#so incredibly happy w/ how this current song is coming out in terms of both composition and lyrics

[zgvlt]

celebrating your birthday with the twst boys hcs part 4, ft. diasomnia, the after party w/ the first years

read part 1 here read part 2 here read part 3 here

general tags: gender neutral reader, sfw, hcs for both prefect and non-prefect reader, platonic and romantic hcs, food mentions, runs on the assumption that reader wants to celebrate their birthday, not beta read

author's note: oops forgot to post the last part! finally done with this series of hcs, after this... my next writing post will be another one-shot so see u then!

total wc: 4.9k+ words (700-1.2k+ words each character)

MALLEUS DRACONIA

If you consider him a friend at the very least, please send him an invitation should you hold a party (which, considering what we know of the NRC birthday culture, seems to be expected). 

If you’re a close friend and/or his partner, it should go without saying that you should invite him, else he’s definitely going to be more upset than usual with this particular instance. He’s not lashing out or throwing a tantrum about it, but he does feel saddened by the choice.

If you tell him in advance, he’s going to spend a lot of time thinking about your invitation and your birthday in general. He’s probably sitting down in Diasomnia’s lounge, looking as if he’s brooding over something incredibly serious like the state of affairs in his homeland, when in reality he’s thinking about what to give you as a gift.

In general incredibly grateful to be invited. Whether you tell him the day of or weeks before, he’s simply beaming at the thought. It looks a little ominous to an outsider, especially because Malleus is smiling with his teeth, fangs and all, but his inner circle get the details and they understand he’s just very proud of himself.

Sebek and Silver are probably applauding and nodding their heads in approval at the announcement because yes, who would be silly enough to not invite the Young Master, the chance to have someone like him celebrate you (Sebek) and finally, someone has not forgotten to invite Lord Malleus, and even invited him personally (Silver).

(If you’re not close to Sebek, Sebek is heavily contemplating if he should present you a gift as well since Malleus is doing so)

Meanwhile, Lilia’s teasing him about it. Malleus is in too much of a good mood to tell off anyone for what’s coming close to pandering, like yes, behold! An invitation! You just know if the invitation comes in a physical form, he’s presenting it to the three of them. His more childish side comes up just this once.

And then he keeps the invite somewhere safe somewhere in his room. 

In terms of helping you prepare a party… Well, he cannot say he actually has any experience in the preparation aspect, whether it be setting up the decorations or making food, but ahhh, since you’ve invited him he’s willing to show his gratitude. Magic will do the trick, won’t it?

(If you insist on doing things without magic, he’ll probably still do it, chuckling about how interesting it is for you to make demands of him. Also considers it a good learning experience, of which he can make discoveries from)

Let’s avoid having him set up any tech needed though.

If you’re the Ramshackle prefect, he does give you the option to host your party in his dorm, but he likes Ramshackle a lot so either place works for him.

During the party itself, reactions might differ in extremity depending on your relationship status with Malleus, and how public the both of you are about it. 

If it seems to be similar to the current canon friendship between Malleus and the Ramshackle prefect, expect a lot of people to carry mixed emotions. Surprise, shock, intimidation—all of it bundled up into essentially them finding you fascinating and terribly brave, perhaps fearless, at how you casually have the Malleus Draconia at your party, clapping along to the obligatory Happy Birthday song playing in the background.

Most guests will still find themselves a little intimidated at Malleus’ presence if it’s well known that the two of you are close (or dating!), but it’s easier for them to wrap their heads around it. This is not Malleus the prince, but Malleus, a person you find dear, and clearly adores you back.

If Leona is also in attendance and he is also a close friend of yours (or your significant other), expect a gift measuring contest. Yes, they’re mature, but they’re also boys in a boarding school. Enough said.

Malleus… honestly does not know how to party it up! unlike most of your guests probably do. Most celebrations he’s attended are terribly formal, or more festival as opposed to party, but with some observation on his part and guidance from you and/or Lilia, or whoever he decides to ask, you can probably get him to fit in well enough. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, after all.

Ah, but there’s no need to coddle him. As much as he enjoys time with you, he can manage on his own. He’s not the best at communicating but he was not born yesterday either. The day is about you and he is certain he is not the only one who wants to celebrate you, so go along and talk to everyone else. You are allowed to simply return to him when you’re done.

The fact that he’s trying, even when he’s not the most successful, is quite sweet.

In terms of gifts, Malleus is a good gift giver. Knowing who you’re giving a gift to so that you can best appeal to them is important in maintaining and forging diplomatic relations.

He remembers the things you’ve told him about yourself, about what you happen to like—of course he does, considering you actually listen to him talk about gargoyles, so he chooses a gift based on that. And even when he gets an idea, he spends a good amount of time pondering what specifically to get you. 

If someone teaches him how to order online, or someone does it for him, and you’ve shown interest, he’s getting you your very own special artifact… a Gao-Gao Dragon-kun (EN: Drago). Predictable, but still cute.

If you and Malleus are together, he’s obviously serious about you and definitely sees a future with you. Sees no problem in giving you more than a few gifts, but if you really insist on just one, well…

Jewelry is a traditional, and perhaps expected, gift from him. Obviously high quality, with the finest jewels and crafted with real silver or gold, whichever suits you best. Might get it crafted for you specifically, but he might also give you an ancient piece (or set), one with history and meaning behind it.

If you’re not into jewelry, it’ll probably still be something shiny, probably still bejeweled and created with the most precious of metals, something you can keep around you—a bookmark for the current book you’re reading, a hand mirror, a tassel on your bag. 

If you allow him, he’s going to attach a spell on it as well, just a little something to keep you safe.

Honestly, if you just make a request about something hard to find (but in his scope, particularly something more vintage or considered ancient these days), he’ll be able to procure it. If you’re human, will probably say something like, Fufufu, how bold of you to make requests from a fae. Are you prepared for the fate that would befall you should you not prepare something in return?

He says that knowing the price was already paid, a.k.a. getting to celebrate with you.

In conclusion, time may flow a little differently for someone like Malleus, but because it’s the day you were born, he takes special care to track the days leading up to your birthday. Yours is one celebration he will not allow himself to miss.

SILVER

Silver, if you tell him, makes it a point to remember your birthday (especially if you’re someone special to him, but even as a friend — or even a friend of a friend — he does remember). However, if you don’t tell him in advance, he gets concerned that he fell asleep while you were telling him about it. 

Whatever it is, while he would never get upset with you, he would still appreciate a clarification that no, this really is the first time you’re telling him about it and he wasn’t being insensitive or anything of the sort. A gentleman to his very core.

