#this was really fun though I'm starting to copy down more songs in my free time

[lunaekalenda]

warnings: mention of the word "kidnapper", mention of guns, suggestive (?) it's just crack tbh, i'll make proper fluff and a proper fic later! btw this cute separator is from @animatedglittergraphics-n-more so thank uuu <3

your workmate entered your office quickly, closing behind her with a strong and loud bang that made you take your eyes up from the documents you were reading. a pearl of sweat was sliding down her forehead and she seemed shocked. you stood up quickly and she took your shoulders, shaking you by them.

"all good? what happens? are you alright?" you ask her, but she's still catching air when she talks.

"gun. a gun. there's a-a guy with a gun, and he's waiting for you, you have to hide. we already called the cops, so there's no ne-"

you release yourself from her grip before getting close to the window near your chair, looking to the parking lot, were your boyfriend rests against his car, while he cleans his gun with a pink glasses cloth you lended him this morning when he dropped you to work.

"cops won't be necessary, it's just my partner." your workmate looks at you with surprise, before giving a look to were he is. Sylus takes his gaze up and finds you, before waving his fingers towards you. you answer his movement by copying him. "see?"

your friend nods energetically before speaking. "i thought it was way too strange for him to enter and be polite and patient while holding a gun. it didn't fit with the kidnapper trope." her curious eyes follow you around while you put all your stuff in the bag. you smile shyly to her, before opening the door.

"thanks for the concern, but it won't be necessary from now on. he's just... an agent. that's why he has a gun, yeah, totally legal. don't worry a ton about it." you leave quickly in direction to the parking lot, where he's still in the exact same position. as soon as he sees you, he slides the gun inside its case on his belt, before taking your hips automatically when you're close enough. his lips catch yours on a welcoming kiss.

"really, i love that you're more free now and i really appreciate that you wanna drop me and pick me up from work but, could you avoid taking... that out?"

Sylus looks at his belt with his red eyes glowing in fun. he raises a brow in your direction.

"didn't knew accounting made you that horny, sweetie. though, you never told me you were into that public thing." you feel your cheeks heating up and he giggles, pecking your lips again before opening the car door for you to sit, taking your shoulder strap and putting it on the backseats. he sits on the driver's seat and ties your seatbelt. he starts to drive, humming softly the song that plays.

"no, but really, avoid taking the gun outside in public. not everyone is used to them here." he nods a couple times, his hand sliding over the steering wheel so smoothly you find yourself staring at it. he takes his free hand to your thigh, squeezing it softly.

"i promise i won't. i was just making time, i'm not used to wait for someone out of work. a work with a schedule i don't control, of course." you laugh at his words and he turns left towards home. "though, you had to see her face when she saw the gun on the belt, i thought she was gonna faint in place."

"Sylus..." you sigh. he giggles again.

"sorry, love, sorry." he passes his tongue over his lips. "next time, i'll just bring a crossword book for the meantime, yes?"

"good." he parks masterfully before powering off the car. he unties your seatbelt before leaving, opening the door for you and taking both yours and his things. your hand is the next thing he holds as soon as he's next to you. you walk together towards your apartment. he speaks on the elevator, a malicious grin appearing on his lips.

"tell your friend i'm sorry for the gun. and that it will probably happen again."

[vegalocity]

Just thought of something. What if, hear me out, someone where to try using the oblivion song to undo any damage done to another in the first place? Say, a certain desperate Monkie Kid who wants to help a certain demon prince turned mindless doll by a clone of himself~

So this HAS been plotted out before, both by myself and @@unseelie-robynx through the Tyrant Prince Timeline (though not between Xiaotian and Red) and something more close to the letter with @sleepy-pyggy over dms

So to start with, while it IS possible to undo the effects of Oblivion while also USING Oblivion to do so, it depends entirely on the person in question's knowledge on both the music and the person it's being used on.

In Tyrant Prince this concept is explored actually, through Syntax and Huntsman.

See since one of the main incurring incidents in the TP timelines is that Syntax goes to save Huntsman against direct orders and barely dodging getting caught by the rebellion, he's placed in charge of taking care of a still thoroughly brainwashed Huntsman (it ain't pleasant for anyone involved there's several escape attempts to be thwarted)

But eventually Huntsman is able to get... partially lucid (because Syntax had started acting overtly rebelliously and the Queen re-juiced him with Spider venom giving him another amnesiac bout and then exposing Huntsman TO Syntax like that) Lucid enough to know that he's had his brain screwed with and wants to get better. it's still really rough as they try to slowly and painfully deprogram his mind, but there's progress.

enough progress for Huntsman to get frustrated over his supposed LACK of it and manages to get hold of a copy of the music (over several nights of 'hey Syntax could you teach me this or that thing about technology? my latent brainwashing means i just like to listen to people talk yes i know its really late and you're about to pass out but i know you're weak to making me happy so pleeeaasssee?') And he basically goes up to Spider Queen and says 'hey i'm still mad at you for leaving me behind and also re-spiderizing Syntax but fix my brain' and Spider Queen was like 'sure'

then when he stewed in his own falling off the wagon SQ was like 'fuck i don't know how to do that' so she assigned it to someone that did.

Obviously, Syntax himself. whom has been part of the reverse project and thus has been experimenting with Oblivion, and while he doesn't remember Huntsman particularly well right now, is VERY invested in freeing him without pressing any of his own will onto Huntsman.

What he ends up settling on is not getting rid of anything, but sort of... de-tethering it all. putting a block in Huntsman's brain that keeps Oblivion from working without his explicit permission, and detaching all the 'lessons' and 'truths' everyone in the court ever put on him, into things that have no power over him and he can easily brush aside, to essentially let HUNTSMAN decide what he wants his new normal to be.

It's not a fun day for anyone and everyone walks out of it with significant trauma and a faint silver lining of Huntsman being essentially immune to Oblivion in the same way Syntax is

-

And then in my discussion about the whole thing with Pyggy Xiaotian actually is the one that tries to fix Red, but he knows nothing about both the music AND not much at all about Red Son, so he kind of makes more of a mess of things. He can get Red Son thinking again, and he can get Red Son kinda sorta making decisions, but he's still feeding into Red Son's addiction, as well as his reliance on him.

Red Son's addiction gets BAD after a point until it comes that Xiaotian comes home from work hours before Red was due to show up for 'dating things' onlyt o find the demon splayed out in his apartment, clearly broken in to dope himself up on the record and so far down in his own brain it took aWHILE of guiding to get him to actually wake up.

Basically you can do a lot with Oblivion TO oblivion, INCLUDING 'Oblivion doesn't work on you anymore' but you kinda can't make it not addictive anymore, and Red's been getting nightly hits for MONTHS now. Things kind of keep escalating from there as Xiaotian is trying to keep Red Son safe but keeps accidentally making it worse

he eventually Cold turkey's him 'handcuffed to the bedpost' style and that DOES manage to get Red Son clean, but that's only the BEGINNING of the drama there lmao

[donuts4evry1]

Decided to tinker around with Sonic Pi and managed that I had enough motivation to actually finish the entire song, haha. I’ll paste my code under the cut (it’s really, really long)

# It's a Ghost Dance! use_bpm 203 use_synth :piano

in_thread do  # measure 1  wait 1  2.times do    play :cs    play :a    wait 1  end

