#of course it used Inception music

[edwardos]

[niningtori]

to know him is to love him, and i do | chapter two: he can't keep living like this

pairing(s): choi beomgyu x you, kang taehyun x you

summary: you love beomgyu more than anything. you just wish he loved you, too. or you finally break up with beomgyu and move on, but as for him? maybe he's starting to realize too little too late.

genre: romance, angst, angst with a happy ending (?)

word count: 2.3k

notes: hello again :) here is chapter two! i'm actually really nervous to post this, so i hope you all like it! check the ending for more notes <3 also, shout out to user woncheecks for being my test audience! anyway, enjoy!

the first time beomgyu realizes just how impactful your absence is, nothing in particular happens. it's a regular tuesday night a week or so after your "breakup" and he's bored out of his mind. he showers, listens to music, texts his friends and makes himself dinner, but something is missing.

as he sits on his couch, he realizes what it is: you. right about now, you should be pestering him to hang out and showing up on his doorstep to watch a movie. he'd roll his eyes at first but eventually relent, as long as he got to pick the movie, of course. he wouldn't say it, but he'd actually enjoy glancing over and seeing your reactions. you were comically expressive and every twist and turn of the plot had your eyes bulging and mouth agape, turning to him for confirmation that he was seeing the same things you were. when you watched inception for the first time it absolutely rocked your world.

he's alone, but he puts on a movie, anyway. every so often, his head turns to the side with the corner of his mouth raised, but you're not there to give a reaction. he should be used to your absence by the third twist, but he still finds himself subconsciously turning to you throughout the rest of the movie. when the credits roll, he's half expecting to hear you chatter on about how crazy it was, but it's silent. the only time that would happen would be when you'd accidentally drift off in spite of how engrossed you were. you'd try to fight it off like a stubborn kid, but would succumb by the final act. he smiles at the memory before shaking his head in disbelief. what's wrong with him?

moments like these plague him more and more frequently, but the most notable one is the night before his first day at a new job. he briefly talks to his friends about his excitement, but he's too embarrassed to divulge just how anxious he is. times like this, he'd come over and complain for however long he needed. you'd sit and nod, asking questions during his pauses to encourage him to continue, always adding appropriate and thoughtful commentary.

his thoughts wander to how you're doing alone. you really love him, it seems, so he can only imagine how you're faring without him. he wishes you hadn't blocked his number so he could at least ask how you are. maybe you'd even tell him you miss him. not for the first time, he begins to wonder if he pushed you too far this time around. you've gotten angry and given him the silent treatment before, sure, but you've never blocked him and you've certainly never done it for so long.

he looks you up on instagram for the first time since your breakup. he's not terribly surprised when he sees he's blocked on there too, but all it takes is a switch to his photography account, which you had forgotten to block, to see what you're up to now.

the first thing he notices is a picture of you sitting outside with an ice cream cone in hand, face flushed and sun encircling you like an angel. your smile is beaming and your eyes are crinkled and he can almost hear your giggle through the screen. the caption reads "ice cream date with my best friend! <3"

he scrambles through his memories to try to remember a time in recent history when you two did something similar, but he comes up blank. what he does recall, though, is you mentioning a new frozen yogurt place you wanted to visit with him for your birthday. he nodded in response but he knew he wouldn't go with you, opting instead to get shitfaced with his friends. in retrospect, maybe you knew it too. he had checked his phone the next morning and saw he had at least half a dozen missed calls and well over a dozen texts from you. when he finally texted you back, you took almost a full 5 hours to respond, which was uncommon. usually, you'd text back within minutes. it occurred to him later on that that was your version of the silent treatment and it amused him that you could only hold out for a few hours. he honestly found it kind of cute.

he remembers what you did for his birthday. how you had secretly invited his friends over to his apartment to surprise him after an especially shitty day at work. he came home to an elaborately decorated apartment and all of his favorite people greeting him. he remembers how happy you looked when he opened up your present to him, which was the guitar he had always secretly wanted but could never quite justify buying for himself. you were so excited, any spectator would think he had gotten you the gift of your dreams and not the other way around. you were practically buzzing with excitement when he pulled you in for a kiss. his friends had whooped at the display of affection and you had felt your cheeks heat up. what did he get you for your birthday again? anything?

he spends days pondering over this and similar circumstances, which eventually turn into weeks upon weeks. what starts as a nagging feeling that he may have gone too far in his neglect for you becomes pure, unadulterated guilt and anxiety. he recalls just how torn up you seemed the last time he saw you. to be honest, at the time, he was mostly just irritated. but he never thought you'd actually leave. all he can see is that awful look on your face when you finally ended everything and all he can remember is the fact that he put it there. he knows in his heart that he has no right to feel this way, but he feels it all the same.

-

you would have never imagined you'd actually like somebody other than beomgyu, but taehyun makes it as easy as possible given the sticky circumstances. you met at a club your best friend dragged you to, both you and taehyun had to remain sober (hello designated drivers) and ended up having a surprisingly engaging conversation amidst the smell of beer, sweat, and sex. after that, the rest is history.

he can tell you've been hurt before, but he gently coaxes you into opening up as you spend more and more time with him. you're afraid of being overbearing and coming across as a lovesick puppy again, but taehyun is gentle and seems to enjoy your attention and affection, even if he's a surface level tsundere. more than that, he actually reciprocates it.

do you still think about beomgyu? of course. do you miss him? well, you'd never admit it to a single soul, but the way you see him in everything has to be an indicator that you do. it's getting better, though. more bearable.

a month or so into your relationship, you post about taehyun for the first time. you don't know why you're so nervous about announcing to the world that you have a boyfriend again, but happiness overwhelms your fear when you're met with nothing but positivity.

-

beomgyu is shellshocked, to put it mildly. the picture of you and your so-called boyfriend is sickly sweet. it's not over the top or anything—just a candid of you in a café holding hands with him while looking over the same menu. the caption is nothing other than a heart and squirrel emoji (why?) and both he and your best friend are tagged. his finger jumps to the boy's profile and he sees the same photo. he scoffs at the cheesiness of it all, but his heart aches at the way all of your friends have commented on the post expressing their happiness for you. they had never approved of him for reasons he's only now beginning to understand.

you always defended him in front of your friends no matter what he did or didn't do. you'd "comfort" him after your friends said something snarky and explain that they just didn't understand him. you'd say that if they knew the real him, they'd see him differently. at the time, he'd scoff and say something along the lines of "i don't need for them to see me differently because i couldn't give less of a fuck about what they think." you'd be hurt, of course you would be, but you'd never say so.

more and more, like an outsider looking in, he can see just how awful he was to you. it's to his horror that he realizes this must be the case for you, too. the chances of you getting back together with him seem slimmer and slimmer, especially now that you've got that pretty boy on your arm. your words echo in his mind as if to haunt him: "what can i do to make you give a fuck about me?" leave, apparently, and don't look back.

he can't keep living like this.

-

a knock on your door is all it takes to ruin your night — you had actually had a really good day up until now. you and taehyun had gone on a breakfast date and napped together until he had to leave in the afternoon, so you're humming now in contentment while applying your nightly skincare, thinking relentlessly about the boy you think you might be starting to love. it feels different from the love you felt for beomgyu, but in a good way. you still think about him and wonder how he's doing, but you always derail that train of thought with a god-given force previously unknown to you. he doesn't care about you, you chant to yourself. it's almost like your daily mantra. in the midst of your thoughts, you hear a knock on the door. you smile widely when you surmise that it's probably taehyun again. you don't realize just how big your grin is until it drops.

standing before you is not your lovely boyfriend, but the man who made you question whether or not you were even lovable in the first place. he has a small smile on his face, and if you were to look a little more carefully, you'd notice that he actually seems a little nervous.

"hi," he says, breaking the silence. his heart was racing a mile a minute. potential scenarios battered his mind the entire way here. what would you do when you saw him? smile? he could handle that. cry? he could also handle that, even if he didn't want to see your tears. what he is not prepared for is the blankness of your features when you ask: "what are you doing here?"

his smile falters almost imperceptibly.

"i, uh. i just wanted to see you." you're merciful enough to give him a nod of encouragement to continue. "a-and i wanted to tell you that i haven't stopped thinking about you for the past few months. and that i think i'm finally ready to be with you," he finishes with a shaky breath.

you're quiet for a moment and squint your eyes as if you're deep in thought.

"but i thought you were dating someone now? your ex?"

"i'm not!" he says almost a little too quickly.

"i heard you were," you counter, not quite believing him. you heard he had been seeing his ex from one of your friends who happened to live in her apartment complex. she had seen his car in the parking lot a few times in the last couple of weeks and had no reason to lie to you.

"w-well, i've seen her a few times, but not seriously. i — to be honest, i was just trying to get over you. but i've finally realized that i can't becau—"

"so, just to make sure i understand, you're not over me so you're seeing her?" his eyes widen in shock before his head hangs in shame as he realizes exactly what he's done and how he must look to you right about now, but you're not finished. "isn't that what you were doing with me?" your voice is low and indifferent, but each word feels tailor-made to slash at his heart. "wow, i guess some things really never change, but don't worry, i'm sure once she moves on you'll finally see the good in her instead of me," you spit out.

"can you listen to me? please?" beomgyu is so ashamed he wants to die. he fumbles for the right words, but when he accidentally makes eye contact with you, they die on his lips. he wishes you would give him time to process what you were saying and mull over what to respond with because you always knew he was bad with words, but he supposes he lost the right to your patience a long time ago.

"you want me to listen to you so you can fuck with my head until the next person rolls around?" the latter words are strangled by the tightness in your throat and he can't help but wince. when he thinks it's over, you continue.

"nobody has ever made me feel as small as you have. i hated myself because of you," your lip trembles and before he can say a word, you're raising your hand to shut the door.

"wait, wait, wait! just let me say this," he pleads as he gently grasps the doorframe. "i... i love you." he almost thinks he hears you gasp, but he's too busy looking into your unreadable eyes to know for sure. he had never said anything like this to you before. you're completely silent for a few moments before breaking the tense atmosphere.

"j-jesus, i mean, i guess i just don't know what to say," you sputter and his eyes alight with what looks suspiciously like hope. "except maybe that... i'm sorry you feel that way?" you finish with a sardonic smile and a roll of your eyes. before he can respond, which he actually intends to do this time around, you slam the door in his face.

notes pt. 2: yeah... sorry ;-; i know this was a lot of background, but i felt it was necessary. also, if you didn't get the memo, there will be a part 3. stay tuned <3

[the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf]

You're waiting for a train...(1)

A Leap of Faith

Robert Fischer x Cobbs Daughter!reader

a/n - this is going to be multiple parts as I thought that would be preferable to a 20k fic. So let me know what you think! Also should I make a taglist for this???? (it's my first time doing a multi-chapter so I don't really know :)

description - y/n, the daughter of the thief Dominic Cobb and the late Mal Cobb, joined her father on the run. Knowing her fathers innocence, she couldn't bear to be without him, so she gave up on her architecture degree and followed him into the world of dreams. They do jobs together and, even though Cobb worries about the amount of danger he's putting her in he'd rather her be with him in the dreams rather than on the outside with his name like a brand. In the latest job they are given, Cobb finds peace and Y/n finds her one true love.

