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dusklxght · 1 year

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LEIGHTON SINCLAIR // werewolf

“well, there you go again, you're talking down to me. i may look innocent, don't underestimate me. i'm gold, i'm platinum, don't you know i'm outta your league?” - dumb blonde by avril lavigne & nicki minaj

{halston sage; demiwoman; she/they} hey isn’t that LEIGHTON SINCLAIR? the 28 year old WEREWOLF and a song that plays when you see them is DUMB BLONDE by AVRIL LAVIGNE & NICKI MINAJ. They are known to be CHARMING and SELFISH. They have been in VALDEZ for THEIR ENTIRE LIFE and always remind me of calculating looks behind cat-eyed sunshades, the clink of champagne glasses, sarcasm with a crimson smile, and karma coming for your enemies. what secrets will they discover? [livvy, 26, cst, she/her, n/a]

name: leighton (lay-ton) evelyn sinclair name meaning: meadow town nickname: leigh (lee) face claim: halston sage pronouns & gender: she/they & demiwoman age: 28 height: five foot five hair color: blonde eye color: blue

birthdate: august 1st zodiac sign: leo orientation: pansexual, panromantic occupation: model/socialite species: werewolf (born) pack: sinclair position: delta family: jasper sinclair (brother), jude sinclair (brother), torrance sinclair (father), evelyn sinclair (mother), roxanne sinclair (sister-in-law)

moral alignment: chaotic neutral vice & virtue: pride & diligence hogwarts house: slytherin character inspo(s): katherine pierce (vampire diaries), blair waldorf (gossip girl), margaery tyrell (game of thrones) languages: english, some french and latin traits: charming, clever, sarcastic, impulsive, selfish

history (death tw)

Born into the wealthy Sinclair family, Leighton enjoyed every facet of the upper-class society the family flaunted about in. Yes, the youngest of the three siblings was the charmer, the one who knew how to get people’s attention and furthermore, how to keep it. Well, maybe not her parent’s (rip), but that was beside the point.

It was no secret that the children were, yes, a product of a scheme meant for securing the family legacy. Any of the kids could potentially weasel their way up the ranks of the Tyler pack. Options, options, options.

The hierarchy did end up being altered dramatically. One thing led to another, a domino effect. At some point their father became second-in-command, and then the Tyler alpha and their own eldest child were killed not long after. A crazy, shady turn of events where various people were blamed.

The Sinclairs rose to power due to it. Torrance as the alpha, the oldest sibling Jude as the heir, Leighton able to keep her socialite life but now she was more respected and important within the pack, and Jasper… who was Jasper, kind of the black sheep.

They triggered their werewolf gene during their teenage years, and hoped that would’ve been seen as an accomplishment to their parents. Leigh just wanted to see pride in their eyes. And sure, they told her that was good, but it seemed more monotone than anything.

During school, Leighton tried to be the achiever, focused on her grades, was on the cheer squad, even dated a star football player from her school too. But during that time, Jude was already well into adulthood, and their parents seemed to be far more focused on him than their daughter who wasn’t an heir.

Even though the parents got what they wanted, some things stayed the same. The older Leigh got, the more she seemed not to care about the way their parents didn’t really show them much attentiveness (or compared to the golden child Jude). In reality, Leigh wanted more of their attention.

Sure, she could charm the people at those frequent social gatherings, flash smiles that seemed genuine enough to convince people who didn’t actually know her. But in truth, it’s not really the same.

Leigh attempts to not show how much it actually bothers her. But the lack of parental attention seemed to have provoked her to turn to others, even strangers, who could fill that void.

Eventually, however, she did get signed to the town’s modeling agency, definitely leaning more into the socialite part of the Sinclair family. More parties, magazines, photoshoots, the like. At least she could do her part that way, help the family with their image. At least she’s... trying.

Unfortunately, on the silver screen of the Sinclair family, Leigh can’t help but feel more like a side character. It’s fine, she tries to keep telling herself. Just keep smiling. Don’t let them see the crack in the mask. Because if there’s one thing the Sinclairs aren’t, it’s weak. Right? Right...

tl;dr

Leighton grew up wealthy in the Sinclair family and enjoyed the status; the baby but also the charmer of the Sinclair siblings

Hierarchy of the pack shifted when their father was made second-in-command but then the alpha of the then tyler pack and their kid were killed; blame party extravaganza

Torrance Sinclair became the alpha, and Leigh’s own status - as well as the rest of the family - rose for being a part of the new leader’s family

Leigh acts like it doesn’t bother her that their parents don’t give that much attention and love, so she frequently attends social gatherings and uses friends or strangers to fill the void

Got signed to the local modeling agency, doing some modeling along with continuing the socialite brand

headcanons

Through the years, Leighton has often traveled around. She’s been around the States many times, especially big cities, but also a few other countries here and there.

She doesn’t seem to care much about the other species. But that’s not to say that Leighton isn’t intrigued by the subject of immortality. Hell, if the opportunity ever presented itself, there’s no guarantee that Leigh would turn it down. The Sinclair who lived forever… has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

Has a white Porsche and other elaborate vehicles that are perhaps far too fancy for a small town in Alaska, but Leigh was always one for dramatics.

some inspo songs

dumb blonde – avril lavigne & nicki minaj

chewing gum – nina nesbitt

karma – taylor swift

the last great american dynasty – taylor swift

13 beaches - lana del rey

#LEIGHTON / introduction #death tw #valdezhqsintro

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lavendaers · 1 year

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Was that [RENEÉ RAPP]? Oh no no, that was just [LEIGHTON MURRAY], a [CANON CHARACTER] from [THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS]. They are [NINETEEN] years old, use [SHE/HER], and [ARE] aware that they are not actually from Washington DC. Too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

how long has your character been here: she thinks she transferred to dc after her brother was kicked out of essex

what is your character's job: no job, just a college student

where has your character been pulled from in their fandom: end of season 1/beginning of season 2

has any magic affected your character: it made her think she transferred instead of going back to vermont

and any other information you might find useful for us and the other members to know: leighton has spent most of her life in the closet. when she moved to vermont, she started hooking up with a lot of older women and has only recently come out to someone while also working up the courage to come out to others and just fully be herself. she can be a little bit of a hard person to get to know and can be your classic mean girl at times, but after she does let someone close, she’d do anything to help them.

#hw: intro #* LEIGHTON MURRAY \ INTRODUCTION.

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kingdomscollapsing · 6 months

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Welcome!

This is my oc ask blog set in a medieval universe. In this storyline:

Okay so

Theres this prince whos name is never shared so we just call him Prince MLG , and his father is cruel to all the help in his castle, especially one of the jesters. A 15 year old boy named Luki, who was poisoned by the previous alchemist, Vash, into being immortal. He hates being immortal. And eventually, everyone was sick of the cruel king. So MLG and Luki worked together an eventually, the entire kingdom came to an agreement, and the king was Executed.

One of the Jesters, Theodore, was on the kings side. So he goes out of his way to call Luki a murderer and stuff. Luki is extremely guilty and easily upset because of it.

Luki and the prince are best friends

Vash works in his own lab now in the Village with his "kids" (2 experiments that he acts like a dad to), Guardia and Cinder. He's a mad scientist planning to turn the world into monsters. Theodore is also.. extremely homophobic! That is until he meets a poet named Matthew, but he falls into denial.

