#which was his biggest beef with his charge of being the last living soul on the planet or whatever bhaal wanted

[warlordfelwinter]

i started rambling in the tags of that last post and then just decided to make my own post about it but thinking about rain's "childhood" fucks me up especially in light of him being like. not mortal at all. brought into being in some fucked up god blood ritual in a temple, presumably raised there until he could like. walk and then tossed onto the streets to fend for himself until he was old enough to come back home

like the heal memory shows he's had the urge probably since he could think and started acting on it pretty young. probably started younger than that and just not with people

but like. given he had like no good formative influences and no mortal blood to temper bhaal's influence, was he ever sweet? did he ever try to play little games like that with other kids on the street? did he have friends? did he kill them??

i think maybe there was some tiny part of him that wanted to be normal, that wanted to have friends and play games, bhaal's own mortal influence coming back around and being fed by rain watching other kids. but i also think it took him a while to learn to control the urge and i think accidentally killing someone made him take that part of himself and stuff it down as deep as he could inside him so even he couldn't find it. and it only broke back out when orin caved his skull in

[revengeisalwaysanoption]

Fic: Io non ci credo, alle giraffe (FINAL CHAPTER)

So, you can find this chapter on AO3 as well (together with the sappiest epilogue you could ever imagine) and I do hope it lives up to your expectations. It mostly did, to mine. I agonized over writing this fic, but I nearly cried now that it’s over.

This wasn't quite what he had in mind, when he had tried to picture the afterlife. The few times he did that, whilst attending the funerals of some old relative, Martino had conjured up a field of barley. An eternal sunset. A light breeze.

Loved ones, lost too early, ready to show him the ropes and teach him how to haunt his friends for the rest of their lives.

"Boohoo! Poor Marti wanted a welcoming committee in a lovely bucolic setting…" said a grating voice in a harsh and judgemental tone.

Where did it come from? Who was speaking? There was nothing around him. No one.

Only darkness.

"Instead of you've got me. This." The stranger continued. "Because we've got to be predictable, don't we? Unimaginative. But do you know what? Screw you, man. I can do better."

Then he heard a loud, snapping sound and had to shield his eyes from a bright blinding light.

"Are you still there?" Marti asked to his unknown companion.

They didn't sound like a particularly pleasant person, but… Anyone, even Marco - Emma's brutish brother - would do...

'Beggars can't be choosers' as his dad used to say.

"Unbelievable!! You're still quoting him. As if that man ever said anything worth repeating…"

Uhh, this guy sure had some serious beef with his father… and could read his thoughts, apparently? No wonder why the stranger was so grumpy, given that he had been bombarded by flashes of Marti kissing Nico for the last… day?

Week? It was hard to keep track of time when they only thing that existed was you, and your immense loneliness.

"No!! That's not my division, you've got somebody else covering that. I'm in charge of rage, disdain, frustration, resent and pettiness. Yeah, yeah. I do most of the work around here." The more Marti listened to him talking, the less sense he made.

Where were they? Who was he? Where was he hiding?

"I'm not hiding. I'm right behind you."

What? How was that possible? He must have been joking, because Marti would have noticed if… Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. A hand that was too familiar in weight and texture. He turned, finally, to face himself.

He looked battered, exhausted, dishevelled. His eyes were red, and teary. His shoulders hunched, as though he had been carrying the weight of the word for quite some time. Wow. It was a lot to take in. Did he really-

"Let me stop you there. Yes, this is how you sound to other people and how they see you. They are used to it, by the way, so they don't find it as unpleasant as you do. Next? Are you alive? Yes? No? How should I know, when I am literally something you made up?"

So, basically, Martino could only hope that he wasn't stuck here, with the worst of himself, forever.

"The worst, huh? Wait until fear, jealousy and paranoia show up... Not to mention the good old self-preservation instinct, aka what you usually refer to as 'common sense', who's gonna bore y-"

"Okay, okay. I get it. No need to get so defensive." Damn, someone here was a bit too sensitive to criticism!

Okay, alright. Perhaps this guy wasn't the bottom of the barrel, maybe some people even found his fiery disposition and charming, but…. it couldn't be all that his friends - and Nico; his sweet gentle dorky Nico -  saw in Martino.

