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ladyluscinia · 11 months

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What Exactly Did David Jenkins Say?

Look, I'm still staunchly of the opinion that Word of God statements and creator interviews are overvalued in fandom, especially when they get pulled out mostly as gotchas without then continuing to analyze whether or not the show canon is successful at getting across that same message. Death of the Author is good, actually, and we should remember that. But they are worth looking at in the context of evaluating intent vs execution, and for future speculation - just, like, please with less of the whole mile high pedestal idolizing and backlash cycles.

But if overvalued "Word of God" is annoying, then overvalued "supposed creator statements that have gone through three rounds of telephone and any given blogger has only heard about a quarter of them, which they'll use confidently anyway" is worse. So, since I'd already looked up interviews for various reasons...

Here is a fairly comprehensive list of interviews David Jenkins has given and statements he's made during them, presented without commentary (save curating which statements get highlighted). All provided with links. I definitely missed some, so if you have any that you want to add, please do - though if you could trim off any commentary and save it for tags / your own post with a link that would be cool.

Also, again, just because he said it doesn't make it incontrovertible canon that only a blind person wouldn't understand. Some of these even arguably contradict each other. The creator's intent doesn't always translate to what the show is doing, nor do you even have to think it was a good idea.

(Listed in chronological order from oldest to newest - post contains spoilers below the cut)

Pre-S1

Gizmodo - Feb 22, 2022 - with Cheryl Eddy (io9) - Link

Why this story - Really, it was the enigma of Stede that drew him in. "I think actual pirate stuff is fine, but it's not necessarily my cup of tea. And I think Taika [Waititi] felt similarly. But hearing about this guy and reading about him and seeing that, you know, he left his family, then he met Blackbeard, they hit it off, and we don't know any of the details in between. So filling those blanks in, and having a very human story, and then being able to do it with the pirate genre, that was like, 'Oh, this would be cool.'"

Post 1x01 - 1x03

Polygon - March 5, 2022 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview

About Stede running off to sea - "Stede thought he could outrun his baggage, and you can't outrun your baggage."

About S1 - "I don't think there was enough improv on set! We had an insane schedule, with a huge amount of plot. We were budgeted and designed as a one-hour show, but with a half-hour production schedule, which means we really had to chase these episodes to get them shot. And then there are certain emotional beats that we really needed. So trying to find places to find the fun was hard."

Mashable - Mar 5, 2022 - with Belen Edwards - Link

About the show concept - "It was Jenkins' wife who first told him about Stede's adventures; she thought it would make a good TV show."

On casting Rhys Darby - "Stede did a terrible thing to his family. If you cast it wrong, he's a very hard character to get behind," Jenkins said. "Very quickly, the only person I thought of for this was Rhys [Darby]. He has this childlike quality that's endearing."

About the story - "Seeing them discover a need for each other that neither anticipated and charting how that relationship goes is the meat of the story." + "If you're on this ship, you're running from something, and you're running to something that you can't be on land"

Mentions of matelotage - "In fact, one of Jenkins's favorite pirate facts that he learned while working on Our Flag Means Death was the term matelotage, which was a civil union between same-sex pirates. "The more you look at it," he explained, "the more you write to the fact that this is a queer-positive world.""

Discussing piracy careers - "Something else that astounded Jenkins about pirates was "just how fast it all moved — their lives were quite short," he said. "Your career [in piracy] wasn't very long.""

Post 1x09 - 1x10

Decider - Mar 24, 2022 - with Kayla Cobb - Link

David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview

Pitch for the show - "That was in the pitch," series creator David Jenkins told Decider. "That was the reason, to make them fall in love with each other."

About the romance - "The main thing to me was to side-step coming out," Jenkins continued. "I just want a romance. I want a Titanic romance between these two people. We don't have to do the coming out story and then the non-binary story for Jim [Vico Ortiz]."

About S2 and the show - "The show is the relationship," Jenkins said. "So, we end in a place where there is this breakup. What happens after a breakup between these two people who, one’s realized he's in love and the other one is hurt in a way that he's never been hurt before? What does that do to each of them in an action, pirate world with them trying to find each other again? So again, I really love those rom-com beats."

Collider - Mar 24, 2022 - with Carly Lane - Link

On making it a romcom - "It's the only reason to make the show. If you didn't do that, it would just be weird. I mean, you're using the rom-com beats. You're using these like they're together. And it's funny because so we're so habituated to be like bromance, bromance, bromance, and it's such a simple move to put them together."

Discusses focusing on romance - "I guess I really... I get kind of bored. How much pirate can you do? They're going to rob stuff. They're going to steal ships. There's only so many pirate stories you can do. So if you're going to do a workplace story, I mean, you're essentially having this... You'd have this same amount of relationships in Grey's Anatomy in the ER. So it's standard. It's the most standard. We're making a soap opera on a pirate ship, and to use those soap opera beats... I like it, and I like the flavor in a comedy when you have something that's played genuinely up against very ridiculous things."

Discusses history and kissing scene

Discusses importance of going home to Mary - "Yeah, that was the problem for me in the story. I knew that I wanted to have the end where he goes home, because you need to give Mary her day in court. I just wanted to know from Mary's perspective what happened and then to see that, yeah, they're friends."

Is Lucius dead? - "You got to wait."

EW.com - Mar 25, 2022 - with Devan Coggan - Link

David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview

Pitch for the show - "To me, [Stede and Blackbeard's relationship] is the reason to make the show," Jenkins explains. "When Taika and I were first talking about it, he was like, 'Oh yeah, that's the show.' I first started reading about Stede and how he befriended Blackbeard and we don't know why. Very quickly, it was like, 'Oh, it's a romance.'"

Polygon - Mar 25, 2022 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

Discusses 3-season intent - "I think three seasons is good. I think we could do it in three."

Discusses acts within S1 - "To me, when you see him get stabbed, and the blood runs through his fingers, it’s like 'Oh, no, the clown got stabbed! And not comedy-stabbed, he got stabbed stabbed!' That to me is cool. And then having Blackbeard find him as the end of what would be the first act of our story felt good to me."

Discusses kiss scene filming and the national moment around gay rights

What to focus on a rewatch - "I think Con O'Neill does such a great job. He's such a complex character, and it's such a tortured relationship. And that's a love story too, between him and Blackbeard. It's a very dysfunctional story, but it's fun to watch. Watch that maybe, on a rewatch, looking where their relationship ultimately goes."

TV Insider - Mar 25, 2022 - with Meaghan Darwish - Link

Discusses show pitch - "When I was pitching [the show] to people, I'd be like, 'Okay, so it's about Stede and Blackbeard, and then they hit it off and then they fall in love.' And then people are like, 'Okay, cool,' Jenkins shares. "And then they really fall in love, and become intimately involved."

Discusses historical inspiration

Discusses S2 direction - "But when [Stede] goes to find [Blackbeard], he's gone and his crew's been abandoned. And so watching them try to negotiate that, that's a good rom-com beat," he adds.

The Verge - Apr 15, 2022 - with Charles Pulliam-Moore - Link

Discusses being surprised by queerbaiting legacy - "...part of me knew that, yes, Stede and Ed's romance was going to be real. But one part of me felt like, 'We're going to do this story, and they're going to kiss, and maybe that's not even going to be that big a deal. Maybe it'll just be a blip.'"

Discusses writing romance - "I'd never written a romance before this one, but I think with Ed and Stede, the question's always 'what's the need for each other?'"

Discusses falling in love and Stede's accidental seduction - "It made sense to have that love be almost like a teenage version of falling in love — one with all these intense and conflicting feelings. They're middle-aged, but Stede's young. Ed's young. Emotionally, they're like 16, and they've both got a lot to learn."

Discusses Con O'Neill as Izzy - "He plays an exhausted quality that's really lovely because this character could just be generically evil, and the way Con plays, it is like, he's credible. I believe that he can do some damage if he wanted to. My favorite thing I've seen about the show is somebody saying that Con's playing the only human with a bunch of Muppets. It does feel like that a bit where he's like Charles Grodin in The Great Muppet Caper."

On Izzy being in love with Blackbeard - "I think Izzy's deeply in love with Blackbeard, and it's a very dysfunctional kind of love, and he's like the jilted spouse who's losing his man to fucking Stede Bonnet, and he can't believe this is happening."

Discusses masculinity and piracy as an escape from that

Discusses diversity and trauma based stories - "And the consensus in that very diverse room was that we wanted to show that isn't just wallowing in trauma. We don't have to do a coming out scene or focusing on the trauma of it — not to say that those stories aren’t valid."

Gizmodo - Jun 20, 2022 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

Musing on fandom response to the show - "I'm wondering if the fact that because the queerness of this show isn't gaslighting the audience, and isn't a function of wanting to do something, but not being able to produce the results because of network standards. I think we just happened to be in this lucky spot where the show is actually queer… and I do think that people are responding to that."

Comparing fanfiction to writing - "And Con O'Neill's audition was one of those things I would go back to. I would watch that and be like… Oh, right, that's the show. And in a way, you're writing fanfiction for a certain actor and character because you want them to do something, and you're like–" at this point, it must be said, Jenkins let out a maniacal little giggle. He’s just as thrilled to show off Con O'Neill's ability to seem both deeply exhausted and menacing as the rest of the fandom. "And you [as the writer] you're like… And then Izzy does this now."

EW.com - Dec 13, 2022 - with Devan Coggan - Link

Discusses The Chain sequence - "I had initially wanted that end sequence to be like the FBI raid in a mob movie, where the feds come in, and they've got boxes of stuff, and everyone's running, and someone makes a dash for it," Jenkins explains. "So, it's like a mob movie or FBI raid story, and then it's also a story of Stede's lover coming back."

Pre-S2

Collider - Oct 2, 2023 - with Carly Lane - Link

Discusses fan reaction to S1 - "I thought that they'd kiss, and people would be like, 'Oh, cool, cool!' I kind of thought people would know a little bit more [about] where we were going, but then in hindsight, no, people have been hurt and burned on so many other shows and then made to feel silly."

Discusses starting S2 dark - "One of these characters is very, very damaged and has never made himself vulnerable in this way before, and I don't think [he] would react very well to having his heart broken in this way. I don't think it would be cute, and I don't think it would be funny. I think it would be scary as hell to watch a very damaged guy that we've established in Ed, who killed his dad and thinks he's not capable of being loved, deal with rejection and see that Stede really hurt him."

Discusses adding more female characters

Discusses S2 needle drops including "This Woman's Work"

Discusses 3-season arc

Post 2x01 - 2x03

Mashable - Oct 5, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link

Discusses fandom response to S1

About the canon gay relationship - "To watch the explosion of enthusiasm around [the kiss] was disorienting, almost," Jenkins said. "I thought people would react to it, but I didn't think the reaction would be that big. And then it was moving, because I didn't realize that this audience felt so unserved in general, as far as storylines go."

Insider - Oct 5, 2023 - with Ayomikun Adekaiyero - Link

Tease on leaning into the Stede / Ed / Izzy love triangle - "I think Izzy, in a certain way, got the worst deal in the first season," the showrunner tells Insider. "He gets jilted and then he still is in spurned spouse territory at the beginning of the second season."

Discusses Izzy's arc - "What is that relationship about? And I think by the end of the season it kind of becomes a little unexpected of who they are to each other and what they mean to each other," he teases

Discusses addition of Zheng - "He likens Zheng's way of pirating to a successful tech startup, compared with the garage sale vibe Stede had going on the Revenge."

Discusses introducing Hornigold - "I thought Hornigold was the most obvious because he was the person who made Blackbeard what he is. And Blackbeard has a father complex, so it's natural that he's going to bring his former captain back," the show creator said. "It's a struggle with him because he and dad figures don't historically do well."

Discusses importance of the mermaid scene

Inverse - Oct 5, 2023 - with Hoai-Tran Bui - Link

Reveals he didn't commit to the romance until shooting 1x06 - "Jenkins always intended his pirate comedy to end with a romance, but he'd envisioned it as an unrequited love. "It was going to be about Stede learning what love is, and Ed making himself vulnerable and getting burned," Jenkins says of his original pitch. But Darby and Waititi's choices in the scene, which they played without diffusing the tenderness with a joke, made him wonder if they could take the show in a new direction."

Discusses mermaid Stede idea from S1 - "We talked about Stede as a mermaid very early on in the writers' room," Jenkins says. "At some point, yeah, I want to see Rhys Darby as a merman." + "They wanted us to come up with a Season 2 pitch during Season 1. And that was one of the ideas we hit on, and I can't quite remember how we got there, but it was us asking, what is a pirate world? Are there mermaids? Is there magic in this show? With pirate stuff, I don’t know that I want there to be magic, but there was a way where it was something really beautiful about a mer-person, and I like the idea that their coming together would have a mythic size to it."

Discusses historical divergence

Discusses matelotage and pirates as weird outsiders

TV Guide - Oct 5, 2023 - with Allison Piccuro - Link

About the shipping culture - "It's the meat of the show, so it's great to have people bought into the central romance. If it were a bromance that we were trying to make look like a romance, that would suck."

Discusses playlists he makes

Discusses opening dream sequence - "I just like that it started with something badass. Stede, Blackbeard, and Izzy are on an arc together. Whether they're in stories together or not, their ultimate arc is together. I think, by the end of this season, the last episode, that first scene will be gratifying. I won't say why, but their fates are tied together."

Discusses Kraken arc - "But I think the thing that's good about this show is that it can go to really sweet comedy land, but I want there to be, like, if someone loses a body part, for instance, they lose a body part. To do justice to the fact that this guy is a killer and a monster, and dealing with heartache that he doesn't know how to deal with, I think you really need to go there."

Discusses Izzy in S2 - "I mean, he's jilted. He had a partnership with Blackbeard, and he knows he can't live up to this person that Blackbeard fell in love with... Who is that guy? What are his hobbies? What does it look like when he's not totally subsumed with his boss's love affair with somebody, and heartbroken?"

On S2 reunion - "The second season is them being a little bit more mature... It's the thing where you're in your 20s or 30s and you're like, "Well, should we move in together?" They have to make up some time because neither of them have been in a functional relationship before."

About genre of pirate stories - "...is a show about multiple relationships. That's what I want to see when I see this show. I don't want to see a bunch of pirate things that I've seen in other things, I'll just go watch another thing if I want to see that. That's not really my thing. I like the genre, but it's a very hard genre to budge. I want to see relationships in a pirate world."

Discusses the A Star is Born aspect of seeking fame / retiring

Mashable - Oct 7, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link

About the mermaid scene - "You need something expressive for when they come back together," Jenkins said. "Their reunion moment has to feel big and mythical. This is not a world where mermaids actually exist, but their love for each other has that size that you can get [a mermaid] in there somewhere."

About Kate Bush - "I love Kate Bush, and I love that song, and I know Taika loves that song," Jenkins explained of the choice. "So I wanted to find a place for that song somewhere in the second season."

Polygon - Oct 9, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson & more - Link

Compares S2 and "Golden Age of Piracy" stuff to Westerns, lists 5 he was thinking of - "Every Western that’s good is that story," Jenkins says. "'This way of life we made is coming to an end. It can't last. It's a blip in time. We created this thing because we need it to exist. We're outlaws, and we need a culture that suits us, but it's running out of time.'"

Gizmodo - Oct 9, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

Short tease on leaning into the love triangle

About Stede, Edward, and Izzy - "I think the three of them are on an arc together that's pretty inseparable," Jenkins said in an interview with io9. "And to watch Izzy try to process what's happened [in season one]… to watch him kind of grow and figure out what's his own story, if he can separate himself from this kind of toxic relationship, is interesting to me and I think gives him a lot of room for growth."

Post 2x04 - 2x05

IndieWire - Oct 12, 2023 - with Sarah Shachat - Link

Discusses directing and show creation

"The limitations of the show also naturally push it back towards moments with the ensemble and plot problems that it would frankly be irresponsible to tackle if you had a giant budget and a fully working ship-of-the-line to sail and then blow to bits. "That's the fun of the show to us, I think. If you open this up and you're like, unlimited budget, that would be terrible because I think you can get seduced," Jenkins said. "[It could be like,] 'Oh man, it's all leading up to a climatic battle on the sea.' And those things are great. But that’s not this show.""

"The nice thing about that, though, is you get to be the lo-fi show that’s like, 'Hey, we’re making The Muppets.'"

PopSugar - Oct 12, 2023 - with Victoria Edel - Link

About S2 Stede - "I like the idea that he learns and grows and he doesn't just stay a bumbling captain. He might be ridiculous, but he is getting better at it."

Discusses genre challenges - "How do you have a show that's a romance show but it's also a workplace show and they're criminals?"

Discusses Edward's redemption - "But Blackbeard still has to come back and apologize and be part of the community again, and give his little press conference. It was fun for us to look at that in the context of piracy, where they all do terrible things to each other. But even by their standards, what Blackbeard did was a bit much."

Discusses Izzy in S2 - "When Izzy shoots Blackbeard and they all mutiny on him, that's Izzy breaking up with Blackbeard. And they're both having their own journey in the wake of it, and Izzy's having his own redemption arc. He's trying to figure out, "Who am I if I'm not Blackbeard's first mate? Who am I outside of this relationship?"" + "If Stede's Spongebob, he's Squidward. I don't know what that makes Blackbeard. But there's a real pathos to Squidward."

Discusses trauma-based narratives - "As a diverse room in terms of sexuality, socio-economic background, and race, we thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a non-trauma-based story for these characters who don't get that historically?""

Variety - Oct 13, 2023 - with Hunter Ingram - Link

Discusses three act structure and making Stede work for a relationship - "The way I like to look at a season is in threes. The end of the first act is when they find each other, and this is the beginning of the second act. They've found each other, but they are pissed. Stede thought it was going to be [Kate Bush's] “This Woman's Work,” but, in reality, it is this headbutt –– literally."

Discusses the central romance - "It was always part of the pitch... that is the reason to make the show. The pirate genre is fun, but I wasn’t dying to make a pirate show. Taika wasn’t dying to make a pirate show. But the thing that was interesting to me was that Stede finds love, and he finds it with Blackbeard."

Discusses 2x04 plot - "This episode is based on a very, very thumbnail sketch of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?." Anne and Mary are Martha and George, and they are Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton."

Discusses adding historical pirates

Discusses Buttons exit - "I just love the idea of him turning into a bird: I love the idea of Buttons somehow being the one character that is able to figure that out."

Discusses Izzy and the crew's trauma plot - "We liked the idea that there is something about trauma and getting past that trauma, even on a pirate ship. They have been through two very different ways of living and they have to get used to each other again. But it's also a family that was separated, and becoming one family again is painful."

Discusses bringing characters back - "We could bring Calico Jack back, who, if you remember, was hit by a cannonball last season. Anyone who is that fun to play with and wants to keep playing, you always find a way to bring them back."

Polygon - Oct 14, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

Discusses 3-season arc and how keeping them apart with some plot device was never in the cards - "at the end of the first season, they're 14-year-olds, emotionally. In this season, it's more like they’re in their late 20s."

Discussing New Zealand production and ensemble cast writing - "It's pretty organic, because as we're going through and tracking everybody's journey for the season, we're watching the thing that holds us together — what stage of Stede and Blackbeard's relationship are we in? Because the overarching arc is, are these guys going to learn how to settle into a relationship?"

"The second season is more overtly about romance, and more a relationship story."

Energizing aspect of fan reaction

S3 is about "love is work"

Gizmodo - Oct 16, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

About the story - "I want to see them become a functional couple or fail to become a functional couple," Jenkins said. "Those are the most interesting parts of the show."

