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mypassionfortrash · 5 years ago

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KICKS (part five)

After you and Roger nail down his limits, you finally set a date for your first kinky playdate. And, more importantly, you open him up to brand new sensations!

WARNINGS: Strong D/s themes; restraints, edging, overstimulation, facesitting and anal. STRICTLY 18+. NOTES: Still going strong with this one! Thank you so much for all the kind words and amazing feedback on the first few parts. This chapter’s really long (over 6,000 words) so please brace yourselves! AND PLEASE, IF YOU LIKED THIS, SHARE IT!

CATCH UP: Part one // Part two // Part three // Part four

Tags: @jennyggggrrr @sarahgurl09 @scorpiogemini @johnricharddeacy @brianssixpence @hellohellothere12 @crazylittlethingcalledobsession @internationalkpoplova @thefairyfellersmasterstroke @six-bloodyminutes @hannafuckingsucks @dancingcoolcat @cherries-n-rocknroll @theedwardscollection @inthelapofrogertaylor @lnnuend0 @just-my-sickly-pride @yourlocalmusicalprostitute @johndeaconshands @loveandbeloved29 @toreyyyyyy

“Scat? Like… Jazz singing?” Roger’s eyebrows hiked up. “Definite hard limit.”

“You poor thing,” you muttered, wrestling with a scantily clad mannequin.

Roger looked up at you from behind the cash desk. He shrugged. “Well, what does it mean, then?”

“It means shit.”

He scowled, sticking out his tongue. “People get off on that? Having people… shit on them? Fuck that!”

You shrugged and fastened the clasp on the harness bra you had dressed Melanie the Mannequin in. Then you assessed her hard plastic, but still very naked, rack. “Yep. People definitely get off on it,” you said, reaching for a roll of black bondage tape. Melanie didn’t have nipples, but she still looked far too nude to be front and centre in the shop window, so you bit off small strips of tape and stuck two ‘x’ shapes across her breasts. That might keep the locals quiet, you hoped.

“Definite hard limit,” he hummed, checking the box next to ‘scat’ in the book. “Ok, so watersports?”

When Melanie was safely back on display, you turned around to find Roger nodding as he continued to study the book of kinks.

“I love watersports,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean what you think it does either, Roger. And I’m not going to wee on you.”

“Wee on me?” he repeated, narrowing his eyes. “Oh! Oh, fuck, no! Limit limit limit!”

Perching up on the opposite side of the cash desk, you grabbed the book. “Alright, so we’ve got blood, needles, breath play, scat and watersports as hard limits. I’m going to add vomit to this as well because I’m assuming you’re not into that?” you began, glancing up at Roger.

He gave a swift nod in response.

“And feet, hair removal, enemas and blindfolds as soft limits. Why the blindfolds?”

“Betsy.”

“That’s fair.”

“And you want to try orgasm denial, overstimulation, chastity, restraints, spanking, queening – for obvious reasons – as well as pegging with a question mark and… humiliation.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure what pegging is,” Roger said. He knew. The peachy-pink flush that flashed over his jaw and up to his ears gave him away.

“Remember Big Red?” you asked, nodding towards the display on which Big Red lived.

His voice grew smaller as the redness seeped to his cheeks and down to his chest. “Yeah?”

“And how you said you didn’t want anything in your bum? Ever?”

Roger nodded and rubbed his palms together.

“Well, pegging is when your partner puts things up your bum.”

His teeth sank into his lower lip and tugged. “That… that sounds interesting.”

“Still want to try it?”

Roger swallowed hard. Then he nodded.

“And you know what queening is?”

“Not really, but it sounded fun,” he said enthusiastically. Then he leaned forward, furrowing his brow. “What is it?”

“It’s when I sit on your face and you…” you trailed off, flicking your tongue through your fingers.

“Oh, wow! Sign me up!”

“Let’s do that as a reward for you,” you reasoned. “And you remember all of my rules?”

Roger recited your list like a well-prepared boy scout, looking pleased with himself. “No kissing. No touching unless you ask. No penetrative sex.”

“Good.”

“I… I was also reading in the book that some people like pet names – titles – when they’re… you know.”

You laughed and looked down at your hands. They were clasped together on the desk in front of you. “You usually get around to that once you know you’re going to be playing with someone on a regular basis. Why?”

Roger shrugged and smiled sweetly. “I don’t know. I’m just curious what you’d call me.”

“I’ll have to think about that one. See what you’re like when you’re needy and begging,” you purred.

“I can’t wait,” he sighed. “When do you want to… you know?”

Your insides contracted at the thought. ‘It’s too soon,’ your brain screamed. ‘He’s not ready. You’re not ready!’ But the burn between your thighs told you otherwise. Your heart did too, fluttering inside your ribs like a caged animal dying to be set free. “Tomorrow night sound ok?” you blurted.

Roger’s eyes brightened, lighting up even in the corner of the dingy little shop he found himself visiting. “That sounds great.” He went quiet for a moment, poking his tongue against the inside of his cheek. “What will I wear?”

“Well, you’ll be naked for most of it. It won’t matter much. Wear whatever you think will be comfortable.”

“Are we going to Doxy?”

“No, it’s probably better to start off at either your place or mine,” you explained. “Just in case things take a bad turn and you drop really badly.”

“Drop?”

“Sub drop, sorry. Sometimes if you’ve had quite an intense session, you might feel a bit sad or depressed. So it’s always a good idea to be somewhere where you can have some food, a nap, a bath, hugs. Whatever you need to get yourself feeling a bit better.”

“That makes sense,” Roger said. “I can come to you if you want?”

“Perfect. Just make sure you don’t drive to mine. I’d get a taxi there and back, but if you’re feeling shaky afterwards, you can stay the night. I have a spare room.”

“What time?”

“Eight sound alright?”

“It’s a date.”

Nerves paralysed you all day as you waited for eight o’clock to roll around – and for your playdate with Roger.

You toyed with the idea of cancelling.

You poked at the thought of feigning food poisoning or the sniffles.

And briefly entertained the notion, after spending two hours in the bath, of staying in your pyjamas for the whole session – why make the effort if you weren’t going to have sex?

But one phone call to Andie was enough to coax you into the right headspace. As much as you hated her for it.

“But I just don’t feel sexy!” you whined, rifling through your lingerie drawer. “I barely know him.”

“Well, you’ve got enough in that bloody wardrobe of yours to make yourself look sexy, don’t you? Fake it ’til you make it,” she said bluntly. “And besides, maybe this is what you need.”

“What?”

“A very attractive man that clearly wants you but can’t have you. Might do wonders for your confidence.”

You huffed, pulling out a bralette and a pair of silk french knickers.

“He’s a dish. And if you want, I’d be more than happy to take him off your hands.”

“Not necessary,” you said, shuffling out of your bathrobe. “I think I can manage.”

Andie perked up. “So what’s on the cards for tonight, then?”

Using one hand to put your knickers on was a bad idea, so you stuck the phone receiver in the crook of your neck. “What was that?”

“What are you going to do to poor princess Roger?”

“I reckon I’m gonna…” you paused, slipping on your bralette. “I think I’ll start slow. Maybe with a massage or something and work my way up.” Imagining what he’d sound like when he begged slapped a smile on to your face. “I think I’ll edge him until he’s absolutely desperate to get off and then…”

“And then what?” Andie purred.

“I’m going to let him. Over and over. And if he whines, I’ll ask him if he’d rather be belted.”

“You big softie! He’s already turned you to mush.”

“I don’t want to scare him off! And besides, I don’t want to hurt him. I think he’s still a bit hung up on what his ex did to him.”

“Listen to me, you’re going to be just fine. He’s definitely comfortable around you, and that’s the hardest part.”

“Thanks, Andie.”

“And I want details tomorrow morning!”

“I’ll call you first thing. Promise.”

“Alright, darling, I’ll speak to you in the morning.”

Perched on the end of your bed in your underwear, you assessed your reflection in the mirror just in case you had forgotten even the slightest small detail. Your hair was perfectly styled. Your make up was pristine. But you still lacked something. You just couldn’t put your finger on what.

Then the panic came back.

You had made such a big deal about separating all of this from feelings and sex and relationships, and now you found yourself worrying about what Roger might make of your appearance as if you merely existed to appeal to him. A simmering, self-directed rage got the better of you and forced you out of your bedroom in search of another unconstructive way to channel your nerves.

You found that in your drinks cupboard inside a bottle of vodka. Half measures weren’t something you did. You took the bottle and a glass back to your room, pouring yourself more than you needed as you walked. Only then did it strike you how much your hands shook. And what was missing.

At the end of your hall, a pair of stockings lay stretched across the rungs of your clothes horse with the rest of your laundry. Sinking the entire glass of vodka, a tiny lightbulb pinged to life above your head as you downed the last drop.

That’s what was missing.

The caress of nylon on your legs never failed to make you feel like nothing short of a goddess.

You scurried back into your bedroom on unsteady legs and tugged open your lingerie drawer again. Then you plucked out another pair of stockings and a garter belt. You shuffled out of your knickers and slipped on the newest additions to your outfit.

Much better.

You weren’t sure whether your newfound serenity was down to a simple pair of nylons or the triple vodka working its magic, but you felt ready to put Roger through his paces.

Until your brain interjected. Rude.

Were you going to play with him in your bedroom or the spare room?

You huffed, balling up your fists and resting them on your hips. Weighing up the pros and cons of both your options.

Play here and you wouldn’t have to waste time moving anything into the spare room.

Play there and you wouldn’t run the risk of having a sleepy Roger in your bed. After all, he was almost a stranger, and you most certainly did not have feelings for him.

You definitely didn’t like him in that way.

Or at least that’s what you told yourself, yanking open your drawer full of kinks. You knew exactly what you were looking for and quickly bundled the accessories into your arms, piling them high until you couldn’t carry any more. And then, you wandered through to the spare room.

You thanked your lucky stars that the bed was perpetually made, usually for drunk friends or when your parents came to visit. The idea of torturing one of the most sought after rockstars in the same bed that your parents occasionally slept in made you shudder. And it just wouldn’t leave your head.

Until the door buzzer pierced through your flat.

“Fuck.”

His voice was so bright when it sounded over the line: “Hi, it’s Roger!

“Come on up.”

As soon as you put the receiver down, you hurried back into the spare room to lay out everything you needed within reach. Your hands went back to trembling and your heart went back to racing. You could hear the rush of blood in your ears above the sound of yourself listing your accoutrements aloud. “Cuffs. Paddle. Lube. Oil.”

Before you knew it, Roger was at your door, giving it three sharp knocks that forced your soul from your body for a few seconds. You almost didn’t make it to the hall. Apprehension stiffened all the muscles in your legs. Even cracking the door open was a chore.

But all of that subsided when you saw Roger pacing in the landing. The first thing you noticed was how his hands clung to the collar of his coat in a white-knuckled grasp. And then the coy smile on his lips when he spoke. The way he stopped dead, but couldn’t look you in the eye. “You look nice.”

It took every ounce of restraint you had not to giggle like a giddy schoolgirl. Instead, you smiled back and stepped aside. “Come on in and make yourself at home.”

For a split second, a bolt of electricity surged through you. The fleeting graze of his coat against your arm. The heady scent of his aftershave. How he ruffled his soft blonde hair as he stood idly and awkwardly in your hall.

All you could manage was a feeble, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m not going to lie, I might have had a shot of whisky before I came here.”

“I’m not going to lie, there’s a bottle of vodka sitting on my bedside table,” you laughed. “You’re still sober enough to go through with this, aren’t you?”

“It was just a shot,” Roger said, “don’t worry.”

“Ok,” you nodded. Without saying another word, you wandered over to Roger and unfastened the buttons on his coat.

His breathing hitched when you edged the heavy fabric down his arms, but he still couldn’t make eye contact with you. “Won’t be needing that,” he chuckled.

That dark-lashed gaze of yours went straight to his gut. “You won’t be needing any of it.”

“Right, yeah,” he said. “Will I… you know… take it all off?”

You arched an eyebrow, “Come through to the spare room first.” Grasping Roger’s hand, you led him through. As soon as he clapped eyes on everything laid out on the bed, his grip tightened. You turned to him to find his eyes widening. “You like the look of this?”

He gulped. Then he nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you. I’m a bit out of practice myself. It’ll take us a bit of time to get into the swing of things.”

“Looks like you’re already in the swing of things,” he grinned. Before you could croak out a response, Roger was already undressed down to his underwear; red briefs with a growing tent in the middle.

“You look rather smug,” you said, feeling emboldened enough to drag your nails over his collarbones. “Lose the underwear.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be quite the slavedriver?” he grinned.

You shrugged, watching him hop out of them. “Because I am?”

“Good.”

“We’re going to start off really slow, though,” you explained, leading him over to the bed and sitting down next to him on the edge. “I’ll gradually ramp it up a bit but if you need me to drop back a bit, just say: ‘yellow.’ Got it?”

“Got it.”

“And if it gets too much–”

“Red.”

“Red. Good. And please remember to use them. I want you to enjoy this.”

“I will don’t worry,” he said, looking you square in the eye. His cheeks were already flushed.

Before any second thoughts could creep back into the space between you and Roger, you rose to your feet. “And please remember not to touch me unless I ask you to.”

“I have a feeling you’re not going to give me much of a chance to,” he quipped, nodding at the cuffs beside him.

“You’re awfully lippy tonight,” you smirked.

“You make it too easy.”

“Maybe I should leave the slow start and skip to the good stuff.”

“Maybe you should.”

“Or,” you began, stepping forward, “I could make you suffer. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Roger didn’t say a word, but he did keen into your touch as your nails clawed down his neck. With one hand on his chest, you didn’t have to use much force to get him to sink backwards. “On your front,” you instructed.

He complied, folding his arms underneath his chin. His calves hung over the edge of the bed, toes wiggling in anticipation.

You bent down close to Roger’s ear. “Good boy.” The sensation of your breath on his neck made him jump, but you noticed his eyes closing and a sweet smile forming. The damage Betsy had done was still visible across his muscles; a reminder to go gentle on him. You wandered around to his other side and grabbed the bottle massage oil lying beside him. Not caring to warm it up, you drizzled some on his spine. He winced, trying to roll on to his side, but his movements weren’t quick enough. He was pinned. Under you. Straddling his hips, you found yourself in prime position to manipulate him exactly as you wished. But first, all you wanted to do was explore him – every inch of him.

The join between his neck and shoulder was a familiar spot. His own hands wandered there all the time. But, for some reason, yours felt better, kneading out knots caused by years of non-stop touring. That, along with the soothing scent of lavender on his skin, turned him to putty in your hands.

He might have fallen asleep like that, too, had it not been for you shuffling lower along his thighs, placing yourself within easy reach of the rest of his back. Using every surface of your hands in slow, agonising waves. Up and out, stretching him until he groaned, overcome with sheer bliss.

“I thought this was all about pain,” he said.

You tugged your lower lip between your teeth. “As much as I’d like to smack that glorious bottom of yours, I think you probably deserve this a little bit more. How does it feel?”

“It feels amazing,” he hummed. “I’ll be a new man after this!”

Impatience almost got the better of you the lower down on Roger’s body that you moved. So much so that you had to bypass his bottom altogether to keep yourself on an even keel. As much as you were dying to see him squirm and hear him beg, the buildup was even more critical. So you slipped off the bed and focused on Roger’s legs instead. Soft yet slender in your hands, you worked more oil up his calves and settled on the backs of his knees. Your fingers moved like feathers over those sensitive spots, coaxing a strained whine from Roger as he tried to squirm away from your touch. “If you don’t lie still, I’m going to have to restrain you,” you warned.

The curves of Roger’s back quivered with a sharp intake of breath at those words. Then he relaxed again. But not for long.

Moving up towards his thighs, you relished that unexpected softness. You weren’t massaging anymore; instead, you pressed the soft flesh, letting it pale underneath your fingertips. Roger’s thigh parted ever so slightly, granting access to the even more sensitive spots between them. His desire skyrocketed, arching his back when you clawed pink tracks up and down his skin.

“You’re getting needy, aren’t you?” you purred.

“Mmhm. Feels so good,” he said, swaying his hips.

“I bet it does.” A swift smack to Roger’s bottom had him rolling over on to his back. His cheeks were flushed and his breaths were cautious. He moved to cover his eyes with his arm but you quickly stopped him. “I want you to look at me.”

Roger’s jaw slackened but never once did his eyes leave you.

For all the effort you had put into loosening Roger up, his body tightened as you curled the fine hairs on his chest around your fingertips. Unable to even breathe, all Roger could do was lie beneath you, and watch.

And you took pleasure in observing his reaction. He adored your touch, you could see it in the way his pupils blew out every time he looked at you or the way his hips rolled up against yours. “I think I’m going to have to keep you still, Roggie,” you said, finally reaching his hips. You quietened down, lowering your voice to barely a whisper. “Would you like that?”

Roger looked like an angel – his beautiful thick eyelashes fluttered while his gaze shifted to you. The calloused pads on his fingers drummed against your stocking-clad thighs, unable to contain any patience he has left. “I think that would be a good idea,” he said with a contented smile.

“You’re smiling now, Roger. You won’t be later,” you said, removing yourself from him. Then you set about looping thick leather straps around his wrists.

His tongue poked out as he watched in awe, following every single one of your movements, binding him to the headboard. Removing all ability for him to get away from your onslaught. The delight in his smile grew when you straddled him again, just below his swollen, throbbing cock.

“Are you enjoying this?” you said, brushing your nails over his length, encouraging his hips to buck and roll into your grasp.

Roger bit his lip and nodded, allowing himself to be carried away by the much-awaited contact.

A sharp slap to his thigh jolted him back to his senses. “Use your words.”

“Yes, I love it.”

