#and seeing y'all go generally OFF after today's ep

[dribs-and-drabbles]

I'm looking forward to y'all's takes later on this ep but I SO LOVED how the show dealt with Pisaeng's bi/gay 'awakening'. And Max! God that sigh and eye roll, I'ma need someone to gif that for me. And then the rooftop confession and how goddamn beautiful it was for Kawi to just stand there and to know what was coming and to be the one to offer reassurance. Magnificent.

I don't know how the show is doing it. What magic they're playing with. But goddamn it's working, isn't i?

[dailyexo]

[INTERVIEW] Kai - 230313 Recording Academy GRAMMYs: “K-Pop Veteran KAI Feels Freer Than Ever On 'Rover': ‘It's Going To Be A Very Memorable Period For Me’”

"On KAI's third solo mini album, Rover, out today (March 13), the EXO and SuperM member finds freedom through the multiplicity of sounds and concepts that have defined his 11-year journey.

When K-pop's emblematic group EXO debuted in 2012, each member was assigned a superpower as part of their overarching lore. Kim Jongin, then a fresh-faced 18-year-old, was given the ability to teleport, promptly appearing and disappearing throughout their many music videos. He also received an alias: KAI, whose Chinese character "开" means "to open."

Eleven years later, KAI has manifested his nickname; his individual success has opened doors to three solo albums, countless world tours as part of EXO and supergroup SuperM, and several luxury brand contracts (he is an ambassador for Gucci and a representative for Yves Saint Laurent Beauty). It makes sense that he sees himself as someone who can't be constrained — and that he named his third EP Rover.

As the title insinuates, embodying multiple things at once has always been KAI's specialty. He is notoriously shy off-camera, an introvert who stays silent unless spoken to, but who unravels in winding thoughts and warm laughs when comfortable. At the same time, he is also one of K-pop's most lethal performers, with a voice that is as soft as sinful, and ballet-trained movements that spellbind any audience.

Rover is KAI's latest self-actualization. In a Zoom call with GRAMMY.com, he is all smiles as he mentions that this album is the truest to his creative desires so far. Whether visually or sonically, the six-track collection (plus a second installment of his conceptual video series, FILM : KAI, to be released on March 20) fuses everything that he is known for: the teleporting, the hypnotizing dance moves, the many characters he can embody, and his versatility in approaching rhythms that go from reggaeton to R&B.

He ponders about the limitations of social media and receiving love in tracks like "Black Mirror," and "Say You Love Me," while longing for freedom in "Bomba" and the project's title track. "Here I am in your face/ Focus on every single expression/ Y'all buzzin', catch me if you can," he sings in the latter, making reference to one of his favorite movies. In the music video, he also hints at Billy Elliott, another formative movie in his life, while adopting multiple personalities and namesakes. There are no boundaries to KAI's artistry, after all.

Ahead of the release, GRAMMY.com caught up with KAI about the meaning of freedom, his relationship with social media, and how it feels to be an idol for over a decade.

You ask to be called "Mr. Rover" in the EP's title track. Who is Mr. Rover?

That's me! [Laughs.] [The song] has a story about a wanderer and a message of wanting to be free, and since I want to be free on stage, and as an artist in general, Mr. Rover is me.

What is freedom to you?

I put a lot of thought into that, but honestly, I still don't know. I do feel free, and I do feel freedom when I'm on stage, and in order to feel that true freedom, I think it's not just throwing away something that's inside of you. It's more like trying your best and putting more effort into that freedom that you're seeking.

A lot of my fans say that I seem very happy and free on stage. I really want to be like that. I realized that, in order to be free, there's a lot of things that I have to try harder behind the stage.

Indeed, one of your main characteristics is that on stage you are very confident and charismatic, while off stage you are a little more shy and warm-hearted. What's on your mind when you're on stage?

I don't think that much when I'm on stage. This is intentional, because I try not to think about anything and just do my best. Just enjoy that moment. If I think a lot, then it'd be difficult for me to concentrate. I really want to get to that level where I don't have any thoughts and I can just feel free and do the performance as it is.

On stage, you can usually see me smiling and laughing a lot, but that's because the more I get nervous, the more I start smiling and laughing, and the more I enjoy it. Once I feel a sense of pressure is when I truly start to enjoy [it]. I realized that I must be crazy to be enjoying all this nervousness. [Laughs.]

Besides freedom, what are three main words that you associate with this album?

The first one is "SNS" [Social Networking Service, or what Koreans usually call social media], because it's actually a theme in the album. To add up, the album also has a message of loving yourself and not caring about what others think.

As in one of my tracks, "Black Mirror," when the display screen is black, it tells you to see yourself reflected there and to love yourself more. "Say You Love Me" [is] a song about desiring love. On SNS, we care a lot about likes, followers, and what other people think or how they see us.

The second keyword is "performance." It is a very important part of this album, because I really did what I wanted to do. There are a lot of performances to see and hear altogether, so when I was preparing [them], I tried to show different aspects of myself.

And my third keyword would be "happiness," because that is the emotion I felt the most while preparing for this album. I really enjoyed it, and I felt a lot of happiness in my daily life. I think that it's going to be a very memorable period for me.

Since your first keyword is SNS, what is your personal relationship with social media?

Honestly speaking, if I wasn't a celebrity, I think I wouldn't have been using SNS at all. But since I am, I do have to [use] it, and I think of it as a way to communicate with my fans.

In my album, tracks such as "Black Mirror" or "Rover" have a message of being free and loving yourself, and I [prepared] a lot of curated content to show to my fans. I do have a desire for [my fans] to like that, but I want to say that it doesn't matter because, as a human, it's the same for me. I watch YouTube too, I watch all those [Instagram] Reels at night before I go to sleep. So you know, after all, I'm doing the same thing [as everyone].

Your second keyword is performance, and you seem very happy that you could do everything that you wanted for Rover. What new things were you able to show through your performances this time?

The ["Rover"] music video is very well-made and fun, and another FILM : KAI is coming out soon. The first FILM : KAI was released before my first music video [for "Mmmh"], so the role of it was to explain the whole concept and help the listeners understand what I was trying to say.

This time, FILM : KAI is coming out after the music video [for "Rover"], so I think it could be a chance for the viewers to organize their thoughts and compare with what they have been thinking while watching the music video, so they can realize some different charms [within it].

You talked about your first album, KAI (开), and now you're on your third album. What are some of the differences between them, and what have you improved on since your solo debut?

For the first album, when preparing the songs, it was more about finding what I wanted to do as KAI and what I'd like to show people. For the second album, it was more about focusing on what people would like to see and what they wanted from me. I did feel a bit pressured and stressed, but it was one of the steps in the process of trying to find what I really want to do.

For my third album, I was able to find what I want to do and start doing it. As an artist, I grew a lot, but that's why I think it was a new challenge. It's something new that I'm attempting.

If it wasn't for the first or the second albums, the third one wouldn't even exist. I even had some songs that I saved during the [previous] albums because I thought I wasn't prepared before, but now I'm ready to release them to the world. As a soloist and an artist, I'm just developing and growing. There may be a lot of lacking skills still, but this album is very special to me, and I like it a lot.