*reader is 20*

warnings - angst, dream infiltrating, incepting an idea into someones mind (which comes with it's own ethical qualms), mentions of death, creepy men.

word count - 1.2k

a/n - watched Oppenheimer so yeah...Cillian Murphy.

Series Master list Master list

If you want to be added to the taglist - here

Some thought I was stupid. Following my father into a life of crime. Every day my life was threatened and every day I felt unsafe in my skin. But I couldn’t let my father go. I knew mom hadn’t been well since they woke from their dream.

Dad had told me they’d been stuck for 50 years and I suddenly realised how muddled my mom had become. So I knew there was no way he’d killed her that night. She’d wanted to wake up and she wanted him to come with her.

So I followed my dad because I’d rather be a criminal than be without him. Some thought my father was stupid for letting me follow. But truth was, he wanted me with him as well. We couldn’t see James and Philippa so we settled for the family we had left. Us two.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The clock’s hands on my watch reached 30. I hurriedly placed the headphones onto Nash’s head and began the music.

Arthur woke up first as the sedative wore off. He told me that Saito had figured it out and we needed to disappear. I helped him with the others. Seconds later Nash and dad woke up in succession.

“How did you mess up the carpet?”

“I didn’t know he was going to rub his face on it.” I rolled my eyes at his incompetency.

“You always have to expect them to do the unexpected!” I voiced my concerns.

“Oh yeah how about you go down there with us instead of judging from up here!”

“I’ve been in dreams longer than you’ve been alive my friend.” I smirked at him but felt him sidle up to my ear and whisper. “I’d have you on the carpet.” He was roughly shoved back by Arthur. In the years of him working with my dad, Arthur had practically become my protector and he looked out for me at every turn.  He glared at Nash in warning and jerked his head towards where my dad was packing up. Arthur could handle him on his own but he relished in the fear that spread across his eyes.

I helped my dad pack up the case and took the hand he offered me as he led me down the bullet train.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I joined dad in his hotel room with Arthur and we prepared to leave. We only stayed in the same room in very dire circumstances as dad believed I was safer far from him. Or because he felt safer alone.

When I entered, I noticed the spinning top.

Mom.

Dad followed my eyes and then looked down ashamed. I knew what he was doing. He was hanging on the balance of dream and reality, convincing himself that mom was wrong.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

We three came to the rooftop, ready to fly away from this mess. But the closer we got, we noticed Nash slumped, bloody and bruised. Suddenly Saito appeared from the other side.

“He sold you out, in exchange for my sparing of his life.” Of course, it would be him! I tried to appear angry but I felt nothing. Our lives would be over soon.

Saito offered my father a gun but he declined saying that he doesn’t handle things that way. As Nash was dragged out of the helicopter we were invited to take our seats. I followed nervously.

“What will you do with him?”

“Nothing, but I can’t speak for Cobal engineering.” Ice ran down my spine, understanding the fate we narrowly avoided. Dad grasped my shaking hands.

“What do you want from us?”

“Inception. Is it possible?” Dad tensed and tightened his grip on my hands.

“Of course not!” Arthur answered.

“If you can steal an idea from someone’s mind, why can’t you plant one instead.”

“Okay, here’s me planting an idea in your mind. I say, ‘don’t think about elephants’, what do you think about?”

“Elephants.”

“Right but it wasn’t your idea. Because you know I gave it to you.”

I jumped in to assist. “The subjects mind can always trace the genesis of the idea, true inspiration is impossible to fake.”

My dad softly whispered beside me, and I managed to make out his disagreement with mine and Arthur’s points.

“Can you do it?” Saito smirked.

“Are you offering me a choice? Cause I can find my own way to square things with Cobal.”

“Then you have a choice.”

“Then I choose to leave, sir.”

“You want to take that risk? You want her to take that risk?” His piercing eyes lifted to mine and I felt my dad’s palms sweat at the thought of me in danger. He knew Cobal engineering would not even spare his daughter.

We landed outside of a private jet and I jumped out first ready to leave. I was enchanted by the scale of the jet but my happiness was short lived when I remembered who I was and what was going to happen, once again. Arthur and Dad joined my stride but we were halted by Saito’s voice. A final plea.

“How would you like to go home.” No. How dare he taunt us like that. There was nothing I wanted more than to go home with my dad and he chooses to dangle that freedom in front of us like a donkey with a carrot!

“Can’t fix that! No one can!”

“Just like Inception.” I don’t know if it was the sincerity in his voice but I chose to shuck off Arthur’s hand on my arm and walk back towards the helicopter.

“You’re serious. Aren’t you? Well how complex is the idea.”

"y/n what are you doing?"

“Simple enough.”

I scoffed. “No idea is simple enough if you have to plant it in someone’s mind.”

“My main competitor is an old man in poor health. His son will soon inherit his father’s business. I need him to decide to break up his father’s empire.” A business deal. Did I expect anything less. At least we could remove emotions from it. Simple and transactional.

My father joined the discussion. “If I did this-If I even could do this.” He grabbed my hand. “We’d need a guarantee. How do I know you can deliver?”

“You don’t! But I can. So, do you want to take a leap of faith?”

I shivered hearing my mother’s words pour out of this man’s mouth.

“Or become an old man, filled with regret?”

Dad lowered his head into a gentle nod.

“Assemble your team Mr Cobb, and choose your people more wisely.” The helicopter doors closed and up it went. In a daze I followed them onto the jet and sat down, silent.

“Look, I know how much you two want to go home--”

“No. Arthur, you don’t.” The first words I’d said in over an hour. I punctuated them by standing up and locking myself in the bathroom. Dad’s fingers brushed mine as I left in a brazen attempt to stop me.

As I sat there I thought back on my life, specifically the before. Pictures and films of our happy family danced through my head and I cried. I cried for the first time since we’d left that day. Since I’d hugged my baby siblings goodbye and promised them I’d be back soon. I cried thinking there might be a way. This was our chance.

I splashed water on my face and made my way back out with a fresh smile. I rested my arm on my dad’s shoulder.

“we’re doing this.” I announced. “I know, sweetie.”

I relaxed back into my seat, assured in our choice but nervous of the outcome. “So, where to now.”

“Paris. We need another architect.”

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

taglist: @jonsncws @h-l-vlovesvintage

[i-eat-mass-blog]

Most emo genres, mall emo/mallcore, scene and scenecore explained i guess

I've seen a lot of people online argue over what "real emo" is and how it's different from "mallcore" and the "is x emo" questions a lot. So I decided to make this post explaining emo genres, the waves of emo, emo culture in general and scene and scenecore stuff. (This is gonna be a long read)

Note: I am NOT claiming to be a scribe on all things emo/scene!!! This is just me trying to explain it from all the knowledge and research I've done. And my weird music autism too. I might get some stuff wrong potentially.

EMO SUBGENRES

Before we begin, I need to specify that emo as a genre has evolved a lot since its inception and varies from band to band, and subgenre to subgenre. This genre has been influenced by hardcore punk, post-hardcore, alternative rock, indie-rock, and even pop punk.

Emo (as in the blanket genre and all of its subgenres) include sincere expression of emotions (emo is literally short for emotional) musically and lyrically, melodic songwriting, and highly expressive and passionate vocals.

EMOCORE

aka Emotional Hardcore. This is the ORIGINAL emo genre. Starting all the way back in the early-ish to middish 80s in Washington D.C. as an offshoot of Post-Hardcore and is also a response to the Hardcore Punk scene growing stagnant.

Emocore toned down the aggressiveness of hardcore punk and put more melodic empathetic along, shouted vocals and fast distorted guitars on midtempos to focus on melodies and dynamics. And of course the emotional, introverted, introspective lyrics.

Bands defined as Emocore are: Rites of Spring, Moss Icon, Embrace, Dag Nasty, Etc

MIDWEST EMO

aka Indie Emo or Post-Emo Indie Rock. Starting in the mid-90s, Midwest Emo combined Seattle's indie rock/alternative rock scene with post-hardcore and emocore music from D.C. The creation of this genre is typically credited to Sunny Day Real Estate from Seattle.

Midwest Emo features alternating loud and soft dynamics, strained and off-key (almost whiny sounding) vocals, and that classic "twinkly" guitar sound. This sub-genre mostly got its name due to a shit ton of bands coming from midwest cities and just middle of bumb-fuck no where midwest eras as well.

Bands defined as Midwest Emo are: Sunny Day Real Estate, American Football, Cap'n Jazz, Jimmy Eat World, etc.

SKRAMZ/SCREAMO

Started in the early 90s in California, Screamo (also called Skramz) is an offshoot of emo that takes emo's emotional nature and melodic guitars and combines them with the speed, intensity, and aggression of hardcore punk. Skramz also took the abrasiveness of noise rock and has an unconventional structure like math rock, with frequent changes in rhythm and tempo.

There was later influence with math rock, mathcore, post-rock, sludge metal, post-metal, and powerviolence. The powerviolence got so strong it even birthed an entire sub-sub genre of emoviolence. Screamo during the 2000s slowly transitioned into being called Skramz due to several post-hardcore and melodic hardcore bands being mislabelled as Screamo.

Bands defined as Screamo/Skramz are: Orchid, February, Gospel, Celeste, etc

EMO-POP

aka Emo Pop Punk. Emo-Pop is a fusion genre of Emo and Pop Punk, and is also the most mainstream, popular, and pop friendly form of emo. Starting back in the 90s, Emo-Pop can be traced back to Midwest Emo bands like Jimmy Eat World.

With Alternative Rock as its base and possessing the hooks, verse-chorus-verse structure, fast moving energy, and clean studio production of pop punk, Emo-Pop's success in the 2000's was destined with its confessional lyrics detail love, loss, heartbreak, and angst. And although greatly separated from its Emocore roots, much of Emo-Pop had Post-Hardcore influence as well.

Several Emo-Pop bands include: Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, The Used, Early Brand New, Most of pre-hiatus Fall Out Boy, Fever-era Panic! At the Disco, etc

The "waves" of emo

So as you can see, there were several very different genres of emo that had their own periods of time and that developed into the emo "waves", which there are five of. They span from 1985 to the modern day. Besides the first wave, the start and end dates for the waves are wish-y wash-y, especially considering most genres still continued chugging on during the waves while one specific one got the limelight.

