Tier List: https://imgur.com/a/SPm0Fjl
This one hits different. Right from the start, with those ominous vocals giving the whole thing a feeling of foreboding and momentousness. Donald Trump lurking around the stage for his titlecard, even staying onscreen as his titlecard goes away is hilarious and a great visual touch. Then we get Hillary sitting in her debate chair; this battle committing so hard to a location both rappers are present in is pretty unique.
"I've been in this game too long; I'm a public servant! Have been since I met MLK in person!" Serviceable opening on paper, but the guest actor, Kimmy Gatewood, makes it stick out with her performance. Love the intensity of her voice and facial expressions. "I'm a woman of the people; that's for certain. You're a man of the people who don't like turbans!" This is a great line, very accurate, and I love the look on Hillary's face. "I was living in the West Wing while you were professional wrestling. Got skin like Russian dressing from too much Russian investing!" Good lines, in particular I really dig the Russian dressing/Russian investing parallel. Also, while I don't think Kimmy bears a super strong resemblance to Hillary Clinton(the guest actress from Clinton v. Henry VIII was much more on-point) she does look a lot like her as she does the Russian dance in the background. Something about her wide-open smile. "You been going bankrupt since the 90s; if I was in Iran you couldn't find me." Very true on both counts, very solid line. I don't know what more there is to say. Is it gonna be controversial to acknowledge the reality that Trump's gone bankrupt lots of times and probably couldn't point to Iran on a map, even now that he's been president? "You don't care about the job, Trump, you just think the desk is shiny." I think it's accurate that Trump really only cares about the prestige, but this still seems like a pretty weak attack. Hell, you could argue the vast majority of presidential candidates care more about the prestige than actually doing anything. "I said that I respect your children but that wasn't quite right, yo! Looking like some extras on American Psycho!" This line is pretty fucking great. I didn't get it when this battle first released, but I've seen American Psycho more recently, and comparing the Trump kids to the useless trust fund posers surrounding Patrick Bateman is hilarious. The hyper-aggressive hip thrusting Hillary's doing is also a great visual. For the most part this portrayal doesn't resemble Hillary much, but I think there's some truth in how she's portrayed as being very try-hard here. "First name is Hillary, middle name Rodham, last name is Clinton, and lyrics I got 'em! You fire celebrities on The Apprentice, motha fucka I fire Bin Laden! (Crack!) cough" Being tryhard again. The lines are pretty good, the flow is pretty good. The reference to her coughing is a fun touch. "How do I say this? You're racist! Ooh, you must get so pissed that your hands are too small to stop and frisk!" The asking/answering of that question at the beginning is really funny, and I like the way they worked Trump's small hands into this attack on him for being racist. "So you use your fingers to touch chicks. (She's only 12 years old.) That's enough, shit! (But she's married, sir.) Just gotta get pushy. (That's your daughter.) Well, grab her by the pussy!" One of the highlights of the battle, love the way they worked in the secret service agent here. Pointing out Trump being a creep at child beauty pageants and towards Ivanka are great lines of attack. "That's assault, brotha! Don't tell me the victim's at fault, sucka! You don't know shit about steaks! Yucka! But the ones on the 8th are great! Motha fucka!" Really fun delivery, good attacks, I like that they threw the Trump Steaks jab in between the more serious sentiments. I don't know what the fuck is going on with the background in this section, though they're really going hard on the tryhardness of Hillary. "Better save the date; I'm gonna rock the vote! Bad bitch on the scene like Murder, She Wrote!" Hillary trying to compare herself to that character is pretty cringe, as is highlighted by her attempting to dab with the biggest "look, aren't I cool, kids?!" look on her face. Real "Pokemon Go to the polls" moment. "So go ahead, Donald, let me see you flow. I brought Michelle's speech; borrow some quotes!" It's a pretty great line, though this line is moreso an attack at Melania than Trump himself; she should have ended with a more Trump-focused attack.
"Let me just say I respect all females. But your rhymes are trash; put 'em next to your emails." The first line is funny in how flagrantly untrue it is, the second line is just plain funny. Good opener. "Our country's in crisis. Who wants to vote for the mother of ISIS? That might not be exactly true, but I don't do politeness." Trump talks out of his ass and lies a lot, yes. "(Believe me!) You wanna talk about misogyny? Your Bill's worse than Cosby! He left a mess on that dress like you left in Benghazi!" The comparison of the rapist Bills is a great line, and I'm not sure whether the whole Benghazi thing was actually something that was Hillary's fault or just a Fox News talking head talking point, but it's a good line regardless. Also by this point it's clear that Lloid's Trump impression is on-point, much better than Peter's. "(Terrible!) You wanna break the glass ceiling, Hillary, I sense it. But the only crack you'll find is my ass pressed against it." The gesturing Lloid is doing during the "I sense it" line is fucking hilarious. The second line is also pretty funny, and did turn out to be true. "The numbers are in and I'm right on your tail. You don't have the stamina, baby, you're frail! This will be just like '08 when you fail! But Trump will appoint you to jail!" Fun parallel to Hillary's "First name is Hillary" segment from before going on here. The lines themselves are fine, nothing amazing. The second-to-last one turned out to be true, the last one did not. "How do I say this? You're a 2. And you almost lost the primary to a socialist Jew!" It's pretty funny how Trump mimics Hillary's "How do I say this?" bit, and "you're a 2" is such a simple but funny jab. He's got a point that Hillary was so weak a candidate that Bernie Sanders came outta nowhere and was able to put up a serious competition in a race that was supposed to have no real competition for her. "What do the American people gotta yankee doodle doo, to get it through your fat face, that they're just not that into you?!" The use of 'yankee doodle doo' is funny and he's got a real point that Hillary needs to accept she's very unpopular, though that 'fat face' line is such a pot calling the kettle black moment. No doubt intended as such. "They want a strong male leader who can stand up to China! Not a crooked, little, wishy-washy bleeding heart vagina!" These lines, of course, exist purely to point out that Trump is a giant sexist. The "China, China, China... bloody vagina!" in the background is a very funny touch. Little bits like that just add so much to this battle. "I'm gonna run these streets like I run my casinos; more police and less Latinos!" These lines, of course, exist purely to point out that Trump is a giant racist. "While you bury us in debt buying poor people socks, I'll create jobs, tearing down mosques!" Trump is against programs that help the impoverished and hates Muslims. "Then I'll use all the best rocks from the site to build a wall, dip it in gold and make Mexico pay for it all!" The thing Lloid does with his eyes as he smiles when he says "build a wall" is just... SO Trumpian. This really is one of the greatest Trump impressions I've ever seen, Lloid did an amazing job. As for the line... Trump says he's gonna build a wall. He built a partial wall. A partial, really unimpressive wall. "I'll make this country great again! We'll all be living large! And I'll tell Congress you're fired, and put Charles in charge!" Trump's slogan is MAGA and Charles in Charge was a TV show whose main actor is a Trump supporter. Also apparently there was a Supreme Court judge named Charles Trump once wanted nominated. Alright. "'Cause this whole system's rigged! And we all know the riggers! For the last eight years this country's been run by- (CAW!)" The point of this line is that Trump is a giant racist. I like the touch that the crowd is cheering wildly for Trump while Hillary looks disturbed in the background.
Then Lincoln comes soaring in on an eagle, as he did in Obama v. Romney. "Are you fucking kidding me with this blah blah blah? I've half a mind to feed you both to my oversized - (CAW!)" The use of 'CAW!' as a censor is amusing. "I've heard more thoughtful discussion up in TMZ! You two got brother blocking brother on their Facebook feed!" This isn't fun anymore, it's just real. "I'm so sick and tired of this ridiculous shit! If this is the best my party gets, then my party should quit!" The Republican Party is a nightmare and Lincoln would be ashamed of it today, is what is being said. "I'm sorry, did I say something that you found funny? Wipe that creepy-ass smile off your face and beat this dummy!" Clinton is a shitty politician who didn't take Trump seriously enough, and she comes across as cold and inhuman. And in case you somehow failed to pick up on it before, ERB makes clear here their endorsement for which candidate to vote for. "And if she does win the White House, be a man and hold the door. Don't get your fans stirred up in some sorta Twitter civil war!" Too real, especially after January 6th. "Here's an equal opportunity smack down in the sequel! That's of the people, by the people, for the people, eagle!" Some people have debated whether Lincoln slapped Trump twice in place of slapping Clinton at all because he's a gentleman and wouldn't hit a woman, or because ERB favors Clinton over Trump. The latter is definitely true, but the former is also probably true. So... both! Then Lincoln yells "Eagle!" and fucks off.
Let's talk about bias. There's two camps of people I've seen in discussions about certain ERB battles, especially this one, and they both irk me. So let's address both of them.
First off: YES, ERB is biased against Trump. And are biased against Republicans generally, and much more sympathetic to the Democrats. They've made that completely obvious from the beginning. And you know what? That's totally fine! They're right to be biased against them! But for some reason, some people in the fanbase can't just admit that. For some reason, there's a lot of people in the fanbase who will bend over backwards trying to explain how it's actually totally unbiased(false) and they attack both sides equally(false) and people complaining are being salty(true). But if you think ERB is unbiased, then society has failed you, because you are a woeful media illiterate. They're screaming Vote for Hillary, Don't Let Trump Win! at you and somehow you haven't managed to decipher what they're saying. I hope for your sake you're, like, twelve years old if you actually think they're unbiased. Here's an important lesson for you to learn as you grow up: 'biased' does not equate to 'bad'! For example, you SHOULD be 'biased' against Hitler! If you look at someone like Hitler and compare him to someone like MLK and treat them as equally valid figures whose ideas are both worthy of consideration, then you're at best a useful idiot and at worst a Nazi apologist! Stop feeling like you have to defend ERB's honor by feverishly denying any claims of bias!
But even worse than those jokers are the fuckers who love to bitch about how ERB has gotten "too political" or "too woke" nowadays. NEWSFLASH, DUMBASS: the very FIRST battle was John Lennon vs Bill O'Reilly, and Bill O'Reilly literally says "Because I'm evil! Heart blacker than Don Cheadle!" Their very foundation as a series is shitting on Republicans! They didn't suddenly 'go woke' just because they stopped doing gay jokes and shat on Trump even more explicitly than they already did to Romney.
Anyway, I've got mixed feelings about this battle. The 'mixed' part of those feelings come from how heavy it is; I have to be in a certain mood to want to listen to this, and most times I see this pop up in my playlist I just skip on to the next one. It's uncomfortable. It's real. Maybe a little too real. But then again, maybe they were right to take it so seriously. It's still a great battle, even if it can be a little hard to come back to. The only big issue I have with it is that Lincoln coming in at the end is kind of a drag. It was funny the first time; this doesn't recapture the magic. He doesn't really have any great lines either. I tend to stop listening by the time he comes in. But besides that, this battle has an amazing instrumental track, great visuals, peak performances from both Lloid and Kimmy, and good, sometimes great, writing.
I used to think Trump won this battle despite always having been anti-Trump. Revisiting it now, I'm not sure why I thought that. Maybe it was because his part was just so entertaining, even moreso than Hillary's. Maybe it's because I, like many others, harbor a strong resentment and bitterness towards Hillary Clinton(muh Bernie) that would lead me to not be entirely honest about her performance here. Maybe it's just because that hardly anybody said Clinton won back in the day; Trump had either a majority or a clear plural majority of votes in polls, then Lincoln with a fair amount, then Clinton with a small fraction. Now I see that that is utter bullshit. The only reason anybody votes for Lincoln is either because of the Last Word Effect or because they want to be centrists about it and not side with either candidate; even if you could argue he was the best part of Obama v. Romney, here his verse falls well short of both Clinton and Trump's. On the question of Clinton v. Trump... I can kind of see how someone might think Trump won on account of how hilarious he was, but a ton of his stuff just makes himself look bad, and if we're being honest I think Clinton had better burns and more substantive lines of attack. I say Clinton>Trump>Lincoln.
inb4 someone says I got "too political" in my presidential election battle analysis

