#13: Odell

[gotta-winwin]

💌 new event dropping ... 500 followers special

hello! thank you all so much for 500 followers - what an insane amount of love and support 💖 in celebration, come join us as we fall in love with seventeen through songs! these fics will be full length and will be released as time allows.

🎧 1. HEART OUT by the 1975 with VERNON "it's just you and i tonight, why don't you figure my heart out?"

🎧 2. BED CHEM by sabrina carpenter with WONWOO "come right on me - i mean camaraderie"

🎧 3. THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT US by one direction with MINGYU "one touch and i was a believer"

🎧 4. BLACK FRIDAY by tom odell with JEONGHAN "every time you touch me, i feel adrenaline"

🎧 5. NUMBER ONE GIRL by rose with WOOZI "isn't it lonely, i'd do anything to make you want me"

🎧 6. IMGONNAGETYOUBACK by taylor swift WITH SCOUPS "whether i'm gonna be your wife, or gonna smash up your bike"

🎧 7. SUNDAY MORNING by maroon 5 WITH JOSHUA "driving slow on sunday morning, and i never want to leave"

🎧 8. PILEDRIVER WALTZ by arctic monkeys WITH DINO "you look like you've been for breakfast at the heartbreak hotel"

🎧 9. PACKING IT UP by gracie abrams WITH HOSHI "was so damn close to packing it up, but that's just when you happened"

🎧 10. WHEN EMMA FALLS IN LOVE by taylor swift WITH DK "when emma seokmin falls in love"

🎧 11. FOREVER by noah kahan WITH SEUNGKWAN "i'll meet a girl in the heat of july and i'll tell her so she knows"

🎧 12. FOREVER STAR by 张洢豪 WITH JUN "wherever you go, dripping on my soul"

🎧 13. WINTER AHEAD by V WITH THE8 "you'll realize where you can find paradise"

🗂 all these works will be under the tag #gottawinwin500event. comment down below if you want to be on the taglist for a specific member or the whole series. anticipate slower updates as this is a side quest !

[emgoesmed]

4/13/2024

Hung out at a local Serbian cafe and the coffee and food were delightful.

I’m chipping away bit by bit at residency onboarding requirements.

I’m currently reading How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell which is excellent, so far I really recommend it!

[fumifooms]

Out of Touch, Out of Time

You say too late to start got your heart in a headlock I don’t believe any of it

Chilchuck Tims x Marcille Donato Dungeon Meshi, Ryoko Kui

Art: Ryoko Kui. Edits: @pupucachi (source). All songs are in my marchil Spotify playlist as well, check it out if you want!

^ (text) opening quote: Headlock, Imogen Heap. Pictures: 1: TrusT, half-alive / 2: Spring, Chemical Club / 3: Dead Inside, Younger Hunger / 4: Chocolate Matter, Sweet Trip / 5: Talk to Me, Cavetown / 6: From Eden, Hozier / 7: Help I'm alive, Metric / 8: Know How, The Crane Wives / 9: Jackrabbit, San Fermin / 10: Another Love, Tom Odell / 11: Curses, The Crane Wives / 12: Keep You Safe, The Crane Wives / Picture of side profiles of Marcille and Chilchuck / 13: Like the Dawn, The Oh Hellos / 14: Only Our Love, Tamino / 15: Running with the Wolves, Aurora / 16: Tarantula, Gorillaz / 17: New Discovery, The Crane Wives / 18: Northern Star, Dom Fera / 19: Monster, Adventure Time : Distant Lands / 20: TrusT, half-alive / 21: Cabo, Ricky Montgomery / 22: No Choir, Florence andthe Machine / 23: Circles, Passenger / 24: Monster, Adventure Time : Distant Lands / 25: North, Sleeping at Last / 26: My Heart is Buried in Venice, Ricky Montgomery / 27: Not I, I Fight Dragons / 28: Spring, Chemical Club v (text) parting quote 1: Enter One, Sol Seppy / Parting quote 2: Je te laisserai des mots, Patrick Watson

After a storm I wanna let go Of the things that I've done Without any worry I wanna come home Into the light Into the unknown I want to be shameless Like the sun

I’ll leave you words Underneath your door Underneath the singing moon Near the place where your feet pass by Hidden in the holes of wintertime And when you’re alone for a moment Kiss me Whenever you want Kiss me Whenever you want Kiss me Whenever you want

[writeonthrough]

Namy Nuggets (4/13)

A fanfic collection of Amy and Nathan scenes from CBC’s Heartland. (Catch up on the series here)

Nugget #4: Cattle Drive Break

"Here," Caleb's voice makes Nathan turn around to see Caleb offering him a water bottle. "Hopefully it's still a little cold."

Nathan uncrosses his arms and stands from leaning against a tree to take the drink. "Thanks, man."

Caleb nods and looks out at the open field before him, bordered by trees on all sides. He's been here, doing these exact cattle drives for more than 15 years, yet every time it looks a little different.

"So," Nathan breaks the silence. "Has Tim always been a hard ass?"

"Ha," Caleb scoffs. "This is the new," he raises his eyebrows and his drink, "Relaxed version of Tim."

"You're kidding."

"I wish. He was much worse before he got married to Jessica."

Nathan takes a swig of water. "How long have they been married?"

"Uh," Caleb thinks back to their wedding at the dude ranch. "Three years."

The two men stand in silence, looking out to the field. Serval minutes pass before Caleb notices movement several meters away from them. The white horse prances from the trees and he squints to see it more clearly.

"Ah!" He exclaims, "No way!"

Nathan looks around, trying to catch what Caleb sees.  When he doesn't, he looks to Caleb who already is calling out behind him.

"Miracle Girl!" He calls out to her. "Get over here!"

As Amy makes her way to them, Nathan questions, "Caleb, what is going on?"

Caleb ignores him and focuses on Amy coming closer.

As she approaches, her apprehension is clear. She sighs, "What trouble are you getting into, Odell?"

He smiles, "Your gentleman caller is here."

Amy narrows her brow. "My what?"

Caleb nods towards the trees. "Ghost is here."

Nathan watches Amy's face fall, but at the same time--her eyes brighten. "What?" She steps forward for a close look. She whispers, "Caleb..."

"Go talk to him," he puts forward pressure on her shoulder.  "You know he's here for you." Caleb can't contain his excitement, which only confuses Nathan more.

Nathan tries to catch her attention, but fails as she stares at the wild horse. "You know that wild horse, Amy?" He asks, surprised.

"Yeah," she says simply.

"Go," Caleb nudges her again. "Go."

"Caleb," she looks back at him. "What if he's hurt?"

"He's not. I know it."

"No, you don't." Amy asserts. "Caleb. I won't be able to handle it if he is. Every time he shows up--"

"Everything will be fine, Amy." Caleb promises. "You know you need to go see him."

"Okay." A smile finally appears on her face. Caleb beams, standing taller with pride and anticipation as Amy walks down the slight hill to meet the horse.

"What is she doing?" Nathan asks with more curiosity than concern. "You know that could be really dangerous."

"That horse would never hurt her," he tells Nathan. "They have some sort of spiritual connection."

"A spiritual connection?" Nathan pivots towards him. "With a wild horse?"

"Oh, yeah," Caleb confirms. "That horse has come to Amy in some of the happiest and saddest moments in her life. It's spectacular to watch." He looks at him and then nods towards Ghost. "You're in for a treat."