 # 2  wait 1  2.times do    play :ds    play :b    wait 1  end

 # 3  wait 1  play :e  play :cs5  wait 0.5  play :d5  wait 0.5  play :cs5  play :e  wait 1

 # 4  play :d6  wait 0.5  play :cs6  wait 0.5  play :a5  wait 0.5  play :fs5  wait 0.5  play :e5  wait 0.5  play :d5

 # 5 - 7  3.times do    wait 3  end

 # 8  play :a5  wait 1  2.times do    play :a5, release: 0.5    wait 1  end

 # 9  play :a5, release: 2  wait 1  play :gs5, release: 2  wait 1  play :e5, release: 2  wait 1

 # 10  play :cs5, release: 3  wait 3

 # 11  wait 1  play :gs  wait 1  play :a  wait 1

 # 12  play :b  wait 1  2.times do    play :b, release: 0.5    wait 1  end

 # 13  play :b, release: 2  wait 1  play :cs5, release: 2  wait 1  play :b, release: 2  wait 1

 # 14  play :a, release: 3  wait 3

 # 15  wait 1  2.times do    play :a    wait 0.5  end  play :b  wait 1

 # 16  play :cs5  wait 1.5  play :cs5  wait 0.5  play :cs5, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 17  play :d5, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :e5, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :cs5, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 18  play :cs5, release: 1.5  wait 1.5  play :cs5  wait 0.5  play :cs5, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 19  play :cs5, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :d5, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :cs5, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 20  play :b, release: 2  wait 2  play :b, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 21  play :b, release: 2  wait 1  play :cs5, release: 2  wait 1  play :d5, release: 2  wait 1

 # 22  play :e5, release: 3  wait 3

 # 23  play :e5, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :fs5, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :e5, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 24  3.times do    play :a5, release: 0.5    wait 1  end

 # 25  play :a5  wait 1  play :gs5  wait 1  play :a5  wait 1

 # 26 - 27  play :e5, release: 6  play :cs6, release: 6  wait 5  play :gs5, release: 2  wait 0.5  play :fs5, release: 2  wait 0.5

 # 28  play :e5, release: 1.5  wait 1.5  play :e5, release: 0.5  wait 0.5  play :e5  wait 1

 # 29  play :e5  wait 1  play :fs5  wait 1  play :e5  wait 1

 # 30  play :d5, release: 3  wait 3

 # 31  play :e5  wait 1  play :cs5  wait 0.5  play :d5  wait 0.5  play :e5  wait 1

 # 32  play :e5, release: 1.5  wait 1.5  play :e5  wait 0.5  play :e5, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 33  play :fs5, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :e5, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :d5, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 34  play :cs5, release: 1.5  wait 1.5  play :cs5  wait 0.5  play :cs5, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 35  play :cs5, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :d5, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :cs5, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 36  play :gs, release: 0.5  wait 0.1  play :a  wait 1.4  play :b  wait 0.5  play :b, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 37  play :a, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :b, release: 0.5  wait 1  play :cs5, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 38  play :b, release: 3  wait 3

 # 39  play :cs5, release: 3  wait 3

 # 40  play :d6, release: 1  wait 0.5  play :cs6, release: 1  wait 0.5  play :a5, release: 1  wait 0.5  play :fs5, release: 1  wait 0.5  play :d5, release: 1  wait 0.5  play :cs5, release: 1  wait 0.5

 # 41  play :b, release: 2  wait 1  play :cs5, release: 2  wait 1  play :d5, release: 2  wait 1

 # 42  play :e5, release: 0.5  wait 0.1  play :fs5, release: 2.9  wait 2.9

 # 43  play :e5, release: 3  wait 3

 # 44 - 48  play :a5, release: 15  wait 15

end

in_thread do  # measure 1 - 3  3.times do    play :a2    wait 1    2.times do      play :a3      wait 1    end  end

 # 4  play :d, release: 2  play :fs, release: 2  play :b, release: 2  wait 3

 # 5  play :a  wait 0.5  play :fs  wait 0.5  play :d  wait 0.5  play :cs  wait 0.5  play :d  wait 0.5

 # 6  play :cs, release: 3  wait 3

 # 7  play :d, release: 3  wait 3

 2.times do # plays lines 8 - 27 again    # 8 - 11    2.times do      play :d3, release: 0.5      wait 1      2.times do        play :fs3, release: 0.5        play :cs, release: 0.5        play :e, release: 0.5        wait 1      end

     play :a2, release: 0.5      wait 1      2.times do        play :fs3, release: 0.5        play :cs, release: 0.5        play :e, release: 0.5        wait 1      end    end

   # 12 - 15    2.times do      play :cs3, release: 0.5      wait 1      2.times do        play :gs3, release: 0.5        play :cs, release: 0.5        play :e, release: 0.5        wait 1      end

     play :gs2, release: 0.5      wait 1      2.times do        play :gs3, release: 0.5        play :cs, release: 0.5        play :e, release: 0.5        wait 1      end    end

   # 16 - 19    2.times do      play :fs3, release: 0.5      wait 1      2.times do        play :b3, release: 0.5        play :cs, release: 0.5        play :e, release: 0.5        wait 1      end

     play :cs3, release: 0.5      wait 1      2.times do        play :b3, release: 0.5        play :cs, release: 0.5        play :e, release: 0.5        wait 1      end    end

   # 20 - 23    2.times do      play :b2, release: 0.5      wait 1      2.times do        play :a3, release: 0.5        play :b3, release: 0.5        play :ds, release: 0.5        wait 1      end

     play :fs2, release: 0.5      wait 1      2.times do        play :a3, release: 0.5        play :b3, release: 0.5        play :ds, release: 0.5        wait 1      end    end  end # end of that main second hand loop part

 # 40 - 43  4.times do    wait 3  end

 # 44  play :a3, release: 0.5  wait 1  2.times do    play :b3, release: 0.5    play :cs, release: 0.5    play :e, release: 0.5    wait 1  end

 # 45  play :a3, release: 0.5  wait 1

 play :b3, release: 0.5  play :cs, release: 0.5  play :fs, release: 0.5  wait 1

 play :b3, release: 0.5  play :cs, release: 0.5  play :e, release: 0.5  wait 1

 # 46 - 48  play :a3, release: 9  play :a2, release: 9  wait 9

end # end of in_thread

[coppercookie]

Melody time (1948)

Another Disney package film and I think while it isn't that great it's better than fun and fancy free. It was planned to be a package film full of folk tales but only two made it to the movie.

The first short is about a couple figure skating on a frozen lake  with a couple of rabbit being animal alagories to them. The couples get into a spat and as they go separate ways the ice begins to crack. This is the one that I had the clearest memory of. I love the art direction, I mean I love the winter aesthetic in general so take that with a grain of salt. As cute as the rabbits are they don't really need to be here since they just copy what the other couple are doing.

The next part uses a 'remix' of flight of the bumblebee with a bee surrounded by surreal flowers and instruments chasing him down. There's not much to say here it's alot like the when you're gone segment in make mine music but I think that's better than this one.

One of the two folktales that made it into the movie, this part follows the story of Johnny Appleseed. This feels like more effort put into this short than most of the others. So Johnny spreads the word of apples and jesus like the good Christian boy he is. The art style is cute and I really like Johnny's guardian angel. This segment is fine except for the native Americans, they're not focused on but they seem happy with the settlers.

The next part is about a young tug boot called Little toot. He gets into a lot of trouble as he only thinks about fun during his work until he sees a boat in danger and starts to take work seriously. I'm not a big fan of putting human faces onto machines. The story is pretty predictable too so while it's not bad just forgettable.

This is a short segment singing about trees while showing very nice paintings of trees. The art is very pretty but it's quite boring and I honestly zoned out a little during this part.

Hey! The next short has Jose in it. This feels almost like a deleted scene from the three caballeros but panchitto is missing and has that wacky bird that totally isn't inspired by woody woodpecker instead. A lot of surreal imagery and has a live action woman as well. (who I think is the same woman in the three caballeros but I'm not sure.) this was a really nice short but would've been better with panchitto instead of that annoying bird.

I'm conflicted with the last one it's probably my favourite but it's definitely the most problematic. This short follows the folktale of Pecos Bill. There's alot of smoking, gun use and racial stuff going on here. I can't really get mad at it though since the animation is so silly and fun. The biggest problem here is the insensitive joke about native Americans. I love slue foot sue. This opens and closes with live action but it's not creepy like the last time and has the same kid actors from song of the South. The story started to tell the story of why coyotes howl at the moon. I like the way that coyotes are shown in a good light.

Melody time is pretty forgettable honestly. All of the shorts are at least passable but there's nothing really special adout them either. If you're curious about any of these segments go ahead and check them out but you are not missing much if you don't.