I'm someone who enjoys just about any genre, language, or year of music, I've never limited myself on that, give me anything and I'll try it. Does that mean I like all songs? Of course not, in every single one of those there are songs I can't stand.
For me its clear its not about genre or year, some music will always been good, some not so much. However I see so many people who won't even give something a shot. I admit I've never been a huge fan of the rap genre, however I will try a song from that genre and have quite a few songs I really enjoy from it!
I guess I just can't wrap my head around how people can discard a whole genre or generation of music. Most of the people I know like that just say it all sucks. To me that would be like eating only one kind of food forever, trying something different and then writing off all food except what you had eaten without even trying other things. I just don't get it??
If you feel this way, genuinely why? Its not to hate or anything, it just really confuses me as I do not think that way.

The video with animated drawn cartoons. The one lyric I vaguely remember is something along the lines of “got a white friend and black friend in the back of the limo call that a zebra” maybe it’s cab instead of limo but I can’t find it. Medium paced rap with good beat. has another line in the song when it refers to a Great Dane. The video is an animated video with drawings!

So my husband (drummer) and I (vocalist) live in a smallish town where there aren't a lot of heavy metal musicians but wanted to start a metal band so we started one a year and a half ago with a guitar player and bass player (best friends) who played thrash. Our ad for band members was clear about us wanting to play symphonic metal and preferably 2 guitar players. At our first meeting and in our first jamming session everything sounded good. The guitar player said he had been playing like 20 years and could play a lot of fast riffs so we hired him. Ever since there's been all this stuff that's come up. For example he said he didn't want to add another guitar player because no one can keep up with him. He talked us into getting a keyboard player instead even though my husband wanted to make the symphonic elements on Reaper and other software. Soon it became evident that there were problems with sing writing. He would only play the same riff repeatedly through a song, and wouldn't tighten it up (he doesn't count or use a metronome or listen to the drums, so the riff can be oddly timed and inconsistent. This was really evident when we tried plugging his riffs into Ableton. Also he doesn't lead into any kind of chorus. He argued that the vocalist is supposed to lead those changes but that doesn't make sense to me and even if I try, he's often kind of lost in his own world. The keyboard player had music theory but quit the band after trying to add structure didn't work.
Meanwhile, the guitar player asked that we play a cover which we were all ok with since we didn't have songs. But then when I suggested a cover he said "I don't want to be a cover band so if you want to play covers you have to do it without me in the band". After that he suggested yet another 2 covers as did the bass player, but the guitar player only wants to play the covers he suggested.
After a year, our keyboard player quit. Then we had a great jam session and came up with 4 or 5 song ideas but they were still basically just a single repeated riff. I went home and came up with lyrics and melodies based on those riffs and all we had to do was structure them out and add the different parts. Even though I printed lyrics, tried adding practice recordings to the drive etc. He would forget any new parts other than his original single riff. My husband tried to get him to adapt open key strumming or just playing chords from the melody I wrote during the choruses or vocals. The bass player even tried to help by listening to what I was singing and showing him the chords. Unfortunately the guitar player won't really take other people's suggestions to help adapt the guitar parts to the melodies in the choruses so he forgets everything and then at practice when we are trying to work those songs he goes into a noodle session or breaks out into an improv riff then races about how we should use that instead. But again... it's only one riff with no added parts, key changes or structure.
All of the time he could be spending helping us write songs or practicing he spends on buying equipment and merchandise and talking to people who can market us, do a big light show and get us gigs. But we have 1 original song!!!!!
Now what's happening is he has a lot of connections in the music industry so he brought this guy over the other day who talked about managing us and doing a demo in a few weeks and us booking gigs. I don't even know if the dude is aware that we only have one song but the drummer and I freaked out because yeah... 1 freaking song. On top of that all the song last I wrote lyrics and full melodies for, he t seems to abandon. There's been times when after a jam session of him playing the same riff for like 5-10 minutes he says we write a song and how awesome it was even though it had no lyrics, no set vocal melody and no distinct verses, choruses or changes. If he does add change to a song it's usually him playing the riff clean then distorted.
My husband and I are at our wits end. We can't add a guitar player, we can't make suggestions because he won't take them, he tosses a song when we try to add structure, and he seems more concerned with making it big than working on the music. I think he literally just wants me to slap any vocals to his riffs, play it for 5-10 minutes and call it a song.
I finally lost my temper the other day and pointed out that he won't play what anyone else wants to play, refuses to wear in ears or play with a metronome, etc. Oh and he insisted on getting band shirts to sell and put a bunch of money into it and expects us to sell them. How are we supposed to sell shirts when we have never had a show, only have 1 song and are nowhere near booking one??? We thought about getting new band members but we don't have a place to play and there just aren't many heavy metal musicians in a driveable distance. Is this even fixable????

Not sure if this is an OK place to post this but I wanted to know if anyone else felt the same without a rabid Swift fan biting my head off. Feel free to remove if not.
My boss is a Swiftie and convinced me to listen to TTPD - she knows I’m a huge Lana Del Rey fan and told me this album is similar to her music. I’ve always been “meh” about Taylor the person and fairly opposed to Taylor the artist - hated most of what I heard since she first started gaining popularity when I was in high school. I enjoyed a couple songs off “Reputation” but not enough to actively seek out any more of her music between that album and this one (didn’t love the singles from the albums in between when I heard them either).
Surprisingly, I didn’t HATE TTPD. I thought it had its moments (once I got over the onslaught of thesaurus-plucked lyrics and some of the melodies I just didn’t care for), and there are a couple tracks I may keep listening to. Ultimately though, I felt like it came off sounding like “Taylor’s Version” of a LDR album. I can see why my boss thought I would like it for that exact reason - but this is no “Norman Fucking Rockwell.”
I’m currently trying to put my finger on why I didn’t really enjoy it and I think it boils down to the immaturity of the narrator. Even if I knew nothing about Taylor Swift in real life, I think I would still be put off by things like the breaking of the fourth wall (“You look like Taylor Swift,” “Try and come for my job,” etc.) and the specificity with which she refers to the other “characters” who appear on the album (her exes obviously, and Kim, and the fans, etc.). I feel like a lot of the album is masquerading as “art” or “poetry” when it’s really nothing more than pages ripped out of Taylor’s actual diary (or a tabloid). It feels like I’m seeing something that should have remained locked in a bedside drawer (and not in a good way - kind of grossly intimate). I don’t like that anyone who doesn’t live under a rock could easily pick any guy she writes about out of a lineup - it detracts from the relatability of the subject matter and is also exactly what gives the whole album that feeling of immaturity.
I know she’s been doing the same thing for literally her entire career but it didn’t hit me exactly how childish it is to put every single relationship (past or present) and person you don’t get along with on blast and try and refer to it as making art. At the end of the day, it feels like nothing more than a long, drawn out temper tantrum.

You know like the terrible Elton John remixes and the Eiffel 65 I'm Blue copy? I'm all for sampling if the song is different enough, but there has been a recent trend of keeping old songs being exactly the same but replacing the singer and the lyrics. Of course this isn't a brand new trend but it's been much more common recently. Anyway, both songs in the song I'm looking for had a female singer that's all I really remember. At first when looking back at melon's of the examples, I thought it could've been Right Round by Flo Rida but that song is way too old to have played on pop radio and I'm pretty certain it was just a female singer and didn't have that pseudorap or whatever he's doing. Whatever that fake pop song rap is called where the beat behind it is just clapping or a generic drum beat cuz it aint rap and it's not singing and it's definitely not good.

