursed and you experiencing eternal damnation. Aim for the right thing in life, whatever the cost, for what your Father sees “in secret” or from the good of your heart, will be rewarded in time.

---

so, another thought...-

So in 30 years of life, Ive run into all sorts of people. Particularly people of particular positions…when it comes to those in power, Americans tend to have an open mind/adventurous nature to protocols vs. immigrants or their non American born counterparts, who practice strict adherence to protocols. Now, in life, the open mind gives soul to your work. What makes some of the non native Americans practice strict adherence? I mean there’s nothing wrong with strict adherence, but you gotta look at it from their perspective. These people represent those of their background. They are role models, they are people who struggled past biases and various obstacles to reach the highest point of some places. Discipline and hard work defines them. They may be experiencing the reward of a life of struggle. I mean when you think American, you think toward an easy supportive family/financial background, especially of Caucasians. Maybe they really don’t have to struggle that much with at least biases because they are the stereotyped face of the modern world. Among immigrants and minorities, it is thought, if nothing else, that stereotyped Americans, have at least the bare minimum of financial support. In a country with everything, this may encourage liberal adventurous or open mindedness to rules, regulations, and protocols-that said, there can be situations where that goes too far and causes problems. Life is about balance.

What’s an example of what I’m saying? I was recently at Macy’s where a manager was hell bent on getting me to return something online for the sake of protocol that she didn’t think with an open mind and heart. If her register was not working and they don’t have IT support, the obvious thing would be to encourage someone to try another register.  As she sees me going to another register from afar, she decides to follow me and watch me from a distance…wtf…really takin that protocol cr*p to a whole new level. Am I something from the street for you to monitor? Do you know how much I’ve wasted on that mediocre establishment, riding on the image of expensive quality from years ago? So that’s mindless rule following on an extreme level where I don’t know what demon possessed her or what installed mental pair of glasses or extraneous information she was seeing me through.

Then there’s Brother O’Conner from my time at the Iona Prep high school. He belongs to the order of Irish Christian Brothers. For collecting enough cans for the Thanksgiving drive, he rewarded the entire school with a day off, despite allocation of day offs for snow days and having a set amount of school days a year. Everyone enjoyed, teachers adjusted, and no problems erupted from this deviation of protocol. Brother O’Conner passed on, and although I only viewed him from a distance, he lives in my memory in the magical like reward, of a day off, for doing something good. I mean, then there was another Brother who took over, after Brother O’Conner left. No stories like the aforementioned to remember with the second Brother and the personality wasn’t lively. If you want to be in the minds and heart of people, or make a difference, you need to ask questions, not be blind followers, and understand the “meaning and purpose” of rules in place of mechanically being obedient to them.

I mean when modern day youth think of religion or Christianity, they think it’s rules and regulations that judge you, make you feel like cr*p, and that can be summed up with “don’t do this/don’t do that…” but religion is more and primarily about enhancing your mind to believe and achieve anything in this life. 

Christ was a rule challenger. In the face of the laws of Judaism in His time, He says, In Matthew 5:17-18, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” What does it mean to fulfill the law and prophets? It means Christ wants us to rise above mechanical following of rules. I believe the law in His time says to stone prostitutes. I mean does anyone choose to be a prostitute? At the same time, a prostitute may have more humanity in them than their priestly counterparts. Hence the story of Mary Magdalene. She was about to be stoned by the Jewish elders, according to law, or tradition, but Christ’s sees her heart, who she is inside amidst all those layers. He experiences compassion- a trait not common to Americans or police or some doctors or professors or whatever. (I think it was Shrek who said people are like onions: they have layers.) On the surface, yes, Mary Magdalene a prostitute. But she may have potential for a kind loving heart, an open mind, a potential for greatness. On the basis of the notion of love for all human beings, Christ challenges tradition/law, miraculously writes up the sins of the Jewish elders for them to see, and says, “ let the one without sin cast the first stone.” Mary Magdalene ended up being one of Christ’s most faithful followers. Jewish tradition/law had biases toward tax collectors because they were depicted as greedy, working with foreigners, and overexerting their authority among people. Christ took in, even a tax collector, to be one of his 12 Apostles…-12 Apostles, because, if I remember correctly, it had to do with the 12 tribes of Israel. 

Point being in all this, go beyond mechanical rules, regulations, traditions. In life there is only one rule: The Golden Rule-“Love God first and foremost, and your neighbor as yourself.”

---

[silverfootstepswrites]

title Bang Bang summary The neon lights make me numb pairing Itasaku rating babies, close your eyes. racier than what i normally do. 

Part i | Part ii (here) | Part iii | Part iv | Part v | Part vi | Part vii | Part viii | Part ix | Part x | Part xi | Part xii | Part xiii | Part xiv | Part xv | Part xvi | Part xvii | Part xviii | Part xix | Part xx | Part xxi | Part xxii | Part xxiii | Part xxiv | Part xxv | Part xxvi | Part xxvii | Part xxviii | Part xxix | Part xxx | Part xxxi | Part xxxii | Part xxxiii | Part xxxiv | Part xxxv | Part xxxvi | Part xxxvii| Part xxxviii | Part xxxix | Part XL (it ends here)

The view from Victoria Peak was one of her favorite things about this city. Sakura clung to the metal barrier. The wind whipped at her cheeks and clothes, angry for a moment. And then calm again.

The entire island took on a strange gradient of glows. The bottom buzzed orange and warm as the streetlights beat back the darkness. And then came the high-rises growing from the concrete. Their many windows lit up florescent white and blue. She could pick out some of the nightclubs and parties even from here- the windows pulsing bright purples and greens. Last were the skyscrapers that reached like hands to the heavens. It almost looked like the clouds would snag against their pointed tops. 

In the distance, she could make out the dark skeletons of buildings still in progress. The strangely-shaped one by the harbor was of particular interest. Yakushi Kabuto had invested a significant amount of money into that project. Her boys were still looking into why.

