#did this a while ago for a sanders sides epic cross thing

[imhere-imqueer-ilikedeer]

[logansanderslove]

Logan 3.0  (4/?)

CO-AUTHOR: @demented-dukey

Summary: Remus is an incorrigible flirt, and Logan can only bear the innuendo for so long until something has to give. Passions erupt, but there are more lasting repercussions than either could have predicted, including a significant transformation to Logan himself! How will these new changes affect the delicate balance of Thomas’s mental state? When a new dark side threatens the lives of several of the other sides, will Logan and Remus’s love be strong enough to save everyone, including Thomas?

Ships: INTRULOGICAL

Sanders Sides: Logan, Remus, Thomas, Roman, Virgil, Patton, Deceit

Fic type: Drama, Romantic, Action, Flirty

Trigger Warnings: No character deaths, but a lot of very close calls. Consensual knife play and bloodplay, and lots of bloody fighting and monster attacks. If you’re sensitive to unsympathetic characters, some parts flirt pretty close to that, but there’s also a lot of extenuating circumstances to explain the situation, and there’s a happy ending once you get through the angst and misunderstandings. Self-harm and references to such, and suicidal tendencies.

MASTERLIST

Chapter 4: Things Are Changing

Patton paced nervously in the common area, Roman's eyes watching him. "Pat, you wearing a path in the carpet isn’t going to help anything."

Patton spun around with worried eyes. "What's going to happen, Ro?! Logan is completely off, and I don’t know what to do, and I can’t think and I'm freaking out and the only way I'm taking my mind off of it is pacing and thinking about puppies so please just tell me WHAT DO WE DO?!" He cried frantically.

"You calm down."

Both Roman and Patton snapped their heads around, eyes widening when they saw Remus and a darker man standing next to him. Roman's eyes doubled in size as he stared at him. 

"L-Logic? Is that you?!" He exclaimed, and Logan chuckled.

"Yes. Although I'm not just 'Logic', anymore." He smirked. "I'm improved."

"You can say that again!" Remus grinned, helpless against the urge to show off Logan. "Sexy Pants is just chock-full of surprises!" Roman winced a little at the term of affection, and Remus counted it as a win.

"Not just Logic," Patton repeated hesitantly, "Does that mean... you're something else now too?"

Logan smirked, a gesture that neither Patton nor Roman was used to. "It does indeed, Patton. Earlier you had questioned whether or not I was becoming a Dark Side. Well, you were somewhat correct."

Roman's fingers twitched, and he forced himself not to call for his sword, despite the danger vibes he was getting from Logan. "Spit it out, Drama Turd." he snarked. "What's going on?"

"Well, perhaps if you asked a bit nicer I would be quite willing to share." Logan retorted with an unusual amount of venom, shocking the other two but only bringing a smile from his lover. 

Roman swallowed hard under Logan's stern gaze, then he nodded. "Logan, could you please explain what you mean?" He forced out, and Logan smiled.

"Of course." He adjusted his glasses, a certain grin on his face. "As you know, yesterday I seemed to be of a bit different nature. I was more volatile and ...I believe 'mischievous' could be the correct word." He sighed after a sexual mutter was given from Remus, then he adjusted his all-black tie. "That was due to the fact that I had begun to transition."

Patton's eyes went wide. "Transition?"

Logan nodded. "Indeed. I had never considered it, but I knew that the feeling that I had manifested had to have some purpose. That's when it finally occurred to me. I was a Neutral Side."

Patton was wringing his hands, "I... I guess that's okay? Logic... should be neutral? But Logan, you were in so much pain! Are you sure you're feeling better now?"

"Yes, Patton. In fact, I have never felt better in my life. Because I now know what two aspects I control." Logan replied.

Roman bit back a groan - this was like pulling teeth. With as pleasant a voice as he could muster, he forced out, "And what aspects are those, praytell?"

"Logic, ....and Anger. Fury."

Patton covered his mouth with one hand in disbelief and took a tiny step back from Logan in fear.

Roman laughed, but the sound had a note of hysteria in it. "Fury? How is Fury remotely neutral?"

Logan sighed. "I'm not quite sure you grasp the idea of what a Neutral Side is. I control one aspect of the Light Sides and one aspect of the Dark Sides. I now have more power to control both, but you needn't worry, Patton, I would never harm any of you." He then bit his lip, glancing at Roman. "Unless you were asking for it."

He then sighed, glancing at Remus, who put his arm around Logan's shoulder. "We sent Virgil and Deceit to check on Thomas. Apparently, Logan can't just become a Neutral on his own. Thomas has to be doing something that requires his aspect to change. However, now that he is a Neutral side, he's gonna stay that way."

Logan glanced around. "Virge and Dee should be back by now."