Similar to Sebek, due to Silver’s training, he’s a good choice if you need assistance in setting up your party. Even if you’re not from Diasomnia, he’s politely excusing himself in your dorm as he helps you (and anyone else helping you) with lifting tables and chairs around, or lifting boxes of ingredients to be used in cooking, or lifting– basically, he lifts a lot.

Feel free to drag him along to cook with you, even though he and others are mentioning that the birthday celebrant shouldn’t be cooking their own birthday meals. Whether he convinces you to stay out of the kitchen or not, Silver’s putting his effort into making something you’d like… as well as practicing making meals for someone.

According to him, he has practice when it comes to baking cookies because he tried to make some for his father when he was younger, so he might make some for you.

Throughout your party he really does his best to stay awake to celebrate with you. You and everyone else think fate or some deity out there must have taken a shine on him because he does stay awake, always managing to catch himself before he falls asleep.

He’s not exactly the type to dance the night away with you (although if you would like a slow dance away from prying eyes, he might just be up for it if he happens to like you), nor is he as competitive as some of your other guests, but he’ll join a few select party games… of which he likely got dragged into by Sebek (trying to challenge him) or Kalim (for that second-year solidarity).

Silver is just willing to go along with whatever you want to do for your birthday. Since Silver doesn’t exactly have the luxury of time most days, this is a great opportunity to hog him for yourself for an impromptu hangout/date! 

And he really does mean anything. Do you want to go to town to visit a cafe or restaurant? Do you want him to take you horseback riding? Just hang around somewhere on campus and talk? Your word goes!

Let’s hope you’re not afraid of small and cute forest creatures because if you’re Silver’s close friend or lover, the little birds and the squirrels are going to drop by to give you a gift. It’s very much a “because Silver likes you, the animals like you by association” thing.

Silver’s one of those people who don’t care too much about keeping the gift a surprise, even as his significant other. If he’s unsure, he’ll ask you what you want — it can be specific or something general, and he’ll select a gift based on that. 

What he lacks in the element of surprise he makes up for in presentation — the gift wrapper he uses is very pretty and neatly done, and when you read the tag you’ll find his note to be, while formal, still full of heart. He’ll prepare flowers as well if you happen to like them! He seems quite serious at first when he gives you a gift, but after a few seconds he eases into a smile that’s very charming and prince-like.

(The only time he’d be a little clueless about what to do is if you were his father’s significant other and the two of you weren’t close. What should he give you? He feels like he’s in a weird position, having to ask his father about what he could possibly give you.)

To conclude, while Silver is normally quite serious, he goes out of his way to make your birthday as pleasant as possible, and it seems that everything really does go right for him — he manages to not fall asleep in front of you, he’s smiling more than he usually does, and he devotes the day to you as opposed to training. 

He doesn’t even seem to realize that his charms have been dialed all the way up to the point that it’s a little blinding to the untrained eye, but as his friend or significant other he’s a much appreciated presence and sight.

SEBEK ZIGVOLT

Dramatic baby boy. As an acquaintance he doesn’t particularly care if you tell him about your birthday a month before or on the day of… unless you’re friends with his Young Master Malleus or Master Lilia, in which case he does wonder how worthy you are to be their friend, but will pass on the message. 

As a friend will pretend he doesn’t care that much, but definitely remembers your special day if you tell him in advance. Strolls up to your party like “you’re not celebrating hard enough, good enough! You need my assistance, don’t you?”

Also if you invite him as a friend, his immediate assumption is to wonder if you’re telling him to get Malleus to come to your party as well, or to put in a good word about you to Malleus, or —

Has a bit of a hard time wrapping his head around that you might actually want him around not for Malleus related reasons. Have patience with him, please.

If you’re a close friend or significant other, he definitely wants to know in advance. He seems haughty, and to an extent that’s true, but the idea of failing someone important to him (e.g., Malleus, and in this case you), or not being good enough, both of those scare and motivate him simultaneously. He wants to prepare something special for you.

If you’re close, he freaks out if he finds out the day of. It sounds like he’s blaming you but his brain is already working twice as fast, wondering what preparations he can make and how he can celebrate with you. He disappears and you wonder what he’s up to, he’s actually asking for permission to skip some of his duties for the day. 

Strong boy! If you need help making the preparations, he is certainly one of the guys you can go to. He’s physically strong and an expert at running around all over the place (because of constant Malleus searching), so he’s a solid choice for an errand boy. 

Sebek and art… he can appreciate it well enough, but creation isn’t his forte. If you ask him about how to decorate and what looks nice, he’s either relating it to something to do with Briar Valley or Diasomnia, or, at the best case he’s relating it to the decor he saw his parents and siblings put up for his birthday parties.

Competitive. Whatever birthday games you have, he’s trying to win. It’s kind of funny since he’s so tall — especially if his opponent is Jack or another tall boy like Floyd, just watching these boarding school boys fight over some silly party game you chose only to get a cheap prize you bought from an online shop in bulk.

Winner of the “loudest happy birthday greeting” contest/game no doubt. “That’s not a real game?” Well, clearly someone put it as one of the games to rig the system so Sebek gets a win.

He eats a lot! The party guest that makes you feel reassured about your food choices because of his appetite. You might notice that the food he touches the least is the one he happens to know is your favorite.

Especially if you’re close, he watches you like a hawk just to make sure you’re doing “the important birthday activities” which is singing and dancing and celebrating and eating your favorite food. 

If you’re in a relationship, your guests may notice that he’s barely said a peep about Malleus today. Actually, hasn’t he just been praising you all day? The first years probably tease him about it, and won’t stop for a while (a.k.a., until they find something new to joke about, as most friend group inside jokes work)

Gifts… if you’re not that close, not quite friends, he really does think you’re just there to worm your way into his heart to get to Malleus, so he just offers to talk to you about Malleus. If that’s what you want, go ahead and listen, but try to let him know if that’s not the case because he will not be stopped, he can go for hours.

If you’re his friend, Sebek’s honestly quite thoughtful. The gift is still very much him, either some nice stationery or a book he thinks you’d like based on your interests, but it’s a good sign that he actually does treat you as a friend and listens to you as well.

If you’re Malleus’ or Lilia’s significant other, he also gets you a gift regardless of how close you are to him. It’s a matter of respect, of course. Probably looking for a sign of approval or praise, he doesn’t want to disappoint you because that might end up disappointing Malleus/Lilia.

As his significant other, he tries to be romantic… meaning, he takes advice from Lilia and books (note: many of the books he uses as reference are quite old) on what gifts one should give their significant other. He pens letters and poems that have odd analogies and big words, even pulls out the cursive, but if you’re his significant other you’re probably already used to it. It’s certainly not the first time. 

