#did i have to include fresh prince lyrics?

[jokeroutsubs]

[ENG TRANSLATION] JOKER OUT: THE PRINCES OF ROCK'N'ROLL WITH THEIR OWN LIBRARY

Original article written by Anja Leskovar for Ljubljana.si. for their December 2021 issue. English translation by @varianestoroff and drumbeat, proofread by @flowerlotus8

Even if you don't know their names and faces (unlike many young people), you must have heard of Joker Out. Kris, Bojan, Jure, Martin and Jan proved with their fresh first album 'Umazane misli', released this autumn, that they're rightfully one of the hottest musicians at the moment. And it's worth listening to them, as, behind the handsome looks, there are interesting guys making good music with very juicy subjects. And they're only in their twenties!

It was difficult to arrange an appointment as you were quite ill. Did recording the album tire you?

Yes, it was an adrenaline rush. But we were driven by excitement, we really lived for the album this autumn, or else everything would've sunk. We wanted to perform really bad!

When they comissioned me this interview, I knew the band name, but I didn't know who you were. But when I played your music, I found out that I knew it well, I even know most of the lyrics by heart! Is it more important to you that people know your music than you?

Yes, that's something a musician can only wish for. It's important that you like music for music's sake, not for the musician. For us, music comes first, then showbiz.

How nice do you find it that your audience includes not only enthusiastic girls, but also boys, older people...? So is music the reason why someone goes to a concert?

It's very important to us that we're seen not only as pretty faces, but also as a good band. A very clear indicator that we're managing to do that is the diverse audience in front of our stage. But also the girls who come to the gig (also) to see us, they know how to recognise good music and they're quality audience. That can go hand in hand! For us, everything starts and ends with good music. That's the most important thing.

And this commitment is recognisable in your music. It's just interestingly fresh. I hear classic rock in some parts, indie pop in others, funk in others. Do I hear it right?

Yes, of course. When we were kids, we all listened to Big Foot Mama, Green Day and Siddharta, then we started to discover different genres. Now we all listen to very different music. But we don't deliberately take inspiration from any music.

And it shows. I find your music quite unique, it's hard to pigeonhole it.

Thank you, it seems the same to us. It's hard to find references to our music in other music. We say we play shagadelic rock. We're just big Austin Powers fans. His catchphrase is: "Shagadelic baby, yeah!" His 'mojo' (A/N charm, allure) is just cool to us. And in fact we feel like we have that 'mojo' too, we want to display it, we want the listeners to feel that we're comfortable in our own skin. Especially when there are concerts, the 'mojo' just bursts out of us. (everyone laughs loudly) Every time we have a concert, we feel like we're going to a party. That's also why it's really important to play live. Without this, we probably wouldn't be making music. It gives us energy.

With four guitars and drums, you are proving that rock'n'roll isn't dead. How alive is it on the Ljubljana scene?

Of course it isn't dead, it's still very alive. When we were teenagers going to clubs, they were playing anything but rock. But when people get used to it, music that sounds very different attracts them. Ljubljana has a very active rock scene, and Slovenia has excellent conditions for the growth of rock'n'roll. There are a lot of places to play, a lot of competitions for young musicians and alternative clubs with an audience to grow on.

Do you prefer intimate or big concerts?

We do great on big stages, although we've done a great gig in front of three people. But in Slovenia you reach the plateau too quickly. If you reach Stožice right away, then where do you go?

Abroad.

Yes, well, that's our goal, of course. But at the moment we're looking forward to the concert in Križanke. There's no distractions, you know you're going there for a good concert. Križanke has a special aesthetic and character that means a lot to us. And you can't just decide to do a concert in Križanke. They must accept you there. So that's a very great honor for us.

As the venue is important for a good concert, the rehearsal space is probably important too. For example, is rehearsing in a bunker more conducive to harder music than rehearsing in a sexy, neat space?

Yes, absolutely. Above all, it must be a relaxing space, one that you can spend a lot of time in and that the vibe there is good. We've rehearsed in a lot of places so far, and every time you walk in, you can see if it's working for you or not. But until you play, you don't know if it's close to you in terms of creativity or not.

Have you found your new rehearsal space yet?

We have, but we're not saying where. (they smile mysteriously) We found a place we like so much, that we decided to turn it into a second home. It'll have its own 'mojo' that matches ours. It'll be truly magical! There'll be lots of wood, and we'll also have a library.

Yes, that, books! 30 years ago, we teenagers followed boybands of all genres, and the boys were usually extremely cute, even to the extent of wrapping our school notebooks in their posters. But there's more behind your cuteness. You're into cool stuff, you read interesting literature, you study...

Jure: I don't read enough, I'm not very good with words, I don't even listen to our lyrics. I listen to the mix, to the musical melodies. I mean, I'm a cameraman, but for me, music comes first. Period.

Martin: I study Maths and Computer Science and also make a living from that knowledge. Lately I've been reading a lot, and I'm very interested in Stoic philosophy.

Kris: Well, I'm interested in German philosophers, like Hannah Arendt and Nietzsche. I'm finishing my degree in Chemical Engineering.

Bojan: I mainly study TikTok these days (laughs). It's quite banal and doesn't fit with our philosophy in general. But Jan started making really sick content that's suitable for this format and we'll start publishing it soon. Anyway, I'm finishing my degree in Sociology and I've been drawn to Haruki Murakami and Arto Paasilinna literary lately.

Jan: I'm an expert at half-reading books, the last one I read was Slaughterhouse-Five (by Kurt Vonnegut, A/N). I don't even know why I half-read them, probably because so many things steal my attention that I must try very hard to finish something. I have a problem with that, also for films.

What are you not half doing?

Jan: Music. I'm literally addicted to different types of music. I always listen to albums all the way through. I definitely listen to at least one every day. And I'm very happy learning to play new instruments. I love all things that make sound.

Let's say kitchen pots and lids?

Jan: (laughs) Also, indeed. I like cooking, I'm now exploring Thai and Chinese food.

Kris: And he makes superb onion and potato hash!

And do you like to explore the world?

Yes, everyone. We're in dire need. Our schedule is so unpredictable and events are so scattered throughout the year that most of us have not been anywhere for years, not even at sea. It's great when there are concerts, but we're missing going somewhere. Yes, to make an album also means a lot to sacrifice.

Where do you like to hang out in Ljubljana?

In many places. (they answer in harmony)

Kris: Metelkova is great. I think it's too underrated and has a wrongful negative reputation. That's also why it is the way it is.

Bojan: There's a really chill vibe in Gala Hala. I really like going unplanned to a gallery or museum. You don't go purposefully, you walk around, you observe. It's always cool. I meet people with a completely different background and you start thinking in a different way. Inspiring.

You are five in a bunch with very different characters. How do you manage to exist side by side?

Above all, there shouldn't be perfect democracy within the band. There's no need for one person to be the leader of everything. But someone must have the final say in a certain field; one in the creative one, one in the technical one, one in the financial one. And they have the last word and they're also accountable. Otherwise, we're good friends, we go everywhere together rather than forcibly apart.

How do you differ from the bands that were relevant 30 years ago?

They were much more put into boxes. They had to be already well-established to dare afford a musical journey into the unknown. We, on this album, already combined styles in a completely pressure-less way. Genres don't really exist anymore, everything is merged, mixed, everything is accepted. We live in a big melting pot. For us, energy is more important than a fixed image!

Joker Out are (from left to right) Kris Guštin - guitar, Martin Jurkovič - bass, Bojan Cvjetičanin - voice, Jan Peteh - guitar, Jure Maček - drums

December 2021

[writingsonsaturn]

: ̗̀➛ the 'taylor swift' series

𖡎 description - this series will be based off of taylor swift songs, every song will have it's own fic inspired by the songs title and or inspired by lyrics. some songs ive decided not to add to this series out of respect as well as it would not feel right to include.

disclaimer - all songs and song titles belong to taylor swift, all rights to these songs belong to her.

⚘ = fluff | ✤ = smut | ֎ = angst

+:ꔫ:﹤+:ꔫ:﹤+:ꔫ:﹤+:ꔫ:﹤+:ꔫ:﹤+:ꔫ:﹤+:ꔫ:﹤+:ꔫ:﹤+:ꔫ:﹤+:ꔫ:

The Tortured Poets Department

- fortnight

- ֎ the tortured poets department (spencer reid)

↪ spencer breaks up with you out of no where

- my boy only breaks his favorite toys

- ⚘ down bad (jensen ackles)

↪ jensen trys to comfort you after a break up (daughter!reader)

- so long, london

- but daddy i love him

- fresh out the slammer

- florida!!!

- guilty as sin?

- whos afraid of little old me?

- i can fix him (no really i can)

- loml

- i can do it with a broken heart

- the smallest man who ever lived

- the alchemy

- clara bow

- the black dog

- imgonnagetyouback

- the albatross

- chloe or sam or sophia or marcus

- how did it end?

- so high school

- i hate it here

- thank you aimee

- i look in peoples windows

- the prophecy

- cassandra

- peter

- the bolter

- robin

- the manuscript

Midnights

- lavender haze

- maroon

- anti-hero

- snow on the beach

- you're on your own, kid

- midnight rain

- question...?

- vigilante shit

- bejeweled

- labyrinth

- karma

- sweet nothing

- mastermind

- the great war

- bigger than the whole sky

- paris

- high infidelity

- glitch

- would've, could've, should've

- dear reader

- hits different

- you're losing me

evermore

- willow

- champagne problems

- gold rush

- 'tis the damn season

- tolerate it

- no body, no crime

- happiness

- dorothea

- coney island

- ivy

- cowboy like me

- long story short

- closure

- evermore

- right where you left me

- it's time to go

folklore

- the 1

- cardigan

- the last great american dynasty

- exile

- my tears ricochet

- mirrorball

- seven

- august

- this is me trying

- illicit affairs

- invisible string

- mad woman

- epiphany

- betty

- peace

- hoax

- the lakes

- carolina

Lover

- i forgot that you existed

- cruel summer

- lover

- the man

- the archer

- i think he knows

- miss americana & the heartbreak prince

- paper rings

- cornelia street

- death by a thousand cuts

- london boy

- false god

- you need to calm down

- afterglow

- me!

- it's nice to have a friend

- daylight

- ⚘ all of the girls you've loved before (tim bradford)

↪ you were always who tim wanted

reputation

- ...ready for it?

- endgame

- i did something bad

- don't blame me

- delicate

- look what you made me do

- so it goes...

- gorgeous

- getaway car

- king of my heart

- dancing with our hands tied

- dress

- this is why we can't have nice things

- call it what you want

- new year's day

- i don't wanna live forever

1989

- welcome to new york

- blank space

- style

- out of the woods

- all you had to do was stay

- shake it off

- i wish you would

- bad blood

- wildest dreams

- how you get the girl

- this love

- i know places

- clean

- wonderland

- you are in love

- new romantics

- "slut!"

- say don't go

- now that we don't talk

- suburban legends

- is it over now?

- sweeter than fiction

RED

- state of grace

- red

- treacherous

- i knew you were trouble

- all too well

- 22

- i almost do

- we are never ever getting back together

- stay stay stay

- the last time

- holy ground

- sad beautiful tragic

- the lucky one

- everything has changed

- starlight

- begin again

- the moment i knew

- come back... be here

- girl at home

- better man

- nothing new

- babe

- message in a bottle

- forever winter

- run

- the very first night

- all too well (10 min)

- safe & sound

- eyes open

Speak Now

- mine

- sparks fly

- back to december

- speak now

- dear john

- mean

- the story of us

- never grow up

- enchanted

- better than revenge

- innocent

- last kiss

- haunted

- long live

- ours

- superman

- electric touch

- when emma falls in love

- i can see you

- castles crumbling

- foolish one

- timeless

Fearless

- fearless

- fifteen

- love story

- hey stephen

- white horse

- you belong with me

- breathe

- tell my why

- you're not sorry

- the way i loved you

- forever & always

- the best day

- change

- jump then fall

- untouchable

- come in with the rain

- superstar

- the other side of the door

- today was a fairytale

- you all over me

- mr. perfectly fine

- we were happy

- that's when

- don't you

- bye bye baby

- if this was a movie

Taylor Swift

- tim mcgraw

- picture to burn

- teardrops on my guitar

- a place in this world

- cold as you

- the outside

- tied together with a smile

- stay beautiful

- should've said no

- mary's song (oh my my my)

- our song

- im only me when im with you

- invisible

- a perfectly good heart

Bonus

- christmas tree farm

[piratefalls]

a bonus list! for the longest time i did not read wips because it seemed like the second i hit subscribe they stopped updating, but! this fandom has, for the millionth time, awakened something in me, so here's a super delayed wip wednesday in which i tell you the wips i've been following and enjoying.

masterlist.

(make me) misbehave by r_holland

Alex Claremont-Diaz has done it again. The Texas-born singer-songwriter released his fourth studio album second skin Thursday at midnight. Full of Claremont-Diaz’s signature lyricism, critics are praising the album for the cohesive image it paints. second skin is the result of a young writer at the top of his game, and every lyric depicts for the listener a picture of a sun-drenched secret romance. Fans are clamoring to be the first to uncover the mystery girl at the center of it all, although Claremont-Diaz remains tight-lipped on the subject… *** Or: Alex Claremont-Diaz is a singer-songwriter rising up in the music industry. Henry Fox is the shining star of an acting empire. This is a love story.

A Man Born To Lead A Nation by BisexualChaosDemon

Henry was born to be a spare. A spare of a spare, in fact. He would never need to wear the Crown, so he was allowed to build his life with Alex in the States. New York, Texas, marriage and soon maybe kids, it is everything Henry throught he would never have and better than he could have ever dreamed. But, what will happen when Philip tells them he won't take the Throne after Catherine and the line of succession ends up in tatters?

Binary Light by Leaves_of_Laurelin

In the sci-fi smash-hit movie Binary Light, Dev Creehil (played by Alex Claremont-Diaz) and Qindeli (played by Henry Fox) go from enemies to reluctant allies to friends. While a legion of on-line fans believe that arc should have included a ‘to lovers’ at the end, the behind the scenes truth is that the lead actors stayed firmly enemies to enemies throughout filming. Fresh off a brutal breakup, Alex is back for the sequel and back to dealing with Henry—the asshole Hollywood nepo baby who has failed to conceal his disdain for Alex ever since their first chemistry read. In the script the shippers will finally be getting what they’ve always wanted, but, as some of Henry’s ice begins to thaw, what Alex wants has become decidedly more confusing.

