#like i’ve attended ‘group interviews’ where it was just like everyone goes through the tour together and maybe does some sort of induction

[fingertipsmp3]

Also just checking but like….. I am justified in no-call no-showing to a job interview I was 1) given ONE working day of notice for, 2) have already expressed my disinterest in, and 3) don’t need to go to since I already have a job, right?

[bangwoolofbangtan]

TIME

ENTERTAINER of the year

BTS

[Time magazine BTS interview ]

It’s late October, and Suga is sitting on a couch strumming a guitar. His feet are bare, his long hair falling over his eyes. He noodles around, testing out chords and muttering softly to himself, silver hoop earrings glinting in the light. “I just started learning a few months ago,” he says. It’s an intimate moment, the kind you’d spend with a new crush in a college dorm room while they confess rock-star ambitions. But Suga is one-seventh of the Korean pop band BTS, which means I’m just one of millions of fans watching, savoring the moment.

BTS isn’t just the biggest K-pop act on the charts. They’ve become the biggest band in the world—full stop. Between releasing multiple albums, breaking every type of record and appearing in these extemporaneous livestreams in 2020, BTS ascended to the zenith of pop stardom. And they did it in a year defined by setbacks, one in which the world hit pause and everyone struggled to maintain their connections. Other celebrities tried to leverage this year’s challenges; most failed. (Remember that star-studded “Imagine” video?) But BTS’s bonds to their international fan base, called ARMY, deepened amid the pandemic, a global racial reckoning and worldwide shutdowns. “There are times when I’m still taken aback by all the unimaginable things that are happening,” Suga tells TIME later. “But I ask myself, Who’s going to do this, if not us?”

Today, K-pop is a multibillion-dollar business, but for decades the gatekeepers of the music world—the Western radio moguls, media outlets and number-crunchers—treated it as a novelty. BTS hits the expected high notes of traditional K-pop: sharp outfits, crisp choreography and dazzling videos. But they’ve matched that superstar shine with a surprising level of honesty about the hard work that goes into it. BTS meets the demands of Top 40’s authenticity era without sacrificing any of the gloss that’s made K-pop a cultural force. It doesn’t hurt that their songs are irresistible: polished confections that are dense with hooks and sit comfortably on any mainstream playlist.

BTS is not the first Korean act to establish a secure foothold in the West, yet their outsize success today is indicative of a sea change in the inner workings of fandom and how music is consumed. From propelling their label to a $7.5 billion IPO valuation to inspiring fans to match their $1 million donation to Black Lives Matter, BTS is a case study in music-industry dominance through human connection. Once Suga masters the guitar, there won’t be much left for them to conquer.

In an alternate universe where COVID-19 didn’t exist, BTS’s 2020 would likely have looked much like the years that came before. The group got its start in 2010, after K-pop mastermind and Big Hit Entertainment founder Bang Si-hyuk recruited RM, 26, from Seoul’s underground rap scene. He was soon joined by Jin, 28; Suga, 27; J-Hope, 26; Jimin, 25; V, 24; and Jung Kook, 23, selected for their dancing, rapping and singing talents.

But unlike their peers, BTS had an antiestablishment streak, both in their activism and in the way they contributed to their songwriting and production—which was then rare in K-pop, although that’s started to change. In BTS’s debut 2013 single, “No More Dream,” they critiqued Korean social pressures, like the high expectations placed on schoolkids. They have been open about their own challenges with mental health and spoken publicly about their support for LGBTQ+ rights. (Same-sex marriage is still not legally recognized in South Korea.) And they’ve modeled a form of gentler, more neutral masculinity, whether dyeing their hair pastel shades or draping their arms lovingly over one another. All this has made them unique not just in K-pop but also in the global pop marketplace.

In March, BTS was prepping for a global tour. Instead, they stayed in Seoul to wait out the pandemic. For the group, life didn’t feel too different: “We always spend 30 days a month together, 10 hours a day,” Jin says. But with their plans upended, they had to pivot. In August, BTS dropped an English-language single, “Dynamite,” that topped the charts in the U.S.—a first for an all-Korean act. With their latest album this year, Be, they’ve become the first band in history to debut a song and album at No. 1 on Billboard’s charts in the same week. “We never expected that we would release another album,” says RM. “Life is a trade-off.”

Their triumphs this year weren’t just about the music. In October, they put on perhaps the biggest virtual ticketed show of all time, selling nearly a million tickets to the two-night event. Their management company went public in Korea, turning Bang into a billionaire and each of the members into millionaires, a rarity in an industry where the spoils often go to the distributors, not the creators. And they were finally rewarded with a Grammy nomination. On YouTube, where their Big Hit Labels is one of the top 10 most subscribed music accounts (with over 13 billion views by this year), their only real competition is themselves, says YouTube’s music-trends manager Kevin Meenan. The “Dynamite” video racked up 101 million views in under 24 hours, a first for the platform. “They’ve beaten all their own records,” he says.

Not that the glory comes without drawbacks: namely, lack of free time. It’s nearing midnight in Seoul in late November, and BTS, sans Suga, who’s recovering from shoulder surgery, are fitting in another interview—this time, just with me. V, Jimin and J-Hope spontaneously burst into song as they discuss Jin’s upcoming birthday. “Love, love, love,” they harmonize, making good use of the Beatles’ chorus, turning to their bandmate and crossing their fingers in the Korean version of the heart symbol.

Comparisons to that epoch-defining group are inevitable. “What’s different is that we’re seven, and we also dance,” says V. “It’s kind of like a cliché when big boy bands are coming up: ‘Oh, there’s another Beatles!’” says RM. I’ve interviewed BTS five times, and in every interaction, they are polite to a fault. But by now they must be weary of revisiting these comparisons, just as they must be tired of explaining their success. RM says it’s a mix of luck, timing and mood. “I’m not 100% sure,” he says.

They’ve matured into smart celebrities: focused and cautious, they’re both more ready for the questions and more hesitant to make big statements. When you ask BTS about their landmark year, for once they’re not exactly chipper; J-Hope wryly calls it a “roller coaster.” “Sh-t happens,” says RM. “It was a year that we struggled a lot,” says Jimin. Usually a showman, on this point he seems more introspective than usual. “We might look like we’re doing well on the outside with the numbers, but we do go through a hard time ourselves,” he says. For a group whose purpose is truly defined by their fans, the lack of human interaction has been stifling. Still, they’ve made it a point to represent optimism. “I always wanted to become an artist that can provide comfort, relief and positive energy to people,” says J-Hope. “That intent harmonized with the sincerity of our group and led us to who we are today.”

In an era marked by so much anguish and cynicism, BTS has stayed true to their message of kindness, connection and self-acceptance. That’s the foundation of their relationship with their fans. South Korean philosopher and author Dr. Jiyoung Lee describes the passion of BTS’s fandom as a phenomenon called “horizontality,” a mutual exchange between artists and their fans. As opposed to top-down instruction from an icon to their followers, BTS has built a true community. “Us and our fans are a great influence on each other,” says J-Hope. “We learn through the process of making music and receiving feedback.” The BTS fandom isn’t just about ensuring the band’s primacy—it’s also about extending the band’s message of positivity into the world. “BTS and ARMY are a symbol of change in zeitgeist, not just of generational change,” says Lee.

And in June, BTS became a symbol of youth activism worldwide after they donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement amid major protests in the U.S. (They have a long track record of supporting initiatives like UNICEF and school programs.) BTS says now it was simply in support of human rights. “That was not politics. It was related to racism,” Jin says. “We believe everyone deserves to be respected. That’s why we made that decision.”

That proved meaningful for fans like Yassin Adam, 20, an ARMY from Georgia who runs popular BTS social media accounts sharing news and updates, and who is Black. “It will bring more awareness to this issue people like me face in this country,” he says. “I see myself in them, or at least a version of myself.” In May and June, a broad coalition of K-pop fans made headlines for interfering with a police app and buying out tickets for a Trump campaign rally, depleting the in-person attendance. Later that summer, ARMY’s grassroots fundraising effort matched BTS’s $1 million donation to Black Lives Matter within 24 hours.

For 28-year-old Nicole Santero, who is Asian American, their success in the U.S. is also a triumph of representation: “I never really saw people like myself on such a mainstream stage,” Santero says. She’s writing her doctoral dissertation on the culture of BTS fandom, and she runs a popular Twitter account that analyzes and shares BTS data. “Anytime I’m awake, I’m doing something related to BTS,” she says. “This is a deeper kind of love.”

Devotion like that is a point of pride for BTS, particularly in a year when so much has felt uncertain. “We’re not sure if we’ve actually earned respect,” RM says. “But one thing for sure is that [people] feel like, O.K., this is not just some kind of a syndrome, a phenomenon.” He searches for the right words. “These little boys from Korea are doing this.” —With reporting by Aria Chen/Hong Kong; Mariah Espada/Washington; Sangsuk Sylvia Kang and Kat Moon/New York

FASHION CREDITS

RM: Jacket, shirt, pants and shoes HERMES; SUGA: Jacket, shirt and necklace CELINE. Pants GIVENCHY. Shoes LOUIS VUITTON; Jung Kook: Jacket, shirt, pants and shoes FENDI; J-Hope: Jacket, shirt, pants and shoes LOUIS VUITTON. Necklace HERMES; Jin: Suit, knit top and shoes BALENCIAGA; Jimin: Jacket, silk shirt, pants and shoes CELINE; V: Suit, shirt and shoes ALEXANDER McQUEEN. Tie THOM BROWNE.

[fanficimagery]

Finding a Mate

#396 "You can't just hug me and think everything's okay."

Summary: When Hope moves to Forks with her aunts Freya and Keelin, and gets enrolled in public school, the last thing she expected was to find a coven of vegetarian vampires and a mate. Then again she was a Mikaelson and was used to dealing with crazy.

Author's Note: Only Jasper and Alice are mates. Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward are all unattached, but Rose and Edward have their own thing going on with one another.

With Keelin back in the States for good and Hope mentioning she wasn't content at the boarding school anymore, Freya decided it was time for a change. Hope had wanted to be far away from anything that reminded her of her parents or uncle Elijah, and Freya had randomly chosen Forks, Washington. The town was small, but had all the necessities for every day living, and her niece and wife had readily agreed after Keelin found out the local hospital was hiring.

Keelin wasn't promised a spot after submitting her résumé via email when she had called to inquire about the job, but the girls moved there anyway. Freya had found them the perfect two story, three bedroom house with enough attic space for her witchy supplies, and they packed up what they wanted from the abattoir before closing the Mikaelson home down until either Rebekah or Kol went back.

Now in Forks, Hope happily settles in and quickly finds the smallest bakery she's ever seen that also sells coffee and tea. She finds they make an excellent cup of peppermint tea and vows to herself that this will be her new to-go spot before school.

Keelin gets called in for an interview at the hospital, and Freya and Hope tag along in hopes of getting a feel for the locals while they wait at the hospital. It's there, nearly forty minutes later, that Freya realizes they're not the only supernatural beings in town. Keelin walks out of an office with a sheepish smile, she then quickly beckoning Freya and Hope to her. They enter the office and Keelin nervously introduces them to her new boss Doctor Carlisle Cullen- Doctor Cullen with the golden eyes and pale flawless skin that doesn't hold an ounce of body heat.

Introductions are quickly made, Freya immediately pegs Doctor Cullen as a vampire during their handshake, and Hope watches on in amusement as the adults go back and forth. He's surprised when Freya outs herself as a witch and Keelin a werewolf not even a minute afterwards, and Hope merely shrugs when his golden eyes land on her.

As they speak, it's obvious Doctor Cullen is wary of other supernatural beings. Freya and Keelin pick up on it and they promise that they aren't there to cause trouble; they really just want a fresh start after they'd lost several members of their family. They are used to keeping the supernatural a secret so Doctor Cullen has nothing to worry about, and after that it seems like the vampire can breathe a little easier. It's also during this meeting that Hope finds out Doctor Cullen has children attending the same school she's going to be attending, and to not be too offended if they don't automatically seek her out because they're used to being on their own. Hope laughs it off, telling him it's okay since she's usually a loner herself.

And since the three newcomers know about him and his family, Doctor Cullen asks if it's okay for him to tell his family about them. Freya, Keelin, and Hope agree that it's only fair.

After having collected her schedule and a map of the school over the weekend from the Principal and his secretary themselves, and having been taken on a tour to locate her classes, Hope feels comfortable enough showing up Monday morning. So with her peppermint tea in hand and backpack strapped to her back, Hope exits Keelin's vehicle with a smile.

"Bye! I love you. Make good choices!" The dark skinned, dark haired werewolf muses.

Hope quickly slams the door, but Keelin rolls down the passenger window. Laughing and disregarding every stare, Hope shakes her head in amusement. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome. You going to need a ride after school? I won't be out until five."

"Yes. Hopefully there'll be something to keep me occupied until then."

Keelin coos. "Aw. Look at you all grown up." Hope rolls her eyes and sips her tea to hide her smile. "Enjoy your last year, kid. Public school is a lot different than that boarding school of yours, so-"

"You forget we did nearly a month of public school for that.. exchange program Alaric put us through. I'll be fine, Keelin. Don't worry."

"Mhmm. Well if anything changes, text me or Freya. We'll come get you."

"Sure."

The window rolls back up as Keelin pulls away and Hope watches her drive off. She finally takes notice of the stares a moment later and plasters on a smile that she knows probably looks like a grimace. But not caring what anyone has to say, she turns on her heel and marches off towards the front office to retrieve the slip Ms. Cope told her she'd need every teacher of hers to sign before turning it in at the end of the day.

Kids come up to her left and right, and she tries her hardest to come off as friendly. But being who and what she is, it's easy for her to suss out just who is being real with her and who isn't.

Angela Weber is an immediate favorite of hers- the girl being mellow and just the right amount of curious about where she moved from and why. She likes Tyler Crowley and Mike Newton just fine, even though their flirtatious behavior is rather grating, but they're real personalities are on display for her to see upfront. Eric Yorkie is annoying, but tolerable, and Jessica Stanley could be a decent girl if she didn't try to compliment someone and then degrade them all in one breath. But Lauren Mallory? Lauren is a hard no. Hope does not like the mean spirited teen and the teen in question is why she doesn't sit with the apparent group of friends when at lunch when Tyler loudly beckons her to join them.

Instead Hope finds an empty table and sits, she hesitantly pushing around the food on her tray. If there was one thing she missed from the Salvatore Boarding School, it was their personal cook. Public school lunch food was, in one word, disgusting.

Several tables down, the Cullen and Hale teenagers push around the human food on their trays and make it seem as if they're eating. Alice has happily tucked herself under her mate Jasper's arm while Edward and Rosalie sit a little too close to one another, murmuring and just enjoying the close proximity. Emmett, the only unattached of the bunch, sits backwards in his chair while covertly watching the room.

"New girl, ten o'clock," he says. Edward and Rosalie chance a look her way since they're all ready facing that direction, but Jasper and Alice have to rely on everyone else's input. "Think she's special like those aunts of hers?"

Rosalie's golden eyes dart towards Hope and then away. With a shrug, she says, "She's cute. Figured she'd be sitting with the popular kids by now."

Jasper shakes his head, his blonde curls slightly tossing. "I've been watchin' her when I can. She's all smiles 'n giggles, but when whoever she's talkin' to walks away, her expression falls."

"Maybe she's tired of being hit on," Emmett muses, lips quirking at the corners. "Crowley and Newton have all ready laid claim, but they don't appear to be getting anywhere."

"Edward?" Alice suddenly chimes in. "What's wrong?" She was the only one to notice his creased brow and frown as he stared at Hope Mikaelson.

"I can't hear her."

And that- that causes his siblings to tense and really take notice of the new girl.

"What did Carlisle say her aunts were again?" Rosalie asks, frowning.

"A witch and a werewolf," Edward answers. "But he never got an answer on what Hope was."

"Well there's no time like the present." Emmett moves to stand and Rosalie's hand snaps out, wrapping around his wrist.

"Don't," she hisses.

"Chill, Rosie. Carlisle said it was okay to talk to her. In fact, he and Esme encouraged it."

"You don't show interest often," Jasper muses. "What's so different now, brother?"

Emmett's grin falters. "Call it boredom."

"Or call it what it really is," Edward says, slowly smiling and laying an arm on the back of Rosalie's chair to help soothe her. "You think she's pretty."

"Ohh. He thinks she's more than a little pretty," Jasper smirks. "I can feel just how pretty he thinks Hope Mikaelson is."

Alice giggles and the rest try their best to smother their smiles. Emmett glowers, but a smile of his own slowly breaks out. He chuckles. "Here goes nothing." The entire cafeteria seems to go quiet as they watch the largest Cullen leave his family and head for the new girl. She doesn't look up, so Emmett pulls out a chair directly across from the girl and turns it around before plopping himself down. "Hope Mikaelson," he muses.

She glances up then, her eyes narrowing before a small huff of laughter escapes her. "You're one of Doctor Cullen's kids."

