#which was a music festival where there were a few artists not just shinee and they only did like three songs | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

charlie-rulerofhell · 4 years ago

Text

An interview with Måneskin: “It's not about out bodies, it's about our music”

Heyo, I'm back with another translation. This time the article is from the German Rolling Stone website who met with Måneskin after their TikTok performance at the Schwuz, Berlin, and posted the interview yesterday. Again there were some interesting questions asked (and the pictures they added to the article are quite nice, though severely lacking some Ethan content, but check it out!).

Again, I hope that no one has already gone through the effort and translated it or is currently working on a translation. Also this is an official invitation, if you stumble across any articles or video interviews in German that you would like to have translated just message me and I'll get to it! (or if you just wanna chat about Måneskin, my inbox is always open :))

Have a great day everyone!

Full article under the cut.

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

An interview with Måneskin: “It's not about out bodies, it's about our music”

Jose-Luis Amsler

July 6, 2021

Måneskin are just what this generation has been missing. Passionate, corny, and full-on honest. In an interview with Rolling Stones, the ESC winners explain to us why they would never work in a normal job and why the hype for their appearance is sometimes going too far.

Damiano, Victoria, Thomas and Ethan are entering the nearly deserted dance hall, before they wait on stage in a red-blue spotlight. They are wearing glittering fish net tops, black tape across their nipples, leather pants, heels and make up. The camera men who are filming in portrait format (9:16) suitable for TikTok are whirling up the haze of the fog machine.

Måneskin are [in] Berlin to give a TikTok concert. A TikTok livestream of this scale has not been done often – tension is in the air. The four Italians don't know at this point that due to the stream the few people present are not allowed to clap or cheer. In complete silence and with slight uncertainty the four are crossing Neukölln's club Schwuz. A few puzzled glances are exchanged. Finally, Måneskin are striking the first chord.

Then the rich sound of Ethan's bass drum is tearing through the silence. It's almost as if someone has flicked a switch somewhere. There it is, the rock star presence that is hovering over everything they do, with an ounce of arrogance (in the best sense of the word). Singer Damiano is dancing lasciviously on his heels, and during an especially ecstatic solo guitarist Thomas is throwing himself down on the floor in a way it can only be done by a passionate 20-year-old musician who had never had to worry about the looming doom of an artificial knee joint [for 'passionate' the interview is using the term 'besessen' which means 'possessed', and although I think it's rather supposed to describe the way Thomas is 'possessed / obsessed' with the music, thus passionate for the music, you never know if they didn't mean to say that the way he dances looks 'possessed' … I mean, they might be on to something here ;)]. Around half an hour and about 120 decibel later, Damiano says their goodbyes with an almost shy-sounding “Okay, bye.” After the performance, we do our interview in the Schwuz.

Rolling Stone: It was a little bit weird, right, when you went on stage today?

Damiano: Yeah, that was really strange (laughs). They only told us after the performance that the audience was instructed to stay silent for the stream.

Vic: But at least they weren't silent because we were shit (all laughing). We are slowly getting used to playing without a live audience. I mean we are doing this now for more than a year.

RS: What do you think about these new kinds of concerts such as the TikTok livestream today?

Damiano: Well, at the moment it is the only option to perform anyway, so it's alright. But of course you cannot compare this to a proper concert.

Thomas: But it's pretty cool that so many people can experience our concert live.

Vic: Also we're gonna start touring again soon. Right now we are arranging some festival and gigs. In December we will be touring Italy and afterwards we are planning to go on tour through Europe. But we don't have anything fixed yet, there is just a lot going on at the moment.

“A lot going on”. Quite an understatement considering the recent journey Måneskin has made through the past weeks after their ESC win. Their singles “Beggin'” and “I Wanna Be Your Slave” went through the roof (also thanks to Social Media) and are currently dominating the international charts – lately they were also number one in Germany. There is barely a radio station that isn't playing the band on heavy rotation [would love to know what stations they listen to, have never heard Måneskin played in German radio tbh :( ], and everyone opening Instagram or TikTok these days is flooded by Måneskin content. Every second a new fanpage with the name of 'maneskin_obsession' or 'damianos_slut' is springing up like a (virtual) mushroom. It sounds like a cliche, but Damiano, Vic, Thomas and Ethan became international stars over night.

“Of course it's nice to get compliments. But sometimes they definitely cross a line.” – Damiano David

RS: How has your life as a band changed since your win at the ESC in Rotterdam?

Vic: I think we don't even notice a lot of what's happening. Right after the ESC we went to a studio in the countryside where we made music the whole day long. So at first we didn't realise that so many things were happening all around us – and that we had so many new fans. We're just now beginning to learn what's going on. We were at Sony yesterday, there were so many fans waiting for us. That was crazy.

RS: A large part of the attention you are getting now is about your outer appearance, your style, your attractiveness. Is that getting a little too much sometimes?

Damiano: Of course it's nice to get compliments (laughs). But sometimes they definitely cross a line. Especially when we just talk about our music or about a social or political topic that we care about. In those moments it's just completely inappropriate to reduce us to our appearance. Sure – when I'm posting a half-naked picture of myself on Instagram I know that I will get these kind of comments. And then it's totally fine, I mean in the end I'm posting the picture to show myself. But sometimes it's not the right place for it.

RS: And also you should be allowed to wear what you want without being sexualised, right?

Vic: Yes, absolutely. We are wearing these outfits because we feel good in them, not to put the focus on our bodies. And in general it shouldn't always only be about how you dress. We are musicians – so first and foremost it should be about our music. But I think it will still be a long way until we will reach that point.

“That the boys are wearing make up does not tell you what gender they are attracted to. Those things should never be equated with each other.” – Victoria De Angelis

RS: But still you are sending a message with your style against stereotypical gender roles. I guess it's also not only coincidence that we are in the Schwuz today, which is normally a party location and safe space for the LGBTQ community.

Vic: Yes, that is all part of the positive message that we try to send. We want to give our audience the feeling that they are free. Free to wear whatever they want to wear, be how they want to be and love whom they want to love. It's unbelievable that there is still so much intolerance in our times. That has always been really important to us so we try to talk about these topics. We also believe that the narrow-mindedness of society is an educational problem. When you grow up with people all around you telling you how you should be, you will never feel completely free. The more people are talking about it, the sooner things will change.

RS: Some artists who are advocating for these topics are accused of 'queerbaiting', that they are only pretending to be a certain way to gain more support from the queer community. Have you also been faced with those allegations?

Vic: Yes, a few times. But of course we never pretended to be anything. Some people accuse of us queerbaiting because we look and act the way we do. But that's flawed thinking. We don't believe that clothes are connected to a person's sexuality. That the boys are wearing make up does not tell you what gender they are attracted to. Those two things should never be equated with each other.

RS: This courage for free self expression that you are conveying is mainly lived by our (young) generation through Instagram and the like. What is your relationship to social media?

Damiano: For me it was almost scary at first. The more we grew, the more people were trying to twist all of my words. But over time you start to understand that with more fame you also get more criticism. The happier you look the more hate you will get. It's not only like that for celebrities. If you are brave enough to show the things that make you happy there will always be people that support you, but they are also those that envy you. Of course, this should never lead anyone to not express themselves openly but that's easier said than done.

Vic: We are also trying not to spend too much time on social media. In the end we just try to be honest with our fans and to avoid negativity.

[caption under the picture of Damiano: 'Is already being compared to icons such as David Bowie']

It's actually surprising how little power a win at the ESC holds in most cases. Almost 200 million people are watching this shining spectacle every year – and still, a few months afterwards it is hard to remember who those people were that got covered in confetti during the award ceremony. It's the well-known curse of a casting show that rests on the winning bands. When just next year a new sensation will come to marvel at, how much impact does a win have then? There are exceptions of course, like Lena who is until this day, 10 years after her win in Oslo, a part of the more famous music scene of German pop music. With their charisma, their unusual sound at least for our modern standards, and their contemporary message Måneskin could become such an exception, too.

It's likely also helpful that the band already had a standing in the Italian music scene prior to their ESC participation. Their first album 'Il ballo della vita' already achieved platinum in 2018, three years prior to Sanremo and the ESC. And then there is also the long way that led the four schoolmates to this point that helped them gain the necessary persistence. Because contrary to what some people might want to believe Måneskin are not a phenomenon that has just been deliberately bred to be this way by the entertainment industry for Eurovision.

“I have worked [in a 'normal' job] for a whole month in my entire life – it didn't really end well.” – Damiano David

RS: You were all raised in Rome, the capital of the catholic church. What was it like to start as a young progressive band in such a conservative environment?

Damiano: In the beginning, when we started as buskers, no one gave a damn about us anyways (all laughing). But of course … Once we got a bit bigger there were a few people who had a problem with us. For example when we went to Sanremo, there were quite many people who thought that the way we looked and acted we shouldn't be allowed to represent Italy. They didn't even want to listen to our music first.

Vic: Especially when it comes to appearance and sexuality, Italy is a little more backward than other countries. The church probably also has an influence there. They are often quite conservative of course, so many people grew up with such a [conservative] mindset.

RS: You once said that the song 'In Nome Del Padre' is an answer to exactly those people. What does the song mean to you?

Damiano: Back in the beginning [of our career] we had to deal with a lot of problems. They didn't want to let us play in clubs because we would take too much space as a band or because they didn't like our (fashion) style or because they didn't want to pay us. Italy isn't a good place for bands. Our musical style was also criticised a lot. Many people were telling us: Don't do that [rock music], you won't get popular with that in Italy, you will never achieve anything with it. Of course those comments were hurtful but they were also a good reason for us to continue with what we did. And we turned our sadness into anger. With that song we wanted to tell those people from back then: Fuck off and look at us, we did it!

RS: Did you ever consider working in a nine-to-five job and live a 'normal' life?

Damiano: Nah, not really. For one month in my life I worked [in a 'normal' job] – it didn't end well (all laughing).

Vic: We all made music since we were kids. It's a huge part of us, that we couldn't just ignore. And the most important thing is that you do something that makes you happy. At least that's what we believe. So we started from a young age to put all our time and energy into music.

Thomas: Yeah, exactly. Ever since we were in school together we always made music. That has always been our main focus and it is until today. We play and play and play because it is the only thing that …

Ethan: … we live for.

Damiano: Music has also something very therapeutic for us. Even when we are in a bad mood or fight with each other – yeah, that happens, too – then all of that is gone the moment we enter the stage. Maybe that's the beautiful thing about music – that it allows you to forget everything else. You're just standing on stage, having fun with your friends.

From most bands you wouldn't buy such a corny love letter to music. Mostly it just sounds like an empty phrase, a well-practiced quotable line. But when there is something that defines Måneskin and that becomes more and more evident during our conversation it's their uncompromising honesty. The four of them are definitely not lacking a sense of humour but they take their music very seriously. Which should not be taken for granted in a generation that has mainly produced sarcastic cloud rappers and has made cynical twitter comedy a national sport. And maybe Måneskin are exactly what this generation was lacking all along.

Still, the four musicians, all in the age of 20 to 22, are also prone to the constant need for self-expression, that has become an intrinsic part of today's life. This does not only reflect in the outfits of the band (always 'on fleek') and their Instagram profiles, but also in their lyrics. Their latest record 'Teatra D'Ira – Vol. 1' shows a clear theme: The album is an ode to individuality, accentuated by fast and hard sounds.

Sometimes this message fitting for a Disney movie [really? guess I have been watching the wrong Disney movies my whole life …] is wrapped in a contrasting loud and forceful packaging, but never so much that it becomes inauthentic or self-caricaturing [note: I'm honestly not entirely sure what they wanted to say with this sentence since it uses a lot of rhetorical devices that could be interpreted in different ways, but I'd say this sounds the most plausible]. And in the end, the thing that makes Måneskin so interesting is their unification of the spirit of this time – between TikTok hedonism and an omnipresent political statement – with the music of past generations.

“When you are twenty, you start to think about what the future will hold.” – Damiano David

RS: Your musical style is often described as classical 70s rock, but in fact there are many different influences in your music. Sometimes you groove almost into funk, sometimes it's more rapping than singing. How did this mixture come to be?

Thomas: It's just that we all have our own individual influences and then we meet somewhere in the middle. And we always try to stay open for experiments.

Ethan: Yes, we are very experimental in our song writing process.

Vic: We also don't want to limit ourselves to what is regarded as typical rock music. If rap fits better at some point then we just add that in. It just happens naturally without us thinking too much about it.

RS: So why was it still rock music in the end?

Vic: Because it's the style that we feel most represented by. But actually we just play the music that we enjoy playing. That's really important to us so that we can show something real on stage. We don't want to pretend to be something that we aren't or mock those people that really enjoy our music. You should always be proud of what you're doing and never fake anything just to sell more records.

RS: Is there something like an Italian rock music scene?

Vic: There are quite a lot of bands – but the most of them are much older than us or they are more going in the direction Indie rock. There isn't really a young rock scene, which we think is a pity. But ever since we got more famous people are telling us that they started listening to rock music because of us or that they bought their first guitar and such. That's incredibly nice!

RS: So you're saying that you also want to show this style of music to a younger generation. And you capture this contrast quite well in the song 'Vent'anni', which is a typical rock ballad but lyrically portrays the thoughts of today's youth. Where did the motivation come from to write that song?

Damiano: With the song I wanted to show that I'm just a normal guy, a really typical 20-year-old. I experience the same things that other people in my age are experiencing, I'm just doing another job than them. Also I wanted to describe this age as a whole because I think it's a really special age. At 20 you start to think about what the future will hold. I think it's one of the most important stages of your life. Since we (the four of us) are all in the same age, I then started to mix our experiences together. In the end the song shows what it means to us to be 20. There is a lot of good things – you are quite carefree and are looking at life enthusiastically. But on the other hand you're too young to do certain things and too old to do others. Some people are treating you like a full-grown adult, but …

Vic: … not entirely.

Damiano: Exactly. It can get pretty frustrating at times. We wanted to show our audience: Hey, we're also just 20 years old, and we're going through the same things as you. We understand you.

RS: Except that you are the ones who are becoming a world-wide phenomenon right now. How do you want to maintain this honesty?

Damiano: I think that we could just reach this point because we have always been authentic – for better or for worse. Also we are just trying to have fun with what we're doing together. That's something special that we don't want to lose. In the end we're just four friends who started to live their dream. It's actually pretty simple. Of course – we go on stage, we get a lot of attention, we give interviews – but when we come back home we're just four friends.

#måneskin #maneskin #måneskin interview #my stuff #esc #again if you ever want anything to be translated just hit me up i'm free most of the time #ig my blog is slowly turning into a måneskin fanpage for translations and shitposting #but tbh i'm not complaining #have a great day everyone and happy waiting for sooooon

225 notes · View notes

ballodellamarlena · 4 years ago

Text

m o o n l i g h t

damiano david x reader + ex!gjon muharremaj (gjon’s tears)

genre: fluff, minimal angst

wc: 1.7k

notes: non-canonical OOC, also my first fic in a long time, this is a result of me ignoring my finals with a dash of projecting

feedback is appreciated! if you are interested in reading more i have more ideas :)

2021 just can't stop surprising.

In hindsight, it was worse for some in comparison to year prior, but life goes on.

And so does Europe's most famous song competition.

2021 just can't stop surprising. In hindsight, it was worse for some in comparison to the year prior, but life goes on. And so does Europe's most famous song competition.

2020's cancellation of Eurosong was devastating, to say the least, but now it's back and in full shine; different singers, different songs, lots of changes made. Your job as an audio technician swept you off to places you'd never thought you'd see. From concerts to musical artists in recording studios in their whole essence; the making of a song, the process fascinated you. It kind of didn't surprise you when you were accepted to be a part of Eurovision's sound squad. It was, after all, everything you've been working for.

It was not soon after Tel Aviv when you met Gjon in a recording studio, where you were temporarily stationed before departure to Rotterdam to start preparing for the next year. Gjon was a nice constant to your hectic life, always there to shine on a new perspective and always there to comfort you on your worst days. In turn, you were there during his journey to be chosen as Switzerland's contestant in 2020's Eurovision. You were there when he wrote his song about being and belonging. Your blossoming relationship became too great to ignore, and soon you became the team's sweethearts; his firm but soft composure meshing with your assertive and curious nature in the best of ways. You were not afraid to say that you knew him, and vice versa. Everything really was perfect. Until the epidemic hit.

It was like a domino effect, one thing encouraging everything else to fall apart. Being in a foreign country while it was in a state of emergency was not the most ideal, and it didn't really help your job. Your recently appointed position in Eurovision's sound squad was gone with the wind when the cancellation was announced, and so did Gjon's hard work. Tensions rose, and while your relationship was as healthy as could be, it simply wasn't enough. Or maybe it was never supposed to be something more than a prolonged period of deep infatuation between two human beings.

The departure was bittersweet, to say the least. But you knew, a year with him would never compare to anything else. You two parted gently, on a windy airport, almost ignorant to the tears in Gjon's eyes; you saw regret, pain, and fear, but you both understood that if you decided to give your all to each other before knowing what that 'all' even is, it would hurt much more.

You remember his arms around for the last time, whispering promises of sunnier days and warm reunions, the lump in his throat preventing him from promising you a better him.

You haven't been able to completely process his intentions, too keen on leaving. You were itching for something different, but everything seemed too claustrophobic in this state of the world. So you accepted the first job offer that presented itself to you and flew off to Sanremo.

"You okay?"

You turned abruptly towards Victoria, one of the band members you were here with here in Rotterdam in the middle of rehearsals and navigating through Rotterdam.

Your job offer as one of Eurovision's sound technicians still stood even throughout the epidemic but after Måneskin's success at the Sanremo Festival that granted them the first row in the finals of Eurovision you decided to stay with them, so the job kind of integrated being an official technician in charge of Italy and being their personal plus one.

You stared at Victoria with a blank stare, reminiscing the past short few months; Sanremo brought new experiences and new people. Italy's contest for the contestant at 2021's Eurovision started from square one, giving new chances.

Maybe Måneskin was just what you needed, the four of them. Victoria, Thomas, Ethan, and Damiano.