Burning Love by absoluteaudacity

“You’re such a wanker,” Henry says emphatically, but there’s no heat in it. “You love me,” Alex counters, because Henry does and he knows it, but Henry makes sure to roll his eyes anyway so Alex’s already impressive ego doesn’t get too much bigger. -- The Ignite My Heart sequel

Every Time My Heart Swings Back to You by TheLastKnownSurvivor

"Promise me," James says, gaze firm as he looks into Gabriel's eyes. "Promise me. Let's meet again." Hundreds of years ago, Prince James and Sir Gabriel fell in love following several chance encounters despite their very different stations in life. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the two star-crossed lovers met a tragic end due to the anti-sodomy laws of the time, desperately wishing for the chance to meet once more. In the modern day, Alex and Henry are college students who have been haunted by mysterious visions for years. Despite a poor first meeting, the two are inexplicably drawn to each other and the visions grow in number and intensity. Slowly, they try to piece together the story and discover it is that of their past lives. Yet the question remains as to whether it's a past worth remembering and if they can disentangle themselves from the tragedy in this life.

Heist Society by OrchidScript

“Don’t sound too giddy, sweetheart,” Alex answered. They turned a corner up onto Fifth and descended the first set of stairs down onto the F line, the bright orange bubble a welcome sight. “I have half a mind to put your hands in cuffs where I can see them before letting you into that store.” “That threat is more tired with every turn, Alex.” Henry followed, hands in his pockets and a half step behind. “You know as well as I do that diamonds don’t interest me.” “But they are a girl’s best friend.” “If Marilyn is to be believed,” Henry hummed. “I also hear gentlemen prefer blondes.” “You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Alex rolled his eyes. ____________________________________________________________ After two months of proving their partnership's value, Alex and Henry are asked to consult on a jewel heist by Alex's mentor, Rafael Luna. Facing unfamiliar territory and a questionable undercover plan, will their effort make or break their burgeoning relationship -- or turn it in a new direction entirely? Part of the Portrait of a Thief series

Ho, Then Make It Fashion by TuppingLiberty

Alex is an in-demand model who has been modeling since his teens. He knows how to use his body, he knows how to wear clothes. But he has barely any time for friends or anything else. He and Henry cross paths a different way, but still end up in the same place. ;)

my every road leads to you (it's to you, i'll always belong) by blackrose1002

Right there, on the other side of the room, sipping something that looks like gin and tonic, watching the room just as discreetly as Alex, is an MI6 agent. One that Alex last saw about a year ago, during a mission in Madrid – a mission Alex would very much like to forget. Henry Monte Cristo fucking something. The ridiculously attractive British spy that screwed Alex over so spectacularly he thought both Zahra and his mother were going to kill him. (Or the one where agent Alex Claremont-Diaz needs to work with agent Henry Mountchristen-Fox, but there's just one little problem. Alex can't fucking stand him.)

Salt Follows the Moon by Pondermoniums

Vampires exist, and it's no secret. What is a secret, is that Henry Hanover-Stuart Windsor needs a blood donor. Alex Claremont-Diaz just can't leave well enough alone.

Rule Britannia by DuchessdePolignac

“Understand what? Are you anticipating there being an interview question on the number of men Prince Henry has gone out with since he came out? Or do you think the Ambassador is going to ask you questions like, ‘Hey, Alex, why do you think he’s such a serial dater who can’t keep a relationship? Do you think he cheated on his age-appropriate hunky Brazilian boyfriend with that sixty year old oil tycoon with a face like raw leather? Is he a greedy gold digger or does he just have questionable taste?” ** Philip is King and Prince Henry is living his best, openly gay, tabloid-fodder life. But something doesn't feel right to Alex about the progressive fantasy the Hanover-Stuart-Fox's are selling. Or: where Henry is a political courtesan fucking for King and Country, and Alex is the diplomat who foolishly and earnestly falls in love with him. Can Alex understand Henry's motivations, and can he live with the reality of being in love with a high-power courtesan with dangerous clientele? Or: A long and long-winded meditation on sex and power, and power and sex.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue by anincompletelist

When June gets engaged, Alex, her brother, and Henry, her best friend, are asked to be the official Guys Of Honor. There’s a month to plan the whole thing, which would be near impossible anyway, only made worse by the fact that being around each other the last several years has only ever led to petty fights and useless competition. Unfortunately, as the two most important men in her life - aside from her fiancé - they don’t really have much of a choice. Alex has a lot of feelings about this. As it turns out, Henry does too.

The Haunting of Cursed Hearts by wordscavenger

Moving to a new city can be difficult. Moving to a new city known for its tragic history involving witchcraft and murder can sometimes involve more difficulties than one bargains for. When Alex takes a job in Salem, Massachusetts to teach law classes at a local university, he ends up renting a room above a lovely little bookstore run by his very handsome, and very British, landlord. The more time he spends in this quaint New England town that is more popular than he had ever realized, and the deeper he gets into its haunting season, the more he can’t help falling for the secretive man with a sweet little dog and even sweeter kisses. If only a centuries old curse wasn’t hell-bent on keeping the two apart. -- Or, a cozy seasonal supernatural mystery about new beginnings, falling in love, and learning that magic may be more real than one would think.

The Story of Us by princebutt

Henry Fox is only attending this American football game as a PR stunt. That's all it is. He's definitely not fatally attracted to the brash quarterback Alex Claremont-Diaz who had the audacity to publicly call him out for not taking his number at a concert... that would be absolutely idiotic of him.

as always, if you want to be tagged in the future just let me know! i am uncomfortable taking tagging liberties - especially if we have never interacted - because i am horrifically shy lol.

[im-a-king-baby]

I am re-reading ELYN now, so I will ask for some insights soon with a fresh memory 😊

But for now, maybe I can send you a flower ?

🌺

Hi!! I hope you enjoyed reading it again!

Here is an epistolary section that never made it into the fic (I had a few spares, just in case 😄):

PopIdolLive shares TEN Fun Facts about Simme to celebrate the And The Next World Tour announcement!!!

Simme is Swedish and Venezuelan. His dad was Swedish but moved to Venezuela where he met Simme’s Mom and they had two kids before moving back to Sweden when Simme was ~3. Simme has credited his Mom’s insistence that they spoke Spanish at home as how he managed to keep the language!

His first ever single Como Este had a mix of Spanish and English lyrics and that blend has continued across three albums, but fans are still waiting for Simme to record a song in Swedish. Simme has blamed this on a lack of Swedish songwriters in L.A. (sad, but true!)

During Simme’s first tour (the Chaos tour!) his crew had an in-joke called ‘Stop! Hammer time!’ where they had to stop at any hardware store they passed on the road and buy a hammer. When the tour split into two buses it became a competition to find the most interesting novelty hammer and they started signing them and giving them to fans at stage door when the buses ran out of hammer space! (eventually this stopped when the label lawyers found out and got scared about liability)

Also on the Chaos Tour, since they didn't have a set tour schedule the merch t-shirts were left blank on the back and the crew would write on wherever they played each day making each one a collectors item (The rarest is the single one for 'Jimmy's House' which has never been sold, but signed shirts from 'LaGuardia Airport Lounge' and 'A Starbucks in Leeds' have hit five figures at auction!)

Simme wore a silver bracelet throughout the Honesty tour which he hasn’t confirmed was a gift from the Voice 2024 runner-up Alfonso Perez but it did appear shortly after they were seated together at multiple events and a photo leaked of them having an intimate kiss in a limo driving away from the AMAs.

Speaking of romantic entanglements, Simme attended a prestigious Swedish boarding school where he dated the Crown Prince of Sweden for nearly three years! They looked adorable together, but broke up after graduation so that the Prince could go into the army and Simme could move to L.A to pursue music.

It has been Noted by the fans that Simme gets less dressed on each album (a jacket on Simme, an unbuttoned shirt on HH, shirtless on ATN.) There is a running fan theory that album 4 which the fans have dubbed ‘the CENSORED album’ will feature Simme fully naked (with the title covering up enough to keep it decent!) staring at the camera.

And if the idea of fans naming albums feels unlikely, we have precedent! In an interview during the Honesty, Honestly press tour the interviewer commented that Simme was released in December 2023, and HH was dropping just over a year later in January 2025, Simme grinned and said: ‘And the next March 26!’. The fans latched onto this, referring to album 3 as And The Next so consistently that it ended up being the name chosen for the album! (which actually came out in June 2026, so only a few months late!)

On the bridge of Relentless Simme names twenty five cities, all of which were visited during the Chaos Tour. When this song is performed live, Simme always includes the name of the city he's performing in on the list (except for Portland, when he got mixed up and said Atlanta instead! Oops!)

Simme returned to his home country of Sweden towards the end of the Chaos Tour, but was unable to play there when he was touring Honesty, Honestly due to scheduling conflicts with Stockholm venues (boo!). The current ATN tour schedule doesn't have Sweden dates listed but there's plenty of time for more countries to be announced so watch this space!!!

[frischkasekuchen]

Dreamtalia IT AU (IT!Reve x Seamstress!Reader(Concept))

Credits:

It by Stephen KIng

Dreamtalia + Reve by @/kyokyo866

Lyrics by Oktavia for The Tailor of Enbizaka (!!FLASH WARNING FOR PV!!)

Warnings:

Blood

Child death

Body Horror

Starring:

Fauchereve as IT/Pennywise

Reader as The Unfortunate Seamstress

(Author's Note: I felt obligated to write something for the IT AU because it's summer, so I put together an outline I daydreamed about at 4am while listening to a Vocaloid cover. I might want to revisit this story, but I feel like it should be a comic rather than a written piece. If I do write this properly, I still want it to be illustration heavy. With that said, please enjoy the products of my sleepy daydreams.)

The Tailor of Derry, Maine

The year is 2016, Halloween is coming soon, with it being late September. A starving artist young seamstress has moved to Derry, Maine and opened a one-room tailor shop. With the spooky season coming around, they’ve been working on costumes (including their own) for Halloween. 

By October, children begin to disappear (Word is last night a crime occurred, wonder what it was?), and the seamstress gains a loyal patron in the form of IT!Reve. He visits their shop on a near-daily basis, having them mend and wash putrid smelling children’s clothes.The seamstress begins to worry when they recognize some of the missing children’s clothing…and really bloody clothing (I seat the kimono and sew freshly fixed clothes.) . Reve always seems to be around kids before they go missing (Who might she be, the lady I see standing at your side?)… They don’t confront Reve, with him being cordial and being their cash-cow (But as always, “Concentrate” I say and stay working/Scissors clutched tightly as I cut deep into the deed.). 

On Halloween, things get fucked.

The seamstress tailored Utena’s uniform, but couldn’t find the time to put together the princely decor (shoulder pads, brooch thingy). Reve has them close their eyes and he does some Anthy-magic to get ‘em dripped out. When they ask him how he did that, he brushes off his eldritch powers  talents with “A magician never reveals his secrets.”  Reve offhandedly mentions that he seems to have a ‘thing’ for artistic types.

After participating in a Halloween event at Derry Elementary, the seamstress bore witness to Reve…feeding in the form of the Kuchisake-onna (AREN’T I BEAUTIFUL?), using a familiar set of heavy-duty fabric scissors to finish them off (Sharpen them well and they’ll sweep cleaner to your needs.). Reve stares down the seamstress, and places a finger on its slit mouth as if to say “hush” , but it’s more like “I’m not in the mood to put down a witness.” The seamstress goes home quietly, in a daze.

When they open up shop the next day, they check their sewing kit for tampering.

They find their fabric scissors covered in fresh blood, fresh enough to wipe off with a tissue. Reve arrives at the shop, but the way he looks at them tells them that last night happened. The seamstress demands Reve to leave, as it is no longer welcome. When It refuses to leave, the seamstress charges at Reve with the scissors. Reve catches their armed hand by the wrist and shows them a sliver of the Deadlights. It counters that being nosy in Derry won’t end well, and that those bloody scissors don’t look too innocent. It insists that it would be best for everyone if the (mentally) scarred seamstress just carried on working as usual, and it promises to leave them off the buffet menu, so long as it’s allowed to continue its dealings with them. The seamstress relents after being shown what It ‘looks like’ and turns a blind-eye to disappearances after this encounter (How odd, were my scissors always covered in this color?/No concern, I must return to my hard work.)

There are alternate endings to this last encounter, but that’s either death or something worse.

[jules-has-notes]

collaboration spotlight — Disney Sessions — Aladdin

After their joyful collaboration with the touring cast of Newsies in the spring, VoicePlay were invited to create some more arrangements as part of the Disney On Broadway 20th anniversary celebration. This time they teamed up with the stage cast of Aladdin.

Join the boys for a behind the scenes sneak peek into their writing process and a marathon filming day in New York's theater district, then watch the resulting videos below.

.

Some of the best villains are deceptive, even seductive, and more than a few lull their victims into complacency with song. Although Jafar's villain song was mostly an inversion of the hero song, the actor who played him for thirty years can certainly bring the perfectly tuned menace with the best of them.

Details:

title: Villains medley

performer: Jonathan Freeman

original songs / performers: [0:10] "Prince Ali (Reprise)" by Jonathan Freeman as Jafar in Aladdin; [0:44] "Poor Unfortunate Souls" by Pat Carroll as Ursula in The Little Mermaid; [1:18] "Cruella de Vil" by Bill Lee as Roger Radcliffe in 101 Dalmatians; [1:34] "Oogie Boogie's Song" by Ken Page as Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas; [2:12] "Prince Ali (Reprise)" coda

written by: "Prince Ali (Reprise)" by Alan Menken & Tim Rice; "Poor Unfortunate Souls" by Howard Ashman & Alan Menken; "Cruella De Vil" by George Bruns & Mel Leven; "Oogie Boogie’s Song" by Danny Elfman

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci

release date: 22 October 2015

My favorite bits:

Jonathan sounding just as fabulous and sinister as he did when I was a kid

the gentle call-and-response interjections from the backup singers "Suprise!" "Oh no!"

the singers getting offended at the trombone taking the melody for one bar

"Buh-bye."

Trivia:

Jonathan Freeman was the voice of Jafar in the original 1992 animated movie, and the only member of the voice cast to return for the Aladdin stage adaptation. He stayed with the show from its 2011 off-Broadway workshop in Seattle through its 2014 Broadway debut, and stayed until his retirement in January 2022.

VoicePlay had done their own full version of "Cruella de Vil" at the beginning of the year as part of the promotion for the Blu-ray release of 101 Dalmatians.