No clue about his budget/allowance, but the type to specifically pick out something high quality, that you can keep with you for years, and practical things that he can spot you using in public as well. It fills him with a lot of pride like yes, my significant other is using something I bought! Aren’t I a wonderful partner?

Overall the more you manage to worm your way into his heart and the more he thinks of you, and the better of a birthday party guest he makes. He’s surprisingly very enthusiastic about your birthday, and is incredibly willing to take the lead to “teach you how to celebrate”.

LILIA VANROUGE

Lilia is the type of person who, even if he doesn’t know your birthday, talks like he does know it. Good at getting you to doubt yourself, if you actually told him, if maybe he has the ability to read your mind or if he overheard you while you were telling someone else. If you buy his bluff, you probably end up mentioning it casually, thinking he already knew.

“Oh yeah, I’m going to have a party tomorrow. Will you be able to drop by?”

No, Lilia did not know, but he’s definitely crashing, so thank you for inviting him.

But if you’re a close friend or partner, would definitely prefer that you tell him by your own volition as opposed to him getting the information out of you.

In terms of helping you out for your party, funnily enough he doesn’t always have the time for it, especially if it’s a last minute preparation, but he does want to help you whatever way he can! 

(He could just use magic, but that’s boring. Probably helps you hang some streamers and other aerial decorations, though)

Honestly, controversial opinion, I think you should let him in the kitchen (with supervision from you), especially if you’re not low on ingredients or anything of the sort. Not for all the food or anything, maybe a dish or dessert that interests him (or something with beans, because, you know… Master Chef Lilia). It’ll probably be a fun experience! The worst that can happen is that he sucks and gets a laugh out of you (if he makes you eat the food… just say you’re saving it for the party or something)

During the party itself he, Cater, and Kalim are singing happy birthday and dancing around. Definitely pulls you along to dance, it might surprise you with how easy it is for him to lead you around and even dip you — just how strong is he, actually?

Take lots of pictures with him and get them developed! Give him some as well! Sure his memory isn’t failing him, but he does want something tangible to remember a special day by.

In terms of gifts, it will depend on how “dear” you are to him. It should be a given that regardless, he will give you a “cute and cool, charming, boyish” gift. Maybe it’s a cute trinket with a mascot from Briar Valley/a game you happen to like, or a hairpin or tie with bat charms and ribbons attached to it, a choker or some other accessory in black or pink, something that screams, “you know what? this is on brand for Lilia/doesn’t this remind you of Lilia?”

Definitely gives it to you while he’s hanging upside down. Unless he knows you’ll be upset/mad, will also try to surprise you by popping up out of nowhere to greet you.

Not to be too redundant but food cooked by him is always a possibility. It’s the thought that counts, after all (though if you taste it, you’d find yourself surprised that it actually tastes quite good. He must have either asked for help or was particularly careful in cooking, maybe someone had to go through taste testing until he arrived on a “perfect” dish)

If you’re Silver’s significant other and you know about the fact that he’s Lilia’s father, he’s offering to show you Silver’s baby pics as a present (+ some stories to accompany it), and if it’s really serious he probably getting you something meaningful, maybe a nice accessory that reminds you of Silver’s eyes… or has a protective charm on it. Silver adores you, so he takes care of you by association. You might as well be one of his already.

If you don’t know he’s Silver’s dad, still gets you something anyway. It’s funnier if you’re not close to Lilia at all, like a “huh, Lilia got me a birthday present. Do you have any idea why, Silver?” moment

This probably also extends to an extent with Malleus, as Lilia’s very glad that spring has finally come for him, and even Sebek. Maybe not in the Silver level, but you do get some nice stories from their childhood, and maybe some advice 

If you and Lilia are close friends or in a relationship, your gift might come from a different land (and honestly, a different time), something with a culture and history behind it, one that Lilia can tell you all about. He’s an engaging storyteller, he talks like he was there when the item was crafted, or that he was the one who picked it up from some battlefield years ago. 

Lilia likes an element of surprise in his gifts, and if he jokes about getting you some object or decoration five times your size you have to wonder if he’s joking at all.

Especially if you’re in a relationship or his “platonic soulmate”, he gets a little… sentimental, particularly when everyone’s left the party. It might not be that obvious in his facial expression, but you can definitely pick up on it in his tone — rather, he lets you pick up on it. This especially applies if you’re human. He pushes aside the usual teasing compliments and jokes about his age to make way for more serious and meaningful praise and compliments.

Overall, compared to you, Lilia’s had a significant amount of birthdays, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t see the value of celebrating them. He finds life to be something precious, especially the lives of his loved ones, so he pulls out all the stops to make sure your special day is a happy and memorable one.

If you don’t have any plans to go on a date with anyone (in which case Ace will complain about how you should put your bros before your you knows), the rest of your evening is reserved for the first years to celebrate — meaning, you, Ace, Deuce, Jack, Epel, Ortho, Sebek, and of course Grim. 

When they’re telling their Dorm Leaders and Vice Dorm Leaders about it (well, all of them except Jack. He doubts Leona really gives a damn where he’ll be), they’re like Oh no, we’ll definitely be back in our dorm rooms to go to bed! 

They won’t be. Riddle can see a sleeve of Deuce’s pajamas peeking from his bag, and Trey saw Ace opening a new box of toothpaste in the bathroom. It’s your birthday, so they’re going to let curfews and rules and whatnot slide this time.

Vil just has that motherly instinct so he knows Epel is going to stay up all night and fall asleep on some couch or unclean floor, so he simply instructs the lilac-haired boy to bring his night routine skin care products. Whether Epel actually uses it is a problem for the Vil of the future.

Sebek is just… a very obvious boy, who’s oblivious to the fact that he’s obvious. Lilia can read him like a book, and really has to spend a few minutes convincing him that no, he’s not abandoning his duties to the Young Master Malleus by having one (1) sleepover at a friend’s place. Malleus isn’t going to get in trouble tonight of all nights. Sebek only lets go of his reluctance when the Diasomnia Dorm Leader gives his approval.

Ortho’s probably the only good boy who actually just says it straightforwardly to Idia — there’s a 99.99% chance it’ll become a sleepover, so he asks his brother to help him prepare. 

Idia’s occasional sweet moments (that aren’t reserved just for Ortho) shine through. Aside from some party and board games, he loads Ortho’s bag with a bunch of unhealthy snacks. That’s what people eat in sleepovers, right? 

If people thought the first years were being particularly troublesome during your party, that was them holding back. When you choose to enable them? When they’re away from the eyes of their dorm leaders? They’re far worse, far more chaotic. 