"Emmett," he smirks. "The others were too intimidated to approach you." Hope follows his pointed gesture before smiling and waving at the other vegetarian vampires.

"I hardly doubt that. I'm not even that scary."

"Says the new girl who we've no idea what she's capable of."

Hope's gaze darts back to Emmett, her shoulders losing some of their tension as she grins at him. "A girl's got to have some secrets."

"Yeah." His gaze scrutinizes her and Hope challenges his stare, popping a carrot stick into her mouth while not breaking eye contact. "Speaking of secrets, did your aunt do some magic hoodoo stuff to your head? Edward can't read your thoughts." That causes her to blink and Emmett suddenly whoops. The cafeteria falls silent and Hope groans, trying to sink into her chair as every astonished gaze falls on her table. "I win."

"Jesus. Okay. You win. Lower your voice," she grumbles. Emmett hunches in his seat and Hope suddenly starts twisting a ring on her right index finger. "So Edward.. reads minds?" She glances at Emmett's family's table and sees the bronze-haired individual nod. "Just surface or.."

"He can only read what's on the surface. My siblings and I just usually mentally sing a song or mentally scream if we wanna keep him out."

"Oh." She twists her ring some more. Sighing softly, she says, "The last thing I want is you or your family uncomfortable with me and my family's presence." She slips off the ring, nods at Edward, and then faces Emmett to ask, "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you move?"

Hope slightly tenses and fidgets in her seat. "New Orleans holds a lot of.. terrible memories." Her mom's death flashes in her mind and she gulps, knowing Edward saw it. "Both my parents and uncle Elijah sacrificed themselves there. And Mystic Falls, where I attended Boarding School, is where I was constantly fighting for my life against a monster every other week. I grew tired of it."

"Do you come in peace?" Emmett's lips twitch and Hope rolls her eyes.

Chuckling, she says, "Yes. I honestly just want to finish my first and last year of public high school. And make some friends. I had trouble with making friends growing up because of who my family is."

"And just who is your family?" Emmett wonders.

"The Mikaelson's. I'll.. I have a book on my family's legacy. I'll let you borrow it as soon as I find it, but I'm warning you right now. Their past is.. bloody."

"You just keep getting more interesting the longer we talk."

"Says the vampire."

Emmett smiles, but before he can get out his last question Hope is slipping her ring back on to shield her mind once more. The bell rings, startling Hope and signalling the end to the lunch period. As Hope stands to collect her tray, he asks, "What are you?"

That gives Hope pause and she blinks in surprise at Emmett. She slowly grins. "One of a kind. Literally."

"Don't tell me you're a unicorn." He laughs, but then quickly sobers when he sees Hope's expression of distaste.

"God no. Unicorns are pretty, but they're devious." She shivers and her expression suddenly appears far away. "Gross mind controlling slugs. Never again."

"..what!"

Hope refocuses on Emmett, she sheepishly laughing. "Yeaahhhh. See you around." And then she quickly takes her leave.

The rest of Emmett's family joins him as Hope disappears. "She was telling the truth," Edward says. "Every answer she gave was accompanied by a visual representation. She witnessed her mother's death."

"So a ring kept you out of her mind?" Rosalie then muses after the awkward tension of mentioning Hope's mother's death vanishes. "I might have to ask her for one of those."

Edward grins, but Emmett is still gobsmacked by what Hope last said. "Unicorns are real? You think she was telling the truth about that?"

Alice giggles and Jasper grabs his mate's hand to escort her to her next class. "Probably. She slipped that ring of hers back on and blinded Edward again."

"Damn."

"Don't worry." Alice smiles knowingly. "I get glimpses here and there of her. Hope will be sticking around."

"Oh?" Edward, Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie all grin. Emmett's eyes then narrow. "What do you know?"

"The same thing you do if you'd just open your eyes a little wider, brother." And with Jasper's parting words, the rest of their family follow him and Alice out.

A moment passes and then Emmett sighs. "What does that even mean?"

The next few days sees Hope avoiding questions her nosy peers have for her after Emmett Cullen so brazenly approached her at lunch, especially since he continues to do so days after. The only human Hope had found a moment of solace with was Angela, but even then the Cullen and Hale clan could see that Hope was still keeping her distance.

Her second week of school, however, finds Hope watching her aunts staring out the front window of their home in amusement one morning.

"What are you guys looking at?"

Keelin glances over her shoulder, grinning. "You didn't tell us you befriended Doctor Cullen's children."

Hope shrugs. "Well yeah. They're intrigued by the girl their mind reading brother can't read."

"Mhmm. So intrigued that they sent one of their own to give you a ride to school?" Freya wonders.

"..what?" Hope scurries to the window to see what her aunts are staring at and finds Emmett standing near the hood of a large jeep that's parked outside their home. "I'm gonna give him a brain aneurysm," she grumbles. "What is he playing at?" As Hope stomps off towards the front door, her aunts are quick to follow.

"He's cute," Keelin teases. "What's his name?"

Her hand freezes just before she can grab the door handle. "Freya? Please tell me you have a privacy spell up around the house and the vampire outside didn't just hear your wife call him cute?" Their silence is very telling and Hope chuckles through a groan. Finally opening the door, a beaming Emmett is standing there with a to-go cup of something steaming.

"Peppermint tea. Your apparent favorite." Keelin and Freya don't bother hiding their coos. "And a brain aneurysm? Really? That's kind of harsh, Hope. I've been nothing but nice."

Hope gives him a deadpan stare before taking the tea, she then making quick introductions. "Freya and Keelin, meet Emmett. Emmett, my aunt Freya and her wife Keelin."

"Hey." Emmett beams, a dimple in his right cheek forming. "Do either of you care to fill me in on what Hope is? She's not playing fair."

"She hasn't told you?" Freya asks.

"No. And Edward can't read her mind as long as her ring stays on."

Hope glances at her aunts. "What? It's not my fault they're terrible at guessing."

"But I bet you're not playing fair either." Keelin nudges her niece. Then looking at Emmett, she tells him, "You've probably all ready guessed what Hope is, but you're looking at her as if she's only one species. She's not."

"Wait, what?"

Hope sighs and then grumbles. "I'm a tribrid." Emmett gapes at her. "I told you I was one of a kind. Now come on, lets get to school so you can tell the others."

And after that fateful day, it becomes a regular occurrence that Emmett picks up and drops off Hope before and after school. Freya and Keelin can't help but adore the large vampire, and even Hope eventually gives in to his bashful smiles and playful behavior. Everyone at school is surprised to see the largest of the Cullen/Hale siblings behave so carefree, and even Emmett's family seem a bit surprised at his behavior, but in a good way.

Hope then becomes so used to Emmett's towering presence that when it comes time to give him her family's legacy book so he can know her history, she makes herself sick with anxiety. Her aunts do their best to soothe her worry, but she doesn't quite calm down until Emmett suddenly appears at her bedroom window one night.

Slowly opening the window after he gently knocks on the glass pane, Hope steps back on sits on the edge of her bed. Emmett enters her room, sitting on the sill.

"That was.. wow. Your family are the Firsts."

Hope nods, avoiding his gaze and twiddling her thumbs in her lap. "Only Rebekah, Kol, and Freya remain."

"That was a lot to take in. Jasper's re-reading it." Hope flinches and Emmett moves to stand before her, he then crouching and settling his hands on her knees. "Hey. Hey," he says again, reaching up to make her look at him. "Your family's past is crazy, but it's their past. Their past does not define you. We all still think very highly of you and are still looking forward to the day you grace us with what your tribrid qualities are."

Hope huffs a laugh. "I'm a witch, werewolf, and vampire," she finally tells him after a week of the Cullen and his siblings trying to guess the right combination.

"No shit? I can't believe we never guessed it."

"Well after I mentioned the unicorn your imaginations took over and started throwing out every other mythical creature that you think is real too."

"They're not?"

Hope grins at his pout and flicks his ear. "Maybe. Maybe not. One can't be too sure unless you've seen it with your own two eyes."

"At least tell me dragons are real?" She then laughs at his hopeful expression, shoving his shoulder and then huffing when he doesn't even budge. Stupid Cold One strength. "There's the smile I was hoping for."

Since Emmett's started talking to her, he's thrown in a few flirty remarks here and there. Hope's grown to expect it from him, but what she hasn't grown used to yet is the way her heart skips a beat and the way she warms all over when he genuinely smiles at her. And given his senses, she knows that he knows exactly what his proximity and words do to her.

"So what are you doing here?" She finally asks. "Did you come all the way here just to soothe my worries?"

"Yes and no." Emmett finally backs off and takes a seat next to her on the bed. "Esme's been anxious to finally meet you. We talk about you a lot and Carlisle talks a lot about how good your aunt Keelin is at her job. She's a bit miffed she's the only one who hasn't met you or your aunts."

"Oh. Well we, um, can go right now if that's okay with you?"

"Yes."

Emmett immediately stands and sits halfway in, halfway out of her window, and Hope slides off her bed to make her way towards the bedroom door. Calling out, she yells, "I'm going out with Emmett!"

"WHAT?!"

Emmett snorts and Hope's eyes widen when she realizes what she's just said. "Heading out! I'm heading out with Emmett!"

They can hear Keelin cackling from somewhere downstairs.

"Okay!" Freya then calls back up. "Don't stay out too late."

Blushing, Hope then makes her way towards a smirking Emmett.

"No shoes?"

She shakes her head. "No. I'm assuming you ran here and we're running back, so I'll just have you drop me off halfway and I can shift."

"Awesome. Climb on my back and hold on."

Since Hope's window was situated over the side walkway overhang, Emmett crouches near the ledge and waits for Hope to join him. She climbs onto his back with a small laugh a moment later, and after a brief warning Emmett jumps. His hands grip around the backs of her thighs and her arms are wrapped around his neck. She grunts when he lands, but then she's laughing as he runs.

The world is blurring by her, but not as fast as she expected since her senses can keep up with vampire speed, and she relishes the feel of the air whooshing passed her. But all too soon, he's stopping and letting her down gently.

"All right, Mikaelson, lets see what you got."

"Yeah, yeah." Hope shifts nervously before lowering herself to the ground on her hands and knees. "Have a blanket ready for me when we get there. Clothes tend to disappear through the transformation and I'd hate to scar anyone with my nudity."

He waggles his eyebrows. "You're going to be naked?"

"Don't make it weird." Emmett's laugh booms and he startles several woodland creatures. He's still laughing when Hope says, "And whatever happens next, just let it take it's course. I've been through the transformation before. I know how much pain I can endure."

His laughter immediately ceases. "What?"

Instead of answering, the first of many bones in Hope's body cracks to rearrange itself for her new form. And if Emmett had any color in his features, the color would have drained at Hope's grunts and cries of pain, her bones snapping and bending at unnatural angles.

At one point he calls her name and he takes a step back when Hope throws her head back, her eyes blazing yellow. She cries out and her back arches with a snap, and Emmett watches in awe as an abnormally large gray wolf takes the place where Hope just was.

The wolf blinks and shakes her fur out as Emmett slowly crouches. "Hope?" He gulps. The wolf nods, her tail swaying from side to side. Slowly but surely, Emmett then smirks. "Hell yes. Race to you my house?"

The wolf barks and takes off after Emmett, she letting him stay ahead of her since she didn't actually know where the Cullen's lived.

Edward and Rosalie were the only two who hadn't seen Hope's wolf form since they were out the night she showed up to their house, but with Edward's mind reading abilities he was able to see everything from his family's point of view. Rosalie didn't care to see a werewolf, instead she was rather more intrigued by the magic side of Hope and Freya's lives.

As the weeks then slowly progress, it becomes the norm for Hope to spend time at the Cullen household. Keelin's been picking up a lot of hours at the hospital, and Freya's busy getting paperwork together and what not for the opening of her very own shop that she plans to sell home remedies at.

So, of course, Hope's at the Cullen house when things go to hell.

Emmett, Jasper, and Edward are wrestling- Emmett and Jasper wearing leather cuff bracelets to protect their minds from Edward's mental probing- while Rosalie and Alice toss out some friendly taunts. It was finally a fair fight and the brothers were ecstatic to test them out.

Hope's standing with Esme since Carlisle's currently at the hospital, and the two keep their distance as the boys get rowdier and rowdier. Suddenly Alice goes still, Edward's mind is no longer on the fight, and he stares in horror at Hope. The others quickly catch on, but before Alice can come out of her vision.. whatever it was comes to fruition.

"Hope!" Edward manages to shout before Esme is thrown from the girl's side by some unseen force.

Hope gasps just as Jasper catches their mother and before she can utter a single word, a stick or stake or something is forcefully embedding itself in her throat. She immediately gurgles on blood and falls on her butt, her eyes flooding with tears from the pain as she attempts to pull the wooden stake out. There's an almighty roar that sends a shiver up and down her spine, and through her tears she sees an enraged Emmett pounding against an invisible barrier of sorts. In fact, the entire Cullen family is pounding against an invisible barrier, Emmett's black eyes focused on her.

Hope whimpers and shakily raises one bloodied hand, she trying to concentrate and release the vampires. Before she can focus enough energy to fuel her spell, she's slammed on her back and arms magically pinned to the ground, two more stakes embedding themselves in her wrists. She cries out, struggling, but it's no use.

A woman is suddenly looming over Hope, which only prompts the young tribrid to struggle some more. The woman tuts, waggling a finger at her. "Don't, child. You'll only bleed out faster."

"W-Why?"

"What was that?" The woman crouches and pulls the stake out of Hope's throat, Hope then screaming out in pain. There's another roar and the woman crouching over Hope grins. "Well he's pissed. You really have the big one wrapped around your finger, don't you?"

Hope chances a look in Emmett's direction, her heart beating faster at the sight of other individuals surrounding the family. Their hands are held out at the sides and flames erupt around the Cullen's. "No."

The woman next to Hope shrugs, still glancing over her shoulder. "They're abominations. It's a shame really. The tiny one is kind of cute."

Alice hisses, as does Rosalie, but the family has stopped pounding and instead moved closer to one another and way from the flames. Hope sniffles. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because they made you happy." The woman then glances back down at Hope, her gaze hardening. "And no Mikaelson deserves the chance at happiness. Not after what your father did."

"My father is dead!" Hope grits out. "He had changed. It wasn't his fault you witches kept coming after his family. He only did what he had to do to protect us."

"Yes, well now we intend to end it once and for all. You're a threat to our way of life."

"Screw your way of life."

"Hope!" She glances towards the Cullen's once more, catching Alice's gaze. "You can do it. Concentrate."

Hope doesn't know what she's supposed to concentrate on, and all she knows is that she's hurt and royally pissed off. Her eyes slip shut and she focuses on breathing.

How dare these witches come after her and the Cullen's when they've done nothing wrong. How dare they call the vampires abominations when witches themselves were an anomaly and not what nature intended either. How dare they think that she, Hope Mikaelson, could be taken down so easily.

Eyes snapping open, Hope momentarily relishes in the gasp that leaves the witch's mouth. She knows her eyes are blazing yellow and she meets the gaze of the shocked witch. "Patere." The witch hovering over her is forcefully thrown away, and with a grunt Hope pulls on her wrists and dislodges the stakes from the ground. She quickly pulls them out, letting the wounds heal as she climbs to her feet.

Hope carefully makes her way towards the Cullen's where the witches are still chanting, she stopping and holding her own hands aloft at her side. Breathing deeply, she concentrates on every witch trying to harm her friends, and then jerks her wrist. There are audible snaps before the witches collapse.

"Adiuuatur." The flames dissolve, and then with a wave her hand the barrier vanishes. Emmett is immediately at her side against Edward and Jasper's warning, but he's gentle with her as he checks her neck and wrists. "It's fine. They healed as soon as the stakes were removed."

The rest of his family gather around and it's Jasper who voices what's on everyone's mind. "Your blood doesn't- it's not tempting us."

"Well I should hope not," Hope muses and then grunts when Emmett suddenly engulfs her in his arms. "I'm a hybrid. Vampire or werewolf blood should not be appetizing to you."

"Huh. Well that's good to know."

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Esme suddenly muses. "What they did was unbelievably violent."

Hope winces, she patting Emmett's sides so he'd let up. He does, but she ends up being tucked under his arm and against his side. She sighs. "I'm good, Esme. Doing magic under duress is just tiresome." The motherly vampire nods along in sympathy. "And I'm sorry about the mess. I don't usually.. kill, but they threatened you and your family. I couldn't let it slide. Where there's one wave, there's bound to be another."

The Cullen's glance around at the dead witches, some glaring that they'd gotten the drop on them and others shrugging as if it were no big deal.

"I'm sorry to have put you on their radar, but I need to speak with Freya. Just for being associated with us, our enemies have now become your enemies." Hope's shoulders droop and she hastily wipes the tears from her eyes. "I should just- I should go. I never should have gotten so comfortable here."

Emmett growls and holds tight as Hope tries to leave. Edward and Jasper both glance at him, realization dawning in their expressions several moments later as Hope frowns up at Emmett who can't quite meet her gaze.

