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seenashwrite · 5 years

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A Fluff By Any Other Name

Word Count: 1.8K Category: One-shot, Domestic Family Fluff, Husband Dean, Reader Insert Mommy, Sam And Dogs, Practical Jokes, Meet Cute Rating: Teen & Up Character(s): Dean, Sam, You, a Newborn, a Nurse Pairing(s): Dean + You Warnings: None Author’s Note: *This is a re-post minus tags and links in an effort to get it to show up in searches*; more post-story Overall Summary: Sam arrives at the hospital to meet his newborn niece.

Dean was waiting for Sam in the hallway.

“No flowers?”

“Uh, she hates flowers. Figured I’d ask what she wants for dinner, run get it.”

“Maybe I would’ve appreciated the flowers.”

“You know, I’m going to let this go, because you’ve had a long day, but not as long as hers, so—”

“Ask me.”

“Ask… what?”

“You know.”

“Dean, did you sneak some morphine, or whatever they’ve been—”

“Ask me what your niece’s name is. Actually, no - ask me what it’s not.”

His voice hadn’t ratcheted down to the deep-deep levels of pissed off - and, to be sure, there were several subtle variations Sam knew well, having been on the receiving end of all of them - but Dean was definitely serious, and had crossed his arms for good measure.

“I legit don’t know where you’re going with—-”

“The dogs. All your foster dogs. You took the good names.”

“Okay, now, that’s— I started volunteering way before she ever got pregnant, before you two even got serious, come to think of it. And I just chose a bunch of names that I thought of off the top of my—-”

“I picked up on that, yeah - around the time you used Jessie. And on that real jumpy, kinda twitchy one, which was extra weird. And was a boy.”

“Wait, wait - that was such a sweet dog, and besides - you really would’ve wanted to name your daughter after my dead fiancée?!”

“Oh, everybody’s dead, Sam!” Dean whisper-hissed. “And, no, not necessarily, but I do wonder what Jessica’d think about that…. about that…. what damn breed was that thing?”

“A mix.”

“Of?”

“A pooset and a corgat.”

“Sam. The hell.”

“A poodle-basset hound mix and a rat terrier-corgi mix shared a special hug—”

“So it’s a poocorgaset.”

Sam stared.

“Corsetpoogat.”

Sam brought a hand up, slowly rubbed his temples.

“Can I pull from the rest of the real names? I mean, ratbassgipoo is turning my crank.”

“But always the poo.”

“Of course always the poo, what the hell good does -dle do anybody?”

The nurse cleared her throat - she was leaning into the hallway, a leg and foot still in the room. “We’re done. Everything’s looking good. She said for you guys to come on in, but if you’re in the middle of…..”

“No! No, not at all. Hey, and this is my little brother, Sam. Sammy, this is our nurse, she’s been here the whole time, basically delivered Macka… Mmmuh… my kid.”

She raised her eyebrows at that, but smiled, extending her hand and shaking the one offered, introducing herself as Dean slipped past them.

“Uncle Sam, huh?”

“Uh-huh…. oh god, I just now realized that!”

“Eh… could be worse.”

“Yeah?”

“You could have a name that your nurse had to re-write on the birth certificate five times - twice for misspells, then again because she ran out of room. Me. I’m that person. We’re talking about me, here.”

“What was the fourth? Since there was a fifth?”

“Oh, well, that one? Can’t take credit for - under ‘father’s name’, the proud papa got a case of the jitters and wrote your father’s name.”

“Jeez, I’m so… I’m so sorry…”

Sam would’ve sounded sincere if he hadn’t burst out laughing, but she immediately joined in. And though he didn’t know it at the time, he would be sincere with her many more times than not, and he’d be getting plenty of it in return. Starting that night, when he’d ask if she’d be interested in getting coffee sometime. She would be tips-to-toes sincere when saying she hoped to hear from him soon.

They’d still keep bursting into laughter, amongst and in between the sincere times, over a million different things through the years. There’d be the breath-stealing kind, prompted by the action of more amusing-than-scary hunts; the gasp-induced kind, stemming out of nervous relief over the hunts that weren’t; and her favorite, the bent-over, knotted-into-cramps kind, resulting from drunken Dean tales of hunts long past. And then his favorite, when the Winchester kids were raising hell, and there was nothing to do but laugh.

