#I legit turned on my voice recorder to catch his reaction and he just. treated it. like. normal.

[facewithoutheart]

My husband, who does not have a shipping bone in his whole 5’12” body, watching Buck in the well scene: “why is Buck reacting like that????”

[aria-chicken-flugget]

The Brothers (+Undateables)

React to A CRONCHIE MC

MC who’s joints crack randomly OR has Joint Hypermobility Syndrome

For @offbrandmilk and The Simp Club 😂✌️

The Brothers ~

Lucifer 🔥

Y’all are chillin in his study as he finishes up his work when *CRONCH*

He snaps his gaze up, that disgusted surprise on his face at the noise

“MC... did you- did you just make that noise?”

“Ah yea, sometimes my back cracks randomly when I get up lol.”

*Disgust intensifies*

“Do you... need assistance of some kind, perhaps?”

Would relax and sigh with relief when you say no

“You humans never cease to amaze me.” “Thanks!” “... That wasn’t a compliment.” “:(“

Would Glare TM each time it happens, making you feel increasingly self conscious

Until he’ll inexplicably soften - “MC...” “Yes?” “When -“ he’ll huff, “Doesn’t that hurt you? To do that...?”

His brows downturned, blush upon his cheeks as he attempts to examine the latest CRONCH

If yes, will personally see to it that you are looked after during those times - “it’s not that bad Lucifer! Really!” Does not register lol

If no, will revert back to being vexed or ‘disgusted’ by it, especially in public

Clicks his knuckles, on purpose, with a sickening crack

“You hypocrite!”

Mammon 💵

You’re messing with the Levi, having taken a treasured figurine to ‘sell’ when you drop it

“Hurry up would ya? He’ll catch up!”

You squat to pick it up when *CRONCH*

In the heat of the chase, silence falls dead

A solid minuet of Mammon frowning between you and your knees before anyone speaks

The Most Expressive Derp TM

“Wha- what the heck was that?!”

You rise, brushing it off with an exasperated sigh “It’s nothing, happens a lot.”

“We don’t even make that noise when Lucifer punishes us.”

Would occasionally steal glances thinking he’s being surreptitious about it when you finally ask “What is it?” Would fiercely deny it

“Pfft Me? THE GREAT MAMMON? Starin’? Ha - in your DREAMS Human.” Blush

*Spongebob narrator voice* 5 Seconds Later

“Ok so what if i was starin’, huh? It was weird!”

... “You’re fine though, right? It didn’t hurt ya doin that to get the toy of his, right?”

... “Mammon! Would you stop looking at me like i’m going to snap in half if you breathe?!” Blush

Levi 👾

You’re doing a co-op match of a horror game you’re trying with him - things get jumpy when *CRONCH*

You’d bent your arms ‘inhumanly’ at a jump scare, accompanied by a CRONCH

Levi thought it was the game that made that sickening crack

You wish you could frame the horror stricken expression that turns to face you after a dumb moment

His face unmoving, his eyes flit to your bent back arms and your casual smile

Error 404, Levi does not compute

You break the silence with a laugh, “Oh yea i’ve got hypermobility -“ bends arms further

He snaps out of it with a “Wooooaaaaaaaahhhhh!!” “Eek!” As you tease him a bit further

“The game’s scary enough!” “LOLOLOL”

Actually finds it really cool

Quickly gets you two to cosplay and roleplay usuing your ‘Special Ability’ as he’d call it

Would 100% roleplay kinky and try to do it himself, too

Fails

Satan 📚

He’d be teaching you how to play chess in the library. Silent focus, from jovial to tense... until *CRONCH*

Raised brows as he meets your blushing features. You scratch your head, nervous for disturbing the silence

He frowns, a smirk tugging his lips, “Did you just make that sound?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose to put you off or anything -“ “Good. Or else i’d have to punish you.”

You try not to combust at the unintentional insinuation

Otherwise lets it slide, finding it ‘odd’ or ‘quirky’, even endearing...