Damiano was a breath of fresh air. A breeze of fast wind. Assertive and confident. You couldn't deny it was attractive. You tried not to let his aura control your way of seeing him, but very soon you found him to be one of the best people you've ever met. You helped you express yourself more, welcomed you like family, made you see life and yourself like something more than you had originally thought. You two clicked, and between new friendships and an interesting job position you allowed them to take you with them to Rotterdam. And you did so without hesitating.

Besides, no one could deny something heavy between you and Damiano.

Back to the present, at Italy's table with the band and the delegation, Damiano comfortably sitting on your left, you stared at Victoria to your right, trying to come up with an answer when you heard it again.

"Will Switzerland's contestant please begin their rehearsal?"

And there he was, no different than that day at the airport. Last you heard about Gjon he came with a new song, after managing to keep his place as the contestant, something many preparing contestants had to give up prior to this year's competition.

You were sitting on the edge of your seat, elbows on your knees. You felt Damiano's fingers twirling one of your locks on the back of your hair, a bit uninterested to be watching somebody else's rehearsal while the band was already done with theirs.

"Yeah." you smiled lightly. There was no lie, why wouldn't you feel fine?

You felt Damiano's hand weaving with your elbow, pulling you to him, and you leaned back against the cushion, leaning your head gently against his shoulder. And if he noticed you seemed lethargic all of a sudden, he didn't say anything.

You stared intensely towards the stage, but relaxed and turned to the rest of your company after realizing this rehearsal only included the technical side of things. No song from him today.

22nd of May, 2021

Entirely skipping the semi-finals, you and your team only focused on your own band. Being one of the Big 5 was admirable, and everyone expected a show.

The clothes fit, the makeup was on, and the band was ready to enter the arena along with you and Italy's delegation. Nine pm was nearing and you were going to be sitting through all of the 26 songs, along with voting.

Songs went by fast, some fun, some less, but all were good until it was time for Switzerland. You were about to hear his new song.

Je vois derrière nous des morceaux de toi Et ce que la douleur a fait de moi

The somber tone, the lyrics. Your limited knowledge of french allowed you to understand the basic point of the song.

Nos deux cœurs sous la terre

He was still not over you.

But maybe he was but was singing about somebody else, you tried to rationalize.

Damiano squeezed your hand that you didn't even realize he was holding, you were so tense. The band was aware of your previous association with the Swiss singer, but you didn't even want to know what they were thinking about.

You only thought about the song. The melody, the words sang of his anguish, and it wasn't a bad song. You wanted so desperately to heal him but knew it was not your job to do anymore.

Comment soigner nos coeurs qui éclatent?

Your eyes made contact, and it was like going back in time. But all songs end, and so did yours.

The crowd cheered, it was a great performance. The table clapped and you watched him getting off the stage, not knowing what to think.

"It's going to be okay, carina."

That one pull you needed, and you didn't doubt anymore.

An hour and a half later, after Italy's performance, which was quite an experience, finals were coming to an end, and the voting began.

You will never get used to feeling nervous about getting results, even when you weren't the object of it. But watching Switzerland get so many points from the jury made it a whole new experience. Italy was places below and everyone was silent.

The televoting points change everything, it was unpredictable, just like the whole competition. You had Damiano's hand in your left and Ethan's in your right, squeezing them, but adrenaline prevented you to feel anything else besides your heartbeat.

You wanted them to win so bad. They worked so hard to get where they are today, and while all contestants deserved a chance, you couldn't not be a little biased.

The 318 points to Italy were a game-changer, the crowd cheered, Victoria and Thomas jumped and screamed, and Damiano pulled you up into a hug, cheering with them; they were in the first place now. Crowd's favorite, obviously.

All that was left to hear was the number of points for Switzerland.

You've got to be kidding me, you thought.

It was tension between Switzerland and Italy, and you honestly didn't know who would win. But did it really have to be the two of them?

You felt the cameras focusing and your table, And everything was silent. You felt Gjon's stare, piercing through you. But the only thing you could focus on was Damiano's skin touching yours, his fingers intertwining with yours, and you knew that no matter the outcome, everything would be okay.

But alas, the points weren't enough to overthrow Italy, and you grinned, suddenly feeling Victoria's arms around you and Damiano's tears of joy on your neck. Everyone's screams made it seem like total silence and you smiled big, proud of your friends.

You were so happy you didn't realize they were soon dragging you with them to the stage to perform once again. In fact, you never felt so happy, you even started to sing loudly with the crowd.

Damiano, in his whole element, shining with pride and glory, motioned you to the stage by the end, pulled you in, and kissed you deeply, holding you close, and silently thanking you.

You knew life wasn't always going to be this pretty, but you thought, maybe you could live in this moment for a little while longer, kissing your frontman and giving yourself completely to the blinding lights of a victorious arena.

It was time to move on.

a/n: this was so bad i'm so sorry

#damiano david #damiano maneskin #maneskin #damiano david fanfic #damiano fanfic #maneskin fanfic #fanfiction #eurovison song contest #esc 2021 #gjon muharremaj #gjon's tears #damiano david rpf #gjon muharremaj rpf

125 notes · View notes

furikakyo · 3 years ago

Text

a return to roots | 6

pairing: kita shinsuke x f!reader

summary: y/n is a rising star in the music industry, having almost everything you could have ever hoped for as a small-town country girl. now after releasing two triple platinum albums in consecutive years, you face the dreaded artist’s burnout… in order to recover, your manager suggests, you should return to your hometown in hyōgo for a long-deserved break.

genre: socmed/smau, slice of life

warnings/tags: timeskip!, mutual pining, slow burn? more like rekindling, slight canon divergence

masterpost

To say that your day wasn’t going as planned was an understatement. Although you’d known that you would have to see Kita that day, your mind had assured you that there were a couple hours until then. So to see him before that expected time…

You blinked, mouth opening and closing like the fish you’ve seen in koi ponds. “Oh. I didn’t expect you to be here…” You paused, and then pursed your lips definitively. If your mouth was shut then you couldn’t say anything else.

Kita gave you a lopsided smile. “I work here, remember?” His amber eyes twinkled as the sunlight caught them.

Your eyes trailed along the scene you’d been looking at previously. He didn’t just work here… he owned all of this. Stupid Kita, always selling himself short. Didn’t he know he was virtually perfect? Ah, right. You flushed, wondering if it was the embarrassment or the heat finally getting to you. Grabbing at anything to say, you blurted, “I was just admiring the view. Samu and I got here earlier than expected.” You wrung your hands nervously, then stopped. You didn’t want to seem nervous. “Um…” you said slowly, taking a step back, “it’s alright if you can’t accompany us right now. You’re probably busy.” You gnawed on your bottom lip. “Working the farm and stuff.”

“‘Us’?” Kita echoed, looking past you.

You chuckled nervously and scratched the back of your neck. It burnt with uneasiness, even more so when you remembered what you were wearing: an old oversized tshirt, shorts, and slides. You weren’t going to wear anything less comfortable on a road trip, you mind argued. “Yeah,” you mumbled, looking down, “Samu was with me but he got distracted. I was just looking around by myself.” After realizing that it could’ve sounded like you were trying to guilt trip Kita, you backtracked, waving your arms. “Not that that’s a bad thing!”

Your heart gave a gut-wrenching squeeze when he laughed softly at you. “It’s alright. If you’d like, I can show you around?”

You looked up from your hands, which had been busy wringing themselves into the hem of your shirt. “Ah! No,” you said quickly, “I’m totally fine on my own! I wouldn’t want to take you away from your work, either.”

You fiddled with a loose string on your t-shirt as Kita peered over at you, contemplative. “It’s ok,” he said after a pause, “I have time. And I want to make my way around anyways, so your timing couldn’t have been better.”

You stared at his back, speechless, as he began walking in the direction you’d been headed. Quickly, you picked your jaw up from the ground and clambered through the grass after Kita, who had slowed his pace so that you could catch up. Maybe if you hadn’t been so flustered you would’ve remembered that he had come from the direction you were now walking in.

If Osamu’s knowing stare when he’d eventually ran into you and Kita hadn’t been enough to make you internally crumple in on yourself, his suggestion for all of you to get dinner together was.

Not to say that his presence wasn’t welcome, though. When Kita hadn’t been speaking about something notable on the farm, it was silent for the most part, with you only dumbly repeating how nice it was. You hadn’t talked about anything more personal, like where you were in life now. It didn’t feel right just pretending nothing had happened; neither had starting off from where the two of you had left off. And it’s not like you could just say, “Hey, remember how a few years ago we almost dated but then didn’t which ended up kind of ruining our friendship? Let’s try to work through that now!” Kita was over it by now, unlike you, who’d just shoved everything into the back of your mind and hoped it wouldn’t ever be relevant again. This is what you get for neglecting it, you berated yourself, and yet when it came down to it, you weren’t sure whether it was the resigned silence between the two of you or the way that you felt the urge to act so impulsively— to hug him, kiss him, apologize to him— which was more frightening.

And that was how Osamu had found you, lost in your thoughts while walking with Kita and then somehow finding yourself sandwiched between the two in Kita’s pickup truck. I don’t have enough gas to drive us, Osamu had said while hiding a wicked grin, knowing damn well that you wouldn’t argue with him about it in front of Inarizaki’s former captain; that you wouldn’t beg Osamu to prevent you from getting into a car with Kita, not with him there to witness it.

You tried to avoid squirming in the middle seat of the front row, conscious of every minute brush against Kita’s sleeve or shoulder. Osamu snickered quietly, and you jerked your head to the side to glare at him heatedly. This is all your fault, your eyes seethed, or at least you hoped you could convey as much feeling into them as you wanted. You stiffened when Kita’s arm brushed against yours momentarily as he made a turn, and you lurched towards him. Osamu finally had the decency to help you out, grabbing your shoulder to prevent the collision.

You shot him another dirty glare and then stared out through the windshield just as you all pulled into the otherwise abandoned parking lot of the local bar. If you hadn’t come from Kita’s but instead your own childhood house, you would’ve walked like most other people did.

Immediately you dropped the gloomy atmosphere, eyes now shining. “Izumi and Kenji’s!” You hopped out of the truck from Osamu’s side and jumped up and down excitedly. “I haven’t been here in years!” you exclaimed, rushing forward. Your two companions trailed behind you, amused.

The bells on the door jingled as you opened it, at once having cold air rush at you. You sighed in contentment, the sweat on your brow already cooling off.

“Hello?” A matronly figure stepped out from behind the bar counter, a rag in hand. Just as her eyes landed on you, they brightened. “Y/N!” The woman tossed the rag onto a table and rushed over to greet you, holding your hands in her own excitedly. “When did you get back? How long have you been here? Are you staying at your parents’ house?”

You laughed and squeezed her hands before dropping them. “Hello, Izumi. I got back here a little bit ago and unpacked most of my stuff at the house. Any other questions?”

Izumi fired a barrage of inquiries while leading you to the bar counter, insisting that you sit on a stool. Osamu sat down beside you and Kita next to him. “—so glad you’re back. And Osamu, you too! You’ve gotten more handsome! I bet the girls and boys are flocking to you in Tokyo. How is the shop doing? And you too, Shin-chan! You don’t visit quite enough for someone that lives so close by!”

The three of you sat amiably and answered all of Izumi’s questions, small talk being made between you as she bustled in and out of the kitchen. “Yumie-chan told us you would be coming today, but we weren’t sure when! I think most people are going to be here, though, so just sit tight!” She brought out light beers and edamame to munch on in the mean time, and then a tray of salted nuts later.

Slowly, the eatery filled with more of the local residents of your hometown, all gathering around you. Izumi had insisted on moving your food and drinks to a long row of tables, which she had pushed together to make room for everyone. There had been a big influx of the field workers from earlier, who all greeted your group before settling down on the other end of the seating arrangement. More and more dishes were being put out, most of them now plates of food to share among the table. The mood was festive and there was never a quiet moment, always a conversation going on or some laughter. At one point even her husband Kenji had come out from the kitchen and managed a gruff ‘welcome’, garnering cheers from everyone. Your plate was never empty, aunties placing pieces of karaage, sides of spring cabbage, and more onto it. Your cheeks were tinted pink and your face glowed; you’d had a few beers, enough to make you feel all warm inside.

At last, after having eaten until you felt like your stomach was going to explode, Izumi brought out the final sides to accompany any of the remaining alcohol and then finally took a seat along with the women, who were asking questions about your new lifestyle.

“So why’d ya really come back?” One of the ladies asked curiously, the others leaning in forward to hear your response.

For a moment your grin faltered before you laughed again, taking a handful of salted nuts and then eating them one by one. “Oh, you know, just some burn out. I’ve been working nonstop the past two years. I thought I deserved a break.” You crunched down on some nuts, your jaw tense. The corners of your mouth felt tired from having to drag up all the time; the pleasant buzz from earlier was quickly dissipating the more they asked about this.

Another one of the women, an older one, said slyly, “Are you sure you didn’t return for any other reason?” Her eyes slid overtly towards where the men were sitting, near Kita. He had been nursing his drink, the same one he’d had all night. Kita had never been much of a drinker and he wasn’t going to drive while being drunk; he was too much of a stickler for the rules.

“I’m sure,” you said politely, gritting your teeth. You’d forgotten how nosy these old women could be. They all tittered to themselves, as if they knew something you didn’t, and then began talking of something else, leaving you to yourself. Your eyes caught Osamu’s, who raised his eyebrows questioningly before getting the message. He stretched his arms widely and then faked a yawn, not bothering to cover his mouth.

“Samu, you should head to bed, son,” Kenji said bluntly. “Yer tired.”

The twin nodded and looked to you and Kita. At that moment you didn’t have to fake a yawn, because you actually were exhausted. “We should go,” Kita agreed, “before I get too tired to drive us back.”

The three of you stood, causing a chorus of disappointed aws to ring out. “Ah,” you said, gripping the back of your chair to steady you. “I have something to say before I go.” Everyone at the giant table stared expectantly at you, and you remembered what it was like to have stage fright all over, as if you were just starting out again. Your throat tightened as you swallowed. “Um,” you said quietly, bowing formally and not making eye contact with a single person, “I would just like to thank all of you for taking such good care of my parents’ home. It’s because of you that I can move back in so easily. So thank you.”

After not hearing any sort of response, you peeked upwards. “Aw,” Izumi sniffled, wiping away a stray tear, “it’s because of you that we managed to stay open, ya know that, Y/N? You had no business giving us that much money for the restaurant, so it was the least we could do.” She jerked her head at everyone else. “And it’s not like we did it by ourselves; Kenji and I had help.” Izumi’s black eyes glittered. “Lots of help.”

You scuffed a foot, looking down again. Your cheeks and ears burned. But then you thought of the tatami mats at the house and the freshly dusted furniture, taken care of every week for years, and you shook your head. “Well, I didn’t need all that money.”

Osamu put a gentle hand on your shoulder. “Let’s go, Y/N,” he said quietly, and you nodded, following him and Kita out of the door as the others called out their goodbyes to you.

Everything that had happened that day hit you on the ride home, still sandwiched between the two men. At some point, tears had begun falling, with you trying miserably to cover them up. You weren’t sure if you were crying because you were disappointed by your reunion with Kita, or maybe if it was because tonight’s dinner had been one of the most fulfilling, the most happy you’d been in years. Your lips wobbled and you sniffled too this time, wiping at your nose with your arm. It had felt nice coming home to a table full of faces you recognized and the comfort of Izumi’s food, having people inquire about you solely because they cared.

“You could’ve given me some of that money too, y’know,” Osamu quipped, breaking the awkward silence. “And don’t wipe your snot with your bare arm, that’s disgusting. Health code violation.” Kita only chuckled as you elbowed the twin and argued with him, listening to the banter with a pensive look on his face.

a/n: hhHhH sorry this took longer, i had a really bad stomachache a few days ago which made me shit like 6 times in a day and then throw up 😩 and then after that i got addicted to genshin so

taglist (pm me to ask to be added): @papiibuprofen, @duhsies, @succulentmom, @kenmaslov3r, @introvertatitsfinest, @errorishere

some ~fun facts~

- kita WAS making his rounds on the farm, but was coming from the opposite side of you. meaning that after he ran into you, he retraced his path because he wanted to walk with you

- izumi is in her 60s. her specialty is cooking fried chicken (karaage) but she wants to learn how to pickle stuff

- kenji is izumi’s husband. he mostly works in the kitchen since he prefers to let his wife handle customers, even if 99% of them are locals

- izumi and kenji have been running their restaurant/bar since they were in their mid 20s 🥺 STOP THEYRE SO CUTE WHY AM I GETTING SO SENTIMENTAL OVER OCS

- y/n actually did give osamu money. so did atsumu. the two of them were actually the first investors for onigiri miya, right after the twins graduated high school, but osamu doesn’t know it because you had all of the legal stuff handled through a third party anonymously. you will ensure that osamu never finds out because he is prideful as heck lol

- y/n has some toxic traits (as do most people)

- there’s no love triangle with osamu or anything. strictly kita x reader 😤

#kita shinsuke #kita shinsuke x reader #kita shinsuke x you #kita x reader #miya atsumu #miya osamu #kenma kozume #kuroo tetsuro #suna rintaro #ojiro aran #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#farmer kita #inarizaki #haikyuu smau #smau #socmed

54 notes · View notes

sinceileftyoublog · 4 years ago

Text

30 (Technically 34) Albums We Loved That Happened To Come Out in 2020

So much has already been said and written about this cursed past year, but a few good things came out of it, including the music. Album-wise, like many before it and many to come, it was an embarrassment of riches. But even with so much time on our hands to devour new tunes, it was often old favorites, songs of comfort or familiarity that garnered the heaviest rotation. For many artists, too, it was a year ripe for revisiting or reissues of old material, looking at existing songs with fresh and new perspectives. Simply put, with so much to listen to, new and old, the prospect of ranking a finite number of albums felt not only daunting, but frankly a bit stupid. Maybe we were late to the game, but 2020 taught us that music should and can be appreciated in multiple contexts, not limited to but including when it first came out and when it was heard again and again, even if years later. The records below--listed in alphabetical order--happened to be released in some form in 2020, whether never-before-heard or heard before but in a different format. And the only thing I know is that we’ll be listening to them in 2021 and beyond.

