#she would like now and zen album

[givemedamage]

lesbians and their silly matching shirts !!!

[mystic-headcanons]

mystic characters + what taylor swift album i'd think they'd like

what's up gamers it's been like two or three years since i've touched this blog but i'm hyperfixated on mystic again and taylor swift, so. heeeeere we go. under the cut because this became a lot longer than i actually wanted it to T_T

i think zen's favorite album would be 1989. i literally don't have any reason other than style has the cuntiest opening out of any of her songs and i think zen would obsess over it for weeks. you could find him humming it in between rehearsals and throwing it on repeat while he works out. along with style, he'd love clean, this love, and bad blood the most.

yoosung's favorite album is fearless, hands down. he has a very fairytale-esque view on love, and songs like love story and today was a fairytale and untouchable fit that view. while they're not on any of his main playlists, they are on all of the playlists he's made for you. if he's missing you especially hard, then he likes to listen to those specific songs and just. lay there and think about you. he rly is just a teenage girl in a twenty-something year old body.

saeyoung's favorite album would absolutely be speak now. it's whimsical and fantastical and just a little melancholy and sad, and i think it fits his vibe perfectly. he'll put on innocent when he needs to be reminded that he can change, that he can be better than he has been; he'll play castles crumbling when he's in a particularly self-loathing mood. and enchanted gets played on a loop the first time he meets you-- it got so bad that vanderwood threatened to tase him unless he shut it off.

jumin's taste in music is sophisticated and, often times, just straight up classical music. he wouldn't have sought out her music on his own-- maybe he became interested because you listened to paris, or perhaps he heard anti-hero on the radio in one of the rare times that driver kim has the radio on. whatever the reason, it was enough to pique his interest in her. midnights would be his favorite album- and the only one he'd listen to in its entirety. you're on your own kid would be his go-to song, but midnight rain, would've could've should've, and dear reader are all tied for second.

jaehee would love folklore. she'd be a casual taylor fan- not really fond of the singles or the hits, but would enjoy her deeper cuts. folklore would be the first album where she loved every song. this is me trying would play on a loop if jaehee was stressed or had a particularly hard day. the lakes would be her all-time favorite song, but mad woman and cardigan would be close. invisible string is near and dear to her heart because every time she hears it, she can't help but think of you.

saeran's favorite album is reputation, but not for the obvious reasons. while he does enjoy it for its darker sound, reputation is his favorite because it's about finding love in the middle of all the darkness and anger. new year's day would be his absolute favorite song- and the one that he associates with you the most. the 'i'm there through it all, through the good and the bad, and i'll help clean up any metaphorical mess you make' message is what had set it aside from any other song, and saeran listens to it on repeat on all of his bad days. he also really enjoys ready for it, don't blame me, and dancing with our hands tied.

jihyun's favorite album is lover. while he'd really enjoy her other albums, lover spoke to him in ways that the others didn't. the archer and afterglow would be tied for all time favorite song- the archer because it speaks to his generalized anxiety, and afterglow because he especially has anxiety within romantic relationships- always had, but it became intense after rika. he craves a love that is soft and delicate, so daylight would absolutely be up there with the archer and afterglow. daylight gets played often once you and him start dating, and he can and will listen to it for hours while thinking of you or cuddling with you. (you've listened to it so much that you could probably play the entire thing by ear.)

[sleepandblog]

ok idk if any of y'all are into kpop but i simply must rave about the recent blackpink solo releases (and upcoming ones)

FIRST OF ALL lisa is my favorite she has always been my fav and i'm so obsessed with rockstar. also BORN AGAIN FT. RAYE AND DOJA CAT??? insane trio i wish these divas would do an entire album together. new woman & moonlit floor are like a tier below the other songs for me tbh. i just think lisa really really really suits the rockstar concept and vibe and if she does more music like that i will devour it every time

jennie's solo songs honestly really surprised me i didn't think i would love them so much. zen is actually insane i'm obsessed. love hangover is so catchy and i love dominic fike so bonus points there. mantra had to grow on me which is why i didn't have super high expectations for the other two songs but i was actually blown away

now i knew i would love rosie, but this album y'all it's so fire. so many catchy songs. apt??? global hit. she and bruno devoured that one. i love the music vids too. actually this goes for all of the members, the music videos have been delivering. i love that rosé was so vulnerable in these songs and during the promo like she really put her heart out there and i am so proud of her for finally getting to release her own album

jisoo- this queen has been doing other stuff but her music is finally coming soon and i cannot wait. i am addicted to her voice so i already know i'll love whatever she has to give us

in conclusion i cannot wait for the upcoming albums from lisa and jennie, plus jisoo's mini album and also blackpink tour this year???? i really hope they come to my area because they didn't last tour and i was devastated kdjghjdjksd

[xelasrecords]

Hi Xela :~) I had actually been meaning to ask you your thoughts on The Winning so I was happy to see you mention it in response to Faye 🥰 Shopper is definitely my favourite too.

Now life AND fictional men:

1. If you had to assign yourself a colour palette what would it look like? I think it's always interesting to know what colours people associate themselves with!

2. I feel like I still don't really know how you feel about any of the mysme characters aside from Jumin and V, so please rank them. Just based on personal preference 😌

The MVs for The Winning are insane!! I love the concept I love her acting I love everything about them. Some of the sounds like Holssi is more experimental but they're essentially IU. And the physical album with Tweety and dandelions on the acrylic is so cute.

I found this palette on Pinterest and I see my personality as this!

My taste in colours is more like this though

Mysme character ranking based on personal connection and unexplainable annoyance, here goes:

Jumin & V: my blog is the explanation

Zen: if there were no Jumin and V and he could be more empathetic, I'd choose him

Jaehee: she's cool and really nice but I don't think I can connect well with her. I can't see us being close beyond our relationship as the RFA members. But I do want to whisk her away to a healthy work environment and shower her with Zen merch

Yoosung: sometimes I get annoyed at him, but when he's not blaming V without evidence or comparing me to Rika, he's all right

Saeyoung: such a fun friend to have. His tsundere defense mechanism of pushing me away with harsh words is a huge dating dealbreaker tho. I also get protective over V when he beats him up what can I say I put my man first

Saeran: (I'm wary of admitting this because people love him) as Ray his codependency alarms me and as Suit Saeran he starves me and is verbally cruel and physically aggressive at one point. I know he's traumatised, but respectfully I don't want to go through all that and wait for him to treat me better just because I ~believe~ the nice him is in there somewhere. Then as GE Saeran he's just too..... sweet......

Vanderwood: neutral. I find him bland. Whenever he comes out I'm just like oh, 707's sidekick (he'd kick me if he heard this)

Rika: I don't like abusive characters in general. Her villainy also seems two-dimensional and the sun metaphors are exhausting.

Ann give me your color palette and mysme ranking too!

[kikuism]

mariaaam~ looking at your ocs; what do you think their rooms would look like, as far as aesthetic goes? in a modern setting

hi res!! this is a great question and one i feel ill-equipped to answer hgkshfjd honestly i'm really not great at this kind of stuff, i'm not good at visualizing spaces, and personalized ones at that, my brain doesn't work that way....i can describe it in terms of the purpose it serves but, like, aesthetics? that's just a room beloved <3 but i'll try

so the only room i actually have a good idea of is kou’s, because his is very different from everyone else’s: nothing hanging up on the wall, no trinkets adorning his desk. no visual decor, it's unnecessary clutter. it's incredibly plain and simple. just a futon, a desk to the side, a rotating fan, and perhaps a plant, and he is very neat and orderly because, since he can't rely on his vision, he needs to know exactly where everything is, everything is meticulously organized. the colors are high contrast, so they're easier for him to make out. he loves keeping the window open for the fresh air and ambient sounds. oh, tatami is essential for him too, provides a nice grip, orients him. it's a very zen-like space which suits him perfectly....his room is just the place where he gets ready for the day and unwinds at the end. all his hanging out happens outside—in the living room, responding to messages from kiku, chatting with his mother, with noriko.

everyone else has western style beds, and desks, and lamps, the usual. now the individual tastes come in. noriko’s easy—movie posters and magazine cutouts on the walls, and her record player of course, her shelf of records, as well as a bean bag chair, and out of everyone she's got the most knickknacks lying around, something or other she's tinkering with. love to imagine her with a corkboard of photos connected with string as she tries to put together the pieces of some pop culture conspiracy <3 to her only audience of kou, lounging back in the beanbag chair.

naomi’s display is quite subtle, minimalistic: a smiski perched on a stack of books, a little dove shaped trinket holder where she keeps her earrings, lipgloss, etc, and a small stack of well loved books, perhaps a single miffy plush—very orderly, with sparks of personality sprinkled through. the one obvious display, though, is a little collection of photographs of her family throughout the years, but this isn't out of some emotional sentiment, it's more out of duty hfkshfhd oh naomi. she spends more time at her desk than on her bed. the bed is just a place to sleep, not a place to hang out or wallow. if naomi needs to stew in her feelings she's going to go for a run.

kiku is also selective in what displays in the open so it's rather nondescript: some ghibli prints on the wall, album covers, lego on his desk, souvenirs from his mother's travels, gifts from naomi over the years, very 'safe'. the happy together (wong kar wai) poster is not going up on the wall. his room is quite cozy, ambient lighting, a soft rug. for kiku his bed is the most important place in the world, it's where the mask comes off, every sigh of frustration and pleasure muffled under the covers. he can be his true wretched, yearning self <3

[burlveneer-music]