"She's your mate. Isn't she?" Jasper says.

Hope gives Jasper a double take, her eyes narrowing as Edward slowly smirks. She then looks up at Emmett who appears momentarily panicked, his expression then smoothing out into something far too pleased at the knowledge. "Excuse me?"

"How did I not realize this sooner?" Emmett then gently cradles Hope's face in his hands, he staring down at her in awe. Her mouth opens to reply, but then Emmett's hugging her again and her face is pressed into his chest.

Turning so it's her cheek pressed against his solid frame instead of her face and nose, Hope sighs and rolls her eyes. "You can't just hug me and think everything's okay." The rest of his family adopt wary expressions and Hope huffs a laugh as she wraps her arms loosely around his waist. "We're so going to have to talk about this. Later though. I really need to talk to Freya and you guys have bodies to bury.. or burn. Whatever is good with you."

Rosalie breaks the awkward atmosphere by groaning, she then stomping over to the first body. "You owe me, Mikaelson. I wanna be the first to test out the sunlight ring if Freya ever figures out how to make it work for our kind."

"Deal." The squeezing Emmett, she asks, "Can you run me back home?"

"As if you even had to ask."

Emmett's quick to scoop Hope up in his arms, he then vanishing from sight within the blink of an eye.

"How did we not pick up on that sooner?" Jasper suddenly muses. "They've been practically joined at the hip since her first day here."

"I don't care." Alice beams, giggling as she skips over to pick up a dead witch. "I'm just happy to finally have another sister!"

Rosalie huffs. "At least we like this one. That one human who keeps staring at Edward is getting on my last nerve."

"You're just jealous because it's Edward she's set her sights on and the two of you have that weird thing going on," Jasper muses. "Just get married all ready."

Rosalie glares at her twin, she then grumbling as she picks up another body. Edward sighs, punching his brother in the arm. "Thanks for that. She's going to take her anger out on me now."

Jasper waggles his eyebrows. "You're welcome."

     - X - X - X -

Emmett drops off Hope in her back yard, she then running up to the door and throwing it open. Freya startles, but taking in her bloodied niece and the simmering anger practically wafting off of Emmett puts her on alert. Not even their joined hands is enough to distract her. "What happened?"

"Witches."

"Dead witches," Emmett then grumbles.

Hope slowly exhales. Then looking up at Emmett, she squeezes his hand. "Hey. Go hunt," she tells him. "Take some time to calm down while I fill in Freya."

"But-"

"No buts." He frowns, but gives her a terse nod. Bending down he quickly presses a chaste kiss to her forehead and then disappears. Hope grins.

"That's new."

"Tell me about it. Apparently Cold Ones have mates and I'm his. We only just figured it out." Freya's oddly quiet, but when Hope glances at her aunt she sees that her aunt is fighting off a smile. "Don't. Me and him are going to talk about it later. Right now we have a bigger problem."

Slowly Freya collects herself, she then putting away the herbs she's been sorting on the table. "Right. Tell me everything."

     - X - X - X -

Keelin had been given the rest of the day off after Carlisle had been filled in on what was going on, and Hope filled her aunts in on everything. They were a little worried about witches still targeting them after a year of peace, but they promised Hope not to worry about it and that they'd contact Rebekah, Marcel, Kol, and Davina to look into what was going on now.

Hope was still feeling a little wary, but Freya sent her up to shower the blood off and change. She did and then when she went back downstairs she figured she'd find her aunts still discussing the problem at hand. Instead they're discussing Hope.. and her apparent future with Emmett.

"So," Keelin grins from her seat at the table, stirring her hot chocolate, "Emmett, huh? Nice."

"Nope. No. We're not talking about this," she nervously laughs. Hope pulls open the fridge and pulls out a container of apple juice. Pouring herself a glass, she waves off both her aunt's knowing gazes. "Emmett will be stopping by in a bit. We're gonna talk and only talk. I might go on a run afterward so don't freak if my room is empty."

"Sure. Keep the door open!" Freya calls after her.

Choking on her juice, Hope glares over her shoulder at her giggling aunts.

Upstairs in her room, Hope shuts the door and then shoots off a quick text to Emmett. As she waits for him, she finds a stick of sage and lights it, blowing out the flame and smiling as the plumes of smoke waft upward. Sipping her juice she then sets it down in a bowl and turns around, a yelp escaping her mouth at the sight of Emmett casually leaning against the headboard of her bed.

"Dammit, Emmett. I'm gonna spell our yard to alert us when you're lurking if you don't start making noises." She glances down at the floor and then her shirt, making sure she didn't spill her drink. "Oh good. No spillage."

"So what's the verdict? Do I get to defend my mate's honor? And what's with the smoke?"

"No fighting. Yet," she says, making her way towards the bed and gingerly sitting next to him. "And the burning sage is for a privacy spell. Freya and Keelin are a little too invested in our new relationship status, and I have to ruin their fun somehow."

"Killjoy." Hope chuckles and settles against her own headboard, she sipping her juice one last time before setting the glass aside. Settling in, she faces Emmett and he grins. "So it's like this, huh? No weirdness? No crying? No denial?"

"Do you want me to reject you, Em?" She muses. "Playing hard to get seems exhausting. I rather just-" Her words are cut off as Emmett leans in, his lips capturing hers. She laughs against his mouth, trying to properly return his kiss, but not being able to do so as her laughter gets the best of her.

"Seriously?" Emmett pouts.

"I'm sorry." Hope giggles some more, biting the bottom corner of her lip. "You just.. surprised me with your enthusiasm."

If Emmett could blush, there was no doubt he'd be doing so now. "My bad. I've just been wanting to do that for a while."

"Yeah?" Hope's eyes sparkle as she smiles. "Well in that case.." She leans in, stopping just shy of pressing her lips to his. "Then you can wait just a little while longer." Emmett groans. "I need to run and burn off some energy. Run with me?"

"As if you even had to ask."

[microshiner]

Ska, craft spirits, and Colorado's real drinking town

The hangover bell rings loud and clear in my head as I lift a 70 pound guitar cabinet into the back of a white 2000 Ford Econoline XL. Rain falls lightly. I am running on only a few slovenly hours of sleep but despite the pounding head, my mood is jovial. My band mates and I recount the night before over and over. In the world of ska music, there are few bands more respected than Hepcat, and few bands more infamous than Mephiskapheles, and we just shared the stage with both in one night. It was also the kick off to the second leg of our spring and summer run- this morning we hit the road out of Denver and head for Durango, Colorado, where we’ll spend a week in the studio and follow it up with two shows in the area including a performance at the legendary Ska Brewing Company.

Alright.

Personally, I am excited for more than one reason. I went to school in Durango, but it’s been six years since I’ve lived there and from what I can tell, the drinking scene has only gotten better. A new craft distillery just opened up, and the number of breweries has jumped from 4 to 6 (All this in a town of 17,000. Fort Collins gets the glory, but at over 150,000 residents, are their 14 breweries and 3 distilleries that impressive? Which is the real drinking town?)

I contemplate this and other pressing issues to pass the time on a 7 hour haul over the Rocky Mountains. As we climb in elevation, my mood levels off. It always does when passing time in the van. Whether I am headed somewhere new or somewhere I’ve been many times, as long as it’s light outside touring has always had a bit of a weird vibe to me. The late nights, the shows, the people, the free drink tickets - that is what it’s all about and what makes it worth it. The rush of playing a good show is matched by no drug or other experience I’ve ever had. But during the day, driving through the middle of nowhere to the next town while getting further and further away from your personal life back home, the anxiety creeps in.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never been in a band at a level where touring was our income. I’ve always had to hurry back home after each run and get to work in order to keep the bills paid. Right now, it’s about 9:30 on Monday morning. Everyone I know (except the three guys sitting here with me) is at work, or walking the dog, or heading to the bank, something normal.

Don’t get me wrong, there is certainly a level of awesome to all this. I’m never going to be a ‘company man.’ I knew that by the time I hit high school. I take a lot of pride in what I do for a living and for a hobby. But the older I get, the harder I find it to relate the stories of the road and the stories of the pen and the stories of so many nights passed in rock clubs to people who are my age but haven’t had a night out in months. The word ‘baby’ means something entirely different to them.

As Vonnegut would say - So it goes. We pull into town just in time for happy hour but unfortunately the liquor store will have to suffice for tonight; we’ve got to get to the studio. Tomorrow I will have the opportunity to experience some of the actual culture of this town I’ve missed so much.

Tuesday morning I am walking down Main Avenue bright and early in a leisurely search for a cup of coffee and a paper. Part of me feels like a Texan, stopping to gaze into each store window as I pass by and then actually purchasing, after looking around to make sure no one I know is in sight then ducking quickly into the storefront, a “Durango” t-shirt. I’ll have to bury this down in my backpack so my bandmates never see it. I justify the window shopping and eventual purchase as a mere way to pass some time before my scheduled meeting with some real locals, the owners of Durango Craft Spirits, at 10 o’clock.

I walk into the tasting room to meet owners Michael and Amy McCardell. Immediately I can tell that the duo lives by their motto and are ‘Inspired by the true spirit of Durango’ - It is only 10 am but the room is full of bluegrass music and the McCardell’s beckoning call for a drink. Michael handles the distilling of what is currently their sole offering - Soiled Dove Vodka, made from a mash of 60% native grown, non-GMO white corn they get directly from the Ute Mountain Tribe of Ute in Towaoc, Colorado (just a little over an hour from Durango). His soft voice, with a bit of a country tinge, makes even a short sentence sound well-rehearsed and wise. Perfect for telling stories, and I’m guessing he has a lot of them.

Lucky for me, Michael is not at all shy about telling the story of Durango Craft Spirits, his pride and joy.

It is, I learn quickly, Durango’s first post-prohibition, grain-to-glass distillery. “We’ve got a couple friends over at Ska, Dave (Thibodeau) and Bill (Graham), that opened Peach Street Distillery, in Grand Junction) years ago and one day I met the old distiller and Bill brought in one of their first bottles of gin, along with a bottle of Bombay Sapphire,” Michael says. “It was just unbelievably so much better. That first opened my eyes to craft distilling.”

This was over ten years ago, and until that day Michael had no plans at all of going into the distilling business. “A couple years later, I’m hiking around a piece of property up north with the county assessor, and he said ‘I gotta tell you this story. There’s a buddy of mine who thought he found some ancient Anasazi ruins on his property and he wanted me to come check them out. They hiked up there on a cliff to an Anasazi looking wall and there was an old still sitting back there.’”

He decided to do some research and try to figure out what kind of distilling was done in the area. “I started reading a few books about distilling in the area, and there was quite a bit done,” Michael says. “Especially turn of the last century when the silver market took a crash. A lot of the miners took to cooking booze in the mines.”

With his interest piqued, Michael attended three distilling schools and landed himself an internship at Wood’s High Mountain Distillery in Salida, CO, with the intention of opening his own show in Durango once he learned about the operational side. Both Michael and Amy had spent years in the local hospitality industry managing hotels and a golf club.

As their current jobs came to end due to sell offs, the decision was made to go full-steam with the distillery concept. Step one, securing a location. Where They landed right on the corner of 11th and Main, in the heart of downtown, and opened in January of this year.

Their setup is pretty simple - tasting room in the front, still setup and work area in the back (visible to guests), and office off to the side. Nice and cozy. “We go grain to glass right in the building with all regional grains,” Michael says. “We’re real proud to mash, distill, and bottle right in house.” I had been sold on their concept already, but at this point I could not continue the interview without trying some of their product.

Amy, generally in charge of the tasting room and PR, hands me a pour from behind the bar. I stir, smell, and sip. Then I gasp.

I am not a vodka drinker. My taste for the stuff was ruined by too much Smirnoff as a teenager. But this morning I am happy to make an exception. This stuff is good. Smooth, one of those spirits that you know would be perfect in a cocktail but it almost seems like a sin to dilute it, like a fine scotch. Until you realize that a vodka of such high quality could finally allow you to drink those plastic-bottle vodka infused party concoctions you swore off in your mid-twenties because you can’t stand the headaches any more, minus the headache. “I use a pretty strange recipe for the vodka compared to other distilleries, and it gives it a pretty unique flavor.” That, I agree, is easy to notice.

“The product is tied to Durango’s history,” Michael informs me as empty my glass. “Soiled doves being a Victorian term for the prostitutes of the town. They operated into the 1960s in Durango and were fined heavily, with the fines helping to cover the cost of the schools, the police department, and the fire department.”

The McCardells pay homage to these lovely financiers on the back of their bottle. The cocktails served in the tasting room are also related to the town’s history, an effort that has most certainly allowed the curious tourist to feel more accomplished in his imbibing. The distillery looks to release an unaged whiskey this fall, with barreling scheduled to begin this month. The vodka is currently only sold within 150 miles of Durango. “We are being (probably) too cautious about our growth,” Michael says. They do, however, plan to expand further across Colorado. Not bad for a true mom-and-pop and operation.

I like to think that my band is a mom-and-pop operation. I guess it would be a quadruple-pop operation. Like Michael and Amy, we have grown our small company from nothing into nothing less than an amazing life experience, with no real guidance other learned experience. We have made plenty of mistakes over the last eight years but have slowly made progress come from each of them. We’ve dealt with marriages, jobs, mortgages, kids, operational disagreements, and an old van catching on fire on the road, and as life has happened, we have found a way to happen with it. Back in the early days, circa 2007-2010, I put all of my eggs in that basket. I was willing to work crappy kitchen jobs and live in dilapidated apartments so that I would in turn have the flexibility to leave town when I needed to and be able to keep my financial overhead at a bare minimum in order to play music multiple nights a week. I cared about nothing other than making the band succeed. I lost relationships and friends.

The other guys, at least the two I started the group with, did the same. And then, in the fall of 2010, we crashed and burned hard. So hard, in fact, that over the next two years we did next to nothing with the group. We had no money, our leases were up, and we had nowhere left to go. For a while, we went our separate ways. Our biggest lesson, and one of the most important things I have ever gotten out of life, is that you have to have options - you have to have more than one card to play. As we’ve grown up since then, we have found ways to have other priorities in life while still being able to come back and execute with the band when it’s time.

While the band was on ‘unofficial hiatus’, I filled the musical craving in another group, but I was also able to take the experiences I had with the band, mix them with my college degree, and create some kind of shit show career path based on music business and journalism. Five years later I feel I can see it blossoming. To me, the craft lifestyle embodies that same spirit - live life, take what you’ve got, mix in a heavy dose of passion, and throw it to wind. It takes awhile, but when it finally comes full circle, it tastes so damn good.

[umusicians]

UM Interview: Brynn Elliott

Atlanta-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Brynn Elliott’s music is empowering and inspiring.

A self-taught guitarist, Brynn spent her college years balancing her studies in Philosophy, writing songs and performing live opening for artists like Alanis Morisette, Brandi Carlile, Switchfoot, Grace Potter, and O.A.R. In 2018, Elliott released her debut EP ‘Time of Our Lives’. The EP features the breakout single “Might Not Like Me” which has garnered over 43 million global streams. On January 22, 2021 Brynn released her new single “Tell Me I’m Pretty”.

Amandah Opoku sat down with Brynn Elliott to talk about her new single “Tell Me I’m Pretty”, teenage rom-com’s, growth as an artist and more!

Amandah Opoku: Brynn, thank you for doing this interview today! Before we kick off please tell our readers about yourself and one random fact people do not know about you Brynn Elliott: Hi! Thank you for having me! I’m Brynn Elliott and I am a musician from Atlanta, Georgia currently based in Los Angeles, California. One thing people might not know about me is that love to bake!

Amandah Opoku: If you could describe your music in three words. What words would you choose and why? Brynn Elliott: The three words that describe my music are “real,” “hopeful” and “beautiful.” I choose real because I always want my music to come from an honest place and speak to the truth of things inside me or in the world, even the hard things of life. I choose hopeful because I do want my music to help those who listen to it and give them light during dark times and circumstances. That’s really why I listen to music myself and why I want to make it. And lastly, beautiful because I really want my music to be enjoyable and to bring people into a striking experience.

Amandah Opoku: What artists would you say have influenced you musically both through your sound and lyrically (songwriting)? Brynn Elliott: The artists who have influenced my sound are first classic pop/rock star women like Avril Lavinge, Taylor Swift, and Meghan Trainor. And secondly, I really love live rock performance and really try to incorporate that into my live show. That comes from my dad who took me on a roadtrip once just to introduce me to all his favorite bands of the 70s and 80s like Chicago, The Stones and Guns N’ Roses.

On the songwriting front I am deeply inspired by women like Brandi Carlile. Just the rawness and honesty of her lyrics have always struck me and I try to do that in my own pop-y music way.