The guys included most of these songs in their own "Aca Top 10 — Disney Villains" medley a few years later.

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After playing a pair of strangers who meet and fall in love every night, these two talented folks got a chance to sing in the voices of an established couple looking further into the future.

Details:

title: Thinking Out Loud

performers: Courtney Reed & Adam Jacobs

original performer: Ed Sheeran

written by: Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci

release date: 5 November 2015

My favorite bits:

turning the song into a balanced duet so that both people involved have a voice in the narration

the relaxed jazzy tempo giving the lyrics a less urgent, more comfortable feel

Courtney booping Adam's nose

the harmonized riffing on ♫ "baby no-o-o-ow" ♫ in the bridge

Trivia:

Adam and Courtney originated their roles of Aladdin and Jasmine in the stage adaptation, begining with the off-Broadway workshop in Seattle and continuing to Broadway.

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Some performances can never be replicated, but a talented actor can make any role their own. James Monroe Iglehart didn't try to emulate Robin Williams. He took a fresh approach to the stage version of Genie while maintaining the character's core exuberence. This arrangement celebrates the best of both.

Details:

title: Genie's "Friend Like Me" remix

performer: James Monroe Iglehart

original performer: Robin Williams as the Genie in Aladdin (1992)

written by: Howard Ashman & Alan Menken

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci; original rap by James Monroe Iglehart

release date: 12 November 2015

My favorite bits:

the added syncopation on ♫ "brand of magic that never fails" ♫

James spitting bars

the conversational tone between James and the backup singers

going from a sustained high note to a low descending riff

Trivia:

James Monroe Iglehart originated the role of Genie in the off-Broadway workshop and Broadway production of Aladdin, and won a 2014 Tony Award for best featured actor in a musical. He left the show in 2017 to take over the role of Lafayette/Jefferson in Hamilton.

During filming, Layne didn't get to hear the direct audio feed, so he missed James's rap verse. When they got backstage, he took a chance to lay down a beat, and it paid off in the form of a private performance. It makes perfect sense that James is a member of Freestyle Love Supreme, along with several of his Hamilton costars.

A version of "Friend Like Me" was one of the earliest videos VoicePlay made for their own YouTube channel.

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You can't go wrong with a Sinatra tune for a jazzy cabaret setting. The thematic parallel between this classic invitation to adventure and "A Whole New World" was too good to reisist.

Details:

title: Come Fly With Me

performer: Adam Jacobs

original performer: Frank Sinatra

written by: composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Sammy Cahn

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci

release date: 19 November 2015

My favorite bits:

Adam's silky smooth timbre

♫ "he'll toot…" ♫ 🎺 ::toot:: 🎺 ♫ "…his flute for you" ♫

the lovely dance break with Courtney

his shoulder shake on ♫ "the angels cheer" ♫

Trivia:

After they left the New York production of Aladdin, Adam and Courtney both reprised their roles in the touring company. They later reunited again on the Broadway Princess Party tour.

Geoff was pretty excited about this particular song.

[cyarsk5230]

Comedy hip hop

Hip hop subgenre

Comedy hip hop or comedy rap is a subgenre of hip hop music designed to be amusing or comedic, compared to artists who incorporate humor into their more serious, purist hip hop styles.

Satirical hip hop is a variant of comedy hip hop done in a sarcastic, parodic, or deadpan way.

Other forms of comedy rap, such as meme rapand ironic rap, both known for their aggressive and dark comedic approaches, achieved some mainstream success during the 2000s and 2010s. Many examples of comedy hip hop are parodic.

Characteristics

Satirical hip hop may be a parody of the whole genre of hip hop and/or a form of critical music that uses hip-hop as a vehicle for satirical messages. Musical influence and scope vary, ranging from gangsta rap, mumble rap, trap rap to alternative hip hop. The more humorous satirical sub-genre meme rap was created with the intent of becoming viral. In the context of mumble rap, a satirical hip hop song might involve lo-fiproduction, use of personas/pseudonyms (e.g. George "Joji" Miller), simplistic music videos, lazy rhymes, and intentionally stereotypical lyrics/topics.

Origin

Satire and hip-hop have been intertwined since the Black Arts Movement period; hip-hop satire bridges popular culture forms like rap and experimental fictional forms while "exploring the complexities of Black American identity." Hip-hop culture has also been criticized in other media, such as Fear of a Black Hat (1993), a mockumentary focusing on hip-hop posturing;the Boondocks episode "The Story of Gangstalicious" (2005); and Spike Lee's Bamboozled (2000).

Before the darker themes that are characteristic of the gangsta rap of the 1990s, comedy hip hop, with its lighter and more humorous style, came to prominence in the 1980s, carried by popular acts such as the Beastie Boys.

In the post-2000s digital era, satirical rap, especially African-American satirical rap, retains a marginal status, because commenting on black cultural representations or moving away from performing black stereotypes that paradoxically cemented hip-hop's global status risks the possibility of an artist's commercial failure. Some who escaped this fate include the early-1990s alternative hip hop trio and progenitor of modern satirical rap De La Soul (e.g. their 1989 landmark album 3 Feet High and Rising, their record industry-critical 1991 album De La Soul Is Dead, and their 2012 song "Must B the Music") and Childish Gambino in the 2010s.

History and examples

1980s

Run-DMC's "Christmas in Hollis" from 1987 is comedy rap, as is DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's 1988 song "Parents Just Don't Understand". N.W.A and Ice Cube's early albums were not as comedic and lighthearted as the Fresh Prince's but did incorporate humor.

Various influential comedy hip hop groups began in the late 1980s, such as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, De La Soul, Kid 'n Play, Das EFX, and Fu-Schnickens.

1990s

"Weird Al" Yankovic has made parody tracks of popular hip hop songs since the 1990s including "Amish Paradise" and "White and Nerdy". Another early example is with Southern California-based rapper Afroman, with his two well-known tracks "Crazy Rap" and "Because I Got High," both released in 2001, which featured comedic lyrics.

Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, rappers including Eminem, Ludacris and Afroman gained popularity, as did rappers such as Hopsin.

2000s

The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio who released their first comedic rap song, Ka-Blamo!, in 2001. They rose to fame after joining Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 2005, where they made many satirical songs that they described as "fake rap". One of their first videos to air, "Lazy Sunday," became an internet sensation and garnered over five million views before NBC took it down. The Lonely Island's brand is to make songs that sound macho but actually parody masculinity. They have collaborated with numerous mainstream artists, including Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, and more. Their YouTube channel has exceeded 1 billion views; they are Grammy-nominated; their albums have charted on the Billboard Hot 100; and they won an Emmy award for their song "Dick in a Box." Some of their most popular songs are "I'm on a Boat," "I Just Had Sex," and "Jizz in My Pants." Since leaving SNL, they have continued to make satirical albums and are currently still active.

In 2008, Odd Future members Tyler, the Creatorand Jasper Dolphin released their sole EP under the short-lived comedy group name "I Smell Panties." The duo used elements of gangsta rapand Southern hip hop in a comedic way when performing as I Smell Panties. Tyler then released a track in 2011 called "Come Through Looking Clean," a joke song performed under a character named "Young Nigga." The song parodies the "Bling Era" of mainstream hip hop that was popular during the 2000s and draws heavy inspiration from the music of Lil B.[citation needed] The Young Nigga character would later be re-used on various skits in the 2012 Adult Swim program Loiter Squad, which was created by and starred members of Odd Future. In February 2016, Tyler revealed that his 2011 breakout viral single "Yonkers" was made as a joke song attempting to parody the style of New York rappers (hence the title. named after the city of the same name).

Michigan-based Internet celebrity and rapper Rucka Rucka Ali became famous in the late 2000s and early 2010s for creating pop song parodies (including parodies of popular hip hop songs) containing lyrics for shock value. He often includes politically incorrect and juvenile references to ethnic stereotypes, topical subject matter, and dark humor. His music also tends to make use of comedic portrayals of celebrities and his several alter egos espouses stereotypical qualities of specific ethnic groups. Some critics have labeled Ali as a racist as a reaction to his songs, although his humor seems to be heavily influenced by mainstream comedy television shows, such as South Park, Family Guy, and Chappelle's Show, and has jokingly defended his brand of humor by claiming that he's affirming the stereotypes he's constantly referencing in his songs as factual.His videos and YouTube channels are frequently removed (since he started creating music videos, he has had 17 YouTube channels deleted for terms of service violations), but are reuploaded by his fans.

2010s

"Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis broke into charts internationally in 2012.

In the mid-2010s, Ryan Harryman, a San Jose State University student and member of the school's water polo club team, became a viral sensation on the Internet under the stage name "3PAC." He was known for his self-produced music videos, bombastic and aggressive comedic rap songs, and diss tracks targeting mainstream rappers like Eminem and 2 Chainz, as well as YouTube gaming channel PewDiePie. 3PAC made a guest appearance on The New CALassic, a comedy hip hop mixtape performed by Internet music critic Anthony Fantano (under his "Cal Chuchesta" alter ego) that was released in August 2015. Harryman died at the age of 24 in October 2015 after suffering severe brain damage during a water polo practice.

In 2015, American rapper Hopsin released a song called "No Words", a satirical song making fun of "Mumble Rappers". In the song, Hopsin only speaks in unintelligible gibberish while using expensive cars, guns, drugs, and women in bikinis in the music video to imitate modern rappers.

In 2017, YouTube personality Filthy Frank released a music project titled Pink Season, the second album performed under the name "Pink Guy", with some songs poking fun at hip hop music as a whole, among other things. The track "Hand On My Gat" for example, features a character named PolitikZ that acts as a caricature for hardcoreunderground rappers; that character's previous appearance was on the Filthy Frank video "BAD INTERNET RAPPERS" (uploaded in November 2014), where he performed a song called "Real Hip Hop" that directly parodied the stereotypical anti-mainstream and politically charged attitudes of underground rappers. The Pink Seasonalbum reached number one on the iTunes charts and peaked at 70 on the Billboard 200.

In April 2018, Internet personality and music critic Anthony Fantano began releasing more satirical hip hop tracks under his Cal Chuchesta alter ego, releasing the tracks "Coin Star" and "Don't Talk To Me."

In the late 2010s, new artists in the genre such as Lil Dicky and Ugly God were also gaining popularity, helping the genre to maintain a substantial loyal following. There has also been an uprising in meme rappers such as Yung Gravy.[citation needed]

[trashmcuths-a]

plotted starter for @wasbraver

flying eddie out to los angeles with very little notice and even less explanation is a shitty move. shittier still, richie plans to drop the mother of all bombs, one that would level an entire country and devastate the population for years to come. the whole ordeal feels like a went-too-far-and-cancelled-after-one-episode prank show. but, fuck, richie needs to tell someone and this is not the type of shit to spill over the phone. plus, he needs help. like, badly.

'cause richie is a dad now and this is the story all about how his life got flipped turned upside down:

see, shortly after moving to l.a. to achieve his dreams of becoming a professional shit-talker, rich met a chick named ashley smith. (the public knows her as ashlee marie, but that is besides the point.) ashley stuck to richie like white on rice, globbed on to him for whatever ungodly reason. richie liked her well enough. she was clearly unstable and had a bit of a coke habit, but that describes the majority of hollywood. even as their respective stars began to rise, they never lost touch. ashley usually initiated shit, but rich was happy enough to follow along. then, about five years ago, she got pregnant and has this kid - waverly breezy bae smith. for real. that's her fucking name, the lunatic. anyway, over a few rails of coke, ashley said, "dude, you're the godfather." and richie never wanted to be the mom-shaming type, but he followed that up by asking if ashley was breast-feeding. she said no, which, okay, cool. no need to start policing the woman, then.

after waverly, richie did start hanging out with ashley more, maybe to help her out a little. the kid had no father to speak of, no family. just an off-kilter mama, her equally screwed-up hollywood pals, and a sweet-looking, older irish woman who had been hired on as a full-time nanny. not that ashley was an atrocious mom or anything. (she knew her limits, which is why she had the nanny in the first place.) ashley loved waverly more than anything, looked at that kid like she hung the moon. the feeling was definitely mutual. the way they would play together made that clear. ashley had always been real good at make-pretend, at letting go, and could make waverly collapse into a fit of giggles like no one else.

then ashley went and fucking died. big car accident. the media originally reported her as being at fault, jumped on the whole "psycho, cokehead actress" angle. except ashley hadn't even been on coke at the time, maybe some benzos, but she had not caused the fucking wreck. so, you know, fuck tmz.

richie had been real broken up, honestly. especially after losing stan. could the universe stop piling on the trauma for, like, one second? he fought a demon sewer clown twice. is that not enough action for a lifetime? apparently not, 'cause the hits kept coming. a couple days after the accident, someone contacted him about waverly. ashley had named him guardian in lieu of her untimely demise. richie did not initially accept this fact - "she said that shit after doing a line. how the fuck was i supposed to know she was serious?" but the social worker walked him through, talked about the process, mentioned how much waverly wanted to be with him. "her eyes lit up when we told her," the lady had said. of course, that was the final nail in the coffin for richie. he had to do this. fuck.

so after taking all the necessary steps and buying a bunch of kid shit (way more than necessary), richie got the okay. he got a date. the social worker would bring her to the apartment after school, and, unlike all the times before, waverly would stay there. permanently. up until then, richie had been doing this on his own, leaning on the social worker for guidance. he wasn't sure why he never told anyone, especially the losers. maybe because it wasn't set in stone yet? or he was in some sort of denial? whatever the case, the second richie got the date, he made a call to eddie. why eddie? if anyone asked, richie would swear that he didn't know. but, let's be real, he knew well enough.

anyway, after a lot of convincing, eddie agreed to take an impromptu trip to los angeles, stay a little while with richie. that had been three days ago and now eddie is actually here and being buzzed up. richie slips out of his apartment and stands in the hallway, hands fidgeting at his sides. if eddie were to walk in the living room now, he would see a bunch of kid shit and have a lot of questions. so, richie figures he should give eddie a heads-up.

when eddie rounds the corner, richie feels this stupid swell of emotions, tightening his chest and making it hard to breathe. richie bolts over, swinging an arm around eddie's shoulders and steers him towards the apartment. then, the words are coming out of richie's mouth before he can even process them. "okay, man, i'm gonna tell you something, but please, please do not freak out. 'cause i am in a fragile fucking state right now, okay? like, this is way, way, way worse than the time i took too many shrooms in senior year. you remember that? i wandered around the baseball pitch in nothing but tighty-whities and one of your mom's hideous cardigans." okay, admittedly, he's getting off track, but richie is nervous. even under normal circumstances, he has a tendency to go off the conversational rails. so, sue him.

