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k-evans-reads · 8 months ago

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In Living Color

Chapter 25

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July 25th, 2022

Chris let out a sigh of relief as he stepped into his mother’s house from the back door, the cool air of the home giving him and Scott a reprieve from the heatwave outside. They found their Ma in her kitchen, putting away some groceries with a smile on her face as she saw her sons.

“I certainly didn’t expect to see you here today,” Lisa greeted, coming over to hug them both. She hugged Scott before hugging Chris, holding her oldest son's arms as she pulled away and told him, “I figured it would take at least another day for you to recover from the press tour.”

Chris laughed, the sound echoing through the otherwise quiet home. “Oh I’ll be going to bed early tonight, that’s for sure,” he assured her with a nod.

Scott smirked at the words, moving to grab a cup from a cabinet and fill it with water. “I’m honestly surprised that you didn’t just fly straight to San Francisco to see Nat,” he drawled, his voice booming.

“Yeah, it’s been what? A month since you’ve seen her?” Lisa asked, raising a brow as she dropped her hands from Chris’ arms and headed back into the kitchen, pulling groceries from the bags resting on the island counter.

“I was with her over the fourth so almost a month,” he corrected, leaning down to pet his Ma’s dogs as they danced at his feet. But then he thought back to his visit earlier in the month, at the fleeting moments they’d had together, but otherwise… he’d been alone. Nat’s schedule was busier than ever, if it was even possible, and she spent so much time glued to her laptop that he missed her even when he was there. “I miss Nat so fuckin’ much but I’m almost thinking about staying here.”

Lisa raised a brow suspiciously as she closed the fridge, tucking the reusable grocery bags into each other. “Oh really?” She asked him while she looked at him curiously.

“I’m just so exhausted. Going from filming earlier this year to the Lightyear press and right into The Gray Man press, I’m just so tired,” he murmured with a shake of his head as he leaned his hip against the island. “And now that I’ll be going to Atlanta soon for Pain Hustlers, I feel like I just need a break away from everything.”

“Maybe Nat could come out here instead?”

“Yeah I think I might ask her if she could,” Chris nodded his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see her, in fact, the opposite was true but after being dragged from one interview to another then put on a plane to make another appearance and do the whole routine again, he was craving his safe space more than ever. He just wanted to be home and sleep in his own bed, have home cooked meals, and decompress in the place he felt the most himself. Chris ran a hand through his hair while he mused, “I want to see her so bad, but when I’m there during the week, she’s at work anyway so it’s not like we get to spend much time together.”

He watched as Lisa pursed her lips while she listened to his words. “Well maybe once you rest up a little more, you could go out for a weekend,” she suggested, her eyebrows raising hopefully as she looked at her oldest son. He shrugged his shoulders at that as he heard Scott’s small noise of agreement and sighed.

“I don’t have many more weekends before I start filming again,” he began as he stared down at the marble countertop. He’d gotten the official schedules for both shoots a few weeks ago, and there was virtually no spare time once he started the first project, but what little time he had left before was quickly getting filled up in Massachusetts. He hadn’t been home for a long stretch of time since the previous year, and even then he spent most of 2021 in Los Angeles, growing his relationship with Nat. He’d missed home, missed seeing his family, the kids, getting to just live without constantly looking over his shoulder. And the growing list of responsibilities from ASP that he’d been ignoring while working were piling up, and his schedule was full of tasks between now and the middle of August. By then, he’d jump right into the shoots around Florida and Georgia with the cast of Pain Hustlers to then be in Atlanta working for months on end for Red One, having no real opportunities to visit Nat in California. “I just hate to disappoint Nattie.”

“Honey, you know Nat will understand,” Lisa placated her son, looking at him seriously as she listened to his words. “She won’t want you to kill yourself just to come see her.”

Chris shook his head, explaining, “Oh I know she’ll understand, Nat always does.”

“I know a certain dog who will be happy that you’ll be around here for a while,” she pointed out with a small chuckle, shaking her head in amusement.