This time, this first time, after the birth of their niece, in the moment they’d met, would ultimately get ranked as the best, though it was followed closely by the tear-tinged round that erupted after another first, when they heard the justice of the peace say the words “husband and wife”.

But that’s another story.

For now, Sam closed the door quietly before tip-toeing to the bed, bending and giving you a kiss on the forehead. He glanced over to the bassinet and back, saying, “Nice work.”

“Work is right.”

Dean was seated in an armchair next to your bed, unlacing his boots, but paused and looked up at this, tacking on a clarification. “Work is damn right.”

You winked in acknowledgment before speaking again. “So listen, while I’ve got you both—-”

“We in trouble already?” Dean asked, changing his seat from the chair to the opposite side of the bed, perching near the end.

“—-I wanted to make sure you knew that I haven’t totally lost my marbles with the name, and I know that’s what you’re both thinking.”

Sam opened his mouth, ready to protest, but Dean just held up his hands in a sort-of surrender.

“Babe, I know I said I’d be fine with whatever you chose, but we ain’t lied to each other yet, and wow - it’s horrible.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t worry. It’s an old family name, and, I mean… we could squeak a nickname out of it… probably… you know how some of these Gaelic names are, it’s hard to tell how to pronounce them on sight.”

“So how’s it pronounced?” Sam asked.

“Get ready,” Dean muttered.

And Sam’s jaw dropped briefly as something largely incomprehensible - possibly worse than the name was on paper - came out of your mouth. “Sis?” he said.

“Bro?”

“That’s beyond horrible.”

“Yeah, it is. It is a vicious eyesore that she won’t be able to spell for who-knows-how-long, it makes ears bleed, and I’m a garbage parent for it, though I will point out her father was zero help.”

Now Dean’s jaw dropped, but clearly in faux offense. “I resent that - ‘cause every name I said I liked….”

“….every name we agreed on, that we loved for her….”

“….was already a dog’s name.”

You and Dean turned your heads in unison, leveling looks at Sam.

“I can’t have taken up all of them—-”

“Mary.”

“Jane.”

“Which also took out Mary Jane.”

“Erica.”

“Charlotte.”

“Bobby, which took away ‘Bobbie’.”

“Sandra.”

Dean wrinkled his nose, prompting you to roll your eyes.

“Right, right - not your fave. But we even would’ve been fine with Anne.”

“I haven’t named any of them Sandra or Anne,” Sam pointed out.

“No, but you did name that fire-engine-red cocker spaniel, the one that wouldn’t stop crawling into my lap, Anna - which was a real cute move, by the way,” Dean shot back.

“We’d already 86′d Anna, on your request, and I still haven’t heard that whole story,” you said, jabbing a finger into Dean’s chest before jabbing it in the air at Sam. “The one that really pissed me off? And I get to be pissed off because of the disaster that currently is my—”

“Whoa!” Dean interjected.

You gave him brief but pointed side-eye before getting back to fussing at Sam. “Millie. You took Millie. And she was an adorable dachshund, an absolute doll, but, I mean, come on.”

The tone of your voice had changed, leaving the realm of good-natured teasing and stepping into something akin to disappointment. It wasn’t lost on Sam, who looked to his shoes, swallowing. Then he let his gaze drift to the bassinet, keeping it there even as you went on, though now with gentle care.

“But I get it. We get it.”

“Get what?”

“That menagerie of furry fluff. Thinking they’re it. Only kids you’ll ever have.”

Sam was completely focused, spellbound by the rise-and-fall of the tiny, striped-blanket-bundle’s easy breaths.

Dean’s voice now, definitely deep, definitely serious, definitely one of the subtle variations Sam valued above all the rest, the slightly scolding one that hid a bottomless well of love.

“Can’t know the future, Sammy. I know sometimes we have, but…. nothing’s in stone. I sure as hell didn’t picture this for me. Ever.”

Sam nodded - it was true, just didn’t feel like it.

“And even if it was? Written in stone? Find another big-ass hammer, grenade launcher, whatever - lay waste, kiddo,” you added.

The baby suddenly jolted herself with a sneeze, causing a reciprocal jolt across her audience. She shifted a little, smacked her lips a few times, didn’t show the first indication of waking up, that anything in her brand new world was even slightly out-of-sorts. Her uncle briefly thought on the realization of how hard he’d fight to keep her in such a place as he brought his eyes back to her parents.

And was surprised to find them grinning.