Discusses fandom engagement - "...ultimately the writers are also "the fans in the room." He goes on to say that, "We're fans of the world. We're writing fanfic about our own characters, our own worlds… It's paid fanfic, but it's fanfic." He gives another example: "If you're writing a season of Succession, you're writing fanfic Succession. You're just getting paid to do it. We, as writers–" it's clear that he's not just talking about the writers in the writers room, "become fans of the world and we all have things we want to see these characters do. What we do is not that different."

Discusses the A Star is Born aspect of seeking fame / retiring

Discusses Zheng Yi Sao

Villains of the series - There are a lot of new villains this season, but, Jenkins says, ultimately, "the antagonist on this show is normalcy… These pirates have a way of life that they're not finding in normal life. They've found a way to live and support each other and be there for each other. And that's always threatened by these larger, tyrannical forces that want to shut them down."

Post 2x06 - 2x07

Mashable - Oct 19, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link

Discussing drag performance in 2x06

"It is nice to see with Izzy's arc, where he finally breaks through whatever he's been doing to himself. He lets himself have that moment, which I just love. It resonates for Izzy, and I think it resonates for Con. Just personally, it made me feel good to see how it turned out."

Consequence - Oct 19, 2023 - with Liz Shannon Miller - Link

Discusses intent for romance - "...telling a love story in a serialized medium like television has its perils, largely because it's tough to know how much you can draw out any unresolved tension. "I think we take it episode by episode and we try to not piss people off in taking too long and doing double beats and triple beats," Jenkins says. "You can only do Will They or Won’t They for so long. Then you have to deepen it.""

Discusses pirate setting - "The emphasis on relationships also fits into the show's high-seas setting, which Jenkins finds similar to post-apocalyptic narratives. "It is a little bit like you're doing Mad Max, except there's relationships," he says. "Stuff's shitty, so you gotta try to find some joy. Of course, people are going to have a need for each other in these extreme circumstances, and I like the idea of these characters finding some level of a healthy relationship in these extreme circumstances.""

Discusses Jim x Archie

Discusses 3-season arc

Polygon - Oct 21, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson - Link

Discussing gender and power dynamics in Jackie x Swede / Zheng x Oluwande / Blackbeard x Stede + A Star is Born aspect

Jim not being jealous of Oluwande - "I think that relationship was always seen in the room as a friend relationship that got romantic."

About adding a villain - "I think a lot of the internal forces in Our Flag are the villains." + "I think this is a story about the age of piracy coming to an end. This way of life is coming to an end. And every Western that's good is that story: This way of life we made is coming to an end, and it can't last. […] I think every story about outlaws is about trying to preserve a way of life against normative forces that are kind of fascistic."

Historical accuracy - "The balance of the show is 90% ignoring history, and then 10%, bring it in, whenever we're like, Ah, gotta move the story forward! Remember, the English are out there, and they're really bad!"

Post 2x08

AV Club - Oct 26, 2023 - with Saloni Gajjar - Link

Killing Izzy was always the plan - "We wanted to show the depth of that character. Izzy is one of my favorites. He's like middle management who is in a sort of love triangle [in season one]."

Discusses how they really wanted the happy ending for S2 - "I think with season one's end, it was a gamble to leave it the way it was. Everybody stomached through it. Now if it turned out they didn't want us to make more, I just didn't want to have another story where the same-sex love story ends in tragedy, unrequited love, or if one or both of them are being punished."

Discusses S2 progressing the 3-season romance - "They’re a couple who is like in their late twenties right now as opposed to being teens at the end of season one." + "It was an interesting tension of, which one gives up their dream? A lot of times in relationships questions can come up, like who is going to give up on their dream to take care of the kids? Obviously, no one wants to, but someone ends up giving up more than they want to at some point. What's wonderful about a mature romance, and what I'd want to see more of in season three, is Ed and Stede making these tough decisions." + progressing past the getting together point

Discusses parallels, Republic of Pirates, and Zheng Yi Sao

Short bit about fan response

Collider - Oct 26, 2023 - with Carly Lane - Link

Discusses Ed leaving fishing - "I like that he had a little prima donna moment where he thought he could go and be a simple man, and then it's revealed that he really isn't a simple man; he's a complicated, fussy, moody guy. No, he's not gonna be able to catch fish for a living. For him to be told that, "At your heart, you're a pirate. You have to go back and do it," he doesn't want that to be true, but it was true."

Discusses Izzy's speech to Ricky - "I wanted to give Izzy a proper eulogy for himself. He gives a eulogy for himself, but it felt true writing it."

Discusses Izzy's death scene - "In a way, it's very much for Ed, that speech. The "we were Blackbeard" is claiming that he is also Blackbeard, that Blackbeard is not just Ed’s creation, and I like that for him, too, because he's worked so hard for that — and then just to say, "You can give it up." There can never be a Blackbeard again as far as Izzy's concerned because he's dying, and they did that together."

Discusses Republic of Pirates / music parallels from premier to finale

Discusses finale wedding - "We knew we wanted a matelotage in the season, which is the real term they had for marrying crew members. And yeah, they've always been in relief to Stede and Ed, and they're a little bit ahead of Stede and Ed in how much they can talk about things. So to have a bunch of family things in the season, like a funeral and a wedding, and have the parents kind of watch the kids sail away, felt right, and all of those things seem to work well together and build on each other."

Discusses retirement ending - "That will-they-or-won't-they is interesting to a point, but the real meat of it is always like, "Can they make the relationship, and can they do better than Anne and Mary?""

"Frenchie's in charge of the Revenge" + teases Stede struggling to give it up

EW.com - Oct 26, 2023 - with Devan Coggan - Link

Discusses Izzy's death and telling Con - "It feels like the logical end of Izzy's arc. It's heartbreaking to me because he's my favorite." + "I told him in the middle of shooting because I didn't want him to find out at the table read, obviously. I also didn't want it to leak. He was lovely about it."

Discusses Izzy's final arc - "You know, I didn't expect him to become kind of a father figure to Ed. I think we hit on that while we were breaking the [final] episode. He's in such a weird position: He's like a jilted lover, and then he's a middle manager who has to work for a terrible boss. He gets thrown away, and then he comes back. He really develops, and he becomes a part of this family. I think the biggest surprise was the extent that he was a mentor to Ed. They were both Blackbeard. They both made Blackbeard happen."

Discusses the happy ending intent - "With this season starting so dark, I kind of wanted to reward them for the work that they've done and the character growth that they've had. I wanted to leave them in a place where they're really going to try and make this work. I don't think it's going to be easy for them, necessarily. They're both still immature."

Discusses the wedding - "We knew we wanted a matelotage in the second season, and pretty quickly we landed on Lucius and Black Pete. It seems like they were ready for that. We made up a ceremony and everything, where they call each other mateys, and it was just fun to make our own version of a pirate wedding ceremony."

Discusses potential S3 and Frenchie's Revenge - "But it felt like a good place to end the second season. It felt like a contrast to the first season. If it turns out we don't make any more, I'm comfortable with that being a resting place."

Variety - Oct 26, 2023 - with Hunter Ingram - Link

S3 endpoint - "I love things in threes," he says. "That first act, second act, third act structure is so satisfying when it is done well, and you don't overstay your welcome. I think this world of the show is a big world, and if the third season is successful, we could go on in a different way. But I think for the story of Stede and Ed, that is a three-season story."

Discusses the draw of a "Golden Age" and it's ending

Talks about father figure Izzy and wanting a real sense of loss - "There is a nice parallel to have Ed treat him so badly at the beginning of the season and then come all the way around to where Izzy is this sort of father figure he doesn’t want to lose — because Ed usually kills his father figures."

Gizmodo - Oct 26, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link

Teasing future Izzy - "Jenkins looked slightly sad himself, saying that "Ghosts exist in this world." I told him not to make promises he couldn't keep."

"Jenkins said that he doesn't see Izzy as a pure antagonist in season one because on some level… Izzy was right in his hesitations about Stede."

Discussing Con O'Neill & Rhys Darby acting

Jenkins confirms the season was always 8 episodes due to budget cuts

About S2 finale vs S3 - "The first season ends on such a downer, so it made sense to end the second season in a kinder spot." + "I think there's plenty of story left for season three, but I think that it was important to end this as if it was the end of the show, and on upbeat note and avoid the kind of "kill your gays" trope. I don't want to see Stede and Ed punished for giving it a go. I want to see them really say, 'yeah, we’re going to we're going to try to have a relationship'."

Teases S3 revenge against Ricky and going to the Americas

Vanity Fair - Oct 26, 2023 - with Sarah Catherall - Link

About the ending - "It's bittersweet. There's death and there's the rebirth of Stede and Blackbeard's relationship; there's a funeral, there's a wedding, and the idea that this family is going to keep fighting even as they lose members. And then it's about belonging to something." + "A lot of times, with this narrative of characters, same-sex relationships end on a dour, downbeat note, where one of them dies and it's unrequited or it's unrealized; something horrible happens and they're punished in a way. So it was important to leave it open and a lot more show to go, but also leave it in a place where it's happy."

Discusses Izzy as a mentor / father figure - "We felt like Izzy's story had reached its conclusion, where we put him through enough. And then there was the realization that he is kind of a mentor to Blackbeard and that he is kind of a father figure to Blackbeard." + "And it's also a pirate show, so he's got to die."

Discusses filming challenges - "It's a big show; it's basically a one-hour show that we're doing on a half-hour budget."

Discusses adding Zheng Yi Sao

Is the show a queer romance? - "For this show, it's important to me just to write a really bold-bodied romantic show that happens to be between two characters of the same sex. I think that the story beats don't matter, because if you've been in love and you've been hurt and you met someone you love—hopefully we all know what those feelings are."

Blackbeard's arc in S2 - "...the second season is about Blackbeard's midlife crisis. And then when they both have their midlife crises, they can open a B&B together." + "I don't think Stede and Blackbeard are ready to be married. They're emotionally saying: 'Let's give this a go.'"

Discusses historical piracy as "counterculture" that's been straightwashed and whitewashed

Did he feel responsibility to the fan community? - "As opposed to responsibility, it feels more like relief—that people feel seen and they feel good about it and they liked what we did. And so it feels like, Okay, somebody's out there and wants the show. The makeup of the writers room looks a lot like the makeup of the fan base. So as long as we're true to our stories in the writers room, I think we just feel excited that there's somebody waiting on the other end to enjoy it."

Paste Magazine - Oct 26, 2023 - with Tara Bennett - Link

Discusses whether fandom expectations felt weighty - "I think particularly for this season, that "bury your gays" thing… I didn't want to end on a downbeat for Ed and Stede. We did that in the first season. I like that there's a lot of different flavors. It's even a little melancholy because the Republic of Pirates got blown up. But there's still more good things."

Discusses production and plotting - "I wanted to start at the Republic of Pirates this season and end at the Republic of Pirates. And I knew I wanted the Republic of Pirates to be destroyed, ultimately. Within that, we are making a one-hour show on a half hour budget, on a half hour schedule."

Discusses planning the ending - "In terms of ending this season, it all felt right just in talking through it when we were in the room. It felt pretty intuitive. When you get to the third act of the story, things kind of settle in. There's gonna be a funeral. We always knew we wanted a wedding at the end of the second season. And I knew that I wanted Stede and Ed to start an inn together. So once you have those beats, it's kind of locked in."

Discusses Izzy's arc - "It's kind of a strange arc in that I knew we were going to put him through all these things, and I knew he would ultimately die. But I think him becoming a father figure to Ed in the last episode didn't really dawn on us until we were breaking the last episode. Asking what would this man say to Ed at the end because they've been together through everything? He went from a troubled and downtrodden employee to a jilted lover to a discarded employee, to someone that is just trying to find his footing again—no pun intended—to actually becoming this guy's parental figure on some level. And he's one person who kind of raised Ed right, because Blackbeard usually kills his parental figures. So, it felt right and it felt like that's how the mentor dies. The mentor in a story usually dies in the second act and then our hero has to go on and try to do it without them. It felt like the right journey for Izzy and a gratifying one for Con."

On leaving open for S3 - "I don't think it was a very hard thing to do. I think it was more that I felt a responsibility to leave Ed and Stede in a good place, at least for now. It's not gonna go well. They're not going to run a business well. Ed's too much of a talker. Stede can't focus. It's gonna be challenging."

Vulture - Oct 28, 2023 - with Sophie Brookover - Link

Discussing Izzy as a "father figure" and his S2 send-off being a priority

Meaning of piracy - "...what our pirates stand for is a life of belonging to something larger than they are in the face of a crushing, slightly fascist normalcy."

Re: Con O'Neill & Izzy's death - "I had to tell him about halfway through the season"

Third season about the work of a relationship between still damaged main characters

Discusses middles as about change and transitions, and wanting characters to change instead of reset, have them experience permanent consequences

About the final scene - "...Ed and Stede as the parents kind of watching the kids take the ship. Frenchie's the captain now..."

Objective of the crew - "...have had terrible things happen to them at the hands of colonial forces, so they want some payback. Party, plunder, and payback — the three P's."

Metro Weekly - Nov 1, 2023 - with Randy Shulman - Link

Discusses historical premise of S1 and easing into the romance

Discusses S2 genre - "In the second season, it was great because we know it's a romance and we can lead with that. It's a workplace show essentially. I wanted it to be more in the vein of early episodes of Grey's Anatomy or something where there are all these relationships on those shows. That's what you’re following — relationships and friendships that are taking place in a hospital, procedural. That's Grey's Anatomy. This is less procedural for the pirate stuff — and you need the pirate stuff."

Discusses not being into pirates - "But I'm like you. I'm not a big pirate person. In general, it's a big creaky genre that's hard to budge" + "Pirates of the Caribbean, those movies are great. That's not necessarily what I hunger to see, but in that genre, it's great. You're not going to beat that, especially on something that's lower budget. We've seen a lot of this stuff, so it's fun to take it then and don't do any of that stuff."

Discusses adapting historical piracy - "You don't want to see them punch down. You don't want to see them do terrible things to people who don't deserve it, which is not what they really did. So, in the show's world, I think piracy is like a stand-in for something. I think it's a stand-in for being an iconoclast and an outsider and queer in some ways and just different." + "Yeah, I mean, the British are there to be Stormtroopers, or Nazis in an Indiana Jones movie. I mean, they're in there to die essentially."

Discusses diversity staffing

Discusses performative masculinity

Discusses Izzy's death, happy endings, and openness to S3

#trust me i appreciate the irony of making an extensive word of god reference when i want people to stop blindly promoting word of god #(and also when i'm currently very irritated with the creators)#and fyi showrunners talk A LOT but i was already committed so this was more work than i was expecting #i'll even use a small bit of my extra hour of destiel day to post this (most of it was assembled while watching supernatural)#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd meta #david jenkins #word of god #ladyluscinia

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ily-fictional-women · 14 days

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Bloody but Beautiful

Summary: The night can bring in many dangers, many monsters, and many realizations.

Pairing: vampire!Kate Bishop x fem!reader

Warnings: Talks of blood, minor implications of abuse, and a small dash of spice

Word count: 1448

a/n: Been gone for a long time lol. Was at a mental health low, got good, had my birthday, and got broken up with. Anyways, I’ve been obsessed with Interview with a Vampire so ya’ll are getting a vampire au! (Reblogs are welcome and critiques/advice are heavily encouraged, but please no translating.)

Kate stands at the top of the rooftop listening for any type of commotion. But the thumping hearts coursing with rich red blood are too distracting. It’s been over a month since she treated herself to any good blood. Animal blood works. But it can only keep the urges down for so long. Tonight is the night, she's sure of it.

Or, that is until she smells a familiar scent. “What are you doing here Y/n?” Y/n lets out a dramatic groan before laughing a little, “I swear Kate, I’m gonna be able to jumpscare you eventually.” Kate keeps her view on the city, “You are welcome to try. Again though, why are you here Y/n?”

Y/n moves closer to Kate, wrapping her arms around her neck from behind and resting her chin on her shoulder, “Before Clint left he emphasized it was good to not go on patrol by yourself. And you weren’t at your apartment.” She’s too close Kate thinks to herself.

It’d be so easy to do a quick turn and take a drink from her pretty neck. But her phone buzzes with a police alert before she can give too much thought to the idea of draining one of her closest friends. Y/n moves her gaze to Kate’s phone, “What is it?”

“Hostage situation not too far from here, the tracksuit mafia is holding a few girls. Did you bring your knives?” Y/n lets go of Kate quickly flashing one of her many daggers with a grin, “Did you bring enough arrows?” Kate rolls her eyes at the tease, “Always.”

Y/n takes out an electric arrow drawing it back and releasing it to take one of the guards at the front entrance. “That should be the last one on the outside, you ready to go in?” Y/n gives her an affirming nod. Kate takes another arrow shooting it to create a zip-line.

Making it across the way the two observe the scene through the glass rooftop. If it weren’t for Y/n being here this could be quick for Kate. She could use her strength to easily knock out all the men. Then used her speed to bring the girls to safety, leaving her enough time to drain at least three of the men and dispose of the bodies before any police would find the girls safe.

But, she also does love a challenge. “Looks like there’s about seven of them on the inside, three with guns all aimed at the girls. Four with bats or crowbars. How do you want to do this Kate?”

“I’ll use a few of my smoke arrows giving us enough time to get in. You take out the ones without guns with your knives, I’ll use my arrows to get the ones with guns. But I’ll need you to get the girls out of there before I tie them up just in case one of them gets up. Just in case any backup arrives.”

Y/n looks at Kate with slight concern, “Are you sure you can handle them all?” Kate grins assuringly, “I’ll be fine, are you ready?” With Y/n nodding Kate breaks the glass of the rooftop the sound already triggering the tracksuit mafia to look up. Quickly shooting a few smoke arrows though and their vision is compromised.

Y/n drops down first based on the memory of where each man was she throws her first knife in the direction of a man with a crown bar. Hearing a loud yelp once the knife made contact she ran in the direction being able to see him from behind she put him in a chokehold long enough for him to pass out.

With Y/n now occupied Kate aims from the rooftop as the smoke starts to clear. Before the men can start shooting she draws her arrow making sure to not aim at any lethal areas for the men. She shoots two in the shoulder with tranquilizer arrows. Then the last in the foot with a glue trap arrow. Using another arrow to knock the gun out of his hand.

As the smoke fully clears Y/n looks up at Kate as she begins to untie the girls, “Everyone’s out like a little kid. You can come down.” Making her way down Kate gives Y/n a serious look as she unties the last girl, “You should go right now. They probably already called for backup. Get them as far away as possible, okay?”

Y/n hesitates for a moment, “Fine.” As she leaves with the girls Kate knocks out the man she stuck with the glue trap. Beginning to pile them up so it would be easier to tie them together Kate pulls out a knife from one of the men Y/n took down licking the blood clean off of it.

The rich taste was definitely something incomparable to animal blood. She can feel her fangs start to slip out, but she manages to control herself tying up the rest. Making her way outside she hears some yelling in a nearby alleyway. Taking a quick peek she sees a man yelling at a woman. Then he slaps her.

Wasting no time Kate uses her speed to take the woman a few blocks away noticing bruises all over her. Some old. Some new. Making her way back to the man before he could even notice the woman was gone she used her strength to toss him so hard into a nearby dumpster it leaves a dent in it.

