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biwenqing · 5 years ago

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comfort

Nie Mingjue isn't entirely sure yet what Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen want from him, but he loves spending time with them. Luckily, over dinner at Lan Xichen's loft, they clear things up. Sequel to surprises.

For fytheuntamed on tumblr's untamed spring fest day twenty prompt: Fond

G | Words: 1626 | ao3

Nie Mingjue took a deep breath as he stood outside the door to Lan Xichen’s loft. This was the third Friday he had been asked by Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng to join them in watching bad movies. Nie Mingjue hadn’t quite understood the appeal. That was until he got to watch both Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng laughing to the point of near tears at special effects and characters.

Considering how closed off they both often were, Lan Xichen with his serene smile and Jiang Cheng with his slight scowl, seeing them both so open and expressive felt beautifully intimate. And if they were both willing to let Nie Mingjue see them like that, he wasn’t a strong enough man to say no.

He lifted his hand and knocked on the door. In his other hand, he carried the take out he had picked up on the way there. Nie Mingjue had insisted that it was his turn to buy dinner, and he just hoped the other two liked what he chose.

Jiang Cheng was the one to open the door, and he smiled at Nie Mingjue, stepping aside to let him in. He then relieved Nie Mingjue of the bag he carried, bringing the food into the kitchen while calling, “I hope you don’t mind, Lan Xichen brought some of his work home with him.”

Nie Mingjue slipped off his shoes, placing them carefully next to the door and trying not to pay any mind to the voice in his head that wished this could be his home. “I thought you worked as a vet, Lan Xichen?” he called as he turned to the couches that separated the living room from the dining area.

The sight that greeted Nie Mingjue was nothing he could have prepared himself for. Lan Xichen was sitting in one corner of the couch, knees pulled up, almost vanishing inside a large white sweater. He had glasses on, and his hair was up in a messy bun. That alone would have been a lot to process, but what made this somehow cuter was the fact that Lan Xichen was holding a tiny kitten, carefully bottle feeding it.

Lan Xichen looked over with a soft smile, and Nie Mingjue felt his heartache with fondness. “We had some orphaned kittens come in,” he explained and nodded towards the box that was beside him on the couch.

Nie Mingjue came closer, leaning over the back of the couch to see the box was softly lined and had blankets for the kittens to cuddle in. He counted five, six with the one that Lan Xichen was feeding. “They’re so tiny.”

“They are about a week old, some of their eyes have just started to open,” Lan Xichen said. He passed the little kitten bottle to Nie Mingjue. “Hold this for a moment.” He then began cleaning up the little kitten he held.

Jiang Cheng came back into the room, carrying plates and silverware. “I set the timer on my phone,” he said to Lan Xichen.

“We’ll have to pause the movie to feed them again,” Lan Xichen explained, looking apologetic.

“I can help with that,” Nie Mingjue was quick to offer. He reached a hand into the box and gently ran a finger along one of the kitten’s backs.

“That would be wonderful,” Lan Xichen smiled, leaning forward to set the sixth kitten back among its siblings. “If you and Jiang Cheng feed them, I can check their weight.” His hands brushed against Nie Mingjue’s own as the kitten settled and Lan Xichen took the bottle back.

Jiang Cheng reappeared then and Nie Mingjue retracted his hand from the box and crossed them behind his back. The take out boxes along with some glasses were added to the coffee table. “So, what do you think of Lan Xichen’s work habits?” Jiang Cheng’s tone was teasing and Lan Xichen was smiling fondly at his boyfriend.

“I think this can be forgiven,” Nie Mingjue said, raising a brow before a grin escaped.

The box of kittens were moved to their own chair, and Lan Xichen plugged in a little heated pad for them. He then washed his hands before returning to his corner of the couch so he could keep an eye on the kittens. Jiang Cheng settled on the other side of the couch which left the middle cushion the most obvious place for Nie Mingjue to sit.

And while it was also the place Nie Mingjue knew he wanted to be, he wasn’t sure yet if he was allowed to feel this want. His sib had tried to explain how clear it was that Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen were flirting with him. Nie Mingjue had focused on scolding Nie Huaisang for reading his text messages (how they had figured out his password he didn’t want to know), but their comments only made him question himself more. Nie Mingjue did not want to come between either of these two men and happiness. It was clear to Nie Mingjue how well Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng fit together.

“Thank you for making sure to get the extra hot sauce,” Jiang Cheng said over his shoulder.

Nie Mingjue decided it would be more awkward if he kept standing and moved around to settle in the middle of the couch. “You’re welcome. I thought you might need it because-”

“You made sure everything was mild enough for Lan Xichen,” Jiang Cheng said, taking Nie Mingjue’s hand to squeeze ever so briefly before he focused on selecting what he wanted from the boxes.

While Nie Mingjue’s mind was still trying to catch up with that, Lan Xichen leaned over and pressed a feather-soft kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for being thoughtful,” he said, before turning to get his own food.

Nie Mingjue realized at that moment that Nie Huaisang had been onto something. Which really was too bad because that meant his sibling would pretend they weren’t smiling smugly behind their fan when they obviously were. He let out a sigh which brought both Jiang Cheng’s and Lan Xichen’s attention back to him.

“...Did we overstep?” Lan Xichen asked, looking at Nie Mingjue.

Nie Mingjue shook his head, gently bumping his knee against Lan Xichen’s. “No. I just... I didn’t want to assume anything or cause any trouble.”

Jiang Cheng set down the things he was holding and reached out, retaking Nie Mingjue’s hand. Nie Mingjue turned and met his eyes. Jiang Cheng took a breath and said, “Then we should have been clearer. We hesitated because we don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or pressured. But we were hoping that you might want to date us?”

Nie Mingjue felt he couldn’t be happier as the doubt that weighed on him lifted completely. Jiang Cheng’s directness was refreshing. “I would very much like that.”

Jiang Cheng smiled back, and while he pushed his confident front, Nie Mingjue caught some relief in the way his shoulders relaxed as well. “And not just because of the cute kittens?” The gentle teasing was back.

“I’m sure you also noticed there is someone who is cuter than a box full of kittens,” Nie Mingjue said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at Lan Xichen.

Jiang Cheng leaned to the side so he could see Lan Xichen fully. His smile softened. “Yes.”

Nie Mingjue looked at Lan Xichen as well, even as he kept his hand in Jiang Cheng’s. Lan Xichen was blushing slightly and lifted his hands over his face. His sweater was so big though, the sleeves covered his hands.

“You’re only making more of a case of your cuteness,” Jiang Cheng said, leaning now against Nie Mingjue’s side. “Add that sweater to what a brilliant vet you are...”

Lan Xichen put his hands down and adjusted his glasses. The way he looked at Jiang Cheng was so fond. How they cared for each other only made Nie Mingjue realize all the more how he had been falling for them both.

Lan Xichen turned that same expression on Nie Mingjue and he found himself saying, “I want to kiss you.”

“Well that works out because I would also like to kiss you,” Lan Xichen said, and moved closer. It has been almost a decade since Nie Mingjue had kissed Lan Xichen, but it felt even more right as they did so now. It was rather chaste, but Nie Mingjue closed his eyes and leaned into it.

When they parted, they both looked at Jiang Cheng. There was nothing to worry about though because Jiang Cheng was smiling like the cat who got the cream. “How’s the mustache?” Jiang Cheng asked Lan Xichen.

“I like it,” Lan Xichen reported back and Nie Mingjue felt his eyebrows raise.

“You have been discussing kissing me?” Nie Mingjue said. This was really his reality?

“Yes, now my turn,” Jiang Cheng said and Nie Mingjue was happy to comply. Jiang Cheng’s kiss was more demanding and left Nie Mingjue a little breathless when it ended.

“I know,” Lan Xichen said when Nie Mingjue looked back to him, his smile turning a little more heated. But he neatly dispersed any tension by asking Jiang Cheng. “Mustache opinion?”

“Agreed, very enjoyable,” Jiang Cheng said back.

Nie Mingjue just shook his head with a chuckle and began to get his own dinner together. “What monstrosity are we watching tonight?”

“Sharknado 5,” Jiang Cheng reported with a wicked smile. “We have watched the other four, so it’ll be interesting to get an outside opinion.”