Theres also a wizard protecting the kingdom, Bryony. Theres several other wizards protecting the other kingdoms. Bryony kinda looks like a soot sprite :).

Theres also a knight named Legolas, Luki's other friend. Legolas was born his parents had died of a disease and so someone found him, but thing is he has white hair and so because of that uhm well lil Legolas was casted out — fast forward to later on or so he joins the knights and works/ trains hard for his rank he has now (<- made by the friend who owns legolas) he was also a cannibal at some point because he was starving and he had a girlfriend/wife i forgot but shes. dead. and Luki ripped his hat once and Legolas gave him a new one, thats why hes emotionally attatched to the hat.

Oh and Luki killed his uncle when he was six cuz he didnt have glasses and couldnt see correctly. His father also died of illness. And his mother, overwhelmed with everything, tried to stab Luki, ended up missing and stabbing herself Theres also the princess, who's also a warrior, her name is Claire. And Theodores ex-boyfriend Marcel, the pirate captain.

#Introduction to the universe!!!#Ask Lukijester #ask blog #oc ask blog #rp blog #Lukijester #Legolas The Knight.#King Leighton #Theodore The Jester #Prince Mlg #Matthew The Poet.#Vash The Alchemist.#Guardia !#Cinder !#Bryony the Wizard #Captain Marcel #Princess Claire

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mwabledrable · 1 month

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Unknown

Chapter One: A Surprise Introduction

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x platonic!OC (Myra Leighton)

Summary: A new agent joins the team. She distant, quiet, and a loner. They knew nothing about her, nothing but the order for her transfer was given by the director.

Warning(s): Mentions of rape, blood, Hurricane Katrina, murder, curse words

"No one wants you to be yourself. They want you to be the version of yourself that they like."

-Marie Lu

Ding.

The elevator was completely silent besides the sound of passing floors, the atmosphere within grew tense, suffocating almost. Erin Strauss, the formidable section chief of the BAU, stood at the forefront, a veil of authority and composure cloaking her features. Her gaze flickered briefly towards the young woman behind her, flanked by armed agents poised for action at the slightest provocation. The woman herself was utterly calm, her eyes focused on the metal doors in front of her and her face expressed nothing. But Erin knew how much she did not want to be here, Erin knew how much she wanted to be at home right now, how much she hated the orders she was given.

There was nothing the woman could do to remove the order given to her, she knew that but the hate was still there.

The elevator jolted forward ever so slightly, signaling to the younger woman that they have arrived at the destination, the metal doors opened and everyone stepped out. Erin was the first, her heels clicked against the smooth flooring, it was somewhat graceful in the woman's opinion. The younger woman followed suit, surrounded by a phalanx of armed agents who remained vigilant, their watchful eyes never straying from her. Her gaze flitted around the corridor, taking in the austere surroundings and the sense of tension that lingered in the air. This was not where she wanted to be, not the place she ever imagined herself in.

The room buzzed with activity as BAU agents scurried around, their movements purposeful and urgent. Papers rustled, files were snatched up, and hushed conversations filled the air. Erin entered the room with a presence that commanded attention. The agents, engrossed in their tasks moments before, all turned to watch her with a mix of respect and curiosity. They recognized the gravity of her presence and knew that something significant was about to unfold. As the woman was escorted further into the room, she couldn't help but notice the penetrating stares fixed on her. Questions hung in the air, unspoken but palpable, as each agent tried to decipher the reason for her unexpected appearance. She could feel the weight of their scrutiny, the sharp focus of their trained minds assessing her every move. Despite the uneasy atmosphere that surrounded her, the woman held her head high, determined to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

It was a rare occurrence for a woman to be escorted by the section chief and armed agents to the unit chief's office. The air crackled with tension as they made their way down the stark corridors of the government building. The woman, whose features were shrouded in mystery, wore a sly smirk that hinted at hidden knowledge and power.

Erin stood before the wooden door, the old grains etched with time, the faint scent of cedar wafting through the air. It was already slightly ajar, but out of habit, she raised her hand and rapped her knuckles against the rough surface. It was a courtesy, a formality that had always perplexed her. If the door was open, why bother knocking?

She waited in the threshold, the anticipation humming in her veins, her thoughts swirling as she listened for any response. A rumble, a gravelly timbre cut through the silence, a simple "come in". It was a man, that much was evident from the depth of his voice, but there was a roughness to it, a raw edge that hinted at untold stories and hidden depths.

Erin looked back at the room of agents before speaking to the man, "I see Emily is adjusting well."

The man who had been seated at the desk rose to his full height, causing the woman to instinctively size him up. His attire exuded sophistication, the tailored suit hugging his frame in all the right places. Standing at an impressive height of six feet or more, he commanded attention without even trying. His jet-black hair was styled neatly, framing his chiseled features, while his intense gaze, the color of rich mahogany, bore into her own.

As he observed her in return, she could sense him scrutinizing her every move, trying to decipher the enigma that she presented. The tension in the room was palpable, a silent dance of curiosity and apprehension swirling between them. The air crackled with unspoken words, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

With a flicker of intrigue in his eyes, he finally broke the silence, his voice smooth and controlled, "She's doing alright, making friends with the rest."

"All good news then." Erin smiled and folded her hands in font of her before turning to the mob of agent, "You're dismissed agents."

The door was shut behind them, leaving the three alone in the office.

Erin turned to the woman, "This is Myra Leighton. She'll be a good addition to your team, Aaron."

Aaron looked at Myra again, his dark brown eyes widening ever so subtly that only she could detect the flicker of surprise within them.

"An addition?" He looked out the window, his team at their desks working on whatever paper work that needed to be done. "Our team has the necessary agents, especially now with Agent Greenaway's position filled. We have no need for another agent."

"The transfer was already approved, Aaron, she is on this team."

"I understand that, but there are also protocols that you have been ignoring. The transfer with Emily a few months ago and now you are wanting another transfer without my knowledge."

Erin cut him off, "This transfer was a direct order from the Director, Aaron. I had no say and neither do you."

#aaron hotchner #criminal minds #aaron hotch fanfiction #oc

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greenplumbboblover · 6 months

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Writing rambles.

So I've been looking around for some writing resources, since I felt that I had been just blindly been writing some characters and introductions of certain sims, and came across this:

youtube

Now, as a fellow commenter had written out was:

The 6 essential questions: Who is it about? What did they want? Why can't they get it? What did they do about it? Why doesn't that work? How does it end?

I got that easily all answered for: Morgana, Christopher, Leighton, Nancy, Zelda and to some degree Dustin/Illiana.

But I think the self-doubt I have been experiencing lately of "the story is turning boring" is probably because with the other characters, i've just dove nose first into a black void, not really thinking about it too much. And it actually makes it really difficult to write them properly. With their opinions and thoughts and reactions. Rather than, what I would say in those situations. That's... not really a character.

And while that can be fun... it's not really great?

Now I write each chapter after the other chapter is done. So while I have an outline, I can't go back and change that other chapter and the introduction of said characters.

So I was thinking after chapter 7, I will outline the character's I've introduced for myself, see who may be redundant and may only see as background characters, or see what character can I work with.