<-previous next->

The list

[punkscowardschampions]

School Project | Janis & Jimmy

Asia: I literally can't find any songs from 1916 wtf 😟😞 what are we going to do??! Daniel: Did they even have radio then? Asia: idk let me google it 🤔 Daniel: pretty sure they didn't, some kind of teacher joke, like Asia: omg it's really old though look! Asia: [sends him a link about when radio was invented] Janis: yeah the songs don't have to be from the time Asia: ?? that sounds so fake are you sure? Janis: 'Create a soundtrack for a movie version of the 1916 Easter Rising. Use songs from any era and genre but they must describe the mood and/or details of the event. Explain why you feel that each song matches the event.' Jimmy: 👍 Asia: oh 👌 Janis: feel free to go 'round the pubs and ask if any of the old fellas remember decent rebel songs from the time Asia: OR there's literally been like TV about it we can just 👀 what they used Asia: like get Liam Neeson chatting away and put a 🎵 over it 🙄 Janis: I doubt RTE could afford decent royalties Janis: not at all offensive to put it to elevator music, like Daniel: yeah, me mam watched that, it was crap Jimmy: Let's face it, weren't gonna be a patch on Taken 3 Daniel: [sends the 'I will find you-' gif] Daniel: Classic Asia: [sends the Taken 3 soundtrack whatever that is] Jimmy: properly sets the scene that Janis: Wow, it's like they stole the plot verbatim Janis: Wonder if you're the first person to 👀 that, Asia Asia: I like haven't even seen the movie though Asia: I'll take your word for it, babes Asia: cos of course YOU have Janis: 🤯 your mind, babes Janis: ask Dan here, it's a classic Daniel: Truuuuu Asia: 💙 Liam but like I'm so adhd I can't even Jimmy: and here I thought we had something special, girl 💔 Asia: ??! Jimmy: don't trouble your beautiful 🧠 Daniel: 😏 we'll leave, yeah? Janis: Reckon they've got it covered Asia: OMG! 🤫🤫🤫 I've got a boyfriend, new boy, can you NOT Jimmy: 💔 obvs Jimmy: he is that you 👀 more of me than you do of him, but alright Janis: long as you channel that 💔 into your song choices, we'll all survive Janis: just Jimmy: 👍 Daniel: 🥧 Asia: 🙄🙄 Asia: wall to wall Taylor 💔😢🎵 any era of hers tbh Janis: yeah, London Boy would be well fitting Janis: what Taylor song is your favourite, Dan? Daniel: errm, I dunno Daniel: don't really rate her Asia: 😱😱😱😱 Janis: 😱😱😱😱😱 Janis: this is the level of dramatic we're aspiring to, lads Jimmy: if any lass would marry someone right before they get 💀💀💀 Janis: new take on the break-up song Jimmy: bad blood was obvs written with all this bollocks firmly in mind Jimmy: Katy Perry who Janis: she has a boyfriend, mate Janis: you've been told Asia: !!! Janis: v you belong with me, am I right Asia: don't encourage him ugh Jimmy: 💧🎸 Janis: 😏 Janis: babes, he's incorrigible Asia: is that a 1916 word? wow Janis: I'm method Jimmy: 💔 for you we ain't gotta do a 🎭 Janis: my lack of exposure is a tragedy for another day Daniel: what do we actually have to do though? Daniel: still don't get it Jimmy: 'Create a soundtrack for a movie version of the 1916 Easter Rising. Use songs from any era and genre but they must describe the mood and/or details of the event. Explain why you feel that each song matches the event.' Daniel: yeah thanks mate Daniel: Janis, you seem to get it, you come explain it to me so I can catch up with these 2 Asia: she's NEVER had a boyfriend, Dan 😉 Daniel: What's that got to do with anything, like Asia: 🤭🤭 okay boy we all 👀 you Daniel: Shut up, Asia Asia: RUDE Daniel: I'm just trying to get this done, but you've just made me more confused Asia: aw babes Asia: just pick some songs from your gym playlist Janis: I'll do it, send you copies, don't worry Jimmy: you're alright, I need to pass this Janis: Yeah, so do I Janis: and I don't need this Jimmy: I'll do it Jimmy: the rest of you piss off Janis: What do you even know about it Jimmy: You're a expert, are you? Janis: I've been here longer than 5 minutes Jimmy: dumb and dumber have an' all, they don't have a clue Asia: UM excuse you! be more bitter that I won't go out with you, new boy! Janis: Christ Janis: we can't have multiple versions or we'll fail for not working together Asia: duh so let's work together Janis: OR let the one person who actually gets it do it and you get to crayon your name on at the end, alright Jimmy: Now that's agreed, I'll crack on Janis: Yeah, 64 is a LOT of colours to pick from Janis: have fun Jimmy: so funny, you Jimmy: get a smaller pack, rich girl Jimmy: not everything needs to be a flex Janis: 12? Janis: Gutted for you Asia: Size matters though, babes Jimmy: that's why your boyfriend keeps chatting about your bra size, I get it now Jimmy: Tah babes Asia: what? Jimmy: you heard Janis: as you're all busy here Janis: I'm off to do this project Daniel: I'm not Daniel: you going library, I'll help Jimmy: you heard 'an all, girl Jimmy: you ain't doing nowt Janis: Not to repeat Asia, but you what Janis: And why not, Dan Janis: majority rules Asia: this is SO not cool I have 🔥💡 Janis: And I'm sure Jimmy wants to hear 'em all Janis: see who's playlist ends up better Asia: UGH Janis: no doubt you wanna be on my team so bad Asia: you're being so anti-feminist rn Janis: I don't wanna be on that team either, you're alright Asia: !!! JANIS Asia: you like have to Janis: you can report me to Gloria and co Asia: I'll report you to sir Janis: 😱😱😱😱 Asia: mhmmm that'll be your face when you fail Janis: you've got the most experience there Janis: and I've got valid reason not to work with you Asia: no you don't Asia: pms isn't a valid reason Janis: don't let the feminists hear you Asia: 😑 Janis: yeah, that's what I thought Janis: never mind the lads don't wanna work with you either, you ain't said shit to them, have you Janis: 👌 fake solidarity Asia: I don't need to pass anything this badly EVER 👋 Janis: Toodles Jimmy: Can we focus now you've had your domestic or what? Janis: 💔 sorry I finished what you started, loverboy Jimmy: wrong 🌳 weren't it? Janis: Oh, you like the tall one? Janis: Cool, let's focus Jimmy: 👍 Daniel: 🌁🦍 Jimmy: stop flirting with me, lad Jimmy: I get that I'm 💪 but we said we were gonna focus Daniel: Didn't know your taste in hench lasses went that far, but I'm good thanks 😬 Janis: this chat has been nothing but rejection, sad face Jimmy: I'm method an' all Jimmy: Getting the british to fuck off out of it was top, Dan if you need a hand with the whys and wherefores Janis: Imagine that Jimmy: Yeah, gutted you're just a rebel with no cause, sweetheart Janis: Truly, how much tragedy can I withstand Janis: tah for your concern Jimmy: don't keep us in suspense, Dan's got a proper head for figures Janis: so's Asia's lad, let's add him to the chat then Jimmy: Alright Jimmy: go on Janis: Dan, you keep up with what this one is called? Daniel: 🤷😂 Jimmy: throw a 📌 at the map Daniel: Dylann went out with her before but he dumped her 'cos she's psycho Daniel: pity the poor cunt Jimmy: 🎻🎻🎻 Janis: RIP our unknown and fallen brother Janis: we should do 16 songs, for the 16 executions Jimmy: And split it into days Jimmy: somehow Janis: That works Janis: Dan, you do the maths Jimmy: could be first two, middle two and last two, sir is obvs all about the vibe Janis: 👍 Janis: just avoid actual songs about it, 'cos all anyone is going to do is a google and throw them on, like Sir ain't heard the national anthem Jimmy: duh Janis: alright, Asia Janis: nice of you to join us, again Jimmy: 😘 Janis: 🤮 Jimmy: protesting a bit hard there, mate Jimmy: we get it, you're method Janis: you might but Dan asked for help Janis: just that nice Jimmy: 👌 Daniel: Now you've stopped talking about old popstars, I get it Janis: See? He gets it Janis: maybe throw in a couple Yankee rebel songs, some fucking Les Mis, yeah, show we do without being #basic Jimmy: A+ Janis: I told you Jimmy: I weren't listening Jimmy: soz Janis: saved yourself some 'work' if you had Janis: your loss, not mine Jimmy: I'll live Janis: 💔 it's not a play again Janis: it'd be great craic to kill you for extra credit Jimmy: have a word with sir, I reckon he'd be about it Janis: I will Janis: all teachers are sadists Jimmy: nowt I can't handle Janis: 🦍💘 Janis: we remember Jimmy: Dan ain't been able to stop thinking about it Janis: 🤤 or 🤮 Dan, what's the truth Daniel: Piss off, I've told new boy I don't fancy lads, or lasses that look like 'em Janis: He can't take a hint, babes Jimmy: I can barely read any of this, there's the truth for you Janis: Heard it does that Jimmy: you catholics Janis: You don't know we're Catholic Janis: RUDE! Jimmy: if it were me all along #plottwist Janis: save it for the play, kid Jimmy: 🤞 Jimmy: love that spotlight, me Janis: that's not a #plottwist Jimmy: if everything I said were, you wouldn't be shocked, girl Janis: know your audience, I guess Janis: know it's Sir, not me, like Jimmy: nah, he's got the rotten 🍅 already out Jimmy: it's the accent Janis: he's method as well Jimmy: lot of that going about Janis: yeah, everyone is well 🤮 over your accent Janis: 🙄 Jimmy: everyone's well 🎭 is what I meant Jimmy: but tah for that head's up Janis: you're telling me Jimmy: I just did do, yeah Janis: 👏 Jimmy: save that for opening night Janis: Not that nice Janis: maybe if you were as helpful as Dan here Jimmy: I get it, you've got your hands full giving him one Janis: 💔 show must go on Jimmy: 👍 Daniel: 'least we can get Asia to present to the class now Jimmy: 🥇 she'll do an' all Jimmy: *job Daniel: 😍😍 Jimmy: she's got a BOYFRIEND, Dan Jimmy: sort yourself out Daniel: 😒 Daniel: tell your face Jimmy: no need, you've done it for me Jimmy: Tah, my dear Daniel: you're so weird, new kid Jimmy: 💕 Daniel: I'll message you with any songs I find, okay Janis? Janis: 👍 Jimmy: [sends her some songs he's already thought of 'cause we know he's that bitch about music] Janis: [a long enough time to actually listen so you probably think she's not replying] Janis: Yeah, those are alright Janis: [sends own list of a few songs] Jimmy: [again actually listening to them] Jimmy: nowt wrong with them either Janis: so that's 7 down, 9 to go Janis: easy Jimmy: [sends one that he's not sure of so maybe she could find a cover version that sounds better or something cos teamwork baby] Jimmy: ? it's a bit Janis: know what you mean Janis: this [cover] is less ? Jimmy: yeah Jimmy: That's alright Janis: we could do some kaiser chiefs or Franz Ferdinand for the WWI refs Jimmy: [songs by them that would work which I'm not googling] Jimmy: We need more lasses on here though Janis: 🥇 feminist, you Jimmy: piss off Janis: alright, I won't put in a good word for you with Asia, calm down Janis: [some punk ladies] Jimmy: she's got a tongue in her head and she never stops using it so you're alright Janis: So I hear Jimmy: and me Janis: Gutted, serious Jimmy: 💔🎻 Jimmy: [some different lady bops he likes better than whatever she suggested, bit rude] Janis: Those works too Jimmy: they work better Janis: How Janis: explain your whys and wherefores, tah Jimmy: lyrically Jimmy: in tone Jimmy: and with what else has made the list Janis: Way to be as vague as that prompt, boy Janis: you can have [this] and [that] but I want [this] from my list Jimmy: [a more specific rant about exactly why then because he's that bitch] Jimmy: you can have [song] and [song] from yours Jimmy: we should take out [song from earlier] Janis: Fine Janis: actually write some of that down though, you know Janis: not in this groupchat but where you can get your ⭐ Jimmy: ✔ Jimmy: [quick sketch he's done for like cover art number 1] or [2] ? Janis: I prefer the 2nd one Janis: looks more like an album cover to me Janis: though I like [an element of] in the first one so do that too Jimmy: [enough time to have passed that he can do a finished rough sketch of that] Jimmy: I'll chuck you the finished one to colour in, in a bit Jimmy: as you've got more crayons Janis: BCE Janis: don't reckon you'll want your masterpiece ruined Jimmy: if you don't wanna put the work in, I'll do it Janis: I'm just saying, I'm no artist Janis: I'll fake up an ad for a benefit concert, happy? Jimmy: Alright, calm down Janis: 🙄 Janis: whatever, take the compliment Jimmy: Why? Janis: 'cos why not? Jimmy: 1. you ain't my art teacher Jimmy: 2. who the fuck are you? Jimmy: 3. I don't want it Janis: 1. I didn't call you the next Lichtenstein, I just didn't say it was shit Janis: 2. literally irrelevant to working on this project and I'm not trying to tell you or ask who the fuck you are Janis: 3. Ignore it like a normal person then Jimmy: 🙄 Janis: Jesus, confirm stereotypes much Jimmy: Confirming or denying owt is irrelevant to this project an' all Janis: tell your face Jimmy: your boyfriend already tried that line Jimmy: didn't do nowt for him either Janis: That's it, that's the joke Jimmy: Nah, joke's that you paddys reckon you've got decent craic Janis: some of us prefer subverting stereotypes Jimmy: 👏🏆 Janis: [the poster ting and some more songs] Janis: that make 16 yet? Jimmy: [sends a few more himself] Jimmy: that does Janis: Hallelujah Janis: x4 that shit and give her a pronunciation guide Jimmy: 👍