You gave Roger a sly smirk as you reached for the bottle of lube beside him. With the bottle held high, you allowed beads of the clear liquid to drip down. The freezing cold lube colliding with his skin had him straining against the cuffs, but he soon held still. One scalding hot glance from you made sure of that.

Apparently, he was the rebellious one in Queen, but here he was, docile and pliable. Doing anything to have his balls drained.

He wasn’t getting his balls drained that easily.

You used one hand, slipping his length through your grasp. “Let’s lay down some ground rules about how this is going to go, shall we?” you began, punctuating that with another pass over his cock. “You’re not getting off until I say you can. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he sighed, trying to bury the side of his face into the pillow.

You grabbed his jaw, forcing him to look at you. “And you’re going to look at me the whole time.”

His voice faltered, glancing down at your hand gathering pace. “Got it.”

“If you come without my permission, you will be punished.”

Roger gulped, casting an eye over to the soft leather paddle beside him. “Will it hurt?”

“Depends on how naughty you are.”

“I promise I’ll be good,” he sighed. “Promise.”

You loomed over Roger, your noses practically touching. “And if you’re good, you’re going to get a little treat.”

“What kind of treat?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Oh god,” he whined just as your free hand joined the party, circling the swollen head of his cock. “I don’t think I’m gonna last long.”

“Well, you had better start begging.”

A laugh rose in Roger’s chest and he did his best a suppressing it enough to strangle out a feeble, “please.” As if that would convince you that he really did need release.

“I think you’ve got a little bit longer in you,” you said, finding your rhythm. The slick sounds of those smooth, purposeful motions, coupled with Roger lying underneath you, his lips slightly parted as he looked up with you made the heat between your thighs grow. You really wanted him there and then.

But this wasn’t about you.

And Roger was fast reaching the end of his rope.

You swore you had never seen his cheeks so red.

“Please, please please, I need to come!” he whined. “I’m so close! Oh, god, I’ll do anything.”

A dull ache throbbed in your wrists. But you were desperate to draw this out for as long as possible. It wasn’t what you planned, but it guaranteed your chance to push Roger almost to his limit. “Alright, Roggie, come for me.”

“R-really?” he stuttered.

“Come for me. Be a good boy for me.”

“Oh my god,” he grinned. His eyes closed. His hands grasped at the slats on the headboard. He was buckling up for wave after wave of pleasure to surge through him.

Except the waves didn’t arrive.

Roger’s eyes shot open with a whine. “What the fuck?!” he squeaked. His mind was too blurry to register that you were in the middle of tugging off your underwear.

Until your dripping wet cunt lingered just inches from his face.

“I just wasn’t convinced that you really wanted to come.”

“Well, I fucking did!” He was testing you. He had to be.

“Oh, really?” Your patience had worn thin. In one swift movement, you turned and plonked yourself down on Roger’s waiting mouth. “Well, fucking prove it. Show me how much you want it.”

Roger wasted no time allowing his tongue to explore every inch of you that his restraints allowed him to reach. He wasn’t even sure if he could get you off like this, but he’d be damned if he didn’t give it his best shot. After all, he was desperate to avoid another ruined orgasm. Ravenous, in fact; sucking and licking at your folds before turning his attention to your clit for a brief moment. And he was sure to let you know just how grateful he was to get to taste you. Every satisfied hum shot through your body, making your hips kick into motion on top of him.

“Finally a good use for that tongue of yours,” you remarked. Leaning forward, you began jacking Roger off again. “Let’s see if you deserve to come this time.”

He sighed against you. He wasn’t about to let another orgasm slip through your fingertips. He had to let you know he wanted it. Eagerly, desperately, his tongue swirled over your clit, gathering its own feverish pace.

Now you started to realise what all the fuss over Roger was about. You had never heard him be so quiet since you met him, and for good reason. He was an expert with his tongue both in an out of the bedroom.

But you were so fixated on that intoxicating feeling that you neglected your own duties. You looked down to find that your hand was no longer moving along his desperate looking shaft; just idly palming at it. He wasn’t going anywhere with that action.

So you made a conscious effort. Fighting against Roger, you got to work to bring him right to the brink of release. To the point where his moans made you squirm, and the muscles in his thighs tightened again. “Do you want to come for me, Roggie?” you moaned, grinding your cunt against his mouth.

He couldn’t speak. Of course he couldn’t. But that didn’t stop him trying to whine an almost convincing ‘please’ between circling your clit with precision.

“Come on, Roggie, come for me. Come for me,” you urged, grinding your hips with more urgency.

Just when you were about to allow it, Roger’s attempts at pleasing you stilled.

Just when he was about to get off, you let go.

You leaned back and rode Roger’s face. “I didn’t tell you to stop,” you scolded. “Keep going,” you urged.

Begrudgingly, Roger’s tongue darted over your clit again with the same steady pace in just enough time to stop you from coming down completely. But he made his impatience obvious, angling his hips to lure your attention back to his cock.

You weren’t going to bow to the pressure right away.

Why should you?

When he was this keen to please you, you were hellbent on letting him.

The sea of pleasure inside you raged. Keeping your balance fast became a chore. You gripped the headboard behind you for dear life, drawing your weight backwards. “God, you’re so good, Roger,” you gasped. “That fucking mouth!”

Roger moaned against you as you rode his face. He relished this as much as you did. He found himself absolutely addicted to your scent and the sounds you made. The way you moved.

Hunching over, you gripped Roger’s thighs as your own stiffened on either side of his face. Immobilised by the most intense, soaring bliss you had ever experienced, you were certain you were going to see stars after this. It felt like your body had shut down as it welcomed the electricity that pulsed through you.

Coming down, you were met by the sound of Roger trying to urge you off of him. You didn’t even know how long you had been out for. And here he was just dying to get off.

How selfish of you to neglect your new little plaything.

Sitting up straight, still straddling Roger’s face, you inhaled a deep breath in an attempt to gather your composure. Every muscle in your body felt like liquid as you moved, turning yourself around to get a good look at him.

He looked pleased with himself. His sickeningly pretty features were scarlet and glistened with sweat and arousal and all you wanted to do was kiss him. Just a little taste.

But you couldn’t. Feelings were out of the question.

“I think you really deserve to come, Roger, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” he sighed with a soft expression.

“I think you deserve a really, really big reward for being such a good boy,” you teased, swiping your thumb along his lower lip.

“I do. Thank you.”

Your free hand crept down to Roger’s cock again. Still hard and throbbing. “And you know that I only want to make you feel really really good?” No holds barred.

“Mmmhm.”

“Good boy,” you praised.

Even hearing that made Roger’s muscles twitch. “You’re not gonna do that to me again, are you?” he asked, squeezing his eyes shut. Bracing himself for disappointment.

“No, darling,” you soothed, “you can come as much as you like now. Any time you like.”

Roger must have sensed the change in your tone when you spoke, because as soon as you gave him permission, his whole body shook and the only words he could manage was a strangled, “thank you!”

He came down quickly; most men did. But what struck him when the fog in his head cleared was that you weren’t done with him just yet – even though he had to crane his neck to see you at the foot of the bed with your tongue gliding over the shaft of his cock.

“Oh fuck,” he sighed, throwing his head back.

“You didn’t think it’d be over that soon, did you? That would’ve been disappointing.”

“No! Just… just be careful!”

You couldn’t resist. You had to make him suffer even just a tiny bit. So, with a devilish smirk, you swirled an excruciatingly slow lap around the tip of his cock, savouring the last drops of cum that glazed it.

Roger hissed, but his hips told a different story – bucking wildly in time to your efforts. Pressing his cock into your mouth. “Fuck,” he cursed again.

With one hand, along with your mouth, you settled into another determined rhythm. Your hand worked his shaft, while your tongue tackled just the tip. Roger had surpassed the initial pain and was back to gazing down at you in awe. His teeth clenched together. His wrists tugging at their binds. But the sheer girth of his cock meant that it was only a matter of minutes before a dull ache seeped into your jaw if you so much as attempted to take any more of him in your mouth.

And it would take longer this time around for him to come.

Then you spied the bottle of lube nestled against Roger’s hip. The jewel in the crown of your new master plan.

Roger’s cock left your mouth with a pop, just long enough to check in with him before you proceeded. After all, his legs were still wild and free; you didn’t want to risk being kicked in the face. Some men didn’t take well to what you were about to do. “Do you trust me?” you asked, gazing up at him with wild eyes.

“Not gonna lie,” he puffed, “after all of this, I’m starting to have trust issues.” The broad smile he shot you told you he was joking.

You reached for the lube with your free hand and kept your sights trained on him. “I need to hear you say it though. I can’t make you feel really really good if I don’t think your heart’s in it.” He couldn’t see what you were doing, but he did strain to see what the suspicious click was when you opened the bottle and squeezed some lube on to your fingertips.

“I trust you.”

“Good,” you said, bringing your lips down on to the head of his cock again. Concealing what your free hand was preparing to do.

When Roger was safely duped into believing that your intentions were genuinely pure, you pressed a finger to his backdoor, massaging his tight, sensitive ring. At the same time, your tongue continued to flutter over the head of his cock. The new sensation had him mewling in delight. You never expected that reaction from him. Even the way he rolled his hips for leverage against your finger. Slowly you eased it inside him, right up to the knuckle. Then you curled it in on itself, seeking out his sweet spot.

“Fuck,” he purred.

“Feel good?” you asked.

“Better than I thought, god.”

You slipped a second finger inside him, applying just the right amount of pressure for his breathing to labour. Now was the time to take things up a notch. To put on a show for him. Taking as much of Roger’s cock as you could in your mouth, you made a point of making as much noise and as much mess as you could. Your spit made his cock glisten and pass through your lips just that little bit easier. Sometimes it overshot and caught the back of your throat. He seemed to love it when your mascara started to run.

“I-I think I’m gonna come again,” he groaned. He was beginning to tense up again; everywhere, including around your fingers.

You gave a pleased moan in response, not wanting to let up too soon.

“Oh, I’m definitely gonna–“

That orgasm had already rolled into another, not allowing Roger any letup. Your hand and your mouth were missing from his cock, but your fingers still pressed up against that one magic spot inside him. His legs continued to spasm alongside your efforts.

“Got another one in the tank for me?” you grinned.

“I think so,” he gasped.

“I’m gonna take these cuffs off you, Roggie,” you said, scrambling to your knees, fingers still working towards one final explosion of pleasure. “You ready?”

He nodded profusely. “Please.”

With one hand still preoccupied inside Roger, you stretched over him. You swore you felt the tip of his nose caress your chest. Your other hand unbuckled each cuff around his wrists, and, with him being the obedient little submissive he was showing himself to be, his hands didn’t go straight to your waist or your thighs. Instead, they draped delicately above his head with his elegant hands clenching into bony fists.

You stroked his matted, sweat-soaked hair. “One more, darling,” you soothed.

Roger nodded. “One more.”

“Touch yourself for me,” you said, moving backwards to get a better view.

Roger groaned as his fingers tentatively wrapped around his semi-hard cock.

“That’s it. You look so pretty like this.”

“Fuck,” he whined. The fingers on his other hand raked through his hair, tugging at the roots to get a handle on the stinging sensitivity between his thighs.

“You can go a little bit faster for me, can’t you?”

“Yes.” He could, but he had to force it. He gritted his teeth and moved his hand quicker, with more purpose. In the back of his mind, he was sure his cock would never work again after this. Certain he never wanted to come again. And he definitely didn’t have enough energy left inside him to coax out another orgasm. But he still wanted to hear you praise him, to tell him how good he looked, jacking himself off right there in front of you. His whole body trembled, and his skin was saturated with sweat.

“You’re so beautiful Roggie.”

His hand moved a little bit faster. “Thank you.”

Your free hand trailed up his chest towards his neck. “You love coming for me, don’t you?”

Faster still. “Yes.”

You gave it a slight squeeze. Enough to quieten his moans for a moment. “And you love having that gorgeous arse of yours fucked while you do it?”

Even faster, ’til he could barely get the words out. “Mmm, I love it.”

You leaned in close to Roger’s ear. “Next time we do this,” you began, “it won’t be my fingers. I’m not going to go easy on you, Roggie. I’m going to put that tight little arse of yours through its paces and really make you squeal.”

NEXT >>

#roger taylor x reader #roger taylor #roger taylor x you #queen

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igazikutya · 4 years ago

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Zajok a nappaliból – Grande Traxelektor 2020 – „SENSE”

Kétezerhúsz összegzéseinek utolsó fejezetéhez, a „Sense” nevet viselő downtempo, ambient, dub, experimental, trip-hop és ki-tudja-még-mi-más műfajú, egyben a legsokszínűbb Traxelektor válogatáshoz értünk, 101 felvételből összeállítva. Hogy mitől soxínűbb? Egyszerű a matek: Egy nagyobb szobában sokkal kreatívabban tudod ugyanazt a bútor mennyiséget elhelyezni. Ühüm. Aha! De mi van akkor, ha a bútor is kevesebb? Üljünk le, kávé, cigi, brit tudósokért kiáltó paradoxonhoz értünk. Elnézést kérek a kedves olvasótól, nem gondolom, hogy ez valami zenei feng-shui, pláne nem ikeabana volna, de tény, az itt hallható művekre leginkább igaz, hogy van bennük bőven csend is, hogy terük is van, nem stadionnyi (anno görög, mára magyar mértékegység), hanem akár galaxisnyi méretben. És persze ne felejtsük el, hogy a tetriszhez is kell beesési tér, még ha a vége egy tömör valami is. Szorri, kezd ez az írás is elszabadulni, és a neves költöztető és fuvarozó, Simon “Django” László vallomásává alakulni. Idézem: „ Az emberek alapvető tévedése, hogy igyekeznek minél több dologgal feltölteni a meglévő dolgok közötti, még megmaradt részt (rést)” - írja Simon, a Kisteherem, a mozgó/fekvő tetrisz - a költöztetés metafizikája címü esszéjében. A műben ezt a jelenséget elcsetreszesedésnek nevezi. (Kisteherem pedig nem egy iráni település, csak az autója) Szóval no more csetresz, let there be space! ...and time! Szóval a tér, a tér, ott jártunk. Environment. Ambience, Milieu és Entourage a négy térőr. Biztos neked is megvan az az élményed, hogy állsz mondjuk egy domb vagy hely tetején és hallgatod a kilométerekre haladó autók vagy vonat hangját, amint szétterül a tájon és összekeveredik az ugató kutyák és egyéb közeli történések hangjával, mondjuk hirtelen becsapódik egy ajtó. Ma már ennek műfaja van, field recordings-nek hívják, még kiadó is van ilyen néven. Ezek az arcok füllel fotóznak, mert a zaj is zene. Igazából mindig is zene volt, az egész világ zene, és bármilyen részéből fotóznál ki egy szeletet a füleddel, az is ebbe a kategóriába kerülne. (Mitka - Mедитация) Lényegre térve... Az egyébként is mindig aktív ASC (James Clements) idén 4 felvétellel is bekerült, ebből kettőt párosban abszolvált Sam KDC (Samuel Wood) társaságában. Üde színfoltok az év végén hajrázó C.P.I., Hugo Capablanca és Marc Piñol erősen pszichedelikus párosa k��t felvétellel is, HAAi-től a Head Above The Parakeets, a Teleplasmiste mágikus mélységű An Unexpected Visit-je, Jimi Tenor-tól a Kiss Me After The Acid Rain. Klasszikus galaxisépítőink közül is többen aktívak voltak, a The Grid Floatation-jének a Special Request (Paul Woolford) készített olyan remixet, mely a kilencvenesek klasszik ambientjét idézi, a Higher Intelligence Agency Discatron EP-jével jelentkezett szólásra, a The Future Sound of London folytatta a múlt jövőbe történő expanzív teleportálását, idén az 1994-es Lifeforms ambientdupla nyitótrackjét, a Cascade-et bontották tizenhárom dimenzióba. Robert Henke Monolake-je is két felvétellel igazolja, a rutin nem zárja ki a megújulást és kreativitást. A covidra való legfrappánsabb reakciót Le temps isolé címmel élhettük meg Mouchoir Étanche (Marc Richter) jóvoltából. A külvilág messze van, homályos, a lélek pedig mozdulatlan lebeg. Slágerünk is van, mégpedig egy slágerírótól: az egykori Air egyik felétől Nicolas Godin-tól a The Border. Nekem slágerszámba ment a brit testvérduó uh-tól (Dominic és Fionnuala Kennedy) a Seasick In Salts is. Rødhåd (Mike Bierbach, aki berlini, német, és nem viking) Mood albumáról két felvétellel került be, Vril-lel közösen (Out Of Place Artefacts) pedig eggyel. Jay Glass Dubs Soma albumán közreműködve osont be a ciprusi görög Maria Spivak az underground színtérre, hogy aztán szerzői albumával (Μετά Το Ρέιβ – a fordító szerint ez „A rave után”-t takar) ott is ragadjon, két felvétellel klubtag. Amúgy meg, talán már említettem év közben is, hogy az oroszok nem hogy a spájzban, de a nappaliban vannak, a Traxelektor minden kategóriájában, eltérő műfajokban fel-feltűnnek ifjú orosz muzsikusok, mint például Yenisei (Ilya Burtsev Szentpétervárról) vagy a ФАКТУРА kiadó Ural Cult válogatását is említhetném. Hazánk a „Sense” kategóriában is képviselve van, a horhos (Gugyella Zoltán és Győrffy Ákos) duójának személyében, a Mana Manánál megjelent 7 darab címet viselő lemezről egy track-kel, Mike Nylons (Borsos Janó) Eneme trilógiájának első részéről a Maelströmmel (a Farbwechsel gondozásában) és persze tigrics (Bereznyei Róbert) két kedvességgel, kiemelten a Iowe-val.