She picks the man up by the jaw lifting him to his feet. He groans in pain, “What the fuck are you.” Kate slams him down on the ground, “Someone just trying to good. You on the other hand. You’re a monster.” She draws out her fangs, “I don’t like monsters.” Lifting him up again she sinks her teeth into his neck sucking out his blood, draining him dry.

As she drops the man feeling satisfied she looks up to see Y/n her mouth agape. Panic immediately rises in Kate, “Y/n I- I can explain. Just don’t-” Y/n cuts her off. “You’re beautiful.” Y/n looks at Kate admiringly. Covered in blood, the moonlight giving it a slight shine. Y/n repeats again moving closer to Kate resting a hand on her bloodied cheek, “You are beautiful.”

Kate leans into Y/n’s touch, “You’re not scared?” Y/n leans closer to Kate her lips only a breath away from hers. “How could I be afraid of a beauty like yours?” Kate closes the space between them the kiss slick with blood. As things became more heated Kate pulls away looking at Y/n, her lips now tinted with red.

“So you knew? And you don’t care?” Y/n wraps her arms around Kate once more, “No I don’t care, and I assumed you were either a vampire or a narcoleptic recluse with a hobby of archery.”

Kate giggles kissing Y/n again, pulling away for a breath Y/n smiles. “How about we clean this up,” she gestures to the man on the ground, “then you take me back to your apartment.”

“Deal.”

Tossing their gear on the floor not wasting any time getting into the apartment Kate pushes Y/n against the entrance door kissing her like she needed it live. As Y/n’s hands move to grip at Kate’s waist Kate's hands wander up to the zipper of Y/n’s jumpsuit.

Tying the top half around her waist her sports bra exposed, but more importantly, her neck exposed. Y/n pushed Kate away for a moment, guiding her to sit down on the couch. As Kate sits she watches as Y/n takes a seat on her lap. She rests her hand on Kate's cheek again lightly brushing her thumb.

“You can take a small drink, if you want.” Kate squits her eyes for a second, “You trust me enough for that?” Y/n nods and Kate begins kissing her again. But slower this time, as her hands move across Y/n’s body she moves her lip’s attention from Y/n’s lips to her cheek, then her jaw, but as she reaches her neck she pauses.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” At the confirmation, Y/n can feel Kate’s fangs slowly enter her neck. The feeling causes a sense of excitement to swell inside her. This blood was different for Kate though, it was so much better. Blood always tasted good, but blood with lust– no. Love, rushing through it. It’s a rich delicacy. A delicacy Kate could get used to.

#marvel fancic #marvel imagine #ily fictional women #kate bishop x female reader #kate bishop x y/n #kate bishop x reader #kate bishop fanfiction #kate bishop fic #kate bishop #vampire au

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i4bellingham · 2 years

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MORE THAN JUST AN INTERLUDE: pedri x reader

SYNOPSIS: in which a relationship thought to be a fleeting moment lasted for more than they'll ever know.

CONTENT: incorporated with a slight social media au! + obsessive hateful fan speaking shit. conversations are in (google translated) spanish and english + gavi being an adorable child + innuendos by pedri :’p / also NOT PROOFREAD please don’t sue me. read part two here

pedri

❤️ 💭 ↗️ 　　　　　 • •

Liked by gavi, alejandrobalde and 1,768,923 others

pedri el más feliz contigo. feliz aniversario mi amor. the happiest with you. happy anniversary my love.

tagged: yourusername

View all 13,901 comments

user1 wait what- one year ???? 😧

user2 y'all been together for one year i-

user3 remembering the days where your fans thought this was just a fling 😭 you guys are celebrating one year with each other now congrats 😭❤️

gavi happy anniversary!

fcbarcelona sending love to you and yourusername ❤️

user4 another month now and you'll break up anyways 😐

user5 shut yo stanky ass

user4 let's bffr here besties they're not gonna last ☺️

user6 user4 and this is why your father left you, your mom hates you, you failed school and you're single meanwhile yourusername is here living the absolute best of life 🤷🏻‍♀️

yourusername

❤️ 💭 ↗️ 　　　　　 • •

Liked by jamalmusiala10, neymar, pedri and 195,986 others

yourusername here's to many more small midnight talks about life with you. happy anniversary bebe ❤️

tagged: pedri

View all 4,679 comments

_rl9 never let the haters ruin such a beautiful relationship!

pedri never

gavi the second picture is when you text him and his focus is not with us anymore :/

yourusername i always tell him to stop texting me when he's out with you guys though ☹️

gavi i know, pedri just doesn't listen because he's annoying like that

yourusername say sorry pedri :/

yourfriend1 happiest anniversary to you both! ❤️❤️

pedri i love you

yourusername i love you more

pedri i love you the most

yourusername i love you more than most

pedri i love you so much that no words could ever describe to which extent

alejandrobalde pedri we get it man 😃 (anyways happy anniversary yourusername)

gavi pedri simp (i don't know if i used that word correct)

Pedri was still high on adrenaline when he was whisked away for an interview just after their game.

His football jersey clung onto his skin in an uncomfortable but familiar hug with grimes and sweat all over his body. If people looked closely, they'd find small specks of dirt on his cheeks from the amount of time he tried intercepting a ball pass from the opposing team. He still looked good nonetheless, not that he needed someone to remind him that as he stood carefree in front of the multiple camera shooting his every angle as he waits for the first question to pop up.

“So... what a game huh?” The reporter chucklesㅡ for what reason, Pedri doesn't know but he simply chuckles alongside him. “How do you think of your performance today Pedri? And how do you think that contributed to the win tonight?”

Pedri scratches his nose bridge, then placing both hands over his waist as he takes a lean back to keep the mic near from his lips.

“I think this is one of the best games that I’ve played entering this season. I think that defensively I’ve gotten a lot of progress and it showed in this game tonightㅡ but I believe there is still room for improvement. I think that I had made a few bad calls during the game as well so I’ll definitely look into that as to not make the same mistakes again but overall, I’m pretty satisfied and happy with how my performance played out tonight and contributed to our team’s win.”

The reporter nods his head behind the camera, seemingly impressed at the response he got from one of Barcelona’s golden boys.

“Any celebrations happening tonight for this big win? For another 3 points on the board?”

Pedri smiles but he shakes his head. “No, the guys will get into that but I will be celebrating something else tonight, this is a special day for me and for my girlfriend after all so I just want to spend this night with her.”

“Speaking of girlfriend...” The reporter trails off, flicking through his card with a teasing glint and smile on his face as he follows through with his statement. “It’s your guys’ anniversary today yes? Made quite a lasting impression on Twitter, this one.”

Pedri nods his head, eyes steering away from the media crew momentarily when his eyes catches a familiar figure walking towards them alongside Gavi.

“Yes, it's our anniversary today so not only do I get to celebrate the win tonight but I also get to celebrate an entire year of love and happiness with my girlfriend.”

Pedri shoots you a smile when you catch his eyes, mouthing ‘wait for me’ as he tends to his media tasks by finishing off the interview with a few more remarks for the game, team improvements and whatnot before he walks over to you and Gavi in brisk steps when he's finally done.

He's a few mere foot away when you immediately open your arms for a hug, not minding that he's still dirtied up from his previous game, all with the sweat and gunk clinging onto him. Pedri immediately falls down into your embrace, and Gavi takes that chance to slip away when he sees the cameras pointing to you both while still airing live.

You plant a kiss each to his cheeks and nose, leaving more than a swift peck to his lips that he returns gratefully and with glee.

“I’m so proud of you, do you know that?” You tell him as he leans his forehead against yours. “You did so well today baby, I’m very very proud of you.”

Pedri wraps both of his arms around your waist, locking you snug against him as you snake your hands around his shoulders.

“You always tell me that, no?” He leans down to whisper in your ear. “But you can always show how proud you are of me yeah?”

You don’t say anything but you do slap his chest when Gavi comes in barreling through your hug, jumping behind your boyfriend while he's got both hands over Pedri’s shoulders.

“Happy Anniversary to the two of you!”

Pedri shakes the younger one off before moving to walk away, pulling you behind him. “Too loud Gavi.”

“But we won! And it's in your anniversary and you guys should all be loud!”

Pedri smiles tight-lipped, another whisper going through your ears before he's leaning back up as if he never just said something to rouse you up.

“Oh you'll definitely be loud tonight, that's for sure.”

Not only did the media capture you lip-locking live with your boyfriend after his post-game interview, the interaction with Gavi and Pedri’s whispered suggestive comments that left you stunned and bothered definitely made it to the trending topics on Twitter for the next days to come.

#☆ i4bellingham writes #☆ pedri #pedri x reader #pedri x you #pedri fanfic #pedri fanfiction #pedri imagine #pedri imagines #pedri one shot #pedri one shots #pedri

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aois-amaterasu-painting · 2 months

Text

Black B- PASS- Special Issue - The GazettE - NINTH Reference book - (part 3 - Members interview translation)

■ Interviewer: Finally... after three years, a new original album!!

Aoi: Why are you trying to force the excitement? (laughs)

■ Interviewer: Please don’t tease me (laughs). Since this band interview will introduce the magazine, can you tell us your first thoughts upon completion?

Ruki: First thoughts? All I could think of was "death." There was nothing but death (laughs).

Uruha: (Laughs)

■ Interviewer: Death, you say (laughs). So you felt utterly spent.

Ruki: It felt like a posthumous work.

Reita: (Laughs) When it was done, it felt like, “Ah, we made it through.” When you’re extremely sleepy, it’s like…

Ruki: Turned to "nil" (laughs).

Reita: Yeah. And it’s amazing we finished in time.

Ruki: Anyway, I was thinking, "We have to make it in time!" But even when we did, it didn't feel like we could take a breather.

Kai: That's true. There was a sense of relief, but also a feeling of, “Did we really do everything we could?” (laughs). Now that some time has passed and I’ve listened to it repeatedly, I feel like we made a good piece of work. Of course, there were no issues (laughs).

Uruha: For me, after the mastering was finished and I listened to the final version, my first word was, “Fast.”

■ Interviewer: What do you mean?

Uruha: It’s about 45 minutes long, but it felt shorter. Like, “That was quick.” Even though we spent so much time on it, I thought, “Is that all?” (laughs). There was a sense of ephemerality in those 45 minutes.

Ruki: Your words just summed it all up... Thank you very much.

■ Interviewer: No, we’re not done yet (laughs). What about you, Aoi?

Aoi: If I only talk about the moment we finished... it was like I passed out, and then it was over (laughs).

Reita: That’s right (laughs).

Aoi: But everyone really did their best. By the end, everyone was working purely on willpower. The mixing took a long time, working from noon to morning, and then starting again at noon. But those behind-the-scenes stories don’t really matter to the listeners.

■ Interviewer: Since you’re all saying it was that tough, does that mean this was the hardest production process ever?

Aoi: The production process seems to get harder each year. Not just the music, but everything we release takes a considerable amount of time.

■ Interviewer: In recent years, it’s not just about judging the music but also doing more hands-on work yourselves, right?

Aoi: We want to release something we think is cool... because we are people who want to show everyone something we find cool. It’s a natural flow for it to take time. It’s not about how others evaluate it, but about showing everyone what we think is good. We want people to listen and feel it, so we get particular about it regardless of the time it takes. Of course, the workload varies, and we hardly saw each other towards the end, but being together for 16 years made it possible... Is it okay if we wrap up here?

■ Interviewer: Hahaha! So, we're still in we're still in the introduction part (laughs).

Ruki: Please structure it with bold letters like this.

Reita: Shall we move on to the personal interviews then? (laughs).

■ Interviewer: No, no (laughs). Let's go back to the topic. the GazettE is often seen as a band that emphasizes its worldview, but you are also a band that follows what you want to do at the time, making you quite free. From "TOXIC" to "DIVISION. BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY," and "DOGMA," what direction were your desires headed in with "NINTH"?

Ruki: "DOGMA" was a conceptually strong album, so the songs had a certain direction. This time, we wanted to show that this is our ninth album, something that reflects our journey from the first album to now. Rather than focusing on a musical genre, it’s more about showing our life perspective—something that reveals the history of the GazettE.

■ Interviewer: So it’s a condensation of the GazettE’s trajectory.

Ruki: Yes. We’ve done many things to get to this point, and now we’re straightforwardly showing that. Without aiming for a particular image or how we want to be seen, we wanted to say, “This is the GazettE now.”

■ Interviewer: When this kind of guiding principle—being both a theme and not a theme—was presented, what did you all think?

Kai: It fit perfectly with being a theme yet not a theme. However, we didn’t specifically discuss it like we did with the "DOGMA" concept.

Ruki: Yeah.

Kai: It wasn’t something that could be understood simply. I kept wondering if there was something more to it. Of course, I knew it was our ninth album, but I initially thought the title “NINTH” was temporary. But when it was officially decided that the title would be “NINTH,” my thinking shifted to what RUKI mentioned.

Ruki: Regarding each song, I think we were talking about their positioning in live performances, whether they were fun, intense, or whatever.

■ Interviewer: I see. So, while it's full of aggression, there are also ballad-like, melodic, and melancholic songs.

Uruha: Yeah. At the initial stage, it was like deciding a setlist, keeping live performances in mind. That was always the foundation. Since the previous work "DOGMA" was such a strong image-driven project, we knew we weren’t going in that direction again. We thought it would be natural to go in a more straightforward direction this time. So, we naturally came up with songs while considering live performances. As the songs gradually came together, we sometimes felt a certain atmosphere was missing and created new songs to fill those gaps. But the basic approach was natural.

Aoi: So, while we were mindful of live performances, there wasn’t a clear overall vision. It was more about putting out songs and adjusting as we went along. Even when you talk about a “live feeling,” there are many different forms that can take.

■ Interviewer: So, as time passed, "NINTH" gradually took shape, and everyone started to share a concrete overall vision at the same time?

Uruha: Well, we might not have had a clear overall vision until the very end (laughs).

Aoi: Yeah, I think we didn't have one this time.

■ Interviewer: That’s surprising. Didn’t that make it more challenging?

Ruki: There was the difficulty of creating songs that fit, but we weren’t particularly aiming for a unified world view throughout the album. When you listen from start to finish, the flow was already good. It’s because we had “DOGMA” that we ended up this way. Instead of a single story like “DOGMA,” this album is more purely about the current the GazettE.

Aoi: That's right. It's different from saying we have no concept.

Ruki: Exactly. If you ask if there's no concept, it's more like, "Hmm..."

■ Interviewer: So, because you have 16 years of experience, you can naturally express what’s inside and shape it into an album?

Ruki: Yes… So, it was like making a typical album. Creating a piece with a beginning, middle, and end. The title reflects this too. It's not about having some big overarching theme, like the title suggests, but rather each song has its own world, expressing what "the GazettE of 2018" is about, I suppose.

■ Interviewer: I wonder if there's a deep meaning behind the word "NINTH" here.

Ruki: Well, that might have been typical for us in recent years. But honestly, I can't really say anything much about it this time (laughs).

Reita: Haha, yeah, that's true (laughs). Also, we've always been conscious of making something that shines in live performances, but I feel like that standard keeps getting higher each year. So, this album might just be a collection of things that meet that standard.

■ Interviewer: When the songs started coming together, did you all naturally understand and play them in sync with each other?

Ruki: How was it?

Reita: In terms of being in sync... This time, we really only gathered for pre-production at the very beginning (laughs).

Uruha: Well, there were parts that went smoothly and parts that were challenging. But we introduced a system for smoother data exchange this time, which made interactions between members less stressful than ever before.

Reita: Yes, we’re fully modern kids (laughs). It was very convenient.

Uruha: In the past, we’d email files, and if you missed the email, it could be a problem. This time, we had a place where the latest data was always available, so we just had to check there.

Ruki: Certainly, when the members gathered, there was always the task of taking something home with you, so the process of finalizing things was probably less than usual.

Reita: And (with emails), sometimes when you tried to download the data, it would already have expired.

Ruki: That happened a lot.

Reita: But that doesn’t happen anymore.

Uruha: It's hard to ask for a resend, so sometimes you just had to wait for the next one (laughs).

All: Hahaha!

■ Interviewer: You wouldn’t have to say, “Send it again,” which can delay things (laughs).

Aoi: Haha. But, it's really convenient, huh? Especially because corrections could be made quickly.

■ Interviewer: It seems like this approach really suits the current state of the GazettE. Just from this segment, it sounds like everything went incredibly smoothly, but...

Ruki: Actually, it was quite difficult (laughs). Especially the process of producing the songs. It’s like harvesting vegetables.

■ Interviewer: I see, starting from planting the seeds.

Ruki: Yes. And the cooking after harvesting is quite challenging too, waiting for the final product to be good.

■ Interviewer: So here we have 12 carefully selected masterpieces.

Ruki: Yes. There were some songs that weren't completed until the very last moment to ensure they were satisfactory. It's like that song from “Kiteretsu Daihyakka” - “What happened to the cabbage?” (laughs).

■ Interviewer: Which song was completed at the very last moment?

Ruki: ……………… Oh, it just smoothly went by. (laughs).

Reita: Ahahaha!

■ Interviewer: Oops, I should have reacted more! (The interviewer was not familiar with the opening theme of “Kiteretsu Daihyakka” called "Cooking March")

Ruki: It's okay. The 11th song, "ABHOR GOD."

Reita: That one was tough.

Ruki: It's the crucial part that leads towards the very end.

■ Interviewer: I heard that the whole band composed this song together, which is rare for the GazettE.

Ruki: Yes. Because I was working on the lyrics, I wasn’t able to join the band for that part.

Reita: Well, he was kind of like remote control (laughs).

Uruha: There were about three different versions... no, maybe more.

Kai: Yeah, there were more.

Reita: And in the end, it mutated suddenly.

All: Hahaha!

■ Interviewer: I see (laughs). The sing-along chorus “Wow - Wow” is also fresh for the GazettE.

Ruki: I recorded that part after everyone had already heard it. I didn't have time to let them hear the demo, so I presented it after recording it, saying, "Here it is." On the contrary, I was curious about how the four of them had created it together. When I asked Uruha, he said, "REITA jumped around..." and "We made it so that it would be jumpable."

Reita: Well, I just jumped around. And the next day, I had muscle pain.

All: Hahaha!

Aoi: I watched the process closely without getting too involved.

Ruki: This part was handled by Kai, this was what REITA mentioned, parts where members were involved are well reflected, I think.

Reita: When I sent the data and asked, “How is it?” RUKI responded with, “How do you all feel about it?” (laughs). He wrote something like, "Are you guys having doubts?"

Uruha: Well, we were (laughs).

Reita: RUKI probably had a different idea in mind. It wasn’t quite that… more like…

Ruki: Well, rather than different…

Kai: It was more like I received directions from RUKI saying, "I want it to feel like this," so I gathered up those keywords and started thinking from there.

Ruki: I thought it should be fun and intense, but the first sounds that came were quite maniacal. I thought, “Oh, maybe they’re struggling with it.”

All: Ahahaha!

Aoi: Especially these two (URUHA and KAI), they really felt responsible (laughs).

Uruha: We felt it, we felt it.

Kai: Yeah, yeah, yeah (laughs).

Ruki: When the song started to come together, it was quite dark at first, which made me feel a bit down.

Reita: (laughs) Sorry about that.

Ruki: There was just one phrase, an intro part in the original song. I personally thought, "Oh, that's good." So, I called and asked if it would be okay to use that as the intro.

Aoi: The rest was no good (laughs).

Ruki: No, no (laughs). We kept that part and just made the tempo a bit faster.

Uruha: Speeding up the tempo was tough.