As if on cue, Virgil rose up, looking worried and fiddling with his hoodie cuffs. "Guys? We've got a problem." Virgil's gaze caught on Logan and he did a doubletake, "Oh, fuck."

Logan sighed. "Oh, dear, what is it? I'm well aware that it has to do with my transition, that goes without saying, but what's happening with Thomas?" He looked around. "And where's Deceit?"

"Dee's keeping an eye on Thomas. He's... it's bad." Virgil shifted uneasily. "Thomas was in a fight. He's sleeping now, but he's got a black eye, a split lip, and his right wrist is broken."

Logan's eyes went wide, followed by everyone else's. "WHAT IN THE HELL DID HE GET IN A FIGHT FOR?! WHO FOUGHT HIM?!" Logan's voice was rising, and Remus had to grab him and hold him gently to calm him down before his furious breathing led to something else.

The others stepped back from him, Roman staring with wide eyes. "Jeez, he really does represent Anger..." he muttered. Logan glared at him, then he took a deep breath and slumped back into Remus' arms, centering himself.

"This is going to take some getting used to..." he muttered, then he shook his head and fixed his tie. "Okay. Virgil, tell me what happened. I'm sure we can find some way to help him."

Virgil had shrunk away from Logan's outburst and Patton quickly hurried over to comfort him. "It'll be okay, kiddo." Patton murmured, hugging Virgil. "Can you tell us what happened?"

Virgil nodded and swallowed hard, clutching Patton's hand for strength. "He ... he was at a Pride event with some friends. He saw some asshole drop something into someone's drink, and the kid swallowed it before Thomas could cross the room and stop him. While Thomas's friends were helping the kid, the asshole slipped outside in the confusion. Thomas followed him and confronted him, and... that's when the fight happened. Thomas was... so angry." Virgil shuddered.

"By the time Dee and I got there, the fight was mostly over, and the police had been called. The asshole ran off, and Thomas's friends escorted both him and the kid to the hospital to get checked out."

Logan's eyes went wide. "What time did this happen? How long ago?"

Virgil shrugged, "Right around the time you and Princey were having your Mega Epic Showdown if I had to wager a guess. The passage of time in the mindscape doesn't always match up perfectly to time in the Real World, but it's a little too much of a coincidence if you ask me."

Logan sighed. "That's what I thought. Even though time doesn’t always match up, sometimes it does when big events are happening. It seems that we may have triggered something." Logan said, meeting Roman's eyes, but instead of the sneer he expected, Roman was met with an apologetic frown. "Now we have hurt Thomas."

He then sighed, taking a deep breath. "But this is a problem that really can only be fixed by me. Logic is the only way to realize your mistakes and determine not to do it in the future."

Patton bit his lip nervously. "But...what if when you're with Thomas...you turn back to Anger?" He asked cautiously, then Logan placed his hand on Patton's shoulder. 

"It is going to be alright, Patton. I will be careful with my self-control." He nodded to them all. "I'm going to join Deceit in watching over Thomas for a while. We shall be back later."

He turned towards Remus and walked over to him, kissing his cheek. "I love you."

Remus smiled, "Love you too. Go help Thomas - I'll keep your bed warm for you." he said with a saucy wink.

"I... I didn't..." Roman was saddened and horrified, "I never wanted to hurt Thomas. I'm..." He stood up, and slowly approached Logan. "I'm sorry, Logan. I was surprised and angry, and I overreacted. I should have never hurt you like that, and I'm so sorry." Roman began to cry, begging forgiveness from the neutral side.

Logan smirked at his boyfriend, then turned to the Prince. From the single look that he had, everyone expected him to send Roman flying. Never did they expect him to embrace in a hug.

"It's okay, Roman. I forgive you. Don't beat yourself up over this. We both played parts, and I was the one who started it all, so I'm going to be the one to finish it." He said, then he rubbed the back of Roman's head as the Prince continued to cry. "Shh...it's okay, Ro. It's okay..."

After a few minutes of comforting the Creative side, Logan bid everyone adieu and sank out. Remus met eyes with his brother, and an awkward silence followed.

Roman was the one to finally break it. "So...so you two truly love each other?" He questioned of Remus.

Remus grinned, slightly manically, but full of genuine happiness. "Truly, Madly, Deeply. You don't have to approve of it, bro-"

"No! No, I-" Roman fidgeted, "I don't disapprove. Not... not anymore."

Patton raised his eyebrow. "Is...is it true that Lo was the one to ask you to be his boyfriend?" He asked quietly.

Remus nodded fondly, "Yeah. I tried to turn him down, but... he's really good at talking people over to his side."

Roman chuckled, "Yeah, he is." The brothers shared a soft smile in appreciation of the brainiac.

The words felt heavy in his throat, but Roman forced them out. This was Important. "Love... is Love. I hate to admit it, but... you two... I can see it, and I think it could be good for you both."