I have a rap song stuck in my head and I can’t for the life of me find the name. Here is what I know…

• it’s fairly new, I would say probably from the last 5 years
• I want to say lil baby might be on this track, or someone of the sort
• the intro had a whistle in it
• the lyric that stands out to me, the artist mentions “L” and “M”. Something like “First I caught me an L then I got an M”
• one of the rappers voice is fairly high -mumble rap vibe

I would appreciate any and all help :’)
Thanks in advance

I’m mixed with 4 different things but come out more black presenting if that makes sense with yellow skin and curly hair. Unfortunately, I’ve had the unpleasant multiple experiences of attracting weird black people especially the dark skin black ones (and recently a very very weird fair skin black guy who felt the need to approve and prove his blackness by constantly using the n word (which I don’t even use) and acting like a stereotype, felt the need to comment on my appearance over and over again , how I look blasian and would not stop even after I would say that I am not blasian?l and went in on skin colour (even though he is much lighter than I am?????) ). I find that in my experiences, I find that a good amount of black people especially men as I am a man myself in university, tend to not like me. I do get the death stares , looked at side ways, looked at up and down , sometimes they would kiss their teeth at me or even spit on the floor after looking at me.
At university events , I find that many dark skin black men particularly in non academic events (so the studious bunch aren’t there but more the party sociable people) tend to exclude me and not include me. I almost have to make extra conscious effort just to be included. I don’t like it and so this leaves my being excluded from much socializing with dark skin black men as they form their own groups with other dark skin black men or occasionally will accept a white or Asian guy as their friend (occasionally their friends are largely dark skin black men but if there’s a female they welcome different shades of women) but I am left out especially as i am guessing that it is because I do not at all conform to the black man stereotype if you get what I mean. The stereotype of barely able to speak well (a number of people have actually said I am well spoken) , dressing very street with a durag , taper cut / fades , doing drugs, listening only to hip hop/rap (I sometimes listen to Spanish and French rock and I had one dark skin black guy tell me that black people don’t listen to rock? I listen to all types of music but mostly afrobeats , amapiano , French hip hop / RnB (I go to school in an anglophone area, so many don’t listen to French stuff here), rock, Moroccan music etc).
The way I dress is a mixture of kind of preppy kind of casual , more on the well put together refined side if that makes sense (even when it’s more street there’s a difference between how they dress and how I dress if that makes sense). These guys often tend to dress more street if that makes sense and I don’t know why but when I am in their setting , there’s already a dislike they have towards me and they often would rather speak to a white or Asian guy and not speak to me even if we are all new there. Or sometimes if they do speak to me, they see that I am not a stereotype and the conversation will die out quickly.
With black women i tend to find that dark skin black women socialize with me more than lighter skin or mixed race black women. In these encounters there’s often a conversation about hair , some outright vocally say, I wish I had your hair or feel the need to comment about my hair ? Some are rude and hostile towards me for no reason , I can just meet some and I am dealing with attitude from the get go which is annoying for me especially as someone who comes from a background of having a narcissistic abusive family , attitude is not something I like dealing with people right off the bat. It’s definitely a lot more of a pleasant experience than dealing with a lot of black men. I find that dealing with a number of black people, I am more likely to get along with the women over the men, but as a whole I feel like many black people do not like me , I don’t get along with many I tend to meet (with the exception of the ones who are straight from Africa and haven’t been westernized much if at all, those ones are a lot better encounters for me).
Any insights ? Has anyone else also experienced this as well or no?

I’m a fan from 2016. Fell in love with songs like dejection, exodus, nightmare choirs, etc.
But something about this album hit different. After seeing so much hate on it from this sub i feel like I’m the only one lmao.
I relate to a fuck ton of what he’s talking about. I hear a lot about basic lyrics but honestly besides the “perc” bars or the “whippin (insert car here)” bars he’s really speaking volumes.
I listen to this album though 3-5 times a week. And anytime I’m down it brings me back to reality. Makes me feel “not alone” even tho the album is called lonely boy.
Yall can talk as much shit on this album but I truly feel like scrim reached his peak. Especially the deluxe. As a music producer I see how beautifully refined these mixes are. And. I know the tedious hours put in to achieve some of these sounds.
Shout out scrim for creating a new genre of rap. A mix between old depressed $B, yeat/carti flow and beats, combined with whatever tf he felt necessary. I can’t find another artist/ genre that sounds like this as a whole.
P.S. if you came to talk shit idc. This album Is exactly what I needed as a music fiend

New Music Friday is the weekly thread dedicated to cataloging all the Album/EP releases that came out this week, including non-subreddit relevant releases. This is also a great place to discuss these albums, or bring to attention other albums released this week.

❓ "this seems intriguing after a cursory look"
⭐ "im interested in this for one reason or another"
❤️ "ive been waiting for weeks, months/i'm absolutely in love with this"

❓ Shellac - To All Trains
Label: Touch and Go
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Noise Rock
Beth Gibbons (of Portishead) - Lives Outgrown
Label: Domino
Genre: Chamber Folk, Psychedelic Folk, Art Rock
❓ Of Montreal - Lady on the Cusp
Label: n/a
Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Art Pop
⭐ Crumb - AMAMA
Label: Crumb
Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Indie Pop, Dream Pop
Gumshoes - Save The Date (EP) (may 16th) (by stansymash)
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Folk, Indie Pop
From Indian Lakes - Head Void (may 15th)
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Rock, Shoegaze
WINKS - Finally Awake (may 13th)
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Pop?
BADBADNOTGOOD - Mid Spiral: Chaos (EP) (may 14th)
Label: XL
Genre: Jazz Fusion, Jazz-Funk
⭐ Lip Critic - Hex Dealer
Label: Partisan
Genre: Digital Hardcore, Synth Punk, Experimental Hip Hop
Cage The Elephant - Neon Pill
Label: RCA
Genre: Post-Punk Revival, Indie Pop
Joywave - Permanent Pleasure
Label: Cultco
Genre: Indie Rock, Indietronica
⭐ Pallbearer - Mind Burns Alive
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: Doom Metal, Slowcore, Post-Rock
❓ Blitzen Trapper - 100's of 1000's, Millions of Billions
Label: Yep Roc
Genre: Folk Rock, Americana
Phoebe Go - Marmalade
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Pop
⭐ Gatecreeper - Dark Superstition
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
The Lovely Eggs - Eggistentialism
Label: n/a
Genre: Noise Pop, Indie Rock
Draag - Actually, the quiet is nice (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Shoegaze, Indie Rock, Dream Pop
lightheaded - Combustible Gems
Label: Slumberland
Genre: Jangle Pop
GUPPY - Something Is Happening...
Label: Lauren
Genre: Garage Rock
The Anti-Queens - Disenchanted
Label: Stomp
Genre: Punk
So Totally - Double Your Relaxation
Label: Tiny Engines
Genre: Shoegaze, Dream Pop
⭐ Vitskär Süden - Vessel
Label: RIpple
Genre: Heavy Psych, Progressive Rock
Various Artists - [Everyone's Getting Involved: A Tribute To Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense]()
Label: A24
Genre: New Wave, Pop Rock
Ex-Easter Island Head - Norther
Label: Rocket
Genre: Ambient, Electroacoustic
Wu-Lu - Learning To Swim On Empty (EP)
Label: Warp
Genre: Downtempo, Experimental Hip Hop
❓ Ghostly Kisses - Darkroom
Label: Akira
Genre: Synthpop, Alt-Pop
❓ Bad Bangs - Out Of Character
Label: Blossom Rot
Genre: Alternative Rock
Westelaken - at Tranzac (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Rock, Alt-Country
J. Bernardt - Contigo
Label: PIAS
Genre: Alternative R&B, Downtempo, Art Pop
Carb On Carb - Take Time
Label: n/a
Genre: Midwest Emo, Math Pop
❓ Sooks - Moral Decay
Label: Permanent Resident
Genre: Hardcore Punk, Post-Punk
❓ Rope Sect - Estrangement
Label: Iron Bonehead
Genre: Gothic Rock
Stress Dolls - Queen of No
Label: Sun Pedal
Genre: Pop Rock, Indie Rock
❓ Dog Party - Dangerous
Label: n/a
Genre: Pop Punk, Power Pop
Zero Point Energy - Tilted Planet
Label: Danger Collective
Genre: Indie Rock
Guster - Ooh La La
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock, Neo-Psychedelia
Orchid Mantis - i only remember the good parts
Label: n/a
Genre: Slacker Rock, Slowcore
Sid Simons - Beneath the Brightest Smiles
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Rock
❓ The Avett Brothers - The Avett Brothers
Label: Ramseur
Genre: Alt-Country, Contemporary Folk
Sasha Alex Sloan - Me Again
Label: Virgin
Genre: Alt-Pop, Contemporary R&B
Night Beds - Mountain Radio
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Folk, Indie Pop
Jacken Elswyth - At Fargrounds
Label: Wrong Speed
Genre: Appalachian Folk Music, Free Improv
Halloweens - Opera Singing At The Salsa Bar
Label: n/a
Genre: Pop Rock
Joe Kaplow - Posh Poodle Krystal and Toe
Label: Fluff and Gravy
Genre: Folk
Olympia - Love For One (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Art Rock, Pop Rock
❓ High Noon Kahuna - This Place is Haunted
Label: Crucial Blast
Genre: Noise Rock
CIVIL ELEGIES - NO LIFE (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Noise Rock
renforshort - clean hands dirty water (EP)
Label: Nettwerk
Genre: Indie Pop, Singer-songwriter
Beren Olivia - if we're being honest (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Alt-Pop
Comprador - Please Stay Off the Statue
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Rock
❓ Strelitzia - Winter
Label: n/a
Genre: Emo, Math Rock
❓ Slate - Deathless (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Rock, Post-Punk
Pet Shop Boys - Furthermore (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Synthpop, Dance-Pop
Morgan Garrett - Purity
Label: Orange Milk
Genre: Experimental Rock, Avant-Folk, Sound Collage, Noise Rock
SQÜRL (Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan) - Music for Man Ray
Label: Sacred Bones
Genre: Post-Rock, Drone, Film Score
Erlend Øye & La Comitiva - La Comitiva
Label: Bubbles
Genre: Indietronica, Indie Pop
❓ One Step Closer - All You Embrace
Label: Run for Cover
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emo
Galantis - Rx
Label: Big Beat
Genre: Dance-Pop, House
Bright Light Bright Light - Enjoy Youth
Label: n/a
Genre: Dance-Pop, Synthpop
Laci Kaye Booth - The Loneliest Girl In The World
Label: n/a
Genre: Pop
❓ girli - Matriarchy
Label: AllPoints
Genre: Synthpop, Alt-Pop
Luis Fonsi - El Viaje
Label: n/a
Genre: Latin Pop, Reggaetón
Musclecars - Sugar Honey Iced Tea!
Label: BBE
Genre: House
❓ CXLOE - Shiny New Thing
Label: n/a
Genre: Electropop, Dance-Pop
Kate Hudson - Glorious
Label: n/a
Genre: Pop
ZAYN - ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS
Label: n/a
Genre: Soft Rock, Country Pop
❓ Billie Eilish - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
Label: Darkroom
Genre: Alt-Pop, Singer-songwriter, Indie Folk
Mach-Hommy - #RICHAXXHAITIAN
Label: n/a
Genre: Abstract Hip Hop, East Coast Hip Hop, Drumless
Blu - abc (Beat Tape)
Label: EveryDejaVu
Genre: Instrumental Hip Hop
VRILS - PORTALS
Label: n/a
Genre: Hip Hop/Rap
Raz Fresco & Daniel Son - Northside
Label: Vinyl Digital
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop
Alvaro Diaz - SAYONARA
Label: n/a
Genre: Pop Rap, Reggaetón, Alternative R&B
Clavish - Chapter 16
Label: Universal
Genre: UK Hip Hop, Trap
Kitty Ca$h - Handle with Care
Label: n/a
Genre: Hip Hop/Rap
Nico Miseria - YO NO SOY YO
Label: n/a
Genre: Trap
Payroll Giovanni - Have Money Have Heart (EP)
Label: Empire
Genre: Detroit Trap
Cities Aviv - Bernadette Leak (RP)
Label: D.O.T.
Genre: Southern Hip Hop, Drumless
ian - VALEDICTORIAN
Label: Columbia
Genre: Trap, Southern Hip Hop
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie - Better Off Alone
Label: Atlantic
Genre: Pop Rap, East Coast Hip Hop
❓ Rapsody - Please Don't Cry
Label: Jamla
Genre: Conscious Hip Hop, Southern Hip Hop
Alejo - EN ESTA NOS FUIMOS LEJOS
Label: n/a
Genre: Reggaetón
Pain - I Am
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: Industrial Metal, Alternative Metal
❓ Extortionist - Devoid of Love & Light
Label: Unique Leader
Genre: Metalcore, Alternative Metal
Botanist - Paleobotany
Label: Prophecy
Genre: Blackgaze, Post-Metal
Celestial Season - Mysterium III
Label: Burning World
Genre: Death Doom Metal, Gothic Metal
Elvellon - Ascending in Synergy
Label: Napalm
Genre: Symphonic Metal, Power Metal
Jamey Jasta - … And Jasta for All
Label: Perseverance
Genre: Thrash Metal, Crossover Thrash
Nocturnus AD - Unicursal
Label: Profound Lore
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Progressive Metal
❓ Slash - Orgy of the Damned
Label: n/a
Genre: Hard Rock, Blues Rock
Shokran - Duat
Label: n/a
Genre: Progressive Metal, Metalcore
The Last of Lucy - Godform
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Deathcore
❓ Hemotoxin - When Time Becomes Loss
Label: n/a
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Thrash Metal
Inner Landscape - 3H33
Label: Klonosphere
Genre: Progressive Metal
⭐ Intervals - memory palace
Label: n/a
Genre: Progressive Metal, Djent
RATS WILL FEAST - Hellhole
Label: Time to Kill
Genre: Metalcore
⭐ Ufomammut - Hidden
Label: Neurot
Genre: Doom Metal, Stoner Metal
❓ Salt on Saturday - A Docket of Votive Offerings
Label: n/a
Genre: Psychedelic Drone, Rock
❓ Glaciers - Ivory
Label: n/a
Genre: Progressive Metal, Thall