They both watch as Amy approaches Ghost. The appaloosa horse turns to her as she nears, allowing her to touch him briefly.  When she walks a little ahead of him, he follows her willingly.

"You've seen her do this before?" Nathan asks, incredulously.

"Many, many times." Caleb delights. "She isn't called the Miracle Girl for nothing, you know."

Nathan nods. "You've called her that a couple times now."

"A lot of people call her that, mostly clients and a couple newspaper headlines," Nathan raises an eyebrow. "And she hates it, as to be expected, modest woman as she is...But she tolerates from a few people--me and Ty and her family--just because we are half-serious and half-teasing her. And," Caleb shrugs, nodding towards Amy, "We were all there when she got the name."

Still watching Amy and Ghost, Nathan shares, "I've never seen her do anything like that."

"Then maybe you haven't scratched the surface of how amazing she is," Caleb shares his observation as if it was an important fact.

Caleb's bold claim hangs in the air between them. It takes a minute, but when Nathan turns back to him, Caleb can see big emotions swirling in his eyes: admiration, amazement, love, and true fear at the prospect at being with her.  Despite calling him out moments ago, Caleb now sees the depth of Nathan's feelings for Amy. For the first time since Amy told him they were secretly together, he realizes the seriousness of their relationship--at least on Nathan's side.

Now wishing for a beer instead of the plain water he was drinking, Caleb looks down as his own heartbreak hits him: even playing the supportive friend wasn't going to help him out of the friend zone. Whatever small chance he thought had left, he felt it vanishing as his gaze darted between Amy and Ghost and Nathan, still watching them.

Somehow, he swallows his emotions and forces himself that Ty would want the best for Amy, he always did.  "Ty told me once: I had no idea what Amy can do."

Nathan turns back at the name. "Ty?"

"Hmm," Caleb takes a final sip and then puts his drink down. "I had only worked at Heartland for a couple months at that point and Ty had returned from his latest soul searching journey and...I don't know--I must have said some stupid comment to piss him off because, back then it was so easy to get him worked up--which, honestly--just tempted me to do it more--But he retorts by telling me that I didn't have a clue about how amazing her gift with horse was, and—” Caleb gestures to Amy and Ghost who seem to be dancing in the field together. "He was right."

Nathan takes a deep breath and crosses his arms. As he tries to digest the information--how much it scares him, how much he craves for Amy to tell him more, to show him more, for him to know all there is to know about her, yet to still keep their new relationship new, and quiet, and slow--he realizes Caleb must see the emotions play across his face.

He jolts up straighter from his position and tries to wipe the emotions that he can off his face.

Caleb watches his self-consciousness and kindly offers remedy: "I don't mean to keep talking about Ty. I won't do it anymore if you don't want...I just, I don't know," he shrugs. "Maybe I wanted to pass on Ty's words to me about Amy...to you...if that's okay."

"Amy doesn't talk about him much," Nathan shares.

"She does. She will," Caleb assures him.  "If you ask. If you want to know...She'll tell you. She doesn't like to ruminate about the past like I do. And she probably just doesn't want to scare you off."

Nathan narrows his eyebrows, questioning: "To scare me off?"

Caleb turns more serious. "She was so in love with him. They were a strong unit together."

Nathan shifts uncomfortably. The words pierce his heart deeper than he would have expected. Then again, remembering Tristin, he also knew what it was to love and commit to someone so deeply.

"It took a lot for her to get here, Nathan," Caleb shares another personal insight about Amy. "To start opening her heart again. She was closed off and not herself for a long time. She's been through enough in her life." He pauses, hoping the vagueness still makes his point without going into specifics. "When she returned back into her old self again, I tried to encourage her to start dating, just to find some levity and fun again: she would not budge...Now that she's found something real with you, I would bet that she's just as scared to lose it as you are."

[sapphirerubydragon]

Hallo, hallo, hallo.

I've managed to complete and upload chapter 13 before year end hurray!

And just in time for yesterday's angst prompt for ghostflower week. (Sorry no fluff this time, although there's a lot of it in earlier chapters to salve the wounds.)

Not gonna lie, this chapter really hurt me to write (these poor kids), so sorry in advance for pain 😅 things go really downhill this time...

All I want at this point is time and energy to do some one shots for the prompts and to catch up reading the fics I like but this is as much as I can do right now.

The circumstances of the fic improve... eventually. I'm working out the final phase of the fic at this point, but your feedback helps me think through things - so thanks for before and thanks in advance! 💜💜

While writing this chapter, I was vibing to Black Friday by Tom Odell and Daylight by David Kushner.

[foxes-that-run]

2013 Haylor Timeline

Timeline Tag, or years, 2012 2014

3 January hair pinned up at restaurant in Virgin Islands. Harry's "might as well.." Tattoo first seen. Covered with Ferns now.

4 January - Taylor's blue dress on a boat. Harry bite bruise on his hip

6 January - Harry seen in NY

7 January -Harry back in London, date People reports that they broke up. Reports Scott swift told them to slow down.

9 January - Harry seen GQ dinner London. photos of Harry in Richard Bransons hot hub on front page after the break up. (I often wonder what the less famous people think now that they treated him poorly as a kid and he is massive now). Gordon Smart (1:12, warning he follows it with a bad anecdote about 18 year old H), who worked on media for One Direction, said in 2020 that Harry had said:

"Simon Cowell actually paid me to do some media training with them back in the day so I met them before they were massive and they were again really lovely kids. [...] I wrote a front page story about him sharing a jacuzzi with a girl on holiday and he told me it was bollocks and we still ran it, because we had a picture of him in the jacuzzi. It was probably totally innocuous and I really I'd like to apologize unreservedly to Harry for that because it was an error of judgment on my part and it probably tarnished our friendship."

Richard Branson also has gross sounding comments about this 18 year old that day.

10 January - made fun of his accent at Grammy's, Harry at nightclub London

12 January when asked, Niall says he listens to WANGBT, Louis says and Harry’s. 22 MV filmed.

15 January - one direction trip to Ghana for Red Nose Day comic relief

16 January - One Direction Tokyo, when movie scenes filmed

20 January - Harry in London

21 January - Taylor in London reports she saw Harry, Harry at friends house

22 January - Harry got the Butterfly and handshake tattoos

23 January - Taylor in Madrid before performing at the '40 Principales Awards'. H London

26 January Both at NRG Awards, 25 January Taylor posts Cannes Sunset situation. They both stayed in the Intercontinental Carlton Cannes Hotel.

27 January - Harry meeting with Simon Cowell Glasgow,

28, 30, 31 Jan, 1, 2, 4 , 8 Feb - Harry London, Leed 13 -16

1 February - Harry's 19th birthday. £5k tab, messy, wild party. Rumour that Taylor had booked a week in Italy which was cancelled

6 February - Savan Kotecha (WMYB writer) gave interview where he said 1D want to be write but can’t. Probably had left 1D already and doing press to build career. His last 1D credit is Happily. In 2017 praised (45 mins) Harry’s writing. In the later interview Savan also says he spent a year being sad after the 1D thing ended until Ariana came into work with him, (52mins) so that article may have been that he’d already left 1D. He said he was working on Emblem3 which may be the other bad project he talked about (released April).