Remus gasped, over-playing his astonishment. "Why, brother! You approve of my boyfriend? I never thought I'd see the day!"

Roman laughed, "Yeah, well... me either. Of course, if you hurt Logan, all bets are off."

"If I hurt Logan," Remus assured him, "You're welcome to collect the bloody chunks of my body after I've torn myself to shreds and put them through a meat grinder before feeding the remains to feral dogs, and then setting their shit on fire."

Patton winced, and Virgil pat him on the back. "Trigger warning, dude." Virgil chided, and Remus shrugged.

"And if Logan ever hurts you..." Roman said, "I'll make him wish he was never formed."

Remus blinked, shocked. "W-what?"

Roman's smile was lopsided, self-deprecating. "You're my brother. I'm allowed to give your boyfriend the Shovel Talk." he shrugged, "Or in my case, the Katana Talk."

"Pretty sure Logan is intimately familiar with your katana." Remus pointed out.

Roman winced, "I said I was sorry! Anyway, not the point. You're my brother, and you deserve to be treated right by your boyfriend. If Logan fucks up, no matter how powerful he is now, he's gonna be on my shit list."

"You love me, you really love me!" Remus teased Roman.

"Shut up." Roman waved him off but was still smiling.

Virgil tried to hide his smirk, but a small snicker brought everyone's attention to him. He shrugged. "What? I just never thought I'd see the day where you two would get along, and especially not when it's talking about a boyfriend."

Patton smiled. "I think it's cute, personally. I'm glad that Lo has someone to make him happy."

Remus opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, "I... I'll try." He didn't know how he'd gotten so lucky, and he still had trouble understanding what Logan saw in him, but he would do his damndest to make Logan happy for the rest of their lives.

"You're doing pretty well so far, kiddo," Patton said, smiling at Remus. "Keep up the good work."

Remus shivered, and he suddenly realized that he'd never been complimented so much by the Light Sides before. He'd never spent this much time among them without being insulted and shunned and ridiculed. They were talking to him, they were listening to him, they were COMPLIMENTING him... would wonders never cease?

[sohannabarberaesque]

Moth Mondays with the Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera: The Red Max (as per the #4 Crimson Haybaler) per Wacky Races

Setting aside the obnoxious German-accented voice and absurd stunts calling to mind World War I aviation epics, we find perhaps Dick Dastardly’s own worst rival in absurdity having something of a wanderlust-filled side perhaps reflecting on his own Germanic background:

It was a few years ago when I headed to The Original Oktoberfest back in Munich ... and while there are countless imitators worldwide, especially that infamous one from a certain La Crosse, Wisconsin as had to be toned down seriously when things got too obnoxious for even my fellow Wacky Racer, Dick Dastardly, to get caught up in, Munich’s (which originally started as a wedding reception for some Bavarian princess) is the genuine article; make no mistake. And to think such a gigantic beer festival as the Oktoberfest can happen so close to downtown Munich on a field known as the Theresienwiese which otherwise can be said to be fallow most of the year.

But it turned out to be a rather wet, misty early-fall afternoon on “der Wiezn,” as Munichers are fond of referring to the Oktoberfest ground ... and a little on the cool side. Enough to drive me over to the tent section and check out one of the more obscure, smaller even, tents serving the classic Bavarian schtick, as in roast half-chicken with potato pancakes--and we couldn’t forget the rather potent Oktoberfest beer endemic to Munich’s festival of festivals; “when in Rome” and all that. It was around midday, for the most part, and you could get a decent Oktoberfest tent lunch for a decent price, even with the rides area shut down on account of the rain.

Yet I keep getting amazed how it is that, even with the portable heaters brought in, the Oktoberfest tents have managed to avoid serious fires, even the tents of the six major breweries of Munich whose wares are exclusively permitted to be sold on “der Weizn”. Even if the beer gets a little strong ... yet the chicken arrives, dripping in its own roaster juices and having something of an aroma to it rivalled by my great-great-grandmother’s sauerbraten. 

It’s definitely NOT the Colonel Sanders kind, definitely requiring knife and fork to get into the dish ... whose juiciness must be something typically Oktoberfest, bless your slogan-bedecked gingerbread hearts (another Oktoberfest tradition, even if the messages tend to the kitschy and saccharine). And what could be more interesting than to have some of the drippings from the roast chicken serve as a sort of dip for the potato pancakes, rather crispy with a hint of chopped onion?

Once back in the Wiezn, the steady drizzle seemed to keep dampening things to a sort of chill that maybe some coffee could warm further. Which it did, by way of an “old school” confectionery stand legendary for serving typically Bavarian pancakes with plum sauce and whose coffee was said to be an Oktoberfest legend just before the last call for orders. Sometimes, I have to acknowledge, coffee and drizzly afternoons must have been made for each other.