Amandah Opoku: 2020 was an interesting year for everyone, where we had to adapt to this new “normal”. How has the pandemic affected you as a musician? What have you learned about yourself? Brynn Elliott: Yes, it truly has been the craziest year. The pandemic has obviously taken away my favorite thing about this job which is live music and my heart goes out to that side of the industry like the venues and touring crews. Personally, performing live really shapes my music. I thrive from a songwriting standpoint in having structure so a really busy day on the road is actually the best environment for me to write and think about songs. Ironically, having a lot of free open time has not been the best because I really have to create my own structure and manage my time efficiently which I am so bad at! But I’ve been working on it and I actually am grateful that this time has allowed me to really address that part of myself and not be afraid of free time. I have a lot of clarity and vision for the future of my work. And I’ve even learned a little bit of production which has been super fun and inspiring!

Amandah Opoku: You released your debut EP ‘Time of Our Lives’ in 2018. How do you think you’ve grown as an artist since its release? What have you learned about your artistry? Brynn Elliott: I have grown so much since the Time of Our Lives. That was really my first serious project in the world of pop music. And as I have had time to reflect and write more music I realize that there’s a common thread to all of my songs and it’s almost subconscious. I am a notorious people pleaser and sometimes it has been really hard for me to be myself with those who I want to impress. That was present in that first EP with songs like Might Not Like Me where I am literally trying to come to terms with the fact that someone I love might not like me. So this next project is that just on steroids - it’s me trying to be my most honest and vulnerable self and embracing the power of that and hopefully inspiring others to do the same.

Amandah Opoku: You’ll be releasing a new single “Tell Me I’m Pretty” at the end of this month, what inspired the song? Brynn Elliott: There were a couple of experiences that inspired Tell Me I’m Pretty. The first was while attending Harvard in 2016. The men’s soccer team rated the physical appearance of various members of the women’s soccer team in a leaked group chat. These men literally gave a numerical rating on their “hotness” and used some of the most horrific language to describe these women. This experience really stuck with me and I always knew that I wanted to write a song about how I felt in that moment. So, when I wrote the line “Maybe I’m worth more than some numbers or a score” I was thinking of my friends on the women’s soccer team and moments where I personally have felt rated on my appearance and objectified.

The second experience is just being a human in the age of the internet. I think so much about girls who are maybe a little younger than me who have not known a time without the internet. While the internet is good for so many things, it can also really take a toll on how women view themselves. There’s so much pressure to look a certain way or live up to unrealistic standards of beauty. So I wanted to write a song of inspiration to those younger girls/women and to me that our worth is not found in or defined by how we look in our selfies or our “social media ratings” as it were. It’s about who we are - that’s where true beauty is found.

Amandah Opoku: You co-wrote “Tell Me I’m Pretty” with Michelle Buzz, what was the writing and recording process like? Brynn Elliott: Yes, so Tell Me I’m Pretty was one of the first songs I wrote with Michelle. The first day we met we literally thought we were twins separated at birth and both texted our moms to see if there was something we should know. We just had this instant connection. I told her about wanting to write this song. We had a lengthy conversation about the pressure we feel as women being on social media and the song just flowed. We got to work with The Monarch, my favorite brother producer-duo, who totally got the direction I wanted to go with the song.

Amandah Opoku: In “Tell Me I’m Pretty” you sing “I want you to like me for me, not the girl you see on the screen”, and I can’t tell you how much I relate to that line. I’m sure many others can as well. If you had the chance to pitch this song for any television show and/or movie, what show would you pick and why? Brynn Elliott: I love this question! If I were to pitch Tell Me I’m Pretty for a show or movie I would LOVE for it to be in a teenage rom-com like To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. I just wrote the song with teenagers who live in this internet space and would love for the song to be in a film that encourages teens to be themselves. That would be such an exciting thing for me.

Amandah Opoku: You are getting ready to release your sophomore EP ‘Can I Be Real’ which will be released later this year. Do you feel any pressure to match the success of your previous release? Brynn Elliott: Yes, of course, I definitely feel the pressure to match my previous success with my first EP. I would be lying if I told you my mind hasn’t gone there. But I also don’t want to allow myself to dwell in that headspace. The great magnificence of being an artist/songwriter is that every new piece of work really is something new and stands on its own. So I am excited at the possibility of the songs I have coming down the pipeline. I am also so humbled and grateful that I get to do this in my life and just want to stay present to each moment of the process.

Amandah Opoku: Did the writing and recording process for ‘Can I Be Real’ differ from your debut EP ‘Time Of Our Lives’? Brynn Elliott: The writing process between the two EPs was different. My first EP was written over the span of about three years whereas Can I Be Real was written in three months. The first EP was inspired so much by my college life and friendships. And this second one is a lot about me graduating and being a full-time artist in the music industry and not wanting the glitz and glamour of that world to change me. I always want to be the most honest version of myself in my music and life and want to encourage others to do the same in their own lives. So the lyrical content of the second EP really comes from that place.

Amandah Opoku: You got your philosophy degree at Harvard all while opening 250-plus shows for the likes of Alanis Morisette, Brandi Carlile, Switchfoot, Grace Potter, and O.A.R. That is impressive! For anyone who may be juggling a full time or education like yourself and pursuing a music career, what would your advice be to them? Brynn Elliott: My advice for anyone juggling the two worlds of education and a music career would be to not let anyone tell you you can’t do both. If you absolutely want both, like I did, then that is what you must do. Many folks will have opinions but only you know your path and I would say be encouraged to stay on it.

Amandah Opoku: For new fans who come across your music, what would you like them to take away from your music? Brynn Elliott: I feel like I am a clanging symbol at this point BUT I would say I hope they feel encouraged to be honest and be themselves. I hope my music inspires them to be honest about things they maybe don’t like about themselves or areas they want to grow in. That’s really why I write music, because I want to grow and understand what it really meant to be human and I hope they hear that and are encouraged by that in my songs.

Amandah Opoku: Brynn, thank you for sitting down with me! Before we close this interview is there anything you want to say to your fans and our readers? Brynn Elliott: Ah, thank you so much for having me. I would like to end with a quote from my favorite philosopher Soren Kikerkgaard who says, “The most common form of despair is not being who you are” and I hope my music encourages you to live in that place of self-honesty and freedom. Stay tuned for my next single Tell Me I’m Pretty out January 21 and my next EP to follow later this year.

Connect with Brynn Elliott on the following websites: https://twitter.com/brynnelliott https://www.facebook.com/brynnelliottmusic https://www.instagram.com/brynnelliott/

[rhondaadorno]

Double Consciousness

“One ever feels his twoness, -- an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” ― W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk

For many years, I’ve dodged commitment to the identity of a writer because I’ve been afraid of the backlash that would come with my words.  I tend to have an out-of-body experience when I put words on paper. They become 3D powerful images, a kind of synesthesia occurs, and arrows whistle towards a target...and there are always casualties.  

So, I stopped writing, avoiding opinion articles, blogs like this one, essays, controversial FB posts, because, if people actually read what I had to say beyond the armor of poetry or a creative piece, they’d feel quite different about me as a black female. And I couldn’t risk that. 

2.5 Words

I’ve been conscious of myself as a black female since the third grade. Once, I had forgotten something on the PE field, and while walking back to get it, a little boy, on the other side of a fenced in playground, yelled out to me, “you're black.” 

2.5 words without an ounce of hostility or error in them.

He didn’t taunt or provoke me, but when I got back to the car, I just remember feeling... wrong. Not different, just faulty or wrong somehow. 

I dreamed up a clever retort too late which was, “...black is a color in the crayon box.”  I guess I’ve always been a creative and insightful thinker....

This boy was 6 or 7 years old, riding a schoolyard tricycle; I didn’t even know him.  

Yet, after that non-hostile experience, I was terrified to walk by that playground again. 

Remember, he only vocalized his observation that I am indeed black. I still recall those sharp feelings I felt despite the words being true and true. 

But I wonder why he believed it was his prerogative to point it out, to make me notice I was not the same skin color. 

Safely Black

This experience was pretty much my introduction to learning I was black. Of course I knew I was not white, but I didn’t know that other people, especially kids, cared that I was not white. From there, it was being laughed at because I said “ax” instead of “ask.” One of my classmates saying, “ew, gross” because of the product in my hair, which was touched without permission. Years later, it was the shade of my knees, which are darker than the rest of my legs. Now, it’s trying to decide if I should purchase a wig for an interview or self-identify on a job application, never sure if my natural hair or shade of melanin will be the undisclosed reason behind “not the right fit.”

From K - 12th grade, I attended predominantly white, private Christian schools. Overt racism never happened to me. Yet, not once did I ever feel safe among my teachers and friends to be a black female... to fully explore what that even means. I was always hiding something.  

Yes, I had meaningful friendships and positive experiences, but never as my self.

I feel that I have lived my life dressed up by a host of unsolicited tailors specializing in the way I speak, how I present myself, how I must act inside of stores, the opinions I voice, and the list goes on. 

I have learned how to become invisible and nondescript so that I can be “safely” black. 

And it’s been to my detriment. 

An Angry Black Woman

Many people are feeling shocked by the recent events caught on video and shared via social media. Without me even mentioning the race of this little boy, it will be inferred that he was white. Because, even if some “don’t see color,” everyone knows that Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, Caucasians, and every other group of people, have worked very hard to point out how we are not the same skin color, and somehow a lesser pedigree of human, for generations. 

Until a few days ago, I had remained pretty quiet on the topic of racial injustice--always looking for ways to share my experiences, relate my double consciousness to friends, while not offending anyone.

But right now, black people are being threatened and murdered on live cameras by white people. 

And for some reason, despite my coveted relationships with white friends, for several years, I have nursed a fear that it would damage something between us if I commented on any news story about race. 

I’ve believed it would alter our friendship if I became a fist-raised Black Power advocate. It would make things awkward if I were to steadily post black injustice on my newsfeed. That, if I said I’m so angry that police are killing little boys and young men, I would be viewed as, wait for it, an angry black woman.  Nevermind the truth that I feel wrecked from my core; I’d just rather not make any waves. 

That’s what’s been on my mind. Not exclusively the horror of the murders I’ve been stockpiling in my conscious since a young girl, but the fact that I actually know people who would eventually wish I’d stop posting the “angry racist stuff,” and stop trying to “take us back to the past.”

Bullets of Truth

But this is my own mess, my own web of nonsense because I have cultivated and catered to this twisted sense of peace among all men when I shonuff’ know there ain’t been no peace cuz no cops are walkin’ around viewing my black brothers as men. 

My shame is that I know I have denied myself and my friends the conversations about what it really means to be black in America BEFORE we were shown these awful attacks. It’s not like I didn’t know it was happening. 

But I have been so afraid to put my bullets of truth out there--mainly because you learn, way back in elementary school, when you are black, you just don’t talk about being black with white people because they will somehow make it about how they feel wronged and attacked. You just lock up that door and know what you know.

Except, I can’t feel anything but sick lately-- like I have to projectile vomit my self up from the place I’ve swallowed my self to become fiercely black, once and for all, and unabashedly own what that little boy “accused” me of being.

To finally say out loud, ”No, I am not the whitest black friend you know.”

To shoot down, “You sound white on the phone.”

To reject, “You don’t act like other black people.”

To refuse, “You’re very articulate for a black person.”

To say, “I’m disinterested in being the official tour guide of Black History month” because to be honest, I am still trying to understand what it means to even be black.

Black in America

My mother’s hard decision for my life was to go the route of private education on the other side of town, or attend the public schools we were zoned for in a less desired part of town (by no fault of the town, because lines were redrawn on purpose.) The outcome was me, immersed in a homogenous environment where I got a pretty decent education, but striving to fit in, losing my cultural heritage, pride and identity in progressive stages to the point my mother actually asked me in high school did I want to be white. Whenever I spent time in the black community, I couldn’t quite find my foothold there either, because they too thought I was “trying” to be white. 

I don’t regret her choice, but I, as a parent, now know what choosing the first one meant. There are times I am not sure who I am when it comes down to the spectrum of black identity, and it’s sad, confusing, and alienating. 

And honestly, I, along with many in my community, don’t have enough moments of peace to experience true self-discovery, to nurture who that person really is. 

As soon as we’re proud of Barack and Michelle Obama or overjoyed about the historical Black Panther film or inspired by the shocking legacy of Katherine Johnson or choose to kneel with Colin Kaepernick or feel paranoid by the Confederate flag or unified under the banner of #BlackLivesMatter -- a whole lot of people, including the president of the United States, feel it’s their prerogative to tell us who we are for us [re:thugs]--and that narrative is never, ever good. 

We are constantly trying to push it out, fighting cops for our kids’ lives, warding off suspicions, navigating extreme violence and poverty in our own community, and trying to prove our value and worth for school and career, while raising our babies to be proud of their skin color, our beautiful brown babies, who, as soon as they graduate Kindergarten, will cease to become non-threatening. 

By the way, we are processing all of this, while watching white people protest masks and quarantine with assault rifles. In 2014, Tamir Rice was shot dead for having a toy gun. He was 12. 

 Under the Radar

So, I’ve come to this point, feeling like it’s crazy and impossible that I’m literally living through some of the things in my mother’s lifetime, that I must raise my daughter with a keen awareness that not all people are treated equally, even when the Constitution declares we are. 

That I must actually teach her that even though the “colored only” signs are gone, the stone place of men’s hearts from where the words originated still exist. And they will mean it and enforce it with all the boldness of the Jim Crow era, just under the radar. 

I’ve been trying to understand why in the world I am being so affected by this now, so much that it alters my mood and impacts productivity, why I feel like I have to force myself to be positive and hope for change. Is this what it also means to be black? To stir up my ancestors’ concoction of will, determination, resilience, and sing my own kind of Negro spiritual, and march my way to freedom? No wonder they were so strong! 

I am cognizant of the fact that there are many great white men and women who work in the armed forces, and in law enforcement to protect all people in America. And I know there are those have worked in the past to abolish laws and helped to enact civil liberties for people of color. 

I also know that it took the braveness from the likes of Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman and W.E.B. Dubois to shed light on the black experience...so together these powerful people could push change forward with a vengeance.  

I am nowhere near as proficient in elocution as they, but this is my piece. I’m finally saying something about what it means to be black in America, but I am also feeling like that’s not enough. 

The White Wall

I have many friends who are parents and who are educators and who are the complex cocktail of both.

Black people have not ever wanted to educate their white friends about what this terror feels like, and honestly, we shouldn’t have to because-- internet. 

But I am realizing, with my own education in a predominately white environment, I didn't learn anything from my teachers about me and my world. 

Nothing truly existed beyond the white wall--white writers, white poets, white leaders, white composers, white heroes, and Martin Luther King Jr.

From K - 12th grade, what I learned about the realities of being black wasn't taught by teachers or textbooks. The little I did learn was by being in the midst of my community, and eventually reading and pursuing and chasing after knowledge. 

Therefore, it’s positively unrealistic to imagine that white people know much at all about the black experience. And both public and private education do not place importance on real diversity. Now, with the visual horror of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, I venture to believe, for many white people, these past few weeks have been pretty much earth shattering.

But why is knocking down this wall and learning about the black experience (and other races and ethnicities) important?

When a white person’s basic lifestyle is free from external conflict, the tendency is to want to live there and only there. Problematically, she will grow increasingly out of touch with the world beyond her (and perhaps surrounding her if people of color have come into her world). But she will fail to see the good and the bad, except for this: negative media will only show her the bad, and tell her how to think, and what to believe about everyone else who looks different than her, subliminally, judgmentally, until eventually she behaves in the audacious, debased manner of Amy Cooper, a white woman who knew what the fatal consequences would be for a black man if she simply called the police to say she was feeling threatened, and to have had the presence of mind to wield it like a weapon.

A Gaping Chasm

Learning about the black experience is important because Amy Cooper probably did not wake up believing she was a racist or even had a racist bone in her body. But she knew that she was white and he was not, and in her anger, decided to weaponize her whiteness by calling the police on a black man, which depending what “bad apple” was on duty, could have ended his life--too. 

That is how it works. It doesn’t always end in loss of life, but always ends in loss of masculinity, loss of spirit, loss of soul, loss of faith, loss of trust; it just ends in loss.

When you don’t fight to change the system, you become part of the system.

So, unless (or until) a white family has been very intentional, they and their children are not learning about the black experience. 

Even when teaching my child about the origins of America and the Civil War and Reconstruction, I had to be intentional, essentially going back to school because there are things that were blatantly omitted from my years of learning and were still being omitted for hers if I did not break out from the wall.  

To put this in perspective, I was in college when I learned there were accomplished black leaders besides Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. I was in my 30s when I heard black women and NASA in the same sentence together. 

My mom had Black America encyclopedias, and she wore her Afro proudly with a fist in the air, but she trusted my education to the school system--the private, Christian school system, and they emptied out all of the other crayons in the box, and asked me (and my classmates) to only color with the white crayon. 

So, for white families, between choice of schools, places of worship, and by not having or seeking out any predominately black cultural experiences, there is a gaping chasm between us. 

One that I’d like to lay a log across for my part.