10 February - Taylor at Grammy's, night Ed says inspired Tenerife Sea

18 February - Harry the Box Nightclub

19 February - Harry “I’m ok, thank you for asking. I’m good. She’s a great performer and she always performs great. She’s always good on the stage. She’s been doing it a long time. She knows what she’s doing on stage. It was just another good Taylor Swift performance. I understand why people would wanna know stuff like that. I get it. If someone does stuff like that then I wanna know about it, too. It is what it is, I guess.”

21 February - both attend Brit awards - Taylor performs I knew you were trouble with Harry in the audience. In march she told the Sunday Times "Well, it's not hard to access that emotion when the person the song is directed at is standing by the side of the stage watching." She goes to an afterparty with Tom Odell and out with him the next night. Tom writes Country Star about Taylor and Harry wrote Happily about wishing they were together. Ed is asked if he would trust Harry around his girlfriend and he said “well he trusts me around his girlfriend so yeah I do. We’re friends we don’t do that.” Harry went on Nick Grimshaw from 6am a hungover.

23 February - 3 November - 1D Up all Night tour, start in Europe

7 March - Taylor sells Hyannis Point House at $1m profit

15 March - Taylor vanity fair article. Says Harry pursued her for a year before KCA, better part of a year after and it fell apart one night in London when he went out and he’s texting her to ask to see her again at the time of the interview. Pointed mentioned she was born in 1989, Easter egged wonderland, talks about Connor being 2 months and insignificant. Implies Harry was a rebound from JG and Connor was a Harry rebound. Says she’s looking for someone who is interested in her not her wiki page.

25 - 29 March - Harry in LA, then back to London. He was photographed hanging out with his friends Cal Aurand and Jen Kelly in Malibu. Taylor performed in South Carolina on March 23 and in New Jersey on March 27, as part of her RED tour. She was photographed arriving in New York on March 26. She was MIA for the two previous days; she flew by private jet to either Los Angeles or Nashville. It’s possible that Harry and Taylor met in Los Angeles on March 24 or 25. On the 25th, Harry tweeted lyrics to ‘Fire and Rain’ by James Taylor. (Begin again)

29 March - Taylor played “You're Not Sorry” in Newark. “I truly believe that when dealing with anybody you meet, you should start by trusting them. Any new friend you meet. Any new person you meet. I think you should truly believe the beat in them. And the first time that they tell you they’re sorry I think you should believe them. But then if they keep doing the same exact thing that they say they’re sorry for, that means one thing guys. That they’re not. Sorry.”- here. Appeared in Wonderland cover April 7, 2013

11 April - Louis says 'Taylor Swift' after Harry sings "I'm in love with you" in Little Things

12 April - Harry’s high school friend, Nick who was in White Eskimo says he liked Taylor since he was 15 before x-factor to the Mirror

Nick has known the One Direction star for years, and recalled the moment Harry (then just 15) admitted fancying country singer Taylor Swift when he watched one of her videos in 2009. Nick said: “He was like ‘Oh my god, she’s really, really good looking. I would do anything for a bit of that.’ Then he went and got with her years later!”

13 April - Harry tweeted “I really like that song 'Dumb' by @lamtich. Just heard it again” a song about regretting breaking up with someone.

18 April - Harry holmes chapel

20 April - TS on B stage song before “I Almost Do” in Tampa, FL. “everybody’s got like one, maybe two, I don't know how many you have, but at least one person in your life that doesn’t belong in your life anymore because maybe they hurt you or maybe it’s just over but you kind of want to call them sometimes. And you think better of it. But, you almost do it.”- here. Then a Red tour break till the 25th; One Direction tour break starting in Manchester till Paris on 29th. Louis stays in Europe,

23 April - Harry arrives alone in LA without the Peace ring

24 April - Neither Harry or Taylor seen. The day Harry got the ring

25 April - First day Peace Ring is seen. Harry has dinner with Rod Stewart, Rod then plays the Troubadour and Harry stayed at Rod Stewarts house. Taylor in Cleveland

28 April - Harry posts photo of sunglasses on beach. Taylor photographed in a gym in Los Angles. Wears the ring to leave LAX and there is an absolutely insane mob because he is there alone with no security.

29 April - Arrives in Paris alone, still wearing ring, described as a riot. The ring is in This is Us in Paris

April 30 - Taylor buys Holiday House Rhode Island for $18m cash

1 May - Everything has changed released as single

7 May - Harry goes on a party bus in Norway, photos of him drunk, with blonde and talks about party bus in interviews

18 May - Taylor posted rose’s with a Great Gatsby quote: “Just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer...“

19 May - Taylor said to fans, pointly "You are the longest and best relationship I've ever had" at BBMAs and that she only writes about ex's she doesn't want to see again. In the press room she said

27 May - Taylor wrote Wish you Would

2 June - Taylor attended a pre-show meet and greet at KYGO radio in Denver where David Mueller allegedly reached under Taylors skirt. In 2015 he sued Taylor who counter sued. It was not resolved until 2017 when Taylor won damages of $1.

June - September Midnight Memories written with Happily

12 June Taylor on Grimmy, he says Trouble is the “best song ever” 4 times at 11 mins. Best song ever was released 22 July. :)

13 June - Never Gonna Dance Again tattoo seen when Harry got off a yacht in Miami, seemingly drunk, he was underage at the time lyrics from Wham song "Careless Whisper" about regret for being unfaithful. Grimmy had referred to it in September when Harry sung the song on radio

16 June 2013 - Louisville - Harry was feeling himself during “Last First Kiss” and at the end was flirting with someone in the crowd, he mimicked pole dancing then he kissed his heart tattoo

22 June - Taylor and Selena getting ice cream in Mystic Connecticut, near RI.

28 June - Harry seen with Paige

29 June - Taylor gets a fans face paint on her neck that looks like lipstick in Vancouver, Gaylor 'proof'. 1D NY

1 July - Harry cross tattoo NYC stayed at the Bowery Hotel NYC

6 July - both play in Pennsylvania, Taylor has a week off after, unseen. On the 8th Harry was sick on stage.

20 July - Harry on Ryan Seacrest in Niall’s place and says the rest of the band went back to uk on their break but he stayed in LA.

22 July - Best Song Ever released.

30 July - September GQ cover story where they badgered Harry about how many people he’d slept with (two)

6 August - Ed posts photo with Harry and snow patrol “Decent night with the ladz”

August 14 - Lover Journal: August 14, 2013, Watch Hill RI. Says she feels like a tiger in an enclosure, feels hunted, talks about paparazzi and cell phones. Also calls herself a rabbit, a flower growing in a sidewalk that is picked and how photos ruin a moment, online photos/comments and 'level of possession'.

25 August - VMAs, texting each other and shade, together at afterparty. Sang purple rain together at after party.

3 September - Harry tweeted 1975, Matty Healy told an interviewer that went from 4K followers to 15k in 10 minutes and they exchanged numbers and texted, made plans to meet up and he stood Harry up.

5 September - the 1975 cover WMYB in the live lounge

8 September - Taylor “"People think they know who I've dated and they just don't," "They don't know everything."

9 September - Harry badgered by paparazzi till he cries in London. They called him a womaniser. GQ Article where the interviewer bullied him into how many partners he had has (2)

10 September - Media that they had a heart to heart at VMAs

11 September - Harry Rose tattoo.

18 September - Harry at Pixie Geldorf’s birthday, with Nick and first time seen with model Daisy Lowe in photo pixie posted.