Nie Mingjue couldn’t argue with that, and settled back on the couch with his plate, sandwiched between his two boyfriends.

Oh yes, Nie Huaisang wasn’t going to let him live this down any time soon.

#untamed spring fest #nie mingjue #lan xichen #jiang cheng #mingxicheng #my fic #soft and fluffy getting together sequel!

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slifers-executive-writer · 5 years ago

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My Thoughts on the Potential Personality of a Certain Pharaoh We Never Met

Hey guys...It’s been a while since I wrote something about YGO specifically and well since that is the main focus of this blog, I thought I’d create another discussion.

This particular tidbit (more like a brain fart to be completely honest) is from scrolling through this website and other social media pages and therefore stumbling on the fandom making their theories and headcanons on what Atem’s true personality is. I think we have all seen the jokes on how we as a fandom like to write him off as this super gay, suave, smooth talking, prideful king. The counter argument I often see is that he is socially awkward, fumbling serial killer, with an identity crisis. All of these claims tend to be backed up by people recalling numerous amounts of the original source material from Mr. Takahashi, but sometimes I wonder what could have been.

Popular headcanons asides (that means we are not using any ships and/or made up assumptions with no basis), let’s talk about this for a minute. What has Kazuki provided and what can we assume about Atem’s actual character. Despite being a 200+ episode anime, several movies, and over 30 volumes of manga, our favorite author has left a lot to be desired from this guy. Once we’ve discussed the material, I’ll make a personal evaluation of what Atem could have been like had we been able to meet him after he had retrieved all his memories.

Okay so perhaps the fandom is right about one thing, Atem started out as a borderline serial killer. Well, according to the manga, he has got quite a bit of red on his ledger with multiple violent injuries/deaths by his hands.

Right at the moment Atem’s spirit was reawakened by Yugi completing the Millennium Puzzle, we have an individual very determined to protect his vessel at any cost. Of course not without his own enjoyment in participating in his “Dark Games”. So we can tell Atem is very protective of Yugi, his group of friends, and generally any other innocent bystanders. We can argue he is a little over protective via his deadly methods but I guess it’s the thought that counts right?

Luckily for Atem’s victims, he stops his magically mind-fucking bullshit after the Duelist Kingdom arc. He never explains why he stops. Perhaps it has to do with his development as a character to not be as ruthless in an attempt to comfort Yugi.

One attribute Atem does not lose throughout the series is when confronted with any sort of enemy, we see Atem is very confident in his abilities. Another thing the fandom got right is well... he is quite the smooth talker. Despite being from a completely different era, this guy always knows what to say to enemies and rivals alike. Not to mention his motivational speeches to his friends are always quite powerful. If anything I would almost consider Atem a bit of a life coach. He more or less helped raise Yugi and company into the individuals they become.

Along with giving everyone their moments of support, Atem does a pretty good job blending in with modern society despite being locked up in his own head for thousands of years. I find some individuals, thinking Atem is a complete fumbling socially awkward dork and well, maybe not so much. Sure he has his moments, I think we can all look back on the ‘Date’ episode, but we have to look at which version we are watching/reading. For the sake of accuracy I tend to interpret the Japanese material as it is closest to the manga. As I said, Atem isn’t perfect, he can be very blunt to people when they ask him for an opinion (or telling people it’s the end of the world if he doesn’t win a card game), but I certainly wouldn’t consider him completely ‘socially awkward’ in general.

But honestly that can be a whole other essay and I’m just talking about basic character traits overall. Now let us discuss some of Atem’s flaws.

So to make things easier, let us list the flaws as they appeared in both manga and anime:

When Shadi was first introduced to us (manga), we got a glimpse of seeing our favorite dark spirit sweat in the heat of a shadow game. It was revealed that Atem knew little of his true identity and sharing a Yugi’s body meant, that the two would share each others emotions. Moreover, this spirit had fears and doubts just like the rest of us.

As time passes we see more of Atem’s doubts emerge as he becomes more comfortable with Yugi and company, and therefore he expresses his confusion about his past. Where did he come from and who is he and such. This guy needs to have a sense of purpose and being Yugi’s guardian is fine, but at the end of the day, it would be best for him to become his own person.

There is another interaction in the manga (and in the Japanese version of the anime) that I found interesting. When Atem addresses this identity issue and whether his time on this plain is limited, Yugi kind pushes it off as something he doesn’t want to think about. The kid does it again (god I can’t remember exactly which arc this is, I wanna say DOMA), Atem mentions the issue and Yugi says “You can have my memories”.

For fans of the pairing (to be honest I’m a boring canon-ish shipper so not my cup of tea, but I get it...this scene is pretty gay) this moment is viewed as tender love and care but I can’t help but notice a pattern and another character flaw. We have a guy with no memories of his own and having an identity crisis but every time he wants to discuss this issue, his best friend tends to push it away. I understand Yugi’s reasoning, that Atem is basically the catalyst for all the good things to happen in his life, but the constant ignoring of the problem for the first half of the series is borderline toxic. Furthermore, it shows Atem is a bit of an enabler when it comes to Yugi. Unlike Joey who loudly addresses the behavior to Atem’s face, Yugi finds comfort in it and for both of them it only makes the journey harder for them in moments of separation.

Just something I thought I’d bring up since I don’t see a lot of people talking about moments of toxicity in this friendship. Not that it is a bad thing, I find it quite interesting and realistic. Not all relationships with people are perfect.

Last by certainly not least, Atem’s biggest character flaw, is he is one prideful son of a bitch. Yes, I said it. He likes to complain a lot about his rival (Kaiba) about the characteristic when he is also guilty of it. It’s always duelist pride this and duelist pride that, when a lot of the times this bullshit is what almost gets people killed. Atem’s pride kind of ties in with the ruthlessness of his character, where in the ride to victory he sometimes forgets the people he defeats are still humans beings. Take the incident with Arkana, it took Yugi switching back to keep the guy from getting his legs cut off. (Move out the way Jigsaw, Atem is gunning for your spot.)

But his pride works against him when individuals such as Yami Bakura and Dartz use their words to question his morality. What would Atem do just to obtain victory? While our hero tends to grow from these experiences and beat the bad guys in the end, it does not negate the fact that the pharaoh’s greatest strength also tends to be his greatest weakness.

Okay so I’ve gotten most of Atem’s characteristics down pat before he retrieves his memories. In summary here is a list of some of his qualities I’ve gathered from the source material.

PROS

-protective & caring nature

-generally is confident in his abilities

-good with his words, knowing when to pick someone up and put his enemies down

-Adapts to modern customs and his friends pretty well, especially for someone locked up in a pendant for so long

-easily takes a leadership role (probably a projection of his kingship past) although he is often humble about his status as pharaoh

-his pride keeps his head held high and rises above all challenges

CONS

-let’s be real the guy is incredibly blunt (this could be a pro or con depending on preference)

-can be an enabler to Yugi at times

-ruthless nature (let’s be real his kill count is like 5+ people in the manga, probably more)

-has an overall identity crisis

-tends to put others above himself, which at times can be toxic or detrimental to his character

-his own pride can be used against him, placing fear and doubt into his mind (DOMA was a great example of this)

I feel like every time Takahashi draws him in a new movie, he just adds more flair and muscles (not that I’m complaining)

So now we come to a head and the big question is what are we missing out on? Perhaps one of the reasons Yu-Gi-Oh DM has so much fanfiction and forums about it is the general sense of emptiness the ending of the series left behind. I think dub Tea put it best, (these are not the exact words, I’ve already spent an hour writing this) Atem was leaving us just as we were getting to know him. Finally a season where we get to see him as his own character, and honestly him fighting bad guys and dying for it, was not the way a lot of us would have wanted to see him go. Instead he comes back to duel Yugi but Atem feels so stiff and mysterious. The guy doesn’t even talk to the poor girl crying in front of him. This isn’t a guy who just wanted to up and leave from the get go. But now that he got the information he wanted, suddenly he just says fuck it and gives a thumbs up walking into the light? Nah. I’m sorry to say the Yu-Gi-Oh is not on my top list of anime endings, but it can be one of saddest.

I often wonder time and time again, what would have Atem been like around his friends. Maybe he would have more of a sense of humor (like he was with Mana). Would he have more wisdom? Would he be more charming? These are just a few question I and many others have about our favorite pharaoh. But hey that’s what we have headcanons for right?