Likes that he’s the first and only brother to know about this ‘quirk’ of yours

Barely notices it/doesn’t mind at all

That is until, you CRONCH in the silence he requires in order to read dense text

He eyes you darkly as you CRONCH for the fourth time in a row - you wince

“Sorry!” A harsh whisper before you creep out to CRONCH your back elsewhere

Smirks as you leave, shaking his head before calling you back in - as though it were an ‘inconvenience’ to do so

Asmodeus 💋

He’d drawn you a bath in his own king sized tub, ready to spoil you rotten for your spa day

You’d sunk into the tub with an appreciative hum as he began rubbing massage oil in your wrists

He’d set the mood PERFECTLY as usual

“How am I supposed to control myself when you sing so sweetly?” Wiggly brows

There wasn’t a crick, nor a crack... BUT A *CRONCH*

He freezes, you peel your eyes open with a suppressed smile. He makes a choked noise, the mood having been shot dead

“Honey... what the hell was that noise?”

Knowing full well it was your wrists that made such a deafening crack

You giggle at his tense expression, as he asks “So are you secretly an eighty year old, or?”

You explain you have joint hypermobility syndrome, which is sometimes painful

After getting over his initial freak out, he pampers you EVEN MORE

“You come to me if it hurts honey, ok?”

Your pain is his pain, though he may not show it, he actually gets intensely upset if something truly hurts you

Beelzebub 🍔

You’re chilling in your room together, with take out from a new chain beside Hell’s Kitchen, both making happy yummy noises as you eat

*CRONCH*

Beel pauses mid bite, but shrugs and keeps eating. Maybe there was lettuce in his burger after all?

You remember - sauce! Can’t eat with Beel without the full experience!

“Hey there’s some Hellfire sauce in the kitchen lemme grab it real quick -“ “:)”

You get up to get it when - *CRONCH* there go your ankles again. Welp.

His eyebrows raise a second, “MC... are you ok?”

You smile, laughing off how that happens sometimes

He frowns in thought before shrugging with a laugh alongside you, “Fair enough.” Seems legit lmao

He’s seen weirder shit and is still unfazed by it so he does not give a flying fuck lol

“As long as it doesnt hurt.” “:)”

If your joints/limbs were particularly sore or even dislocated that day, he would gently scoop you up and carry you anywhere <3

Belphegor 😴

Your napping in his arms as the little spoon, just between wake and sleep as he snuggles into you. You shift to get comfy when *CRONCH*

He freezes, you freeze too, trying not to laugh

“MC...” he begins groggily “What the fuck was that noise you just made?”

You explain sometimes you just CRONCH. It be like that sometimes Belphie, it do

He doesnt believe you, especially since you’re laughing as you explain it

“No really! I’m serious!” “Then why are you laughing?” “Because it’s funny! You’re reaction pfft” “>:(“

“If your weird human body wakes me up i’m not gonna nap with you again.”

He doesnt mean it

*Goes to leave because you CRONCHED* “Well, where do you think you’re going?”

*Visible Confusion* He flashes a cocky grin, “You’re not skipping out on being my Pillow.”

Grabs your CRONCHY wrist and tugs you back under the covers for more snuggles

“But you said -“ “Shut up and sleep”

*Kisses your forehead* “:)” <3

The Undateables ~

Luke 👼

He’s baking treats for you, Beel and Simeon when you offer a hand when you see him sturggle with the tray and *CRONCH*

The Most Disgusted Face TM

Almost drops the tray on your feet

“What in this disgraceful Devildom was that noise, MC?!”

“My joints do that sometimes” with a shrug and laugh as you #Take 2 with the baking

Turns his nose up “That was a horrible noise no wonder the demons love you so much.”

Tries and fails to act prim and proper as he carries the tray from your grasp, only for Beel to tackle the tray and eat the first batch

This ’Chihuahua’ is all bark and no bite, doesnt mean a word

After a silence, he’ll ask quietly, “Are you... hurt by it?” Little blushy face

If no, he’ll smile and turn his attention back to the sweet treats. If yes, he’ll be a sad puppy

“I’m alright, Luke! Don’t worry.” “Ok :)”

Will fight any demon anyone who may question or mock you over it, even though it doesnt bother you

“ChOtTo MaTtE! >:(“ #NotSoSilentProtector

Simeon 😇

Your walking to class together at RAD when he drops his books. You insist on plucking them from the ground for him when *CRONCH*

Surprised Pikachu Face TM

Breaks into That Smile TM and laughs with you at your cronchie knees

“That was... certainly an interesting noise.”

You don’t need to explain, but you do for the record so to speak

He gets weirdly curious about it, Is it all humans? Do you enforce cronchie joints upon your young? Mandatory or compulsory to be a human with cronchie joints? “:’)”

Will try to CRONCH too out of curiosity

It doesn’t go badly per se, but it doesn’t go well either

“Simeon, stop before you hurt yourself.”