You've been an idol for more than a decade now. What is the most important thing you learned so far?

Being an idol is a job too. The line between my daily life and my life as a celebrity is very ambiguous. From time to time, I could feel more stressed out, and as it is a job where I can share emotions with the public, there's a bit of pressure on that too.

The most important thing to do is to take care of my mental [health] and mindset, and this realization was a chance for me to grow. I've been thinking deeply on how to become a better person, how to live a happy life as a human being, and I think that, as KAI, I really want to share more positive and happy thoughts with my fans and the people all around the world.”

Credit: GRAMMY.

[bitchassbucky]

.eps (explicit)

Word Count: 2k

Warning/s: dark!bucky x dark!reader, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, blood mention, gore and dismemberment/beheading, murder, toxic/abusive relationship dynamics, sedation/drugging/use of sedative, stockholm syndrome-ish, one very special character reveal

A/N: i told y'all there's more <3 the special character treat is for @sarge-barnes-sir mwah!

this is queued shdhhsh gonna fix the links in the mornin’

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS ABOVE, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THIS VERSION, GO AND CHECK OUT THE NON-EXPLICIT VERSION.

follow the CTRL series:

i - .exe

ii - .avi

iii - .raw

iv - .png

v - .zip

CTRL playlist CTRL moodboard

Safeness, comfortability, warmth are all but a false sense of reality.

When a prey takes down its walls, the predator moves in. Camouflaged in familiar colors, in words that you’re used to hearing, in praises, in lies. Most predators use the mask of the night to move in darkness—unyielding and calculated. Come morning, there will be only one left alive, tainted with victory and bloodshed.

You and Bucky have been engaging in a dance for two—a battle of who’s willing to take the leap of faith and unleash hell upon the other.

Stifled smiles and pursed lips.

The air is filled with unsaid irritants, little things that ticked away like bombs.

There was no time for pleading, no time for mercy, no rest for the wicked.

Did you still love each other?

How far are you willing to go to keep up with his… complacency?

Bucky’s mundane life already taking a toll on you. The endless nightmares of him feeling you. The swirling vision of Bucky being with you every waking—and sleeping—moment: it grates your soul to shreds.

“We’ll be together forever, right?”

“Yes, darling.”

“What about the day after forever?”

“That too, honey.”

Where was the man you loved so deeply? The man that broke his morals just to be with you?

Was he under this hull of a Yes Man? A poor little thing that says ‘yes’ to everything like a puppy.

The man you held so dearly now slipping away, chipping his humanity, shedding the once-human.

“Would you marry me tomorrow if I asked you?”

“Of course, baby, why wouldn’t I?”

“Would you kill for me?”

“I’m meant to do the same for you.”

It’s irritating how Bucky gave up too quickly. Too fast, moving too fast. The gazelle let the lion tear its neck as it lay there, unmoving, letting the blood seep into its hide.

When you first met Bucky, it was your own fairytale unfolding before your eyes. Kismet, reality, forgiveness from above. He was soft and shy, passionate, lively.

Far from what you expected from a man his age—you blame Steve for forcing you into his narrative before. That all men are out to get you. They will hurt you. They will use you and leave you for good. But Bucky? Bucky came in like a knight. He saved you from the carcass of your past. He saved you from the sins that you prayed and knelt for.

Bucky taught you how to love.

Bucky taught you how to live for yourself.

Bucky taught you that being alone doesn’t mean you have to be lonely.

“It was an unspoken little thing, wasn’t it?”

“What thing, baby?”

“Our love.”

“Yes, honey, it was.”

He worships you.

He worships you like a fucking God and you hate it.

Suffocating, too suffocating. You dove straight for the water and now you’re drowning.

Do you still love each other? The question hangs in the air, heavy with its weight, light as a feather.

It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault.

So you stand there with a syringe half-filled with a horse sedative. It’s a concern how easy it is to waltz into a pet store and pick up a general anesthetic. You make a mental note to look at it later.

Bucky’s body slumps forward, his forehead meeting the edge of the table with a dull thud. If the overdose doesn’t kill him, the weeping crack in his head will.

Holy fuck, humans bleed a lot. And fast. Good thing you already have that clear tarp taped down. Even with the hush money stuffed down your throat, it would take a good nick to regrout the kitchen.

“What is that for, honey?”

“I’m painting the cabinets.”

“Okay, darling.”

So you let him bleed, surprised that the liquid is redder than what you thought it would be. A soft gurgling noise came from Bucky, the last of air escaping his dead body. You stood there, syringe in hand, as you thought how to dispose of a six-foot-tall man without arousing suspicion.

Not that he’ll be missed anyway: the local news and the internet already branded him as a psycho and you as a victim. You were both victims in this fairytale. They reported his case as “skipped the town like the sicko he is.” So, no—no one’s going to look for him.

The sun was high up in the sky and there was a dead body in your kitchen.

A butcher and a surgeon walks into a bar for a drink. “What do you do for a living?” Said the butcher, “I save lives! What about you?” The doctor answers. “I save animals from dying slowly. We’re basically the same. You’re just very clean.” You see, the butcher comes into the bar covered in blood, reeking of death. The surgeon, on the other hand, wears his white coat with pride even though he’s surrounded by death every passing second.

Today was the day you learned that you have the tools of a butcher and the precision of a surgeon. Unlike before.

You carefully take Bucky’s fingers off of his left hand, leaving a skin flap on the edge of the last knuckle for you to stitch close later. Four promises. Four goddamn promises and he broke all of them.

It was his fault that he’s dead. He made you do this.

Starting with his left shoulder, you jab the knife between the bone and the soft flesh of his armpit, bringing the blade downwards. The sickening smell of blood swirled along with the image of muscle and fat being sliced made you gag.

Does the brain know that it’s seeing something it shouldn’t?

A rational part of you wanted to look away but the time is ticking, it’ll be much harder once rigor mortis sets in an hour.

You swing the knife down, cracking the bone once, and then again, and again, and again until the shoulder bone splinters and dislocates itself from the rest of Bucky’s torso. You had to switch knives and blades and a fucking bone saw to get through the rest of his limbs, leaving only his chest, head, and stomach untouched. After taping up and packing the arms and the legs, you work on putting the rest of Bucky into a nondescript suitcase.

The only problem being his head getting into the way of things.

Wanting to preserve even a shred of his dignity, you left his face untouched. Well, save from the crack in his skull.

You begrudgingly take a hefty chef’s knife and start cutting through the jugular vein, only stopping when the blade hits the spinal cord by his nape. The serrated blade of the bone saw sits on your blood-soaked gloves, scrape-scrape-scraping until it snaps into two.

The human head weighs around 10 pounds, kinda like a bowling ball.

An opaque black garbage bag containing Bucky’s head looks nothing suspicious as you put it inside a backpack—into a firepit you go.

His limbs—arms and legs alike—are going deep into the ocean, forgotten and to be used as fish food.

The limbless torso will be finding its home in a deep hole in the middle of a densely wooded area, far from the city.