“What?” Sam asked.

“Check out her bracelet,” Dean said.

Sam looked to you, received a nod.

“Go ahead,” you said. “She won’t notice.”

She didn’t, but did get a hell of a grip on a finger of the hand that moved her arm, so he slid the bracelet around with a few fingers of his free hand. Sam fought his own grin as he tucked her arm back under the blanket. Well, mostly - he opted to leave her hand out, let the grip remain for as long as she was willing to hold on to him, then raised an eyebrow at his shoulder-shaking, snickering brother.

Dean kept it up as he edged to the head of the bed, scooting in next to you best he could in the cramped space, quieting only when he let his eyes close, no need to see as he tilted on his side, laced his fingers through yours like he’d done a million times before, the metal of matching angel-blessed bands briefly clinking.

“So your nurse… she was in on this?” Sam asked you.

You shrugged. “Except the father’s name snafu - that part was 100% true.”

Eyes still closed, Dean briefly gave a thumbs-up, took your hand again, went back to his dozing.

You shook your head at him a little, though a smile was on your face as you went on. “She’s the whole package, my man.”

Sam smiled, too. “Yeah. I noticed that.”

“Thought you might.”

“Speaking of thoughts, what made you think of it? Not the prank, I mean—”

“Turns out, my great-grandmother had a nice, simple, easily pronounceable, no-brainer spelling, peach of a maiden name.”

“And the story on this middle name?”

“She’ll prove herself worthy.”

“Hardy-har-har,” Sam replied flatly, but still with a smile.

“It was the first name on both our lists…”

Even in the dim light, you saw his eyes go shiny.

“….and, we hedged our bets - figured even if you ran out of ideas, you’d never name one of your fluffs after yourself. Thought we’d do it for you.”

Author’s Note #2: There’s some fun background behind this story (such as the bit about the crazy name prank & how the story came to be in the first place), and if you care to know it, look at the end of the original post of this story, which you can find via my Master Story Post (see below)!

Want more stories? My Master Post is linked in my profile, and it tells you about getting on the Tag List, too! If for whatever reason it gives you trouble, don’t hesitate to send an Ask and I’ll link you.

Re-blogs and feedback are fuel for a writer’s soul - please do let me know if you enjoyed. 😘

#Supernatural Fanfiction #SPN Fanfic #Supernatural Fanfic #Dean x Reader #Sam x O.C.#Nash Writes

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annakie · 4 years

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It took three and a half months, but I’ve finished my Doctor Who Rewatch.

It’s time to talk about seasons 10, 11, overall wrapup thoughts and some best/worst lists. Very long post below.

I started doing this back at the end of August as more of a joke when I was going back and cleaning the terrible cringe stuff off the first few months of my blog, then ended up taking that project from when I started the blog in May, 2011 until late 2016. I realized that I had too much going on IRL right now to revisit my life at the end of 2016 when things took a sharp turn the wrong way, so I haven’t picked that back up again. I still might at some point.

After the start of the nostalgia tour I:

Cried about Doomsday

Still hated the Manhattan episodes but renewed my love for one of my favorite characters of all time.

Reflected about Martha Jones and being an overly-zealous defender of a fictional character

Cried a lot over meeting and losing River Song in the span of an hour and a half.

Made my way through Season 4 and found myself still mostly loving the show.

Finished Season 4 and was starting to tire of Ten but knew I had more content to get through.

Didn’t post again til I was done with Amy and Rory. Loved Amy, Rory and River even more, especially Rory.

Watched an episode I remembered I didn’t like just because of the guest actors. Only marginally helped the episode.

Disliked the second half of season 7 even more than I used to. Felt meh about Clara.

Warmed to Clara more in seasons 8 and 9. Still, was ready to see her go. Loved Twelve, though the first half of season 8 continued to be rough. Adored the Husbands of River Song for the 6th+ time.

Took a brief moment to love Bill.

Full disclosure on the rewatch: I skipped most of Fear Her except the first and last few minutes, and actually haven’t gotten back to Waters of Mars or the one 11 Christmas Special with the kids who’s father dies. I may or may not pick those up in the next week or two.

So tonight I finished rewatching all of Thirteen’s episodes and wanted to talk a bit more about Bill, and then a lot about Thirteen, and some general thoughts about the whole rewatch.