Thandi Ntuli with Carlos Niño - Rainbow Revisited

Liner Notes by Thandi Ntuli: I travelled to Los Angeles and the USA for the first time in 2019. Although I had not met Carlos in person, we connected via Instagram where he saw a video of me playing a piano motif (titled ‘The One’ in this sequence) that he really liked and expressed a wish to record. This was around 2017. We tried a few times to get me over to Los Angeles, but the timing was always off. Through a performance organised by a creative collective called The Nonsemble at The Ford Theatre we finally got the opportunity to meet, play together and subsequently go into studio to record some improvisations as he guided the recording process. Having been aware of some of his work – in particular his collaborative projects as Carlos Niño & Friends, as well as with his friend and long-time collaborator, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – I knew that, with Carlos as producer, the artistic direction of the album would likely take me to a place I’d never considered going. A fact that had me both curious and terrified (as one tends to be when stepping into the unknown) Lol! Initially keen to record the song that he had seen/heard me play on Instagram, our performance a few days before the session drew him to the song Rainbow off my sophomore album, Exiled (2018). On that zen-like California afternoon in Andy Kravitz’s cozy studio in Venice Beach, he encouraged me to play around with various iterations of Rainbow. “Try it this way”, “How about adding that?”, “Can you breathe into the mic?”, “What if you focus on the last section?”, and many other explorations that eventually went through a few cuts, edits, yays and nays to become this body of work. Rainbow Revisited was birthed through that session, another session a couple of days later, and a series of many small synchronicities that led up to that moment. A particularly special moment for me was when he invited me to play something from home, which lent itself to me recording a song originally written by my grandfather that we often sing when at family gatherings. The song is called Nomayoyo. So much has happened since that session in late 2019. Many changes in our personal and collective universes. Losses and gains, births and transitions into the next life, Mother Nature’s ever-constant cycles reminding me that through all the chaos there remains, just beneath, this perfect order in Her ebb and flow. And most importantly, reminding me to feel for Her and to listen. She speaks! If Rainbow in my initial birthing of it, expressed a discontent with what we have accepted as freedom in South Africa and, possibly, around the world, I’d like to think that Rainbow Revisited is some kind of a response. Where the idea of ‘the rainbow nation’, with all the baggage it carried, had hijacked the innocence and mystical nature of a rainbow, I now reclaim its meaning through going back, going inward, healing, and rebuilding with the hope of a less heart-breaking and more fulfilling tomorrow. Lihlanzekile!  Thandi Ntuli: Piano, Synthesizer, Tongo, Voice Carlos Niño: Cymbals, Percussion, Plants Recorded by Andy Kravitz at Studio 4 West, Venice Beach, California, August 2019. Cover Art by Shabaka Hutchings. Graphic Design and Layout by Craig Hansen.

[rosietrace]

Melodic Misconceptions 🎹

Track 27: Haha... Surprise, bitches(affectionate)

Synopsis: Victoria Shard was a former member of the popular idol group [ Poisoner ] from NRC corporations. After discourse with her group leader, Victoria decided it was best for her to leave and pursue her solo career in a record label run by her parents.

It had been half a year since her separation from her old group, and Victoria had never been more successful. But now she has a new problem. She must return to NRC corporations in order to mentor the seven idol groups.

Ellis Clawthorne is a member of [ (Co)-connect ] the most recent group under NRC'S belt. With no experience as an idol, Ellis must persevere in order to succeed and pursue her dreams.

Will both girls be able to adapt to their current situations?

♝•°•══════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══════•°•♝

Author's note: Lo and behold, a new track is upon us!!

Now, before you ask, no. I definitely did not stress myself out trying to finish this. That is a lie

I'm really sorry that updates are slower than when the series first started :( I genuinely feel a lot more guilty for that than I should

But either way, it's always fun to write these tracks ^^ not only are the characters incorporated are super interesting to write for, but it's good to know that I can at least bring joy in my shitty writing

Hope you enjoy this track! And welcome back to another album of Melodic Misconceptions ^^ though, please forgive me for any ooc moments

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ��───ㅇ────

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SKANK ASS SHITFACED LIAR WOULD DO THAT!!"

Ellis flinched, surprised by the sheer strength someone like Zen had to throw a chair across the room.

Juvia reached out, resting her hand on Zen's shoulder."Zen…. We're just as frustrated as you, but still…" she looked away for a brief moment.

"You can't just lash out in frustration like that. Besides… You've been doing that for the past hour.." seeing the pained expression on not only Juvia's face, but the rest of the group's as well, made Zen feel more guilty than he thought he deserved.

".... Sorry." He murmured, simultaneously embarrassed but irritated.

Carol sighed, resting her book on her lap."Well, I can't exactly blame you for being so frustrated." She commented, "It was wrong of Koral and her fans to try and bring your career down just by a single tweet-"

"Which was, may I remind you, not even that offensive of a tweet." Yuuta interrupted, resting his head on his palm as he sat next to Carol.

Narrowing her eyes at him for even the briefest of moments, Carol sighed and nodded in begrudged agreement."Yes…. That."

Zen sat down next to Ellis, groaning into his hands."Fuck…." He cursed, with Ellis gently resting her hand on his shoulder. Similar to what Juvia did moments before.

Humming to herself, Ellis gave Zen an awkward smile once he took the time to look her in the eye.

"If it makes you feel better, you could write a song! To, y'know, clear your head?..." She suggested, feeling all the more awkward by the lack of response on Zen's end.

Mayuu sat on the chair near the kitchen counter, huffing."Hmm….. That could be a good way for Zen to clear his head.." she turned to face the young man in question, "What do you think?"

As everyone turned to face Zen, he contemplated Ellis's suggestion, questioning if he should write a song or not.

Standing up from the couch, Zen made his way to the door. Ellis followed suit, trying to reach out to him.

"Zen-"

"Ellis, please…. I'll be fine." The smile he sent her made Ellis feel even worse for Zen.

"I just need to think about it."

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

Typing down the remaining lyrics of the song she was writing, Chizuko tried - and I mean tried - to ignore the shaking feeling she had.

She tried to ignore it. Desperately. All the tweets surrounding him, all of the rumors about him, and the drama he had with Vil. She did what she could to desperately ignore even thinking about him.

Thinking about Shin.

Frustrated, Chizuko massaged her temples to try and calm herself down. Already feeling frustrated just by briefly having Shin on her mind.

But her thoughts were soon cut short, as Yuuta suddenly entered the living room, an empty coffee mug in tow.

Carol's not gonna like this…. She thought, before narrowing her eyes at Yuuta in disapproval."Why are you awake at this hour?"

Yuuta smirked, taking out the jar of coffee beans from one of the cupboards."‘Could ask you the same thing, Chi." Her expression remained hard, but there was a brief tender softness when he referred to her by her nickname.

"I'm being serious, Yuuta. You should be asleep."

"So should you." Her words fell short when he commented on her recent lack of sleep. Clicking his tongue, Yuuta waited for the hot water to finish boiling as he walked over to Chizuko and sat down next to her.

"Let me guess, Shin?" Ah. She almost forgot that she mentioned that wretched man to Yuuta at some point.

And so, Chizuko attempted to change the subject."Shouldn't you be cuddling with Miren or something?"

Yuuta chuckled, smiling fondly."Well, I would, but he's a bit of a snorer. But that isn't the topic of this conversation, is it?"

Cursing in Korean, Chizuko mentally groaned before giving in."Fine…. I've been trying to get my mind off him."

The expression in Yuuta's eyes softened."Chi…"

She put away her laptop to prevent herself from accidentally damaging it. Especially with the erratic and frustrated movements she was currently making.

"It's just- It feels like everywhere I go, no matter how hard I try-"

"Chi-"

"It's like he's FOLLOWING me! And-"

"Chizuko-"

"I CAN'T STAND HIM BECAUSE OF IT!..."

Pain filled Yuuta's current expression, but that pain soon transitioned into disgust. Because of Shin.

Because of what he did to one of the only people he could call a best friend.

Unexpectedly, Chizuko felt a hand on her head. Yuuta's hand gently patted her in an attempt to comfort her.

"I'm not the best with feelings at all, but…. If you need someone to rant about that shithead? Hit me up." He smiled, gentler than he usually did."Okay?"

Chizuko was silent. Unsurprisingly so, but this time her silence made Yuuta anxious.

But then she sighed, giving him the smallest but most genuine of smiles she could give him.

"Thanks, Yuuta-"

"What are you two doing still up?"

Yuuta flinched, and they both whipped their heads to the direction of the door. Only to find Carol, wearing her pajamas, narrowing her eyes at them.

"Um-"

"Yuuta, you better have a good explanation for this." Carol crossed her arms over her chest. And for once, this was one of the few times Chizuko ever saw Yuuta genuinely nervous.

"Well, miss Ann-" his words were cut off by the sound of the toilet flushing, with Miren groaning soon after.

"Ugh…. I shouldn't have eaten that-" Miren cut himself off once he noticed Carol, Chizuko, and Yuuta.

And after what seemed like an eternity of silence, Carol facepalmed and sighed heavily.

"Good god…."

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

˚₊· ͟͟͞➳❥ [ The next day, Pyroxene café ]

Resting your head on her shoulder, you tried to look at what Victoria was writing. Up until she decided to gently push you away.

You faked a pout."Oh c'mon, why won't you let me see?" You questioned her, trying to annoy her into answering your question.

Victoria rolled her eyes, continuing to write down in her notebook."Zen needed me to rewrite some lyrics for a song he's doing. Although, I'm not sure what his intentions are based on the lyrics in rewriting…"

She turned to look you in the eye, staring at you with the most deadpanned expression anyone could imagine.

"Does that answer your question?"

You leaned back into the chair."Hmm, maybe." Your response wasn't amusing to her in the slightest. At least based on her current facial expression.

So you decided to change the subject.