But you’re not quite sure what to do with the mason jar of teeth though; the clinking noises of it remind you of the seashells you used to collect when you were a kid. Maybe you’ll stash it away with the torso.

Placing the bags into the trunk of a rental, you begin your journey to the end of your fairytale.

The drive to and from the places was tiring, to say the least. The internet connection of the diners was spotty at best. Locals were overly friendly with the city folks who came passing through their towns. The roads reek of roadkill and manure from the farm animals that were left to roam for fresh grass.

At least you get to come home in a spotless apartment, alone once again.

But not lonely.

Your space is yours again. No trace of anyone anywhere. Immaculately yours.

—

Humans are social creatures.

No one can truly be alone, especially in today’s world where we’re connected to everyone—whether we liked it or not.

Leaving your wretched job behind was an easy feat to do. No one can say no to the victim of such a vile crime. That’s all they saw you: a helpless little thing. So off you went; saying half-assed goodbyes and sending emails of courage and hope and fucking resilience.

Your resignation meant that the company’s free of any dirt from you, Bucky’s disappearance quickly becoming a joke and a rumor blending in one.

They let you leave: in your bank account a fat check ensuring that you’d shut up about the scandal for months until you can’t feed yourself no more. So you packed your bags and jet off without looking back. You never liked that apartment anyway.

Nevertheless, you found yourself looking into another dead-end job in one of the towns you stopped over before. It’s a charming place like time froze in their plaza while the rest of the world went on. You found a small studio apartment in a street tuckered away from the main avenue, you settled there as days became nights and nights turned into days.

You woke up one morning craving a healthy serving of coffee and pancakes, luckily the town’s local diner wasn’t far from your new home.

The coffee was too hot, the pancakes were amazing, fluffy, and just right. You’re sitting in a sunny booth, the warmth doing its wonders.

“Hi, can I get today’s paper, please?” Your voice is sweet as you call your server, giving her a quick smile.

A pair of Raybans adorn your face, unconsciously hiding behind its darkened glasses. The waitress gives you a thick stack of newspapers, refilling your cup with black coffee.

Upon opening the paper, you ignore the town’s headlines and went straight for the job postings. The door jingled open as patrons come in and go, waving to familiar faces.

Job Vacancy Announcements

Secretary to the Town Sheriff

You skimmed over the rest of the details, only noting the address of the office. The job looks quite lucrative for someone who would only take messages and organize files for the sheriff.

Looking over the job posting again, you read over the words walk-ins only. That shouldn’t be hard enough.

The diner looked deserted save from the man sitting behind your booth. Leaning over and tapping his shoulder, you put on a polite smile, “Hi, sorry, do you know how to get to the sheriff’s office from here?”

“Hello, darling.” The man croons in an accent, he looks over to you, “join me in my booth, will ‘ya?”

You’re in no position to reject his proposal, you’re the one who needed an answer.

Taking your coffee cup, you slide into his booth, “hi.”

“Just the face I wanted to see.” Clean-shaven, a hint of mint and smoke, and something woody; a worn leather jacket and white button-up shirt hugging his soft frame. “Some folks over on the apartment complex were talkin’ about a city girl wanting to rent a studio all by herself. That happen to be you?”

You look over to him, trying to understand how that small of news spread like a wildfire, “yeah. I moved in a week ago.”

He leans over, smiling sweetly as he unabashedly lets his eyes roam your features, “What’s a city girl like you doin’ in a place like this? I hope we ain’t too boring for you, gal.”

Chatty—he’s way too chatty.

“Just wanted a change of pace, really. Away from the bustle of the city.” You rustle the paper, clearing your throat to get back on the matter on hand, “so the sheriff’s office? Is it too far from here?”

“What business are ‘ya bringing into the office?”

“A job, actually. Says here that they’re looking for a secretary.” You might as well tell him everything, he seems too chatty to be dismissed over and over again.

“Well, darlin’, today’s your lucky day. No need to drive down the old road.” He reaches down to his seat, pulling up a brown hat, “Hi, I’m Sheriff Bodecker. Now, to whom do I owe the pleasure?”

You bite back a giggle, you’ve always wanted to be involved with the law.

[ferret-not-microwave]

Les Amis Modern AU: What They Wish Others Believed About Them (Part 3).

[I kind of wrote this in response to some general trends in characterising the Amis. There are some stereotypes which I'm not quite comfortable with.

[Also, OMG I didn't think people would like these posts so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thaaaank you to all who gave the cutest hashtags, y'all are so encouraging!]

[Also, I'm sorry I just posted on R and Eponine today. :'(

Just have a lot on my mind. I'll write on JBM tomorrow, promise.]

Grantaire:

• He. Is. Not. Weak. Seriously, he could really do without those people who think he's a broken mess who loses absolutely every bit of self respect when he sees Enjolras. Just because Enj had shut him up with harsh words on like one occasion does not mean that he lets Enj or anyone walk all over him on a regular basis. He is NOT a doormat, not by a long shot.

• He could also REALLY do without those people with massive saviour complexes who swoop in to save him from the big, bad world. He accepts tons of help and love from the Amis, but will not accept any kind of pity service, damnit (and they know it). And it takes a lot of strength to plow through alcohol addiction to sobriety.

• He is pretty much a guardian angel in bars because of his history with addiction. He knows how much drink can a person take, and which drink they should avoid. With Bahorel, he hovers around the rest of them, snatching away glasses when the lightweights get too drunk, and replacing them with glasses of water. That he can box also comes handy. Sometimes. Heh.

• Not every point he says to oppose Enj is a cynical barb. And they don't always have screaming matches in the Musain. There have been many days of trading constructive criticism, because R has a lot of first-hand experience about the city. R usually knows the fine line between Enj getting combative and Enj getting hurt/frustrated, and has learnt not to say something so cynical that he crosses the line.

• Like everyone else, R is also learning. He is working on his prejudices, realises that some his past jokes were insensitive, sometimes even sexist or ableist, and actively corrects himself and others around him.

• Further, their relationship did not start with a dramatic makeout session mid-argument. Because both of them are on the way to being mature adults who know that aggressively displaying sexual tension is not the best way to start a relationship.

• It is not just Enj he's generally cynical to. He's cynical, that's it. And he does enjoy arguments with the others, where there's mutual exchange of knowledge, because he does not ever believe that the rest just parrot what Enj has to say. He has captured everyone's argument face in his sketchbook: Ferre waving his hands about, Courf's eyes widened mid-rant, Feuilly's eyes narrowed with a brief, brusque comment, Jehan's smiling like a cat who got the cream when their argument hits home, Bahorel thumping the desk in jovial agreement, Marius processing what he's hearing. He kinda likes Les Amis L'ABC too, not just the people there.

• While there are rough days when his self esteem runs sub-zero, there are days when he is super happy with himself. These are not exactly blink-and -miss either. The Amis cherishes his beaming smile when he defeats Ferre on Trivia Night, sings beautifully on Karaoke Night, paints an AMAZING picture of all the Amis in a protest and shows it off to all of them, cooks a meal which JBM raves about, and, on one memorable occasion, makes a V important point in a meeting that leaves Enj starry-eyed. There are things he hides from them because he's too shy and doubtful, but they are decreasing.