Now some of you may be wondering, especially as a fanfic writer, what are my own headcanons about Atem? As I mentioned before I guess you can say I’m boring, I prefer canon-ish ships and I try to keep my headcanons as much in line with the source material as I can. Of course I add a tad of my own flair to it so it isn’t completely the same. If anything I try to fix so of the errors I see in the original.

My headcanon for Atem (post memories): A lot of the qualities I mentioned before would most likely remain the same, if not positively amplified. He certainly wouldn’t be as ruthless as he used to be, the anime/manga has shown his growth from that. He would definitely still be very protective of those he cared about. Although I can’t help but think that after remembering his past, he would carry himself in a regal manner. Possibly even without him noticing because he was raised from birth to become a king. Considering the strong connection with his father, I can see the guy having a keen sense for family bonding, perhaps even wanting one of his own. It is traditional for pharaoh to want to pass on their legacy. I’m also sure we all like to think the guy would be incredibly charming, considering how he always seems to know exactly what to say. Although he would still be blunt with his statements, he isn’t one to lie or hold back. If you ask Atem a question you will get the truth and the honest truth. Pride and honesty are incredibly important to him. While he respects honesty, I can imagine he would like to keep personal matters to himself and not worry others. If anything he would rather stay quiet than create a lie. Lastly considering how humble he tends to be with the people around him and how he values everyone as equals, I can see Atem being very open-minded to try new things and explore various ideologies. He would not judge, or have prejudice. He would be accepting and encourage others to be who they are as long as they were good people.

Okay so maybe he would be low-key nervous around pets lol.

Well, that was longer than I planned it to be, but thanks for reading all that if you did. Feel free to add to the conversation or blow up my inbox!

#Yu-Gi-Oh #yugioh #Atem #pharaoh atem #my thoughts #headcanon #my favorite pharaoh #feel free to inbox me #yami yugi

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team-free-squiggle · 7 years ago

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For the Sanders Sides prompt thing. I honestly really like Virgil x Sleep/Remy?? Like, since Virgil has only recently gotten more comfortable outside the mind he doesn’t know who Remy is? But like, they click instantly. Like, Remy’a sass and Virgil’s sarcasm?? Imagine???? Also they would totally go to concerts together.

oh hells yeah

I love this prompt, thank you so much anon!

Meeting Remy

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Summary: Virgil and Remy meet and fall for each other

Character: Virgil Sanders, Remy Sanders, Roman Sanders, Patton Sanders, Logan Sanders

Pairings: Sleepxiety (Virgil x Remy)

Warnings: hella gay fluff

Virgil was still getting used to not staying in his room all day to hide from the others. Now that they accepted him for who he is, he’s been trying to spend more time with them. They’ve been trying to include him more in their day-to-day activities; and it was all working.

Virgil would sometimes bake cookies with Patton. He would play chess with Logan, or other strategy games if they wanted a change of pace. He would go on quests with Roman, which was always enjoyable - Virgil was surprised that he loved going on adventures, loved protecting people. No one else was surprised when they found this out, but it made all of them smile nonetheless.

It was a lot easier now to be a part of the Family than it had been once, up until now anyway.

Virgil was walking down for breakfast, like normal, only to find that there was an extra person and chair at the breakfast table.

Virgil slowed down, studying this new person carefully. Virgil couldn’t lie - the man was hot as hell - sunglasses on, a black leather jacket on over a thin white t-shirt, black ripped skinny jeans with a pair of white converse.

Virgil walked in, grabbing the last seat, which happened to be next to this new person. “Morning, everyone,” Virgil smiled, grabbing his coffee.

He was always nicer in the mornings, when he was refreshed from sleep before becoming a mess in the afternoon from wanting more sleep. Logan, Patton, and Roman had always found this very adorable.

“Morning, Virgil. Sleep well?” Logan acknowledged. This had become their daily routine, and Virgil was comforted by it this morning.

“Yeah, you guys?” Logan, Patton, and Roman nodded. The newcomer smirked.

“You’re welcome.” He smirked, which was unfairly hot in Virgil’s extremely gay opinion. The others laughed, and Virgil turned to him.

“Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Virgil,” This was the first time he had introduced himself by name, not by title, and he was understandably anxious as he held out his hand.

The stranger smiled. “No, we haven’t cutie.” He winked, causing Virgil to blush slightly as the others smirked at how cute they were.

“I’m Remy, and it’s very nice to meet you. What’s your job?” He continued, shaking Virgil’s hand before going back to breakfast. Virgil’s smile fell a little bit.

“I’m Anxiety, if that’s what you’re asking.” Remy turned to him.

“Woah, wait, really?” Virgil nodded, expecting rejection.

“Oh my god, dude, you’re amazing!” Well, that wasn’t what anyone had been expecting.

“What? What do you do, and what do you mean?” Virgil was thoroughly confused.

“Oh, how rude of me, I’m sorry. I’m Sleep, and dude you do so much good. Like, one time, when Thomas was driving, I wanted a nap, but the anxiety of what would happen if Thomas got too tired while driving kept him awake and he got home safely! Or, like, you make Thomas keep the car and front door locked so no one comes and gets all our stuff while I do my job!” Remy was ranting, leaving a blush and smile on Virgil’s face.

“So, Sleep, huh? How’d you get personified?” Virgil was curious now, too entranced with Remy to consider how it might seem rude. Luckily, Remy was super chill.

“Oh, Thomas made a short about me last night, so now I get to spend time with you guys!” Virgil silently thanked Thomas for sending him someone so hot.

“Okay, so Remy. I have a very important question for you.” Virgil smirked, he had to know based on the Short Side’s attire.

“Alright, shoot, sweetheart.” Damn, his little nicknames made Virgil blush something fierce.

“Music taste. I’m curious if you like the same things I do.” Remy’s face lit up at the mention of music, and Virgil decided he wanted to see that expression on his face more often.

“Oh my gosh, okay, I don’t know your music taste, but god I’m all over the place. I like classic rock a lot, and some country, but mainly I’ve been really getting into the punk and emo and alternative scene lately and it just feels so me and I love it so much.” Remy said this all in a single breath, and blushed when he was done.

‘Oh my god, me too! Not the country part, and I appreciate some Classick Rock, but the emo/punk/alternative stuff?! Hells yeah!” Both Sides went on to discuss their shared love of music.

“Oh my god, Patton, Logan, this is so pure.” Roman whispered to the other Sides as they watched Remy and Virgil get along super well. Patton had to contain a squeal when Remy asked if he and Virgil could hang out more after breakfast, and Logan high-fived Roman when Virgil accepted, blushing.

“Hey, Ro?” Roman was brought out of his thoughts of how cute a couple Remy and Virgil would be when Remy caught his attention.

“Yes, Sleeping Beauty?” Roman couldn’t help but tease Virgil a little by flirting with sleep, despite the fact he might be losing a limb later if Virgil’s look was anything to go by.

“Can we go to your realm, Virgil and I? He said he often goes there so he can see band concerts…” Virgil was blushing now, and maybe slightly smirking that Roman’s compliment had been brushed aside.

Roman chuckled heartily, letting Virgil know that he had just been teasing a little. “Of course, anyone is welcome there anytime! I think you should see my kingdom at some point too, though, because Virgil remember that cave from the last dragon we slayed together?”

Virgil’s eyes lit up and he nodded. “Oh yeah, Remy would love that I think.” Remy looked at Virgil incredulously.

“Wait, you two slay dragons together?” Remy seemed impressed.

“Yeah.” Virgil blushed happily.

Roman nodded excitedly. “Yeah, so Virgil here is quite the adventurer as it turns out. As am I, though that was obvious.” Remy laughed, nodding. “So, we often would go out on adventures. And I love protecting my people, and Virgil just loves to help and protect people.”

Virgil nodded, taking over. “Yeah, and I love doing something to help Thomas. So when I found out that all of Roman’s enemies were negative thoughts that Thomas has, about anything, I really got to helping him vanquish them. I may be Anxiety, but it’s my job to protect Thomas. That means protecting Roman from doing stupid quests alone, sometimes, and means preventing these dragons from destroying Creativity’s realm.”