Autechre - SIGN & PLUS (Warp)

The legendary British electronic music duo surprise released SIGN a mere month and a half after its announcement and then PLUS 12 days later. The former was a beatific collection of soundscapes that belied the band’s usual harsh noise, while PLUS embraced that noise right back, drawing you in with the clattering chaotic burbles of opener “DekDre Scap B” and lurching forward. -Jordan Mainzer

Against All Logic - 2017-2019 (Other People)

The perennially chill ambient house artist Nicolas Jaar had a busy 2020, as usual, releasing two albums under his name, Cenizas and Telas. But it was 2017-2019, the follow-up to the debut album from his Against All Logic moniker, that came first and throughout the year helped to illustrate Jaar’s penchant for combining inspired samples with club beats and tape hiss. Take the way the lovelorn vocals of “Fantasy” or soulful coos of “If Loving You Is Wrong” war skittering, scratchy percussion and cool arpeggios, respectively: Jaar is coming into his own as a masterful producer almost a decade after he released his first full-length. Oh, and bonus points for including none other than Lydia Lunch on a banger so blunt it would make Death Grips blush. - JM

Bartees Strange - Live Forever (Memory Music)

Like many, my introduction to Bartees Strange was through Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy, his EP of The National covers. Creativity and shifting perspectives shine through each song’s reimaging, like flipping the coarse, almost manic “Mr. November” into something softer, more meditative. It felt like a mere peek into what was to come on Live Forever. Bartees Strange is a world-builder. Each track on his debut unfolds and welcomes you to a wildly engaging tableau, a fully constructed vision. “Jealousy” opens with soft vocals and birdsong. “In a Cab” is the slick soundtrack to racing through a cityscape in the rain, seeing the blurred lights of the high-rises above as you pass by. “Kelly Rowland” warps wistful pop song feelings. “Flagey God” takes you into a dark, pulsing club while only a few songs later, “Fallen For You” wraps you in echoed vocals and romantic, raw acoustic guitar.

It’s an accomplishment to craft an album of individual songs that stand strongly on their own but still feel cohesive. 2020 wasn’t all bad. It gave us Live Forever, a declaration of an artist’s arrival. - Lauren Lederman

Charli XCX - how i’m feeling now (Atlantic)

Back in the spring, many of us wondered who would put out something great in 2020’s quarantine. It was hard to imagine that the intensity of a global pandemic would really allow for artists to embrace creativity. That thought carries the same eye-roll inducing feeling of “We’ll get some great punk music out of a Trump presidency,” but of course, Charli XCX delivered. Through live workshops with fans and longstanding collaborators, she delivered songs to dance alone to in your bubble. Charli embraces the unknown of the moment but clutches onto what’s familiar. Under the glitch-pop veneer of the album, she digs into the anxieties of not just this moment of time but of the bigger questions we all confront: trajectories of relationships with friends, romantic partners, ourselves. Album standouts “forever” and “i finally understand” embrace that feeling of both looking for control and accepting the lack of it. Charli is a master at balancing this. - LL

Christine and the Queens - La Vita Nuova (Because Music)

Named after a Latin text by Dante Alighieri about missing a woman who has died, Chris’ La Vita Nuova is not about mourning a death but instead about loneliness and isolation, post-relationship or otherwise. It doesn’t bang quite like her previous two albums, but it hits harder than ever.

Read our full review here.

Dogleg - Melee (Triple Crown)

Released on March 13th, right as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Melee was supposed to be supported by three cancelled tours–SXSW, an opening slot for Microwave, and an opening slot for Joyce Manor–and an appearance at this year’s cancelled Pitchfork Music Festival. Listening to the songs on the record, you can only imagine how they translate: the jerky momentum of “Bueno”, build-up of “Prom Hell”, gang vocals of “Fox”, clear-vocal anthem of “Wrist”, and odd groove of “Ender”.

Read “Buckle Up, Motherfucker”, our interview with Dogleg.

Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia & Dua Lipa/The Blessed Madonna: Club Future Nostalgia (Warner)

Where Dua Lipa’s much-anticipated second album Future Nostalgia succeeded was in its disco anthems and retro, club-ready beats, so who better to bring out the best of the record than The Blessed Madonna? The turntablist masterfully curates a mix of heavy hitters of the charts and the underground that not only offers an essential complement to Future Nostalgia but transcends it. Sending the tracks out to various producers and singers for features and then adding her own samples on top, she invites you to peel back the layers, enter a YouTube rabbit hole of sample searching as much as bopping along.

Read our full review here.

Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full (Sacred Bones)

Roadburn Festival has long been on my bucket list, and since the pandemic showed me how much live music can be taken away in a flash, when it’s safe again to travel and go to a festival, I may just pull the trigger and go--especially considering it’s the springboard for such fruitful and inspired collaborations as the one between Louisville singer-songwriter Emma Ruth Rundle and Baton Rouge sludge dwellers Thou. Rundle embraces the heavier opportunities on the follow-up to her incredible 2018 record On Dark Horses with the ever-flexible Thou backing her up vocally and instrumentally. Slow-burning opener “Killing Floor” offers a familiar introduction to fans of both--sort of what a Rundle/Thou song would sound like--before grunge chugger “Monolith” introduces huge, catchy riffs and “Out of Existence” a True Widow-esque dirge, newfound inspirations for both artists bringing the best out of each other. - JM

Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (Epic)

What makes Fetch the Bolt Cutters stand out among Apple’s catalog and music in general is the clarity with which Apple seethes at those who have wronged her, whether ex-boyfriends or patriarchal oppressors, and looks to her relationships with other women for peace of mind.

Read our full review here.

HAIM - Women in Music Pt. III (Columbia)

For HAIM, the title Women in Music Pt. III is suggestive that, more than their previous two records, their third centers around the experiences of being an all-female band in a historically white cis male-dominated scene, at least one that wouldn’t call catchy riffs written by a man “simple” or call attention to the faces a man makes while playing. What it doesn’t let on to is how deeply personal the record is, how, by unabashedly embracing genres and styles of music that they love, HAIM have made far and away their best album. Co-produced by the usual suspects, Danielle Haim, Ariel Rechtshaid, and ex-Vampire Weekender Rostam Batmanglij, it’s instrumentally and aesthetically dynamic and diverse, consistently earnest without devolving into cheese.

Read our full review here.

Irreversible Entanglements - Who Sent You? (International Anthem)

I’ve been captivated by Irreversible Entanglements ever since I first saw them at Pitchfork Music Festival 2018. The radical poetry of Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother) is the perfect front for a ramshackle mix of Luke Stewart’s spidery bass, Tcheser Holmes’ weighty drums, and a horn section that concocts tones that range from hopeful to desperate. At their best, Who Sent You? is a shining example of celebratory Afrofuturism and metaphysics that makes the urgency of Ayewa’s more concrete and political words all the more necessary. “No M��s”, composed by Panamanian-born trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, is a declaration against imperialist oppression, while the stunning title track flips the switch like a Kara Walker painting, as Ayewa’s the one interrogating the police officer terrorizing her community. “Who sent you?” she repeats, never spiraling, grabbing a hold of the power and never letting go. - JM

Jeff Parker - Suite for Max Brown (International Anthem/Nonesuch)

It’s Jeff Parker’s mom’s turn. After 2016′s The New Breed ended up being a tribute to the guitarist’s father, who passed away during the making of it, Parker decided to pay tribute to Maxine while she was still alive. Suite for Max Brown (Brown is his mother’s maiden name; Max is what people call her) is a genre-bending collection of tracks inspired by Parker’s DJing, juxtapositions of sequenced beats with improvisation that certainly sound like the brainchild of one individual. Indeed, Parker plays the majority of the instruments on it and engineered most of it at home or during his 2018 Headlands Center residency in Sausalito, CA; though all of the players and the vocalist (Jeff’s daughter Ruby Parker) on The New Breed show up, plus a couple trumpeters (piccolo player Rob Mazurek and Nate Walcott of Bright Eyes) and cellist Katinka Kleijn, Suite for Max Brown is a distinctly Jeff Parker record.

Read our preview of Jeff Parker & The New Breed’s set at Dorian’s last year.

Jeff Rosenstock - NO DREAM (Polyvinyl)

Jeff Rosenstock throws us right into the spinning, manic energy of NO DREAM, his latest release from a seemingly endless well of music that never lacks urgency. It’s a reminder that though it’s been a strange year, the issues Rosenstock tackles here aren’t new. There’s no interest in making you feel comfortable here. On the album’s title track, Rosenstock sings, lulling you into a false sense of security, “They were separating families carelessly / Under the guise of protecting you and me.” But reality sets in, and the hazy guitars spin out as he spits, “It’s not a dream!” and, “Fuck violence!”

My image of Jeff Rosenstock in the year 2020 is masked up with “Black Lives Matter” scrawled across the fabric of his mask in Sharpie, performing album highlight “Scram!” on Late Night with Seth Meyers as high energy as ever. It felt like watching someone send out a beacon, both a distress signal and a call to arms. - LL

Jessie Ware - What’s Your Pleasure? (PMR/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope)

I am not someone who goes to clubs. I don’t “go out dancing,” preferring to let loose in the privacy of my own home or a trusted friend’s house party. But Jessie Ware’s What’s Your Pleasure? makes me think I could embrace a night out like that, once the world opens up again, of course. The album is filled with syncopated disco beats that feel fresh and classic all at once. The abundant horns and strings on “Step Into My Life” are decadent, like light bouncing off sequins in a dark room. Ware’s voice is slinky and velvety one moment, windswept like her album cover the next. It’s songs like “Save a Kiss” that embrace both, allowing her to show off her range. - LL

Laura Marling - Song for Our Daughter (Partisan)

With sparse production, mostly from her but with additions from Ethan Johns and Dom Monks, Marling foregoes the comparative maximalism of the Blake Mills-produced Semper Femina, her last proper full-length, and 2018′s LUMP collaboration. The songs aren’t simple, but they’re succinct, and every element, from Marling’s finger-picked guitars, the occasional slide guitar, and that unmistakably calm voice, sometimes alone and sometimes layered, fits. It’s her most universal set of songs yet, centering around the times when we’re apart from one another but reflecting on when we were together and when we might be together again, with no guarantees.

Read the rest of our review here.

Les Amazones d’Afrique - Amazones Power (Real World Records)

The groovy pan-African collective expands upon their debut Republique Amazone and then some with Amazones Power, a tour-de-force statement of female empowerment in the face of oppression against women throughout the African diaspora. Indeed, the album is more than just songs boldly decrying FGM, though those demands ring heavily. Instead, the group goes further, delving into gender power structures in marriage on “Queens” and selectively finding strength in tradition on “Dreams”. And this time, they include men to stand alongside with them. “Together we must stand / Together we must end this,” sings Guinean musician/dancer/artist Niariu on opener “Heavy” in solidarity with features Douranne (Boy) Fall and Magueye Diouk (Jon Grace) of Paris band Nyoko Bokbae. But perhaps it’s her kiss-off on “Smile” that hits hardest: “I shut up for no one.” - JM

Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas (Nonesuch)

The British singer-songwriter’s much anticipated follow-up to 2015′s Blood was better than I could have ever imagined. A song cycle about life cycles--of nature, of lives, of a relationship--inspired by an actual breakup, Lianne La Havas is a contemporary neo soul masterpiece. Overview opener “Bittersweet” is an instant earworm, La Havas’ coo-turned-belt filling the space between classic and increasingly emotive slabs of piano and guitar. Funky, lovestruck strut “Read My Mind” is the soundtrack for the unbridled confidence of finding new love. Yes, the doubts begin to sow on the fingerpicked melancholy of “Green Papaya” and “Can’t Fight”, and where the album goes from a simple narrative perspective may be predictable: They break up, they don’t get back together, La Havas enjoys her independence. But the depth of the arrangements and assuredness of La Havas’ singing is a product of an artist starting to really show us what she can do. And how many people can pull off a Radiohead cover like that? - JM

Lomelda - Hannah (Double Double Whammy)

What does it mean to title an album after yourself? Lomelda’s latest album is centered around discovering more about yourself while not always having the answers. Despite the lyrical content, the album is self-assured. Hannah Read’s voice feels as steady as ever as it navigates these twisting questions, like the way the world can shift after a kiss. She finds power in softness and reflection throughout the album, like when she explores the mantra-like words of “Wonder” or through a reminder to do no harm in “Hannah Sun”. In a year that allowed for perhaps more reflection than usual, Hannah makes space for the questions that arise out of figuring yourself out, of making sense of the messiness of it all, wrapped in warm guitar, balanced vocals, and steady drums. - LL

Moses Sumney - Grae (Jagjaguwar)

“Am I vital / If my heart is idle? / Am I doomed?” Moses Sumney famously sang on his stunning 2017 debut Aromanticism, an album that saw him developing his acceptance of being alone. grae, his two-part 2nd full-length, and his first since officially moving from L.A. to the Appalachian Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, doubles down on themes of heartbreak, but instead of being sure in his seclusion, he embraces the unknown. The album teeters between interludes of platitudes about isolation and ruminations on failed human connection, and maximally arranged clutches of uncertainty. “When my mind’s clouded and filled with doubt / That’s when I feel the most alive,” Sumney coos over horns and piano on slinky soul song “Cut Me”; it’s an effective mantra for the album.

Read the rest of our review here.

Norah Jones - Pick Me Up Off The Floor (Blue Note)

At the time we previewed Norah Jones’ 7th studio album, she had only released a few tracks from it. Turns out the rest was just as powerful. From the blues stomp of “Flame Twin” to the rolling piano stylings of “Hurts to Be Alone”, Pick Me Up Off The Floor is an album full of jazzy orchestrations and soul and gospel-indebted arrangements, Jones’ silky, yearning voice tying together the simple, yet lush and deep instrumentation. And that other Tweedy feature, that closes the album? It’s a heartbreaking portrait of loneliness, one of many on a record that still manages to celebrate being alive all the while. - JM

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (Dead Oceans)

Phoebe Bridgers is a master of details. Her lyrics shine when they get specific. They range from the mundane to morbid: A superfan’s ghost-like wandering under a drugstore’s fluorescent lights, a skinhead likely buried under a blooming garden, reckoning with the you in “Moon Song”’s lines, “You are sick, and you’re married / And you might be dying.” Bridgers has always been able to set a scene meticulously, and Punisher arrived with 11 songs that expanded that skill, both lyrically and musically, with her dark humor intact and a fuller sound that includes her boygenuis collaborators’ harmonies. - LL

PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love: The Demos & Dry - The Demos (Island)

Yes, revisiting Dry’s demos as a separate entity is still worthwhile. Harvey’s powerhouse vocal performance carries the acoustic strummed “Oh My Lover”, while the comparatively minimal arrangement of “Victory” highlights bluesy riffing, call-and-response harmonies, and layered guitar and vocals. The singles, the slinky and sharp “Dress” and propulsive anthem “Sheela-Na-Gig”, hold up to their ultimate studio versions, too. But it’s the To Bring You My Love material that provides novelty because it’s never been released and more so because it encompasses the greatest aesthetic contrast from the album. From the warbling hues and guitar lines of the title track to the tremolo haze of “Teclo” to the crisp snares of “Working With The Man”, the demos show a continuity and level of cohesiveness with the diversity of Dry and Rid of Me not shown on the studio version of Harvey’s more accessible commercial breakout. (Predictably, the album’s most well-known song, “Down by the Water”, is the closest to its eventual version.) “Long Snake Moan” is simultaneously more spacious and more noisy, its garage blues a total contrast to the lurking “I Think I’m A Mother” and swaying shanty “Send His Love To Me”. And “The Dancer” fully embraces its flamenco influences, hand claps and all.

Porridge Radio - Every Bad (Secretly Canadian)

Is there a better opening line than “I’m bored to death, let’s argue”? That kind of duality is found across all of Every Bad as it grapples with the frustrations and anxiety of trying to figure it all out, whatever that might mean for you. “Maybe I was born confused, but I’m not,” vocalist Dana Margolin repeats throughout the opening track, roping in listeners with the dizzying feeling of trying to make sense of yourself. The band’s guitar and synth sound coupled with Margolin’s howl makes for a dance party filled with dread, rendering Margolin’s already strong, repetitive lyrics even more spiraling. And yet, by the time we get to “Lilacs”, a glimmer of something else shines through as the music gets more manic and Margolin’s voice begins to soar: “I don’t want to get bitter / I want us to get better / I want us to be kinder / To ourselves and to each other.” - LL

Sault - Untitled (Rise) & Untitled (Black Is) (Forever Living Originals)

Yes, Black Is still pulls plenty of devastating punches. “Eternal Life”, a segue from the gospel boost of “US”, juxtaposes a deliberate drum beat with zooming synths, both ascending like a chorus of angels, as they sing, “I see sadness in your eye / ‘Cause I know you don’t wanna die,” presenting the oppression of Black life at the hands of white supremacy in inarguable terms. Ultimately, though, it’s the anthemic nature of the songs, resistant of platitudes, that shines through. “Nobody cared / This generation cares,” says Laurette Josiah on “This Generation”. Whether she’s talking about young people in general or the latest generation of young Black leaders, the sentiment is reflected on songs like “Black”, wherein over dynamic, sinewy instrumentation, the singers alternate between encouragement, support, and love of the self and others.

Read our full review here.