He had plenty of good, in him… so where was it?

"Ooh! That's the attitude you need to get out of here… Know your worth! Fight for it!" Anger goaded him on, suddenly mellowing out and becoming a lot more amiable.

"Lend an ear to your heart, be true to yourself…" Martino rebuked, not quite as sarcastic as he would have been a couple of days before.

"... and when you do, you'll hold the key to open all doors, yeah. Starting from that one" his grumpy companion said, pointing at the portal that just appeared out of nowhere.

"Don't. Save it. We are nowhere, therefore…" Marti shushed him, rolling his eyes and smiling. It was kind of endearing to realise how predictable he could be. Comforting.

"Stop stalling and go through that damn door. Someone's waiting for you."

Who? Could it be… ? Well there was only one way to find out.

As he stepped over the threshold, everything changed.

He could have sworn that the air was filled with the smell of his mother's freshly baked cinnamon rolls, which she hadn't been making for nearly a decade. The sun shine brightly in a cloudless blue sky, but it didn't burn skin. A pleasant warmth was spreading through him, while Marti relieved the bone crushing hugs, the forehead kisses, the most gentle touch upon his own lips and all those casual loving gestures he had taken for granted for far too long.

He knew where he was. The Emerald Fields, and idyllic place on the outskirts of Eterna. A city 'where all wishes come true', according to legends. His father - merchant for a living, myth-buster for 'the greater good, the improvement of society as a whole' - had proved them to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors… Quite ironic that a man so obsessed with honesty and transparency had the guts to… No. Forget it.

It was unacceptable: he wouldn't any unresolved issues he had with his dad spoil this memory.

Of the last time it truly felt invincible, invaluable. Unique, in all his untapped potential. Carefree.

He didn't mind being alone, here… not that he was. Obviously, he wasn't. Deer and and fawns had materialise beside him, stubbornly nudging Martino towards the lake.

Playfully splashing water with his feet, with a flower crown in his auburn hair, sat the person who had been waiting for him. Not Niccolò, unfortunately. Or Gio.

"I suppose you'll have to settle for me." He said, silently asking Marti to sit next to him with an eloquent look. Welcoming, rather than threatening.

There was an aura of 'now tell me all about your troubles, my friend… share the weight with me and maybe they won't seem half as bad..' surrounding him, which normally Martino would've labelled as patronising - unless it came from Giovanni. Normally.

FlowerBoy tapped the plank on his right, for emphasis, thanking Marti when you finally took a seat on the creek.

"I'm glad you two parted on good terms. He got us through some awful times, you know? You call him 'anger', but he is 'pride'. Which, in itself, is not so bad. Life has hardened him, made him constantly ready for a fight, but… what you see as a flaw, indeed, is one of your biggest strengths. Loyalty. Perseverance. Spite… I can't take the credit for those - especially the latter, which has repeatedly spurred you into action. It comes from loving yourself, sure, but with a slight disdain for others and their shitty opinions."

Woah. Martino hadn't being ready for the lecture on his own negative feelings from… His hippie self?

"You seem nicer, though." Clean-shaven, soft-spoken, well-rested and well-dressed.

A stark contrast from the guy he had met first.

"I generally am. Enough to make people stay, most of the time. Draw them in, however? Avoiding to wax lyrical on how the universe now revolves around them, and keeping a shred of dignity as if I wouldn't gladly have them on every available surface?" Huh? Were they still talking about his family and friends?

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away. The most recent developments with Ni… That's all very new to me. Never had I experienced something so intense. It's exciting and scary. Fascinating and confusing. Anyway, the point is: I'm cheesy. Sappy. Shamelessly so. He gives us an edge, turning mushiness into good-natured banter."

An interesting take, undoubtedly, but… kind of pointless? It did offer a new perspective on parts of himself he hadn't been overly fond of, still… In the grand scheme of things, what was the purpose of these talks? Where was the conflict, and the revelation that came with it?

"Not every tale needs to feature a dragon's slayer, or a fearless knight battling orcs. Lessons can be learnt without suffering."