[reginarubie]

I'm reading old asks (to catch up on topics that were already brought up) and I have to agree with the anon who brought up Larys Strong. Sansa x Larys interactions are going to be so fun to read. Battle of wits is on! But besides Larys (and Aemond obviously), I'm very excited to see how Sansa is going to get along with Helaena.

I'd be so funny if Sansa is going to crack the code that Helaena has a gift of prophecy. It would make sense that she would be the one to find out, considering that she's in a completely different environment and would be extra sensitive to what people say or do. She'd probably think to herself: 'Guys, this girl is spitting truth lyrics at y'all left and right and you don't even listen to her.' *shakes her head*

With that being said, I don't see Sansa perceiving Helaena as an 'odd' individual. I mean heck, she saw the Army of the Dead, the Night King, her half-brother/cousin came back to life, her younger sister is an assassin, her younger brother is the Three Eyed Raven/warg, etc. I think it's safe to say that she's pretty immune to strangeness.

Not only Sansa is in a completely different environment so she's gonna be more alert, she also knows how shit is going to go down (our little history nerd) at least in the way history recounts so I wouldn't be surprised if she, who has the fucking Three Eyed Raven as brother would be the first one to understand that Helaena is not only a dragon rider but also had prophetic visions or interpretation of the world around her.

If anything, after she gets over the whole she's a Targaryen queen train of thought, she's going to remember Helaena is a queen who lost virtually everything, children included and she's going to emphasize with her for sure, especially since Helaena did not manage to escape the fate Sansa escaped (marrying a blond prince who is not the exact represetantion of what a prince and king should be and suffering for it) and probably be like “Mine. Mine now. You never deserved her anyway” (wolves be like that at times, look at Arya with Hot Pie and Gendry or Jon with Samwell) especially because gal saw the Others, she saw walking deads, she knows her sister steals faces and kills people and her brother resurrected. What oddity, Helaena in her fragility and oddness is gonna be like a breath of fresh air for her.

So, yeah I think you are totally right, it'd be so in character of Sansa to just crack Helaena's code, also gal has a record for breaking traditions and generation trauma as well as getting somehow everyone to expose their evil plan and secrets before her so that she can later use it to her advantage if needed.

For sure it's going to be interesting!

[kemetic-dreams]

Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961), better known by his stage name Melle Mel (/ˈmɛli mɛl/) and Grandmaster Melle Mel, is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Glover began performing in the late 1970s. He may have been the first rapper to call himself MC (master of ceremonies). Other Furious Five members included his brother The Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover), Scorpio (Eddie Morris), Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams) and Cowboy (Keith Wiggins). While a member of the group, Cowboy created the term hip-hop while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five began recording for Enjoy Records and released "Superrappin'" in 1979. They later moved on to Sugar Hill Records and were popular on the R&B charts with party songs like "Freedom" and "The Birthday Party". They released numerous singles, gaining a gold disc for "Freedom", and touring. In 1982 Melle Mel began to turn to more socially-aware subject matter, in particular the Reagan administration's economic (Reaganomics) and drug policies, and their effect on the black community.

A song "The Message" became an instant classic and one of the first glimmers of conscious hip-hop. Mel recorded a rap over session musician Duke Bootee's instrumental track "The Jungle". Some of Mel's lyrics on "The Message" were taken directly from "Superrappin'". Other than Melle Mel, no members of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five actually appear on the record. Bootee also contributed vocals (Rahiem was to later lip sync Bootee's parts in the music video).

"The Message" went platinum in less than a month and would later be the first hip-hop record ever to be added to the United States National Archive of Historic Recordings and the first Hip Hop record inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Mel would also go on to write songs about struggling life in New York City ("New York, New York"), and making it through life in general ("Survival (The Message 2)"). Grandmaster Flash split from the group after contract disputes between Melle Mel and their promoter Sylvia Robinson in regard to royalties for "The Message". When Flash filed a lawsuit against Sugar Hill Records, the factions of The Furious Five parted.

Mel became known as Grandmaster Melle Mel and the leader of the Furious Five. The group went on to produce the anti-drug song "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)". An unofficial music video starred up-and-coming actor Laurence Fishburne[3] and was directed by then-unknown film student Spike Lee). The record was falsely credited to "Grandmaster + Melle Mel" by Sugar Hill Records in order to fool the public into thinking Grandmaster Flash had participated on the record.

Mel gained greater fame and success after appearing in the movie Beat Street, with a song based on the movie's title. He performed a memorable rap on Chaka Khan's smash hit song "I Feel for You" which introduced hip hop to a wider and more mainstream R&B audience. Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five had further hits with "Step Off", "Pump Me Up", "King of the Streets", "Jesse", and "Vice", the latter being released on the soundtrack to the TV show Miami Vice. "Jesse" was a highly political song which urged people to vote for then presidential candidate Jesse Jackson.

In 1988, after an almost four-year layoff, Mel and Flash reunited and released the album On The Strength, but with up-and-coming new school artists such as Eric B. & Rakim, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, and Big Daddy Kane dominating the hip-hop market, the album failed miserably. Mel performed with The King Dream Chorus and Holiday Crew on "King Holiday" aimed at having Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday declared a national holiday. Mel also performed with Artists United Against Apartheid on the anti-apartheid song "Sun City" which was aimed at discouraging other artists from performing in South Africa until its government ended its policy of apartheid. Mel ended the decade by winning two Grammy Awards for his work on Quincy Jones' Back On The Block and Q – The Autobiography of Quincy Jones albums.

In 1995 Duran Duran did a cover version of "White Lines" featuring performances from Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel and released it as the second single from the Duran Duran covers album Thank You':.

In 1996, Mel contributed vocals to the US edition of Cher's hit "One By One". Their version is only available on the maxi CD format.

In 1997, Melle Mel signed to Straight Game Records and released Right Now, an album which features Scorpio (from the Furious Five) and Rondo. This album took more of a harder rap style. It barely sold at all in the US and the UK.

Mel and Ralph McDaniels a.k.a. Uncle Ralph

In 2001, under the name Die Hard, he released the song "On Lock" with Rondo on the soundtrack of the movie Blazin. Die Hard released an album of the same name in 2002 on 7PRecords.

On November 14, 2006, Mel collaborated with author Cricket Casey and released the children's book The Portal In The Park, which comes with a bonus CD of his rapped narration. It also features two songs, "World Family Tree" and "The Fountain of Truth", by a then unknown Lady Gaga performing with Mel. The book was re-released in 2010. Also in 2006, Melle Mel attended professional wrestling school. In 2007 (at age 45), he stated in an interview with allhiphop.com that "I'm going to try to take some of John Cena's money and get with WWE and do my thing".

On January 30, 2007, Mel released his first ever solo album, Muscles. The first single and music video was "M3 – The New Message". On March 12, 2007, Melle Mel and The Furious Five (joined by DJ Grandmaster Flash) became the first rap group ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In his acceptance speech, Mel implored the recording industry members in attendance to do more to restore hip hop to the culture of music and art that it once was, rather than the culture of violence that it has become. He added, "I've never been shot, I've never been arrested, and I've been doing hip hop all my life. I can't change things all by myself. We need everybody's help, so let's do it and get this thing done."

On October 10, 2008, Mel appeared on Bronx-based culinary adventure show Bronx Flavor alongside host Baron Ambrosia. In the episode "Night at the Bodega", he appears as a spiritual mentor to sway the Baron from his over-indulgent ways and get him on the right path to success.

In April 2011, it was revealed that he would take part in a new hip hop/pro wrestling collaboration, the Urban Wrestling Federation. Its first bout "First Blood" was recorded in June 2011.

Mel also appeared in Ice-T's 2012 hip hop documentary Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.

In August 2015, Mel appeared with Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Caz in Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's song and music video "Downtown".

In May 2016, Mel and Scorpio, performing as Grandmaster's Furious Five ft. Melle Mel & Scorpio, released their single "Some Kind of Sorry"

[showtunesdream]

Ok, so I have seen almost every English version of Cinderella made since 1950 and it is my favorite fairy tale. So I saw the new Amazon version and I have a LOT OF THOUGHTS: (Spoilers)

I am here for Cinderella remakes, and I really hoped this one would enchant me. But...it didn't. I've read several reviews to help me specify just what didn't work for me, and I think it ultimately comes down to discord in nearly every element. Discord: too many notes at the same time; no unity, no connection. I'm all for pulling popular tunes, but they have to fit the character's emotion. I'm all for powerful female choreography, but having a chorus of women violently pelvic thrusting in ball gowns was...just weird. The artistic choices have to fit the narrative. 

All the women in the story are trying to assert some authority and agency in a world we are consistently told is exclusively patriarchal "because tradition." But it feels like that tone clashed with the producers' desire to include all the fairytale elements they felt audiences would expect. I think they could've done it, but they didn't get it right. It would be a fine line to tread, bc on the one hand you are talking about female disenfranchisement and lack of agency/rights, and on the other you’re trying to do fairytale love--the subject matter is really quite a heavy burden for that storyline.

 I've also seen comments that the cinematography and pacing were a mess, but I didn't get past my "do I like this?" vibe enough to notice. 

A few other assorted critiques: There was no chemistry between the prince and Ella, there was a lot of tell and not show (you can have a chorus sing it multiple times but I'm not gonna buy it unless you back it up with acting), and also the prince was not appealing in the least. Like, maybe that was the point, but if so, forget the romance plot altogether bc if I'm not falling for the guy, why would our heroine? There was more chemistry between the prince and his manservant (braid guy) than between Ella and him. There was nearly more depth of character in the manservant than in the prince as well, which is saying something.

One of the most annoying instances of tell and not show was Ella’s appearance. They kept talking about how dirty she was, and the stepmother even says “you would be so pretty if…” but the only real difference in Ella’s appearance is that she has a darker complexion… So what are we saying here, that she is unappealing bc she isn’t white enough? Admittedly that is reading into it a bit much, but just put some damn ash on her face and it’s a non-issue!

Moments of magic included the original songs (why did they not do the whole score this way???), and the performances from the sterling cast members as you'd expect. Also, I loved the building they chose for Ella's family estate/basement. (Oh, and also if you are going to turn the stepmother into Mrs. Bennett, then you have to show the financial difficulties in some wayyyy...) 

Overall, I could see what could've been a homerun concept in the script. I wanted to love it. I really did. But the execution fell woefully short for me.

**If I could, like Fab G, wave my wand and fix some things:**

-All original songs, not poorly fitting pop covers. The worst offenders in my eyes were “Material Girl,” “What A Man,” and “Find Me Somebody to Love.” The ball song should be about the princesses/stepsisters’

/Gwen/Ella’s aspirations, and maybe the prince’s too, if this fix version means he gets character development, like, say, a superobjective. 

-We open as before, with the narrator telling us how tradition has ruled everyone’s lives for years. As the townsfolk sing, we get the feeling that Ella isn’t the only one who is not so happy with the status quo. Ultimately everyone will learn through Ella that they don’t have to be struck in the same old ways. 

-As she works in the house we see Ella using her flair for fashion, her gift for making women feel beautiful to act a modiste/lady's maid to her stepmother and stepsisters. We see her transform an outfit/hairdo with a clever and fresh idea noone would have thought of. We get that speech about “it doesn’t matter if I think you’re beautiful. What matters is how you feel...etc.” Insert song about fashion and how amazing women are just in general, with makeover magic. (She didn’t feel like a fashion designer to me, I didn’t feel that creative spark/passion. I needed them to amp this up.)

-Ella’s personal appearance reflects her gift for inventive style as well.  (I really struggled with her being on one hand a fashion designer and on the other hand having no color in her dress, AND having everyone talk about how untidy her appearance was (which again, it wasn’t. Also, were she really covered in cinders and ash, she wouldn’t be able to handle fabric without making it dirty….)

-Ella’s dresses are made of found and reused materials, cleverly crafted. Like a set of old drapes a la Sound of Music, or forgotten antique dresses harvested for their fabric. After the prince buys her dress she can afford to buy new fabric and make her pink dress (that then gets ruined by Vivian.)

-If we *are* going to keep the idea of borrowed pop songs, then at some point all of the women sing No Doubt’s “I’m Just A Girl,” illustrating how their gender in this society makes them second class citizens: the stepsisters, Vivian, and princesses have to marry to gain opportunity/privilege, Gwen can’t get a word in on state matters, the queen is constantly shut down by her husband, etc. However, better for them to sing an original song that reflects this--maybe have “Dream Girl” come in earlier and get expanded/reprised.

-We needed to see the hardship that Vivian spoke of, bc I never saw it. Why remarry when you are clearly a wealthy widow?

-I still haven’t figured out how to give the prince a character that Ella could fall in love with. Show his kindness separate from supporting Ella? Give him an “I want” song that isn’t about his father wanting him to get married? Give him some kind of point? We’ve seen the “I don’t want to be king and am lost until this amazing girl inspired me” trope work before, but your boy has to have more to him than this guy did. 

-I also would like to find some way to extend the insta-love a bit. I’m a huge fan of meeting as commoners, as in the 1997 Cinderella, and there, they make a connection that properly works. Maybe it all boils down to a lack of chemistry between the actors? And/or give me better lyrics? Hmm. 

Anywho, I'm just rambling. So sad to see this fall so short of its potential.

[btssmutficslovingfan01]

Friendly Encounters- Chapter Three

𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎: A friend challenges you to go out of your comfort zone and talk to one of the cute boys at the café. However, after attempting to flirt with one of them, they reveal that they are in a relationship with each other. It’s fine, though, because you’re all friends now!

𝒢𝑒𝓃𝓇𝑒: Romance

𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: Fluff

𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈: Mentions of sex, language, mature themes, mostly safe but not suitable for young audiences below the age of 16, and binge eating if you are easily triggered by that.

𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈: 5.8k+

𝒫𝒶𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔: Jimin x Yoongi x Reader

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“My boyfriend actually called me his wife today.” “Oh yeah, well mine already proposed to me, that’s right, five years since we've started dating!”