■ Interviewer: That’s really a collaborative process for a song.

Ruki: If you say so (laughs). It might look like we flipped the table.

Reita: It felt like someone just ate the strawberries off the shortcake.

All: Ahahaha!

■ Interviewer: I see (laughs). That fun atmosphere can be felt in the sing-along parts.

Ruki: I thought it would be good to have that kind of vibe.

Aoi: So, it’s not us but the audience singing that part?

Ruki: I didn't think about it that far. Do you think they’ll sing it? In our case, even if we include such parts, our fans don’t usually sing along.

Reita: That’s true.

Ruki: It's like with "Maximum Impulse.” The members' faces just get redder and redder.

Reita: Yeah, especially me (laughs).

Aoi: Oh, I need to listen to the new chorus parts.

■ Interviewer: Yes, the new work seems to have a lot of chorus parts.

Ruki: We’ll verify it during rehearsal.

Aoi: Are there any parts that seem too difficult?

Ruki: I don’t think there were any.

Reita: Well, you say that every time (laughs).

Aoi: Sometimes, if the rhythm is completely different while playing, it’s the most tricky part.

■ Interviewer: I see. The new album also features melodious and emotionally charged songs with a straight beat, like "UNFINISHED," which might not have been possible in the previous album. Were you concerned that such impactful songs might overshadow others?

Ruki: No, not at all.

Aoi: Oh, we have a new perspective here.

■ Interviewer: Oh, really? (laughs) Did you also have the intention of showcasing the original coolness of visual kei, which is your forte?

Ruki: No, we didn’t have any intention of appealing outwardly. We just did what we thought was cool at the time. Things that might have seemed unconvincing or outdated before now feel better. We’ve always thought it’s better to be a band capable of various types of songs. After “DOGMA,” people might have assumed we’d continue in a certain direction, perhaps towards a more metal sound, but we didn’t think that way at all.

■ Interviewer: So, it wasn't intentional.

Ruki: Even if we’re good at something, it’s not intentional. On the contrary, sometimes we intentionally avoid certain things. During “DOGMA,” we purposely didn’t include audience singing parts. So, this time, it's more standard, I suppose.

■ Interviewer: Understood. And this time, you released the music video for "Falling," the practical opening track, ahead of the album. This is unusual for the GazettE, but it seems to show your unwavering confidence in the band now.

Kai: We weren’t particularly conscious of confidence in the band, but when RUKI created “Falling,” we all recognized it as the prologue of "NINTH." We felt it was the beginning.

■ Interviewer: Ah, so it's similar to the fans' perspective.

Kai: So for me, during the process of creating the song, I listened to "Falling" with the mindset that this is the prologue.

Uruha: And by not selling it, but instead choosing to release it for free, I think it definitely increased awareness. I think "Falling" was good because I heard that the evaluation of the song was high, which raised expectations for "NINTH." So, that song became a very good introduction, and I hope the album will continue to surprise with different approaches from "Falling" to "UNFINISHED." It feels like it was well-calculated, so it's ultimately alright.

■ Interviewer: Showing a glimpse of the album in advance didn’t have any negative impact; it made it more effective.

Uruha: Exactly. The album doesn’t continue with the same type of songs, so there’s no disappointment.

■ Interviewer: Aoi, how do you feel about the songs lined up in the album?

Aoi: There were parts where it was difficult to grasp the overall picture until it was completed, but the final result is very satisfying. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to fit together so well, but it turned out to be an album with a solid story.

Reita: Yes, it’s easy to listen to and has everything. We will perform other songs on the tour, but there won’t be any sense of discord when they’re combined, and I think this is the current ideal form of the GazettE.

Kai: As for me, the process was unusual and we were pressed for time, so I had mixed feelings. There were moments of anxiety, but also relief when it was finished. This album is packed with those feelings, and it’s different from anything we’ve done before. The process felt simultaneous with our emotions, rather than trying to catch up with them. The songs felt like they progressed alongside us, and I felt that strongly this time. It’s quite refreshing.

■ Interviewer: I see. How about you, Ruki?

Ruki: I poured a lot into each song, so I can’t look at them objectively yet. I have strong feelings for each song. But I can say that I put everything into it. Even though we were pressed for time, there was no compromise. It was a situation where we either compromised or didn’t sleep, and I think we managed to push through to the end. This applies to the staff and engineers as well. If I were in their shoes, I would have definitely quit. Normally, engineers don't stay overnight.

Kai: Haha, they might have felt like we were punishing them.

Ruki: So, I think what we've done up to this point won't happen again, and I feel like this album embodies that dedication.

All scans are from The Archive (rad-is-more) Interview translation is ChatGPT.

#the gazette #ninth #interview translations #ninth reference book

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mirai-e-jump · 9 months

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ViVi Magazine, February 2024 Issue Murakami Erica x Hirakawa Yuzuki Interviews (translation below)

Publication: December 22, 2023

Erica and Yuzuyan's rambling talk

The close combination of Hirakawa-chan, known as Yuzuyan, and Erica appear for the first time in ViVi. During this photoshoot, we could feel the close friendship between them, as they giggled and talked the whole time. We asked alot about these two, who are a hot topic right now.

-Our youth is now! Anyway…I'm so glad we met~!-

"What do you call each other?"

Erica: Everyone calls her Yuzuyan.

Yuzuki: I've never had a nickname before, but I got one for the first time on set (laughs). I call her Marie.

Erica: I think everyone at ViVi was surprised to call me by that name. Actually, my real middle name is Marie, and everyone on set of the show calls me Marie. I'm so happy about my secret name~

"What is it like on set?"

Yuzuki: We chat alot while waiting to film. There's the 6 of us filming together, and when we've all gathered, it's like break time at school (laughs). It's so loud and noisy!

Erica: Someone will get into things, someone else will join in and do something stupid, and so on and so forth (laughs). Every day is jam packed with inside jokes. It's silly, but the 6 of us spending time together is so much fun~.

Yuzuki: We've been filming together almost every day for 10 months, so our friendship levels are amazing. From the very beginning, when we first started filming, we were all in perfect sync and got along well. But, when the cameras start rolling, everyone gets serious. It's amazing how everyone's faces change so quickly!

"What kind of personalities do you two have?"

Yuzuki: Marie is, in a single word, a bomb (laughs). Marie's explosive power when she's tired is insane (laughs). She'll suddenly explode and become cheerful. And, we all get caught up in it and get excited too (laughs).

Erica: We spend so much time on the set, that if we don't talk, I get sleepy, so I feel at ease exploding because everyone will pick up the pieces (laughs).

Yuzuki: She does things that go way beyond what you'd expect, so I never get tired of watching her. I'm like, "Even though you're so cute, why would you do something like this?" She's constantly one upping how interesting she can be (laughs). I can't tell if she's trying to be funny or if it's all natural.

Erica: Thanks for letting me do it, and for being on the receiving end (laughs). Yuzuyan is everyone's "straight man" older sister, but she can also be everyone's little sister.

Yuzuki: I'm often described as being a 5th grade boy~. We're the "mess around" combo.

"What does your existence mean to each other?"

Erica: After becoming an adult, I never thought I'd meet someone who I could mess around with so much, even more so through work!

Yuzuki: I'm so glad that someone like her exists, where we can joke around and laugh like this as friends 💜.

"What were your first impressions and current impressions?"

Yuzuki: I knew of Marie's modeling from reading ViVi, and I thought she was just so~ cute and looked like a doll. But, the more I learned about her, the more I thought she was like a bomb (laughs).

Erica: My first impression of Yuzuyan was that she was a very refreshing person. But in reality, she talks alot and is hyperactive (laughs). She notices things that other people don't see and takes the initiative to follow up, and is very considerate. From the very beginning, I felt like she was a dependable older sister. She's also good at remembering directions (laughs).

"How was today's shoot? How do you like Erica as a ViVi model?"

Yuzuki: When I look through ViVi, Marie is so cool…..she doesn't always look like this! It makes me want to get involved (laughs). She wears cool clothes and her expressions are amazing! It's so cool!!

Erica: This was the first time for the two of us to do a photoshoot together for a fashion magazine. I was happy to be able to work as a model like I usually do. We were able to shoot as our usual natural selves, which was alot of fun and very fresh. I thought it would be so much fun to shoot with someone who understands me.

Yuzuki: For today's shoot, she led me around alot, and I was impressed by the fact that she was such a great ViVi model!

"Do you see any similarities between yourself and the role you play in Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger?"

Erica: I think we share the same caring nature. However, I myself am not strong willed, so I admire her for that.

Yuzuki: I think we're similar in that we have humanity. We're both basically no nonsense, and we have our "on and off" switch. However, while my role is to be immovable, I'm actually extremely hyperactive, which is the complete opposite.

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bellewintersroe · 1 year

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Carlos Sainz x Celebrity OC… Part 4.

Okay, I know I said this next chapter was going to be spicy but I don’t know if it fits in with the story so it’s just gonna be some Carlos x Jenna fluff of their first few days and I promise part 5 will be spicy 🌶️🌶️ Again any apologies if I’ve used the wrong name for the OC, I’ve gone through and tried my best to correct any mistakes so hopefully there isn’t any! No warnings, I’ve tried to make this a fun little chapter with mainly Carlos x OC x Platonic!Charles. Just some badly translated French, Italian and Spanish. Jenna does her first interview with Carlos since their first date together and things are overtly flirty. The only thing breaking that tension? Charles Leclerc the proud 3rd wheel.

“Good night.” Carlos smiled knowingly as I rested against the hotel room door frame. “I’ll see you on Thursday.” I spoke softly, shyly glancing down to my hands. “You’ll be doing the interview?” He spoke quietly as I nodded back up to the dark haired man.

“Yeah, thank you for tonight anyway, you really didn’t have to pay.”

“I’ve got it all covered.” He shook his head firmly. “Well I owe you.” “No, never.” He hushed as I giggled slightly. He was adamant all night that I wouldn’t pay, he almost looked offended when I offered to buy a €7 crepe for him. “Okay. I feel bad.”

“I know how you can pay me back.” He borderline giggled as I gazed up to his eyes. He had a shy expression, a childlike amusement spreading in his eyes. “What’re you gonna say?” I let out a soft laugh as he giggled again. “I can’t, it’s really embarrassing.” He rumbled our laughter, putting a hand on my shoulder. “What? Was it for a kiss or something?” I snickered causing him to snicker harder. “That’s so cheesy!” I teased, nudging his shoulder as he moved closer, cupping either side of my face as I chuckled out before he pressed a quick kiss to my lips. It was a little hard because both of us were laughing and he kept bumping his teeth against mine clumsily.

“Sorry.” He snickered, kissing me more gently as I ran my hand over his bicep, enjoying the feeling of his muscle. He was so toned, he was literally unreal. “You make me laugh.” I commented with a shy smile once we broke apart.

“I hope so.. I’ll see you Thursday, yeah?” He spoke as I nodded, swallowing the urge to let the most excitable screech of laughter that would most likely scare him off. “Okay.” He smiled, eyeing up my lips once more in a manner that made my knees week. With one more lingering kiss we’d parted ways and I’d fainted as soon as I got back into my hotel room. Not literally, but I wanted to. The heaviest sigh escaped my mouth as I relived his kisses over and over again, swooning at the thought of his plump lips pressed up against my own.

Now there was only two more days until I’d see him again…

————————————————————————

“Hello, I’m back in M-Mon-“ I burst out in uncontrollable laughter as the two men besides me joined in. “I can’t- I can’t! Okay, I’m sorry!” I waved my hands at the camera crew who would crack me up further with their smirks and grimaces to bite back laughter.

“Okay, I’m calm.” I turned over to Carlos who has his hand over his eyes giggling. “Why is this so funny?” Charles then asked, the two Ferrari boys stood at either side of me as I straightened my back, dedicated to getting the introduction right this time.

“Somethings made her nervous… it’s set you off, hasn’t it, Jen?” Lisa asked, making my cheeks warm up. It’s as though she knew. I mean- maybe she did, Anise had a loud mouth when she was drunk. I didn’t blame her.

“Nothing to be nervous of.” Carlos shrugged from besides me, making my cheeks grow even warmer. “Oh- I’m going red, I need- okay, I’ll do it seriously now.” I pushed my blonde hair over my shoulder, clearing my throat and taking a couple deep breaths.

“Hi, I’m with Carlos and Charles-“ Charles burst out laughing from besides me, trying to hold it in as I burst out another giggle, my shoulder grazing against Carlos’. “Charles!” I exclaimed but Lisa ushered me to continue. “Um and we’re back in Monaco- and this interviews a mess I’m sorry- but we’re gonna um…” I covered my mouth from giggling as the two amused boys besides me watched.

“We’re gonna drive a car blindfolded!” Both of them started laughing again as I felt Carlos’ hand rest on my shoulder for support. “Not a real car!” Somebody cleared up from behind the cameras. Poor men were probably fed up of my nonsense. “Not a real car! Anyway- who wants to go first?” I attempted to usher the interview on, despite the fact I was blubbering out bursts of laughter every two seconds. Charles had lost it, he couldn’t even hide his laughter as Carlos jumped forwards.

“I’ll go.” He ran his hand off my shoulder, leaving it feeling slightly cold as I giggled again, nervous from his touch. “Okay, Carlos is going first.” I inhaled again, biting down harshly on my chewing gum when I almost inhaled it. That would not have been a good look.

“Where’s my blind fold?” The Spanish man smiled up to me as I turned to where Lisa threw one over, handing it over as he smiled up to me, before tying the black cloth around, over his eye. “Charles you gotta direct me!” Carlos exclaimed as the other man ensured his eyes were fully covered.

“I will try my best.”

“Ai, ai, ai, this is difficult.” Carlos muttered, feeling for where everything was on the simulator. I guided his hands to the wheel amused as I watched on as the chaos unfolded. Surprisingly the ‘interview’ went kinda well, it was chaotic but people enjoyed that. I had a good time, and even though I was nervous as hell with Carlos next to me, I’d managed to calm myself down from my giggling fit earlier.

“Make him crash.” Carlos whispered in my ear, cupping his hand as his fingers nudged through the strands of my hair. I didn’t know if it was purposeful or not, but it made my stomach twist with butterflies. “How?” I smiled back to him as he nodded me to follow him, pointing at the wheel as I reached forwards, nudging the wheel further and further to the left.

“Okay, I’m- Carlos where are you?! Why am I turning?!” Charles exclaimed in surprise as the whole simulator began jittering violently before he’d crashed directly into the wall. “Nooo!” He cried out dramatically, Carlos clapping his hands in amusement as I jumped back, acting all innocent.

“What happened?! Why did you crash?” I exclaimed as Charles forced the blindfold off his eyes.

“Carlos you fucker! You turned my wheel!” He jumped up out of the seat as I bit back a laughter. “Wasn’t me!” Carlos snitched as my mouth opened, mocking a gasp as the Spanish man laughed, holding either side of my arms and giving me a quick squeeze.

“It was you?!” Charles was wide eyes. “You are a bad influence on her.” The monegasque playfully shoved Carlos. “Now it’s your turn!” Charles pointed out. “I don’t even drive in real life!” I held out my hands.

“Even better!” Charles responded excitedly. “You don’t have to do it blindfolded.” Carlos exclaimed. “No! That’s not fair!” Charles held out the blindfold, clearly competitive about the whole thing.

“She doesn’t even drive!” Carlos defended as I climbed into the seat, feeling the Spanish man adjust the seat so I was further forwards. “Such a gentleman.” Charles pointed out before plopping the blindfold over my head. “Okay, I’ll use the blindfold but don’t expect me to be even able to start this thing.” I was just as shit as I thought, first of all I couldn’t even start the damn simulator, then my chair was constantly jittering from something I was doing wrong on the pedals. Who made a simulator this hard in the first place?! Maybe that was a stupid question. “Keep your foot down! No, no!” Charles screeched out in laughter, snatching the wheel to turn it- I was assuming back on the track. “I don’t know where I’m going.” I worried, yanking the wheel back to where I felt him turn me.

Carlos choked out a laugh. “No pensé que serías tan mala!” (I did not think you’d be this bad!).

“Qué? ¡Soy una mierda!” (What? I’m shit!). I exclaimed back out in Spanish. “Oh my god.” Charles snickered when the simulator lurched forwards and the simulator jittered furious.

“Mamma Mia.” Carlos playfully spoke as I lifted the blindfold back off my face. I had indeed crashed, and I had been going backwards for a good- “7 laps?! I was backwards?!” Both the boys began laughing profusely as I groaned, knowing they’d been messing me around the whole time. “Whatever, I think I was good.” I joked, biting down on my tongue as I jumped out of the simulator.

“Amazing.” Carlos teased back to me as I smiled back up to him. “Thank you!” I attempted to joke along but ruined it with a chuckle.

“Um, anyway, thanks for watching- if anybody made it this far in. This afternoon we’ll be joined with Daniel and Landon to see if McLaren can beat Ferrari’s high score.” I wrapped it all up as Carlos snickered. “You are funny.”

“That was the most fun I have had in one of these in a while.” Charles admitted as I secretly was super happy about the admission. There’s nothing worse than boring interviews that these drivers already had too many of to do.

Thankfully, we’d all have a break from the filming, I didn’t mind, I was having great fun, I couldn’t lie. It was fun to do something different other than just asking things all day. I was looking over the table of endless amounts of food, eyeing up what looked to be blackberry seeds piled on top of some kind of cracker.

“It’s caviar.” A familiar voice spoke as mg hand immediately yanked away from the food. “Ew.” I accidentally spoke before looking up and seeing Carlos besides me. “Where did you come from?” I smiled, biting down on my lip as he carried a plate full of the most food I’d ever seen.

“From the interview.” He spoke like it was obvious. “Holy shit, that’s a mountain of food!” I eyed him back up as he flashed me a toothy smile.

“I’m a hungry man, after this my diet starts again.”

“Fuck dieting.” I shrugged. “You never diet?” A

“Nuh uh, I don’t have the self control.”

“How do you look so good then?” He flirted as I turned back up to him with a perked brow. “I am being serious?!”

“I just… I don’t know.” I blushed, completely forgetting I was walking to put food on my plate. I was too caught up with being in Carlos’ Vinci it’s.

“You’re red now.” He pointed out. “Oh, Carlos don’t!” I laughed. “I’m sorry, will you come sit with me? Charles is there as well, he’s lonely.” I turned over my shoulder to see Charles eating alone like a lost school boy.

“Poor guy.” I giggled before looking up to Carlos again. “We best join him…” I’d been sat with them for a couple of minutes, swinging my legs nervously when I accidentally caught Carlos’ with my own. “Sorry.” I turned to see him smirking. “It’s okay.” He shook his head and continued eating as I joined back in the conversation with Charles.

“-sorry, and then she never ended up coming, so.. now it’s just me.” I shrugged, “do you enjoy it? Like the racing in general?” Charles asked. Just as I was about to answer I felt the nudge from a foot under the table once again that almost made me choke on my food.

“Mmmh!” I perked, knowing it was Carlos’ foot that had nudged against my own in a playful manner. “I didn’t when I was little, I have to admit I was forced by my brothers to watch it. But no I do, I have for quite a while.” Carlos let out a laugh at my words, as though he was being soo casual and definitely not playing footsies with me under the table. “Was it karting you used to do?” I then asked Charles, purposefully nudging my foot back into Carlos’s as he kicked back almost instantly. This time I jumped, reacting physically to the kick under the table. “I am sorry, I didn’t mean it to be that hard.” Carlos quickly put a hand on my arm.