(Although they all think they’re the most reasonable one in the group, the one with the most brain cells. Other than Ortho, they all lose brain cells when they’re together, bless them. As for Ortho, he just chooses not to use his big brain for the sake of having fun)

This includes Jack and Sebek, who genuinely just need a push to let loose. Competition is the easiest way for the both of them to relax and have fun. Especially Sebek. Yes, he WILL (try to) defeat everyone in a silly human game of TWSTer what about it?

Ortho is 100% the banker in TWST’s Monopoly equivalent. He’s the one stopping Ace from getting a few extra bills from the bank (because yes, they’re playing the old version with the bills and not the inferior credit card version). They also all have different understandings of the rules so they spend a good 10-15 minutes settling on which to follow and which rules they’re making up.

They have a good amount of food for the sleepover, from your leftovers from your party earlier in the day, to whatever food everyone else managed to bring. The only one who doesn’t bring any is Sebek, and he says everyone should be grateful he didn’t bring any, for reasons more obvious to him than anyone else.

It’s wiped out by sunrise though. Mostly because of Grim and Sebek.

They start a not-too-serious fight at some point, where you are obviously the one recording everything with your phone (or developing photos with the Ghost Camera). 

It’s Ace, Deuce, and Epel obviously, with Sebek yelling at them about their rowdiness (while not stopping them), Ortho making predictions about who will come out on top (also not stopping them), Grim laughing loudly while munching on food (obviously not stopping them), and Jack sighing deeply (stopping them… eventually)

Ace taps out first, lol. Everyone roots for Epel. 

The obligatory two in the morning truth or dare game involving everyone’s damaged egos and social media pages, and their seniors questioning them about what the hell happened last night and why did the prefect post a picture of you doing… the morning come.

Ace, Deuce, Epel, Grim are definitely the dare people. Ace in particular is all dares because he thinks people who pick truth are boring (in truth, he just doesn’t want to spill embarrassing stories about himself… which is a sentiment that doesn’t last that long)

Ortho is a mixed bag who alternates between truth and dare, but no one really goes that hard on him. Ortho still gives really interesting stories (most of which involve Idia) that make everyone go huh!

Jack and Sebek are truthers, but they do end up doing a dare or two if they don’t want to answer any particularly personal (or embarrassing) questions

(If you happen to be dating one of them… or, excluding Ortho and Grim, you’re dating multiple/all of them/y’all are a polycule, well, truth or dare gets even worse, but in a fun way!)

The truth or dare game is followed by the just as obligatory three in the morning heart-to-heart session where everyone gets embarrassed about the past and contemplates about their futures, and everyone also cries a little (or a lot, but no one’s going to admit that) 

Followed by the four in the morning passed out on the floor all huddled up for warmth because everyone was too lazy to get in a bed or on a couch.

To wrap it all up, the first years are at their most powerful and embarrassing when they’re all together but they’re also the only group ever, go stan the first years thank you.

masterlist

and we're done! while these hcs aren't my most... eloquent writings, i still had a lot of fun, and it was really cute seeing people in the tags/reblogs talk about how their birthdays were coming up/had just passed and that they enjoyed reading/were going to read it on their birthdays. so so cute!

#twst x reader #twst headcanons #twst hcs #malleus draconia x reader #twst silver x reader #lilia vanrouge x reader #nathya twst writing #sebek zigvolt x reader

[uniformbravo]

if i knew fucking anything about music production/mixing it’d be over for you bitches

#im very good at making demos. if anyone needs someone to make demos for them im ur clown #retag later #music blogging #so incredibly happy w/ how this current song is coming out in terms of both composition and lyrics #but i have no way of really making it presentable bc i don't. know how #also once again i've crafted a melody way out of my own singing range so i wouldn't even be able to perform it either ;w; #music is fun!! but so so hard

[gra-sonas]

Currently airing its second season and already renewed for its third, The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico continues to push the story of alien siblings attempting to live peacefully in the town of Roswell to new places even perhaps for fans of the original Roswell. MICHAEL VLAMIS discusses working on the show, the complexities of his character, Michael Guerin, the many (MANY) other projects on his plate and more!

watchtivist: To start off, congratulations on the success of the show! How cool that you’re heading into season three now!

MICHAEL VLAMIS: It’s crazy, I remember when I got the call that I was going to be on the show in the first place. It’s the role that changed my life and it really set me up for all the other things going on in my life. I remember getting that call, crying in a public place. So jacked up! And now all of a sudden, it’s like no big deal. I watched the episode last night (episode 207) on the TV and I get reminded it’s a big deal when I talk to my parents after every episode and hear their thoughts. Just the fact that they get to see their son miles away on television once a week. I appreciate you saying that because sometimes it feels like this is something we’re doing now, but definitely taking those moments to be grateful and the fact that we have season three is amazing.

W: It’s really great, especially in this landscape where shows don’t really get to dig into things. It’s gotta be exciting!

MV: Definitely.

W: One of the questions we received from Twitter was about if this role, that of Michael Guerin, has led you to acquire any particular skill set (or sets) for it.

MV: Oh wow, that’s interesting. Season one made me pull out my guitar again. Which was actually really cool because I got like not good at guitar, but decent where I could play a few songs. In college, I borrowed someone’s guitar and later got my own and played a bunch. Then for years, I got so focused on trying to make it as an actor, writing and auditions, that I stopped playing it. The show forced me to really go out of my comfort zone and even though it was easy things like songs with four chords or strumming patterns, sometimes depending on shooting schedules and if they got switched around, I’d learn something three hours before going to set. We’d wrap super late sometimes and I’d come home and dig in with my guitar. It’s definitely helped me brush up on that. I haven’t played the guitar on season two, so I’m probably back to where I was. [Laughs]

W: With the violent circumstances making up Michael’s background, he kind of starts out with that “looking out for number one” approach to things and season two we’re seeing Michael’s growth and him realizing when it’s perfectly ok for him to let people in and reprioritize based on that. What has that been like for you in terms of tackling the role? What would you say is the next phase of the growth for him?

MV: I think number one in tackling it was that I had no idea that the character was this complex in the beginning. I knew he was hiding his sexuality and who he really is, which is an alien. I knew that something had happened to him in the foster system growing up and he didn’t have the best upbringing. As the seasons have developed, everything has made a lot of sense. I’m sure Carina (Adly MacKenzie) knew from the moment she got the opportunity to do the new Roswell , so the way that it was written in the beginning, I was never surprised where it led me. And even with not being surprised, it’s been really cool to just see what they’ve given me to jump into. It’s kind of helped me deal with some of my trauma as a kid, and my trauma is not near what Michael Guerin’s was. I definitely had my moments, just as we all do with our families. Not feeling good enough or just hiding certain things about you because you’re afraid of who you are and people wouldn’t understand you. The complexities of the character have really helped me also look into who I am. Because I need to figure out a way into every script, every scene and the character. It helps me strip things away and boil down to “Ok, who was thirteen-year-old, chubby, Michael Vlamis and now I’m this way. What was that growth like?” Figuring out my own personal growth helps me elevate that character, Michael Guerin.