MEGAN: There is no hope when Billie Elish is the voice of gen Z.
CHRIS: I like her songs. She is gifted.
MEGAN: Just Name three song that she has sung.
CHRIS: Bad guys, no times to die from James bond soundtrack, and there is this song that I watched on MTV her dancing with her girlfriends… it’s on the tip of my tongue I think it’s titled Happier than ever.
MEGAN: That’s a totally different song. The song that you are talking about is lost cause… from the album Happier than ever.
CHRIS: At least, I got the album right.
MEGAN: Okay. Give me the first two line of the lyrics from Bad guys or no times to die.
CHRIS: I am not good at lyrics. But she is talented. She has a soulful voice.
MEGAN: Her songs are depressing. I can’t listen to it while I am cooking or driving to work. I will shoot myself in the head. She is the most overrated singer in the history of music. You know, I want to play songs that make me want to sing along, dance and fall in love… not throw up. She is the voice of our generation. It tells you a lot about the direction we are going. Generation Z in America don’t know what the fuck is going on in this world. They complain too much. They are faking it like Billie Eilish.
CHRIS: I think they are lost. They just want a voice to express their pain, confusion, frustration, and sadness. That’s all.
MEGAN: I know that. But when you listen to music, you want to hear something that resonates with your soul and brings joy to your heart. For example, if you listen to Diana Rose and the Supremes’ Baby love, or come see about me and Where did our love go, you will realize that music is dead with Billie Elish whispering that she’s not happy and talking about how her boyfriend is a loser. You know, you wonder what’s happening to music nowadays. Why is so bad? Billie Eilish and Labrinth singing Never Felt So Alone. It’s a setback for Labrinth from Jealous to Never so Alone. He was our hope. We all counted on him to save music. But he has begun to whisper like Billie Eilish. Everybody is following her footstep. Music Critics are falsely saying that Billie Elish is a trailblazer. She is changing music single handedly. So far, she has received 7 Grammy awards. She is only 21. Diana Rose has never won a grammy in her life. There seems to be something fishy going on. You are not supposed to sing in your head. It’s not real music. It’s MTV. You know, they said that video killed a radio star. But video killed music all together. Thanks to MTV. We get asses, boobs, and whispers instead of real music.
CHRIS: I like MTV. I grew up watching it. It changed how we see music forever. You know, music is not music without a music video. Nobody is going to listen to it if you didn’t put out an amazing music video like Thriller by Michael Jackson. I can’t even imagine what Thriller would have sounded like on a radio. It’s the greatest music video ever made. Every time I watch it, it’s new to me.
MEGAN: I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Thriller deserve special praise. It’s one of its kind. However, music died after the introduction of MTV. At least, they don’t make it like how they used to make it in 60s’.
CHRIS: That’s the golden age of music. It can never be replicated again. But who knows? Billie Eilish might change it if she gets her act together.
MEGAN: I can listen to Vision of love, honey, and fantasy by Mariah Carey or I will always love you and I have nothing by Whitney Houston or Rolling in the deep by Adele a million times over and over. But I can’t listen to Happier than ever more than 1 time. Maybe Ocean eyes and When the party is over. They are okay. But the rest is garbage. She is nowhere near to legendry female singers like Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, and Sinead O'Connor. You know, when you listen to Natural woman by Aretha Franklin or Celine Dion’s It's All Coming Back to Me Now or Because you loved me or nothing Compared to you by Sinead O'Connor, you get goosebumps. You are witnessing a soul exiting the human anatomy disguised in soundwave. It breezes through your skin, kiss your soul, and intertwine with your DNA before it rewrites the rhythm of your heart with a beautiful melody. You couldn’t help but cry, smile, sing, and fall in love with life whether it is wonderful or a bitch.
CHRIS: You have to give her credit the benefit of the doubt. At least, she writes her own lyrics. I mean, No disrespect to Diana Rose and Supremes, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Adele, Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, and Sinead O'Connor. God bless her soul - Sinead O'Connor. She was an Angel disguised in fire. Her voice is from another world. When I listen to nothing compare to you, I get goosebumps, too. I have always been blown away by her voice. Don’t even get me started with Whitney Houston. She is an angel. When you listen to “I will always love you,” you know that God loves music more than he loves us. She was flawless. It should be illegal to sing like that. And Maria Carey will shatter the glass in your soul, cut your heart to millions of pieces, kiss it, and heals it without a scar. Your heart can’t help but grow wings, burst out of your chest and fly away. She is phenomenal. Celine Dian is in a different league, so was Aretha Franklin. Nobody can question their gifts. But Billie Eilish has brought hope to a lot of people
MEGAN: I feel like that you are playing the devil advocate for the sake of argument. What hope are you talking about? You haven’t even listened to a song that she sang. You watched her playing with her girlfriend in underwear. All of a sudden, you want to defend her. If you are going to defend her. Defend her from your heart. I know you can’t do it because you hate her songs, too.
CHRIS: That’s not it. Just give her a break. She has a beautiful voice. She just doesn’t want to disappoint her fans. Imagine if she sings I will always love you or vision of love. Her fans will accuse her of selling out.
MEGAN: Fuck her fans. They are fake anyway. They don’t know anything about music. She should not let them hold her back. They just want to see her wearing oversize baggies like a boy, who drops out of high school and who breaks his skating boards, and whisper like a wounded cat that got a fight with a Rottweiler and talk about fake pain, bad relationship, and girls standing up to abusive boyfriends. Even country music has more sense of humor than her.
CHRIS: I like country music.
MEGAN: Don’t get me started with country music. I don’t even know why it’s still alive. It should have died with Western movies long time ago. You know, I would rather listen to Disco and 90s’ electronic dance music than country music.
CHRIS: What’s wrong with 90s’ electronic dance music? DJs still play them at club.
MEGAN: That’s true. But you don’t want to get caught playing that shit in your car. People will look at you weird.
CHRIS: I still listen to What’s love by Hardaway and couldn’t help dancing.
MEGAN: I hear you. Life is not fair. You have songs that makes you want to dance. Before you know it, it goes out of fashion. You have country music talking about how hard they work and their wife living them for their brothers and how they just want to drink whiskey and forget about them.
CHRIS: Country music is not bad. They know how to tell stories. It’s definitely better than electronic dance music when it comes to lyrics.
MEGAN: Okay. name three countries songs and artists.
CHRIS: Dolly Parton.
MEGAN: Dolly Parton doesn’t count. She wrote I will always love you. You would not have known her if she had it written that.
CHRIS: Fair enough. I get the point. What about Garth Brooks?
MEGAN: Okay 1.
CHRIS: Carrie Underwood and Morgan Wallen.
MEGAN: Okay, name three songs.
CHRIS: Friends in low places, by Garth Brook. Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood. And Island in Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.
MEGAN: That’s not bad. I didn’t know that you were a country music fan.
CHRIS: To be honest, I am not a fan of country music. I don’t listen to country. I only know very few songs here and there and Shania Twain. But it doesn’t mean that it’s not good just because it’s not your cup of tea. In fact, country music is becoming popular. They are bringing original materials.
MEGAN: How do you know that they are bringing original materials if you have never listened to country music.
CHRIS: I just assumed that they must have brought original materials. It’s because they are dominating the chart… like Morgan Wallen. His songs are no 1.
MEGAN: What song is that?
CHRIS: I don’t know. But most of his songs are in Billboard top 10. He is bigger than Justin Bieber.
MEGAN: I used to have crush on Justin Bieber. I still listen to his song… except Peaches. I don’t know what was he thinking when sings I get my weed from California. Who care if he got it from Jamaica? The lyrics is terrible. That’s why sometimes, I hate pop songs. They talk nonsense and get away with it.
CHRIS: What kind of music do you like?
MEGAN: I like all kinds of music… except country. Pop is on the top.
CHRIS: What about Billie Eilish? You don’t like her.
MEGAN: Sometimes, I like her. She does have a unique voice. Other times, I can’t stand her when she whispers and talk nonsense. She would have been an amazing jazz singer if she just opens her mouth and sings like a regular person.
CHRIS: You don’t want Billie Eilish to limit herself with only Jazz. Let her try everything: Pop, R&B, rock, blues, jazz, indie what have you. She has a hypnotic, alluring, and haunting voice and she knows how to control the tone of her voice. But if she must limit herself, she should choose classic rock. It soothes her like ice cream melting in her mouth.
MEGAN: What kind of music do you listen to?
CHRIS: I listen all kinds of music. You know, Sexual healing by Marvin Gaye, let’s get together by Al Green, against all the odds by Phil Collins, In your eyes by Peter Gabriel, Kiss from a rose by Seal, and Earn it by Weeknd to name a few.
MEGAN: You have a beautiful taste. Sensual, seductive and erotic and romantic. But what’s your favorite lines in music.
CHRIS: It’s either the way you look tonight by Frank Sinatra. Yes, you're lovely, with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft
There is nothing for me but to love you
And the way you look tonight.
Or My girl by Temptations.
I've got so much honey
The bees envy me
I've got a sweeter song
Than the birds in the trees
Well, I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way
My girl, my girl, my girl
Talkin' 'bout my girl.