With that said, if you notice the lack of certain characters in the next chapters, it's probably due to that :)

#text post #lisisv #life is sunniest in sunset valley #writing #rambling #text #Youtube

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maladaptiveobsession · 3 months

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hi! welcome to my blog! below i will introduce myself and discuss my boundaries. you can find my masterlist at the bottom of this post.

introduction 🪸

please call me mal!

my pronouns are xe/xem

im genderqueer and electio aroace

currently writing for hazbin hotel, degrees of lewdity, and baki the grappler

my blog contains immensely dark, nsfw themes; all works tagged appropriately. please exercise your right to block my page if my content makes you uncomfortable. i am not accountable for your comfort nor will i entertain hostility.

boundaries 🪸

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT; MDNI

please state your age in your bio before interacting! you will be blocked if otherwise. if you aren’t comfortable stating your precise age, please at least somehow indicate that you old enough to interact with adult content. that being said, i have neither the time nor energy to confirm the age of every blog that interacts.

below are my kink request guidelines. if your kink is listed under the “not happening” or “may consider” section, it is not because i care what content you consume, rather because it makes me personally uncomfortable and i have no desire to interact with it or i am not confident writing for it. assume all unmentioned kinks are on the table until otherwise specified.

content i strictly will not write for:

scat

beastiality/zoophilia

eproctophilia

diapering

age/animal regression

age play

underaged characters

forced feminization/sissification

vore

cuckholding/cheating

chasity

content i may consider writing for on a case by case basis:

noncon

emetophilia

incest

watersports

mutilation/gore

necrophilia

period play

pet play

lactation

a/b/o dynamics

teratophilia

content i will happily write for:

age difference

size difference

dacryphilia

yandere

dubcon

knife play

overstimulation

breeding

somnophilia

dubcon

masterlist 🪸

🦑: nsfw

🪼: sfw/mostly sfw

baki the grappler

kiyosumi katou period headcanons [🪼/🦑]

baki hanma fucking your tits while you sleep [🦑]

naga katsumi orochi takes advantage of a lost scientist [🦑]

degrees of lewdity

roughly pegging kylar [🦑]

sydney and you explore bdsm [🦑]

robin’s shocking discovery [🦑]

leighton’s delight [🪼]

hazbin hotel

yandere vox headcanons [🪼]

yandere valentino headcanons [🦑]

yandere valentino/reader/angel dust [🦑]

yandere alastor headcanons [🦑]

yandere adam headcanons [🪼]

yandere charlie headcanons [🪼]

safe and sound — yandere charlie/reader [🪼]

#pinned post #masterlist #introductory post #described #image description in alt

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the-paris-of-people · 1 year

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I truly don't understand some of the criticisms of the sex lives of college girls season 2, particularly with the s2 finale. Yes, I agree the pacing is confusing and inconsistent, but the same can also be said of the Mindy Project, s3 of Never Have I Ever, or a LOT of other popular shows. They definitely could have defined time better in the show by explicitly stating major holidays/ I'm going to be detailing my response to some of the criticisms that I've seen from both reviewers and critics:

1.) The constant introduction of new characters and high romantic relationship turnover:

Honestly this one confuses me greatly because.... it's their first year of college? You're constantly meeting new people and "trying them on" as friends, as romantic partners, as hook-ups. It's realistic that you would be able to look back on your freshman year and laugh at how you had sex with your annoying biochem lab partner, or fucked a short king and cheated on your boyfriend and screwed things over, or went through a twincest phase, or were constantly catching the eye of the campus hotties. Honestly, the fact that these characters are slowly reckoning with their own identities and figuring out what they want out of their relationships (and the fact that some of them have!! after their first year of college!) is incredibly realistic. Also it's the second season of the show!! The characters need novel experiences (or at least just EXPERIENCES) for "character building" in the later years of their college journeys. Freshman year of college (and even just being 18-19) is supposed to be messy, and fun, and make no sense because you're figuring out who you are. I don't understand how people can't attribute the "messiness" of the plotlines with the life phase of the girls

2.) The fall of Leighton x Tatum and the revival of Leighton x Alicia:

Truly, I didn't know people were nvested in their relationship. From the very beginning, Tatum was cited as part of a "twincest" phase of coming out by Miss Willow (who is my favorite btw) and there was nothing that negated that. Tatum simply served as a catalyst for Leighton realizing how far she had come in embracing her lesbian identity, and just generally, realizing she cared wayyyy more about the LGBTQ+ community and other people's feelings that putting on this cool girl facade. Everything she did to impress Tatum at the beginning (the art gallery, trying to catch her attention) should how image and status-obsessed Leighton was, only for it to all fall down when she realized she cared more about changing and becoming a better person. Which is a positive thing! Also, what "relationship" was there to ruin? Tatum and Leighton had just started seeing each other and if count their dates including the dinner with the dads, had probably only had been on a small number of dates. This is in stark contrast with Leighton's relationship with Alicia, who she spent LOADS of time with at the women's center and privately in their own personal relationship. Alicia, on the other hand, who initially was everything Leighton didn't want to be in season one, actually was the person who taught Leighton a lot and made Leighton into a better person through Alicia's efforts at the women's center. I truly don't understand people's criticisms of Alicia's character that she was "so performative" and Tatum "showed that you can just be gay and exist without all this activism" I feel like that's code for "Tatum is more easily digestible in this cis, white, heteronormative world therefore I like her better as a love interest" Alicia, in my opinion, has a lot of positive qualities. She's bright, hilarious, has great chemistry with Leighton, and is incredibly caring and devoted to the LGBTQ+ community. I don't understand how it's a bad thing that she's seen an activist, she is just trying to create a safe space and make the world a more inclusive place.

3.) Bela's character demise:

This one REALLY pisses me off. To see people turn on Bela in what is clearly a trauma response after they claimed to stan her so hard in season one is absolutely reprehensible to me. Also, like the NHIE fandom shows, it proves that you can be a white woman and get away with anything whereas if you're POC, you make one mistake (particularly this is in response the point in the series where Bela cheated on Eric with Dan) and everyone turns against you. Seriously, no one says a word about Leighton gaslighting Natalie for not informing her about her chylamydia? And she never apologized to her either! People are forgetting how traumatizing the world of the Catullan was to Bela in s1. She was assaulted and belittled, and in the very beginning of the show was taught (with the six handjobs) that it was beneficial to leverage her sexuality to get ahead. Eric perpetuated this idea when Bela chided him for showing off in front of Dan in front of her, this idea that she needed to do whatever possible to rise to the top of her field. Also, the rigorous "rushing" process of the Catullan made her feel like other people also had to tough it out and that ultimately went to her head when she was in a position of power, which is NOT UNCOMMON! AT ALL! From the very beginning, Bela was a people pleaser and trying so hard to get people (her roommates, comedy writers, etc.) and coming up short so from the start this was built into her character. People are saying they hated Bela's character arc this season clearly do not understand TV and are not in it for the long haul. Regular people do not have linear journeys. They go through traumatic or triggering events which fuck them up, then they go down to their darkest point before they can rise again. The fact that this was written into Bela's character and the fact that they thought about her trauma response and wrote it into journey this season is amazing to me, and a sign of GOOD writing, not bad writing at all. The fact that people don't have anything but empathy for my girl is incredibly sad to me.