With where we’re going next, I can’t say too much because he already has some changes coming towards the end of the season. It’s very interesting to see everyone’s theories online, some are correct and some are way off.

I saw in last night’s episode they finally revealed the junkyard owner, Walt, was the little boy from the flashbacks and people were speculating that really early on! That was really cool to see people getting validation in their theories because I love seeing those online. When it comes down to it, I want the dude to be happy with one of these lovers. I don’t know who that’s going to be. Everyone always asks who I’d rather be with and I can’t really even say that, even if I had one, because they’re both so different. I think Maria (Heather Hemmens) and Alex (Tyler Blackburn) are both good for Michael at different times in his life. I know Tyler is going around telling people that that’s what he wants in season three and I let him run his mouth and hope that his new love interest in the show crashes and burns. [Laughs] I would like him to be in a good relationship, a happy relationship, but at the same time, I’m so excited to do the work on the days where my mother is dying, my brother is in a coma or I’m getting my heart ripped out. I love those scenes so much, as happy as I want and think Guerin deserves to be, I love the drama on the show. So, a little bit of heartbreak won’t hurt me.

W: Right, that makes sense. The question was going to be what would you want to see for Guerin in season three and beyond but you basically answered that! You want him happy. [Laughs]

MV: I’d love to see that. I would like to further expand his journey of putting that spaceship back together. I would love to see where that goes. I don’t even know if The CW has the budget to do that and take us to outer space or something but I think that’d be so cool. To find out about that and their home planet.

W: I mean, The CW has The 100 and DC Comics shows! Space isn’t a new place for The CW.

MV: That’s true! So maybe right now we’re willing it into existence. We’re manifesting it.

W: Actually, bringing up spaceships. Given that we live in the craziest of times and the Pentagon officially released videos of UFOs - Has that been something you’ve talked about with any cast or crew members?

MV: I haven’t talked to any of the cast or crew members about it but I’m pretty sure we’re all feeling the same way about it, we’re all excited for any new information. I’ve been interested in aliens since I found out Tom Delonge from Blink 182 was a major conspiracy theorist and loves everything about UFOs and alien artifacts, that search for if there’s life outside of our own. I always thought that was so cool, going back to fourth grade listening to “Aliens Exist” by Blink 182. I want that to be the case, I want that to be real. I think life would be far more interesting and I’m always trying to believe in the most interesting things because it just furthers the imagination. I haven’t talked about it with them but now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll shoot off a text.

W: The show hasn’t shied away from increasingly difficult topics like the foster system, immigration, citizen’s rights, abortion, etc. Is there an area you’re hoping the show either continues to explore or adds going forward?

MV: I would’ve answered this question so differently two years ago but now I would say something with the LGBTQ community really responding well to the show has really furthered me as a human being and opened up my mind to what people who are made to feel “outside of the norm” go through. I personally don’t think or feel that they are. I think it’s ridiculous the taboo that society has placed on sexualities over the years. The fact that we give marginalized voices a platform to come forward and see that what they’re going through, other people are going through. That it’s ok, it’s love and that’s all that really matters at the end of the day. It’s so special to me. The more that we can tackle that, it really comes down to my character and Tyler’s character having a great relationship. That might mean that Lily Cowles’ character, Isobel, is still going to Planet 7 and seeing what’s out there. I think it’s cool how we normalize that, it’s not a big deal. I live in LA right now, and people, they experiment, they’re fluid. They’re interested and the more you find out about yourself, the more you know, the more comfortable you are with yourself. I think that’s a really important topic that I want to further.

I think we’ve done a really good job with the idea of what an immigrant is and what an immigrant looks like. I think we tackled the abortion scenes, I would’ve never thought that was something on our show. It’s very hard because the writers find a way to interweave everything in. I haven’t had the time to sit back and think “what else?” because every week has been something new.

W: That’s a great answer, it’s true. The show has covered a lot of topics and it’s doing very well.

MV: The abortion episode was insane, Carina fought for those shots of Lily’s legs bloody and she didn’t want to shy away from the graphicness of the scene. And I think that was important, to be really truthful to that.

W: Incredibly. This season resurrected Rosa (Amber Midthunder) from a pod years later, which is similar in a way to Captain America or Han Solo being unfrozen. With time having gone on, she’s having to adjust and in her own way, catch up to 2020. Let’s say you were able to suggest 1-2 things that someone should undoubtedly know about in 2020, what would it be? Is it a book, movie, show, certain type of food? What’s something you’d for sure put on that “must haves/dos” list of things or experiences?

MV: Oh wow, you’re really making me think about this! I can’t help but think about it as if it was me in that scenario and I would say something that I was really fortunate enough to do ten years ago, which was scuba dive The Great Barrier Reef. I think it’s so sad that it’s deteriorating at such a rapid rate because of pollution. I’m sure some natural causes. A lot of people fighting climate change will say natural causes and I can understand and see both sides to that, but I know that we definitely contribute to that. That was one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen. And if someone wasn’t able to see it the way I saw it, I haven’t been down there since so I don’t actually know what it looks or feels like now. But that was one of the first moments in my life where what I was experiencing…the world felt so big. Not in a way it felt just traveling. In a way it felt magical, that something like this can just exist and has existed much longer than we’ve ever been around. I’ve had that with hiking the second largest glacier in the world. All these feelings with nature have really expanded my mind and my horizon of the potential and possibilities. Realizing we’re very small, we’re here for a short amount of time. Let’s cherish it.

Traveling to these places that have just been so affected, I think that’s very important because of what it did to my mindset.

W: I loved that answer, you made it ecofriendly and everything. That was wonderful!

MV: My sister studied environmental science at the University of Illinois, so I gotta keep her mind. But I really do believe that. Maybe that’s something I want to see in the show too! Go into some climate change.  I don’t think we’ve touched that really, have we? Each side has arguments.

W: Each episode of Roswell, NM is titled after a famous ‘90s song. What’s your favorite or what would you consider the most iconic ‘90s song or band/musician?