“Aunt Cheng.”`

“I know,” Sakura said, pushing away from the barrier. 

“Uncle Hashirama is waiting,” Tenten reminded her, opening the back door of the car.

“We’ll stop by the restaurant and pick up some roast goose. He never gets mad when I come with food,” Sakura said. Tenten sighed as she got into the back with her.

“Honestly, you’re the only person I know who tests the Dragon Head’s patience,” she scolded half-heartedly. Zabuza chortled as he started the car and began driving. He took them through the long, winding road that spiraled down from Victoria Peak.

“I’m also the only female Red Pole, Tenten. I didn’t just get here by being a pretty face,” Sakura quipped in return.

“You’re late,” grunted Yamato as she got out of the car several minutes later. He leaned against the hood of his expensive sports car. It was one she didn’t recognize. Perhaps a gift from one of the Red Poles? Or maybe even Uncle Hashirama himself?

“You still playing as Uncle Hashirama’s chaffeur?” sneered Zabuza. Yamato lowered his cigarette, giving Zabuza an incredulous look.

“Fuck you. You’re her chaffeur too,” Yamato retorted, looking at Sakura.

“Now, now, boys. We’re not here to fight. Play nice while the grown-ups go up and talk,” Sakura said with a saccharine smile. Tenten smirked at the two men as she followed Sakura into the building. 

Uncle Hashirama owned countless buildings in the city. But his preferred meeting place was the building that overlooked Victoria Harbor. It had a direct view to Kowloon on the opposite side of the water. But more importantly, some of the busiest ports were in clear sight from his office from the top floor. The floors below housed shell companies and fronts that never actually seemed to have any clients. The bottom floor of the old building housed a yum cha restaurant that was apparently quite popular. Even at this time of night, there was a line out the front door. Sakura glimpsed the busy restaurant as she walked up the stairs from the back entrance.

“You’ve got to convince Uncle to get an elevator installed in here,” huffed Tenten as they reached the 5th floor.  Sakura shrugged.

“You pick and choose your battles with him,” she replied. She nodded to the thugs on guard duty who immediately opened the door for her. Taking the takeout container from Tenten, Sakura strode in, an extra swish in her hips.

“Uncle Hashirama-”

“You’re late.”

Sakura looked over to see who had spoken. Tobirama sat in an old leather armchair. An unlit cigarette sat between his lips.

“You know why you’re boring? You just said the exact same thing to me as Yamato,” she sighed, tilting her head. Tobirama scowled at her. Reaching into her coat pocket, she grabbed her lighter and tossed it. He caught it with one hand without thanks.

“But my brother is right, Sakura. You are late,” Hashirama said, turning in his chair. Middle age hadn’t taken his charm from him. His dark hair was perfectly silky, framing his tanned face. In his pressed shirt and and rolled up sleeves, he looked like anybody’s handsome father. He was one of the rare gangsters who had avoided scarring on his face. That was a testament to his strength rather than to his vanity, though. There were rumors that his body was unblemished too, although nobody could confidently confirm.

Hashirama rested his chin on his folded hands, waiting.

“Only because I stopped to get your favorite, Uncle,” replied Sakura in a sing-song voice. She held up the takeout, fluttering her eyelashes. 

Hashirama heaved a deep sigh. He leaned back in his chair, making it squeak.

“Did you ask for extra sauce?” he asked.

“Uncle. How could you even ask me that?” gasped Sakura, holding up an extra plastic container.

“A fucking Red Pole bribing the Dragon Head with roast duck,” grumbled Tobirama a few minutes later. He watched Hashirama tear into the meat with both hands. The disgust was clear on Tobirama’s face. Sakura laughed as she shed her coat. Tenten draped it over her arm, leaving Sakura in a black blazer and matching skirt. She walked over to Tobirama, red heels tapping against the cement floor. 

As her shadow fell across him, Tobirama glanced up at her. She reached into his shirt pocket to pluck out a cigarette. Placing it in her mouth, she leaned in close to press the tip against his. The paper sizzled. Tobirama grimaced.

“Are you serious, woman? You could have just asked for yours back,” he grumbled. But still he didn’t resist when she deposited herself in his lap, her calves resting on the armrest. Tobirama held up her lighter. She only batted her eyelashes at him. Sighing and muttering under his breath, Tobirama twisted to place the lighter in the pocket of her blazer.

“You’re a peach, Tobirama,” she said. She blew smoke into his face, making him squint. She used the opportunity to peck the tip of his nose.

“You’re hopeless,” he sighed.

“Okay, stop teasing him, Sakura. What did you want to talk to me about so badly?” Hashirama interrupted after swallowing a mouthful of duck. He wiped his fingers clean on a handful of cheap napkins. Sakura took her cigarette out of her mouth, holding it between two fingers.

“I just wanted to see if you got my present the other day, Uncle. I had it expedited just for you,” replied Sakura. She felt Tobirama let out a silent snort of laughter. 

“Yeah and we got the card too. What Red Pole writes notes on stationery covered with bunnies?” scoffed Tobirama. Sakura turned to look at him, her eyelashes lowering.

“What kind of Red Pole calls them ‘bunnies’ and not ‘rabbits’?” she asked in return. That shut him right up. They both looked back at Hashirama. He took his time wiping his mouth.

“I have to say, Sakura, the handiwork was commendable. What gave you the idea for the presentation?” asked Hashirama. Sakura looked up humming, pretending to think.

“Oh, it’s just that he threatened to cut my face into ribbons. So I thought I’d return the favor. Although, the credit has to go to Sai for the actual work. He’s a real artist,” replied Sakura. Hashirama laughed at that. 

“You know, I was worried when you brought in so much new blood during your initiation. But it seems like everywhere I turn, I’m hearing good things about them. I’m glad I trusted your eye,” Hashirama commended her. Sakura smiled shyly, lowering her gaze.