“What are you doing? Playing footsies under there?!” Charles burst out in laughter. “No, he kicked me!” I lied. “Purposefully.” Carlos teased, biting back down into a burger.

“Jésus, je suis en troisième roue...” (Jesus I am third wheeling). My eyebrow perked back up to Charles.

“Je peux aussi parler français, tu sais.” (I can speak French too, you know). His eyes widened in surprise. “Really?!” Charles eyes landed on Carlos. “Sposala.” (Marry her). “Anche italiano Charles.” (Italian too, Charles).

#carlos sainz x reader #Carlos Sainz x OC #Charles Leclerc x Reader

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centrally-unplanned · 6 months

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I was listening to this cast by The Weeb Crew, with SteveM as a guest, going through some other Evangelion video and dissecting the mythical memetic tropes it buys into. Which was a lot of fun, I recommend the cast, and the video they are critiquing is a bit of a grad-bag of zombie memes about Evangelion from the 2000's, which yeah have aged poorly.

One of the ones they get into is the idea that Evangelion's TV ending was "intensely unpopular", and Anno & crew were getting like bombarded with death threats and stuff. Which happened at some level sure, but certainly wasn't the median response. The video actually sites the "emails" shown on screen in End of Evangelion as evidence:

And like, bro those emails are fake! The staff wrote them for the movie, they didn't use real death threats or fan mail, that would be a huge legal liability. Not saying they are analytically useless or anything but, you know, you need to know that.

Anyway, SteveM mentions that of course there was pushback against Eva's ending, but actually the big wave wasn't interior to the fandom - instead it was sparked by Eva "going mainstream" discourse-wise. In particular a review essay by social critic Eiji Otuska (who is also a former lolicon creator ding ding ding) that was published after the finale aired sparked a widespread discussion in the media by other critics. He links to the essay in their discussion....except he doesn't. He thinks he did, and then when they look, its just someone else mentioning it in an article in 2003:

Bitter disputes broke out on online bulletin boards, with some critical of the producers for failing to provide a clear-cut end to the story, and others who praised the finish for being "typically Evangelion-like." But when commentator Eiji Otsuka sent a letter to the Yomiuri Shimbun, complaining about the end of the Evangelion series, the debate went nationwide. "The debate that erupted over the ending went way beyond our calculations," Gainax's Sato chuckles. "Anno probably knew what was going on. He realized that media other than anime had taken notice of Evangelion."

Which triggered in me the thought - why doesn't he have it? He references it in his own work after all. As you can guess, after some searching I am pretty sure I know why; no one has it. Its never been scanned or reprinted in an accessible format! It definitely is important in the history of Evangelion - I have seen this claim in other contexts, the essay that sparked a discourse, and you can find many works about Evangelion citing Otsuki (generally later works, like an article published in September of 1996 which you can buy) But what the article article said is only discernable via the clues dropped from second-hand accounts.

So can we find it?

First of all I need to figure out what is even being referenced. Searching through contemporary Japanese sources, I dug up an extremely handy find:

A somehow-still-existing 1997 fan page by a Japanese otaku (I'm giving you this stuff auto-translated btw, what would you do with a wall of kanji?) who extensively catalogued every media mention of Evangelion. I am sure they missed some, but they didn't miss a big one like the Otsuki letter - which we know from the above interview appeared in gigantic newspaper Yoimiuri Shimbun:

This gives us three candidates; given that we know it was written after the finale aired, and that was March 27th, 1996, our most likely candidate is the April 1st essay; I was able to find a secondary source mentioning the review was "immediately" after the finale, so I think that nails it.

Which alas does not bring up anything! Try as I might I cannot find any extant blog post, or scanned image, or long quoted form. But after trying the usual methods I did realize something - unlike my average document hunt, this is Yoimiuri Shimbum, a newspaper, a big newspaper. Which means they probably have their own archive, which I might be able to access. and low and behold, they do! And my university research services actually have an account!!

Incredibly blessed by this stroke of luck, I went digging for everything containing "Evangelion" and "Eiji Otsuka" in 1996, and found it:

And it's fucking blank. If the article is scanned or anything it will have that "Japanese Text" you see on the first result, or "Scanned Image" tag or something. I swear its like the only ones not scanned, all the random ads and list of best sellers are all there, but the entire cultural essays section is just an archival void. Shot in the skull right at the finish line.

Alas I am out of ideas of this one - its a newspaper, no one is selling this on Yahoo Auctions. Though hey, at least now we know the title:

"オウム」を超えるはずが... / It should surpass Aum...", 876 characters long.

"Aum" by the way is Aum Shinrikyo, the cult terrorist group that conducted the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack. Which you can imagine really took the chattering classes by storm; it was the culmination of a series of "extremist" actions that began in the 1980's that built up a narrative of societal decay and alarm. It really isn't surprising that Otsuka linked Evangelion to Aum Shinrikyo; the apocalyptic connections were obvious, there was even an episode of the show that had to be changed due to the attacks as the production team thought the events were too similar. And additionally, if this essay was gonna spark a "societal backlash", it has to say something controversial right? I have definitely seen other critics like Hiroki Azuma discussing Eva in relation to Aum as a "social phenomenon" - I am betting Otsuka is the source of that comparison being so ubiquitous.

From other sources like people on twitter and other articles, I can pick up a few other details on what it contained; apparently he referred to Evangelion's finale as a "self-help seminar" for otaku and lambasted the idea of airing one of those on TV. And from his other writings I think you can certainly piece it together - essentially seeing Evangelion's self-involvement and hyper-introspection as a product of the same societal malaise that birthed Aum Shinrikyo, while failing to deliver a solution that could "go beyond" that. Which, the shit you said about media in the 90's, I want a hit of what he's having! But while today its quite obvious that groups like Aum were, sure, saying something about society but turned out overwhelmingly to be fringe weirdos as opposed to canaries in the mental institute coal mine, at the time this was very much the zeitgeist.

Still, I don't really care all that much what it says - its an important artifact! It started the "Eva discourse boom" that broke out of otaku circles and launched Evangelion into a cross-societal phenomenon! We should have a record of it, it should be preserved. I will ruminate on it, and see if any other ideas pop up. And meanwhile if anyone out there happens to see what I missed definitely let me know.

#evangelion history #Ash anime deep dive bullshit #mini-essay

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lemonflavoreddishsoap · 1 year

Note

Hello!!, I saw that you were accepting requests so I wanted to ask for a LS with a S/o who is a member of a punk band!!

PS: sorry for my bad english… I'm using a translator to send this:(

Since I already kiiiind of did similar headcanons for Formaggio and Risotto, I won't include them in these headcanons, I hope that's okay!!

ADDITION IM ADDING NOW AS I FINALLY WORK ON SOME DRAFTS HOOOOOOLY SHIT AM I SORRY I'VE NEGLECTED MY DRAFTS FOR SO LONG I'm going to try to get back into a writing groove!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

La Squadra with an S/O in a punk band

Illuso

He makes everyone and their grandma listen to your band. He's boasting about how good your music is, he's practically a living advertisement. If you don't want people to get sick of your band's music, please try to ask him to stop

If you're the singer of the band, he'll sometimes start singing your songs, hoping you'll start singing with him.

Hell, even if you aren't the singer, he'll do it.

Makes his way into as many concerts as he can - his stand comes in handy here as he sneaks in pretty damn easily...I mean I don't really know if he needs to but he does anyway?

Prosciutto

Music-wise, it's not exactly something you two connect on, however, he recognises talent when he sees/hears it.

And while he may not listen to your band's stuff on his own time, he will never turn down watching you practice a song or an instrument either on your own or with your band.

Your sheer concentration and skill captivates and attracts him, he loves it.

If you ask for it, he's willing to give feedback when you play him works in progress - he's very fair with his comments, never too harsh, never too soft.

Pesci

He is CONSTANTLY praising you. Number one fan all day every day, supporting your band as much as he possibly can.

I've said before that I think Pesci's music tastes are a bit of everything, so he has a good appreciation for the kind of art you make and you two can bond over music pretty easily.

He's very nervous about talking to any of your bandmates, but he always asks you to pass along compliments to them. Appreciation for everyone! aughghghg i love him

If he has the time, and you're okay with it, he loves to help with performances!!! If you need help setting ANYTHING, he is willing to help out

Also...be prepared for a very proud, mushy Pesci after any of your performances

Melone

"You've been playing together for how long? And your biggest inspirations are...?" idk why I just think he would like. Be a major contributor if you guys had like a wikipedia page or something. He's interviewing you and tippy tapping away (there's a post showing off how silly he types, I need to find it again)

He's asking about all the instruments, all the equipment - if you'd be so gracious as to possible teach him how to use any of them he will be thrilled.

He's just generally super curious about it all, he possibly asks too many questions...as in, you're wondering if he already knows the answer and just wants to listen to you talk.

Similar to Pesci, Melone spreads the appreciation all throughout your band!! No one's talent goes unnoticed to him, and in time he'd like to befriend the other members of the band.

Ghiaccio

Watching you perform does something to him. He's completely fucking silent and his eyes are GLUED on you. It's kind of scary from an outside perspective but to you it's absolutely adorable.

He's listening to your band all the time. Ghiaccio, at least in my thoughts, has such a deep passion for music and pays deep attention to how each individual in a group plays their instruments, how it all comes together to create a unique sound. Obviously, this is a million times more special for him listening to your stuff because well...it's you.

In previous headcanons, I mentioned that he blasts music into his ears when he listens as a sensory thing. With yours, he likes to close his eyes and imagine you and your band are right there.

No because now I can't stop thinking about it. Ghiaccio would love to have a musician s/o. He would love that so much holyshit?

You find him in heated arguments against random people in the comments of videos of your songs. Classic Ghiaccio.

#la squadra #jjba x reader #la squadra x reader #ghiaccio x reader #illuso x reader #pesci x reader #jjba #melone x reader #prosciutto x reader

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gioiaalbanoart · 1 month

Text

Find the Word Tag

So.....I had several in the back-burner, I might get start now....😅

THANKS TO : @the-golden-comet (X) with : house, flower, rain, green AND (X) with cold, shiver, stream, and drop AND (X) with Fear, Trust, Summon, Horror

@wyked-ao3 (X) with : loyal, gun, tree, smoke and (X same as Goldie)

and (X) with : void, valid, villain, violent and (X) with fire, aim, guilty, hell

@authorcoledipalo (X) with : ache, slash, bounce, wink

@tragedycoded (X) with tire, accurate, innocent, switch

@sableglass (X) with Sting, Chase, Care, Empty and (X) with Lock, Cross, Stick, Fly

From my wip The scarred angel under the cut with tags

house

And Amy wishes. She wishes so badly for time to stop.

Of course it doesn't, and the morning reaches easily the greenhouse.

rain (it was the closest one 😂)

As I keep staring, bewitched, I'm vaguely aware of part of my brain suggesting : "Must be what being hit by lightening feels like".

green

By some standards I bet he could be considered as handsome : tanned, green eyes, tick dark hair, really bright white teeth.

cold

I’m suddenly cold now, despite the too warm, too humid fucking weather, but I sink in the sensation anyway.

shiver

Suddenly the power of a possible implication hits him, eyes go wide : "They're not past fentanyl, are they ?" he blurts and shivers despite himself.

stream

"Our work on the border is challenging by definition. Starting with drugs and illegal immigration and all the possible downstream harms like various smuggling, gun-running.... You name it.

drop

When this one looks at me with those arctic blue eyes my jaws involuntarily drops and all hairs on my body go secretly hair-raising.

Trust

She puts together scratches of material she has written, mainly on paper because she doesn't trust to bring along her laptop in the patrol car.

Fear

It's old enough that among other things she fears it might overheat and miserably melt.

Summon

Herrera's answer hangs in the air while I summon internally any entity whatsoever that might keep him talking without requiring another awkward prompt coming from me.

Horror

It still would be nothing compared to the horror's ripping her apart.

gun

Which translates as different groups at war engaging in gunfight and not finishing the job because more urgent matters.

tree

Can you imagine families in those streets? With children?"

smoke

Despite all the open windows and the "no smoking" signs a stale cigarettes smoke persists and combined with the heat makes the air stuffy, so much for breathing.

void

We almost argued and Phil hardly held his tongue to avoid lashing out on me.

violent

"We're helping with the operation." he says : "We are on watch if you prefer. We want to avoid as much as possible any violent consequence on ours side."

ache

Ashley arches an eyebrow like a challenge : "Rumors about me have reached your ears, perhaps?"

wink

Still Morales winks at her, the lopsided unpleasant smirk still plastered on his face.

tire

Maybe I'm failing at it, or he's just so tired, as his heavy eyes' bags show, that he just can't care less.

switch

Say I call in I wouldn't have a clue about whom I could ask for, I probably wouldn't pass beyond the switchboard.

Sting

Proper interviews it's usually when things get interesting.

Chase

Amy chases away fleeting images of light blonde hair and ice blue eyes sneaking annoyingly between responsible and fully functional thoughts.

Care

She' half sitting half leaning on the desk edge, splayed palms planted behind to props her up like an easel, body language exuding a kind of devil-may-care attitude that seems irritating Morales as much.

Empty

My stomach is still churned and part of me is focusing on keep it from emptying it just there on the floor which is probably why I don't mince my words when I ask : "What's Ashley Knox to you, sir?"

fire

But she's rather glad she didn’t earn any new of them from the fire, new painful identification marks.

aim

"So, what is that you're good at aim?" the blonde asks before taking a sip, curiosity lingering in her eyes above the glass's edge.

hell

Why the hell does she shaves so?

Lock

Ashley at first locks eyes with hers then her lips twists in a half shit-eating grin : "That's was lame." She breaths out almost like talking to herself.

Cross

Sounds like a joke, it must me the most common family name here where we can just walk to cross the border and get to Mexico.

Stick

She abruptly goes back sitting and stirs the fire with a stick, her gaze back to usual hardness.

Fly

There is no way I'm taking a fly back home right now anyway, I don't have the strength, so let's play the role just for a few days.

NF : flower, loyal, valid, villain, slash, bounce, accurate, innocent, guilty

****

Now, that was...Np tag but I wanna share the pain 🤣 . Pick up one/more than one/ whatever words :

@saturnine-saturneight, @davycoquette, @cowboybrunch, @authorcoledipalo, @leahnardo-da-veggie, @kaeru483 @alinacapellabooks + open tag and a drink because you probably gonna need one 🍻 🍻🍻

#find the word tag #don't let tag games in the back-burner #I have to consider few things #wip The scarred angel #writers on ao3 #writers of tumblr

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beesmygod · 3 months

Note

i had so much fun writing it, thank you reading!!

trying to think about, sincerely, what purpose this type of story serves and how that would translate into kui's world was really interesting to me. because i do think dateline is providing a "service" more than say, two women making jokes about someone's death who don't know anyone involved. like, just because some people consume them in the same way, doesn't mean they're made equal, right?

people mostly go to dateline voluntarily, all unpaid, even guilty people, because they recognize the team as journalists and believe their story will be told for the viewers. even if they later say they made them look bad or feel otherwise misrepresented, they still consented to interviews because of the sense that this will be *it* for the narrative and they have to have a part of it.

doesn't mean it's not exploitative, that people don't sometimes regret being part of it, that it doesn't retraumatize everyone closely involved, and that the people who refuse to be paraded out get their voices erased, but it certainly has a function and purpose beyond JUST gossip. i wanted to get all the exploitative inhumane painful bits at least touched on but also show why someone WOULD sign up for it anyway... even cithis agreed, when she didn't have to, to try to control a bit of the narrative.

Anyway, glad the idea of a Greek chorus pop-up show was compelling enough to carry it all and thank you for reading about my little elf OCs

sorry i left you hanging my friend, this was one of those asks that required more thought than usual to respond to so i had to let it marinate in my brain and stew for a while. i need a way to signal to people that i got their asks and im not ignoring them, im just Thinkin. then it turned out i had less to say than i thought except "what a cool idea".

i think is a fascinating bit of information from behind the curtain, regarding the thought process behind the work. trying to adapt the societal "purpose" of an ostensibly modern phenomenon like dateline into a lower tech setting while maintaining its structure is something i will be chewing on.

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slamminslamminmcgill · 2 years

Text

Jefe - Lalo Salamanca/FTM Reader (NSFW!)

you walk into el michoacáno looking for a job, where you meet the handsome and devilishly charming lalo salamanca. he welcomes you aboard with open arms, and he's eager to show you the ropes.

tags/warnings: oral sex, vaginal sex, squirting, semi-public sex, possessiveness, light dom/sub

anatomical terms: dick/cock, cunt/hole

words: 6,680 (because i smoke crack apparently)

ao3 link

author's notes: im learning spanish so please correct me if you notice any mistakes!! i'd really appreciate it ♥

El Michoacáno

You think you had lunch there once or twice. Decent, but nothing too remarkable. You weren’t there to eat, anyway. You were looking for a job and just happened to be passing by when you spotted the help wanted sign out front. Figuring you’d have as good a shot there as anywhere else, you walked inside.

The air was abuzz, at least more so than you’d expect on a Monday afternoon. Lively music and delicious smells emanated from the kitchen. There weren’t many people in the restaurant. Two young men were talking at a table, though you couldn’t make out their conversation. You spotted another young man with a shaved head standing in the back, seemingly watching the other two. You figured he was the guy to talk to.

“Excuse me?” You asked as you approached him, and he looked up from the conversation to acknowledge you, “Do you work here?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. What’s up?” He asked. He didn’t seem like much of a talker, but you got a nice vibe from him.

“The sign out front said y’all were hiring?”

Before he could answer, a loud voice butted in from the kitchen, shouting over the music.

“¡Nachito! ¿Quién es ese? (Who is that?)”

The man in front of you groaned. That wasn’t a good sign, you thought. He turned his head and replied to the mysterious voice, “No sé. Me preguntó sobre un empleo. (I don’t know. He asked me about a job.”

“Entonces, le debes preguntar como se llama, ¿no? (Well, you should ask him what his name is, no?”

He rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to you. “What’s your name?”

You answered, and he repeated it to the stranger, who seemed intrigued. “¡Bien! Le dices a espere ahí. Voy a salir justo en un segundo, déjame terminar esto primero. ¿Es lindo? (Good! Tell him to wait right there. I’m gonna come out in just a second, let me finish this first. Is he cute?)”

“¿Por qué no le ves por ti mismo? (Why don’t you see for yourself?)” He asked, and then shifted his attention back to you. “That’s my boss. He’ll be out in a second. I’m Nacho, by the way. Short for Ignacio.”

You nodded, thanking him for translating. You could only pick up a couple words in Spanish, so you were curious about what kind of person his boss was. You wondered if he was gonna be your boss then, too. If that was the case, you wanted to make a good impression. You started to fix your hair and adjust your clothes before the man you were talking to spoke.

“Don’t worry, you look fine. He can be kinda… ‘intense’, but you just gotta get to know him fi-”

“Ah, there we are!” The voice from the kitchen announced as its owner walked into the front of house. You turned to find an older man who could very easily be described as tall, dark and handsome. He had silky salt and pepper hair, a mustache, a floral patterned shirt tucked into tight dress pants, and an apron taut around his waist. He was slightly sweaty from working in the kitchen, but that just made it seem like he was glistening. When he saw you, he playfully bumped Nacho with his elbow, “Wow… es verdad. Se ve muy lindo, ¿cierto? (Wow… it’s true. He looks very cute, yeah?)” he laughed to himself, wiping his hands on his apron. Nacho kept the same stoic expression, unphased by his boss’s joke. “You must be ___. You’re looking for work, yeah?”