Bill Potts is too good for this world. I remembered loving her during her season but was blown away on the rewatch with how much I loved her, and almost all of her season. Her energy, her story, her smile, it’s infectious. It’s infuriating that so many people didn’t watch Bill because wow she deserved a lot more attention that I feel like she got, and also I feel like the show itself turned a real corner that season. Season 9, yes, definitely better than 8 and 7.5. But It’s like Moffat or the writers in general kinda grocked into several important things and made the show more progressive and less cringe?

There wasn’t an episode I thought was bad, even the more filler episodes like the one in space with the air being a commodity was tense and fun. I’m not sure I’d skip a single episode.

And then Bill, I think, ends up getting an even shittier deal than Martha in her season. Left alone for ten years in a shithole mopping up floors, only to be turned into a cyberman and get left extremely traumatized, and sacrifice herself. A very good story. A very sad and frustrating ending. Except that she does get to “transform” and travel the universe with Heather.

Maybe she did eventually go back home and finish living her life from not long after she left in the TARDIS the last time -- it’s entirely possible. The Memory-Bill in Twice Upon a Time (the Twelve & One crossover) remembered traveling with Heather, which means her memory was taken from some point AFTER. So maybe she got to be an ethereal being for a long time, and then eventually went home to Earth. Or maybe she’s still out there traveling the stars with Heather. Either way, she deserves a good life, and a good ending, even if we never know the true ending.

Twelve -- I love him. Again, he had a really rough start but Capaldi is an amazing actor and he owned the role. I don’t think it’s actually possible to rank my favorite doctors from the new Who era, they’re all different, all great. And Missy -- such an amazing villain. Paired with Simms-Master was so, extremely fun, but even on her own, I think she’s now my favorite incarnation of The Master. (I’ve only seen a few episodes of Old-Who with Delgado, and I really love Delgado’s Master as well.)

Nardole was also a fun addition to the season. I know technically he was considered a full companion and enjoyed him when he was there, but tbh, to me it was all about Bill.

But hey, when Twelve left, it was a good time for him to go -- I really think three seasons is the sweet spot for length of a Doctor. I was so ready for Thirteen and The Fam.

I remembered loving Thirteen when her episodes were airing and, I was right to. Jodie Whittaker is so good -- I never doubt for a second that she’s The Doctor. The show one again feels very different with a new doctor / companions / showrunner. I honestly loved the lack of Doctor-Angst in the season. Thirteen is so much more brightness and sunshine and I think it was a good way to swing the Doctor after Twelve. I also liked that there were a few comments about changing genders, a little bit of frustration from noticing how people treated her differently, but it was neither an earthshattering thing that made EVERYTHING DIFFERENT nor was it a non-event. I really think they handled it well.

I will say that I think some of the critics were right, that the season itself could have used a bit more of an arc. Not a heavy arc, like seasons five and six had, but a bit more than Tim Shaw showing up in the first and last episodes of the season. It looks like next season is going to have that.

The arc that was there though really came from Graham and Ryan’s grief about Grace and their relationship growing. Honestly, I remember when we learned that one of the new companions was going to be a 60-ish year old dude I wasn’t looking forward to that at all, but honestly, I love Graham. He’s an actual good guy, he loves deeply, he’s allowed to show his emotions, he handles things WELL. He’s not perfect but also I felt like they wrote his character so well, he wasn’t an arrogant guy expecting everyone to follow his orders, he cares deeply for Ryan and even had some great scenes with Yaz.

Ryan and Yaz are both also just so fantastic. I loved getting to spend time with Yaz’s family both current and past. I actually learned a little history in the episode that took place in Pakistan (and loved having a benevolent alien storyline there, love that episode so much). I also loved that they allowed Ryan to show grief and sadness, and vulnerability too.

I was definitely feeling the 13/Yaz vibes on the rewatch, and although I wouldn’t say I’d be upset if they did end up doing a Ryan/Yaz storyline, I also wouldn’t be upset if they didn’t do any romance storylines at all. I didn’t miss it this season, and 13/Yaz seemed more likely than anything.

I also loved that they took on racism in a couple of big ways this series. I felt like the only big swing-and-miss episode was Ker-Blam! where they were so close to really hammering down a good message in the episode and then it felt like Jeff Bezos himself came in and rewrote the last 10 minutes.