Shamir - Shamir (self-released)

Shamir’s voice is a bright beacon in a sea of conventional singers. Shamir captures the effervescence of pop music and weaves it together with elements of country, alt rock, and diary confessional lyrics all supported by the emotion and range of his vocals. There’s something for everyone across the album’s 11 shimmering tracks. Lead single and opener “On My Own” feels like a declaration of self and self-sufficiency, an anthem of a breakup song. The almost pop-punk bounce of “Pretty When I’m Sad”, paired perfectly with lines like the angst-ridden, “Let’s fuck around inside each other’s heads,” feels impossible to not bop along to. The twang of “Other Side” would put a country crooner to shame. That’s the power of Shamir. His voice has the ability to smoothly convey joy, resilience, and humor. He uses elements of several genres, not just the dance-pop of his debut, to build a unique album that gives listeners so much to sift through and, of course, dance to. - LL

Songhoy Blues - Optimisme (Fat Possum)

If Songhoy Blues’ second album Resistance lacked “the grit of its predecessor,” it’s clear from the hard rock stomp of the opening track of Malian band’s third album Optimisme that they rediscovered their mojo. More importantly, they couple this maximal brashness with tributes to those who make their world a better place: fighters for freedom, women, the young. It’s perhaps the first Songhoy Blues record to truly combine the celebratory nature of their desert blues with a balanced mixture of idealism and vigor. - JM

Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone (Pure Noise)

How can you find hope in hopelessness, or optimism when every news story points to cruelty? Is it naïve to keep searching for light in the dark? I don’t think so, and I don’t think Spanish Love Songs does, either. I’d like to think we both believe that’s not naivety, but power. It’s the embers you need to really ignite a flame. After all, this is the band with a song titled “Optimism (As a Radical Life Choice)”. It’s a band whose crunching guitars and earnestness insist that despite death and depression and addiction, the instinct to survive shines brightly above all. That relentless hope resurfaces across Brave Faces Everyone’s 10 tracks even as it works through the bleakness of everyday life. - LL

Tashi Dorji - Stateless (Drag City)

The magnum opus from the Asheville-based picker is a group of evocatively titled, disorderly songs about the desolate hellscape of America for outsiders and immigrants. Enigmatic in its nature, not exactly narrative, Stateless combines Dorji’s urgent strumming with moody motifs, captured beautifully in a studio setting for maximum emotional wallop. - JM

Touche Amore - Lament (Epitaph)

Is this what an almost uplifting Touche Amore album sounds like? It’s cathartic in a newer way for the band, especially after the beautifully rendered grief of Stage Four. Lament loses none of the band’s aggression or urgency. “Come Heroine” thrusts listeners into that urgency and introduces a moment of warmth, Jeremy Bolm’s vocals still rasping and insistent: “You brought me in / You took to me / And reversed the atrophy.” The bounciness of “Reminders” may seem close to optimism, but a sharper look at the lyrics uncovers more than blindly looking to the things that bring joy. “I’ll Be Your Host” is reflective, a few years removed from Touche Amore’s previous album and the immediacy of loss, self-aware and growing, but still raw. The album closer, “A Forecast”, takes a turn, a lone voice and piano acting as a confessional before giving way to thrashing guitars and the realization that growth and reckoning with trauma doesn’t mean minimizing it. It means learning to keep moving forward and to stop for help when you may need it. - LL

Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud (Merge)

The best album yet from Katie Crutchfield is inspired by positive personal change (getting sober, dealing with codependency issues, her blossoming love with singer-songwriter Kevin Morby) and reflections on family and friends. Named after the suburb of Orlando where her father’s from, Saint Cloud is a genre-hopping collection of stories and feelings that doesn’t necessarily follow any semblance of narrative. On opener “Oxbow” and country-tinged ditty “Can’t Do Much”, Crutchfield’s increasingly aware of the need to pick your side and your battles, whether in the relationship between two people or between the allure of the bottle and the next-day hangover. Some of the best songs on the album see her finding commonalities with others as a means towards self-love. Gentle strummer “The Eye” refers to her natural creative relationships with Morby and her sister Allison. “War” she wrote for herself and best friend, who is also sober, the title a metaphor for one’s fight to remain substance-free. “Witches” is an ode to her best friends, including Allison and Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan, all equally frustrated by the toxic nature of the music industry and the world at large, ultimately lifting each other up because they simply have each other.

Read our full review here.

66 notes · View notes

blue-alien-boi · 4 years ago

Text

It was silent, he hasn’t heard that in a long time.

Normally he would beg for the noise to stop. Constantly hearing Tommy shout insults and jokes making him pitty his parents, or Tubbo who seemed to be a new talkative person every day, even Wilbur’s insane rants and dramatic songs made him long for ear plugs.

He only now realized how much he missed it. Tommy and him singing along to music disks, Tubbo rambling on about his friends or a bee fact he learned, and Wilbur strumming different notes on his guitar letting out a gleeful shout when he found something he liked.

Hell, he would even take their screams, jokes and taunts, anything to fill the soundless home once full of laughter that now felt so lonely.

His healed boots made a click with every step and the whine of a lever echoed against the walls but it wasn’t nearly as loud as his mind which wouldn’t shut up.

The pride in the clink of swords colliding and the blast of fireworks beginning to provide new memories of victory. The gasps when he stood where Tubbo was, blood on his sword. The screams and shouts of the people who trusted him as the explosions from withers and TNT became deafening. The loudest tho, was the look on their his families.

Looks of anger fueled him, made him feel powerful. looks of fear didn’t phase him, he was used to it. Even looks a betrayal he could ignore, after all it was their fault for trusting him but he couldn’t deal with disappointment.

As he stood where he killed tubbo (again) he saw Wilbur’s face from the remains of his button room. He wore a smile but his eyes showed how he really felt. He was disappointed. Not in himself but in him. Wilbur had needed someone to help him deal with his feelings.

Tommy had tried but he was young and just as emotional. Philza was no where and couldn’t offer his dad advice. He was supposed to help. He was the least emotional but he had experience with losing control. Wilbur needed someone to say it was ok to feel angry, betrayed, and sad. He should have hugged him until he could feel the other fall limp, tired out like a kid. Instead he used his feelings to further his plans.

The look Tubbo gave him wasn’t one of fear or betrayal it was acceptance, a I told you do. This kid was so young and had dealt with so much. There was never a peaceful moment for him, they both knew that.

Even when he stood as the new president his eyes darted around anxious. He had been here before, he knew good things never lasted for him. He should have lt the boy be happy even if it was only going to last for a moment longer. He should have been there letting him enjoy himself or even show him happiness as the world burned. Instead he proved his point, good things don’t last.

Tommy was emotional, his face counld never his what he felt. Complete joy when he played his disks, anger when they fought in the pit, even fear when he talked to a slowly breaking Wilbur. He thought he had witnessed every emotion but that day Tommy showed a new side. Sadness.

Unlike Tubbo he let himself feel happy. He danced, cheered, and even had tears in the corner of his eyes. When he turned and saw techno the tears started to fall. Tommy watched as he stood next to tubbo, weapon in hand. Anyone else would have thought nothing of it, he always carries a weapon and Tubbo was his friend, but Tommy knew better. He had seen this all before.

Time slowed down for Tommy as he shook his head making direct eye contact with him. He saw the remains of joy leave his face, fear setting into his features, anger curling his hands into fists, and sadness. His body trembled but frozen in place as the memories of the festival flashed back. He opened his mouth but only mouthed a single word, please. His eyes had started releasing tears, wanting to look away but he watched. He was no longer a warrior but a sad child who wasn’t ready to face reality. He had to look away but he knew Tommy was still watching and after that day he would never look at him the same way.

Those looks hadn’t left his brain and he doubt they ever would but there was one look or lack of that haunted him. Philza, he didn’t look at him, he looked at a monster.

His eyes were glazed over, despite looking in his direction they looked through him. The land he once heard great stories of now lay rubble under his feet. He held his son with his blood still on his hands as he looked out. He watched as he killed Tubbo and Tommy, his own brother.

Philza looked to him but his gaze didn’t meet his eyes. It looked everywhere but there. He stopped to focause on the blood, eyes trancing over scar he had helped bandage years ago. When he look at him he no longer saw a son but a beast destroying his family.

He shrugged off his boots, hung up his cape, and checked what supplies was left. He nearly smiled seeing that they took his words to heart when he said what’s mine is yours. Their looks replayed in his head and the smile stopped in its tracks.

Exhausted he collapsed on the first soft surface he saw. Not bothering to change out of his clothes that were covered in blood, sweat, and tears.

Tears?

He touched his face. He was crying and he hadn’t known. He wondered when it started and when would it stop. His body wasn’t shaking, his breathing was steady, and his heart felt numb.

He smiled. Maybe because he wanted to feel somthing again, maybe out of a crazed tired, or simply because he remembered the last time he cried. It was when he was a younger, he had gotten in a fight with Tommy or Wilbur over somthing childish.

They didn’t realize how upset he was until he said something that he knew would hurt. He should have remembered what he said but he didn’t or maybe he choose not to. Tommy ran away with Tubbo to their fort and Wilbur wouldn’t leave his room not even playing his guitar. It had been silent.

He had thought things would go back to normal they fought all the time this was no different, but when dinner came around tommy ate at Tubbo’s house and Wilbur ate in his room. He was never good with emotions but he knew he needed to say he was sorry. He got Philza’s help to get all gathered and he stood in front of them silent.

He always had hid him heart under layers of armor and sarcasm but under their gaze he let himself become vulnerable. He said some apology he doesn’t remember but he rememberers the realization he was crying.

He closed his eyes trying to get the tears to stop but instead he felt arms around him and Wilbur’s voice shaking with tears saying he was sorry too. Tommy and Philza joined the hug and he didn’t have to look up to know everyone was crying too. He had never liked hugs but he missed that one.

He open his eyes the warmth from the memory fading, his powerful body was still, eyes took in the blacks stone walls of his base, he felt his clothes coated in dirt, blood, and sweat, and he felt tears slowly collect on his chin.

The crown that was lopsided on his head began sliding off and it fell to the ground with a echoing crash. It rolled in place making a lot of small noises before coming to a dull stop.

Staring at the ceiling he was was still until somthing caught his eye. He laughed and couldn’t stop. He sat up and clutched his stomach shaking with laughter as he looked back up. On the ceiling was writing, even now he couldn’t escape them.

One message was in a silver sharpie saying, I’m dad’s favorite but if he was here he would be proud -Wilby. The second was in a red pen saying, I WUZ HERE. He had taught Tommy that if he wrote that the people couldn’t prove he did it and he used it even since despite using the same red pen which destroys the whole point. The last one was upside down and he had to turn around to see it. It was a drawing of him Tubbo, Tommy, Wilbur, and Philza drawn in a green crayon. It was stick figures but the amount of love in it made up for the lack of artistic skill. Underneath the drawing he say the words, love Tubbo with a B written back words.

Despite all the laughter the tears never stopped and as he calmed down and rolled back around he stared at his crown. Unlike the rest of his clothes it was still clean and shined against the black walls.

He watched as a few of his tears fell on it’s surface. It was made of pure gold but it felt fake. Unaware oh what he was doing he reached for the paper crown his family had made him as a joke. He held the crown close.

He decided he hated the silence wishing he could hear their laughter, rants, even them yelling at him would be better. His brain rotated through the same four looks the same silent sound.

His eyes began to give in as his body and heart begged for rest. His brain normally would pile on thought after worry after regret making it take hours to fall asleep, but this time his mind was as quiet as the rest of the world.

Blood stained his clothes as he lay still. The only proof he was alive were the tears slowly streaming down his face. He had survived with hardly a skratch but something died in him that day. The man powerful and feared was curled in on himself clinging onto a paper crown now covered in tear stains. As he drifted to sleep he heard a familiar guitar softy strum the tune to Melohigh. Warmth surrounded him as he learned into the imaginary hug.

A foolish king who tried to destroy everything and ended up destroying himself, is there a sadder sight?

79 notes · View notes

xxbakacoconutxx · 5 years ago

Video

youtube

So here’s a nice little interview with Tobias where he talks about Copia, changing characters, the three times Papa III fell, a common nightmare, horror movies with his kids and horror movies in general. The volume is pretty low, so I’ve typed everything out below the read more!

Nudge: This is Nudge on the bus here with Tobias Forge. It is an honor to be here, sir. Thank you for creating an entire universe with your music.

Tobias: Thank you for enjoying it. [laughs]

Nudge: I’ve enjoyed it from the very start. Now, I wanna start out in the – Cardinal Copia… Your backstory with him, he won the most employee of the month awards from Papa Nihil. What kind of crazy stuff did he have to do for that?

Tobias: Uhhm…. For my well-being, I’m actually quite happy that I don’t know.

[Someone in the background laughs]

Tobias: I don’t want to think about whatever chores there are within the ministry that adds up to employee of the month. I don’t know exactly.

Nudge: You don’t know? But that’s alright.

[Someone in the background says “but I’m sure it’s hard work”]

Nudge: Speaking of hard, when you transition to another singer with Ghost, is it hard to say goodbye to that particular character? That front man?

Tobias: Uhm… I usually feel a bit ambivalent about that segment of… you know it’s always enthusias- like I’m always enthusiastic about making a new record, and also very very pumped about having a new release as much as any artist, I guess, and from a creative point of view, it’s always refreshing. And it’s exciting, but that bit is definitely putting a limiter on that excitement, unfortunately. But I’ve learned over the years, of doing it a couple times, that it’s just part of the program and uh….yeah. [laughs]

Nudge: Now Cardinal Copia is sticking around for a second album. At one point, he was called an imposter. Do you still feel he’s an imposter, or has he proved himself?

Tobias: I think he’s fine, I mean I think he’s cool. I would love- like also from the previous questions asked- to do it that way. [laughs] Because then that means you don’t have to change that much. But still, it’s like, also like reconfiguring the look of the band is also like a…it’s a hard thing to um… Imagine if your … it’s almost to the point where - if you’ve had a long, big beard and long hair for a long time and all of a sudden you shave everything off, it takes time to sort of like adjust to that because you have, you know, this picture in your head of what you’re doing and… but throughout all these years of doing Ghost it is a sort of a schizophrenic experience just because you are so distant. Me, personally, my own vision of myself does not correlate with what I see on a picture of us playing last night. It’s like this completely different being. So, adding to that is like when you’ve done the first few shows of a tour cycle and with a new costume and with the new look of the band it always feels a little bit like “ok, so this is what we are now?” [laughs] You know, it’s always a little strange.

Nudge: With new costumes, it’s been rumored that Cardinal Copia is still working hard at becoming a Papa. Are you excited for that movement? And getting promoted?

Tobias: Um, potentially yeah. Yeah, yeah I’m very curious to see where we’re going as well.

Nudge: what does he have to do to get promoted?

Tobias: [in a funny voice] oh, meters and meters of – [regular voice] no! [laughs] Uh, I dunno. Hard work and… that’s what it is. Hard work, and don’t fuck up.

[Someone laughs in the background]

Nudge: Has he fucked up in your opinion? On these last legs of the tour?

Tobias: No, I mean, I mean even compared to his brother in the past… uhm, no his brother- that was the previous guy… uh [laughs nervously] compared to the previous dudes, Cardi has not - so far - fallen off stage, which is a good thing.

[Someone is the background says “Oh I remember that video. Did that hurt?”]

Tobias: I-I wouldn’t know!

Nudge: He didn’t complain?

Tobias: He felt - like, Papa III fell three times. Three times was… like- hard. Like I remember there was one time at a festival in LA and that wasn’t very- it wasn’t involved with pain, but it was one of those where the air almost like [makes a coughing/wheezing noise]. And uh, the one on the Iron Maiden show where he fell into a hole on stage- or technically it was in between the two sort of thrusts – that could have ended very badly. Because it was a jack in the leg and would have been a jack in the back of the head hadn’t it been for the extra padding. So that could’ve ended very, very badly. And what else was it…?

Nudge: It was impressive that he went on and didn’t miss a beat after he got back up.

Tobias: Right, well we were lucky because we were doing it in between Mummy Dust and Monstrance Clock so there was the speech thing in between and had it been like just a dry start into the next song it would have been probably not doable. I had sit down and I was sitting on the edge of the stage just like “my god”, just feeling - like touching my leg and it was all numb and I could feel that it was all messed up underneath and it was bloody, and… and um, you know when you injure yourself sometimes you feel so nauseous? [Person in background says “yeah”] You’re about to- you know I was almost hurling like [makes pained noise] and you feel all shook up.

And the third time was in Leeds, of all places. We have these ego risers, which is basically just a box on stage - on the edge of the stage - with a little bit of grating on and then underneath you have like pyro and things that sort of- lights and stuff. But you can jump up on it, and we do that all the time, and this was a night like any other so we do that little bounce and you land with two feet on that box. But one foot was outside the box, so I just went like, almost head first down into the pit. And I sort of landed on all fours, sort of like a cat like [makes a “kch” sound] but I sort of hit my head on the mojo fence. Because you know, the barrier has like one um, sort like leg that it’s resting... um what do you call it… angular to sort of support the crowd. So, landing on all fours like that, but then hit my head right on the, on that little leg there.

Nudge: Speaking of horror stories, is there any mask horror stories? I find it impressive that performers wear a mask and go through all that. Is there one where it almost fell off or you lost it?

Tobias: oh, I thought you said whores- [laughs] no, no. Um, horror stories… well, I mean the most terrifying things that I usually dream about, which is a nightmare – which I know several others in the band also have, and I think it comes sort of with the fact that, I think most entertainers that are due to stand on stage at a certain time and prepare to do something dream this, it’s like – every now and then I dream that we’re sort of circling up before the show and we’re like “alright, go!” and everybody runs up to their positions and then you notice that you’re standing there in your civil clothing like “…no!” [laughs] uhm, but other than that, like…. Yeah, sneezing in it is not very cool.

[Someone in the background laughs]

Tobias: I’ve done that a couple times.

Nudge: [laughs] It’s trapped in it

Tobias: Yeah, yeah.

Nudge: Let’s go to the family side of you. You don’t get a lot of time at home, so I’d like to know: when you’re home what kind of family fun activities do you enjoy?

Tobias: One thing that I enjoy now which I’ve been waiting for, for years- I’ve always been, I mean, I come from a very liberal home, we’ve always been very… you know, my mom was very…allowing? And I had an older brother so I saw a lot of things that I maybe shouldn’t have seen. And many, many, many nights… mom sleeping on the couch and I’m seeing late night films with her sort of just sleeping next to me. And that could’ve been anything, like Scarface, Alien, you name it. Like all those things, when I was like 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Um, Shining. So my relationship to a lot of these films are very, very- I connect it with my childhood, like I connect it with so many nostalgic things… And I guess I was a little quick sometimes with my kids, like “Yeah, Temple of Doom, sure” like, and it-

[Someone in the background says “yeah, see a heart get ripped out!”]