[seyaryminamoto]

I've been browsing your blog for Sokkla research as I feel like it has similarities to what I'm trying to write with Azula and Soren. I haven't begun tackling Gladiator yet, as it looks a little daunting, but I feel I should since I keep hearing so much. I am a little hesitant over accidentally using anything you wrote for my own story. I'd be proud if I could make it as long and epic as yours. It's very personal to me. What motivated you to write Gladiator and keep writing for so long?

Yeah, I saw your post about your crossover ship having potential similarities with Sokkla and I agree that it would, since Soren shares a few traits with Sokka, character-wise. Admittedly, Azula interacting with a character like Soren would present quite a lot of fun possibilities, so it seems to be an idea worth exploring :)

As for reading Gladiator and accidentally using similar tropes… well, I don’t know if it will ease your mind much, but there are several tropes that I’ve run into in many Sokkla fics, mine, other people’s, just… lots of them xD and it’s not really a problem. Storytelling can lead to similar places, but usually, every writer handles their tropes and character development differently.

My plan for a certain, poignant scene in Gladiator’s 96th chapter was set in stone in my head back when I started plotting the fic (like I said in that ask I answered yesterday). The scene in question is one I depicted in some artworks for Gladiator’s second anniversary: Sokka defeats Azula in combat for the first time, pins her down, aims his sword at her, and they just stare at each other before things take a pretty heated twist...