27 September - 1D sign another contract with Syco for 3 albums, they are each paid £10m.

28 September: On the anniversary of the Begin Again weekend in Paris 28 September- 5 October 2012 Harry tweeted: "We don't need no piece of paper from the city hall". from Australia.

5 October - Harry pulled a blonde out of the crowd and hung out with her that night in Australia

8 October - Harry tweeted Shania Twain is so good. Shania thanks him and invites him to her show in Vegas.

16 October - Harry talked about Shania Twain 'Still the One' on stage, Tweet Q's - what song would you like to listen to now?

17 October Harry cried onstage, (0:55) during over again Taylor seen with Alexander Skarsgard 3 days later

18 October - throws up on stage reports touring taking toll

28 October - Harry talked about Shania Twain 'Still the One' on stage again, What's the most embarrassing song on your ipod.

1 November - 1D, Katy Perry and John Mayer take photos backstage at a Japanese radio station in Tokyo. New Romantics was written about Taylor being sad her ex had gone to Japan with his new GF.

November -j14 article where Harry says ok to get back together with ex. Also reports Taylor is house hunting in London. Rumour Taylor was seen with Douglas booth.

13 November - Taylors first Victoria Secret show where she wears a union jack dress in NY and performed IKYWT. On 14th Harry in UK for Gemma's graduation, TS in NY for billboard awards.

18 November - Courtney Cox said she hung out with each of them at her house in Malibu

20 November - Harry has dinner with Kendall Taylor tweets ""I've listened to "Hold On" by @ColbieCaillat 45 times today. So on repeat. So important." on the 21st when dinner reported.

22 November - midnights memories release party in la with Ryan Seacrest

23 November, both at AMAs, gold dress. Kendall PDA reported but no record of it

25 November - Midnight Memories released with Something Great written with Jacknife Lee who also worked on Red.

3 December - Lover Journal - December 3, 2013, Sydney.

6 December - Harry leaves Kendalls hotel and they have breakfast. Lunch the next day NY. Harry is carrying notebooks and dressed that same as in the Spotify visual for Where Do Broken Hearts Go. Tabloids say not dating Kendall and he is texting Daisy Lowe.

11 December- Taylor ATW speech talks about songwriting like a message in a bottle, she mentions still love you and I’m really heartbroken

12 December - One Direction in Milan, record the Xfactor final interview with cushions on the floor.

13 December - Taylor posts a series of photos to IG about a rose garden party in Melbourne, Australia while on tour for her birthday. Many think 1989 will be called Roses. The captions made a sort of poem "Roses. Red Balloons. Pretty.... Sparklers. The best birthday I've ever had." Which could be a dig at Harry, Roses being common Haylor imagery, his tattoo and she famously said her 2012 birthday was her best ever when he took her to the Lakes. Harry's "better still be my winding wheel" tweet. Harry posts his Cannes photo December 14.

15 December - One Direction performs Midnight Memories on Xfactor UK Final and Harry arrives at Kendalls London hotel at 2am.

17 December - Harry, Ed and Taylor spotted together in Suffolk. Harry got injunction banning paparazzi from outside his home. Harry likely had moved into his current house. First confirmed at Ben Winston's with Morgan Spurlock in April 2012, Harry later told Rolling Stone he stayed there 20 months. He was seen house hunting in July and reports of his house were September 2012.

21 December - midnight memories MV filmed

Continue to 2014

[muirmarie]

fanfic end of the year asks - 1, 13

1. favorite fic you wrote this year - do you love your neighbor (is it in your nature) was by far my personal fave. It's not necessarily my best fic, and it's def not my most kudosed or commented or idk critically acclaimed lmaooo, BUT it's an extremely self-indulgent fic that hits everything I love about h/c. I've loved h/c for YEARS, and I've gone through all the stages of writing it - when I was a wee baby writer I wrote h/c where the person getting hurt like, probably would not have survived lmao (humans are so fragile!) and as I improved and got older I wrote h/c where the reactions and emotions felt, hm, maybe immature? And then I got to the stage where I'm still fairly happy looking back at them, but they were more focused outwards rather than say inwards? But this one! This is my ideal h/c fic tbh! McCoy has an incredibly bad week, but none of it feels too over-the-top imo and it's all very survivable, it wasn't just pain for pains sake, a lot of it is psychological, the emotions felt really right to me - both as it was happening, but also the aftermath? And I was able to write it how I most prefer h/c, where it's really hurt/aftermath/comfort - you have to have that drop, I think, that fallout once you're safe, before comfort can begin? Anyway yeah h/c is my favorite type of fic to read, and I am genuinely extremely happy with every single beat of this story, so that's why it's my fave! =)

13. favorite writing song/artist/album of this year - so i almost always write with a song on repeat, i dunno why. So I went through different songs tbh! Uh listened to some Hazlett, grandson, Happy Landing, Mark Ambor, Tom Odell, Sufjan Stevens, Ripto (somehow ended up with two fics both titled from Icarus & Apollo?? lmao), Bastille, The Last Pioneers - actually I think they might be who I listened to the most when writing this year? But honestly yeah I just end on a song and wear it into the ground on repeat while I write a specific story haha

ETA WAIT: lmao I DEFINITELY listened to Zach Bryan the MOST when writing, can't believe I forgot him??? he was DEF the most!! And i think his lyrics are the most titles as well? I think. (just checked and YEP: FOUR titles from his lyrics lmao, truly a talented songwriter!!!)

Thank you!

[withoutyouimsaskia]

Remember Me, Special Dreams

Table of Contents and Playlist

Summary: The Sandman. Self-insert. You're having trouble with recurring night terrors and Morpheus pays you a visit.

Warnings: language, angst, mentions of night terrors. Chapters marked with * indicate 18+ Minors DNI due to smut including hand play, AMAB and AFAB oral receiving and penetrative sex AFAB+AMAB.

Total Word Count: 39k

Part 1: A Million Little Pieces – Placebo

Part 2: Queen of Peace – Florence + the Machine 

Part 3: Slow Burn – David Bowie

Part 4: Shut Your Eyes – Snow Patrol

Part 5: Sculptures of Anything Goes – Arctic Monkeys

Part 6: Play God – Sam Fender

Part 7: King – Florence + the Machine

Part 8: Human – Daughter

Part 9: Terrified - Isaac Gracie 

Part 10: Haze – Tessa Violet

Part 11: Days Are Gone – HAIM

Part 12: Shine – Years and Years

Part 13: Can’t Pretend – Tom Odell

Part 14: Hurricane – MS MR

Part 15: Follow You – Imagine Dragons

Part 16: Let It Go – James Bay

Part 17: Losing Sleep – John Newman

Part 18: Lose Your Head – London Grammar

Part 19: Spanish Sahara – Foals

Part 20: The Loneliest – Måneskin

Part 21: Sleeping With Ghosts – Placebo

Part 22*: You Look So Fine – Garbage

Part 23*: All We Have Is Now – Royal Blood

Part 24: Endlessly – Muse

Part 25*: Neptune – Foals

Sandman Masterlist

[x-neurotoxin-x]

69 + 13

69 is Ethel Cain - Ptolemea, that was probably Doll tbh. 13 is Tom Odell - Another Love. That was also Doll. Those are both ones that get looped

[stylized-corpse]

Freedom Summit @ Odell Lodge - 10/13/2024

[cherienymphe]

sometimes i think i figured out your taste in white men, but then you hit me with a chris briney and timothé chlamydia and i am at loss, because tom hardy and previous characters have such different features/aesthetics

and i love chris briney! he seems to be a lovely human

i’m sorry, but have you done a similar list for black male or female celebrities? i’d love to look at it too!