Tobias: Yeah, and basically that scene was just like… caused like, a negative effect and like… “What’s…? This is like a matinee Lucas/Spielberg film…?”

[Someone in the background says “Rated PG!”]

Tobias: Yeah, yeah, like, totally fine! But now they’re 10 and my son has been - started to show real interest in horror films. He’s like really into Chucky and Child’s Play and you know, he wants to see Friday the 13th and like, “I’m game!”

[Someone in the background says “Oh yeah!”]

Nudge: you have to take him to see the new Child’s Play movie that’s coming out.

Tobias: Yeah that’s the one that we haven’t seen.

[Someone in the background “It’s coming out in a few months I think. There’s a new trailer for it.”]

Tobias: Yeah, I hope it’s as humoristic as the other ones. But most films that’re being remade, they have a tendency to completely not be charming anymore and they’re just like filled with jump-scares and it’s just horrible from first to last second. And that’s not really cool. I mean, all the horror films that I love are sort of very well balanced where there are segments of just transportation. So they’re just, you know there’s just better pacing in the old film.

Nudge: Alright, final question: what is your favorite horror film? Or a couple?

Tobias: My favorite ones… if I’m just going for like, for pure quality, it’s definitely the big cinematic releases like Jaws, Silence of the Lambs, Shining, Omen, The Exorcist, like the real films done by directors who don’t normally do horror films because that tends to get better that way. But on the other hand, I’m a big fan - from an entertainment point of view - of the more specialized like, genre directors. But those films have a lot of other qualities. It’s not techn- they’re not necessarily like, the best films.

[Someone in the background says “Mmhmm, like B movies”]

Tobias: Right! Yeah, yeah, yeah. That I really enjoy. Um, but yeah I mean I like a lot of the Italian like- old- like Fulci, like stuff like that. And not throwing him under the bus in any way, I think a lot of his films are fantastic, but they do not compare to Kubrick. It’s like a completely different level. So I sort of differentiate between like, here you have the “A grade”, big cinematic, fuckin box office success films, and then you have all of the cult films. They’re sort of two different things. And a lot of the things I grew up watching as well, that I have like a very fond memory of seeing, that I used to obsess about when I was a kid as well, like Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre is obviously – obviously that’s, even though it’s not a huge budget film, that is obviously very good. I think Terror - we say Terror in Sweden because it’s called Terror on Elm Street - but Nightmare on Elm Street, the whole Freddie series – especially the first four… three…. four films - I’d say is really cool. Every time I’m in LA I always swing by that, the house that’s on Genesee Street just because it’s like “there it is!”

[Someone in the background chuckles]

Nudge: Well I appreciate the time, man. Thank you so much for what you do. I appreciate it, and have a good show tonight.

#Tobias Forge #Cardinal Copia #Ghost #The Band Ghost

204 notes · View notes

fyexo · 5 years ago

Text

191220 K-Pop Stars EXO Reflect on How Far They've Come — and How Far They'll Go

As Chen tells Teen Vogue, this year has been “a time for EXO to reflect” on their past, present, and future.

Chances are, even if you didn’t know it at the time, you’ve seen the members of the legendary K-Pop group EXO before. Their musical prowess speaks for itself, but even beyond that, their careers have taken over TV, fashion, celebrity culture, and more in the past year.

Maybe you've seen rapper and multi-instrumentalist Chanyeol, 27, shaking hands with Zendaya at Paris Fashion Week. Or perhaps it was breathtaking dancer and rapper Kai, 25, cracking 7th place on British GQ’s Best-Dressed Men of 2020 list. Or singer and composer Lay, 28, becoming Calvin Klein’s first-ever Chinese global ambassador. You might’ve watched rapper and youngest member Sehun, 25, on Netflix’s detective program Busted, or glimpsed leader and vocalist Suho, 28, waving from the red carpet as an honorary ambassador of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao. These are just a few of the places and memories that stamp the proverbial passport of EXO’s lives this year.

It’s been an equally powerful year musically for EXO too. With two members — Xiumin, 29, and D.O., 26, — currently completing their mandatory military enlistment and Lay promoting in China, the remaining six members of EXO have explored their own individual musical identities in 2019. Power vocalist Chen, 27, released two solo albums that chronicled love and heartbreak through mature, heart-warming ballads, while Baekhyun’s groovy solo album, City Lights, broke the highest monthly sales record for a solo artist in South Korean chart history with over 500,000 copies sold. Sehun and Chanyeol teamed up this summer for the debut of EXO-SC, EXO’s hip-hop sub-unit, while Baekhyun and Kai joined forces to “jump and pop” in SM supergroup SuperM.

As Chen tells Teen Vogue, this year has been “a time for EXO to reflect” on their past, present, and future as they reunite to promote their sixth album Obsession.

It’s December 4th, 2019, and the six members are dressed in thick, woollen, neutral-toned sweaters and trenchcoats to protect themselves from the arctic winds billowing throughout Seoul. There’s a warm camaraderie to their interactions as they laugh amongst themselves and take sips of their iced coffees. The atmosphere feels comfortable and familial, born from an understanding of each other’s mindsets and quirks that has been learned organically over the group’s career.

“It’s been seven years since we debuted and we’ll be hitting eight years next year; that’s a long period of time,” Chen says. His humble, calm demeanor is a balm for the rest of the group who cling to his introspective thoughts. “We reflected on our past journey and tried to make improvements in this new album. It’s been a grateful and fun time.”

This desire to continuously push boundaries both musically and creatively has been at the crux of EXO’s identity since their debut in 2012. Originally split into two groups, EXO-K and EXO-M, EXO performed their shared discography in both Korean and Mandarin in an effort to appeal to two major music markets simultaneously. The groups came together in 2013 to release their debut album, XOXO, and the album’s repackage released later in the year saw EXO’s popularity hit a fever pitch with the funky, dance-pop single “Growl.” Since then, each of EXO’s last five albums have sold over a million copies in South Korea alone, earning them the title “quintuple million sellers.”

The group is not only a staple in South Korea but across the globe too. From performing in front of the world at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics to becoming the first K-Pop group to have their faces projected on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, EXO has stamped their name in the annals of pop history with their devotion toward their music, fans (called EXO-L), and each other. As they’ve matured over the years, that dedication hasn’t wavered.

“In our early years we just played together, whereas now we’ve grown up and matured,” Baekhyun replies. The singer’s personality is brighter than his shining white hair, and he thrives on the reactions to the jokes he makes throughout our chat. “We share a lot about where we’re headed in life, what we want to do for the upcoming album, and discuss how we can come together closer as a team to improve our teamwork.”

That tight-knit teamwork manifested itself in multiple ways throughout this year. From congratulating each other on Instagram like Lay did for Baekhyun’s solo debut to Xiumin and Sehun emceeing Chen’s solo album press conferences, the members have made it a point to support one another with every milestone they achieve, both individually and as a group. It also took center stage as the group embarked on their fifth world tour, Exo Planet #5 – The EXplOration, this July.

Part of the decision to go on tour, according to Suho, is because it makes the fans “happy,” which in turn makes EXO happy; this treasured time spent with fans also one of the reasons why the group worked tirelessly to release their new record in between their jam-packed personal schedules.

“Since the year EXO debuted, we’ve released an album every year. We’ve never skipped a single year,” Suho answers. With attention-grabbing ruby red hair, the leader holds himself with a quiet confidence and classic charm. “Even though it wasn’t a formal promise we made, it’s been a tradition to release an album each year, even if that means we have to make the promotion period short. Everyone’s been having hectic schedules, but it’s very meaningful for us to spend the end of the year with the fans.”

Heavily rooted in the group’s constant state of reinvention, the concept for Obsession sees EXO face off against their evil, superpowered doppelgängers X-EXO. Superpowers have been a common thread that has tied EXO’s music video multiverse together since their debut single “MAMA”, with each member utilizing their own signature power ranging from Chanyeol’s pyrokinesis to Kai’s teleportation abilities. When X-EXO arrives ready to destroy the planet in the group’s music video, the result is an explosive, superhero-style brawl between good and evil that leaves viewers enthralled.

In the lead up to shooting the music video, EXO emphasized the importance for both of their characters to have their own distinct, contrasting identity. While EXO dressed in weathered, straight laced black cargo pants and berets as if ready to march into war, X-EXO celebrated their eccentricities with jewel toned hair colors, white eyelashes, and uniquely cut clothing that bridged the gap between menacing and seductive.

“Our main focus was to draw a big contrast. All of us thoroughly discussed with our makeup and hair artists to bring that contrast, almost to the point of exaggeration,” Chanyeol says. He’s as jovial as his bubblegum pink hair and is openly expressive with his emotions, which light up his face whenever he speaks. “We tried to make X-EXO look very dark. EXO, on the other hand, was the good, righteous EXO like what fans have seen in the past. They came easy and naturally.”

“Like Chanyeol said, we discussed thoroughly with the makeup, hair, and costume team so that you could see the contrast right away,” Kai continues. Conscientious and thoughtful, Kai surveys the older members before answering so he doesn’t interrupt them. “Our attitudes also play a key role because they add to the strong visuals. Since it was a video, we all tried to make our performances convincing. X-EXO showed something that EXO had never done before — something mischievous.”

Amongst the members, X-EXO wins in a landslide over the team they liked the most.

“X-EXO had a stronger visual impact,” Baekhyun explains. “Personally, I wish that we made the plain EXO look cooler. That would have been right, because EXO was supposed to be the revolutionary army against X-EXO! I feel like they were visually weaker; I wish we had expressed more passion as EXO.”

With every album, EXO releases a bold title track that shatters the current K-pop paradigm, like the sinister “Obsession” or the reggae, EDM hybrid track “Ko Ko Bop." The remainder of the tracks on the albums typically allow EXO to explore new genres and make them their own, which range from hip-hop dance tracks like “Ya Ya Ya”, which samples ‘90s vocal trio SWV’s “You’re The One”, to heart-fluttering ballads like “Butterfly Effect."

Kai’s favorite track on the album is “Jekyll," which he loved from the first listen. “It starts off like a sweet R&B song, but the chorus suddenly changes into this shouting, which I think is in line with the duality expressed in the album,” he says. “I immediately thought that we could show a very different type of performance for this song — I can’t wait to perform this on stage and show the fans.”

“I like “Obsession” the most,” Sehun answers. Although under the weather, he makes a point to attend the interview to support his older members. “It was good enough to make the title track, so it’s my favorite.”

Chen picks the dreamy “Groove” because: “I love all the other tracks, but this song made me wonder if I could pull it off when I first heard it because it was such a different genre. It was challenging while recording it, but I love the result. It’s one of the songs that I feel most attached to.”

Chanyeol also fell in love with “Jekyll”, but is also partial to the similarly haunting reggae track “Trouble”. “The song came out to be great; I think we pulled it off pretty well,” he says happily.

“‘Day After Day’ for me,” says Baekhyun. While the other members have been discussing their favorites, he’s been silently exchanging silver rings with Suho. He nicks Chanyeol’s wire-rimmed glasses and puts them up his face backwards, reveling in the laughter he receives. “The song reminds me of a certain type of weather. I like songs that remind me of something — a song with a theme or story. ‘Day After Day’ does that for me.”

“I was going to say the same,” Suho says, shocked. A mischievous grin spreads on Baekhyun’s face. “Stop it,” he teases.

The room is whipped into uncontrollable laughter as Suho jokingly grasps the collar of Baekhyun’s sweater, as if he’s about to wrestle the other singer mid-interview. Suho’s faux fury only makes Baekhyun’s smile grow wider and he lets out a loud ahh, ahh! before Suho lets go.

“It reminds me of rain!” Suho complains, but a smile is working its way across his face too. “That’s because the lyrics have the word ‘rain’ in them,” Baekhyun dryly quips. “Choose something other than ‘Day After Day’,” Kai urges in between laughs. “Day after tomorrow? Two days after tomorrow?” The laughter doubles.

In the end, Suho chooses “Baby You Are." “The song uses band sounds and I really like the sound of the guitar,” he answers, before replying in English: “The intro is the best!” He flashes an assured smile and gives a thumbs up to further prove his point.

“The intro is your part!” Chen lovingly chides. “It’s because you sang that part!”

The most emotional track on the album is “Butterfly Effect," which is a direct callback to the group’s 2013 song “Don’t Go” (which literally translates to “Butterfly Girl”). The song, according to Chanyeol, was selected as a way to thank fans for their unwavering support over the last seven years.

“After viewing the different universes portrayed in EXO’s albums, you’ll be able to see a connection between Obsession and our previous records,” Chanyeol says. “In songs like ‘Don't Go’ and ‘Butterfly Effect’, there are butterflies that resist the Red Force [the canonical evil force mentioned throughout EXO’s music videos] and protect EXO. To us, these butterflies represent our fans, who are always beside us no matter what. They are why and how we exist.”

He continues: “Because of our fans — through their love and support — we are able to overcome any difficulties [we face as a group]. This is probably one of the biggest messages that we wanted to share on this album.”

Prior to their debut seven years ago, the members’ goals for the future were heavily built upon their dream to debut together. Chanyeol recalls that, before they were ever officially called EXO, each member was bonded together by a “common goal to create good music as one” as well as their frequent discussions while training to “work together for a very long time."

“At the time of our debut, we had achieved nothing and everything was up in the air. We talked about working together for a long time, hitting number one on the chart, winning awards, and more,” Kai replies, tone contemplative as he leans closer. “Personally speaking, when we eventually achieved all those goals, I realized, yes, winning awards and being successful is important, but more importantly being able to perform happily as an artist is what mattered the most. There were times when I obsessed over our sales record, stages, and something tangible, but now my goal and dream is to be a happy artist, being satisfied with what I do.”

At the end of Kai’s answer, EXO breaks out into a hearty round of applause. Kai bashfully shines on the encouragement with a soft grin. “He’s like a supervisor,” Baekhyun teases. Chanyeol concurs, “He’s like a CEO!”

Looking ahead, EXO’s goals for the upcoming year aren’t the grandiose, tangible achievements of their youth, but rather to keep the promise they made to each other all those years ago: to make music together for a really long time. “I’m wishing all the members’ health and happiness [in the future],” Chen says.

“Being able to perform for a long time as one, being able to meet the fans for a long time…” Kai reflects. “That’s the most important.”

source: emlyn travis @ Teen Vogue

#exo #suho #baekhyun #chen #chanyeol #kai #sehun #t: info

261 notes · View notes

juminsmysticmc · 5 years ago

Note

How would the RFA+ minor trio react to a Romanian s/o?

RFA + Minor Trio with a Romanian Mc

So, I hope I have everything right, I love to write these kind of things because you can learn a lot of things from other cultures, although I‘m often unsure since the internet often also gives wrong information...so please forgive me and if anything isn’t correct, tell me please

Jumin

When the guard let you in, he couldn’t believe that such a beautiful woman actually existed.

You were tall, but not as tall as the black haired CEO-in-line himself.

You were slim, but still had a beautiful body and were fair skinned.

Your eyes were as blue as the summer sky and Jumin thought that looking at you would be like looking at the sky.

Your long blonde hair was just as shiny as if it was made of gold.

,,Beautiful…“ he mumbled, which made you chuckle, which was also very beautiful to hear.

It wasn’t a fake chuckle like every woman did who wanted to be one of his favourites.

The two of you got to know each other better and he quickly found out that you weren’t Korean, but Romanian.

,,I wanted to get to know something new. Just when I was about to go back to my homeland, Unknown contacted me and I actually fell in love with you…“ you told him.

And finally, it was far more serious than either of you imagined.

You guys got married and Jumin got to know your family.

You weren’t just sociable, your whole family was!

,,Taking me to your home here in Moldova was an amazing idea… the nature, the green landscape… I think we should buy a house to spend our vacation here in the future!“ Jumin told you and was quite amazed by the surroundings.

You guys found out that pancakes with melon marmalade was actually your favorite dish from then on.

Zen

Hand in hand, you and your beautiful boyfriend walked down the street.

Suddenly, you noticed that Zen kept looking at you.

,,What is it?’’ you said to him in Korean.

From your accent he could hear that you weren’t Korean, but hell, your voice and the Korean sounds sounded way more correct than other’s words.

Zen held your hand tighter as he suddenly felt his heart throb.

He never thought he could fall in love so deeply with a person.

He never thought that this beautiful feeling could hurt him just as much.

The young man wanted to know more about you.

With the free hand he had, he stroked your pale cheek and lightly touched your skin.

As if he was in trance, he put back your long dark blonde hair.

He then looked up to you, into your green eyes.

They were just as green as the shiniest emeralds.

,,Where... where are you from? You’re such a beauty. Are you sure that you’re not an angel?’’he asked you, unsure as he kept looking at you.

You chuckled ,,Yeah, I’m pretty sure, my prince. I’m the work of two human beings who lived their whole life in Bukovina, won’t you go and see it for yourself someday?’’ you asked him.

You perfectly could kiss him on his lips since you were almost just as tall as he was.

Zen couldn’t believe it but a few days later you proudly showed him two tickets for your homeland in romania and a few days later the both of you found yourself in a stranger’s bed.

He chuckled as he tucked you below the warm and cozy sheets.

,,Are you sure that they won’t kill us?’’ he asked you.

Your cold hands searched his warm skin and rested on his hot spots.

,,Yeah. Here, everyone is welcome. We Romanians take in everyone and even if they kill us, we can die together!’’ you laughed and made him smile again.

Zen believed in you.

And indeed, two days later, after sleeping at random people’s houses, you two arrived at your parents’ house.

Yoosung

A bright light appeared behind you as the young blond man looked at you.

Your dark hair rested on your shoulders as you approached him, just to make him realize how much taller he was when you stood in front of him.

Nonetheless, he felt as if he had to reach out for you.

It was as if you’re so far away from him and as if it would take him years until he could touch your skin.

,,MC!’’ the young man suddenly jumped up straight in his bed with wide eyes that had to adjust to the dark room.

Suddenly, someone turned on the light.

You rubbed your beautiful eyes and looked at him with your brown innocent eyes.