1st Wave Emo

1985 to 1991-ish. This is Emocore at its peak. Washington D.C.'s own "Revolution Summer" was it was called. This era leaned more into the hardcore stuff while having the artsy poetic stuff scare away the bad people

2nd Wave Emo

1992-ish to 2001-ish. 2nd wave is the most important and influence of all the waves of emo, influencing the 3rd, 4th, and 5th waves of emo. This wave had Skramz/Screamo in its early days while Midwest Emo was the most prominent. Emocore was still going and spreading outside of D.C., causing the rest of emo history.

3rd Wave Emo

2002-ish to 2008-sh. The most well known emo wave. This was when Emo-Pop was kinda everywhere and when that "emo look" formed. The swoopy bangs, the eyeliner, the black band Ts. 2000s emo. MySpace, Warped Tour, Hot Topic was seen as the shit. Mall Emo, basically as its called now. Midwest Emo, Screamo, and Emocore were going along as well (besides Screamo now being called Skramz). Jimmy Eat World also blew the fuck up in this era as an Emo-Pop group.

4th Wave Emo

2009-ish to 2018-ish. Most of the aesthetic "mall emo" choices of 3rd were dropped. A Midwest Emo revival is probably the most notable part of this, Emo-Pop was still going but had heavy Midwest Emo influences. And if there were any Midwest Emo influences, your emo albums had heavy Indie and Alternative rock influences.

5th Wave Emo

2018-ish to now. Very similar to 4th, but separates itselfs due to lacking the heavy Midwest Emo influence. It still has a lot of the Indie Rock and Alternative Rock influence, but now has a lot of Slacker Rock and Noise Pop stuff too. 5th Wave is also noted for being more diverse, featuring many more people of color, openly queer people, and a lot more women as well.

Mall Emo & Mallcore

As stated previously, Mall Emo are the emos from the 3rd wave of emo, it's just the emo kids. Mallcore is typically referred to as the bands that all 3rd wave emos liked, including those that weren't emo-pop. It's just 2000s emo kid music. BandS with merch in Hot Topic and Spencers basically.

A lot of these bands were usually Pop Punk, Power Pop, Post-Hardcore, Alternative Rock, some Alt Metal, and probably even more. A lot of those bands are Evanescence, Green Day, Pierce the Veil, Bring Me The Horizon, 30 Seconds To Mars, etc

It should be noted that while Mall Emo and Mallcore are used to differentiate 2000s emo from the other variants, i've seen some trying to using negatively like an insult towards 2000s emos/anything related to third wave emo. Typically used by people in the Emocore, Skramz/Screamo, Midwest Emo, and even 4th Wave Emo scene that really DIDN'T/ currently DON'T like the 3rd wave kids and didn't want to be associated with them. It's basically just the Trad Goth v Mall Goth of the 1990s but for emos in the 2000s to the present. Just a lot of emo elitism/emo purism for some reason over not liking 3rd wave emo (and not considering a lot of mall emos did/do actually listen to 1st, 2nd, and 4th wave emo and skramz).

EMO CULTURE/FASHION

This is gonna be short. Emo culture through the different eras isn't as differnt as people from each wave want to believe tbh. The mosh pits, the expressing yourself via lyrics, its all in every era tbh.

And when it comes to emo fashion its.....interesting. Everyone knows the third wave emo fashion; dyed black hair, swooped bangs, black band ts, skinny jeans (usually ripped), studded belts, eyeliner. The whole doodah y'know.

But there WAS fashion trends for 90s emos. A lot of it was very laid back casual stuff, they all kinda looked like poor college students or 90s skater kids or even the stereotypical 90s geek. Striped shirts, small sweaters, sneakers, some had baggy pants, etc.

BUT the studded belts, braclets, and even the dyed black hair was there in the 90s too, even the tight jeans and tight shirt also later showed up in the 90s before 2nd wave emo "ended". Even the teased stereotypical emo boy haircut started in the skramz scene in the 90s as well.

Honestly, as much as people want to say that "real emo" and "mall emo" are different, they very much have stuff in common. if not in which genre of emo, then at least in some parts of fashion and culture. 3rd wave literally just took the tight shirts, tight pants, dyed hair, studded belts and bracelets of the 2nd wave and took some small make-up influence from 90s mall goths along with their love of Hot Topic.

SCENE

The "tye-dye emos" as I've heard someone call them. Scene is an offshoot of the 3rd wave emo subculture, which is why some scene kids called themselves emo back in the 2000s. Its kinda a requirement honestly. Their name comes from the fact scene kids were heavily involved in the music and rave scene (Warped Tour, mosh pits, you name it).

The music scene kids typical listened to leaned more electronic. Genres such as crunkcore (a fusion of the nightclub base hip hop genre Crunk, dance music, electronic music, and pop), electronicore, and a lot more club music and pop oriented music (like electropop). Along with more punk/metal stuff like metalcore, alt metal, deathcore, post-hardcore, neon pop punk, and some happy hardcore.

Due how varying a lot of the music scene kids listened to, a lot of scene kids sound VERY different. Though a common theme they had in some type electronic dance music combining with hardcore or pop punk.

Scene bands include: Metro Station, Breathe Carolina, Millionaires, Cobra Starship, Never Shout Never, and many, MANY more.

It also be noted that for scene fashion, there's a BIG difference between pre-2007 and post-2007 scene. Pre-2007 was more closer to 2000s emo, all dark while posr-2007 is more recognizable bright leon colors, shit ton of accessories, and raccoon eye make-up scene.

SCENECORE

Scenecore is both an aesthetic based off of scene fashion and also a genre of music. It seems to mostly be more about the aesthetics in both scenecore fashion and scenecore music.

A lot of genres of scenecore music are hyperpop, dance-pop, electropop, and happy hardcore. Scenecore has become so prevelant in hyperpop that a sub-genre of hyperpop was formed named after the scenecore aesthetic.

Artist that are considered scenecore are: 6arleyhuman, asteria, kets4eki, d3r, whatsaheart, punkinloveee, and more

[otomiyaa]

Reality

Arthur x Eames (Inception)

[Fic Reupload] - This ship came by on my dashboard and I was like GASP, I've got a fic with those! You'd say this one's ancient but it's from 2020.

Summary: Eames wants to tickle Arthur, and more. In reality, not just in his dreams. That is all. (Also on AO3)

Word Count: 1.8K

His laughter was gorgeous, he thought. His face as he laughed was adorable, he thought. The sound of his laughter was like music, he thought. He also thought that this was all he could work with, for now: Eames and his very own imagination.

“Eheheames! S-stop!” Smirking, Eames pinned Arthur down and tickled his sides.

“Thought you could get away from me, hm? Did you really think so?” Eames teased as his fingers traced the other man’s abs, sneaking under his shirt and poking him anywhere to make him yelp and giggle.

“Nohoho!” Arthur writhed and squirmed to get away from his fingers, but he found something new to tickle with each turn and twist.

“Don’t think so darling,” he taunted when Arthur managed to squirm away juuust a little, and he caught him again and practically almost dove under his shirt to get more skin to feel, and different sorts of laughter to hear.

Ever since meeting Arthur again, it was all he could think and dream of. Heck, it was only a dream. Not reality. Who was Eames kidding? Himself, of course. 

Oh. And Ariadne, it seemed. 

His breath got caught in his throat and he staggered back upon seeing her familiar face as she stepped towards them. With his attacker caught off guard, the adorable giggling Arthur sped away and managed to escape to wherever. Out of sight, at least.

“Mr. Eames?” Eames knew this Ariadne was real. No projection. Very real. He smiled, sighing as he caught his breath.

“Well hello there,” he said, raising his hands in defense. She cocked her head, looking curious and confused about what she just saw, a smile on her face. Well duh.

“Was that..?” She pointed in the direction where Arthur ran off to, and Eames choked out an awkward laugh.

“That? Oh. No, that wasn’t Arthur. No. My projection of him. You see….” He canceled his explanation and glared at her.

“I mean, what are you doing here?” he asked her, cutting off his own explanation. She shrugged.

“I came back to work on some of the layouts. I think I missed some details in the hotel level, and Fischer has to believe it’s real and… Well yeah. I didn’t expect you to still be in here. I thought maybe you were working on our case and came to check,” Ariadne said.

“And I didn’t expect you to be so nosy,” Eames said, still partially breathless from his struggle just now. Thank God he wasn’t dreaming of… other things this time. Guilty of that? Yeah, guilty. 

A smile appeared on Ariadne’s face.

“But honestly, that looked like fun. You should do it for real sometime. Arthur could use a laugh,” she said. Eames blinked.

“Eh that - you mean, yes. Yes - yes - you’re right! He does deserve to laugh some, doesn’t he? I thought so too. Which was why I was trying it out in my dream first. But I guess we can only imagine what his laughter sounds like. What did you think? Believable?” he asked. Ariadne shrugged and thought for a bit while Eames collected his thoughts and calmed down from that insane ramble.

Holy shit. None of that was really true. He came here to tickle Arthur and get off on that shit. He loved the idea of him laughing and writhing at his mercy. Those were the dreams he longed to live in everyday.

It was the only thing that could make him, a renowned Forger, blush and feel embarrassed. To an extent that he didn’t see it was as simple as Ariadne suggested. He could tickle him for real, not just in his dreams. He could tickle him, and it wouldn’t necessarily be weird. If he could control his crotch and every horny vein in his body that is.

“Sorry, what did you say?” he said when Ariadne looked at him with questioning eyes. She laughed charmingly.

“I said, I expect his laugh to be a little more… I don’t know. Pitchy? I could be wrong.”

Eames couldn’t hold back a laugh of his own. “So that’s how you see him?”

He ended up going with her, waking back up again and hearing her out some more. He felt comfortable to talk to her about Arthur. He had an idea she might suspect his intentions, or at least she might have seen a glimpse, but then again she never said anything about it. 

So that evening, they talked about Arthur, for how long he knew him and when they first met, about his serious demeanour, what his real laughter would sound like, and whether he would be ticklish, and if yes, where exactly.

It was the next day when he saw his chance. He was in the building with Arthur and Ariadne, Cobb was working on something with Yusuf, and he could see from the smirk on Ariadne’s face that she just wanted him to try it, and he was thankful for it. For he, Eames himself had been longing to do this for such a long time without wanting it to get too weird.

“Hey, Arthur,” he said to the Point Man who stood hovered over their dream level layouts, studying something.

“Eames,” Arthur said absentmindly, not looking up from his work. Eames smirked and wiggled his eyebrows at Ariadne.

“Look over there,” Eames said casually as he pointed at something random in the distance. He wanted to snicker when Arthut fell for it, looking up to see nothing.

“Wha-?” His moment of distraction was Eames’ chance to sneak an arm around his middle and he instantly clawed at his unprotected side. Arthur jolted heavily in response, a gasp escaping his lips.

