#i guess? they're technically chords

[feverdreamdrifting]

so ever since I saw this wonderful post, i've been wanting to make my own post explaining exactly how gideon's name is transliterated into kiriona, because it's kind of blowing my mind a little now that i've thought about it. keep in mind that i'm not a linguist nor do i speak Te Reo Māori. I'm just a person who has taken several linguistics classes and is interested in this kind of thing.

So the first thing to know is that not all languages have the same set of individual sounds. These individual sounds are called phonemes, and this is what creates accents. For example, Spanish has the phoneme (the flap, if you know IPA) that many people refer to as a "rolled r," but English does not. So when English speakers try to pronounce that phoneme, they often replace it with the most similar sound they can produce, which might be the English "r" or "d" sound.

The second thing to know is that "transliteration is the process of converting texts from one script to another based on the phonetic similarity." So transliteration is essentially the process of replacing sounds with their most similar counterparts in the target language.

Okay, enough background information. Let's take a look at Te Reo Māori's specific set of consonants:

so you'll notice that Māori actually doesn't have a "g" sound at all! but what it does have is a "k" sound. "k" and "g" are both velar stops; they are literally produced in the EXACT same way in the mouth. the ONLY difference is that "g" has vocal chord vibration, and "k" does not. this means that "k" is as close as you can possibly get to saying "g" in Māori, which explains how you get the switch from "g" in gideon to "k" in kiriona.

now let's talk about the "i" sounds. I don't want to get too technical here because vowels are confusing and this post is long enough already, but keep in mind that these sounds are actually not pronounced the same way, i don't think. the "i" in gideon is like the the "i" in the word kid (for IPA knowers: "ɪ"). Māori does not have this sound, but it does have the "i" vowel sound being used in the English words bead or deed. the "long e" as they say. so that's probably how the first"i" in kiriona is actually being pronounced, if i had to guess.

okay! let's look at the next sound, namely the "d" and the "r." looking at the chart again, you'll notice that Māori doesn't have the English "d" sound at all. but what it DOES have is this sound here: "ɾ." this is referred to as a tap or flap, and it's the same sound that the dd's make in the English word "ladder." it's also used very frequently in Spanish in words like "pero," where it is represented with the letter "r." so that explains that switch; the "r" in kiriona is actually pronounced as a flap, which can sound similar to "d" for English speakers depending on the word. again, this flap sound represented by the letter "r" is probably the closest you could get to saying "d" in Māori.

next up, the "e" in gideon and the second "i" in kiriona. i think these are probably the same sound. they are both that "long e" sound as in bead or deed or meet that I mentioned before. so in kiriona, there's two i's, both representing the same sound. same sound, same letter! if only english spelling could be so consistent.

the o's are not the same sound i don't think, but this post is so long. just know that again, Māori does not have the sound that "o" is making in gideon. but they're written with the same letter here so i'm not gonna get into it, sorry.

the n's are the same! moving on

the last thing to know here is that not all languages have the same possible syllable structures. in English, it is possible for a syllable to end with a consonant. for example, the name "Bob" ends with a consonant. no problem, right? well, Māori has the syllable structure (C)V(V(V)), meaning that a syllable literally cannot end in a consonant. it HAS to end in a vowel. so if we split the name gideon into syllables, it's like this: gi.de.on. you can see that the last syllable ends with the consonant "n." this is simply not possible in Maori, so the solution is to add another vowel onto the end, hence the "a" in kiriona. that way it can be syllabified as ki.ri.o.na, which ensures that none of the syllables end in a consonant.

so there you have it! kiriona is as close as you could possibly get to saying gideon according to the rules of Te Reo Māori.

[browzerhistory]

Please do share your scav social behavior headcanons!!!!

OK OK OK i have a Lot so prepare for an Essay beneath the cut

my social headcanons and biology headcanons kind of go hand in hand so i'll be expounding a bit on both in this (and there will probably be things i forget and then add later)...

the first thing i guess is scav biology - i think they're buglike creatures who lack the ability for complex vocal sounds (no 'traditional' mouthparts, limited vocal chords) and instead are mostly visual communicators, which is why their body language in-game is so exaggerated. scavenger dens (which are technically just creature dens in-game but shh) are usually complicated underground structures with different "rooms" for grub care, food/weapon/pearl storage, etc.

yes, you read that right - i refer to baby scavengers as grubs! i think a scavenger's life cycle tends to follow an egg -> grub (like a cicada or fly) -> pupa -> adult cycle. eggs are laid and grubs fed/watched over in special chambers in scavenger dens, and juveniles don't emerge until they've pupated, which is why we never see baby scavs in-game.

many factors such as what they're fed, how many other grubs there are, and even the temperature of the den can effect how a scavenger turns out, but it's generally common knowledge that a grub given special care and food will be more likely to become an elite scavenger, which have physiological differences to normal scavengers. generally, however, all grubs are treated the same due to lack of resources.

scavengers are lifelong carnivores, however, grubs need very small, soft meats to eat, such as vulture grubs. adult scavengers may also just... repeatedly hit lizard meat with rocks to 'tenderize' it if food is scarce.

young/newly-emerged scavengers tend to be more nervous, energetic, and non-dominant due to being less experienced than their older peers. they're also more likely to throw rocks at sudden threats than spears, either because they aren't confident with spears yet or because they haven't figured out how to distinguish between "sound of scary things" and "sound of friend approaching".

a scavenger's antlers and other distinctive facial features are more like horns than antlers, as they grow slowly over time and do not shed. older scavs with longer/tougher antlers tend to be pack leaders (this is reflected in the in-game personality traits changing the way antlers/beards look). there are, of course, exceptions, but these are general trends across the whole population.

elite scavengers, like i said earlier, are different than a normal scav on a physical level. the most obvious are the down turned antlers, which sometimes require filing, and the ability to jump short distances. less obvious, however, are factors like strength and lifespan - elite scavs tend to live shorter lives than normal ones (whether that's from actual biological differences or just the constant fighting is up for debate lol).

when created intentionally (which is almost every time), an elite scavenger is raised to protect the tribe it roams with. extra food, more powerful weapons, etc. are given from pupation so the elite grows up tough.

the masks elites wear are vulture masks. the first time a new elite takes down a vulture, it's demasked, then the mask is carved specially to denote their prowess - think of it like a badge of honor. however, constant usage of the mask and the general anxiety of being the first line of defence can cause elites to lose some vision, which is why older ones tend to be quicker to draw their spear at an unknown sound.

(as for the chieftain... it's biologically just an elite, but it got lucky in that it was born into the most thriving scav population at the time and had the most talent/dedication out of its peers. plus a lot of the others got picked off as it got older, and it managed to pick up a citizen id drone at some point.)

the "sign language" scavs use is so universal and simple as to be practically genetic. there are, of course, regional differences, and a tribe in shaded citadel would need different predator signs than one in farm arrays, but the basics (which is what we see in-game) are basically all the same. scavengers can make noise, however, it's a quiet sort of chittering sound produced by rubbing mouthparts together in a specific way. it's not very handy when communicating something like "there are vultures here let's leave immediately" and more often is used in familial/trusting contexts, sort of like a purr.

jumping around a little, i wanna talk about the significance of pearls. a part of their fascination with them is "cool shiny thing" but there's also significant sort-of-religious connotations to them.

the scavenger chieftain has a mark of communication and a citizen id drone. it met with pebbles (or another iterator but more than likely pebbles) at some point, and he deemed it important enough to talk to instead of just. y'know. killing it. so it comes back to its home in metropolis telling stories about meeting a god (because of course 5P gives his 'godlike in comparison' bit to every bug that enters his chamber) surrounded by a halo of these pearls.

eventually pebbles gets fed up with the visits, and the booming population of scavengers is basically peeling him, so one day he throws the chieftain out of his chamber and tells it to take the scavs and leave (which it doesn't/can't obviously). and then along comes artificer and um. Well You Know.

it brings some more pearls as an offering of sorts and 5P reads what's on them. that gives the scavs the realization that (as far as they know) every pearl in the city has the words of ancient gods written on it. so they start hanging them everywhere as catch-all divine charms; for protection, strength, wealth, etc. and since the chieftain is the only one who can get to pebbles and come back (because of their drone) it's treated as a sort of prophet and venerated by the rest. colored pearls, which 5P likes more and usually keeps with him, are stored in safer locations and considered the most valuable/holy.

after arti commits good old-fashioned regicide (and general mass murder, terrorism, etc) the remaining metropolis scavs flee across the land and warn other tribes of a reddish slugcat with one scarred eye - this is why hunter's rep starts so low.

this turned out really long lol - thanks so much for asking! i really need to get all of this stuff organized in one place at some point but here's the basics/what i've thought about most.

[misc-obeyme]

Got caught up on Arrie's story and he's just!!! 💕🥺🥺 Raaa he's so cute I'm putting him in my pocket for safekeeping. And dang, thinking abt him made me realize while I've sung w people recently, I haven't had like a good jam sesh in way too many years. Ugh even just humming along while he plucks on some chords would be nice, v relaxing. Like that one girl harmonizing w a fan

And Caligo.... man I still wanna fight him but!!! Oh no he's hot (thanks for the food Silver 🙏🏼) I saw you calling him your little meow meow and I wouldn't be opposed to hearing more abt him 👀👀

- Luck 🍀

Ahh I'm so glad you're enjoying Unchained, Luck 🍀 anon!

I personally think there's something really special about creating music with other people or for other people. Like it's just a really cool way to connect in a shared activity. And music can be so emotional, too! It's like here, take this piece of my soul~

Anyway, I hope you get to enjoy making music with others soon! I know Arrie would love to accompany you, humming or singing~

Oh, Caligo... I always understood the little meow meow thing to be specifically a character who's a bad person, but that you can't help but love because they're also kind of pathetic? I may have that definition wrong, but that's what I'm thinking when I call him that lol.

So a little more about him - I needed a villain character obviously, but once I started writing him, I ended up liking him too much. So I was like okay, I need to give him a really pathetic reason for doing all the shit he's doing. I was trying to make him unlikeable because I liked him lol. I was like no I can't like you, you're supposed to be a jerk!

I don't know if I succeeded, but you won't find out everything until the very end of the story so we'll see when that happens, I guess.

I always say, he's not a bad guy! But that's because I'm trying to make excuses for him. He fucked up really bad and now instead of like learning from that experience, he's digging in and making things ten thousand times worse.

Fun fact about Caligo: he's famous among reapers. Lots of gossip about him. He's also technically an escaped convict, but you'll get more about that in later chapters. :)

[1001albumsrated]

#35: The Beatles - With The Beatles

Genre(s): Pop, Rock

This is the first Beatles album to make 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, but it certainly won't be the last.

We'll be talking about The Beatles at great length throughout this series, as they are heavily represented in 1001 Albums (7 albums from the band, plus an assortment of post-Beatles solo material from 3/4 of the band... I'm sure you can guess who didn't make the solo cut 😉). Every music critic has at least one hot Beatles take, so I'll go ahead and get all of mine out of the way up front in the interest of transparency:

- Their contributions to recording and studio technique vastly outstrip their contributions to music performance or composition.

- Everyone in the band is a sub-par instrumentalist and an excellent vocalist.

- The Beatles are much greater than the sum of their parts.

- Magical Mystery Tour probably isn't the best Beatles record, but it's by far my favorite.

- Most people either vastly overrate or vastly underrate The Beatles. They're not the best band of all time as their megafans would have you believe, and they're not the dreadfully boring teeny-bopper band their detractors like to paint them as.

I'm open to having my opinions changed by this project (not just on The Beatles, but in general), but I would be surprised if this revisit changes any of my Beatles takes on account of the sheer amount of Beatles exposure I've already had. Only time will tell I suppose.

Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the album. With The Beatles is their 2nd studio album, following the enormous success of their debut, Please Please Me only 8 months prior. Given the record-breaking performance of Please Please Me, EMI gave the band quite a bit more studio time to play with, and more creative control over the album (including the striking cover art). Whereas Please Please Me was a fast and dirty affair recorded mostly in one marathon session, With The Beatles was recorded over 7 sessions spanning 3 months, and it shows in their more aggressive use of overdubs and (comparatively) oddball arrangement choices. Please Please Me had more of a standard "band in a room" sound and recording approach, With The Beatles hints at the future avant-pop studio explorations we'll see from the band later in the decade (good examples of this are the hard cut back-and-forth vocal overlays on the chorus of It Won't Be Long and the oddly room-mic'd out-of-tune piano in Not A Second Time; these sounds may not blow your mind today, but good luck finding a track from the early 60s that sounds like either of those). It also features a number of original tunes, compared to the cover-heavy lineup of the debut. The quality of the original material varies, with some tracks showing more maturity than others; the core Beatles sound, to me, involves a use of chord progressions and instrumental layers not seen often in pop music at the time. We're starting to see those ideas creep out around the edges of the pop rock songwriting here, but they haven't quite coalesced into the true sound of The Beatles yet.