3.) Whitney's love affair with biochem and sex affair with the son of Julia Louis Dreyfus:

I feel like I haven't seen as much criticism of this besides the lack of direction in her romantic life. To that I say, Whitney explicitly said she was focused on finding herself this season. Her main goal was to explore her other interests outside soccer and to have fun, outside of relationships. Her cheating trauma (from that ugly ass man dalton) came back when she checked Canaan's phone, and though bio bro didn't really teach her much about romantic relationships, but like.... does everyone have to? Isn't it fun to hook up with your lab partner while discovering your passions? Also catty-words did a much better job of articulating Whitney's arc with Canaan than I ever could. Again, college is for being messy and self-discovery and Whitney is on the right track. Also this season 100% indicated that her relationship with her mom is much better than it used to be and I thought the moment they shared was really sweet (when her mom tried to get her the internship) I've seen people say Whitney had a terrible arc in season 1, and her grooming by Dalton served no purpose, but honestly I think they missed the point (which again, this post is complaining about people with no media literacy) Whitney not confiding in her mom about Dalton acted as a catalyst for relationship growth with her mother, and I'm sure it will come up in future seasons.

4.) Kimberly's story arc:

Oh, boy. I think I am going to make a whole separate post for the relationship of Kimberly and Canaan and how (to me) they make perfect sense together and the show has been building to since their first interaction. But I want to speak on Kimberly's egg donation storyline and betrayal (which I think is a strong word) of Whitney. A lot of complaints I've seen about the egg donation storyline is that it was just dropped. I agree with how it was strange that it was dropped, but upon future reflection, if this show is about all the four years of college, I'm sure the repercussions of the egg donation and Kimberly's revelation of the loss of her scholarship will come up in future seasons, which makes the most sense (because how can Kimberly deal with her donated eggs and the possibility they are being used to make babies if she JUST gave them. And I don't want her to have a medical issue right after, she had already been through so much!)

As for her betrayal of Whitney, well.... I have a controversial opinion about that. Whitney has every right to feel hurt and upset about seeing Kimberly kiss Canaan. HOWEVER, if my rough calculations are correct, Canaan and Whitney only dated for a month to a month and a half, 5-6 months ago. They were only official for a few days (though you can make the argument that Whitney thought they were serious for longer) Whitney showed no indication to her roommates (and even Willow when they were together at the last Theta party of the year) that she wanted to be with Canaan again, so Kimberly didn't know it was going to hurt Whitney as much as she did. As for "Whitney gave Kimberly the option to confess" I don't necessarily think a roommate breakfast was necessarily the best forum for Kimberly to deliver that news, and Kimberly KNEW that because she opened her mouth, saw how hurt Whitney was, and changed her answer. I ABSOLUTELY think that Kimberly should have spoken to Whitney about liking Canaan before kissing him and should have told her privately about it, but honestly, I know that most viewers at the ages of 18-19 would 100% be stunned at how to navigate the situation if they were in Kimberly's place as well. Again, these girls are still learning how to communicate with other people and honestly they 100% act more maturely than most people I knew in college so stop being so freaking harsh on them, JESUS! Also, they were setting up a Whitney x Canaan x Kimberly "love triangle" (because I think the feelings are unfortunately unrequited on Whitney's side from Canaan) from THE FIRST EPISODE. This tension between them was ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN because Canaan (at least in my eyes) was introduced as a love interest for Kimberly in the sense that their first meeting was a funny story that will be one to reminisce and Whitney hooked up with Canaan also in the first episode. Also this isn't a situation of "two girls fighting over a guy" this is more the situation of "my close friend didn't confide me or come to me first about an issue that affects me and that betrayal hurts me deeply and I don't think I can bare to live with it" which I feel is incredibly relevant and relatable. I heard a podcast that said Whitney is not so much hurt by Canaan liking another woman, but that Kimberly wasn't completely transparent with Whitney, which also occurred with Leighton and Nico in s1 and is VERY consistent with Kimberly's character. I have no doubt they will work it out and it'll make their friendship stronger. Whitney's hurt hurts ME (Jesus Alyah Chantelle Scott is amazing) but I know they'll get through it.

TL;DR: They're young, they're stupid, they're 18-19, and a friendship breakup/going through rough patches in a friendship and particularly a large friend group in college is so, so NORMAL. Have some grace for these wonderful young women and their messy journeys. If you actually examine the show and characters holistically s2, while not as good as s1, makes a LOT of sense. Also why is no one talking about how we got so much Lila this season and it was glorious?? She's a gift to this world.

Tagging @thefabulousfab-3 @basiltonpitch

#i realize i forgot to talk about eric but im not an eric fan sorry guys #but obviously he's coming back #just because characters #especially women characters regress or go through rough patches or dont have complete storylines with personal romantic work storylines the #whole shebang #doesnt mean they arent going through wonderful self discovery journeys #truly why are yall such haters #the sex lives of college girls spoilers #tslocg #kimberly finkle #whitney chase #canaan greene #lila flores #bela malhotra #leighton murray #the sex lives of college girls #tslocg spoilers

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lobotomy-jpeg · 1 year

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For weal or woe I will not flee, to love that heart that loveth me.

This is a holiday exchange gift for the immensely sweet and skilled Rysi who I believe needs no introduction. It's been a while, a good while since I drew gentlebeard and I had lots of fun making this for her! Zoom in and try to see if you can spot all the easter eggs~

[id: Digital painting study of God Speed by Edmund Leighton, the princess replaced with Stede and the knight with Ed from OFMD. The sculpture in the front has tentacles. Edward is wearing a purple cape and his horse is spotted grey, white and black. You can see a few of the pirate flags being carried by the knights in the forward distance. Stede is about to tie a red silk fabric around Ed's shoulder. /end id]

#i haven't done a project this big in a while and im very proud of it #ofmd #ofmd fanart #clip studio paint #our flag means fanart #our flag means death #our flag means death fanart #gentlebeard #gentlebeard fanart #edward teach #stede bonnet #edstede #medieval #knights #painting study #edmund Leighton

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skullivan-the-dawg · 7 months

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CHECKUP ASK How’re ya doin? Have you eaten or drank water recently? Anything you feel like ranting/rambling about? :3

I’m surprisingly good!! I’m drinking my “anxiety drink” (Coke Zero) BUT I did drink water!!

As for ranting…

I’ll do one of my favorite bands…

NSP BABY!!

In 2009, NSP (aka Ninja Sex Party) was formed by band members Daniel Avidan and Brian Wecht. They both play as characters (in order) Danny Sexbang and Ninja Brian. Danny Sexbang is an erotic idiot who is always trying to hook up with women in funny ways in ALL of the songs, while Ninja Brian is a homicidal murder. Their goal is to rock on with the power of comedy music (mostly about sex or dinosaur laser fights, you never know 🤷)

There are a total of 11 albums (4 of which are cover albums and 1/4 of those are a cover album of their old songs) so far. NSFW (2009), Strawberries And Cream (2013), Attitude City (2015), Under The Covers (2016), Under The Covers Volume II (2017), Cool Patrol (2018), Under The Covers Volume III (2019), The Prophecy (2020), Level Up (2021), The Very, Very, Very, Very Classy Acoustic Album (Also in 2021) and the upcoming album These Nuts (In March 2024).