“You should have seen how I woke up this morning. Dodger was laying right on top of me,” Chris laughed, thankful for the shift in conversation away from him changing his and Nat’s plans.

Scott’s dry laugh cut through the room as he told their mother, “He’s been right on Chris’ heels all day.”

Lisa smiled at the comment, before her eyes turned curious and she looked at Chris as he finally sat down in a barstool next to Chris. “What were you guys up to today?” She asked them both, looking between them.

“Well…” Chris started as Scott bit his lip, turning to look at him as well. With both his Ma’s and Scott’s eyes on him, a smile crossed his lips. “That’s actually part of the reason we came over…”

“Why’s that?”

A warm smile crossed his lips as his brain was able to switch from the exhaustion his whole body was clouded in, to instead thinking about the purchase he made hours earlier and the meaning that came with it as he told his mother, “I bought something for Nat today that I wanted to show you…”

He could feel Lisa’s eyes on him as he pulled the velvet box out of the plain white bag and handed it over to her. He watched as she flipped it open and saw the shining diamond ring inside as she gasped, “Chris, you got her a ring? You’re going to ask her to marry you?”

“Yeah Ma, I am,” a warmth spread throughout him as he said those words out loud.

Chris could see the tears glossing her eyes as she gasped, “Oh honey, I couldn’t be happier.”

“Me neither,” he shook his head almost in disbelief that this was really happening. His own tears started gathering in his blue eyes, making him blink furiously before he swallowed the emotional lump in his throat, “I think I’ve known for a while now that Nat was the one for me but when I was with her in San Francisco for our anniversary earlier this year I just… knew. I just don’t want anyone but her.”

“I knew from that first time I met her that you two would be together,” Lisa stated firmly before going over to hug her eldest son tightly.

“I think we all knew that one,” Scott chimed in with a chuckle from where he had sat down at the counter, knowing that Chris and Nat being together was something they all saw coming a mile away.

Chris had to wipe a hand along his cheeks, swiping away the tears as he admitted, “I just love her so much. I never even knew it could feel like this,”

“I’m so happy for you Chris. I can honestly say this is the best decision you’ve ever made,” his mother encouraged him with a hand rubbing up and down his back but then wanted to know, “When are you going to ask her?”

The question was one he’d been thinking about a lot but still hadn’t figured out an answer to, letting her in, “I’m not sure yet. I don’t really have a specific time so I’m just going to ask her when the moment feels right.”

Lisa couldn’t help but give him another hug, squeezing him tightly as she once again told him just how happy she was before the conversation shifted toward dinner and the brothers decided to stay and help get things ready. As Chris was pulling out the plates, his gaze drifted down to the ring box that was sitting open on the counter and felt the conversation happening around him seem to drift away. He picked up the box and looked at that sparkling ring, imagining what it would look like on Nat’s hand and almost finding it unbelievable that at the beginning of the previous year he hadn’t even met her, but now here he was ready to place this on her hand with the promise of forever.

He loved her so much it almost hurt and even as insecure and indecisive as he could be, this was one decision that didn’t leave any doubts in his mind other than the timing. With his schedule being full with two more movies and Nat being in San Francisco for her job, he didn’t know the next time that they’d get any extended amount of time together and although it left him at a loss on how to fully support her while he wasn’t there, he had come to see through their breakup that none of it mattered. Sure, it was a hurdle they’d need to figure out how to cross, but all that mattered is that he had Nat in his life and he wanted her forever. Chris knew that this was the best thing that could ever happen to him, but what he didn’t know is that while he stood here full of joy and peace, the woman he loved was across the country feeling desperately trapped in the new job and life she had chosen and felt more stuck that she ever had in her life.

Nat shut the creaking door behind her and locked the deadbolt, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the door as she felt her muscles tense. She looked around her dark apartment, feeling… indifferent to everything. Coming home had always been something sacred to her, her escape, her happy place, where she hosted friends, family, game nights, and movie nights. But here… she’d hole up for days over a weekend without having anyone here who would reach out to say, “Hey! Haven’t seen you this weekend, want to grab brunch tomorrow?”, only to hear a ping alerting her to new emails. It was no longer a place of refuge to her, instead, it felt like a place where she couldn’t take a deep breath, where she could never relax, where no one would come looking, or even stop by. She was completely alone here in this silent apartment, but the one bright spot that had gotten her through so many days was knowing that in one day, her apartment would be occupied by the heart-of-gold man that she loved so dearly. His laughter would fill the tiny space, his hands would rub her aching back, and his presence would fill the void in her heart that had been hurting so badly.