And there goes all the interview prep you did. You weren’t expecting to be caught off guard by your potential new employer being a smokeshow. Your brain scrambled trying to answer him. “Yeah, I, uh… I was just passing by and saw the sign out front. I’ve worked in restaurants before, and I have my resume if you need to see that.” You started to dig through your bag when he stopped you.

“Don’t worry about that, chico. Relax. Let me get to know you first, and we’ll see if you’re a good fit here, okay? Come, sit down.” He walked over to a nearby table and grabbed a seat, gesturing you to sit down across from him. “My name’s Eduardo Salamanca, but you can call me Lalo. My family’s owned this place for decades now.”

You repeated his name in order to drill it into your mind. “Lalo, okay. Nice to meet you! Makes sense why you’d be open for so long. Whatever you were making back there smells great.” You smiled, hoping you weren’t coming off too strong in your flattery.

Lalo giggled. “Thank you. You ever been here before? I think I’d recognize a face like yours.”

You blushed, but kept your composure. “Once or twice, yeah. Food was good, though I don’t remember seeing you here before either.”

“Oh, I’m just here temporarily. We had a family emergency and needed someone to take over for a little while. I’m usually handling our affairs down in México,” Lalo crossed his legs and folded his hands, resting them in his lap, “Actually, that reminds me. Do you speak Spanish?”

“Uh… un poquito? (A little?)” You made a pinching gesture with your fingers when you said that. Lalo couldn’t help but giggle. “Sorry. Is that gonna be a problem?”

He waved off your concerns. “No problem at all. I’ll just have to teach you then. You’ll pick it up quick, don’t worry. Where did you work before?”

You breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed your posture. This felt more like a blind date than talking to a potential boss. “Well, I was actually a manager over at Los Pollos Hermanos for a while. It was fine, but the customers were-”

“The chicken place?” Lalo asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “I know the owner!” He laughed. “He’s an… associate of mine, I guess you could say. You know him?”

You perked up, “Mr. Fring? Yeah! He’s the one who did my interview, actually. I only met him a couple times, but he was always nice to us whenever he came in.”

“I bet,” Lalo replied, eyeing you more carefully after you name dropped his “associate”, though he made no indication, a charming smile still plastered on his face. “Let’s see… what else do I need to ask?” He pondered for a few seconds before it clicked. “Ah, ya me acuerdo (I remember). Have you ever been arrested, charged, any kind of criminal record or things like that?”

Your face dropped. You hated answering this question. It always made you ashamed when you brought it up. “Once, actually. I got arrested for drug possession a couple years ago.”

Lalo’s smile retreated, and he looked at you somberly. “What happened?”

“I was in a bad place mentally back then, and I… I got caught with stuff in my car. My lawyer got me a good deal though, but it just sucks having to talk about it. Makes me feel dirty.”

“No, I mean, what happened when you got arrested?” Lalo asked. “Sorry if that’s too personal. If you don’t mind talking about it, I’d like to know how you handled it. It’s a tough situation, you know?”

Your eyes widened. That was a weird interview question. Was this even technically an interview? “Well, I… I was handcuffed and read my rights. Then they brought me back to the station and booked me. After that I got sat down at a table in an empty room, and two cops tried to get me to talk. I told them I wasn’t speaking with them and I wanted my lawyer.”

Lalo nodded, his smile slowly creeping back in. “Smart boy. Resourceful, I like it. Tell you what, if Fring trusts you, I trust you. You wanna start tomorrow?”

You perked up at the offer. “Really? You mean it?” You tried to hide your excitement, but you felt it seeping through your pores.

“Yeah, why not?” Lalo said enthusiastically, matching your energy. “I got a good feeling about you. You don’t mind starting early, right?”

“No, not at all,” You replied, “I had to work opening shifts at Los Pollos sometimes. I’d have to get there around 5.”

“Muy bien (Very good). Get here at 5 tomorrow, okay?” Lalo asks, holding his hand out for you to shake it.

You nod, taking him up on that handshake. You try not to think about how strong his hand feels. “Got it. Thank you, Lalo!” You gather your stuff and head for the door. “I’ll see you then!”

Lalo waves you off. “See you then.”

—

It was still dark out when you arrived at El Michoacáno. Lalo had told you to come in the front entrance and he’d leave the door unlocked for you. You did as instructed, a delicious smell and various noises wafting through the air. You figured he must be in the kitchen. You followed your senses to the back, and sure enough, Lalo was focused on the stove, talking to someone on the phone.

“¿Y tú confías en él? ¿Crees que él puede mantener su boca cerrada? (And you trust him? You think he can keep his mouth shut?)” Lalo spoke with a hushed voice. Even if your Spanish was perfect, you wouldn’t have been able to make out any of his words. He went to grab something from the counter when he saw you standing there, and his demeanor changed entirely. He was smiling, almost giddy to see you. “Oh! Hey! Sorry, I wasn’t looking at the clock. I didn’t even hear you come in. Go have a seat out front. I’m making something for you. It’s almost ready.” He turned back to his phone to finish his conversation with whoever. “Ya llegó. Te veré más tarde. (He just got here. I’ll see you later.)”

“Oh, thank you! What is it?” You asked as he hung up the phone, forgetting what a quick change in attitude you’d just seen from him.

“I promise you’ll love it. Now, go sit down, okay?”

You nodded and went back to the front of house, pulling up a chair and sitting at a table with your back facing the kitchen. It wasn’t long before Lalo came up behind you, holding a plate and a cup of orange juice.

“Here you go! I figured you’d need something to wake you up this early, yeah?” He set the dishes down in front of you before taking a seat at the other side of the table. The food looked and smelled great, but honestly he was the most delicious thing in your eyes. You shook that thought out of your head real quick, not wanting to fumble this new opportunity.

“Thank you so much!” You took a bite, and groaned at how good it was. He smirked, clearly proud of himself. “Oh my god, that’s good. What is it?”

“Chilaquiles rojos. It’s a family recipe. I’ll have to show you how to make it one day.” He relaxed in his chair, watching you intently as you ate. You gazed back at him, your mouth watering for a whole other reason. His shirt was unbuttoned just a little too much, and you fixated on his chest. God, he was hot. So confident, so suave, so generous, and he can cook? You found yourself getting lost in him, which is why you didn’t notice he’d asked you a question. “Well?”

“Hm?” You snapped out of your daydream, nearly choking on the mouthful of mood. Oh god, I blew it, you thought.

But you didn’t. Lalo chuckled, “It’s good right? Can’t think about anything else?” You nodded before reaching for the glass of juice. You suddenly felt really, really thirsty. “No worries, chico. I understand. I was just telling you the plan for today.”

You hummed in affirmation, shifting your brain back into business mode as you swallowed, “Yeah, what’s up? Where do you want me?”

“First things first, me and you are gonna take a ride,” He replied, “We’re gonna meet up with someone to discuss business, and then I’ll take you back here and we can get the day started. Sound good?”

You finished up the rest of your meal. “Yeah, sounds good! I’m excited to get started.” You answered with a cheery smile.

Lalo laughed again as he stood up from the table. “¡Muy bien! Let me just get these for you.” He grabbed your dishes and made his way to the kitchen. “We’re gonna head out once I get these cleaned up.”

“Okay!” You answered, hoping you seemed like a dependable employee.

Lalo quickly washed the dishes and made his way out to you, making sure to take off his apron and leave it on the counter. “Alright! Let’s go.” He placed his hand on your shoulder as he walked you outside to his car. He opened the passenger door for you, and you thanked him before settling in. “It’s gonna be a long drive, so just get comfortable, chiquito.”

You nodded and buckled yourself in, trying not to seem flustered at his chivalry and the pet name he called you. It was like he made you dizzy. Come to think of it, you did feel a bit light-headed, actually. He got into the driver’s side and turned on the ignition. As you made your way onto the highway, you suddenly felt sleepy, even though your day just started. Huh, that’s weird, you thought, but paid it no mind. You figured you could use the extra rest anyway. You rested your head against the window, the sun starting to rise over Albuquerque as you drifted into sleep.

–

“Rise and shine, amigo! We’re here!” Lalo patted your shoulder to wake you up.

You were startled, not realizing you’d knocked out, but you weren’t scared. After all, Lalo was there to comfort you as you rejoined the waking world. You looked out the window and saw nothing. Not nothing interesting, but literal nothing, and no one. Nothing but desert as far as the eye could see. Where were you? That’s when it started to dawn on you that you were in a stranger’s car and he took you out to the middle of nowhere. Did he drug you? Is that why you fell asleep? Your eyes glazed over and your breath started to speed up as visions of your impending doom clouded your senses.

Lalo must have seen the panic in your eyes, his arm trailing down your back. He spoke with a gentle voice. “Cálmate. Está bien. (Calm down. It’s okay.) You’re okay. We’re just out here because it’s private, you know? It’s a competitive industry. Don’t want anyone listening in.”

It worked. You felt reassured, taking a deep breath to settle your nerves. Another car was pulling up, and Lalo laughed as he spotted it.

“There he is!” He said, pointing it out to you, “We’re gonna get out and say hello, okay?” He didn’t wait for you to answer, opening his door and stepping out, “Vámonos! (Let’s go!)”

You got out of the car just as the other parked across from you. A familiar face stepped out to greet you, and you were confused.

“Mr. Fring? What… what’s going on?”

“Hello. It’s good to see you again.” Gus smiled, nodding to Lalo before turning back to you, “I’ve been told that you were considering working under Lalo here, is that correct?”

You stuttered, your mind racing about what you had gotten yourself into. “Y-yes, that’s correct. I… I came in yesterday asking about a job, and he hired me. Today’s my first day.”

Gus nodded, as if he knew all of this already. “Right, right. Lalo asked about you. I told him you were reliable and that you performed your duties exceptionally.”

Lalo finished his thought for him, “That’s why I wanted to take you out here to meet him. I told you he’s an associate of mine. He and my family work together as distributors for a larger organization.”

“Distributors?” You asked, still not sure how you were supposed to be handling this, or what the hell they were even talking about. You weren’t panicking, but you certainly didn’t feel at ease.

Gus raised an eyebrow, his tone suddenly darker as he spoke directly to Lalo. “¿No le dijiste? (You didn’t tell him?)”

Lalo sighed, and placed his hands on your shoulders, bracing you for what he was about to say. His eyes pierced down into yours. He spoke calmly, but firmly. “Listen, chico. The business Mr. Fring and I are in is… under the table, so to speak. We trade things that people want, that they pay a lot of money for, but it’s all very secretive. If you want to work for me, I need to know that I can trust you. Understand?”

That’s when it clicked. You just took a job with a fucking drug cartel.

And backing out would probably mean a bullet in your brain and your body left here for the coyotes.

Fuck it.

“I… I understand. You can trust me.” And with those words, you sealed your fate.

Lalo laughed and pulled you in for a hug, slapping you on the back as praise. “¡Muy bien! Alright! I knew I had a good feeling about you. You won’t regret it. Me and you? We’re gonna make a lot of money together. I promise.”

You were trying not to combust when he wrapped his arms around you. He smelled so nice. His chest was so warm, so strong. You felt like he could squeeze you until you popped, and you couldn’t say that you’d hate it if he did. You could feel your face getting hot against him, and he felt it too.

Gus chimed in to praise you too. “Very good. I never had a doubt that you would be a good asset. Now, are we through here, Lalo?”

“Sí, sí, ya puedes irte (Yeah, yeah, you can leave),” Lalo replied playfully, “Voy a estar ocupado con éste aquí (I’m gonna be busy with this one here), ” He patted your back for emphasis.

“Very well,” Gus said, turning his attention to you once more, “Good luck in your new position. I hope to see you soon.” He left you with that notion of good will before stepping in his car and driving off, leaving you alone with your new boss, who seemed full of glee.

“Okay! That went well. Now, come on,” He led you back to the car and opened your door for you, “We got a lot to discuss when we get back. Don’t fall asleep on me again, alright?”

You giggled, though you still had no idea if you actually dozed off naturally. Plus, given the fact that he’s apparently involved with a drug cartel, it wouldn’t be that much of a reach for him to have slipped you something. He doesn’t seem like the type to do that, but then again, you never figured the owner of Los Pollos Hermanos to be in on this kind of shit either. Whatever, worrying was gonna do you no good right now, so you stepped into the car and let him take you back to the restaurant.

–

“I actually closed down for today,” Lalo said as he put the car in park and turned it off, “I wanted to make sure you had my full attention.” He made sure to lean in close and draw out those last two words.

Well, he certainly had yours. You figured he could tell how flustered he made you. You weren’t even trying to hide it at this point. He chuckled when he saw your cheeks begin to flush.

He walked you into the back entrance of El Michoacáno, the whole place seeming more sinister now that you knew it was probably a money laundering front. He spoke as he led you into the kitchen.

“Entonces (So), something you need to learn in this business is how to take orders, got it?” He didn’t wait for you to answer. You stood still in the kitchen and watched him pace back and forth as he talked, “It’s easy. Do what you’re told and don’t talk back. Since this is all new to you, you can ask questions if you need clarification, but that’s it. You don’t need to know all the ins and outs behind everything, okay?”

You nodded.

Lalo pouted. He slowly sauntered over to you and tilted your chin up to stare into your eyes. “And I expect a verbal answer unless I tell you otherwise.”

You felt your brain short-circuit. He was absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt, fucking with you. You followed his instructions. “Yes… sir…” You weren’t sure what to call him now. His name felt too casual for a setting like this.

He cackled, still holding on to your chin. “Sir? ¡Qué formal! (How formal!) I didn’t tell you to call me that!” He smiled, leaning in close to whisper in your ear, “but I guess I’ll keep that in mind.”

You shuddered at the feeling of his breath against your sensitive skin, gasping and clinging on to him by his shirt. You needed something to keep you grounded, and he was the best thing you could think of. He snickered, backing off and letting go of you before he continued.

“Now, we’re gonna play a game together, you and me. Just to test how well you can follow orders. Don’t worry. It’ll be fun, I promise.” He slid his hands down to grip your hips. “You ready, chiquito?”

You swallowed, figuring you could guess what kind of “game” he had in mind. You answered softly, “Yes, uh… should I still call you sir?”

Lalo smirked and moved in to close the distance between you two. “If you want,” was the last thing to leave his lips before they touched yours.

You whined into the kiss, yanking him even tighter against you. He tasted so sickly sweet. He felt so strong, so stable, so comfortable, so intoxicating, so dominating. His hands trailed from your hips to your ass. You squeaked when he grabbed you, and you felt his lips curl into a smile before he pulled away.

“Okay. First things first, take off those pants and hop up on the counter.” He ordered, his attitude firm and demanding, giving you no leeway to argue. It was like a switch had flipped within him and he truly was just ordering around an employee.

“Ah… yes, sir.” You sighed, and did as you were told. You shimmied to the edge of the counter, legs spread and dangling over the side.

Lalo filled the space in between them, his hands caressing both your thighs. His mouth latched onto your neck, licking and sucking at your sensitive skin. He snuck in a few sharp bites, giggling when you yelped at each one. He trailed his way up to your underwear, savoring each face you made and your body’s every twitch as he worked. His hand pressed against your crotch and he froze. You panicked, realizing what would have stopped him. You idiot, why didn’t you think to tell him?

”You, uh… you don’t have anything down here, do you?” He asked, the slightest bit of uncertainty in his voice. It seemed like he wanted to tread carefully so as not to upset you.

“Ah… no, I… I’m trans,” You mumbled, fear surging through your veins.

Lalo took no time to process it. “Oh, alright,” He slid his fingers past your underwear and pressed into you hard, ripping a loud moan from you, “I can work with that.” He kissed you hungrily, you moaning into his mouth as he devoured you. It was sloppy and rough, drool spilling out of your mouth, teeth clashing into each other. He backed off and pulled his fingers out of you, now soaked with desire, and put them into your mouth. Your eyes fluttered closed as you sucked them clean.

He withdrew his fingers from your mouth and tapped your cheek gently. “Mírame, chiquito (Look at me, little boy.),” You were greeted with the sight of him with a stern look on his face. “If you want to work for me, you will do exactly as I say. You follow my orders. You are mine to command. You are my plaything, and I can use you however I want. Is that understood?”

You were thrilled to be at his disposal. You wanted to submit to him. “Ah… yes, sir. I understand.”

“Say it, Lalo demanded, his hands gliding back down to your thighs and tugging your underwear off, “Repeat after me. My body. Belongs. To you, Lalo.”

Despite the heat building inside you, you repeated his words back cleanly, as if he was saying them through your own mouth. “My body. Belongs. To you, Lalo.”

Lalo nodded in approval and gave you your next line. “My body is yours, Lalo. It’s your plaything. It’ll do whatever you want,” He gripped your thighs tight to punctuate his next command, “Say it.”

You whined before you said it back. The embarrassment in your speech was more noticeable this time around. “My body is yours, Lalo… It’s your plaything… It’ll do whatever you want.”

“It’ll do whatever I want,” Lalo muttered to himself. He shifted gears to praise you for your obedience, a proud smile on his face. “Good boy… Es verdad (That’s right)...” His voice trailed off as he focused on you. You were aching for him, and he knew it. He got off on having that power over you. He licked his lips as he took in the beauty in front of him: you, bottom half undressed, in his kitchen, ripe for the taking. “I’ll take care of you,” He said before slowly lowering himself onto his knees.

You wondered for a second what he meant by that, though you figured it out once your legs were on his shoulders. You started to squirm in anticipation. “Please, Lalo… Please…”

“Tan impaciente (So impatient)...” He cooed, rubbing your inner thigh. It was like he was trying to map out your figure, so soft, so pliable, a blank canvas for his works. He took a deep breath, a firm grasp of your hips, and he spoke bluntly. “Now. Don’t speak, just wait. ¿Comprendes? (Understand?)”

You fidgeted slightly, though his grip kept you from moving too much. You nodded to show you were listening.

“No words, no sounds, no movements, nothing. Not even a sigh.” Lalo’s voice held no kindness as he barked orders at you. “Not a single sound. I don’t want to hear you. You got that?” He glared at you waiting for your response. “Understand me, boy?”

You bit your lip and nodded frantically, desperate for his touch.

“There you go. That’s better.” Lalo took a moment to calm himself, and you, before he dove into your heat, his tongue expertly navigating through your folds. It was then you realized how soaked you were already, and he’d barely touched you yet.

You convulsed when he made contact. You were in shock, thinking you were done for, having already broken his instructions. He glanced up at you to make sure you were good before he continued. He seemed to be giving you the slightest bit of leeway, knowing you couldn’t possibly stop all of your reactions. You writhed and twitched underneath him, but he kept you steady. Your breath quickened, loud puffs of air coming out from your nose, practically chewing off your lip to keep it contained, but it wasn’t enough.

“Don’t.” Lalo scolded as he pulled away, his lips already coated in your essence, “Don’t you dare breathe like that. Keep. It. Down.” He locked eyes with you, waiting for your acknowledgement.

You took a deep breath, nodded once more, and just like that he went back to work. Though this was supposed to be a lesson in discipline, he found himself enjoying it as much as you were. His eyes falling shut, his mouth humming against your cunt, letting the vibrations from his mouth travel through you, his mustache grazing your lips. The loudest sound in the room was the reverb from how wet you were. You paid it no mind. You had to relax. You were focusing on your breathing now… nice and easy… in and out…

…and then he slipped a finger in.