All of their non-cover albums (so far) have hit #1 on the Comedy Album charts (and have reached #17 on the Billboard 200 around 2018). They’ve even performed on Conan (a late night show that ran from 2010-2021) with the song, Danny Don’t You Know (the BEST song in my opinion by NSP EVER, Cool Patrol) with the Cool As Heck Version (the censored version).

FUN FACTS!!!

Both members are in their 40s (Daniel being 45, and Brian being 48)

Brian does have a daughter!! The Game Grumps and NSP fans all call her Ninja Audrey :3 (She’s around 9)

Brian has a PHD in physics!!

Brian is also known as Trey Magnifique, another character that plays the saxophone

Daniel likes dinosaurs :3 (You can find it on dinodanny.com)

The band has been around for 14 years!! :0

TWRP is also a band that helps with NSP (they do most of the instrumentals) and Jim Roach (he’s the producer)

Brian also has a kids band with Jim Roach called Go Banana Go!

Both of them love New Jersey! (Brian was born in New Jersey, Daniel was born in Philadelphia)

Brian has also a podcast with Leighton Grey called Leighton Night With Brian Wecht.

The longest song they have is called The Mystic Crystal (13 minutes) and the shortest (not counting introductions, bits and outros) is Sex Training (1:44)

Daniel used to be in the bands The Northern Hues and Skyhill (Skyhill has had a comeback earlier this year, go check out their songs as well, they FUCKING rule!!!)

Both Brian and Daniel are also in the band Starbomb (THEY FUCKING RULE TOO) with Arin Hanson (also part of Game Grumps)

Danny Sexbang and Ninja Brian are also in In Space In Markiplier if you take a certain path

THANKS FOR READING THAT RAMBLE 😅🙏🏽

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ministry-mole · 2 months

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{ introduction! }

hiya there! my name is pattie, and welcome to my simblr ! :D

made this because i didn't wanna annoy my twitter oomfs with my lil guys, and i thought it'd be a good way to archive what happens in my game :] about me ! - i'm 16 years old, she/her, and from serbia!

-big fan of classic rock and new wave, which is quite apparent in my sims as you'll soon see

-purely sims 3, been playing it since i was around 5-7, has a very special place in my heart my sims !

currently playing with the junipers, my fictional british band from the 60s! members include vocalist teodoro capocci, bassist leighton mcmillan, guitarist rhys evans, and drummer mitch "misha jupiter" doyle! (if anyone has good short curly hairs for males please do send,,,, misha does Not look as i imagine him)

that's basically all, i'm quite nervous doing this, so i hope we can get along ^^'

#the sims 3 #sims 3 simblr #simblr #the sims

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dusklxght · 1 year

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tags

#ALEX / introduction #ALEX / interactions #ALEX / visuals #ALEX / musings #JORDAN / introduction #JORDAN / interactions #JORDAN / visuals #JORDAN / musings #LEIGHTON / introduction #LEIGHTON / interactions #LEIGHTON / visuals #LEIGHTON / musings #RIKU / introduction #RIKU / interactions #RIKU / visuals #RIKU / musings

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biboocat · 3 months

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I first heard about The Story of an African Farm (1883) by the South African writer Olive Schreiner in Vera Brittain’s memoir of the Great War, Testament of Youth. She and her fiancé, Roland Leighton were intensely interested in it, but its contents weren’t discussed, so I was curious to read it. Olive Schreiner wrote this debut novel when she was only in her 20s. The Story of an African Farm is set on an isolated farm in the South African veld. It is a coming of age story of the three children who live there, the two girls Em and Lyndall and Waldo, the farm manager’s son. Schreiner’s views are told mostly through Waldo and Lyndall as we follow their development and difficult quests. The novel is unconventional. Besides the traditional narrative sections it has the unusual features of an exposition (Times and Seasons) and an allegory as well as a lengthy letter. She describes Waldo’s spiritual journey from unquestioned religious belief to skepticism and apostasy and the replacement of the religious void with knowledge and an appreciation for the beauty and order of Nature. Olive Schreiner was raised by devout Christian missionaries but lost her religious faith after the death of her beloved 17 month old sister Ellie. Schreiner also raises the issue of gender inequality through Lyndall: the limitations on women’s education and their subservient roles in society, and she describes Lyndall’s desperate struggle for autonomy. I wasn’t surprised to learn that Olive Schreiner loved George Eliot‘s the Mill on the Floss and that she identified with Maggie Tulliver. Her views were quite progressive and controversial for her time, and the book was met with both wide appeal and opposition. I can imagine how it must have resonated with Vera Brittain’s own agnosticism and feminism. It’s a philosophical work that courageously challenges both the form of the Victorian novel and restrictive Victorian social conventions.

Memorable excerpts (among many):

“We must have awakened sooner or later. The imagination cannot always triumph over reality, the desire over truth…Now we have no God. We have had two: The old God that our fathers handed down to us, that we hated, and never liked; the new one that we made for ourselves, that we loved; but now he has flitted away from us, and we see what he was made of – the shadow of our highest ideal, crowned and enthroned.”

“But we, wretched unbelievers, we bear our own burdens; we must say, I myself did it, I. Not God, not Satan; I myself!”

I came across a reference to Olive Schreiner in a review of Lyndall Gordon’s biographical work, Outsiders: Five Women Writers Who Changed the World. I haven’t read it, but it sounded interesting, and I have provided the link:

The edition I read is from the Limited Editions Club. The cover material is Ugandan bark cloth, Isak Dinesen provides the introduction, and it is illustrated by Paul Hogarth. I have also seen editions from Oxford World’s Classics, Penguin, Virago, and Modern Library.

Memorable excerpts :

It is a terrible, hateful ending, said the little teller of the story, leaning forward on her folded arms; and the worst is, it is true. I have noticed, added the child very deliberately, that it is only the made up stories that end nicely; the true ones all end so.

They did not understand the discourse (the charlatan’s false sermon), which made it the more affecting. There hung over it that inscrutable charm which hovers for ever for the human intellect over the incomprehensible and shadowy.

To the old German the story it was no story. Its events were as real and as important to himself as the matters of his own life. He could not go away without knowing whether the wicked Earl relented, and whether the Baron married Emelina.

Times and Seasons is a very important chapter that outlines the course of one’s experiences with religious faith (if one is willing to think for oneself): belief, questioning, skepticism, disbelief, and finally the replacement of religion with knowledge and an appreciation of the beauty and order of Nature. Some excerpts from this chapter follow:

Is it good of God to make hell? Was it kind of Him to let no one be forgiven unless Jesus Christ died?

Is it right there should be a chosen people? To Him, who is father to all, should not all be dear?

We must have awakened sooner or later. The imagination cannot always triumph over reality, the desire over truth…Now we have no God. We have had two: The old God that our fathers handed down to us, that we hated, and never liked; the new one that we made for ourselves, that we loved; but now he has flitted away from us, and we see what he was made of – the shadow of our highest ideal, crowned and enthroned. Now we have no God...