• There are days when he goes into a house-cleaning spree. Like the scrubbing tables-dusting-throwing out piles of trash-cleaning corners with q tips-kind of spree. Which leaves him so exhausted that he can't get out of bed the day after. So yeah, his place isn't always shabby.

Eponine:

• She is tough. She is blunt, and to the point. But she is not rude without reason, just to be edgy or something. And definitely doesn't throw around idle threats. Most of the Amis find her very pleasant, actually. She gives a small smile to everyone, cracks dry jokes, lobs scrunched-up balls of paper from across the room and fights with Courf for the caramel popcorn bucket. She doesn't yell to make a point, but speaks it aloud with a lazy drawl while fiddling with a rubber band ("Bull", she says, eloquently enough). To new people, she is just that shy and suspicious, so she doesn't really talk.

• The thing she wants the most is to feel safe. Hence she is often quiet, suspicious and moody. She feels really upset if people think she's horrible (or a "bitch", like she sometimes hears random people say about her) just because she cannot trust people enough to be all smiles and rainbows, even though she wants to be. She also feels really vulnerable, and is always scared that people wil leave her or hurt her once they know that she panics and cries a lot. She feels safe with the Amis, and many a times you'll find her as a sniffling burrito on someone's couch. THIS DOESN'T MEAN SHE'S WEAK, THIS MEANS SHE HAS A LOT OF SHIT GOING AND NEEDS RELEASE. -_-

• Her preference for dark clothes started because dark clothes seemed easier to maintain. She needed lesser amounts of detergent, and could stretch it out for longer before the inevitable laundry walk. She had actually asked Jehan for goth fashion tips to liven things up, and they had provided her optimal options (like dark lipstick). Still, she doesn't wear fishnets everyday, and just saves them for "special occasions".

• She is one of R's best friends. But no, she is not his personal babysitter. She doesn't go chasing everyone who she thinks has hurt him immediately, neither does she always haul him around when he's down in the dumps. She usually gives him sound advice, checks on him whenever she gets breaks between shifts, and if she cannot help, sends an Ami or two along.

• Her go-to way of showing disappointment in anyone is to send them a voice message stating exactly how they have fucked up (in an ice cold voice) and giving them the silent treatment until they fix things or apologize. Only once did she go nuclear on someone, no one wants to talk about it.

• Ep is a big sap. She does not really conceal her love of heart-shaped Valentine cards, pink roses and candles. Don't forget that she grew up in fair comfort tilll her preteen years, and she had exposure to much sappy media. While the Amis were surprised initially, she makes them take it in stride. She gets a strawberry cake every birthday, complete with pink balloons et al. (organised by Courf). She dreams of going to Disneyland.

• In the face of danger (men following her on the streets or something), her first response is flight, not fight. She knows that fighting can often make things worse, and cannot afford frequent trips to the ER. She can fight, though. She just doesn't want to until absolutely necessary, for self-preservation. She's brilliant at amateur first aid.

[wannaliveattheholidayinn]

Ok, But Seriously, I Have Thoughts

I have... really mixed feelings about this episode, so I'm gonna talk about those feelings. And if my feelings about zep as a show and this season come out during that... so be it. (Seriously, this got long. I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry). Also spoilers for the new ep below the cut, but y'all should've been able to guess that

- I... Zimon seriously deserves just so much better. We saw them as a couple together for three episodes, and they honestly weren't explored enough. Zimon... and this is a very personal opinion, but they really do strike me as a couple who never fully leave the honeymoon phase... like ever. Like, of course, they'll fight and disagree on a lot of things, but they also can have adult children, and just kind of act like newlyweds even if they've been married for over twenty years. And again, I know that's a very personal opinion, but I mean... we all knew c/arkeman was gonna be endgame, and it just feels like zimon was never given an actual chance.

- However, I do very much appreciate that their breakup was not messy, there's still clearly a ton of respect for the other on both of their sides, and that Simon is okay.

- "We didn't belong together." No, you fucking did.

- I am not going to stop writing Zimon fanfic either. In fact, this might spur me to write more and work harder on writing Zimon fanfic.

- Rose. Fucking. Deserves. Better. I'm not even gonna elaborate on this one. We all know it.

- Despite the fact that I fucking hate c/arkeman and that it was very, very rushed... I'm giving acting and singing props to Jane. I Melt With You is a song that's extremely personal to me. It helped get me through a point in my life where... I was constantly feeling at war with others, myself, and even felt unsafe in my own home (something I still feel today, no matter how irrational I know it is). I just generally feel a strong connection to every version of the song bc of that, whether it's the original or the Bowling for Soup cover (that was in Sky High!), and... Jane just has a way of making me feel safe when she sings. So, I really, really loved her cover.

- Um... yeah, I'm gonna be real, I don't like the idea of Max having powers. I don't know, I just think it kinda changes the whole original concept of the show, and I'm not a big fan of that...

- Simon! Simon working on changing SPRQ Point!!!!

- I do not really like how they handled Simon's racial bias/systemic racism in coding storyline *after* episode six (aka it only really being mentioned in passing, not being further explored, etc.), but,,, credits due where it's due I guess? I like how they handled him going to Danny Michael Davis, and how DMD listened.

- Sidenote, I kinda find it weird we as a fandom don't refer to him as Danny... it's Danny Michael Davis, DMD, or fucking Willy Wonka jokes. Makes sense I guess.

- Um... the writing was just... so lazy. Yeah. It's... really sad, I think that the show would've benefitted from even one less ep. But on the other hand... lazy writing is lazy writing.

- I think it would've been better - honestly - if Zoey's feelings of loss hadn't been connected to Max in a romantic way, but in a platonic/familial way. We didn't see a ton of their friendship, and yeah,, I hate Max, but there are a few moments there where you can see a legitimate friendship that's really sweet. I also think if they had maybe explored Zoey's fear of losing Simon as well as Max and centered the finale more on Zoey telling Simon about her power, it would've just been a lot better.

- But... honestly, after I just aired out all my issues with this episode (and the season too kinda),,, I honestly liked it. I hate that Zimon broke up and I just generally hate cl*arkeman but... this ep had some really great moments. Zoey and Mitch were beautiful to see again. Mctobin, Davidemily, and Mo x Perry were all absolutely my favorite parts of the episode. Hell, I'll even admit I... well I don't wanna say laughed considering I was so close to crying, but I let out a weird, breathy noise resembling a laugh when Zoey just blurted out she and Simon had broken up.

I don't want to say it was a bad episode, because I did honestly, enjoy ~parts~ of it... but... it wasn't even that cl/arkeman happened, I knew it would, but how it did... it just honestly (my g.od i need to stop writing that word) seemed like they were trying to kill off or like... fucking quash *any* hope Zimon shippers may have had,,, and the writing was just so fucking lazy, I just...