“Eames what the -” They struggled for a moment, knocking a few things over as they staggered a little before Eames managed to wrestle him down. 

“Asshole! Get off, the fuck are you.. Hngh!” Arthur jolted again when Eames pinched his hipbone, and he smirked down at him. 

“Tougher than we thought, hm?" Eames looked up at Ariadne who was simply smirking. Sure, Eames had never thought how easy it’d be to hide his guilty desire under the excuse of a simple wish to tease the ever so serious Point Man and make him laugh. Anyone would feel the same.

“EAmes! GEheet ohohoff!” Arthur’s voice shook, the first few giggles broke through his defense, but he remained tough. 

“Ah come on now. Let us hear something nice, Arthur!” Eames teased, and he moved up again and poked at Arthur’s side. Arthur’s body jumped but failed to get out of Eames’ reach, and he hungrily began to claw at both his sides, five fingers clawing at each side. Arthur threw his head back and laughed.

“Fuhuhuck! AHah! I hahaate you!” he cried out. Eames raised his eyebrows.

“Do you now?” he raised his head and winked at Ariadne who looked totally entertained.

“Looks like both of us were kind of right,” she said. His laughter was not exactly like Eames had imagined, it couldn’t really be called pitchy either. though at times Eames would hit a certain sensitive area and Arthur went like “Eeheh!” which sounded totally squeaky.

“Stahahap! The hehehell!” Still confused and overwhelmed by the sudden tickle assault, Arthur continued to squirm and struggle, but Eames was by far not done with him. He tried to ignore his own racing heart and the heat in his body as his hands tugged Arthur’s shirt out of his pants and dove right under.

“GAhah! Eheheames!” Arthur warned, arching his back as he tried to escape ten fingers that crawled over his bare skin now. Eames laughed along with him.

“Yes, darling?” he teased, and he could hear his own voice sounding a bit wheezy as well. He wiggled his fingers against Arthur’s warm skin, tickling his stomach, his belly, his sides and ribs, anywhere he could reach and anywhere he thought could make him let out more of that beautiful laughter.

Arthur’s arms went from flailing helplessly to waving in his direction in weak attempts to knock him off, and at some point he was desperately trying to pry his hands off.

“Quihihit it dahahamnh it!” Arthur laughed. Eames chuckled and looked back up again, then around him. Ariadne was gone. Where had she gone? He looked around a few more times. She really was gone. They were alone right now. In his moment of distraction, he lost some of his control over the hysterical Point Man who by now shoved him away - hard - and managed to roll away.

“Fuck Eames, quit messing around!” Arthur warned angrily as he staggered away from him, but with renewed motivation and strength, Eames went after him and pounced very easily. 

“AHAhah! Shihihit!” In an instant, he had Arthur under him again. He aimed further up this time: his armpits, and Arthur looked shocked, offended and overall awfully ticklish all at the same time by having such a spot tickled by the plotting Forger. 

Shoving one of Arthur’s prying hands out of the way and pushing it up over his head, Eames scribbled at his defenseless underarm, making Arthur howl adorably.

“See, darling? You can be cute. Some more of this and that eternal frown that grew on your forehead’s all gone,” Eames teased breathlessly. 

“Stahahap! Eames -stop!” Well, both Eames and Ariadne had probably never guessed the Point Man to be this ticklish. Eames had wished to try a lot more, but his crush seemed to have reached his limit by far, so he reluctantly ceased the attack, but he remained on top of him as they both caught their breaths.

“You’re a dick,” Arthur managed to say between heavy breaths. Eames nodded.

“Yeah. And?” he said. Arthur looked as if he was blushing, but Eames knew his face probably colored because of all that forced laughter. He shook his head.

“Just… a dick,” Arthur finished. Eames shrugged.

“Yep. Alrighty then.” He finally got up and moved off him, helping him up and patting his shoulder. Even that innocent touch made Arthur flinch and giggle, and Eames melted right on the spot. 

“Damn Arthur,” he hissed, and he pulled him closer and kissed him on the lips. All of his control slipped away in that very last moment. Arthur froze at first, but Eames was happily surprised to feel him respond in a positive way. With surprising strength for someone just tickled to death, Arthur pushed him back against the wall and kissed him back.

Their lips locked, tongues touching, feeling and exploring, and they shared a long, lustful and heated kiss. After which Arthur pulled back, and whispered against Eames’ lips: “Still a dick.” He then very quickly walked away. Eames couldn’t keep the smug smile away from his face. Damn that was good.

“Hey, where are you going?” he called out after Arthur who seemed in quite a hurry to leave, and he went after him. If this was his reality, how had he been living with only his dreams so far? He had some reality to catch up to!

[atiny-for-life]

Golden Hour feels different and I think I know why...

This album feels a lot less cohesive than all others they've ever released. I'm by no means saying it's bad or you shouldn't enjoy it or support the comeback, but it's still something noteworthy.

They said they were really happy making this album, which is amazing and I'm glad they've been enjoying all the new opportunities they've been getting, but when I listen to most of these songs, I feel like we' we've been given a folder from the producer's computer with all the leftover/unfinished tracks, and I think I may know why that is.

First, I wanna say what I mean by the album being less cohesive: Ateez are big on concept albums. The songs tell a story, they're connected, both conceptiually and lyrically, even as we switch genres. Look to the Fever and World Series where you can track the themes even without knowing about their storyline.

Ateez are also famous for their cinematic songs - Inception, Answer, Guerrilla, Halazia - the instrumentals are layered, interwoven, it feels like you're on a journey as you listen to it. You start in one place and don't know where you're headed until you get there. They're full of unique instruments, random noises, hidden harmonies from Maddox and the vocal line. It's art.

And now move on to Blind, Work, Shaboom, and it's one beat in the back that switches up as we move along but there's nothing new to notice on repeat listens, nothing remarkable to pick out. Wooyoung summed it up as "easy listening" in their KStar Next Door interview. Lyrically, Work is also a lot more repetitive which is something Ateez historically stayed clear of because Mingi and Hongjoong especially are very invested in the writing process and want the songs to have meaning.

Proving my point, they mentioned during the Preview Live that Mingi and Hongjoong worked more on Empty Box and Siren, with Siren even being a contender for the title track and Empty Box being their collective favorite and, hey, look at that, those two are the only songs on the album which are a lot more complex on all fronts, a lot more similar to their usual approach to music.

Looking at the bigger picture, I absolutely don't think it was laziness which led to the slight drop in quality. I think KQ just has a pre-planned release schedule where everything is organized so they can squeeze in comeback promotions between tour schedules and, this time, they had to find a way to squeeze in Coachella, which is an opportunity you simply cannot turn down and they made a judgment call and decided to take preparation time away from the album.

Regardless of how Ateez felt about this, they worked their asses off, and while they're already in the US, they attend interviews, take extra classes, film the music video etc. and thus, weeks of album preparations are now spent on Coachella-related schedules. As a result, there ultimately just wasn't enough time to hole up in the studio as much as they normally would've which, as a performer, must be a whole lot more fun, but isn't so great when you're just a listener.

The Edenary team is still responsible for most of the songs, of course, but they're now also working for Xikers which is likely possible because Hongjoong now has years of experience under his belt and can compose full songs or add finishing touches himself whenever needed while also working on Xikers' music on occasion - we've seen him credited multiple times.

On top of that, they also used a live band at Coachella, meaning their songs had to be translated to acoustic which was most likely fully Edenary's doing and also took them away from preparing for this comeback.

These days, their albums aren't as pre-prepared anymore as they used to be a couple of years ago when we still got song teasers at the end of tracks several comebacks in advance. They've caught up by now, as we've been able to see in behind the scenes footage of Hongjoong in the studio and from his interview with Changkyun from Monsta X (I.M on the Beat) where he largely talked about working on The World - Ep Fin. which was clearly still fresh in his mind.

Normally, this wouldn't be a downside at all, but it does make scheduling conflicts like this something to be cautious about, especially looking back to how exhausted they (and most other K-pop artists) always are between December and February every single year when all the award shows come together.

Whether I'm right or not, I don't know and can't prove, but I think it makes a lotta sense and would explain some things. Either way, watching them perform Work is still fun and it's lovely to see them so happy and thriving, but I do think there'll be a noticable difference when the next album drops without any surprise schedules throwing things off course.

[inception-bigbang]

Inception Big Bang 2024

Schedule/Rules/Guidelines/FAQ

Sign-ups May 13-20 Author summaries due May 29 Artist claims start June 1 Pairing announcement June 15 First check-in July 1 Second check-in July 15 Posting date July 31 August 11

A Big Bang is a fandom event where authors and artists work together on a two-part project. When signing-up, authors submit a summary of the fic they’ll be working on during the event, as well as the rating and relevant tags. Fics are later claimed by artists during two rounds (if needed) of fic claims.

(Details below the break)

For authors:

Your final piece should be:

an Inception fanfic 

written for the Big Bang (no reposting of old works)

at least 1500 words

Other than that, we are open to all ships and gen stories!

IMPORTANT: During sign-ups and fic claims the authors are anonymous. This keeps things fun! We want artists to choose based on the fics alone. Don’t make posts that give away which fic is yours. After claims talk to your artist! Keep each other updated - the best thing about a fandom Bang is working with each other!

Frequently asked questions of authors:

1. How much do I need to write before signing-up?

We recommend writing a summary of your story, the rating, and a couple relevant tags. Remember, what you submit is what we send to the artists! Make it easy to understand your story.

2. Can I change my mind about my submission?

Before fic claims you can send us updates or even send us a different story altogether. All’s fair.

After fic claims, any big changes should be discussed with your artist. You cannot change the rating from G, T or M into explicit. If you believe your fic might go down that road submit the tag before fic claims.

3. Can my fic be a crossover?

Sure!

4. Can it be a continuation of an older work?

Yes, as long the original fic’s name is not included on new piece and the part submitted for the Big Bang has never been shared anywhere else before. Big Bang projects are secret until the reveal date.

5. Can it be OT3 / Major Character Death / Kink ?

Sure! Just keep in mind that the more specific your work is, the harder it may be for one of our artists to connect with it. This is true for anything you may come up with - crossovers, PWPs, squeamish themes, you name it. We encourage creativity! But use the appropriate tags when you send us your summary and consider being flexible if our artists might have a hard time with that one.

6. Can I submit multiple stories?

Nope!

7. Is there the possibility of my fic not being claimed?

We work with artists interested in all different kinds of fics! We also have very cool and open-minded pinch-hitters. In our recent years all fics were claimed.

That being said, yes, there is the possibility. It ties back into the OT3 / major character death / kink topic – the more specific your work is, the harder it may be for our artists to connect with it. Also, the harder it may be to actually depict the story. Be considerate of our artists when picking the fic to submit for the Big Bang.