Spotify playlist

(79/101, 8h04m/9h51m)

Acid Pauli - Propagating Flip Flops [Mod, Ouie] African Head Charge - Dervish Dub [Churchical Chant Of The Iyabinghi, On-U-Sound] African Head Charge - Peace and Happiness [Churchical Chant Of The Iyabinghi, On-U-Sound] Alternative Particle Choir - Magic Feet [Black Hole Diaries , -wdo- Collaborations] Alva Noto - Xerrox Kirlian [Xerrox Vol. 4, Raster-Noton] An Gleann Dubh - Valley Falls Deep (Remix) [Fd 004, Full Dose] Anatoly Grinberg & Mark Spybey - It Started to Move Towards Me [The Failure of Language, Ant-Zen] Anna Homler & Alessio Capovilla ‎- De'la Cocce [Vasi Comunicanti, Gang Of Ducks] Anti Drone Squad - Self-Surveillance [Pax Digitalis, Sin Hilo] Aril Brikha - Everything Was Here First [Dance Of A Trillion Stars, Mule Musiq] ASC - Particle Fields [Colours Fade, Volume Five, Auxiliary Transmissions] ASC - Permafrost [Pattern Recognition - Second Sequence, Auxiliary] ASC & Sam KDC - A Lasting Impression [A Restless Mind, Auxiliary] ASC & Sam KDC - Delusions [A Restless Mind, Auxiliary] Atom™ - R3V [<3, Raster] Automat - Ankaten (Patrick Pulsinger Remix) [Modul Remixes #1, Compost] Ben Bondy - Proraso [Sibling, Experiences Ltd.] Bochum Welt - Color Me (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix) [Seafire Remixes, Central Processing Unit] Burial x Four Tet x Thom Yorke - His Rope [Her Revolution / His Rope, XL] CAO - Flesh Luminescence [Flesh Luminescence, Club Chai] Carmen Villain - Observable Future (D.K. Remix)[Both Lines Will Be Blue Remixed, Smalltown Supersound] Chris Liebing feat. Gary Numan - Polished Chrome (The Friend Pt. 1)(Remixed by Chris Carter) Commodo - Procession [Procession, Deep Medi Musik] CPI – Islaalsl [Alianza, Hivern Discs] CPI - Templo De Agua [Alianza, Hivern Discs] Cremation Lily - November Sails (Demo)[Oceanic Debris, Self-released] Dadub - Infinite Regresses [Hypersynchron, Ohm Resistance] Dadub - Of Simulacra [Hypersynchron, Ohm Resistance] Deadbeat & Paul St. Hilaire - War Games [Four Quarters Of Love And Modern Lash, Another Moon] Deadbeat & The Mole - Rollin Heavy In The Spielplaz [Deadbeat Meets The Mole, BLKRTZ] dgoHn - Electryon [Undesignated Proximate, Love Love] Die Wilde Jagd - Gondel [Haut, Bureau B] Dimensional Holofonic Sound - Seeing Is Believing (Remix) [Seeing Is Believing, Holofonic] Dom and Roland - The Expanse [Lost In The Moment, Dom & Roland Productions] Elder Island - Stranger Exchange (Jay Glass Dubs Remix) [The Omnitone Collection Remixed Pt. 1, Elder Island] E-Saggila- Replica [Corporate Cross, Hospital] Fluxion - Distance [Perspectives, Vibrant Music] Forest Drive West - Invisible [Mantis 01, Delsin] Forest On Stasys - Ùtero [Ataraxia, Accents] Future Sound Of London, The - Cascade Part 7 [Cascade 2020, fsoldigital.com] Future Sound Of London, The - What Falls Away is Always [Cascade 2020, fsoldigital.com] Ground feat. Sinkishi & Kabamix - Wakusei Y [Wakusei, ESP Institute] HAAi - Head Above The Parakeets [Put Your Head Above The Parakeets, Mute] Happa - One Three Five [Blue 07, Whities] Hermes X - My Perception [Mutual Aid 2020 by Boheh Allstars, Mutual Aid] Higher Intelligence Agency - 3P [Discatron, Self-Released] Higher Intelligence Agency - Discatron [Discatron, Self-Released] horhos - Metropolitan Avenue-Coney Island [7 Darab, Mana Mana] Hoshina Anniversary - Shinju [Go Shichi Go Shichi Shichi, Youth] Jay Glass Dubs - Hyperacousis (for Miles) [Rijia, not on label] Jay Glass Dubs - Indolent [Rijia, not on label] Jimi Tenor - Kiss Me After The Acid Rain [Metamorpha, BubbleTease Communications] Jóhann Jóhannsson & Yair Elazar Glotman ‎- A Minor Astronomical Event [Last And First Men (OST), Deutsche Grammophon] Jon Hassell - Timeless [Seeing Through Sound (Pentimento Volume Two), Ndeya] Jonathan Fitoussi - Soleil de Minuit [Plein Soleil, Obliques] Kanthor - Apologie du Nom [Mathème, Shaded Explorations] KAZUHO - 紫鳥線テンダー (SHICHO-LINE TENDER) [Blitz, 99CTS] LF58 - Evocazione, Contatto, Risveglio [Alterazione, Astral Industries] Loscil - Faults [Faults, Coasts, Lines, Self-Released] Lucrecia Dalt - Disuelta [No Era Solida, Rvng Intl.] Mantris - Augustine Tower [Souvenirs from Imaginary Cities, Souvenirs from Imaginary Cities] Marco Shuttle - Ritmo Elegante [Ritmo Elegante, Spazio Disponibile] Metal - Point Vacancies [Point Vacancies, ESP Institute] Mike Nylons - Maelström [Eneme I, Farbwechsel] Mitka - Mедитация [VA - Ural Cult, ФАКТУРА] Monolake - Phaenon Ono [Archaeopteryx, Monolake - Imbalance Computer Music] Monolake - Plateaux Orthogonal [Archaeopteryx, Monolake - Imbalance Computer Music] Mouchoir Étanche - Le temps isolé [Une Fille Pétrifiée, Cellule 75] Nathan Fake - Ezekiel [Blizzards, Cambria Instruments] Negativland - Don't Don't Get Freaked Out [The World Will Decide, Seeland] Negativland - The World Will Decide [The World Will Decide, Seeland] Nicolas Godin - The Border [Concrete And Glass, Because Music] Nummer Music - Sea Junkies [Night Confidence, Nummer Music] Regis - Blood Tide [DN Tapes, Downwards] Rer Repeter - Principles Unknown [Mutual Aid 2020 by Boheh Allstars, Mutual Aid] Rødhåd - Like Sleepwalkers Ghosting Through A Dreamscape [Mood, WSNWG] Rødhåd - No Forms To Fill Out, No Instant Check, No Waiting Period [Mood, WSNWG] Roedelius - Ebenfalls [Selbstportrait - Wahre Liebe, Bureau B] Roger Robinson - Forward [Mutual Aid 2020 by Boheh Allstars, Mutual Aid] Sabaturin - Direnker [Kenemglev, Holuzam] Significant Other - Mike's Gone Back To Manchester [Club Aura, Oscilla Sound] Soreab - Flowers [Kraepelin Avenue, Baroque Sunburst] Spivak - Enough Throwbacks [Μετά Το Ρέιβ, Ecstatic] Spivak with H4S- Σχεδόν Σίγουρα [Μετά Το Ρέιβ, Ecstatic] Surgeon - Europa Code [Europa Code, Ilian Tape] Teleplasmiste - An Unexpected Visit [To Kiss Earth Goodbye, House of Mythology] The Black Dog - Cup Noodle (Unemployed Youth Version) [Further Fragments, Dust Science] The Grid - Floatation (Special Request Remix) [Floatation (Special Request Remix), Chemical Alley] tigrics - Kerns [Dimensionless, Self-released] tigrics - lowe [Dimensionless, Self-released] Tomaga - Osiris' Theme [Extended Play 2, Self-released] uh - Seasick In Salts [Seasick In Salts, PRAH] UVB76 - Anya [Iwa Gaaden, Random Numbers] Varuna - Ratu [Mantis 04, Delsin] Vril & Rødhåd - Nazca [Out Of Place Artefacts, WSNWG] Wata Igarashi - Reflections [WIP02, WIP] XQST - HRBA [eXquisite CORpsE presents XQST - AE, Isla] Yenisei - Insomnia [Melancholy Of Decay, TESTFM] Yenisei - Swirl [Melancholy Of Decay, TESTFM] Yui Onodera - Ray 1 [Ray, Serein]

#traxelektor #grande #2020 #intelligent #dance #music #underground #electronics #leftfield #zene #zeneajánló

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shemakesmusic-uk · 4 years ago

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Simpson is a Richmond-based singer and rapper who you may also know as Babe Simpson, one-fourth of the Tumblr-born rap collective Barf Troop. They dazed the internet back in the early 2010s with their uncensored, forward-thinking rhymes and aesthetics, and even got the attention of Drake. Though the collective has gone silent in recent years, Simpson has since cultivated her own steady following around her soft, and ruminative tunes. Her latest is 'Cherry Ice Cream Sundae,' a song about "treating ourselves with as much tenderness as we treat everyone else," she says, and is backed by a lush landscape of jazzy guitars and drums — a sound that could be considered a close sibling to the rap lullabies of Noname. Simpson's now sharing the song's peculiar video, which features a charming but eerie cast of marionette puppets. Over email, Simpson explains that she wrote the song after experiencing "a feeling that I’ve always been trying to put into words but I don’t think I was mature enough to be able to sing. I reached my breaking point where I was like, f*ck it, whatever happens, happens, and I’m gonna look on the bright side everywhere I can. I’m going to 'smile because I can.' I actually changed the original opening lyrics from 'The world is in the shitter' to 'Life is kind to who’s kind to it back.' The world has always been in the shitter, but that hasn’t made it any less special or sweet. I think that’s made me much more of a realist. I recorded it tipsy, upside down, hanging off my bed as a freestyle, and it felt so natural saying and listening to it back made me feel so proud." [via NYLON]

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Earlier this week, Lana Del Rey revealed the artwork and tracklist for her new album Chemtrails Over The Country Club. Back in October, Del Rey shared the album’s lead single 'Let Me Love You Like A Woman.' It was the first song she shared from the album after postponing its planned September release. Now, she’s sharing the album’s second single and title track. She’s also announced that Chemtrails Over The Country Club will be out March 19. In a lengthy interview with BBC Radio 1 — during which she talked about the Trump insurrection and her album cover controversy — she mentioned that Jack Antonoff produced much of the album, minus 'Yosemite,' which was produced with Rick Nowels. Watch a music video for the album’s title track, directed by BRTHR, above. In a different kind of statement, prior to the release of the 'Chemtrails Over The Country Club' music video, Del Rey explained why she is wearing a cast in it: "When you see my second video for this album, don’t think that the fact I’m wearing a cast is symbolic for anything other than thinking I was still a pro figure skater. I wiped out on my beautiful skates before the video even began after a long day of figure eights and jumps in the twilight of the dezert. Anyways my fracture isn’t that bad kind of goes with my new bucket hat. Thanks to my beautiful family for my gifts." [via Stereogum]

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Joining forces for the new uplifting track, G Flip and mxmtoon are sharing new empowerment anthem ‘Queen’, produced by Rostam Batmanglij. "'Queen' was written about the strong women around me, the queens that raised me and the queens I’ve met through my years,” G Flip explains. “My idea of a queen is not necessarily linked to gender; queens come in all forms and walks of life. To me a queen embodies power and strength; they embrace all they are fiercely yet gracefully. The song was written one sunny day in LA, I was chillin on Rostam’s lovely white couch and he turned around to me and said ‘how about we write a song about Queens’ and I replied with ‘F@!K yeah!’. I’m also super stoked to have mxmtoon on the track with me, she is an absolute queen. I first was introduced to her when I was trying to find ukulele chords to a Khalid song and found her cover on YouTube years ago. She makes awesome music and her voice has such a cruisy timbre to it so I was thrilled to have her jump on 'Queen' with me. She is also an avid croc lover and part of the LGBTQIA+ community, so obviously it just made sense!” mxmtoon adds, “So happy to be a part of ‘Queen’ with G! she and Rostam were such a joy to work with and so so much fun to collaborate with on creative as well. I’m so glad that it’s still possible to make art and music with someone even when they’re on the other side of the world, and I’m lucky that I got the opportunity to feature on G’s song. ‘Queen’ is a power anthem for any person, and I’m so excited for people to love it as much as we do!” [via DIY]

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With her hotly-anticipated new album Magic Mirror out now, Pearl Charles gave us our latest teaser of what to expect earlier this week, sharing new glitzy bop ‘Only For Tonight’. “‘Only for Tonight’ tells the story of a currently bygone era of wild nights out on the town - the highs and lows of one night stands and the crashes of the morning after,” she explains. “The music video, directed by Bobbi Rich, leans into those excesses, paying a sparkly homage to the late-night musical television shows of the 70’s, from Soul Train to The Midnight Special, as well as the gauzy, Vaseline’d lens of ABBA’s music videos. With an added sprinkling of VHS special effects, you’re likely to feel like you’re watching a home-taped recording of a lost episode of Top of the Pops.” [via DIY]

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Alt-pop trailblazer dodie has shared her new single 'Hate Myself' in full. Everything the songwriter touches seems to turn into melodic gold, with her debut album Build A Problem landing this Spring. Out on March 5, it's led by new single 'Hate Myself', which made its bow as Annie Mac's Hottest Record In The World. It's an apt title, with this instantly-viral moment offering an "inner monologue" that touches on some of dodie's inner-most feelings. The song depicts "someone who seems to find themselves in relationships of any kind with people who deal with their feelings internally - unfortunately resulting in assuming the issue is with them." dodie co-directed the video alongside Sammy Paul, shooting at the Cornish seaside village Polperro. The pair "excitedly landed on the silly idea of the training leading up to becoming a post-lady, and thoroughly enjoyed planning the many bizarre exercises she would have to perfect. Our excellent Art Director, Louis Grant, worked on bringing her home and training station to life. Though jogging on cliff tops in the rain, carrying a large sack and slipping in the mud was certainly cold and exhausting, I think I preferred it to slowly feeling sicker, licking stamps on a swaying boat by the Excel." [via Clash]

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Berlin-based indie five-piece People Club are back with new single and video 'Francine', following on from their last release 'Lay Down Your Weapons', which focused on police brutality. The new single 'Francine' tackles the topics of addiction and lovelessness. In the words of the band: "The song speaks from the voice of a lamenting partner whose lover (Francine) is helplessly addicted to drugs. Francine lost interest in her relationship with the narrator a long time ago. It's a song about commitment and how love can fade away leaving only wickedness behind." Regarding the visuals, the band said "The 'Francine' video is a play on the old idiom of 'being your own worst enemy'. A phrase which quite beautifully captures the inner critic which we know so well, especially during the course of the pandemic - we've had to learn to each give ourselves a break. The video was shot in the depth of the harsh Berlin winter, in the depth of the pandemic." Director Felix Spitta added "I love the band and I love the different personalities. It is always heaps of fun working on creative output together. Riding through Berlin only with bikes and all the film equipment in the freezing cold almost felt like a masochistic idea from Saxon. It's inspiring to be surrounded by so many creative minds.”

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Pale Waves are back with 'Easy', the third single to be shared from their highly-anticipated second album Who Am I?. Lead vocalist Heather Baron-Gracie describes the new track as "a song about how love can change your whole entire perspective on life itself. It’s saying ‘being in love with you is so easy, you finally make sense in my life because nothing did before'." The new single is accompanied by a James Slater-directed video that shows Baron-Gracie performing at a Tim Burton/medieval-style wedding in an abandoned church. Baron-Gracie adds, "I wore a wedding dress throughout and we shot the video in an old abandoned church. I’m really inspired by the gothic medieval aesthetic and at the time I was thinking of the video I was watching a lot of Tim Burton films whose creativity really inspires me." Pale Waves' second album will follow their 2018 debut LP My Mind Makes Noises. Baron-Gracie says of their upcoming album, "For me, music and art is for people not to feel so alone and isolated. I want to be that person my fans look up to and find comfort in." [via the Line Of Best Fit]

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The official video for Zoe Wees’ new single, 'Girls Like Us,' is online now. Like the song, the clip sends a message of togetherness and solidarity to girls around the world who are feeling the pressures of society. Zoe Wees says, “It’s not always good to think about how you look to the rest of the world. It’s much more important to think about how you feel inside. It is not easy to call yourself beautiful but being confident helps you to accept and love yourself.” The 18-year-old Hamburg, Germany-based artist adds, “We’re walking through a world with blinded eyes. At the end of the day, we all go to bed without make-up with the ugliest clothes and wake up with the messiest hair on earth.”

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Julien Baker has shared a new taste of her forthcoming album Little Oblivions by way of a new single ‘Hardline’. Julien says, “A few years ago I started collecting travel ephemera again with a loose idea of making a piece of art with it. I had been touring pretty consistently since 2015 and had been traveling so much that items like plane tickets and hotel keycards didn't have much novelty anymore. So I saved all my travel stuff and made a little collage of a house and a van out of it. I wanted to incorporate it into the record and when we were brainstorming ideas for videos we came across Joe Baughman and really liked his work so we reached out with the idea of making a stop-motion video that had similar aesthetic qualities as the house I built did. I don't know why I have the impulse to write songs or make tiny sculptures out of plane tickets. But here it is anyway: a bunch of things I've collected and carried with me that I've re-organized into a new shape.” The video for ‘Hardline’ was directed by Joe Baughman, who notes: “Man, even after having spent 600 hours immersed in ‘Hardline’ and having listened to it thousands of times, I am still moved by it. It was a fun and ambitious challenge creating something that could accompany such a compelling song. The style of the set design, inspired by a sculpture that Julien created, was especially fun to work in. I loved sifting through magazines, maps, and newspapers from the 60s and 70s and finding the right colors, shapes, and quotes to cover almost every surface in the video.”