When her phone started ringing, she pulled it out and saw his name on her screen, bringing out the first genuine smile in a long time as she held it up to her ear and greeted him with a hello that sounded a lot less enthusiastic than she intended but just couldn’t seem to muster anything more.

“Hi honey, is this a good time?” He asked her, his voice filling her ear.

She nodded, suppressing the sigh that caught in her throat. “Yeah I’m just walking through my door,” she told him, hanging her bag on the hook by the door as she kicked her shoes off.

Nat heard him huff out a breath, his voice quiet as he pointed out, “Nattie, it’s almost eight there.”

She shook her head, frowning at his concern. She knew it was well placed, it always was. They cared about each other to be making those jabs at the other, but it didn’t mean her shoulders relaxed a little at every concerned comment he made. If anything, it made her feel a little worse. “I know, it just was a busy day,” she explained, her voice quiet as she turned on the lights and stepped further into the apartment.

“Will you promise me that you’ll have some dinner?”

“I promise I will,” she told him, glancing towards the shoebox of a kitchen before she headed into the living room, sitting down on the couch with a sigh. “I actually am a little surprised to hear from you. I figured you’d be asleep with you flying out here tomorrow.”

“That’s actually what I wanted to call you about,” he began, pausing as he sighed. Nat froze, listening as he finally asked, “Nattie, would it disappoint you if I didn’t come out to San Francisco?”

Her brows furrowed and her hand reached, plucking a few threads from the worn blanket on the couch as she fidgeted anxiously. “Is everything okay?” She asked worriedly, unsure if something had happened

“Yeah, yeah it’s fine, I’m just so exhausted,” he admitted and Nat could have been able to know that without his admission. The weariness in his voice was evident even if she hadn’t known how packed his schedule had been but kept listening as he sighed, “I feel like I’ve just been going non-stop for the past couple months and then with heading into doing two more movies this year, I just feel really overwhelmed. I just want some time to decompress.”

“Of course I’m sad not to see you but that’s fine Chris, I want you to take care of yourself,” Nat told him truthfully. In reality, hearing those words felt like a punch in the gut or as if all the air from her lungs had just been taken away. Having him come out to see her had been the one saving grace through all of this. She knew that if she could just make it to when she’d get to have his arms around her again, then maybe she could do this. Maybe that would help center her again, but in an instant that had been stolen away.

But she couldn’t tell him that. She couldn’t burden him with the knowledge of how much she was struggling while he was so burnt out and had to recharge before being thrown into filming again. Besides, he had warned her. He was the one who told her that this job wasn't for her and that it didn’t seem like the right move for her and he had been right. Nat just couldn’t let anyone, especially herself, know how much this job was taking a toll on her. It was just a job and the fact that she couldn’t seem to handle it only made her feel like even more of a failure than ever.

“I hope you know how much I want to see you and it has nothing to do with that,” Chris went on to assure her, but it brought little healing to her heart because all she could feel was that she was alone yet again. “I also figured that when I’m there during the week I don’t get to see you much anyway and thought that maybe you could come out for a weekend if you have time or I could come out there before Atlanta.”

“I’m not sure yet what my schedule is but we’ll figure something out. I want you to just decompress,” she rushed to tell him, trying hard to cover up the tears and heavy emotion in her voice.

“Are you sure, Nat?”

Nat just took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice before responding with, “I am, I want you to rest. I know how important it is to you to be able to be away from everything in Boston.”

“Thanks for understanding, baby. I love you so much and I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

Nat pushed out a quick “I love you too” before hearing the line hang up. She couldn’t even pull the phone away from her ear before silent tears started spilling out of her eyes. With a shaky finger she clicked the red button before trudging over to the couch where she laid down and grabbed a pillow, clutching it to her chest as the tears just wouldn’t stop pouring down her face.