MEGAN: You are romantic.
CHRIS: What about you? What’s your favorite lines in music?
MEGAN: Halo by Beyonce.
Hit me like a ray of sun
Burning through my darkest night.
You’re the only one that I want.
Think I’m addicted to your light.

FW Users
Fairy Moves From The MSG
They should have play and yet they don't top cut or have some relevancy in any meta. Instead, they under-perform in neutral match-ups, get outpaced, out team-comped, and the list just goes on.

The Fastest Fairy Wind Users

The fastest bar none is Galarian Rapidash who has access to Body Slam. But I'd wager that because it's a non-STAB move, it hinders G-Rap's would be potential. Next is Mawile with Power Up Punch and I think we all know how stupid of a move that is for anything running Fairy Wind.
Then we have Whimsicott Jumpluff and Togetic with Aerial Ace. A damage pairing that probably sounded good to Niantic on paper but fails to be actually good in practice for a low damage fast move and low damage charge move pairing. We then have Galarian Weezing, who's really good when the stars are aligned, with Foul Play as interesting coverage being that it's a Fairy that is supposed to threaten dark and fighting, which is kind of dumb since they both resist dark. SMH
Bringing up the rear is Florges with FW and Disarming Voice, but why am I complaining for? That's a STAB kit. Well, yeah, but it's not a good one if you compare that to moves like CounteCross Chop, Dragon Breath/Dragon Claw, and Mud Shot/Mud Bomb. 45 energy is just too high of a cost for something running a low damage fast move.
EDIT: Whimsicott has access to Seed Bomb. It requires the same amount of energy as Disarming Voice and deals far less damage. Yuck.

The Reality

Beyond that, it doesn't get any better for FW users. Their charge moves just don't seem to compliment them well enough. Especially for those those cursed with 50 energy moves as their bait options or some weird fast move like Quick Attack (see Sylveon). I don't see how anyone can be consistently competitive with those moves that slow.

Ideas

I'd like to see some fairy charge moves on the level of Night Slash and Mud Bomb. That way, the weave damage being registered is actually doing something to the target. Often times than most, fairies end up getting virtually walled by steel types. The suggestion here would give some like G-Weezing, Mawile, and Clefable, just to name a few, dark or ghost moves as sides coverage.
Bonus Request: Buff fairy charge moves. Play Rough, Dazzling Gleam, and even Disarming Voice are absolutely terrible.

It's been a while since a post about positions has been made on the sub, and I thought that after Samidare's release I might make one since Fuma, EJ and Taki now have a good amount of lines in the title track :)
Apart from official positions which will be noted by (*), these are all my own perceptions of &TEAM's positions, minus dancing positions because I cannot accurately analyze that, beside Main Dancer. So in order, from oldest to youngest:
K: Performance Leader*, Main Vocalist, Main Dancer, FOTG, Oldest
While oldest isn't a position per se, it is a role that K has to take on, so I've listed it here. K's Performance Leader position has been confirmed by himself on that one interview (forgot the name), which indicates that he is also Main Dancer. Now for Main Vocalist - it's long been debated whether K should be Main or Lead vocal, but after Samidare I do believe that he is a Main Vocalist. He consistently sings chorus, and is always in the top 4 for line distribution. He also does adlibs which a Main Vocalist would usually do. And for FOTG, it's mainly because he was already popular on I-LAND and made it all the way to the end, but didn't debut.
Fuma: Sub-leader*, Vocalist.
Fuma is officially the sub-leader, supporting EJ who is the leader. I believe that Fuma will take over the leader position completely while EJ serves his military duties, whenever that will be. Up until recently, Fuma didn't get a lot of lines in songs but with Samidare, he is ranked 6th which is an improvement from the bottom three, though not by far. I hope that next comeback he will be in the top 4.
Nicholas: Main Rapper, Lead Vocalist
And as everybody knows, Nicholas is the Main Rapper. If only one person raps in a song, it will be Nicholas. However, I feel like that his positions as Main Rapper and Lead Vocalist sort of clash, if you get what I mean. Basically Nicholas will rap as much as he can in a song, if he has a good amount of lines then he won't get too many more singing lines, or sometimes none at all. But in a song where there is no rap, Nicholas will get a good amount of singing lines. But what I'm saying is that he doesn't both rap a lot and sing a lot in the same song.
EJ: Leader*, Lead Rapper, Vocalist
EJ is leader, that's official, no doubt. He and Nicholas are the only two who rap, and even EJ doesn't come in too often. I've written Lead Rapper here but that's only because EJ does actually come in to rap multiple times, whereas other members make the odd appearance and never rap again. And believe it or not, EJ was actually number 2 in line distribution for Samidare! (the song, not the whole album). I haven't given him a Lead Vocal part yet because this could just be a one time thing, however by the end of the seasons series (or whatever it's called), we will definitely be able to confirm whether EJ is a lead or sub vocalist.
Yuma: Main Vocalist, Main Dancer
Yuma is either number 1 or 2 in terms of vocal ability, and by the number of lines he consistently gets, he is definitely another Main Vocalist. He and Maki also support Jo's killing parts often since Jo is a weaker vocalist than them, we'll get back to that later. Yuma is also a great dancer, I believe he's danced for the longest out of &TEAM? But I do believe that he would hold the Main Dancer position if officially assigned. Also on the Kpop wiki on fandom, they list Yuma as having a rapper position. But I can't recall the last time Yuma ever rapped in a song, somebody please tell me if that's ever happened.
Jo: Center, Vocalist, Visual*
Ok so let's continue off what I said about Jo being a weaker vocalist than K, Yuma and Maki. That is definitely true, but HLJ still gives Jo killing parts and a really good amount of lines. Why? Because they're pushing him as Center.
Now with &TEAM, the center is a bit weird since &TEAM has so many members, but bear with me. A commenter on another post (here) suggests that &TEAM could have three centers - those being K, Jo and Harua. K would be the performance center, (similar to Yeonjun of TXT) and is the face for their concept (Dark Moon) and Harua is the most promoted both within Japan/Korea and overseas since his popularity is pretty balanced globally, but I believe that the traditional K-pop center would be Jo. He's pushed mainly on visuals (Jo introduced himself as Visual once, so that's confirmed) and is given lines despite being a weaker vocalist, and he's popular, so people want to see more of him in songs.
Harua: Vocalist, Visual
That whole section above also applies to Harua I guess, he gets a good amount of lines, not too many and not too few, and is mainly pushed as a visual. Not trying to hate or anything but there's not much to say.
Taki: Vocalist
Honestly not too much to say about Taki either apart from the fact that he finally got a good amount of lines in Samidare! The first thing I thought of when I listened to Samidare was 'hey, Taki's getting so many lines! I'm so happy!' Afterwards I realised that EJ and Fuma had gotten lots of lines too. Hopefully he will be pushed on vocals more in the future, his vocals have improved so much since we first met him on I-LAND and he needs to showcase them.
Maki: Main Vocalist, Maknae*
K, Yuma and Maki are the three main vocalists of &TEAM. Some may think that it's too many, which is a fair point, but having three strong vocalists and not using them would be a waste. They often exchange parts, especially in the chorus, and Maki often sings the first part of the last chorus, which is quite an impactful part. This is also when K does adlibs.
So that's it I guess, &TEAM's positions as of Samidare. I think I will revisit this when the seasons series ends, hopefully by then the positions will become clearer and we get fairer line distributions.