“Oh Uncle, you’re such a flatterer,” she replied. But then her expression sobered. She lifted her chin.

“I wanted to ask if this makes us even with the Uchiha-gumi? If you’re satisfied, I don’t feel the need to pursue any further retribution against the Japanese,” she went on. It sounded like a question but it wasn’t really. And Hashirama seemed to pick up on this. He tore off a piece of goose, dunking it into the sauce. He examined it as he spoke.

“Well, my dear, if you’re not upset, then I can hardly hold onto my own anger. Although I did hear that they damaged your lovely face,” sighed Hashirama. He stuffed the goose into his mouth when he had finished speaking.

“What?” Tobirama demanded.

Grabbing Sakura’s chin, he twisted her face to him. Pushing her hair aside, he found the small white bandage.

“It’s only two stitches,” Sakura assured him. “Relax.” She pushed his hand down. And then she leaned in close.

“It’s okay, Tobirama. You know I like it rough.”

Tobirama’s entire face flushed red. His hands clamped down on the armrests as he looked away from her. 

Hashirama watched the exchange with a helpless expression. He hadn’t heard what she had said, but he could guess. He had to admit that it was somewhat funny to see her mess with his stuffy, uptight little brother. 

“Oh and one other thing, Uncle,” said Sakura, turning back to the Dragon Head.

“I’m giving a bigger cut of our profits to you starting next month,” she announced. Hashirama’s eyebrows rose. 

“Sakura, I’m not demanding more from you. You bring in almost as much money as Tobirama’s boys do. And you far outshine the Red Arrow boys,” he assured her. Her upper lip curled at the mere mention of the Red Arrow gang.

“Uncle, I’m not interested in being compared to the likes of Kabuto and his tweakers,” she complained. Tobirama bit back his smile. He met his brother’s eyes and quickly looked away to avoid laughing outright.

“Anyway, my boy Charlie Lau made a connection. We started moving product in through Ginza from Kowloon and he’s making a killing.  Thought it would be nice that some of that trickles into your pockets.”

Hashirama looked straight into her eyes. His stare seemed to search her very soul. Many mistook this Dragon Head as being too light-hearted compared to his predecessors. But Sakura knew that he could spot a lie like a hawk spotted a field mouse. Talons out. Dive and kill.

“What do you want, Sakura?” he demanded. The laughter was gone. 

Sakura took a drag from her cigarette. Tilting her head back, she expelled the smoke in one long trail toward the ceiling. With her left hand, she reached back, as if to hold onto the back of the armchair. Instead, she gently combed her fingers through Tobirama’s hair. 

“Nothing....yet,” she responded. And then she smiled, eyes narrowing. She met Hashirama’s gaze.

“But when the time comes, Uncle, I want you to remember that I’m your favorite. Not Kabuto,” she added. 

Hashirama looked her over one more time. He clicked his tongue against his teeth. Pushing his takeout aside, he motioned for a cigarette from one of his cronies.

“Are you about to start a headache for me, Jing-Mei?” he questioned. 

Sakura raked her fingers across Tobirama’s scalp. She felt his grip tighten around her thigh. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that his expression hadn’t changed. She smiled.

“Now why would you say that to your favorite, Uncle?” she giggled.

Sakura sent Tenten ahead after her meeting with the Dragon Head. They paused in the lobby outside Uncle Hashirama’s office as Tenten helped her into her coat.

“Go ahead with Zabuza. Make your rounds in Central and check in on the boys. I want to make sure that we’ve got this month’s protection money. Be especially careful towards the east. If you run into the Red Arrow boys, avoid a fight if possible,” Sakura ordered, flipping her hair over her collar. Tenten frowned.

“What about you, Boss?” she questioned.

“I’m going to have a talk with Tobirama. If I need the car later, I’ll call,” Sakura assured her. As Tenten hesitated, the doors to Uncle Hashirama’s office opened. Tobirama strode out, his silhouette somehow filling the entire room. 

Tenten didn’t understand how her boss got away with teasing him. Just looking at the man was enough to make her blood run cold. She had shed plenty of blood in her day, but this Red Pole was on another level. She had never seen a man with such murderous eyes. 

“Go. I’ll be at my apartment in Aberdeen if you need me later,” she urged Tenten.

“Got it, Boss,” Tenten finally agreed. And then she hurried down the stairs before Tobirama could try to say something to her.

Sakura took her time fidgeting with her coat and brushing imaginary lint off her skirt. She waited until she was certain that Tenten was long gone before she began her lazy way down the stairs.

She listened. Heard his footfalls follow her. 

His hand slammed against the wall just beside her head when they reached the landing for the deserted third floor.

“What were you trying to pull in there?” Tobirama growled. His chest heaved up and down. In the darkened stairwell, she almost couldn’t make out the red tattoos on his cheeks and chin. She looked up into his eyes, unwavering. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied. When her mouth moved, their lips almost touched. She could feel him trembling, hear his fist tightening beside her ear. She could even hear his teeth grinding together. His breath stank of tobacco as he exhaled.

“What will you do if Uncle sees us like this here?” Sakura whispered. 

Tobirama didn’t move.

Sakura reached out, her palm resting against his chest. He flinched a little. But stilled as her hand ran down his leather jacket, smoothing over his side. She slipped her fingers under the zipper, depositing a key card into his pants pocket. 

“Good night, Tobirama,” she then said. Without another word, she ducked under his arm and made her way down the stairs. Unhurried. Her hands in the pockets of her unbuttoned coat. She made it all the way down to the first floor, out the back doors. Yamato gave her a sullen nod as she passed. He didn’t seem to hate her as much as he hated Zabuza and Tenten.

“Your ride left, Aunt Cheng. Need a lift?” he offered, uncharacteristically generous. Sakura looked at him over her shoulder.