Similarly to Beel, is hardly fazed by it at all when considering some shit this boi has seen

“Oooh like what?! *~*” He smiles all Innocent TM “You don’t want to know.”

Innocent my ass

“Now I wanna know more!”

Solomon 🧙‍♂️

He’s showing you some magic to prank the brothers in a sneak attack when *CRONCH*

He eyes you with That Smirk TM and bursts out laughing with you

“Hey! Me too!” *CRONCH* his knuckles

You two start CRONCH Wars

You act out lines of Star Wars to each other ever since and CRONCH, terrifying the Demon Brothers and Purgatory Hall

“MC, I AM your father.” *CRONCH*

Somewhere nearby, Lucifer holds the bridge of his nose with a deep *sigh*

You both sneak attack the others with CRONCHES, scaring the shit out of them

apart from Beel or Satan. They don’t notice or see it coming, respectively

You did it once to Lucifer. You did not want to do it again ... *~*

You start to slowly recruit others to the CRONCH wars, starting with Levi and Mammon

“When will this nonsense end?” “THE CRONCH WARS NEVER END, LUCIFER. NEVEEER.”

Would CRONCH next to you when you’re asleep to freak you out

*CRONCH* “Solomon... why are you in my bedroom?”

Barbatos 🕰

He’s showing you how to prepare the Hellfire cigar rolled cookies so that you can teach Lucifer, when *SPLAT*

...

Jk, it’s ofc a *CRONCH* - but i nearly got ya! haha ok sorry i’ll stop

Anyway, *CRONCH* go your shoulders as you bend over a simmering tray to get a whiff

Your eyes pop open as you hear the sickening crack and Barbatos makes a small surprised choking noise

You lift your gaze with a nervous smile only to see him smirk

“That was a... curious noise, MC.” That small chuckle behind his gloved hand, “Is that a regular occurrence?”

Laughs it off, shrugs. Surprised he didn’t see it coming when he quite literally knows all

Ignores it from then on

However will chuckle behind that glove if the timing is particularly humourous

Will seem unfazed if it hurt you, but his actions would speak for him.

Making you tea and checking on you more frequently, even if you’re not at the palace

Would snark anyone who comments on your CRONCHINESS like the diva he secretly is

Diavolo 👑

You’re visiting the palace on your best behaviour, taking a stroll with Diavolo when *CRONCH*

He’s smiling through a frown as he tries to work out where the noise came from

“Was - was that you, MC?” That Laugh TM head tipped back, tears in his eyes laughing

“Hahah such fun!” *CRONCH*

He CRONCHED his arms to CRONCH with you, only he CRONCHED too far

His arms are stuck in their newfound ‘unsightly’ position

Puppy eyes as he can’t seem to UN-CRONCH

Your turn to burst out laughing, he quickly joins you

Lucifer’s hand flies to his chest when he sees you two return - “MC... did you have something to do with this?” Glare

You flush, about to fight your case when Diavolo steps in with That Smile TM

“I wanted to joint in!” “...” “;)” *FacePalm*

“It was fun, you should try it Lucifer!”

Satan snickers at the double meaning - “Fun? Lucifer doesn’t know how to have fun.”

Diavolo pulls those Sad Puppy Eyes TM

By the end of the night Lucifer literally bent over backwards to make Diavolo happy lolololol

Don’t take these too seriously! Mostly a shit post for the simp club lolol - hope they made you smile! ✨

[district2001]

Leader Maknae Date

Seventeen AU: 14th member

Jangmi x Seventeen (mainly Coups)

Recap: When Seungcheol whisks Jangmi away from practice to ask her a very important question

Words: 2k

Requests are OPEN: Please please please send me what you want to see from Jangmi. I’m also open to feedback :)

Jangmi’s Masterlist

“I swear to god if Hoshi Oppa makes us go through the dance one more time, I’m going to die.” Jangmi complained, as she flopped on the floor in the dance studio.

“If he starts complaining about how our jumping isn’t the same height, I will personally take one for the team and murder him.” Seungkwan agreed.

“You know I can hear you right?” Hoshi yelled from the speakers. Jangmi snickered, praying that he wouldn’t play their song again.

She loved the song, and thought Woozi had done a phenomenal job with it. Apparently the staff weren’t too thrilled though, hoping for something darker. But leader line had backed him up, with Hoshi calling the song ‘pop perfection.’