Your dark cheeks seemed kind of red tonight.

You put back your brown hair and looked at him.

,,Ce este?’’ you asked him in Romanian as you kept rubbing your eyes.

,,Don’t, it’s bad,’’ he mumbled half asleep as he took your hands in his own, away from your beautiful eyes.

For a moment, you stared at his face before you glared at him.

,,Seriously? Yoosung, you called my name! I was dreaming!’’ you whined and made him chuckle quite a bit.

But then you pushed him back into his pillow with all the strength you had.

Your body was on his and the sheets were on the floor.

Yoosung had to blink three times before he could fall into your beautiful brown eyes.

,,Know what I was dreaming about?’’ you asked him, your voice quite hot.

He chuckled and stayed silent so that you would keep talking.

,,I had a wet dream and…’’ you began to move your hips.

,,When you called my name…’’ you went on, kissing slowly on his neck.

,,I thought you did the same…’’ you laughed.

,,What did you dream this time?’’ you whispered as you looked at his face.

He suddenly embraced you and nuzzled his head into you as he mumbled that he felt as if you would go further away.

,,No way. The only place I would go to is Muntenia, but of course I would take you along,’’ you tried to joke.

,,I’m here… forever,’’ you promised him.

Jaehee

The young, long haired, woman entered her shop just to see you quarrelling with Yoosung once again.

Jaehee had to chuckle for some reason.

It was impossible to change your nature after all.

,,Yoosung,’’ Jaehee called, seeing that Yoosung’s eyes were teary.

,,What did you do to my Oltenia girlfriend?’’ Jaehee asked with a smile on her face.

,,I wonder too!’’ the boy whined as he watched Jaehee so he wouldn’t have to look into your big green eyes.

Jaehee laughed as she kissed you.

,,Are you all so quarrelsome?’’ she asked you and laughed.

You turned your head and suddenly blushed a deep red.

,,No… I mean, yeah...?’’ you confessed and kept making some Savarine.

Jaehee loved to see you make desserts from your homeland.

They were much sweeter than the Asian desserts and it was something that she loved.

But you couldn’t just do desserts pretty well, but also normal dishes like Ciorbă de burtă, which somehow became one of her favourite soups.

You and Jaehee actually already visited Oltenia for the fifth time.

And Jaehee had to be honest.

She was so thankful and happy that she finally found you and that you freed her from Jumin’s prison.

You made her see something more from the world and feel totally different feelings.

,,What are you looking at me, huh?’’ you asked her, blushing again.

,,Actually,’’ Jaehee laughed ,,I’m unsure if you're an Oltenia woman or if you’re just a Yandere!’’ Jaehee teased you.

Saeyoung

,,Ahh! I‘m gonna kill her! Vacă stupidă!“ you hissed, making your boyfriend and his twin brother look at you.

,,Saeran, hide yourself! She‘s going to become a vampire!“ he whispered, making you glare at him.

,,JUST BECAUSE TRANSYLVANIA IS MY HOME, DOESN‘T MEAN THAT I‘M A VAMPIRE!“ you loudly yelled at him.

Your pale cheeks slowly turned red because of the anger.

Saeyoung kept laughing and got up, stroking your blonde hair.

He looked at your beautiful blue eyes until he finally asked you why you were so angry.

Usually you were the most opportunistic in the house who could change a single detail and turn it into something valuable for you and your family.

But even though you were like that, you were pretty short tempered.

,,Someone who’s supposed to be my friend stabbed me in the back,’’ you explained and closed your phone.

,,You know,’’ you went on ,,I live with the M-o-facut mama Oltean song: Cin’ se ia cu mine bine, íí dau haina de pe mine, cin’ se ia cu mine, rau, sa-l fereasca Dumnezeu, ca sunt sarpe de Dudau, de-l galben ce musca rau,’’ you told him.

Saeyoung nodded, understanding every word while Saeran looked at the both of you in disbelief before he got up, shaking his head while walking out.

,,So, can I be good and bad to you? I want you to get me your clothes, but I also want the yellow bush snake in you to bite me ferociously,’’ Saeyoung laughed.

Saeran

With your bright smile and good mood you took Saeran by his hand and led him through the Festival Ouălelor Încondeiate, which takes place every year in Romania.

Both of you were currently enjoying some vacation since staying in Korea was too much for both of you to handle right now.

,,Ciocanesti is the village of the Painted Eggs Museum,’’ you began.

Looking at all the beautiful colors made your blue eyes shine even brighter.

,,It’s amazing because national and international artists can display their talent,’’ you told him, looking at the market with your red haired boyfriend.

But you weren’t the only one who was amazed by the whole colorful pictures.

By the good mood around you and the music which made the atmosphere even better, he too couldn't stop grinning as he looked at all the people competing against each other and still having a lot of fun.

Suddenly, you pulled him to you and began to move your head to the rhythm of the song which the priester sang.

,,This is our music!’’ you said happily.

Saeran suddenly realized that you guys were pretty religious.

And quickly he realized that this atmosphere was totally different from where he lived all his life and that now that he knew you, he wanted to see something new about you.

Jihyun

You and your boyfriend walked up the street, you with your colorful bandana which covered your head.

Your dark hair was put together since the weather was kind of warm and sticky.

But still, Jihyun couldn’t stop taking pictures of you.

He took pictures of your smiling face, your shining eyes as you looked at the landscape around you, and the wonderful expressions you made whenever you saw something new.

You and Jihyun were currently in Timișoara since you wanted to show him the Piața Unirii and the surrounding area.

,,You know,’’ you began as your eyes stayed on the building.

,,The idea of doing this church was from 1732. Can you imagine how long this has been here already?’’ you asked him, amazed by the building.

Finally, Jihyun looked at the building instead of you and suddenly he could feel the amazing feeling he had towards the Romanians.

Both of you walked a lot that day as you looked at the ,,Casa cu lei’’ which was the house of the leons and even entered the church.

The beauty of the inside made you gasp.

Jihyun looked at you.

This was the moment after three years where he realized that he was going to marry you, who would get amazed by such simple things.

Vanderwood

,,It’s too hot to go sightseeing…’’ Vanderwood complained as you pulled him into the Peles Castle.

It was a wonderful summer castle which was constructed in 1874.

But as soon as he entered the beauty of your homeland, he had to gasp at its beauty.

This wasn’t your first time in the castle, but you still knew how he must have felt.

So much beauty and the past in one single building.

,,Vanderwood, our hotel is just 10 minutes away from the castle!’’ you laughed when he grumbled about how long it would take.

Vanderwood wanted to visit your homeland once and as soon as he told you his wish, you booked a room in your aunt's hotel and made sure that your boyfriend got to know your family and your environment.

,,I have to say that I really enjoy the time here…’’ he whispered as you sat next to him around a rivulet in the woods.

It was just the way Vanderwood liked it: Neat and calm.

Just the both of you and your love.

,,Tomorrow we can go to Sinaia. It’s the city which is just 800 Meters away from here,’’ you told him, looking up at him.

He nodded and suddenly kissed you while he stroked your pale face.

,,Mc...’’ he mumbled as he put your blonde hair behind your ear.

,,Mhhh...?’’ you asked him, nervous about what he would say.

,,I want to come here again with you someday so… let’s take things easy with the sightseeing,’’ he chuckled, making you roll your eyes, but also kiss him back.

I went on booking.com and googled the place, the Hotel I found looked so good (even though I’m not the kind of person who likes the nature) that suddenly I wanna go there...lol

MASTERLIST 1

MASTERLIST 2

MASTERLIST 3

19.03.2020// 00:17 MEST

80 notes · View notes

dailyexo · 5 years ago

Text

[INTERVIEW] EXO - 191220 Teen Vogue: K-Pop Stars EXO Reflect on How Far They've Come — and How Far They'll Go

"As Chen tells Teen Vogue, this year has been “a time for EXO to reflect” on their past, present, and future.

As Chen tells Teen Vogue, this year has been “a time for EXO to reflect” on their past, present, and future as they reunite to promote their sixth album Obsession.

Amongst the members, X-EXO wins in a landslide over the team they liked the most.

“I was going to say the same,” Suho says, shocked. A mischievous grin spreads on Baekhyun’s face. “Stop it,” he teases.

“The intro is your part!” Chen lovingly chides. “It’s because you sang that part!”

“Being able to perform for a long time as one, being able to meet the fans for a long time…” Kai reflects. “That’s the most important.”"

Photo links: 1, 2, 3

Credit: Teen Vogue.

#EXO #EXO K #EXO M #191220 #exo im #exo k im #exo m im #p:news #t:news #fs:teen vogue #comeback:Obsession

175 notes · View notes

heartbreakgrill · 5 years ago

Text

Festival Makeup; George Smith

a/n: I’m guaranteed no one will read this, but it gave my seratonin :)

description: in which you’re an experienced makeup artist and your boyfriend...is not.

You were lying in bed, the pad of your thumb scrolling up and down the screen of your phone periodically. Pictures that you and George were tagged in on Instagram passing by in double-tapped red hearts and occasional comment stalking. Your lips pouted slightly, saddened by the fact that George was out all day, shooting interviews in downtown London.

You were stuck in the boys’ apartment, having been staying with them for the past week as the plumbing in your own was being fixed. Of course, you could have just popped into George’s a few times that week to shower, but where was the fun in that? Plus, you were busy this week, planning a trip to New York City for fashion week, making travel plans for the upcoming Love Again tour.

You were graduated from cosmetology school for a year now, and with a YouTube channel and freelance jobs as a makeup artist and stylist, you were able to travel consistently with the boys for tour. You had been acquaintances for 3 years, ever since you had been an assistant stylist in one of their first music videos. Now, you and George were in a 9-month relationship.

And if only he was here right now to cuddle. Sure, you could go for a walk, or grab dinner with a friend. But, it was 7 pm on a Wednesday night, and all you wanted to do was watch a movie with your boyfriend and sleep in his arms.

As you liked another photo, this time one from some meme account, your phone did that weird thing where it freezes before a phone call makes it buzz in your palm. You looked back at your own facial features, noticing you didn’t look half bad even though you were lounging around. It was Joe, the boys’ manager, looking to FaceTime you.

You sat up, tugging the hood of George’s hood off of your head. “Hello?” You answered, noticing Joe’s face popping up.

He smiled back at you, speaking clearly, but softly, “Hey, Y/N. Sorry to call so unexpectedly, but you have got to see this.”

“What? Is everything okay?” Your brows furrowed as the camera flipped around, showing Joe’s position alongside a few crew members and a camera facing Blake, George, and Reece.

They were sitting behind a table with a laptop between them and numerous mirrors and what looked to be makeup products scattered. Squinting your eyes, you noticed that there was makeup on all of the boys’ faces. Blake and Reece were laughing loudly, pointing at spots on George’s face.

George was grinning, shrugging at their laughter. “I think it looks pretty good.”

Everyone in the room laughed, Joe’s sounding louder since he was directly next to the phone. “I think Y/N would beg to differ!”

George perked up, turning his attention to Joe. Said-manager walked forward, flipping the camera around before handing his phone to George.

“Oh!” You exclaimed when his face came into focus. “Oh, Lord, Jesus! George, what did you do to your face? Sweetheart, your eye is enflamed, you’re allergic to the eyeshadow!”

Reece and Blake- most likely everyone in the room- doubled over at your spiel. George made a weird sexy face at you. “What? You don’t like it? I think I might be coming for your YouTube channel after this.”

“God, no,” you giggled. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m fine with my own work.”

“Oh, c’mon!” George protested as you shouted a ‘no’ back at him. “Oo, wait, why don’t you do a video where you let me do your makeup?”

“Okay, sure,” you gave in, rolling your eyes. “Hun?”

“Yeah?” His blue eyes pierced down the phone screen, shining with happiness.

“You look awful, but I still love you. See ya later,” you giggled and waited for him to reiterate the interns. Then, you hung up the phone.

George texted you twenty minutes later to tell you that they were wrapping up and heading home. You sent him back “usual, thanks xx” for his question to what you wanted from Nando’s. In order to be polite to the others, you quickly showered, barely using any of their hot water, and dressed back into your pj’s.

Just as you lay back into George’s bed, the front door opened. You happily bounced out of the room and turned into the kitchen. Reece was talking softly about something, Blake humming in agreement.

“Hey, Y/N,” Reece gave you a loose hug, slipping past to go into the kitchen with one of the Nando’s bags.

“How you doin’?” Blake did the same and you nodded.

“Good, thanks.”

The front door shut softly and George locked it before turning to you. You smiled gently at him, noticing how exhausted he looked. He still managed to flash his teeth at you, reaching out with dead arms.

You slipped yours around his waist, hugging tightly to him as he hummed into your shoulder, “Doing makeup is exhausting. I don’t know how you do it.”

You pulled back with a teasing glint in your eye, “You sure you’re up for that video idea?”

#new hope club x reader #new hope club #george smith #george smith x reader #new hope club imagine #new hope club x y/n #george smith imagine #george smith x y/n #george smith new hope club

29 notes · View notes

animeniacss · 4 years ago

Text

A Palette of Emotions - Artist!Taehyung x Teacher!Reader - Chapter 11 - Eyes Always On Me

Synopsis: Taehyung dreams of being a professional and famous artist one day, but finds that the sea of creativity can be lurking with blood hungry sharks, as well as bland, motionless starfish. Swimming through the sea of opportunities somehow washed him up onto the shore of Bright Star Preschool, as an art teacher. This wasn’t where he expected to be 4 years into his career, but anything to get his big break though, right?

Feat. BTS, TXT, ITZY, Jisoo (BlackPink), Taeyong (NCT)

Genre: Romance, Slow Burn, Love Triangle, Drama, School Setting, Working!AU

Length: approx. 5.8k words

Chapter 11 - Eyes Always On Me

When Taehyung woke up that Sunday morning, his body was sore. His arms ached, his feet and calves throbbed from all of the walking and standing he had to do when he spoke to anybody who stopped to look at his stall. A deep, hoarse groan escaped his lips, and his eyes fluttered open, but immediately shut when the bright light hit his eyes. “No, go away.” Taehyung groaned, immediately turning on his stomach and nestling his head under one of the pillows. However, the light was determined to get Taehyung out of bed. “Please, it’s not a school daaaaay….” He continued to groan as if the sunlight was hearing him. When the sunlight showed no signs of giving up, he huffed, closing his eyes as much as he could, to the point where the stress started to give him a headache. Finally, he gave up, sitting up in his bed and looking around the room. His curtains were drawn, and when he looked at the alarm clock, 7:30 a.m. flashed on the screen. Taehyung’s lips pouted a little bit, before immediately falling back onto the bed, his arms and legs stretching out to the point where the hands and feet fell off of the bed.

After a moment longer of Taehyung contemplating standing up, Taehyung finally got up when the sound of his ever-growling stomach told him he didn’t have a choice anymore. He rolled out of bed, standing on his stone legs as they dragged him into the kitchen. When he got in there, he looked around. Paintings that he didn’t sell the previous day were resting against the back of the couch both him and Jimin too lazy to put them away. Speaking of Jimin, Taehyung noticed a tiny arm draped over the couch, and a foot poking off of the side. When he walked over, he peered over to see Jimin, eyes shut, and a peaceful expression on his face. He remembered Jimin collapsing after their final trip up the stairs with all of Taehyungs leftover paintings, Taehyung could remember seeing how tired Jimin was after all that work, they both were. As Taehyung looked down at his friend, he couldn’t help but smile fondly down at him. He walked around to the front of the couch, sitting in front of the couch as he watched his friend continue to sleep unbothered. Taehyung snickered to himself, immediately reaching out to take Jimin’s hand, and yanking the man down onto the floor. He could see Jimin’s eyes shoot open when he felt his body shift, and he let out a yelp as he fell onto the floor. Taehyung looked down at him, a grin on his face.

Jimin sat up, rubbing the arm that was just tugged. “What was that for?!” He asked, pouting angrily.

“My body has officially fallen onto work time. If I don’t get to sleep in, neither do you.” Taehyung explained simply. When he saw his explanation did not make Jimin feel better, he patted his friend’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s eat since we’re up now.”

“…I’ll go back to sleep!” Jimin gasped, only to be ignored as Taehyung stood up, walking back towards the little kitchen. Jimin groaned, standing up and following behind him. Tae, you’re so mean. After all, I do for you, too…” Taehyung looked over his shoulder as he walked towards the fridge, opening it.

“Yeah, I know,” Taehyung said, peering into the shining light from his fridge. “Want some eggs and pancakes?”

“Yyeeeeaah, I guess,” Jimin mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He pushed Taehyung aside gently, taking his place in front of the fridge. “I’ll do it so we don’t burn the house down.”

“Hey, I’m learning how to cook, Jimin,” Taehyung said, crossing his arms.

Jimin snickered a bit. “Do you give the keys to someone who is only learning how to drive?” Taehyung blinked.

“...Yes! That’s how they learn.” Jimin couldn’t help but continue to laugh.

“Just go wash your face and shower or something. I got it.” Taehyung sighed, walking back into his bedroom. When he walked towards his end table, he noticed his phone light up. When he walked over, he saw a group chat message blocking his background. Lifting it, he saw Hoseok-Hyung, squished between two sun emojis. Underneath his name was Bright Star Preschool Gang, a group chat who he could only guess was involving the rest of his coworkers.

Taeeehyunggiieeee~ :o That was so much fun today! You’re so talented! Thank you for the invitation! (Sent 9:35 p.m.)

Taehyung? O.O (Sent 9:45 p.m.)

Taehyung chuckled a bit, as he saw Hoseok send a few emojis to the chat, said he didn’t receive a response. Then, Yoongi responded.

He’s probably asleep! Stop blowing up the chat, Hoseok! Go to bed! (Sent 9:47 p.m.)

Hoseok sent his reply. Yoongi-Hyung, you’re mean >.< (Sent 9:48 p.m.)

Seokjin’s text is what broke everything up. Goodnight, everyone! See you all Monday! Dream of Worldwide Handsome for pleasant thoughts. ~ Zzzzzzz ~ (Sent 9:55 p.m.)