When you get down to it, With The Beatles is a gawky teenaged album in the band's discography. It's grown beyond the pop tunes of Please Please Me, but it hasn't reached the real history-making potential of the band yet. While the singing is excellent, as mentioned in my hot takes earlier, the musicianship on the instruments is lacking. This is a running theme in their career, but is much more noticeable early on. They're not quite sloppy, but there's a lack of understanding of dynamics; any music teacher will tell you that this is a hurdle for most young men, who often think technically impressive playing always involves playing as fast and hard as you can. I think many of the tracks on this album could be improved with a bit more dynamism and fluidity to the instrumental performances. Like with many other elements, you can hear improvements on this front on With The Beatles, but they're not all the way there yet.

With The Beatles presents an interesting look into a time of transformation for one of pop's biggest bands. But is it an album you MUST hear before you die? I'm going to say No. It's certainly a good album, but I don't think it's exceptional in the way some of the later Beatles catalog is. I think it is of immense interest and value to anyone taking a broader interest in the story and career of The Beatles, but I wouldn't rank it particularly highly in their catalog or the overall pop/rock lexicon. I think if you want to hear this era of the band, Please Please Me makes for a more informative listen. And if you want to hear the next era of the band... well, we'll come back to that next time we talk about The Beatles 😉.

Also, of moderate nerd interest: this album was unavailable in the US in its original form until the CD reissue. I won't get too into the weeds on Beatles collecting (a bottomless rabbit hole of a topic), but their early material got split among a number of records here in the states, With The Beatles included. It's much easier to get today than it was when the book was originally published in 2005. Also for the nerds: I listened to this in hi-res on Qobuz.

Next up, another artist who receives extensive coverage in 1001 Albums: Bob Dylan, with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan!

[theghostpinesmusic]

I'm back to wrap up this 6/5 doubleheader!

Yesterday I wrote a bit about the 6/5 in general and a lot about the "Thatch" in particular, but now I'm going to focus on what is arguably the centerpiece of the show, a great version of Goose's "Red Bird" paired with one of my favorite covers of theirs: the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows." Though any version of "Tomorrow Never Knows" that's longer than four or so minutes is, I guess, technically "jammed out," this is the first version the band has played in my memory that really gets out there. It may have even replaced my previous favorite version, which the band played at Radio City Music Hall with both Trey Anastasio and Father John Misty sitting in. That one wasn't really jammed at all, but, I mean, come on.

Anyway, I wrote about the "Red Bird" from the '24 Cap run previously, so I'm just going to jump right into the music this time.

I love any and all versions of "Red Bird," but especially ones where I listen on my fancy studio monitor headphones and hear Trevor clearly in the mix!

The jam starts here at 5:05, right after another iteration of the layered-vocals outro. As is pretty typical, it starts with Rick soloing over the outro's chords, reprising the song's vocal melody here and there. Then he smashes a chord at 6:45 that feels like a signal to the rest of the band to Get Weird.

I hear Trevor out front here initially, with Peter coming in pretty quickly with a repeating motif on the piano. This initially feels like a very Ted Tapes 2024-ish space, the kind that the band has been so good about exploring patiently and to great effect so far in 2024.

There's some really solid interplay between all three of the melody players in the band starting around the 8:00 mark.

Rick's playing starts to dominate the mix a bit more starting at 9:30 or so, but the jam continues to feel collaborative rather than "solo"-focused. Trevor's tone here sounds reverb-y as all hell, almost to the point where it seems like you're feeling it instead of hearing it (though, technically speaking, I suppose you're doing both).

By the 12:00 mark, Rick has fully taken the lead, though Cotter has moved from more or less holding down the beat to flying all over the kit, which makes this jam feel even more dynamic.

While I'm listening: the lights are on point for this jam as well. They aren't as integral to a Goose performance for me as they might be for, say, Phish, but when they're on, they're on.

Anyway, the initial jam space finally gets built up a boil around 14:00, leading to a big guitar peak at 14:15 and from there we're in bread-and-butter Goose territory, albeit with Trevor still ripping away in the back of my headphones.

At 15:20, Rick introduces a bit of chaos to the proceedings and the rest of the band follows along. I said something similar in my "Thatch" write-up from yesterday, but this is the kind of move that the band has historically used to (you guessed it) build a lot of tension over thirty seconds or a minute so that they can then return to balls-out rocking with another peak. I don't not like that, but it can sometimes feel a bit repetitive when they fall back on it, say, five or six times in one show. In my listening so far in 2024, one thing that feels like a positive change is their willingness to let these spaces breathe more, rather than just using them as transitions or shortcuts to another guitar peak.

In this particular case, I was fully expecting them to drop back into rock-and-roll mode around 15:45, but instead, Rick takes a left turn and the band slows and quiets down into a really great, mellow space. Cotter is fantastic here as they're easing into it. Also, Rick's tone at 16:50 is pretty amazing. Peter's chording and Trevor's bass bombs are just the icing on the cake.

I'm obviously just projecting here based on my experience listening to the band since I don't actually know the guy, but I also feel like the band's new willingness to hang out longer in and explore these mellow spaces has made Rick better at playing sparsely but melodically. Clearly, the guy can fucking shred and I've also always though he's great at playing rhythm and/or adding touches when Peter or Trevor is leading a jam. But sometimes when things get slower and/or quieter and he's driving, it can feel like he's not quite sure what to do, like he gets kind of uncomfortable and then suddenly we're back to shredding to get out of the situation.

I bring that up, though, because his playing here is gorgeous and I kinda want to just hang out in these few minutes of this jam for a few hours. It feels a lot like Trey's playing on some of my favorite late 90s and early 00s jams, but not in a derivative way, just an evocative one.

Sadly, the band doesn't hang out in this space for an hour, but only for a few minutes: by the 20:00 mark, Cotter's added some swing to the beat and the energy starts building again.

I do appreciate that Rick continues his minimalist playing until around 21:30, when it feels like everyone sort of collective hits a new groove. Trevor really starts crushing it here for a bit, too.

Cotter starts to speed things up more at 22:40, and there is (I think?) a key change to get the band into the right key for "Tomorrow Never Knows." The drawn-out transition here is pretty fantastic, though. When I watched this show initially, I thought that the band had just discovered a new, awesome gear here. In reality, of course, they're "just" intentionally moving into a second, composed song. But it happens to be one of my personal favorites, so I'm okay with that.

"Tomorrow Never Knows" starts properly at 24:30, after a great, slow transition. Cotter's drumming here even during the composed part of the song is unhinged, and Rick's octave-shifted solo(s) ain't bad either.

The band moves from the song to the jam at 27:05, but like with "Red Bird," we get a bit of an outro solo initially before we drop into the meat of the improvisation at 28:45. We get a brief space here where Rick and Peter's melodies are overlapping and intertwining with on another in a really cool way, and then somehow at 29:28, Rick and Cotter both change tacks at exactly the same time into something that can only be described as...space blues?! Quickly on the heels of this change, Peter starts laying down a piano riff that sounds a lot like (but isn't quite) the "Welcome To Delta" riff. By 30:35, it has fully become a "Welcome To Delta" jam. This transition sends the entire band to Groove City for awhile, and it is a fun trip.

Once again, lights is crazy.

Okay, apparently when I wrote "for awhile," what I meant was "for the rest of the entire jam." Whew!

Well...technically not the entire jam: Cotter gets a neat little spotlight/almost-solo near the end, starting at about 37:30, then the rest of the band piles back on for a big finish.

Lots of different facets of the bird band in this one!

My basement is completely destroyed right now thanks to some emergency repairs/renovations, but I'm hoping to be able to keep watching at least a few shows while the work is happening, so I'll keep the videos coming.

Up next is "Jive Lee" (newly a pretty monstrous jam vehicle, believe it or not!) from Fiddler's Green on 6/7! It's a fun one!

[miradanii]

Beastwars first watch episodes 18-21

Back from a break on watching the series. A very interesting character appeared....

Ep 18 - I forgot I was in the middle of it while at work and accidentally skipped past it to episode 19 and then went back. Due to being so confused who this new character was. Ngl I simultaneously think he's gross and cool. I like his robot head. Very sharp. I think the model is an improvement too.

Oh yeah Tarantulas says the planet is doomed and won't say jack shit? Mk. Keep your secrets. So what we got a signal beam from Stonehendge that temporarily captured Optimus, and destroying a peaceful floating island. Hmmm

Ep 19 - This was a much quieter episode and it felt like they were experimenting with more camera movements. Fun seeing these characters much more animalistic even if they're technically already kinda animals with hints of animal behavior?? Also out of nowhere I laughed. I'm just vibing and all of a sudden Megatron is hoisted up by his crew on a lil carry throne with Black Arachina banging kn a drum I guess they made. It's just...so silly. I love it.

Ep 20 - the Maximals go blind?! This was kind of sad, seeing Cheetor getting beaten up. Poor kitty....I think the only funny part was Dinobot freaking out and running into a tree flattening himself. Straight up slapstick humor. I think its one of the episodes where I kind of wish for the rest of it the Predicons didn't show up and it was purely the wilds that grt the best of them. Just a personal opinion. Maybe because I want to see an entire slower paced episode without fighting for once.

Ep 21 - It's Starscream. Oh boy he's a screaming Lil guy, the voice actors must take realllly good care of his vocal chords cause wow (okay wow he plays Terrorsaur i cant believe i didnt catch that). And he's from the past?? Are they connecting the 1980's movie and this show?? Hm cool tie in. I find it incredible throughout so many iterations of Transformers the writers have Starscream weasel his way back into the story any way he can. Guy is just truly unkillable.

Overall this wasn't the greatest batch of episodes to bindge. I had been busy waiting all week attempting to watch at least one episode and when I watched all 4 in one sitting...hm guess 4 was one too many. I'll pace it out better next time.

[navysealt4t]

:D yoo! thanks for tagging me mantis :)

1. Were you named after anyone?

technically not really? all my names i saw other ppl using and i stole them (blue from a fanfic author and edyn & jazzy from riptide characters lol) but i didnt choose those names BECAUSE those ppl were named that. i just thought they sounded cool :)

2. When was the last time you cried?

surprisingly probably sometime in the last week?? usually its a least once a day LMAO

3. Do you use sarcasm?

eh, yeah! not too often but sometimes

4. What's the first thing you notice about people?

probably just like hair and clothes i guess?? i havent really thought about it lol.

5. What's your eye color?

like grey-ish blue !

6. Scary movie or happy ending?

honestly im a sucker for happy endings. whenever characters get sad i get sad :( scary movies are pretty fun to though. one time i watched a movie that had this big fight thing and it was like "yeah they're gonna defeat the monster!!" then everyone just died. felt very lame LMAO (also i will NOT get over the ending of breakfast club. i swear a completely different person wrote the ending.)

7. Any special talents?

hmm. i mean ive been told im really good at writing and singing? ive been in honors choir before and a few talent shows. i also have a lil solo song in my school musical so thats fun !! i havent had any vocal training or anything before so im porbably not as good as i could be lol :)

8. Any pets?

NO :(( ive been trying to convince my parents to get a cat for YEARS but theyre not budging sadly :( the closest thing i have are my cousin's two cats, billy and benny :) i only see them a few times a year but GOD i love them they are my boys

9. What sports do you play/ have played?

ive doneee ballet & tap when i was like 3, baseball, soccer, basketball, i did gymnastics for like 2 years but i didnt like going to practices after school so i quit </3 uhh i did archery ! which was fun but also kinda sucked. andd i think thats about it??? unless u count using ur vocal chords in choir for like 6 years LMAO. i really wanna try out aerial silks though !!!

10. How tall are you?

4'10! or like. 147 cm.

11. What was your favorite subject in school?

uhhhhh does choir count? if not then probably ASL or biology bc i have a friend in there lol :)

12. Dream job?

i have gone through a LOT of dream jobs (singer, chef, actor, streamer, author, etcc etc) but rn i wanna be a screenplay writer :) or like my DREAM dream job would be a director :D i am a very visual person and can like imagine whole ass animations n stuff in my head so being able to make those come to life would be rlly cool :)

Tagging:

hmm @the-albatross-sails @starlit-lilac @dat-aug-boi or anyone else who wants to hop on :D

Thanks for the tag @theydoctor <3 :D

1. Were you named after anyone?

I named myself after Theodore Laurence from Little Women (a very trans book, go listen to the Jo's Boys podcast)

2. When was the last time you cried?

Recently. Like Friday maybe

3. Do you use sarcasm?

Yes :P though it is mostly in reaction to other people's sarcasm

4. What's the first thing you notice about people?

I think their vibe? like maybe their sense of style

5. What's your eye color?

Brown :)

6. Scary movie or happy ending?

false dichotomy but happy endings mainly

7. Any special talents?

I can solve a rubik's cube (it's a good fiddle)

8. Any pets?

My bby boys! We have two corgi/chihuahua puppies. they're 6 months old and I love them.

[Image description: 2 images of corgi/chihuahua puppies.

The first image is a brown and white corgi/chihuahua mix puppy standing outside with snow on his nose. Both his ears are standing up.

The second image is a brown corgi/chihuahua mix puppy standing outside with snow on his nose. His left ear is standing up while his right one flops downward.

End image description.]

9. What sports do you play/ have played?

I played volleyball and basketball as a youngun

10. How tall are you?

5'6

11. What was your favorite subject in school?

Probably lab days in Chemistry :D titration my beloved

12. Dream job?

Public librarian or archivist. In community with others, in some way for sure.

Tagging: @prismartist, @sherlock-is-ace, and @join-me-in-the-bog. No pressure tho!