Her favourite section was her interchanging rap part with S.Coups, where the contrast in their tones was noticeable, yet blended together really well. Plus the dynamic of the maknae with the eldest would look quite cool in the music video.

She reached over towards her bag and grabbed her drink bottle. The room temperature water wasn’t the greatest thing to drink, but she was so thirsty she would probably have Minghao’s hot water without complaint.

After she emptied her bottle, Jangmi lay on top of her bag, closing her eyes to get some rest. She knew debuting would be hard, much harder than being a trainee, but she was exhausted. Between online school, group dancing lessons, private dancing lessons, rap lessons, song writing sessions, recording sessions… the list was never ending. She was barely getting 5 hours of sleep a day, and she needed as much as she could get to grow. She’d made a bet with Dino that she’d grow taller than Woozi, and she wasn’t willing to admit to defeat.

Her short nap was interrupted by someone clearing their voice above her. Opening one eye, she saw S.Coups newly dyed blonde hair looking over her.

“5 more minutes.” She whined, closing her eyes again.

“Can I talk to you for a second?”

She opened both her eyes this time in confusion of why he was using his leader tone with her.

“Uhh. Yeah. Sure” She sat up, stretching out her hand. Seungcheol grabbed it, and pulled her up to her feet.

“I was thinking we could go grab a coffee?” Seungcheol asked as they walked out the practise room.

Jangmi didn’t know what he wanted to talk to her about, but she had a feeling it was serious, seeing the way he was avoiding her eyes.

“Yes of course.” She replied, fidgeting with her fingers.

They walked to the café in silence, with both of them trying to break it by trying to start a conversation, only for it to die down within a minute.

She was very aware that some bad news was going to be given to her at the café, and was mentally preparing her reaction in case he told her that she’d have to leave Seventeen.

Once they arrived at the café, Seungcheol had asked her to take a seat whilst he placed their order. She asked him for a water, and when he questioned her terrible choice, she explained that it was healthy and free.

While waiting for him to come back, she started playing around with the ring on her finger, a new unconscious habit she had adopted after being given the ring a few days ago. No formal ceremony, a staff member had just dropped it off in the middle of her dance practise with Jun.

She was brought out of her thoughts with Seungcheol plopping down the 2 drinks on the table- 1 lemonade and 1 chocolate Frappuccino. She raised her eyebrows at her leader, who smirked and placed the straw of the lemonade in his mouth. “Eunwoo said this was your favourite drink.”

Jangmi tried to hide her smile, knowing very well that she was not doing a good job.

She took a sip of her Frappé, before setting it down on the table. She knew he was trying to butter her up before breaking the bad news, but she wanted to hear it outright. Not sugar-coated in chocolate goodness.

“Is it ok if I ask you something?” Seungcheol asked tentatively.

“Of course.” Jangmi nervously smiled.

He cleared his throat again, before continuing. “How’s everything?”

Jangmi narrowed her eyes, “everything?”

“You know…” he signalled with his hands, “everything.”

“Good.” She nodded, waiting for him to continue speaking.

“Come on Jangmi, you’ve got to give me more than that.”

She chuckled, happy this awkward tension between them was slowly dissipating.

“It’s been good though. Honestly. It’s a lot of hard work, and I don’t think I can feel my feet at all right now. But it’s been fun. I’m learning a lot.” She smiled politely before adding “thank you for the opportunity.”

“Stop being so polite with me. Let’s go back to how we were before.” Seungcheol dismissed, taking another sip of his lemonade.

“How were we before exactly?” Jangmi cocked her head to the side, waiting for his response. Sure, she had spoken to him during her visits every holiday, but they hadn’t really spent much time together- and never one on one. There was no need to. He was busy leading the boys to debut, whilst she was just a random trainee who kept popping up every few months.

“I don’t know.” He struggled. “Not this awkward for sure.” They both giggled, glad that they both were acknowledging the tense atmosphere.

“Seriously though, I’m really enjoying working with you all. Plus you guys are so talented. Legit. Did you see Minghao’s freestyle dance the other day. I didn’t even think it was possible to be that flexible.”

Seungcheol chuckled, taking another sip of his drink.

“Don’t get me started on the vocals of this team. I heard Seungkwan and Seokmin singing the other day and I was mind blown. And then I found out that they were only messing around. How can they seriously be that good when they are taking the piss out of it.”