A few months after planning this, I read another fic where practically the same thing happened between them (it’s a Spanish fic, I hadn’t tried reading it yet because it was incomplete, sometimes I still scold the writer in question for never finishing it), only, rather than it happening when they could no longer resist the attraction between them, it happened when they were barely getting to know each other: Azula followed Sokka into a forest clearing, where he was training on his own. Upon noticing someone was hiding in the bushes, he leaps at her and pins her down, aiming his sword at her as well. Of course, he freaks out upon realizing it’s her, she isn’t very happy, and no heated things happen other than a lot of blushing, especially on her part xD

So, as you can see, even if the trope is “Sokka holds Azula down, at swordpoint”, the context was entirely different, the outcome was completely different and heck, the wording and even language we used was 100% different.  I came up with the idea for Gladiator before reading Majesty, later on I found out that someone had written a very similar scene already (and it was a close associate of mine, no less xD). As much as I didn’t feel like I was all that original anymore… I didn’t change my plans because of that. As long as I didn’t pull a Cassandra Clare and copy-pasted the whole scene my friend wrote into Gladiator, where was the harm in trying my own hand at it? I wrote the tropey situation in my own way, with my own words, and it’s completely my own thing.

There was something else that happened with Gladiator, another friend read it and thought I was taking inspiration for my portrayal of Sokka and Azula from a couple in a TV show she loved. Turns out I’d heard about the show, but I hadn’t watched it until she nudged me enough to do it (no regrets!), and after watching it I understood where the similarities were, but the context was all different. More than that, a certain situation (Sokka admitting his love for Azula for the first time, she asks him to say it again) was close enough to what happened between the main couple in said TV show…

… But I actually had been inspired by another couple, in ANOTHER TV show, that had a slightly similar exchange too xD

Therefore, tropes are tropes. I’ve recycled so many tropes in so many things I’ve written that people could probably psychoanalyze me and figure out all my brain chemistry damn easily if they did. I tend to have a very particular structure when writing, too (the original story I wrote and finished had 3 parts, Gladiator has 3 parts too, to name the most superficial similarity only), and I’ve frequently explored similar topics in them. It’s hardly a crime to do it again, but as long as you do it in a unique way, there’d be no harm in testing how some tropes would turn out with Soren and Azula. It could be worrisome if you portrayed Soren reacting to events exactly the same way Sokka does, but that’s not very likely to happen. As similar as they can be, they’re also different in several ways and in the post where you compared them you seemed to see those differences pretty clearly.

Therefore, I don’t think there’s any real harm in trying your hand at certain tropes and situations. If the context is different, if there’s logic to what you’re writing, and of course, as long as you write it yourself, there’s absolutely no need to worry about repeating things other people have done before.

That being said, don’t feel pressured to read Gladiator at all. I’m glad people have recommended it, but I understand if it feels not only daunting but that maybe you won’t be sure what to write if you see all the stuff I’ve done so far. Gladiator is many things, and one of them is my playground for testing Sokka and Azula’s relationship in just about every way I can xD it’s so long that I’ve been free to play with all sorts of possibilities with them, to fulfill all my shippiest wishes for these two. Therefore, if you’d rather be true to your own ideas and not get too influenced by it, it’s absolutely understandable not to read it until you feel comfortable about giving it a shot (presumably, once you’ve plotted plenty of own story and feel like you won’t be at risk of taking too much inspiration from it).

As for what motivates me… well, I guess there were many factors. One of them is that Gladiator was an idea worth digging into, with so much to explore that I was completely overwhelmed by the possibilities and I got completely caught up in it. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted the story to exist, so I decided I needed to make it happen. As it’s practically a full re-write of ATLA’s storyline, I had a chance to just… handle everything on my terms. And that meant the developments I didn’t like from the show could change: I could improve on things I thought needed improvements, I could add things that I felt the show needed, and so on and so forth. There were nearly no limits, really, and as I was absolutely lost in the beauty and glory of my OTP, I couldn’t help myself and I decided to dive right in.

It helps a lot that Gladiator’s kind of a multi-faceted thing: as I’ve been developing my art too, whenever I was bored in class I’d sketch things related to it and then, if I had a chance and the sketch was good enough, I’d finish the art digitally later. I have a lot of music that inspires me, so sometimes I just sit down, listen to it, and I let myself evoke scenes that I want to write or draw. Fact is, the whole fifth anniversary project was a mix of art and music: the songs that inspired many arcs of Part 1, along with images that referenced them.

Lastly, though… I generally know where Gladiator’s going, so I don’t usually reach a point where I’m like “Woah I have zero plans for what to do next”. I plot things for the story whenever I have nothing to do (when I’m traveling places, when I’m showering, when I’m waiting for something? Just, whenever, wherever). If an arc isn’t shaping up to be particularly fun, I try to figure out what to do to make it more interesting and appealing for me to write. Whenever I come up with something I’m hyped about writing, it helps me keep on writing until I get there. Sometimes that’s also a curse because I go overboard and write like… 12K in a single day because I am that hyped about whatever I’m doing :’D happened a couple of weeks ago xD

Anyways, always try to fulfill your own needs with your story, first and foremost. Sometimes your public won’t be 100% receptive to your ideas, but sometimes they’ll actually want exactly what you’re putting out there for them. The magic of fanfiction is that, if someone doesn’t like what they’re getting, there’s absolutely nothing to stop them from taking to writing a story they do want, right? So, why should we try to please other people instead of writing what we’d want to read?

Make your story something you can revisit and smile about, make your story something you can find value in, regardless of whoever tries to undermine it. Make it yours, make it everything you want it to be. Want humor? Set up humorous situations (I mean, your lead couple would be Azula and Soren, humor’s basically guaranteed xD). Want tragedy and angst? You can have it too. You really can do anything, as long as you make up your mind to get it done. Figure out what it really is you want to write, the key scenes, the development you’re looking for with your main characters, come up with plans on how to get them where you need them to be, and once you feel you’re in solid grounds for it, feel free to start writing and always keep on looking forward to the big things you’ve wanted to write for your fic.

[choisgirls]

Okay so let's pretend that the RFA were able to talk to their respective MC in a language besides Korean so they've been assuming for the longest time ever that MC can't speak Korean. One day, they come home and hear her singing a song creepily in Korean and once they find her she's just laughing her ass off. How would the RFA react? I'm sorry I just have a sudden urge to see someone write this if your requests aren't open feel free to disregard this~

A/N: I’m so sorry this took so long omfg ;A; But I hope I got what you were talking about??? ~Admin 404

*YOOSUNG:

               -Sinceyou didn’t start out speaking Korean in the chatroom, he just assumed youcouldn’t

               -OOOOOA FOREIGNER, YOOSUNG IS HYPED

               -Afterthe two of you got close, he came home early from his classes one day- notknowing you were in your shared home

               -He wasin the middle of changing, shirt halfway over his head, when he noticedsinging?

               -It wasa standard Korean lullaby, but it was being sung quiet and very slowly

               -HEACTUALLY GOT SO SCARED THAT HE GOT STUCK IN HIS SHIRT

               -Triedto run out of the house, thinking it was a ghost, but ran into the wall-resulting in him falling on his ass

               -Youpull the shirt off his head, asking if he was alright

               -“MCWE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE, THERE’S A GHOST!!!! A G H O S T!!!”

               -He’sup on his feet, trying to drag you out of the house yoosung what about yourshirt

               -“Aghost? What do you mean? What makes you say that?”

               -“Ijust heard someone sing this lullaby all slow and creepy and we just, WE GOTTAGO”

               -Superconfused when you bust out laughing

               -omgyou weren’t laughing at the fact he had no shirt on, were you???

               -“Thatwasn’t a ghost, I was singing!”

               -Onesecond, two seconds, three seconds…. ding! Light bulb!

               -“Youlearned a Korean lullaby? When did you do that?”

               -“Uh,years ago. When I learned Korean. Didn’t you know that?

               -whenyou fuckin’ WHAT

               -He iscompletely mindblown to find out you speak Korean??

               -Thoughnow he’s really embarrassed aboutjust assuming you didn’t know the language

               -Superhappy to talk in either language, it makes him feel cool tbh

               -iscompletely pissed off when he finds out you sent a video of him running intothe wall to saeyoung

*ZEN:

               -Healways asks for an extra copy of his scripts in *insert mc native languagehere* so you can practice with him!!

               -Younever understood why he did that, maybe he was just trying to be nice?

               -But healways did that with you? With everything?

               -AnyDVD’s, CD’s, absolutely anything he brings home is in your native language

               -Doeshe think you’re more comfortable that way?