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Teenage Joans are staying true to their world and unveiling 'Something About Being Sixteen', a new single that's sure to cement their 2021 as victorious. It's the perfect successor to 'Three Leaf Clover' and a track that makes it two-for-two for Teenage Joans, further capturing the excitement and energy within Cahli and Tahlia as they trade catchy riffs and thriving choruses with the combo of light-heartedness and intimateness that seems to define Teenage Joans' work, and how they're able to look in at themselves (and out at the world around them) through a lens that keeps it fun and digestable. "'Something About Being Sixteen' is undoubtedly Teenage Joans' great take on the classic coming of age rock tune, generally closing our live sets with audiences singing along every time without fail," the duo say on the single. [via Pilerats]

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Kate Hollowell took a risk going by the moniker Number One Popstar when she released her debut single 'Psycho.' However, Hollowell didn’t mind if that choice set her up for failure or not. She goes with the flow. Luckily, that mentality has advanced her even farther. Now, Number One Popstar releases her second single, 'I Hate Running.' New Year’s resolutions are, most of the times, created for the wrong reasons. It’s also no surprise that majority of people’s goals center around exercising and weight loss. 'I Hate Running', however, challenges that mindset, satirizing the toxic nature of exercise industry and diet culture. Hollowell said herself, “The song explores facing the hard, emotional work instead of the physical. I really don’t enjoy running, and I wanted to troll the exercise industry and write an anti-motivational song.” In terms of sound, 'I Hate Running' shares similar vibes to her first single with its classic 80s pop of saturated synths. But, this time, there’s a hint of disco with the zealous psychedelic guitar and electric drums and keys. The interludes consist of a symbolic, robotic, and almost sinister snippet from a workout instructor. It all complements well with Hollowell’s escapist lyrics. Even though the lyrics say otherwise, the track’s sound might just spark that motivation to workout or dance, doing mindful movement that makes us feel good. Exercise should never feel like a punishment, and Number One Popstar is here to remind us. She makes us want to stick it to the exercise industry, proving to it that we will only work out for the right reasons. [via Earmilk]

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Alt-pop riser Chloe Rodgers has shared her new video 'The Algea' in full. The Nottingham based talent sparkled in 2020 in spite of the pervasive gloom, releasing two startling singles. Her third release could be her best yet, with 'The Algea' hitting streaming services just before Christmas. The video captures those mid-winter chills, while providing a platform for Chloe to express herself. Constructed alongside creative director Kate Lomas, it was shot at Newstead Abbey in Nottingham. Chloe comments... "I wanted to use a music box in the video to represent being objectified and getting stuck in the same cycles, as that’s largely what the song is about. I wrote the song when I was 18, but didn’t add the verse at the end about claiming my power back until a couple of years later when I felt a bit stronger. We tried to reflect this in the video too with the Chloe in white sort of protecting the other Chloe of the past." Kate Lomas adds: "This was such a joy to watch come together, the video concept is based around the idea that Chloe is the character in a music box, she’s the performer that’s spinning round on an endless cycle for other people’s entertainment. The video tells the tale of Chloe definitely breaking this cycle and no longer playing this role." [via Clash]

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Jaguar Jonze has announced her ANTIHERO EP will be released on April 16 via Nettwerk Records. With the EP announcement, Deena shares the official music video for her latest single, 'ASTRONAUT,' the follow-up to two previously released videos for 'DEADALIVE' and 'MURDER'. Each of the five music videos for the forthcoming ANTIHERO EP will come together through bold-palette videos that transform into an antihero character “in a cyberpunk, anime, futuristic, graphic, almost sci-fi world,” says Deena. Deena adds, “as ‘ASTRONAUT’ delves into my anxiety, I wanted the film to reflect that in a simple way that helped portray how my anxiety can sometimes manifest - a contradiction between feeling lost in vast spaces and trapped in claustrophobic spaces. I had a specific idea in mind, which meant that I had to undergo stunt training with professionals and learn how to maneuver in a wire harness. Most of the video had to be shot in a single take because of the stunts' nature in safety preparation, time consumption, and impact on the body. I'm still recovering from the bruises, but it was all worth it, and the team was amazing in pulling it all together. I'm proud of this one as it is 3 minutes of my rawest vulnerability, visually interpreted. I'm also finally ready to share it.” 'ASTRONAUT' is the sound of Deena liberating herself from a lifelong battle with anxiety. “It is a human trait. It’s how we survive in the wild,” she says. “We’re all wired as humans to be quite anxious. As females more so, because we’re more susceptible to danger.”

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Rising star Mulay shares the smoking visuals for her new single, ‘Antracyte’. It’s the culminating release in a three-part video series from the Berlin-based alternative R&B singer-songwriter/producer/artist, ahead of her highly anticipated EP, which comes out at the end of the month via Groenland Records. Mulay explains about the single, “'ANTRACYTE' is the intro and title track to my debut EP. It’s the soundtrack to the birth of a villain and captures the moment of complete honesty to yourself about the awareness of doing wrong by the ones you love while feeling the inability to turn around. It’s about the desire to taste forbidden fruits, to cross and explore what lies beyond the line and the self-empowering feeling of playing by your own rules defeating the fear of consequences and the power of moral concepts. 'ANTRACYTE' tells a story of contradicting emotions, a story of love, lust, pain and a longing for more. It’s about facing your own darkness and sins, about self-revelation, emancipation and about paying its price, resigning to your fate.”

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Only a band like shallow pools could make a blast of 'ice water' sound refreshing and necessary in the dead of New England winter. But the Massachusetts indie-pop group is usually pushing against the current of what we’d normally expect, and now the quartet hits us with a dose of cold reality through their new single and video. 'ice water' is a vivid new single that confronts the mental health struggles brought on by quarantine and isolation, and even the shallow pools aesthetic has reflected this by shifting from bright glowing neons to a more subdued color palette of beiges and browns. Call it a sign of the times, and call 'ice water' the sound of now; upbeat and jovial on the surface, a comet of pop smarts and hooks, but with the darker shine that resides in our lives when we’re positioned away from the screens and digital scenes. As Glynnis Brennan sings “Every day’s the same and / There’s no breaking out / Like I’m stuck here / Going through the motions now” well, we feel that. shallow pools describe “ice water” as “a departure from the music we’ve made in the past, but it’s the perfect bridge between our old and new sound.” That is certainly the case, and 'ice water' continues to showcase the group as one of New England’s sharpest, following a string of 2020 singles that included pop standouts like 'Haunted' and 'Afterlight'. “We wrote the song with our friend and producer, Chris Curran, and learned a lot about the type of music we want to be making in the process,” the band adds. “The song is about the impact that the state of the world has had on our mental health, specifically in the last year. We’re excited to share it and hope that anyone who has had similar experiences will find some comfort in knowing that there are others who can relate.” [via Vanyaland]

#videos of the week #simpson #lana del rey #g flip #mxmtoon #pearl charles #dodie #people club #pale waves #zoe wees #julien baker #teenage joans #number one popstar #chloe rodgers #mulay #jaguar jonze #shallow pools

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juliaisabellphoto · 4 years ago

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My 2020 Albums of the Year

Never requested, always provided. Here are my favorites of 2020. Here’s the playlist.

The Secret Sisters, Saturn Return

As soon as I saw “Water Witch, featuring Brandi Carlile” on this tracklist I knew that the Secret Sisters would be a favorite of 2020. In February, I was staying with a friend in Nashville and she mentioned them as a local favorite, and when I stopped at Grimey’s to shop for records I came upon a signed copy of “Saturn Return.” I had never heard the Secret Sisters before, but there is nobody I trust more to recommend music than this Nashville friend of mine, so I bought it. I made no mistake here: this record blew me away. The soft, soulful, lullaby of “Healer in the Sky” pulled me through the pain of the first month of quarantine and soothed me as the world was turned upside down. In reading more on the record, this seems to have been the point: they say, “this album is a reflection of us coming to terms with how to find our power in the face of an unfair world… our hope is that women can feel less alone in their journey through the modern world.” There is something in the caramel-thick sweetness of these sisters’ voices that makes a listener feel as though they’ve been bewitched into calm. When I think of this album, I think of the cross-country drive I took at the beginning of the pandemic to make my way home and the happy moments that can be found in darkness. No album touched my heart this year in the way that “Saturn Return” did.

Taylor Swift, Folklore and Evermore

Taylor Swift… can even be said? Somehow, while we all sat on our couches in quarantine, this woman created not one but two musical masterpieces. She begins “the 1” by stating “I’m doin good, I’m on some new shit,” and that says a lot about the album as a whole. She created the 2020 we all wish we experienced: soft, sweet, and gentle. Listening to Folklore feels like visiting a cabin in the woods, with a fireplace well lit. Swift tells winding stories of love, hardship, and mystery and tenderly walks us through the forest of her imagination. This magical feeling was amplified by her release of The Long Pond Studio Sessions, a film in which Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Aaron Dessner finally play the album together for the first time after recording it entirely remotely. The setting matches the sound: they play in an album in the middle of the woods, cozy and hidden from the snow. Evermore cuts through the delicate ice of Folklore: it is the color to Folklore’s black and white. Swift combines the soft folk sound of “willow” with some of her country and Americana roots in “no body, no crime,” drawing us in once again. She includes Bon Iver singing in his lower register in Folklore and then in his falsetto in Evermore: two sides of the same magic coin. The work in these two albums is Swift’s strongest ever, and solidifies the fact that no modern artist can really reach her.

Chris Stapleton, Starting Over

Following a three-year hiatus, all lovers of southern rock deeply needed a Chris Stapleton album. In “Starting Over,” Stapleton yet again does what he does best: combines his unique whiskey-tinged growl with the best lyricism present in country music today. This record can’t be captured in any singular fashion, neither musically nor emotionally. The title track sets a high bar for the rest of the record with a reflection on re-remembering what really matters, a message certainly relevant for this turbulent year. Stapleton’s typical outlaw-country brand is present in full with “Devil Always Made Me Think Twice,” “Arkansas,” and “Hillbilly Blood,” but other songs take him in a completely new stylistic direction. “Maggie’s Song” takes on a very classic old-time country feel, as Stapleton weaves sweet and simple stories as he processes the loss of his pup. He harnesses the energy of the Chicks as he angrily lambasts the perpetrators of the 2017 mass shooting at Route 91. The song is a Stapleton-sponsored judgment day reckoning, including the cacophonic sound of a crowd in panic and the shrieks of a gospel choir. In contrast with this energetic high, Stapleton goes deep into his blues side by finally releasing “You Should Probably Leave,” a song he has been sitting on for six years. This one feels just right to sway around the kitchen to. With each listen to “Starting Over” I find new lyrics to write down and remember, new sounds to love.

Bad Bunny, YHLQMDLG

Bad Bunny. Our unproblematic reggaeton prince. In the wake of his many popular features and his collaborative album with J Balvin, Bad Bunny makes it clear that it is time for Balvin to share the throne of popular reggaeton. He features the original reggaeton king Daddy Yankee in “La Santa,” paying tribute to the very classic reggaeton style before mixing it and transcending beyond the classics in the following tracks. “Yo Perreo Sola” is the album’s standout track, accompanied by my favorite music video of 2020. The song is an ode to gender equality and the destruction of the patriarchal norms contributing to gender-based violence. “Yo Perreo Sola,” meaning “I twerk alone,” sets the overarching theme of consent present throughout the song’s lyrics. In the video, Benito’s backdrop references the Argentinian-born “Ni Una Menos” movement, a now global movement against gender-based violence. As if this wasn’t enough to make you adore him, the video further extends its activism to the LGBTQ community, with Benito appearing in full drag, in his normal attire, and at some points held in chains by women. He makes a statement about sexuality and gender expression in the video, twerking solo. The other jawdropper track on YHLQMDLG is Safaera, a perfect display of Bad Bunny’s skill in expanding the scope of reggaeton as a genre. In the same thirty seconds of the song, he subtly samples both “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley and the Wailers and Missy Elliot’s “Get Ya Freak On” - a segment I just can’t get out of my head. Bad Bunny’s prowess on this record is rounded out with the aggressive and prideful “P FKN R.” What a masterpiece.

Mac Miller, Circles

A posthumous record that never should have been posthumous. A companion-piece to Mac’s 2018 record “Swimming,” Circles takes a similar tone, one of resilience through pain. The title track serves as a somber introduction, followed by the funk energy of “Complicated” and the GO:OD AM energy of “Blue World.” The song that really got to me, and many other fans of Mac, was “Good News.” It is the pinnacle of Mac’s musical insight and talent. The melody matches the melancholy of the track, as Mac sings of his desire for time and space. The melancholy is matched in “Everybody” with the lines about death feeling particularly haunting in the wake of Miller’s accidental overdose. Somehow, Miller wrote the perfect eulogy for himself prior to his passing, one that will live in the hearts of his fans forever.

Kali Uchis, Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞

I’m not quite sure what to call this record. If I just listened to “la luna enamorada,” a cover of a classic Cuban bolero, I would call it gorgeous. If I just listened to “fue mejor” featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR or “quiero sentirme bien,” I would call it sexy. If I just listened to “vaya con dios,” I would think she wrote the theme music for the next James Bond film. The bottom line of the record is Uchis’ absolute stunning use of her upper register. She hits notes that “Isolation” never would have foreshadowed, painting a dreamland for any listener. She slides back into the energy of her sophomore album in “telepatia,” but adds in moments of her new sound. She incorporates a slower reggaeton beat into no eres tu (soy yo), and dives into a heavier reggaeton sound in te pongo mal (prendelo.) My personal favorite of the record is “aqui yo mando!” with Rico Nasty: it is the perfect display of Uchis’ unique upper register combined with Rico’s trap style. Anyone passing this record up for another “Isolation” listen is missing out.

FLETCHER, The S(ex) Tapes

This record has a story like no other, coming from a woman like no other. This EP was recorded while Fletcher quarantined with her ex-girlfriend, who also happened to film all of the music videos for it. It is this messiness that makes The S(ex) Tapes absolute magic. Fletcher’s own description of the name of the release explains the situation best: “A sex tape is someone being captured in their most vulnerable, wildest, rawest form, and my ex has always captured me that way.” She captures all of the feelings of a breakup with someone you still love deeply, and the relationship relapse that comes with moving past those feelings. Fletcher’s special ability comes in representing these deeply painful experiences in an uplifting manner: this is a sexy pop EP meant to be danced to. Fletcher simultaneously validates all of the emotional tumult, but subtly nudges the listener toward blissful reckless abandon. It almost makes me wish I had a breakup to go through! The abrasive apathy of “Shh… Don’t Say It” and the flippant, angry vulnerability of “Bitter” are paired perfectly with Fletcher’s raw brand of distortion. In an interview with Nylon, Fletcher speaks to this: “Listen, I've done my fair share of just straight-up sad, crying in your bed music. I'm still going through shit, but I want to bop to it. We can still be emo and want to twerk at the same time.” Yes, Fletcher, we do.

Halsey, Manic

Prior to 2020, I wasn’t Halsey’s biggest fan. I wouldn’t have even called myself a fan. I just wasn’t that excited by her music. “I’m Not Mad” was the song that triggered a 180 for me. The heavy, dissonant kick of the drums and her raw, angry lyricism drew me in without hesitation. I suppose this was just the push I needed to fall in love with the rest of her music: the songs with similar bite, “Without Me” and “killing boys,” and the more raw side of the record in “You should be sad,” “929,” and “Graveyard.” Her vulnerability is so much of what makes this record perfect. The album fully made sense to me when I listened to her podcast feature on “Armchair Expert” with Dax Shepard. In it, she talks through the time period covered by the record and gives context to her powerful lyricism. “Manic” is a story of chasing someone she loved into drug-fueled oblivion, and then finally finding the power to leave. The album is brimming with this power, and I just can’t turn it off.

HAIM, Women In Music Pt. III

HAIM is THE soft rock band of the modern era.Women In Music Pt. III, their most mature album yet, solidified this opinion for me in a way that I didn’t expect. There is so much to be said for this record: it is innovative and skilled, with the perfect balance of softness and hardness. Though the record is one of pain and trauma, you wouldn’t know it purely from its melodies. “Don’t Wanna” is a very classic HAIM pop rock number, and “The Steps” follows suit making frustration fun to dance to. Though one may not notice at first, in this record HAIM dives deeper than ever before. “Now I’m In It” does a phenomenal job of sonically representing the feeling of being completely and utterly overwhelmed. “I Know Alone” is a beautifully intimate rainy-day account of Danielle’s struggle with depression. Then comes “3AM” - a lighthearted song about a booty call with Thundercat-type bass and an R&B vibe - just in case you didn’t already know how much range these three sisters have. Everything about this record is filled with talent.

Phoebe Bridgers, Punisher

Only Phoebe Bridgers could write a song about murdering a skinhead and fill it with nostalgia. “Garden Song,” the leading single preceding “Punisher,” foreshadowed a record that is just so very Phoebe: melancholy, vulnerable, and heart-wrenching. The eagerly awaited album certainly followed suit, with typical sad ballads “Halloween” and “Moon Song” played alongside more raucous, Better Oblivion Community Center-esque songs such as “Kyoto” and “ICU.” She goes bluegrass on “Graceland Too” with banjo, violin, and layered harmonies from boygenius collaborators Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. In “Punisher,” Bridgers shares with us the wistful catharsis that she is so very talented at creating.