“Glad to know you think the team is talented!”

Jangmi smiled, “Of course you guys are. That’s why you’re debuting.”

“Why we’re debuting” Seungcheol corrected.

“Oh right! I’m sorry.” Jangmi bowed again, causing Seungcheol to get up slightly and smack her head.

She faked a pout and took another sip of her drink.

“Is everyone treating you well?”

She nodded. “Yeah. You don’t need to worry. I was friends with most of them before anyway.”

Seungcheol hummed before talking again. “I definitely think you transitioned well. Although, I feel slightly bad for stealing you away from Sungyeon. I saw her the other day and she told me that if any one of us made you upset, she’d come and hurt us.”

“She’s just very overprotective.” Jangmi giggled. She had been so busy with catching up that she barely had seen Sungyeon over the last few weeks. She missed her best friend. Maybe they could go out and get some food together. Well, Sungyeon could eat food whilst Jangmi would be stuck eating salad.

“Well, now you’ve got 13 more people to protect you.”

“I can protect myself, thank you very much.” Jangmi sassed back, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Somehow I don’t believe that.”

Jangmi leaned over the table. “Is it because I’m a girl.”

Seungcheol leaned over aswell, looking directly into her eyes. “No, it’s because you ran out of the recording booth the other day after seeing the cockroach.”

Jangmi’s eyes widened. “How’d you-”

“Sungyeon told me.” He smirked, whilst moving Jangmis’ glass away from her elbows. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

Jangmi leaned back into her seat in defeat, crossing her arms.

“Stop pouting. That’s my thing.”

“I’m the maknae, I can pout as much as I want.”

“You’re such a child”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Do you always talk to your elders with such attitude?”

“Not the ones I respect.”

‘Ya!” Seungcheol raised his voice, before realising that he had perhaps spoken too loudly in the café.

Jangmi shone her victory smile, and grabbed her drink off the table.

“Is there any reason you asked to hang out with me?” She asked. After their little banter session, she was starting to doubt that she would be leaving the band. Her leader was too relaxed.

“I was getting to that”

“Well, today would be nice, considering we have more dance lessons in 20 minutes.”

“Oh shit!” Seungcheol jumped up from his seat. “Grab your drink, and we can talk the way back.”

Jangmi nodded, before following him out the door. Stopping to yell ‘thank you’ to the staff.

Walking back to the Pledis building, Jangmi noticed how the sun was starting to set. She would have stopped to take a picture, and send it back to her parents, but Cheol started talking at that moment.

“I just wanted to take this opportunity for you to tell me if you were unhappy.” Jangmi looked at him in confusion.

“Like if anyone was making you uncomfortable, or if you were having trouble fitting in. I don’t know you well enough to read your mind, and Vernon said that you’re pretty reserved, like him, so I just wanted to make sure. Even if some members take longer to warm up to you, they will eventually.” She looked over to him and smiled.

Taking that as a sign of reassurance, Seungcheol continued. “I just wanted you to know that it might take a little while for you to feel completely at home. Or as homely as one can feel when they’re literally on the opposite side of the world from their friends and their family. I feel homesick sometimes, even when my home’s just a few hours from here.”

“If anyone mistreats you for being in our team, by talking shit about you let me know, or any of the other members. Seriously. We all look out for each other. And I know it’ll take some getting used to, but you deserved a spot on this team. I’m not just saying it as a leader, but as a friend. And hopefully soon you’ll think of me as an older brother. I overheard you telling Jihoon how you’re an only child aswell. This team is more like a fami-”

Seungcheol abruptly stopped mid-sentence when he realised Jangmi wasn’t walking beside him.

He quickly turned around, and let out a sigh of relief when he saw she was only a couple of metres behind him, wearing a massive smile on her cheeks.

“What?” He asked, genuinely confused to why she had stopped walking. Considering she was the one who reminded him of rehearsal.

“Do you really mean that?” she asked so quietly, that he could barely make out her question. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug, “of course.”

Jangmi smiled into his chest. She had brothers.

Previous: First Official Meeting

Next: Debut.