“No need. You have a good night,” she responded, already walking. Yamato gave her another nod, his eyebrows rising. 

Sakura flagged a taxi a couple blocks from Uncle Hashirama’s building. She told him her address and then pulled her phone from her pocket. 

Tenten must have spread the word that she was busy. There were only a few messages and they were mostly about things that could wait. She replied to Tommy’s text about their meeting next week. And then she read over the short email from Sai updating her on the goings-on at the club in her absence. By the time she was done catching up, the taxi had stopped in front of her building. She paid and then headed into the high-rise.

This apartment in North Point had been her first big purchase. Technically, it was in the Chrysanthemum gang’s territory, but they didn’t seem to mind. At the time, she had thought to stay in Uncle Hashirama’s territory. Back then, Red Pole had been a distant goal she had thought she would never reach. 

She had started off as a hostess in her mother’s little snack bar in Yokohama. Her mother, a Hong Kong immigrant who never talked about her past, had raised her on her own. Sakura had a sneaking suspicion that either her mother had run away from her father or didn’t know who he was. Either way, she had grown up as Cheng Jing-Mei until the sidelong looks and snide comments at school had driven her home in tears. Where she had begged her mother for a Japanese name. To stop all those judgmental stares.

So the name Haruno Sakura replaced everything on the register. But the new name didn’t help. Everyone knew that she went home to an apartment above a smoky little snack bar in Chinatown. They knew that she was different, made comments about her mother and her whiskey-voice. 

The only comfort Sakura could find was in her mother’s snack bar. Where other Chinese-born and their children stopped in after work for a drink and someone to talk to. Together they could share in the experience of not quite fitting in. Like jamming feet into shoes that were just a half-size too small. She started fighting those sneering bullies, learning to band together with those like her.

But then her mother had died. And with the money she made selling her mother’s bar, she could have finished school. Entered the work force and made an honest living. Instead she decided to move back to Hong Kong where her mother had grown up. With her passable Cantonese and middling Mandarin, Sakura had managed to find a job at a seedy little karaoke bar. 

Which was where she had first met Hashirama. 

At the time, a rakish man in his early thirties, Hashirama had been a Red Pole. In charge of the Chrysanthemum Gang under the previous Dragon Head. He had caught her staring at the fresh tattoo of the god of war, Guan Yu, on his right arm. She sang him a couple songs, had a few conversations. And she eventually became his favorite each time he visited.

“You know. We’ve been looking into making some friends in Japan. Do you think you’d be willing to translate for us?” he had asked one night. Barely 17, living in a dirty apartment with five other karaoke hostesses, she had jumped at the chance to do something bigger. To be useful to the handsome gangster who often felt like the only person to really hear her voice. 

The favors multiplied. They asked her to hide a weapon. To make a phone call and recite some numbers. As her skills in Cantonese and Mandarin improved, Hashirama invited her to come work at a different club- this one run by the Chrysanthemum Gang. Where she didn’t have to sit on the laps of men she didn’t like. Where if anyone got mouthy with her, one of Hashirama’s men would be sure to step in. 

She continued to translate, learning to smile and laugh to smooth over the tense moments. And that charm helped her ingratiate herself with his goons. They taught her to fight, taught her how to shoot a gun. Instead of “bitch” and “girl” they started to learn her name. 

Soon, she was out of the karaoke booths. Instead, she was in the back room of the club. Helping Hashirama plan, sinking deeper and deeper into his secrets. Finally feeling like this was the shoe size that fit her.

These little things piled up one on top of another. Until the night she had been given as a present to another Red Pole: Orochimaru. 

The betrayal had ruined her. She was inconsolable. Drowning herself in alcohol and fleeting flings with nameless men. She hadn’t understood what she had done wrong to make Hashirama throw her away like she didn’t matter. Why had big brother Hashirama suddenly come to hate her, she lamented. And as the months dragged on, she began to see how Orochimaru took a liking to her and trusted her. 

She was given one laundering business. Then two. Then ten. Handed over the racketeering in the night market. Orochimaru bought a building in her name because she was just so damn good at keeping secrets. As the years went on, she gathered her own following as Orochimaru’s right hand and the second most powerful member of the Jade Gang. 

She still failed to see the bigger picture until the night the Dragon Head was assassinated by Orochimaru.

He was executed by Hashirama’s men maybe an hour later. And by the end of the night, Hashirama was named Dragon Head.

She remembered standing in the back room of that smoky karaoke bar a week later.

“Was this all part of your plan? Sending me to Orochimaru? You taking over?” she had demanded. Hitting him and hugging him. Relieved to see him and hating him all at once.

“The Chrysanthemum Gang had to go to my younger brother. I knew that eventually I would have to kill Orochimaru. And having someone like you to take his place made things much easier. Of course, I didn’t realize how soon I would have to take him out.”

Now that she no longer needed to cower under Hashirama’s wing, Sakura devoured freely. Her ties to local businesses deepened. She invested in different companies, expanding and raking in so much money that at first she hadn’t believed the profit reports. Central was firmly in her grasp. Each cog in the machine spun smoothly. And those that couldn’t obey were ground to dust between the spinning wheels. 

Soon, her slice of Hong Kong wasn’t enough. Hashirama, seeing her voracity, had sent her to work with their connections in Japan. The little seeds of influence in Yokohama bloomed under her hand. All of her old connections came in handy as she sweet-talked and fawned her way to control. Her influence spread, seeping up the coast of Japan like a disease. 

As she tapped her key card against the door, she felt his heat engulf her back. 

“You know, the point of us arriving separately was to avoid being seen,” she remarked, her fingers resting on the handle. Tobirama placed his hand on top of hers, turning the handle together, his breath hot against the back of her neck.

Her back hit the wall as soon as she stepped into the apartment. Their bodies twisting together, fingers tangling deep into her hair. She bared her teeth as he tugged her head back. 