Noah Cyrus, THE END OF EVERYTHING

I always underestimated Miley’s little sister, but here I am writing about her EP before I write about Miley’s in my end of the year roundup. Every piece in this record gave me chills: Cyrus’ lower register allows her to access a somber kind of ballad that I just can’t get enough of. The record starts off at a peak with the slow burn of “Ghost” and somehow manages to get even better with “I Got So High That I Saw Jesus.” This powerful song, even better in the live version where Miley joins her younger sister, builds into an almost gospel-like ode to the idea that everything will be okay. “July,” the single featuring Leon Bridges that pushed Cyrus into the national spotlight, stands as the most beautifully layered song of the EP. The soft guitar picking and choral sound complement Cyrus’ upper register. The whole record, extending through the closing title track, is a comforting, soft emotional analgesic for 2020.

The Chicks, Gaslighter

This record is gorgeous. It is painful. The feelings Natalie Maines expresses in this record are feelings I have felt far too deeply in personal relationships, and they also are feelings everyone is feeling globally in 2020. “Gaslighter” is just straight up fun, a perfect extension of the Chicks’ energy found in “Goodbye Earl” and other older revenge numbers (but with an extra poppy Jack Antonoff twist this time.) “Tights On My Boat” is bitter, funny, and shows off Maines’ upper register with stripped guitar. “Sleep at Night” musically and lyrically embodies the pain of being betrayed. “Julianna Calm Down” is a stunning ballad of female resilience. “Texas Man” perfectly captures the bubbly feeling of moving on. “For Her” and “March March” fit in with the frustrated, betrayed, power-centered theme of the record in a very different way. The Chicks’ dualistic ability to discuss her ex-husband’s cheating alongside the band’s political views is what makes the record special: not only are we watching a woman try to move on and develop her personal strength, but we are also seeing this personal strength harnessed for political impact. They simultaneously denounce the abuse of power in both politics and relationships, while reclaiming that power for themselves in standing up for what they believe in. How very Chicks of them.

Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia

Dua motherfucking Lipa. This woman would have been the official owner of 2020 had we been able to dance to this record at bars and clubs. This was proven ten times over by the success of the album’s first single, “Don’t Start Now,” a song that is absolutely the MOST fun. Or so I thought… until I heard “Physical,” “Levitating,” and “Break My Heart.” What poor timing for such a phenomenal dance record, but at least she gave the people some great material for Tik Tok dances! All COVID-dance-related concerns aside, this is a really well done sophomore album for Dua Lipa. The funk elements of the album most clearly seen in “Levitating” elevate Dua’s brand of pop to a new level. The all gas no brakes nature of this dance-pop record works wonders for her - she knows what the people want from her, and she delivers.

Megan Thee Stallion, Good News

THIS! RECORD! If WAP could be an album of the year, it would be, but it’s a standalone single and Megan Thee Stallion proceeded to release the next best thing. The explosion of Megan Thee Stallion has been a pleasure to watch in 2020, with both WAP and Savage leaving the charge. With an artist like her, it’s easy to get lost in the smash hits and ignore the prolific nature of her work. “Good News” is an immaculate rap album, brimming with sass and defiant bad bitch energy. “Shots Fired” kicks off the album with a Biggie sample and a diss to the man who shot her in the foot earlier in the year, personally my favorite track of the record. Other highlights of the record include “Don’t Stop” with a Young Thug feature, “Body” which is now a Tik Tok staple, and “What’s New.” Perhaps the most impressive work Megan does on “Good News” is “Girls in the Hood,” a rework of Eazy-E’s Boyz-N-The-Hood. She inverts the classic misogyny of the original song by emphasizing her control over men like Eazy-E in an indignant assertion of female power. This embodies Megan Thee Stallion’s essence: busting in on a male industry and making her presence known.

Rico Nasty, Nightmare Vacation

Nobody does it like Rico Nasty, and I’m convinced nobody ever will. I saw a New York Times headline titled “Can the Mainstream Catch Up to Rico Nasty?” the other day and I think the answer is a firm no. Rico is abrasive, rude, and outside the box in the absolute best way. Need an album to slap in the car when you’re feeling like a bad bitch? This. is. it. The record kicks off with “Candy,” a song with a wild beat and the iconic chorus line “Call me crazy, but you can never call me broke.” Following is a Don Toliver and Gucci Mane feature in “Don’t Like Me,” a song that truly should have hit the mainstream by now. She gets back to her signature scream-rap in “STFU” and “OHFR.” “OHFR” is the confident standout of the album, along with the reworked re-release of “Smack a Bitch,” making it clear that Rico Nasty is not a woman to be fucked with. In “Back and Forth” with Amine, Rico steps into Amine’s “Limbo” style and does it well. The record’s second single “Own It” is a more classic club banger that unfortunately didn’t get to see the dark of night in any clubs this year. Even if the mainstream never catches up to Rico Nasty, I’ll be following along with her self-labelled “sugar trap.”

Ariana Grande, Positions

I mean, duh. Ariana just doesn’t miss. She surprised everyone with this album’s release in Fall 2020, displaying the bliss of her relationship with later-confirmed fiance. She goes dirtier than usual in the sex-centered “34+35” and “nasty,” rounding the record out with the Craig David-reminiscent “positions.” Ariana allows herself to lust for someone and even love for them in these three, but defaults to her brimming self-confidence in “just like magic” and “west side.” The album is more R&B than pop at times, with the peak of this style visible in the groove of “my hair” and the Mariah Carey ballad-like nature of “pov.” Each album, Grande shifts just a little bit, keeping us attached: “Sweetener”’s cotton-candy pop, the savage pop-trap of “thank u, next,” and the R&B conclusion of the spectrum with Positions.

Miley Cyrus, Plastic Hearts

This year I anticipated no record more than I did “Plastic Hearts.” Its leading single, “Midnight Sky,” described by Pitchfork as a “cocaine-dusted disco track,” channels Stevie Nicks’ eighties rock-pop era in the absolute best way. Apparently this opinion was even picked up by Stevie herself, as the two collaborated on a mash-up of “Midnight Sky” and Stevie’s “Edge of Seventeen” (the excitement from which nearly led to my passing away, by the way.) Cyrus’ voice is in the perfect place on this record, with “Plastic Hearts” emphasizing her rasp and making me want to spin around a room. She dips into the pop realm in “Prisoner” with Dua Lipa, a song that Lipa clearly influences with an unforgettably sexy music video. Every song is different on this record: “Gimme What I Want” channels the grinding rock sound of Nine Inch Nails, “Bad Karma” allows Joan Jett’s punchy style to run the show, and she slips on the shoes of Billy Idol in their collaboration, Night Crawling. Somehow, Miley manages to wear the shoes well, and 80s copycat record or not, I can’t stop listening. “Never Be Me” is where she shines most deeply, baring her soul, the complicated nature of her past few years’ journey, and her knowledge of who she is and always will be for the world to hear. I’m not sure if I’m blinded to the album’s flaws by my absolute and complete love for everything about Miley’s current persona, but I am a huge fan.

Glass Animals, Dreamland

The sound of this album is such a blissful respite! Glass Animals gives us the fun and funky techno-pop that they always do, but dive into personal lyricism in a way that they never have before. Many of the songs actually have a storyline (an intentionally rare feat for Dave Bayley, first broken with the incredible “Agnes” on their last album.) This record explores trauma and pain in “Domestic Bliss” and “It’s All So Incredibly Loud,” Bayley using the soft sides of his voice to express pained desperation. The boisterous energy of the past two records is not forgotten in Dreamland’s intimacy, however: “Hot Sugar,” “Tokyo Drifting,” and “Space Ghost Coast To Coast” do the trick. “Space Ghost Coast To Coast” is the most intriguing song on the record: at first listen, I had absolutely no idea what Dave was discussing and assumed it was just his typical neuroscience-inspired ear-candy. Upon a deeper dive, the song addresses the factors that encouraged Dave’s childhood friend to bring a gun to school. He disguises a discussion of the risk factors involved in school shootings within his flowery, figurative linguistic excellence. This duality of blissful melody and solemn subject matter is the magic of Glass Animals.

Empress Of, I’m Your Empress Of

This album is an emotional electro-pop masterpiece. This record meditates on the feelings felt in the wake of a relationship’s end. She begins the album with a quote from her mother about the reality and value of struggle, then launching into a synth-filled storm of missing someone. “Love Is A Drug” is the album’s next fun dance track, addressing the addictive quality of touch after you lose someone you love and embodying the urgency of the feeling. She takes a more somber tone with the influence of Jim-E Stack in “U Give It Up,” incorporating quotes from her mother about the difficulty of womanhood and reminiscing on love lost. In “Should’ve,” the post-relationship regret is palpable in her vocal tone and production, and in “Maybe This Time” she contemplates this pain. In “Give Me Another Chance,” her emotions swing the other way, with a bouncing dance beat and pleading vocals. The album concludes with the heartfelt and pain-filled “Hold Me Like Water” and the dissonant “Awful,” leaving the listener to meditate on the mood swings of a broken relationship.

Tame Impala, The Slow Rush

This album came out so early in 2020 that it already feels like a vintage piece of music. Perhaps that was the point. Although “The Slow Rush” had a hard time living up to Kevin Parker’s last epic masterpiece “Currents,” it was the fix many fans like myself needed after five years without an LP. “Borderline,” the single that allowed anticipation of the album to build, stands out as one of the most essentially Parker tracks of the record. He introduces a little Toro y Moi style funk in “Is It True,” and highlights his voice more than usual in “Lost In Yesterday.” “Posthumous Forgiveness” builds in the wonderfully dissonant fashion that fans learned to love through “Eventually.” The bass track on “Glimmer” is so good that I never even noticed it had nearly no lyrics. This record is not groundbreaking by any standards in the way that “Currents” was, but it is intentionally jubilant and energetic in a way that still feels good. Even if he doesn’t shatter any expectations in “The Slow Rush,” Tame Impala’s tracklist still makes the perfect sunset companion.

Joji, Nectar

Joji’s “Nectar” is just that: sweet R&B nectar, from the minute the first track plays. Joji’s work here is not in the individual tracks, but in the sonic experience he creates with the album as a whole. This is not an album to pick out singles from: it is a full cinematic mood adjustment. Maybe it’s the weed I smoked when I first listened, but the record feels like a wonderful progression of gentle yet rhythmic R&B songs. The transition from the soft and contemplative “MODUS” to the more upbeat trap-infused “Tick Tock” to the full R&B ballad “Daylight” featuring Diplo raises the listener’s energy gradually to a crescendo. “Run” is a gorgeous and sad confessional of disappointment, and “Sanctuary” follows as a soft and uplifting analgesic to that pain. “Pretty Boy” and “777” mark the more upbeat section of the record, filled with Joji’s accounts of living far too fast. The tracks of this record all bleed into each other seamlessly, mixing pain and confidence in an emotional rollercoaster.

Amine, Limbo

My journey to being an Amine fan started with “Caroline,” ended with “Heebiejeebies,” and started back up again when he found depth in “ONEPOINTFIVE.” His 2020 release is exactly why I came around to his music yet again. The record is soulful and fun, with the flute and cocky lyrics in “Woodlawn” and the funky beat and Young Thug feature of “Compensating.” The two songs I absolutely can’t stop listening to however, are “Can’t Decide” and “Becky.” “Can’t Decide” highlights Amine’s singing voice and dips away from rap and trap into the more traditional R&B realm. “Becky” is an intimate account of the difficulties involved with interracial dating, both in public and in the family realm. The two sides of the album, one emphasizing rhythm and immaculate production, and the other lyricism and emotion, are found in these two songs. The punchy “Pressure In My Palms” (featuring slowthai and Vince Staples) and “Riri” round out the record’s light side. In “Limbo,” Amine finds the perfect balance.

Fleet Foxes, Shore

This album is a wave of calm. Robin Pecknold’s soothing voice is exactly what we needed more of this year. Pitchfork described his mission as “turning anxiety into euphoria,” and that is how this record feels. Each song is dynamic and filled with what makes Fleet Foxes so special. There is a choral quality to the vocals of “Shore,” as always, adding to the calm aura of the record. “A Long Way Past The Past” takes the listener on a what feels like a long walk filled with serious conversation. “Going-to-the-Sun Road,” a song that takes its name from the famous cliffside road through Glacier National Park, oozes sunshine in its Tame Impala-Bon Iver crossover sound. “Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman,” truly feels like being cradled in sound. Fleet Foxes has a knack for beginning songs by hitting the listener with a wall of sound, and that is so perfectly represented in this track. This is a seriously beautiful album.

Cam, The Otherside

Cam’s voice is irresistible. She showed her talent for sharing painful ballads in her breakthrough single “Burning House,” and in “The Otherside” she digs deeper. She writes this record in a period of change, and captures this change and dissonance in the nostalgia of “Redwood Tree.” She teamed up with Avicii for the title track before he passed away, and it shows. His signature building melodies and guitar breaks are clear, and they go perfectly with the range of Cam’s voice. She truly shows her range in this track and this record in general, from the highs in “The Otherside” and the lows of “Changes.” “Changes” is another standout of the album, co-written by Harry Styles. This record is a gorgeous account of outgrowing love and outgrowing people after the deep bliss that you felt with them in the past. “Till There’s Nothing Left” and “Classic” are the big love songs of the record, one that melts you and one that makes you want to dance in a field of flowers. The sisterly confessional “Diane” pulls Cam back to her country roots. She ends the record with what made her famous: a beautiful, sad ballad backed only by piano. Her unique vocals are on full display as the record concludes, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Omar Apollo, Apolonio

Omar Apollo had his breakthrough in this record. His work spans languages and genres in a big way in “Apolonio.” “Kamikaze” and “Staybacik” stick to his typical R&B style, better produced than it ever has been. “Dos Uno Nueve (219)” goes a completely different direction, a Mexican corrido track featuring Yellow Room Music, honoring the Latinx musical styles that he expressed admiration for. Apollo also explores his sexuality in this album, fluidly discussing his bisexuality in “Kamikaze” and “I’m Amazing” in an exploratory manner. The whole album is generally quite exploratory, a quality that makes me even more excited for the work that is to come from Apollo.

Also worth mentioning:

Diplo, Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley: Snake Oil

Thundercat, It Is What It Is

Sylvan Esso, Free Love

Lauv, ~how i’m feeling~

Niall Horan, Heartbreak Weather

J Balvin, Colores

Kelsea Ballerini, kelsea

Dominic Fike, What Could Possibly Go Wrong

#music #2020

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atplblog · 1 month ago

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dustedmagazine · 4 years ago

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Richard Youngs — Blue Thirty-Nine (Blue Tapes)

blue thirty-nine by Richard Youngs

As the current millennium came into its own, the sonic sub-underground birthed a plethora of micro-sized labels focused on the once-maligned cassette tape. Stunned, NNA, 905 Tapes, along with many other imprints, created their own unique mythoi and artistic sensibilities based around spools of magnetically coated plastic. It was in this flourishing era that UK resident David McNamee started Blue Tapes. Launching with a cassette from Toronto-based musician Matt Collins (Ninja High School), the label quickly established a singular visual aesthetic based on McNamee’s own hand-crafted art. Since then, the label’s roster has diversified wildly, featuring artists as varied as Tashi Dorji, Katie Gately, Ratkiller, and Trupa Trupa. Carefully assembled by hand, each Blue Tapes release is an object of beauty, both sonically and visually.

The 39th entry in the Blue Tapes canon features perhaps the label’s most high-profile artist. Richard Youngs barely needs an introduction to Dusted readers, having been active in the UK music scene since the 1980s and producing some of the most striking outsider folk and rock albums in the modern singer-songwriter vein. His signature yowl, which exists somewhere on the spectrum between Nick Drake and Robert Wyatt, is instantly recognizable. While most listeners associate Youngs with guitars and verses, there is much more on offer. His oeuvre covers a lot of territory as he often strays from traditional songcraft, venturing out into more challenging terrain. Some of his music is downright noisy. He is such a prolific and eclectic artist that many music writers have quipped that no Richard Youngs album sounds like another, but they all sound like Richard Youngs albums.

Blue Thirty-Nine is one of Young’s conceptual song cycles, where he establishes a mode of operating and creates profoundly elemental works of art. In this case, he utilizes a seven-string guitar laced with nylon strings, his voice, and a tape machine. Through the magic of tape, he dissolves his own voice, layering the foundational resonances and articulations to create symphonies of mouth sounds. If this comes across as downright strange, it is at first. Then, the buzzes, hums, ahs and ohs coalesce into a language of their own, a series of incantations that exist at the intersection of minimalism and tone poetry.

Youngs accompanies these verbal sound clouds with delicately plucked and strummed guitar. The nylon strings don’t have the brashness of their steel counterparts, which softens the attack and lends a sense of intimacy to the songs. Each of the four extended pieces plays with the established conceptual framework in its own way. “Sudden Thoughts on Slow Insurrection” and “Moon Thing” are sprightly folk ditties, each with its own idiosyncratic attitude. The other two pieces are syncopated and strange, but deciphering their unique lexicon is a worthy exercise. Once again, Youngs has managed to create an album that stands apart from most of what he’s done before, but Blue Thirty-Nine is undoubtedly a Richard Youngs record.

Bryon Hayes

#richard youngs #blue thirty-nine #blue tapes #bryon hayes #albumreview #dusted magazine #seven string guitar #experimental #abstract #drum loops

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knitcrate · 5 years ago

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September 2020 Reveals

For our crates this month, we collaborated with crochet designer and all around inspiration, Maya Luna Corazon as our influencer partner! Maya creates her designs from the heart and with beautiful intentions to teach eager crafters how to be empowered by their creations. Inspired by the nature around her and the beauty of femininity, Maya brings beautiful designs to life with crochet in size inclusive designs. Her pieces often feature chic laciness and unique shapes that come together to create masterpieces. Maya's love of crochet has grown to inspire others to not only create but to share their love of crochet in return by teaching others how to run a successful crochet business. We are thrilled to be working with Maya this month and can’t wait to share her design for our Membership Crate with you!