MV: For me, it was Blink 182! In the ‘90s that was me. I’m a big Conor Oberst fan, the lead singer of Bright Eyes. The fact I’m in a scene, now multiple scenes that play that song. They did it in season one and in season two, they play “First Day of My Life,” that has been so surreal to me because music has been so important to me as a kid. I haven’t told many people this. As a kid I’d make short films with my friends, a lot of people know that, but what they don’t know is that I would rip so much music from all these platforms. As a little 11 year old kid, I’d get as much music as I could to have thousands of songs on my iTunes and iPod. Not that I was going to listen to them, but that one day when I was making my own big movies, I’d have this database of music to select from. Back then there wasn’t Spotify and it wasn’t as readily available, and also I was a kid and that was my thinking! Music has such an influence on my life, but Blink 182 specially. All that angst I was feeling at the time as a kid, it’s really in Guerin and me, even though I handle it in different ways in real life. Feeling a little different or not understood, that was that music that would give me a release without being too intense or too Screamo. If a Blink 182 song is ever in a scene that I’m in, I can die a happy man.

W: [Laughs] Amazing. Alongside acting, you’re also a talented writer, director and producer. A screenplay that you co-wrote earned a spot on the Black List which was one of the coolest things I’ve ever read. Congratulations! Are there other projects you’re currently working on or maybe topics you’re considering for future screenplays?

MV: Thank you! Yeah, definitely! The new Nicolas Cage/Tiger King series, the creator of that is actually the showrunner of a TV show my writing partner and I created as well. So, we’re all really stoked about that. Dan Lagana, showrunner of American Vandal is making such a splash with this Nicolas Cage project that it’s helping our TV show get put together too. We’ve got the Black List/Mac Miller script, we have a “Halloween comedy” feature film that’s set up at Seth MacFarlane’s company right now. Hopefully that gets made. We have an “old lady comedy” that’s being read, taking a lot of good meetings on that. We’re writing our next movie right now, we’re probably going to finish the beat sheet. We do a very detailed, intense outline of the movie, scene by scene as if we were actually writing the script. Exterior, interior, every single scene in order, everything we want out of characters in the scene, what we expect to happen, some dialogue that maybe came to mind as we’re banging out the outline. Once we get to writing, we could bang out eight pages in a day. We finish scripts very quickly, so we’re writing a “mob action comedy” right now. So yes, I became a writer out of desperation and found some success with writing. It’s been really good. As a kid making short films, it wasn’t actually in script form.

The last four years I’ve been writing a ton and now it’s starting to pop off a bit. I love it. I produce my own movies too and it looks like we’re about to lock down distribution for the first feature film I produced and starred in called Five Years Apart, it’s got a pretty cool cast in it and I’m really pumped for people to see it, we have a really cool distributor, I’m 99% sure that’ll be our distributor but I don’t want to jinx it. We’ll see if that’s going to be Hulu, Netflix, small theatrical release, I’m not sure yet. As a first time producer I’m learning all that. We’re gearing up on producing our next feature too, we were planning on filming in Wisconsin this summer but things have changed with the conditions of the world.

Acting, producing, writing, directing and releasing another merch line. I’ve been staying busy during the quarantine!

W: Seems so! I saw the line and love the pops of color!

MV: Thank you! It’s been really good, honestly the feedback, I was very surprised with how it’s done. Compared to last year and the multiple drops, this year, we’re nearing a certain point in orders and products that we’ll have to produce within three days of being out. It’s been really cool. Last year we gave 100% of profits to a charity called Random Acts started by Misha Collins of Supernatural. And this year, I unfortunately can’t do 100% again, I made the point but learned the lesson in that we had no money for this next launch. [Laughs] I had to dig into my own pockets, which was fun and it’s all good, it’s a big creative project. This year Carina created this thing called The Little Alien, a Roswell fund for the Roswell crew that’s out of work right now. She’s been raising money through t-shirts and I’m going to donate some of our proceeds to them as well. They’re the heartbeat of the show, they’re the reason we get to be there every day and things go smoothly. We’re trying to take care of them at this time.

W: Amazing, intentions matter so that’s really cool to hear. Lastly, anything you’d like to say to those reading and watching?

MV: To those reading and watching, thank you from the bottom of my heart that you’re tuning in and giving me a platform to do what I love the most. And what I set out to do felt like such a dream that from the age of 12 to 20, I wasn’t acting and making movies. Dreams are just dreams until you realize that they are very plausible, and most dreams, I think, can be achieved given the right circumstances, opportunities and work ethic. Thank you for allowing me follow my dreams and I hope that I’m able to inspire you to follow yours.

~ WatchTivist

#michael vlamis #mgv interviews #rnm spoilers #long post is long

[ts-hvv4]

EPISODE FIVE: “YOU HEAR THAT NOISE? ITS THE SOUND OF AN UPRISING” - Chris

BARRY MANILOW IS DISGUSTED WITH THIS CHOICE OF CHALLENGE @nicole @owen @monty @andrew

Kage has just been voted out and I have a lot of thoughts in my head when LO AND BEHOLD Ned messages me saying how Jake talked about Armonia sticking together, also wanting Olivia safe, and Andreas/Dennis/me picked off. I dunno if it is true or not but I have to laugh.  Malik and Ned were supposedly on the bottom of the tribe, but I suspect now these two wanna flip and such. Now this is further complicated by me not knowing where Sarah, Matt, Nicklas, and Lukas stand and I fear that if/when we merge, there is intention on getting a person like me out. Nevertheless, I need to do as much talking as I can with people

Ned just came to me telling me, that at Ancient Thera Jake told him, they bamboozled my og tribe and want to stick together and stay "OG Armonia strong" and want Ned to save Olivia... Oh boy. I feel really really good about Ned telling me this, I guess that means that Olivia so far is the person to go, IF we lose the challenge and I somehow need to find out a way to warn the others, even though that could blow up my game come merge aswell. But first off, thank you ned <3

You hear the noise? It's the sound of an uprising! I am so about to start chanting some Les Misérables up in here. Like I can be a pretty calm person but when it comes to adversity, I don't whine and cry about it, I act about it to bring a change for myself and right now I feel I need a change or else I am screwed. So alas, it's time to rally the troops

how did last round even happen LMFAO... so skrt skrt lets rewind ladies! we lose the challenge because certain judges don’t have TASTE. and it was a mess cus we were all sure we would win so we didn’t talk for 3 days LMFAO. i was nervous cus my old tribe was in the minority, but i am close with Nicklas. I kept telling him and the others that i don’t really trust Trent and would gladly vote him out, however Nicklas told me before that there was some mistrust with Kage. So I pushed that to him, saying i would feel better with Kage going now, and that i’d vote trent the next time we lose. He said he would consider it but was very weary. ...then a couple hours later sarah decides she wants Kage out? I was confused, and Sharifa was freaking tf out. Oh also Sharifa told me she has the idol, fun FACT. But near tribal Sarah made a chat of me her nicklas matt sharifa and kurt to discuss a vote. We agreed on Kage, and somehow... he went home LOL. So, I guess I’m feeling a bit more secure. But in terms of the overall game, i am worried because apparently the other tribe thinks i’m inactive (um i give the energy i receive and matt and kage sucked ass at talking to me so i wasn’t going to bother having a dry conversation) so i wonder if people won’t take me seriously in this game ! boo. whatever. anyways i’m at the ancient thera and i better get an idol period 