Remy nodded along. “Well, you’re my new Knight in shining armor.” His smirk was directed right at Virgil, and Roman smiled in victory.

“Go show him that cave, Virgil. I’ll be in the palace main, maybe - oh, Patton! Wanna dance?” Virgil laughed. Remy looked confused.

“Yeah, Ro! Let me just go get my outfit!” Patton scampered up the stairs as Logan left to read more books. It was an off day for all of them, and they were gonna make the most of it.

“What just happened?” Remy was really confused now, and it was Virgil’s turn to smirk as he stood up to put his dishes in the dishwasher.

“Well, love, Roman and Patton like to have Royal Balls on their days off. Usually Logan and I would read/listen to music - he has a surprising appreciation for Twenty Øne Piløts - but today that’s gonna be just Logan. You and I are going to that cave Roman mentioned.” Remy blushed at Virgil calling him love, and nodded.

And off they were.

While they rode their borrowed horses to the cave, Virgil and Remy talked. There were discussions of everything they could think of, from favorite foods to what you like the most about your job to which Side was your favorite (and no you can’t count yourself, Remy). Virgil and Remy both said each other to that last question, making them blush the rest of the way to the cave.

Soon enough, they were there, and Remy was in awe just like Roman had said he would be.

The cave was purple and black - Virgil’s colors - but the top of the cave faded into the night sky. It was an accurate charting, too - as precise as if Logan had mapped it out for Roman to paint.

“Now this is what I call a fusion of Sleepxiety!” Remy spoke in awed wonder, before he and Virgil noticed the purple and black cushions in a corner of the room, right next to a pile of white and black cushions.

Virgil blushed happily at what he would call their ship name. But that’s when he noticed that he and Remy were both shivering - the cave was cold.

“Gee, thanks, Roman.” Virgil muttered, making the cave warmer. Being a friend to Creativity had some perks, such as being able to do a few things of his own in Roman’s realm. He made it slightly more habitable - a place he and Remy could come to hang out often if they wanted? - and just sat with Remy and talked for a while.

It was afternoons like that - sitting in a cave just for them, exchanging sass before heading to a concert - that made them fall in love more and more.

And eventually, about a year after they had first met, they finally kissed and started dating.

A perfect fusion of Sleepxiety, indeed.

(Sanders Sides)

@astraastro

@madly-handsome

@amber1594

@lie-lie-birdy

@thebaagelboy

@justanotherpurplebutterfly

@ravenclawunicorn1

@ako1209

@funsizedgremlin

@princessbelix

@water13girl

@romanasanders

@deathshadowrules

@virgils-jacket

@fandomsofrandom

@cochroachkappa-blog

@zoeyheys

@chipminkle

@6tick6tock6

@maizieandbirds

@panic-at-theeverywhere

@not-my-patton

@cookieturtleart123

@confinesofpersonalknowledge

@generalfandomfabulousness

(All)

@birdybabybird

@awesomelissawho

#sleepxiety #prompts #sanders sides #virgil sanders #remy sanders #fluff

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umusicians · 4 years ago

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UM Interview: Knightlight

U.S based artist Knightlight is ready to share his gifts with the world. Creating music for the past two years, the world was first introduced to his sound with the release of “Lost” in 2018.

Amandah Opoku sat down with Knightlight to talk about his new single “Last Fall”, challenges he’s faced as he pursues a music career and more!

Amandah Opoku: Knightlight, 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 Knightlight: So I've been creating music for two years now and been writing my music for one year! It's been enjoyable to build a platform and present my music to people around the globe! One random fact about me is I love an artist called Cher Lloyd, and I think her music is fantastic!

AO: You are creating music under the moniker Knightlight, how did you come up with your name? Knightlight: My name came about really quickly! My real name means Knight, like the horseman, and I just put that together with light because I thought it sounded cool together!

AO: What inspired you to start producing and releasing music? Knightlight: I have always been intrigued by the process of creating and releasing a song, so I wanted to give it a try! And since then, I have loved every second! It is so amazing to express yourself through sounds and lyrics, and although it can be nerve-racking to think that hundreds, if not thousands, will be hearing and witnessing it, it is so worth it!

AO: When you first began producing music, what was one of the challenges or difficulties you encountered? Knightlight: I didn't and still don't have all the materials I need/want to create the best possible music that I feel that I am capable of making! Often, I get stuck and lose inspiration because I don't have a music plugin I would need to create a sound I'd like, or another 300 dollar plugin everyone else has! Luckily I have lovely producer friends who help me with some of these problems!

AO: For anyone thinking of getting into producing music, what would your advice be to them? Knightlight: I still feel like I have a long way to go before I feel completely confident in my music, but I'd say if I had to give advice. Be ready to be knocked down by people's opinions and by price tags! It's going to be hard to get to where you want to be. You aren't going to have the best quality music at the start, but you will get there trust me, you need time and practice. Also, make sure to find people who are more experienced than you and learn from them. Take time to observe and then transfer it into your craft! There is always room to improve!

AO: Your music can be characterized to be in the Electronic/Pop genre. Why did you decide to make music in this genre as an artist? Knightlight: I wouldn't say I like to box myself into one or two genres of music. Electronic Pop has heavily influenced the last two singles, though. Still, if I label my music, I won't think of the possibilities I can have by adding different elements of other genres/styles into my music. “Breathe” was full-on Electronic Pop and very radio-friendly, but my new single “Last Fall” has a lot more R&B influence and some funk! I create whatever genre I feel like doing at the time, or feel inspired to do!

AO: If you could describe your music in three words. What words would you choose and why? Knightlight: I've never really thought about this, so thank you for asking this question! But I guess I would describe my current music as creative, carefree, and fun. My latest song, “Last Fall”, is about heartbreak, but at the same time, the production and melody feel open and fun!

AO: Your most recent single "Last Fall" featuring T Barmuda last month. This song is also the first song that you self-wrote. What was the writing and recording process like? And how did you collaborate with T Barmuda on the track? Knightlight: “Last Fall” actually isn't the first song I self-wrote. However, It is the first self-written song I've released, The writing process of this song was exciting, and different for me because I tried to leave in as much of the raw emotion into the song, It was mostly untouched since I finished writing it. I think that it made this song special to me, and I'm glad T Barmuda could lay down some smooth vocals on it!

AO: You've released 3 tracks to date, 2 of which feature different artists. How do you choose which artists to collaborate with and work with? Knightlight: Picking an artist to put vocals on my song is probably the most significant decision of creating for me. It completes the song, and it brings everything together. So I listen to music from the artist and try to imagine them in the song and if it works, I reach out.

AO: What would you say makes you different from other producers who create music in the same/similar genre? Knightlight: I think what makes me different is that I involve myself in every aspect of creating and releasing a song. When I am working on a song, I don't want it to be just a single that I release and forget about next month, it's a stepping stone in my career, and I want it to be portrayed as more than just a general song.

AO: As you continue to create and release music, what artists and producers would you like to collaborate with in the future? Knightlight: Like I mentioned earlier, my dream collaboration would be a song with Cher Lloyd, she is so gorgeous, and her vocals can light up a room! I also would love to work with Phoebe Ryan, Griff, or producer Afsheen! All of them have spoken to me in direct messages, and I respect them so much!

AO: To date, what have been some of the challenges you've faced as you pursue a career in music? Knightlight: Probably the biggest challenge of any independent artist is your marketing budget. It is tough to try and put your music in the front lines with all of the competition and large amounts of money backing artists. It has been a long-lasting struggle; even trying to get playlisted is hard without knowing who to contact!

AO: For new fans who come across your music, what would you like them to take away from your music? Knightlight: I want them to feel warm when they listen to my music, and I want them to feel like they can relate to whatever is being sung, even though I only have three songs out I hope they can take away something from each of the tracks and feel something when they listen!

AO: With “Last Fall” out now, what can fans expect from you next? Knightlight: I want to release a project soon, probably an EP! However I don't know the timeline of that yet, but I know “Last Fall” serves as the introductory track for the project! I think it's a perfect taste of what's to come, and I hope they will stick around to listen to the project when it comes out, whenever that may be!