I started the show after dance one night because my teacher showed us the Help! number bc he was an extra in it. And I had already been intrigued by the few ads I had seen for it. So, my mom and I watched it, and we loved it. So we kept watching. And it was good! It was really good! Sure it could be cheesy, but... that didn't matter. I latched on...

I don't know if, ZEP is gonna get renewed, and if it is, I don't know if I'll watch it if/when it does. I latch on to shows really fucking hard when I do latch on. It's why I keep rewatching The Good Place and why I'll never forgive Freeform/Disney/Marvel for canceling Cloak and Dagger. The way I latch onto things is probably a bit unhealthy. And the fact of the matter is, despite everything, my overwhelming feelings about ZEP are positive. And I latched on. I'd honestly do it all over again.

I have a lot of feelings about this fandom and this show, both positive and negative. Still, I love it. Unconditionally. Ultimately, I don't care if Zoey ends up with Max or Simon (though, seriously, she and Simon are made for each other). It's a good fucking show, ships shouldn't be everything that matters.

I began lurking in this fandom when I was fifteen. I began posting fanfic for it when I was sixteen. I'm almost seventeen now. I was planning to get Tumblr when I was seventeen. I also knew I wouldn't forgive myself if I hadn't made my presence here known if it didn't get renewed.

I want to thank @simon-haynes because, uh, holy fuck, I adore you. Running a blog for fandom is something I couldn't even fathom, especially when a large portion of the fandom doesn't like your ship. I legitimately can't believe you followed me.

Thank you to @jennakang. You are, honestly, one of the best writers I've ever read from. You were so incredibly supportive of my writing on ao3, despite the fact you didn't know who I was, and that really meant the world to me. Thank you so much for your contributions to the fandom. Also, uh, fun fact, I was the anon who, after you expressed the want to write the quarantined Zimon fic, sent in that ask that was like "please do!" and also "hope I'm not being pushy about this". I don't know if you remember that at all, but your response meant the world to me.

And uh, lastly @myheartissetinmotion. Um, wow. I know we barely know each other, but I can honestly say, you have been my anchor for this whole show. I love both your Tori content on TikTok as well as just zep content you do on there, and how you wrote her into zep on ao3. I personally like to think of you as the pioneer of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Tok. You were pretty unbiased when it came to ships on there, and that made me feel safe in a place where there were virtually no zimon shippers. Your content was funny, and I always found myself laughing or screaming "accurate" at it. I know, I'm the nuisance who every few months DMs you about something zep related, but I hope you know, you made me feel both seen and somewhat appreciated in this fandom. I cannot thank you enough, Isabella 💗

I know Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist may not be ending. But this still oddly feels like the end of an era. I'm not leaving the fandom, I plan to keep posting fanfic for it and everything. I just want everyone who may be reading this to know I love this fandom and I would not take any moment here back.

Also, this is me formally asking for a link to a Discord group chat since I know it exists but I'm too scared to actually ask any of you for it directly.

[mittensmorgul]

Any thoughts on the differences between ghosts and demons, since Hell has been busted open but it's pretty much just ghosts topside (except Belphie). It can't just be time in Hell as the deciding factor - unless Jack the Ripper's been haunting people for awhile and just recently got his soul sent to Hell. Crowley's the only demon we really have a timeline for... I wonder if souls "choose", like Dean's "choice" to get off the rack and take up the knife when he was in Hell...

So... I don’t honestly have more than random guesses to go on here, but this is one of those cosmological things I tend to obsess over at 3 am, so I decided to take this directly to grey’s chattybubbles, and we had an interesting chat about it. I’ll just put it here because our rambling entertained me, and heck, maybe someone else has something to add...

Warnings for incredibly dubious math below the cut :’D

mittensmorgulI gotta say, your ask message is something I've been thinking about since last week, but jack the ripper's ghost has made it 100000x worse >.>I'm just gonna... ramble a bit in your general direction and see if we can come up with an answer either of us finds reasonable >.>Maybe it's a frogs and toads situation. All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads?i.e. all demons once were human souls, but not all human souls can or will become demons

mittensmorgulI don't know if it's their choice as to whether they become demons or not, or some other unrelated metaphysical process. But I've wondered this for a while about how crossroads demons develop red eyes while "regular demons" don't. So what makes a crossroads demon vs a run of the mill demon?

grey2510right

mittensmorgulI know it's not the same question, but it's in the same family of questions :'D

grey2510one of the things I was considering was what made them go to Hell in the first placelike someone who made a deal - for whatever reason - is someone who knows to look for loopholes and ways out of a shit situationand if your options are "be tortured" or "not be tortured"...

grey2510could also explain how crossroads demons are made... maybe the crossroads demons all made deals as humansit's a self perpetuating systemwhereas some psychopath serial killer would get sent to hell, but might not have the deal-making acumenif that makes any kind of sense

mittensmorgulI always had assumed that the torture was part of the process, and that happening in Hell was what turned a soul into a demon, you know? But if Hell is mostly just ghosts being tortured for their sins for eternity, rather than being tortured into demons within a relatively short span of time (one would think 140 earth years should do it...) maybe only some souls are even able to become demonsor there may be a specific process involved to turn them-- like witches who pledge themselves to a demon like RubyAnd Crowley, who made a deal and then ended up a crossroads demon

grey2510yeah

mittensmorgullike maybe there had to be a bit of something supernatural already staining the soul to make them eligible :'D

grey2510because we know it must have been a relatively short turn around for Crowley - in earth years, he died 300 years ago, but he was turned demon in enough time to know Naomi and refer to Mesopotamia (which doesn't sound modern) and to establish himself as King of the Crossroads

mittensmorgulBecause if it was just a matter of a choice, I don't think very many people would choose "torture" over "do this and you can become a demon which is bad but heck it's not torture"

grey2510yeahunless they truly believed they were guilty (but that's more of Lucifer the show's version of Hell)I don't have an answer but I thought Spiders George might have a few thoughtslol*georg

mittensmorgulyeah, and Crowley has STUDIED STUFF. I mean, he knows Enochian, knows all the major players, knows tons of unrelated lore and weapons and all sorts of stuff (including magic he presumably learned as a human)So he's been a demon (or at least not just some poor tortured soul in Hell) for a very, very long time to have been "King of the Crossroads" in a leadership position even at the beginning of the serieshe didn't spend 140 of those years languishing as a soul in Hell

grey2510yeahand he had it in with Lilith

mittensmorgulyeah, this is all just random thoughts, but I don't know if canon will ever make a statement on it one way or another.

grey2510I'd be surprised if they did

mittensmorguland Jack the Ripper was I believe Eugenie's pet Evil Thing in this episode, so I don't know that this wasn't just a random "I'm gonna use this because it sounds cool! Screw canon!" moment for her or what

grey2510especially since we have BL canon acrobatics

mittensmorgulyeah

grey2510yeah - I could really care less about Jack the Ripper but if that's her current chew toy, have fun

mittensmorgulI think Ketch is her current chew toy

grey2510well him too

mittensmorgulwhich I'll take over Lucifer or Nick any day:P

grey2510haha I was just about to say that

mittensmorgulbut yeah, as far as understanding the cosmology and metaphysics, if it's just BL canon I tend to ignore it as much as possible unless we get secondary confirmation of a thing from another writer

grey2510yeah - although we do have a little bit of outside of BL since it was introduced in 15x01but that could have just been the other writers tossing a shiny object to her

mittensmorgulwell the oldest of those other souls from hell that we saw was 15 earth years, the Woman in White.Which... I could buy she wouldn't have been "demonized" yet.