The rest of the chat after that consisted of two roasts of Seokjin’s text, before the chat went silent, most likely because people began to sleep. Taehyung was already on his third dream by 9:30 last night, no wonder he missed all the replies. However, he figured he should reply.

Thanks, guys. I hope you had fun. (Sent 7:45 a.m.)

As Taehyung set his phone back down, he shuffled into his bathroom, hoping a nice, warm shower would stimulate his senses and get him up and ready for the day. Or, you know, relax his muscles and put him back to sleep. He hoped for the latter but was doubtful. As the water ran, and Taehyung tossed his dirty clothes into his hamper, he hopped in and let the warm water take over his body. It helped his tense and sore muscles, that was for sure. The sizzling heat of the water made the shoulders he didn’t even know were tense fall limp, and his forehead rested against the wall of the shower.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood in the shower, but he knew it was long enough for Jimin to finish breakfast. The sound of his friend walking into the bedroom and calling his name made his stand straight in the shower, running a hand through his damp hair. “I’ll be right out,” Taehyung shouted from behind the violent pitter-patter of the showerhead. Quickly, Taehyung washed himself up, shook his hair out, and turned off the shower. As the fluffy towel wrapped around his waist, he lifted his phone and turned it over. All he saw was one response to the group chat. From you.

It was fun. Let us know next time you’re at another show (Sent 8:15 a.m.)

Taehyung felt a smile form across his face, simply responding to the text with a smile. After exiting the bathroom, now dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a grey tee-shirt, he saw Jimin still standing by the door frame into the hallway.

“You okay?” Jimin asked curiously.

“Just fine,” Taehyung said, a smile still present on his face as his hand falling into his hair and giving it another shake to get any hidden droplets of water out. Jimin nodded, before leading Taehyung into the kitchen, where the smell of a delicious breakfast waited on the table for both of them.

The rest of Taehyung’s Sunday was about as exciting as anyone expected. After breakfast, Jimin and Taehyung lounged on the couch, watching TV and just relaxing after a long day of standing in the heat. Taehyung found himself curled up, paper and pencil in his hand as he doodled away, the sound of the previous night’s music show performance playing the background, as Jimin had set it on the record before the duo passed out. Jimin had gotten a glimpse, as it was the same picture that he was still trying to fully trace out on the ride home from the festival. It was just about done, and with every scratch of the pencil, the picture came more and more to life. When it was completed, Taehyung slid it onto his desk, safe until he was ready to add color to his beautiful creation. With his hands empty, he was itching for something to fill them. He wanted to keep drawing, to keep creating, he didn’t care what it was. He grabbed a few stacks of paper and set them on his lap, and Jimin looked over.

“You’re inspired lately, aren’t you?” He asked curiously. Taehyung nodded, smiling at his friend. “That picture came out nice. Do you plan to give it to her?” Now, the beaming smile on Taehyung’s face faded, and a hint of red was found on his cheeks. “What? Is that a no?”

“I wasn’t thinking about it. What if she thinks it’s weird that I drew her?”

“But it looks so good that I’m sure she would like it. It’s an honor to be drawn by a famous artist.”

“Tch, what?”

“Sorry. Future famous artist.” Jimin corrected, nodding his head. Taehyung rolled his eyes. Jimin watched as Taehyung put his pencil back on the paper, and immediately began to sketch. The silence made Jimin knew Taehyung had no interest in continuing that conversation, so he shrugged, turning back to the performance on the TV. “Okay, fine. Do what you want. But I think she would like it.” He said simply.

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

Even though Taehyung had no reason or intention of ever giving you that picture, so he was unsure why he decided to fold it and place it in his pocket Monday morning as he headed out the door of his apartment. However, he did, and now he was standing by the front entrance of the school building with you and Hoseok, waiting for the children to arrive.

You glanced up at the sky, which was darkening with every new storm cloud that rolled its way into Seoul. The sun was still trying it’s best to shine through, and you squinted your eyes only slightly. “It looks like it’s going to rain.”

“Yeah. The weather said it’s supposed to start at noon and go all day. Thunderstorms here and there, too.” Hoseok added. You sighed.

“I hope the thunder waits until the kids go home.” You begged, crossing your arms. You glanced at Taehyung and saw him looking back at you. “Last time there was a thunderstorm, all of the kids clung to me and Hoseok in tears except for Yeonjun. They were hysterical crying. I had to put on a movie at full volume, and that barely helped at all.” Taehyung chuckled.

“Aww, poor things.” He said. “If it thunders, I’ll come in and help out.” He assured. You nodded your head, a small smile forming on your lips as you turned to see the first car pull up. The door opened, and Ryujin was pulled out of the car by her mother, before quickly turning around to grab her polka dot umbrella and rubber rain hat. You smiled, waving the little girl over as she hugged her mom, before hurrying over to you.

“Mommy said it’s supposed to thundastorm today. So, I’m ready!” She lifted her umbrella above her head with two hands, as if she were lifting weights, and you smiled.

“Okay, good. Well, it’s not raining now, so how about I take this-.” You took the umbrella and set it against the wall. “-And you can go play until more friends get here.” Ryujin nodded, hurrying to the playground just as you saw more cars approaching. When the bright, red car pulled up, Taehyung watched you walk over to the front entrance. Immediately, he stuck his hand into his pocket as he followed.

Hoseok blinked, watching as Taehyung followed behind you. Hoseok could be a bit naïve, and a bit crazy, but he wasn’t stupid. Hoseok followed behind, but only until he reached the jungle gym that Ryujin was playing on, watching as you and Taehyung continued a few more feet ahead. Taehyung was following you like a puppy, whether he was lost or protective was undecided, however, he was a puppy nonetheless. When Hoseok saw Namjoon step out of the red car, he simultaneously saw Taehyung scoot himself securely beside you. Hoseok, for only a moment, felt the urge to storm over and pull Taehyung far away from you, to the other end of the school if he had to.

One thought kept flowing through his mind. If anyone should be so worried about protecting her, it shouldn’t be the guy who she only just started to be nice too. He stood beside the monkey bars as a war raged on in his mind. If he did anything, it wouldn’t make him look good, He wouldn’t win, and he knew that.

But god, he hated the view in front of him right now.

“Mr. Hobi, look!” He heard Ryujin shout. Almost immediately, he turned towards the little girl, who was hanging upside down from the monkey bars, a wide grin on her face. “Hehehe, hiiii!” She laughed. Hoseok gasped, hurrying to her side immediately and grabbing her. From the corner of his eye, he saw both you and Taehyung turn towards the scene from the entrance.

“Ryujin, don’t do that! You could fall and hit your head!” Ryujin didn’t seem phased, lifting herself by her arms back onto the monkey bars. Hoseok sighed, resting against the frame as he watched her swing gleefully. It was only a matter of time before a few more kids joined her, shouting their hellos to Hoseok as they ran onto the playground. He smiled at them, saying his hellos. When he saw Kai run over, he glanced back over to the trio at the front door. He couldn’t see Taehyung’s face, but he could sense Taehyung was annoyed. Great minds think alike, it seemed.

“We should get inside,” Taehyung said quickly, making you look up at him. “It looks like it could rain at any minute.”

“It’s not supposed to until noon. Hoseok said so.” You said simply. “Why are you in such a rush?”

“Yeah, there’s no rush,” Namjoon said, smiling. Taehyung glared at the taller gentleman.

“…Don’t you like, have a job you should be getting to or something?” He asked curiously. You immediately nudged Taehyung in the side, making his groan. “Ow.”

“You are so rude. If you’re so worried about the rain, go inside. I can’t go inside anyway; I need to wait until the day starts so all the parents have a chance to get here on time.” Taehyung sighed.

“Right. Sorry.” He said simply. You watched Taehyung walk towards the playground, where a few of the kids who noticed him called out his name. You looked at Namjoon, who chuckled.

“Sorry about him.” You said Namjoon shrugged.

“He doesn’t bother me.” Namjoon admitted, “He can do what he wants.” Namjoon saw you smile, and he felt his chest tighten a bit. “So, Uhm…can I be annoying and ask about dinner again?” He asked. Both of you giggled a bit. Taehyung immediately looked over at the mention of the word ‘dinner’ hitting his eardrums. “I just want to know what works best for you.”

“Well…” you hummed, pressing your fingers together in thought. “Give me until the end of the day to look at my planner, okay?” You asked. “Will you be picking up Kai?” Namjoon nodded. “Then I’ll hopefully have an answer for you by then.” You offered him a kind smile, and Namjoon nodded.

“I can live with that. I’ll uh…I’ll see you later then.” He said simply. You nodded, waving him off as he walked back to his car. Taehyung felt relief lift from his chest as he heard the car door shut, but was a bit shocked to hear Hoseok let out a sigh of relief as well. He glanced over at his Hyung, who was watching Yuna go down the slide with Yeji, the duo laughing hysterically as they hit the bottom.

Namjoon, meanwhile, started up his car and looked towards you from the window. You greeted a few more parents and kids, and he rolled down his window, the noise grabbing your attention.

“Have a good day today.” He said. You offered him a gentle smile, waving your hand.

“You too. Work hard.” Namjoon nodded.

“Well, now I have to since you asked me too.” He said. You nodded, giggling a bit before watching his car drive away. As the last group of parents left, you sighed and turned to the children.

“Alright! Everyone, let’s get in a line and start our day! Come on!” You shouted, alerting the attention of all the children on the playground. A few kids were upset, wanting to continue their games outside, but they all got off the playground and formed a line behind Hoseok, backpacks in hand. Taehyung looked at you as you walked over.

“I’ll see you later then.” He said simply. You nodded at him.

“See you later.” You said. Taehyung waved you off, as well as the kids, before disappearing into the school building. It wasn’t long before you followed behind him, a string of tiny children filing in as well.

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

For Kim Taehyung, the day came and went in a blur. The rain had begun pelting the walls of Bright Star Preschool, leaving all the inhabitants stuck inside most likely for the rest of the day. Taehyung didn’t mind though, that normally meant he had a bit of a long time with the kids, so he could do more elaborate crafts with them. He was so busy preparing the craft for the day in his room. He was also thinking about Kim Namjoon, but that part he didn’t speak out loud. As he laid out twenty pieces of construction paper, twenty safety scissors, twenty glue sticks, and a pile of different manipulatives in the center of the tables, he thought back to that morning. The way Kim Namjoon smiled in your direction, the way his dimples poked out when he laughed at any stupid thing that came out of your mouth. The way he hovered over you, practically drooling over your every move. It made Taehyung sick, and he couldn’t stomach to watch it anymore.

“I just hope she doesn’t agree to go on a date with that clown,” Taehyung mumbled to himself.

“What clown?” He heard a voice chime behind him. As a pile of manipulatives fell out of his hands and onto the floor, Taehyung turned and saw Kim Seokjin, standing behind him with a playful grin on his face. “Who is going on a date and didn’t tell me?”

“Hy- Uhm, hello President Kim.” Taehyung laughed nervously. Seokjin smiled a bit. “Sorry, it’s nothing important.”

“It seemed to be more important than answering me the fifteen times I called your name.” Though Seokjin was only teasing, Taehyung immediately felt guilty.

“Sorry. I guess I was lost in thought there.” He mumbled. Seokjin smiled, patting his friend on the shoulder.

“You okay? I heard from the two little teacher birdies that you seemed a bit agitated when school started.”

Did she mention me? Was she concerned…or annoyed? Probably the latter. Taehyung thought to himself. He only nodded, before bending down to pick up the stuff he had dropped on the floor moment prior.

“Yeah. I’m just fine.” He repeated. “Just making sure I have everything ready for the kids when they come in later.” Seokjin nodded. “I uh…I need to find something,” Taehyung said, immediately turning his back to his boss.

“Well if you need me, I’ll be in my office,” Seokjin said. Taehyung nodded, and Seokjin watched as he walked back to his desk. When Taehyung knelt to open and examine the inside of one of his drawers, Seokjin could see his brows furrow in annoyance, his lips curled into a slight pout as he frantically searched for whatever it was that he needed.

That drawer was empty.

Seokjin chuckled, simply walking out the door, closing it behind him, and allowing Taehyung to have his privacy back. He walked back to his office, hands in his pockets. When he passed your classroom, he heard a faint rumbling. Through the window, he saw tiny figures jumping up and down. he peeked his head in for a moment. As soon as he opened the door, loud music entered his ears. The kids were bouncing in their spots, cheering and giggling. When he looked up, you and Hoseok were in the front of the room, belting at the top of their lungs as a song about the alphabet played behind them. Seokjin watched for a moment, resting against the door frame. The music was so loud, on top of the loud voices of both you and Hoseok, that Seokjin could barely hear the rain pelting against the brick walls outside here. Rumbles of thunder seemed no louder than the sound of toys hitting the floor on a regular day in this classroom. As the song ended, you and Hoseok stopped, and Seokjin could see that you were both out of breath from exerting tons of energy.

“Oh, hello President Kim.” You hummed, fixing your hair. The kids looked over from their dancing spots and grinned as Seokjin offered them an enthusiastic wave.

“Did you see us dance?” Kai asked curiously. Seokjin noticed how close he had put himself to you on the carpet, and how quickly he reached up to take your hand upon the song’s completion.

“I did. You’ll have to show me later, okay?” Seokjin begged. The kids nodded before Hoseok eagerly encouraged them back into their seats. The thunder continued to rumble across the sky, and now that the song was over, a few kids were made aware of it.

“Teacher, it’s thunderin’.” Yuna gasped, covering her ears. You smiled a bit, turning back to the computer.

“Well, we have a bit more time before our break is over. How about we put on some…Pororo?” You gasped. The kids, who acted as if they had just won the lottery, began gasping and screaming in absolute glee. Seokjin chuckled, and saw the kid closest to him, Soobin, turn to face him.

“Will you watch with us?” He asked curiously. Seokjin knelt to Soobin’s level and smiled.

“I have to go do boring grown-up work now. Maybe next time, okay?” Soobin looked a bit disappointed, however, still nodded his head in slight understanding. When Seokjin glanced up, he saw you preparing to play the video. However, until it was on, the thunder continued to cause some of the children some panic. “Do you think you’ll need a hand in here, Teacher?” Seokjin asked. “I can ask Mr. Kim to come in and join you guys.” Hoseok and you both glanced up at your boss. Similar to Taehyung, he noticed your brows furrow for a moment. “Is that alright?”

You heard a few kids get excited at the thought of Taehyung joining them to watch Pororo, especially because President Kim was unable to. You were still wary of him after his behavior with Namjoon this morning but knew there was no use in being petty. Not anymore. “If he has the time, I guess.” You replied simply. Seokjin nodded, before heading out of the room. He immediately hurried down to the art room once again and opened the door. Now, Taehyung was sitting at his desk, hunched over and scribbling. “Taehyung.” He called. The male immediately looked up.

“Yes?” He asked curiously.

“Are you done setting up for your craft?” he asked curiously. Taehyung nodded. “Good. Would you mind sitting in with the kids for a little while? They’re watching a show for the rest of their break, and the thunder is starting to bother them a bit. I figure the more hands in the room, the better.”

“Uh…yeah, sure,” Taehyung said, standing up. He stuffed something in his pocket, and Seokjin smiled a bit. “I don’t mind.”

“Awesome, thanks.” Seokjin grinned. “I have to get back to the office and do some work, so I’ll be in there if anyone needs me.” Taehyung nodded, before following Seokjin out. They walked together in silence for a moment, before Taehyung diverged into your classroom.

When he stepped inside, the kids had already gathered on the carpet. A few, more specifically Yuna and Lia, were resting against Hoseok, still, a bit shook by the thunder they had heard. They have fixated on it despite the show started, and Hoseok was quietly trying to divert their attention away from it. Kai was sitting close to you, as you pulled your laptop closer to the rug, typing away as Kai sat beside you to watch the show. When Taehyung walked in, he saw your eyes dart up in his direction. “Hey.” He said.

“Hey.” A few kids turned around and gasped.

“Mr. Kim!” Yeonjun cheered, a grin forming on his face. Taehyung smiled, walking over and plopping himself in one of the tiny chairs. Yeonjun giggled at Taehyung, who seemed out of place in the child’s chair. “You look silly.”

“Yeonjun, we’re listening to the show.” You hummed quietly, and Yeonjun immediately went silent. It made Taehyung chuckle a bit. Once the children’s attention was diverted to the show, he slipped his hand back into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper from before. Opening it up, he glanced up at you. It was a picture he had been doodling every free chance he had gotten since this morning. A picture of you, glaring in his direction with intensity after his little stunt with Namjoon. He wasn’t sure if he had been difficult on purpose, hoping to get a reaction from you, but Taehyung liked to tell himself that he did and that the harsh nudge from you was worth it. He kept his pencil quiet as he flicked and swiped it along with the paper, making sure to carefully include every feature that he could. Every so often, he would look up, and see that you were either typing away on your computer, or scanning the kids to check that they were behaving during the show. You were heavily fixated on the screen before you. Every angle he saw you at made him more and more eager to continue.

He had planned to continue it now, while he had the chance. However, he heard the faint sound of thunder rumbling in the distance. When he glanced up, he saw a few of the kids cling to Hoseok, who only chuckled a bit in amusement. He couldn’t help but smile as well. However, Taehyung’s thoughts were interrupted when he felt a tug on his pant leg. Glancing down, he saw Yeonjun, eyes still fixated on the dancing penguin playing on the screen. However, each time Taehyung heard another rumble, Yeonjun’s grip on his pant leg even tighter. Taehyung watched him for a moment, not saying anything. However, he simply slid his folded paper into his pocket and slid off the chair beside Yeonjun. The little boy glanced up, and Taehyung patted his head.

“You okay?” he asked softly. Yeonjun nodded, his grip still tight on Taehyung’s pants. He smiled. “Okay,” Taehyung said, turning his eyes towards the TV screen.

This time, while Taehyung was fixated on the screen before him, he didn’t catch you being the one to stare in his direction.