“I’m boring?” he demanded. Sakura smirked at him, watched him unbutton the top half of her shirt.

“The Dragon Head isn’t a fool. You can’t keep playing games like that in front of him. You’re going to get us caught,” Tobirama warned, his hands stilling. 

“Oh. As if you’re subtle. Worrying over a little cut like a mother hen,” scoffed Sakura. Tobirama’s eyes narrowed, finding her bandage again. 

“If that little rat wasn’t already dead, I’d drown him in Victoria Harbor myself,” he snarled. Sakura laughed. She dragged him up by the hair to meet her mouth. 

“Ooh. Talk dirty to me,” she teased between kisses. Tobirama pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes.

“...You’re really fucked up, you know that?” he stated. And she couldn’t quite tell whether he was being serious or not. 

“You are too, Tobirama,” she reminded him. 

A smile warmed his face, burning from deep within his eyes. 

“Never said I wasn’t, Madam Red Pole.”

Part i | Part ii (here) | Part iii | Part iv | Part v | Part vi | Part vii | Part viii | Part ix | Part x | Part xi | Part xii | Part xiii | Part xiv | Part xv | Part xvi | Part xvii | Part xviii | Part xix | Part xx | Part xxi | Part xxii | Part xxiii  | Part xxiv | Part xxv | Part xxvi | Part xxvii | Part xxviii | Part xxix | Part xxx | Part xxxi | Part xxxii | Part xxxiii | Part xxxiv | Part xxxv | Part xxxvi | Part xxxvii| Part xxxviii | Part xxxix | Part XL (it ends here)

[pinksweatergettingbetter]

aight

lets ends this

-

i love that he's still trying to cheer her up with her terrible crossover idea

phoenix is such a sweetie

-

“...so we may put this dead lawyer walking out of his misery”

hear hear 

just kill me already

-

“she's now slain two high level clergymen...”

one of which was a confirmed rebel but HEY whatever ITS NOT LIEK YOU KILL THEM IN GENERAL ANYWAY

who gives a fuck this trial is janked

-

“bahlgilpo’kon hell- the realm of eternal agony”

wow eternal agony is the bottom hell??? thats like the first hell in dante’s hells; youre soft as runny shit kooraheenism.

-

“there she will suffer the endless punishment of ja’gar by the galuun of Puhlmo’ten.”

SUBTITLES PLEASE 

-

he was killed during the rite but they only found his body like two days later?!?!

what the fuck!?

...and wait a fucking second, he wasnt there when we were fucking investigating BULLSHIT

BUUULLLLLSSSHHHIIIIIIT!!!

-

two consecutive murders constitutes a serial killer??

-

every time sadmad sighs and shakes his head i lose a year of my life

-

Rayfa’s voice is so fucking unfitting; she’s got the voice of a 30 year old woman and she’s supposed to be a whiny-ass 14 year old

do these people know anything about casting??

is it really that hard to get a 14 year old to say a few lines? i was voice acting (not professionally obvs) when i was 14. i sucked, but i was doing it, and there’ve been younger kids working on real shows.

anyway 

-

welp looks like this mcfuck is using a fake name

someone get on that

-

I'm sorry you’re surrounded by such incompetence, Rayfa. and i mean that. i like you now, youre kinda funny.

-

phoenix: plus, yesterday, someone told me how the divination seance used to work

phoenix fucking sucks at keeping secrets jesus christ holy fuck just SHUT UP ABOUT THE REBELS YOU MORON

-

if he says let it go and move on again I'm going to fucking scream

-

“haha! the police overlooked the clergy tattoo on the back of his neck!”

directly below the stab wound. the clergy tattoo. that has significance in their country.

Why do the Kooraheen Police suck so much ass? They can’t catch a running suspect, and apparently they’re all blind.

-

HOW DOES THE JUDGE NOT FUCKING KNOW A RELIGIOUS SYMBOL FROM HIS OWN FUCKING RELIGION?!?!?

-

[insert nahyuta eats (peach emoji)ass joke]

-

“aren't they utterly different shapes?”

...a... peach... and an upside down peach?!

nahyuta 

im gonna blow your mind

this is called a handstand, here, do it with me

-

lazy ass parents naming their kid “real name”

fuck this joke country

this is some ‘who's on first’ bullshit

-

RAYFA LUSTS FOR BLOOD

-

yeah it was freezing on that mountain, of course your estimate was wrong.

i knew this was coming...

-

hebLINDED HER WITH SCIENCE

BEEP BA BOO BA

-

“this article is small in size but huge in importance!”

just like my d––

-

How... did this work? They did a great job of hiding that wound...

also no blood at the “scene of the crime”

yeah not suspicious at all

-

once again the prosecution blames the detective for something they couldn’t have helped :/

GUARD YOUR ASSHOLE EMA, GUARD YOUR ASSHOLE

HOLY SHIT

INSERT REFERENCE TO ABOVE PEACH JOKE

-

loud ass clock inside a secret hideout? good one, rebels. super well done.

-

ahhhh

now that is clever. i like that

although, considering the length of that statue’s beak, he should’ve been impaled right through his body, so.....

you were close, SOJ

glad to see more clever twists though. 

-

game ruins everything with blatant hints

-

there are other cases where they can tell when two weapons have been used on the same wound

why cant they tell now?

-

stone sharp enough to cut skin??

-

your hideout is fucking death trap

good going rebels

-

youre using serial killer wrong... again

-

thats a lie, nobody likes swiss cheese

-

LAY OFF CHEESE YOU PIECE OF SHIT

ILL RIP YOUR ASS OUT

-

“what you said is total bullshit!! heres what happened; this, this this. and since I said it ,its true! without any proof!!! SO THERE”

-

phoenix: VALID POINT!

sadmad: bullshit excuse

judge: sounds legit, overruled!