"How's your friend doing?" She knew you were asking about Zen.

"Zen….. Is going through a lot."

"Isn't ‘cancel culture’ a regular thing with you idols?"

Victoria sighed, "Yes…. But Zen's one of the very few idols that aren't involved in a considerable number of scandals."

Your lips parted, somewhat distracted by the way she looked at the moment. But you threw those thoughts out of the window, knowing you wouldn't be getting any accolades for checking out the idol in front of you.

"So….. He's writing a song to get that off his mind?"

"Clearly." Victoria took a sip of her coffee, before almost violently putting it back down. Which was both hilarious and a tad bit concerning.

Letting out a breath, you stopped her from continuing her little writing spree by placing your hand over hers. Which, in turn, resulted in Victoria whipping her head around to face you.

While you inched unnaturally close to her face. Hell, you didn't even know what you were doing with that kind of proximity.

"Just…. Take a small break, Vic. Please?"

Feeling the tips of her ears go red with the level of proximity between your face and hers, Victoria gently pushed you away. Looking away from you in the process.

Confused, you tried to reach out. But she just swatted your hand away. And in those moments of silence, she finally responded,

".... Fine. Just this once."

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

Taglist

🥥 @starry-night-rose @nem0-nee @windbornearchon @fumikomiyasaki @authoruio @sakuramidnight15

Moots <3 @geminiiviolets @oseathepebble @celiica @twsted-princess @vivaresmala @vaporvipermedia @knights-escort @mintychocolate04 @littleunknowncheesecake

[rhodesportfolio]

SABRINA for Interview Magazine.

Sabrina Carpenter opens up to actress Maya Hawk on a personal chat for Interview Magazine. Photographed by Blake Rhode. Shot in New York City, NY.

As she finally espaces the prefab pressures of Disney-kid stardom by snatching back her artistic identity, Sabrina Carpenter followed up her first four albums with 2022’s Emails I Can’t Send, a more dangerous departure that saw the 24-year-old performer finding vulnerability in pop star problems like public breakups and internet hate. Taylor Swift took notice (she asked her fellow Pennsylvania native to help kick off the international leg of her Eras tour), as did the Catholic Church, which beefed with Sabrina over the video for her single “Feathers” (YouTube it). Someone else who’s been paying attention is the actor and singer Maya Hawke, who called Sabrina up to unpack the complexities of pop stardom.

Sabrina Carpenter wears Dress Givenchy. Bra and Underwear Fleur Du Mal. Bracelets Tiffany & Co. Stockings Wolford. Shoes Giuseppe Zanotti.

WEDNESDAY 6 PM JAN. 3, 2024 NYC

SABRINA CARPENTER: Hi, how are you?

MAYA HAWKE: I’m good. I’m so happy to be talking to you.

CARPENTER: Thank you so much for doing this. How are you feeling?

HAWKE: I’m feeling really good. I just made a sweet potato stew.

CARPENTER: Oh my gosh, you cook? My dream friends are friends who cook.

HAWKE: I cook. [Laughs] Wait, where are you?

CARPENTER: I’m in New York. I’ve told you this, but I live here half the time so I go back and forth. But this is the first year I’ve spent in New York City watching the ball drop, so I feel like I actually live here now.

HAWKE: You didn’t just watch the ball drop, you performed, right?

CARPENTER: Yeah.

HAWKE: What was that like?

Dress and Bag Dsquared2. “SC” Ring (worn on left hand throughout) Sabrina’s Own. Necklace and Rings Cartier. Garter Stylist’s Own.

CARPENTER: Surreal. It’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a little girl, but for some reason it doesn’t click until you’re actually up there and Ryan Seacrest says your name.

HAWKE: I watched it and you’re such a showman, part of why I look up to you is that the visual aspect is really hard for me. Connecting the dots between the three is a really big challenge. I’m curious, did it come all at once or have you been piecing it together slowly?

Dress and Bag Dsquared2. “SC” Ring (worn on left hand throughout) Sabrina’s Own. Necklace and Rings Cartier. Garter Stylist’s Own.

CARPENTER: I like to keep my eyes and ears open for things that resonate with me because that’s what brings my world to life. But most of the time I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. It just has to be true to you, as clichéd as that sounds, because there’s no formula, as much as people like to think that you sit in an office and people tell you what you should wear and how you should act onstage.

HAWKE: Yeah. It’s more like you sit alone in your room and people call you and go, “What are you wearing? What’s the plan?” And you’re like, “I don’t know. Maybe this?”

CARPENTER: And then you end up finding what makes you feel comfortable. For me, clothing has had a huge part in that. It’s been a process of finding out what actually makes me feel comfortable. And oh my god, I’m not going to be comfortable in what I’m wearing right now in three to four years. But I have to follow what I feel at that moment.

Dress and Bag Dsquared2. “SC” Ring (worn on left hand throughout) Sabrina’s Own. Necklace and Rings Cartier. Garter Stylist’s Own.

HAWKE: That’s such a zen way to think about it. But if I hadn’t experimented in all the ways that I did, I don’t think I would be myself now.

CARPENTER: The mistakes lead you to knowing yourself the most. If I didn’t wear the hideous things I wore when I was 13, whatever fedora I had, I don’t think I would’ve been the same person I am today. Also, what a humbling experience to look back and be like, “I’ve changed.” That’s a really good sign that you’ve lived life the way you should.

HAWKE: I think so, too. I wanted to ask you about the organic growth of “Nonsense.” That song wasn’t a single, right? A fan found it and then it exploded, as far as I could tell.

CARPENTER: Yeah. Sometimes I get insecure about pop music and the fact that it can’t always resonate with people. So it was really special for me to experience that song having its own life, maybe because it felt like the closest to my true personality, as silly as that sounds.

HAWKE: That makes total sense.

CARPENTER: I get chills when my music received in a good way because I think one of the trickiest things for an artist is accepting being misunderstood. It comes with making art in any capacity.

HAWKE: Totally.

Top and Earrings Gucci. Necklace Cartier.

CARPENTER: I wrote most of the songs on Emails I Can’t Send not intending to ever put them out in the world, because I don’t think I would’ve written those songs if I thought about other people hearing them.

HAWKE: I actually feel that in the record. I started listening with “Skin” and then did a deep dive of your other stuff, but this record feels like you plunge 1,000 feet deeper into your own gut, and I’m so grateful you did.

CARPENTER: Unfortunately, you have to allow yourself to get to that point where you’re even able to do that, and until I made this album, I wasn’t at that place where I felt I could. The other day, this guy was like, “Life is so long. You just have to follow the things that make you feel something, whether that’s good or bad.” And I was like, “Wow, I always hear life is short.” But it made me really excited about the fact that I’m going to find my way through.

HAWKE: That’s a very, very important thing to remember. It’s both things. An hour can feel like an eternity and a day can go by in the blink of an eye. Time seems to be what you make of it and if you treat your life like it’s long, it will be.

CARPENTER: [Laughs] We sound like fortune cookies.

HAWKE: We do.

Dress and Belt Blumarine. Hat and Underwear Stylist’s Own. Earrings, Necklaces, and Bracelets Tiffany & Co.

CARPENTER: [Laughs] Exactly.

HAWKE: Wait, before you go, I have a couple ridiculous questions for you.

CARPENTER: Oh, please.

HAWKE: Okay. How do you choose the names of your songs?

CARPENTER: Ooh, good question. I choose the names of my songs by things I feel would jump out at me on a piece of paper, and usually my songs start with titles.

HAWKE: That’s extremely cool. Do you choose the names of your albums in similar ways?

CARPENTER: The name of my album comes through a miracle somewhere in the universe, and it usually comes the day before I have to turn in the whole thing, but I like to think I’ll get better at that as time goes on.

HAWKE: How do you decide what songs belong on the record and what songs don’t?

Dress and Belt Blumarine. Hat and Underwear Stylist’s Own. Earrings, Necklaces, and Bracelets Tiffany & Co.

CARPENTER: I spend a lot of time with them, and the ones I still want to listen to after six months to a year, that feel like they’re still brand new, resonate with me the most. But sometimes that question is a bit unanswerable because it’s a feeling.

HAWKE: And lastly, are you working on another album?

CARPENTER: I am.

HAWKE: That’s very exciting. My sisters absolutely love you.

CARPENTER: Will you tell them I say hi?

HAWKE: Duh. They will scream. Thank you so much for asking me to do this.

CARPENTER: I’m genuinely so grateful. You’re so awesome. Also, I secretly just asked you to do this because I wanted to have a conversation with you.

HAWKE: That makes me even happier.

[mysmestranscripts]

ZEN After End

[Background: Jumin’s penthouse]

[Music: None]

Jumin: Bangladesh, Philipines... Not there.

Jumin: All the countries that are left... are small islands.

Jaehee: Where in the world do you think V is?

Jaehee: If you couldn't find him with all your connections, I think we should stop searching.

[Music: Mystic Chat]

TV: A! Celebrity News has the scoop. Echo Girl has been cast as the lead in the new period series "Moon and Stars". We've got the scoop at the scene.

Echo Girl: I have to thank the CEO of my management company for giving me such a good role. I just wanted to prove that young singers like me know how to act with this role.

Echo Girl: Famous singers like me have to pave a new path for the industry to improve you know.

Jaehee: You've had that TV for a long time.

Jumin: Nothing bad will come out of saving. I only watch it about twice a year. I don't feel the need to upgrade.

TV: The soundtrack album has been doing well at the charts too. An interesting fact about this new series! The rising star Zen has also been cast!

TV: Zen was involved in a sexual harassment scandal with Echo Girl two years ago, but his sincere press conference put him under a positive spotlight.