All he needed to do was listen, basically? Could it be that easy? Wasn't it such a cop out?

"Easy, you say. And yet you haven't been able to achieve such an easy task in all these years. You refuse to. Shut up. You weren't talking? Well, you were thinking. Given them - dreaded common sense, fear and self-pity - too much attention."

Empty your mind. Find the sound that resonates within your soul. Amplify it. That's your spark.

Martino had never progressed past that stage, at the Academy, much to the Mentors' bafflement. He'd supposed they couldn't believe what they were seeing… that an individual with no magic at all co-

"SHUT UP!!"

Right. Right. No more thoughts. Hear the waves sloshing against the creek? The breeze blowing through the grass? The pitter-patter of deer hooves? Great. Cancel them out. Your breath is deafening, now, isn't it? It's all you can hear, and that's not particularly interesting…

"Don't give up, Marti please." Whose voice was it?  His mom's?

"Come on, man. Wake up." Gio's?

"Going from sleep deprived to lethargic? Really? Since when are you the 'go big or go home' kind of guy?" Eva's?

"Are you trying to impress someone, hun? You don't need to. One would think you hung the stars and moon from the way he looks at you…" Filo's?

"Marti, you can't go without seeing Luca's latest master-" Oh, how he had missed Elia's laughter. "masterpiece, yeah, that you've inspired."

"Don't fret. It doesn't matter how long it takes, but come back to me when it's over, okay? I'll be waiting. I'll always be waiting." Nico's. 

Wait. How could that be possible. Shouldn't he… No, no, no. Marti, no. Don't get lost, don't let logical reasoning lure you in. Take care of that later, okay? Okay.

Silence, please… There. You have it. The complete absence of s-

"LET ME OUT!!" A young boy yelled, thumping repeatedly from under the thick ice layer it was now covering the lake.

Was it some kind of ruse, a deceit it was supposed to ignore to reach a higher level of consciousness?

"HELP ME!!!" Thud. Thud. Thud. "PLEASE!!!" Thud. Thud. Thud.

Screw it. Too bad if he wasn't supposed to intervene: he was going to, regardless of the consequences.

Deprived of any tool that could help him with the rescue, it soon became clear that's the only way he could smash the ice was by jumping on it. And once he inevitably plunged into the freezing water, it would be just a matter of minutes before hypothermia kicked in and killed them both.

It didn't matter.

"HOLD ON!!!" Jump. Jump. Jump. "I'M GONNA GET YOU HOME. GONNA GET BOTH OF US HOME!!! "Jump. Jump. Jump. "ALIVE!!!"

Crack. He did it!

Seize the kid and get out. Survive.

"Thanks. I'm sorry I cursed you." The boy said, creating a bubble around them. "I… I didn't mean… It backfired… I…"

"... didn’t want to be alone anymore. You aren’t, you understand? I’m the one who’s sorry. You just wanted to be heard. Acknowledged. Remembered.” Martino couldn't recall the last time I took in the world around him with wonder, grateful to be alive and getting to see a rainbow. The first snow. The low tide. Shooting stars. The dancing curtains. Sunrises and sunsets. Niccolò.

"You really like him, don't you? Me too… He's cool… and he was the first one who saw me. Saw all of us, really… and still chose to stay."

Enough with the chit chat. The promises he'd only made, all that he had never allowed himself to be… No more words were needed to reconcile.

Much better to embrace them. Swim back to the surface. Rise.

********************************** Messy black curls. Full, red, pouty lips. Insanely long lashes. Lithe fingers, adorned with huge rings. More beautiful than Martino ever recalled. “You look like shit.” He mumbled, lazily stroking his hair.  “And you’re heavy. Doze off somewhere else, please.” “Marti?” Oi! He had no business breaking his heart with that note of desperation in his voice. Or with the tears in his eyes. He shouldn’t be allowed to cry. Not on his watch.