AO: Knightlight, 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? Knightlight: Thank you for having me! I would like to ask your readers to give my music a listen and check out my socials! Maybe they will enjoy it! I put tons of work into these songs, and I'm so excited to unveil more music soon! And for my pre-existing fans, I want to say a massive thank you for all of the love and support you have shown me. I feel so thrilled to have you by my side. Just keep streaming and sharing “Last Fall”, and I will get new music out ASAP!

Connect with Knightlight on the following websites: https://knightlight.fanlink.to/connect

#Interviews #Amandah Opoku #Knightlight

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nellpire · 7 years ago

Text

[130719] Nell - Doran Doran cultural playground interview (translation)

Q: What were the members like during your school days? Jaekyung: I think I was 40% anger and 60% music. (all laugh) I think I was quite an angry student, and the other 60% just kept thinking about and loving music. Jongwan: It's such a long time ago (laughter), but well, I guess I was an ordinary kid, but at the same time not. I think I was similar to other kids my age. I was the same in terms of sensitivity, but then again I don't know how it was for other people. In my opinion, I was ordinary. Junghoon: I was pretty ordinary too. I was always listening to music in class instead of the teacher. Jaewon: It was the same for me, I was ordinary too. (laughter)

Q: So everyone was ordinary, except for Jaekyung who was filled with rage? (all laugh) Jaekyung: Everyone is angry at that age, I'm just the one who said it. Some people decide to be nice, but we all liked to play around back then. (laughter)

Q: Was there a particular reason why you decided to get into music? Jaekyung: I don't think it was a decision. I always liked music, so I started learning to play an instrument and all of a sudden I could play the songs I liked. I was into band music, but that's not the type of music you can play on your own. Luckily, I met Jongwan, and as we played together, I think we naturally ended up in this field. There was never a moment when we decided "we should do music!". Jongwan: It was just the most enjoyable thing for me. I've never been interested in anything else. And I've never thought "I want to do this" about anything else. At first it wasn't about writing songs, but I liked the the band culture of meeting up and jamming together. Junghoon: It's similar for me. I liked music so I naturally did it as a hobby more than most people, and so I ended up learning to play an instrument. Of course there were times when we just played around too, but us music fans used to meet in groups and go watch concerts and gigs together, and so I got naturally absorbed in that culture. We said "let's give it a try" among ourselves, and so I ended up getting into it, too. Jaewon: In my whole life, I had never found anything that peaked my interest. But then Jaekyung gave me Metallica and Pearl Jam CDs, and I got a huge shock. I got a shock and thought "I want to do this too, I want to try playing an instrument", and that's how it started.

Q: What are some musicians you personally like or receive influence from? Jongwan: There are too many. I think we just like all good music. We're not influenced by a couple of bands, but all music. Of course, we all like bands like Radiohead, and as for personal favorites, the list starts with Michael Jackson and goes on forever. Jaekyung: We listened to a lot of '90s music in our teens, and I think that had a lot of influence on us. We listened to lots of bands from the UK and the US, but that was a time when not only band music, but pop and other genres were starting to stir. I'd like to say that what came out when we started making music later in life was all the music we listened to in our teens, melted down and merged together. And it's still happening.

Q: What are your strong and weak points as a band? Junghoon: I think something special comes out of us combining all our individual emotions in our music. If I were to pick superficial charming points, I'd say Jongwan's voice, and that our sound is hard to find elsewhere. I think that's our primary charm. Jaewon: And the fact that we've been friends since we were young.

Q: Looking at your lyrics, the vocabulary is unusual and your sensitivity stands out. Where does that come from? Jongwan: Looking back, I think the fact that my family never settled down in one place but moved around a lot when I was younger gave me a lot of influences from many different places. I dislike being alone because of that, but I'm also very independent. You have more time to think when you're alone, you know. I was like that especially during puberty, in my teens, so I'm just guessing based on that. But honestly, everyone is sensitive to a certain extent. We all have it, it's just that some people don't have time to look into it. It could be because they're busy, or because it just doesn't interest them. But I do think everyone has it.

Q: Have there been times when you didn't get along, musically speaking, and when was Nell's biggest crisis? Junghoon: We've never run into any big trouble. There are times when we argue personally, but we always solve it quickly. I think that's the main reason why we've been able to stay together. Honestly, I think if anyone of us had the personality to create crises, then we wouldn't have started making music together to begin with. We started this band because we go well together to some extent.

Q: Kim Jongwan writes and composes most of your music, but do the other members understand the songs completely? Jaewon: We can't understand them to 100% like Jongwan does. Junghoon: Our albums make the listeners think of other things than we had in mind when we made them. I think it's similar to that. There are times when Jongwan explains a new song he's written, but we all get our individual associations. We're not left in the dark completely, though.

Q: Do the other members have any interest in composing? Jaekyung: We do it if we want to. As for me, I've made about 2000 songs that are just lying at home, but they've never been included in a Nell album. I might show it sometime if there's a good opportunity. They could become Nell songs, too. I think composing is something all musicians do. Whether or not they let people know about it is another question. Junghoon: We're all composing on our own. Jaewon: I'm just the rhythm, so... Jongwan: I remember you doing it before though? (all laugh) Junghoon: Why don't you show me~ (laughter) Jaekyung: I remember that too. (laughter)

Q: You have a very mysterious image, but you recently went on a talkshow. Can we expect a change in the near future? Jongwan: I don't think we'll change very much. In a sense, we went on that talkshow because we thought "we've been going for more than ten years and there are people who like us, but they want us to do certain other things, so we'll try and do this much". There isn't a big meaning behind it. It's not that we're saying "we're going to go on variety shows now!" or anything, but honestly, we don't promote a lot, so we feel sorry to the fans sometimes. We went on the show for the people who are curious about us. Junghoon: I think that program's format was perfect for us. It's not that we drew a line to mark how much we wanted to do; we just did as much as we could. Jongwan: It could be that we honestly just don't have a talent for those kinds of things. We don't have a talent for it. And to tell you the truth, we don't really like to talk about a lot of things outside of music. Since music is our job, I think we should stick to talking about that. If we do other things then we'll also start talking about other things, so we're just trying to control that to some extent.

Q: TV programs relating to band music are common now and people are saying "the glory days of bands are coming back". Do you have any thoughts of appearing on programs like those? Jongwan: Honestly, if these is the glory days of band music, then we're in big trouble. (laughter) Saying 'glory days' makes it sound so sad. I think it's more appropriate to think of it as many bands are currently making themselves known. When it comes to promotions, we're a band so we're not all of the same opinions. I think we'll just continue the way we have until now. (laughter)

Q: What is the difference between doing an individual concert and playing at a rock festival? Jaekyung: We're in charge of 100% of our albums, and I think it's the same with our concerts. On the other hand, festivals feel more like celebrations. We do our concerts like we make our albums. Only people who really like us come to watch, and we have countless meetings with staff to make sure we can express what we wish. It takes a long time so it's slightly burdening, but it also makes us that much more proud of ourselves once it's finished. Concert preparations are like album preparations, while festivals feels more like going out to have a good time. Jongwan: I think concerts feel more intimate. It has a sincere feeling. At festivals, we try hard to keep a fun atmosphere going, since people didn't come there only for us. And we want to have fun, too. At concerts we can express heavy topics through heavy songs if we want, and I think it's good that they (concerts and festivals) are different. It could become a bit burdening if we only did one of them, but concerts have their own feeling, and at festivals we can have fun with other teams that we like, so I think there's a good balance there.

Q: You've gone from opening festivals to headlining them. How does that feel? Junghoon: We opened for somebody once in 99, but from then on we became headliners. (all laugh) Jongwan: Because we show up late. (laughter) Junghoon: Another team asked us to open for them, but we got there late so they had to go on before us. It was a club performance, and we ended up going on last, even though it wasn't our intention. There were barely any people there, but it was fun. Back then. Jaekyung: They must have been so flustered. (laughter) Something that really surprises me these days is whenever we do interviews, people ask us about our younger days, how we got into music and so on. When we respond, I realize how natural working in music feels to us, something we never could have imagined back then. Playing with bands I like at festivals and seeing bands I've always admired come on stage before us in itself still feels so new.