“Oh, Lyric, you’re lucky. My boyfriend only ever invited me to his family’s tree trimming party and we got blessings from all of his great-aunts, uncles, and other relatives. His parents even call me their future daughter.” You roll your eyes at how unrelenting these girls are. They won’t even stop talking about boys for one second and you’ve been at this sleepover for five hours. It’s supposed to be the last sleepover of the decade as seniors, for everyone since you and this tiny group started planning in the seventh grade. Just because you’re all girls doesn’t mean boys are the only thing you have to talk about! It’s not an obligation. This isn’t a disney movie where the prince is going to marry the princess at the end, it’s real life and everyone is too fucking clingy to realize it. 

“Can we not talk about boys tonight?” You finally ask out loud, earning a gasp from everyone in the vicinity, including Bae, who happens to be a lesbian. Even she was enjoying the boy talk. 

“Why? That’s literally what sleepovers are about.” Your other friend, Joy points out. You sigh in frustration, falling back on the carpeted floor while hugging your soft ladybug plushie.

“Looks like someone’s having a bit of drama, we heard from Jessica. Now, tell mama River what’s really going on.” You take in a deep breath before slowly explaining your situation with the boys.

“And these boys are a gay couple?” Bae asks in a questioning tone.

“They are! But...after a certain encounter, I’m not really sure what to think. They’re older, and in love with each other, but I feel like I’m just intruding at times, you know?” Another girl that goes by the name of “Temoshika-san,” which is her japanese name nods in agreement, holding out a tray of foods for you to snack on.

“Eat. I binge whenever I’m stressed.” She says after you take a tiny bag of doritos. 

“Hon..I’m gonna say something but I don’t think you’re going to like it.” Your most sensible friend, Toriel (oh yes I named her after an undertale character) says after a long moment of silence. 

“Shoot. I’ve already made plans with them for next week to see a concert so there’s nothing that can surprise me now.” You bite your lips. It’s been an entire month since that day when Yoongi demanded you to lick ice cream off his boyfriend’s cheek and things escalated from there. 

You didn’t have sex, but it was a close call. Your heart almost ran away from you. Yet, they don’t bring it up, so it’s safe to assume that they felt nothing from that encounter. 

Maybe Jimin didn’t anyways. Or maybe he was feeling just as horny as you! Who knows? No guy has ever looked at you that way before, so you wouldn’t even know.

“I think that both of these boys might be catching feelings for you. But they’ve probably never had feelings for a girl before, so they don’t know how to go about it.” Her theory makes sense. Suddenly, all of the pieces click in your mind.

“You’re a genius, Toriel!” You give her a hug before whipping out your phone to text Jimin. Right on cue, you get a text! But you’re surprised to see that it's not from Jimin.

“Damn, that's some cold shit right there. I didn’t know what you did to piss him off so much.” Bae chuckles at your misery as you put your phone away.

“Wanna spill the details?” A girl by the name of Cleo asks. You roll your eyes.

“It was just Yoongi. He said he and Jimin wanted to talk to me. As if things haven’t been awkward enough.” You feel like you’re walking on eggshells with the two, as you’ve stopped hugging Jimin for longer than 10 seconds. 

And you’ve stopped your musical obsessions with Yoongi as well, keeping the fangirling to a bare minimum. You just want everything to go back to normal, so you can continue onto your adult life without holding on so much to the past. And they aren’t the only things bothering you, but Jungkook has been desperately trying to fix your relationship.

Jasmine won’t so much as breathe in your direction, as she doesn’t need you anymore. She has everything. The popular clique, a hot boyfriend, and perfect grades. She isn’t bothering you at all, but you are tempted to scream in her face about keeping her boy toy in control. He keeps wandering out of her lane and onto yours. Which you think you can use to your advantage.

It’s not like you’re going to sleep with him or anything, you just think it’s the perfect opportunity to take back what was rightfully yours. And in this case, Jungkook is the perfect trophy. You don’t like objectifying people, but at this point you don’t even care if he used your name to impress a couple of underclassmen, you feel honored, actually, but you don’t actually care about him. He kissed you too, while he was dating her. That’s a sign that things aren’t looking too good for them. 

Who are you kidding?! You should let them go. As if you have the balls to actually sneak around Jasmine’s back and snatch her boyfriend from her.

“Girl, just talk to them. I advise you to tell them as soon as possible what type of feelings you may or may not have for them. It’s gonna be okay.” Toriel pats your back as you recover from the growing anxiousness in your gut. Something tells you, everything is not going to be okay.

“Moving onto our next sleepover activity….horror stories!” 

                         ༻• The Next Day, At Your House •༺

You sneak into your home early in the morning, around 7 or 8, to be exact, hoping that Jimin and Yoongi were away at work. Your mom is already gone, as she texted you that she would be going on a business trip this particular week. The slumber party kept you awake all night, and the girls had really scary stories to share so you weren’t exactly calm...even now you are on edge as Jimin frightens you from behind.

“Hi.” You jump back, startled because of how quiet and swiftly he came up from behind you.

“H-hey. I thought I was home alone.” He gives you a sweet smile, the same comforting grin you saw that day in the cafe after you almost embarrassed yourself while asking for his number. Those were the good times, when you didn’t know what you were getting yourself into. A friendship with anyone of the opposite sex is complicated, after all. You convinced yourself of this since Yoongi and Jimin are 100% gay and show no signs of any lust or extra thirst after you but you still had awkward tension. Hell, even now after Jimin walked up from behind you like that, you still have a strange feeling in your gut.

“You thought wrong! Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about

 how you almost peed your pants after I gave you a scare.” The mood is mellow, and you’re both comfortable around each other. Maybe Yoongi was the problem. But you don’t want to upset Jimin, as he’s your best friend at the moment and he’s been for you a lot more than anyone has been in the last decade.

“So, what’d I miss?” You ask, leaning in to give your best friend a hug. You inhale his strawberry-fresh scent, a little bit in awe as you’ve never gotten a waft of a nice-smelling boy. Jimin is an angel, a perfect exception. You hope you can find a man who’s as caring and attentive as he is, in the future.

“Yoongi and I have been thinking a lot about you recently, mainly how you opened up to the two of us about your life and leaned on us so easily, really it was crazy how you trusted us so easily when you barely knew either one of us,” You laugh sheepishly, mentally scolding yourself for being so childish in the first place. “But it was so admirable. And we thought, we could do the same for you. So you can learn more about the kind of people we are. We don’t like looking back on the past, but there are some parts that we just can’t leave behind. Like for example, our two exes,” At first, you think little of this. ‘He must mean the people that he and Yoongi dated before they found each other.’ That was your first thought. Just like he’s reading your mind, he answers your question, “We’re open to polyamory.” Your mouth drops to an “o” shape, and then you rack your brain for the correct answers.

You got nothing. You have no clue what the fuck a polyamory is.

“What’s that?” He chuckles at your innocence just as his boyfriend comes down the stairs.

“Hey, Yoongz, wanna explain what polyamory is to our good friend here?” You look up at the older man with curious eyes. You want to know.

“Multiple people in a relationship. Basically, Jimin and I used to invite over two other guys and we used to go on dates and do other stuff but it was really chill, nothing too serious.” You gawk as the two lean into each other for a kiss and then Jimin crawls into Yoongi’s lap before turning his head to stare at you. Two pairs of eyes are just on you, and you feel so vulnerable with all the attention on you.

“Anyways, I wanted to mainly apologize for what happened that night with the ice cream. You looked like you were enjoying yourself, and I thought I was too, until I realized I was gay. I just needed a reminder, I guess. So I thank you,” You don’t know whether you should laugh or cry, Yoongi’s expression was hard to read.

“Hyung...why do you gotta do her like that?” Jimin’s words throw you off guard. “You know what, instead of beating around the bush, I’ll just tell you: I’m bi, Yoongi was pan when I met him.” He rolls his eyes at the boy.

“Wait, didn’t you say you came out to your parents?” You ask curiously.

“I did. As gay, but then I ended up having a one night stand with a woman and after that I realized I liked both.” You take in the information very well, not letting it affect you one bit. “You know what, I’ll let you two figure out your shit…” You give Jimin a panicked look before turning to Yoongi with a fake smile plastered on your face.

“I don’t care what your sexuality is,” Your statement throws him off guard as his eyes widen quickly. “I just know what I felt was real. There was a weird connection, a moment where I wanted to kiss you.” He coughs before spreading his legs on the couch and putting his hands in his lap. You’re not gonna lie, he looks hot.

“Then why didn’t you?” You let out a small giggle before realizing that he’s completely serious.

“Because you and Jimin are dating...and I don’t like cheating.” He crosses his arms, this time scooting in closer to you. 

“But we were both there, and the vibes were all right.” You feel a slight pressure on your inner thigh when you realize that Yoongi is touching you. His hands are wandering up your thigh in broad daylight. You luckily have a blanket covering you, but the look of fear on your face is a dead giveaway.

“It’s because you wimped out.”

“You should’ve just done it anyways. I probably would’ve kissed you back.” He starts kneading your thigh, giving you an almost-massage, and just as you’re about to let out a moan, Jimin comes back, holding a bowl of popcorn and setting it down on the coffee table.

“Surprise movie night...er day.” He sits next to you, oblivious to what his boyfriend is doing. You glare at Yoongi when you feel his fingers pulling your leggings down and they wander into your panties. You’re damp. Completely soaked because of this stupid man that you’re attracted to and the fact that you basically just confessed to him. He smirks when he sees your eyes roll back in your head when he reaches your g-spot, thrusting his fingers in and out of you at a fast pace. You cling to him, pretending that you’re simply cuddling him as Jimin’s eyes stay trained on the screen, but you fail horribly at keeping things discreet when you moan into his ears. The movie blasts at a loud volume, so the speakers drain out your groans as Yoongi drives you to an orgasm.

“Come for me, babe. Don’t want Jiminie to see, is that right?” Yoongi knows the boy would probably just join in if he actually noticed. He still manages to upset you, as with all your might, you try not to scream from pleasure.

“Yoongi, I’m gonna come.” You bury your face in his shoulder, letting out the softest but sexiest moan he’s ever heard, as his fingers twist inside of you and you climax right then and there. He leans in and finally, you get a taste of his sweet lips. 

“Let’s continue this later?” He whispers to you, winking at Jimin as you sink into his arms, panting heavily and recovering from your intense orgasm. And yes, the boy knows what his boyfriend was doing under the blanket the entire time. 

After the movie, you quickly run upstairs to take a shower. You didn’t expect to get fingered on your couch. You didn’t think Yoongi would actually kiss you. And you certainly didn’t think things were going to return to normal ever again. They already had girls. How many did they date in the past? Obviously having a third partner didn’t work out for either of them so what difference would it make if you were part of the equation? You step out of the shower to find Jimin in your bedroom, playing games on his phone as he waits for you. You clench your towel, a light blush dusting your cheeks as you step into your bedroom, closing the door.

“Hey! I wanted to see what you might be wearing to the concert, have you picked out an outfit?” You walk past him, motioning him to come to your closet as your finger picks and chooses the cute dress you found at the mall.

“This one.” You can see his eyes lighting up at the thought of you wearing that dress, but then his gaze darkens when he imagines you out of it. Speaking of...there was only a thin towel wrapped around your body, even then it wasn’t enough to stop his imagination. You have nice boobs, can you blame the poor guy?!

“Nice choice. I’ll just uh...step out so you can get dressed.” Also known as code red: he has a boner. You quickly throw on some shorts and a sweatshirt, as you don’t dress modestly at home. You check yourself in the mirror, making sure it’s not too much in case the boys feel uneasy. 

Today’s a slow day. You finish up your homework before making your way to the kitchen for an evening snack. It’s only 5:00, yet you’re starving. What you see next surprises you, as Yoongi is on the counter while Jimin kisses him breathlessly. How do people kiss so long without breaking for air? As you observe, Jimin breaks the kiss, smiling at you as his boyfriend turns to look at you as well.

“Come here, darling.” Your feet are jello as you stumble to the two, trying to ignore the way Yoongi’s bulge is sticking straight up as Jimin’s hands are on either side of him.

“Wh-what?” You blush, unable to help yourself as the blue haired god in front of you looks so good. “I like your hair.” You whisper quietly.

“Thanks, although I’ve had this hairstyle for a while,” He removes his arms from his boyfriend, putting his attention on you. “Now, you’ve been a dirty girl, fooling around with my boyfriend when I’m not looking, is that right?” You swear if you weren’t holding onto the counter you would’ve fainted.

“What? Cat got your tongue? You have quite a mouth on you when my fingers are buried in your pussy but you can’t say a word when my boyfriend asks you a perfectly valid question?” You’re shocked, frozen, freezing. 

“Answer me, sweetie. Did you like it when he fingered you earlier?” You blush and nod, evading his gaze. “Look at me when I talk to you, Y/N.” When he says your name you look up, your eyes meeting his as you do. Five seconds barely pass when he smashes his lips against yours, in a desperate manner. Yoongi’s just watching, patiently waiting for you to break the kiss so he can continue the conversation.

“Y/N, we need to be honest with you. We’ve...taken a liking to you.” You don’t know how to process this information. But Jimin’s look of pleading is enough. They both want you.

“So please, will you consider joining our relationship?” You purse your lips. Every fibre of your body is screaming yes, but your mind is telling you to be reasonable, and think through this. You don’t need this right now in your life. You’ll hold them back, they’ll hurt you later, this is setting yourself up for failure.

Yet you want it so bad.

“Can I think about it? Please?” You don’t want to reject them right away.

“Of course. Take your time.” Jimin takes Yoongi’s hand before leading him to the couch. You hope they won’t ask you before the concert.

                                        ༻• At the Concert •༺

You couldn’t believe your eyes. The men brought you to a freaking J-hope concert. Not just anyone but the J-hope. He’s the most popular solo act on the planet. After he broke up with his boy band BTB, he went all crazy and started rapping about sex, and fame, and real life issues. Everyone loves him.

Including your two friends who dated him back before he was famous.

Yeah, they have a history together.

“You like it so far?” Jimin asks, leaning in while cracking open a can of pepsi.

“Are you kidding? You got premium seats to see the J-hope?” He gives you a cheeky grin before turning to Yoongi and conversing with him. You can’t seem to take your eyes off the two of them, even if you are at a J-hope concert. You feel lucky enough to be breathing the same air as him, but it’s thanks to the couple sitting beside you. Not to mention...they even dated him at some point.

“This last song goes out to two dear exes of mine…” You thought you imagined it, but he seemed to look up at your row, as if he was staring straight at Yoonmin.

“Last summer when you told me you weren’t feeling well, I thought it was just a little bump in the road, But now I know, It was all because of her, Ohhh my love, How I loved you way back then, But I was too blind to see, You really didn’t care at all,”

You don’t know how to react. Should you clap? Or laugh, or cry? It sounds like whoever he’s singing about cheated on him...with a girl.