Lmaooo it's called duality! As for black men:

1. Alfred Enoch

2. Quincy Combs

3. Diggy Simmons

4. Kofi Siriboe

5. Keith Powers

6. Jonathan Daviss

7. Jordan Calloway

8. Skepta

9. Lloyd

10. John Gaines

11. Jude Bellingham

12. Marcus Rashford

13. Odell Beckham Jr.

14. Colin Kaepernick

15. Michael Evans Behling

16. Brandon P. Bell

17. Wilson Mbomio

18. Christian Keyes

19. Ricky Whittle

20. Chase Claypool

21. Sauce Gardner

22. Cedarian Lamb

23. Garrett Wilson

24. Errol Cummings Jr

25. Asap Rocky (unfortunately)

26. NBA Youngboy

27. O'Ryan

28. Shannon Sharpe

[dustandshadows-if]

Oooooo can I have

2, 12, 7, 5, and 16 for Quinn who’s heart i will unfortunately break bc im romancing Farrah but im sure they won’t mind right?👍😀

and 13 for Juliette please :)

Quinn

2. Any interesting scars? They don't really have any interesting scars. They've got a few here and there that they didn't feel like were too big of a deal to get healed but that's really it 12. Do they have any self-destructive habits? I'm not sure if it counts as a self-destructive habit but Quinn does have a problem of not telling people important things just because they don't want to deal with whatever the fallout may be aka not telling their own best friend that they were in a relationship or were thinking about running away 7. How easy is it to make them cry? It honestly depends on the person. Like Farrah and Mc could make them cry with nothing more than a look but anyone else would have difficulty getting any type of reaction out of them 5. Have they killed anyone? If they have would they kill again? If not would they kill at all? Quinn has only ever killed demons not human people so they're not really bothered by it. They would kill someone if they needed to tho 16. Whats one song that makes you think of them? omg i was just adding songs to their playlist. Hmm im gonna go with Black Friday by Tom Odell or Promise by Ben Howard

Juliette

13. Are they queer? Hell yeah she is. Juliette is my lesbian vampire queen

[risualto]

I was tagged back in April by @starlightcleric to do a dialogue thing, and I'm finally getting around to it.

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

I thought a lot about who to choose, and I ended up making it difficult for myself by choosing a character I haven't actually physically written a lot about...so here's 13 quotes from Odelle, some of which are from unpublished WIPs and some of which are quotes in my D&D notebook.

"Aye, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"There's an agent of the Zhents 'ere. ...Yeah, I know who it is, but unless you want me tellin' 'em who you are, my lips're sealed."

"I trust you not to run me through with yer swords or magic when we're fighting, but beyond that...nothin', I've realized."

"There's a lot I can't do. Places I'm weak. And if you want t' be strong, Rags, it don't mean trying to make yourself weak nowhere. No power in the world can do that."

"Can tell you're in pain. Never mind moving you, but sorry about that. An' sorry no one else's said it."

"Tree advice, eh? It'll do in a pinch. Now I'm no tree, but my advice'd be for you to get on home, grandma."

["How do you define good and evil?"] "I don't."

"What you said, about giving up on figuring out if you can be friends an' all that? I've had the same thoughts. I'm not saying you owe 'im anything, not after how 'e's hurt you."

"Do that cloak still 'ave teeth?"

"People hate being lonely, and if you want folks' money, solvin' their problems's a fast way t' do it. But then there's the problems it don't pay to solve. Funny how that works, huh?"

"Is it a pain in the arse that we're all following each other around like loose hair on clothing? Yeah, a bit. Is it probably a good thing that we can't avoid each other? Also probably yeah, a bit."

"Will you damn your children an' their children an' their children to another hundred years of the hell what raised you?"

"This whole damned town's a dick wavin' contest, right, so you showin' up sayin' yours is bigger won't help anyone."

It's been months, so anyone who sees this and wants to post some dialogue should do so and say I tagged them.

[callsignspark]

soft-tober | 13 | Solomon Bates

soft-tober is about experiencing the joys of October with loved ones. each day is a fall-related one-shot for one of the couples from my Dagger, Sword & Shield universe, plus a few extras! today is Solomon and Betty with “Here, take my sweater." from this prompt list.

If you’d like to be tagged for soft-tober, please send an ask!

word count: 1.0k

soft-tober masterlist | main masterlist | divider credit here

warnings: death of an offscreen character by a drunk driver - nothing is described, grief over losing a spouse, hopeful ending, this one is distinctly less soft than I intended

callsignspark disclaimer: my blog is an 18+ space; minors do not interact - you will be blocked. I do not consent to my work being copied, run through an AI generator, translated, or posted elsewhere. I do have an AO3, where I eventually will be cross-posting my works.

13. "Here, take my sweater."

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Solomon’s foot bounces against the metal bleachers, a consistent rattling that he hopes isn’t annoying anyone. He’s a calm and collected man; he’s a two-star admiral for crying out loud, but his niece’s soccer game has got him vibrating out of his skin. It is sectional finals, he reasons with himself as the tempo increases.

Tap.Tap.Tap.Tap.Tap.

The scoreboard still has five minutes for warm-ups, so he jogs down the stands, hoping movement on the ground will help him work out some nervous energy.

It’s not the game that’s got him like this, though the knowledge that if the team loses, they’re done for the season isn't helping; it’s the guilt that’s been growing in his chest since the beginning of the season. A guilt that worsens every time Betty Odell smiles at him. Just the thought of her makes his stomach flip, and his heart clench.

Guilt rising up, he digs the silver chain out of his shirt, smoothing his thumb over the raised letters of his dog tags before separating them to find the gold ring he keeps next to his heart. His wedding ring, the one that his wife insisted on paying for by herself.

Solomon is technically still married, though, in his mind, there’s no “technically” about it. He’s married. He didn’t choose to no longer be married; he didn’t choose divorce. His marriage was ripped away from him. His wife was gone in the blink of an eye, thanks to a careless drunk driver.

Widower.

It’s such a casual word for the devastating meaning it holds. Other words sound as bad as their meaning. Famine. Rape. Murder. Widower is softer; it doesn’t hint at the pain and suffering felt by the person awarded its awful title.

The guilt.

The anger.

The loneliness.

It’s been almost thirty years, but he misses his wife - his Kendra - every single day. He has ever since the moment he found out she was gone. It’s gotten easier; time and therapy helping to heal his deepest wounds. But Solomon knows that the hole in his heart will never fully close.

He’s accepted that.

He never expected to develop feelings for anyone else. He knew it was a possibility; there are plenty of beautiful women in California, but he never allowed his thoughts to wander. Even when Kendra’s family encouraged him to branch out and be happy with someone else, knowing that he would never forget his first love.

There had been a few years where Warlock had tried, at the insistence of his in-laws. He went on a few blind dates with women who were lovely, but the dates brought up feelings he hadn’t felt since they buried Kendra. He wallowed in the house, drowning himself in work just like he had during that first lonely year.