The theme for September is Paradisio. It has us dreaming of cotton candy blooms on trees, crystal blue waters and vividly colored birds. This month's crates are hyper-colorful and bring intensity to your stash to jump start your creativity!

Ready to find your September inspiration? Let’s take a look at our reveal video.

youtube

KnitCrate Membership

Our September Membership Crate features our Audine Wools Sleek: 55% Fine Merino Wool, 30% Baby Alpaca, 15% Mulberry Silk. This sumptuous yarn is worsted weight and 220 yds (201m) in each 100g skein. Each Membership Crate will have 2 matching skeins to bring elegance to your next project.

PLEASE NOTE: There is an error on the washing instructions for this yarn. It is not machine washable. Hand wash only, cool water, lay flat to dry.

Energize Me: Bliss

Just as its name implies, this blissful shade is one you’ll find in the orange tones of a late summer sunset.

Chill Out: Utopia

This soothing blue shade has us thinking of the most perfect day where you could sit for hours watching the waves gently roll by.

All Natural: Unwind

The fuzzy green feathers of tropical birds is what comes to mind with our All Natural colorway ideal for the softness of this yarn.

Membership Patterns

This month’s crochet pattern comes from our influencer partner, Matinee Maya Imchum (aka Maya Luna Corazon). Valentina is a set of fingerless gloves with small sections of lace in the arm and blooming rows of lace that can be worn around the hands or folded down as a cuff. They are sized from Small to 2X with size adjustments to help you find your best fit. Also included are 2 different closures: laced ties and buttons. Choose the closure that works best for you to create this beautiful piece!

CROCHET Pattern Details

Hook: US G/6 (4 mm)

Yarn Needed: 180 (195, 210, 220, 230)yds (165 (179, 192, 202, 211) m) used/ 1 (1, 1, 1, 2) skeins needed

Notions: Scissors, tape measure, tapestry needle, 0.5" (15mm)buttons (10)

Finished Size: Forearm circumference 1" (2.5 cm) below elbow: 8–9 (9.5–10.5, 10.5–11.5, 11.5–12.5, 12.5–13.5)" / 20–23 (24–26.5, 26.5–29, 29–32, 32–34) cm

This month’s knit design is brought to us by Katrina King of Threaded Dream Studio. The Cheerful Scarf & Mitts include gorgeous cables that pop in the Audine Wools Sleek. Perfect for the autumn months ahead!

KNIT Pattern Details

Needles: Mitts: US 5 (3.75mm) set of 4 dpns (for mitts); Scarf: US 5 (3.75mm) 10" (25 cm)straight needles

Yarn Needed: Mitts: 90 (107, 125) yds (82 (97, 114.5) m) 0.5 (0.5, 0.75) skeins needed; Scarf: 286 yds (261.5 m) 1.5 skeins needed

Notions: Stitch markers (2), locking stitch marker (1), cable needle, waste yarn or stitch holder, tapestry needle

Finished Size: Mitts: 7" / 18 cm long; 5 (6, 7)" / 13 (15, 18) cm) circumference; Scarf: 65” (165 cm) long x 4.5" (11.5 cm) wide

Not a member yet? Join today!

Sock Crate Membership

Our September Sock Crate Membership yarn is Knitologie Block Sock, 80% Superwash Merino Wool and 20% Nylon. Each 100g skein gives you 400 yds (366m) of self-striping joy for your next sock project.

Energize Me: Pep

You’ll definitely have a little pep in your step with these vibrant pinks, blues, and yellows cascading down your socks.

Chill Out: Terrace

This colorway has us dreaming of moonlit evenings as gentle winds breeze through trees and lull us to sleep.

All Natural: Buoy

Heathered mauves and purples stripe with pale natural tones throughout this colorway that will make for a stunning pair of everyday socks.

Sock Crate Membership Patterns

Katrina King also created the Puffy Socks this month that highlight the long color changes of the Knitologie Block Sock. A single crochet foot combines with a puffy, lacy cuff that is both cute and comfy.

CROCHET Sock Pattern Details

Hook: US F/5 (3.75 mm)

Yarn Needed: 240 (296, 360) yds(219.5 (270.5, 329) m) used / 1 skein needed for all sizes; additional yarn may be needed for longer foot sizes.

Notions: Tapestry needle, scissors, tape measure

Finished Size: Circumference: 7 (8, 9)" / (18 (20.5, 23) cm). Length is adjustable for your personal fit.

The ever-amazing Kate Atherley has truly spoiled us this month! The Serendipitous Socks don’t offer just one way to work with self-striping yarn, but two! You will have loads of fun creating this pair of cuff-down sock with a no-graft toe (SQUEAL!!).

KNIT Pattern Details

Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm) needles of choice for working small circumferences in the round, traditional or flexible DPNs, 1 long circular for magic loop, 2 shorter circulars, or sock-length circular with secondary method for heel and toe.

Yarn Needed: 204 (237, 270, 303, 336, 369,400) yds (186.5 (217, 247, 277, 307,337.5, 366) m) used / 1 skein needed for all sizes (longer cuff or foot sizes may need additional yarn)

Notions: Digital scale to weigh out the yarn, tapestry needle.

To fit foot/leg circumference: 6.5 (7,7.5, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10)" / 16.5 (18, 19, 21.5,23, 24, 25.5) cm

Foot and leg circumference: 6 (6.5,7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9)" / 15 (16.5, 18, 19, 20.5,21.5, 23) cm

Foot length: adjustable to fit

Leg length: adjustable to preference

Want to join Sock Crate Membership? You can do it here!

Don’t Forget - Share Your Crates with Us!

Share the arrival of your KnitCrates with us on social media! Use the hashtag #unravelyourknitcrate on Facebook, Instagram, and Ravelry, and we’ll select one person from each platform each month to win 3 free months of KnitCrate!

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duhragonball · 5 years ago

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (119/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous chapters conveniently available here.

[9 April, 233 Before Age. Planet Travigar.]

Luffa needed help. Seltiss just needed to get her to admit it.

It wouldn't be easy, but nothing worth doing ever was. Their people, the Saiyans, were a stubborn lot, and Luffa was a Super Saiyan, which probably made her even more stubborn than most. Seltiss was a princess of the Rehval Dynasty, which ruled the Saiyan kingdom. Luffa came from a family of anti-monarchists, and she bore a personal grudge with Seltiss' father.

But the war changed all of that. The Jindan Cult, led by the mysterious Trismegistus, posed a threat to the Saiyan species, as well as the rest of the universe. As powerful as Luffa was, she couldn't defeat them all by herself, and neither could the Saiyan Free Company, which Seltiss had formed in opposition to her father's kingdom. Their only chance was to join forces. Luffa hated the idea, but couldn't deny the reasoning, and so she allowed Seltiss' mercenary bands to operate within Federation space. Seltiss had set up a base of operations on the Federation world of Eetii.

Most of the fighting took place along the frontier of the Federation, as the Jindan strategy was to invade planets along the borders to spread the defenders thin. Eetii was fairly close to a group of worlds near one end of the periphery, and Seltiss had kept an eye on things there while Luffa handled things on the opposite front. And yet, some new offensive had forced Luffa to approach Eetii. Early reports had said something about a "rock creature" that kept appearing on one planet after another. Whatever it was, it had led Luffa on a merry chase along the border worlds, only to vanish after being defeated on Planet Travigar, less than twenty light years from Eetii. Luffa sent a subspace transmission on a Saiyan Free Company channel, for Seltiss' eyes only. The message was simple: "Need a lift. Come alone."

It was a perfect opportunity. Seltiss had hoped to spend some time with Luffa, to forge a peace between them that could ensure the survival of the Saiyan Free Company beyond the war. Seltiss had plans, and none of them would amount to much if Luffa could swoop in and topple them without warning. Her father had tried to manipulate and destroy Luffa, and failed. But a little soft power-- friendly gestures, kept promises, healthy respect-- could go a lot further than brute force or palace intrigue. Even if a lasting peace wasn't possible, Seltiss could hopefully convince Luffa that the S.F.C. could be useful in the future, and therefore worth keeping around.

Besides, Seltiss enjoyed traveling alone. It reminded her of the stories she read about space exploration. There was no beguiling outer space. No negotiation or manipulation. There were the laws of physics and one’s ability to work within them. As she descended through the Travigarian atmosphere, Seltiss quickly located the starfighter Luffa had been traveling in. The scanners confirmed that the vessel's engines were inoperable. Her ship's sensors could detect Saiyan life readings well enough, but it was simpler for Seltiss to handle that part herself. Seltiss was an average fighter by Saiyan standards, but she still knew how to sense the battle power of other strong warriors. In Luffa's case, it was hard not to notice Luffa’s mighty ki signature. All Seltiss had to do was focus on that power and follow it like a beacon to Luffa's location. She was mildly surprised to find that she wasn't with the ship, but Luffa was the restless type, and the little starfighter was useless to her in any case.

Instead, Seltiss found Luffa on a grassy plain, surrounded by soldiers. Seltiss didn't recognize their uniforms, and her sensors only indicated that they were molluskoid aliens. She landed in an empty space nearby and flew directly to Luffa.

She looked terrible.

"It's about time you showed up," Luffa said. "What the hell are you dressed like that for?"

The alien soldiers probably had no idea that Seltiss and Luffa were of the same species. Luffa had a long tail covered in brown fur, which was now matted with blood and grime. She normally wore a black sleeveless shirt with baggy yellow pants that were tucked into black combat boots. These were now so badly torn that they now barely qualified as clothing. The left pant leg was shorn off completely, leaving a rag hanging out of the rim of her boot. The right leg wasn't much better off, as only a strip of fabric ran all the way down from the waist to the ankle. Luffa's modesty was mainly preserved with various bandages and medical tape, most of which had been scorched or stained with blood. Her short black hair was ringed with a strip of fabric around her head.

Seltiss, on the other hand, had no tail, as her father had it surgically removed at birth. The only evidence that she had ever had one was a hint of scar tissue mostly covered by the waist of her pink-and-black checkered sarong. Her heeled boots were Montalban originals imported from Camelia, and her black bandeau had pink straps that wrapped around one shoulder and criss-crossed down the length of her arm. Her hair, piled in a messy beehive style, was dyed a vibrant shade of pink, which matched her eyeshadow, nail polish, and lipstick.

"Excuse you?" Seltiss asked, forgetting the greeting she had rehearsed to try to curry Luffa's favor. She had put a lot of thought into her appearance, after all.

"Never mind," Luffa said, pointing at the soldiers. "These guys are from Planet Oat," she explained. "Thousands of years ago, they were at war with Travigar, back when it used to be called Planet Bob. Something about soy milk, I didn't follow that part of the story."

One of the soldiers started to speak up, and Luffa held out her hand to stop him from explaining their backstory. "Look, let's not go over that again. We'll be here all day."

"Luffa, what does this have to do with that rock creature you told us about?" Seltiss asked.

"Not much," Luffa said. "These Oatians got trapped in a mystical fissure during the Oat-Bob War, and they've been in suspended animation the whole time, until the Jindan cultists came here and summoned that rock creature. My guess is all that magic disrupted something and set them free. But they still want to conquer Travigar, and that's where you come in."

"Me?" Seltiss said.

"Yeah, I told them it was pointless to fight an all-out battle from an old war, but they have their pride, so I offered them a contest of champions. Their best ten guys against my handpicked warrior." Luffa pointed at Seltiss, then jabbed her finger at Seltiss's chest. "And my hand just picked you, little girl."

"Wh-why?" Seltiss asked. "Are you hurt? I mean, I've got Saiyans working for me on Eetii that are totally stronger than I am, but your message said to come alone, so...?"

"Hah!" Luffa scoffed. "Your idiot father always ran his mouth about how he planned to breed the Saiyans into a mightier race. I thought his own brat would have a little more confidence in her skills."

"Is that what this is?" Seltiss asked. "Like, a test?"

"It shouldn't be," Luffa said. "I think you can handle ten of them without too much trouble. I just want this to be a decent fight. These guys have waited long enough to see some action. Do a good job, and they might even agree to join our side in the war."

Seltiss sighed and began limbering up. In spite of everything, she was a halfway decent fighter, at least for her power level. "Okay, okay. I'll play along, I guess. Just promise me something, will you?"

"What's that?" Luffa asked.

"When we get back to Eetii," Seltiss said between leg stretches, "you have got to let me buy you a new outfit."

*******

[9 April, 233 Before Age. Planet Eetii.]

The Eetiians had a near religious regard for plant life, so they allowed it to grow freely throughout their cities. Their shopping malls weren't all that different from others Seltiss had visited, except that the view from every window and skylight offered the same view of a thick tangle of weeds. And yet, the Eetiians seemed to genuinely appreciate this. Passers-by would often stop and stare out the windows, as if they were gazing out upon some majestic mountain range.

What mattered was that their clothing stores had the right colors and styles to approximate Luffa's signature look. Seltiss would have preferred to give Luffa a full makeover, drawing upon fashion resources from the rest of the galaxy, but there was a war on, and Seltiss had to work quickly with the resources that were on hand, before Luffa was called away to another battle. As it was, Seltiss barely had time to assemble a new outfit for herself, to replace the ensemble she had worn into battle against the Otians. She would miss that sarong, but she liked the black sequined pants and pink suit-coat she had found to replace them. Seltiss would have preferred to wear something very revealing under the jacket. The models in the magazines always did this, teasing their bare skin from underneath the crisp angles of the coat. But a stern glare from Luffa had persuaded Seltiss to go with a white blouse instead.

As for Luffa, Seltiss had found a black racerback swimsuit to serve as the top of her outfit, and a pair of nylon windbreaker pants for the bottom. Luffa normally wore fingerless gloves, but there had been no sign of these on Travigar, and Seltiss assumed they had been lost. The best she could find in the mall were black gloves that had fingers, although Luffa made a approving grunt when she tried them on, so Seltiss supposed they would do.

"You look amazing!" Seltiss cheered as Luffa stepped out of the fitting room. "Way sleeker than the old gear you used to wear."

"What did you do with my boots?" Luffa asked as she began looking around the room.

"Oh, those. I threw them out," Seltiss said.

"What?"

"Okay, first of all, I’m on your side, so chill out," Seltiss said, "Second, I took one whiff of those old clogs and yuck," she pinched her nostrils shut for effect. "I tried holding them upside down, but that actually smelled worse."

She reached into a shopping bag and produced a pair of black cleats. "So I found these while you were changing. You don't have to keep them, but you can at least wear those until we find something you like. Preferably something in the non-barfing section of the store."

Luffa took the shoes and examined the thick treads that stuck out from the soles. "Hmm," she said. "I could get used to something like this..." She took a seat on a bench and began to try them on.

"So what's with the yellow pants, anyway?" Seltiss asked. "The black I get, black goes with everything and it never goes out of style, but the yellow..."

"It's a family color," Luffa said without looking back at her. "My mother liked it because it wasn't royalist blue. Isn't that why you wear pink? To piss off your old man?"

"Well, not exactly," Seltiss said. "At first, it was to stand out as my own person, separate from the royal bloodline, but then it became kind of my thing, you know?"

"Then I guess we have something in common," Luffa replied coldly.

That should have been a good sign, but something about Luffa's tone was less than encouraging. Seltiss wasn't sure what to say that could improve the situation, and then Luffa stood up and started kicking into the air.

"Yeah," she said as her left leg moved almost too fast for Seltiss to follow. She switched sides and did the same motions with her other leg. "Yeah, the balance is good. Nice traction, too. Not so sure about leaving my ankles exposed like this, but I can deal with that. Let's go."

She started walking straight for the exit, not even waiting for Seltiss to settle her bill. Seltiss groaned and went to the register, figuring that it was enough to have Luffa on Planet Eetii. It wasn't like she would be hard to find.

*******

Seltiss eventually found Luffa standing on a mesa overlooking one of the S.F.C. encampments on the planet. Below, Saiyan mercenaries ran through training drills, while Federation technicians provided maintenance to their ships and weaponry. They occasionally glanced up at the mesa, each of them well aware of Luffa's presence, even though they couldn't see her. Seltiss was grateful that she had told her officers about Luffa's visit in advance. As it was, there was still a chance her troops would panic, but at least they had been given a fair warning.

"I was hoping to give you a tour of our camps," Seltiss said as she alighted beside Luffa. "I'm sure you could provide some valuable insight. From what I've seen of the Federation's military, I can tell you run a tight ship."

"The Federation military runs itself," Luffa said. "Well, Marshall Booth runs it. I try to stay out of their way."

"Oh. Well, I guess that's a good call," Seltiss said. "They're a very efficient operation. My generals have already learned a ton from them."

"That's not too surprising," Luffa said. She uncrossed her arms and waved one hand toward the camp below. "Saiyan mercenaries aren't exactly known for their discipline. Must be like herding cats."

Seltiss made an insincere chuckle. "It's, ah, it's a major challenge, that's for sure."

That was an understatement. Seltiss had inherited her father's talent for statecraft, and she had a galaxy-class education to fall back on, but most of her ideas and plans were founded on textbook theory, rather than real-world experience. Her followers weren't used to working within such a large and diverse group, and so they incessantly came to her to solve all their organizational problems. She suspected that the only reason they weren't pestering her now was because they were so unsettled by Luffa looming over them.