Imma be very honest here, when the singles came out I thought neon pill would be my least favorite album, even tho the singles were good. After the album dropped still was a bit underwhelmed, but after a second listen Rainbow is the best vibe of the album, ball and chain is just soooooo fuckin catchy, the singles got enhanced from the experience, and this album really made me evaluate what I love about Cage the elephant, and gave me back that love after infinitly playing social cues to death. Still not my favorite album, not even close (social cues 😁✌🏽) but I fell back in love with Cage and anyone thinking this album is trash, I recommend giving it the time it needs to get stuck in your head.
Overall Score: 7 (Album still has sum basic lyrics tho)

Quick summary: yes, it's cheap but heart and talent seemingly come cheap. My full review v
I've heard plenty about this non-equity Shrek tour, albeit AFTER I bought tickets because I saw the advertisement in my theater. I thought about getting a refund in the weeks before the show but in every review, I heard praise for the cast. Also, I've loved this musical for a while so I decided to take a risk and went today.
It was WELL worth it :D
To address the dragon in the room, yes, it's clear the budget wasn't high. If nothing else I say will convince you to try this show at the prices they're asking, you won't hurt my feelings finding another thread. I'll be clear that I hate that the cast and crew don't get pay much in a non-equity performance.
That said, the art direction was nice. I consider it akin to the 1st Toy Story, where the CGI is dated but the art direction still makes it nice to look at (not to mention the story and acting ;) ). There wasn't much in sets but what was there were nice, storybook-like structures and hangings. Nothing like Broadway's but the designers did what they could and succeeded.
I won't defend the Shrek make-up. I could see the edge of the bald cap from my seat (row P, orchestra section) while I can barely see the mesh ear holes in the proshot. That said, I do like the tour Shrek's proportions better; while it looked cool, I thought Broadway covered Brian d'Arcy James in too much padding and latex to make him look like the animated Shrek. You just need a bald head and the ears; Shrek's pretty distinctive :)
On that note, if you're not going with puppetry, it's hard to depict a lot of the characters in Shrek. The Broadway costumes DO look a lost better but the tour costumes did a good job to suggest their characters. Not exactly Tony-winning or Broadway caliber but serviceable (if I had unlimited power for a Shrek revival, comparisons to The Lion King would be apt; not a complete copy of LK's style but certainly puppet heavy like it).
Really, the only bad thing I can say about the tour is that there were a few moments where a cast member's mic isn't turned on in time for a lyric/line. That was annoying, especially during adult Fiona's big intro in "I Know It's Today." Otherwise, there were only a few moments where the mixing was off but it was overall good (and I don't think my theater has the best acoustics).
Now for the unabashedly good :D
The cast was phenomenal. If they agreed with this subreddit that the production was cheap, they didn't let that affect their performance (or it did and they worked harder to compensate). In particular, Nicholas Hambruch, Cecily Dionne Davis, and Naphtali Yaakov Curry as the main trio (Shrek, Fiona, & Donkey respectively) were excellent and up there with both their Broadway and animated counterparts (and the 1st tour that came years ago to the same theater, even if I don't remember their names). Everyone else was excellent. They sang, danced, and acted to the T and deserved every applause and laugh they got. I can't say enough.
Music was good. The six-person band did the show good (not sure if there were prerecorded tracks to make the music fuller). I didn't re-listen to the cast album as I like going to shows as fresh as I can so I can't judge between Broadway and tour arrangements but the tour did the score good.
It's also fun to see how the show evolved from the original version and proshot.
To those use "woke" the same way most people use "f", "s", or "autotune", the changes would drive them crazy. Quite frankly, the changes fit the show and does not hurt it. Heck, you'd only notice them if you're familiar with the proshot and cast album.
The most noticeable is that Farquaad is no longer short and the short jokes are gone. Turns out, Farquaad is still a campy, prima donna that's a hilarious parody of a typical dashing, brave prince. We lose his second song in favor of a brief reprise of "What's Up, Duloc" and his back story that's revealed there. I do miss it and the depth it gave him (even if it turned out to be bull-squirt at the end) but the show isn't really hurt by it.
Also, some songs have preludes with the ensemble acting as narrators/Greek chorus (I enjoy the fact that Shrek is the type of franchise where I have to clarify that I don't mean LITERALLY a Greek chorus :D). Doesn't really add much to the show but not bad changes. Them holding scenic elements does make some moments funnier, particularly the forest animals in "Morning Person" and flowers in "I Think I Got You Beat." The puppets used for the kid versions of Shrek and Fiona were pretty good too (and understandable if they're keeping costs down).
There's 2 lyric changes that I noticed (might be more but I'm not remembering) that were just as good as the original and only stood out because I've heard the cast album so many times. One is that the wolf is not called a hot & tranny mess but now mocked for his fashion sense dressing like a grandma. The other (I remember) is Shrek no longer calls Fiona fat during "When Words Fail" but gets flustered mentioning love. Like I said, more inclusive yet still keeping in spirit with the show.
A major change that I ADORE, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, is Shrek's participation in the "Freak Flag." Broadway's Shrek-less version isn't bad and I do miss "Build A Wall" but Shrek being a part of it means he gets to share in the fairytale creatures' epiphany of accepting yourself. Granted, the subtle approach of the film and Broadway production worked just as well but, if you're gonna make a big showstopper song out of the moral, it works really well including the main character.
We do lose "Don't Let Me Go" and "This Is How A Dream Comes True." It IS a little disappointing but, in fairness, I didn't realize until writing this review that "Don't Let Me Go" was missing and the reprise of "I Know It's Today" isn't a bad replacement (although I do wish "This Is How A Dream Comes True" was kept).
Also no "I'm A Believer" but, again, the tour's budget likely precluded it (being a song not written for the show and only ever used after the curtain call).
In summary, no, I can't defend paying normal tour prices for the less than Broadway/high school production value. However, if you can afford it, you get a production that keeps the Broadway production's heart and humor with updates that doesn't fundamentally change the show's DNA. I know it's disappointing Shrek isn't getting the budget it deserves but this tour proves Shrek is a strong enough show to survive a low budget with good actors/singers.
That said, at least the Broadway version exists as a proshot if my review wasn't persuasive :)
(Added some pics. Im not always comfortable posting my face online so please excuse the edits to my selfies. I think they improvements :P ;). The last 2 pics are of my souvenirs; I like magnets and the pen, a floating pen starring Donkey is cute :D)

fire engine red is the most popular song on raggedy angry and justifiably so, but what does it really mean...
intro this song was my favorite song when i discovered it, usually when i found a new band i listen to a snippet of all of their songs so i don't miss out on any music, and that's exactly what i did when i found raggedy angry so i probably missed this song at first, but when i went back to listen to their music again i found this song which was my favorite song from them for a long time.
lyrics
if you hate your fellow man scream YA YA YA YA YA if you hate your fellow man, scream if you hate your fellow man scream YA YA YA YA Y if you hate your fellow man scream fuck Ya! (x2)
all fire engine red til' I feel your Tesla touch My magnus, my opus Or do I think I think too much
If you hate your fellow man Scream YA YA YA YA YA If you hate your fellow man Scream fuck Ya! (x2)
I'm off of all my meds And speaking ill of the dead My devils, my demons Painting me fire engine red
If you hate your fellow man Scream YA YA YA YA YA If you hate your fellow man
Scream fuck Ya! (x2)
Sometimes, Sometimes, Sometimes I want to t-t-take A gun, a gun, a gun, a gun, a gun Sometimes I want... Sometimes, Sometimes, Sometimes I want to t-t-take A gun, a gun, a gun, a gun, a gun Sometimes I want to. Sometimes I want to, want to, want to, want to take a gun And color, color, color, color, color, color The, the, the, the, the world. The world, the world, the world. If you hate your fellow man Scream YA YA YA YA YA If you hate your fellow man Scream fuck Ya! (x2)
Peel your skin Peel your skin Peel your skin Then I'll wear it
my analysis
i feel like this song is a release of all the feelings that you can feel from the pressure of society, pressure to be normal, pressure to be passive, pressure to be what ur expected to be
to me fire engine red doesn't actually mean fire truck, but red like blood, because when you take a gun and color the whole world, what would you be coloring with besides blood
i have no idea what line 9 means by tesla touch, I've gone online to try to see if that's what the song actually says, and I'm not 100% but google says tesla cars came out in 2008, pretty sure this song is 2010, but i don't think it means the car
i love line 11, "Or do I think I think too much"
i don't really have too much opinion on the song besides its good, its an acquired taste and usually i post my thoughts on genius but reddit is more fun

I want to start by stating a few caveats:

1. I've seen 2 shows before. Both were in the 3D era (New Orleans in 2016 and Cleveland in 2022).
2. My favorite era of based purely on sound was Minimum Maximum. Something about the mixes from that era just hit my ear the right way. As such, I judge other eras by that standard.
3. My seats for this show sucked. I was near the end of the horseshoe and half the screen was blocked by a line array. This also affected how sound hit me.
4. I firmly believe that every Kraftwerk show is a great show, and this one was too.

But...
This show had its issues.
First, the good:

• Great crowd. People showed up for KW. Lots of people on the floor were feeling the groove and moving to the music. Lots of enthusiasm from the crowd.
• They no longer use 3D visuals. This is great for me because I wear prescription glasses, and it was always awkward trying to wear both. Seeing the visuals crisp and clear with just my normal glasses was a great upgrade for me.
• I mean, it was Kraftwerk. It's always a great show.