[ukulele-tabs]

Statement of Helen Richardson - TMA Fan Song Chords!

As always, you can find the full thing in this google doc!  https://docs.google.com/document/d/114KPp4KvuKZNXwOaWtd8bBm2o2cGKiI4sdKLA9FMhzQ/edit?usp=sharing  

I didn’t write this song, that credit goes to E Grace on youtube! I’ve had it stuck in my head for a while, so I arranged the chords so I could play it. It’s pretty catchy, and really captures the vibes of the spiral, so I 100% recommend checking out the original song!!

[waugh-bao]

The quote from Shirley made me think of the one press conference thing where a guy (there always has to be some ‘wacky’ guy asking dumb questions at these things) asked Charlie if he had a business card. Charlie seemed annoyed and said “this is my business card” and pointed at his face. I thought good for you Charlie! It was nice to see a moment of ‘I know who I am’ confidence.

After a little sleuthing, I found it in a documentary about The Bigger Bang tour:

It is a funny interaction. He dealt with enough wackiness/idiocy on a regular basis, he wasn't putting up with any more. But what you said is true, it's a moment of 'I know who I am' confidence, and those are nice to see because they were quite rare with him.

He's one of those people where I guess you have to make a distinction between self-respect and self-confidence. Charlie had an immense amount of self-respect, something that showed itself in how he chose to live. He had a very certain image of who he wanted to be, which wasn't some kind of hedonistic rock god, and he conducted himself in accordance with that image (loyal to his wife, well dressed in a classical way, devoted to jazz, etc) even though it made him stick out in some ways.

At the same time, he didn't have a massive amount of confidence in his own abilities. Charlie was the first person to insist that he was "just the drummer", wasn't a great drummer at that, and that the band could fire or replace him easily. And Charlie was absolutely the only person of the four of them that believed that. It's sort of ironic that they fell into that dynamic, because based on the history of the band, it really should have been the other way around. They knew they were getting something extraordinary with him, he was the one taking a chance to go with them.

This is probably a slightly boring detour into history, but it's interesting to note that Charlie's ultimate drum hero was a guy called Dave Tough. Tough was an American swing and jazz drummer who played from the late '20s to 1948, and if you read interviews with almost any musician who worked in that period, they're full of praise for him. Which would come as a surprise to some people, as he's been forgotten relative to figures like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, famous for their long solos and big kits. As a drummer and a man; "Dave was the single most musical drummer that I've ever known...a sweet man, a gentle man" according to Artie Shaw. He was an extremely thin little man who dressed sharply every day, loved to make art and wanted to be a writer, and hated taking solos. Ultimately, he drank himself to death because, among other things, he felt he wasn't a good enough drummer.

I think one of the most beautiful things about the story of the Stones, if you can call it that, is that they worked so very hard to try to make sure that Charlie never felt the way his hero did. They did everything they could to give him confidence, always.

There's a striking moment during an interview from 2013 where Mick is explaining why Charlie couldn't play with the Stones for their Marquee Club gig in 1963, and, with Charlie sitting right next to him, he just casually tosses this out:

Likewise, there's a little throw-away line in an intro Mick did for Charlie a few years ago that strikes the same chord. He refers to Charlie as Max Roach, who was another one of Charlie's heroes and a highly respected and technically talented bebop drummer. It was Mick's way of saying 'we don't care how mediocre you think you are, we think you're as extraordinary as this guy who was one of the two or three greatest jazz drummers ever':

Ronnie was just the same:

It bears noting here, in relation to Charlie's comment about being replaceable, that the Stones have made a very conscious choice not to replace him. This is how Keith put it: "You took Charlie, everything fell apart, and to be able to transition this thing and also feeling Charlie's presence in a way via Steve...[was important]." Steve is filling in for Charlie, and he's doing it precisely because he was a close student of Charlie's style, so through him they can retain their link to Charlie when they play.

Of course, Keith was Charlie's biggest fan and booster. Like Mick, Keith took all the joy in the world in grabbing him and making him try to see how talented he was via the thousands of people screaming their admiration for him:

He could basically give a graduate level lecture on why Charlie was amazing, and would do it for any journalist who would listen:

And he did everything humanly possible to give Charlie the confidence he needed to get out there and kill as a band leader. I know we've all seen this picture:

It's Mick and Keith coming out together to support Charlie's big band premiere at Ronnie Scott's in 1985. But what you discover, if you read the reviews of all of the various bands, quartets, tenets, etc. that Charlie fronted over the years, is that Keith came to every premiere no matter where it was, and every New York performance. In fact, he and Patti flew from Jamaica specifically to see Charlie start a residency at the Blue Note in 1986. But if you look at those pieces, you'll also see a lot of stuff like this:

"Mr. Watts is as modest as can be. He waited until nearly the end to introduce the musicians; while he was presenting the bassist Dave Green, touchingly, as ''my childhood friend,'' Keith Richards, sitting at a table with a retinue, a poodle and an ever-lighted cigarette, heckled in mock surprise, 'You have one?'"

That wasn't Keith being mean to Charlie. A music critic actually discovered the real reason. Jazz band leaders are basically required, in addition to introducing their players, to do patter between songs and interact with the audience. Charlie was shy, both hated public speaking and thought he was dismally bad at it. So Keith would heckle him throughout a performance in order to make Charlie feel like he was the only person there, and like everything was safe and comfortable.

Anyway, this is far too long, but yeah, Mick, Keith, and Ronnie knew (and know) they had something singular in Charlie Watts, and they're still out there trying to show Charlie just how special he was:

[antisocialxconstruct]

hope it's okay to kinda springboard off your ai post - but i feel like a similar reason as to why ai generation can't be mapped onto the usual fear of "x replacing y" is that all of those other mediums absolutely require a skillset of their own to actually create a good final piece.

certainly as someone who does digital art i could pick up a camera and take a few shots, but none of my photographs would be so technically stunning as someone who actually Knows their way around a camera. and the same thing with traditional into digital art, while there's a similar knowledge of color theory, anatomy, etc, it took a lot of time for me to get used to a tablet versus a brush! but when it comes to ai generation it is really not hard to just throw words at a machine to get what you want out of it. people calling themselves 'prompt engineers' as if it takes anything other than a few moments of trial and error to get the ai to do all of the work for them truly overestimate the amount of work they're putting in

RIGHT that's a good point too... like obviously I have to admit that my knowledge of how interfacing with these neural networks "works" only extends to seeing what other people do with them, but I have been actively researching and I've seen both how you can get some fascinating stuff from a pretty vague prompt, as well as a lot of garbage, and how tweaking and fine-tuning your prompt can give you far more specific and potentially more tailored results. It is a skill, inasmuch as it requires conscious intent and effort to get a specific outcome.

But in my personal opinion, it's a little more akin to the fact that like... I can load up GarageBand and throw together some random pre-made tracks and make something really weird and dissonant that I can, on a purely technical level, call "music." Or I can take a little more time to pick tracks that are in the same key and have rhythms and tempos that complement each other, and probably end up with something that sounds pretty cool (I have, in fact). But that doesn't really mean I can claim to have "composed" either of those songs--I didn't make a single decision about notes or chord progressions or instruments, I just stacked a bunch of sounds on top of each other and then slapped a 5-second fadeout at the end. Did I "make music"? Yeah, I guess, although I'm sure we could still split hairs over that. Does it feel like work and effort while I'm in the process? Sure, I'm still making creative choices based on my own sensibilities. Am I a musician? God no.

[mercy-burning]

Say You’ll Remember Me (Songbird Chapter 1)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader Summary: After performing at open mic night at a bar downtown, Reader meets someone that could change everything for her. Rating: 18+ Warnings: Smut (oral sex - male and female receiving, fingering, male masturbation, cockwarming, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, creampie), Language Word Count: 7.1k

SERIES MASTERLIST SERIES PLAYLIST (new songs added with the release of each chapter)

***

Love never came easy to me. Truth be told, a lot of things never came easy to me, and I was okay with that, but love was probably the one thing I wish I could just let myself feel with no problem.

For as long as I could remember, I've wanted to be in love with someone as much as I'd seen my parents love each other. My older sister got a boyfriend when she was 17 and I was 11, and they've been together ever since. They're married with two children now, and just as in love now as they'd been when they met.

I've never seen anyone love the way I've seen my family love, but for some reason I was never able to give as much as them. I mean, I felt love obviously, but it was never that all-consuming, life-changing love that was supposed to make your head spin and your soul ache.

Maybe I just never found the right person, but every relationship I've ever been in ended because of my inability to give out as much love as I was given. And that's not to say that I didn't care about the people I've dated, they were all really great people in fact... But I could never fully be in it, you know? Some people give their all to another person, would do anything and everything for them if it meant they got to spend the rest of their lives together, but I never felt that. Sure, I could have settled in any of my relationships, but if I was going to actually spend my time building a life with another person, I was going to really feel like I needed it to survive. Or, like I deserved it, if I was going to go that far.

For the past few years I've pretty much given up on relationships. I've been on a few dates, had a few hookups here and there, but at this point I was almost certain that love wouldn't find me any time soon.

However, the one thing that filled that love-shaped void in my soul was music. Words, melodies, stories... It all made me feel the way I was convinced love was supposed to make you feel. Even if I never wrote songs about my (positive) experiences with love, I loved love songs, and most music in general. That was the one thing I was sure of. Music was the one and only love I knew I could count on. It kept me safe, it ensured that I wasn't alone, and it hugged me in a way where I've never felt more at home.

Which would explain why I was here on a Friday night, singing in front of an entire crowded bar. Performing and sharing my music with people was the best way I knew how to outwardly show... well, anything about myself, really. I didn't go to open mic nights often, but when I did it felt better than anything in the world.

Tonight was... different, though. Not in a bad way, of course, but there was something in the air that made me feel like something great was going to happen.

It was the same feeling I got whenever I knew I was about to get laid.

Now, say what you want about it, about me, but even if I sucked at finding love I sure knew how to have one-night stands. I loved sex. It was another way I was able to get that happy rush of feelings while being with another person without actually having to be in love with them. Truly, sex was the perfect outlet for me, and my music was a great tool that helped me get it. Not that I needed help—if I wanted sex bad enough I could easily look for it—but the fact that I could play several instruments and sing well definitely made things easier.

And tonight I wanted it bad.

I hadn't realized it until I tried to figure out what song to sing for open mic night, and in turn came to the conclusion that I hadn't had sex with another human being in about a month. Which wasn't a bad thing by any means, but it didn't change the fact that I wanted someone else to help me out in chasing that high this time.

So I opted to go with a cover of a song I knew would do the job no matter what. I brought my electric guitar with me and mirrored the Wildest Dreams performance that Taylor Swift did from the GRAMMY Museum. The song itself was sexy and sweet, but with the electric guitar and the electric guitar only, it made for less sweet and more sexy. I'd always loved that performance from the second I saw it, so as soon as I was able, I bought an electric guitar and taught myself to play it. It was a hit every time I performed it.

I was wearing a maroon, long sleeved turtle-neck crop top that exposed my belly-button ring (which was sparkling silver and caught the light in the bar beautifully, if I were to say so myself), a pair of tight jeans, and black glittery heels that I only ever pulled out when I was feeling brave. My hair was half-up and half-down, leaving a good amount of my face exposed which donned silver eyeliner, sheer lip gloss, and my eyebrow ring. Paired all together with my black and white guitar and shiny nail polish that matched the deep maroon of my shirt, I felt hot as hell. Better than I'd felt in a while if I was being honest.

It felt even better when I was performing. I was confident in my abilities as a musician, to which I considered myself fortunate. If only I could have been that confident in other departments, I feel like I would have been dead-set for life.

But tonight I didn't want to think about that.

I played the song just as well as I had every other time. Probably even better, if only for the fact that I was working to get myself a lay. But whatever the scenario, I was feeling good and that's all I'd ever wanted to accomplish.

I saw him immediately after I sang the last note and the final chord of my guitar faded out into the applause.

He's just... where my eyes decided to wander, I guess. I don't know exactly what it was, but I was thankful for it, even though I almost forgot to breathe with the way he looked back at me. I couldn't tell what color his eyes were because of how far away he was, but I'd have bet on my life that they were some shade of brown. He bit his lip rather nervously when he noticed me staring at him, unable to tear my eyes way, but nevertheless he kept his gaze trained on me. It was so strong I could have sworn they burned holes into my soul.

Or, more likely, my libido.

Either way, I knew it then, when I packed up my guitar and walked through the crowd to find him, that I wasn't going home alone for the first night in weeks.

That was a good feeling.

So good, in fact, that I allowed myself to be a little more vulnerable than normal. It wasn't anything huge, but it also wasn't like me at all.

While generally, guys are more notorious to be the ones kicking out the women after a one-night stand, I always found it the opposite. I hated waking up in the morning and having to kick some dude out of my apartment. They always put up some sort of fight when it came time to leave, and I didn't get why. All the women I've hooked up with were easier to communicate with on that front, so I didn't mind as much, but still made it a point to be the one coming and going no matter who I slept with.

There was something different about this guy, though. Again, my sex drive was probably getting the better of me, so it maybe wasn't the best idea to let him come to my apartment, but I truly believe that a part of me wanted this man to see where I lived. I... don't know what it was, or why it happened, but it felt exciting. It felt new. It sparked some newfound adventure in me that I didn't really know I craved until I had it.