TV: We, here at A! News, gathered up our courage to request an interview with Echo Girl concerning this incident.

Echo Girl: What? Why are you asking me that? It's way in the past now and the misunderstanding was resolved. I hope to meet him in the professional world soon. No more comment.

Jaehee: That scandal is now an embarrassment in her career. Weren't you quite mischievous to cast them in the same series?

Jumin: I didn't give that order. If I had, Zen would be the lead and she'd have a supporting role.

Zen: Oh~ Is that what Kyungju said..? I-I mean, Echo Girl. Anyways, I just like to think that she was young and emotional back then and made a mistake. Anyways, the past isn't important for our acting.

Zen: Mr. Producer, please cut out that part about me calling her Kyungju. She hates it when people say her real name. I mean, I think the name's fine! Hahaha.

Jaehee: Her real name wasn't edited out I see.

[Music stops]

Jumin: That, I ordered.

Jaehee: ...

[Background: Black screen]

Staff: Take five everyone!

Echo Girl: The outtakes are all because of everyone else! Manager! Bring me some water!

Echo Girl: It's so hot here.

[Background: Zen After End 1]

[Music: Narcissistic Jazz]

Zen: I'm sorry I had to make you wait, sweetie!

Zen: …You waited long, right? Kyungju kept making mistakes so we couldn't get a good take.

Zen: I'm sure it must be hard following me around location shoots. Isn't it hard being on set? You can rest at the hotel… I mean, of course it really helps me that you're here.

Zen: Yeah! I love it! I'm so happy to see you watching me. I want you to be my manager forever.

Zen: I get to see you at home and at work… I can never get sick of my cutie pie's face…

Zen: But… why are you wearing such a low-cut top? What if the other crew members see you? We have a lot of young guys here.

Zen: It's okay when you're with me… but it bothers me. What if one of those guys stares at you while I'm focusing on my scene? You're mine…!

Zen: Ugh, alright… I won’t be so sensitive outside. But… let me make sure when we get home, that you’re mine.

Zen: Of course I’m yours. Thinking about possessing each other, it reminds me of the show I did before. Remember “Emperor’s Game”? The line went like this.

[Music: Lonely but Passionate Way]

Zen: From now on to the end of my life, you are mine and I am yours. While the sun rises from the East and sets in the West, you are my sun, my moon, and my stars.

Zen: Saying it in front of you really makes me feel it, MC…

Zen: I’m so grateful that we can be together like this. Don’t start blushing. You are always a blessing and my source of happiness… I want you to be proud of that.

Zen: Every morning when I see you asleep in bed, I tell myself that I will love you and always be true to you. Isn’t that pretty amazing?

Zen: No, what? I'm not practicing my lines.

Zen: I mean all of that. MC... When I see you fall asleep beside me every night... I think about our past, present and future...

Zen: Because we are each other's mirrors and our paths.

Zen: …I'm making you cringe? Sweetie, I guess you don't know what's really cringeworthy. I don't want to stop expressing my love. Look into my eyes.

Zen: MC, you are my life and my traces. Sometimes, we fight over small things, but our hearts are connected, so I'll start to understand everything you went through in your life when I wasn't there.

Zen: Because now, basically you are my life.

Zen: You are my sun, my moon, and my stars… No matter how far apart we are, we'll always think of each other…

Zen: Hahaha… Good job listening to all this, cutie.

[Background: Zen After End 2]

Zen: Even when the sun rises from the West and sets in the East, my heart will never change. My MC, I love you forever.

[taminoarticles]

— Tamino and Ramy for Knack Focus, 2018 (x)

Tamino & Ramy, Mortsel's most successful brother couple: 'Together we can do nothing bad'

Kristof Dalle 16-10-2018, 14:00 Updated on: 23-04-2022, 08:01

One is 21 and storms the sky with Amir, his debut album. The other is 18 and determines the international image of his brother from his room in Mortsel as a house photographer, director and all-round creative director. Ramy and Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad, Mortsel's most successful family business. "There is both a romantic young soul and a nihilistic old man in me."

“When I was fourteen, I was a bit of an asshole. The classic adolescent rebellion to rebel, especially at school.'

'At school? Especially to me, yes, Tamino. I often asked Mom to send you to boarding school after all. Really very often. Well, it's clearly all worked out.'

Eighteen months after he forced his breakthrough with Habibi and was proclaimed laureate of De Nieuwe Lichting, there is still no measure of Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad. Last month he received the Anchor Award for up-and-coming talent together with Faces on TV at the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, this week Amir , his debut album, is on the shelves. Mesmerizing listening songs – as usual – peppered with Middle Eastern elements. Younger brother and film student at Sint-Lukas Brussels Ramy – 'Feel free to call him my creative director', says Tamino – provided the artwork and accompanying clips, just as he did for Blackwave , Emma Bale and Portland. Memo: one brother is 21, the other 18.

Say Ramy, you sure like that cameo as a woman, huh? Tamino

'Now that Tamino is really going international, I receive daily emails from America or Australia about artwork or promotional material', says Ramy. 'It was just about posters in the Paris metro. Crazy, if you think about it. Nothing goes on without my approval. I try to keep the overview, so that Tamino doesn't have to worry too much about it. That way he can remain a bit of a dreamy artist.'

Ramy's words whirl through the Antwerp Bar Vert. The eighteen-year-old speaks with the same confidence as his older brother, albeit much more softly and without too much intonation. It's eleven o'clock in the morning, or you would almost think that… 'I choked? Well, I hear that often.' Tamino laughs. “In high school they called him out because he was supposed to be stoned in class every day. Not so. Ramy is just extremely zen.'

Useful. Especially because at the age of eighteen, Ramy already largely controls your international image. You'd get nervous for less.

Ramy Moharam Fouad: (grins) There's a lot of pressure on me, but that's how I like it.

Tamino Moharam Fouad: I know. That also makes me feel less guilty for putting so much burden on your shoulders. We're just a good team.

Ramy: Together we can't make anything bad, I really believe that. We don't give up until it's right.

Has directing always been your calling, Ramy?

Ramy: No. Tamino would be the director, I the actor. I went to drama school from the age of eight to seventeen. Tamino was already writing pieces when he was ten and let me play them. I loved doing that.

Tamino: You just didn't know any better. It's also not that hard to get a six-year-old to play a knight who has to save the world. (laugh)

Ramy: It wasn't until I was fifteen that I became interested in photography – I did the artwork for Tamino's entrance exam at the Conservatory of Amsterdam – and later also in directing. The more behind the scenes documentaries I saw, the more that side of the business started to attract me.

In 2016 you shot the short film Damonia , of which your brother was responsible for a good part of the soundtrack. Damonia deals with dementia. What possesses a young fellow to tackle a theme that is – presumably – very far from his bed?

Ramy: When I first started photography, when I was 15, a friend of Mom's asked me if I wanted to make a series of portraits of her demented grandmother Godelieve as a keepsake. Tough, but I wanted to try. In the end it turned out to be a really nice day. Clear or not, she clearly enjoyed modeling. Her husband was also a photographer, she told me. He was currently in Africa but soon had an exhibition nearby. Her husband had died two years earlier. A day later I received a message from her granddaughter: Godelieve had died that night. I remember that I immediately thought of Damonia like crazyI have begun to write about a woman who longs in vain for her husband's return. That was the first time I felt such a compulsion: I had to tell that story, and photos alone wouldn't get me there.

Today you will also be directing your brother's clips, most recently Persephone's, in which Tamino sings to his beloved as Hades. It is remarkably understated compared to your earlier work.

Ramy: I wanted to portray the Persephone myth quite subtly, since the song is already very heavy and full of symbolism anyway. Although it had to be an intense viewing experience at the same time. For some, it might be too much of a good thing, but hey, so be it.

Tamino: The same goes for the song itself: it asks a lot of the listener. Which essentially gives you free rein for the accompanying clip.

We now know that Tamino works quite uncompromisingly. But apparently it's a family trait?

Tamino: I'm stubborn, but Ramy is at least twice as bad. Which also strikes me as a good quality for an artist. Although it is still a punishment how he cannot be dismissed from his vision at the age of eighteen. Even if that sometimes makes the collaborations very intense.

Do you always pull the same rope on set?

Tamino: We're always on the same side, yes. (…) What are you laughing at now?

Ramy: What about Cigar ? It's true that we're usually on the same page, but in the run-up to that clip he must have invaded my room at least five times. "Hey Ramy, you're sure about my cameo as a woman, aren't you?" "Yes, Tamino." "But really, huh?"

Tamino: I don't mind walking around in women's clothes. But it had to match the rest of the story. And I wanted to be a beautiful woman. (laughs)

Ramy: Come on, Tamino, you really are a beautiful woman.

Come Tamino, you are a beautiful woman. Ramy

Remarkably, that was still an issue in the first place. Last year you told in this magazine how liberating it was to be raised only by your mother and you never had to hide your feminine side, like your falsetto voice.

Tamino: That was also very liberating. And again, I actually really like to show up in women's clothes, but it wasn't supposed to look like a joke. It was also true: we asked the girls in the clip to dress up as nineteenth-century prostitutes, so putting on a skirt was the least I could do.

Ramy: I think I have that feminine in me even more than Tamino. Largely because Mommy raised us alone.

Tamino: You have a certain softness that you could possibly call feminine. But at the same time – if we think in traditional roles – a hardness and stubbornness that is just very masculine.

In the clip of Tummy, Ramy portrays you as a living pharaoh statue. No matter how much you try to wash off the gold paint at night, every morning, ad aeternam you still wake up like a shining pharaoh. A quite literal nod to the exaggerated emphasis on your roots and your grandfather, the famous Egyptian singer Moharam Fouad?