grey2510yeahalso - Lizzie Borden we don't know for sure because our Lizzie ep wasn't actually Lizzie right?

mittensmorgulShe was a deeply traumatized ghost for decades before being sent to Hell in 1.01yeah, it was a fake haunting, and Amara eating people's souls

grey2510rightbeen awhile since I've seen that season

mittensmorgulBut nothing in canon clarified if it was lizzie borden with the ax anyway, we just assume it was

grey2510truebut yeah - Constance still being a soul and not a demon makes sense

mittensmorgulAnd if it was, we don't know if that was scripted, or something someone thought would look cool and costumed that way

grey2510yeah

mittensmorgulBUT! I do think it's likely that most souls don't become demons, otherwise there would've been a heck of a lot more of them. And like we've been running out of angels, Hell was running low on demons by s13even by s11, after amara ate her way through a lot of them

grey2510trueit still does make you wonder what it is that makes some souls "special" enough to become demons

mittensmorgulI've always found it weird we don't really see a lot of "brand new demons"

grey2510....still waiting for Bela to show up and be like fuck all y'all

mittensmorgulBela should be queen of the crossroads. She made a deal, dealt with the supernatural, and deserved better.

grey2510seriouslyshe'd be the natural successor - she was pretty much the human equivalent before she got dragged away

mittensmorgulyep

grey2510i know this is also just early season weirdness, but there was never anything else about different types of demons like the shadowy things that Meg called

mittensmorgulthough I'm 99% sure the show can't afford Lauren Cohan, and I'm not sure they'd bring back Bela without her. Though as a demon she would by necessity be wearing a different meatsuit...

grey2510yeah - they could put her in anyone

mittensmorgulYeah, the Daevasand the Acheri demon we saw exactly once in 2.21 >..

grey2510or why wispy the pilot was doing his thingoh yeah that was the girl looking thing right?

mittensmorguland good old Specky from 1.04 with his airplane fetishyeah

grey2510i'm just going to assume that they were things that other hunters/lore called "demons" because they didn't have another name for them

mittensmorgulyeah

grey2510anyway, it would be fascinating to know what exactly the soul to demon process is all about

mittensmorgulbut human souls, twisted into demons, seems to happen by a very specific process. Like it must be done TO the soulit's probably all on the demon tablet >.>

grey2510haha probably

mittensmorgulbut they mentioned there were several BILLION souls in Hell, which seems... rather a lot... I just looked it up... about 55 million people die every year.

grey2510that's a lot of big numbers

mittensmorgulso about 20 years for a billion people to die

grey2510so not my area lol

mittensmorguland I assume the vast majority of them do not go to Hell

grey2510lol ok - i'm glad you did the math (i've been grading freshman papers all day so my brain is kinda fried)do you watch the Good Place?

mittensmorgulI mean if even Ken Lay gets into Heaven, then we have to assume the VAST majority of people who die won't go to Hell

grey2510yeah

mittensmorgulno I haven't seen it, but I've watched through tumblr :'D

grey2510the rules seem pretty laxah gotchai was going to make a reference to something that happened last season but didn't want to ruin it for you

mittensmorgulso if even 1/10 people who die end up in Hell, it would still take like 200 years for a billion souls to accumulate. Or 2000 years if only 1 /100 people go to Hell

grey2510so assume a few centuries to get a billion

mittensmorgul(and the death rate has not always been as high as it is now, with 8 billion people on the planet, compared to 2000 years ago, you know? so that's more math than I'm actually willing to do :P)

grey2510lolyeah spn's hell rules seem to be "made a deal" and "totally evil person"murders, rapists, etc.not much in the middle

mittensmorgulyeahbut the population of the earth even 200 years ago was less than 1/10 what it is today, so the death rate would've also dropped by that much, making it take that much longer for hell souls to accumulate.Point being, if there are that many SOULS in Hell, and not just demons, then apparently not every soul DOES become a demonand I REALLY NEED TO KNOW WHY NOW

grey2510haha

mittensmorgulGAH

grey2510it's been bugging me too, so i guess we can suffer together

mittensmorgulokay, I really wanna copy/paste this as the reply to your message, because I feel like my non-answer is a good answer

grey2510fine by me

mittensmorguland maybe we can have other people pitch in ideas :PI'm pretty sure this is the sort of thing Canon will never explain in detail, but it's exactly the sort of thing I personally wonder about the most.

grey2510so where did we land? something done specifically to the soul that turns them, but then also the question of whether there's something about the soul that makes them a viable candidate for the transformation?

mittensmorgulyeah, that's succinct. :'D

grey2510and then if crossroads demons are former deal makers

mittensmorgulalso if they've made a deal either with a crossroads demon, or as a "borrower witch," as they've been called by other witches in canon

grey2510or something else about them that determines what kind of demon they'll be come*become

mittensmorgulyeah

[liyazaki]

thank you to @shortpplfedup, @billkinspp, @saraleo & @billkinsdancing for the tag 😙

1. why did you choose your url? I've used it for many moons- the L is one of my initials; the rest is a shameless homage to one of my favorite directors/artists, Hayao Miyazaki.

2. any sideblogs?  if you have them name them and why you have them. I don't update it much, but yes (alsoliyazaki)- it's the equivalent of a junk drawer, but I like everything in it. ✌

3. how long have you been on tumblr? off and on for 9-10 years, but never regularly. I started making my own content/this blog in April.

4. do you have a queue tag? I queue and I never tag them.

5. why did you start your blog in the first place? needing to vent about/create content from my obsession with Thai dramas/BL in general (and find other delightful weirdos into the same things).

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp? because I'm an eternal PP Krit simp- I love this particular mysterious flirt look.

7. why did you choose your header? I wanted a new GIF header, and I was obsessed with the colors I ended up with after messing around in Photoshop. Also, again- PP Krit simp. ✌️

8. what‘s your post with the most notes? if I left Tumblr today, my legacy would be condoms (opening scene from IPYTM, ep. 1) and Q's blue nails. I'm not mad at it 💅

9. how many mutuals do you have? a lovely, perfectly sized little group.

10. how many followers do you have? pass.

11. how many people do you follow? 100ish?

12. have you ever made a shitpost? don't really know what a shitpost is, so I'm going to say no...

13. how often do you use tumblr each day? too, too much- move along; nothing to see here.

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? nope- if things ever seem to be veering into dramatic territory, I bounce.

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this‘ posts? i love filtering- filters are my friend.

16. do you like tag games? I do but I'm awful at posting them (if you've tagged me, I haven't forgotten; I'm just the worst).

17. do you like ask games? ditto previous.