That being said, I could almost tell immediately within minutes of talking to him that he was going to be a hard one to get to leave. But the thing is...

I didn't mind that.

Something deep inside me wanted to feel what it was like to wrap this man around my finger, to have him so invested in me that he didn't want to leave me, and it was a weird feeling. I didn't know what to do with it, exactly, other than test the waters and see what was going to come of it.

He was about to tell me his name. That's when I started to realize it was a bad idea, and I was already in a vulnerable position. So I held my hand out to his face, pressing my pointer finger to his lips and seductively licking my own.

"No names. Is that okay?"

Something in those brown eyes (I was right) practically begged me to let him say his name, and a part of me wanted to know what it was just so I could scream it. But I knew that if I knew his name, I was ultimately going to be in trouble.

Like I said, there was something different about him. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't want to know because if I did, then I was going to be even deeper in uncharted territory. Besides, if anything the mystery of having no names would make this even sexier. Right?

Reluctantly he nodded, and I slid my finger down his lips and under his chin, then over his throat. I saw the goosebumps form on his skin as I went lower, lightly over the navy blue sweater he was wearing and stopping at his lower stomach. I grabbed one of his belt loops and pulled him close to me, smiling softly as his eyes never stopped searching mine.

"You ready to show me a good time, Pretty Boy?"

He exhaled at the nickname , but I couldn't tell if it was from nerves or what... Either way, he said, "Yes," and I twisted his belt loop tighter with a wink.

***

She was the most captivating woman I think I'd ever seen.

She commanded every room she was in, made everyone pay attention to her, and even if she couldn't sing or play the guitar the effect would have been the same. Granted, I only ever saw her in the bar. So, technically only one room.

But it was about to be two.

I didn't even want to be in the bar, and I was going to leave since Derek, Emily, and Penelope ditched me for their own endeavors, but at the very last second a voice in the speakers cut through the radio-generated music announced that someone would be performing, officially kicking off open mic night.

It wasn't that that stopped me. But it was her name.

Y/N.

I had to wonder if, when she said, 'No names," she remembered or even knew that I'd already known it. Or maybe she just didn't want to know my name. Whatever that meant, it didn't deter me in any way from trying to take up any space or time that she had. After she locked eyes with me on stage, I sent out so many signals, hoping to whatever higher power was up there, if any, that she would come to me. I just... needed to know her. To see her up close.

Truthfully I don't know what made me think I had the right amount of confidence or skill to do anything other than babble incoherently or just stare in her presence, but thankfully she didn't have much of a knack for talking.

When she finally stood in front of me, I didn't know where to look. I knew ultimately that I should look at her face, but damn it if I couldn't help but look at all of her, my stomach naturally doing flips when I caught sight of her belly-button ring, and... Her hands... Good God, I couldn't stop staring at her hands. I realized once she was closer that that's mainly what I looked at while she was on stage. The way her fingers worked the guitar, making it look like it was the easiest thing in the world, it was enough to send me into a tailspin.

Truthfully I don't think there was one single flaw about her. Naturally all human beings have flaws, but as far as I could tell, from this first meeting, this woman was nothing but an angel sent from Heaven, specifically to destroy me.

My favorite part about her, though, was by far her voice. I didn't listen to much mainstream music, but if it sounded anything like that, then I wanted to hear all of it.

Forget angel... She was a siren.

Yeah. That was the perfect way to describe her.

And when she touched me...

I'm pretty sure I blacked out.

I say pretty sure, because I distinctly remember telling her, "Yes," when she'd asked me indirectly to leave with her, but everything else only came in one-second flashes. A moment where I was in her car, and more clearly a moment when she pulled me out of it and shoved me against the door after she closed it, running her glorious hands through my hair and attacking my neck with harsh, sloppy, butterfly-inducing kisses.

But I made myself remember when we were actually in the apartment, because there was no way I was going to let myself forget that moment.

So I was completely well-aware of everything around me when she unlocked the door, pulled me inside, and shoved me against another door for a second time that night. This time she kissed my lips, and I all but melted into her. Her tongue didn't waste any time slipping into my mouth, but I didn't waste any time trying to fight it. I would have given her anything she wanted, she didn't even have to ask for it.

That being said, she broke away from me, looked me dead in the eye, and asked, "Can I take your pants off?"

I nodded eagerly, choking out a breathy, "God, yes," as best as I could.

That seemed to be what she was looking for, because she all but groaned as she squatted on the floor and worked at my belt. I didn't know what to do with myself, my hands seeming to wander aimlessly before settling behind me on the door. Once she got my pants down, she looked up at me through those silver-painted eyelids and leaned forward, pressing a hot, wet kiss to my dick through my underwear.

Any other time in this sort of situation, I most likely would have felt embarrassed by whimpering the way I did, but seeing the primal lust widen her eyes as I did it completely erased any doubt I ever had. By the time she pulled my boxers down and licked a large, slow line up the underside of my dick, those doubts were completely wiped off the board, no evidence of them ever having been there.

I wanted to look at her more than anything, to memorize the way she looked wrapped around me, but my eyes wouldn't stay open. Everything I was feeling, every sensation that ran through my veins, every hot lick of her tongue as it swirled around my tip, every small stroke of her hand when she took a break to whisper filthy things to me... It all rendered me completely unable to think straight.

At one point I was almost at the breaking point, and she knew it, too, because she pulled away from me completely and stood straight, running one of her hands along the inside of my thigh as she went up. I opened my eyes to meet her, her mouth slick with a smear of her lip gloss and her saliva. She looked like she was on the brink of tears, but none of them had fallen. But the gleam in her eye, that's what stood out to me. She was so utterly consumed with burning desire that I would have done anything to satiate every need she had.

She waited a beat, studying my face and the way my lips were no doubt still smeared with her lip gloss. And then she grabbed one of my hands and brought it to cup her crotch, tilting her head to the side and practically sighing at the touch.

"Aren't you going to return the favor, Pretty Boy?"

My first instinct was to tell her I needed a second to breathe. But somehow I knew I wouldn't be breathing well regardless of what happened. I stumbled out of my shoes and pants as quickly as I could, using my hand to lightly rub along the seam of her jeans. As soon as I was free of constraints, I made a point to turn us around so she was the one with her back against the door. I helped her pull her pants off, and once they were, along with her heels, I draped one of her legs around my shoulder so the process would be easier for the both of us.

I've only ever gone down on a woman a few times, so it was safe to say I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to satisfy her. But even if I hadn't had much practice, I knew I was a good listener. I practically read people for a living, and I knew how to read behavior and body language. So I knew that that would be my strong suit here.

That being said, I did have some idea of where to start. So I looked up at her while I brought my tongue out to her panties, lightly dragging the tip of it along the seam that met the corner of  her thigh. On my way to the other side I pressed the lightest of kisses to where her clit would be through the fabric, and then repeated the process a few times, feeling her squirm beneath me. Once I could tell she was getting close to frustrated, I made it a point to drag my tongue upwards in a long swipe until I reached her clit. I kissed it again before using one of my fingers to come up and slide under the fabric, though not pushing it entirely aside.

She sighed out as my finger ran along the very tops of her lips. When I pushed it in just the slightest, gathering her wetness as my tongue still gently worked at her clit through her panties, I took the moment to look up at her.

If she wasn't already the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, and in that moment she was even more perfect, her lip bit and her eyes on the verge of fluttering closed, I could only imagine what she would look like when I was inside of her.

I almost collapsed thinking about it, but went back to my task quickly, knowing that if I stopped thinking for once in my life then I wouldn't have to imagine it, and I could experience it instead.

So I finally pulled her panties aside and used the tip of my tongue again to taste her, just as lightly as I'd done it before. Only rather than fabric I was met with the smooth, slick taste of her pussy. I think I could actually hear her tremble under me as I flicked my tongue over her clit a few times, though everything I was feeling in that moment was so strong that it was more likely that I was losing every ability to think straight.

As time progressed I deepened my every movement, bringing my tongue deeper and harder through her gradually until the point where I was practically eating her out like a man starved. You could argue that I was starved for her in every sense of the word, but that moment wasn't about me. I was focused solely on making her feel good, paying attention to how tightly she gripped my hair when I briefly sucked on her clit, or the way she bucked her hips forward whenever I pushed my tongue inside of her as far as I could will it.

She seemed to like it best, though, when my fingers pumped slowly in and out of her in tandem with each swirl of my tongue around her clit. I took my time, savoring every second I could as my eyes stayed shut. I could barely keep them open.

When I finally did look up her, that seemed to finally be the thing that pushed her over the edge. Well, started to, anyway.

"Wait," she breathed, and for a second I thought maybe I'd done something wrong. I pulled away from her and raised an eyebrow, and all she did was look down at me, her eyes just as lust blown as they'd been before, if not even more. "I want you to edge me, can you do that? Just... keep bringing me there, but don't give me what I want. Not until I tell you to."

"Anything," I told her truthfully, keeping my eyes locked with hers as I brought my tongue to her once more. She shuddered under my touch as I worked at her clit again, quickly flicking over it as my fingers came up to hold her hips. It wasn't long before I brought her to the edge for the second time that night, and this time when I pulled away, I leaned my head into her thigh, pressing soft kisses to the inside. She was so focused on watching my face that she must not have noticed my fingers coming to slide into her again. She fluttered her eyes closed and leaned her head against the door with a soft thud as I fingered her, quickly picking up the pace as my tongue came out to lick at her thigh before I bit into it softly.

"Fuck, you're so fucking good with your hands," she managed to say through a moan.

I laughed a little, glancing over at her hands briefly and just letting the words fly from my mouth. "You're one to talk. The way you played that guitar? The way you touch me? Good God..."

She hummed hungrily, opening her eyes and pulling me up by my hair to pull me away from her. Her leg dropped from my shoulder and I stood up to meet her, towering over her by a good four to five inches.

For a moment we just stood there and stared at each other, both pants-less and desperate for each other but unwilling to do anything about it.

Until she pulled at my hair, craning my head to the side so she had access to my neck before running one of her hands down the side of my face, neck, and finding purchase gripping my shoulder. Her nails lightly scratched at my skin, sending a mess of goosebumps down my whole body, right before she took the other one and grabbed my bare ass.

"Baby, I've barely even touched you, yet."

I don't know what it was that made me so bold, but I smirked as both of her hands squeezed, causing her fingernails to leave indents into the skin on my right shoulder and my left ass cheek. "Touch me, then."

She was more than happy to oblige. Within seconds, both of her hands were slipping up my sweater and roaming my back and stomach as she leaned up and kissed me again. I met her lips happily, allowing her all the access she wanted to my tongue. At this point I was growing restless, wanting more than anything in the world to have her push me onto the bed, or the couch, or even the floor, and do to me whatever she saw fit.

My desperation must have broke the surface somehow, manifested in a way I hadn't noticed, because she laughed against my mouth, pushing me away and ripping off her shirt in one fluid motion. Which left her in only a grey bra that matched her panties.

"Take off your shirt," she said.

I didn't hesitate, doing as I was told and tossing it on the floor with our other clothes.

"Go sit on the couch."

I went there as quickly as I could, only feeling slightly embarrassed being the only one completely naked. But almost as soon as I sat down on her couch—truthfully one of the most comfortable ones I'd ever been on—she'd come up behind me and started massaging my scalp. I closed my eyes at the way it almost lolled me to sleep. If she did that any longer, I'm sure I would have.

Eventually, though, she slid her fingers down my neck and over my shoulders, resting them finally on my bare chest and drawing circles. She brought her lips down to my right ear and grazed it with her teeth before whispering, "Touch yourself for me? Go slow."

I didn't have to be told twice. As I'd quickly learned, I was pretty sure this woman could have done anything she wanted to me and I wouldn't have rejected her.

My hand firmly gripped my dick and went slow, just like she'd asked. With every long, meaningful stroke, she mirrored it with a swipe of her tongue along my neck. Her hands remained at my chest, reaching down to circle my nipples in very light, goosebump-inducing motions.

"Faster," she told me, and I listened. Each stroke of my hand was met with even faster, sloppier kisses along my neck and jawline, and I could have sworn I felt her fingernails digging themselves harshly into my chest.

"Faster."

By this point I was occasionally bucking my hips forward to meet my hand, and Y/N laughed lowly against my jaw, mumbling against it. "You wanna cum, Pretty Boy?"

"Not... Not yet," I stuttered truthfully.

"Aww," she cooed, tilting my head to the side and giving me a kiss on the mouth. It was probably the sweetest kiss we shared that night. "You want to cum inside me, don't you?"

She kissed me again immediately after she said it, and I moaned into her mouth, my hand working faster. If she didn't stop me, I was going to be done for, and I knew I wouldn't be able to go again. Not for a few hours at least. And I didn't know how long she'd want me to stay, or what we would even do while we waited.

Thankfully she seemed to take some semblance of pity on me, because she brought her hands away from my body, pulling back completely and telling me to stop.

I removed my hand and practically sighed in relief. I waited for further instruction, a sound, a touch, anything... But I almost had the wind knocked out of me when she appeared in front of me, having taken off her bra and underwear. What I found shouldn't have surprised me, but somehow it did. This woman was just full of surprises.