You spasmed and your breath stopped short, but you were determined. You would not falter. As he curled into your g-spot, you bit your fingers to keep quiet. It worked, somewhat.

Lalo looked up at you and raised an eyebrow. “Well…?” He could tell you were struggling, “¿Qué pasa? (What’s wrong?) Tell me what’s on your mind, boy,” He asked mockingly as he slipped another finger inside. He loved seeing you try to fight the pleasure.

You could tell he was trying to trick you, but you remembered your duty. You shook your head and gave him a weak thumbs up. Lalo couldn’t help but chuckle at that. He knew you wanted to make him proud. He kept his eyes on you as he talked.

"There we go. That's right. Focus on me and you'll be fine. If you focus on me, you can hold it in. Just...a little...longer." His motions sped up to counteract his sickeningly sweet tone. He could tell you were about to break, but he wanted to lull you into security. You wouldn’t fail him now, would you?

His words kept you grounded. You looked for guidance in his eyes and you found it. You took another deep breath and thought to yourself: It’s okay. I can do this. You felt strong, capable, and confident…

…and then his lips were on your dick. And he started to suck. Hard.

You broke then and there. It was as if he was vacuuming your pride and composure right out of you. The hand that was keeping you quiet flew down to Lalo’s hair and grabbed it. Tears cascaded down your cheeks as you let it all out. You cried out for mercy, “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Lalo!”

Lalo stuttered for a second once you broke, but he quickly found his rhythm again. He smirked and gazed up at you in awe and pride. He’d known that it was only a matter of time before you snapped. You couldn’t possibly resist for too long; he wouldn’t have let you.

You kept wailing as he pushed you closer and closer to the edge. His cheeks hollowing out to suck you off, his fingers pressing into that perfect spot, it was all too much. You wailed pathetically as you approached the cliff. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I can’t! I can’t! Too…! Much…! I’m…! Fuck! Lalooo!”

His name was the last sound to leave your lips before you climaxed. With both hands on his head, you pushed him down into you as you squirted into his mouth. You felt him wince for a second, but he gladly slurped you up. Your legs quivered from the overstimulation. You were a sloppy mess, and it was all his doing.

When he was done, Lalo took your legs off his shoulders and stood up. He was staring down at you, brow furrowed, a bright fire burning in his eyes. His face and shirt were soaking wet. He was panting heavily, and he looked ready to strike.

You trembled in fear beneath him. You were a helpless little bunny face to face with the big bad wolf. Your voice cracked as you begged for leniency. “I’m sorry, Lalo. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry.” You chanted your apology over and over, pleading for him to take pity on you.

Lalo caressed your cheek, but there was no warmth in his touch. He looked at you in disappointment and pity. He was taking in the sight of you: weak and subject to his will. His next words cut you like glass, “Stand up.”

You sniffled as you lowered yourself onto the floor, too afraid to look him in the eye, your own orgasm dripping down your legs as you stood. The feeling of dread was unbearable, but you dared not ask any questions.

“Look at me,” Lalo said forcefully. He tilted your face up to his, leaving you nowhere to hide, your eyes overflowing with shame. In that moment, he saw you for what you were: a cute, helpless little boy, eager to please him at your own expense. You were his bitch, and he spoke to you as such. “Turn around and bend over.”

“Y-yes… sir…” you sobbed quietly before presenting yourself to him as requested.

Lalo positioned himself behind you, his firm hand grabbing your ass, and he leaned over to whisper in your ear. “Since I can’t teach you obedience, I guess I’ll just have to teach you discipline.”

Smack.

You squealed on impact, the painful shock quickly fizzing away into a delightful sting. He rubbed your reddened skin to soothe it before spanking you again.

“You know…” Smack. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep it in…” Smack. “I just wanted to see how you’d try…” Smack. “...and take your punishment like a man.” Smack. Smack. Smack.

You whined after each successive hit, your pained cries gradually morphing into moans of ecstasy. Your legs buckled, upper body slumped over on the counter, still spiraling from your orgasm, you were desperate. “Please… Lalo… I need… please…”

Lalo shushed you, his tone gentle and nurturing once more. His breath was hot on your ear as he spoke. “Not yet, conejito (little bunny).” Smack. “Say thank you.”

“Th… Thank-” Smack. “ngh!...Thank you, Lalo!”

“Thank you for what?” Lalo asked, punctuating his question with another slap. “Come on, what are you thanking me for?”

“Thank you for… teaching me a lesson…”

“Good boy! ¡Bien hecho! (Good job!)” Lalo ruffled your hair as he stood up. His other hand traced its fingers up and down your wet slit, “Tan mojado (So wet)…” he hissed, “Te vas a sentir tan bueno alrededor de mi verga (You’re going to feel so good around my cock)...”

“Huh…?” You mumbled. You hadn’t the slightest idea what he said, but it sounded like a compliment.

“Oh, sorry, muñequito (little doll). I was just talking to myself.” He purred, taking his hands off you to undo his belt. When you heard the clinking of the buckle, you whined and tried to grind your hips into him. Lalo was quick to shut you down. “No, no. None of that. I’m in control here, remember? I can do what I want with you. This goes at my pace, not yours.”

You pouted and buried your face in your arms against the countertop. It certainly felt like he was taking his time. Eventually, you heard a zipper, some clothing rustling around, and then you felt him press against you. He stopped short, leaving you wanting. You turned around to see him with a sly grin on his face.

“Say please.”

You were in no mood to talk back. “Please, Lalo, please… I… I need it…”

“What do you need?” he asked, his words dripping with mockery.

Any shame you had before was long gone, and in its place was insatiable desire. “I need… I need you to fuck me… please Lalo…”

“Aw, so cute,” Lalo praised you and ruffled your hair once more. “It’s alright, nene (baby). I got you.” He took hold of your hips and pushed in slowly, savoring the feeling of filling you up.

Your moan echoed throughout the kitchen. Your body shuddered as his cock stretched you open. He felt huge. He had just gotten started, and you were already shivering against the counter.

“Qué chingón… es más apretado de lo que yo pensé… (Holy shit… it’s tighter than I thought…)” Lalo grunted. You were squeezing him so tightly, he was nearly out of breath by the time he bottomed out. He took a moment to adjust before he patted your thigh, “Hey, you alright down there? Cause I’m doing great.”

“Y-yeah, I’m… I’m good,” You whimpered, “just…” and pressed your hips back against him, “please…”

Lalo chuckled and kissed your cheek before running his fingers through your hair. “So needy…” He pulled out of you agonizingly slowly, and then slammed his hips into you hard. You cried out, and he pulled you back into him by your hair, “Such a needy little boy…” He purred in your ear as he set a ruthless pace, fucking you roughly into the counter.

You were grateful he wasn’t making you keep quiet now, otherwise you’d have no chance. Your tongue was hanging out of your mouth, your eyes glazed over, and every noise you made was primal. You couldn’t think about anything else. Hell, you couldn’t even think. All that mattered right now was Lalo and how good he was making you feel.

Lalo felt the same way, but he could maintain at least some composure. For one thing, he could still speak, “That’s it, sweetheart. Just like that. Dios mío, you see what you do to me? If I knew you had a cunt like this, I would’ve taken you the moment I laid eyes on you. So fucking good.” He snarled in your ear, your hair clenched in his fist as he pumped into you like a toy. You felt his other hand begin to rub your dick, and you shrieked. He didn’t even acknowledge your reaction; he showed no signs of stopping. “Y qué mojado, también. Me mojaste todo. Nunca había visto algo como eso en mi puta vida. Tan sucio. Qué niño tan sucio. Voy a hacer que lo hagas otra vez. (And so wet, too. You got me all soaked. I’ve never seen anything like it in my damn life. So dirty. Such a dirty boy. I’m gonna make you do it again.)”

You didn’t understand a single word in either language. Words were above you right now. You felt like an animal. The only thing on your mind was that deep, carnal instinct you were chasing. Lalo was there to guide you to it. You could feel your cock twitch in his hand. It wasn’t long now. Within your garbled mess of nothing syllables, one clear entity stood out:

“Ngh… gah… hah… La…lo… Lalo…”

Lalo’s face was beaming. He wore it like a badge of honor, how he could reduce you down to a pathetic, brainless animal. You were his beast to tame, and the beast was almost slain. “Come on, chico, you can do it. Let me feel it. I wanna feel you cum for me.”

He didn’t have to wait long until the thread snapped. Your back arched, your hole tightened around him, and your exhausted vocal cords let out one final cry of pleasure as your release splashed against his thighs.

Lalo cackled when he felt it. “Ha! I knew I’d get you to do it again. But now…” He wasn’t far behind either. His rhythm started to get sloppy, and he used his grip on your hair to pull you back into him. His tone darkened into a menacing growl, “Now it’s my turn.” He rutted into you with all the fury and energy he could muster. He finished with a deep, rich groan, his cock buried inside you up to the hilt, his body shuddering as he painted your insides white. You were still reeling from your climax, gurgling and twitching as you felt his warmth flood you.

He didn’t pull out when he was done. Instead, he let go of your hair, but not before excitedly petting it like you were a dog. Two strong arms pulled you tight against his chest, and he gave you an affectionate smooch on your cheek. He sighed in bliss, probably with a goofy smile on his face, and broke the silence with a voice as sweet as honey.

“I’m gonna love working with you.”

#lalo salamanca #lalo salamanca smut #lalo salamanca x reader #lalo salamanca x ftm reader #better call saul #bcs #better call saul x reader #bcs x reader #better call saul smut #bcs smut #lalo salamanca imagine #ftm nsft #ftm reader

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lindszeppelin · 1 month

Note

cory michael is gay, he dated emilia 10 years ago before coming out as gay in 2018. nobody knows why they broke up we usually doesn't know the real reason why celebrities break up but back then gossip sites had blinds about him being gay

there is a article that i gonna translate here because is not in english that say a little about his journey to come out

“Much to the surprise of fans, especially considering his history with the Game of Thrones star, Cory Michael Smith revealed his sexuality to the world in 2018. While promoting his AIDS-related film 1985, he came out as gay (via Live RampUp). The talented actor spoke about his struggle with being “in the closet.”

As a teenager, the Gotham actor would often create fake online accounts and find comfort in talking to strangers. One day, he invited a friend over for a date. After fooling his friend, he came out to his parents about his sexuality.

Although Cory came out to his parents about his sexuality, the confidence didn’t come to him quickly. He continued to scam people online.

Cory Michael Smith was born on October 14,

The Gotham actor once made an account on gay.com and lied about being in New York City and attending New York University, but Cory was in Finland at the time.

After talking for some time, he confessed his lies. The online friend was furious, but eventually forgave him. Cory tried a long-distance relationship with the guy, but he dumped the actor as soon as he arrived in New York.”

as you i don't like to but words in people mouth or even talk about people sexually but since it's the topic i think it's ok since is public.

Since we’re having this convo anyway, I open it up for my LGBTQ+ besties to share their thoughts. Perhaps this is a bigger convo on the definition of queer, because it’s important to not boil “queer” down to “gay”. My understanding is that Queer is a broader spectrum of being attracted to all genders, not just same sex. But like I said, any of my friends in the community feel free to comment.

But all the LGBTQ media publications out there that reported on it says he identifies as Queer. Not just queer media, but most “straight leaning”media outlets also say he’s queer. All the publications quote the original Daily Beast interview, which I shared in my last post, and they broke the news to say he identifies as queer.

It’s like the example of Lee Pace comes to mind. He dated women and men (currently married to a man), and he was forced to come out in an interview many years ago. But he does not label himself as any one thing, except possibly queer. I’d have to read that original article again to jog my memory, but gay was never brought into the convo except for media outlets reporting on it after and boiling it down to “Lee Pace is gay”. We can’t erase someone’s dating history as they come out. He dated women and he doesn’t negate those relationships. Just because he’s now married to a man doesn’t mean those relationships with women were fake. Same with Cory. He apparently dated Emilia Clarke from what I read. Now that he’s come out identifying as queer, doesn’t mean that negates or invalidates his past relationships with women. Especially considering once again, The Daily Beast that first reported the news and LGBTQ+ media and most “straight leaning” media say he came out as queer.

A big topic today, but getting back to the original point of me bringing this up…it’s disrespectful to Austin that Kaia perpetuates this onscreen romance with Cory in the movie and brings it into actual reality with him. Calling him the love of her life and baby is extreme. Whenever she’s flirted with other women and kissed other women while dating Austin it is still just as disrespectful. It’s not behavior of someone that loves their partner. Whether Cory is gay or queer is a side conversation, but to my main point it doesn’t matter. Her behavior is not that of someone that cares about her relationship.

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turtleations · 5 months

Text

Interview with I.N.A. (Spread Beaver / Manipulator, Percussion; Music producer) (summarized)

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Note: INA calls hide “hide-chan” throughout the interview, and in the spirit of being as authentic as possible without actually giving a literal translation, I will, too.

Note 2: As with Sugizo’s interview, this is very, very close to an actual translation. Many of the things I give you here are INA’s exact words, just moved from first to third person. The prompts and questions of the interviewer are actual translations.

The reason why I stick with this format for now is because there are some parts where I can figure out the meaning but wouldn’t know how to accurately put them into English sentences. Doing it like this allows me to work around that. It also allows me to skip some small bits and fillers that I cannot figure out, although there were hardly any of those this time. There is nothing in terms of content value missing from this.

INA-san’s memories with hide-san must be like a mountain, aren’t they?

INA could talk about anything (laughing). When he’s given interviews since, he gets asked to recall memorable incidents, but it was all memorable, so he doesn’t know where to start.

You first met hide-san when you were working for X?

When INA was working with hide-chan for the first time, he was stage manipulator for X’s Jealousy-tour in 1991.

What kind of work did you do until then?

INA had been working on the recording of popular music. He was thinking that he would like to work more with actual artists, but of X he had never heard before, even though they were all the rage then. When he was shown a video of them, he thought “Eh?” and “What am I doing here?” But he did it anyway. Hide-chan he first met at the rehearsal studio. Since there were so many heroic stories about them, that was a little scary…

You heard a lot about them, didn’t you?

That had been a problem. But when he met them for real, they all turned out to be good people. Because they were with SONY then, there also was a lot of staff. But even though INA was the new guy, hide-chan often invited him to go drinking with them.

About the Jealousy-Tour

Ever since then, INA and hide-chan worked together, and that continues until now.

Any memories of the tour?

At that time, after the show, all the members would gather and go drinking together. Going outside in their full flashy set-up, clothes and all. Surprisingly, the fans went with them into town and would just have conversations in the bars as if that were normal. INA also went along.

Your working with hide-san

It started with INA sampling hide-chan’s voice for his solo corner “HIDE’s Room”.

“HIDE’s Room” started out as improvisation and developed from there, right?

So it seems. When INA got involved, “HIDE’s Room” already existed. But it was still pretty improvised. Hide-chan said he wanted to make a variety of noises and they sampled his voice like that. INA added keyboard and drums on top of it and it gradually developed from there. After that came the three days at Tokyo Dome that Taiji resigned with, and then, half a year later, INA went to LA for the recording of "Art of Life".

Wasn’t going to the US for "Art of Life" delayed by half a year?

In the meantime, they did things like Talk Live at Budoukan. For Talk Live, INA was on stage with the orchestra, tampering with the computer in a tuxedo (laughing). That was the time Yoshiki did "Art of Life" alone at the piano with the orchestra.

After Jealousy, getting involved with "Art of Life" happened naturally?

INA was told they wanted him to come along. Before that, he had helped Yoshiki with his solo-songs – that kind of progression.

Yoshiki’s solo?

Violet UK. INA was there for the very beginning. 15 years ago now? Even sooner than that.

After the Jealousy-tour, Violet UK already had a name, that’s amazing.

At that time, it probably didn’t have a name yet. The good thing about going to LA was that for the first three or four months, INA had nothing much to do and just went drinking with hide-chan and Heath. Various incidents happened. Fire trucks were involved.

Fire trucks?

Hide-chan, drunk, pulled the apartment building’s fire alarms in the middle of the night and a lot of fire trucks came, which made everyone flee into Heath’s room. Hide-chan then went to sleep on Heath’s bed, and the next day during the recording of "Art of Life", Heath reported, “He won’t wake up.” (laughing) Heath himself had gone to the studio having barely slept at all.

INA-san’s previous work?

When he thought about working for X, he had already stopped doing that. He thought those people were interesting. After that, hide-chan made a song for “Dance 2 Noise” with J and Inoran. At first, he was working with the machines himself. He always said to INA, “I don’t get it, I don’t get it. Please teach me how.” He did his best to do it on his own with the crappy hand-down equipment at his disposal, but he fell asleep during INA’s explanations. Then he asked INA to help him, because he didn’t understand it, and they decided to do it together. Hide-chan and INA were in LA for the recording of Art of Life, J and Inoran and the programmer were in Japan, so it was a constant back and forth with the data. INA’s professional working with hide-chan started there. They secretly went and used the studio X had claimed for themselves when it was empty. Song recording happened in Japan. Afterwards, INA went to the US again. At that time, he came and went. Next, hide-chan made that movie with Tusk, and the called INA and said, “Let’s make the soundtrack together.” They returned to Japan to create it during a one or two weeks long break in the recording of "Art of Life".

About making hide’s solo music

It started around that time. Hide-chan decided to go solo and was thinking about various things, like finding a producer, who should play the keyboard, and in the course of this, when hide-chan wasn’t able to find the right partner, INA was called to the collaboration that continues to this day. He now thinks the work on the first single went smoothly (laughing). Therefore, he now thinks it was fortunate he got invited to work with hide-chan. Back then, not so much.

What do you mean?

INA doesn’t know if it’s a good thing or not, but he was told to be open with hide-chan and during the vocal recording they basically had a fight. Because INA was also strict and insistently kept telling hide-chan, “No, wrong!” Good things came from it, thought, so hide ultimately didn’t resist it.

hide-san gave up on doing it on his own?

He probably still wanted to when he started to work on his solo. He borrowed a computer from INA, and then called him incessantly with things like, “It doesn’t work,” “I don’t understand this,” “It doesn’t have power.” At that time, he called INA wherever INA happened to be, it was a problem. It was a time without mobile phones, but he still managed to find him wherever, bafflingly. Even at his parents’ house (laughing). Then he accepted that he couldn’t do it alone and said, “Let’s do this together!”

Did you also act as vocal director?

Yes. INA had already done that on X’s demos, so it happened naturally from there. But even so, why him?

Hide-san rarely asked people to do tings like that, he must have trusted you from that time.

At that time, hide-chan still lacked self-confidence and didn’t want people to hear his voice.

In the beginning, he said he hated his own voice.

He sang a lot at that time. He practiced, recorded. Practiced, recorded. Over and over, until his voice was all rough. “Doubt” was recorded almost in one go, but other songs he had to sing hundreds of times. The music they listened to back then was similar, so talk was quick, but it was probably a good thing that their musical backgrounds were completely different. INA liked black music, hide was a rock guy. INA thinks hide-chan found it more interesting to work with people from different backgrounds, since he wanted to do a lot of different things.

What was music you both liked?

During that time, industrial rock and fusion came up and they talked a lot about how good they thought Nine Inch Nails, Prodigy, or Jesus Jones were, “I wonder how to go at it, to make something in that style,” and things like that.

Did you want to make that kind of music yourself?