Ramy: That's one of the elements. That clip is a good summary of the record for me. 'Amir' means 'prince' in Arabic. A prince has no choice, he is born that way. The same goes for musicians. You can't run away from who you are.

Tamino: The choice for that pharaoh was of course obvious. It remains very strange, the realization that when people hear that I am a half-Egyptian musician, they still automatically think of pyramids and sphinxes. (dry) There are really very few pyramids in my music. When I think of Egyptian music, it is, for example, a firqa, an extensive Middle Eastern orchestra that includes oud and ney players, the kind my grandfather, or Umm Kulthum, also performed with.

That clip made me feel somewhat sorry for Tamino, who tries little successfully to escape from all the attention. Was that the intended emotion?

Ramy: No. But I do like to hear it .

Tamino: It's been going really fast for me for a year and a half now, but I can't complain about that, can I? This is what I've wanted to do all my life, there's never been another option. At the same time, I understand Tom Waits when he says: 'It's funny how you want to get people's attention. But when you get it, you want people to fuck off.' And I'm not talking about the fans, but about all the noise: the appointments, the promo, the flow of emails...

You did incorporate your grandfather's music into the record.

Tamino: Inne Eysermans of Amatorski set to work with Moharam's music. She took a couple of my grandfather's cassettes, worked on them overnight, and by morning she had thirty wacky new soundscapes ready. I don't understand how she does it at all. Pure wizard. I can only listen to it with my mouth open.

I am also glad that I could be guided by a Brussels firqa. Until then I just had some arrangements in my music program, then suddenly everything fell together. They had previously asked me to perform with them with my grandfather's music. But I really didn't feel ready for that: I don't know Arabic and I'm not schooled in that music at all.

Have you already performed in Egypt?

Tamino: No, and if I ever play there, it won't be obvious. With my legacy.

As the grandson of the Egyptian Frank Sinatra.

Tamino: I am very happy that I could start in a country where hardly anyone knows who Moharam Fouad was. Because even before I can sing a note, the average Egyptian will have formed an image of how I should sound. My father was never able to cash in on his singing career in Egypt: he always remained 'the son of'.

Which song on Amir do you want to work on, Ramy?

Ramy: Chambers. Strong song, sticks and I immediately had a lot of images in my head. Not everyone on the team was a fan of that song, but I was very resolute against it.

Tamino: There's a good clip in that, yes. I draw parallels between relationships and a battlefield, how you can sometimes oppose each other as two armies. 'In your feigned retreat I'll follow blindly in defeat.' Napoleon was also defeated: 'Tiens, the British are on the run? We're going after it!'

Ramy: (smiles) I get goosebumps when he quotes from it. I have that too with Will of This Heart.

A song about how someone dragged you out of a dark period.

Tamino: Something, not someone. Love, and how it can get you out of a deep valley but also make you soar so high that you become vulnerable again. 'No one else could match your flavor.' I would never sing that about a person. (laughter) Be a little realistic. Verses is a love song to someone, in the purest sense, inspired by The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.

Together we can do nothing bad, I really believe that. We don't give up until it's right. Ramy Moharam Fouad

The Prophet must be pretty much your favorite book. In the foreword, Gibran's work is described as 'a romantic rebellion in a cold world'. Do you see yourself that way too?

Tamino: I don't so much rebel against a cold world, but rather against my own nihilism. Amir is one big contrast between the romantic and the apathetic. I really want to surrender – 'fuck it, you get everything, you get me completely' – but often I don't feel anything at all. A song like So It Goes is about that, about how you don't seem to notice the beauty around you at all. (thinks) There is both a romantic young soul and a nihilistic old man in me.

Ramy: I recognize it in myself too, although I would call it focus rather than nihilism. When I'm in a flow, I'm anything but social.

Tamino: That's why I haven't changed a bit in the last year. I'm just working, I wouldn't even know where to schedule diva scenes in my calendar. (laugh) In order to get everything done, you have to flatten yourself. I see a lot of artists who struggle with that. Understandable. Artists are not made to flatten themselves.

Is that why you're both up so early? The questionable talent to flatten everything where necessary.

Tamino: No. Nihilism kills everything, it is of little use to you. We owe a lot to Mom, who always left us free to do what we wanted to do. And besides that, Ramy and I just share a certain passion and willingness to sacrifice everything for that. Coming back to Tummy: if you're born with a calling, a talent, or whatever you want to call it, you can't help but feel it. If you're lucky enough that everything falls into place, then you don't let that slip out of your hands, do you? Then you just grow up very quickly.

Ramy: It's a very strange realization, but I haven't really felt like a student for a day. I'm just going with Tamino's rhythm. Fortunately, I can do a lot from my room, while he has to stand on it every day, facing the outside world. (thinks) Everyone says we're old souls.

Tamino: (half admonishing) Ramy, you don't say that about yourself.

Ramy: People say: 'Ramy, you are so young. Enjoy life anyway.' But this is my way of enjoying it. I feel physically bad if I don't get the most out of a day.

I hope to make a feature film someday. I look up to Xavier Dolan, but even harder to Spike Jonze. Ramy Moharam Fouad

Tamino: I have a hard time enjoying the fleeting things. Drinking wine on a terrace? A sun holiday at a swimming pool? Mumps. It's fun at the moment, but it doesn't stop there. Gibran says, "Labour is love made visible." That's right. It gives life meaning.

At eighteen you already have a vision of the direction you want to go, Ramy – if you have to choose?

Ramy: I hope to be able to play a full-length one day. And after a year of mainly video clips, I now really feel the need to work out my own project again.

Tamino: You're a storyteller. While a video clip, just like a song, is at most a sketch. You can never put everything into that.

Ramy: In three minutes I can lose my egg. Clips are also very grateful, because you do get a response. Let's be honest: such a short film is fantastic to make, but you know that you will never reach a large audience with it. I now have to redo my first year at Sint-Lukas – Tamino was my biggest priority this year – but of course I don't regret it for a second. I couldn't imagine a better school.

Reportedly, you mainly look up to Canadian director Xavier Dolan.

Ramy: It's hard not to admire Dolan, isn't it. There are very few directors who have already shot five relevant, intelligent films before the age of twenty-five. Although today I look even more up to Spike Jonze (director of Her and Being John Malkovich, ed.) Dolan's rawer work is very interesting, but I lean more towards Jonze's magical realism, creating a reality within reality. Damonia and my video clips always have such a dreamy atmosphere.

I understand. Jonze also started with video clips. And Jackass of course. I can still see you doing that. Tamino

Tamino: I get it. Jonze also started shooting music videos before shooting great movies. And Jackass of course. I can still see Ramy doing that. (laughs)

Ramy: First we have to make that animation sequence that you came up with. Walking Stick Charlie , about the adventures of a stick insect.

Tamino: Soon someone else will be walking along. But admit it's a good idea? Not least because such a stick insect reduces the animation costs enormously.

[aftergiow]

Very specific mystic messenger headcanons:

What is each character's favorite Taylor Swift album?

Saeyoung

Reputation stan

Loves Taylor's portrayal of finding true love in the middle of chaos. Your lover being the only one who truly knows you, and that's all that matters at the end of the day

Favorite bad bitch moment song will be I Did Something Bad, favorite soft song would be Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Has watched the Reputation Stadium Tour Live Show a million times

Cries to New Year's Day

Favorite lyric: "Flashback to my mistakes, my rebounds, my earthquakes / even in my worst lies, you saw the truth of me / and I woke up just in time, now I wake up by your side / my one and only, my lifeline"

Saeran

Lover enjoyer, probably would have Folklore as his second favorite

We know Saeran loves love; he finds comfort on Lover because of Taylor's depiction of the said topic. Love isn't perfect, but it's one of the strongest forces out there

Also loves Folklore because it feels very innocent, fresh but warm, like a hot summer night. It despicts themes of regret, the naivety of being young, passion, love, and the fear of not being enough, which he can relate to

Favorite songs would be The Archer (A Ray Anthem™️), Cornelia Street and Seven

Favorite lyric: "All the king's horses, all the king's men / couldn't put me together again / 'cause all of my enemies started out friends / help me hold on to you"

Yoosung

Fearless (Taylor's Version) stannie

Loves the portrayal of young love, first time experiences, the heartbreak, passion and intensity you feel when you're young

Thinks of V when listening to Breathe

Favorite song would be Fearless, he loves the depiction of risking everything for the one you love because you don't have any fears when you're with them

A close second choice would be You Belong With Me, he has definitely screamed it at the top of his lungs on his room before

The Other Side Of The Door Enthusiast™️

Daydreams about having a fight with his lover and then reconciling with a kiss in the rain

Favorite lyric: "You pull me in and I'm a little more brave / it's the first kiss, it's flawless, really something / it's fearless"

Jaehee

Jaehee is an Evermore person, this isn't up for debate

Which is gayer: whatever Taylor has going on on Evermore or Jaehee

Loves this album specifically because it makes her feel warm, like drinking a nice cup of coffee on a chilly fall evening

Appreciates the songwriting

Favorite songs are Ivy, Cowboy Like Me

Her favorite non-evermore song would be Wonderland

She also loves No Body No Crime because she, too, has fantasized about k*ll*ng men before

Favorite lyric: "I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bones / in a faith-forgotten land"

Jumin

Probably loves Folklore because Taylor uses smart words that no other person in the RFA understands except for him

Maybe it is hard for him to relate to most of her lyrics but he still finds interest on her songwriting. Loves analyzing the lyrics

Does the August tiktok dance

Favorite songs would be The Lakes and Hoax

Favorite song outside of Folklore would be False God, loves the instrumentals on that one

Favorite lyric: "A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground with no one around to tweet it / while I bathe in cliffside pools / with my calamitous love and insurmountable grief"

Zen

1989 stannie, pop music enjoyer. Reputation is a close second on his ranking

Appreciates the songwriting but goes insane for the simple things in life, like Blank Space and Shake It Off

You Are In Love is one of his favorite love songs ever

Favorite songs would be Wildest Dreams and I Know Places

He also loves Welcome to New York. He hasn't been there yet but he has a romanticized version of New York on his head because of how Taylor talks so passionately about the city

From Reputation, King Of My Heart is his jam

Favorite lyric: "Like any great love, it keeps you guessing / like any real love, it's ever-changing / like any true love, it drives you crazy, but you know you wouldn't change anything"

V

Taylor literally wrote Red (Taylor's Version) for him and him only

Gets chills whenever he listens to All Too Well

Will never recover from All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (don't worry buddy, me neither)

Constant Pain And Suffering™️

His favorite song from red would be All Too Well (obviously) and Sad Beautiful Tragic

Outside of Red, his favorite songs would be Mirrorball and Afterglow

Favorite lyric: "'Cause there we are again in the middle of the night / we're dancing ‘round the kitchen in the refrigerator light"

[apinchofm]

Baldwin prompt: When sorting through the De Clermont treasures, Phoebe stumbles apon a photo album.