“Marti, Marti, Marti…”  He didn’t seem able to say or do anything else, for a while. Only kiss him, and repeat his name like a mantra. Eventually, he calmed down. “Look who’s talking, by the way.” Niccolò retorted, rolling his eyes. “I don’t accept criticism from ‘Mr. Death-Warmed-Over’, sorry.” “And from whom would you accept it, huh? Your husband?” Marti teased, hoping he wasn’t being too cheeky. “Mh. Maybe. I wouldn’t say yes to a proposal that came from a bedside, when he’s still hazy from a long sleep and doesn’t quite know what he’s saying.” Niccolò answered, kissing his knuckles reverently. “I do know…” Martino huffed, taking comfort in the fact that Nico hadn’t utterly turned him down. “... nonetheless, you deserve a better proposal. I get it. And you’ll have it. I’ll ride a giraffe, if that’s what is required for you to say yes, okay?” “Okay. I’ll be waiting for it, then.” He leaned down, resting his forehead against Martino’s. “Choose my wedding dress, in the meantime. Unless you’d want me to wear a suit.” “You could wear a gunny sack and I wouldn’t dream to complain, Ni.” “What if I showed up naked, then?” Niccolò moved to the side, brushing his lips against his ear and neck. “Well, it’s not a sight I’m really so willing to share with everyone out there, but I suppose that if that’s what makes you happy…” “Forget it, then. We should be both happy on that day. We’ll be.” And they were. Living fully - though not always happily  - ever after.

[afreviews]

In-Depth Review of Drake’s ‘More Life’

by Sadé

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Mar 21, 2017 at 6:54pm PDT

This is an in-depth review of More Life, where I dissect it and have fun rambling. You can tell he had fun making this, that he felt…inspired, you could say. 

(Oh and you know damn well I had to put this picture up.)

Yeah, I know I'm super late on this review, but I decided to take a different approach to More Life. A more calculated approach for a calculated artist. I just didn't want to say “Drake is giving life in More Life.” Nah fam. I’ve been fan of Drake since ‘09, and he was giving life and good vibes in this album playlist, I went back to last month when Drake premiered a interview with DJ Semtex during Episode 38 of OVO Radio. The interview explains so much of More Life.

Now, where shall we begin?

For those wondering why it’s not an “album” but a playlist, in his interview he stated “The style in which it’s being put together is based off of our concept that is OVO Sound Radio...Its almost like a radio show, basically I asked myself ‘man what would happen if I did OVO Sound radio but every song was a new Drake song?’” This “collaborative playlist” with Apple, at first, was a confusing concept but once he explained it - and once you listen to More Life - it makes sense. As he explains, Views was the album and this is just something after the album that keeps his fans enticed. And we are. 

There is a playlist-mixtape type of flow to it that reminds you of “old Drake” and yet is new and refreshing and current. From tracks like “Passionfruit” and “Get It Together” to “4422″ and “Teenage Fever”; then from “No Long Talk” and “Gyalchester” to going into “Portland” and “Sacrifices” - just all the different sounds and styles, it’s pretty genius. More Life really embodies Drake and how far he’s come as an artist. The amount of passion and thought he puts into his work really shines through. And don’t get me started on “Lose You” and “Do Not Disturb.” Oh and the ever-confusing but magically track “Glow” with Kanye West - like what? After that rant about Drake being on the radio too much, Drake says in the interview, “whatever it is that you’re going through, I accept it, I don’t respect it.” So exactly when did this happen? What does this mean?! Did they move past it and is that Kanye and Drake project being worked on? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Now for the breakdown. 

The London Experience.

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Mar 13, 2017 at 4:23pm PDT

“The most solid gang that you will ever see” - Skepta Interlude, Skepta

In tracks like “Passionfruit” and “Blem” reintroduce us into that dancehall music that just makes Drake happy and well us happy too. Taking those risks with those dancehall influences paid off with VIEWS, with tracks like “One Dance,” Hotling Bling” and “Controlla.” Even “Work,” that started off the promo for VIEWS. But it turns out “One Dance" wasn’t just any dancehall record, its influences are that of the UK underground. From the original song’s artist, Kyla, he brought it to a producer and wanted to make it his own but still incorporate her voice and that UK “funky” sound. 

It was just the perfect marriage of a lot of things...I love that tempo, I love that cadence, those melodies, that’s the music that makes me happy in life, so it was great to just be able to just make something like that and shine light on a song from the UK that deserves it, because that’s truly a classic song.