Even absent the traditional lederhosen otherwise seen as Oktoberfest’s official dress, and not being seen as a fool.

“... and that’s the story from The Moth”

(The preceding is an independent fanfic feature having no official connexion or association with The Moth. For more information, please to visit their website ... and tune in to The Moth Radio Hour weekends on your local public radio station; check your local radio listings for the day and time.)

[maryseward666]

MIKE PORTNOY Calls METAL ALLEGIANCE His 'Ultimate Metal Outlet'

RARE BLACK METAL COLLECTIBLES

Drummer Mike Portnoy (SONS OF APOLLO, THE WINERY DOGS, METAL ALLEGIANCE) recently spoke with Josh Rundquist of That Drummer Guy. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On the new METAL ALLEGIANCE album, "Volume II – Power Drunk Majesty": Mike: "After we had so much fun making the first album, we knew a second album would be inevitable. I think myself, Alex Skolnick, David Ellefson and Mark Menghi, we felt we tapped into something. The first album was more like an experiment, because we didn't know how it was going to go, but we also had all these guests. There had to have been 15, 20 other people on the album. We knew this time around, we wanted to streamline it a little bit and kind of focus on the core four. The four of us did all the writing together, and we wanted to streamline the guests — mainly leave it to singers, to give it more of a band feel. The first time around was like more of an experiment; this time around, it really felt like a concise unit between the four of us." On the album's guest vocalists: Mike: "In terms of singers, it was nice to get some new blood on this album. People like Mark Osegueda [DEATH ANGEL] and Troy Sanders [MASTODON], they've been in the family now for years, and even the first time around, some of the singers were a little bit obvious, like Randy Blythe [LAMB OF GOD], Phil Anselmo [PANTERA, DOWN] and Chuck Billy [TESTAMENT]. Those were all guys that it made so much sense to be part of the first one, but this time around, we wanted to branch out a bit more, and we got some guys like Johan [Hegg] from AMON AMARTH and Trevor [Strnad] from [THE] BLACK DAHLIA [MURDER] or Floor Jansen from NIGHTWISH. Some of these were suggestions that I wouldn't have even normally thought of, but once they were suggested and we checked them out, it added a whole new kind of element of diversity to the songs... Rather than doing the obvious move, we got to experiment with some different things this time around." On his own performance on the album: Mike: "I'm basically just showing my metal side. I've always brought a metal touch to everything I do, whether it be classic rock or prog or whatever. I've always brought that metal element and that mentality, when needed, but with METAL ALLEGIANCE, I get to unleash it and just let it go full-throttle from start to finish on the entire album. To me, it's an exciting outlet that I don't normally have with my other bands... For me, it's the ultimate metal outlet. I've always had all these different projects and different bands, and they were always kind of rooted in prog or, in the case of [THE] WINERY DOGS, more hard rock and traditional rock, classic rock, but I never had a true metal outlet until METAL ALLEGIANCE. To me, it's so exciting because it's a who's-who of literally everybody in the metal world. You have members from ANTHRAX, SLAYER, MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, LAMB OF GOD, PANTERA, MASTODON, EXODUS, OVERKILL... the list goes on and on and on. For me, I love it. Whenever there's an opportunity to play a show with METAL ALLEGIANCE, I don't even think twice about it — I put it on my calendar, and I make sure I'm there. For me, it's a dream outlet." On the future of SONS OF APOLLO: Mike: "We're just focusing on the upcoming dates, but we've talked about it. We're hoping to get into the studio early next year. We'll see if the schedules align and everything works out, but that's the plan. I know Derek [Sherinian] and Bumblefoot have been compiling riffs and ideas and putting them in folders, and when the time comes to collaborate, we'll get in the studio and start looking at everything and jamming on everything and bringing it to life. Hopefully that will happen early next year, as we have penciled in at the moment." On the new NEAL MORSE BAND album that he recently finished recording: Mike: "Our last album, 'The Similitude Of A Dream', was really special for us. It was one of my favorite albums of my career, actually. To get back in the studio and work on the follow-up to that, the next album coming off the heels of that, it's quite a tall order for us. We spent a lot of time working on it. Normally, when Neal and I get together for an album, we usually can get the writing and arranging and drum tracking done within 10 days [to] two weeks. This time around, we actually spent almost up to a year shaping and writing and arranging this next record, so we spent more time on this album than any album we've ever done in the past. I think it's going to be worth the wait, because what we have is really special and really a worthy follow-up to what we did with 'Similitude'. I look forward to that, and we're shooting for that to be out around January or so, and the tour would start right afterwards. It was really important that we follow up 'Similitude' with something that would be just as epic. It's taken a little time to get there, but it's really special." On the status of the next FLYING COLORS album: Mike: "We're going to resume work on that in December. That will be Neal and myself's twentieth studio album together. It's something we started working on about a year and a half ago and we just never got back to work on because the schedules hadn't aligned, but we've all penciled in December to get together, finish the writing for album number three and begin the recording process. Hopefully we can have that out later 2019, fingers crossed." METAL ALLEGIANCE's second album, "Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty", will be released on September 7 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Other guest musicians on "Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty" include Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, SEPULTURA, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY), John Bush (ARMORED SAINT), Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (OVERKILL) and Mark Tornillo (ACCEPT). "Volume II - Power Drunk Majesty" was produced by Menghi and Skolnick while Mark Lewis of MRL Studios handled the mixing and mastering. The cover artwork was created by renowned artist Marcelo Vasco (SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY, HATEBREED) and Rafael Tavares.