Its Baldwin in his hippie faze that no one knows about.

Until she shows them all the evidence that he, is in fact, a flower child.

Phoebe tried not to get surprised by the de Clermonts. Yet, every discovery she makes confuses her.

"Is that...?" She looked at the faded photographs closely. It was. But it couldn't be.

"Phoebe, dear, slow down," Ysabeau cautioned lightly as the young woman came crashing into the parlour.

"What was everyone doing in the 60s? Now." Phoebe demanded.

"I'm not sure why that matters, but I was in Mi5," Matthew said cautiously. Diana looked at her husband surprised.

"Gallowglass joined the IRA," Marcus said.

"Shut up. You were the one having every army nurse on the border," Gallowglass snarked back.

"What was Baldwin doing?" Phoebe asked

"Uh, dad went away for a bit. Cold war, remember?" Miyako shrugged, "Why?"

Phoebe dumped the box of photographs on the coffee table, "He was a hippie."

"Baldwin? A hippie?" Matthew scoffed, "He wasn't exactly stopping wars in the 20th century. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he had JFK killed because he got bored."

"Yeah, my parents and aunts were hippies," Diana said, "I don't think Baldwin was exactly anti-war."

"Well," Phoebe turned over the box, spilling the old photographs on the table and everyone, "He was at Woodstock!"

"Holy crap," Miyako laughed at one picture of her dad in a flowery shirt, "Oh, this is amazing."

"Is that Jane Fonda?" Diana asked, tilting her head, then she turned over the next photo, "And that's an orgy. Who photographs this?"

"Hippies were a lot of fun," Gallowglass said wistfully, "I do like Uncle's long hair. Got in touch with those old roots."

"I can't believe he was a hippy," Matthew said in disbelief, "A hippy?!"

"Perhaps he was spying on the ant-war movement," Diana mused, "Stopping them from being effective?"

"I don't think you need to actually be in a tent with Hendrix and Joni Mitchell for that," Marcus said.

Baldwin came into the living room, "What are we doing for dinner? I made reservations."

"Bit of flower power?" Gallowglass teased handing him a photograph. Baldwin took it, confused but then nodded looking it seriously.

"Ah, yes. That was a lot of fun. I should call Stevie, see how she's doing," Baldwin said, and noticed everyone looking at him strangely, "What?"

"Explain." Phoebe demanded.

"Okay. My father was killed by Nazis and my psychotic nephew. Last time a family member died, I waged war on the rest of civilisation, but I found drugs and peace a better and safer alternative for a few summers, given the world was a shitshow," Baldwin explained, "Found some zen, as it were."

"Why not stay a hippie?" Miyako asked.

"Because the war in Rhodesia got really fun. Why on earth would I miss out on that? Got in the mood for the rest of Vietnam and screwing with communists," Baldwin said with a vicious smile.

"See, that's Baldwin de Clermont," Marcus pointed at his uncle.

[9w1ft]

i am writing this fully aware that things can boomerang at the drop of a hat but i haven’t blown a gasket in awhile so allow me this one gratis ☺️

over the past -*looks at watch*- counting on two years, i feel like i’ve aged twenty. and the aging process has truly come from all sides. all facets. i feel like i’ve seen it all! but the simplicity of today set me on fire lol.

and this is coming off of 2019 of all years!

2019: the year that brought forth accounts and shells that corralled newbie gaylors on discord and showered them with saccharine nicknames and had them push debunkable “intel” , and accounts with galaxybrained-only-in-aesthetics assertions that taylor and karlie are just both fucked in the head, clingy and jealous, showing up to one another’s tropical vacations with entourages of hot chicks like this is all some sort of twisted disney channel original movie, and suddenly i’ve got multiple kids in my inbox sending me pictures of flight patterns (yikes) with the wrong filters on them insisting they’re proof that taylor is having some affair with a fan of hers because taylor can never support a young lady musician without a slice of this internet assuming it’s proof she’s horny and lonely, a year where it was *insisted* in between gingham jackets that a performance now two years old was the start of tides imminently turning, a year where people refused to stay in their lanes, reblogged and added and repurposed so many things in *my* lane to their liking, called upon magical realism, likened taylor to a literally reincarnation of nikola tesla, pushed reinterpretations of core symbols that even i - the @9w1ft - the delusional one - would call reaches, a year that people somehow got the notion, thanks to scorched earth tactics, that taylor would dedicate a whole album to her lover only as a hail mary to get her back, that every time she sang the titular song it was surely sung sadly, some last gasp of air, some cry out for help, as opposed to her gunning for a grammy, a year when anything sad taylor expressed in the back half and first months of 2020 was surely a reflection of her heartbreak, that loverfest being canceled was her giving up on her lover, ****when scooter f*ing braun purchasing her masters and the novel coronavirus pandemic are **right there** staring you right in the eye****, but should be overlooked because surely taylor and karlie were a thing but broke up in… 2017. mid 2018. late 2018. early 2019. mid 2019. early 2020. just the other day. enough! enough 😂😂😂

no, somehow, against all odds, this all managed to pale in comparison to this past year. ohhhh nilly, this past years’ time really has taken the damn cake. because for all the distressing behavior that lover era brought, nothing can compare to the true hurt and distraught i felt this year with, upon given the opportunity to practice kindness and grace, temperance and patience, especially towards one another - because it’s literally all we can control - i found myself waking up in the middle of the night queasy as all hell and unable to discern if it was because of my pregnancy or because of the truly gross things people were saying. tired games of gotcha, @‘s in callout posts that people would screenshot and send to me worried, people coming into my inbox and my friends inboxes with copypasted obtuse threats all when i was basically checked out and trying to keep the zen until the pregnancy stuck (which these people surely knew about because they follow me closely enough to know where they could send me threats, but i digress, weird how they didn’t practice what they preach, sorry i was saying but i digress), and then for the pinnacle of that to be the… commodification of taylor’s queerness? the casualness of it all, the paywall of it all! so many people changing usernames and timelines it was tough for even me —resident kaylor that’s on this hell site 24/7– to keep track of. and the stuff i saw others getting sent! it’s been ridiculous! some of you anons best wash your mouths with a bar of soap… not once! two times! ya hear me!

but i’m not done! because the thing that broke my heart more than anything that broke my heart was seeing all y’all turn on karlie and positively revel in the hate. just steep in it. especially while she was pregnant (and quite frankly now that she’s a new mom too but whatever). don’t send me your justifications, i’ve read them all. the horse is high. she brought this upon herself. uhuh, sure, but my beef is not about karlie. it’s about here. it’s about us! look at this place! one cannot justify holding this much contempt, at a level where it consumes ones life and the lives of those surrounding it. i don’t know why i’m even writing this because i know the pushback and talking points as if they were seared on the back of my eyelids. but when did making a lark of the misery become toxic positivity? why’s the high crime of being hopeful deserve a subtweet? i get that everyone’s sense of wonder is tired and everyone has their opinions of which i am not under the impression i could ever change. but for the love of god please, find the joy somewhere or find other things that bring the joy because sometimes i come on here and by god, this is no way to live!

but today i just, i dunno, i see these faces from times past in my feed coming to coyly collect on the chuckles and while i’m glad they’ve found a balance that’s worked for them, i guess i just… wished more of them had been sticking around to water the flowerbeds because it’s become a goddamned dried arrangements boutique around here with a fault line in the floor splitting clear through the earth. there’s no middle ground. we used to have a garden variety! and you all know i’m not just turning it up to 11 on the daily for my own sake, right? i’m throwing boxes of baking soda at these negative PH hydrangeas but day in day out these blooms are coming up bright red. and today it feels like people came to pick them and peace out as if nothings happened here in the past two years

😮‍💨 okay. i’ve said my piece. … but one more thing.

and all the while the latest album is titled, of all things, evermore. a word meaning? what’s that? forever. forever! come on!! not to get all steve on ya but sit down in your thinking chair. i was gonna make a list of the most eye catching things just to go over them but today i don’t feel like doing the work.

things i know:

karlie had a baby

karlie is a mom

i like babies, and motherhood, and karlie, and i support karlie and her journey.

taylor and karlie are clearly still hamming it up

ipso facto, while i know nothing, i remain unbothered.

i also know that i love the people i’ve met along the way. and i always will, and as november comes close i miss that feeling of going to rep tour. what a time it was. what a feeling. and i know one day we’ll get it back. but this year, damn, this year ain’t it.