He started shedding light on the UK underground music in VIEWS, but took it to another level with More Life. In his interview with DJ Semtrex, he says, “I honestly, I think that the best rappers in the world are in London, I just think the complexity and the cadences and the way they piece music together.” He goes on to talk about how he met Skepta and although he had been a long time fan of the UK Grime scene, it was really Skepta who opened the doors for him and introduced Drake to people from that world. Actually, if it not for Skepta doing so, Drake says he would’ve never been so open to trying risks like “One Dance” and “Controlla.” 

Then we have Giggs. The moment he first heard Giggs’ music, Drake says he just knew he had to be the one to shine that light on the UK sound, and bring more awareness. To Drake, it’s all about showing love and respect and good thing, because damn - Giggs got bars. He and Giggs apparently have tracks hidden somewhere, hopefully they see the light of day. 

He’s just somebody I support and again he’s somebody I feel should be one of the biggest rappers as big as he can possibly get. So I’m gonna do everything that I can to try and make that happen.

Drake has definitely been catching some flak for bringing on that London sound, the same bull he dealt with for the dancehall tracks last year. He’s not taking from the culture, he’s utilizing it and helping it grow. He’s bringing up these London artists like Skepta, Giggs, the soulful Jorja Smith, and there’s the South African producer Black Coffee. People forget but Toronto is a very diverse city that literally has all of these types of cultures that are mixed into one. Along with all those different cultures, comes the music that Drake grew up around. 

This is our music, this is all, we’re all intertwined, afro-beats, Toronto, the Jamaican culture, Dancehall, London, you know. I gotta hail Skep for that, because that was a turning point for me.

While I’m living for the dancehall and London sounds on the album playlist, his shots on the project are...well you’ll see. 

Jab, Jab...and Another Jab.

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Feb 25, 2017 at 3:46pm PST

“I get more satisfaction outta goin’ at your head And seein’ all of you die And I seen a lot of you die” - Free Smoke

Drake opens up his playlist with “Free Smoke,” an attempt to clear the air. The album is filled with subliminals, some more direct and apparent than others. His first shot goes to Tory Lanez: “Must have never had your phone tapped / All that yappin’ on the phone shit / you must really love the road life / all that never comin’ home shit.” This for sure was direct shot. Tory Lanez’s last album, I Told You, had skits of many phone conversations. Why would you conduct any type of business on the phone? That’s Drake’s point. His second observation goes for Tory always being on the road. “Home” is Toronto for the both of them and it seems Tory left home and never looked back.

Now because we all know how clever Drake is, in his outro there’s a bar (thanks to Genius) that I didn’t catch but is another shot at Tory: “You overnight celebrity, you one day star / Swear I Told You that I’m in this bitch for eternity.” If you didn’t know, because I didn’t, Tory’s government is Daystar Peterson and his album is called I Told You, AND there's a track on it called “One Day." Get it? “You one day star, Swear I Told You.” Clever, right? 

“How you let the kid fighting’ Ghost-writin’ rumors turn you to a ghost?” - Free Smoke

Everybody and their mother knows about the beef between the two but after I listened to the OVO Radio interview...well, I bet you didn’t know it was actually very serious for Drake. 

Because we live in a social media driven world now, Meek started off this beef via Twitter. In 2015, he tweeted something along the lines that Drake does not write his own raps. Meek and Drake weren’t exactly friends but as Drake said in his interview with DJ Semtex, he worked with Meek and helped build him up because of the relationship with Nicki Minaj. At the time Boi1da brought Quentin Miller to Drake, a kid he talked to about music with and thought Drake would like him. Miller and Drake ended up working together on about five tracks, but key word here is “worked” together: 

The reason why I never felt like necessarily pressured to sit down and defend myself right away or go do an interview is just because...anybody that’s been in any room with me knows first of all that I am one of the best writers period. That is what I do, that is what I’m known for, I go and write for other people, I write my biggest songs, my biggest hits, the massive majority of my catalogue has all been written solely by me, which is a big feat because music is a collaborative process. At that given time with those isolated records, they just wouldn’t be what they were if it wasn’t for me, if it wasn’t for my pen, my contributions to that, and not taking away from [Miller], we did great work together in a very small space.