-

“jeez just toss me an Axe if its that bad...”

-

“plotting your escapee from this sacred hall?”

yeah well just run out

-

“you would pin a crime upon the dead, who you know tell no tales?”

uh

did you just forget the whole

soul pool thing or

are you just stupid

-

aw baby here we go

-

stop saying 30% you dont know shit

-

oh my god

whoa whats he doing with the magatama

-

“wait... i think i saw something just now...”

what, phoenix

what did you see, hmm?

-

“the power of prayer! yes... it uh... helps you... install listening devices in your secrets base uuhhhhhh...ITS NOT WEIRD

-

“She has a way of putting me at ease...”

(weeps) my babies

-

(sigh) its the wife, get on with it

-

“long years of ascetic training have sharpened my ears”

god the training is more useful to Athena than it is Maya. this is depressing.

-

make like a mollusc and clam up??? who says that???????

-

boy you sure fuckin suck at this Mr. Inmee

-

judging by that KAAHHH Tahrust should have a deep voice, and DD had a deeper male voice blip... why aren't they using it? they've already implemented singing blips and tutting blips, did they forget about the extra deep blips?

or are those reserved for demons?

he is a ghost...

-

...how far along is behleeb anyway? either I'm blind or the sprite artist forgot to give her a baby bump.

hey yeah! she's barely pregnant! her character art shows that! so its not so much of a stretch that she could be running around killing rebels. Plus, she hasn’t been pregnant for two years...

...of course, its not her, it’s rUHEEL NAYMUH, but still. she’s not far along enough to be inconvenienced by her child. 

-

potato potahto tomahto egg salad!!

stop praying at me, nahyuta.

-

dont you fucking dare...

dont you even fucking dare

-

THEY DARED

I SWEAR TO FUCK

i swear to fuck 

so. youre gonna blame maya. for the actions. of YOUR OWN GODDESS. 

WHO’S GREAT AND POWERFUL AND MYSTICAL AND WISE AND PERFECT.... UNLESS SHE’S BEING CHANNELED BY A DIRTY FOREIGNER?

i just i cannot express how angry this makes me. it doesn’t make any fucking sense and it’s complete and utter hypocrisy. it’s even worse than before;  before they were suggesting that the person dressed as Lady Kee’ra was killing rebels in her name, if it wasn’t outright her. Now they’re suggesting it was LITERALLY HER, and remember, these people are UBER RELIGIOUS, and they still have a problem with THEIR IMMORTAL GODDESS IN THE FLESH exacting her divine punishment against people THAT ARE HARMING THEIR COMMUNITY ANYWAY???

yes, vigilantism is dangerous. but it gets a little more fucking complicated when you suggest that it’s the legit actions of an ACTUAL GODDESS.

and even if this is the corrupt government just trying to cover up deaths (which it is) why didn��t they just step in and go “Yeah, another Lady Kee’ra murder. All hail the marvellous goddesses. er diarrhoea kooraheen.”

it would be a lot easier and a lot less messy than taking a kid to court. why do they even want Maya out of the way, anyway? She didn’t know any of the rebels, and she posed no threat to their corrupt government. Yeah, Zealot’s dead, but they literally could have just hired another crazy assassin. 

Unless there’s a REAL GOOD FUCKIN REASON for all of this, I call bullshit, bullshit bULLSHIT

-

i think it’s time to let your head go and move on to another room sadmad

at the same time

-

...plus they legit just forgot their own lore.

maya can’t summon Kee’ra if she doesn’t know what she looks like.

that was so easy i didnt have to even press on statements; thats how easy that contradiction is. thats how easy it is to remember something stated five minutes ago, and how easy it is to remember how your own religion works. you fuckhats.

-

oh hey i just realized Tahrust really does call Behleeb his “lovely wife” 

aw. how nice. if only they didnt decide to scapegoat maya.

doesn't matter your intentions; you die if you scapegoat maya. you die by my blade.

-

you ok pal. is an alarm clock really the source of an evil laugh.

-

“indeed! we leave the alarm switched off at all times!”

why would you even have a clock with an alarm on it in a secret base anyway?? and how did phoenix manage to play it in the hideout if the alarm was switched off? 

-

“those distinctive taiko drums”

fuckin’ finally

ive been waiting for that stupid watch to come back for AAAGEES

of course there was a reason maya would mention traditional japanese instruments...

-

y’know it’s funny that he would even make that fuckup in the first place. if he’s a plumed punisher fan, he should know how the theme song goes. his wife was at least a big fan, meaning he’d probably have heard the opening enough times to know that Taiko drums weren’t part of it. Furthermore, if he was banking on the fact that the two themes sound similar to pass off the deception, then it was a huge mistake on his part to define the sound as Taiko drums; thats just a needless detail that could get him caught out, which it did. 

and if he just didn’t know, well... again, useless detail. always bad. always be vague if you wanna get away with shit.

-

ah... at least in death, Raheel Namer didn’t have to suffer the Plumed Punisher theme song.

-

i love that phoenix refers to the show by it’s full title. that’s adorable.

-

now what’s really confusing me is that that Photo of the fam is stated to have been taken during the Feast of whatever. Which is the same time-frame as Reely Real Name’s death. He’s alive in the photo, Behleeb is in the photo, and the Judge and his family are nowhere to be found. But all those things were huge parts of the case, and they couldn’t have eaten before or after because of the whole ‘you can only eat Ghingil for three hours on that one special day’.

am I missing something or going nuts??

that said I'm so glad i can finally present this photo. it’s been gnawing at me as much as the watch thing.

-

“trademark topknot”

-

OH PLEASE JUST LET IT END

ffjglk dlg ljlgkd   hey Tahrust do me a solid and just tell them how you died ok 

please i have a family

i have stomach ulcers

-

oh

off-brand logic 

i totally forgot that was in this game too

-

wow.