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

Before the school knew it, the day had come to an end. The rain was still raging outside, there was absolutely no way that you could take the children outside for pick up. When this normally happened, Seokjin offered to wait out by the door, allowing parents into the building to pick up their children. Until then, you remained in the classroom, finishing up your day before simply allowing the children to engage in some free play. The children scattered around the room, some girls gathered together to play with a dollhouse, while some boys race cars on one of the tables. A few kids doodled in coloring books with Hoseok and Taehyung, while you sat at your desk to finish up some work, and monitor the children’s playlist that was playing in the background. The room was filled with chattered and business, so it wasn’t boring in the least. It was moments like this that was your absolute favorite because it felt intimate yet still private. Students could do their own thing while interacting with one another in a small space. It was nice.

Taehyung watched from time to time as parents strolled in to pick up their children, shaking their boots and umbrella off before helping their child slide into their little raincoats and hats. Yeji looked especially cute in her little polka dot rainhat and matching rain boots.

“Bye Teacher!” Yeji shouted, waving towards you. You smiled, waving her off as she left the room with her hand tightly clutching her mothers. You turned towards Kai, who was sitting by the carpet with Yeonjun and Taehyun, all three pushing around a set of cars on a little track. Taehyung looked up from the paper on his lap as he watched you lean forward, pointing at one of the cars, and Kai eagerly handing it to you. He smiled a bit, glancing back down at his picture from this morning, which was almost done. He was excited to finish it. He could already see it on a canvas, splattered in lovely colors. His mind was racing as he scribbled away, hard at work.

“What are you drawing, Mr. Kim?” He heard Beomgyu ask curiously. He glanced over at the little boy, who was scribbling away at a blank piece of paper.

“Nothing.” He said simply, smiling. “What about you?” Beomgyu grinned, looking down at his picture.

“A rocket.” The child beamed in glee. Taehyung chuckled a bit as Beomgyu continued to explain the intricate childlike methods of his rocket. As he listened, he heard the door open. When he glanced up, he saw a familiar figure step into the room. He scowled a little bit, especially when he heard Kai shout.

“Hi, Daddy!” Taehyung watched the little boy run to his father, who scooped him up immediately and hugged him tightly.

“Hi there, Kai. Did you have a good day?”

“Mhm. We watched Pororo and learned about the alphabet. We sung a funny song.”

“Ooooh, a funny song, and I missed it? Will you sing it to me at home?” Kai nodded eagerly, his eyes beaming at the thought. “Okay, well I need to talk to your teacher first. Go get your coat.” He set his son down, who hurried over to the little cubby beside the door, where his belongings rested. Taehyung watched as Namjoon made his way over to you, and you stood up. When you caught Taehyung staring, you immediately gave him a glare that read ‘mind your own business’. Taehyung huffed, looking back down at his picture as he continued to scribble away, pouting.

“Have you made a decision?” Namjoon asked. You sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. Namjoon rested his hand against your desk as he waited for an answer. However, he applied too much weight, causing his hand to slip slightly and send a small stack of children’s papers on the floor nearby. “Woah.” Namjoon immediately knelt. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay.” You said, kneeling beside him as you both quickly picked them up. Yeonjun lifted a paper that fluttered beside him, handing it to you. “Thank you, honey.” You smiled. When you looked at Namjoon, who only offered a shy smile in response.

“Sorry.” Before you could respond to his second apology, a deep chuckle was heard from the nearby table. Glancing over, you saw Taehyung cover his mouth with his hand, but you could see the amused grin behind it. You frowned, glancing at Namjoon.

“Let me clean this up and I’ll meet you outside.” You said simply. Namjoon nodded. When he got up, he turned to check the status of his son. Kai had gotten distracted by Yuna and Chaeryeong at the dollhouse and was crouching beside them to watch. “Give Kai a few more minutes to play.”

“Right.” He said. He turned on his heel as you finished cleaning up the pictures. Taehyung kept his eyes on his paper as he heard Namjoon walk behind him. He decided to ignore him until he felt Namjoon glance down over his shoulder. He looked over, a confused look on his face. Then he heard him mumble: “Cute picture. You are an artist. It looks just like her.” Taehyung immediately pressed the picture against his chest, glaring up at the taller man as he exited the room. When he glanced at you, you were just a few paces behind him. Taehyung sighed, trying not to let his anger get to him as he simply folded the picture once against and put it in his pocket.

Taehyung watched the door close behind you and Namjoon. He couldn’t see you, much less hear you, and that made it worse. He could only imagine what corny and pathetic things Namjoon was saying to you. We’re in a preschool, damn it, have some decency. Taehyung thought to himself as he watched intensely. The conversation on the other side of the door seemed to last forever before Namjoon finally opened the door. He stuck his head in and called his son’s name. Immediately, Kai got up, following his dad out, and they left without anything except a goodbye to you. Once he saw them gone, Taehyung hopped from his seat, alerting Hoseok from the other side of the room. Taehyung walked out the door, catching you before you could go back inside.

“So, what happened?” Taehyung asked. You raised an eyebrow, watching as Taehyung peered around the corner. “You have a date?”

“Why do you care? You’re not my boyfriend or my father, Taehyung.” You said simply. He could sense how annoyed you were, but he didn’t care. Finally, you scoffed. “Why? We’re you going to ask me out Friday night?”

“Maybe,” Taehyung said simply. When he realized what he said, he immediately dropped his eyes to you. Your eyes were wide, almost as much as he was. Shit. Think fast, Kim Taehyung before you die. Almost immediately, a boxy smile formed on his face. “Kidding.” He said. You rolled your eyes, nudging him.

“You better mind your own business, Kim Taehyung.” You demanded, before pushing past him and storming inside. Taehyung groaned, hearing the door to the class close behind him. He looked down at his picture, which he pulled out only slightly from his pocket.

That glare of yours never really changed now, did it?

Return to Masterlist

Next / Previous

6 notes · View notes

sweetsmellosuccess · 4 years ago

Text

Sundance 2021: Day 4

Films: 4 Best Film of the Day(s): Mass

Mass: Predictably, Fran Kranz’ film opens with a shot of a church, but the title turns out to be a reverberating double entendre — both the religious service towards forgiveness; and a term commonly used in conjunction with a multiple-homicide shooting event. The church, Episcopal it turns out, is the agreed-to meeting place for two sets of grieving parents: Gail (Martha Plimpton) and Jay (Jason Isaacs), whose teen son Evan was killed some years before in a high-school massacre; and Linda (Ann Down) and Richard (Reed Birney), whose son, Haden, was the shooter, before killing himself in the school library. They have agreed to meet, long after the lawsuits and legal wrangling have been settled, to possibly provide answers and solace to one another. As can be expected, the atmosphere is fraught with tension — a setting Kranz, an actor making his directorial and writing debut, expertly mines before the couples arrive, with a kind but overenthusiastic church administrator (Breeda Wool), fretting about the details of the food arrangement — and the couples, wary, at first, of letting things get hostile, work diligently to avoid disagreement by staying mild (an arrangement of flowers Linda brings is speculated upon a great deal). Eventually, however, the four wounded parents get down to more brass tacks, Gail and Jay eschewing their therapist’s call for them to avoid “interrogation” questions, to get at the root of what they are after. In truth, as Kranz has the characters cannily come to understand, there are no details that shed new light, no explanations that help rectify what they’ve lost, only a grim understanding that, as parents, they are all subject to the laws of chaos and chance. Unsurprisingly, Kranz has an actorly sense of conflict and explication, but, despite the limited setting (this could easily have been an adapted play), he gives his actors plenty of room with which to work, and the quartet are more than up to the task. They are each terrific, and given opportunity to shine, but it’s Plimpton’s monologue near the end about her son that becomes the film's singular tour-de-force moment, a scene with so many hooks and edges, it sticks to you like velcro. Kranz is careful not to overstep his dramatic boundaries, difficult given the potentially melodramatic elements of the story, and allows his actors enough time to breathe so it avoids feeling polemic or preachy (an early scene with Gail and Jay in the car before they arrive is a scintillating bit of set-up, where words are spoken, but our attention, like that of the characters, is entirely elsewhere). No easy answers, thankfully, just brutal realizations that can’t be avoided.

A Glitch in the Matrix: By this time, documentary filmmaker Rodney Ascher has carved out a sort of niche for himself: As with Room 237, and The Nightmare, he has gathered up fringe thinkers displaying a sort of group psychosis in order to explore other ways of seeing, and interpreting, our world. His docs don’t come down on either side of a given conundrum — are any of the far-out, would-be explanations of The Shining in 237 the least bit sensible? Is it possible in The Nightmare for people experiencing the horror of sleep paralysis to share in the same horrific vision? — but he carefully doesn’t contradict any of his subjects either. His new film, an exploration of what’s known as “simulation theory,” concerns a pattern of thought described back in 1977 by the heavily adapted science fiction author Philip K. Dick during an appearance in France, suggesting, Matrix-style, that all that we think we see and know is actually an intricate virtual reality, brought to us by an unseen technological force. True to his form, Ascher interviews numerous applicants to the theory — many of whom portrayed by VR avatars in their own homes — including scholars, practitioners, and skeptics, and bolstering their arguments with an assortment of other media, from Minecraft, Philip K. Dick-based films, and crude computer animations, to video games, and youtube videos. The views are intentionally conflictive — one subject suggests the very idea of such conflict is the basis of the simulation — and anything but conclusive, but, of course, that’s the very point. Less unsettling than The Nightmare, one of the few true horror movies of the documentary genre I’ve ever seen, save for the account of Joshua Cooke, who pled guilty to killing his parents in cold blood after cementing his belief that the ideas portrayed in The Matrix were completely real. Listening to his step-by-step description, from prison, of his descent into madness, and where those impulses took him, is to drop into first-person shooter psychosis.

Coming Home in the Dark: Both Australia and New Zealand are blessed with spectacularly beautiful land that is filled with wide-open, terrifying vast spaces in which any amount of evil may lurk. In dark, violent films like Wolf Creek and Killing Ground, all that beauty and space is turned on its head by far more chaotic inclinations, rendering brutally effective, and stomach-churning sadism as a means of displaying the horrible duality of the land. Kiwi director James Ashcroft attempts to add to this cinematic legacy with this film, a murder-abduction sort of thriller, in which a family on a camping trip in the wilds, is brutalized by a pair of killers they come across. In a twist that at least one of the killers, Mandrake (Daniel Gillies) would have us believe is a coincidence, it turns out the patriarch of the family, Alan (Erik Thompson), used to teach at the abusive orphanage school in which both Mandrake, and his partner, Tubbs (Matthias Luafutu) suffered as children. It’s not a believable conceit, which Ashcroft seems to readily admit, but because it makes the connection, the film attempts to work as a kind of metaphor for the violence which we didn’t perpetrate, but also did nothing to stop. Mandrake as an avenging angel, foisting Alan’s lack of empathy back onto him in violent spades. It’s difficult to fault a film for not being transgressive and shocking enough, exactly, but despite the theatrics of the situation, and Mandrake’s coldly comic engaging of the couple in “regular conversation,” it doesn’t have the heart to be as effective and unsettling as it needs to be. It plays it too safe, which saves the audience from being plunged into the all-too-realistic terror of, say, Killing Ground, but also dilutes the stronger point it wants to make about systemic brutality.

The Blazing World: Related to the 17th Century Margaret Cavendish novel in basic concept, Carlson Young’s feature debut walks a wobbly line between linear narrative, and neo-gothic opera — only with a soundtrack instead of singing. The story concerns a young woman, Margaret (Carlson), who loses her twin sister to a drowning accident as a child, but has imagined ever since that her sister lives in some alternate vortex of reality, heralded by a grinning demon, Leonid (Udo Kier, of course). Coming back to her childhood home before her battling parents (Dermot Mulroney and Vinessa Shaw) move out altogether, Margaret meets some old friends, does some drugs, and finally enters the fantasia-like world that Leonid has been beckoning her to for most of her life in order to find her trapped sister. There, she must amass a series of keys, plucking them from demon versions of her parents, and confront her own guilt and pain in order to unlock her twin and set everyone free. It would be easy to say Young’s reach far exceeds her grasp, but the fact that she was willing to attempt such an audacious project says something about her artistic chops. And for every moment that hits wrong, there are several more that work in interesting ways. Her aforementioned use of music, and sound design invokes a kind of Kubrickian aesthetic, and her commitment to her vision is palpable. This likely won’t be the best film she ever makes, but it does portend to a filmmaker worth keeping an eye on, going forward.

Sundance goes mostly virtual for this year’s edition, sparing filmgoers the altitude, long waits, standing lines, and panicked eating binges — but also, these things and more that make the festival so damn endearing. In any event, Sundance via living room is still a hell of a lot better than no Sundance. A daily report.

#sweet smell of success #ssos #piers marchant #films #movies #sundance 2021 #Film festival #virtual #mass #the blazing world #a glitch in the matrix #coming home in the dark

3 notes · View notes

inlovewithdisaster · 4 years ago

Text

JUDGE PROFILE: ZOEY YING

the only sane judge on this panel! ahem, uh, i mean. out of the three judges attending this contest, zoey ying is the one with the most experience, both as a coordinator and as a judge. she’s been registered as a contest judge ever since she won that grand festival at age 11, and though she had to work a few side jobs along the way, she’s had the time since then to devote her entire heart and soul into coordinating. on top of her status as top coordinator, she’s an olympic-level figure skater who also loves skating for show, and she has trained several of her pokémon to be just as good while skating in their appeals. she has so much invested in the performing arts--she lives and breathes them in every aspect of her life. can you believe this girl is still considering law school?

as a judge, she is level-headed, honest, and above all, professional. she can be fairly blunt with her critiques, and she’s not afraid to let you know if you’ve done a bad job; in the past, she used to be a tad like simon cowell herself. but over the years, she’s gotten better at framing her critique as helpful rather than negative. it’s not impossible for her to develop some serious beef with the way a contestant comports themselves onstage; after all, she’s only human. but her strong sense of obligation always overrides it: she never lets foul emotions get in the way of doing her professional duty. in conclusion? i’m not fucking kidding when i say that zoey is the only judge whose score would be an accurate reflection of your muse’s actual ability. zoey for best girl.

LIKES.

it’s rare for zoey ying to be as flashy as her companions tobias and ursula during a performance, and it’s rare for her to like performances along their lines as well. true to her modest nature, zoey values simplicity and efficiency in a performance; she wants peoples’ and pokémons’ talents to shine through without giving the impression that they’re trying too hard. she appreciates technical complexity, but along more elegant and understated lines; too many bold visuals with no substance will bore her.

like tobias, she also enjoys more cerebral performances. appeals with symbolism and messages that you really have to think about in order to appreciate. while she’s not as educated as he is and won’t pick up on obscure references to, say, poems by little-known authors or cultural details that aren’t widely available on google, she’s smart enough to make insights about the meaning of a piece, and smart enough to reward you for them. (although if you make references to chinese history and culture, that’s right up her alley!)

she loves appeals where pokémon get to show off talents other than their moves! several of her ‘mons are figure skaters, so of course she’ll love to see that, but if they got any other things to showcase--ribbon-dancing, baton-twirling, instrument-playing--then she’ll give you a heaping dose of points!

as a chinese woman, she does have very high standards for the aesthetic of your performances. her ancestral country, after all, is the one that produced that unforgettable 2008 olympic opening ceremony, and our nation has also produced such marvels as coaching dozens of deaf dancers to flawlessly execute a dance based on the goddess of a thousand hands. being chinese has sort of spoiled her when it comes to the performing arts, and that is the sort of thought and effort she expects out of the people she observes onstage. again, though, she prefers simple yet powerful visuals. this 2008 olympics performance of 2,008 drummers chanting a line from confucius’ analects? flawless. but if the drums started changing into psychedelic colors while they were doing it? too much.

finally, she loves detail. she has an eye for the intricacy in simplicity, the beauty that comes not from the largeness and boldness of a statement but rather the nuance which makes it so powerful. elegant details that don’t overstate themselves with complexity appeal to her.

DISLIKES.

her fellow judges tobias and ursula are all about trainer participation in appeals. canonically, however, zoey has been shown to dislike performances that have too much trainer involvement in proportion to pokémon involvement. (my memory can be pretty awful sometimes, but this is one of the things that stands out in it.) since this is a showcase, in which the spotlight is more on the trainer and not the pokémon, she’s more lenient. however, if the performance is like 90% trainer and the pokémon are reduced to mere stage hands, she’s going to have an issue.

she also absolutely loathes performances that she finds to be “too loud,” no matter how well they’re done. whether it’s the loudness of the music or the loudness of the color, you can bet she’ll have something to say about it.

unlike tobias, who loves breaking the rules and greatly enjoys a good roast, zoey is very strait-laced and traditional, and will dock points of anything that she finds to be too controversial in its messaging. this includes sexual themes. unlike ursula, who finds her head easily turned by performances that are sexual or romantic in nature, zoey tends to find explicit content quite objectionable. she’s most likely asexual, like the mun, so suggestive content such as jules’ performance in the last ILWD will make her go “?????” at best, or be distasteful and unprofessional to her at worst.

a special note: as an ace-questioning woman, one of the reasons she thinks she’s ace is because she’s never been invested in romantic content. she will look at a romance-centered performance and think “that’s nice,” just like with every other performance. but if you’re expecting to move her to tears by depicting a heartbreak or the story of star-crossed lovers, you’ll be disappointed. moreover, romantic subtext--especially gay and lesbian subtext--will fly right over her head. (really ironic if you think about it, considering she’s judging a valentine’s contest.)

also due to her straitlaced traditionality, she’s not as much in favor of artistic experimentation as tobias is. while an avant-garde performance will excite him, she’ll probably just find it weird.

also unlike ursula, she doesn’t have much taste for cute and frilly things. her brand of femininity is more reserved, and she finds popping pinks and flouncing lace to be overdone and cliché.

she just really doesn’t like too much color contrast or color brightness in general. and if the colors are bright and contrasting? good fucking luck.

speaking of contrasting colors--whereas ursula will get bored by a monochrome performance, and whereas ursula likes her colors to pop, zoey is more drawn to muted pastels and greys. she also likes themed palettes instead of the arbitrary explosions of color that characterize many an amateur performance, so color-coordinating your outfit and the shades of your moves will do better in her eyes.

#ilwd2k21 #ilwd2k21updates

1 note · View note