In a way, Luffa’s visit made for a pleasant distraction. It was another challenge, perhaps even more difficult, like rolling all of the unruly Saiyans under her banner into one. But at least it was a change. Luffa's grim silence gave Seltiss a moment to enjoy the warmth of desert sun on the back of her neck, and the slight odor of her new suitcoat as it mingled with the scents of the native flora.

"I'm curious how you got this many Saiyans together without my finding out about it," Luffa finally said.

"Oh, it wasn't that complicated, really," Seltiss said. "I set up a base of operations on an obscure planet, and then I started contacting embassies, mercenary contractors, and all the other usual places you'd go to find Saiyan activity. I also had some copies of, like, my father's records. He had a lot of contact information. E-mail addresses, subspace comm frequencies, stuff like that."

"I tried searching Rehval's embassies," Luffa grumbled. "I never found anything useful like that."

"Um, duh, that's because all you had to offer anyone was a violent interrogation," Seltiss said. "I didn't go anywhere in person. I just sent messages with an offer of safe haven. I got a lot of takers, but I made it a rule that you had to contact at least one other Saiyan before I let them join. They didn't have to get the next guy to say 'yes', but it helped spread the message quickly and quietly. Turns out, there's a lot of Saiyans out in the galaxy who wanted an alternative to running from you, or waiting for my father to come out of hiding."

Luffa shrugged. "Serves me right. Maybe I should have taken a more subtle approach."

"Well, it's not really your style," Seltiss said. "Besides, the Saiyans who joined my group never knew anything about my father's whereabouts. Even if you had found them all, they wouldn't have been able to tell you anything."

"Still, to hide a whole population of Saiyans from me... that's something," Luffa said. "That must be a really backwater planet you found. I’ll bet it’s tough for you to maintain supply lines."

"We manage pretty well," Seltiss said.

The truth was that Seltiss' base was on Planet Shenia, an inhabited planet she and Xibuyas had conquered several months ago. The S.F.C. lived quite comfortably there, as they relied on the Shenian people to serve their needs. Seltiss considered herself a benevolent overlord. The Saiyans generally stayed out of the natives' way, and Seltiss permitted the Shenians to live and work mostly as they had done before her invasion. As long as their leaders provided the food and materials she ordered, she would leave them alone.

But Luffa didn't need to know that. Seltiss knew very little of the Super Saiyan's personality, but it was clear to most observers that she had a soft spot for aliens. Luffa had liberated numerous planets in her career, and she seemed to go out of her way to defend weaker peoples from aggressive powers. Seltiss doubted that Luffa would actually turn against the S.F.C. over an insignificant planet like Shenia. Their alliance was too important to jeopardize over a backwater planet full of weaklings. Even so, there was no need to strain their relations by bringing it up. The less Luffa knew about it, the better off they would be.

"Must be difficult wrangling all those Saiyans without anyone revealing the location of your headquarters, though," Luffa said. "They seem to respect your authority well enough."

"They know my father is no longer fit to rule," Seltiss said. "They also know what a massive control freak he is. I knew if he ever found out about what I was doing, he'd try to meddle with it, one way or another. A lot of my guys only want refuge, either from your or from my dad. They like the secrecy even more than I do."

"Sure, but it's a big universe," Luffa said. "Plenty of ways to hide without turning to a teenage girl for help."

Seltiss smiled. "True, but most of them know that the Saiyan people need a ruler, and as the heir to the throne, I'm the best candidate."

"Is that right?" Luffa asked idly.

Seltiss began floating into the air, and she waved for Luffa to follow her. "Come on," she said. "I want to show you something."

*******

There was a palpable tension in the public areas of the Saiyan camp. The mercenaries did their best not to show it, but Seltiss could tell they had been on edge ever since Luffa arrived on the planet. Now that Luffa was walking in their midst, Seltiss could practically feel their discomfort like the heat from a radiator. Even so, they went about their business, milling about, swapping tall tales of past battles, arguing about repair work for their ships, and giving lessons to their children.

"They're usually more enthusiastic than this," Seltiss said. A little Saiyan boy ran past them, and they could hear his mother yelling for him to stay away. "Well, I guess the kids are about the same," Seltiss added. "Everyone's just nervous because..."

"I get it," Luffa said. "They were like this on Planet Saiya, only there's a lot fewer of them here. If I decided to play with them a bit, they wouldn't stand a chance, and they know it."

"Okay, then why are you, like, enjoying it so much?" Seltiss asked. "I tried to calm these guys down, and you're grinning at them like you want them to be afraid of you."

"Oh, please," Luffa said. "You've spent time around aliens. Don't tell me you've never gotten a kick out of being strong enough to defeat them all in a heartbeat."

"Well... yeah, sure," Seltiss said. "But we're not aliens... unless you..."

"Oh, I'm as Saiyan as the rest of you, little girl," Luffa said. "But we're not equals, so don't pretend a few chromosomes put us on the same level. When I was your age, I was a lot weaker than you are now. Pretty sure if that Luffa was standing here today, you wouldn't even give me a second look. I didn't ask to become this strong, but now that I am, I won’t pretend I'm not just to make you feel better about yourself."

Seltiss nodded. "Like, fair enough, I guess. We're just not used to being so low on the pecking order."

"And that's what's wrong with our whole species," Luffa said. "Most of us are chumps who think they're a big deal just because they can knock over a planet. We call ourselves warriors when most of the time we're just bullies who don't know what to do when someone stronger comes along."

Seltiss took some solace in the word "we". A lot of Saiyans claimed that Luffa was an alien posing as a Saiyan. To Seltiss, that just sounded like a crackpot conspiracy theory. And yet, despite Luffa's outward appearance, there was something very unnatural about her. Seltiss could finally see how the 'alien' rumor got so popular. The truth was perhaps more horrifying: that Luffa used to be a normal Saiyan and somehow evolved into something... else. At last, Seltiss finally understood why Xibuyas was so worried about the possibility of being her son. But at least Luffa still considered herself a Saiyan, even if she looked down in disapproval at her brethren.

Seltiss led Luffa to the command center, which was constructed out of a special material Seltiss had discovered during her occupation of Planet Shenia. It resembled cloth, but when connected to a device Seltiss didn't really understand, the fabric stiffened and became like a thick sheet of strong metal. The Shenian military could carry it easily and set it up like a tent, but then activate it to make a shelter strong enough to withstand a bombardment. Seltiss expected Luffa to take an interest in the building, but she never said a word. Perhaps she had seen something like it on other planets.

She introduced Luffa to some of her generals. Each of them was a Saiyan man at least fifty years of age. They briefly discussed their own impressions of the ongoing war, but all Luffa was concerned about was tracking down the Jindan Cult's base of operations. None of them could offer any solutions to that problem.

Seltiss then took her to the mess hall, and barely managed to convince Luffa not to go into the kitchen and "help".

"I guess it would be dishonorable to just barge into their place and take over," Luffa said as she gnawed on the barbecued rib of some large animal. "It's just that I live with aliens, and it forces you to get very protective of cooking spaces. You can't trust them not to make a mess of things. But these guys here, they seem to know their stuff."

She passed a bowl of stew to Seltiss's side of the table. "Here, try some of this," she said. "It'll put some meat on those arms of yours."

Seltiss shook her head. Like all Saiyans, Seltiss had a ravenous appetite of her own, and her side of the table was stacked with her own share of animal bones and empty plates. Even so, she didn't seem to eat enough for Luffa's liking. Seltiss wasn't sure if this was some sort of motherly instinct, or flat-out body-shaming, or something else entirely.

"Your, ah-- your wife," Seltiss asked, desperate to change the subject. "Is it difficult to cook for her? When you had me over for dinner on your ship, I only ever saw her eating from one plate."

"Oh, you have no idea!" Luffa said, still chewing on a piece of bread. "She *says* she's a survivalist, but she hardly eats at all. Honestly, I got used to her eating small portions. What's *creepy* is how she doesn't even act hungry at all for *hours*, even though she barely ate anything. Like, how does she do it?"

Seltiss relaxed a little. For the first time, it felt like Luffa was opening up, however slightly. She was worried that her alien wife would be a sensitive topic, but it looked like she had been dying to talk to another Saiyan about it.

Luffa pointed a fork at Seltiss and raised an eyebrow. "As far as cooking goes," she said, "the trick is to remember that you only have one shot, so you need to make it count." She reached into the pile of bones next to her and pulled one of them from the bottom of the stack. "Now this one was a little overdone, but so what? You cook this much meat all at once, you're bound to have a few pieces on the fire too long. It happens. But for some aliens, this one rib might be enough to feed three people, so you have to get it right, or they'll think you don't know what you're doing."

"I see," Seltiss said, not sure if she actually understood.

"You have to focus your effort on very small portions. And you can't just serve one dish and call it done. Aliens have to eat some vegetables, just like the rest of us. So the portions have to get even smaller so you can serve more than one in the same meal. So you end up spending all this time and energy on something a normal person would gulp down without even noticing."

"That sounds way challenging," Seltiss said.

"It is, but my senses got sharper after I--" Luffa held her free hand next to the side of her head and waved it upward to signal what she meant. "That helped, believe it or not. There was a time when I couldn't handle a spoon without bending it in half, but eventually I managed to control my other form enough where I could cook that way. Then I got to where I could make those improvements work in base form. Now, it's kind of fun to cook at microscale."

"That's great," Seltiss said. She had no idea what sort of alien Luffa's wife really was. She looked humanoid, with blue skin, green eyeballs, and blood-red hair. Seltiss half-suspected that the creature didn't need to eat whatsoever, and only played along to salve Luffa's culinary pride. But Seltiss certainly wasn't going to suggest that out loud and spoil the mood.

So instead, she tried to steer the conversation towards her own agenda. "You know, what you're talking about feels a little like what we've been trying to do with the Free Company," Seltiss said. "I'm hoping that this war will be a chance for us to show the galaxy a different side to the Saiyans. This might be, like, the only shot we have. Like those meals you cook for aliens, we only get one chance to get it right."

"Yeah, I figured that's why you said you wanted to show me something down here, Seltiss," Luffa said. "What was it you wanted me to see?"

"Uh... really?" Seltiss had to fight to suppress her frustration. She had hoped that she wouldn't have to spell it out, but it seemed that Luffa hadn't even been paying attention. "I mean, you saw everyone outside. Working together, respecting the Eetiian population. A lot of the Free Companions still have their tails, and they brought their children along to train them for full-scale wars. I'm not forcing them to assimilate or put their embryos in tanks like my father, or anything gross like that."

"You want a medal?" Luffa asked. "I didn't turn this camp into a smoldering crater, but I don't see anyone throwing me a parade."

"You met my generals," Seltiss said. "That proves something, doesn't it? That I'm not just some ditzy teen playing leader. They wouldn't have joined me if I hadn't earned their respect."

"They joined you because you have something going for you," Luffa said. "Generals need troops to command and kings to give them authority. You might have some credentials, but let's face it, this is just a convenient arrangement for all of us."

"Doesn't it feel even a little comfortable to be around other Saiyans?" Seltiss asked. "I know they're all afraid of you right now, but we can work on that. You don't have to be alone--"

"Your old man tried to make the same pitch last year," Luffa said. "Then he tried to kill me."

"Yeah, I know," Seltiss whined. "I'm trying to show you that I'm not like him."

"I've noticed," Luffa said. "You've been very eager to impress me, Seltiss," Luffa said. "Why is that, exactly?"

"I need your support," Seltiss replied. "A lot of Saiyans have joined me because they want to get away from my father's oppressive policies, and because they don't want you harassing them to get at him. If I can get along with you, it proves that I'm a leader who won't make more trouble for them."

Luffa sneered. "Spoken like a true politician."

"You saw me fight those Oatians," Seltiss said. "Are you telling me I lack passion, just because I'm pragmatic?"

"You fight like you talk," Luffa said. "Very precise, very calculated. It slows you down, though. You think too hard about what you're going to do before you do it. When you finally commit to a course of action, it's a smart play, but it slows your reaction time."

Her words stung. Seltiss had always prided herself on her ability to stay cool under pressure and examine the situation. She had assumed that Luffa made her fight the Oatians just to see what Seltiss could do. She had tried to end it quickly, so she would have fewer chances to make any mistakes. And yet, in that short battle, Luffa had not only analyzed Seltiss' entire fighting style, but had deconstructed it.

"I... no one's ever told me that," Seltiss finally said. "I usually get complimented for my quick reflexes. Xibuyas even called my style 'poetry in motion'."

Luffa snorted. "Katem is a teenage boy," she said. "He'd probably watch you slip on a fruit rind and tell you how graceful you are. The worst part is, he would probably mean it."

"I guess you're right," Seltiss said. "But I thought that his speed would allow him to notice flaws in my moves, and if he couldn't see any, then..."

Luffa pointed at her own eyes. "He's fast, but I'm faster, kid. Take my advice. Sometimes you have to let your instincts take over. A hasty punch can be more effective than a well-considered one."

"Heh. All right. I like you, Luffa. Not many people are willing to be so direct with me."

"Good, then I'll keep going," Luffa said. "I think you're a walking example of why monarchy doesn't work. People follow you because they're fed up with your father, and yet they still think you're qualified just because you're his daughter. That's ridiculous. You're a child. I don't care how smart you are."

"That's another reason I want to impress you, Luffa," Seltiss said. "I have a lot to prove. If I can convince you I know what I'm doing, then I can convince anyone."

"And then what?"

"Huh?"

"Let's say you succeed. You become the Queen of the Saiyans. What would you do with that? Where would you go from there?"

Seltiss was beginning to realize that Luffa was an even greater challenge than she had ever dreamed. She was used to her followers accepting her vision very readily. But then, what choice did any of them really have? Even Xibuyas, for all his power, had nowhere else to go. She cleared her throat as she tried to think of some way to make her dream as compelling as possible. Then she gave up, as she knew Luffa was too straightforward for anything less than direct honesty.

"I'd want to shape the Saiyans into a nation, just like my great-grandfather wanted," she began. "But I'd want to undo the failed policies of my father. The secret police, the cultural reforms. His obsession with you. The strange experiments... Why are you laughing?"

"Because you don't get it," Luffa said. "Did it ever occur to you that all that of your father's dirty tricks were the only thing keeping him in power? That without all his backstabbing, his precious kingdom would have flown apart a long time ago?"

"Are you saying I have to embrace his wicked ways to hold power?" Seltiss asked.

"No, I'm saying the Saiyans can't be united under a single ruler," Luffa said. "Not for long, anyway. Not without abandoning what makes our kind great. You and your dynasty are just spitting into the wind."

"Then... then I'll never convince you that I'm a great leader," Seltiss said. "At best, we can only agree to disagree."

"Now that's the most mature thing you've said all day," Luffa said. She rose up from the table and began picking up the dishes.

Seltiss wasn't sure what to make of that, but she hoped it was a good sign. She had hoped to get some sort of truce with Luffa, some kind of formal promise that she wouldn't intrude on Free Company affairs, but maybe this was good enough. She might not believe in Seltiss now, but if she was willing to give her a chance, if she was prepared to wait and see, then that was something. At least it implied that Luffa would back off and let Seltiss run things without interference.

She was sure Luffa would confront her about her base of operations. But she didn't seem to know about Shenia, and there was no indication that she had any interest in finding out. As long as the occupation was a secret, then there was a chance. There was only one other loose end she needed to tie up. As she considered how best to broach the subject, Luffa had dropped off all of their dishes at a receptacle on the far wall of the mess, and she was already heading out the door.

"There was one other reason why I wanted to impress you," Seltiss said as she caught up to her. "I'm, uh, dating your son," Seltiss said.

Luffa made a mocking show of surprise. "You don’t say?" she asked. "I had no idea..."

Seltiss ignored her sarcasm. "Depending on how things go, you and I could wind up as in-laws, right?"

"You're sixteen," Luffa grumbled.

"I like to plan ahead," Seltiss said with a smile. She needed Xibuyas, not for any romantic reasons, but for his power. He was probably the strongest Saiyan in the universe after Luffa. The problem was that Luffa claimed to be his mother, and he vehemently denied it. She needed to find some way to keep that conflict from exploding in her face. One of these days, Luffa might come to take custody of Xibuyas, or he would take it upon himself to kill her, or die in the attempt. Neither outcome was favorable to Seltiss. She needed to get a handle on Luffa's intentions towards the boy. Would she even allow him to marry? Would she let him be his own man? Her entire timetable depended on having loyal Xibuyas wrapped around her little finger for at least another five years. Unfortunately, Luffa was more concerned with the short term.

"Can you cook?" Luffa asked. "Because I can almost promise you he can't."

"Why does matter if we can cook?" Seltiss asked.

Luffa threw her hands up in the air. "What do you two lovebirds plan to eat?"

"We'd have servants for that," Seltiss said.

Luffa stopped along the path they walked and turned to face her. "Hah! You actually think it's that simple! Just get someone else to cook the meals? Launder the sheets? That's no marriage, girl. That's a stay at a hotel. What do you have to offer a mate, besides your title and bloodline?"

"Well, Xibuyas finds me attractive enough..."

Luffa shook her head. "Useless. Boys his age... There's a few hundred million women in the universe who'd turn his head the same way if he ever saw them."

Seltiss couldn't help but admire Luffa's ruthless appraisal. As much as the young princess prided herself on her detachment, she supposed that she had let Xibuyas' flattery go to her head. Around him, it was easy to think there was something special about herself that he could never find in anyone else. He probably believed that, but she couldn't risk letting herself believe it too.

"Let me ask you this," Luffa went on. "What do you see in him?"

"He's very sensitive," Seltiss said. "Well, he puts up a lot of barriers, but he lets them down around me. I'm the only one he can truly confide in."

These were facts, although they didn't actually answer Luffa's question. Seltiss had long ago crafted a response for what she liked in Xibuyas. It sounded a lot better than saying: "He's easy to manipulate, and he's nice to look at."