[wordsbynicangeles]

ESCAPE THE FATE | EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW FOR PULP MAGAZINE

October 16 | Samsung Hall, SM Aura

It’s been months now since Escape The Fate’s triumphant comeback to the Philippines and I’m sure we’re all still reeling from their insane show last October 16, 2016 at Samsung Hall. That was their first solo concert in the country, having previously made their Philippine debut in 2015 on no less than the biggest metal stage in Southeast Asia—the phenomenal PULP SUMMER SLAM stage. It was in that same year that the band released their fifth studio album Hate Me and embarked on hugely successful tours promoting the new record. So when PULP Live World brought them back to Manila, PULP Magazine didn’t pass up the opportunity to catch up with Craig, Kevin (a.k.a. Thrasher), Robert, and TJ at Seda Hotel in BGC ahead of their crazy concert.

Check out this EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with the band where we spent a good amount of time being serious, joking around, talking about everything from their best memories from PULP SUMMER SLAM, how badly Robert wanted to meet Manny Pacquiao (he actually got to meet Pacman after this interview somehow!), their My Chem cover (in which they spoiled the concert for me), meeting the folks from Mayday Parade (who had their show at the same venue the night before), and, most importantly, their latest album Hate Me plus the band’s future plans.

First off, how are you guys doing? How’s the tour been, and how’s Southeast Asia treating you guys so far?

CRAIG: It’s been amazing! We’ve seen a lot of sights, not much rest but we’ve seen a lot of beautiful places.

Well, welcome back to the Philippines! We’re really excited to have you out here again. What do you guys remember from the last time you guys were here, when you played at the PULP SUMMER SLAM?

ROBERT: Yeah, we remember everything about it!

KEVIN: My take on PULP SUMMER SLAM is that… that was like, your typical heavy metal rock show on steroids. It was fucking amazing playing with Killswitch Engage, the catwalk, C02 cannons… it was one of the funnest times and oddly enough, a day before that, our bass player quit the band, the guy that was playing bass for us. So we were flying out, we told another person to learn all [the] songs, we finally got here and he goes “Hey guys, I didn’t learn any of the songs!” So, in our final attempt to make it not sound like complete crap without the low end, I recorded all the bass in our hotel room after the long flight we had. And then the highlight of the show for me was when Craig started climbing up the scaffolding and jumped about 30 feet into the crowd.

TJ: I think there was a video on Youtube of that.

CRAIG: That was the one and only time we played as “Escape The Faith”

ROBERT: Oh yeah *laughs*

KEVIN: We walked in and there was a big poster that said “Welcome, Escape The Faith! *laughs*

CRAIG: Also The Word Alive performed as “The World Alive”

KEVIN: *laughs* It was amazing, I mean we had never been here before and Vernon was just a fan of the band and he invited us out so he kinda took the risk as he had no idea how the fans would react and thankfully, now, this year we get to play here again and we’re continuing to build our fanbase out here in Southeast Asia.

 But tomorrow’s show is gonna be quite different for sure, since it’s gonna be a solo show, and not a huge-ass festival. What do you guys think about that, do you guys prefer playing big festivals? Tomorrow being a solo show, it’s gonna be quite different and intimate, don’t you think?

CRAIG: I think we all like playing any type of show there is. There’s something we call a festival run back in the States, where you go on tour and play all these radio festivals and when we do that, we kinda get tired and go, “Man, I miss being in a club…”, you know, having lights and being up close to the fans so the grass is always greener, but we just love performing, no matter what it is.

KEVIN: Yeah and another thing that’s very special and unique when we think about our club performances and having a headline show is that we can play as many songs as we want, we could do whatever we want in the set, we can take a break and play a bunch of cover songs if we want. We will be playing a bunch of covers tomorrow that we really haven’t played for anyone, other than people in Southeast Asia and Australia, so it’s very special, it’s a one-time thing out here for us.

 What are you guys looking forward to now that you guys are back? Robert really wants to meet Manny Pacquiao, huh?

ROBERT: Yeah, I really want to meet him but I realized that it’s Saturday so probably he’s not gonna be training today

CRAIG: We’re huge fans of him, especially Robert.

ROBERT: I thanked him in one of our albums. I think it was the self-titled album… or maybe it was Ungrateful. I don’t know he just inspired me when I was going through, like, some really dark times and stuff. Like, just watching his fights, it just kinda helped make me smile when I really couldn’t

KEVIN: Another thing that’s cool about him is that he’s a fighter but the way he goes about things, he doesn’t go out and talk shit on people, he’s got manners and that inspired us as a rock band as well because in our world, there’s people that wanna hate and talk shit about other bands and not support one another and it’s just so cool to see someone extremely successful and not going about it by stepping on other people-- just by honest, good hardwork.