The bad:

• Sound quality was not a peak. Again, I may have been in a bad spot in the venue, but it felt like some half measure between the 3D shows and the Minimum Maximum era and it just didn't work for me. What I like best about the MM era was how crisp, clear, and forward the vocals are. At this show, I could barely hear any of them over the other sounds.
  • Note: I was wearing loop ear plugs. This may have impacted this, but otherwise it would have just been too damned loud.
• There were multiple mistakes on the visuals. Examples I recall include a lagging video on Radioactivity, miscued lyrics text in the Robots and Tour de France, and a few times where the screen was just black for short periods mid track. I don't know that we can blame Georg Bongartz for this or simply that the sped up and reworked setlist doesn't jive with the visuals as they were programed for 3D shows of yesteryear.
• While I do like the switch from 3D, I don't think the bridge visuals for Metal on Metal work as well without the 3D effect. I wish they had found an alternative to them for this show.
• The improvisations are just not as good. While these were always a minor part of any show (the thing about KW has always been their sameness and precision), these ones were simply not as good. I LOVE the improv segment of Musique Non Stop on Minimum Maximum era and in the 3D shows I saw. This one was just "meh," and there was a truly jarring segment on Airwaves that left me thinking "What the hell is Ralf doing?"
• Speaking of Airwaves, they seemed to place a pretty strong focus on Radio-Activity as an album. While all we got from Autobahn, TEE, Electric Cafe, and Tour De France were short versions of their main singles, we got a ton from this album, including Radioland, Nachrichten, the Voice of Energy, and Ohm Sweet Ohm. Why did we get these tracks instead of Computer Love, Neon Lights, Comet Melodies, Europe Endless, or Neon Lights, which we did not get? Maybe they were trying to get in a dress rehearsal for LA or something? EDIT: Based on the fact that the KY show seems to have done the full Autobahn Album and Columbus did the full Radioactivity album, this would seem to be the case. I would have preferred getting some of the other tracks.
• No robots. Maybe it's just me being a grump, but I really wanted to see the reaction on my 5YO's face when the robots danced on stage to Robotronik.
• And for my final nit to pick, both Henning's and Falk's LED shoes had one shoe malfunctioning and not showing the right colors half the time. Considering I had to pay >$500 for my seated tickets (on the morning they were made available because promotors/ticket sellers are scam artists), I would hope that little things like that would have been fixed.

OK... That pretty much sums it up. I don't mean to be a negative Nelly. Both I and my 5YO had a blast, and I will never regret empowering her to see them before the chances to do so all go away. If you ever get the chance to see them live, you totally should. It's amazing. Something about the way the base of Man Machine hits you in a live environment just, well, it hits different. But for those of you who may have seen them before and are worried about your last opportunity having passed you by, take some comfort. If you've seen them before, you probably got a great show that can't be beat. Cherish that memory like both my daughters now ill (took my now 8YO to the Cleveland show two years ago too).

Timestamp
Cereal, reticle, and lens pics for sig
Welcome back, friends. Today we have a few more items that must go! All prices are shipped! Some prices are negotiable, but keep shipping/insurance in mind, please. Any questions, just comment here and then pm me.
This is what’s left from yesterday. I tried deleting everything that sold from list, so if it’s not listed for sale, it’s probably gone. —————
The goods -
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1. Sig Sauer Tango6 1-6x24 w/ vortex mount - MINT- I paid $1200 a few years ago. Glass is perfect. 3gun reticle $640🔥

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1. Sig Sauer P320 X5 slide coyote- finish is slightly worn but slide is in great shape- $175

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1. Sig Sauer p320 coyote DH3 module w/ the silicone carbide grip, holds 17rd mags. $225 with weight and magwell. $195 without weight and magwell.

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1. Benchmade settle mountain skinner - fixed blade - mint - $150

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1. Blackhawk level 2 - 2011 w/x300 holster - great condition - very little use- retail $170- for you, $105

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1. Double alpha academy STI speed holster - also very low use- mint - $80

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1. Blade Tech gov. Model size 1911 holster- also mint, very light use- $50

—-

1. P320 OWB - mint- $24

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1. FAB DEFENSE RAPS-C stock - mint - hardly any use except posing for pictures - $130 w/monopod $100 without monopod - monopod sold

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12. Magpul bipod -pic rail version - mint (bc mlok is superior rail) - $80
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1. Wilson Combat 1911 8rnd mags x3 - good/great condition - $70

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1. Allen pistol case - $15

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1. WC320 - black - non safety - mint - compact -$40

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1. P320 basic bih compact modules x2 - black $20ea

——
Let me know -

1. Skinny oooh i love the guitars. when she sings "still cry... cry..." it reminds me of "i love you" from "when we all fall asleep where do we go?". i love the instrumental outro and how it transitions to the next track! 8.6/10
2. Lunch the lyrics are so cute! i love the switch up in the sonics at 2:22! 8.8/10
3. Chihiro the chorus and refrain are so infectious. i love how she sings "meee~". the bridge is sooo good i love the instrumentals there. the postchorus and outro is so eargasmic. i love this track so much. 10/10
4. Birds of a Feather oh the instrumentals are so good. oh the refrain, chorus, and postchorus are so good. i love this song it hurts!!! 10/10
5. Wildflower the guitars are nice. the vocal layering is so good. the lyrics hurt like hell. 8.8/10
6. The Greatest the guitar plucking is scratching a part of my brain and i like it. with more listens, the guitar plucking will be something i'll be looking for each time, kinda like how i feel with taylor swift's "willow" and "ivy". the sonic switch up at 3:14 is so so sooo good it's kinda like demi lovato's "don't forget" switch up. 10/10
7. L'Amour de ma vie the first half feels so chill but so addicting. the second chorus hits sooo different and so good with each replay!!! the switch up on part 2 of the song sounds so cool. would've really preferred these two to have been separated honestly. i liked part 1 better. 10/10
8. The Diner oh the instrumentals at the beginning sound so vintage like something you'd hear in those old movies. this sounds so addicting with that bass at the back! this might be an underrated opinion but i like the echoing vocal layer. 10/10
9. Bittersuite it's an okay song for me. the instrumental outro is so addicting though! 7.4/10
10. Blue i really really really love how she references the other songs in the album, similar to her song "goodbye" in "when we all fall asleep where do we go". i love the voice pitch-down at 3:26 like damnnnnnn. idk but this track (for me) reflects the album cover a lot. 10/10
this album sounds so good and i love how concise it is with just ten tracks. with some tracks being more than five minutes, i already felt like i went on a journey. this sounds like album of the year for me, so far! off the bat, i'll give it 9.6/10! actual average is 9.3/10

Mischief walks up to the blue crystal clock. She spins the the big hand with her magic and the little hand lands of three. A blue flame is lit. Mischief walks away into the darkness; the light from the blue clock making her look like a silhouette.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuZbmLLv1vM

A bead of sweat falls down Mischief head. Her hair on the ground and her back up august the wall. Mischief had been doing a headstand for the last thirty minutes. In her mind, doing this action once a week was a good way to keep her blood flowing and strength high. Sun walked outside and saw Mischief up august the wall. 

“Are you gonna stand there all day”, Sun asks, holding a peach in his hand.
“You should try it”, Mischief said under the pressure. She uses her feet to push off the rock and picks herself up. “It helps with strength endurance and it help you think.”
“Hard pass”, Sun says, biting the peach. “You know I’m not good with my arms.” Mischief smirks and says, “That’s not what I heard from Ne Zha~” Sun stopped walking and almost chocked on the chunk of peach in his mouth. He looked over at Mischief and said in embarrassment, “Could you not bring Him up?”
“Why? What’s the problem”, Mischief teased. “Oh right, you still like him.” Mischief laughs and then says, “After a millennia and you still haven't told him?” Mischief continues to laugh while Sun burns a bright red and shouts, “Can you shut up?!” Sun starts to hit Mischief head and she still laughs.
“Okay, Okay, I’ll stop”, Mischief says. Sun stops laughing and crosses his arms in annoyance. “Go train Mk. I’ll see you in a bit.” Sun walks out to the training dojo. Mischief smiles but then holds her head in pain with both of her hands. She keeps her eyes shut and feels herself being surrounded by darkness. Even when her eyes where shut, she could see a being covered in a moon themed cloak.
“No…! Why are you here?!” The being looks back; her eyes glowing a light blue. She turns and starts to walk over to Mischief. Mischief raises her hand and cast a spell, but the being covered in the moon cloak faces Mischief.
I am you, as you are me.
We are two become one.
Mischief opens her eyes once the pain subsides and sees that the world around her is normal. She looks around to see if anybody else is there. No one. Mischief looks at her hands and sees then shaking with fear.
“No…. not this night…! Please, not this night….!” Mischief walked back into the house and looked around for a quill and scroll.

Mischief walks back outside to see Mk and Sun training. She sits under a shady area near the entrance to the waterfall. Mk jumps back and lands on the mountains wall. She pushes himself off and charges at Sun from above. Sun smirks and jumps directly up while Mk crashed to the ground. 

“Missed me again”, Sun said. He picks up Mk with his tail and asks, “Now how did I win?”
“Misdirection”, Mk guesses.
“Correct”, Sun says.
“That seams like a shady lesson”, Mischief yells.
“Too soon sis.” Mk chuckles a bit.
“I’m just saying the truth”, Mischief says. She walks over and whispers, “And I bet Ne Zha would say the same thing if he was here.” Sun gets an annoyed look on his face and says, “Whatever. And plus, I was always better at fighting than you.”
“Oh really?”
“Wait a second”, Mk interrupted, “You two have fought before?”
“Yeah. But it was for training purposes”, Sun says.
“Now that you mention it, we haven't trained in a while”, Mischief says. “What do you say, but brother?” Sun smirks and says, “Your on.”

Mischief and Sun get into their fighting positions on each side of the training ground. Mk sits on the stairs in anticipation. 