Nat was so proud of Chris. She was so proud of all he’d done this year, pushing himself with the films he was doing and going through the press tours he hated so much while traveling the world in a whirlwind. She was so happy that he could recognize when he needed a break, and just decompress. She was so glad that he had a place to do that, where he had a home to just be himself and relax but right now she just hated it so much that the home wasn’t with her.

Using the sleeve of her sweatshirt, she furiously wiped at her eyes and sat up. Nat tried so hard to just pull it together, but the moment her eyes glanced out the window of her apartment and she saw the almost tauntingly beautiful view of San Francisco, heavy sobs started pouring out of hers as those tears that she had just wiped away were quickly replaced. Just one look at that view reminded her that she was here in the city by the bay, completely and utterly alone.

She had always loved her job, working as an animator was truly a dream come true. Nat was just a normal girl who had been given an incredible gift by having a father who believed in her, sending her to art school to follow her dreams but it felt like somehow her real dream, the real longing of her heart had slipped through her fingers. Nat had been so happy working at Disney, settling into a life in California over the past decade and having an incredible group of friends, including Mark and Jamie who had become more like family to her.

But COVID had changed everything for her. In that time frame, her engagement to Shane had ended, Nat had become so much more self assured and knew who she was, but after being able to spend months at home with her family, she had moved back to California with a loneliness in her heart and a longing for something more. For the first time in her life she had seen how much she wanted more than her job. She wanted her own family and to be able to love someone and have them love her in return.

And then Chris came into her life.

So much had changed since he’d made his unexpected entrance in her life and Nat had found out so many more things about herself and what she wanted. He helped her to rest in who she was and embrace what it was that made her… well, her. He was her best friend and gave her peace in a way that she couldn’t quite explain. But there was still a part of her that let those little voices into the back of her head, remembering the looks she’d gotten from people when she was younger and said her dream was to be an artist. She remembered the jokes so many made when they asked what she was going to do for a ‘real job’ and the sting of that in her formative years still was underneath the surface.

Nat’s fingers were clutching tight on that pillow as she thought back to her dad dropping her off at art school as he hugged her tightly and told her how proud of her he was and that he knew she’d do great things. Ever since then all she had wanted to do was prove him right, to show everyone she wasn’t just the overemotional chaotic artist little sister behind two intelligent successful older sisters who seemed to be able to do all the things she viewed herself incapable of.

So here she was. Accepting this job that she thought would somehow prove something. That somehow would be the icing on the cake of ‘See? I can be a successful artist’ but all it had done was show her just how right Chris had been about all of this. This wasn’t what she wanted. She hated every bit of this job. She wanted so much more than this now. She wanted Chris. She wanted a family. She wanted to create for herself. But there was no turning back now. There was no way that she could go to her boss only a couple months after starting and basically say she wanted to be demoted, especially when her position back in Burbank had already been filled. Not to mention that she had taken a stand with this job and Chris, resulting in them temporarily breaking up. That felt like such a huge failure in her mind and that was something Nat simply just couldn’t take at the moment.

So here she had been, putting her nose to the grindstone and putting in her hours, trying to get through the days with the light at the end of the tunnel being August. The month when she’d get her best friend back. When she’d finally get to feel his arms around her. When she’d finally not dread the weekends and spend them crying in bed but instead fill them with laughter and happiness with Chris. When she’d finally get to relax for the first time in weeks. Knowing that he was coming to her was like a lifeline, knowing that she just had to make it until then and then hopefully things would be better. But now it felt like that lifeline that was dangling just out of her reach was snatched away and she was left drowning.

But there was no way she could ask him to come. It was just too selfish. She couldn’t possibly know just how packed his schedule had been and hear his weary voice saying how much he just needed to go home and then ask him to come be with her instead. So here she was. Sitting alone on this couch, tears streaming down her face as she felt completely alone and completely stuck.