It’s why Betty has come as such a shock.

She’s wonderful, but she hadn’t even pinged on Solomon’s radar. She was just another person supporting the girl’s team. Another adult to cheer and groan over bad calls with. He had just assumed she was one of the mothers and married to the man always sitting next to her. A month into the season, his sister informed him that Betty was a supportive aunt, single, and the mystery man was her married business partner and friend.

Solomon ignored the encouragement from his sister, unable to think about pursuing the woman he’d become friendly with as guilt gnawed at his stomach for the excitement he felt learning Betty was single.

He’d been cordial since then, nice but not overly friendly, not wanting anyone to get hurt. It worked for a few weeks until Betty’s friend couldn’t join her at games. She began sitting with Solomon, making small talk at first, but their friendship grew alongside the number of wins. Now, they’re well into playoffs, and he doesn’t know what to do.

He wants Betty Odell.

She’s very different from Kendra - loud where Kendra was quiet, analytical while Kendra was reactionary - but they’re similar in all the ways that matter. Kind souls who listen to him speak and make intelligent conversation, unafraid to rib him, and always making him laugh. She is exactly the person Solomon would have been with if he hadn’t met Kendra.

It scares him.

He’s worried about both women. He’s afraid that he’ll forget Kendra, forget to properly honor her memory. And he doesn’t want to hurt Betty either, doesn’t want to accidentally treat her like a replacement for his long-dead wife. And he’s getting old, significantly closer to retirement than any other major life event, worried that he’s too old to start fresh.

“Sol! What are you doing down here? The game is about to start!”

He stops pacing to find Betty smiling at him, a teasing glint in her eye as she shakes a red pom-pom at him, directing him to follow her up the bleachers. The debate over what to do quiets down as he follows without question back up to their seats. He contemplates what to do all through team introductions and the anthem, and it’s not until the starting whistle blows that he actually focuses on the game.

The game is close; attempts at each end are barely stopped by the goalies, and when the whistle blows for halftime, the scoreboard still reads zero for both teams.

“Wow, the Panthers did not come to play!”

“They sure didn’t!” Solomon looks away from his niece down on the field at the sound of chattering teeth.

The wind had been picking up during the first half, the Friday night game getting chilly as the sun goes down. “Y’okay? You cold?”

“A bit, but I’ll be okay!”

The déjà vu is like a punch in the face. He had the exact same conversation with Kendra. It was homecoming of senior year, and despite the enormous bonfire and her long sleeve shirt, she was cold. He offered up a warm layer of his own, and doing the gentlemanly thing had earned him a date to the dance.

To be having the exact same conversation feels like a blessing from above. Like it’s Kendra letting him know that it’s okay. That this is the right woman to pursue.

Solomon shrugs off his sweatshirt, happy that he decided to wear two warm layers, and does the same gentlemanly thing he had done thirty-seven years ago. Hoping that it gives him just as happy of a result now as it did then.

“Here, take my sweater.”

@gretagerwigsmuse | @hangmanapologist | @hangmanbrainrot | @princessphilly | @hangmanssunnies | @thesewordsareallihavetogive | @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby | @katieshook02 | @hellojameshowyadoin | @aristotles-butthole | @atarmychick007 | @whatislovevavy | @kmc1989 | @sometimesanalice | @laracrofted | @yuckosworld | @mika-darling | @bradshawsbaddie | @bobblebobsbae | @ohtobeleah | @withahappyrefrain

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 17/02/2024 (Beyoncé, VULTURES 1)

For a seventh week, Noah Kahan stays strong at #1 with “Stick Season” - but it’s Bey season and Ye season… no, those words don’t rhyme, and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

Welp, as always, we start with our notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, after five weeks in the top 75 and a peak in the top 40, and this week, we bid adieu to: “HISS” by Megan Thee Stallion (that was quick), “Gas Me Up (Diligent)” by Skepta, “Feather” by Sabrina Carpenter, “When We Were Young (The Logical Song)” by David Guetta and Kim Petras, “Surround Sound” by JID featuring 21 Savage and Yung Baby Tate, “Northern Attitude” by Noah Kahan, “Runaway” by Ye featuring Pusha T, “Can’t Catch Me Now” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Is it Over Now?” by Taylor Swift, “Black Friday” by Tom Odell, “Agora Hills” by Doja Cat, “My Love Mine All Mine” by Mitski and finally, “Baddadan” by Chase & Status and Bou featuring IRAH, Flowdan, Trigga and Takura. Yeah, bit of a bloodbath here.

You know, we actually have barely any returns or gains as a result of the influx of 13 new songs, so we have some vague post-GRAMMYs impact and that’s kind of all, with it mostly being in our returns - “Coal” by Dylan Gossett at #73 (probably not GRAMMYs), “FE!N” by Travis Scott featuring Playboi Carti at #71 and on a much more positive note, Tracy Chapman’s classic original version of “Fast Car” all the way at #38. It first charted at 1988 and peaked at #5 (when Glenn Madeiros’ schmaltzy “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You” was #1) and then returned in 2011 and peaked at #4, when… “Party Rock Anthem” was #1. This won’t last or peak nearly as high, but it improves the net quality of the chart for the time it’s here. As for the gains, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift at #57 and “Home” by Good Neighbours at #34. Yup.

As for our top five, we see Mr. YG Marley creep in maybe in part to his grandfather’s documentary as “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” is at #5. Then “Lose Control” by Mr. Teddy Swims is at #4, “Beautiful Things” by Mr. Benson Boone is at #3, “Murder on the Dancefloor”by Sophie Ellis-Bextor breaks my gag at #2 and finally, Noah is building his seven-week ark at #1. Now our real stories, of course, are in our influx of new entries, many of which are pretty damn high and have exceedingly more to talk about than I wish they did, so I suppose let’s start rounding those off.

New Entries

#64 - “ONE CALL” - Rich Amiri

Produced by Rio Leyva and Zuko

Now, I am not familiar with Rich Amiri, which is a pretty generic rap name all things considered so for all I know, I’ve listened to his mixtape, but I am familiar with some of his producers. Rio Leyva has credits across a lot of recent pop-rap mainstays like Lil Tecca, The Kid LAROI and even Yeat, and he tends to produce in a style many would say is rage-adjacent… so it makes sense that this is a rage song, with some genuinely wiry, menacing leads in the synths and a dirty, factorial trap skitter. The song’s barely two minutes, so it doesn’t really give Mr. Amiri much time to even finish his one verse, which is full of personality-void Auto-Tune and mindless repetition, but he isn’t exactly derivative of any specific person, it just sounds like he hasn’t figured out his exact voice yet, which is expected with up-and-coming rappers. The content obviously isn’t worth speaking of - it’s just flexing and violence and sex all delivered pretty plainly - but he’s not the worst at it? I don’t know, this is great production but I feel like there are rappers who could make this pop out a bit more. Maybe 454, SoFaygo, someone with a high-pitched squawk to make this feel dynamic? If you still want to go for relentless cool, get Thouxanbanfauni on the remix and this could be a slam dunk.