TBH there were a couple of episodes that I had COMPLETELY forgotten about, especially the one with Chris North and the big spiders. Like while I was watching it I had a vague memory of seeing it before, but not up until then. I’d also forgotten about the New Year’s episode last year with Ryan’s dad. I only remembered to watch it because after the final episode I was like “Wait, wasn’t Ryan’s dad supposed to be in this season?” and so I went to hunt for the episode.

SO... that’s it. I was actually a little shocked last night when I finished up the New Year’s episode and realized... I was DONE. I made it back through eleven seasons and... it was worth it.

Some final thoughts... and I’m just picking a few things out here off the top of my head, I wasn’t keeping a list all the way through so I’m sure I’m going to think of other things after hitting Post, but here we go.

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COMPANION RANKINGS: God Tier: Martha Jones

Faves: Bill Potts, Rory Williams, River Song

I love you so much: Donna Noble, Amy Pond, The Fam (All together!), Jack Harkness, Mickey Smith, Wilfred Mott

Very very Good: Rose Tyler, Nardole

I Still Like You: Clara Oswald

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FAVE SEASON: I mean, it’s still gonna be Martha’s season with an honorable mention of the second half of 4.

If you take Martha Jones out of the equation, it’d probably be either 6 through 7.0, or Bill’s season.

LEAST FAVORITE: The second half of 7, for sure, and the first half of 8 is kinda rough. It’d be easy to say season 1, as well, but I don’t think that’s entirely fair, as I think the age of the show really shows there and there was a lot of getting-on-their feet they had to do. There’s still a lot of good there, you just have to look for it harder.

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Favorite Specials:

The Husbands of River Song, #1 favorite no question

The Day of the Doctor a close second.

Honorable mention to the Night of The Doctor for the canonical return of Eight. Seriously, the first time I saw that it may have been the single most joyous moment of New Who for me.

Least Favorite:

I mean, I haven’t rewatched two of them yet since I remember not liking them.

Also Voyage of the Damned was just even worse than I remembered it.

I Cried The Hardest:

Amy and Rory’s leaving in The Angels Take Manhattan

River’s death in the Library

The end of Doomsday

Danny’s death

The end of Vincent and the Doctor

Prem’s death in Demons of the Punjab, maybe the only single-episode character death that hit me that hard.

Happiest Tears:

Martha leaves the Doctor

The group in the TARDIS towing Earth home in Journey’s End

Twelve and River get 24 years together

Ryan calls Graham “Grandad”

Jackie and Alt-Pete meet/”reunite”

Heather shows up and... “saves” Bill, they go off on adventures.

Best Twists:

John Simms Return at the end of season ten.

YANA is the Master

Oswin is actually a Dalek

Heaven is run by Missy, and the Cybermen. (Damn I really love twists concerning the Master don’t I?)

Bill discovers she IS a Cyberman

Loudest cheers:

Mickey showing up in Doomsday

Martha laughs at the Master

Rory’s speech at the beginning of A Good Man Goes to War

The Doctor punches a racist who insulted Bill

Best dramatic moments:

Jack and the Doctor talk about Rose in Utopia

Twelve takes several billion years to punch through a wall

Just This Once, Everybody Lives!

Turn Left

The Doctor says goodbye Idris in The Doctor’s Wife

Missy and the Master’s mutually assured destruction.

Biggest Laughs for a good reason:

The entire poison scene in the Unicorn and the Wasp

Basically everything about the Doctor attempting to be normal in The Lodger.

Right, putting Hitler in the Cupboard.

Doctor, when I’m on a date, do not put the Pope in my bedroom.

Biggest Cringe:

Penis-head half-human Dalek

Concrete blowjobs

Anytime a lady slapped/hit a guy not in self-defense

Old goblin Ten / Jesus Ten in Last of the Time Lords

Most of The End of Time part 1

Eleven forces a kiss on Jenny in The Crimson Horror (THAT deserved the slap.)

There’s a lot of things I could point out in season 1 but I’m grading season 1 on a curve.

Favorite non-companion recurring characters:

Danny Pink

Brian Williams

Jackie Tyler

Worst Villians:

“Love And Monsters”

“Fear Her”

The eye-crud sleep monster with Twelve

I kinda wanna say the Daleks are so overdone it’s hard to get excited about them anymore, though I did kinda like what they did in “Resolution” (13′s New Years episode last year.)

OK I honestly don’t know if I want to put “A sentient universe who is in the form of a large frog and just wants a BFF” in best or worst but I feel it belongs SOMEWHERE.