A shot against another artist’s most known creative skill, especially when at one point you were cordial, is a serious shot at the neck in this business. For someone he, as he says, “supported” and helped launched his first tour - it definitely must have hurt. And Drake wanted to return that right back to him. When he dropped "Charged Up,” and realized Meek wasn’t prepared, he knew he had to strike with the club banger “Back to Back."

I didn’t go the route of calling him a bunch of terrible names, I just used wit, I just used wit and good writing, ironically enough great writing, to just win that situation...DJ’s have to take a hit when you’re hosting a party and you can’t play the biggest record of the night because you’re standing there. It hurt and I wanted it to hurt...That was the only part about it that felt good, ah I finally got to compete when I was doubted and win. That was pretty much the only positive of it, but the rest of it was just all trash man, it was just embarrassing to witness.

It was hard for all of us to witness. Hilarious, but everyone definitely had a collective “ouch” moment. Even though Meek now is trying to recover, he’s not as public as he was before. Drake goes on to admit that it wasn’t a moment he wasn’t proud of but had to happen. And when DJ Semtrex asked if he and Meek would ever be friends again - referring to the recent reconciliation of Jay-Z and Nas, hip hop’s most notorious beef - Drake had this to say:

All blessings to Jay and Nas for coming together after all those years and I can’t predict what’s going to happen in the future, but right now nah I’m good – just be over there, I’ll be over here – that’s it.

He also throws jabs at Birdman, J. Lo (jab-ish) and there is a possible shot at Joe Budden who last year got heated on his podcast and said, or rather screamed, that Drake on VIEWS sounded “uninspired.” I actually agree which leads me to my next point. As he stated in his interview, he felt inspired after the release of VIEWS and thusly More Life came to...life? 

Drake is Giving Life in More Life. 

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Mar 4, 2017 at 4:13pm PST

Nah, but really - he is. The album playlist just flows, and while refreshening, it does remind me of the “old Drake.” Pre-ghost-writing-rumors-Drake. When an artist is connected like that with his music - man, he’s unstoppable.  I’m glad he’s at 100 percent for this project, and taking the risks he started to on VIEWS.

“I was an angry yout when I was writing’ Views Saw a side of myself the I just never knew I’ll probably self-destruct if I ever love, but I never do” - Do Not Disturb

But with all that said, that beef did happen. People did question and pick at Drake for those ghost writing rumors. In the interview, he states that the ghostwriter accusations did take an emotional toll on him during the time of VIEWS. It affected him in such a way, but More Life is him acknowledging his feuds and moving forward. 

“Last chance I get to make sure that you take it personally Take this shit to heart, it’s always executed perfectly”

The pensive and introspective “Do Not Disturb” has to be my favorite of the 22-track project. It cuts in deep, a summation of Drake’s life. When discussing VIEWS, he notes it as just another album, not “the one” and how it’s “just another chapter in the story.” He barely took any time before getting ready for More Life.

“I can’t even party while a nigga pursuin’ this Distractions will do you in, in the truest sense.”

Drake always had that ridiculous work ethic since playing Jimmy and recording on the side, to which is the reason he was taken off Degrassi. His time on Dr. Dre’s project where he got kicked off mid-progress, he learned the lesson he can never slip up. Drake is always on the grind to keep his No. 1 slot. As he’s said “I really enjoy making music...I just am addicted to it. I don’t like stopping.” We’ve seen these feuds come and go, and while some may rattle him, they never knock him off his pedestal.

“They don’t know they got to be faster than me to get to me No one’s done it successfully”

It has been a good solid eight years and just magic, inspired (and some uninspired) genius that makes Drake...Drake. With the Jamaican pronunciations, to direct shots all those he’s been against, to his romantic life, to talking about plans for OVO Fest - it’s the perfect vulnerable end to his playlist. 

“Maybe gettin’ back to my regular life will humble me” 

It might just, and we’ll be waiting for the summary in 2018.