Gateway for Change

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a sucker for kids. I’ll bleed for them. I’ve spent the better years of my life surrounded by them. And from them, I’ve learned they are not afraid to learn something new when it’s presented to them in a digestible manner. I’ve been thinking a great deal about kids lately--my nephews and nieces, my former English students and chess kids, my friends’ children....They have heard the chatter, seen our reactions, and may have even seen the same videos on YouTube. 

All of these kids, our kids, are being shaped by this society, and they will one day become adults who must interact and deal with each other politically, socially, emotionally, physically, spiritually, economically, and mentally. 

So who is educating them? Who is explaining empathy and justice and teaching love and acceptance? One thing this virus has taught our nation is that parents are capable of teaching their children too. No matter how great your school system is, they are not going to teach your children about race relations with any consequence. 

Education is the single most important gateway for change. Yes, there are people who will perpetuate ignorance regardless because they are blocked in by their incestuous beliefs, but for those who wish to break out of that crippling heritage or emerge from the silos of their communities -- with empathy and insight, you have to learn something new and share the wealth.

You have to know what’s being taught inside the homes of black families, multi-racial families, Arab families, Asian families, and most recently, the Navajo nation. Buy books with diverse characters by diverse authors --for yourself, your children, your students. Watch films with diverse casts. Find positive images and media that celebrate the success and vitality of black excellence. 

Listen to the lessons and conversations we've been having amongst ourselves for generations and still teach today. White society is not a bad society. Black society is not a bad society. We are not going to see eye to eye on many many things, but we can agree that every life is valuable. 

I do not represent every black person, nor does every black person hold my same views.

But absolutely, we do not live or experience life the same way as our white friends and family. This truth is not a victimhood or disadvantage we seek to revel in or exploit, nor does it devalue the privileges others know and experience. Within our own community, we definitely have very real problems to address, but right now, daily life should not be a mental obstacle course that’s filled with active minefields laid out for us everyday.

Lately, it just feels like no matter what we do or don’t do, the fatalities are adding up, and wicked people in this country are treating the taking of our lives like points in a video game.

As you think about these words, and listen to the stories of these young black men, who are being hit the hardest with racial injustice, dare greatly to share widely within your community. 

“But we do not merely protest; we make renewed demand for freedom in that vast kingdom of the human spirit where freedom has ever had the right to dwell:the expressing of thought to unstuffed ears; the dreaming of dreams by untwisted souls.” ― W.E.B. DuBois

Pixabay photos used by permission. Video sourced by New York Times.

[foryouitsalwaysme]

So I figure it’s probably a good idea to put myself out there. This is my intro I guess.

My name is Sofia and I’m 19 years old. I live in Australia and I grew up on an agricultural farm. My family still lives there, but I attend university in a city, so I live on campus and only go home every couple of months. I have a pet fish called Roscoe in my room, and he’s a source of happiness and comfort when people get too much.

Where I live there are 250 other people who live with me. I study Early Childhood Education at university as I want to teach Years 1 and 2. Hopefully I can go and teach in some rural and remote areas when I graduate, because when I went to primary school (Years 1-7) I struggled because the teachers we had just didn’t care and didn’t want to be living in a farming area. I don’t want more kids to have to go through that, because frankly it sucks. It was during my primary school years that I first heard a song named “Love Story” at a ‘Fluoro Disco,’ and asked the DJ what the song was called. My Mum bought me the Fearless album about a month later. And ever since then, my life as a Swiftie began. I have early memories of my Mum banning “You Belong With Me” in our house because I played it on repeat, and screaming lyrics in the car on a Friday afternoon with friends on the way to play school sports.

During 2009 I didn’t have many friends. I only had 4 people in my grade so it was hard as it was, but when you argue with your only friend it only gets worse. During this I turned to you, Taylor. Your music was my friend, your lyrics were what I used to get through my frustrations, and your interviews that I searched on YouTube gave me a reason to smile after a tough day of school.

I remember winning a gift voucher for a music store by playing Mario Kart and being awesome at it and using the $15 to buy Speak Now in release week. I remember downloading RED in the afternoon of its release and sitting in my living room, eyes closed, and soaking in the lyrics (All Too Well, #tears) (RED DESERVED A GRAMMY).

As the years went on and I moved on to high school, you were a beacon of light when I yet again found it hard keeping friends. My friendship group was constantly breaking up, gaining new members, and just doing the typical teenage thing. It was now that people started to pick up on how much I loved you and your music. I was branded “the girl who likes Taylor Swift” and constantly got hate for it. I didn’t care. I knew that they were missing out on something incredible, and it was their loss. Still, it hurt when people constantly tried to bring you down, or tried to bring me down by saying mean things about you. But I ignored the hate, and kept moving forward. 1989 was the first era where I fully embraced the Swiftie life and brought cakes and biscuits to school to celebrate single releases and the final album drop. I left school early to buy 1989 tickets because my mum sucks at technology (but I still love her). Through my last year of high school, people started counting down with me to my 1989 concert. They finally accepted the way I looked up to you, and embraced my “craziness” and “weirdo status”. I wore a red dress to my graduation with a clutch bag with your picture on it. Our school captain wrote his speech entirely filled with your song titles because he knew how much I loved you and how much everyone would love seeing me realise what he’d done (His final line was “Year 12 class of 2015, we will never, ever go out of style.”)

Finally it was my 1989 World Tour show in Brisbane on December 5th. Five is my lucky number and it just so happens that I saw you on the 5/12/2015, in 5th seat, 5th row, 5th album, you were still 25, my birthday is the 25th of the 5th… the list goes on. Anyway, I met Toshi, Maho and Austin before the show (they were lovely!) I saw people get picked for Loft 89. I swear you caught my eye for a fraction of a second when you blew a kiss to the crowd in I Wish You Would. And then the show was over and I went home. I found out you went to movie world with Blake the day before I went there. I recreated your jumping photo.

Flash forward to my first year at University. Fresh out of high school, fresh out of a relationship, fresh out of being the old me. I embraced the year fully even though you weren’t there with a new album, and I finally created a tumblr account (something I’d always been afraid of doing). The drought really was the very worst Taylor; I’ve never known Tumblr with you noticing people and interacting with people until now.

Now everyone I live with (all 250 of them) know how much I love you. I have people telling all the time, “I really hope one day you get to meet Taylor”, “Surely one day Taylor with notice you”, and the occasional, “Why do you even like Taylor Swift, ew.” But I don’t care. I’m not here to make people like you, it’s their loss if they don’t. I’m just here to support you and love you and cheer you on.

Thank you so much Taylor for shaping my life in such a huge way. You’ve been there for me when no one else has, and you’ve given me so many reasons to be happy. I cannot wait for reputation, I know that it’s going to be incredible like everything you’ve always done.

I know this is a huge message, but maybe one day you’ll see it; I hope so anyway. 

Thank you thank you thank you thank you.

Love always, Sofia XOXO

@taylorswift @taylorswift @taylorswift

[astrotranslations]

Z Interview

*A throwback interview from last year because I was backtracking posts and realized I’ve never posted this :P

Q. Your feelings about your bustling promotions after debuting? Cha Eunwoo: I think that time goes by really quickly. I think it's been about a week since we started promoting but time has already flown past. (When I perform,) I feel that my seniors are really amazing. We also watch our seniors' stages as we do the rehearsal stages for music broadcasts. There are a lot of things to learn as I watch those stages and I feel that we have to improve further. More than being happy that we've debuted, it's also nerve wrecking. I think that I have to prepare more zealously.

Q. When did it sink that you've debuted? Moonbin: When we had our debut showcase. The thought that 'I really have debuted' came to me. Composers, families, teachers, etc., many people came. Fans also came. Cha Eunwoo: 1500 people came. It became dark and the moment the lights went on, I was touched when I saw our fans holding placards saying 'Congratulations on your debut'.

Q. If there was an experience where you made a mistake on stage or was flustered? Yoon Sanha: There was once during the dry rehearsals where our stage was performed short because the music was edited. During the rehearsal, I was looking only at the camera as I thought of my facial expressions so I got the flow the wrong. Rocky: I ever committed a broadcast mistake and it was a live broadcast. I did a run between choreographies and because my pants had ripped, my underwear could be seen (laughs). There was no change in my facial expression. Without care, I boldly spread my legs if there was a leg-spreading choreography. To be honest, I thought this (incident) wold be out in news articles. I wondered if 'ASTRO panty' would come out in the search terms and quietly anticipated it but because it didn't, it was regretful.

Q. I would think that you'd be shocked if your pants had ripped though. Rocky: I just figured that it was like that. I think of even something like that as a one of a kind performance (laughs). What's regretful is that it didn't appear in news article? (laughs) Everyone viewed it feeling sorry but it's fine if I'm fine.

Q. The image of Yoon Sanha wearing braces is really cute. Many idols would use braces that don't catch attention but if there's a reason why you put on braces? Yoon Sanha: I started wearing my braces during my trainee days before debut so I asked the company what should I do since our debut was approaching. But then they said to just stick to it so I ended up debuting with my braces on. I think you can feel our innocence. I'm also using a hat during this promotion and I think of that along with my braces as my trademark. It's different (laughs).

Q. Cha Eunwoo was a model student who dreamt of (entering) Seoul University in the past, was there ever once you regretted your idol debut? Cha Eunwoo: Definitely none. I was attending Suri Middle school then entered Hanlim High School, there are a lot of people around me who ask if I regret studying only to have debuted as an idol. I really don't regret it. Rather, I think that I've learnt a lot as I prepared to debut as an idol. I think that what I learnt at that time isn't useless and that I can sufficiently apply them even now. I think I did a good job on latching onto a good opportunity.

Q. When do members feel that Cha Eunwoo is a 'mother's friend's son'? JinJin: When he speaks in English. When foreign fans ask for us to say something (in English), he speaks the best then. We only respond, we're really shocked when Eunwoo speaks in English.

Q. How did JinJin think of going out on 'Show Me The Money 5'? JinJin: I was curious of what level I was as an idol rapper. I wanted to show myself but there weren't really many opportunities to. I wanted to test at what level my skills were at. I was really nervous but I did it confidently. I wanted to appear on 'Show Me The Money' even before debut. I was curious of how far up I'd go if I were to go out on 'Show Me The Money' so I ended up participating.

Q. Do your labelmate actor group 5urprise treat you well? Moonbin: There aren't many opportunities to bump into each other but we're extremely close because we were together since our trainee days. We play soccer together and we also eat together, they tell us to have strength whenever we meet. They gave me advice saying that it may be hard (now) but it's only going to get harder in the future (laughs). Rocky: I went through my trainee life together with the 5urprise hyungs. They may have debuted first but we're of a close older brother-little brother relationship. More than giving us advice in a serious manner, please simply tell us to have strength.

Q. If there was a memorable senior amongst the seniors you've met at music broadcast? JinJin: B.A.P sunbae-nim. I saw them while we promoted at music broadcasts together, they're good at lives and they gave me feeling of playfulness (when they're) on stage. Cha Eunwoo: Taemin sunbae-nim B.A.P sunbae-nim and also Mamaoo sunbae-nim. It's amazing how they command the stage and enjoy themselves. B.A.P sunbae-nim are also did a bright and fresh concept for their recent song. There were a lot of things that we could learn from them since our concept was a bright one as well. It was amazing how Taemin sunbae-nim commanded the stage alone and Mamamoo sunbae-nim's singing and performances were good.

Q. What are the goals for your current promotions? Rocky: I think that our young age can become our weapon. There's an innocent feeling that you can pull off only now. I want to show that kind of image. JinJin: Since we did a spring concept this time round, a summer concept the next time? (laughs) I want to show you with difference in season. Moonbin: We'll show you an innocent and familiar image even though the seasons may change. Rocky: As much as we are a rookie group, working hard on promotions and receiving the rookie award is our greatest goal. We brought with us a winged car and did a nationwide tour but I want to do a worldwide tour. Finally, our ultimate goal is to stand on the Super Bowl stage. It's the dream stage.

Q. What kind of music does ASTRO want to show in the future? MJ: I want to show music that is as fresh and bubbly as our young age. We'll also show you cool music when we grow older and mature, I want to greet the public with diversity.

[itsmejaquesz]

[English] A reflection on: “MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 'Interlude: Shadow' Comeback Trailer”

I can't get out of my mind the M/V scenes and the lyrics of this song. That's why you decide to write about. So many details, but some scenes really caught my attention. The scene where dollar signs are scrawled over cell phones is one of them. It's something I've been thinking and discussing a lot with my friends.

VIEWS / ADVERTISING / RECOGNITION / MONEY

How far can people go to get views? Is it worth forgetting that there is a person on the other side, and treating an artist as a commodity? BTS has a very solid career, they are and have remained one of the most famous groups in history. Even though they now have more infrastructure, more money, more contacts in the music industry, more followers, more outreach, more sponsors, and are older and more experienced, they still (perhaps more often) have to go through this kind of. situation:

Leaking or worse selling information about members' personal and / or routine lives. Tae recently commented on a vlive about how they have to opt for private flights because people found out about it and bought seats near theirs. There are also situations when they are on tour and have their hotel rooms raided and of course we can not forget the phone number and addresses that always end up in the hands of sasaengs. Sasaengs, I've really tried to understand, but it's impossible, there is simply nothing to justify this kind of behavior, there are also some fansites and paparazzi who stalk and invade privacy in order to get unique information and images that they later exchange for money.

There is also the media in general. How many interviews, awards and programs has BTS attended in recent years? Did they feel comfortable in all of them? Did most have a big impact on their career? The answer is probably no. Was the media really interested in the music, BTS career, producing interesting content or just the audience / attention they would attract? Probably the second option. Even though they are aware of this kind of situation they have participated because they are professionals and in my opinion very humble, they know the importance of marketing and they are serious about trying to get closer to ARMY and that is one of the ways.

And of course we have fake people and profiteers, we all deal with these toxic types in our daily lives, but now let's think about the BTS scale: big companies, other artists, the establishments they go to, people of the past, ordinary people who they meet them by chance and I really hope it doesn't happen with BTS, but often family members themselves want a piece of their fame. Under these conditions it is difficult to build healthy professional relationships, now imagine in personal life? How to trust, how to let people come to you?

“No one told me / How lonely it is up here”

“Now I know runnig away could be an option too” - I do not know if this is the correct translation of this sentence, but to me it has many meanings, He may be talking about rumors/gossip/haters, conflict with his shadow or his relationships with people.

And now comes my main goal with this text. Fakenews, monotonous interviews, haters and profiteers, as I said earlier they are professionals, adults and increasingly experienced, they know how to handle/behave in these situations and if they don't know they are fully supported by BigHit. The lyrics of BTS Cypher talk a lot about this subject.

Now I'm sorry to say, our Boy Scouts are not bulletproof, not when they are responsible themselves and ARMY.

We idolize them and want to be close to them so we consume a lot of BTS, the music, the albums, the M/Vs, the shows, the social networks, their routine, the clothing, the merchandising, the cosmetics, the hair color, what they drink and eat, the artists they listen to / appreciate…

How many times have you seen news that because a BTS member was wearing something, that item was out of stock shortly?

Well… you are a fan and have the right to express your love of the way that suits you, but you are really being a fan when:

*Support or ignore only one member? They are 7 that became 1, is the name of the next album inclusive, of course you may find one of them more attractive or identify more with the personality of a member, but say that a member should be expelled or pursue a solo career, with them stating how they can only be happy when they know that ALL members are happy?

And all those rankings and search results, even small, are participating ARMYs and I'm sure BTS just knows about the results, as happened recently with j-hope who was the only member left out of one of these popularity lists..

*Ships, they are seven and yes probably have more intimacy with one or the other member, but why bring things to the romantic/sexual side, even if someday, such a ship is real, it will be equally disrespectful to guess how it's their intimacy, how many times I've come across ship-related porn stuff on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and even Weverse, even if it's just drawing or writing, they use these social networks and can see / read. If you're the type who can't help but think better of it, just leave it to your imagination, even though Tae himself said it's not safe there. Please let's see the ships from the perspective of friendship.

*The way they dress and show the body. You may have a shy or bolder personality, you may want to look sexier or cuter, you may like to show off your body or wear extremely large unmarked clothes, you may have sparkle and vibrant colors on all your clothes or wear only black from head to toe, you may want to show off your underwear or dress like your grandfather. At the airport, when traveling or visiting family and friends, the members dress as they please, they don't have to be as neat and tidy as they are in performance. Still, there are always comments saying that this or that is vulgar, disrespectful, should not wear, that is too thin or too fat, that gets ugly with glasses…

*Members dating. I already mentioned how difficult it is in their situation to develop any kind of relationship, they know it, and if even knowing it they like someone enough to want to take over, we can't be jealous or angry and certainly have no right to judge / belittle partner choices. This all goes back to the sense of ownership, and we are not BTS OWNERS.

*Speaking of choices, tattoos, hair size, smoking, taste in music, hobbies… It's part of who they are, their attempt to build a personality and assert themselves as an individual. Don't you get angry and offended yourself or even sad when someone questions something you do / did? Every time this is done to them, it makes them more afraid to show who they really are. As if Korean society alone was no longer enough pressure.