She had nipple piercings that matched the silver color of her eyebrow ring, not sparkly like the belly-button ring, but it was the cherry on top to what I'd already found practically perfect in every way.

As she sauntered to me, I couldn't decide where to look. Much like before. So I started from the bottom and worked my way up, eventually meeting her eyes when she straddled me on the couch and took my face in her hands.

"You clean?"

"Yes," I stated clearly, not wanting any signals to get crossed. I even nodded to accentuate my point.

"Good. Me, too. And I happen to be on birth control, so..." She leaned into my ear again and ground her hips into mine, the hot wetness of her pussy slightly grazing my dick. I almost fainted right there. "You can cum inside me all you want..."

She bit down on my shoulder then, and I groaned, bringing my hands to rest at her hips.

Then she pulled back and looked me in the eye again, grabbing my dick and lifting her hips to hover above it. She sunk down completely and quickly, letting me adjust to the feeling for all of two seconds before she gripped my chin in her right hand and smiled, batting her eyelashes. "But only when I tell you. You can't cum without my permission, got it?"

I breathed out a weak, "Yes," and then she got up and sank right back down, setting a quick and steady pace right away.

Both of her hands gripped my shoulders while mine stayed planted firmly around her waist, and if they were too tight she didn't say. In fact, by the look on her face I judged she probably enjoyed how tightly I was gripping her. So I decided to test it out. And sure enough, every time I let up my grip on her waist she would clench around me and move a little faster, making my grip tighten, and then she hummed, digging her nails into my shoulders.

Every high moan and whimper she let out as she rode me was just as melodic and beautiful as her voice when she sang. Added to the way she moved and the way she worked her hands, she was a rhythm all her own, constantly creating some sort of song, some piece of art that begged to be heard, to be felt in the deepest part of any soul that would embrace it...

I wanted it to last forever. I wanted to drown in her song forever.

Maybe that was a little dramatic. I mean, I only just met this woman under two hours ago at least (I wasn't sure how much time had passed truthfully), didn't know a single thing about her other than her first name, her musical ability, and her body. And all she knew about me was... well, my body.

Regardless, I was determined to make this last as long as I could, so I let go of her hips and brought my fingers to comb lightly through her hair, bringing her head up from the crook of my neck to meet mine, our foreheads touched together.

As if she knew what I was thinking, she slowed her hips, and then pressed her lips to mine gently. I'm pretty sure I felt my heart melt.

"What's wrong? Not gonna last much longer?"

I couldn't tell if it was a taunt or a genuine question. Either way, I shook my head and cradled her face. "I don't think so... But I want this to last."

"Hmm," she contemplated, but not for long, because seconds later she stopped moving her hips altogether and stayed sitting on my dick. She leaned back a little, bringing her hands to rest on her thighs as she took me in. "Well, then I guess I'll have to get creative."

I genuinely had no clue what she was about to do, but when she moved one of her hands to her breast and pinched at her nipple, I didn't care one way or the other. I was curious, sure, but ultimately I knew I would welcome whatever she did.

"I noticed you've been eyeing my piercings all night," she said sweetly, continuing to play with her nipples. She bit her lip softly before grinding down onto me and making me suck in a breath. "But I have to say, these two are my favorites... Aren't they pretty?"

"Fuck, they're beautiful," I breathed, splaying my hands over her stomach. "You're beautiful..."

"Aww,” she drawled. “Thanks."

Then she promptly removed her hands from herself, grabbed my wrists, and brought them to her breasts. My hands instinctively squeezed, feeling the contrast of soft skin and cold metal in my palms. I licked my lips before flicking my eyes up to meet hers. "Can I?"

"You can do whatever you want, baby," she purred, grinding her hips once more. A groan ripped from my throat before I leaned forward and brought her right nipple into my mouth, immediately swirling my tongue around the metal of her piercing. I think she might have groaned also, but I was so caught up in the way she grinded onto me and the feel of her skin on my tongue that I couldn't tell you for sure.

I kissed across her chest until I reached her other nipple, and gave it the same careful attention. Meanwhile I suddenly felt her hand slip down between our bodies so she could touch her clit. I brought my head up and peppered kisses up her neck.

"Let me help," I whispered against her skin, bringing one of my hands to replace hers.

She grabbed my wrist before I could get there. "No, keep doing what you're doing. Please..."

And that was that. I moved my mouth back down her neck, down the slope of her breast, and went back to flicking and swirling my tongue over her nipples. Eventually I took one and just slightly tugged at it with my teeth, causing her to buck her hips forward and send a shockwave of energy through me. At that point I was pretty sure I was almost feral with need, not caring how long it took anymore.

So right after she brought herself to orgasm, the movements on her clit slowing to a stop, I shifted our weight and pinned her to the couch so that her back was arched off the armrest. With an amused laugh, she wrapped her legs around my waist as I held one of my hands to the back of her head, the other on her waist, and pushed into her with one, long, fluid thrust forward.

I didn't waste any time with adjustments. I didn't care that my knee was only slightly hurting at the angle it was placed in. The only thing I cared about right then was fucking this woman so good she'd have to remember me. Which wasn't like me at all, but I didn't care.

So that's what I did. My hips set a ruthless, quick pace that had her sliding back until she was almost off the couch, the only thing keeping her anchored being my arm cradling her neck and head and her legs wrapping around my waist. Her heels dug brutally into my lower back, and if I had to guess, they were probably going to leave bruises. Not to mention her hands were clawing desperately at my shoulders to hold on, grabbing any skin she could as I pounded her into the arm of the couch.

I tried to keep my head up, but I was falling into oblivion. And I think she knew it, too, because she used her hands to keep me upwards, even doing so much as looking down between our bodies as best as she could to see me drilling my hips forward. The sight seemed to send her into a tailspin, because she bit her lip and groaned out.

"Fuuuuck, baby, just like that, don't stop, don't stopdon'tstopdon'tst—"

She came hard and fast, trying her best to keep her eyes open, right before looking up at my face. She clenched around me, and I knew I was done for. Any second now and I would finish. Just before it happened, she slid her hands up my neck, brushed the hair from my face, and brought me down to kiss her.

I moaned in her mouth as I came, keeping my hips pressed flush to hers and holding myself deep inside her. She moaned right back, swiping her tongue against mine as she squeezed her whole body around me and pulled me impossibly closer to her. In that moment, I didn't feel like it was just an orgasm... Which might sound cheesy and kind of stupid in retrospect, but it really felt that way. Right then, with her whole body holding mine and daring itself not to let go, it felt like every sense I had was stripped away and all that was left of me was her. As good as it felt to cum, it felt even better just being wrapped up in her in every capacity.

And that was why—even after we were finished and exhausted—we stayed just like that, wrapped up together on the couch with our lips moving lazily together until I felt myself start to drift off.

At that point, she'd somehow managed to pull me off of her and lean me back into the position I'd been in before, and my eyes struggled to stay open.

"I'm gonna go clean up," I thought I heard her say, and I wondered how she had the energy and stamina to stand up and walk around. But then again, I was so exhausted that I wasn't sure if anything that happened after we came down from our highs was even a coherent experience.

That being said, I managed to mutter an "Okay," while she disappeared and I tried to catch my breath. It only took about a minute before I realized that I was alone, and that she'd left to clean up the mess that I made. That seemed to snap me out of it, though not by much; I was still a little light-headed when I got up from the couch and started to collect my clothes from the floor.

I almost had my pants all the way on when I heard her voice from behind me.

"You don't have to leave... if you don't want."

I turned to face her, noticing that she was wearing a large nightshirt and probably nothing else. Even after she'd just gotten obliterated on the couch she still managed to look like the most angelic thing I'd ever seen. Or maybe I hadn't actually done as well as I thought, and she was the one who'd obliterated me... Either way, I felt bad for staying, especially knowing that she didn't even want to know my name.

So I shrugged, stifling a yawn. "No, it's fine, I... I should go. I don't want to intrude or anything, I—"

"Oh, please," she scoffed, walking up to me and placing a soft hand on my forearm. "As far as intrusion goes, I think we're way past apologies, don't you think?"

I smiled at that, admittedly leaning into her touch as her hand drifted up and to my cheek. "Okay. But only if you let me sleep on the couch."

"Don't be silly. You just fucked me on said couch, it's okay if you sleep in my bed with me."

I only shook my head, placing my hand on top of hers. "You didn't even want to know my name, which tells me that you probably aren't the type of woman to let men sleep in your bed with you after sex. Which is fine, don't get me wrong, but... I don't want to make you uncomfortable. And, I... I feel bad enough, I didn't help you clean up, I should have—"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," she said, removing her hand from my cheek and placing it on my bare chest instead. "That right there is why I don't mind if you sleep in my bed. Plus, it's late, you don't have a ride, and I can tell you're sleepy because you've been nodding off as we've been standing here. You can barely stand straight."

I didn't know what to say. Probably because she was right and I was nodding off right now.

She spoke again. "At least stay and rest for a few hours before you leave. And if it'll convince you to stay... You can have the couch."

I smiled lazily, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek. "I'll be gone before you wake up."

"Well... In that case, can... Can I kiss you one more time?"

"You can do anything you want to me," I told her truthfully, and not even a second passed before she pressed her lips to mine.

Despite everything we'd just done and the fact that I was almost asleep, it was the hottest kiss we shared that night. I was sure of it. It was lazy and wet, and so filled with the aftermath of all that we'd experienced together that I almost fell to my knees, and not because I was tired. Her tongue grazed mine in the most purposeful way I'd ever felt in a kiss my entire life. The way she held me to her, her hands weaved in my hair and mine pressed firmly to the small of her back, had me tingling from head to toe.

To this day, it's still the best kiss I've ever had.

I swore to myself I would never forget that kiss, and I never have. I couldn't have, even if I tried.

When she pulled away, I almost chased her, but I let her go, opening my eyes to stare deeply into hers. She didn't move for the longest time before clearing her throat and taking a small step back.

"Goodnight," she whispered softly. She looked almost as dazed as I felt.

"Goodnight," I whispered back as she turned around and padded into the darkness.

***

As I stood at her kitchen counter four hours later, a pen in hand and hovering over the back of a receipt she'd had crumpled on it, I tried to think of what to write, even though I knew it probably didn't matter to her one way or another if I said anything at all...

At the very least I wanted her to know just how much that night meant to me, even if she didn't feel the same way. Even if she didn't want to remember my name, I needed her to at least remember my face, remember what we did... Remember me...

I recalled the song she sang. And then I wrote it down.

I had the best night, thank you. Say you'll remember me... —S.

***

"Nothing lasts forever But this is gonna take me down."

—Taylor Swift, Wildest Dreams

***

TAGLIST:

@bluesunrise02 @meowiemari @teenwolfgirl90

[movienotesbyzawmer]

April 18: Rocky IV

(previous notes: Rocky III)

The Cold War one! I was in high school when this came out, and it seems like the Rocky movie that has most endured in pop culture for people my age, and even younger maybe? I haven't seen it in a very, very long time so I'm wondering if the Rocky-versus-All-Of-Communism logline is going to seem like a pathetically irrelevant conflict. Or, frankly, if that sentiment is going to sound like the dipshits that attacked the US Capitol just a few short months ago. It's definitely going to feel like just a slight twist on a formula that's been working, right? Let's see…

Totally different intro from the rest of the series, and surprisingly the recap of the end of the last movie also includes the hit single from the last movie. But also there is a thing about an American-flag glove and a Soviet-flag glove punching each other into an explosion.

They were so happy with the chummy chit-chat at the end of Rocky III that they just gratuitously include that whole scene here. It is a cheap way to eat up a couple of minutes.

Oh My God. The first actual new scene in this movie serves the important purpose of documenting for all time how dazzlingly technically advanced things were in 1985. For Paulie's birthday party, he gets a ROBOT! It talks… ROBOT-style! Paulie is whelmed by how robot-y it is.

"Open your prize," Rocky tells her when asking Adrian to open her PRESENT. Why did he say "prize".

MEANWHILE IN SOVIET UNION… They do a quick montage that only vaguely suggests something about a boxer and the USSR.

Apollo Creed spots an innocuous news story about Russian boxer Ivan Drago coming to America to participate in sportsmanlike fighting. AC is PISSED! A Russian being competitive, oh hell no.

At least Drago has a female companion so there will be an actual female character who isn't played by Talia Shire.

"Commies Are Evil" isn't the only theme of this movie; there's also "The Marvels of Technology". Drago's unmatched strength is demonstrated for the press in a very electricity-filled gym. And the robot has been in three scenes already in the first fifteen minutes! Oh I hope they aren't going to get me to fall in love with Robot Character only to have it lose in a boxing match to The Commies.

Big press conference to announce that AC will be fighting Drago in an exhibition match. AC is all cocky and Drago literally says nothing the whole scene. He is characterized as perhaps yet another robot character. But his wife and some other Russian guy do all the talking, and if they're supposed to seem like the Bad Guy, I don't see it. They are perfectly diplomatic and AC is just acting like a tool.