[Read More ...]

MY BLOG: http://www.rockoutwithyourcockout.com/

from Rock Out With Your Cock Out http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/mike-portnoy-calls-metal-allegiance-his-ultimate-metal-outlet/ via IFTTT

[democratsunited-blog]

How Democrats can win by losing a Supreme Court fight with Trump

https://uniteddemocrats.net/?p=4965

How Democrats can win by losing a Supreme Court fight with Trump

Democrats are going to lose the short-term battle over the Supreme Court’s future in the aftermath of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement. But in the end, they might just win.

The naming of Kennedy’s replacement is about more than the Democratic-Republican divide. It’s about the future of Roe vs. Wade and a woman’s right to choice.

That’s an issue that crosses party lines. It’s not just Democratic women who value that right — many Republican women recoil at the religious right’s push to outlaw abortions.

We may have heated discussions about conservative court rulings on public-employee union dues or travel bans from Muslim-majority countries. But nothing compares to the issue of a woman’s choice.

Chances are the Democratic minority in the Senate won’t be able to block any anti-Roe vs. Wade nominee President Trump puts forward. But even if Trump gets his way, the Democrats win because they will have living proof sitting on the Supreme Court bench of what is at stake in the midterms this fall — and in 2020.

Shocker? A Bernie Sanders supporter soundly defeats the No. 4 House Democrat, sending shock waves across the county — but it shouldn’t.

Times change, and so did New York Rep. Joe Crowley’s district, which is split between Queens and the Bronx. What was once Archie Bunker’s neighborhood now looks like the United Nations on a lunch break.

Crowley has been in office for nearly 20 years and had impressive liberal credentials and more money than God. He was even being shopped as a possible successor to Rep. Nancy Pelosi as House Democratic leader. But he got caught up in the national riptide and drifted too far from his district.

The woman who beat him in Tuesday’s primary, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is a 28-year-old who until recently was employed as a bartender. She turned out to have two things Democrats desperately need: a message, and boundless energy, applied to her district.

As she said on “Morning Joe” after winning the primary, she was “laser-focused … (on) economic, social, and racial dignity for working-class Americans, especially those in Queens and the Bronx.”

Roll call: London Breed, mayor-elect. Malia Cohen, president of the Board of Supervisors. City Administrator Naomi Kelly. Terri Jackson, San Francisco Superior Court’s presiding judge.

From a governing standpoint, African American women are running the town.

Movie time: “Incredibles 2.” An intriguing story, although a bit on the lightweight side. Still, all the greats from the original “Incredibles” are back.

The neatest addition is a baby who, from a superpower standpoint, is more interesting than everybody else. The animation is fabulous, but be sure to bring a kid with you.

“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.” The prehistoric animals aren’t nearly as frightening as in earlier installments. Worth a couple of hours of your time all the same. And maybe they’ll do better on the scary front in the next one.

Foodie time: Every week I assume people are checking this column for the true scoop on presidential politics, civic intrigue, electoral angling. But that’s not true, it turns out.

My readers want burger news.

Last week’s item on my daily quest for the perfect burger brought a flood of emails, including many from people who say they’ve already found the holy grill. Here are some of the best tips:

“In your search for a good hamburger you ought try Tarpy’s in Monterey. They have a Kobi hamburger with lobster on top! (25$) GOOD!” — Charles Speyerer

“I live in San Jose and love the Habit burgers. Their Portabella Char Burger is, I think, the best burger I have ever had. I have tried a couple of their other burgers and really like them.” — Tom Smyth

“Don’t forget to try a Hamburger at Absinthe on Hayes!” — Byron Nevins

“You have got to try JJ’s Burgers in Novato. Fabulous!!” — Ray Hollister

“For a while I thought nobody could beat Chez Maman, but Epic may be better. However, the new Hamburger Mary’s on Castro is surprisingly in the running! Damn good burger there too.” — Kevin McCarthy

And then there was this, from Gary Rosenberg, which I treasure most of all:

“My wife, Angela Marti, did a hamburger tour of SF 10 years ago. She rated Cafe de la Presse (Bush/Grant) as #1. I lost her last year to ovarian cancer (56 years old). If you get a chance, check out de la Presse burger as a shout out to her. And who knows, maybe it’s still good.”