These kinds of thoughts that I mentioned above end up in the media, certainly not the majority of ARMY thinks, but we have to remember that our fandom is giant and is in the spotlight so even if it is 1% of ARMY, are already thousands of users giving views on this type of content and this has just arrived in BTS. And when it gets to them what do you think they feel? Do they think the fandom that is a source of support and inspiration is wrong or are they not good enough? Do you think it affects their Persona or their real self?

I'm sure everyone has felt in the serious and sad way they talk about some issues, we can see at a glance how much they suffer and worry about it (lately especially JK) and how rarely they express opposition to that kind of behavior.

Even with the entire #LOVEYOURSELF campaign and their maturing as people, this kind of situation still hurts.

Time to reflect:

We love, admire and are inspired by their work, but we DON'T KNOW them, and as sincere as they are in their songs and speeches, no matter how much of their routine BigHit gives us and how many shows we go to, we would never get to. be close as probably their best friend is.

They are probably still trying to figure out who they are themselves. I do not doubt that they are amazing and interesting people off the stage either.

Now if you met one of the members in a bar in Paris and had a chance to have a drink with him, would you try to have a nice and fun conversation or would you bother filming / taking pictures to prove that you had contact with him?

Would you scream their names incessantly and take hundreds of pictures while they are at the airport, at the mall, at the convenience store?

Do you think that filming their performance is the best way to share the feeling and message they want to convey to us at the shows?

Would you be one of the hands that pull their true self down and then raise your cell phone and film their Persona onstage?

As ARMY our mission is to provide a safe space for BTS to be able to express who they really are, whether they are still afraid or unwilling to do so, the least we can do is try to make their lives as artists more comfortable and happy. I really don't want to see again a sigh of frustration from Yoongi or JungKook apologizing for having fun.

I do not know that anyone will read and if read offends this text, it really is not my intention. This M / V was a slap in the face and made me want to write about it, because a lot of the things I described also keep tormenting me.

Just about everything I have described fits into the lives of other artists as well, and is for all fandoms to reflect on. What do you talk / comment about your idol, would you dare to talk / comment if he was your best friend?

Finally as the M/V has direct references to “O! RUL8,2?” Below are some wise words from our beloved leader:

Nothing lasts forever You only live once So live your life Not any other’s lives

…

Because at one point of someday everything you did Would be exactly what you will be

Sorry for any mistakes. My translation was done by Google

Thanks for reading until the end #LOVEYOUSELF #IPURPLEYOU @ZanquetJ

[steamishot]

Weekend recap

friday - dropped my parents off in monterey park to go on their chinese tour trip with their friends. had to wake up at 5:10am and pick their couple friends up along the way because my dad offered. it was interesting hearing their conversations. my “auntie” was talking about how their friends bought big homes (3-4 rooms) but it’s extra work now that their kids have moved out. more work has to be done for cleaning and maintenance and it might have been a better idea just to get a small, one bedroom place. they talked about how now that they’ve reached 60, to focus on a decade at a time, and try to enjoy themselves from 60-70. once they reach 70, they can reevaluate again. 

on saturday, b and i attended the cambodia town film festival. my saturday was quite packed so i almost started to dread driving far out to long beach and questioned if i still even wanted to go. i also slept awkwardly the night before, so i had an uncomfortable stiffness in my neck all day. every time this neck stiffness happens, it affects my whole body and energy level. i was anxious because i left my house later than anticipated (bc facetiming with matt), and i get anxious when i’m late to events lol. finding parking was also hard too, which made me even more anxious. on top of that, i was afraid of running into my ex, any of his friends/family or anyone that i may know. 

anyway, we made it on time and caught a short film about a czech lady who longed to host a cambodian family after hearing about the khmer rouge. she empathized with them because her country went through something similar. the film was quite slow and it took some time for me to relax and get into it. i was also distracted by my hunger and thirst. luckily, during the break before the main movie premiered, we got to stop by the falafel shop next door and pick up some pretty good food/snacks! by the time we were back, i was more comfortable, relaxed and ready to enjoy the movie. i was immediately engaged in the movie, and it was very easy to follow and watch. the soundtrack was beautiful and parts of the movie were so heavy and emotional i wanted to cry. 92 minutes went by in an instant. we were grateful to be able to stay afterwards for a Q&A session with the directors, producers, and of course, ellen wong! i was really excited to see her in person, and she’s prettier in real life imo. the directors of CTFT were also there. one was praCh ly, a rapper who apparently was rumored to have a relationship with angelina jolie (i found out after looking him up). when the questions were open to audience, there was a middle age cambodian man who said, “this movie really touched my heart. thank you for making it. i want to know, where in cambodia did you film it?” it was like being in adult/post-college UKS and i had a sense of belonging to this community. there was also a panel afterwards, descendants of genocide survivors. 

b and i got a pic with ellen wong. initially, i was scared to go up to her because i wasn’t sure what i’d say. thankfully b is more courageous than i am and we got it. :) the first thing we said to her was, “we’re chinese cambodian too” and ellen goes, “ME TOO!”. it was my first time meeting/talking to a celebrity, and i’m glad it was her. i’ve seen her as knives chau in scott pilgrim, and thought she looked familiar/like she’s one of my people. never questioned it until recently. just learned a few months ago that she’s also teochew, chinese parents from cambodia, and started fangirling her since. lucky to have it play out like this. i drove home starstruck.

since my parents are out of town, i ate dinner at a thai restaurant with my uncle and grandma, then headed back home to prep/pack for paint nite at L’s place. b came over and we picked s up before heading over to meet L and LC. paint nite was therapeutic. great snacks and wine. L asked a lot of questions to kinda get to know everyone on a deeper level. we painted from like 7:45pm to 10pm and got kicked out of the common room when it closed at 10. at that point, most people were like 70-98% done. i was like 98% done lol. i admire L for being mature and having her shit together, and as i was leaning towards building that life for myself, i started becoming more annoyed at b, who is more wild spirited and all over the place. however, i appreciated b more last night. she’s definitely one of a kind and its nice to have her at parties because she does make things more fun. she even got us/L to go out to a bar (at which we only stayed like 30 min lol). i ended up getting home around 1am, which is late for me. it was refreshing to go out and see people at bars/nightlife, even though it drained me being in the environment. it’s nice once in a while to absorb others’ youthful energies and not be such a grandma all the time.  

sunday- even though i only had 6-7 hours of sleep, i woke up feeling good. my stiff neck went away and i got up to get ready for my UX dim sum event. i attended this event with my indian mama. the event was interesting and basically what we practiced in class. our workshop was a mix of those who have been to dim sum many times before/grew up with it and those who are first or second timers. we shared our observations, interviewed each other, and shared more/new observations. we tackled the problems in the design that we discovered, such as- how do we even know what each dish is? what’s in each dish? and we explored the cart system and difficulties of ordering. it was really cool to view dim sum in a new light. i don’t see any of the proposals we came up with being used in 626, where it’s predominately asian, but it might be useful in like chinatown, cerritos, south bay, etc where there the customers are less homogenous (i think). it made me realize how inclusive dim sum is. you go in, and there’s no instruction on how the system works. no friendly staff to be like, “is this your first time here? blahblahblah”. you just have to figure it out on your own, or rely on people who have been there before to teach you. 

in our table of 14 today, i sat in between my indian mama and a mexican/german UX researcher girl. it was my indian mama���s first time and the UX researcher’s second time at dim sum. part of what makes the experience fun and interesting is getting to see others experience dim sum for the first time. as a dim sum “veteran”, i also take on the role of the caretaker, explaining what each dish is to the best of my knowledge, and helping them out with chopsticks/grabbing food. 

design thinking is not easy. i still tend to be timid and not speak up in group environments, and i feel self conscious that i’m not contributing enough. i’d definitely feel more comfortable once i’ve seen and worked with the same people before, but i’m still shy at the beginning. from what i’ve seen today, your presentation skills/ability to articulate an idea well really matter a lot. the others in the workshop were able to make everyone laugh as they were explaining their ideas, whereas i was more serious and mousy - and therefore not very fun. oh well, i’m glad i did something out of my comfort zone today. :) made me happy to also be with my indian mama when she tried dimsum and half and half for the first time. 

[willreadforbooze]

Hello fellow boozie readers!

Sam’s Update:

It’s Magical Readathon!! Working hard to be a Metal Charmer. It’s also Tome Topple, so I’ve started my Tomes as well =). It was an ok week, that ended with the premiere of GoT so color me happy.

What Sam finished this week:

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Reign the Earth by A. C. Gaughen: This is the story of Shalia, a desert woman who enters into an arranged marriage with a king to save her people. The king is a raging abusive asshole, but she’s trying her best. She’s also figured out that she’s got #forbiddenpowers so. I wanted to like this so much more. Maybe it was the audio narrator but damn that girl sounded so naive. She was also real dumb. The only reason this pushed up a star for me was because of the brilliant consent scene.

Transfiguration: Mirage by Somaiya Daud: I’m about half way through this book. It’s a eastern inspired sci-fi with our main lady Amani, taken from her home to serve as a body double for the crown princess, who is literally the worst. I super enjoyed this. It had the tropes that I wanted, it had good themes, and it had a decent character arc. However, not much actually happened in this book. More a set up for book 2, which i will absolutely be reading.

Divination: Space Opera by Cathrynne M. Valente: This was the book I didn’t know I needed. A hysterical story about the impending annihilation of earth/humanity by blue flamingo aliense unless two has been rock stars, Decibal and Oort, can win a singing competition. I gobbled up this book and my only disappointment was there wasn’t more. I think Linz did a review.

What Sam’s reading now:

It’s O.W.L.s Magical Readathon and Tome Topple bitches!!

History of Magic: Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay: This is the story of a conquered land, including the province of Tigana, who’s name cannot be remembered unless you were born there. (Very Weep from Strange the Dreamer). I’m audio and physically reading this book. Liking it so far, but I’m struggling with keeping names in place. What I liked in A Brightness Long Ago (my first novel by Kay), was he had a character list at the beginning. This could benefit from that. Otherwise, enjoying the hell out of political machinations.

Ginny’s Update:

Sam and I both missed Dewey’s readathon last weekend so we did a mini-readathon for ourselves this Saturday.  I may have been massively hungover (I’m a bit of a baby when it comes to hangovers), but I still managed to fit some books in.  

Currently Reading:

Say Yes To The Marquess by Tessa Dare: I almost returned this earl considering how similar it is to a book I read like a week ago, I’m only a few pages in so not sure I have much to say yet. This is the second in a series, and I have very little memory of the first book and I still haven’t seen the connecting thread but I still have 90% or more to go so that’s fair. Whatshername is engage to marry a dude who then left the country for 8 years. She no longer wants to marry him because that’s kind of a dick decision, but she needs his brother’s help to break the marriage.  And surprise surprise, he’s supes in love with her.  I wonder what will happen (I’m pretty sure the romance kick I’m on will tone down a little at some point – but I really do love walking into a book knowing there’s going to be a little bit of angst before a happily ever after).

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant:  Yeah, I know I finished a bunch of other books this week.  I usually keep up two to three at a time (kindle, phone, and physical)physical books take me the longest to read and I have 9 ebooks from the library (down from 11 on Friday) that I need to get through. I’m not far into this yet but I love the way Mira/Seanan writes these stories.  They build up so beautifully and I can’t wait for the catastrophe.

Completed this week:

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole: Man, Alyssa Cole is absolutely amazing.  I found myself a little frustrated with the hero, I felt he could be incredibly stupid by not understanding the level of danger he was putting the heroine in just by being interested in her. But this book dealt with a lot of consent issues really well.  Elle, the heroine, was a complete badass with an eidetic memory, and she goes undercover well, pretending to be a mute slave in a Southern plantation.  Malcolm comes and accidentally causes a number of problems. From the beginning their immediately all about each other.  I thought that came on a little bit too quickly, mostly because of societal expectations, but at the same point god they’re so charming.  Elle tries so hard not to like him, but couldn’t help herself. 4/5

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal: This book was a delight. Nikki signs up to teach an English class at the Sikh Temple that she had attended for years. It’s a not-so-pleasant surprise that instead of teaching creative writing, she’s supposed to teach the women how to read and write. It quickly devolves into the widows talking about what would normally be taboo – the fantasies that the widows had been thinking of. I’m hoping I can get a review out of this so I’m not going to say more, but very enjoyable.

The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry: Natalie Cleary is having trouble staying in place, meaning that for whatever reason she has these slips where the world is subtly wrong; there’s a wing on the church that hadn’t existed before, a family friend’s business has suddenly disappeared, and more.  This is another one I’m planning on reviewing mostly because I’m a little bit conflicted and I feel like getting drunk and writing about it will make things more clear, because obviously that’s the way the world works.

Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome by John Scalzi: This is a quasi-prequel to the Locked In series that John Scalzi has (which Sam, Parker, and I all LOVE). This goes back to the beginning of Haden’s syndrome, and honestly the formatting for this was great, it was done in an interview style which helped tell the story from multiple perspectives. It was still laugh out loud funny (I feel like all of Scalzi’s stories probably fit that, but it should still be mentioned). This helped me understand the full impact that Haden’s syndrome had on the world.  Frankly, it was a little bit terrifying to read at times. Still, it’s a very solid novella-length read.

Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh: The beautiful thing about my tbr is I honestly forget the back-cover summaries of books that have been there for a while and get to go into the book with no expectations. It’s YA where a matched set of spheres gives you a particular extra ability, some small, some  big. Shit goes down and teenagers are saving the world.  Planning on writing a review on this too.

  Minda’s Update:

O.W.Ls Magical Readathon week 3! Completed my Ancient Ruins and Defense Against the Dark Arts exams. Now pivoting to a Tome Topple book that also counts for the Arithmancy exam as well.

What Minda finished this week:

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (Ancient Ruins) – I’m so happy I read this! A great retelling of a conglomerate of fairytales without relying on major tropes. Can’t wait to review! Ancient Ruins ✅

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas (Defense Against the Darks Arts) – This was such a slog. And such a bummer because the premise was killer! But, still finished it. Drunk reviewrant to come. Defense Against the Darks Arts ✅

What Minda is reading this week:

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (Arithmancy) – I was going to read a different book to achieve the OWLs/Tome Topple challenge, but Sam and Ginny recommended this one while we did wine night on Friday. Looking forward to starting!

Linz’s Update:

You guys last week was so brutal. And then I got drunk all weekend. BUT the DragonCon costume lineup is in place and Game of Thrones starts back up tonight!!!

What Linz read:

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay: I’M DONE. BOOM. Everyone on here’s reading it for book club, so I’m pretty sure someone’s mentioned already what it’s about. It’s pretty damn epic for a standalone, and it was not burdensome to read. Liked, not loved.

Family Trust by Kathy Wang: The patriarch of a Chinese American family finds out he has cancer, and his family finds out he might not be the millionaire he’s always claimed to be. I love a diversity read, and I didn’t not enjoy reading this, but I feel like there’s a lot of books about a dying rich father that explores how people deal with grief and life, and this didn’t excel at it.

Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small: We were lucky enough to get an advanced copy for the blog tour, so look out for our review May 14! All I will say is if you’re into a darker look at the world of ballet, you’re going to really like this.

What Liz is currently reading:

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto: This is one of my OWLs readathon picks, It’s kind of complicated – two royal sisters waged a war against each other that, among other things, led to the end of the elite Phoenix Rider fighters. Years later, two sisters are trying to find the underground remnants of the group, There’s also two other storylines with dudes that I CANNOT predict the direction of, and also some magic and also phoenixes. Very into it.

Bowlaway by Elizabeth McCracken: This book dropped, like, last month. A woman mysteriously appears in a New England town, with no memory of who she was and how she got there. Years later, after she dies, a man shows up claiming to be her son and heir to the fortune she built. It’s more lighthearted than creepy or weird, kind of like Big Fish? So far I’m into it.

 Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,

Sam, Melinda, Linz, and Ginny

 Weekly Wrap-up: Apr 8-14, 2019 Hello fellow boozie readers! Sam's Update: It's Magical Readathon!! Working hard to be a Metal Charmer.

[travelguy4444]

Can Introverts Successfully Travel Solo?

Posted: 5/2/2019 | May 2nd, 2019

Kristin Addis from Be My Travel Muse writes our regular column on solo female travel. It’s an important topic I can’t adequately cover, so I brought in an expert to share her advice for other women travelers to help cover the topics important and specific to them! In this month’s article, she shows us how solo travelers can deal with traveling as an introvert!

Recently, I traveled to Oakland to attend a birthday brunch. I didn’t know anyone besides the birthday girl. As an introvert, situations like that are hard for me; I don’t like strangers.

Per usual, I was pretty uncomfortable at first, choosing to stick close to the one person I knew and to kill time by slowly pouring myself a coffee and eating a fruit plate at tortoise speed.