Q: Can you tell me about the concert episode that stands out the most in your memory? Jaekyung: We'd probably all say different things, but personally I have a memory of being very flustered at the Christmas concert five years ago or so, when the lights went off in the middle of the show. There was a blackout but I just kept thinking "please let it be over soon". The fans didn't take it so hard, though. We were all flustered, especially whoever it was that was doing the ment at the time, it must have been so rough. When the staff looked into it, it turned out the power had gone out due to a small mistake, so we were able to continue the show, but it's still really clear in my memory. Jongwan: For me, concerts and albums are the same in the sense that I can't remember them well afterwards. Part of it is intentional, because I don't pay much attention to the past. But it's always good in the moment while we're performing. Something that sticks in my mind is a show we did in Daegu a long time ago, it must have been in March. We came outside after the show and it was snowing a lot. I was in a good mood during the show, the atmosphere was great, and when we came out it was snowing so much. Rather than the show itself, just the scene of the four of us and our manager in the car afterwards while it snowed felt so much like a movie. Like a memory with childhood friends. That's the one I remember the clearest. Junghoon: It's similar for me, I like all our shows. It's hard to pick one I liked the best, and I think I have more memories of things that happened while we were preparing for concerts than of the shows themselves. We had a performance in Jeju when we were young, about twenty four? The day before the performance the four of us drank at the hotel and had such a good time. Those are the kinds of things I remember. Jaewon: I remember seeing people cry while watching our performances, or getting even more into it than us and grabbing their heads while watching. Junghoon: I grab my head like that every day. (laughter)

Q: Could you give us a taste of your setlist for upcoming festivals? Jaekyung: We didn't decide on the setlist yet. (all laugh) Junghoon: Don't you think we'll play the songs that people imagine we'll play? We might. (laughter)

Q: People say your setlists are about the same every time. (all laugh) Jaekyung: This is really funny to us, because there are many times we spend hours and hours trying to decide on the setlist. But the end result is always similar. There are a number of reasons, but first and foremost, when I go to see a concert as a fan, there are certain songs I want to hear every time. We try to meet those expectations, and also, the songs we play nowadays are really strong. (laughter) We don't want to give their spots to other songs. But we do think it's time for a change. We're not changing just to change it, but because it would make it better.

Q: What do you spend the most time on aside from album making and practice? Jongwan: There isn't much time for anything else. (laughter) Junghoon: If I have time, I watch movies... Honestly, we barely ever have any free time to speak of... (falls silent)

Q: I guess you really don't (have time). (all laugh) It sounds like music is your work and your hobby. Jongwan: Yeah, other than music I think I all I do is meet friends, drink and talk. Jaekyung: We work for months on end with the same people, with the same same staff, so when we do meet friends it feels really special. Just like how people who work in offices treasure their time outside of work, we can't meet our friends for months when we're promoting, and though we do get to see them sometimes these days, I think that time is really important.

Q: What was your intention in creating your Gravity trilogy, and what does gravity symbolize? Jongwan: First of all, 'gravity' is a word I've always liked, and I think it's one with many possible meanings. That's why we started up this series. Even though we've been together for a long time, we had never released a single album, though they have their own unique good points. Full albums and single albums have their individual good points, but since we had never tried our hand at a single album, we thought it would be fun to give it a try. Making a full album usually takes between one and a half to two years, and we actually don't do concerts more than twice a year, usually. And we don't play a lot of festivals. So even though we are working for two years straight, from the outside it looks as if we're on hiatus. I think that's what it's like for bands these days. We're not on the kind side, but when people tell us to come out on TV shows to perform and we don't, we do feel a bit sorry. With single albums, we can come back with new music every six or seven months, so I think that's why we started this project. To see our fans more often, and because working in this way is fresh and fun to us. Junghoon: Regardless, when we release a full album, we have to decide on a title track. We could do double or triple title tracks too, but if we don't then people will generally only hear one song from the whole album. Of course the people who buy our albums will listen to all of them, but as for other people we can show them one or two songs more at a time by releasing them in this manner. Personally, this is what I think is single albums' strong point.

Q: If early days’ Nell released their sadness and anxiety in a resistant and slightly violent manner, then you release it in a relatively soft and bright way nowadays. Is there a reason for this musical change? Jongwan: Every time I hear people say that we are bright nowadays, I think 'the people of this country are seriously dark'. (laughter) I've never thought this album is bright. Junghoon: If they read the lyrics to Boy-X or Haven they'll think "it can't have been easy to produce lyrics this provocative".

Q: The lyrics are one thing, but the overall sound seems to have changed as you experiment with it. Jongwan: If you're talking about the music from our underground days, then yes, our sound was very gloomy back then. Because the sound quality was so bad. (all laugh) It was a subdued and unintentional sound that stemmed from our ignorance and lack of technical skills in our twenties. It wasn't lacking in terms of sensibility, but we had just graduated high school and had no know-how or information about recording at the time. We were so sad when we finished that album. I think we had never experienced anger like that before that moment. We were miserable once the recording was finished. "This is not the sound we wanted." I don't know what to think about people saying we got brighter. We work so hard on the albums until the moment they are released, but once it's out there, I don't think it's ours anymore. Then it's the listener's business. It's theirs from the moment they purchase the CD. I think we care less and less about what people say as time goes by. There's no need for us to care, and we couldn't live up to what they say even if we did. If they say we're bright, then I guess we're bright, if they say we're dark, then I guess we're dark. (laughter)

Q: As you've entered your thirties, has your world changed a lot? Jaekyung: Musically speaking, it has become so much clearer with time. I think we've entered the puberty of our musical lives. As Jongwan said, when we were younger we knew nothing so there were many things we couldn't express, and now we know too well so expressing exactly what we want is hard. Now we know clearly exactly what we want, so we get frustrated when it doesn't come out how we imagined it. That's both a musical pro and con, I think. If you manage to get past it, it's definitely a good point. I think looking at the world has become a bit more comfortable, in a way that it's less provocative? Jongwan: I've developed the ability to only pay attention to what I care about and leave everything else behind. Junghoon: I think I'm similar to how I was in my twenties. When you turn thirty you have the experience and there are things you need to do, but I still don't know about those things. I still get anxious and restless when things don't go well, and my thoughts and reactions while watching the news are the same. My face has gotten older, but I don't think I've changed a lot mentally.

1. Boy-X Q: We've heard Nell's criticism before in songs like Last Advice and Would You Please Shut Up for Just 1 Minute, which dealt with personal greed and selfishness rather than structural issues and worked out that anger indirectly, but Boy-X speaks of social issues very straight-forwardly. Jongwan: You could say that's the key concept of this album. We wanted to make it like an omnibus movie. But since there is no video (only music), we had to explain what we meant concretely, which is why I think it ended up so straight-forward. And actually, you could say it's not really that straight-forward, too, since we had to pour a lot of content into the song in a limited amount of time. There are a lot more incompetent people to talk about than just politicians, revolutionaries and preachers. It could be a lover, or your children, but since we couldn't include everything I focused on the things I'm normally interested in. 'What is the biggest influencing factor when people commit motiveless crimes or things like the Virginia Tech massacre, what is it that makes me so angry?' I tried to find focal points and narrowed it down to those four (politicians, revolutionaries, preachers and educators). I apologize to those people; you're not all like that, it's just that some of you are.

Q: So you could say that the narrator of this song sees from the perspective of the people who commit motiveless crimes, the Virginia Tech massacre etc, and in the end, the song places the responsibility on environmental factors? Jongwan: In a sense, it's neither an attack nor criticism of anyone, because I wanted to express the perpetrator's mental state rather than point fingers and say who did something wrong. I'm not saying 'society has gone wrong, let's change it', just that I think it's important to try and see from that person's perspective. And there could be people who look at me in the same way. When something like that (motiveless crimes) happens, we curse the person for their wrongdoings, but I wish we'd also think about why the person ended up doing what they did. That's what the song is about.

Q: It's not included in the lyric booklet, but the lyrics 'incompetent artists' can be heard as well. Jongwan: If you listen carefully, there are other lyrics after that too, but we purposefully made them unclear. Having things to find and figure out is another fun part of music.

Q: What kind of artist is the 'incompetent artist'? (Junghoon points at Jaewon and all laugh) Jongwan: The lyrics you can't hear explain that part. But well, it could be lots of people. There are people who are all talk, people who value words over actions, and people who make big noise over nothing. For me personally, that's the kind of people who seem incompetent. Some people probably see us in the same light.