Want to sound off? Email: wbrown@sfchronicle.com

Read full story here

[mileynewsau]

Miley Cyrus Breaks Silence on Rootsy New Music, Fiance Liam Hemsworth & America: 'Unity Is What We Need'

Well above California’s Pacific Coast Highway, just off a canyon road, sits a small house with a wooden porch painted in the colors of the Pride flag. The outside is decorated with frog planters, ­butterfly chairs, a hot-pink pig-shaped grill, ­sunflowers and daisies. This is Rainbow Land, the boho recording studio whose owner, Miley Cyrus, is on this sunny April afternoon sitting cross-legged in a swivel chair before a sound board, dressed way down with unruly long hair, cutoffs and a vintage tee that reads “Malibu” on the front.

Cyrus -- who’s about to play me 10 songs off a new album that promises to (yet again) transform one of the most inimitable, unpredictable careers in recent pop ­history -- is somehow animated and serene at the same time. It’s clear from the way her words tumble forth that she’s ­breaking a months long self-imposed “media blackout” and eager to unpack her latest thinking on everything from her alienation from hip-hop to engaging with Donald Trump’s supporters.

“This is crazy,” she says with her ­signature raspy-voiced charm, “but I haven’t smoked weed in three weeks!” Cyrus -- who’s sitting across from a lighted wall plaque that reads “It’s 4:20 Somewhere” -- elaborates on why she decided to quit “for a second”: “I like to surround myself with people that make me want to get better, more evolved, open. And I was noticing, it’s not the people that are stoned. I want to be super clear and sharp, because I know exactly where I want to be.”

Where is that, exactly? It is, among other things, on her leafy Malibu compound that includes Rainbow Land. Cyrus, 24, shares the property with seven dogs, two pigs, two miniature horses and one Australian: fiance Liam Hemsworth, the actor with whom Cyrus reunited last year after a 2013 breakup. Hemsworth bought the property in 2014, but Cyrus moved in and has left her mark on it. (She also keeps a home with her mom, Tish, in Studio City.) In Malibu, when she’s not making music or doing two hours of Ashtanga yoga daily, Cyrus says she likes nothing better than walking her dogs or grocery shopping, where she’s generally unbothered. “I love talking to people, and I approach them in a normal, ‘Don’t treat me different, ’cause I’m not’ way. That’s what started this evolution for me, getting out of my Dead Petz phase,” she says, referring to her 2015 album, the tour for which featured her in a unicorn outfit with a strap-on phallus. “People stare at me anyway, but people stare at me a lot when I’m dressed as a ­fucking cat.”

On May 11, fans and haters alike will get a dose of New Miley with “Malibu,” the first single off an as-yet-untitled album coming later this year. It’s a breezy love song about Hemsworth -- gimmick-free pop-rock unlike anything she has recorded before, whether as Hannah Montana, the punky Disney princess who scored three Billboard 200 No. 1s in the ’00s; or as herself, on 2013’s daring Bangerz (another No. 1); or the straight-to-SoundCloud experiment Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz. When Cyrus sings, “I never would’ve believed you if three years ago you told me I’d be here writing this song,” she could as easily be referring to her music as to her relationship.

While Bangerz and Petz bore the unmistakable stamps of their respective collaborators, Mike Will Made-It and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, the new album will be Cyrus’ most DIY to date. She wrote the lyrics and melodies ­herself, and producer-writer Oren Yoel (who co-wrote the Bangerz track “Adore You,” which hit No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100) plays all the ­instruments. Cyrus wrote one song for Hillary Clinton and another for women in the workplace, but overall, the album’s less explicitly political than it is personal. That extends to the music, which adds an unprecedented dose of twang to a mix that includes quiet acoustic turns and epic pop. “This is Miley leaning into her roots more than I’ve ever heard,” says her father, country singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus, who tells a story of Waylon Jennings teaching a young Miley guitar chords at the kitchen table. “For her, this is honest.” It’s also a showcase for her voice, one of the most expressive in music. “My main concern isn’t radio,” says Cyrus, whose “Wrecking Ball” spent three weeks at No. 1 in 2013. “I truly don’t even listen to it.”

Cyrus was first inspired to reach beyond her circle of “outspoken liberals” and ­cultivate ­country fans and red staters in 2016, when she began as a coach on NBC’s stalwart talent competition The Voice. (She will rejoin for season 13 this fall.) “I like talking to people that don’t agree with me, but I don’t think I can do that in an aggressive way,” says Cyrus. “I don’t think those people are going to listen to me when I’m sitting there in nipple pasties, you know?”