“hmm, there’s really nothing to suggest a murder other than the red water in the spring, which only Maya would see and probably not question (considering this isn’t her religion and she doesn’t fuckin know how that shit works) and said spring probably empties somewhere, since it would be swampy otherwise. let’s see... i can KILL MYSELF TO GIVE THE RED WATER A REASON FOR EXISTING or do literally anything else... WELP, BETTER FUCKIN KILL MYSELF. ALL HAIL THE REBELS!”

...well at least he saved maya from contracted a blood disease.

-

tahrust must be pissed that his death came to naught when his own rebel pals gave the secret key to a guy who sold them out in five seconds.

never gets to meet his child... never gets to see the revolution come to fruition... never gets to live happily with his family... all because he couldn’t think of any other solution to protecting that shitty hovel behind a rock.

kinda tragic.

wish i was less angry

-

“there was no weapon at the inner sanctum...”

did everyone just forget the giant bloody murder statue???

-

pohl’fuckya sadmad

-

babe... oh no... don’t give yourself up like this

thats sad

dont 

i feel the sad now

shit

-

“abbot inmee!! summon a physician at once!!’

HES DEAD

WAY TO RUIN THE MOMENT WITH UNINTENTIONAL COMEDY DUMBASS

-

“but murder sanctioned by the crown is still murder”

what’s murder sanctioned by a goddess? apparently you guys are ok with that one. oh unless it’s a goddess being channeled by a foreigner.

soerry im bitter about that one moving on now

-

he lunged at you from behind the stone slab?? nice trajectory moron

-

hang on a second he put reereenaymee’s body in the plaza before prayer time... with the dagger still in him??

HOW DID NOBODY NOTICE THE FUCKING DAGGER

-

“you need not frame the accused for your crime”

for once Sadmad says something smart

-

honestly... suicide really wasn’t the answer. even if it was to protect your wife there were,,,,, so many other options

for example, realname’s last moments, as we saw, made it look like he was killed in the Plaza of devotion. You could have so easily made it look like he was murdered there, by some rando, during the rite. The kooraheen police fucking suck at their job, so it wouldn’t matter. but no; you had to die, and blame Maya.... because she was foreign. A foreigner who came to you for guidance and shelter. 

-

STOP AGREEING WITH ME SADMAD, I DONT LIKE YOU

-

“You must use your law powers to make sure no more innocent people suffer under this shitty law!!

...like Maya did!! .......because of me!!

-

i love that the excuse is like “there’s no way she could prove it was self defence in this government...” to make it all tear-jerking and point out how horrible and corrupt their legal system is...

...and yet, if we remember Reunion and Turnabout, which also included channeling and self defence... It was EQUALLY impossible for Maya to be cleared of the crime on self-defence charges!!

pot calling the kettle black, japanifornia!

-

“lol sorry for almost getting you killed cause i couldn't think of a better plan than kill myself”

yea thanks tahrust, coo-al

-

“I ask that you look after my wife”

er she’s... going to jail... she’s... been outed as a rebel... you do get that right

-

fuck you Tahrust, you made her cry

-

“now you can watch over me from the world beyond”

he cant actually, since they retconned spirits being conscious in the afterlife. good going, capcom.

-

oh man that cutscene was goofy. except for the crying

fuck you Tahrust

-

Maya: :D hOW y'all doin?!

also according to maya Tahrust didnt leave any regrets behind which means that he totally gives no fucks that his dumbass plan endangered Maya’s life and made his wife cry. Dick.

He doesn't even regret missing the birth of his fuckin child. Ass.

-

Sadmad: I owe a debt to you, one that I will return––

Me: Eat a rotten egg.

Sadmad: Wha-–

Me: Go on, master of putrescence. Eat a whole rotten egg. Consume it shell and all. You heard me. Insert the egg into your mouth and chomp down. Times ticking, I’m waiting.

-

i forgot about the stupid butterflies

-

“So I was thinking, Nick, the legal system here is really stacked agains the defence! It’s really unfair!”

YA DONT SAY

-

listen to this happy music playing as everyone is forced to come to terms with all this sad ass shit. also it appears we just forgot about that tiny matter of the government literally putting hits out. Rayfas dad. is doing this. Nobody gonna address that?? No? Ok

-

Maya: QUIT BEINA LIL BITCH

wait what 

what is this new sprite

eurhg i dont like it put it away

thats not maya thats a husk of evil

-

wow. rayfa didnt even know why maya was here training. the bullshit continues to flow...

-

Maya: deciding what is true and what is false for your people...

the actual truth and lies, right? RIGHT? MAYA???

-

ergh this is so... corny? schlocky? it feels forced

-

“Sorry for almost getting you killed anyway VIVE LA REVOLUTION”

-

Yay! It’s vore man!! i kinda missed his stretchy face.

-

oh well that

thats just a really anticlimactic reveal of Dhurke

like tada! there he is! and he's gone! whatever; he's just been talked about in hushed whispers for the last case or w/e!

-

awww the bailiff thinks he can catch a running rebel!! so cute~

-

“The Steel Samurai vs Dhurke the Rebel!”

MAYA. THE LAST FIVE MINUTES WERE DEVOTED TO EXPLAINING THAT THE REBELS ARE THE GOOD GUYS. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM???

-

i love that they keep hammering in that “maya has stayed maya”

see guys??? dont you just feel the magic of the trilogy??? ITS THERE GUYS WE SWEAR

-

Welp, thats it for that case. Now back to America, to visit Athena and BK, and hopefully to read a more enjoyable storyline...

[barrybadgerblog-blog]

Foldin Clothes and Stay(in) Gold: The Many Faces of Rap Craft Part I

J Cole.

Why do we listen to rap? We love bangers and hard beats which is why you would listen to Migos. Something deeper or weirder? Maybe Childish Gambino or Flying Lotus. Or maybe you just want to hear about killing people drugs and fighting so there’s 21 Savage or Lil Uzi Vert (if you’re feeling particularly light).