INA did not know rock until he met X, and he thought it would be good to add another component to the things he liked. Hide-chan probably thought the same way. INA had things hide was looking for, and he also had a lot of experience in the technological aspects, so that was a perfect mixture.

What was your impression of hide-san at that time?

He went drinking a lot. He went drinking with INA. One way or another, there had been a strong impression of alcohol consumption. Returning from the studio, they absolutely had to go drinking until morning. Why did he have to drink so much? (laughing)

Did you also like drinking?

Yeah, INA liked it. He was a pretty heavy drinker.

It’s probably a happy thing that you two became friends.

They could go drinking together. In the course of doing so, they also took trips to Hakone and things like that.

Along with Pata-san?

No, others. Various other people came along. If they went somewhere for fun, it probably couldn’t be helped. In LA as well, people were always with them when they went out to drink.

Any episodes from that time?

Plenty. (laughing) The fun episodes with hide-chan are mostly stories of alcohol. A lot of memorable episodes from when he was drunk. He said he was going to drive the van on the vast grounds of their American apartment complex. Since it was private land, they figured it would be okay, and INA, Pata, and Heath got on the ride, except they somehow ended up in the mountains where there were no roads. Thus, Pata flipped out, yelled, “Asshole! Matsumoto, you fucker! This is going too far!” and everyone was surprised by how angry he could get. Because hide-chan was going up a cliff. (laughing) That was the first and the last time INA saw Pata get that angry. And then, there was stuff like throwing things into the pool.

Didn’t you also live together?

Of course not. In this, they practiced abstinence (laughing). But INA certainly spend more time at hide-chan’s studio than in his own home. In Japan it was the same. Since hide had a studio at home, that’s where they worked all the time. [Note: These studios, according to INA’s book “Kimi No Inai Sekai”, were simply little extra rooms that weren’t soundproof, and the neighbours having opinions about the noise level drastically limited what they could do in them.] They were among the first to record things at home. Equipment like that wasn’t really in use back then. In any case, they were early with it.

He liked new things.

Seriously, he was a person who did not know whether he was a commoner or a celebrity. He had opinions about the cost of alcohol that was several thousand yen, yet easily bought new equipment that cost tens of thousands of yen. He’d say, “INA-chan, here’s a new computer,” and bring it along with a smile, while INA went “How expensive was that?!” He was quite strange. In his heart he was a commoner, though, extremely so.

After you finished his first four solo songs

After that, they went drinking together. “We’ll do it together,” INA was told earnestly. And, “You’re not in my employment. I want you to openly tell me if something is good or bad.” And also, “I don’t want you to work for anyone else, INA-chan. I want you to use your talents only for me.” And INA thought this person was amazing, and replied, “I get it. Let’s do it together.” At the time, hide assembled a bunch of specialized people and created the prototype of LEMONed. Two weeks later, they went to the US, and it was like they were living in a new rock’n’roll castle. An apartment building where Toshi-kun and Heath and hide-chan all lived together. In a room there, they prepared a system for audio recording and the beginning of the first album was made. It was also around this time that the X Film Gig was happening in Japan, wasn’t it?

Ah, yes, that film gig that was an entire tour.

At that time, Yoshiki was still working on "Art of Life". INA’s work on it was done by then, so the year 1993 was entirely dedicated to hide-chan’s album. At that time, hide-chan became all well-behaved so as not to cause trouble anymore. They stopped going out and secluded themselves in hide’s room for a while, to work. Without taking a break either, from noon until two or three at night, only working. Every now and then they would go out to drink. This repeated every day for about half a year.

Still, you always went to Japanese bars.

They didn’t know LA very well at the time and rarely went to American bars. Just once, to a place that was like a giant disco. Later, they went to more places, but at that point, they were living in a pretty narrow world. After going back to Japan, they recorded the last three songs of HIDE YOUR FACE, then went on a nation-wide tour after.

That tour was your debut, INA-san?

Before, when hide was on TV for the promotion of his singles, INA was with him – maybe because hide-chan felt it would be better if there was someone else in addition to him, so INA had to do it. Since he had never done anything like that before, he hated it. There was a “?” constantly hanging over his head.

Can you elaborate on that?

Regarding his solo, hide-chan said he hated being on his own. When they had a live for the press at the tie-up of “Tell Me”, they did that together, too. INA doesn’t know what to make of that. (laughing)

How did you do it together?

INA was freestyling on all the machines (laughing). Because of this, he also joined the band for the tour, probably. Back then, programmers like INA never went out of stage like that.

Now that happens a lot, though.

INA wonders if they weren’t the first to do it. Since there was no one else doing it, they had to figure out how to go at it. At that time, scratching on DJ equipment wasn’t a thing yet, but INA had played drums as a student, so should he maybe beat those a bit? He was never really at the keyboard because they had DIE for that. INA thinks he did a good job overall. Since programmers didn’t go on stage, they were never seen in public. So, he created his own thing for himself to do. In regard to that, he wasn’t really told, “Do this,” or “Do that.” Maybe hide simply wanted more people on stage (laughing).

Or maybe he just wanted to be with you?

It’s funny. Just now, INA worked through the uncut MCs of the first and second solo tours on the DCR, and they are amazingly long. Second tour, ten hours altogether. INA is going to be busy with that for months. On the first tour, it was only 104 minutes of MC in total. But for the PSYENCE-tour, ten hours. At the end, there would be fifty minutes of talking in a two-and-a-half hour concert (laughing).

The MCs were that long?

Chatter. But it was interesting to listen to. During the first tour, INA searched and searched, but they barely talked at all.

The first tour’s rule of no alcohol the day before a live stuck around, right?

During the second tour, they had to abstain as well. They did that part when they were done (laughing). On X-tours, on the other hand, they drank a lot. They went through hotels and such until five or six in the morning.

After the first tour was finished, hide-san’s solo activities took a bit of a break, didn’t they?

Yeah. They went back to LA for X. For the recording of DAHLIA, they were there for a good while this time. 1995, wasn’t it? The solo tour ended in spring 1994, until summer they worked on videos, after that they went to LA. Zilch came into being at this time. X and zilch and the solo stuff… LEMONed was also started, they published a compilation, it was an extremely busy time.

You had to deal with all of that, right?

For real. INA went to Osaka for X, came back to Tokyo for solo recording, the next day it was off to the US for zilch… like that. And they travelled with all of their equipment. INA and hide-chan and the manager, all those people, and about 20 pieces of equipment, going to the US every week. At the end, the customs people only went, “There they come again” and waved them through. That was terrible. While INA finished the second album, hide-chan went to record the vocals for zilch. Then he had to go to the studio to play guitar for X. In this time, they mostly divided the work. If they worked together all the time, they felt they wouldn’t have been able to get it all done on time. The recording of Toshi’s vocals for "DRAIN" was also done at hide’s apartment. The bass was also recorded at home rather than going to the studio.

Was his home studio that enormous?

No, it was about the size of an 8-tatami room [Note: About 13 square meters or 142 square feet], where they crammed in all their equipment and recorded the sound.

What about zilch?

It was a mess (laughing). When INA and hide-chan came to the studio, they were earnestly there to work. They took what they did seriously. When the others were fooling around in the studio, hide-chan and Ray McVeigh often clashed. Hide then said, “INA-chan, I’m going to lose my temper today, so you better go home early,” and then they’d have a fight. It was quite interesting. Since zilch and hide’s solo activities happened at the same time, INA and hide-chan spread their work out between them. They had a producer as well, and the project grew as more and more people got involved.

Did you hear about the conception of LEMONed?

He didn’t. Only after the fact, just like with Spread Beaver. Hide just dropped that information casually in the middle of a conversation. When the LEMONed store opened, they were in LA. INA remembers how hide passed him a video and said, “It turned into this kind of business.” At the time, they did a bunch of things in Japan. The “Misery”-PV had a home-made feel to it because INA edited it himself from raw material of stuff the two of them had filmed at home. It was a time like that (laughing). The lip-syncing for that PV they filmed in front of a blue TV screen at hide-chan’s home. The staff just turned the light here and there. It cost 0 yen (laughing).

There had been a plan to make a video like that, huh?

INA thinks that a plan for filming a video like that already existed within hide-chan. But he had no plan for the actual contents.

Here, staff member Motoyama provides the information that they made the video by sending it to Japan for the design team t.o.L. to edit, and those then send it back to LA.

INA once again emphasizes that, seriously, it cost no money, and laughs. INA did not get a salary, of course, and he even had to be the chauffeur. “INA-chan, you got free time, right? Let’s go take some pictures together.” Also, in the desert, their car got stuck and they all had to work together to get it free. That time was really fun. It felt more like an extension of their playtime, not at all like work.

A lot of people said the same thing: That it was like playtime.

When INA was down with a fever, hide-chan got worried and came by to make him rice noodles. At that time, they lived in a world made up of ca. four to five people, in LA and Japan. At the time of PSYENCE, hide-chan said he wanted to create “The best possible work with the least possible number of people in the shortest possible amount of time.” Song creation aside, they needed about one month to finish the recording. Which was pretty terrible, actually. They finished work at five in the morning and started again at eleven… like that (laughing).

And when you were done at the end of the day, you couldn’t even go drinking.

They could not. It was hard, but they pulled through.

How was the second tour?

Combined with the LEMONed event, there were nearly twenty shows. Strangely enough, while INA had his doubts about how to handle it in the beginning, in the end it turned out to be fun. At first, he was concerned with how to proceed, but as the tour continued, it all just fell together and solidified. Hide-chan was amazing when it came to bringing out people’s talents – not just with the musicians but also with the staff and everyone. He didn’t say, “Please do it this way because that’s the way to do it,” but instead, “This is want I want to do, but do you have any alternative suggestions?” And if a suggestion was made, he’d go, “That sounds good, let’s do it!” He had that stance towards everyone, so everyone enjoyed working with him and had a good time. Even if he ended up not doing what had been suggested, he gave it serious consideration. There aren’t many people who can say they were given a chance like that. Since hide-chan quickly realized the ideas he liked, everyone had fun and gave their best. By the time the tour was over, they had really grown close as a team. Even now, the staff from the PSYENCE-tour called it the most fun one they were ever involved with. Regardless of whether they contributed in big or in small ways. In this regard, hide-chan was amazing.

INA-san, your hairstyle became very flashy. Why was that?

Miyagi-kun, hairstylist at LEMONed, said, “This is gonna stand out!” and pained INA’s hair in fluorescent colours. But that paint would come off, so they decided it would be better to dye it if INA was to sport those colours every day. Miyahi-kun also went over the top (laughing).

It wasn’t done by hide-san?

Well, it had been kind of a spontaneous thing. But hide-chan also dyed INA’s hair. He had a beautician’s licence, after all. During the first tour, he also dyed DIE-chan’s hair. And Pata’s, way back.

And after the PSYENCE-tour?

The incident where hide-chan fractured his skull. All of a sudden, he just stopped contacting INA one day. Usually, they were in contact every day even after the tour to make up a time for INA to come to hide-chan’s place to work on songs. But now, there was no phone call at all, and INA was told by the office, “hide-san got injured, so we’re taking a break for now.” They didn’t give him any details and he didn’t hear anything else for about a month. INA didn’t do anything, but he wondered what was going on until hide-chan himself contacted him one day and told him that he had been hospitalized. INA was surprised to hear this (“Eeh, what happened?”), while hide was rather dispassionate about it (“Broken skull.”). INA was startled, even though he only heard about it after the worst was over. They were talking about going to the US to resume work and start recording for zilch, but the doctor told hide he wasn’t allowed to fly. Regardless, hide went anyway, then told INA that there was this terrible ringing noise in his ears during the flight. When INA heard that, he went pale and thought, “It’s over.” But it was okay; after this they stayed over there for a while. In fact, that was their longest stay. They resumed the work with zilch that had been postponed for the PSYENCE-tour and only returned to Japan in Summer. [Note: They had left for LA around February.] After that, X JAPAN announced its dissolution.

He just went about song making as if there were nothing happening, though?

Basically. Get it done, get it done… he worked like that all the time. He finished one song about every one or two weeks. But when they were in Tokyo, he just wanted to play around. Abroad, he calmly worked in the studio every day, but in Japan, things immediately got in the way and no work was done. Kiyoshi or whoever would come over to hang out and they wouldn’t work. One day during the creation of “Ja, Zoo”, in order to get them to focus, the record company send INA and hide to a camp at Lake Yamanaka. It was supposed to be refreshing, but since there was absolutely nothing around, the two of them turned a little weird about two days in. They were alone in that mountain hut, there was no one else around, outside was nothing. “I wonder if there isn’t anyone in Tokyo who can come to visit,” they said and kept making phone calls. Inevitably, they went out at night, but there were no establishments around, so they kept circling the lake in their car until morning. [ Note: INA makes it sound like they were the only people in the area, but according to “Owaranai Kizuna”, the book of hide’s former manager Kuma, there was an entire team with them, and also Kuma himself, who got stuck there when hide abducted him on the way to the retreat and set his mobile phone on fire. (More at eleven.)] Then, the people from the record company said, “Good work!” and invited them to the Atami Onsen as a reward. And thus, hide-chan, who had shown great restraint until then, let loose, went berserk while drunk, and broke his foot. And that just a couple of months before X JAPAN’s Last Live in Tokyo Dome. [Note: Actually, it seems that it was more like one month before the concert, as the accident happened in late November.] Just before that incident, INA, in a good mood, had warned hide’s brother and manager Hiroshi to make sure that hide did not, no matter what, injure his hands. And his hands were safe. Instead, he came back with a broken foot (laughing).

No kidding. (laughs)

But, at the time, it was adorable. When hide came back from the hospital and INA knocked on the car and asked if he was okay, hide pretended to be asleep (laughing). When INA later asked him about it, he explained, “I didn’t have a clear answer, so I decided to just feign sleeping for the moment.”

The photographs for the jacket of “Rocket Dive” were taken at that time, weren’t they?

Staff member Yamamoto again: That’s right. Hide-san just said, “I’m sorry” regarding those photographs.

INA: That day, his leg was still in a cast.

Yamamoto: They could only photograph the upper part of his body.

INA: At the Tokyo Dome, he was already well healed.

Yamamoto: He ate small fish all the time. He had put it in his mind that he would be healed for X JAPAN’s last live.

INA: Everyone brought calcium and such. But within a week, hide-chan already resumed pre-production at home. Since he needed to stand while singing, he did so while carefully balancing on his tip-toes.

Did you hear about X JAPAN braking up in advance?

INA did, by accident. Even hide’s manager didn’t know about it, no one knew about it, so he kept it a secret.

Did you say anything?

They didn’t speak much about this matter. Only after the press conference announcing the break-up. They walked home, worked on “Rocket Dive”. There was an air of “March on to the next thing” after they watched the press conference on TV. But then, in the afternoon, an old friend contacted hide and they decided to go for a drink (laughing). At that point, the Last Live had not been decided yet and it felt like it would end with that press conference, so INA thought it made sense that hide-chan wanted to drink.

X JAPAN’s Last Live was on New Year’s Eve 1997.

INA was there backstage. After that was the Kohaku-performance at NHK, so after the live was over they immediately had to move on to the NHK building. Those who, like INA, were left behind, were like, “There they go.” Afterwards, they had a closing party with the members. Ah, yeah. Pata-chan was there, too.

Yamamoto: There was a full -page advertisement for “hide with Spread Beaver coming…1998” in the morning issue of the Asahi Shinbun, so they waited for it in a pub while drinking.

INA: Except no one had heard about that yet (laughing). INA had known about it, but Joe was all, “Eeh, what’s Spread Beaver?” Since they had been working together all the time already, it wasn’t a problem to just turn them into a band, but everyone was still delightedly surprised. There was no formal contract, so at that point, nothing really changed. After that, they went to LA for recording again. Everyone was involved.

What did you record?

“Pink Spider”, “ever free”, and stuff for the album. But work on the album did not go as planned. “Pink Spider” and “ever free” were to be released in May, and it was decided that they should return to Japan for the promotion. The plan was to release the album and go on tour then, but now there was talk of doing something like a pre-tour, since the album wasn’t finished. First, a pre-tour with the three new songs, then the zilch-tour, then the real national tour once the album was finished. “No matter how you look at it, there isn’t enough time,” they said.

How come the completion of the album was delayed?

Basically, a sense of “Let’s make it better”. It was changed over and over, and the promotion of the singles also got in the way, so the time for recording just disappeared. But they made it to the point where it should have been finished in a month, maybe a month and a half.

Did you hear anything regarding hide-san’s thoughts on the world?

He wanted to do western music, but by the time zilch was started, western music was already circulating in Japan, and he wondered if it wouldn’t be more interesting to take Spread Beaver aboard. He wasn’t just obsessed with “The World”. Rather, he’d said, when PSYENCE was completed, “This is great, INA-chan. If this doesn’t sell, we will go abroad, we will give up on Japan.” He’d always been conscious of foreign countries and the world as a whole, but it’s not like he absolutely had to make it there above all else.

INA-san, you continued participating in hide-san’s work after he died, didn’t you? Just now, you told me about listening to and editing ten hours of his MC.

That’s simply because it’s interesting. Separate INA from it for an hour and he’s already going back to it. Everyone else from Spread Beaver also comes at once if they are called back without warning. INA didn’t do anything for it for a bit, but this year [2008] there was a lot. He edited the live album and there were also lives to perform. Listening to it as music of today is strange.

Where there ever times when it was difficult?

That, too… There were times during the work on “Ja, Zoo”. And then, after, the tour without hide. That was hard. Because they had to keep smiling amongst the thousands, ten-thousands of people in the audience who were all crying. But it’s because of this that they are here now. Even if there were also grudges… There were a lot of people who held it against them that they did this. But there were also those who said it saved them, so he is now glad they did it.

In that sense, those were difficult circumstances, weren’t they?

To be honest, there were times when INA thought that he also wanted to be saved. However, they decided to do all the things hide-chan had wanted to do in 1998. They did the things they could do, like release a Best of-CD or re-release “Tell Me” with the band. And when things calmed down, they opened the hide museum. Altogether, they held a lot of events. Since INA is the one participating in the museum the most (laughing).

And so, DJ INA was born. (laughs)

At first, he was a false DJ. He did hide’s tour as a DJ. After all, there were people waiting for it who did not just want to listen to hide’s music at home but enjoyed experiencing it loudly with everyone else, and things would continue after this. There was the memorial summit with X JAPAN, Luna Sea and all the others, as well as tens of thousands of people. If there were things INA could do for that, he ought to do them.

There are too many memories, aren’t there?

When INA thinks about them, they rapidly come back. At the launch party for the memorial summit, he talked to Pata and it brought back a lot of stories. Things normally forgotten that none the less stayed in everyone’s heart.

Did you ever fight?

When it came to making music, there were things resembling fights, but never outside of that.

You were the same age?

Yes. Their birthdays were one day apart. INA’s is on 12 December.

INA-san, what kind of person was hide-san to you?

He honestly doesn’t know.

Anything you want to say to hide-san?

Things like “Thank you.” It was interesting, and it stayed interesting after hide-chan was gone. It’s strange, though… INA’s feelings haven’t changed now that he supports hide’s activities after his death as opposed to them working together when he was alive. What he wants to say is just “Thank you.”

#hide #hide bible #x japan #hide with spread beaver #interview #translation #sort of #summary #INA #and staff member yamamoto I suppose #this one was less horrible than most #in fact I would actually say it was fun #but still #so much work #anyway #way to not tell your band members that they are now a band hide #never mind the other things #apparently information sharing was not their strongest skill

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