2. Ocean of Light Q: It's a song that gives people hope, but has there ever been a moment when you have wanted to give up on music? Jongwan: Personally, I don't think I've ever felt that way. I don't know of a job more amazing than working in music. All jobs have their difficult parts. They say it's hard for people who work with music, poetry and writing, but we don't know other people's hardships. We don't know how hard it is to work in an office. Everyone goes through those things, so I don't think working in music is harder than anything else. Junghoon: If you're a musician and you quit music because you develop an interest in something else and feel like you'd do well at it, then that's fine, but I don't think it's right to give up thinking "this is too hard, I should just become a salesman or something". Business isn't easy either, you know? So if you give up because it's hard once, I think the same thing will happen again. I don't think I'm all that, but when my friends say "I'm so annoyed with my work, should I quit?" I always tell them "If you give up now because it's hard, do you really think you'll do better somewhere else?" (laughter). If you move workplaces because you find a better one then that's great, but yeah, I think it's similar to this. Jaekyung: I think people who consider giving up don't honestly like what they do. If they truly liked it, they wouldn't have those thoughts. They'd rather want to do more of it. Jaewon: I've still never found anything I like as much as music, so.

Q: Have you ever fallen into a slump? And if you have, how did you overcome it? Jaewon: It happens. And when it does, I just drink. (all laugh) Junghoon: We just pour alcohol into ourselves for two weeks. (laughter) Jongwan: You have to disinfect yourself. Help spur the slump along a bit. (laughter) Jaekyung: If it's a musical slump then you have to bury yourself in music to get out of it. All that drinking leaves you with is a hangover. (After the members protest) Well, once you get tired of alcohol, then you'll have the strength to work on music again. (laughter) Jongwan: He talks like this now, but he's the most reliant on alcohol out of all of us. (laughter) Jaewon: You know you're completely dependent on it too. (laughter) Jaekyung: I'm not pretending I'm the only one who isn't. What I meant was, let's all stop doing that. Let's all stop drinking. (laughter)

3. Perfect Q: So Perfect is a song about love. What is love to you now that you're in your thirties? Jongwan: We're not teaching 'introduction to love' and we can't define it (laughter) but I think it's something we all need in order to survive. Whether that's love for a lover, your work or your family differs from person to person, but we're so unhappy without it. I think we all need at least one thing we truly love, like we need food? Since we die if we don't eat. Love is still like that for me, even now that I'm thirty, and I hope it'll still be the same in my forties. I think love is very closely related to passion. If you are able to love someone, then that must mean you're that passionate of a person. Being able to love something passionately is one of the things that allow us to live life to the fullest. I think those two emotions are extremely closely related. Jaekyung: I don't know, since I've never been in love. (all laugh) I should. I should see what love is. Jongwan: We need to kick him out. (laughter) Jaekyung: I honestly don't know much about anything, not just love. (laughter) Junghoon: Well, I think love is something that fills you up. It could be love for a woman or your parents - there are many different kinds of love but the common denominator is that they all fill us up. It's something that fills us up naturally without us looking for it. You don't ask it, "please fill me up", but -- Jongwan: You sound like a gold digger. (all laugh) Junghoon: I've been the one on the receiving end. I was filled up psychologically, and filled the other party up physically. (all laugh) I'm joking, I think I wanted to receive more than I wanted to give back then. Rather than looking at someone and thinking "I want to do something for them", I think I just wanted them to fill me up in some shape or form. Jaewon: I think it's the most important thing. We make music because we love it, and we're together because we have love for one another. (laughter) Seeing that-- Jongwan: Bono (of U2) must be your ideal type, you're becoming like him. 'We are one', and so on. (laughter) Jaewon: (firmly) If you don't have that, you can't do anything. Wouldn't you be lonely? Jongwan: Today's concept is weird~ (laughter) Jaekyung: Is it Sting again? It feels like Sting. (laughter) Junghoon: "Let's all love one another." (laughter)

Q: Since Jaewon is married, you can just say your wife (laughter), but what are the other members' ideal types? Junghoon: Physically, all men would say a pretty woman. (laughter) Aside from that, this is a bit similar to what we talked about earlier, but when men are going through a hard time, they usually don't talk about it much. I'm one of those people. I don't necessarily need the other person to know that, but I'd like someone who could heal me in some way, whether mentally or... physically. (all laugh) Jongwan: These days I think my ideal type is a woman I want to get to know. There are women I don't really care to get to know when I see them, and -- Junghoon: Pretty women... (laughter) Jaekyung: You don't want to get to know them if they aren't pretty, isn't that it? (laughter) Jongwan: No (laughter), there are people who make you want to get to know them even if they aren't pretty, and I think that's their charm. I think my ideal type is a woman with many sides I want to know more about. Because I'd continuously be pulled towards a woman like that. I'm not attracted to people who don't give off that feeling, to people I don't feel a need to get to know on a deeper level. Jaekyung: This seems to change every time I think of it. If my ideal type is someone I think of a lot then there's Cell from Dragon Ball (all laugh), he has all possible strong points. It has to be a person like that, but people's characters are all different, you know? In my opinion, it's impossible to boil your ideal type down into one person. I think if I want to meet my ideal type, then I have to meet several different people. Having an ideal type in itself just doesn't work.

Q: But you know you can't combine different people's charms into one. Jaekyung: It works if we all live together. (all laugh) The other members: It's polygamy, polygamy~ That'd be Utopia. (laughter) Jongwan: I think it's similar to what I said about women I want to get to know. You think you know what's going to happen, but then there's another side you were unaware of... It's not that I want a polygamous relationship, I want to be able to feel that way about one person alone.

4. Burn Q: What do you want to say to young people who have passionate dreams of working in the music industry? Jaekyung: If you like music, I wish you wouldn't keep wondering about the future. Although, I'm not saying you should stop thinking of it altogether either. Sometimes I see juniors who only think ahead and never think about music, and I think it should be the other way around. That's what I want them to know. Junghoon: I don't think there are any right answers in life, but if I am to speak from experience, I'd say that having big dreams while setting short term goals is the way to go. Because, if for example you have this dream of becoming the biggest band in Korea, that's a very hard dream to fulfill in a short amount of time. Even if you know you have great skills and abilities, there will be many times when you can't make use of or show those abilities to the world. So I think that if you have big dreams and think to yourself "one year from now I want to go this much of the way, next year I want to have reached this position in that competition" and set up short-term goals like this, you'll fulfill them one by one and when you look back ten years later, you'll realize "wow, I really came this far" or "we really came this far". Although, that's usually not that easy. Since there are four of us there was always someone to hold onto us whenever we were stumbling, and I think that's why we made it through. Jongwan: Rather than speaking to other musicians, if I am to talk more generally, I'd like to say that even if you can fool other people, you can never fool yourself. If you don't follow your own aspirations, then there will come a day when you'll regret that decision deeply. There are many situations where you're unable to do what you want, but if you keep thinking things like "what will happen to me if I go for this", or "I have to protect myself so that that doesn't happen", then you will end up drifting away from the things you really want to do. Unless you're dealing with stocks (laughter), you need to keep a slightly aggressive mindset rather than trying to protect yourself. It's similar to soccer. You can end the game in a tie if you keep defending, but you can't win unless you score. Junghoon: But also, being a little adventurous when you're young will also be of great help to you. I think "failure is the mother of success" is really true. Jongwan: Honestly, it's the same thing. If you go at something aggressively then you get the pride of feeling like you've managed to do something, and you can draw strength from that, but if you keep defending yourself then you will only continue to get smaller. I think the younger you are the first time you experience failure, the better. Jaewon: I feel the same, I think first of all it's important not to be afraid. If you get into it when you're scared -- Jongwan: And that's why he got married first. (laughter) Junghoon: Most aggressively. (laughter) Jongwan: And he lost his fear. (laughter) Jaewon: Yeah, I have nothing to say. (all laugh) I think your attitude is the most important factor in whatever you do. You can't go into it in a panic. Jongwan: Also, this is how it was for us, surprisingly it's not important to know a lot of people, but if you have one or two people who you are genuinely close with, then that will be a great help to you. When you're going through a really hard time, there are only a few people who come to mind, you know, even if you know a lot of people. I think it's extremely important to have people like that next to you.