I’d argue they all come from the same vein of creation. Rap was created to release demons, tell stories, even punchlines all while rhyming or using beautiful figurative language.

That sounds great but do you know who the 2016 Freshman Class of XXL are? Like 8 of 10 of them are trap artists. Like those last two artists mentioned the other guys are Desiigner and Lil Yachty. Which is fine ya know? I like “Panda” and some Yachty songs but what sent me over the edge is a popular ranking site throughout the fucking list the authors wrote “Although they lack lyrical dexterity and diversity they make up for it in delivery.” WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT. THAT’S THE FUCKIN’ POINT. I get XXL isn’t representative of rap music as a whole but my god man. I wouldn’t say I’m an old head because I love a lot of new stuff coming out right now but, I can distinguish what can be enjoyable, interesting and rewarding to a listener.

I heard 21 Savage’s album through and through because I really like “No Heart”. But it’s a goddamn sleeper hold. Like every song is I’m killing people and making drugs yeayeayea. “No Heart” has all of that but in that song he’s insane with his lyrics, the beats boom, he’s got energy and diversity of his words and flows that is seldom heard throughout the rest of it. 

Imagine taking all that manic energy into flows, lyrics, and verbosity. Then hook an IV straight to the vein with a syringe filled with a deep story. A message. THAT is “ 4 Yours Eyes Only”.

This is not the album that he promised at all. By releasing “Everbody Dies” and “False Prophets” I was expecting a feral, destroy every rapper album that everyone keeps trying. I hope eventually that album comes out. But, whether he used that to sell more copies of “4” or to surprise everyone, J Cole aimed for depth, feeling and to tell a story and he succeeded.

There are hardly any bangers (A major complaint from my friends on their first listen of the album) with the exception of “Neighbors” which will enrage you and want you to throw your fists in the air. Most of these songs are poetry with a simple beat attached. 

The opener “For Whom The Bell Tolls” is like knowing you’re about to crack open a great book. The jangling beat and the first line “I see the rain pourin’ down…” immediately feels like you’re in a storm in the amazon or at least a storm is coming. As the Cole quickly spits about not knowing whether if he wants to die and feeling like there is no where to hide, it feels claustrophobic. It’s a fantastic first song and already has depth and complexity.

“Immortal” is more of the usual J Cole, a swirling beat but not too hard and Cole talking about that world and greed around him. Not bad but I wanted more of the “Bell Tolls”. “Deja Vu”’s first 30 seconds are absolutely groan worthy, There was clearly a rush to get to the verses kinda like a kid shoveling down a few broccoli to eat his spaghetti. The verses are way more versatile, more clever and more concerned with not being able to talk to that girl which a strength that J Cole has. Again past that terrible “fingers in the sky if you want it” shit it’s not bad. 

“Ville Mentality” comes just when I thought “Bell” was a fluke. There’s a certain sense of floating around, a navel gazing atmosphere. How long can I go on being what society and everything around me is telling me to be? Then a little girl talks about how she missed her dad’s funeral. Weird. But, it seems to fit perfectly within the song. 

“She’s Mine” a beautiful, piano driven slam poetry session. I can see a spotlight on Cole, in a tux with his messy fro,  singing. rapping. talking all with a tear down his face looking out to a pitch black auditorium. Catch me I’ve fallen in love he says. I think I have too. With the song. With the earnest voice he carries as if he’s trying to shield a smile. With the thought of the girl, With the song again.

“Change” is another left turn. I imagine he is looking out right after “She’s Mine” and realizes there is an audience and he needs to say what’s on his chest. The song is about changing the views, mentality and personality of those involved in gang violence and tragedy of death in the black community. It’s preachy but at the same time Cole is clearly sticking true to a feeling that cannot be shaken off and needs to be expressed. It’s like politely listening to a friend having a panic attack. They need to get it out no matter how it sounds.

“Neighbors” has the line  “ My sixteen should’ve came with a coffin”. Fuck. 

“Foldin’ Clothes” has to be the cheesiest song Cole has ever written and I love it. The electric bass and slinky guitar makes it a great framework that even cheesy and incredibly simply borderline dumb chorus (wanting to do the right thing which feels better than the wrong thing) almost ok.  The shout outs to almond milk (!) will make you laugh, smile and think about your person. But then Cole surprises with the people being fake around him “N****s is the best actors”.

“She’s Mine II” returns to the sublime “She’s Mine” but what’s that? A baby crying? This is a different love. A protection rather than adoration. Teaching lessons while changing diapers. It’s odd but if it wasn’t Cole it wouldn’t work. I’ll dry your eyes, I never felt so alive, there is a God he coos. And I believe him.

At this point I was scattered. What the actual fuck is Cole on here. There’s children all over this album, death all over the album and the need for change. 

“4 Your Eyez Only” begins and I feel ready for an explanation. It’s a full confession and I hang on to every word. Switching perspectives, greedy thoughts, play my this tape for my daughter and let her know my life is on it. Fuck. Again, Cole is in control. I’m listening for each breath. Every line hurts. A whole 5 minutes of bawl your eyes out pain within a strong and steady performance. All the cooing, love notes are almost gone. It is steady focus, Cole’s slain friend using Cole as a vessel to talk to his daughter. It slides the whole album into place like solving a 1000 piece puzzle. 

An everyday tragedy locked forever in 40 minutes. 

It’s flooring, sobering and it left me a little speechless.

This is craft. To create atmosphere, emotions and incur thinking as soon as the album is done. This album and J Cole deserves respect, long bouts of thinking and multiple listens to full appreciate it and then do it again. It’s arduous and almost too painful but that attributes to the strength of music and when done with care and love even with it’s flaws can be a work of beauty. 

B+

- JarvTarv

And on the flipside of relatable, grounded craft is…