[k-itsmaywriting]

AnS Kpop AU Headcanons

(not the same kpop au i wrote in 2017 but i Am keeping Obi and Kiki being in a duo together because :3c)

Shirayuki:

Currently a songwriter and producer at Clarines Entertainment. She has her own studio in the office called Snow White’s Apothecary.

Has been songwriting since she was a young teenager. She played the piano and the guitar, and would often busk around Seoul, especially in areas where there are a lot of young people around, like Hongdae and Sinchon.

Before she was hired with Clarines as a songwriter and PD, she was a popular contestant on a girl group survival show co-hosted by Tanbarun Entertainment. The official statement says she ran away before the semi-finals due to pressures of being an idol, but only she and her close friends and colleagues at Clarines know the truth, involving a certain son of Tanbarun Entertainment’s CEO 👀

The first song she wrote at Clarines became the lead single of Zen’s highly anticipated solo debut album. They worked closely together throughout the process and became very good friends.

Is the illegitimate child of Mukaze, the frontman of a rock band that was very big (but controversial) in the 90s.

Obi:

Clarines’ wild card newest trainee at the ripe old age of 22 when Shirayuki was hired, and when Zen was still preparing for his solo debut.

A highly talented and well-known hip-hop dancer in the underground scene. Was also part of a rap group with Torou for several years since the end of high school until they recently disbanded.

Was then scouted by Haruka and he decided to audition for Clarines...as a joke.

Actually got in.

Offered money by Haruka to scare off the new producer who Zen has been working with and making eyes at so that the arising rumours about the two of them dating would disappear before it became a scandal.

Was originally training to debut in a boy group with Kai, Shiira, Shikito and Shuuka, but ended up debuting in a duo with Kiki.

Korean-American. Moved to Korea from the U.S with his family when he was a teenager. Often felt like an outsider because of it. Still does.

Zen:

An Established Idol under Clarines Entertainment. Just debuted as a solo artist after being in a co-ed group with Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Kihal for seven years (now disbanded). The group was called Birds of Paradise.

Kain (CEO at the time) had him debut as the youngest member of the group when he was 15. Was one of two main vocalists and main dancer, often singing choruses of the group’s songs with Kiki.

The younger brother of Izana, current CEO and ex-solo singer.

Almost involved in a scandal when he was 17. He had a rumoured boyfriend, Atri, a classmate from high school and a member of a punk band. The company denied these rumours. However, Atri and his band members were later arrested for drug possession and photos of him and Zen were found in his phone and in his home. It’s only because of Izana that the tabloids didn’t publish the article they had about it.

Birds of Paradise:

Members: Mitsuhide, Kiki, Kihal, and Zen

A popular group when they were active, but it waned towards the end of their contract. The members parted ways as they felt they were becoming stagnant as artists.

Mitsuhide was band leader, oldest member, and rapper. Has background in hip-hop dancing and some rap, but mostly learned when he was a trainee.

Was meant to have a very macho tough-guy image that he did NOT keep up for very long.

Has been quiet after disbandment. Currently figuring out what he wants to do.

Kihal was their other rapper. After the group disbanded, she left the company and continued her rap career with an independent label.

Was always very ambitious as a rapper and wanted to write about more serious topics, particularly political topics, but was discouraged for being too controversial and risky, even after Izana became CEO.

Kiki and Zen were vocalists. Kiki occasionally rapped, which she learned to do as a trainee.

Kiki’s father is the CEO of a TV broadcasting station that hosts music shows, idol variety shows, end-of-year award shows, and other music-related programs.

Being surrounded by music, Kiki has learned singing and dancing since she was a child.

Was originally going to have a debut solo, but then pushed to debut in a duo with Obi after they had met.

Clarines Entertainment

Izana is the current CEO, who took over after Kain. He started in show business as a solo artist. After he became a popular singer, he started becoming more involved in the songwriting and production process, then the actual business.

In-house producers: Garrack, Ryuu, Hiigata, Yatsufasa

Ryuu recently graduated music school and just turned legally old enough to work as a full-time producer. His studio is Studio Seed.

When he was a music student, his songs that he completed as part of his assignments were ‘bought’ by various companies. However, only his teachers received royalties. Izana knew about him and his genius, so he offered him a position when he graduated.

Garrack has been a producer and songwriter since Kain was CEO and Izana was an idol. Her studio is called The Roka Glass.

Oversaw Shirayuki’s hiring process and was impressed by her portfolio. Was a part of convincing Izana to not fire her when it was revealed Shirayuki ran away from Tanbarun’s survival show

[apenapaperandadoofus]

Could i request MC making the RFA+V+Saeran/ray/unknown happy cry?

I love this! Absolutely! Sorry for being a bit inactive btw! I just haven’t been feeling so well emotionally ;;;;

MC making the RFA+V and Saeran (+alters) happy cry:

Zen:

When Zen saw what you did for him, he knew you were the one

When he came home, he saw you with his brother

Yes, you heard that right

Apparently, one night when Zen got super drunk, he began looking through os albums and cried, telling you how bad he actually wanted to see his family again, to try and patch things up

Well, the next day, you coincidentally met Zen’s brother!

Honestly, you wanted to kick his butt for how he made Zen feel, but you thought that maybe that was not such a good idea, so you decided to try and talk things out with him, you know, like grown ups

It turned out, that, well. Zen’s brother actually... regretted everything.

The more years that passed, the more he realized how wrong he was. How wrong his parents were, I mean, he actually had recently had a child too, and when he imagined telling them what he said to Zen...he felt so guilty

So you invited him over!

Zen looked like he was ready to faint.

You left so they could talk for a bit, and when you came back they were both smiling and talking about embarassing stories of baby Zen lmao

When it was getting late, his brother stood up, and thanked you for reuniting them, he promised to call Zen again and to go out for coffee some other day

When he left...it was quiet

You looked over at Zen, and before you could open your mouth to ask him if he was alright, he hugged you tight whispering so many thank you’s

And then he started shaking....and he was crying

“ZEN?! I’m sorry, wait did I do something wrong?! Why are you crying?!”

“It’s alright babe. They’re happy tears....thank you....”

Yoosung:

Yoosung was feeling a bit down

You didn’t know what was wrong, but he was pretty depressed

So you decided to cook for him his favorite food, and then you made a little fort so the two of you could watch his favorite movies

When he came home, you welcomed him and hugged him tight, and then you led him to the kitchen, were you had made tons of food and even some cookies!

For the first time in a while, you saw Yoosung smile. The two of you spent a great night, and while you were cuddling Yoosung held you tight and smiled

“Thank you, Y/N. I’m sorry I haven’t been myself latel.y...it’s just...sometimes I feel like I’m not enough for you.”

You shook your head and cupped his face in your hands. “Yoosung Kim, listen to me. You’re the most wonderful man I have ever met, and you always give me more than enough. Don’t think that.”

Yoosung slowly smiled and he started tearing up, and he kissed you. “I love you, Y/N.”

The both of you spent the night in each other’s arms, and you didn’t stop smiling the whole time.

Jaehee:

Everything was perfect

Zen was about to come home with Jaehee. The two of them had been out to do some shopping and they didn’t come till late at night.

You paced around the room, feeling so freaking anxious.

Then, the door opened.

“Ah Zen! Why don’t you come in, we have plenty of food from yesterday, and we’d be more than happy to have you eat with us.”

Zen laughed and shook his head, looking around the room with a little smirk on his face. “No, no, don’t worry Jaehee! I think now you should spend time with Y/N, after all, I stole you for almost the whole day! Have fun, the two of you~”

Jaehee and Zen both said their goodbyes, and when he left, Jaehee looked around the room and called your name.

“Where are they?” She thought, and as she made her way through her room, she gasped as she saw the floor was filled with rose petals, all leading to the living room

When she got there, she smiled as she saw all around the room were little pictures of the two of you, mementos of your dates and the times you spent together scattered around the room.

Then, as she turned around, she saw you kneeling down on one knee, a ring on your hand.

Before you could even ask the question though, Jaehee squealed and hugged you, screaming yes and smiling happily.

When she pulled away to kiss you, you tears falling from her eyes, and you couldn’t help but cry too.

It was absolutely amazing, and you had never seen Jaehee so happy in her life!

Jumin:

It was your wedding.

The two of you were having your first dance, and you were swaying back and forth, leaning your forehead against his.

Jumin smiled as the two of you made your way along the dance room, and he would sometimes whisper in your ear sweet words.

That night was the happiest one of your life, and at one point the two of you left for a bit to take a walk in the garden that was in the venue.

There, Jumin held your hand and hugged you tight. And then he kissed you.

Then, Jumin started shaking and you pulled away a bit worried, but you saw him smile as some small tears made their way down his face.

“I’m so happy love....that I got to meet you...that I’m with you right now. You’re my everything, and I love you so much. Thank you, for giving me happiness and a reason to wake up every morning.”

The two of you hugged under the stars, and cried happy tears as you whispered words of love to each other.

Saeyoung:

“SURPRISE!!!”

Saeyoung yelped as he saw the lights in the living room turn on, and the whole RFA cheering while confetti was being thrown around everywhere.

“W-WHA?!” He screamed, and you laughed as you made your way to him, a party hat on your hand.

“Happy birthday Saeyoung!” You said as you put the hat on him.

“W-wait, Y/N, did...did you plan this!?” He asked.

“Mmm, sorta! Saeran was the one who gave me the idea, and then along with the RFA we all got together to throw you a surpir birthday party!”

Saeyoung smiled as he looked at all his friends and family. That afternoon the whole group had such an amazing time, and when everyone left and Saeran went to his room, Saeyoung gave you a big kiss.