0:23:23 - I remember this scene, we all do, oh yes we do. The Fight That Does Not Go So Well. It starts with a super flashy intro; they're at the venue in Vegas and there are showgirls and pretend fighter planes and Actual James Brown singing this movie's legit hit single, "Living in America", singing it all At The Russians as AC descends in front of a monster thing in spangly Uncle Sam garb. AC actually dances alongside James Brown and around Drago. What they're doing, these diabolical filmmakers, is going to make what happens next sting the audience pretty bad.

Right before the fight, Drago's first line is "you vill lose". Monotone. Robotic. Technology! #1985

Drago beats him to actual death, he twitches on the floor as Drago robotically says things like "I will not be defeated". It is a bummer, this turn of events.

New press conference. Rocky is going to fight Drago. "No money. It's not about the money." That's weird, addressing money in this press conference. They're not really addressing the monumental fact that Rocky is sitting next to the guy that killed Apollo Creed.

This time, the Soviets are less diplomatic. Rocky barely says anything, but the old Russian dude calls him little and weak. They have a good point, though, about how Drago gets death threats in the US on account of he is a killer of an American hero, even though the wife also says he is not a killer. But that's why the fight will be in Russia.

New montage with a very 80s pop song. Worth noting that we have not heard any of the famous music from the first movie. This montage also looks very 80s, with it's flashbacks using a lot of different, highly techologically sophisticated frame rates.

0:42:41 - Adrian eye-close sighting! Thank you so much for that, it is what we all want and only you, Rocky-movie, can provide it.

Flashbacks to all the other movies. He is thinking about it all as he anticipates The Hell Of Going To Russia. Remember when he pointed to the jacket in the window that one time? Rocky does. Remember when he looked at his statue? Rocky does. He even somehow remembers Adrian closing her eyes. This is a music video with mostly recycled footage from the whole series.

0:48:35 - Another "modern" pop song, I think it's the band called Survivor again. Were we supposed to love all the catchy tunes and go out and buy the soundtrack? We only remember the James Brown one in 2021.

It is snowy in Russia ha ha! Paulie has joined him on the trip because he is part of Rocky's staff, but he doesn't like how cold it is ha ha.

Rocky's quarters consist of a log cabin dripping with icicles at the foot of some really pretty mountains. I play Geoguessr a lot and I don't ever see pretty mountains like that in Russia, but they must have them, right?

Rocky has been assigned minders. He is told they will go wherever he goes. I'm pretty sure that's not an unfair characterization.

He's got Apollo's trainer guy there with him, but Rocky makes it clear that he just has to do this training stuff on his own or whatever blah blah.

Now a montage going back and forth between Drago training and Rocky just running through the snow-covered countryside. ON HIS OWN. Plus also sawing wood and displacing boulders on his own. Oh and being the dog in a dogsled pulling Paulie! Locals look at Rocky because, look, a man doing something, that's new and confusing. Drago has electric machines. Rocky fells trees! Drago is inside comfortable facilities. Rocky is growing his beard out! The minders observe it all. The minders observe it all.

There is a subplot about how Adrian is dealing with this whole thing. She had been unconfident earlier, and did not join Rocky in USSR. But surprise, she is now there in Russia suddenly because love! Rocky continues to train, not so alone-y now and with a new rock song with more major chords. That is Drago's weakness! Communism hates major triads.

Gotta have inspired running, right? This time Rocky runs up a snowy mountain, running so hard that the minders can't keep up! At the peak he does his trademark cheer howl in that pretty place… but he is saying "DRAGO!!!!!!!!!"

Just like that, we're at the big fight. This time it's in Russia and it's mostly uniformed soldiers in the crowd.

Ugh. Quick cut to Rocky's kid watching at home on TV with friends. He says "that's my dad" and one of them replies "what do you think we are, nerds?" Ladies and gentlemen, the wit of Mr. Stallone: Screenwriter.

Do we need to talk about Drago's hair? He has very styled hair. I think it looks like Vanilla Ice hair. Is that a strange choice? I don't know how to think about hair, I guess.

"I must break you". That's what Drago says to Rocky right before they fight. I remember it. It is an above average dialogue choice compared with other Rocky-movie-right-before-the-fight dialogue choices.

Drago punches Rocky a lot, and the commentators make sure we know that Rocky might lose and they may even have to stop the fight. But also, yes, it does just look like Rocky is taking a lot of rough beating.

"He's not human. He's a piece of iron." So speaks Drago in unbecoming monotone. I don't know what that means.

It's a montage now, an appealingly edited summary of a whole bunch of rounds. The two boxers are both doing well and maybe not doing well, both. Montage.

I guess I'm experiencing what I remember noticing back when I first saw this in the 80s, which is that they really did convince us that Drago was indestructible, and now we're seeing him be damaged and it's kind of satisfying.

1:21:15 - Whoa, I forgot about this. The Soviet Diplomat Man is giving Drago a hard time about not winning yet, and Drago lifts him up violently by the neck and says something about I Will Win For Me, For Me. It's a little like we're supposed to think Drago is increasingly inspired by American Freedom, maybe? But it won't help him if he's still the bad guy in a Rocky movie.

This fight is taking a long time. A lot of this movie's running time is being consumed by this fight.

Eventually Rocky wins, because it turns out that he is just better because Freedom, and it's that same tiresome "Rocky-won" music, maybe arranged a little differently.

What does he say in the mic at the end? What is his message? "During this fight, I seen a lot of changing…" he says that during this fight, like during the actual boxing match, they all grew to appreciate each other. And it's better to do boxing than do nuclear annihilations. The whole crowd cheers for Rocky! Even the important Soviet Boss Men, startling even themselves with their abrupt adoration of The Wise American. Then when he says Merry Christmas Kid to his kid at home, well this whole entire crowd clearly thinks Rocky is better than their whole entire country. We don't see Drago any more. We don't know if he, too, is moved by Rocky's profound monologue. And we never find out what Drago and Robot Character think of each other.

So that's it, that's the end of Rocky IV. I get why it fires people up in a simple way, but I don’t think it's good. It totally assumes you'll understand that Rocky wins because the USSR just kind of sucks. Or you won't care that it's improbable that Rocky wins because it's just so gratifying to see Drago falter. Which they achieve by making him look very perfect, and having no charming characteristics.

It's true, though, how cocky we were about technology in the mid-80s.

(next: Rocky V)

[thefreshfinds]

UNDERSTAND M.E: Irate Specialist

By: Natalee Gilbert

These days, New Jersey based rapper Irate Specialist is all-smiles. The science behind his happy-go-lucky attitude stems from being positive and speaking his truth. On average most rappers speak on material goods and degrade women. Specialist, however, puts the pen to pad so he can gain traction from crowds worldwide. Because of this, Specialist overexceeds in creating relatable content. He's simply connecting people by telling his story. His album Understand M.E vouches for this. Describing his genre as positive turn up shit, the 12-tracked project Understand M.E is just that. The project comes with different vibes that caters to different people while still showing others who he is and whats made or broke him. His first album on SoundCloud is titled Don’t Sleep on M.E. For this new project, Specialist wanted it to be personal so people could actually understand him and know who he is. Specialist describes the process for creating Understand M.E like assembling a puzzle. A super fun and loud puzzle. Technicality wise, Specialist wavers in flows but keeps his rhymes enunciated. Aside from this, he throws in incredible punchlines. One being his favorite off one song, "I’m the best if you ask me/ Asshole go rest ‘tween two ass cheeks/ We’re as a whole connected through our energy." Referencing back to Understand M.E, he says "When listening you should expect to get to know me. How see/saw myself, how I see others and how I believe people should see themselves. I believe the best music is honest and vulnerable and I know many people agree. That’s why I love music."

1. The first track, "97" lets Specialist become a narrator and he uses this role to unveil his backstory. With a daunting piano progression striking fear in the speakers, Specialist begins "97" by saying this: "Birthday on a blizzard/The cold world will work with him/Producing patience and wisdom.Through growing pains and learned lessons/Mental breakdown, deep depression." As the track progresses, the piano chords demand to be heard. This one-liner solely represents why, "A quiet mind, a vibrant mind in society, it silenced him." Afterwards, a short-lived break makes way so the prophetic artist can continue his story. However, everything comes together at the minute mark. As a repetitive blare joins forces with live instuments, "97" transitions to "Hooligans"

2. "Hooligans" comes through the speakers with a knock. After glass shatters, "Hooligans" soundscape sounds more playful. Some can even say it draws from video games. In high school, Specialist was one of the cool kids, but still questioned who he was. He says, "depression on my mind was restin' while I was at school." Deeper in tune, Specialist displays different flows that come with enunciated rhymes. Ultimately, one can tell he had fun with "Hooligans" and they wonder if they're one too. Specialist adds that "Hooligan" is just nostalgia and him reminiscing on high school shenanigans

3. "W.O(ah)" is an ode to West Orange. Starting off, Specialist even says "The oranges gave me that zest, so that I can be the fucking best." Moving forward, Specialist continues to make references towards West Orange. For instance, he raps "The juiciest, stay well-dressed/ And when I'm pressed, stay positive." Likewise, Specialist takes the W after mentioning New Jersey native Samad Savage's event, Best Of Essex. At a certain time, Specialist got well-accquainted with instrumentals. Moving forward, he reminsces on those high-school days where his mind was elsewhere. After a long day, he'd go home and put on Kanye West. In turn, he'd get in his zone. Production-wise, "W.O(ah)" is boom-bap ridden and meshes spacey synths with muffled 808's.

4. On the other hand, "Paradigm" speaks about the importance of energy. Aside from this, "Paradigm" speaks on racism and how, despite our skin color, we are all the same. "Paradigm" also says that not everyone has good intentions over a spacey soundscape.

5. "B.F.G" which stands for black friendly guy, advises listeners to pick up on every word. Specialist says that it's best to be aware and optimistic. In a world of naysayers, be the one who changes their way of thinking. Society says black man equals crime, but B.F.G's are meant to break this stigma. Eventually, Specialist says they'll do their part and be accepted. His saying "why be normal?" is thrown into the mix as well.

6. Afterwards, Specialist's alternative R&B classic, “Goddesses” embraces those with black girl magic. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't coo-coo for cocoa puffs. His main preference, however is authenticity. Regardless of his love interest's hair type, Specialist is sprung. To send positive affirmations, Specialist calls on Dianne Johnson who sings the chorus in a sweet, airy vocal range "you got it, you got it sis." He's come to learn ultimately that every woman is a goddess and it's shown in how they glow. Time and time again, he's dealt with a severed heart, but music always mended the wounds.

7. In the name of Punjabi, "Glad :D ft. Blind Eyez" begins with a snippet of a woman singing in this style. Then, the base has at it, banging through speakers with aggression. "Glad :D" comes with an intention to call out "these little rappers" that are comfortable doing the bare minimum. Rather than invest, they'd spend it on artificial nonsense like new hats or jewelry. In turn, Specialist concludes what this truly means, "So I guess they're happy that they're trash like the Glad bag." Blind Eyez matches Specialist's energy, stating hand-outs in the Garden State is frowned upon. He even goes so far as to say, "I know some artist that moved away to get more support and help themselves. You can't blame them, classic crabs in a barrel." As the track moves forward, "Glad :D" intensifies its baseline and the hi-hats become sporadic. "Glad :D" just so happens to be Specialist's favorite track. "Blind Eyez and I always are able to catch a vibe when we’re in the studio together." he says "Plus hanging out and recording with DJ Denz gives us the freedom to really let loose and have a fun time."  

8. "A Positive" draws from a melodic trap beat and Specialist applauds his positive outlook towards life. Because of this, Specialist has manifested destiny everyday. It's also safe to say his futures looking promising. "A Positive" also speaks on how positivity has gotten him far. He even advises others to do the same in this line, "Push your negative thoughts away, it's the first step you must take. It took me a while to get this way. See the work is worth the wait."

9. Last but not least, "Stop" comes with the intent to motivate others. Over a eerie trap beat, Specialist speaks on how he'll grind until he reaches the top. "Golden thoughts, Midas touch. So you know I'll never stop." His energy, to say the least is transferrable and we, too begin to feel hyped. Besides this Specialist goes in-depth about what hard work can do for you. At this point of time, Specialist says it's gained him only but the finest greenery, acclamations, and melanin goddesses. Yet Specialist gives credit to his positive mindset as well. Once the 2 minute mark hits, his voice gets deeper as he speaks about what else success can do for him. Technicality wise, Specialist uses an oscillating flow with clear-cut rhymes. He says "Stop" is just a hard ass track that he loves. "Honestly its one of my favorite tracks that I’ve made so far." 

Understand M.E also comes with comes with short interludes, “Past,” “Present,” and “Future.”