 So let’s talk about your latest album Hate Me. I want to know, where are you guys coming from, when it comes to this album? What were your motivations when you wrote these songs?

CRAIG: It’s coming from years and years and years of turmoil, I guess. We all had a big hand in this record, you know, there are songs in this album that Kevin wrote by himself that was just in his hard drive history from a couple years back, TJ wrote vocals for an entire song on this record and Robert sent the guitar parts that were very much the bones and the roots of “Just A Memory” which is like, the video that has the most views and quickest views in a long time out of some of our past videos so it seems like people really like that track. All of our emotions, we just kinda put them all on the table and we really dived into it and worked our asses off.

 Yeah, and I think a lot of people who’ve heard it for the first time had the impression that it’s straight-up aggressive but when you really take a good look at some of the tracks from the album it’s not all just that, right? There’s “Remember Every Scar” that’s pretty empowering when you think about it, and then there’s track’s like “Let Me Be” that’s more of a love song, so how did you guys think of mixing those up?

KEVIN: I totally agree with that, it’s like, this record to me really sums up what life is and life is all about ups and downs and conflict and you know, your inner conflict with yourself, but also at the same time, it’s about finding yourself and finding who you truly are. And us, we’ve been all doing this for over ten years, we each have done countless, countless records so for us it’s like finding our unique voices as songwriters and you know, having the freedom to just go and say what you want to and be poetic. Instrumentally, Robert is killing it on drums and I feel like some of my guitar solos are some of my proudest guitar solos I’ve ever put down on tape. Yeah, it isn’t all aggressive, there are songs like “Remember Every Scar” that’s coming from taking all your negative experiences, taking all the bullshit in life and kinda turning it around and seeing that you can rise above and have a great life no matter what background you’re coming from.

 Speaking of “Remember Every Scar”, you guys released a video for that, as well as “Just A Memory” and “Alive”, and last night you announced that a video for “The Terrible Children” will be coming our way. Why these songs?

CRAIG: I think the band definitely wanted to do a video for “Just A Memory” really really bad so we did that. And then “Alive” was definitely a really strong kind of rock-radio vibe so we did a video for that one. “Remember Every Scar” was another song that we all were like, really really about, like “We gotta do a video for this one.” “Terrible Children” was just a video that came together because we had a touring photographer on the road so she filmed a bunch of footage, and she put it together so we’re like “Alright, let’s put a live video out there” so that’s what’s coming out. And we just finished filming a video for “Breaking Me Down” which is a ballad that we’re very, very excited about and we all have high hopes to do a video for “Let Me Be” at some point. We all love that song as well, so yeah. If it was completely 100% up to the band, we would do a music video for every single song.

 What do you guys make of the public’s reception of the album? What are the best and worst commentaries that you guys have encountered regarding Hate Me?

KEVIN: I’ve seen a lot of really good reactions on the album from fans and critics alike. I mean a lot of fans, they’ve had their history with the band, we’ve gone through all the different styles and different changes because the band’s constantly evolving from record to record. And this one, a lot of them are saying it’s one of their favorite records that the band’s ever done.

CRAIG: This one’s got the least negative reactions for a record that I’ve seen in this band since as far as I can remember. I mean This War Is Ours had a lot of negative [reactions] but there’s so much positive [reactions] in that album as well that kinda overshadowed the negativity. I was just on my Timehop app this morning and I saw I was telling TJ that there was a review, and the review’s [tone] was like a movie theatre/narrator voice, like “In a world where rock radio is failing, one band can save it all…” and I’m like, damn this review is legit. *laughs* So we definitely have seen a lot of positive reviews on this album.

 And how has this album cycle been so far? You guys have been touring quite extensively, do you guys have plans to stretch this world tour even further? And what were the most memorable experiences you’ve had on the road, not just in Southeast Asia, I guess, but everywhere you’ve toured for this album?

CRAIG: Well this album has taken us all around the world, and it’s taken us to places we’ve never been before so I’d say it’s great and it’s just now [about to] turn one year old. It’s kinda crazy because it feels like it came out so long ago, I can’t believe we’re just now approaching the one year mark. So it’s been a crazy, crazy run for this record. I’m excited to see what else pops up.

KEVIN: Yeah, our very first tour on this record actually was Warped Tour, I think. That feels so long ago now. From there, we’ve done so many tours, we’ve done a hugely successful European/UK run.

CRAIG: Yeah, that was the biggest UK tour we’ve done.