8. Can I sign up as both author and artist?

Of course! Just make sure you have the time and resources available to fulfill all the roles you choose!

For artists:

You will be choosing one (or more!) fics to make art for. Between fic claims and the final posting date you and your author will have one and a half months to work on your collaboration.

Your piece should be:

Art drawn or painted, including digital art

Photo manips

Original music

Gifsets (if you’re making them! don’t steal gifs)

Fanvids of at least 45 seconds

Physical crafts like sculpture, knitting, and embroidery

If you want to create something we haven’t mentioned here, check in with us first, but chances are you’re fine. As long as it's something you can submit within the deadline it’s fair game.

Frequently asked questions of artists:

How do claims work?

We will make an anonymized master post of all the story summaries available for the Big Bang. To make claims on them, send us an email with your top 3 picks. Fic claims happen on a first come first served basis so try to respond as soon as you can. If needed, we will have a second round of claims.

2. I'd really like to participate but I'm not sure of my availability - can I still sign-up as an artist pinch-hitter?

Absolutely! We can always use an extra help. If you sign-up (only) as a pinch-hitter we will contact you after both rounds of fic claims, or later in the event if we’re needing back-up.

3. Can I sign-up as both artist and author?

Of course! Just make sure you have the time and resources available to fulfill all the roles you choose!

Most asked question for everyone! XD

Panic time, I won’t be able to make the deadline! What now?

Hey, it’s okay! Life happens, we get it. But keep us updated. Send an email to inceptionbang@gmail.com or drop a message to @stormofsharpthings.

We can work out extensions, or if you can’t complete your piece, we can talk to pinch-hitters. It’s okay, really, as long as you let us know what's up!

[storkmuffin]

Ooh post for myself - I found it, the lore explainer, over on Reddit.

user: wegooverthehorizon (Nerdy Loretiny)

i have been summoned 🪄✨. In short:

TREASURE: The boys go looking for another world (a utopia if you will) to find their 'treasure' (see: intro long journey) but in the end it's not really what they expected (see: Outro Long Journey). It has the underlying themes of Ambition(normal teez) vs greed(HALAteez) , Ambition corrupting humans, accepting yourself and no world can be perfect. Books/movies referenced: Utopia, Brave New World, Island, Treasure island, Peter Pan, etc.

FEVER: Fever is a metaphor for passion. It explores how passion can bring people together and the hardships of this 'fever'. It is the story of how the boys came together and began dancing together but eventually had to separate again because of personal problems(See: Fever Diary) Books/movies referenced: Movie Inception, The Wizard Of Oz, Peter Pan (again), etc.

WORLD (this is where they go all in with their storyline): The Boys reach the new world but it is NOT what they had expected. It is a strictland (literally) where emotions of people are controlled and art/music/dance is banned as the government believes emotions cause disruption in a 'perfect' world. The boys start an uprising with another version of them (halateez), asking people to wake up, to express their "crazy form". (See: THE WORLD EP1 Movement teaser 1 and teaser 2) This can be seen as an exaggerated description of the capitalistic society which does not allow any individuality. Books/movies referenced: 1984, Dune, DJANGO (a movie), Utopia and Brave New World, Peter Pan, (the korean version of) Robin Hood

GOLDEN HOUR: We're in World A (or are we?) and Ateez have real life problems to deal with, like money. So what do they do? Launder money ofc! The boys experience the harsh reality of growing up and decide on using questionable means to earn quick money, this carries the theme of 'growing' from fever, albeit growing in the wrong direction. Here's a post which has most of the info about Work here, and this post from a few days ago has some pretty interesting theories here

Also would like to add: ATEEZ promotes in weird (wonderful) ways to promote their storyline. They pasted all these posters all over Hongdae (iirc?) and they had the QR code leading to a mysterious video. Later this video was also posted by KQ. WAKE UP WORLD They also did a weird livestream to promote Halazia. As soon as the livestream ended, the tweet announcing the livestream and the live itself was deleted. It was as if ATEEZ came, sent us a message and left without any trace. [After some time it was re-uploaded.] In my opinion, we are the people they are trying to awake.

everyone has a general idea of what the lore is, because ATEEZ is very dedicated to the lore, but of course, it's messy. If you're interested, check out ATEEZ lore document some atinys put together (may not be 100% accurate but it has most of the information/sources you need to make up your own theories.)

[scotianostra]

On April 14th 1582 a Charter was granted by James VI which would lead to the foundation of University of Edinburgh the following year.

Previously on 13th March 1567, James’s mother Mary, Queen of Scots had signed a Royal Charter granting the Town Council of Edinburgh all the lands, buildings, and revenues formerly belonging to the monastic orders abolished during the Scottish Reformation of 1560. These were granted for the support of the clergy and the poor, but a clause was inserted whereby all existing prebendaries, chaplains, and friars were to retain the life-rent of their respective benefices. The Town Council were frustrated in their hope that Mary’s charter would permit monastic properties to be used for educational purposes, having earmarked the Collegiate Church of St Mary in the Fields (or ‘Kirk o’ Field’) as a potential site for a college of higher education. The Town Council nonetheless proceeded to negotiate the sale of the site with a succession of Provosts, and were finally able to buy on 30th March 1581, paving the way for the plans to finally come to fruition.

On 1this day in 1582, James VI issued a further Royal Charter on  extending his mother’s  charter of 1567 to permit the town to use monastic properties for educational purposes. The Charter ratified the sale of Kirk o’ Field to the Town and empowered the Council to appoint and remove professors, and to build houses for their accommodation. And so it this date that recognized as the enabling charter leading to the inception of the University.

The University was the sixth to be founded in the British Isles, and the fourth in Scotland. By the 1700′s the University of Edinburgh was at the heart of the wide ranging revolution in thinking now known as the Scottish Enlightenment, a revolution that led the French philosopher Voltaire to say “we look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilization”. Despite this, until the start of the 1800s, the university had no purpose built buildings, instead occupying a wide variety of rented accommodation. In 1827 this changed with the opening of the Old College, built on South Bridge by the architect William Henry Playfair to plans by Robert Adam.

More new buildings followed, including a new Medical School designed by Robert Rowand Anderson which opened in 1875, and the magnificent McEwan Hall, which was completed in 1880. The university is now also responsible for the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Scotland (and the second oldest in use in the British Isles) and of course subject of my previous posts, after yesterday's visit, St Cecilia’s Concert Hall, built for the Edinburgh Musical Society 1763; and in 1889 it opened Teviot House, the oldest purpose built Student Union building anywhere in the world.

The origins of the university library date back to a collection formed in 1580, two years before the university itself was founded. It has grown to become the largest university library in Scotland with over 2 million periodicals, manuscripts, theses, microforms and printed works. It is housed in the main University Library building in George Square, designed by Basil Spence and one of the largest academic library buildings in Europe. There are also a number of more specialised faculty and departmental libraries. In 2011 the previously independent Edinburgh College of Art became part of the university.

The second pic shows the "Charter of Novodamus under the Great Seal (the seal itself is not present). This gifted old ecclesiastical revenues to the burgh of Edinburgh to be used to establish a college"

[fallish]

i will absoluely take this baton, thank you for tagging @fairlylokai 🥰

1 ) do you make your bed? the truth is i tried for a while and i still do try occasionally but a majority of the time it ends up with me sleeping on top of a comforter because my brain cant put together the effort to pull it back and actually get in. im going to go with no (despite the state of my very made bed that i am currently sitting on at the time of this post)

2 ) what's your favourite number? two-way tie between 58 and 87. iykyk ;)

3 ) what is your job? im a software developer, its kinda a boring title but im getting good at it!

4 ) If you could go back to school would you? it really depends on the day you ask me this one. like generally? fuck no, it was hell on my adhd. on a particularly self destructive day? yeah and i might finish a college application before deciding to sleep on any major life decisions (and then i wont do it! 10pm rule that shit!)

5 ) can you parallel park? yes! i used to be the only one of my friends who could but i live on a street with only parallel parking and i think theyre getting better at it :D

6 ) a job you had that would surprise people? i used to be a camp counselor for one summer! everyone used to always tell me id be bad with kids because i didnt really like them, and i actually tried failing this interview but i guess they needed people, so i got the job. i got on swell with the kids! uh. not so much with the other adults tho. i accidentally made the ice tea spiked at the end of the summer and needless to say i was not invited back. i look back on it fondly :)

7 ) do you think aliens are real? of course. its unthinkable that humans are the only ones around in the whole universe. as they say, life finds a way

8 ) can you drive a manual car? nope. dated a guy who did once, and im ngl i was kinda into it, but i never learned myself.

9 ) what's your guilty pleasure? k pop photo cards 🙈 while I agree that guilt is for the weak, I do think I spend an unreasonable amount of money on those

10 ) tattoos? not yet, but ive got plans. my mom is super against them so while im at home, i cant. when i move out tho, i really want to get a set of wings in honor of ffvii (the first video game i finished)

11 ) favourite colour? i like yellow, like the mustardy kind but im partial to green and black

12 ) favourite type of music? i spend a lot of my attention on the punk/rock so like fall out boy and mayday parade and i listen to a lot of indie shit like glass animals and basement punk like the front bottoms and mobo, and recently im into kpop, particularly zerobaseone. also! i suspenct that no matter what, if i like the rhythm of the rap put in front of me, its highly likely ill enjoy it

13 ) do you like puzzles? i like puzzles so much i made it my job! one could absolutely say i like puzzles lol, me and my sister used to do them a lot and for her last birthday i got her a 10 pack.

14 ) any phobias? im not fond of men with raised voices, but on a lighter note, i wont go more than 5 feet into the ocean because i grew up in jersey on movies like jaws that made me wuite scared of shark attacks

15 ) favourite childhood sport? i uh didnt play sports 🫡 i liked watching hockey though and i still watch nhl hockey now! so that might count?

16 ) do you talk to yourself? oh yeah. all the time. i cant do tasks if i dont talk myself through them. it might not be out loud all the time (i respect public spaces and the quiet associated with them) but theres a constant running monologue i promise.

17 ) what movie(s) do you adore? cheesy answer but i LOVE inception its one of my all time top 5 movies i could watch it in any mood and it would amaze me.

18 ) coffee or tea? i like both, i prefer tea, but im not allowing myself to have either right now. im trying to get myself off of caffeine again because i recently started going back to work and drinking more coffee and what do you know? my migraines made a comeback

19 ) first thing you wanted to be growing up? i wanted to be a famous singer, and sometimes i still want to make music but i dont know, i guess it got away from me at some point. i still make little singing audios and send them to my friends and my mom always says i have a nice voice so the dream stays alive :)

thanks again for tagging! im going to tag @doomcannotbethisadorable @alittlebitofrainbyyourside @sherlockholmeson and anyone who wants to do participate!!