I’m just a fat little bitch who loves berries

DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING? SINGING A SONGS OF ANGRY MEN? IT IS THE MUSIC OF THE PEOPLE WHO WILL NOT BE SLAVES AGAIN. WITH THE BEATING OF YOUR HEART ECHOES THE BEATING OF THE DRUMS, THERE IS A LIFE ABOUT TO START WHEN TOMORROW COMES!

im so glad we won immunity, i need a damn BREAK. but now i’m nervous that Ned is going to get voted out because he’s basically inactive lmao. but i hope he survives. sarah approached me last night and asked if i found my “Dani” in the game (aka my loyal ride or die) and i said no and she said good because she wants to work with me. she then asks if i’m good with sharifa and kurt and i say yes and she says that she “adores” them. hm idk what to think! i asked who she was close w on her old tribe, and of course she says “i like them all equally :)” -.- if we happen to lose again, i think i would want matt or lukas out the most because i don’t know how much i actually trust them, but i think we might be stuck voting trent if they really want us to pay them back for the kage vote. i just need another tribe swap!!!!!!!!

Too much pressure

Chris found the idol!!!!!! I am so happy for him, and for the trio of me/dennis/chris. I now know where half the idols in this game are ....... this is INCREDIBLE!! Olivia continues to not speak game with me at all, and Keegan isn't much better. Given the new tea that Ned spilled about Olivia and Jake, we are for sure targeting Olivia. The vote should be 3-2-2 right now, with Dennis, Malik, and Ned voting Olivia. Then Chris and I are voting Keegan, with Olivia and Keegan throwing their votes on either Chris or I. With the idol, even if we have any funny business at tribal like votes, etc - then we should be good..... i pray haha

We lost the challenge which is unfortunate but not surprisingly. This tribe is just full of challenge flops. Scrambling for tribal has been... minimal to say the least. DENNIS is saying he’ll vote for anyone as long as he survives the round. CHRIS is saying he hopes tribal lines aren’t still in play but is willing to do what he has to survive. And ANDREAS is just kind of floating there not scrambling too hard. The TINKY CLAN is currently deciding who to vote between ANDREAS and CHRIS since we want DENNIS around for challenges. Ultimately it doesn’t really matter which of the three get votes off as long as they don’t have idols and we manage to make it through unscathed. The McBITCHES still need to reunite. On that note, major props to the OG AMMONIA tribe for getting KAGE voted out.

OLIVIA and I are hatching a plan to maybe have MALIK idoled out of the game. As it turns out, OLIVIA and NED are both getting annoyed with how MALIK is playing the game and don’t really want to continue working with him. And that’s fair. I think MALIK is a great person but as a player. Yikes. He sure is messy. Right now we’re deciding whether we want to tell DENNIS straight up to vote for MALIK, hoping he passes the word to CHRIS and ANDREAS, or if we should hang back and just not really let them in on the current plan to vote out ANDREAS. We could just straight up vote out MALIK but that seems like a bad option at the moment. Might lead to a 3-3 tie next tribal and possibly rocks, which would be terrible.

I am BEYOND tired of Olivia slandering me, talking down on me, and trying to come for me not once but TWICE this game. I knew the Matt thing had to have been true because Chris told me and Chris isn’t a liar, he never lies to me. I didn’t know about Matt, but Olivia apparently confirmed it TO ANDREAS. Seriously, what is this girls issue with me? She’s been at me, saying all this shit about me but acting so nice and cool to me to my face. I felt like I’ve legit done nothing to her, and I’ve even apologized more than once just in case I did anything. But now you wanna come for me. Hopefully tonight this bullshit will end, with it in my favor of you going home, because I am so sick of her and her antics. I’m using this to vent so I don’t blast off at her whether I or her leave this tribal. Gotta be careful sis.

I really hope the core group of five actually have my back. I definitely feel they do, but I’m just so paranoid after the news recently about it. I really am so nervous because no vote has gone the exact way it’s supposed to so far, but I hope that is five are good and we all stay. If an idol takes me out I’ll be so sad. I love those guys! Ned, Dennis, Andreas and Chris! ❤️🔥 Teen Titans!

Today has pretty much been INSANE. I owned having the idol to Andreas/Dennis and hopefully they believe me when I say I just found it, Olivia/Keegan finally lived for Matt and Sarah's warning that they wanted Malik out, and so now, this is hopefully going to be a 3-2-2 vote of all Armonia, which will probably cause confusion with the other tribepeeps hopefully! Meanwhile, Ned/Malik want to work with us, Malik trusts me even more, and tbh I feel so good. It all is beginning to feel like it is coming all together!

[nevermadeadime]

more life

More Life

The Biggest rapper in the world sounds more relaxed than he ever has on "More Life", a record that sees him pulling collaborators from all corners of the globe to create a playlist for the club or the sesh.

Culture-vulture, wave-rider, trend-hopper: all of these terms have been used as sleights against Drake throughout his career. Whether it be breaking the Weeknd and having Abel Tesfaye write half the hooks on "Take Care" or stealing the beat for "Hotline Bling", Drake has always had to face these allegations and they have usually been justified. This trend culminated with the massively successful release of "Views", and the equally massive backlash that album saw from fans and critics around the rap community.

"Views" was a slog of a record. Ten songs too long, the decision to break it into 6 rap songs, 10 pop songs and another 4 or so rap songs served to alienate both his rap fanbase and his broader, pop audience. And the singles all hopped on the sound of the moment, Dancehall-lite tropical pop. Problematically, Drake had started singing and rapping with a Jamaican accent, and cut Popcaan off of a massively successful single that he probably wrote. Drake's faux patois on the album was grating, and the most overt pop moves of his already very commercial career felt like a concious pivot away from hip-hop.

Sure "Views" had great lyrical tracks, hits and some beautiful melodies, but the length, structure, and overwhelming darkness of the album wears on the listener. It is not a classic record the same way "Nothing Was The Same" or "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" were, that's for sure.