               -Obviously,you appreciate it but it’s kind of like…..

               -There’sno need to go so out of his way to do all of that for you!

               -Oneday, you were taking a shower and decided to sing one of the songs from hismost recent play

               -Youlove Zen and love that he’s happy with his career but god daMN THAT SONG ISSTUCK IN YOUR HEAD AND YOU ARE BEYOND DONE WITH IT

               -So youmade fun of it by singing ridiculously, trying different voices, tones,anything you can think of

               -All ofa sudden, the bathroom door is thrown open, slamming against the wall

               -"MCIS THAT YOU?? ARE YOU SINGING LIKE THAT?? HAVE MY WORDS TOUCHED YOU SO DEEPLYTHAT YOU KNOW THEM BY HEART, DISPITE THEM BEING IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE?”

               -Youjust poke your head out of the shower to stare at him, watching as he starts totalk to himself about how beautiful his voice must for you to have learned itso quickly

               -“Doyou know the meaning??? I can give you a word by word translation!! Do you wantthat? DO YOU WANT ME TO DO THAT?”

               -“No?I mean, yeah… You play it all the time… because you’re learning it but Iknow the words on my own, thanks sweetheart”

               -You???Knew what the words meant??

               -Hejust kind of stares at you in disbelief before you roll your eyes and return totaking your shower

               -“Zen?Why are you still here? Go aw-” “YOU CAN SPEAK KOREAN”

               -Yousigh and agree that yes, you can speak Korean, and you’ve been able to thiswhole time

               -Hestarts crying??? What in the world???

               -“ICANNOT BELIEVE I DIDN’T KNOW THIS ABOUT MY LOVE! I’M A TERRIBLE MAN, DON’T LOOKAT ME, MC!” not looking at you anyway, zen, tryna shower here

               -“Savethe drama for your play later, sweetheart. It’s alright, I just never saidanything about knowing another language”

               -Literallyspent most of the rest of the day just pouting and feeling terrible that henever knew. You have to comfort him often because it was something neither ofyou ever really brought up way to go mc ya broke ya boyfriend

*JAEHEE:

               -Afterworking for Jumin for so long, she’s unfortunately learned to assume if youlook foreign, you might not speak other languages

               -Soshe’s already assumed you speak only your native language, so she automaticallyaccommodates to your needs

               -Thoughyou…. don’t need it??

               -Youfigured that she wanted to make things easier for you, which you appreciated,but you wanted to make things easy for her too!!

               -What’sfunny is that you’ve talked to her late at night, after she’s been up for days,in Korean so that it’s easier for her mind to process what you ask

               -Didshe pick up on it? Not at all. poor tired bby, someone help her

               -Sodespite the fact that you leave notes for her written in Korean, she just…hasn’t…. noticed?

               -Becauseshe still talks to you in your native tongue

               -Seriously,you’ve tried everything to make it blatantly obvious that you could speakKorean

               -Theeasiest way to tell her that, ‘hey, i don’t need you to translate convos forme, i promise’ is to just straight up tell her

               -Exceptyou didn’t get a chance to?

               -Youwere sweeping the house one day, belting out one of Zen’s songs from his latestmusical

               -Gettinginto it, you dance with the broom, dipping it dramatically

               -Duringyour dip though, you look up to find Jaehee standing in the doorway, at a lossfor words

               -“Oh…so.. you really do speak Korean.. I wasn’t going crazy, then”

               -SHELOOKED SO EMBARRASSED THAT YOU COULDN’T HELP BUT FEEL BAD

               -“I,um, I apologize for just assuming that you-”

               -Youcut her off when you pulled her into a quick dance around the living room,singing the previous song all over again

               -With aswift motion, you dipped her like you did the broom

               -Aquick peck to her lips sent her over the edge and she burst into giggles

               -“You’rea much better dance partner than the broom” you tell her in Korean, with awiggle of your eyebrows

               -Shepushes you away from her and laughs as she leaves the room, calling over hershoulder

               -“Maybeyou should learn a few more songs there, MC”

*JUMIN:

               -Alsoguilty of just assuming you only spoke your native language

               -Alsonever bothered to ask

               -Youdon’t even bother to tell him though because you’re lowkey salty about it

               -Like???He didn’t even ask???

               -Youlove him and all, but it’s been… how long? And he never even bothered to asKYOU IF YOU KNEW HIS LANGUAGE

               - damnmister trustfund kid

               -Butit’s actually really funny because he talks to Elizabeth in Korean

               -So hethinks you don’t know how much he’s praising her, or baby-talking her

               -ButyouKNOW

               -Andyou’re left wondering why he doesn’t talk to you like that sometimes

               - goddamn cat getting all the attention (kiDDING I LOVE U ELLY)

               -Butlet’s be honest, you love her just as much and do the same exact thing

               -Infact, you love to sing to her! And she loves it too!

               -Sheturns into a freaking motor box when you sing, she loves it soo much

               -So yousing to her every day, it makes her happy, makes you happy, everyone is happy

               -Oneday, you were singing to her, but Jumin actually came home early??

               -So heheard you singing too, and just sat down quietly next to you

               -Waitedpatiently until you finished the song before speaking

               -“So,you sing to Elizabeth?”

               -“Everyday, sweetheart! You just happened to catch the show”

               -Immediatelythought about asking Saeyoung to install some hidden microphone or something tocapture you singing every day

               - thatisnt creepy at all, dude

               -With aslight tilt of his head, he looked at you, eyes full of question

               -Youhad to fight the urge to kiss his cute little face, but it was worth it

               -“So,MC? You can speak Korean? Not just *insert native language here*?”

               -Younodded in agreement, looking down at Elly, petting her with a smile on yourface

               -“I’veknown this whole time… *pulls Elly up to face* But SOMEBODY *kisses Elly’snose* Never bothered asking. Did he? No, no he didn’t! He didn’t, did heElizabeth??”

               -Youshot him a side glare, watching as his face twisted into slight embarrassmentand back to a playful one before getting up to leave the room

               -“It’sokay, MC. I’ll test out how well you can pronounce those Korean words latertonight.”

*SAEYOUNG:

               -HeloVED your aCCENT

               -So hespoke to you in your native language just so he could hear it

               -Did heknow you could speak Korean?

               -Yeahprobably

               -DID HECARE? I’m hearing “no”

               -Did heremember, a long time later, that you could speak Korean?

               -Again,I am going with no

               -He’salways thinking about god knows what all the damn time so it isn’t surprisingthat he forgot you spoke Korean all together

               -Infact, you were hoping he did forget you spoke Korean, or your new plan wouldn’twork out how you wanted it to

               -Yousee, you and Saeyoung like to prank each other like crazy, but his last onereally irked you

               -(Imean come on??? Who in the world thinks it’s funny to sneak a permanent markerinto your pants pocket when you do laundry??? That rUINS YOUR CLOTHES)

               -So,you decided that revenge was in order, and you wanted nothing more than to scarehim to death

               -Aftera long set up with a creepy life-size doll trapped to an rc car, a couple ofspeakers hidden, and a ton of hidden cameras, you were ready for him to comehome

               -Whenhe got into the room and noticed the girl standing in the corner, heimmediately noped the hell out and tried leaving

               -Butyou locked the door! There is no escaping sweet revenge!