Best Villians:

Missy

Whatever the fuck that thing is in Midnight

House

Got a Raw Deal award:

Adam (Seriously, he was told nothing and did nothing wrong via what he’d been told?!

Donna

Bill (Seriously, TEN YEARS SCRUBBING FLOORS? only to not be saved by 2 hours and then turned into a cyberman and killed again?)

Most Bothersome Lack of Continuity:

The rules for meeting yourself / interfering in the past.

Uh so who was the Not-Danny astronaut in “Listen” anyway?

Most Improved on a Rewatch:

The Fires of Pompeii because... ten and twelve? It used to be one of my least favorite eps of season 4.

the Daleks in Manahattan episodes I guess just because I liked them more this time though they’re still not great.

Seeing all of River’s timeline in such a short period of time

Gotta say I enjoyed Planet of the Dead a normal amount when before I used to really dislike it.

Best Premiere of a Doctor: The Eleventh Hour Roughest Premiere of a Doctor: Deep Breath, since I’m grading season 1 on a curve. Best Exit of a Doctor: Honestly? I’m gonna give this one to Nine. He sacrificed himself to save Rose, and he died too soon. It seemed a fitting end, if too quick.

Roughest Exit of a Doctor: I’m going to go with Eleven here. It came at the end of what I felt was the worst period of New Who. The episode itself was... I kind of felt like it was overwraught and didn’t pack quite the same punch as the other three. Say what you will about the “I Don’t Wanna Go” line with Ten and Twelve needing to be convinced to regenerate at all. Matt Smith did the best with what he was given, but he wasn’t given much in the entire last run of his episodes after having some of the BEST episodes the previous two and a half seasons.

Best Premiere of a Major Companion: Honestly? Still gotta go with The Eleventh Hour, for both Amy and Rory and the great way they were both set up and the mysteries of the season.

Worst Premiere of a Major Companion: If you don’t count Asylum of the Daleks (which I thought was great) as Clara’s premiere, then it was definitely Clara’s “The Bells of Saint John”. No contest. I don’t think ANY of the rest of them were done poorly, TBH. I guess I’d have to go with “Rose”, because the Autons themselves are pretty meh and the plastic wasn’t great.

Best (Main) Exit of a Major Companion: This one is more difficult. Doomsday deserves a nod. Martha Jones walked the world and ended on her own terms. Journey’s End saw the end of an entire era of companions we loved. River showed up and died on the same day, but her final appearance is one of my favorite episodes ever. The Angles Take Manhattan was SO GOOD. But The Doctor Falls was exciting and tense and tragic. Hell, even Clara’s final episodes were great.

Honestly, this shouldn’t even be a question. I can’t choose. I can’t think of a single one I didn’t love.

Anyway, thanks for reading this, if you got this far! Know what? Doctor Who is still a great show, even if it’s not an obsession anymore. I can see myself doing this rewatch again in a few years, and I’m super looking forward to the next season starting in a couple of weeks!

#doctor who stuff #personal post tag thingy

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aryanarecords · 6 years

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INTERVIEW WITH KO NARTER

I met Ko Narter during my NYU summer program (shocking, I know. I’m not sorry that I got to meet some of the coolest most artsy people over the summer, though. Even better, I can show them to my readers, which is so dope.) I had just moved into my dorm and I was about to unpack when Ko and a few other girls knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to hang. That was such a relief because I didn’t know what I was going to do until class the next day. I was planning on sitting in my room?? Lol. I thought that was really nice of her. Anyways, I guess it was her cool Bay Area aura or the fact that she tried to break a world record for wearing Paul Frank shirts for 187 days in a row in the third grade, but Ko and I have very similar tastes in music, and our writing styles are very similar, so we connected pretty fast. It wasn’t one of those famous jam seshes without her! When it came time for our student showcase at the end of the program, another girl in our group and I were paired up to harmonize with Ko for her song “Remnants,” which is actually on her brand new EP! Unfortunately, I lost my voice and didn’t get to perform with her, but every time I listen to “Remnants” it reminds me of NYU. Anyways, here is my interview with Ko!

Give us some basic facts about yourself !