[caltropspress]

RAPS + CRAFTS #25: k-the-i???

1. Introduce yourself. Past projects? Current projects?

My name is k-the-i??? I’m from Cambridge, Massachusetts but I’ve lived in many places throughout the United States. From Los Angeles, California to Chicago, Illinois, to even a little bit of Berlin, Germany. I’m global but I’m now looking to move to New York / New Jersey in the near future.

As far as music goes, heads might know me from my Mush Records release of Broken Love Letter and my Mush / Big Dada / Ninjatune release of Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow produced by my brother Thavius Beck. I also have a plethora of other releases.

I’m currently working on a major record (major for me, at least). I’m slowly in the process of completing it. All produced by one producer, it features a slew of today’s modern-day hip-hop heroes. At this moment I can’t talk about the project but be sure everyone will be pleasantly pleased by the surprise. I’m also working on a gang of special limited EP releases for the future. You know what??? I could tell you what’s up. My new project is titled Genuine Dexterity. Produced entirely by the one and only Kenny Segal. It's being released by Backwoodz Studioz. If features Armand Hammer, Open Mike Eagle, Fatboi Sharif, and more. Me and Kenny are really proud of the record. Honestly, I personally think it’s one of the best records that I’ve done. 

2. Where do you write? Do you have a routine time you write? Do you discipline yourself, or just let the words come when they will? Do you typically write on a daily basis?

I usually write when I feel the urge, but as of lately since I fully rekindled my love for the arts as well as working on many projects, I’ve been writing non-stop, every day, for the past year. The excitement from the beats I’ve been receiving got me fully back in mode. So yeah…everyday. I have way too many things on my mind not to write all the time.

3. What’s your medium—pen and paper, laptop, on your phone? Or do you compose a verse in your head and keep it there until it’s time to record?

Originally I was a pen and paper writer; then I became a phone writer. Once in a while, I’m the "keep it on my mind"—no phone, no paper—freestyle-ish over and over until it’s cohesive type writer. As of recently I’ve been writing my lyrics on the phone, then I’ll send them to my laptop, laptop to printer to be printed out and plastered behind the microphone for me to see clearly. The sad thing about recording with a phone is you sometimes have the tendency of talking down and not projecting your voice directly into the mic.

4. Do you write in bars, or is it more disorganized than that?

I do write bars down but only sporadically. Only things come to me out of nowhere. Most of the time I let it flow naturally. Otherwise disorganized at first, but once I initiate what I’m writing about I’m locked in. Though it might come off as extremely dense, the picture is clear to me, of course.

5. How long into writing a verse or a song do you know it’s not working out the way you had in mind? Do you trash the material forever, or do you keep the discarded material to be reworked later?

Depends. Sometimes from the first line I’m locked in. Other times it takes me writing a whole verse to decide whether or not if I’m keeping it or archiving it. I’m a quick writer because I write what I live and fully express the emotions that have gathered up since my inception. I’ll never completely get rid of a verse. What might not work now may work in the future to be used or reworked.

6. Have you engaged with any other type of writing, whether presently or in the past? Fiction? Poetry? Playwriting? If so, how has that mode influenced your songwriting?

Totally!!! I write poetry aside from my rap lyrics. I have been thinking of writing some fiction. Maybe create a special project that involves a story that goes along with my music. I have tried this before. Wrote an interactive children’s book that came with music to follow, but it died with my old hard drive fifteen years ago. Since then, I’ve been scared to reattempt a project like that in fear that I might lose it again.

7. How much editing do you do after initially writing a verse/song? Do you labor over verses, working on them over a long period of time, or do you start and finish a piece in a quick burst?

I do a fair amount of editing just to make sure that I’ve chosen the ideal words for each verse that I write. This is if I’m working alone. If I’m in the studio with a crew writing a song, I just write it and record it. No time to really look it over. I just have to trust in myself sometimes.

8. Do you write to a beat, or do you adjust and tweak lyrics to fit a beat?

Both. Since I’m also a producer, I have the option of approaching a song from every direction.

9. What dictates the direction of your lyrics? Are you led by an idea or topic you have in mind beforehand? Is it stream-of-consciousness? Is what you come up with determined by the constraint of the rhymes?

I write in so many absolutes it’s crazy. Sometimes I go into a song knowing exactly what I’m about to talk about. Other times I may just put on a beat and let the pen slide and do what comes naturally. The song sometimes writes itself. I’ve experienced so many things in my life that sometimes the beat guides my verses.

10. Do you like to experiment with different forms and rhyme schemes, or do you keep your bars free and flexible?

Funny thing is, before I moved to Los Angeles, I didn’t care for flipping styles and schemes as much as I do now. At one point in time I used to just kick the verse and whatever scheme was developed was through osmosis. If the situation requires me to alter a song, I’m all there for it.

11. What’s a verse you’re particularly proud of, one where you met the vision for what you desire to do with your lyrics?

I have a song that I wrote almost 30 years ago that I end sets with until this day titled "Kollidoscope." Aside from that, me and Thavius Beck's album Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow has some of my most proud verses. Usually I make the beats I rap to, so when I get someone else to take on the production it allows me to concentrate on just writing the best that I can. All the focus is on the writing.

12. Can you pick a favorite bar of yours and describe the genesis of it?

"It’s my Chemical Romance to dance, fluid fluidity, / Really milestones to travel gravel now I’m lost." ("Cell-Shaded/Daydreams/Nightmares")

I was a fan of My Chemical Romance first of all. Also, the line entwines with me being chemically off-balanced romancing the density I express and allowing it to flow naturally even though they’ll be numerous obstacle courses in my way.

13. Do you feel strongly one way or another about punch-ins? Will you whittle a bar down in order to account for breath control, or are you comfortable punching-in so you don’t have to sacrifice any words?

For the most part I don’t do punch-ins. I just kick the verse straight through. Though sometimes it requires it. I have nothing against it though. I just don’t utilize it as much, but at times it calls for it. If I use punch-ins, it’s an artistic choice, not a "I can’t nail this verse" type of issue. Plus my breath control is fairly on-point, especially after I actually know the verse. By that time I know where to breathe and when to go ballistic.

14. What non-hiphop material do you turn to for inspiration? What non-music has influenced your work recently?

My favorite bands are Broadcast (R.I.P. Trish Keenan) and Stereolab, so I go to them all the time for inspiration. That and Atlas Sound (Bradford Cox of Deerhunter's solo project), Beach House, Animal Collective, Oldies (Rock, Jazz, Blues, etc.), and the list goes on. Believe it or not, I’m the biggest Transformers fan, so I might watch old episodes of the show to get me writing. That or anime in general. Weird thing: sometimes I write to white noise, the sound of rain, wild forests—nature sounds and such. It clears my mind, so I’m writing from a decluttered state.

15. Writers are often saddled with self-doubt. Do you struggle to like your own shit, or does it all sound dope to you?

Sometimes I struggle to like certain ish that I write until I send it off for an opinion and then realize that I must’ve been bugging when heads hit me back like, You murdered this . As of recently, since I’m working on a project solely produced by one person, I’ve been really loving my new ish. I feel like as time goes on, I’m getting better and I still have room for plenty of new projects.

16. Who’s a rapper you listen to with such a distinguishable style that you need to resist the urge to imitate them?

Honestly, no one. The only person I have to resist the urge to go down the same lane as them is Mach-Hommy. And it has nothing to with style or lyrics because we’re completely different. It’s the fact that we’re both Haitian artists and he tends to apply a lot of my people's culture into his music, like rapping in Creole or an album cover depicting him as Toussaint Louverture. I’m trying to avoid not going in that direction unless I make a song with him. Then we’ll go there.

17. Do you have an agenda as an artist? Are there overarching concerns you want to communicate to the listener?

No agenda, but I do write my music in a dense fashion. Apply Morse code, metaphors, similes in order for you not to fully figure it out now and for it to make more sense to you as the years go on. So, yeah, I’m totally engaging my listeners. Fine wine, my friend.

RAPS + CRAFTS is a series of questions posed to rappers about their craft and process. It is designed to give respect and credit to their engagement with the art of songwriting. The format is inspired, in part, by Rob McLennan’s 12 or 20 interview series.

Photo credit: Antimc

[smokeybrand]

OVHOE

I’m a Black kid who grew up in the ghetto during the Eighties and Nineties. Rap and Hip Hop culture informed the bulk of my musical taste. My horizons were broader than most in my neighborhood, my grandma made sure I understood the value of Classical, Grand Ole Opery, and other genres frowned upon by the more street of my peers, but. Ultimately, I was inundated with Gangster Rap. I’m from California so of course I was. It was weird watching my experiences being sold to white suburbia and seeing how violent their reactions were toward it. Straight Outta Compton was my life. To Live and Die in LA was lived experience. Brenda Got a Baby happened to my next door neighbor. Those stories weren’t just thug lyrics on a record for people who looked like me, lived like I did. That was life for us, so Rap music, and Hip Hop at large, is intrinsically Black but it’s not exclusively so. White people have been tied to Hip Hop since its inception. Rick Rubin was the in-house Producer for Def Jam, way back when. That White boy crafted the sound of LL Cool J, The Beastie Boys, and Run DMC; pioneers of the genre. To this day, he is an honored member of the community, even if he works with artists from other genres. Mans produced Hurt by Johnny Cash. Rubin took that record to Cash and pleaded for him to make it. The Man in Black obliged and delivered one of the most powerful records ever pressed to wax. Decades later, Rubin was still making classics and consulting on others. You can’t f*ck with that guy because he is authentic in how he does his thing and that’s what makes Rap music so unique, its authenticity. So when a White boy boy like Vanilla Ice comes along, the community shows you what happens when you are not.

Rob van Winkle is a joke. A punchline. He saw what MC Hammer was doing and just copied his whole vibe. He was very successful at it. He made tons of loot doing just that. Vanilla Ice was everything Rap to a lot of Nineties Boomer Karens who wanted the edges softened on the music. Mr. Winkle played a character, went Hollywood, and got upset when Black people turned on him. Rob was a fan who knew nothing about the life he heard on wax, but wanted to know that world from a safe distance. Vanilla Ice is a culture Vulture who stole the aesthetic of Hip Hop, bleached it of all its Blackness, and repacked that sh*t in the most white bread way possible. Dude was Kids Bop before Kids Bop and made millions. Vanilla Ice is a phony. The life and experiences he rapped about, were never his own. It was something he heard or made up because it sounded dope. Studio Gangster but with none of the Gangster. MC Hammer was definitely about that life. His entourage was about that life. Hammer chose not to portray that sh*t in his rhymes too often because of marketing but Hammer will bust your ass if you press him. Genie pants be damned, he was authentic as f*ck. Vanilla Ice was not. It took damn near a decade before another White boy was taken seriously in Rap and, in my opinion, he’s one of the greatest to ever do it.