#62 - “Made for Me” - Muni Long

Produced by Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox and JordanXL

“Hrs and Hrs” is not a song I remember much at all let alone fondly, but the voice behind Muni Long is Priscilla Renea, a very prolific songwriter, so I imagine that with Jermaine Dupri on the boards, there could be some R&B wizardry to make her chances at a second hit much more solidified. As for if I like it or not, well, I can see it being a hit considering the 2000s throwback sound with the classy (yet almost basic-sounding) pianos, even down to the groove and the incessant sound effect that’s a bit distractingly loud in the mix, but by the end of the song, you almost forget it’s there and think it would sound weird if it wasn’t. Even if I generally like this song, I don’t really think it fits the song too much, which is about finding your soulmate and… NOT losing them. There should be some grandiosity to this, especially with that powerful voice and chorus, but it feels a bit lost in its own attempt to be “cool”, which… I don’t know, will it be a theme this episode? Probably not, but the first two songs definitely share the element of just not going far enough with good ideas. This is still a solid tune, though.

#60 - “Dance Alone” - Sia and Kylie Minogue

Produced by Jesse Shatkin and Jim-E Stack

Sia. Kylie. Two pop stars of very, very different prepositions but ultimately in the same niche. I have no hopes for anything Sia does, pretty much, never liked her, but what else would I have to say at this point? Her songs produce so little analysis from me because a lot of the time, it’s just kind of immediately obvious what will happen and what I’ll think. There are painfully basic vocal melodies, very typical disco-house beats, and Sia tries to actually play down the hamming but lets her natural characteristic of her voice end up preventing her from doing so because, well, that’s just how her voice sounds. A “subtle” Sia is just an awkward fit, and she may be trying that on purpose so she doesn’t put off pop listeners, but it just results in her being completely outclassed by Kylie, who eats this up as expected. That little “woo!” in the pre-chorus is to live for, as is the “(dance)” ad-lib in the final chorus, but by the time we’re in the “bridge” (see: the post-chorus again, same phrase repeated ad nauseum), Sia’s clipping in the mix again and nothing sounds like it cares about me caring, so I’m not caring. It’ll go hard in the Mumsnet forum voice chats. Do they have those? They should have those.

#55 - “Birds in the Sky” - NewEra

Produced by Karl Durkan and Ben Williams

Okay, I’ll bite: Who are NewEra? Well, according to Genius, they’re an EDM production duo from Dublin and this track from last year is their only song to appear on streaming, yet it’s released on Warner interesting. Either way, it’s clearly blown the Irish duo up a bit, so there must be some merit and well, the sample - wherever it’s from, I genuinely can’t find it - is about as weirdly mixed as they always are on these piano-led EDM cuts, but it doesn’t stick out too much amidst the more typical trance grooves and very basic, almost preset-sounding drums that lead into a constant anticlimax, leading the pianos and barely impactful drop sound like they’re teasing you into a false sense of confidence that the song is at all moving. It damn well works though, it’s pretty hypnotising, so when I was lulled into the drumless glitching section where the cheap pianos actually build up to a pretty good pounding drop, I was thoroughly immersed. These guys have done something right.

#50 - “Make You Mine” - Madison Beer

Produced by Madison Beer and Leroy Clampitt

Madison Beer is one of those ostensible “pop stars” that don’t exactly make innovative, experimental or often even interesting music but still exist only on the peripheries of the mainstream, many of which eventually get some kind of breakout chart hit, and this might just be Ms. Beer’s… well, if this is supposed to convince me on the personality and character of Madison Beer, I am not impressed at all, she doesn’t sound interested in developing that. If it’s supposed to convince me on her production ability… yeah, I’m hopping on this train. This is incredible. My comment on her vocal performance is not a detracting remark of the song, her emotionally confused, at times static and always intimate vocal take adds a lot of depth to the intense, but more accurately hallucinatory sensuality of the song. There’s a lot of staccato repetition, sure, I mean, it’s deep house, but it’s all a luring act as you can “slip inside her mind” (sure), against the warped synth basses, echoed and fuzzy vocal production, mesmerising synths that are incredibly well panned and mixed - the sound design is immaculate, and that’s not even mentioning the incessant groove or one of the catchiest nonsense hooks in pop of recent years. The drop barely registers as such, it feels like a natural climax that the song just slides into, despite all the little intricacies in both the build-up and the catharsis that transform the song into a fizzling journey of sexy club-pop that goes a lot harder in the details that I expected it to. I mean, the overdubbing of synth leads and curious glitches in the outro - nothing’s going to go exactly “wrong” in this hook-up, but it’s not where either expected to be… and for that night, it’s life-changing. I didn’t think I’d like this as much as I do but oh, my God, please make this a hit. ASAP.

#47 - “Heaven or Hell” - K-Trap

Produced by Nathaniel London, Jester Beats and Godwin Sonzi

Well, K-Trap’s back, this time without Headie One, and I guess this is his song for the ladies. There’s a swash of R&B keys, a Central Cee acoustic guitar - or an *NSYNC acoustic guitar relistening - and an actually interesting choice in making the drill hi-hats and really the rhythm section in general a bit papery, with a bass that feels mixed a bit too low yet still being relatively busy. K-Trap is just rambling misogynistically over all of this, and not just in a typical rap way, it’s a bit distracting and groan-worthy, but his comical delivery of some of this as well as the female spoken interludes kind of explain away his hypocrisy a bit. Not too effectively, of course, but it’s worth pointing out that it’s somewhat of a two-way street. I still find the soft percussion resemblant of sample drill pretty refreshing and enjoyable, I just wish maybe there was a more melodic presence of a rapper on it. Still okay.

#44 - “16 CARRIAGES” - Beyoncé

Produced by Beyoncé, Ink and Dave Hamelin

So, Queen Bey released two country-influenced songs on the Sunday - one’s in the top 10, the ballad is at #44. I will wait until this act two of RENAISSANCE is actually out before making any statements on Beyoncé doing country outside of that I hope she ends up shouting out or giving chances and/or feature spots to other Black women in that field, as a way of propping up that community within an industry that pretty flagrantly prevents that instead of just doing a genre switcheroo because she can and convincing nobody about anything systemic in the meanwhile. Hell, that’s more for me, personally, because I’d like to know a lot more Black country artists, and given that I’m obliged to listen to this album, I mean if you care about the genre, Bey, it’d be cool to point me in some directions. Not that it’s her job, but it would be a worthwhile light to shine especially since Beyoncé is both a hitmaker and a bit of a tastemaker.

As for the first of her country efforts though, this is a pretty heartfelt southern soul track that could almost act as a campfire song if not for Bey just not being in that zone as a singer, but it definitely has the clapped rhythm of one and some compelling lyrics regarding her time touring with Destiny’s Child. Now it’s less smoky than I’d really want a song like this to be, it doesn’t sizzle as much as it stagnates, particularly with that crash into the guitars and church organs that doesn’t really surge the way I so badly wanted it to. I do find the vocals excellent, the narrative interesting and still surprisingly relevant to her as a modern touring act as well, and the rapping is surprisingly well implemented, it feels just like she’s shooting the shit in the middle of her country storytelling song. In that regard, I’d like there to be a lot less grandiosity to the presentation, maybe do without the soaring overdubs or horns, make this more of an explicitly acoustic effort. I know it wouldn’t fit Beyoncé and all her harmonies and belting, as her presence isn’t always fit for minimalism, but she could pull it off. The problem with that would be is it doesn’t emulate the theatrics of a stage performance and the abrupt shock of showbiz being put onto her at an early age, so there’s some great mirroring there that almost makes up for me not being greatly into the actual sound of these tracks. Regardless, it does have me excited for the more solemn moments on this album, but we won’t be covering that until the end.