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? a couple for sure but I feel weird tagging...? Suffice it to say, y'all are equally awesome.

19. do you have a crush on a mutual? I have a big friend crush on @shortpplfedup for her humor/her brain/her analyses, etc. Also, I adore @billkinspp & her tags which regularly make my day. 💗

20. tags? only if you want to and haven’t been tagged already: @marvelous-me-always @pink-akuma-watching-in-queer @warishellgetusedtoit @konaizumi @mark-zone @froggychairr @elnotwoods @ahysopae @ataleofthousandstars @sunsetandthemoon @aheartandashirt

[bowiebwe-blog]

Bowie’s Favorite Albums of 2017 Big List! (Intro, #60-41)

Alright! One of my favorite times of the year is actually this list haha. It’s when I finally get to unleash on the world some of my collected thoughts on what came out in the music world this year, and there are a lot of them! I used to just post this list on Facebook in previous years, but this year’s list is a whole new monster. A monster waaaayyy too big for Facebook.

Out of all the years in my life, 2017 was probably my favorite year in music so far (2013 taking 2nd place). Maybe that’s just because I’ve become more invested in it since years past, but either way, it blew me away. I knew last year about some of the big names preparing for releases this year (Eminem, Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Taylor Swift, etc.), so of course expectations were high, but those got beat! And I’m lovin’ it! SUCH A GOOD YEAR IN MUSIC!! And my band released our first EP earlier this year too, but out of fairness and all that jazz that won’t be included on here. But hey, I’m a fan ;)

So here I’ve got my top-60 favorite albums of 2017. I listened to around 65 or so new albums this year, but some honestly weren’t good enough to be included and sixty’s a nice, pleasant number haha. Please understand that these are my OPINIONS, so even if it sounds like I’m saying something that could be taken as a fact, like, “this album is amazing,” it’s really not a fact at all. I believe that there really aren’t definitive answers for music. It’s all about how it hits us individually. To say a song is or isn’t great as a fact is kinda dumb. The closest guide I use is what I once heard John Mayer say, which is “the public is never wrong.” And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

So here I’m going to give you the album artist and title, my thoughts on the release, and a few (or one, or whatever I feel like, dang it) of my favorite songs from the album. Just because I like them doesn’t necessarily mean I’d recommend them though. We’re all different, and I try to make my recommendations very personalized. So take a quick look, read every word, skip to number one, or whatever you’d like. It’s all here for you. Enjoy!

———-

Honorable Mention:

Coldplay - Kaleidoscope EP

The only reason this isn’t on the main list is because it’s not actually a full-scale “album.” That’s. It. Coldplay still consistently makes some of the best music out there today (the public is never wrong), and this EP is full of solid songs. Well, besides the live version of “Something Just Like This,” I just don’t feel like that was necessary here and takes away from the cohesiveness of the EP. But the rest of the songs push Coldplay’s songwriting to new limits, seeing how far they can stretch it without losing who they are at heart. “Aliens” might just be their most experimental song to date, “All I Can Think About Is You” feels like the beautiful love child of “Atlas” and their old “Blue Room EP,” and “Hypnotized” I’ll be babbling about later. Great EP.

*All I Can Think About Is You, Hypnotized

——–

60. Julien Baker - Turn Out The Lights

I was intrigued to listen to this one after hearing her debut album a while back, but it’s not an album to lose any sleep over. Most every song uses similar guitar tones, effects, and patterns on top of repetitive singing tones and patterns. It’s one of those albums I wouldn’t mind just having in the background of a chill session (is that a thing?) for a little bit, but that’s about it for me.

*Claws In Your Back

——

59. Kesha - Rainbow

Good album, not great. Somehow it creaked into Rolling Stone’s top-10, but hey, to each their own haha. Kesha went out and made a very self-empowering album here, and she very clearly states she’s done takin’ y'all’s crap. It has it’s very cool moments (“Praying”), and very possibly the most charming song of the year (“Godzilla”), but it’s just a “good” album to me.

*Praying, Godzilla, Old Flames

—

58. Migos - Culture

Maybe this album will grow on me, buuuut I’m not there yet haha. It’s not a bad album, I just don’t get all the hype that’s been around it. But like I said, maybe I will someday. There are interesting ideas and concepts in here, and definitely some interesting uses of onomatopoeia (never predicted I’d use that word on this list) though, and it makes it an album to at least check out. I don’t see this album changing rap forever like some have claimed, but it is interesting.

*Big On Big, Slippery

—

57. AJR - The Click

Ya know, this album gets a lot better when I forget about the hat. AJR are an interesting band. They’re part of that new generation/movement that has access to an incredible amount of digital sounds and decides to use a very high, diverse selection of them. I mean, Native Instruments might as well sponsor these guys at this point with how often they show off their Maschine and all the sounds the got from it during their live shows. So it’s an interesting album. But it’s also pretty good. Not all great, but mostly “good.” Think Twenty One Pilots’ little eccentric cousin. I dunno. It’s good haha. Definitely a bit fascinating to listen to for the production choices if not much else. And they use an overture, which I actually really dig. Definitely one of the harder albums here to wrap your mind around, for better or worse.

*Overture, The Good Part

—

56. Phoenix - Ti Amo

I just found out Phoenix is from France. Huh. Anyway, Phoenix has built a reputation as being a consistently solod alternative band. They go for a bit of a change of sound this time around, and it makes me kinda think of an 80’s high school dance -type thing. But they do it really well, and even though that was probably a terrible comparison, it does sound modern and groovey. Definitely a much more colorful, bright album than their previous albums. Phoenix just makes good albums.

*Fior Di Latte, Ti Amo, Tuttifrutti

—

55. Margo Price - All American Made

I checked this album out because Rolling Stone named it their #1 country album of the year, and though I don’t quiiiite agree with that placement, I’m glad I did. Simple, genuine, charming. Definitely an honest album from the artist, and it gives a good insight on her views on some of the social issues out there today. And in a world that’s losing that “old country” feel, albums like this keep it alive, and it’s a beautiful thing.

*Learning to Lose

——

54. Maroon 5 - Red Pill Blues

2017. This album in one word. There’s been a lot of distaste by listeners for Maroon 5 over the past few years because of their draw towards pop trendiness instead of the way they used to be in the early 00’s, and I can’t say I blame ‘em, but Maroon 5 is still Maroon 5, and you can’t get as big as they are without making at least “pretty good” music. (What a big run-on sentence.) I mean, you can still occasionally hear the old Maroon 5 somewhere deep in here but it’s too often buried beneath the biggest sounds and trends of 2017, and that really does detract from the heart of everything. But still, the album has it’s good moments and is generally enjoyable. Definitely not their best, but it’s still a decent pop album.

*Denim Jacket, Lips On You

—

53. Andy Grammer - The Good Parts

Alright, we’ve all heard Andy Grammer on the radio before, and that’s pretty much what you get. No big changes or evolutions, no big surprises, but you get an enjoyable, radio-factory, cookie-cutter pop album. Basically like any AG album haha. He follows the national trend with this one and has gone more electronic and all that, and that’s as new as you’ll get, but he still does those feel-good vibes probably better than anyone else on pop radio these days (and I actually believe him). I wish he’d sometimes take a step back from overreaching for a catch at the expense of an emotional center (I’m looking at you, “The Good Parts”), but I still enjoyed listening to this one.