Eminem is a beast. He came into this game having the burden of proving White people deserve a place in Hip Hop. Vanilla Ice ruined it for and entire race of people but Marshall was able to re-open those doors. Cats heard Em for the first time and immediately gave him the pass. It helped tremendously he had the West Coast co-sign. I’m talking Dre, Snoop, and the entirety of Interscope had his back. He didn’t disappoint. The Slim Shady LP wasn’t my flavor but the Marshall Mathers LP definitely was. The first time I heard Till I Collapse, I knew the White Boy was The One. The flow, wordplay, passion, and vulnerability spoke true to HIS story. Em wasn’t on that record trying to convince me he was this drug kingpin or that he was going to beat your ass in the street. He spoke of his insecurities, his life in the trailer park on 8 Mile, and the struggle to be recognized as more than a novelty. He spilled his guts about his abusive mom, promiscuous ex-wife, and love of family. Em gave you exactly who he was, for better or worse, on those first two records and it hit hard. That authenticity. The respect for Hip Hop. The love of Rap. He never tried to be more than who he was and I respected the f*ck out of that. It’s why I loved Big. That’s why I loved Pac. That’s why we loved the rise of those Louisiana boys from Cash Money and the ST. Lunatics. Authenticity. Game recognize game. Struggle sees struggle, even if it looks different. Black Rap accepted Eminem because of how real that cat was, is, and that lack of realness is why we stopped f*cking with Aubrey Drake Graham.

K. Dot has made it his life’s mission to destroy Drake and i am here for all of it. I’ve never liked Wheelchair Jimmy. I’ve always thought he’s corny. Just so goddamn fake. The first record of his I ever heard was Best I Ever Had. It was the softest, most simp sh*t I had ever heard in my life and yet, somehow, that sh*t as hot in the streets? See, by the time that h*t dropped, I was a grown ass man. I had moved passed, matured away from, most of the gangster sh*t. I didn’t care about Lil Wayne or whatever the f*ck was going on in Rap back then. I vibe hard with College Trilogy Kanye and Kid Cudi. Drake was mad Lightskin energy and I couldn’t f*ck with it, so imagine my surprise when Weezy F. Baby decided to sign that goofy ass Degrassi Alum to Young Money. The second Drake record I remember? F*cking Bedrock. That is who Drake was to me. As time went on and more stories came out about dude, there was no way I could respect that Canadian. Ghostwriters, stealing entire albums from his label artists, chasing after girls of questionable age; Drake was gross. He doesn’t have his own sound or identity, just kind of stealing whatever is hot at the time. Mans came in sounding like Lil Wayne. Now, he sounds like Young Thug. What Kendrick say? He’s not a colleague, he’s a colonizer. Which is exactly how I’ve felt since I found out Take Care was a whole ass Weeknd album!

Take Care was supposed to be Abel’s major studio debut but Drake just stole the record, recorded his vocals over the Weeknd’s, and dropped that sh*t. He got beat up by Puff Daddy for doing that same sh*t to him. Kendrick is exposing everything Drake has been accused of over the years, putting it in one place so we can all hear it, and letting us make our own decisions about dude. It’s insane because, that bar about A-Minor, is some sh*t I’ve been screaming about at the top of my lungs for years. He f*cking and a dinner date with a teenage Millie Bobby Brown in Australia, where the age of consent is a soft sixteen years old! How about the time he was on stage and kissed a seventeen year old, on stage, at one of his concerts? After saying, out loud, he could go to jail for doing that exact sh*t? What about that time Billie Eilish openly admitted to having a texting relationship with Mr. Graham, long before she was anywhere near of legal consenting age? K. Dot referenced at least two cats in his inner circle who have a penchant for the little kiddies, one of which is convicted, so why does this creep Drake get a pass? This is more about a rap beef, it’s about the measure of your character. Drake is a mixed race kid, raised by his white mother and grandmother, in upper middle class Toronto. He listened to the same records I did growing up and fell in love with the image of Hip Hop. He wanted that for himself, to be legitimized by the Black culture with which he held a tenuous bond. Rap was his way of being Black but he had nary a one true Back experience. So he faked it. He faked it until he made it. And for the last decade, he’s built this house of cards which afforded him millions, access to real Blackness but never the respect of Blackness, and an open buffet of questionable relationship with questionably aged girls, while absolutely ruining Rap music along the way. Mans is Vanilla Ice Returned. I hate Drake, bro. He’s the phoniest mother*cker to ever make it in Hip Hop and I’m glad Kendrick has decided to knock over that house cards. It’s well overdue.

[hello-galad]

get to know me meme

I was tagged by @br-disaster THANK YOU SO MUCH. I cant believe it took me so long to do this but I was hit with a bit of bronchitis.

Do you make your bed? Yes. Every morning of every single day, it's sort of my unwritten rule that my bed must be pristine and my room well organized. It gives me peace.

What's your favourite number? 27

What is your job? I'm the Finance and Project manager of some companies. Mostly I have to make sure that things get done which is exhausting sometimes.

If you could go back to school would you? I'm going to start my master's degree soon, so yup! Ngl I have so much work lately I'm a little scared of burn out, but I'm working on it. One step at a time and I have learnt to sort of relax a little and delegate things.

If you mean if I want to go back to when I was in college or high school? Not really. I mean I wish I had taken more advantage of everything my college had to offer...maybe I do. I would do SO MANY things differently.

Can you parallel park? My mom had me practice reverse driving and parking so much before getting my license that I am quite good at it.

A job you had that would surprise people? Assistant at parlament! I can't tell you for whom, though. Beyond the usual bureaucratic stuff, the cool thing was that you spent a lot of time analyzing people and what they were saying, you write notes and observations in code and give those to your boss.

Do you think aliens are real? Yes. Although just like Ana, I also think they are a bit too far away from us and the ones we have seen (if real) were lost and ended here. I also believe that most alien life is microscopical, which is awesome! That is how it started in our planet too! I have so many theories haha.

Can you drive a manual car? Yes! I learned to drive in a manual car and I still remember how to.

What's your guilty pleasure? Buying things for my pets.

Tattoos? I don't have any, I used to want one but now im not sure.

Favourite colour? Cerulean blue, Teal, Cherry red, Olive green, Emerald green... Too many. Colors are beautiful, mate.

Favourite type of music? Ohhh it really depends! I can go from current-pop to symphonic metal in the blink of an eye. I suppose it depends on my mood and if I feel like im pretending im at a club or brooding for a long gone love in a haunted castle.

Do you like puzzles? We are talking about the ones where you need to put a printed picture together with little pieces cut in specific shapes, right? No, I don't. I get dizzy looking for each tiny piece :(.

Any phobias? Roaches. I'm seriously fucking scared of those to the point where I just want to cry if I see one too close to me.

Favourite childhood sport? Ballet.

Do you talk to yourself? Yes, to a point where I don't know if it's healthy but I dont care. It works.

What movie(s) do you adore? The Fall (Tarsem), Star Trek: Beyond, Nimona (2023), Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Inception.

coffee or tea? I cant drink coffee because if I do my anxiety starts acting up :( the hardest caffeine I can drink is green matcha tea and I don't drink it often. I LOVE tea, though. I love full leave tea. My family has herbs in the gardens and thats where we get our tea from.

First thing you wanted to be growing up? A model. Dad said no.

tagging @dual-domination @c-schroed and @pangzi (only if you guys want to, don't feel obligated to, of course!)

[sxcret-garden]

nr 6 for ateez 😝

<<333

6. What song I love my bias the most in.

I'm gonna do all biases because nobody can stop me and I'll start with San because among the three I have the least amount of thoughts for him ksdfjskfjas (sorry... also this is under the cut because..... you'll see kasdjflkdöas)

ok first of all... mist. his voice sounds so soft in the entire song and he's singing this so well??? also in arriba his short line right before the last chorus sounds SOOO good, i really love his voice when he sings with that energy!!! another song that just has to be mentioned here is turbulence, he's so dramatic in the second chorus but i think that's what made me notice his voice especially in this song!! also inception, because of the vocals, but also because of his choreo in the chorus!!!!! (to mention choreo once in the entire post lol)

I'm semi-normal about wooyoung's parts, so I'll do him next aksdjfklsa and i just want to say celebrate. like????? the very first time i heard that song my immediate reaction to his parts was that they need to let him sing like that more often!!!! he sounds SO GOOD there????? and when he gets the right lines you can actually hear that this guy has a lot of power in his voice (idk, i tend to notice this especially in songs where the first time a line appears they give it to jongho and then the second time wooyoung sings it, like the comparison just makes it so clear how much energy woo has in his voice when used right!!) idk i've been dying to say this somewhere and i WILL say it again so!!!!!!! (alsoalso to mention choreo a second time - the lil butt shake in crazy form, like that's so him and so cute and he looks so happy doing it too 🥺)

now for jongho.... the answer is every song ever but i'll try to single some out (brace yourselves because i will not shut up anytime soon) askdfjklas and i'm gonna start with silver light because i'm listening to it right now and like... his adlibs in the end plsssssssss i love them so much!!! and OF COURSE i also have to mention this world because omgggggg he sounds so good in the chorus hhhhh (in general i am absolutely IN LOVE with how they use their voices throughout that album, and his especially - part of why it's my fav album of theirs!!) ok but the song that actually came to mind first for him is also celebrate, because have you heard his adlibs at the end? have you HEARD them????????? this guy is actually insane. i also wanna mention don't stop because he barely gets lines on the lower end and... yeah, ouch aksdljfksjadlk i also feel the need to mention cyberpunk here... but i'm thinking of that one stage they did on music bank especially, because this guy sounds even better live and everytime he does that one high note i ascend to whatever heavens there may or may not be aksdjfklsad and before i shut up i'm gonna remind you all that he was on lee mujin service (i am begging you to watch it if you haven't yet) and i cannot put into words how much i love his cover of don't go today, i'm really not a ballad type of person but holy shit... yeah.. just watch it.... (idk i just get so happy listening to him sing and Do His Thing and go a lil insane with it because he's just THAT good and knowing that he's put so many years of work and practice into building that skill is really admirable to me and also kinda motivates me to work hard on the things i enjoy too so :/ ilovehimokbye)

(also the much needed honorable mention: yeosang in halazia. he's not a bias but used to be so it counts aksdjflksa no but seriously if kq doesn't let him have more lines that are actually in his range i will throw hands.)

send me a number and a group~

[apureniallsource]

“There’s no one here to be a flash in the pan,” Niall Horan affirms, despite all signs of his career pointing to longevity and impact. This was a surprising declaration for a successful artist who has captured the hearts and ears of millions worldwide, and as our well-spent virtual time together unfolded, it became obvious why this would even be a floating intention in his mind.