After Trump was elected ­president, Cyrus -- who first ­supported Bernie Sanders and, when she won the Democratic ­nomination, Clinton -- launched #HopefulHippies, an initiative of her Happy Hippie youth-activism nonprofit that encourages people to “turn emotion into action.” “I have to ask myself, ‘How am I going to create real change?’” she says, “and not just ­fucking preach to the choir anymore.” With the new album, Cyrus hopes to reach the other side of the aisle. “This record is a reflection of the fact that yes, I don’t give a fuck, but right now is not a time to not give a fuck about people,” she says. “I’m ­giving the world a hug and saying, ‘Hey, look. We’re good -- I love you.’ And I hope you can say you love me back.”

Where exactly did you write ­“Malibu”?

On the way to The Voice. I drive myself everywhere, but that day I decided to Uber, and I was trying not to sing out loud because someone else was in the car.

People might call it sentimental.

They’re going to talk about me if I come out of a restaurant with Liam. So why not put the power back in my relationship and say, “This is how I feel”?

After you guys broke up, you said something like, “I’m so immersed in work, I can’t even think about it.”

Yeah, but also ’cause I needed to change so much. And changing with someone else not changing like that is too hard. Suddenly you’re like, “I don’t recognize you anymore.” We had to refall for each other.

The new album is pretty singer-­songwriter-y, no?

Yeah. But not granola. I don’t listen to Ed Sheeran and John Mayer and stuff.

Did folk singer Melanie Safka [with whom Cyrus performed in 2015] ­influence you?

She did, and I grew up with her. But I also love that new Kendrick [Lamar] song [“Humble”]: “Show me somethin’ natural like ass with some stretch marks.” I love that because it’s not “Come sit on my dick, suck on my cock.” I can’t listen to that anymore. That’s what pushed me out of the hip-hop scene a little. It was too much “Lamborghini, got my Rolex, got a girl on my cock” -- I am so not that.

I was torn on whether I was going to work with certain producers that I really like. But I feel if we’re not on the same page ­politically ... My record is political, but the sound bite doesn’t stop there. Because you can write something beautiful and you know E! News will ruin our lives and say, “This is a political record.” Because then I’m the Dixie Chicks and I’m getting my album smashed in the streets, and that’s not what I want. I want to talk to people in a compassionate, understanding way -- which people aren’t doing.

What appealed to you about The Voice?

I’m down for hanging with Blake [Shelton]. I actually want to take ­advantage of the fact that he’s there, [because] his fans don’t really take me seriously as a ­country artist. One, I haven’t given them that music. But I’ve got a tattoo of Johnny Cash’s autograph that he gave me when I was a ­little girl that says, “I’m in your corner.” Dolly Parton is my ­fucking ­godmother. The fact that ­country music fans are scared of me, that hurts me. All the ­nipple pastie shit, that’s what I did because I felt it was part of my political movement, and that got me to where I am now. I’m evolving, and I surround myself with smart people that are evolved.

But we’ve seen the way that Madonna and Lady Gaga get asked, “Is this just another costume? Another phase?”

I think [Madonna and Gaga] are ­enlightened. I ­fucking hate it when people can’t adjust. I used to [resist changing]. But I haven’t smoked weed in three weeks, which is the longest I’ve ever [gone without it]. I’m not doing drugs, I’m not drinking, I’m completely clean right now! That was just something that I wanted to do.

Is it hard to not smoke?

It’s easy, dude. When I want something, it’s fucking easy for me. But if anyone told me not to smoke, I would have not done it. It’s because it was on my time. I know exactly where I am right now. I know what I want this record to be. And not in the sense of manipulation -- wanting something from my fans or the audience, like some slimy thing -- “How do I get attention?” I never thought about that. Dude, I was shocked that people gave a fuck about the [MTV Video Music Awards in 2013, when she ­performed with Robin Thicke] -- the ­twerking, the teddy bear. It’s a totally ­different time, and I don’t think that would freak people out anymore.

Our perceptions of a lot of things are changing at lightning speed. Still, there’s an audience that’s maybe a little scared of you, those who might have a tendency to vilify the “other.”

I was talking about this with my sister [Noah], who’s 17, and she’s doing music right now. She basically grew up in L.A. She’s never known anything different. She doesn’t even know she’s open-minded, it’s the only kind of mind she has ever known. It’s mind-boggling to me that there was even a controversy around me having black dancers. That became a thing, where people said I was taking advantage of black culture, and with Mike [WiLL Made-It] -- what the fuck? That wasn’t true. Those were the dancers I liked!