Birthday: 1/24/2000 Zodiac Sign: Aquarius Favorite Food: Carne Asada Burrito from Cactus (sad because I am a recent vegetarian) Favorite Color: to wear - black, to look at - some sort of forest-y green Currently Based: Oakland, CA Nicknames: Ko is a nickname! My full name is Koyuki which means “little snow” in Japanese! Fun Fact: My high school has a bird calling contest, and I won 2nd place in both 2016 and 2017.

How and when did you start making music?

When I moved to California in 2006, a lot of the friends that I made were in choir, so I decided to try it out. That’s really where my deep love for music began. I seriously started making my own music in middle school, when I joined a band called “the Bystanders” that some of my friends had started. Throughout middle school and into Freshman and Sophomore year, we transitioned from doing mostly covers, to writing our own music. Throughout the course of the band, I went from drummer, to lyricist/lead vocalist. I didn’t write my own completely original song until Freshman year, when I had just recently learned G Em C D on guitar, and ran with it. That first song I wrote is now “You’ve Already Won” off my EP.

Who are some of your musical influences?

A huge part of my creative drive is seeing artists around me create music. There are some other artists and bands at my high school, and though we have completely different styles, I love supporting them and seeing people my age trying to do what they love doing, just like I am. As for some bigger musicians, right now I’ve been listening to Maggie Rogers, Khalid, Gavin James, Daniel Caesar, Stephen Day, and SZA. Some long time faves are Sylvan Esso, Kodaline, and Childish Gambino, and Us the Duo. My music taste is pretty eclectic but I really value strong vocals and lyrics which seems to be a common thread among most of my favorite artists. My all time favorite band is Thirdstory. If anyone reading this has never heard of them - you MUST check them out. I have cried listening to their music a couple of times because I am so blown away by the emotion and thoughtfulness that emanates from their music.

You’re also in a band, Power Beez, how did you guys get together?

My bandmates, Maggie and Kay, were also in that band “The Bystanders” in middle school, so we’ve been friends since middle school, and have been making music together since middle school. We really became a trio when we all took Dance PE during our Junior year, and spent a lot of time together either choreographing or just hanging out. We are also all in the student run a cappella group in our town, the Troubadours, so when someone asked for performers at a charity event at Dress Best For Less, we thought we’d take a crack at it. It all started with us covering “Who Says” by Selena Gomez, and “Fireflies” by Owl City, but as we arranged more music, we found that we had such a special sound, and because we had been making music together for so long, we knew what sounded good in each of our voices and how to divvy up parts. Our love of tacky 2000s Disney bops and passion for three part harmony really solidified us as a group.

What’s the story behind your band name?

Maggie, Kay, and I all took Dance PE, as mentioned in the previous question, and for our winter dance concert we were trying to think of a title for our dance. All the dances in the show seemed to be about power or puppets so we were toying with names with the word “power” in it. We were sitting in the theater when our dance teacher kind of blurted out “what about Power BEEEES” and said it in this very comical voice. Honestly our entire dance class career was a meme. Our first dance was called “Power Beez,” (“z” instead of “s” for comedic effect) our dance for our April dance concert was “Power Beez: the Squeakquel,” a la Alvin and the Chipmunks, and our final dance was called “Power Beez: Road Chip” (or maybe Chipwrecked - I can’t remember). When we started performing as a vocal trio, we were going to perform at our first official gig and when asked for a band name I guess “Power Beez” was the only thing that really made sense. What all started as a joke has now become our trio’s official name.

What was your inspiration for your new EP, KONA?

I don’t know if I should name drop in this because who knows who’s reading so - this EP is almost entirely about one person, with a few lyrics being inspired by frustrations I was having in other relationships in my life. The easiest way to describe my relationship with this one person between Freshman through Junior year is “it’s complicated.” I mean we are still tight to this day but between being tight 4 years ago to today, our relationship has changed a lot, and you can hear the relationship shift on the EP. In chronological order, I wrote You’ve Already Won spring of Freshman year, and it’s about how I was foolish to think anything could last between the two of us. After our fleeting fling, we remained friends through my Sophomore year. In the summer between my Sophomore and Junior year (his summer before college) we worked at a summer camp together, and afterwards had another fling, but this fling was definitely much more emotionally involved and we were much closer. When he left for school, I had a lot of sadness and frustration, but we still talked even though we were no longer romantically involved. When I started seeing pictures of a girl on his Instagram, I wrote Her vs Me about how this girl was obviously more his type than I was. As I got deeper into Junior year, I wrote Remnants when people kept bringing him up, and all I was trying to do was forget him. I go to a small high school in a small town, so Continent of Conquests is about how he left me with nothing whereas he got to dive into a new city and new school and got to move on much faster than I did. Dead End was a bit of a backslide, when I realized I was always gonna hold a special place in my heart for him, and lastly Expiration Date tells the story of how I finally moved on, but also analyzing and criticizing his actions in our relationship. To get back to the question you actually asked, I don’t know if it’s fair to say he was the inspiration for the EP, but without him I wouldn’t have been able to write and create the way I did.