KEVIN: Yeah, so we did Warped Tour, in which all the fans were like, you know, finding this band again for the very first time. And then the UK, Europe… the shows were sold out, we can’t wait to go back there. And then all the way in Southeast Asia and Australia. We hope to come back here. We just wanna keep growing our fanbase here and spread the word and spread the love.

 Recently, you guys put out a cover of “Dead!” by My Chemical Romance as part of a The Black Parade tribute album. How did that cover come about? Did you guys pick the song?

CRAIG: No, they got a hold of us and said “We’re doing a My Chem tribute album, we really want you guys to be part of it, we think that you guys would absolutely kill it on ‘Dead!’” and we said okay. So we did it. And we killed it. And we play it great live and the fans love it and we love it.

 What made you guys say yes to that? Why were you so up to that task?

ROBERT: Because that’s one of the best albums ever, one of my favorite bands ever, so fuck yeah!

 You guys heard the other covers on that tribute album? What do you guys think about them?

CRAIG: Yeah!

KEVIN: I loooove the twentyonepilots one, “Cancer”

CRAIG: That was good, yeah

 Are you guys playing it tomo-- anyway I don’t wanna know, I wanna be surprised

CRAIG: YES.

 Oh shit, you spoiled the show for me!

KEVIN: I’m sure this magazine’s gonna come out after the show *laughs*

CRAIG: So if you guys are reading this interview right now in the magazine, go to Youtube, type in “Dead! In Manila Escape The Fate live” *laughs* Yes, we did play that.

KEVIN: And also… Merry Christmas, everyone! *laughs*

 Thank you for the early greetings! *laughs* So. What’s next for you guys, after Southeast Asia are you guys gonna tour some more for the album?

CRAIG: Yeah, we have a US tour, then I think that’s it. That’s it for Escape The Fate *laughs*

TJ: We’re gonna tour with Nonpoint.

KEVIN: And we’ve got a radio campaign for “Breaking Me Down” along with the video release.

 Any new music in the works or plans in 2017?

CRAIG: Yeah, new music always in the works. [There are] a bunch of songs that didn’t make the last album that we all still really like so we’ll put ‘em in the next album

KEVIN: There’s always that desire to continue writing. Craig and I have been working on new stuff, too.

 So you guys are just constantly writing new stuff at the spur of the moment...

CRAIG: This whole last month before we came out to do this tour, Kevin and I were working on an entire other album for my group called Dead Rabbits. So we’re just constantly, constantly writing and recording and coming up with stuff. There’s actually a song on that record that’s supposed to be a heavy song for Escape The Fate that didn’t make it so we’re using it for this record. And then there’s a lot of ideas and things we’ve come up with, just in the past month there were [moments] like we’re “Dude we should do that for the next Escape record.” so it’s just yeah… constant, constant writing all the time.

 What can people expect from your solo show tomorrow?

CRAIG: Craziness.

KEVIN: Craig might jump into the crowd… but maybe not.

CRAIG: I might jump on your head! *laughs*

KEVIN: Brace for impact.

CRAIG: And buckle your seatbelts.

KEVIN: If you’re lucky, Robert might play a drum solo…

CRAIG: (to KEVIN) All you have to do is wait for Robert to walk up after your guitar solo, and you walk off *laughs*

KEVIN: And then people will be chanting “drum solo! drum solo!” and he’ll refuse… for a good five minutes. And then he’ll give in. We’re gonna come out tonight actually to check out Mayday Parade. We made friends with them last night, we’ve never met ‘em before. We had a group family-style dinner

 Oh so tonight will only be your first time seeing them live?

CRAIG: Yeah, I’ve never seen them before, but I’ve definitely heard one of their songs.

 What do you think about the guys from Mayday Parade?

ROBERT: I love them, like, we met them last night and instantly became friends and we were drinking wine together

 So there’s this Escape The Parade thing going on *laughs*

KEVIN: Yeah, dude, Robert actually coined that, he beat you to it *laughs* He said it first.

 Okay *laughs* SO LASTLY, what message do you guys have for your Filipino fans?

KEVIN: I would wanna say, we so appreciate your support, we love you guys and thank you so much for supporting the band. We can’t do this without you. And please tell your friends and family about us so we can keep on coming out here make these shows bigger and bigger. PULP

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Note: This exclusive interview has been published in PULP Magazine’s February 2017 issue (Issue No. 186).