#37 - “Abracadabra” - Wes Nelson featuring Craig David

Produced by Mike Brainchild and Rndm Beats

CRAIG DAVID?! And it doesn’t appear to be a sample? The crowd says “bo selecta” indeed. Whatever about this Wes Nelson guy, he sounds like an AI amalgamated what every R&B singer has sounded like since the planes hit, or realistically, just Jeremih, but the beat is a rough-around-the-edges 2-step jam with harder bass than you’d think and some blocky space synths. It’s all very rote but it’s also Craig David and man, you can put however many filters on his voice, it’ll still sound like Craig David, and I can’t even seriously critique him anymore. I’m sure he’s a complex, nuanced human being with flaws and feelings but to me, he’s just an unexplainable deity figure. Also, there is a moment during the drop of this song - and the outro - where the beat cuts out for Craig David to say “Bruh”, and I just needed to point this out.

#31 - “Forever” - Noah Kahan

Produced by Noah Kahan and Gabe Simon

The Vermont singer-songwriter has released what appears to be the final deluxe edition of his #1 album Stick Season, subtitled “Forever”, henc ethe name of its sole original song. I’m honestly surprised this didn’t debut higher, but there is a lot debuting above it, and Kahan tends to have sleepers. Speaking of sleepers, I’m not really feeling this one as much. It’s got the wistful acoustics but it’s a lot slower in its pace, especially for its first half, which makes Kahan’s frail, nasal vocal that I’m still not that big on not nearly as ignorable, especially as it punctuates the lyrics so exactly and ends up making the harmonies, especially in the pre-chorus, somewhat haunting, which given the deterministic lovelorn lyricism, doesn’t seem to be the intention? It eventually picks up a nice little bluegrass-esque groove but nothing too far from an average Lumineers track in terms of just lacking bite and punch, whilst forcing Kahan to strain more than he needs to, to sell pretty resonant content.

#18 - “BACK TO ME” - Adolf Hitler and Ty Dolla $ign

Produced by Hitler, Ty Dolla $ign, 88-Keys, Wax Motif, AyoAA, Feez, Nic Nac and James Alex Hau

88-Keys, huh? Now, I’m not saying that Kanye West is Hitler, I’m just doing him a favour and comparing him to his idol. There are a lot of things that he loves about him. In a perfect world, I have the choice to completely ignore this album, especially since two of the debuts from VULTURES 1 (debuted at #2 on this week’s album charts) are considered widely to be the best tracks by both me and a lot of the fans, though I am a sucker for the darker, problematic last quarter that people don’t tend to like that much. I don’t want to admit that, of course, and I’m kind of torn between not feeding into exhaustive discourse by not mentioning any controversy and then feeling bad for not doing so because I’d be supporting his cult of fans who supposedly only care about the music, regardless of how his music is constantly reminding you of his controversies. It’s also not easy when you have two pretty damn good tracks from an album that largely consists of the man embarrassing himself and, well, Ty Dolla $ign, who sounds wonderfully smooth on this track and many others. He stands out particularly well over the punchy breakbeats and bass that entrench the mix. Hitler does embarrass himself as usual, but the minute-and-a-half Auto-Tuned quoting of an old comedy movie that he probably doesn’t even remember the rest of is an almost poetic reflection of where he is as an artist and a man. Oh, and Freddie Gibbs shows up to steal the show so effortlessly with his tightest, rapid flows I think I’ve heard from him in years, some excellent, topical wordplay that feels like it’s what the album wanted to be: playful and effervescent in its hedonism. He steals the show so much in fact that the song just ends after he does, he takes complete ownership. Nice one, Gibbs, do it on someone else’s album, for the love of God.

#17 - “BURN” - Adolf Hitler and Ty Dolla $ign

Produced by Hitler, Azul, Morten “Rissi” Ristorp, Chrishan, The Legendary Traxster and Leon Thomas III

This is just what this guy’s album used to sound like. We have a mid-album reminder that he can still do it, but only for two minutes, and half of that is Ty the Tasmanian Tiger over here carrying the album with his sloppily-mixed but still incredibly passionate and incessantly catchy chorus - I’ve had it in my head for the whole damn week, pretty much - over a very conventional, punchy chipmunk soul beat that lasts less than two minutes and it just ends up on a bittersweet note. The Hitler verse is his most coherent during the whole album, it’s pretty fun, it’s pretty traditional, not worth the attention paid. And neither is…

#12 - “CARNIVAL” - Adolf Hitler and Ty Dolla $ign

Produced by Hitler, TheLabCook, Ojivolta and Digital Nas

Now, thankfully, there really is nothing of value to cover here regardless of how and where you slice it. The song is like 60% Rich the Kid, which should show you how inspired the former GOAT has been lately. Hitler spends most of his verse just being cheaply transgressive for attention, pretty much explaining why I’m not a fan of prominent critics covering this album, dignifying it as more than an ego trip surrounded by yes-men. That’s not to say transgression can’t be art, there’s a lot of discussion to be had about the value of transgressions against the audience. And Hell, maybe a rage song about riding dick featuring Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti warrants that level of analysis, but that’s exactly what Hitler wants me to do here, and I’m not taking instructions from Hitler! I’m not following orders!

#9 - “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” - Beyoncé

Produced by Beyoncé, Killah B and Nathan Ferraro

Alright, this is just fun. I’m sure someone more equipped than me to talk about country than me will have a lot to say about this song, but I just got a kick out of Bey’s sultry voice, as always perfectly layered with energetic ad-libs and riffing, over that acoustic rolick and clearly programmed thumping production and generic country ambiance. You can tell that this isn’t produced by Nashville staples as much as it’s a semi-outsider attempt at fusing country with Beyoncé’s more natural pop and R&B territory, but it doesn’t detract from it being a sick groove about just having a lot of fun on the dancefloor, boogieing with somebody who makes you forget about everything that’s going wrong. That whistling post-chorus with all the traditional fiddle - if I’m getting that correct - in the background is such a cool little moment, especially with the panning that replicates the live hoedown feel. It absolutely feels much more like a costume party than “16 CARRIAGES”, but to be honest, I might prefer this one just because of how easily Bey dresses up in this particular set of clothes. That’s not derogatory either, she literally lists off “hoops, spurs, boots” in that gorgeous outro. I’m actually glad that such a large, potentially problematic but still full of music to discuss ends on such a delightful, carefree note. Love it.

Conclusion

It’s not getting the best, though, Best of the Week is going to… surprisingly enough, Madison Beer for “Make You Mine”, but Bey obviously grabs the Honourable Mention with “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM”. As for the worst, I mean… there is a song with Rich the Kid on this week. “CARNIVAL” is a shoe-in, but given this was actually a pretty great week in terms of overall quality, it’s difficult. I think I want to give it to K-Trap for “Heaven and Hell” but that’s really because it appears as the lazier, less interesting of the songs I wasn’t a fan of. On another day, it probably would have been Sia, but K-Trap doesn’t have a Kylie Minogue feature. Anyway, with all of that chaos out of the way, thank you for reading, rest in peace to country legend Toby Keith, and I’ll see you next week!

[adadiyebirisi]

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