How long did it take you to write and produce KONA?

I wrote the music in a span of a few years, from Freshman to Junior year, arranged the music with Kay and Maggie (from Power Beez) in a few three hour rehearsals, and then recording took 15 hours and mixing probably took another 10 at least. My dear friends Kay, Maggie, and Emmett all volunteered their time, talent, and equipment to make this all possible.

What was the production experience like?

I learned so much through making this EP. There was always another bump in the road whether it was having to re-record a guitar part, or getting sick and not being able to record. Everyone I worked with is a teenager like myself, and we all still have so much to learn in the music making world. For example, Emmett had mixed all the music and I was reviewing it for upload, when I realized that all the songs had been mixed in stereo, and the harmonies were coming through different sides of my headphones. I’m glad Kay and I caught the mistake, because that is not the way I had intended on releasing my music, but it was an artistic choice that Emmett had chosen. Not that stereo is wrong in any sense, but it wasn’t what I was going for. Little miscommunications like that definitely made the process longer, but I have a much more solid grasp on what I want my sound to be, and I know how to direct people to help me get there.

What’s the story behind your cover art?

This one’s kind of funny. The guy that all the songs are about also did the cover art! I sent him a text that straight up said “would you be willing to do album art for an album about you?” and he was totally down. I love that we are still homies, and he was so chill about it.

What’s your favorite song off the EP?

That’s like making me choose a favorite child! I guess I will always have a special place in my heart for You’ve Already Won. It was definitely most fun to record. Kay, Maggie, and I recorded the three-part harmony bridge live, unlike most of the harmonies on the EP in which we recorded tracks one by one and layered them in production. There is nothing better than locking in on some SICK three part harmony, and getting to put that on the EP was super special. It’s definitely not the most complex song, but there’s something about those lyrics and harmonies that continue to resonate with me every time I listen to it or perform it.

Can we expect new music?

Yes! This EP is actually half of an album, “Kona,” that I wanted to release, but I decided to divide the album into two EPs: “Pt. 1: You,” and “Pt. 2: Me.” It made sense for me to divide it this way because “Pt. 1: You” is all about how this one person (and a few others) affected me, and really is more about them than it is about me. “Pt. 2: Me” however, is much more introspective, and though I reference other people in the songs, it is definitely centered around my internal monologue and my thoughts on friendship and leaving for school next year.

What’s your dream venue to perform at?

I would say the Fillmore in San Francisco, and then the Fox Theater in Oakland. I have seen shows at both of these venues, and the Fillmore is pretty spacious, but definitely super intimate. Anywhere in that room has a good view, and I feel as an audience member that it is so easy to connect to artists at the Fillmore. The Fox is a way bigger stage, and eventually I would love to be playing to as many people who will listen, but for now I’ll stick to a more intimate and dedicated audience.

What genre would you define your music as?

Uhhhhh maybe Alternative? Easy-Listening? Is that a genre? I feel like my music isn’t necessarily happy or sad, but it is good in any mood. It’s definitely not super hype as in there isn’t a pounding bass or an intense beat drop, but it’s very calm music with a bit of a sarcastic/sassy kick if you listen to the lyrics :). Good for studying, good for a good post-breakup cry, and good for a just chillin’!

Anything else you want to add!

I tell this to everyone I know that likes music, but making music is SO EASY and there is no risk at all! I’m not saying writing, arranging, recording, producing, and releasing music is easy, but who is stopping you from jamming out with your friends to some song that you all know the lyrics to? Who is stopping you from posting a Soundcloud cover of whatever artist you have been listening to recently? Who is stopping you from writing lyrics that you may not have a tune for until months later? I always encourage people to create and to collaborate because it has been so joyful and gratifying in my own life, and I wish for everyone to have such a great experience with music as I have.

You can listen to KONA on Spotify and Apple Music!

Rock On,

Aryana

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