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and-claudia · 2 years ago

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Against All Odds (Joel Miller x reader) Prologue pt.2

Warnings: MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING FOR SUICIDE!!!

Word Count: 1244

General Warnings for later on: The main story will have an age gap between Joel and the reader (Reader will be 25 once we get to the main storyline), this will also be your warning that it will eventually be an x pregnant reader (if that's not your jam, I'm sorry) there is also going to be more graphic/trigger parts later on so please always to be sure to read the warnings BEFORE reading. This story will also be 18+ and TO BE ON THE TAGLIST YOU CAN NOT BE AN AGELESS BLOG (i do actually check that) also there first hand full of parts are all prologue so Joel won't actually be in it for a bit

Taglist Sign-Up

Yn sat in the gym of the Knoxville Middle School. It was September 23rd, 2005, two years since the outbreak. So it was a huge deal. They spent the day remembering those they lost. Yn didn’t like talking about the outbreak. Not after she saw an infected person up close. The thought of her Ma, and brothers becoming one of those was too much for her mind to comprehend. So she stayed silent.

“Yn, did you lose anyone that day?” The teacher asked.

It was a dumb question. She had never heard someone actually answer no. Even those who didn’t wouldn’t say so. Everyone lost something or someone that day.

Yn looked up at her blankly. Then she turned her attention to her hands.

Luckily the teacher got the hint and moved one. Yn ended up tuning out the rest of the assembly. When it was time to go home she walked out and waited for Chris just as she did every day. Zeak was in a different building since he was older. Usually, he would make it home before the two of them would. Scott and their father worked together. Yn wasn’t too sure what they did, it seemed to always be changing.

“How was the assembly?” Zeak asked the younger girl.

“Stupid.” She replied.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” He asked gently. He knew she didn’t like talking about it, especially to others.

Yn shook her head and continued walking. When they made it to the apartment building they had been living in for the past 6 months.

“Go on upstairs, I’m going to wait for Chris.” Zeak said.

Yn nodded and began walking up to the third floor. She walked in and went to get a glass of water but stopped when movement caught her eye. She turned to the bedroom Chris and Zeak shared and saw the door was slightly open. Now she may have only been 7 but she had seen some shit at this point and knew that if someone… or something was in there she’d need something to at least attempt to protect herself. So she went into her dad’s and Scott’s room and grabbed Scott’s pocket knife he leaves in there just in case. She grabbed it and then slowly walked back to the other door. She opened it slowly and froze at the sight before her.

Chris was hanging by a noose around his neck. He wasn’t dead yet though. He was gasping for breath as the rope cut off his airways. It took her a moment to realize what was going on. She looked at the knife in her hand and sprung into action. She tried to climb up on the bed but she wasn’t tall enough. It felt like she was going as fast as she could. But by the time she got the dresser pushed over to him, got up, and sawed through the rope with her knife, he was already gone. His body fell to the ground with a thump. She hopped down and checked for a pulse. There wasn’t one. She stood and ran out screaming at the top of her lungs for Zeak.

Her brother heard her screams of terror and came running up to see what was going on.

“Chris is dead.” She said.

“What?”

“He just died.” She couldn’t elaborate.

“Is he in the apartment?”

She nodded.

“Shit. Go get Pa or Scott. Go get them. They are at the burning pits today. On main. Go. Run.” He said firmly.

Yn nodded and ran down the last flight of stairs and then out onto the street. She didn’t stop running until she made it there. She saw Scott first.

“Yn. What are you doing here?”

“Go get Pa, something happened to Chris.” Was all she said and she breathed heavily from running.

Scott’s face fell, “Wait here.” He said before walking away to get their father.

When they did, Scott scooped her up and opted to carry her. Even at 7 years old, he had no issues carrying her. When they made it to their apartment, Zeak was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs holding a piece of paper.

“He said he’s sorry. He didn’t know what else to do.” He said, handing the letter to their father.

He took it and scanned over it before folding it and putting it into his shirt pocket.

“I’ll go get him. I’ll take care of it. Scott, take Yn over to the Johnsons and ask if she can spend the afternoon with them so we can take care of this.”