We do not cry and weep; we sit down with cold eyes and look at the world. We are not miserable. Why should we be? We eat and drink, and sleep all night; but the dead are not colder.

And we add, growing a little colder yet, ‘There is no justice. The ox dies in the yoke beneath its master’s whip; it turns its anguish-filled eyes on the sunlight, but there is no sign of recompense to be made it. The black man is shot like a dog, and it goes well with the shooter. The innocent are accused, and the accuser triumphs. If you will take the trouble to scratch the surface anywhere, you will see under the skin a sentient being writhing in impotent anguish.’ And we say further, and our heart is as the heart of the dead for coldness, ‘There is no order’: all things are driven about by a blind chance.’. p117

What a soul drinks in with its mothers milk will not leave it in a day. From earliest hour we have been taught that the thought of the heart, the shaping of the rain-cloud, the amount of wool that grows on a sheep‘s back, the length of a drought, and the growing of the corn depend on nothing that moves immutable, at the heart of all things; but on the changeable will of a changeable being, whom our prayers can alter. To us, from the beginning, nature has been but a poor plastic thing, to be toyed with this way or that, as man happens to please his deity or not; to go to church or not; to say his prayers right or not; to travel on a Sunday or not. Was it possible for us in an instant to see Nature as she is – the flowing vestment of unchanging reality? When a soul breaks free from the arms of a superstition, bits of the claws and talons break themselves off in him. It is not the work of a day to squeeze them out...

Whether a man believes in a human-like God or no is a small thing. Whether he looks into the mental and physical world and sees no relation between cause and effect, no order, but a blind chance sporting, this is the mightiest fact that can be recorded in any spiritual existence. p118

Following this, the appreciation of the acquisition of knowledge and Nature’s own beauty and order fills the void of religion. pp119-121

We have never once been taught by word or act to distinguish between religion and the moral laws on which it has artfully fastened its self, and from which it has sucked it’s vitality.

But we, wretched unbelievers, we bear our own burdens; we must say, I myself did it, I. Not God, not Satan; I myself!

The secret of success is concentration; wherever there has been a great life, or a great work, that has gone before. Taste everything a little, look at everything a little; but live for one thing. Anything is possible to a man who knows his end and moves straight for it, and for it alone.

#olive schreiner

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cyarskaren52 · 4 months

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https://web.archive.org/web/20210128141211/https://www.spin.com/featured/jack-harlow-january-2021-cover-story/

Jack Harlow Knew This Was Coming

Well, sort of. But now he’s got a smash hit, a new album featuring Adam Levine, and he may have accidentally altered the course of NBA history

January 27 2021, 10:00 AM ET

DJ Drama was in no rush to return from his lunch break.

Sandwiched between the outskirts of Atlanta’s Bankhead neighborhood and the sprawling campus of Georgia Tech University is Means Street Studios. This hub of hip hop recording has played host to a litany of stars since its 2013 inception. Playboi Carti, Gucci Mane, Lil Uzi Vert and the late Nipsey Hussle are just some of the artists who’ve graced its halls.

Machine Gun Kelly X SPIN Cover Story - Promo 2

However, on this day in November 2017, the Means Street corridors were not especially glamorous. Atlantic Records had selected the studio complex to host its quarterly A&R conference in which DJ Drama, legendary mixtape arbiter and co-founder of Atlantic’s Generation Now imprint (Lil Uzi Vert, Killuminati), played a significant role.

Overnight success stories often begin at conferences like this one, long before viral TikTok challenges and feature placements on streaming services come into play. It can sometimes take years for an artist to build enough trust with a label to earn a star-turning album or single rollout. Drama knows a thing or two about this waiting game. It was his seminal free mixtape series, Gangsta Grillz, that helped rappers circumvent this indefinite layover and maintain relevance during the 2000s.

“I was just kind of, you know, taking my time to get back,” he admits over a Zoom call, reminiscing. He was, after all, DJ Drama. He was far past the stage where he needed to outhustle fellow A&Rs and executives. New music needed to hustle its way to him.

Still, as 2014 signee Lil Uzi Vert inched closer to international superstardom, Generation Now was in the market for a second star. When Drama finally returned from his break, something extraordinary happened.

“Right as I walked in just a little bit late, ‘Dark Knight’ was on. They were playing ‘Dark Knight’ in the meeting.”

A few months prior to Atlantic’s A&R summit descending upon Means Street, during the waning days of summer 2017, DJ Drama sat in a room at the studios beside his fellow Generation Now execs: Don Cannon, a similarly legendary mixtape DJ, and their partner Leighton “Lake” Morrison. Meeting with them were KY, a renowned engineer from Louisville, and a lanky, curly-haired white boy, also from Louisville, whose brand of brash-yet-self-conscious raps had built a fanbase whose support had him teetering on the brink of vested major label interest. This was Jack Harlow, Drama was told.

He knew who the 19-year-old rapper was. Drama’s friend and colleague Randy had hipped him to Jack’s Instagram page several months prior. Intrigued, Drama followed it and listened to a handful of the young rapper’s songs. The night before the formal introduction at Means Street, Jack had been thrust into a studio session by this same friend, Randy, to record with Generation Now’s inaugural signee, veteran rapper Skeme.

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Harlow has endeared himself to a wide array of musicians in a short time CREDIT: Noah Schutz

“The way Randy talked about it,” Drama recalls, “He was like, ‘I just wanted to see if [Harlow] had his chops. ‘Cause, you know. Skeme ain’t no hoe.’”

However, despite Harlow’s passing grades at his session with Skeme, Drama and company weren’t ready to set anything in stone. “It wasn’t final,” he says as he remembers how the meeting with KY and Jack concluded. “I don’t know, it was like everybody wasn’t sold.”

In the aftermath of the inconclusive meeting, Harlow, sensing Generation Now’s hesitation, returned to Louisville and got right back to work. He would be releasing Gazebo, his fourth and breakout self-released project, the third week of November 2017, and he needed to fire a warning shot. One that both his fanbase and GN would heed. That materialized as “Dark Knight,” a bruising ramble introducing listeners to a reenergized Harlow, who did not appear to be reeling from the effects of leaving Atlanta without a deal.

“Know this shit boom when we came down south and I had to bring my own lil’ Metro,” Harlow rapped, likening a member of his crew to Metro Boomin, the multi-platinum Atlanta-based producer. The song ends on an even more confident note. “Funny how it all works out / Right before this I was feeling burnt out / Now the whole city ‘bout to get burned down.”

Harlow wasn’t quite peeved, but there was a specific edge to his delivery. The chip on his shoulder was just big enough. “Dark Knight” made exactly as much noise as Harlow hoped it would. Because of it, he quickly outgrew DJ Drama’s circle. Label offers were imminent, regardless of whether Generation Now was interested. Harlow knew this. So did Drama.

Thus, when the DJ returned from his lunch break that day at Means Street to hear “Dark Knight” blaring from studio speakers, he knew immediately he had a decision to make. On his own accord, Harlow had quickly gotten better, sharper and grown more polished. So much so that Atlantic would surely be preparing to take its own chance on him by meeting’s end, leaving Generation Now out of the picture.

“Oh! That’s just Jack,” he hastily announced to the room. “I’m already on that. We got that, you can tuck that,” he remembers saying. The room quickly moved to the next order of business. If DJ Drama was on that, the conversation was over.