*Fresh Eyes, Workin On It

—–

52. The War On Drugs - A Deeper Understanding

Nah, I get it. I really do. Some people adore this album and it’s near the top of their “Best of 2017” lists. But I don’t quite feel it as much. Probably the main issue I’ve got with it is that it’s just. too. long. The average song on here is six minutes long. For me, I don’t mind long songs at any given time if there’s some sort of change in them, something that expands its reach and says something else within that spectrum (Green Day’s “Jesus Of Suburbia” comes to mind). These songs sometimes just kinda feel like they take forever to say what they need to say. So it’s hard to sit down with this album and thoroughly enjoy it without checking my watch, but the songs themselves are good songs I wouldn’t mind having shuffled in my playlists on occasion. Despite its length and lack of strong melodies, it is a well-made album and worthy of the praise it’s gotten, but it just doesn’t click with me super well.

*Pain

—

51. Zac Brown Band - Welcome Home

If you know Zac Brown Band, you know what you’re getting here. If not, this is another upbeat, fun, warm album from one of the best country groups out there today. Not really anything suprising here or any big changes of formula from the usual ZBB, but it’s still a very enjoyable album to just throw on and have a good day to.

*Long Haul, All The Best

—

50. Prophets Of Rage - Prophets Of Rage

You think these guys voted democrat?

I’m a huge Rage Against The Machine fan, so I was pretty excited when I heard about these guys coming together to form this project. It’s a hard-hitting, no punches pulled, fists in the air, solid rap/rock album. Just be prepared to deal with strong opinions, because pretty much every track on this album is exactly that. It’s pure disruption. These guys do what they do very well though, and no matter your social stances, it’s a fun time getting into. (Please note though, the songs I chose for this album are purely based off musical preferences.)

*Living On The 110, Hail To The Chief

—–

49. William Patrick Corgan - Ogilala

“William *Patrick* Corgan.” This is not the same Willy/Billy I’ve ever heard haha. No more of The Smashing Pumpkins’ grungey guitars or hard-hitting drums here. No more drums here. He took a huge step back here and made a true solo album that is primarily just piano and guitar, and it actually makes his songwriting glow a bit. It’s probably the simplest album on this list, and it’s kind of refreshing to listen to at times. Solid effort, Willy/Billy. Solid effort.

*Aeronaut

—-

48. Mansionz - Mansionz

If you haven’t listened to this just because of the cover art, I can’t say I blame you haha. These guys (Mike Posner and Blackbear, actually really good artists) are throwing all popular opinions and expectations out the window and making sure you know it. Seems like they literally just got together, said “**** it, let’s make a crazy album,” and did it. But here’s the shocking thing, is it’s actually pretty good. Not all of it was all that great, but it’s mostly an enjoyable experience. Mike Posner is also one of the artists out there I’m most fascinated by these days (“I’m Thinking About Horses”), and it’s interesting to see what these two guys made together.

*I’m Thinking About Horses, Rich White Girls, White Linen

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47. Linkin Park - One More Light

It’d be really easy to write a glowing opinion on this one because of what happened with Linkin Park this year, but I’m going to try to drop all sentimentality for a sec. Linkin Park went pop here. Though not to the levels of Chainsmokers or whatever, that’s what they did. These artists who are filled up with so much fire and rage in their youth grow up, and if they’re being honest their music grows up with them, which usually means it mellows out at least a bit (look at Eminem). So pop seems like it was just the place where what they were feeling and wanted to express happened to fit at the moment. WHICH IS TOTALLY FINE. And it breaks my heart now like it broke my heart when this album came out that a lot of their fans don’t seem to understand that. Or probably moreso. Linkin Park made a really good album here, but rather than supporting the band at heart and looking at this album for what it really is, a lot of their fans supported their own idea of what they wanted to the band to be instead and ripped on this one, which makes me really sad. It’s a good album. Sure, I definitely wouldn’t grade it anywhere near as high as “Hybrid Theory,” but Linkin Park are still Linkin Park here, and Linkin Park makes dang good music. If this is going to be Linkin Park’s last album, they ended on a different, but strong note.

*Good Goodbye, One More Light, Sorry For Now

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46. Rise Against - Wolves

Well, they’re not exactly trying to make an “Abbey Road” here or anything like that, but I do love me some Rise Against! Rise Against is one of those bands that has a formula for themseleves that works and that they do very well, and they stick to it rather than try to re-create themselves all the time. But hey, that’s perfectly fine by me. There will always be a nice spot on my lifting playlists for their songs. And, “if it ain’t broke…”

*Wolves, Miracle

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45. Beck - Colors

Considering the tone of Beck’s previous album, the excellent “Morning Phase,” this one was a bit of a surprise. He got a lot groovier, and I dig it. It’s a very bright, fun album. Definitely more reliant on synthetic sounds this time around, but that’s not a bad thing. Beck’s still out there making great albums.

*Seventh Heaven, Up All Night

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44. Russ - There’s Really A Wolf

Russ is an intriguing guy. This isn’t some amazing, instant-standout rap album. But! It is a good rap album. And Russ strikes me as a guy who has worked his butt off to get where he is and who will continue to work his butt off to get where he wants to be. It feels like the beginning of something. Will he get hits later and make it to arenas? I dunno. He writes, produces, mixes and engineers all of his songs himself though, and that is enough to impress me with the level these songs are at. It’s a promising start to his mainstream career.

*There’s Really A Wolf, Pull The Trigger

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43. The National - Sleep Well Beast

This album feels kinda like taking a warm bath. It’s nice and relaxing, but not quite “hot,” you know? But don’t get me wrong, it is definitely a good album. There aren’t really many standout songs, or any that stand out significantly to me, but the album as a whole is the kind of solid piece of art we’ve come to know and love from The National. I’d recommend playing it in the background of a chill night.

*Carin At The Liquor Store, Dark Side Of The Gym

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42. The Chainsmokers - Memories… Do Not Open

Love 'em or hate 'em, there’s no denying The Chainsmokers are good at what they do, which is making hits. If you want 2017 pop radio summed up in an album, this would probably be a decent one to pick. They’ve got catchy choruses, big drops, the works. It’s not exactly a Da Vinci of an album, but hey, I enjoy dipping my feet in it on rare occasion.

*Something Just Like This, Paris

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41. St. Vincent - Masseduction

Yeah, no, this is a pretty dang good alternative album. Definitely not the usual album out that’s out there. Has it’s own vibe going. Kinda strange (not in a bad way), and kinda empowering. It’s not *all* my cup of tea, but there are some really good songs on here (“Los Ageless”) for sure. This is the first St. Vincent album I’ve listened to and it’s good enough for me to want to keeo checking out more of them. So even though it’s not quite all the way up my alley, I can see why it’s held in such high regard.

-Slow Disco, Los Ageless

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