               -Youstarted to sing little kids nursery rhymes through a microphone, it comingthrough the hidden speakers broken and ominous

               -“noPE!NOPE NOPE NOPE. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU? I KNOW HOW TOFIGHT LITTLE GIRL, I’M NOT AFRAID TO KICK YOU IN THE FACE”

               -So youkept singing, stopping only to ask him to come play, in child-like voice

               -“NOI DON’T WANNA PLAY, JESUS CHRIST, SOMEONE LET ME OUT”

               -Youdecided to chase him around with the doll, using the wireless controller fromthe other room

               -Youdidn’t know he could scream in such a high pitch, I swear to god, dogs fromaround the world could hear it

               -He wasgetting out of that room, then and there. He broke down the door. Ran down thehallway and heard you laughing from another room

               -Hedidn’t even think about why you were laughing, he just jumped onto your lap,and latched onto you, hugging tight and burying his face against you

               -“MC!THERE’S A CREEPY DEMON CHILD IN THE OTHER ROOM IT’S CHASING ME, MC PLEASEPROTECT ME”

               -Butyou couldn’t even reply- you were laughing too hard. He looked around and sawyour set up of monitors, wireless controller, and microphone

               -Helooked up at you with a ton of mixed emotions

               -Firstof all he was still a little freaked out?? But he was also kinda pissed offthat you scared the hell out of him! But he’s also in awe that you set all thisup… and so in love with how hard you’re laughing…

               -HEDOESN’T KNOW WHAT TO F E E L

               -Takesa second to think about the situation and suddenly remembers

               -“Wait…you can speak Korean… I TOTALLY FORGOT YOU COULD DO THAT? WHAT THE HELL MC, ITHOUGHT YOU WERE SOME CREEPY LITTLE GIRL”

               -Yougive him an innocent smile, but based on the look he gave you once he stood upand walked away

               -He wasprobably going to use that fact against you for his revenge prank, and youweren’t positive you wanted to know what that was going to be

 *V:

               -Offthe bat, he asks which language you’re more comfortable speaking in

               -Whenyou said your own native language, he understood, and tried his best to accommodatefor you!

               -Eversince then he’s always making sure he can translate things for you, whether itbe signs or casual conversation

               -Youknew Korean but didn’t know if you were a strong enough speaker, which is whyyou initially told him you were comfortable with your first language

               -So,you secretly were testing out your language skills every time the two of youwent out!

               -Whenhe translated for you and you had gotten it right in your head, you were soexcited!

               -But hedidn’t know that ’s what you were doing??

               -Hejust always saw you light up and smile softly to yourself and it made him weAK

               -Was itbecause he was translating for you??

               -Didn’tknow exactly, but was definitely going to keep doing whatever he was doingbecause that loOK

               -IT WASSOOO PRECIOUS

               -But hefelt bad that he couldn’t go shopping with you one day because he had somepeople he had to see

               -Whatif you couldn’t read the signs?? What if you couldn’t talk to the people?? WhAtIf-

               -So he triedto make his meetings go as quickly as possible without being rude

               -And heran to meet you at your favourite coffee shop, where he knew you’d stop first!

               -As hewalked up behind you, getting ready to surprise you and order for you, he tooka step back when he heard you ordering perfectly fine in Korean

               -Youeven made small talk with the barista! In perfect Korean!

               -Whenyou turned around with your coffee, he stared at you in surprise, but he scaredthe shit out of you! You almost dropped your coffee!

               -“V!Hey! You scared me…. I thought you had to go meet a few people? Did somethinghappen? Are you alright?”

               -Youasked. In perfect Korean. Why did you doubt your language skills??

               -“Ithought you only knew *your native language of choice*? So I haven’t needed totranslate for you this whole time?”

               -Youcould see the disappointment in his eyes as you quickly shook your head (andhands) in embarrassment

               -“Nono no no, you asked me in the beginning if I was more comfortable with mynative language, which I am! I know Korean but I was afraid about gettingsomething wrong, so I really appreciated all of your translations! They help memake sure I’m learning and getting it all right!”

               -Explainingit to him was definitely the smart move because you watched as he went from sadpuppy to ecstatic pup knowing that he was able to help you learn new things andsolidify what you already knew!

               -Fromthen on, he always tries to let you figure it out first, then help you if youneed it!

               -Was heembarrassed that he always translated when you didn’t need it? Yes

               -Did heget over it quickly? Also yes. He’s a precious tol bean. He is alright withthis revelation.

*SAERAN:

               -Alsoknew from the start that you knew Korean

               -Hetalked to you from the beginning in Korean so he knew afterwards that you’dknow

               -Notlike you all of a sudden lost your knowledge on a full language….right?

               -Thatbeing said he just plain refuses to let you pretend like you can’t speak himlanguage

               -Everytime you try to talk to him in your native language he just kind of looks atyou with absolutely no emotion

               -“Hi,MC, speak in a language I know please, thanks”

               -Likeseriously

               -Thisman does not let you have any fun with it at all

               -Youeven tried to fake some sort of amnesia, too

               -To like,pretend you forgot how to speak Korean so he’d have to talk to you in yournative language

               -Did itwork? No

               -Hejust stared at you like you were stupid

               -He’ssuch a jERK

               -WHYCAN’T YOU JUST PLAY ALONG, SAERAN. JUST GIVE ME THIS ONE THING

               -Youeven try to mess with him in public

               -Youask him to order some food for you, asking him in your native language

               -Thecashier is confused but Saeran just stares at you

               -Hecompletely understands what you say, despite pretending that he doesn’t

               -Turnsback to the cashier and tells them that you’re getting nothing

               -WAITSAERAN PLEASE I WANT FOOD TOO

               -Untilthe day he slips up and responds to a question you ask him in your language

               -Youcelebrate, including a victory dance

               -Hejust curses at himself for messing up and letting you win

               -Thoughhe does think it’s really cute that you’re thisexcited about winning

               -Maybehe should let you win more often thAT WONT HAPPEN

[westakoasta]

Joe Dub - WCI, 2005

Alright, tell us about your childhood in SF, the records that had an impact on you..

Growin up in "the city" was cool... It's one of the most diverse and open minded cities in the States. A lot of pride... Not just for the city itself but for culture as well. Music and art is not only embraced, it's encouraged. I started off singin in a choir and playin the trumpet. Plus my Mom would paint so I'd get in home art lessons. But I was hella into sports also. I played baseball from like 5 or 6 years old through high school. I was a raw ass in fielder... But couldn't really hit too well though... Haha! But yeah I had a typical childhood I guess. Gettin into trouble... Girls... Yunno that kinda shit. It wasn't really until like 85 that I started rhymin. It was more some fuck around shit we'd do in the schoolyard at lunchtime. Just freestyle shit.. Braggin and baggin.. Recorded some shit just for fun... I still got those tapes.. Fucking funny stuff man.

Around 86 or so I remember listening to KPOO (local hip-hop radio station in the bay) when they had dj's like... KK... Marcus Clemens and Dan the Automator. One night I remember they played Eric B and Rakim "Check out my Melody," Mixmaster Gee "The Manipulator" (check artist), BDP "My 9mm Goes Bang" and Just Ice "Latoya" in succession. I recorded that show still have that tape in fact. Anyways, once the show ended at that moment I knew I wanted to do this shit seriously. The beats moved me but I was more trying to rap then. It wasn't till 90 or 91 when I into making beats.

As far as records that inspired me rapwise? I was a fan of all of the old stuff. Flash, Kurtis Blow, Spoonie G, but it was the progressive shit that had me buggin. Anything that Kurtis Mantronik did... Just Ice (dopest mc of all time imo)... T LA Rock... All that... Schooly D was like a surrogate father to me as a child. Quite the role model!!!  Hahahahah!

Let's talk about the Westcoast Workforce. How did y'all came along together, the records/ tracks you did collectively... Everything. I once read about a reformation with you, Sub, Radioinactive, Xinxo, Liferex and Omid.. Is that true?

Well the Workforce was around before I was put on. It was Xinxo, Sub, AntiMC, Radio, Premonition, Memorex, Rhetoric and some other folks. It wasn't until 99 when I was at the B-boy Summit that I met Sub and AntiMC. We traded tapes and that was that. That was like February or March. Then in July of 99 P-minus hits me up and is like "Radio and Antimc are in town and trying to get at you" gave me the number. I called em... Chopped it up for a good second but we never got a chance to hang out then. In September, Deeskee, Maleko and I rolled down to LA to kick it at the Shapeshifter house in Westwood where Rob One (RIP), Exist, Bleek and Dr. Lewd lived. We left SF at about 5 AM and got in at 10 PM. Pull up to the house and Rob is sitting outside car full of records, sayin "cool you guys are here... Let's go." He had a gig and was waitin on us. So we go to the show... And i'm outside smokin and sub walks up and he's like what's up, you wanna be down with the Workforce? That was pretty much it. Megabusive, Liferexall and them got down right after that. As for getting back together, me, Xinxo, Radio, Subtitle, and Rexall, got together and talked about it when I was in LA in 2004. Some of the old names came up, but due to differences and conflictin schedules we left it at that. Omid and Premonition were included as well. But with everyone doing solo shit right now, it's just a name we claim, no albums or tours will be coming anytime soon. Me and Xinxo joke that we are the Workforce. But all of us still work together... Still hang out and what not... The timing is just off right now. I'm trying to get a Workforce song on my album... We'll see!