5. Haven "The main character of Haven wants to block himself off from the outside world and relies on drugs in order to turn away and escape from reality. He tells his lover not to cry over him, that this place isn't heaven but even so it is his haven." Q: From the song description and the lyrics it seems like it's a metaphor for drug use and suicide by shooting. What was your motive when writing this song? Jongwan: The album itself describes the process of escaping from misery or despair, and whether it's right or wrong, there are people who use drugs to do that. Even though I was young when I lived abroad, I had friends who thought like that. To others looking in, it might seem obviously misguided, but there are people who don't have any other choice. The word 'trigger' does appear towards the end but it's honestly more like an expression of 'let's end it, I wish it was over' rather than an actual suicide by shooting. I think it's similar to Boy-X. "Let's think about it from another perspective for once." I'm not a person like that, I just wanted to try and see from their point of view.

Q: Boy-X and Haven are banned from broadcast due to 'crude expressions' and 'cursing', and Parasite and The End of Beginnings from your first album received the same sentence because "the title itself is dirty and could cause displeasure to the viewers" and "the meaning is inappropriate and the lyrics are difficult to understand" respectively. You've made many other songs like them, but it seems like you pay no attention to this and stubbornly express whatever you want. Jongwan: I'm just glad we didn't get banned because of our faces. (all laugh) Jaekyung: There's no standard for it. If there was a clear line then we'd sure be annoyed by it, but at least we'd be able to understand. Jongwan: It's something I can't understand; I honestly don't know how much power broadcasting has nowadays. Looking at it objectively, there are many ways for people to listen to our albums either way, you know? There's the internet, mp3s and CDs. It's better for us to do what we want even if it can't be played on the radio. It would cause more harm if we modified our songs thinking "this isn't right" just so they could be played on the radio. I describe it as 'fun', this bliss that musicians experience when they express exactly the message that they want to get across. Even if it can't be played on the radio, there are still ways to listen to it, so there's no need to give that up. We see that as a given rather than us being stubborn. Even so, I suppose we couldn't keep cursing in our title tracks, huh. Junghoon: If we don't have more than one or two songs in mind for broadcasts then we don't think that way. We've never thought "oh, if we do this then it can't be played on air", but work comfortably on our songs. We realize later, "oh? I thought this would be okay for the radio, but it seems it got banned?" That's how we think of it at most.

6. Walk Out Q: You've said you intentionally recorded this while standing far away from the worst microphone you could find and added static to the mix. What was your intention with doing that and what is the meaning of this song? Jongwan: We wanted this song to feel like the ending credits of a movie. The previous track, Haven, explodes so dramatically and ends so strongly that we needed a song to wrap things up after it. If I was a director, there would be a specific feeling I would want people to carry with them after the movie ends, you know? I guess we could have recorded a clean and pretty sound, but the album in itself isn't pretty. I thought, "I'd like people to have a somewhat stunned feeling when it ends", so we recorded it this way, and personally I think we made the right choice.

Q: What kind of stories are you planning to use on the third part of the series? Jongwan: For the third installment I think we'll combine the first two parts and think more about those emotions and about gravity in itself. What we hold onto and try to escape from is important too but what are those emotions exactly? It will likely have various themes, it could be dreams, it could be love, it could be what money is to gold diggers (laughter). I think it'll be stories about those kinds of things.

Q: Will we be able to meet again this fall? Jaekyung: We always want to release our albums according to schedule but as we work on it, I don't know, we've never been able to release anything ahead of schedule. Even though we wish to. Junghoon: Let's say it'll be out next winter. (all laugh) Jaekyung: In that case we'll definitely be able to get it out there ahead of time. (laughter)

Q: What is the ultimate message you want to get across through this album and your music? Jongwan: Gravity always has influence on us but we can't feel it easily, and at the same time we can't escape from it no matter how hard we try. When you think about it, many things are like that. I think in a way, all the lyrics I write, and almost 90% of everything we feel is like that. I don't know if I believe in destiny, but I have this feeling that things end up in a certain way regardless of my choices. Love and separation is like that, too. We teamed up because we got together and said "let's play together", but I have this really strong feeling that it wasn't our choice, you see. I think gravity was the right choice for this, since we can lump everything together and talk about it as one concept. Most importantly, we wanted to talk about our thoughts about the question 'why did things turn out this way?'. Junghoon: We don't make music of the things we want to say in our daily lives. Jongwan writes his lyrics about feelings and thoughts he has every once in a while so we focus on them when we make music, when we plan the songs out. We don't make music to deliver a certain message. Jaekyung: I think it's like a record (of emotions and thoughts). Of course only the meaningful records get used on the albums. That's what I think. Jongwan: It's because, like we said earlier, music is our job and our hobby. Those are two things that don't work well together at all. Your work is something you to do earn money and to live as a member of society, while your hobby is something you do thoughtlessly because you like it. I think we make music to make life rich. And I think people listen to music for the same reason. I don't think my life is horrible because I feel sad emotions, I just think music is something that makes us think a lot of and helps us see from a different perspective. And so I think we're living a fun life. This is in a sense a truly fantastic occupation. We're telling our own stories, but it also helps us realize so many things. Things we didn't know about ourselves, too. It's not that I live every day with the thoughts I use in my lyrics. We realize new things about ourselves and experience a kind of catharsis, we make money from it, meet people, have fun in concert halls with lots of people who like us... It's really an amazing job.

Q: What do you want people to say about you ten years from now? Jaekyung: I hope Nell's albums will become like this -- like the bands I like, their music is good no matter how much time passes since its release. Like how music from the '80s is still good now. Jongwan: 'They're cool, it's good to see them', and above everything else "they're really living a fun life while doing exactly what they want". Also that we're good at what we do. I think I'd like to hear that. Junghoon: "They're the best~". That's what I like to hear the most. I want to keep hearing those words even in ten years' time. It's impossible to hear that from everyone, but even so, I'd like it if a lot of people listened to our music and said "they're the best, this team is the best". Jaewon: "These guys are really working hard." (all laugh) Junghoon: "They're not great, but at least they work hard." (laughter) Jongwan: "Isn't it kind of sad? They're working so hard but..." (laughter) Jaewon: We'll be over forty years old at that time -- (laughter) Jongwan: That's what you want to hear? (laughter) Jaewon: "Wow, these guys are working so hard even at that age~" This kind of thing-- Jongwan: "Why are they still like that?" (laughter) Jaekyung: "Let's not become like them." (laughter) Junghoon: Jaewon is bitter now. (laughter) Jongwan: I don't like your Bono concept~ (laughter)

Q: Lastly, is there anything you want the ministry of culture, sports and tourism to look at for cultural prosperity, such as 'vitalization of and security of diversity in the music world'? Jaekyung: (firmly) I wish the promotion fund for culture and art would disappear. (all laugh) Jongwan: That's his own opinion. If people use it for good things, then it's great. With a long-term plan. I don't think cultural prosperity is something that can be reached by a single person's work. There are things the government needs to do, things that musicians need to do, the broadcasting stations and the media. Even if they don't write things like "we need to develop our country's culture" it's a matter of assuming a little bit of the responsibility at a time. If you don't want to just make money of it, it can't end with a short-term issue making; it's a problem that can be solved by taking responsibility in your workplace and combining all these different ideas together, not one that can be solved by the government. I think us musicians will need to work hard, too. People keep saying there's a lack of diversity in music, and honestly I feel us bands are becoming more and more similar, too. Therefore I think we should all make sure we're working hard ourselves before talking about anybody else, because we can provoke others into action by making them think "oh, they're working really hard, so should I". That often happens to us. We'll see someone, juniors, seniors or foreign bands and think "why can't we do more than this, we have to work harder". I think we need to receive that kind of encouragement from one another, but it could take a very long time. Junghoon: People keep saying we're in a period of transition, but I think it'll go on for another ten or twenty years. Either way, we've passed the time when people just accepted being provided with culture. Now we're in a time when people use the internet and other mediums to find the culture they want to see, so the process has probably already started; high school and university students experience culture in that way now so in ten or twenty years from now, the cultural diversity will be much richer than now.

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#nell #doran doran #interview #translation #escaping gravity #jongwan #jaekyung #junghoon #jaewon

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