“Not using your weapon sis?”
“I don’t need it”, Mischief said with a smirk on her face. Sun chuckles under his breath and says, “Your done if I land this.” Sun charges to Mischief at full speed. Mischief closes her eyes and smirks. She moves out of the way and pushes her brother to the wall. Sun blinks a few times in confusion and looks back to sees Mischief untouched.
“I’m waiting.” Sun runs over to Mischief and tried to hit her multiple times but each time, Mischief blocks his attacks over and over. “Wow, brother. Your getting rusty.”
“I’ll show you rusty”, Sun exclaims. He jumps back and starts to attack with his legs.
“Not really effective!” Mischief takes Sun’s leg and pins him down with her foot. “Moon: 1. Sun: 0. I win again.”
“Mischief, let me up”, Sun says. Mischief moved her foot off of Sun’s back and says, “I thought you fought celestial beings bigger than me. You sure your not getting rusty?”
“He’s not”, Mk says. “He beat Demon Bull King, Spider Queen, and More! He’s strong enough to fight the Jade Emperor!” Mischief could hear her thoughts snap in half. She chuckles to herself in annoyance and says under her breath, “Yeah…. Sure…” Mischief then holds her head in pain.
“Mischief, are you okay”, Sun asks. He holds her shoulders.
“I’m fine”, Mischief says. “It’s just a headache. And I don’t think I’ll be able to train Mk tonight.”
“It’s okay”, Mk says. “Plus, I promised Mei I would help her fix her bike”
“Thank you, Mk.”

The full moon shines from above the mountain; its rays passing the peek of the mountain. A being covered in a night themed cloak looks down on the city below. She turns back and jumps backward. She closes her eyes and summoned a portal under her. The portal was covered in shadows and it’s magic was a dark blue. The being fell thought the portal and landed on a roof with grace and elegance. She looks back and sees the lights on in each building from each block ahead. 

“Now… where are you?”

Mk walks down the street of the city. He was walking home from Mei’s bike shop and he was hoping to get some well needed rest. 

“This is the last time I stay out this late”, Mk thinks to himself. He looks up and sees a being silhouetted bu the light of the moon. “Who is that?” Mk squints his eyes and sees the being crying up at the moon. “Are they crying?” Before Mk could call to the person, they jumped to the next roof and vanish into the night. Mk runs to the end of the block but doesn’t see the being.
“That person….. Why where they crying?”

“I’m sorry, say that again?” 

“I saw a person last night”, Mk explains. “It looked like they where crying.” Mischief stopped in her tracks and hides behind the house. She looks to her right and back down to the floor.
“H-How, the, Hell, did he see me”, Mischief thought with worry, panicking in her mind. Her racing thoughts coming to a halt. Mischief touched her broach and thought, “He was with Mei that night. He must have been walking home when he saw me.” Mischief lied the back of her head on the house wall and says, “Damn you, Moon Maiden…!” Mischief sighs and thinks, “There’s no way I can control her at this rate.” Mischief walks back to the front and sees Mk and Sun walking to the top of the mountain.
“Where are you two going?”
“We’re going to train at the top of the mountain”, Sun says. “Wanna come?”
“Sorry, not this time”, Mischief says. “I still have a bit of a headache.”
“Oh… does that mean no training tonight either”, Mk asks.
“I’m sorry, Mk”, Mischief says.
“It’s alright. Take care of yourself. We can train when you feel better.” Mischief smiles. She then remembered how her mentor from years past was so understanding. She saw a lot of them in Mk. “Well see you later.” Mk and Sun walked up the path to the top of the mountain. Mischief looks off to the side is sadness. She hated lying to Mk and her brother, but she had to protect them at all cost. She could risk to lose them like she lost…… her….
Mischief sits on a rock near the edge of the cliff and looks up at the sky. It had almost been a month since she had been away from the celestial realm: her home. She wondered if the cheetah twins had been playing in the celestial forest around this time. She touches her broach and says, “I miss you, mother…..” Pink magic flew around Mischief and a scroll appeared. Mischief catches the scroll and looks at the wax seal. “This is Ne Zha’s crest.” Mischief opens the scroll and a necklace rolls into her lap. She looks at the necklace and then read the scroll as follows:
Mischief,

**It’s good to hear from you again. I heard from your mother that you moved to earth. I hope Sun hasn’t been giving you too much of a headache. I did some research on what you told me about and it lead me to this necklace. And I also found out that the reason your alter ego is coming out on her own is because she hasn’t been bound. One of your ancestors had the same problem and they had a solution. The necklace I set you is called the moon of Apithaea. It has the power to control your alter ego’s rage. It might help you. I hope you get a hendel on your powers.** 

Could you tell sun I said hi?
-Ne Zha
Mischief chuckles and says, “Looks like Ne Zha hasn’t changed one bit. Still the same helpful prince I know.” She smirks. “And his interest in Sun hasn’t left at all.” Mischief looks at the necklace and then placed it around her neck. “Thank you, Lotus.”

Mk and Sun fight along the mountain Plato. However, Mk couldn’t couldn’t really concentrate. He was worried about Mischief, and he was thinking about the person he saw the other night. Mk was so distracted that he didn’t realize that he had left an opening for Sun to hit him. Sun stops his attack midway. 

“You got distracted.” Mk lowers his staff and shudders, “S-Sorry.”
“Are you okay? You seam distracted”, Sun points out.
“I’m worried about Mischief”, Mk says. Sun looked at Mk and the to the side of him, thinking of how to help Mk. she smiles and says, “Kid, follow me. I wanna show you something.”
“What is it?” Sun taps on the ground and a hatch opens. “Now way! How long had this been here?”
“A long time”, Sun says. He jumps and and says, “Come on!” Mk jumps down the hole and lands in a cavern like cave.
“Whoa…. Had this always been down here”, Mk asks.
“Yup”, Sun says. Mk looks ahead and sees a crystal floating above a pedestal; it’s light casting along the floor. Mk walks up to the crystal and asks, “What is this?”
“This is the crystal of the sun”, Sun explains. “This crystal has protected this mountain for a very long time. It was made over three millennia ago.”
“It’s amazing.” Mk takes a closer look at and then gets a vision.
Mischief looks back at someone; her face angry and upset.
She says something but her words are distorted and scrambled.
“She was your mentor!”
Mk blinks a few times and moves his hand away from the crystal. Sun notice Mk’s discomfort and asks, “Are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m fine”, Mk reassures Sun.
“If you say so.” Sun says.
“Hey, Monkie King? Can I ask you something?”

Mk and Sun walk along the roof of a building. 

“Are you sure the person you saw the other night is gonna be here”, sun asked.
“I’m sure of it”, Mk says. The two look around. Mk looks to the north and sees the same person from the other night. “Hey!” Sun looks over to see Mk running over to the hooded person.
“Mk, wait!”
“Um. Excuse me?” The hooded figure looks back; her eyes covered in shadows. “I noticed you the other night and I wanted to meet you.” The hooded figure looks at Mk for a second.
“MK…..?”
“You know who I am?” Sun takes a closer look at the hooded woman and gains a surprised look on his face.
“Mischief?” The being blinks a few times and then says, “I’m sorry. I don’t know anyone by that name.” She tries to walk away, but Sun holds her by the solder which makes Mischief’s necklace break off. The necklace falls to the ground and Mischief’s head hands low.
“Mischief? Are you okay”, Sun asks. Mischief looks back with her glowing eyes piercing Sun’s soul from within. Sun could feel a chill go up his spine. “Um, Mischief?” Mischief rushes back and attacks Sun. “Sis! Stop! What are you doing?!”
“Anyone who get’s in my way will be destroyed”, She yells. Sun whips around and holds his sister down with all the strength he has within him.
“Mk, get the necklace”, he shouts. Mk looks over and sees the necklace. He runs over and picks it up. Mischief looks over in panic and rage.
“No!” She breaks free from her brothers hold and rushes over to Mk and holds him by his collar. Sun tries to rush over to Mischief, but she puts of a barrier. She looks up at Mk and says, “I will not be locked up like a prisoner!”
“What? I don’t get it. Who are you”, Mk asks, struggling to break free. Mischief chuckles to herself, looks up at Mk and says, “So she didn’t tell you? Your her apprentice. Surely you can tell the difference.”
“What?”
“You don’t know? I am–!” Before she could finish her sentence, A ghostly rendition of Mischief, the real Mischief, Holds back her own body. Mk falls to the ground and looks up to see the scene taking place before him.
“Mischief?”
“Mk, I’m sorry”, Mischief exclaims. “I got you and my brother rapped up in this!” Sun runs over and helps up Mk.
“Mischief, who is this”, Mk asks.
“Moon Maiden”, Mischief answers, struggling to hold her back. “She’s my alter ego. I can’t control her without the necklace! Get it!” Sun and Mk run over to the necklace. “You have gone out of control for the last time! You going back where you belong!” Moon maiden holds Mischief by her neck and says, You really think you can control me?! I am half of you that lingers in your shadow! The dark side of light! You can’t escape me, Mischief Wukong!” Mischief puts her hand on Moon Maiden’s arm and says, “No…”
“What?”
“Your right. You are part of me. But you are nothing but an alter ego! I have been through hell and back! I have lost my way over and over, but I never gave up! I have kept you back for over two damn millennia, and I’m not stopping now”, Mischief shouts, felling herself gaining power. Mischief breaks free and holds Moon Maiden with her magic. “NOW!” Mk and Sun put the necklace on Moon Maiden. Mischief lies up and forces herself back into her body. Mischief looks in the darkness and faces her alter ego. “I know you are part of me, and it’s time to make peace with the past”, Mischief says. She puts out her hand to her alter ego. “And I want you to face it with me. If you allow me to.” Moon Maiden looks down and says, “Then I guess we really are one in the same.” She takes Mischief hand.
“We are two become one. The shadow of the sun.”

Mischief gains breath and she holds herself up. 

“M, are you okay”, Sun asks.
“I’m alright”, Mischief says.

“Alter ego, Huh? That’s a new one”, Sun says. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her before”, Mischief says. “I though I could control her on my own, but I can’t even do that right.”
“Mischief, you can talk to us”, Mk says. “We’re here for you.” Mischief looks at both Mk and Sun and says, “You know, I think me coming down here was a blessing in disguise. I’m glad you two are here with me.” The trio smiles.