Listen to Understand M.E below and follow Irate Specialist:

1. Understand M.E:

2. Instagram: @irate_specialist

[raytorosaurus]

and by this i DON'T mean "the virtuosic, technical one" and "the passionate, instinctive one" – my point is that neither of them fit the roles you'd expect them to. it's more complicated than metal vs punk and it's way more complicated than lead vs rhythm and it's way more complicated than technique vs passion. ray's one of the most emotive players i've ever heard and frank is a hugely accomplished musician in his own right and like. ray largely learned by ear playing along to metal records in his bedroom, but he’s also really into classical guitar, and him incorporating those classical sensibilities and interesting chord progressions into bullets really set them apart from other punk/hardcore bands on the scene and was one of the things that initially drew frank to them. and frank had lived and breathed the diy punk scene and was playing in bands by the time he knew three chords, but he's also a legacy musician who grew up surrounded by blues music and musicians and it shows. ray plays the solos but he also often plays ostensibly "rhythm" parts (groundwork chords, power chords, keeping time), and frank often plays licks and melodic embellishments typically associated with lead, and if you track through the albums you see them starting to experiment more and more with what you can do with dual guitars as a partnership rather than trading off lead and rhythm parts or just harmonising with each other – by danger days (besides the solos) it's genuinely difficult to blindly guess which guitarist is playing which part because they influenced each other so much. and according to frank, they literally never even argued until the very end.

it just makes me insane their styles SHOULDN'T work so well together! and the fact that they do is so…fitting. form matches content, you know – because mcr is inherently contradictory, it's about subverting expectations and blurring boundaries. their styles work together because they should contradict each other and because they're individually self-contradictory and because they managed to find that space where their points of difference overlap and complement each other. it's literally what mcr is all ABOUT…not to be dramatic but it's why this band feels fated! all the individual parts of the band work so well together to make it exactly what it is and nobody will ever be able to imitate or recreate it, partly because if you're trying to imitate it or recreate it you've failed step one! you can't make that in a lab baby it just has to happen!! you literally can't put mcr in a box!!

thinking about ray and frank’s weirdo guitar partnership and how it’s the heart of mcr. they give life to gerard’s vision in a literal musical sense but also in that mcr could not have meant what mcr means without the very specific way their styles work together

[greywindys]

I WAS THINKING THAT TOO I love murdoc I think he's a great and complicated character but i listen to a lot of bass lines of gorillaz songs and (I want to learn the bass for context) I'm like... this doesn't seem hard? They're great and catchy and iconic but they really are just a few repeated chords per song. But it is just part of his ego thing I guess lol

No I can just come out and say it- their bass lines are easy (though like it's been pointed out, technical difficulty is not the only thing that makes a bass line "good" there are many ways a bass line can be good). And if we’re looking at mainstream success the only, it’s just FGI. This is probably why Murdoc is so extra on stage.

Also, again, I was talking about how fans talk about him, not how he talks about himself.

[maskedblackfox]