But, as time passed, I began conversing with one new person, then another, and then almost everyone who was there. I met truly interesting and friendly people, and by the end of it, I was so glad that I went and that I stayed.

When I’m at home, though, I tend to put off going out to do simple things that involve personal interactions, like grocery shopping, until the last minute. It can get pretty ridiculous, to be honest.

Yet on the road it’s so much easier to get out and explore and especially to meet new people. Why is that?

In a word: dopamine.

According to professors Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long in The Molecule of More, dopamine, which plays a major role in reward-motivated behavior, is what pushes us to try new things. In addition, researchers Nico Bunzeck and Emrah Düzel found, through MRI scans, that the reward center of our brain is stimulated more by novelty than familiarity.

Therefore, we are hardwired to explore and crave newness. It’s the anticipation of the unknown — and how exciting it could be — that encourages us to go beyond our comfort zones.

So, while it can be difficult for introverts to approach people and venture outside to do routine things at home, where everything is familiar, when we’re on the road we have dopamine on our side.

This scientific explanation makes sense to me. When I’m traveling and experience a moment of true novelty, I feel like I’m riding a natural high, something more pleasurable than I could ever try to manufacture. Newness feels good, so traveling feels good, and being an extrovert in these moments comes naturally.

So just know that even if you tend to be shy and uninterested in going to random house parties or even the grocery store at home, you may find that you have renewed energy for meeting people (and feeding yourself) on the road. It helps tremendously that most other people are also feeling that dopamine rush from traveling, so they’re in a more approachable state, too.

I used to joke that at home in Southern California I had no idea how to make new friends. Do I just walk up to them at a café and ask what they like to do during their free time?

The truth is, on the road, the answer is “yes.” It’s often that simple. Travelers are by and large more receptive and friendlier than most of us are probably used to back home. Since we’re all getting dopamine rewards for meeting new people and exploring new places, it becomes easier for both parties to be more open on the road.

I used to worry that I’d fear approaching new people, but I rarely even have to start a conversation. If all else fails, “Where are you from?” is a perfectly acceptable way to break the ice, an easy question that everyone has an answer to. I’ve had random bus, hostel, and café conversations that have turned into lifelong friendships, and I’ve had others that only served to entertain me for the afternoon; both are of value, and I never know which I might get.

I love having no itinerary and no fixed plans. This is one of the gifts of solo traveling. That said, booking activities ahead of time and paying some kind of deposit can be of help to introverts who might otherwise find reasons why they should stay inside. I’m sure my fellow introverts recognize the scenario of waking up the day of a tour you’ve booked, wishing you could cancel, but since you’ve already paid, you end up going and having the best time. Having some skin in the game makes us way more likely to honor our commitments.

Personally, it’s tempting to cancel even if it’s something fun that I honestly want to do. If I didn’t prebook things in life, I’d never exercise, dive, or explore. It would be too easy to keep putting them off.

For example, I booked an island excursion on Nusa Penida and a cooking class in Chiang Mai, and led a group hiking tour of Torres del Paine in Patagonia that the women participants prepaid for. Many of them tended to be more introverted, but in a group activity like that, other solo travelers tend to show up, which helps everyone to be more social and open.

I’ve also found that staying in an accommodation that is social by nature, like a yoga or meditation retreat, or heading to places that are known for an activity I love, like scuba diving in Indonesia, can make my introversion easier to handle. Knowing that the others there will also be into the activity that I’m into gives us common ground, something to talk about, and the activity itself allows us to bond over a week or two. Some of my favorite people are those whom I met on a dive boat or week of deep spiritual practice.

Though all of these are “hacks” for becoming a more extroverted traveler, we introverts tend to get our energy from time spent alone. At some point we need some “me” time — and this is why solo travel can be so wonderful. Part of the beauty of solo travel is the time that you get to spend with yourself. You won’t disappoint anyone by needing time alone, nor will you have to push anyone away or force yourself into an activity you’re not really feeling.

I used to get down on myself if I went a few days without meeting new people. I’d fret over moments that I felt I’d “wasted” by reading in bed or chilling out for the day. Now I realize how important those days are too. I get to recharge by taking it easy and practicing self-care. And that’s a big reason why we travel too, isn’t it? We want to treat ourselves.

So please don’t feel bad if you’re traveling and you just don’t feel like going out that day, don’t want to be social, or feel like getting room service. It’s okay to do those things if it’s what you feel you need.

Listening to yourself is the most important part of solo traveling, anyway. This is something I’ve learned as a solo traveler in my 30s, and it’s made me enjoy traveling even more.

Knowing that you’ll have dopamine on your side, that you will meet people more easily on the road, and that you’ll be able to make real-time decisions about what’s best for you, you’ll be better off making the leap and traveling solo.

Conquering Mountains: The Guide to Solo Female Travel

For a complete A-to-Z guide on solo female travel, check out Kristin’s new book, Conquering Mountains. Besides discussing many of the practical tips of preparing and planning your trip, the book addresses the fears, safety, and emotional concerns women have about traveling alone. It features over 20 interviews with other female travel writers and travelers. Click here to learn more about the book and start reading it today!

Kristin Addis is a solo female travel expert who inspires women to travel the world in an authentic and adventurous way. A former investment banker who sold all of her belongings and left California in 2012, Kristin has solo traveled the world for over four years, covering every continent (except for Antarctica, but it’s on her list). There’s almost nothing she won’t try and almost nowhere she won’t explore. You can find more of her musings at Be My Travel Muse or on Instagram and Facebook.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewher eother than a hotel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

The post Can Introverts Successfully Travel Solo? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/can-introverts-successfully-travel-solo/

[melissagarcia8]

Can Introverts Successfully Travel Solo?

Posted: 5/2/2019 | May 2nd, 2019

Kristin Addis from Be My Travel Muse writes our regular column on solo female travel. It’s an important topic I can’t adequately cover, so I brought in an expert to share her advice for other women travelers to help cover the topics important and specific to them! In this month’s article, she shows us how solo travelers can deal with traveling as an introvert!

Recently, I traveled to Oakland to attend a birthday brunch. I didn’t know anyone besides the birthday girl. As an introvert, situations like that are hard for me; I don’t like strangers.

Per usual, I was pretty uncomfortable at first, choosing to stick close to the one person I knew and to kill time by slowly pouring myself a coffee and eating a fruit plate at tortoise speed.

But, as time passed, I began conversing with one new person, then another, and then almost everyone who was there. I met truly interesting and friendly people, and by the end of it, I was so glad that I went and that I stayed.

When I’m at home, though, I tend to put off going out to do simple things that involve personal interactions, like grocery shopping, until the last minute. It can get pretty ridiculous, to be honest.

Yet on the road it’s so much easier to get out and explore and especially to meet new people. Why is that?

In a word: dopamine.

According to professors Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long in The Molecule of More, dopamine, which plays a major role in reward-motivated behavior, is what pushes us to try new things. In addition, researchers Nico Bunzeck and Emrah Düzel found, through MRI scans, that the reward center of our brain is stimulated more by novelty than familiarity.

Therefore, we are hardwired to explore and crave newness. It’s the anticipation of the unknown — and how exciting it could be — that encourages us to go beyond our comfort zones.

So, while it can be difficult for introverts to approach people and venture outside to do routine things at home, where everything is familiar, when we’re on the road we have dopamine on our side.

This scientific explanation makes sense to me. When I’m traveling and experience a moment of true novelty, I feel like I’m riding a natural high, something more pleasurable than I could ever try to manufacture. Newness feels good, so traveling feels good, and being an extrovert in these moments comes naturally.

So just know that even if you tend to be shy and uninterested in going to random house parties or even the grocery store at home, you may find that you have renewed energy for meeting people (and feeding yourself) on the road. It helps tremendously that most other people are also feeling that dopamine rush from traveling, so they’re in a more approachable state, too.

I used to joke that at home in Southern California I had no idea how to make new friends. Do I just walk up to them at a café and ask what they like to do during their free time?

The truth is, on the road, the answer is “yes.” It’s often that simple. Travelers are by and large more receptive and friendlier than most of us are probably used to back home. Since we’re all getting dopamine rewards for meeting new people and exploring new places, it becomes easier for both parties to be more open on the road.

I used to worry that I’d fear approaching new people, but I rarely even have to start a conversation. If all else fails, “Where are you from?” is a perfectly acceptable way to break the ice, an easy question that everyone has an answer to. I’ve had random bus, hostel, and café conversations that have turned into lifelong friendships, and I’ve had others that only served to entertain me for the afternoon; both are of value, and I never know which I might get.

I love having no itinerary and no fixed plans. This is one of the gifts of solo traveling. That said, booking activities ahead of time and paying some kind of deposit can be of help to introverts who might otherwise find reasons why they should stay inside. I’m sure my fellow introverts recognize the scenario of waking up the day of a tour you’ve booked, wishing you could cancel, but since you’ve already paid, you end up going and having the best time. Having some skin in the game makes us way more likely to honor our commitments.

Personally, it’s tempting to cancel even if it’s something fun that I honestly want to do. If I didn’t prebook things in life, I’d never exercise, dive, or explore. It would be too easy to keep putting them off.

For example, I booked an island excursion on Nusa Penida and a cooking class in Chiang Mai, and led a group hiking tour of Torres del Paine in Patagonia that the women participants prepaid for. Many of them tended to be more introverted, but in a group activity like that, other solo travelers tend to show up, which helps everyone to be more social and open.

I’ve also found that staying in an accommodation that is social by nature, like a yoga or meditation retreat, or heading to places that are known for an activity I love, like scuba diving in Indonesia, can make my introversion easier to handle. Knowing that the others there will also be into the activity that I’m into gives us common ground, something to talk about, and the activity itself allows us to bond over a week or two. Some of my favorite people are those whom I met on a dive boat or week of deep spiritual practice.

Though all of these are “hacks” for becoming a more extroverted traveler, we introverts tend to get our energy from time spent alone. At some point we need some “me” time — and this is why solo travel can be so wonderful. Part of the beauty of solo travel is the time that you get to spend with yourself. You won’t disappoint anyone by needing time alone, nor will you have to push anyone away or force yourself into an activity you’re not really feeling.

I used to get down on myself if I went a few days without meeting new people. I’d fret over moments that I felt I’d “wasted” by reading in bed or chilling out for the day. Now I realize how important those days are too. I get to recharge by taking it easy and practicing self-care. And that’s a big reason why we travel too, isn’t it? We want to treat ourselves.

So please don’t feel bad if you’re traveling and you just don’t feel like going out that day, don’t want to be social, or feel like getting room service. It’s okay to do those things if it’s what you feel you need.

Listening to yourself is the most important part of solo traveling, anyway. This is something I’ve learned as a solo traveler in my 30s, and it’s made me enjoy traveling even more.

Knowing that you’ll have dopamine on your side, that you will meet people more easily on the road, and that you’ll be able to make real-time decisions about what’s best for you, you’ll be better off making the leap and traveling solo.

Conquering Mountains: The Guide to Solo Female Travel

For a complete A-to-Z guide on solo female travel, check out Kristin’s new book, Conquering Mountains. Besides discussing many of the practical tips of preparing and planning your trip, the book addresses the fears, safety, and emotional concerns women have about traveling alone. It features over 20 interviews with other female travel writers and travelers. Click here to learn more about the book and start reading it today!

Kristin Addis is a solo female travel expert who inspires women to travel the world in an authentic and adventurous way. A former investment banker who sold all of her belongings and left California in 2012, Kristin has solo traveled the world for over four years, covering every continent (except for Antarctica, but it’s on her list). There’s almost nothing she won’t try and almost nowhere she won’t explore. You can find more of her musings at Be My Travel Muse or on Instagram and Facebook.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewher eother than a hotel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

The post Can Introverts Successfully Travel Solo? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

from Traveling News https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/can-introverts-successfully-travel-solo/

[tamboradventure]

Can Introverts Successfully Travel Solo?

Posted: 5/2/2019 | May 2nd, 2019

Kristin Addis from Be My Travel Muse writes our regular column on solo female travel. It’s an important topic I can’t adequately cover, so I brought in an expert to share her advice for other women travelers to help cover the topics important and specific to them! In this month’s article, she shows us how solo travelers can deal with traveling as an introvert!

Recently, I traveled to Oakland to attend a birthday brunch. I didn’t know anyone besides the birthday girl. As an introvert, situations like that are hard for me; I don’t like strangers.

Per usual, I was pretty uncomfortable at first, choosing to stick close to the one person I knew and to kill time by slowly pouring myself a coffee and eating a fruit plate at tortoise speed.

But, as time passed, I began conversing with one new person, then another, and then almost everyone who was there. I met truly interesting and friendly people, and by the end of it, I was so glad that I went and that I stayed.

When I’m at home, though, I tend to put off going out to do simple things that involve personal interactions, like grocery shopping, until the last minute. It can get pretty ridiculous, to be honest.

Yet on the road it’s so much easier to get out and explore and especially to meet new people. Why is that?

In a word: dopamine.

According to professors Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long in The Molecule of More, dopamine, which plays a major role in reward-motivated behavior, is what pushes us to try new things. In addition, researchers Nico Bunzeck and Emrah Düzel found, through MRI scans, that the reward center of our brain is stimulated more by novelty than familiarity.

Therefore, we are hardwired to explore and crave newness. It’s the anticipation of the unknown — and how exciting it could be — that encourages us to go beyond our comfort zones.

So, while it can be difficult for introverts to approach people and venture outside to do routine things at home, where everything is familiar, when we’re on the road we have dopamine on our side.

This scientific explanation makes sense to me. When I’m traveling and experience a moment of true novelty, I feel like I’m riding a natural high, something more pleasurable than I could ever try to manufacture. Newness feels good, so traveling feels good, and being an extrovert in these moments comes naturally.

So just know that even if you tend to be shy and uninterested in going to random house parties or even the grocery store at home, you may find that you have renewed energy for meeting people (and feeding yourself) on the road. It helps tremendously that most other people are also feeling that dopamine rush from traveling, so they’re in a more approachable state, too.

I used to joke that at home in Southern California I had no idea how to make new friends. Do I just walk up to them at a café and ask what they like to do during their free time?

The truth is, on the road, the answer is “yes.” It’s often that simple. Travelers are by and large more receptive and friendlier than most of us are probably used to back home. Since we’re all getting dopamine rewards for meeting new people and exploring new places, it becomes easier for both parties to be more open on the road.

I used to worry that I’d fear approaching new people, but I rarely even have to start a conversation. If all else fails, “Where are you from?” is a perfectly acceptable way to break the ice, an easy question that everyone has an answer to. I’ve had random bus, hostel, and café conversations that have turned into lifelong friendships, and I’ve had others that only served to entertain me for the afternoon; both are of value, and I never know which I might get.

I love having no itinerary and no fixed plans. This is one of the gifts of solo traveling. That said, booking activities ahead of time and paying some kind of deposit can be of help to introverts who might otherwise find reasons why they should stay inside. I’m sure my fellow introverts recognize the scenario of waking up the day of a tour you’ve booked, wishing you could cancel, but since you’ve already paid, you end up going and having the best time. Having some skin in the game makes us way more likely to honor our commitments.

Personally, it’s tempting to cancel even if it’s something fun that I honestly want to do. If I didn’t prebook things in life, I’d never exercise, dive, or explore. It would be too easy to keep putting them off.

For example, I booked an island excursion on Nusa Penida and a cooking class in Chiang Mai, and led a group hiking tour of Torres del Paine in Patagonia that the women participants prepaid for. Many of them tended to be more introverted, but in a group activity like that, other solo travelers tend to show up, which helps everyone to be more social and open.

I’ve also found that staying in an accommodation that is social by nature, like a yoga or meditation retreat, or heading to places that are known for an activity I love, like scuba diving in Indonesia, can make my introversion easier to handle. Knowing that the others there will also be into the activity that I’m into gives us common ground, something to talk about, and the activity itself allows us to bond over a week or two. Some of my favorite people are those whom I met on a dive boat or week of deep spiritual practice.

Though all of these are “hacks” for becoming a more extroverted traveler, we introverts tend to get our energy from time spent alone. At some point we need some “me” time — and this is why solo travel can be so wonderful. Part of the beauty of solo travel is the time that you get to spend with yourself. You won’t disappoint anyone by needing time alone, nor will you have to push anyone away or force yourself into an activity you’re not really feeling.

I used to get down on myself if I went a few days without meeting new people. I’d fret over moments that I felt I’d “wasted” by reading in bed or chilling out for the day. Now I realize how important those days are too. I get to recharge by taking it easy and practicing self-care. And that’s a big reason why we travel too, isn’t it? We want to treat ourselves.

So please don’t feel bad if you’re traveling and you just don’t feel like going out that day, don’t want to be social, or feel like getting room service. It’s okay to do those things if it’s what you feel you need.

Listening to yourself is the most important part of solo traveling, anyway. This is something I’ve learned as a solo traveler in my 30s, and it’s made me enjoy traveling even more.