Truthfully, neither Drama nor his partners were actually on that. But that would soon change. “I went to text Cannon to tell him they played ‘Dark Knight’ in the meeting,” Drama says, as he cracks a wistful smile.

“It forced our hand in a way, thankfully.”

https://web.archive.org/web/20210128141211im_/https://static.spin.com/files/2021/01/SPIN_Cover_Story-Jack_Harlow-Hero_Image-2-1611690609-1280x853.jpg

Jack Harlow photographed in Los Angeles, January 2021 CREDIT: Noah Schutz

It’s a Friday night in January 2021, and Jack Harlow is seated in complete darkness. The COVID-19 pandemic will soon be a year old, so instead of doing something like eating tacos and playing H-O-R-S-E—which, I’ve decided, would have been my suggested activity for this interview in a safer world—I’m staring at a Zoom screen as Harlow, whose camera is switched off, describes his current setting. I’m not allowed to see it. “I’m sitting in the dark right now, you don’t want to see me in this mood right now,” he warns. For a moment, it sounds like a very vulnerable-rapper way of saying I was in the zone right before this. My next question is, “What are you doing, writing?” His deadpan reply: “No, I’m doing an interview.”

It is exactly this type of shrewd and subtle wit that allowed Jack Harlow to become Jack Harlow.

Born in March 1998 to the proprietors of a family-run sign business in Louisville, Kentucky, Harlow’s narrative isn’t the most compelling. Unlike many of his peers, he didn’t have to escape extreme poverty or take penitentiary chances in order to provide. He’s not from a city that regularly produces rap stars, and despite his obvious skill level, it would be fair to mistake him for a math tutor. His free time would often consist of riding around with friends in search of adventure, hoping to catch a cute girl’s attention along the way. As exhausted of a character trope as this is, young Jack Harlow was very much just a regular kid. His writing ability is what made him irregular. It also gives him a puncher’s chance at becoming the preeminent star of his generation.

In the 2020s, as microwave TikTok fame continues to prove reliable as a launching pad to Billboard success, emphasis on range and craft in the mainstream will continue to dwindle across the board. In hip hop specifically, descendants of 808’s & Heartbreak-era Kanye West have spent much of the last 15 years redefining how much traditional rapping is necessary to be successful in the genre. These dynamics don’t interest Harlow as much as they could. His duty is to his wordplay, and the techniques he employs to keep listeners on their toes. Sometimes it’s a stretch of alliteration that he’s able to effortlessly maintain. Other times, he’ll thumb his nose so nonchalantly you’ll forget that it’s slick talk. “The ones that hate me the most look just like me. You tell me what that means,” he raps on the 2020 single, “Tyler Herro.”

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Jack Harlow is ready to roll CREDIT: Noah Schutz

In present-day hip hop, recognition is less contingent on lyrical ability than it ever has been. Despite scattered worlds that continue to place the technical art of rapping on a pedestal—the J. Cole-led Dreamville imprint and Westside Gunn’s Griselda immediately come to mind—being a Good Rapper has long taken a backseat to marketability. This transition has created somewhat of a perfect storm for an artist like Harlow, who isn’t going to blow you away with metaphors or dizzying flow switches. But his unassuming charisma, coupled with a sturdy pen and the attention to detail to execute a line like, “Been tryna pop, now I’m on like Shumpert,” provides for a lane that he can dominate.

“You know, for some odd reason, it’s been what I’ve wanted to do for so long that I can’t even pinpoint what it felt like to not want to do this,” Harlow says. “Like, sometimes I wonder, ‘What was it like to be a purposeless child that was simply enjoying life?” His mother, a hip-hop fan, would soundtrack the household with Jay-Z, OutKast and Black Eyed Peas. Perhaps unbeknownst to mom, her young son was taking meticulous notes. He wasn’t just enthralled, he was inspired. “What’s Poppin’” was an eventual outcome, but an inevitable one.

Harlow’s biggest hit song to date (and of 2020), “What’s Poppin’” materialized in the way that an innumerable amount of hit songs have come together. Hotshot producer slides into hotshot rapper’s DMs with hopes that they can form a mutually beneficial partnership. This particular exchange made perfect sense. JetsonMade, the Roc Nation-managed producer behind DaBaby’s breakout hit, “Suge,” was looking to diversify his portfolio. And Harlow was in album mode.

“I heard those piano keys, and I was just taken,” Harlow recalls. After a weeks-long back-and-forth with Jetson while touring in 2019, Jack had finally carved out time to get into the studio with the in-demand producer. On day two, Harlow heard the sound that changed his career. “I think I probably reacted how a lot of people reacted when they heard that beat. It’s fucking hard.”

Incidentally, it wasn’t even the featured beat of the night. In a recent interview with Genius, Jetson and Pooh Beatz, a producer Jet often partners with (“Told Pooh he a fool with this shit”), recall the night they flipped through instrumentals, looking for something for Harlow to “pop his shit” over. “You’ve got to give the artist room to be creative as well,” Pooh said. “So I’m always listening for that simplest piece.”

That beat, accentuated with that bouncing, accelerated piano loop, gave Harlow more than enough room to be selective with his approach. “I said to myself, ‘Jack, don’t think too hard. Don’t bear down on this beat and smother it. You know, don’t try to go crazy on it. Just have fun with it.’ So that’s what I did. I said the first thing that came to mind.”

What’s poppin? Brand new whip, just hopped in I got options, I could pass that bitch like Stockton

Then,

Just joshing, I’ma spend this holiday locked in

Seriously? “Just joshing?” I had to ask.

“That was a line I’d always planned on replacing,” Harlow admits as he chuckles. Given the opportunity to address the subtle audacity of this cheesy-but-effective line, he perks up. “I was always going to get rid of it. It was a placeholder. It was literally just something that rhymes with the other shit.”

https://web.archive.org/web/20210128141211im_/https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17243/snapshot/708561.png

Jack Harlow X SPIN Cover Talk

By the time he’d completed the song, it was far too late for replacements. For just over two minutes, on “What’s Poppin,” Harlow’s subdued-but-sharp flow darts in and out of the accelerated piano loop, buoying the dancing bassline Jetson and Pooh concocted. The beat doesn’t rush Harlow, and in turn, he doesn’t stifle it. After wrapping his sessions with Jetson, he played the song for confidantes on his team and friends back home in Louisville. Their response was the confirmation Jack needed. “What’s Poppin’” was the one. “I really treasure that moment because I use it as a lesson now when I’m trying to write,” he says. “I’m just like ‘go, go, go’ because look at the success that song is giving me when I just let go. It’s a lesson, you know, you just gotta let go and…” Harlow trails off briefly, perhaps rummaging through his brain for the word that will summarize this lesson. Seconds later, he finds it.

“Be instinctual.”

Shortly after its January 2020 release, “What’s Poppin’” was added to Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist, the leading gatekeeper in the hip hop playlisting world. Securing a placement on a playlist like Rap Caviar in the streaming era is akin to being named a member of XXLmagazine’s “Freshman Class” during the early 2010s blog era. It won’t guarantee a successful career, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more effective springboard into the national conscience. Once “What’s Poppin’” hit Rap Caviar, it never looked back.