It's time to ride the slide and taste the wind. Humphrey, you are totally genius. Come on. Let's do it. Air wolf! Guys. Guys. We're not moving! This caribou is mine. Kate, I'm not a caribou. I'm your sister! Gotcha. Omegas don't play like this. You can't escape the greatest Alpha ever. Well, I just did. We're going to die! Keep it steady! Keep it steady! What was I thinking? That was great! We are flying today, guys. Humphrey? Kate? What are you doing up here? I'm practice-hunting for our lunch. Good, 'cause I'm about to lose mine. You are? I'll try to swallow it. Kate! It's time to go. I'm coming, Dad. Where you going? Spring? But that's a whole winter away. I know you're Kate's friend, Humphrey. But by next spring, she will be a trained Alpha, the future leader of the pack. No doubt you'll be a clever Omega. Learn to keep the peace. And Humphrey, remind us all to have fun. But... But... Alphas and Omegas can't... How do you say it? That's our custom. The law of the pack. Wolf pile! Silly Omegas. Hey. Take a left! Thirty degrees! Salty, give her some sail draft! I think I taste the wind. No, just a bug. Hey, Mooch, get ready! Lower the boom! -All right! -Hang 10, boys! Guys, we really need to work on the brakes! -Brakes? -Brakes? Wolf pile! Get your butt out of my face. What did we hit? Spring. Look who's back from Alpha school. Forget about it, Humphrey. Kate's an Alpha now. And you're an Omega. We're friends, okay? Exactly. Just friends. End of story. You better set your sights over there. Reba and Janice, the vegetarians. Okay. Looks like we're eating caribou tonight, boys. Hey. Hey. Eastern Pack wolves. Can-do, Hutch, we've got company. Great. There goes dinner. And there goes Kate. -Holy... -Caribou! Scatter to the sides! Settle the score, leader. Are you all right? -Yeah, I'm fine. -Hey, what's your problem, you stupid Eastern dog? That was our hunt. You can't just snake it out from under us. Can-do, back off. You better listen to the girl. Hey, break it up. Can-do, Hutch, break it up! All right, Omegas, duty calls. Stop it. Can-do, Hutch, stop! -Hey! -Candy! -Kate. -Humphrey? I'm still going to tear this snaggletooth fool apart. Guys, lower the boom! Humphrey, we don't have time for fun. Guys, guys, come on. Don't get your fur in a bunch. You wolves are making us look bad. Come on, the caribou are laughing at us. Now, that's a moon I don't want to howl to. Western hunt group, get back to the den. The two of you, go home. Now! Omegas, good job. Great. My first hunt, and I blew it. Kate, Kate, Kate, Kate, Kate. Don't beat yourself up. That's crazy. You were amazing. I mean, if anyone's hungry, they can eat... They can always eat... Here. They can eat berries. Berries are really nutritious. Yeah. Tell that to a hungry pack. The Eastern Wolves ruined Kate's hunt. Luckily, the Omegas were there to break up the fight. -Lilly. -What? Very funny. Stop playing with your tail. Kate, you're slouching. Thank you, honey. Do you see how strong and beautiful you are? My. Any food is a blessing, dear. Winston? Come join us for dinner? Now! Thank you, honey. Scraps and bones is no kind of dinner. Not for my pack. I'm sorry, Dad. it's just those Eastern Wolves. It's not your fault, Kate. When they crossed into our territory, they broke pack law. Winston. Can-do was jumped by a group of Eastern Wolves. It ain't nothing. Quickly, bring him into the den. Winston, honey, whoever did this, let's rip his tail off and shove it down his throat. Sir, are we just going to let them keep raiding our hunts and... Put our Alphas on alert. Already done, sir. Good job. Guys, honestly, caribou is overrated. Instead, now, keep an open mind, I just want you to have an open mind here, we bring you berries. How about squirrels? Bad joke. Flying squirrels. Winston! Tony! You're looking good. My back feels like wood. I got this disk that keeps cracking. Yeah, Tony, you are one crazy wolf. -Yeah? -Yeah. Like that little game of tag during our hunt. Let's leave the playing to the Omegas. You know there's no caribou left in the east. You got a problem. Unite the packs, Winston. It was you who gave the big speech that your daughter Kate and my son Garth would marry and unite the packs. Garth knows his responsibility. Does Kate? Don't worry. She knows. Good. Then she can meet Garth tonight at the moonlight howl. I won't let my pack starve, Winston. If we have to, we'll fight for the valley. That would be a big mistake. Kate. it's... It's okay, Dad. I understand. it's... it's my responsibility. Guys, we got to get ready for the moonlight howl. Guys, girls. Girls? You are cool. So, let me go ahead... Prepare the girls for your arrival and you guys meet me there. Game on. Girls. Kate, you look so beautiful. Now, if Garth gets out of line, take those beautiful teeth of yours, go for the throat, and don't let go until the body stops shaking. If my little girl doesn't want to do this, if she's not ready... Don't worry, Dad. I'm ready. Come on, Lilly. Okay. Okay. Your fur... It looks fantastic tonight. Oh, my gosh. I had... Omega alert. I will handle this. It totally relaxes the knots. Hey. Hey. That's all I've got. Wow. This is a new feeling. I saw the whole thing, guys. And, I cannot believe they didn't just fall all over you. When you yelled, "Hey," I thought you cinched it right there. So, you think you can do better? Please. The next girl that comes up the hill, she's mine. I've never seen her look that good. Kate is hot. I'll be right back. Hey. Where do you think you're going? Humphrey, you know the rules. You're not allowed to howl with her. She's an Alpha. We can eat together. Guys, I know. I... I was just... Kidding. Cheer up, buddy. You still got us. Friends for life! Ugly- So, do you see Garth? Great. I'm not even sure what he looks like. But I'm sure... We'll know him when we see him. Hey, Kate. What? Garth. Lilly, stand up. Garth, hello. Good to see you. -Humphrey? -My butt! My butt. It really hurts. You should really do something about that cough. Be careful, Kate. There's something going around. Tails and ears are falling off, literally. Name's Humphrey. Garth. Wow. You are a... You are a big one, aren't you? Wow. You're practically a moose. Where you hiding them antlers? Who's the coyote? Who's the coyote? I get it. That's good, 'cause I'm, like... No one important. Lilly, why don't you take little coyote Humphrey and run along? Come on, Humphrey. Let's go eat some of those bitter berries. So, tell me about yourself. What does Garth like to do? Well, I'm really into fitness, you know? Rabbit sprints, tree squats. You know us Alphas got to keep fit to lead the pack. But, what really gets me going is... Was it good for you? Unbelievable. You know... I just... Just... Hold on a sec 'cause I'm going to be right back. I... I need some water. Some water. Okay? So, I'll... Just... Hold on. No worries. I'll just keep my vocal chords warm. Yeah. "Oh, he's no one important. "Just take little coyote Humphrey and run along." Coyote. -Where's Barf? -it's Garth. And we're just taking a little break. A break? What? Is that so strange? No. No, no, no, no. Are you kidding? I always like to take a break Well, I do. Your howling partner, he's not a... He's not a stud. Not a stud but, like, it's like "stud" but... A dud. A dud. That's it. isn't he? No. He is not a dud. In fact, Humphrey, you'd be surprised to find that he is... Strong! Yes. Yes! Strong! And he's... He's... -Proud! -Yes! Yes. Proud. And he's... What's the word I'm looking for? An Alpha's Alpha. That is right! He is an Alpha's Alpha. You make me so mad! Hey, I was just kidding. You're kind of cute. Really? You think... So, wow. Okay. Cute. Yeah. That's... Look... Thank you, first of all, but do you mean "Cute" in, like, a rugged, kind of handsomely "Cute"? Again with the butt. These mosquitoes are out of control. I'll meet you on Mars, right after I eat the Milky Way. That sounds good. Save some for me. Bag them up, boys. We're going to Idaho. You got it, chief. Okay. There we go. Watch out there. Kate? Where am I? Humphrey? Is that you? Kate! Where are we? I don't know. Maybe we're dead. Nope. Definitely not dead. At least they left us some water. You got water? Nope. Definitely not water. Kate, what are you doing? Trying to get out. Calm down. Listen, maybe they're taking us to where there's more food. Or maybe we are the food. Kate, you're right. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Yeah. All right. Set them free. Look at them go. Wow. This isn't Jasper. Yeah, but it sure does... Rock! Quick, get down! What are they doing? What a smashingly brilliant story this is. The golfing goose from the low regions of the Arctic Circle is leading the pack. He's using the wrong club. Could you do me a favor, Needles, and shut the hole that makes the words? Looks like they're playing some sort of weird game. Maybe they can tell us how to get home. Yeah. And if they can't, we can eat them. Yeah. Follow my lead. Yeah, I'm right behind you. Now you will see, this shot is mine. Splendid! Wonderful hit, sir. Just a minute! It's ugly, but a good runner. Did you see that? Did you see that? I guess the birdie ruined your Birdie. You mark it "Birdie" because it would have gone in. Technically, sir, it might have gone in. That silly bird stopped my shot from going in. So, I will not take an extra stroke. Mark it Birdie! Well, it... It was an obstacle. And everyone has to play with the obstacles. You know, we wouldn't want to lie. This is not a lie. This is not a lie if you are French. Well, French-Canadian. There's a slash, a hyphen, in between there. -I say French. -Canadian. -French. -Canadian. -French! -Canadian, sir. May I just say, though, that you are a wonderful golfer. And you are a very good caddie. Take off! Paddy, what is wrong with you? Hello. You are two wolves. I have not seen many wolves in these parts. But I am not afraid of wolves. No. I like wolves. Good. 'Cause we just want to ask you a few questions. Yes. Quick! Look behind you! Grab him! So, you want to face the French Resistance? That's French-Canadian! My butt! My butt! My butt! Omegas. This is not a game anymore! Don't you wash your feet? Look out for the trees! Watch that. Nice one, sir. Gotcha. Oh, no. That's got to hurt. How do you like it now, wolf? Hole in one, sir. You have bit off more than you can chew this time, my friend. My goodness. I... Look out for the... No. No. No. No. No. No. He's a goner for sure. Hey, Frank. Okay. You have a question? Yeah. Where are we? Idaho? Ida-who? Oui, Idaho, land of mountains, rivers, lakes, and a few billion potatoes. Sawtooth National Wilderness. What are we doing in Idaho? You were relocated to repopulate. They want you big wolves to make a lot of little wolves. Sounds good to me. Park shouldn't be without some wolves. I mean, only for the good of the park. So you two are undomesticated partners? Paddy, please. Don't be rude. So, you two are boyfriend, girlfriend? You are an item? -Well... -No. You wolves, you are funny. We have to get home now. There's going to be trouble if I don't get back to Jasper. Right. All right. You're freaking out. I'm not freaking out. I just have to get home. -Is this about Barf? -it's Garth. And it's about responsibilities. So, I don't expect you to understand. Can you help me? I need to get home fast. All right, Miss Fast. Where is home sweet home? Jasper Park, Canada. Jasper park? Get out of here. We love Jasper Park! Yes, yes. We've toured it many times. Paddy, please. We've toured it many times. I dated a Pintail from Jasper once. She never stopped quacking. Drove me nuts. Drove her right to me. Bound to happen. Bound to happen. So, you can help me, then, get home. We haven't played Jasper in quite a while. I think it would be a smashing idea. This is true. So, of course I will help. I like you two. You make me laugh. And you didn't eat me, so I owe you favor. Where did she go? Maybe I should ask you. You know that's not my style. My wolf, Can-do, knows your style. I just want to say one thing. If any of you wolves have hurt my daughter, I will personally rip out your eyes and shove them down your throat so you can see my claws tear your carcass open! Mom? Not now, dear. Mommy's in a rage. Well, since Kate stood up Garth, I could show him around until she gets back. I wouldn't say "Stood up." Garth! Sounds good to me. Well, come on, Garth. Isn't that sweet? She gets it from me. I'll give her till the full moon. It is beautiful out there. Almost makes you want to hit the potato patch. If you haven't already hit the outdoors, get on out your door. The weather today is... Your ride home. Quick! Get in! What? Boxed up twice in one day. What are the odds? -Hide! -Hide! That right there is Garn and Debbie Theocarcus. Lucky for you, they travel every year to Jasper right after Sawtooth. The day's looking pretty, and so is my woman. This is the song we met to. Come here, you. Let's dance. -Down here. -Hurry. Now, he was in a motorcycle gang, and she was a librarian. And opposites attract, if you will. Exactly. In this case, it was a bookstore that also sold beer. So, they met. Come on. We have to get in. All right. Here we go. You're just a dream. I'm like a little bunny. Aren't I, dear? I love you, Deb. I love you, too. Get inside now. Get inside. Quick. Well, back in a box. Good luck, you two! We will be watching out for you from above! Well, I'll be watching out for you. He will be breathing heavily. If we have to, we'll fight for the valley. Humphrey? So, why is this called Rabbit Poo Mountain? Because this is where rabbits like to poo. I was just kidding. I get it. You're a funny Omega. Okay. Make me laugh. What am I? You got me. It's a turtle that fell and can't get up. That's pretty good. Okay. What's this? It's turtle road kill. What else can you do? I just do turtles. Okay, it's my turn. You want to see something an Alpha can do? Would my mother approve? Of course. Well, okay then. Keep searching. We must find her before tomorrow night. Winston? Don't worry, Eve. She's the finest Alpha I've trained. I'm not, Winston. She's also the finest Alpha I've ever trained. We stopped. -What's wrong with you? -I have to go. You can't leave. Can't you hold it? No! I can't. Well, did you try crossing your legs? -Yes! -Holding your breath? Yes! I almost passed out. -Closing your eyes and... -In or out, I am going. Would you hurry? I can't go when I feel pressured. Go! What is he doing? Where is he? Come on, Humphrey. It's a rabid wolf! Max, bring that gun! This is it for you, wolf. Any last wishes? Max, theyre getting away! Not if I can help it. -No! -We're trapped. I got you both now. Shoot them! Nicely done, Max. Okay. Thinking with my belly instead of my head, not a good idea. I get it. I say we build a comfy den... -I'm going home. -Great. You're going home, and it's raining. I'm not stopping. Rain, rain, go away Get out of here, rain No one wants you around What are you doing? It's... it's a rain dance, to stop it from raining. 'Cause you're wet And you really are going to ruin our day Humphrey, rain dances make it rain. Right! Well, I'll just do it backwards. That actually worked. Kate? That's not a good idea. Hold on, Kate! No! Hold on, Kate! I'm coming! Let me think. Let me think. Humphrey! Don't worry, Kate. It's all part of my plan. I can see that. Kate. Kate! Grab my tail. Grab your what? Take those Alpha jaws and grab... My tail. My tail. Kate, wiggle. Wiggle around. That tickles. My tail hurts! Who knew I was ticklish there? I can't take any more. My gosh. Humphrey! Humphrey! Your tail. I'm so sorry. My tail's actually fine, last time I checked. Come on. Let's get out of the rain. Okay. Thank you. Sir, we've searched the entire territory. Still no sign of Kate. Sir? We must defend our territory. Fore! Well, well, well. What do we have here? I say, we've caught them at quite the bad time. No, I'd say we caught them at a good time. Indeed, sir. Indeed. What are you doing here? No, the question is what are you doing here? I give you a first class ticket home... It's a straight shot right to the pin. -And you blow it? -Yep. Over a cupcake. Ridiculous dessert. "A cupcake." Actually, they're quite delicious. There has to be another way for us to get to Jasper. Another way? Another way? Always another way. What am I, a travel agent? Come on. What, are you kidding me? A great sportsman like yourself always knows a few ways to win the game. Well, there could be a train. Actually, there is a train. it's the Canadian Express and... Paddy, please. it's called the Canadian Express... Yes, and it shoots right by Jasper Park. Right by Jasper Park. -If you can catch it... -You'll be home in no time. No time. Very fast. Great. So where do we board? Where do you board? Watch this. On the other side of that mountain. Paddy, please. Come on! Let it slip, but may I say, that was a stupendous shot. You may, and it was pretty good, wasn't it? Indeed, sir. Indeed. Dinner for two. It's a new move I've been working on for stalking prey. You're good. Thanks. Now you try. No. I... I'm not much of a hunter. Come on. You'll do great. Just do what I do. Okay. Ready? -One. -One. -Two. -Two. Three! Lilly! Lilly? A turtle, right? -It sure is pretty out there. -Yeah. Maybe this will help. Wow. "Wow" what? Your eyes. They're beautiful. Come on. Let's try again. -It sure is pretty out there. -Yeah. -I'll race you to the top. -You're on. Give it up, Humphrey! You'll never beat me. Humphrey? Omega one, Alpha zero! Okay! Okay! Enough, enough! Stop! Stop! I get it. I get it. I get it. How's that for a girl's throw? Very funny. Well, look who's having fun. You know, I should go check on the train. Wait, wait, wait! Wait, wait. Hi, there. What are you? Well, I'm a wolf. I've never seen a wolf. You are really strange. Am I now? You're totally weird. I'm going to get you! No. Look out! Look out! Okay, you asked for it. No, no, no. it's okay. it's okay. I'm really sorry. Oh, poo. Mad... Mad bear. Kate! Get the snowballs ready! Mad bear on the attack! The Canadian Express! Humphrey, the train is coming! Kate! Humphrey? What's wrong with you? That! Don't move. We can handle this. We can? Okay, we're in trouble. Guys. You guys like jokes? Good. So, okay. So two bears are eating a clown, and one of the bears says, "Does this taste funny to you?" A simple "Boo" would have sufficed. Man. Watch this. One more. One more. Get up. Kate, get up. Where are those two? Why must they make this so difficult? I believe the term is "high maintenance couple," sir. Stuck between the cliffs and the claws. This isn't good. Good luck joking your way out of this one. What's your name, sir? Growl. All right. Do you need a hug? Good talk! Hey, need a ride? Jump! Trust me! I told you, you could trust me. Hang a left! Go right! Why are you looking at me like that? Unbelievable. They have missed the train. Or not. -I know. it's not very good, is it? -Well... That was so awesome. You with the snowballs. And you with that little bear in that snowball fight. It was so cute. But then you with the log! The look on your face was so good. And then we... You know, we make a pretty good team. Kate and Humphrey, world adventurers! What do you think? I think you're crazy. You think I'm... No, I'm telling you, we're onto something here. Stick with me, pup. We'll go places. Well, I'll keep that in mind. All right. Take a deep breath. Howl from right here. And I'll join in. Humphrey, what are you doing? I'm sorry. The moon, the moment. I just thought... Come on, Kate. Howl at the moon with me. See? That's so good. No. You better go. But no one has to know. Please. Go, now. No. Dad. Howling with an Omega, are we? -I was just... -Get with the others. What's going on? We're going to take the valley, and our caribou. -Dad! -Lilly, what's wrong? The Eastern Wolves. They're coming! Come on! Just do it. She howled at the moon with you. That was just the moment. Bonjour, my furry friend. What? Are you guys crazy? That's up for debate. And where is... Mademoiselle. She's sleeping, so be quiet. Yes. Quiet. What are you guys doing here? Making sure that you don't forget the run of the course. Jasper Park, it is a few miles up. Do not miss it. Jasper, few miles, got it. Good. I've got to say, your girlfriend looks quite pretty when she sleeps. She's not my girlfriend. You should work on that. It's the full moon, Winston. I can see that, Tony. I didn't want it to come to this. But here we are. -Stop the insanity! Go organic! -Stop the insanity! Go organic! -Stop the insanity! Go organic! -Stop the insanity! Go organic! -Stop the insanity! Go organic! -Stop the insanity! Go organic! Kate. Kate, wake up. Wake up. Humphrey? Where are we? We're... We're in Jasper. We're home. Yup. We're home. -There's something... -There's something... Please, you first. Humphrey, I just wanted to tell you, these past couple of days, they've been, kind of, fun. You've been, kind of, fun. Really? Really. Well, that's... That's great. I told you, we make a pretty good team. We do. Okay. No, no, no. Don't tell me. You have to go to the bathroom again. Why, do you see a truck stop? I just wanted to tell you I... I... -I... I just wanted to tell you... -No. I... I love... Oh, geez. All I asked was for you to follow our customs, unite the packs. But, no. Your daughter had to up and run away. I didn't run away. Kate! She's back! -We were so worried. -Where have you been? -In Idaho. -Idaho? What were you doing in Idaho? We were taken by humans to another park. We were supposed to repopulate. No, no, no. Mom. We didn't repopulate. Humphrey actually helped me get home. What a nice boy. -I came back... -You came back to marry Garth. Yes. And unite the packs! Good for the pack, good for the belly. Marry? You're getting married? Yes. isn't it great? No more fighting during hunts. No more scraps and bones at dinnertime. We're going to unite the packs. Welcome back, Humphrey. Good job bringing her home. Wow. it's a big crowd. Yeah. Good times. So I heard you and Garth spent some time together. Lilly. Sorry. I'm sure he's perfect marrying material. Well, if you like that sort of thing, big, brawny, and perfect. Lilly, you're wearing your fur back. Sorry. I know. But, I liked it. Right on the pin. Marcel! Paddy! When it comes to hugs, we are all French, Paddy? Well, I'm English, so we don't hug! But for a first, I'd say that was a good one. I'm so happy to see you two. We flew in to see that you made it home. And what do we find? -You're getting married! -You're getting married! Yeah. I'm getting married. -Who told you? -I did. Humphrey. We should be going. Yes, yes. Excuse me. A flea. And a little something for your big day. Thank you. Just wanted to say good-bye. Good-bye? Yeah. I'm thinking about doing a little traveling, you know, seeing where the train takes me. And maybe I'll visit our friends the bears. Our old buddies, see how they're doing. I'll tell them you said hi. Wait. But you're leaving Jasper? Yeah. You know, it's alone wolf thing. I know Humphrey, the fun-loving Omega, not Humphrey, the lone wolf. So I'll be a fun-loving lone wolf. I don't doubt that. You know, Marcel, I am a stickler for tradition, but this one, I just don't understand. These wolves are mysterious creatures. Tony. So... Are you ready? Yes. Good. Are you okay? You bet. No problems on this end. Ready to go, go, go. So, you want to start this thing or me? We'll start together. Start together. Yeah. So, what's happening? They're accepting each other's scent. And now, the nibble on the ears. Do you think I can make it? Yes, sir, and just as you hit the tracks, you should see an open train car. Well, avoid truck stops, bears, and that hideous dessert. What is it called? -Cupcakes, sir. -Yes. Cupcakes. I will. Thanks, guys. You know, you shouldn't be so judgmental about cupcakes. They really are quite delicious. I wouldn't know. And finally, they will rub noses to symbolize that they are mates! Kate, what are you doing? I... I can't. You can't! I mean, you can't? What is this, Winston? Why can't she marry Garth? Quiet. Kate, Kate. Why can't you marry Garth? Because I... I fell in love with an Omega. An Omega? Humphrey? That sly dog! An Alpha in love with an Omega. That's against pack law. Dad. I also am in love with an Omega. What? What have you done to my son, Winston? An Omega and an Alpha? An Alpha and an Omega? Eve, help me out. This is madness. This isn't our custom. This isn't our way. Take the valley! I just love weddings! Stampede! Stampede! Everyone, run! Run! To the sides of the valley! It's that darn disk in my back. Come on! No! They're trapped! Humphrey! Kate! We have to help them! Look! Faster, Tony! Faster! Go left! Roll right! You're getting good at this. I had a good teacher. They're too far ahead. We'll never make it. Hold on. Look! World adventurers. I told you we'd make a good team. Did you say that? I thought I said that. Kate! Kate. Kate. Please, Kate. Please, you can't do this. I love you. Kate! Humphrey? I thought I'd lost you. Is everyone staring at us? Well, no, not... Not every... Well, yeah. Now they are. Darn. 'Cause I wanted to tell you something. What? Really? Okay. Well, I wanted to tell you something, too. Maybe this can work. All right. Garth! Tony, what do two old wolves do after they retire? Gentlemen, may I introduce you to golf? Fore! Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's good. Come on, honey. Let's show 'em how it's done. You ready to shake your tail? Now that's a howl. Are you ready? Yeah. Ready.