“Now I don't care, it's all choices by my fate,  so we're here, Look ahead,  The way is shinin’, Keep Going Now,”

The song suddenly gets more upbeat and then the crowd goes crazy as he has an outfit change with a snap. Also, this man is glowing. The lights are perfectly bouncing off his slightly tanned skin, making him appear more heavenly. God, how did they live through this?

“That’s My Ego!” He sings the chorus cheerfully before finishing off and then fireworks light up the night sky, making some audience members cry. Jimin and Yoongi are both staring at you, though, as you watch with wonder. You look so innocent, and you’re so small...the two of them are already whipped for you, can’t you see that? Oh wait, you do.

“Is there something on my face?” You ask them, and they simply smile at you. As if that wasn’t heart-melting enough.

“Nothing. Let’s go backstage.” You blush as they both take either of your hands, leading you out of the crowded stadium so that you can visit J-Hope backstage. You were about to meet a celebrity, while being held by two guys that confessed their feelings to you just a few hours ago! As if things couldn’t get any better.

“J-HOOOOOPE!!!” Yoongi grins, throwing his arms around the celebrity as he walks into the room.

“Hey Suga. OH JEMIN!” Jimin and J-Hope share a handshake before hugging as well, and then he turns to you.

“Who is this beauty?” He turns to look at you, kissing your palm softly in greeting.

“Y/N.” You answer him, trying to conceal your uwus.

“Wow. You’re even more perfect than how they described you. You know, I’ve never seen them like someone more than they like you.” He whispers into your ears. You’re a little bit distracted by the fact that an IDOL is whispering in your ears right now. His breath smells so good. His sweat smells expensive, though.

“Y-you really think?” You ask.

“I know so.”

“Okay, if you’re done hitting on our friend, how about you tell us what you’ve been up to?” J-Hope holds up a finger, revealing the engagement ring to all of you.

“Who…?” J-Hope blushes before turning to his mirror.

“Remember that one producer? The girl who was older than me by 10 years or something?” Everyone nods, except you, who has no idea what’s going on.

“Turns out she was my soulmate all along. She proposed to me, and we’re getting married next month.” 

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” You clap for him as the two men beside you look at you with love in their eyes.

“I’m so excited. She’s just a bucket of sunshine. Oh shoot, I’m almost late for the wine tasting. Bye guys.” We wave as the celebrity packs up his things for the day. “So, it looks like you guys lowered your standards for me.” “Oh, stop, he wasn’t even well-known when we met. And now, we’ve all moved on. The three of us are together and that’s what matters.” Yoongi cuts you off before you even start. When you get home, you’re less than amused that your mother is getting ready for the stupid marriage meeting in her room. She ushers you to change, greeting the boys but whisking you away from them just as quickly. You wave goodbye to them, in a dreary mood. “Remember to behave, poise and manners, Y/N. You want to look like a good wife.” “I don’t want to get married. I’m only 18, ma.” She brushes your hair, looking at you with teary eyes. “Your dad wants you to. And he gets what he wants. No matter what.” You sob the entire car ride, your father didn’t even bother coming home as the purpose of this stupid meeting was to make himself look good. You look up to see that the boy before you is an overgrown specimen of child. Not even a man, but just a buff baby. “Hi, how old are you?” You ask politely. The boy lowers his eyes. You already know where this is going even though you’ve barely said a few words. “15, you have nice tits.” You’re in shock, uncomfortable, lonely, and worst of all, your mom won’t even look at you. Your dad presents you like a trophy and then forces you to tell the other parents about your academic achievements before forcing you to sit down. You want to cry. But you don’t. Instead, you call Jimin. “Hey, what’s up? Is the dinner going well?” Your voice starts breaking before you even talk, making you suck in deep breaths before looking out the bathroom window. “No, Jimin. I can’t stay here. They’re gonna force me to marry a 15 year old that just said my boobs look nice. I have to get away, do you guys think you can get me away from my parents? I’m 18, so they can’t legally do anything about it.” You hear him talking to someone in the background, presumably Yoongi.

“It’s me, Jimin just told me...I’m so sorry. All of that is awful, but is running away really going to solve anything? I know things seem bad now, but wait until your mom knows about us, I’m sure she’ll be accepting.” Yoongi sounds confident in himself, so you don’t feel like putting him down.

“Her, maybe. But not my dad. He’ll disown me.”

“Y/N, you are no object. They can’t just marry you off to anyone. And if they do, we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen. You should be allowed the choice of marrying someone you love.” You frown, seeing the tears falling out of your eyes.

“I’ll go out with you.”

                                       ═══ 🅣🅘🅜🅔🅢🅚🅘🅟 ═══

Your first date is at the cafe where it all started. The boys make sure to take time off at the same time so your schedules match up. It’s not the most conventional date, as the three of you start discussing where you’ll move in together after you run away from home.

Your dad hasn’t even spoken more than a couple sentences to you. Wow, so caring. You have no reason to stay with them anymore, as he literally forces you to go to stupid dinner parties and sets you up with boys that are too young for you. Even a 12 year old, like what the fuck?

“How was dinner last night?” Jimin asks. You roll your eyes.

“Horrible, as always. These boys are nightmares. I feel bad for their future partners.” You comment.

“Who cares? It’s just dinner. And you’re dating us now. Talk to us, babe.” You like being called “babe.” Especially when Yoongi says it, because he’s just so closed off to everyone else.

“Do you like it when he calls you baby? Because I’m pretty sure he likes it too.” Jimin giggles. Being with your best friend is really no different, except now you can kiss and hug and show affection romantically. He’s just a lot more cuddly with you. And Yoongi doesn’t mind it one bit.

He actually sometimes joins in, hugging you and Jimin lovingly. He’s so protective of you two. You love it.

And they’ve started picking you up after school, to take you out so you can be away from your house for a bit. But at the end of the day, you can always count on crawling into bed with them and dreaming your troubles away. You’ve been sleeping better with them cuddling right next to you. 

Sneaking into bed with them has become a habit of yours, and you especially don’t make it clear around your dad that you have feelings for them. Although, lately everything has been striking a nerve. He often calls you to awkward dinner parties and you can’t do anything about it.

Even your boyfriends agree that it’s a bit too much. So much, that one day, Jimin decides to suggest something crazy.

“Let’s make your dad think that you’re ruined.” This catches yours and Yoongi’s attention.

“What? What the hell are you going on about, Jimin?” Uh-oh, when Yoongi uses that tone and says his name like that, you know someone’s in trouble.

“I’m saying that we make her dad think she lost her virginity.” You cross your arms, gasping as Yoongi shields your face with his arms protectively.

“What are you saying? That’s absurd. Her father is already strict as is with us living here, everytime he sees us he crinkles his nose even more. We repulse him, Jimin. What makes you think that we aren’t gonna tick him off even more?” Yoongi makes a good point. Your father was very strict, and homophobic. Perfect traditional 1800s father of the year.

“He’s here because he wants to see his little girl get engaged, right? Well, what if she brought the engagement to him? Have him walk in on one of us sharing a moment with her and then having her dad say she has to marry us?!” You’re baffled. You didn’t think your boyfriend was that dense. 

“Idiot, he would probably disown her. And also, no. Maybe not marriage, he might just throw her out of the house altogether.” While you’re busy planning, what you fail to recognize is that your father leaves town again. He’s flying away, and you had no knowledge of it until your mother called you and you saw his packed suitcases as he hugged you goodbye. Looks like the meetings have come to an end.

“Jimin!!! Yoongi!!!! Come downstairs, I need to talk to you two about something.” My mother calls out to them.

“What?” Yoongi is the first to make his way down the stairs, avoiding eye contact with you.

“I’ve noticed the way you two have been interacting with my daughter as of late. The deep stares of longing everytime we sit on the couch and watch t.v together, the smiles of adoration that you only have reserved for special people, heck, even once I saw you holding her hands like she would disappear if you let go,” You can hear the nervous gulps come from the two men as they stare directly at your mom. This can’t be good. “You both have crushes on her, right?” Their eyes widen.

“What? No, I’m dating Yoongi-Boongi. My heart belongs to him and only him.” Jimin says a bit too quickly, making your mom raise her eyebrow in question.

“Your daughter is very pretty, I’ll give you that much, but I’m dating Jimin.” She clicks her tongue, not fully believing them.

“I know what it looks like when boys have a crush on a girl, seeing the way you act around her. So how about you tell me the truth straight to my face?” Jimin is the first to break under her intense stare.

“Fine, you caught me. I like her, okay?!” He says, blushing a brilliant shade of pink. When your mother sees that Yoongi’s expression is indifferent, she narrows her eyes at him.

“You know, don’t you?” He doesn’t say a word, instead taking your arm and pulling you beside him.

“Ma’am, I would like to get your permission to be your daughter’s boyfriend….along with Jiminie.” Considering you were secretly dating for weeks, now seems like the perfect time to ask. Go Yoongi!

“Yes, of course you can date her. You both are so caring and kind and I can’t imagine anyone more fit for the job….even though I didn’t expect two guys. It may be a little strange but I trust that you know your boundaries.” They nod, each of them hugging you tightly and giggling like children.

“We’ll make sure to treat our girlfriend with kindness and respect.” With Yoongi’s gummy smile, your heart melts. You really, really like him.

“You better, or else you’ve got another thing coming.” Your mother’s gaze is threatening enough, as the two men stiffen their backs and stand up straight.

“Loosen up, she’s just kidding. Right, ma?” She nods, laughing happily as she sees her ships coming to life before her eyes. She’s always wanted her daughter to be happy, instead of subjecting her to a life of unhappy arranged marriage. She wants to give her everything she didn’t have as a child.

“Yup. But seriously, break her heart and you’re dead.”

“Moooom.”

That night your mom leaves for work. She didn’t tell you, but you really noticed when you called out for her and she didn’t answer back, only leaving a text on her phone that she would be late. You knew this meant you were home alone with your extremely attractive boyfriends again for the second time this month. 

You’re excited, but nervous. The last time the three of you were in the house like this, they made out in front of you and then made you extremely horny. Now, you could only imagine what would happen with the three of you in an actual relationship.

“Y/N, come watch netflix with us!” Jimin calls you to his room, and your eyes widen. You’ve been in their room before, but never totally alone. Your mom or dad would be in the house, but now you’re stuck with these two. 

“What are we watching?” You penguin-walk to Yoongi, who hoists you up onto the giant bed. Immediately you fall back from the weight of his knees forming a little disbalance on the mattress. It’s just a tiny ditch. 

“I thought you were gonna fall, be careful.” He lightly scolds you, before sitting back and getting cozy with Jimin as you stay in the middle, right between them.

“You guys are so warm.” You inhale their scents, taking in their musk and surprisingly sweet cologne. The strawberry scent must be coming from Jimin. The axe must be from Yoongi. Either way, you’re comfortable.

“No, you are.” Jimin pulls you in between his legs, peppering kisses all over your neck. Normally, you’d be turned on in the situation, but it’s completely innocent. You giggle as he tickles you with his faded blue hair and then you both get lost in each other’s eyes. You love his crescent shaped eyes, how he is a perfect mix of masculine and feminine, breaking all traditional roles of what it means to be a man in the modern world of 2020. If anything, his soft features are what makes him more “manly.” There’s no correct answer. He’s perfect the way he is, and you love the way his lips form a tiny pout, even when he’s happy.

“Just kiss already.” You both look over at Yoongi, who is more concerned with the movie playing on the screen than his two partners sharing a moment right next to him. You give Jimin a look as he leans in and finally closes the gap between you two.

[subtlereferencetomyinterests]

The Ballroom

Ao3,  MasterPost

Relationships: Roceit

I know how to write Roman, in theory. In practice, it takes hours to get right. And yet, I love him. Oh! And I actually remembered to insert the italics this time, so, you’re welcome :3.

Warnings: Self-Doubt, Delusions/Hallucinations (they r not that bad), slight Trust Issues (Janus, obvs), Established Relationships, First ‘i love you’, Mentions of Greek Mythology, References to Musicals (Hadestown Hadestown Hadestown!! they sing Wedding Song together ok??), and I vaguely imply that Roman has ADHD because of course I do. 

Word count: 2,443

Every side had a room. Duh, common knowledge. The inhabitants of the Mindscape constantly barged in and out of each other’s domains without so much as a knock, usually to no more reaction than an irritated sigh. It wasn’t like it was a big deal to anyone, much like an actual family. If a trait wanted absolute privacy, well, they always had somewhere else to retreat to.

Thus brings us to the Extensions. It was well understood that you never visited one without express permission from the side who owned it. They were entirely personal settings, specific to the ‘individual’ that used it. The Extensions shifted and changed over time, just as each side’s representation, outlook, and even definition changed, but there had been a certain consistency upheld throughout the last three or four years. 

Roman’s was a theater, beautiful and ornate with a high-ceiling and perfect lighting, which of course always followed him. Logan’s was a planetarium, allowing the user to view any part of the night sky, and providing essentially all known information on astrology for those that wanted it. Patton had a garden, always filled with fresh produce and hundreds of different types of flowers; humble fountains and birdbaths were dotted along the narrow brick path that ran through the large space, at which he could often be found resting with a bunch of chrysanthemums. Remus’ was, predictably, a museum filled with almost innumerable odd and grotesque objects and devices from history- it also served as an art gallery, on occasion, offering a strange sort of beauty. Virgil’s had changed the most over the years, but it had seemed to settle on something of a vinyl record library, complete with bean bag chairs to lounge in while you listened: perfectly fitting for the hipster emo that he was at heart.

And that left Janus. Of course, no one besides the snake himself had ever seen his Extension, and for a good long time he’d intended it to stay that way. It was his business and nobody else’s- why should he want to invite someone into such a personal environment? 

But then he went and made the mistake of falling for just the someone to answer that rhetorical question. Someone who would surely be overjoyed to see it, and whom Janus loved dearly enough to maybe possibly let him.

It was a ballroom. Obviously Roman would love something like that. 

When Janus first began contemplating showing his boyfriend the Extension, he’d wanted to do something along the lines of a masquerade. He quickly deemed it excessive for Roman’s first visit, though. Just a standard setting, then! But, no, Janus didn’t want to have any of his prop people distracting his very easily distracted partner, so that was out of the question. So he would stay simple. Simple didn’t get a big reaction. Simple could be brushed under the rug if it went somehow awry (and was also less likely to go awry). Simple let him breathe.