“Thank you Y/N. This was the best birthday ever. But I mean...you shouldn’t have...I don’t know if I really deserve all of this...”

“Nonsense! Saeyoung, both you and your brother deserve the best of the best. And I want you to know that me and the RFA care about you so much, we all love you, and we want you to be happy.”

Saeyoung looked at you with a shocked expression on his face, and slowly smiled as tears formed on the corner of his eyes.

He hugged you and kissed your forehead, looking at you with adoration.

“I love you too, Y/N. Thank you for everything.”

V:

You were both at home, laying on your bed and cuddling.

It had been about two years since the whole RFA fiasco, and the both of you were reminiscing about old memories.

Then, V turned around to face you, and cupped your face in his hands.

“Honestly Y/N....looking back now...I honestly don’t know where I would be if you hadn’t come to us back then...thank you.”

You smile and leaned in to V’s touch. “Jihyun. I love you so much. I’m so glad I met you. You’re the most wonderful person I have ever met, and I’m so happy everyday I get to spend time with you. I love you.”

V smiled and tears slowly formed on the corner of his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away and chuckled.

“Sorry, it’s just. Whenever you say things like that to me...I feel so happy. The happiest I’ve ever been. Thank you.”

Saeran:

Ray:

He felt like a complete failure, and he didn’t want to talk to anyone, even you.

He was hiding in the gardens, and he hadn’t talked to you the whole day, so you decided to go and check on him

You found him sitting on a bench, and as soon as he saw you, he was ready to run away, but you grabbed his arm.

He quickly pulled away from you and looked guiltily to the ground. “You shouldn’t...Why are you even here? I’m not worth it, you should be in bed right now....you’re always so kind to me, and I don’t understand it! I’m useless, I’m nothing and you-”

“Ray. Please don’t say that.” You quickly hugged him tight, making Ray gasp. And when you pulled away you gently caressed his cheeks, smiling softly.

“Ray. I like you. I really do. And it always hurts me to see you in so much pain. You’re strong Ray, you have done so much for me and for everyone, you’re the one who works the hardest. Please, never ever say that you’re useless or worthless, because those are all lies. You’re nothing like that! You’re a kind and compassionate person, you’re just...so amazing. So please....”

Ray looked at you, speechless, and he slowly buried his face on the crook of your neck, softly crying.

“Y-Y/N...thank you...you’re so...so kind....thank you...and I...I’m happy that the person I like likes me back.”

Unknown:

He was sick

He didn’t want to admit it, of course

But you spent the whole day taking care of him, no matter how many times he may have yelled or ordered you to go away.

“I’ve already told you, I’m fine so let me go and work”

“No. You’re going to stay in bed, and try to recover. You’re only going to make it worse if you go try to work! I’ll do everything today, so please rest!”

Begrudgingly, he accepted, and you spent the whole day working your ass off. Unknown didn’t know how to feel...he hadn’t been taken care of for so long.

At one point he felt so dizzy. He didn’t know if he was dreaming or not, and sometimes he would get up and anxiously look around the room, and once he saw you there he would relax and go back to sleep.

At about midnight, you woke up to Unknown stirring around, and you slowly made your way towards the bed and sat on the corner.

“Hey...are you feeling better?”

“Come here.” He ordered, and you were taken by surprise.

“Hey. Come here, next to me.”

You cautiously laid beside Unknown, and you felt his arms wrap around you.

“Mmm, I want to stay like this for a while...” he grumbled.

And then you realized. Oh shit he’s half asleep, so he’s probably saying nonsense.

You tensed up as Unknown hugged you tighter, and made you turn around to look at him. “Hey. You know, today you were pretty good. I’m sorry for being a bother.”

You shook your head. “N-no, it’s alright! I’m actually kinda happy...you’ve never depended on me before and...well...I really liked taking care of you. And I am more than happy to do your job! You deserve some rest, and you’ve been working so hard, so please, take breaks sometimes! I don’t want anything bad to happen to you!”

Unknown’s eyes widened, and you swore you could see a tiny tear make its way down before he smiled and looked the other way.

“Yeah...thank you. I guess you’re a good assistant too.” He grumbled, and then he went back to bed, a little smirk tugging on his lips.

The next day when you woke up, he wasn’t there, but he did leave you a bit of food and a note that said ‘Thank you. You fucked up the coding yesterday though by the way.’

GE! Saeran:

It was your anniversary, and the two of you were sitting outside, in Saeran’s garden, looking up at the night sky.

At one point you stood up from your chair and sat on Saeran’s lap, making him blush and smile up at you.

You both kissed, and then Saeran leaned his forehead against yours.

“Y/N. I love you. Words can’t describe how much you mean to me. You’re the best thing in my life.”

You smiled. “You’re the best thing in my life too Saeran. I want to spent the rest of my days with you.”

“Good thing you say that because....” Saeran suddenly took out a little box out of his pocket and you gasped as you saw that inside was a beautiful ring. “Y/N.” He smiled, tears slowly forming. “I...I really love you. And I want to spend my whole life with you, I want us to always be together, I want to wake up everyday with you beside me and go to sleep with you in my arms. So...will you please marry me?”

You squealed a yes and kissed him, making him laugh as the two of you cried.

“Y/N, I just...I can’t explain how happy I am right now.” He hugged you tight and the two of you spent the night in each other’s embrace.

[rosietrace]

Melodic Misconceptions 🎹

Track 03: Mentor Buddies but not really

Synopsis: Victoria Shard was a former member of the popular idol group [ Poisoner ] from NRC corporations. After discourse with her group leader, Victoria decided it was best for her to leave and pursue her solo career in a record label run by her parents.

It had been half a year since her separation from her old group, and Victoria had never been more successful. But now she has a new problem. She must return to NRC corporations in order to mentor the seven idol groups.

Ellis Clawthorne is a member of [ (Co)-connect ] the most recent group under NRC'S belt. With no experience as an idol, Ellis must persevere in order to succeed and pursue her dreams.

Will both girls be able to adapt to their current situations?

✐ ✎_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_✐ ✎

Author's note: Made this a tad bit shorter since I'm trying to work out the pacing for this ^^ the first six tracks will feature Zen and Vic just wandering around the corporation's grounds until track 06.

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"Eek! So glad that you came!"

Victoria was pulled into a tight warm hug. She giggled, returning the hug for her best friend."Wouldn't miss it for the world, Zen." She said, her voice oozing with sarcasm in spite of her tender smile.

Zen snorted."Trust me, I'm sure you'll grow to like being a mentor." He assured her, pulling away from the hug.

She shook her head in disagreement."I don't think that'll be the case." Victoria's eyes filled with amusement when witnessing Zen's pout.

Sighing, she patted him on the head."I only agreed because I figured this would be a good taste of experience for any of my future projects." She stated firmly.

"Aren't you writing your next single?"

"Yes, since I wanted to rest easy for a bit after releasing my last album."

"How admirable of you to care so much for your health, Victori."

Hearing the name of her idol persona and the sound of slow clapping, Victoria and Zen caught the sight of a man with a monochrome color palette. With the only pop of color being his eyes and the red on his clothing.

Zen grinned."You must be Divus Crewel from the fashion department, no?" He approached Divus, his grin still plastered on his face. It wasn't genuine, but it wasn't fake either.

Divus nodded."That is I. I will be giving you a tour around the company grounds." He eyed Victoria for a couple moments, feeling the air of familiarity they had with each other.

She scowled and looked away. A pained sigh escaped the man's lips, remembering how stubborn the young girl had been during her days as the visual for a… A certain group.

"Well then…. Shall we start the tour?" Zen suggested, trying to quickly defuse the tension. The smile on Victoria's face returned, and Divus agreed to walk them around the company.

She'll tolerate it all, if it meant Zen would be happy.

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

Mayuu sighed in exasperation and continued to take a break alongside the other members after their rehearsals.

Without Ellis.

"I'm sure Ellis will be fine, Mayuu, we shouldn't worry too much over a sprained ankle after all~" Mayuu understood that Yuuta was trying to cheer her up, but only ended up irritating her even more with how his voice sounded. So she only sent him a nod of acknowledgement.

Miren hummed."The paparazzi and reporters would immediately notice and make a huge fuss about it…" He muttered, drinking from his cold water bottle.

Carol wiped off the sweat from her forehead and agreed."Indeed. They're bound to make a fuss about her injury, even if Ellis has the 'smallest' fan base among us." She added.

Chizuko sighed, choosing to continue tuning her bass after taking a quick break. As for Juvia, she only sat in worry for Ellis, even if the injury was only minor and that she'd be okay by tomorrow.

"It's sad that she won't be able to meet Victoria due to company policy with injuries and all…" Juvia commented, adjusting her hair accessories.

Yuuta shrugged."The policies of this company are a bit irritating, but we must comply with them if we don't want to be threatened with disbandment." He sat next to Juvia, scrolling through his phone just to laugh at the thirst tweets his fans made.

Carol scowled at Yuuta,"Sometimes it pains me to say I agree with you." Yuuta shrugged casually, giving Carol one of his more attractive yet irritating smug looks.

After a while, Mayuu eventually stood up.

"Alright, everyone. Please get ready for when we have to meet Victoria later today." She requested.

The other members nodded and started heading to 'their battle stations'. Or rather their hair and makeup teams.

Gently massaging the bridge of her nose, Mayuu exhaled deeply.

"I can only pray that nothing's gonna go wrong…"

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Tagging:

@starry-night-rose @sakuramidnight15 @fumikomiyasaki @windbornearchon @geminiiviolets @nem0-nee @twsted-princess @twsthoodstar @authoruio @phoenix-manga @cherryartemis0

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