Knowing that you’ll have dopamine on your side, that you will meet people more easily on the road, and that you’ll be able to make real-time decisions about what’s best for you, you’ll be better off making the leap and traveling solo.

Conquering Mountains: The Guide to Solo Female Travel

For a complete A-to-Z guide on solo female travel, check out Kristin’s new book, Conquering Mountains. Besides discussing many of the practical tips of preparing and planning your trip, the book addresses the fears, safety, and emotional concerns women have about traveling alone. It features over 20 interviews with other female travel writers and travelers. Click here to learn more about the book and start reading it today!

Kristin Addis is a solo female travel expert who inspires women to travel the world in an authentic and adventurous way. A former investment banker who sold all of her belongings and left California in 2012, Kristin has solo traveled the world for over four years, covering every continent (except for Antarctica, but it’s on her list). There’s almost nothing she won’t try and almost nowhere she won’t explore. You can find more of her musings at Be My Travel Muse or on Instagram and Facebook.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewher eother than a hotel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

The post Can Introverts Successfully Travel Solo? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

from Nomadic Matt's Travel Site http://bit.ly/2PIqG7K via IFTTT

[adambstingus]

Who Is Kaia Gerber & Who Are Her Friends? · Betches

Ask any normie who runs Instagram, and they’ll tell you the Kar-Jenners. And you know what? They’re totally right, but they also need to know about the newest clan taking over the ‘gram. Anyone with their finger on the pulse and on the right follow button knows that Kaia Gerber and her squad are taking over Instagram. We all know who Kaia Gerber is: she’s an up-and-coming model whose mother is supermodel Cindy Crawford and whose father made Casamigos with George Clooney (and apparently he does boring high-end business sh*t too, but let’s not pretend like I know how any of that works). She’s 16 years old and has way more going for her than any of us: perfect genetics, an endless supply of tequila, and more than two friends. But who is this friend group, exactly? Sure, they keep Shadow Hill and I.AM.GIA in business, but what else are they up to?

Presley Gerber

Presley is Kaia’s equally good-looking brother, of course! He’s an up-and-comer in the industry, just like his little sis, having modeled for big time brands such as Burberry and Calvin Klein. This mainstay at fashion week and the pages of Vogue has even been in a Pepsi commercial with mama Cindy, who was in her own iconic Pepsi commercial decades ago. It was cool and all (and much less controversial than Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad), but still will never be as great as Britney’s Pepsi commercials. Not much else is known about Presley, because when you’re that good-looking, you really aren’t obligated to be interesting.

Huhhhhh

A post shared by Presley (@presleygerber) on Jul 5, 2018 at 11:36am PDT

Charlotte Lawrence

Charlotte is Kaia’s equally leggy, equally barely legal ride-or-die. Her dad is producer Bill Lawrence and her mom is actress Christa Miller. Her dad was a bigwig on Scrubs and Cougartown—those shows that you kiiiinda  forgot about up until now—both of which her mom starred in. That means that Charlotte has clocked in a lot of time growing up around actors like Zach Braff and Courteney Cox, that actors you kiiiinda forgot up about up until now. Charlotte is pursuing the music career route, and has performed at venues such as Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn and Bowery Ballroom. She’s actually pretty great and has a promising career ahead of her.

film cameras & mom hats

A post shared by Charlotte Lawrence (@charlotteslawrence) on Jul 16, 2018 at 5:21pm PDT

Charlotte D’Alessio

Charlotte D’Alessio (no relation to Amber, who made out with a hot dog) is Kaia’s other bestie, because Kaia seems to love being affiliated with girls who are as lithe and brunette as she is. She is also dating Presley Gerber exclusively, which totally doesn’t sound awkward for Kaia at all. This Canadian beauty was discovered at the age of 16 at Coachella. That festival is a sh*t show of Bachelor franchise starlets and Instagram models, so the fact that she stuck out enough to get discovered as a model is a feat in and of itself.

Charlotte has a few bikini campaigns under her belt, as well as having modeled for brands like TopShop and starring as a femme fatale in some really confusing music video for some European band we’ve never heard of. (Can some film major put their worthless degree to use for once and please explain to me why there was an evil octopus in that vid?) When she’s not modeling or having good-looking sex with Presley Gerber, you can usually find her making Boomerangs where she’s slightly tilting her head and sticking out her tongue, or hosting Instagram lives, where she repeatedly answers the same questions over and over again about whether or not she got a nose job (which she denies getting because “I just know how to work my angles!” Sure, Jan) and what her workouts are like (which she claims to not even do. Again, sure, Jan).

pleasseeee

A post shared by Charlotte D'Alessio (@charlottedalessio) on Aug 6, 2018 at 12:41pm PDT

Chiara

Chiara is the token edgy, crazy chick of the group that they need to have. Otherwise, their clique would look more Wonderbread than an Abercrombie & Fitch ad, and that’s just not exciting. Chiara is, of course, a model, and her mom was a model as well. Her Instagram reeks of the kind of pictures that would be reblogged along with Lana del Rey quotes and Sarah Bah Bah art.

Resting face

A post shared by Chiara (@chiara) on Jul 29, 2018 at 8:58pm PDT

Madison Beer

Madison Beer was *discovered* by Justin Bieber when she was a tween for covering Etta James’ “At Last” on YouTube. She moved from Long Island to L.A. to make music, but is more known for her knockout good looks and incredible street style on Instagram. She actually only released a few singles, yet garnered over 10 million followers on Instagram with little to no legit music career. She finally released her first EP this year, As She Pleases, and it’s actually really, really good. Like, I don’t know about you, but I was expecting a girl that’s more Instagram famous than famous for, ya know, talent to drop a stinker of an EP, but “Home With You” and “Say It To My Face” are legit bops. She recently completed an American tour as well, so things are definitely starting to ramp up for Madison Beer.

dat fendi fendi

A post shared by Madison (@madisonbeer) on Jul 10, 2018 at 12:11pm PDT

Zack Bia

I don’t even get what this kid’s deal is. Even before writing this article, I have Googled Zack Bia repeatedly to figure out what he does or what famous parents he has, and I got nothing. It honestly keeps me up at night wondering how this hypebeast twerp hangs with this crew and has accumulated the following he has. He’s dating Madison Beer, so maybe that’s where a lot of my disdain for this kid comes from, because I can’t decide if I want to be Madison Beer or date Madison Beer. Signs show he may have gone to USC at one point, but that honestly means nothing because you barely attend USC unless you’re in Greek life or are an athlete. I really don’t have anything else to say about this kid because, like I said, I don’t know what the f*ck he does. So I just hate-scroll through his douchey Instagram instead.

beverly hills high alum

A post shared by ZACK BIA (@zackbia) on Feb 1, 2018 at 10:19pm PST

Isabella Jones

Isabella Jones is actually @bananablue17 on Instagram, because she didn’t get the memo that you don’t have to use your AIM screenname from 6th grade as your Instagram handle. Isabella is—wait for it—a model. She’s also currently dating a SoundCloud rapper whose tattoos look like a sleepover prank that you’d doodle on people while they’re asleep. He goes by Teddy. Just Teddy. A match made in heaven, really.

happy 4th🇺🇸

A post shared by Isabella Jones (@bananablue17) on Jul 5, 2018 at 2:36pm PDT

Emma Delury

Emma Delury is basically the girl next door’s little sister who hasn’t been corrupted yet, but the older quarterback of the football team plans on making a move on her once it’s no longer creepy to hook up with her. So it makes total sense that she’s modeled for the likes of Pink by Victoria’s Secret, PacSun, and Brandy Melville. No word on if she’s dating anyone, but Isabella leaves comments on every single picture of hers within 10 minutes of posting them saying how beautiful she is and how in love with her she is. These girls are well on their way to being so famous that they have BS rumors about them dating like Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift do, right?

❤️💙

A post shared by Emma DeLury (@emmadelury) on Jul 5, 2018 at 4:13pm PDT

Kevin Malone from “The Office”

I am Kevin Malone and you all are the Instagram models pic.twitter.com/fIVMj4yfyn

— Millie (@milliebeemoore) July 17, 2018

No, seriously. How the f*ck did this happen?

Whoever This Leech Is

Madison Beer did an interview a couple months back and was asked about her famous crew, and she took the opportunity to throw some shade—even though no one even asked! Ugh, this kind of drama is the only thing that make petty 18-year-olds tolerable. Anyways, she said some toxic chick keeps trying to swindle her way into their group to get followers and ever since, I’ve been wanting to know who it is. My money’s on Meredith Mickelson, because everyone in this group follows her except for Madison, and I don’t really know what Meredith does with her time besides take selfies while driving, take Boomerangs of herself sticking her tongue out, and taking videos of herself fake laughing.

dinner🍝

A post shared by MEREDITH MICKELSON (@meredithmickelson) on Jul 30, 2018 at 12:39pm PDT

Images: @presleygerber , @charlotteslawrence, @charlottedalessio , @chiara, @madisonbeer, @zackbia, @bananablue17, @emmadelury,@meredithmickelson / Instagram; @milliebeemoore / Twitter

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/who-is-kaia-gerber-who-are-her-friends-%c2%b7-betches/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/182756223262

[allofbeercom]

Who Is Kaia Gerber & Who Are Her Friends? · Betches

Ask any normie who runs Instagram, and they’ll tell you the Kar-Jenners. And you know what? They’re totally right, but they also need to know about the newest clan taking over the ‘gram. Anyone with their finger on the pulse and on the right follow button knows that Kaia Gerber and her squad are taking over Instagram. We all know who Kaia Gerber is: she’s an up-and-coming model whose mother is supermodel Cindy Crawford and whose father made Casamigos with George Clooney (and apparently he does boring high-end business sh*t too, but let’s not pretend like I know how any of that works). She’s 16 years old and has way more going for her than any of us: perfect genetics, an endless supply of tequila, and more than two friends. But who is this friend group, exactly? Sure, they keep Shadow Hill and I.AM.GIA in business, but what else are they up to?

Presley Gerber

Presley is Kaia’s equally good-looking brother, of course! He’s an up-and-comer in the industry, just like his little sis, having modeled for big time brands such as Burberry and Calvin Klein. This mainstay at fashion week and the pages of Vogue has even been in a Pepsi commercial with mama Cindy, who was in her own iconic Pepsi commercial decades ago. It was cool and all (and much less controversial than Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad), but still will never be as great as Britney’s Pepsi commercials. Not much else is known about Presley, because when you’re that good-looking, you really aren’t obligated to be interesting.

Huhhhhh

A post shared by Presley (@presleygerber) on Jul 5, 2018 at 11:36am PDT

Charlotte Lawrence

Charlotte is Kaia’s equally leggy, equally barely legal ride-or-die. Her dad is producer Bill Lawrence and her mom is actress Christa Miller. Her dad was a bigwig on Scrubs and Cougartown—those shows that you kiiiinda  forgot about up until now—both of which her mom starred in. That means that Charlotte has clocked in a lot of time growing up around actors like Zach Braff and Courteney Cox, that actors you kiiiinda forgot up about up until now. Charlotte is pursuing the music career route, and has performed at venues such as Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn and Bowery Ballroom. She’s actually pretty great and has a promising career ahead of her.

film cameras & mom hats

A post shared by Charlotte Lawrence (@charlotteslawrence) on Jul 16, 2018 at 5:21pm PDT

Charlotte D’Alessio

Charlotte D’Alessio (no relation to Amber, who made out with a hot dog) is Kaia’s other bestie, because Kaia seems to love being affiliated with girls who are as lithe and brunette as she is. She is also dating Presley Gerber exclusively, which totally doesn’t sound awkward for Kaia at all. This Canadian beauty was discovered at the age of 16 at Coachella. That festival is a sh*t show of Bachelor franchise starlets and Instagram models, so the fact that she stuck out enough to get discovered as a model is a feat in and of itself.

Charlotte has a few bikini campaigns under her belt, as well as having modeled for brands like TopShop and starring as a femme fatale in some really confusing music video for some European band we’ve never heard of. (Can some film major put their worthless degree to use for once and please explain to me why there was an evil octopus in that vid?) When she’s not modeling or having good-looking sex with Presley Gerber, you can usually find her making Boomerangs where she’s slightly tilting her head and sticking out her tongue, or hosting Instagram lives, where she repeatedly answers the same questions over and over again about whether or not she got a nose job (which she denies getting because “I just know how to work my angles!” Sure, Jan) and what her workouts are like (which she claims to not even do. Again, sure, Jan).

pleasseeee

A post shared by Charlotte D'Alessio (@charlottedalessio) on Aug 6, 2018 at 12:41pm PDT

Chiara

Chiara is the token edgy, crazy chick of the group that they need to have. Otherwise, their clique would look more Wonderbread than an Abercrombie & Fitch ad, and that’s just not exciting. Chiara is, of course, a model, and her mom was a model as well. Her Instagram reeks of the kind of pictures that would be reblogged along with Lana del Rey quotes and Sarah Bah Bah art.

Resting face

A post shared by Chiara (@chiara) on Jul 29, 2018 at 8:58pm PDT

Madison Beer

Madison Beer was *discovered* by Justin Bieber when she was a tween for covering Etta James’ “At Last” on YouTube. She moved from Long Island to L.A. to make music, but is more known for her knockout good looks and incredible street style on Instagram. She actually only released a few singles, yet garnered over 10 million followers on Instagram with little to no legit music career. She finally released her first EP this year, As She Pleases, and it’s actually really, really good. Like, I don’t know about you, but I was expecting a girl that’s more Instagram famous than famous for, ya know, talent to drop a stinker of an EP, but “Home With You” and “Say It To My Face” are legit bops. She recently completed an American tour as well, so things are definitely starting to ramp up for Madison Beer.

dat fendi fendi

A post shared by Madison (@madisonbeer) on Jul 10, 2018 at 12:11pm PDT

Zack Bia

I don’t even get what this kid’s deal is. Even before writing this article, I have Googled Zack Bia repeatedly to figure out what he does or what famous parents he has, and I got nothing. It honestly keeps me up at night wondering how this hypebeast twerp hangs with this crew and has accumulated the following he has. He’s dating Madison Beer, so maybe that’s where a lot of my disdain for this kid comes from, because I can’t decide if I want to be Madison Beer or date Madison Beer. Signs show he may have gone to USC at one point, but that honestly means nothing because you barely attend USC unless you’re in Greek life or are an athlete. I really don’t have anything else to say about this kid because, like I said, I don’t know what the f*ck he does. So I just hate-scroll through his douchey Instagram instead.

beverly hills high alum

A post shared by ZACK BIA (@zackbia) on Feb 1, 2018 at 10:19pm PST

Isabella Jones

Isabella Jones is actually @bananablue17 on Instagram, because she didn’t get the memo that you don’t have to use your AIM screenname from 6th grade as your Instagram handle. Isabella is—wait for it—a model. She’s also currently dating a SoundCloud rapper whose tattoos look like a sleepover prank that you’d doodle on people while they’re asleep. He goes by Teddy. Just Teddy. A match made in heaven, really.

happy 4th🇺🇸

A post shared by Isabella Jones (@bananablue17) on Jul 5, 2018 at 2:36pm PDT

Emma Delury

Emma Delury is basically the girl next door’s little sister who hasn’t been corrupted yet, but the older quarterback of the football team plans on making a move on her once it’s no longer creepy to hook up with her. So it makes total sense that she’s modeled for the likes of Pink by Victoria’s Secret, PacSun, and Brandy Melville. No word on if she’s dating anyone, but Isabella leaves comments on every single picture of hers within 10 minutes of posting them saying how beautiful she is and how in love with her she is. These girls are well on their way to being so famous that they have BS rumors about them dating like Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift do, right?

❤️💙

A post shared by Emma DeLury (@emmadelury) on Jul 5, 2018 at 4:13pm PDT

Kevin Malone from “The Office”

I am Kevin Malone and you all are the Instagram models pic.twitter.com/fIVMj4yfyn

— Millie (@milliebeemoore) July 17, 2018

No, seriously. How the f*ck did this happen?

Whoever This Leech Is

Madison Beer did an interview a couple months back and was asked about her famous crew, and she took the opportunity to throw some shade—even though no one even asked! Ugh, this kind of drama is the only thing that make petty 18-year-olds tolerable. Anyways, she said some toxic chick keeps trying to swindle her way into their group to get followers and ever since, I’ve been wanting to know who it is. My money’s on Meredith Mickelson, because everyone in this group follows her except for Madison, and I don’t really know what Meredith does with her time besides take selfies while driving, take Boomerangs of herself sticking her tongue out, and taking videos of herself fake laughing.

dinner🍝

A post shared by MEREDITH MICKELSON (@meredithmickelson) on Jul 30, 2018 at 12:39pm PDT

Images: @presleygerber , @charlotteslawrence, @charlottedalessio , @chiara, @madisonbeer, @zackbia, @bananablue17, @emmadelury,@meredithmickelson / Instagram; @milliebeemoore / Twitter

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/who-is-kaia-gerber-who-are-her-friends-%c2%b7-betches/