Yet somehow it remained terrifying. Honestly, Deceit was second-guessing letting Roman in even as he was leading them down the lengthy hallway, feeling regret clawing at him with each muffled thump of his heeled boots on the carpet. 

“I want to show you something.”

“Oh? And what would that be, Loveliest Lie of All?” 

“You’ll see when we get there. Come along, before I change my mind.”

Janus extended a gloved hand, which Roman took with enthusiasm. He was raring to go without even the slightest idea what they were doing. It was a hopelessly endearing quality. 

“Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll love it but half as much as you.”

“Only half?” Janus teased, narrowly avoiding returning the ‘L’ word, yet again (he wanted to, God did he want to, but the word died on his tongue every time).

Roman didn’t bat an eye at his deflection, merely leaning forward with a sappy smile.

“Naturally; nothing can match you, my dear.”

Yeah, no, he was committed now. This was, without a doubt, happening. Janus continued to lead his boyfriend along the hall, fielding all questions until they finally came upon the door. It was far taller than the ones around it, colored a bright canary-yellow. The trait took a deep breath and turned to Roman, whose face was bright with recognition as to what kind of entryway this was.

“This is your-”

“Yes.”

“You’re really going to show me-”

“Yes.”

“Oh,” Roman traced a hand down the door frame, as if it would shatter at a firmer touch. His eyes were wide with excitement, a grin stretching across his lips.

Janus felt as though his stomach were doing cartwheels.

“Well, then, what are we waiting for?” It was a genuine question; Deceit was open to suggestions for reasons to wait. But Roman clearly hadn’t picked up on the hesitance, too caught up in his own exuberance. 

Janus took a deep breath. He pulled the door open, and the two sides were immediately enveloped by brilliant golden light.

The ballroom was a showy place, which mightn’t have seemed to be the deceitful trait’s nature, at first glance- but, oh, did Janus adore just a dash of gaudiness. 

Roman already knew this about him. Roman knew a lot of things that took a careful eye and a lot of trust. 

Janus took the first step forward, holding Creativity’s hand in his and leading him into the baroque construct. The door snapped shut behind them, leaving them in glowing light cast down from crystalline chandeliers. Above them arched the ceiling, displaying murals of greek myths in perfect detail. The paintings danced and shifted around each other, even moving down the walls, as they played out dozens of ancient stories. It was like an animated oil painting, however impossible that would sound to a real human. 

Soft music filled the ballroom, drifting around the pair. Janus usually dressed his Extension up with fake guests; people of his own design for him to talk and laugh with. It felt safe, reassuring even, to be completely in control of things, including your compatriots. But now, the room was empty, save for him and his real guest. Janus turned his gaze back to Roman, trying to disguise his nervousness.

“Well?” 

Roman crosses his arms over his chest. He clicks his tongue, giving the surroundings a sweeping glance. At best, he’s unimpressed, at worst, he’s outright disdainful. 

“All that buildup, really, for this? What is even the point of such an Extension, Janus?” Roman’s intricately designed shoes clack against the hardwood floor as he further examines the room. He stops in the center, whirling to face Janus. “I’d hoped that this big reveal would make up for all of your other failings as a partner, but I suppose you’re just fated to disappoint me! And it took you months to show me this waste of architecture? Now, that’s just pathetic.”

With a scoff, Roman leaves. 

The scene Janus had unconsciously played came to an abrupt end. He staggered, blinking his eyes back into focus. Roman wasn’t looking down at him, gaze cold and unwavering; rather, he was spinning around the room as he drank in the decorations. He quite looked like he’d never had a malicious thought in his entire life, joyful as he was.

“Oh, Jay, this is gorgeous! Not as much as you, of course- but it is just astounding,” he beamed at Janus, who offered a smirk in return and rolled his mismatched eyes (though he could feel the human side of his face flush bright at the compliment). Before he had a proper response, however, Roman’s gaze caught on something behind him. The trait crossed the room in just a few strides. 

“Is that…?”

Janus turned on his heel and followed, his eyes landing on the painting that distracted his prince. The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, a colorful-yet-accurate depiction, ‘painted’ in a somewhat impressionist style. It was easily one of Janus’ favorite myths; evidently Roman was a fan just the same. 

“I’m glad you like it,” the honesty was bitter on his tongue. It was well worth it. “I find mythology inspiring, to say the least.” 

Creativity ran his hand along the mural, a giddy laugh escaping him. Without the slightest of warnings, he spun around and grabbed one of Janus’ hands in both of his.

“Lover, tell me, if you can- who’s gonna buy the wedding bands? Times being what they are. Hard and getting harder all the time,” his singing was elated and bubbly, the lilt of one well-familiar with the lyrics he recited. Janus laughed and leaned into his partner. 

“You want to be Eurydice?”

“Just play along!” 

Janus sighed, far too fond for the exasperation he’d been aiming for, and pulled Roman in close. He settled his hands at The Prince’s hips, leading them in a mostly formless dance.

“Lover, when I sing my song, all the rivers sing along. And they're gonna break their banks for me, to lay their gold around my feet. All a-flashing in the pan, all to fashion for your hand. The river’s gonna give us the wedding bands,” once, Roman had told him his voice was honey, slow and sweet. That conversation came back to him, bringing a lanquidity to his singing just so he could soak in the lovestruck expression it earned him. 

“Lover, tell me, if you're able, who's gonna lay the wedding table? Times being what they are. Dark and getting darker all the time.”

Their simply patterned steps led them in wide circles around the room. Janus subconsciously let the jazz that usually rang across his ballroom slip away, only to be replaced with the instrumentals to their ballad. 

“Lover, when I sing my song, All the trees gonna sing along, And bend their branches down to me, To lay their fruit around my feet. The almond and the apple, And the sugar from the maple. The trees gonna lay the wedding table.” 

And so on they continued for the song’s duration- taking their turns with the lyrics, eyes only for each other despite the beauty of their surroundings.

When Janus reached the last line, he drew out the note until his voice faded to nothing more than a lingering hum of the tune. Softly, his standard background music returned to accompany them as the remnants of their duet slipped away. 

They eased to a gentle sway. Roman dropped his head onto Janus’ shoulder with a sigh.

“Thank you.”

“What for, my dear?”

“Bringing me here. Trusting me,” Creativity mumbled into his collar. 

“Of course,” Janus whispered, letting go of the side’s hips to properly wrap his arms around him. 

Roman raised his head, just enough to look Deceit in the eyes. 

“I love you,” he announced, open and honest and completely unexpectant- everything that Janus wasn’t. It was the same way he always said it; with a fierceness as though he was proving his point in an argument, yet somehow remaining gentle and caring. A mere statement, one that never even hinted at a need for response. It simply was, a fact thrown into the world with reckless abandon. 

Nothing terrified Janus more. But, between the duet and Roman’s reaction to the Extension, Janus felt something a bit more foreign than fear welling in him. 

Bravery.

“I love you, too.”

Roman pulls back from their embrace, a cruel laugh falling from his lips. He fixes Janus with a patronizing glare.

“Oh, you love me, do you? You sure know how to show it,” he taunts, backing further away from the snake. There is something dark that glints behind his eyes. “I only tell you that I love you a million times a day, to radio silence, and it’s only now you deign to reciprocate? Barely any fanfare, as though such a confession alone makes up for all the doubt you’ve brought me?”

Janus tries to speak, to make use of and flaunt his eloquence, to orchestrate those perfect sentences to craft himself some semblance of a defense. But all he can do is choke. 

“I don’t know why I ever expected better from you. It’s obvious that you can’t change, Deceit.”

And Roman leaves. 

Except he didn’t. It wasn’t real. Janus squeezed his eyes shut for just a second, blinking them open to see the real Roman- who, thankfully, seemed to be too preoccupied to take note of his… episode.

Roman was wide-eyed, completely still in Janus’ arms. He tilted back, and for a petrifying second the deceitful side thought he really was going to let go, but thankfully he didn’t go far. The Prince gripped tightly to Janus’ shoulders, holding on as if to keep himself steady. He let out a shaky laugh- soft and reverent and nothing like his nightmare version’s cackle. Because he wasn’t that, despite what Deceit’s mistrusting mind would try to convince him. 

“You said it,” Roman said at last, his voice small but his smile wide.

“I’m aware,” finally, am I right? Janus bit his tongue on that. I’m sorry, he couldn’t find the strength to say. I mean it, I’ve meant it for so long, please believe me, also went unspoken. What he settled on was:

“This is the easiest thing in the world for me.”

“I’m so proud of you.”

“Why? You tell me-” a shiver chased down his back, “-you tell me you love me a million times a day.”

“Yes, I do that. I suppose it’s just in my nature, after all. Regardless, it would be wrong of me to expect you act like me, because you’re you. And ‘you’ happens to be someone I love very, very much.”

Janus let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. 

“... I love you, too.”

Roman chuckled, bonking his nose against Janus’ affectionately.

“Two in one day? I must be the luckiest man in the world.”

“Shut up, I’m only to make up for lost time. Don’t get used to it.”

“Of course not, my love.” 

Janus sighed- relief, mostly, but infatuation crept its way into the sound. He picked up humming to the light melodies that played, resuming the swaying movements that had been forgotten in the face of confessions. Roman followed his lead, his grin delightfully infectious. 

“We should get back soon,” the artistic trait admitted, sounding very much like he considered it someone else’s problem- one that he did not intend on concerning himself with, at that. Janus hummed, feigning deep thought. He let his head fall against Roman’s shoulder, eyes falling closed as he responded. 

“Just one more song, Darling?” 

“Oh, if you insist.”

“Insist I do.” 

Roman stayed.

@shrimp-crockpot

[lordxgrinnyxboy]

rewatching tgm, wifi being useless edition 2/?

every time i hear puppet!Dea say “when a story is raw and real” i see Mr. Gordon Ramsey memes, they just scroll across my vision and there’s nothing i can do to stop it u-u

ngl im kinda in love with Mojo Puppeteer

the foot shimmy during this scene, like right as Ursus gets up off the floor Gwyn/Mr. Maskell does this little ankle squirm. u-u

foreaaaaaaaaaarmmmmssssss

love how mr maskell doesn't emote w/his face while puppeteering but ms. brisson's just facially so into this performance and honestly so's ms. onitiri

also love all the different bits of ribbon and such puppet!Dea’s hair is made of. several different textures in there

kay but the way he makes the prince puppet kinda bounce in place as he sings “only those three words could ever free me from the curse” it just makes it look like the prince is kindof adorably excited about this

im just now realizing that one part of the puppet is supposed to be the prince’s mouth and not his chin or something.

Dea’s soft “oh” when their hands touch

foreaaaaaarmsssss

Gwynlit always looks so shook as they step back from each other after the aging up sequence like he’s full dear-in-headlights (i know it’s ‘deer’ in headlights but he is Dear to Me so)

and really so is Dea for a second there

oh god her look of alarm  changes to a smile the second Gwyn starts singing. i need a minute.

i love these two so much

the harmony will never not end my life why is it so powerful

idk what they put in this song but every single time my aroace self is like “shfjshfsj play this at my wedding” and then i have to be like “wait.”

Dea’s adorable and i hope she knows how adorable she is

im cry they’re so cute they’re so cute i love these two

Quake is on it about letting ppl know entertainment’s cancelled due to the king dying Quake is ready Quake loves her job so much

oh so  the barrels are just there for Dirry-Moir and Osric to have somewhere to sit while Ursus tells the story okay

wait how quick did dude just throw on his Clarence costume and climb in the coffin that was. super duper fast

he’s literally offscreen for 24 seconds and managed to

holy cats how does he do it

wait also mojo tho. mojo had to put on his priest costume

wait also Osric and Dirry-Moir had to put on their Lord attire

and they say movies are supposed to be magic

just continuing to absolutely love every character played by ms. obianyo

love how they just. have trombones. 10/10

i mean i guess the costume changes aren’t super complicated like throw on a robe and a wig but STILL within 24 seconds? i think it’s impressive

oh hey jojo-as-a-random-lord is also here

ohhhhh is that why Jojo’s costume is Like That then? to make it easier to switch characters real fast? but no actually???

the hats on the lords tho. we’ve got Fish Lord, Bunny Lord,,, maybe some kind of Bird or Chicken Lord...

so it’s a Pig’s Foot that killed Clarence and the name of the holy relic translates to like, “pig’s flower” ...thematic....dots.......

oop there’s Only a Clown

ngl i kinda love Archbishop Kupsak. a weird dude.

would love to know why Angelica thought she needed to ‘make a law’ regarding traitors being brought to justice. just curious about her thought-process. heck she could probably have her own musical.

WAIT MS OBIANYO PLAYS THE TROMBONE. SICK.

wait hey, hey. hey. petition for ms. obianyo to play a FATE.

oh god it’s my least favorite scene

skip? no...but? no u-u

jojo apologize to the trash clown

scene too stressful

genuinely have no thoughts, head completely empty

CART SCENE CART SCENE CART SCENE

is that a bowl and spoon on th-

separate post separate post gentlefolks of the jury i

jaw twitch

okay but Dea gets this Look when Gwyn asks Ursus “who did this to me” she looks a little Surprised

does not react however to “who carved me into this freak”

the hand flex as Gwyn walks away from Ursus after Ursus Won’t Let Him Talk

oh Osric you absolute delight

beauty and the beast ii destroys me every time gwyn’s just steadily wilting but trying to hold on but he can’t and Dea’s so supportive

would love to know what Ursus’ take on all this would’ve been if he hadn’t been involved. like would he still be hell-bent on not letting Gwyn remember or would he have been more chill about letting Gwyn make that decision for himself

like on the one hand i can see why Ursus would think that maybe Gwyn would be better off not remembering, but also making him forget clearly didn’t actually help him suffer any less, it just gave him a different kind of suffering. He’s wrung-out tormented and Ursus can’t/won’t help him because of the potential repercussions of Gwyn learning the truth. which do include some Worst Timeline options for how that could go but. also include a few Gwyn’s Able To Move On And Live Well, With Or Without Ursus options so.

idk i just feel like after a certain point of seeing how Gwyn’s basically falling apart over all this Ursus really should’ve considered having that difficult Discussion bc that boy was Not getting better on Ursus’ Plan A

also the whole dismissively invalidating ur kid’s struggle is not a good look Ursus

i love him and absolutely believe he is definitely Trying His Best but he’s #Problematic_Dad for sure

that bit where Ursus notices Josiana as if for the first time and does that little bow to her oh my goodness XD

also him just trying so hard to keep it together in the lead-up to Born Broken. debating whether Ursus sticking his head through the curtain is the funniest part of this show. probably not but it’s real close

Dea’s so pretty and i love her outfit u-u

and her blue makeup

and her lovely lovely eyes like wow she’s Perfect

this girl is in her element and im fully convinced that in the version of events where Gwyn and Dea stay on as Lord and Lady Dea does some addressing of parliament or whatever, has speaking engagements, she’s all kinds of involved.

there’s tears in Ursus’ eyes during this bit and i don’t agree w/him but i do feel bad for him. he does want to do right by these kids but he’s just...it’s not working out for him because he can’t have it both ways.

i mean genuinely tho Ursus is so desperate to forget/bury/escape/move on from the past but in adopting Gwyn and trying to be a family and a fresh start for him...that shut down any chance of that actually happening.

no but fr Ursus’ face when Dea says “it doesn’t keep us safe, Father, it turns us against you” which is like. probably the exact thing he’s afraid of happening if they ever learn the truth.