The song and its remix, which features DaBaby, Lil Wayne and Tory Lanez, have now been streamed over 700 million times on Spotify. Consequently, Harlow is a millionaire and Grammy nominee at 22. In case that was unclear, he announces it just 10 seconds into his debut studio album, That’s What They All Say, released in December, on the album’s intro, “Rendezvous.” The album, which features Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, and an appearance from the late R&B legend Static Major, is his biggest flex yet. The world had just learned his name, and already he was getting A-list stars out of bed for a set of tracks so versatile, comparisons to Drake are unavoidable.

“You know, it’s funny because, I remember my dad said to me he was proud of me because, you know, his dad was broke on a farm and grew up incredibly impoverished. Then my dad grew up a little better than him. And now, I’m a millionaire,” Harlow says, unable to disguise his pensive tone. “And he just wanted to point that out to me. It’s a huge step. I mean, I know that seems obvious for me, but it’s a huge step for him. I never met his dad—rest in peace—but if he could see the success, shit would be a whole ‘nother world to him. So it’s just nice to put it in perspective. You know, that’s the one thing I’ve been really careful about doing.”

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Jack Harlow's trajectory continues to trend upCREDIT: Noah Schutz

The way Harlow ended his thought, it felt like a cautionary tale was coming. My hunch was pure. “Sometimes I think all these millionaires and artists get so wrapped up in entering the world and becoming friends with all the other millionaires when they get to L.A.,” he starts, “They get wrapped up in the world and it does become normalized. And they think to themselves, ‘Well, then, I have room to be depressed. Everyone around me is a millionaire and I’ll find something to be unhappy about.’”

Don’t let the depths of Harlow’s self-awareness disarm you; he knows he’s the guy right now. He always has. His account of the events surrounding his initial meeting with Generation Now at Means Street mirrors DJ Drama’s. Jack just sprinkles a little ego in, like parsley. “Drama was fucking with me, but he took a second. The label took a second. And I remember I ended up having to drop “Dark Knight.” I said, ‘I’ma just drop it.’ And that really got the buzz going. Labels started, people were interested. And I was like ‘O-K, yeah, yeah, no, I got it.’”

“So you sort of had to trigger your own bidding war,” I ask. He agrees. “Yeah, exactly. And they were on it quick.”

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He's laid back and ready for a big 2021 CREDIT:Noah Schutz

This Cinderella ascent has not come without setbacks, however. With fame comes heightened visibility, which can trip up even the most vigilant of stars. The NBA’s announcement that it would resume play following its March COVID-19 stoppage came with a strict set of safety guidelines. Players were prohibited from leaving the Disneyland campus that hosted the remainder of the season, fondly known as “The Bubble,” unless they had explicit permission from league authorities. Even so, they were still encouraged to stay clear of high-risk areas, like densely populated public venues.

Strip clubs—I’m guessing—would probably qualify as high-risk during a pandemic. That’s where Harlow was when he snapped a selfie with Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams less than a week after the league had resumed play. They each wore masks, but Williams had been granted permission to leave The Bubble so he could attend a relative’s funeral, not pop up on a rapper’s Instagram Story while at the strip club. Lou Will maintains that he was simply picking up chicken wings when Harlow snapped the selfie, and not ripping wrappers off packs of singles. The NBA, however, would hear none of it and forced Williams into a 10-day quarantine. He missed the first two games of his teams’ restart, the Clippers never redeveloped their chemistry, and they were eliminated from the playoffs so quickly, their season became fodder for a Freddie Gibbs chorus several weeks later. “Hoes get fucked and sent home early, just like the Clippers.”

Naturally, no one blames Harlow for this. Not even Lou Will. “[Lou] called me like, ‘Don’t even fucking trip. I’m Lou. I don’t get in trouble.’ I was like well shit, you just gave me the pass to relax,” Harlow reveals as he fights back laughter. Still, one can’t help but wonder how things might have turned out if the restart to the Clippers’ season was less turbulent. After they were eliminated, the team fired its coach, retooled most of its roster, and saw its star player, Paul George, spend the entire summer soul searching. What a sequence of events.

There is also the matter of the aforementioned remix to “What’s Poppin,” one of the most successful remixes in recent hip hop memory. Just a few weeks after the song was released, Lanez was accused of shooting Houston hip hop star Megan Thee Stallion in her feet following a party in Los Angeles. With increased social attention to misogynoir and violence against women as the wind in their sails, scores of Twitter users “canceled” Lanez and began lobbying for industry figures to blacklist him and his music. Harlow, stunned at the news, didn’t know how to react. The very mention of it makes him uncomfortable. I asked him what his initial reaction was.

“It’s crazy,” he says. “The news broke right after we dropped the video. I was like, ‘I wonder how this is going to go.’ I was curious, I was shocked, I was just like, damn.” He would comment no further.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210128141211im_/https://static.spin.com/files/2021/01/SPIN_Cover_Story-Jack_Harlow-Hero_Image-5-1611704437-1280x853.jpg

Don't mess with Jack Harlow CREDIT: Noah Schutz

Eventually, Harlow’s whiteness had to be addressed. He knew it, and I knew it. In listening to his music over the years, I’d observed how many of my Black friends and colleagues were accepting of him in a way that they weren’t accepting of other white rappers. It’s comforting to have a white rapper just be a white rapper, and not cosplay their Black peers with guerilla music videos and disingenuous displays of gunplay and drug use. Maybe too comforting. Last year, Harlow trended on Twitter because the platform had somehow just discovered his race. He poked fun at the confusion on Instagram, posting a screenshot of his discography, which features his very white face on every cover art. “I did everything I could do to show y’all I am white,” he wrote.

Harlow expresses an understanding of what it means to be a privileged outsider. When Breonna Taylor was unjustly murdered at the hands of Louisville police last March, Harlow hit the streets as marches and protests swept the nation. “People have asked me, as if there was a strategy involved, ‘What made you do it?’ I grew up with Black people, and the empathy I have for them is ingrained in me. It’s not something that arrived this past summer, but I was charged up by the movement. It happened where I’m from and there’s a responsibility that comes with that.”

One of the earliest memories critics will have of Harlow is his visit to Sway Calloway’s Sway In The Morning show on SiriusXM. In the footage, Harlow, wearing a brown Ecko Unlimited long-sleeve T-shirt, is even more baby-faced than he is now. Sitting next to the much stockier DJ Drama, it almost looks as if Drama is the talent and Harlow is the management. He’s quiet and fidgety, slightly deer-in-headlights, and doesn’t look much like the guy who “forced” the hand of a legend.

I remind Harlow of this moment and ask him to consider everything that’s happened since. What will his legacy be?

“I want to be someone that’s true to myself, and someone that’s wholly original to the game.” He says that he’s been that person in spurts and that his goal is to intentionally chase that for the rest of time. “The beauty of making art and music is, ideally that’s what should live forever. That’s what gives me purpose. I think that’s what we’re all looking for. Mortality is in the back of all of our heads, and I found the thing that makes it bearable.”

I ask him, “Does that scare you? The thought of dying before you reach your full potential?”

“Oh yes. So much so, I don’t even want to talk about it.”

Jack Harlow is styled by Metta Conchetta.

Sent from my iPhone

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