When I met Pharrell [Williams], before “Blurred Lines,” before “Happy,” people wouldn’t take meetings with me because they said, “He hasn’t had a hit in 10 years.” They wanted to put me with the Dr. Lukes of the world, the Max Martins, and put me through the fucking assembly line, and I said, “No. This is someone who actually cares about me. This is someone I feel safe with.” I got completely shut out, and I had to just trust myself. What feels right to me feels right to my fans, because they know some dude in a suit didn’t tell me to do it. And by the way, I brought “Wrecking Ball” to Luke. No one put me in the room with Luke. I had done “Party in the U.S.A.” with him, and that’s just someone I thought could handle that sound. Did you ever get to come to a Bangerz show?

Yeah, I did.

I was crazy about making the tongue slide work. I was so ­embarrassed to be on the red carpet and so many of those fucking disgusting ­photographers would tell me to blow a kiss, and that’s not me! I don’t want to blow you a kiss. I didn’t know what to do with my face, so I stuck my tongue out, and it became a rebellious, punk-rock thing.

The Dead Petz track “BB Talk,” which calls out a man for his “baby ­talking,” seems to reject a similar kind of ­gender standard.

I wish it would’ve gotten some ­attention. No one saw the video! It was a real rant. Dating a musician [like me] is probably the worst thing ever, because you always end up ­having your shit in songs. It’s just ­inevitable. But I’m just that way. I’m a little bit boyish. But I can also be super femme and dress as a bunny rabbit. Who I’m with has nothing to do with sex -- I’m super open, pansexual, that’s just me.

Do you want your dudes to be dudes?

Not even. That really grosses me out. I always get in trouble for ­generalizing straight men, ’cause straight men can be my worst nightmare ­sometimes. And I’m with a straight dude. But he’s always like, “Well, don’t call me that!” I ask him sometimes, “Do you like being a boy?” And he’s like, “I don’t really think about it.” And that’s crazy to me, because I think about being a girl all the time. I’m always like, “It’s weird that I’m a girl, because I just don’t feel like a girl, and I don’t feel like a boy. I just feel like nothing.” So when someone’s too ­masculine, that really grosses me out.

But then, girls really make me sad a lot of the time too, especially right now. I think fashion has taken us a little bit downhill. I can only speak for the years that I’ve been alive, but I don’t know if it has ever been so important to “fit in.” It’s not about standing out right now. Which is so weird, because it seems like for the really unique, smart kids in this generation, it’s all about standing out. I love seeing these kids on Instagram that dress fucking dope. This whole world right now is so divided, in the arts, fashion -- everything.

The country is certainly very divided.

I like the way I think right now. But don’t Trump supporters like the way they think? So I’ve also got to be open with the way I approach people with my opinions. That’s the only way to make real change. And it’s not because I want to sell records! I know now the ways that don’t work. Because I went really hard during the ­election. But at the end of the day, we lost. We won, but because the system is fucked up, we lost. I thought, “OK. I learned my lesson on this one.”

Did you have to go into The Voice right after Election Day?

That next day, dude. I wanted to go to rehearsals. Liam was like, “Just don’t go. You’re not there. And you don’t know how everyone feels on that set.” Everyone’s from all different parts of the country, so he was like, “Don’t go and get into it with ­people right now.” Because clearly ­unity is what we need.

You posted a tearful Instagram video the day after the election, and I tweeted, “Love you, Miley.” And so many alt-right dudes responded, “Are you just trying to fuck her?”

That’s them sexualizing me, because they think that you couldn’t take me seriously. The first thing I got on my Instagram when I posted that was people saying, “You said you were going to move. When are you going to move?” It’s not time for me to leave now, dude. I’ve got to be here. I’ve got to glue this place back together, because I’m from Tennessee -- that state [went to] Donald Trump. I’m such a dreamer, and I know a lot of things that I’ve wanted to do people said weren’t possible. When I started Happy Hippie -- this is before Caitlyn Jenner transitioned, before this became something that is a part of the culture...

Leelah Alcorn -- a 17-year-old ­transgender girl who committed ­suicide in December 2014 -- brought a new awareness to transgender issues.

Yes. I was on a Christmas trip, and I was like, “How am I sitting here about to open presents and someone has taken their own life?” I started Happy Hippie because I never thought we would see this day where you have the Laverne Coxes of the world get not only trans roles, but female roles. And I realized the voice I had. That’s why I brought Jesse [Helt, a homeless man, to the 2014 VMAs], because it felt wrong for me to go and get an award, celebrating me getting naked and riding a fucking wrecking ball around for a day. I mean, what would I have said? “Thanks, uh... thanks to [“Wrecking Ball” video ­director] Terry Richardson”? That would have been so weird.

Do you think you’ve managed to bring your politics into The Voice?

By sitting there after the election in head-to-toe pink, while on the inside being a gender-neutral, ­sexually fluid person, hopefully that was saying ­something. I needed some sparkle in my life, to make me able to deal. Radiating love is ­something that is important to me -- ­hopefully, that is being political.

This article originally appeared in the May 13 issue of Billboard.