You probably have one of the most prolific discography in the bay, tones of collaborations and obscure groups... What were the most important ones  to you? Also there's this one called The Citadel, which was supposed to be you, Sub, Liferexall and Megabusive.. Does this one only ever existed?

I've been blessed to work with the people I have! My favorite one would have to be with the folks I know the most. Friends... Not just MC's doin songs together... People. Cuz there's no chemistry there. It's not just like "Hey let's do a song to do a song". It's because you know the person and you know they'd fit the mood of the song, whatever it may be. Some shit is fuck around and some is serious with money involved, but either way if it's the homies... It's fun! The folks I like workin with are like... All the Workforce, Deeskee, the Shapes, Khule, Topic, Tommy V, and the list goes on. It's laid back and relaxed when we work. Bustin jokes... Talkin story... That's what I like. Like me and 2Mex did this song when he was in Hawaii... Some quick shit... He's talking about his trip to Hawaii... I was talking about mine to LA. It's probably won't ever come out... But those are the best collabs when you do it for fun.

Citadel? HAHAHA. How'd you hear about that? Yeah we did that at Sub's mom's house in Mid City. Me, Megabusive, Subtitle, and Life were kickin it hard. We all made beats and rapped so Sub had the idea let's each make a 2 beats and do songs in like a week. But the only way Sub would let me rap on it was if I styled hard....HAHAHA! See he saw me freestyle once and I was stylin it up... Haha... Blowed style. But that's another story... So yeah we did that shit... Came out tight. But it was just for fun... Wait so you have a copy? Cuz I don't. I think Sub is the only one with it.

You moved recently to Hawaï... Tell us about it, how's life out there, differences with California, the hip hop scene, if it's a good place for cratedigging... Anything.

Life in Hawaii is slow. A far cry from the pace of the rest of the States. Everybody out here does things at their own speed. Where as in Cali everythings done on a schedule. I pretty much work between the two... Though it's tough sometimes. It's a small island so the scene is smaller than I'm used to. There's some good talent and the fans support. I don't get out that much though so I can't speak on it too much. Yeah man there's a few dope spots for diggin out here. I left a lot of my records back in Cali and I have like 5,000 here in Hawaii. Most of which I got here, some common shit, some rare shit, but theres a lot of come ups, not many people out here are lookin for the kind of stuff I am. So I always find something worth while. Plus, the prices are cheap... No record is ever over $20... Almost everything is under $5... I'm kind of spoiled with that!

Do you have a job besides hip hop?

Nah, I haven't had a 9 to 5 in about 3 or 4 years. Music hasn't been great to be but it's been good enough. I just sell beats and work on music all day. Hit the beach and drink myself to sleep.

You got an album with Ellay Khule called In A World Of My Own that will be released soon... Can you tell us about it? And also, what about this 8′’ vinyl released by Anti-Party? I'm curious to see what a 8" looks like?

It's actually called "In My Own World". The album came about through a mutual friend of Khule and I. He told Khule to check out my beats and I've always been a fan of Khule since I can remember so I was obviously down. At first I'd send him beats in the mail... Then he wrote the songs... Then I flew out to LA to lay the beats and vocals down.... I prefer doing music in person not long distance. It helps the chemistry. But yeah, I didn't want to give him elaborate beats... I wanted his vocals to be the focus... There's something for every Khule fan on the album... There's some hard Rifleman shit... Some Ellay Khule aggressive styling... And some real heart felt personal shit... This album is probably the most complete project i've worked on to date... Me and Khule have talked about doin another project together so this definately won't a one shot deal... As for the 8′’... It's a collection of about 5 or 6 songs off my old "Noise Pollution" tape... Yeah DJ Plankton from Anti-Party really wanted to release the whole album on vinyl but... I'm about moving forward... Plus the sound quality on that tape really wouldn't cut in on vinyl... So we agreed to bust a limited run of 8"'s with some of the songs off Noise Pollution instead... It should be coming out in july... Very limited though... I heard something like under 100 are being pressed...

What's your opinion on the evolution of the underground scene?

Umm I mean... Damn... Haha... It's weird... I'm kinda removed from the Cali scene being out here in Hawaii... But... I’ll say this... The way the scene used to be... Everyone knew their place... You had the MCs/ DJs/ producers/ B-Boys... The vendors... Promoters... And the fans. And who you were was cool. Everyone respected it... Now with all the advancements with technology and free programs for computers... I'd have to honestly say that 70-75% of the people in the scene are MC's or producers now... Now i'm not saying that people shouldn't be allowed their voice... But... Go through the proper channels... Pay dues... Hustle... No one has to hustle anymore... We used to take the last 100 bucks we had... Go get tapes made... Have about 20 bucks left... Spend that on gas and roll to LA... Just to slang tapes at shows...n Ad to tap into a different region... Get our shit out there... Sleep in cars... On couches whatever... We'd sell about 50 tapes or so in a weekend for 5 bones... And come back home broke... But to us the trips were always a success... Now... Everyones got a website with a store... It's so easy now... You don't have to leave your house and you can move 1000 units no sweat... I'd have to sum it up by saying that there's less passion nowadays... I really don't want to go any deeper into this.... Haha.

How do you see yourself at 50? And do you project yourself in the future as a rapper, I mean, do you have plans of doing something else?

At 50?.... If i make it that far... I'll still be making music....if i'm rappin still it'll probably just be for myself....but i'll still be producing...i'm a proud drop out...so....i don't think i'll ever rock a career or a 9 to 5 for that matter again....but if my life changes drastically by then....i can say i'll always have music....

What are you listening to right now... and your all time 5 favorite lps..?

Right now....i'm listening to ellay khule-califormula...alot of mandrill.....gong....totally insane....young ed....alot of my beats(not because i'm an ego maniac...but because i'm kinda forced to listen to them as i make them)....and all the myspace mc's who want me to "check out their tracks".......all time 5?......shit.....here i mean.....i'll just give you 5 incredible albums i'm listening to now.....utfo-lethal earth wind and fire-greatest hits...sade-love deluxe......cid-harder they come.....just ice-back to the old school

What about your future releases? do you plan to have some other artists on Asita?

For me i got my new album "pooretry" almost completed...that should be coming out in like sept/oct of this year....the pain killers album...which is me and my homegirl topic...that's gonna be out on beyond space ent....not really sure of the date there....but that one's bangin....we got beats from...sach...deeskee...liferexall...matth...meaty ogre...alex75 and many many more.....like i said before....the khule album is pretty much done...we're just waiting for califormula to drop....before we release it.....yeah there's gonna be alot of other folks comin out on asita....once i finish my album...i'm going to start a project with nocando....he's a younger cat coming out of blowed and his crew customer service...he's got some specific shit he wants to do so i'm making sure i'm free of all commitments before i start on that....plus an asita/la2thebay beat series....the first installment i believe will be myself...deeskee...liferexall and sach....just all instrumentals...some old some new....we'll be puttin out new ones like twice a year...featuring all the producers in the family....and i'm currently trying to do a couple projects with some other folks but so far it's just talk.....

Thanks a lot for the interview.. any last words?

I guess just thanks to all the supporters world wide....from hawaii to europe....and of course one love to all my family....blood/friends/musicians.....the people i do this for... be easy.

Interview conducted by Pseudzero for West Coast Indies, 2005.