"So what?" Luffa asked. "That isn't practical at all. It sounds to me like you're in love with being in love. That won't get you very far. Trust me."

Perhaps, Seltiss thought, her pat answer needed workshopping.

"Then you're saying all that matters is doing chores?" Seltiss asked.

"Marriage is a partnership," Luffa said. "It's one thing to share the pleasures, like sex and war and listening to the same music. But what really counts is being able to take care of the little things. The boring parts where no one else is around. If you two can handle that, then you don't really need my approval, or anyone else's."

"So I should learn to cook," Seltiss said. "Is that what you're telling me?"

"Hell no," Luffa snorted. "Get him to cook. He'll be better at it, since he should have inherited my talent for it. When's he coming back here?"

"Tomorrow," Seltiss said. "He had some mopping up to do on Penticede, but his last transmission said he'd be arriving on Eetii in the morning."

"Fine. I need to fill him in on the rock creatures. He should be strong enough to defeat one on his own, as long as he knows where to strike."

"Oh! Wow, that’s a relief. I was wondering why you hadn't told me anything about the rock creatures until now," Seltiss said. "I was starting to think you didn't trust me."

"I don't trust you, Seltiss," Luffa said. "You keep trying to get on my good side, like we're buddies or something, but you keep your secrets, don't you?"

"Secrets?" Seltiss said. "I... I don't know what you're talking about. If you mean our home base, that's a matter of security. I can't just--"

"I'm not talking about Shenia, kid," Luffa groaned. "I already know how you took over the government so you could use it for your own plans. Federation intelligence tracked it down for me three weeks ago."

"You... you knew?" Seltiss suddenly felt her throat going dry.

"You'll order your forces to withdraw from the planet immediately," Luffa told her. "If you don't comply, my spies will report that back to me. The jig is up, Princess."

"Now hold on!" Seltiss said, her voice sounded a little higher than she would have liked.

"Don't get me wrong. I don't like having all these Saiyans of yours operating in Federation space, but I have to admit that Marshall Booth was right. We do need this alliance to hold off the cultists. But you personally? Well, that might be another story.

Seltiss couldn't believe this. How could it all go so wrong so quickly. "You knew, this whole time?" she sputtered. "But you let me go on and on, trying to be friendly towards you... Why?"

"I'm no diplomat," Luffa said. "Ask anyone on the Federation Council. They'll tell you that I negotiate like I fight. And there's nothing quite as satisfying as letting your opponent waste their energy while they think they have a handle on the situation. Then you tell them how things really are, and you catch them off balance."

Seltiss took a step back from Luffa, and nearly stumbled. "You can't be serious. You'd kill me over Shenia? You've never even been there! I made sure to pick a planet you've never been to."

"What difference does that make?" Luffa said. "I've seen enough planets conquered by invaders. I think I've got a pretty good idea what it's like. You want me to believe you're some kind of genius leader? Stop acting like a pirate. Try building a country from scratch, instead of on the backs of someone else. Or I can kill you here and now. Your choice."

"Now hold on!" Seltiss gasped. "You can't kill me. You just said you needed our alliance. Without me, the Free Company falls apart!"

"Maybe," Luffa said. "But something tells me a lot of your guys might decide to stick around and see the war through without you. Once they get a look at those rock creatures, they'll see things my way."

"What do the rock creatures have to do with it?!" Seltiss demanded.

"Your daddy's face, that's what!" Luffa shouted.

Her outburst was loud enough to be heard by Saiyans who were passing nearby, though none of them could have understood what it meant. But Seltiss understood. The shock of it was like a chill through her entire body. Her knees gave way, and she nearly sank to the ground.

She surely would have, except Luffa caught her by the arms and held her upright.

"No, that won't do," Luffa said, looking down on Seltiss with wide eyes. "You're the Princess of the Saiyans, aren't you? The iron lady should face this on her feet, shouldn't she?"

"T-trismegistus..." Seltiss stammered. "The alchemist who trained my father. He could just be using dad’s likeness to--"

"Get real, Princess," Luffa said. "Rehval is Trismegistus. He stole the real guy's name, just like he stole the name 'Rehval' from your uncle. Did you know about that? Nobody knows your dad's real name. Not even you. He thinks it's cute or something that no one knows."

Seltiss wanted to say she couldn't believe it. That wasn't true. She didn't know the full extent of her father's machinations, but she knew enough about him. Jindan, the cult, the war, the rock creatures. Was any of it truly beyond his abilities? There was no escaping it. Unable to retreat into denial, all she could do was look away from Luffa's steely gaze.

"Huh. You really had no idea, did you?" Luffa said. "I thought if I played along, let you talk long enough, you might betray yourself, give me some clue that you were secretly in league with the cult. But no, the tears are real. Maybe you did know about all this, once, but your old man altered your memories."

She wanted to angrily deny this charge, to insist that her father had never used any of his mind-altering potions on her. But... how could she ever be sure of that? If he was behind the Jindan Cult, enslaving his own people, then was there any depth he wouldn't sink to?

"I so wanted to believe he was dead," Seltiss said. "It would have easier that way. So much easier. I could lead the Free Company into war and avenge him, instead of trying to compete with him for however long it took for dad to realize he was obsolete."

"Avenge yourself, girl," Luffa said. "Your father is the lowest kind of scum, but you can restore your honor by helping me find him. But first, you withdraw your soldiers from Shenia. You'll never rise above your ancestors by wallowing in the same kind of filth."

There was something oddly comforting about Luffa's grip on her shoulders. Seltiss vaguely wondered if this was the sort of thing she had missed out on from her own mother. Brutal as Luffa's words were, there was a ring of truth to them.

"I'm not with him, Luffa," Seltiss said angrily. "I don't expect you to believe that, but I'm saying it anyway. I'll do, like, whatever you ask, but I have to see this through. I can't rest until he dies."

Luffa smiled. "Very good, Seltiss," she said. "My father betrayed me once, too, you know. Maybe you'll get a chance to kill him, the same way I killed mine. And then... Well, we can have something else in common."

She shoved Seltiss to the ground, then turned and flew away, leaving the daughter of the Rehval Dynasty to wish that she could be anyone else than who she was.

NEXT: Method to the Madness.

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #super saiyan #luffa #seltiss #travigar #eteii

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dippedanddripped · 5 years ago

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“I’M SO OFF MY TITS ON COFFEE,” Stella McCartney admits, knocking back yet another cup in the foyer of a boutique hotel a stone’s throw from her home in London’s Notting Hill. “I had four school drop-offs this morning,” she explains. “I start at 6:30 a.m., and by the time I get to work [by bicycle], I feel like I’m literally done for the day. I’m a big hot sweaty mess, too,” she adds, having decided that a thick organic-cotton flying suit (no pesticides used in its production) was the way to dress for a Monday morning that started grimly overcast but soon turned sultry. “It’s just so difficult being in fashion, isn’t it?” McCartney sighs. “We have to pretend to be so perfect. I’m the one that comes in with a punk-rock kind of ‘fuck this perfection,’ ” says the woman who famously turned up, with Liv Tyler, to the Costume Institute’s 1999 “Rock Style” exhibition, both wearing jeans and custom T-shirts spelling out ROCK ROYALTY. “It’s not maintainable, it’s not wise, and it’s very old-fashioned. So there you go.”

McCartney does the school run five days a week with daughters Bailey, 13, and Reiley, 9, and sons Miller, 14, and Beckett, 11. “When you’ve got a job and you’ve got kids,” she says, “it’s when you get to see them, and you have to wake up super early and engage in that moment. Then I try and squeeze in some exercise, and then I go to work. And I try and get back for the bookending of being a mum.”

On weekends, McCartney spends more time with the family when they decamp to an estate in the wilds of unfashionable north Gloucestershire, the result of a house hunt born, as McCartney has explained, of “a desperate mission to find land so that I could ride my horse.”

McCartney married the dashing and protective Alasdhair Willis—the former publisher of Wallpaper and a creative guru himself—in the fall of 2003, and their aligned aesthetic passions run the gamut from the innovative indoor-outdoor architecture of the midcentury Sri Lankan architect Sir Geoffrey Bawa to old English roses. Over the past 15 years, the couple have transformed their handsome but once desolate Georgian manor house, sitting in bleak open farmland, into “a redbrick box within a garden within a garden within a garden,” as McCartney describes it, a breathtaking landscape of grand walled enclosures and allées of trees reflecting both her belief that “being out in a beautiful garden is nicer than sitting in a beautiful room” and her husband’s passion for such stately English flowering landscapes as Hidcote and Sissinghurst. “We planted a million trees,” McCartney told Vogue in 2010, “made another Eden.”

“You know what I was doing this weekend?” asks McCartney. “I was riding my horse barefoot and bareback, with my daughter [Reiley]. It was about as good as it gets.”

On a visit there in 2010 I was intrigued to discover—among the bridle paths, wild meadows, orchards, and Downton-scaled rose gardens and herbaceous borders—a series of reed-filled ponds that turned out to be the McCartney-Willises’ off-the-grid sewage system. “See?” says McCartney with her impish laugh. “Being an environmentalist can be sexy!”

McCartney has been environmentally conscious since childhood. “I was privileged,” she has admitted. “I grew up on an organic farm; I saw the seasons. My parents were vegetarians—they were change agents.” (That childhood idyll is evoked in her late mother, Linda McCartney’s, book The Polaroid Diaries, which also captures the world of McCartney’s American relatives, including her Eastman grandfather, who lunched at the exclusive Maidstone Club and hung de Koonings and Rothkos in his Billy Baldwin–decorated Fifth Avenue drawing room, where the infant McCartney amused herself with Joseph Cornell’s magical shadow boxes, alluringly placed on a child’s-height shelf.)

The great outdoors is also reflected in McCartney’s state-of-the-sustainable-arts London flagship store—which she designed herself, with a soundtrack that includes a three-hour loop of her father, Paul’s, demo tapes along with a Bob Roth meditation in the changing rooms. “The audio is important for me,” she says as she proudly walks me round it, “because it’s obviously such a big part of my upbringing.” There are papier-mâché walls made from “all of the shredded paper from the office,” along with a silver birch grove and a moss-covered rockery of giant granite rocks brought from the 1,100-acre McCartney family farm on Scotland’s Mull of Kintyre. “My personality is this sort of contrast between the hard and the soft, the masculine and feminine,” says McCartney. “I wanted to have life in the store—to bring nature into the experience of shopping,” she explains as she takes me up in the Stellevator to the floor where she fitted the Duchess of Sussex for the glamorous halter-neck dress she wore for the wedding reception following her marriage to Prince Harry. There are also pieces from McCartney’s “All Together Now” Beatles collaboration, inspired by a friends-and-family screening of Yellow Submarine that her father staged on the film’s 50th anniversary. “It just blew my brains because I hadn’t seen it since I was a kid,” she recalls. “It’s astonishing—just mental and so trippy and so childlike and so innocent and so heavy and so meaningful.”

Since McCartney’s 1995 Central Saint Martins graduation show, her brand has been defined by the urgent desire to do away with animal cruelty in the fashion industry. And while, 20 years ago, there were fake furs on the market, the only glues available were animal-based. “I imagine Vikings sitting around a pot, boiling down the last bones of the elk that they skinned for the fur,” says McCartney. “And I think, Wow—we’re still there.” Today McCartney uses renewable energy where it’s available for both her stores and offices; the eyewear she shows me in her store is bi-acetate, and her sneakers are made with biodegradable Loop technology; she uses regenerated nylon, polyester, and cashmere but also works with producers making innovative fashion fibers—building fake fur from sustainable corn fiber, for instance, producing vegan microsilk, and growing mycelium-based “leather.”

“I was always a bit of a freak in the house of fashion,” McCartney says. “My regime, my culture, has been different from day one.” In Paris, where she was appointed creative director of Chloé in 1997, she struggled with the perception that at 26 she was too young and unqualified for the job (“The Beatles wrote Sgt. Pepper when they were 26,” she told Vogue tartly), and her working practice was “totally at odds with the rest of the industry,” as she recalls. Even now, she says, “every single day in our office is this sort of daily challenge—a way of trying to perfect and persist and find realistic solutions within the luxury-fashion sector—and even in a more broadstream way with the collaborations with Adidas [initiated in 2004]. Each day,” she says, “there are questions that I ask that we try to find an answer for. And if we can’t, we’ll try again tomorrow.”

Despite what she refers to as “a lot of resistance,” McCartney turned the Chloé gig (which lasted through the launch of her self-titled brand in 2001) into a triumph, tripling sales. Today, as we march inexorably to global Armageddon, her commitment to cruelty-free fashion and sustainability is fast becoming the industry norm. In recent years, for instance, luxury brands including Gucci, Prada, Michael Kors, Armani, and Chanel have declared themselves fur-free. “I’m hugely relieved,” says McCartney, “but I’m actually astounded that it’s taken so long.”

McCartney now gives scholarships at Central Saint Martins, her alma mater, for students who “adhere to our ethical charter,” and helps young designers navigate the complicated terrain of sustainability. “We’re in the farming industry in fashion,” she says. “We look at the biodiversity and the soil. It’s crazy. It’s basically exhausting. It’s much easier not to do it. So I kind of understand why the world hasn’t quite followed.”

BUT McCartney has far more ambitious goals for expanding her global industry reach. Last year, she bought back full ownership of her label from Kering, 17 years after the group’s then–creative director Tom Ford had urged the company to invest in McCartney’s fledgling brand. Following her move, “people began to show an interest quite quickly,” as McCartney recalls. “I was fortunate enough that Mr. Arnault was one of the people.” She’s speaking, of course, of Bernard Arnault, the all-powerful chairman and chief executive of LVMH, which acquired a minority share in Stella McCartney in July. “I think it’s incredibly exciting. It sends a big, big message to the industry if Mr. Arnault is asking me to be his personal adviser on sustainability at LVMH. I think that was one of the attractions for me—it is a big, timely statement, and hopefully game-changing for all of us.”

McCartney points out that the fashion brands with the biggest environmental impact in terms of scale are “the high-end luxury houses, and then the fast-fashion sector. They have massive impact in a negative way, and they can have a massive impact in a positive way.” These fast-fashion retailers, as she observes, turned from fur far earlier than luxury brands. “They’re more in touch with the youth,” she says, “and what the next generation of consumers actually wants. It’s a given for my children,” she notes, “that you have to show some kind of mindfulness or awareness.” (In recognition of the next generation’s activists, McCartney has launched the Stella McCartney Today for Tomorrow Award—video nominations via Instagram—“to celebrate,” as she says, “a new generation of change agents and eco-warriors under 25 who are kicking ass for Mother Earth.”)

She may have her work cut out for her. A week after our coffee klatch and four days before presenting her spring-summer 2020 show in Paris (“our most sustainable collection ever”), Arnault, addressing an LVMH sustainability event in Paris, called out 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg for “indulging in an absolute catastrophism about the evolution of the world” in her electrifying appearance at the United Nations summit on climate change. “I find it demoralizing,” he added. It was perhaps no accident that McCartney raced to put together a sustainability panel (no questions, no photographs) of her own on the eve of her show at the Opéra Garnier—a panel that included Extinction Rebellion activist Clare Farrell, the legendary environmentalist and activist Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and author Dana Thomas (Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes), who noted that “we wear our clothes seven times on average before throwing them away . . . we’re perpetuating this bulimia of buying, using, and throwing away.”

“What we’ve seen over the last few weeks and months,” McCartney said, pointedly, “is children and young people taking action.” The designer also addressed the issue of young activists’ rejecting the idea of consumerism. “If the youth of today stop buying into it,” McCartney added, “then obviously, the people at the top have got to deliver on that.”

Rayon, or viscose, an indispensable fashion fiber, for instance, is created from wood pulp. “This year alone,” McCartney says, “up to 150 million trees have been cut down just for viscose.” McCartney now sources hers from sustainable forests in Sweden. “I’m trying to create something that’s still sexy and desirable and luxurious that isn’t landfill,” she tells me. “Every single second, fast fashion is landfill.”

Does McCartney feel that she’s had an impact on the practices of other brands? “That’s not for me to say,” she demurs. “That would be so unchic of us. But we are a kind of incubator. I have sympathy for how hard it is to shift the massive Titanic ship away from the iceberg,” she says. “We’re a little agile sailboat, and we built the ship. And I think that’s easier than changing something that’s been going in one direction for so long.”

While she was at Kering, the company developed an environmental profit-and-loss tool that assigned a monetary value to environmental impact—something that led to McCartney’s decision (to give just one example) to stop the use of virgin cashmere, a material with 100 times the environmental impact of wool. (It takes four goats to make enough cashmere for a single sweater, resulting in a need for grazing land that has destroyed the steppes of Mongolia and led to desertification and sandstorms in northern China.) Her label now uses regenerated cashmere, made from factory scraps that are shredded and respun into new yarn, and focuses on alpaca (“a much more friendly material”) and traceable wool (four sweaters from one sheep).

McCartney also holds an annual forum for all of her suppliers to talk with them about what her company requires and to share information on recent advances. “A lot of people see change as something scary,” she says, “but the mills are interested in working with innovators.

“I think that in a sense we’re a project,” she adds. “We’re trying to prove that this is a viable way to do business in our industry—and that you don’t have to sacrifice any style or any edginess or coolness in order to work this way. At the end of the day,” she says, “we’re a fashion house trying to deliver on the promise of desirability. Without that, I can’t even have this conversation. So I have to try and find a healthy balance—and doing both jobs is a balance. It’s the same as being a mum. My other ‘family’ is work. And I have to find the balance between this conversation of fashion and the conversation of consciousness—and they have to complement each other.”

#stella mccartney #fashion blog #conscience fashion

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