Having already hypnotized the masses, surrendering to his talent, charm, and warmth as one-fifth of One Direction, Niall Horan, like the others, took a solo leap into the music scene, crafting an individualistic DNA. In 2020, he dropped his album, Heartbreak Weather, at an unforeseen inopportune time of the world shutting down. As I connected with Niall, it became immediately apparent to me that his creative force is fuelled by his onstage performances. While the album was well-received, his solo tour was knocked down before it got a chance to kick off, a consequence so impactful that it could trick even the most favored heartthrobs into questioning their longevity in the game. His songs were destined to go unsung by crowds for years, forcing him to explore stimulus and find inspiration for his next project from the place we were all ordered to stay—inside. What resulted from this ill-fated circumstance, is his most-realized, mature, and introspective album we’ve seen from Niall Horan yet, The Show.

An all-too-philosophical metaphor for life, The Show, naturally captures Niall’s value systems of what is important to him during his blip on the planet—with many songs being positioned to interpersonal relationships, of course—and proving that his musicality is often influenced by a comprehensive concept. Niall gives us an entire life’s trajectory of music to lean on—talk about longevity—“Never Grow Up” touches upon holding on to child-like joy, “Heaven” speaks to the quintessential quarter-life crisis and title-track “The Show” is a nod to the impermanence of it all, ebbs and flows in their glory. Embodying the concept of the record, Niall reveals that “The Show” is particularly meaningful to him, “It’s one of those ones that I go around singing the melody to myself, and I wrote the song nearly three years ago,” which champions the idea that this album will stand the test of time.

In “Meltdown”, a winning moment on the album, Niall talks us down from a feeling of being consumed by one of life’s surprises of something going unexpectedly sideways, spiraling into thinking your life is bound to go downhill from there, a familiar anxiety-based delusion many can understand. His ability to candidly speak our truths is organic, but not unintentional, he tells me, “I think [the songs] are all [capturing] universal feelings. I haven’t gone so introspective to the point where you can’t understand. I think that with the topic being so universal, the idea is that people will be able to relate. More so, than probably anything I’ve ever released.”

Niall Horan is proving himself to be a thoughtful, bigger-picture thinker whose creativity is informed by minimal mental bounds. The Show’s standout single “Heaven”, he tells me, was the longest song to get together. “I knew exactly what I wanted to say and it was just getting the words out and the music to go with it. I had the concept and I was singing the verse, chorus, [and] melody, but didn’t really know what the music was. And then [it] just popped up at 1 in the morning and fell out of us. That was probably the toughest song to write but when you stay patient and wait for that big moment, it’s a very good feeling.”

The stripped-down emotional highlight of the album, however, had a unique inception. “Some songs are completely different,” he shares, “like ‘You Could Start A Cult’, I sat down with a guitar and wrote in forty minutes. Things happen very differently. I always like to have an idea of what I’m going to say and some sort of musical thing—whether that be a melody, piano, guitar riff—I’ll always come in with something and see what happens.”

Growth looks good on Niall Horan, an artist a lot of us have grown up with and who remains relatable throughout the years despite having a surreal life experience. The Show takes a more experimental approach, incorporating synths, emphasizing the role of backing vocals throughout the production, and reflecting the musical evolution that comes with age and exposure. While still maintaining his signature style and Niall-isms, he tells me this album was heavily informed by his overall maturity. “There’s something about it that’s just different, I can’t really put my finger on it. It’s probably just age and growing up them few years and writing stuff from this current point of view.” The willingness he demonstrates to explore new territories is admirable but assures me that he’s always aware of creating stuff that is not so different that will scare people away, “You don’t want to do that!”

It’s this same maturity, in tandem with his starting his career as a contestant on a talent competition show that has equipped him with the valuable insights he can share with aspiring artists as a coach on The Voice. Early in our conversation, he excitedly shared that he was looking forward to potentially winning, and as further proof of his capabilities, he did. Gina Miles, under his wing, impressed the masses with her vocals and took home the win of Season 23. His best advice for his team? Take it easy.

“It’s such simple advice. I find on The Voice [the contestants] are so technically gifted, and with that comes taking it really seriously. At the end of the day, we’re on a reality TV show on a Monday night. I’m always trying to remind them to just take it easy and enjoy it for what it is. You get the platform to stand up there every night and sing songs that you love in front of a nation. It’s a really cool opportunity if you look at it that way. If you look at it [more seriously], it’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done. As I’ve gone on, I can see my artists are actually making friends and enjoying the process of it all. Because it can be over in two seconds. Take it in, and know that if you leave The Voice, it’s not the end of your career, you’re sixteen!”

Simple, uncomplicated advice is often what’s needed but can sometimes only be realized with so many years under your belt, as we adjust and learn to surrender to the aforementioned ebbs and flows of life that The Show is all about. With this, comes the inevitable facing up of mistakes and lessons learned both professionally and personally that can eventually equip you with the knowledge to be a viable mentor.

“You do learn. I listen to a shit song I’ve written and go ‘That was shit’ and what did I do there that I didn’t do in one of my favorites? You’ll learn like that. It’s a progression thing, across the board, musically and personally. And from what I’ve gathered, that doesn’t come to an end any time soon.”

Leaning into the idea of the album’s concept, and in theory, if our life is a show, then surely you get to be in the writer’s room to imagine your desired season finales. In typical Niall nature, he tells me, “I’m one of those people that doesn’t look past my note. You gotta live it as you’re in it.” I guess it is true what he sings on “The Show”, it’s all fun and games until the party ends. And who else better to party with than Lewis Capaldi? The two UK-born artists have established a close relationship through their experiences in the music industry, developing a close bond that has secured Lewis a regular, main character spot on Niall’s “show”. “He’s well and truly in the show. It’s a good relationship to have. And I don’t go around the world looking for famous mates because that wouldn’t say too much about me,” Niall tells me, “I always found if you get on with someone [you] can usually judge [them] on ‘would I go for a pint with that person?’ and I’ve gone for plenty of pints with that man.”

On a more profound note, Niall expands on his humble ambitions, “Obviously, you’ve got to think about the future, [but] you can fry your own brain, planning your whole life out. And if you don’t hit any of those goals, you feel like you have failed. I’ve always tried to swim through it and see what happens. I’ve never felt more enjoyment of what I do than now, and hopefully, I can make music at this level and remain happy in my home life. And cross the bridge when it comes to it, I suppose.”

Clear in his direction, Niall is dedicated to making music and continuing to adapt his voice to his life experiences, for as long as he can. “I think we all go for longevity. Longevity and time [are] the most important things to me. If I could win some awards or get No.1 [on the charts] here and there, that would be good too. But, I would love length and longevity in my career.” Much of Niall’s legacy will rightfully be rooted in One Direction, “I wouldn’t be doing this now if it weren’t for 1D, I’ve got zero issues with that following me around forever,” he says, pointing to the obvious impact of that historic and iconic era.

As Niall Horan’s introspective journey thus far, culminates in The Show, his individual artistic vision is delivered with clear force, carrying in it his expansion and development. Despite the setbacks of 2020, his upcoming tour promises to be a triumphant return to his natural home, the stage, where he can once again captivate audiences with his magnetic presence. With longevity as his compass, Niall Horan is poised to solidify his place enchanting new fans—and recovered Directioners—for years to come.

[kimium]

Movie night at NRC!!!! What is each Housewarden’s favourite movie, and why? (Anime, cartoon, live action, musical, anything goes as long as it’s a film!!)

Hello friend! I love this ask! I'm going to do my best to not just pick anime movies, as tempting as it may be.

Let's get started!

Riddle - To Kill a Mockingbird

One of my favourite classical books, I think To Kill a Mockingbird is a fantastic choice for Riddle. First, the naive thoughts and feelings of the children at the beginning mirrors Riddle's character: he was brought up sheltered and kept away from knowing the world. Next, the trial part of the film would intrigue Riddle due to his love of rules and laws. Of course, he'd be absolutely furious with the "sham trial" but that just shows that while Heartslaybul rules are weird and nonsensical, they still function as rules.

Leona - Murder on the Orient Express

I thought long and hard for Leona's and in the end I think Murder on the Orient Express is a film he'd like. Leona, while putting on lazy airs, is very smart and calculating. He'd probably enjoy watching the mystery unfold and be delighted with the twist ending.

(My runner up for Leona is Pirates of the Caribbean but only because in the Halloween event his dorm were pirates.)

Azul - Chicago

While I know Chicago started as a Broadway, there is a film adaptation. Anyways, I think Azul would like this Broadway/film because it has it all: murder, banger songs, and using the law to your advantage so you're not convicted. Truly, those women have the hearts of shrewd business people. It also has a dangerous sexy element to the film (sexy as in the women look good as they kill their husbands) and that's something Azul would love.

(My runner up pick for Azul is The Godfather because mafia intrigue along with the film being considered a Classic? Sign Azul up.)

Kalim - Up!

This film has two things I think Kalim would like: adventure and friendship between two unlikely people. I think Kalim would love watching Russel and Carl grow closer as they travel to Paradise Falls. I also think the whimsy of flying a house with helium balloons would delight Kalim. Of course, he sobs uncontrollably during the opening of the film to the point he needs several tissue boxes. Still, the heartwarming journey and the happiness at the end will keep Kalim watching the film over and over. Also, I think an animated film suits Kalim.

Vil - Amadeus

For Vil I think he needs a classical film that focuses on the arts. Amadeus also has a play adaptation (one I read while in school) and Vil absolutely loves plays. Anyways, the film is a fictionalized story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the fictional rivalry with Italian composer Antonio Salieri. As the two are competing as composers and showing how their abilities in the craft are superior to the other, I think Vil would relate. Especially with his rivalry towards Neige. The film also has amazing cinematography which Vil would eat up.

(Bonus: Rook is absolutely captivated by the passion of the rivalry and will talk hours about it in great poetic detail.)

(Also desperately wanted to say Wicked for Vil but since the film is only in the works and not released, I couldn't pick it.)

Idia - Summer Wars

Naturally, I had to pick an anime movie for Idia. Summer Wars feels like the best choice for two reasons: the movie has a central theme of family and technology. While the technology is social media/every day usage based, the fighting element and the card game that helps them win in the end is right up Idia's alley. Also, the animation is so fluid and seamless with bright visuals and beautiful colours. Just what you'd expect from a Mamoru Hosoda film!

Malleus - Inception

What I think draws Malleus to this film is the element of dreams VS reality. I think he'd find the way the film portrays dreams and diving through dreams to find information delightful. The film also has some of the coolest imagery imaginable along with interesting characters. The inconclusive ending would keep Malleus thinking and pondering the film, potentially wishing to rewatch it so he can see if he can pick clues up.

There you have it! Here are my picks! I hope you like them friend! Let me know what your picks are! I'd be delighted to see what you think!