So now, nearly a year later, Drake has given us "More Life", a 'playlist', not an album, but a record that features 22 tracks, 20 of which are Drake songs. The record is leagues more enjoyable than "Views", and up there with the best records Drake and 40 (for they are one and the same at this point, the most dominant songwriters of the decade) have done.

Drake has taken the accusations of trend-hopping and turned them on their head, curating a truly international album with songs that appeal to his broadest audience yet. He has finally figured out how to make these different regional sounds he has been messing with into authentic and respectable sounding songs. The standout example of this would be the song "Get it Together", in which he takes a classic black coffee song and essentially changes nothing, simply adding his own lyrics. Instead of the culture vulture feeling that songs like Hotline Bling or Controlla gave, it feels like an expertly calculated display of good taste, and works flawlessly.

This newfound clarity is clear from the features too. UK rappers Giggs and Skepta have verses, and the sound of London is all over the playlist. This allows him to co-opt UK slang like 'KMT' or 'wasteman' and not sound ridiculous because he has the godfathers of this shit all over the damn record. Similarly, the riddims, the sheer amount of looks he has thrown Popcaan and Vybz Kartel at this point, and the fact he's calling these songs "Blem" and "Madiba Riddim" make all this Jamiacan shit more acceptable to me than Views was. It also helps that the songs are less overtly pop leaning than songs like "Too Good" or "Work". This shit will never be for me, and 'Gyalchester' is easily the worst song on the album to me at the moment, but when he gives you 22 songs it doesn't matter if a few miss.

Because everything else is fucking HEATERS. From the first two songs, you'd be forgiven for thinking we're gonna get another "IYRTITL", just low stakes bars over the hardest beats money can buy. That's what I thought. Then you get to "Passionfruit". If there's any justice, this song will be the biggest hit of Aubrey Graham's career. It hits the same beats emotionally as "Hold on We're Going Home", but over a truly futuristic and out there house beat that wouldn't sound out of place in Fabric, Output or anywhere else. The song is incredible, my first time listening to it I couldn't believe that he made a song like this and actually wound it back on the record but it works and is just amazing. very cheeky!

"Get it Together" is great, the Jamaican sounding songs (Blem, Gyalchester, madliba riddim) are all wack to me though. Sampha's "4422" is better than half the songs on "Process" (which was kind of a disappointment now that I think about it). If he was gonna include an obscure British singer he'd worked with before I'd have preferred Jai Paul! Skepta's track is hard obviously.

Then comes "Portland" featuring Quavo and Travis Scott, which, besides "Passionfruit", is the other obvious hit on this record. This shit bangs. It's also using that flute sound which has been really big in the last month or so, that future song and "Tunnel Vision" have it too. Anyway, the first line of the song is already a meme "My side bitch got a 5s with the screen cracked" and the hook+flutes+features mean the song is guaranteed to be huge. The next tune, "Sacrifices" with Thug and 2Chainz would've been the hit 5 years ago, sounds a lot like "All Me". Hook is kind of boring but 2Chainz might have legitimately the best verse on the whole playlist. Dude will be rapping hilarious verses everyday until he's like 90. "Got wood on the Cartier, that's a face full of splinters!" Thug is obviously great. more on him later.

"Nothing Into Something" is simp Drake and I'm sure the people who enjoy that will enjoy it. "Teenage Fever" is great though. The J-Lo sample is so obvious but so great. it's a solid reminder that Drake isn't writing these songs about random thots, he is writing them about his relationships with Jennifer Lopez or Serena Williams. Drake was a teenager when that J-lo song came out. You have to respect the hustle that he got with her and then sampled her on a song about how into her he was as a teenager. damn. left turn indeed.

Fuck "KMT" though, free X! The Giggs verse on "KMT" is tied with the 2Chainz verse for best on the album though. This is the one bit of swaggerjacking on this record I can't abide, just completely stole xxxtentacion's flow. x will be huge though we aren't worried. Gotta be honest looking at the tracklist I don't even remember "Lose You" and "Can't have everything". I listened to them again they are ok. "Lose you" has some clever lines it's pretty good actually. "Can't have everything" is aite but the bit with his mum at the end is pure fire.

"Glow" featuring Kanye would be the one dissapointing moment on the record for me. The song is actually really good, especially the end and the way the sample comes in, awesome. But it feels like this song was supposed to be the intro for the Drake x Ye record, which hearing this would have been fucking incredible. hopefully we still get it. This is Kanye's first appearance on wax since the whole Trump thing, so I'm glad his neighbor has thrown him this look and happy he seems a bit better! Good for you Ye!

PND is kinda trash imo. Fake Love is a dope song we know this already. "Ice Melting" is fucking awesome though, probably my favorite song on the record right now. The hook is like all the songs from "jeffery" combined together like voltron into their final form for this Drake album. This song also deserves to be a hit but then again I think every catchy Thug song will be a hit and only "Lifestyle" ever was! Thug has two features and he is definitely the lowkey MVP of this album.

Also, I might write something more in depth about this but Thug definitely wrote Drake's verse on "Sacrifices". This segues into a bigger point I guess. We are now nearly two years removed from the Quentin Miller tapes and Meek Mill's accusations. It is interesting how the conversation shifted from "is it true?" to "does it matter?" and I think the answer to the second question is a resounding no. I have come to terms with the fact that Drake gets a lot of help on his songs, and that a lot of his throwaways, feature verses, and even a few hits are written by other people. Drake is always there I'm sure but it's clear that Thug wrote that verse. This is all besides the point of the actual quality of the album but w/e. point is, no one cares and it doesnt matter.

Maybe because these events are so behind him, Drake sounds more relaxed on “More Life”. On “Views” he sounded angry, defensive, and it made the music sound cold. “More Life” on the other hand, sees Drake sit back and make songs for the club and the people more than for himself and his ego. If “Views” was a cold, dark, winters day, then “More Life” is a summer night, seemingly never ending, just good vibes. 

Man, I barely even talked about the sound of this album! 40's atmosphere and sound is so familiar at this point that it's hard to say anything new. It's lush, its lavish, its deep, its loud. These 22 songs form a collection of the most expensive sounding beats currently possible to make. Honestly, these Drake records are at the point that we can compare them to Pink Floyd or Chic in the attention to detail and sheer fidelity of the sound. Yet dont say they dont evolve. "Passionfruit", "Portland", "Ice Melting" and "fake love" really do sound different to anything Drake has rapped over before. Drake and 40 have a formula, they are never going to flip the script like Kendrick did with "TPAB" and that's fine. These guys have another 5 or so years of this before they start to fall off, just enjoy it.

#drake #more life #review #article #music review #pitchfork