*strums lyre* it’s a sad tale, it’s a tragedy!

Musical Ursus is fully a good dude who did one Stupid Thing and spent the rest of his life trying to control the damage only to make it Worse and then he died and i’m so! 😭

at the end of the second 30minutes but im keep going

Dea and Gwyn are holding hands so intently im feeling feelings about

harmonyyyyyyyy

ngl though i wonder if given Ursus’ “dear god, you pick your moments” and “who did what to you” if maybe this is something that’s just been festering and hasn’t been verbally brought up until the show’s events

“What do you want?! BLOOD?!” i mean u did script him as saying he wants to kill a man

“I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know” i mean technically that’s true bc technically Gwyn does know, he just doesn’t remember, which is pretty much the same as not knowing but ayyyyyyyyyy

would love to know what Ursus thought was coming when Gwyn said “I can only tell them what I know I am” like

wait no but “I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know” being followed by “I can only tell them what I know I am” idk how to say but oh heck oh heck oh heck heck oh no.

but yeah Ursus’ little glances at Gwyn and then the Turn as Gwyn starts to sing. i just wonder what Ursus is thinking just then

ohhhhhhhhh wait a minute now. stars stripped from the sky. the play on the lyrics from within Ursus’ show. the conversation they just had. is Freak Show (partially?) a vaguepost at Ursus 👀

no but the Wiggle before that next to last “watch me smile” tho

needs the backbend 🍹

hello Puppet Helmet Thing. i’ve developed a fondness for you, you unexplained and kind of weird yet near-infinitely interpretable element of the show.

and cutting here for length uwu

[stars-and-rose]

What is this feeling?(hint, it’s not loathing)

First things first: I am working on the superhero au! I'm about 3k words in the first chapter. But I found @thelowlysatsuma 's prompt-thingy, and well, I have the impulse control of a chicken nugget.

Fandom: Thomas Sanders/Sanders Sides

Pairings: Prinxiety, Logicality if you squint

Summary: Even since Virgil moved into his new apartment, he's heard his next-door neighbor sing Broadway songs. Then, he does the unspeakable- he joins in on his neighbor's duet.

Word Count: 1,559

Trigger Warnings: Cursing

Virgil threw the door to his apartment open, tossing off his bag as he shut the door behind him. His apartment still smelled like cinnamon, a nod to the previous owner. Virgil has just moved into the apartment a few weeks back, and the smell still hadn’t faded.

Oh well. It could have been worse.

Virgil picked up the bag from the floor, taking out the new paintbrushes he’d bought, along with a few new watercolors. Things were looking up for him, honestly- he was so glad he took up his brother's offer.

Virgil's older brother and his newly wedded husband had opened up their own bookstore and needed at least one other employee to help run the place before opening. Virgil had agreed to take the position and had moved cross country to New York City to help them open. The place had become a booming success (Virgil swore it was because his brother-in-law sold his baked goods at the store along with the books), and that led Virgil to be able to replace some of his older supplies and buy some new ones as well.

The dark-haired boy slipped off his work-shirt and settled into an old sweatshirt that was already decorated with paint stains. Brushing off old papers and a bottle of black nail polish (which reminded him that he needed to repaint his chipping nails) from his desk, Virgil grabbed a fresh piece of paper and started sketching his latest commission.

Then he heard the singing.

Even though Virgil had lived in the apartment for a few weeks now, he still hadn’t met any other his neighbors. However, the owner of the apartment on his left had made his presence known. Virgil hadn’t met him face-to-face, but he’d heard the man sing. At least once a day, Virgil’s neighbor burst into song, singing Broadway show tunes as he did whatever he was doing, and the apartment walls didn’t do much to mute the sound. Virgil would have complained, but his neighbor was a crazy talented singer. Who was Virgil to deny himself a free concert?

Today, the man was singing a song Virgil knew well. His senior year in high school, the school performed the show Wicked, and the president of the drama club had practically begged Virgil to paint the sets. Virgil had agreed and often painted while the cast was practicing. The songs had ingrained themselves into Virgil's head, and he could remember them word for word to this day.

Including "What is this Feeling?" which was what his neighbor was belting out.

The man was currently singing, "Unusually and exceedingly peculiar

And altogether quite impossible to describe..."

As the other man held out Galinda's line, Virgil couldn't help himself. He sang Elphaba's response, "Blonde."

Virgil heard a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the wall. Oh shit, had Virgil ruined the other man's song? Then, he heard the man continue, "What is this Feeling, So sudden and new?"

Well, Virgil was obligated now. He dropped his pencil and looked at the wall between him and his surprise new duet partner. "I felt the moment, I laid eyes on you."

"My pulse is rushing!"

"My head is reeling!"

"My face is flushing!"

"What is this feeling?" Virgil's voice mixed with his neighbor's, and to Virgil's surprise, they actually sounded good together.

"Fervid as a Flame, Does it have a name?

Yes! Loathing! Unadulterated Loathing!"

"For your face!" Virgil could practically hear the smile in the other's voice.

"Your voice." Virgil couldn't help but let a grin of his own form on his face as he responses

"Your clothing!" Virgil joined back in, singing along to his partner's "Let's just say, I loathe it all!"

The two continued the song, Virgil singing Elphaba's part and his neighbor singing Galinda's. During the part that required it, they sang in unison on the student's part. There was something magical about the moment, randomly bursting into song like they were actually in a Broadway show themselves.

Then the magic was shattered.

It was right before the climax of the song, and Virgil and his duet partner both went for the higher harmony, Virgil surprising himself by his ability to hit the note. Abruptly, his neighbor stopped singing, and yelled, "Galinda absolutely sings the top harmony on that you bastard!"

Honestly, Virgil was so startled by the sudden change of noise, he didn't even register himself screaming back, "In your dreams asshat!"

Virgil heard loud footsteps echoing from his neighbor's apartment. He sighed, leaning back in his chair. That had been surprisingly fun, but it was over now. Virgil was about to go back to the commission when he heard knocking booming from his door.

Virgil sighed, pushing himself out of his chair. He opened his door, surprised to see a guy bout his age standing there. Just as Virgil was going to ask who the hell the guy was, the stranger waved his phone around, saying, “I have the lyric video pulled up right here, let me in so I can prove you wrong!”

Oh. So he was Virgil neighbor/mystery duet partner.

Virgil, feeling a weird mix of annoyance, self-righteousness, and amusement, shot back, “Come in then, and prepare to eat your words.”

The two of them sat down at Virgil's tiny kitchen table. Virgil's neighbor set his phone between them. As he started the video, both he and Virgil stared at the phone like it was the only thing that mattered. Virgil's apartment was filled with "What is this feeling" for the second time that day.

Both boys kept their attention on the sound, waiting for the exact line in the song. When it came, Virgil triumphantly shouted, "Ha! It's not Galinda, suck it!"

His neighbor crossed his arms. "Well, Elphaba doesn't sing it either so you can eat my ass."

Virgil snorted. "It was the fucking ensemble. We're both dumbasses."

For some reason, that sent the boy across from him to giggles, and soon enough, Virgil was laughing alongside him.

When he finally stopped, Virgil took a moment to study his neighbor. The first thing he noticed was that the guy was freaking blond; the irony was making Virgil want to start laughing again. His neighbor had soft green eyes, and he was definitely wearing eyeliner. And possibly lipgloss, but Virgil was going to resist temptation and avoid staring at the other's lips. The boy's honey skin was dotted with freckles, and he had a pencil thrown half-hazardly behind his ear. A loose red sweatshirt hung off his right shoulder, revealing what Virgil assumed was a tattoo peeking out from under the fabric.

In short, the guy was really fucking hot.

While Virgil was looking over the guy, it seemed the other was doing the same, a faint red brushing against his cheeks. "You know, I never got your name."

"I'm Virgil, you are?"

"The name's Roman." The boy drummed his fingers on the table, displaying his red painted nails. "Now, Virgil... I think there's a three o'clock showing of Wicked this Friday."

Virgil arched an eyebrow and prayed his cheeks didn't heat up, "Are you asking me on a date?"

"I mean, yeah, you're pretty cute and you gotta be an interesting person if you randomly join into a duet, and I'm probably overstepping because I have no idea if you're single or gay, but hey, gotta risk it for the biscuit, right?"

Virgil stared at him and then burst into laughter. The other boy crossed his arms, looking mildly embarrassed. Virgil took a shaky breath, attempting to stop laughing long enough to respond. “How is it humanly possible to talk that fast?"

Roman huffed, "I talk as fast as I think."

"Clearly. But lucky for you, I'm both free on Friday and extremely gay."

Roman visibly brightened; he gave Virgil a smile that could have powered the entirety of New York. "Is that your way of saying yes?"

Virgil shrugged, “My brother says I need to get out more, and luckily for me, a really hot boy just rolled in and asked me out, so yeah, why not?"

The blond continued to beam, leaning over the table and grabbing Virgil's hand. He flinched at the sudden contact, but the other had warm hands, much warmer than Virgil’s own, so Virgil didn't pull away. He was simply stealing Romans heat, that was all.

Then, Virgil almost choked because Roman pulled his hand up to his lips and kissed it like he was a prince out of a fairytale. Virgil's ears flamed as the other boy dropped his hand. "It's settled then. I'll come around at two on Friday?"

By some miracle, Virgil was able to keep himself put together. "Sounds good, Prince Charming."

Wait a hot second, what did he just say?

Roman laughed, but Virgil caught the red on his cheeks becoming more vibrant. He stood, stretching, and grinned at Virgil. "Alright then, see you in two days, My Dark-Eyed Beauty."

And with that, Virgil was alone in his apartment, the door slowly swinging shut. He honestly couldn't move; he just stared down at his hand, at the faint kiss printed there. (It seemed Roman was indeed wearing lip gloss).

"Dark-Eyed Beauty? Nice reference." Virgil muttered, before reaching for his phone. His fingers flew, typing a familiar number. It took two rings for the line to connect. "Lo, holy shit, you aren't going to fucking believe this."

(i highkey want to write a sequel because a) Wicked date!!! sounds adorable, emily write that down. b) cute married couple logicality??? and c) purely so I can describe Virgil the way I described Roman-)

[soundandcolorsblg]

2020 as a song

In the words of the beautiful Jhene Aiko, “I can't wrap my head around what’s happening.” I'm sure we all could relate to these words, especially during these trying times. “Summer 2020” is the perfect rendition of the year 2020 as a song. While we all had great expectations going into the new year, it didn’t take months before we found the world as we know it turn upside down. 

5,4,3,2,1… Happy New Year!

As I celebrated the new year with my family, I couldn’t help but get excited for the new beginnings that were brewing in the atmosphere. I was officially done with 2019 and all of the grief it caused me. Obviously, I was oblivious to all the other grief I would have to face. One thing that I look forward to every year is the music that will be released. No matter how dismayed or jubilant we feel, we always need a soundtrack to amplify the moments created between time. The feeling of this song is like watching the sunrise on a summer morning. With its slow tempo and hypnotic harmony, “Summer 2020” captures listeners enticingly with relatable lyrics. You can find this smooth track on the deluxe version of Chilombo, Jhene’s third studio recording album. 

“Times are changing, strangers getting stranger. Generations faced with genocide.”

 In the heat of this summer we faced two adversaries, a pandemic and the virus of racial injustice. Left and right, people were dying due to COVID-19. It almost seemed like a movie as people were going crazy over paper towels and judging others strongly over a simple cough. As people were trying to find entertainment during quarantine, artists including Ms. Aiko, ventured off to social media to keep fans hopeful. While she didn’t perform “Summer 2020” she did perform another song off the Chilombo album called “B.S” ft H.E.R. Despite it being a pandemic, many took to the streets to protest against police brutality. The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor sparked the awakening of the masses. Men and women of color found themselves despair over the deaths of people who look like them. “And I feel like sometimes I cry.” Hearing these lyrics in Jhene Aiko’s soothing voice made me reminisce on the moment I watched a black man murdered while jogging on camera or the shocking video of George Floyd murdered by policemen. My eyes could not hold back any tears. It's clear that the song was intended for us to feel, as the artist was influenced by the tragedies of this year.

“I'll take some rain with my sunshine.”

Since Aiko’s audience is mostly young women who are in high school or college, I'm sure that many wouldn't have realized that she sampled Kool & The Gang’s successful hit “Summer Madness.” But then again this instrumental is so popular and ahead of its time that it will be hard to believe that someone didn’t know it. This isn’t the first time it’s been sampled either, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince made the 70s instrumental fresh and admirable in the 90s with their song “Summer time.” For those who were around in the 90s, this song was well associated with a good time. And while this sample is a masterpiece that should make you reminisce about a fantastic summer, I don't think that people will have that same effect when they listen to “Summer 2020” years later. This isn’t a blow to Ms. Aiko because the song brings a melancholic vibe that anyone can listen to when they feel chill or moody, which is what the singer is known for creating. However, I will be listening to this masterpiece rain or sunshine.

Kool & The Gang- Summer Madness

https://open.spotify.com/track/2uMqG8w8oi09fB2YA2QLOm?si=Jd-31JOmT8WgRFie7QypuQ

Dj Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince- Summer time

https://open.spotify.com/track/4vUiUHGwRsBo6M5pB641Wk?si=QbA2vaQbQWCgNUbU2tqI7g

Jhene Aiko- Summer 2020

https://open.spotify.com/track/0t2q2c43AATY4z1GI883Be?si=5i5rk2I0Q0-mfqBURNwVeg