“I don’t want to.” She said.

“Sweetie, you don’t need to see this.”

“She already did. She’s the one who found him… not me.” Zeak said.

Their dad turned to look at his little girl.

“Is that true?”

She nodded, “I’m sorry. I tried to save him. He was gasping for breath. I wasn’t tall enough. I had to move the dresser but I wasn’t fast enough… I’m sorry. I tried. I really did. I know I argued with him but I didn’t want him to die. I’m sorry.” She cried.

Scott hugged her to him as she cried and rubbed her back.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s not your fault. You did everything you could. You did everything just right.” He whispered.

That night, no one really spoke after Pa carried Chris out. Dinner was eaten in silence. No one knew what to say.

The months passed and Yn continued to blame herself for Chris's death. Every time she saw something that reminded her of him, she felt guilty. If only she had been taller. If only she was stronger and could have moved the dresser quicker. If only she had been faster cutting through the rope. Then maybe Chris would still be here.

Yn also became much more attached to Scott and drifted apart from her father. Scott comforted her when she had nightmares now, no matter if they were about what happened during the initial outbreak or if they were about Chris or just general little kid nightmares. He never once blamed her for Chris’s death. He knew it was his choice to end his life. He knew that even if Yn had managed to cut him down in time there still could have been something wrong with Chris and he still might not have made it. He knew that there really wasn’t anything she could have done.

Their father on the other hand, deep down he blamed her. If only she had been taller. If only she was stronger and could have moved the dresser quicker. If only she had been faster cutting through the rope. Then maybe Chris would still be here. The same thoughts she had about herself, he too had. He didn’t realize what he was doing but he felt like there was something more she could have done and Chris would still be here.

Time only made it worse. They spent the next two years in the Knoxville, Tennessee QZ that they had begun to call home. But as more and more reports of infected getting into the QZ, they knew it was only a matter of time before they called for an evacuation. And sure enough, on August 14th, they got the notice that in three days the QZ would be abandoned. All residences that were confirmed to not be infected would be moved to Baltimore.

taglist:

@sexyvixen7@joelmillerslays@elliaze@strawbaby@little-lovely-darling@swimmjacket@watercolorskyy@mserynlarsen@sebby-staan@beelanie@fan-g0rl @paige96 @pedropascalfanclub @ameliadraws @mavs101 @azerty29 @rileyferg @belliedellie @rhaenyrasgf @imcreepininyourheartbabe @nani-kenobi @lunas-sstuff @holb32 @reidsgubbler @katmae1997 @dizzywinterdaydream @mrswidowjohansson @abzidabzy @givemeth

#joel miller x pregnant reader #joel miller #joel miller x reader #the last of us hbo #the last of us

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paladin-of-nerd-fandom65 · 8 months ago

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Dick Grayson:

8, 19, 25, 27, 28

Chris Kent:

6, 17, 23, 27

Dick Grayson

8) DISCOWING FTW

19) I think probably shipping him with any of the Fab Five but Donna especially. They’re clearly platonic life partners, not a romantic couple (Looking at you Mr Chuck Dixon)

25) Maybe Graduation Day and the subsequent Outsiders series. Looking him being competent doesn’t translate to him being the resident jerk of his team. He built trust with the Titans for a reason.

27) A trio of you may from the marvelous competition: Peter Parker, Kurt Wagner and Clint Barton. With Pete they are Heart of the Heroes’ Guys, while Dick, Clint and Kurt are all circus folks XD

28) People might say firing that Power Stripping device in New Order but I counter with that entire plan involving Kaldur being a double agent and faking Artemis getting killed by him in Young Justice Animated to take down the Light. While successful, there could’ve been ways to argument it without being more Batman esque about it.

Chris Kent

6) N/A for the ship itself but rather I am not fond of the weird again up for him to date Thara who even before the whole thing was still clearly much older than Chris as seen in canon as she was there even before Krypton exploded, being abducted in Kandor by Brainiac. Yeah just make those two more contemporary with each other and not requiring artificially aging up Chris, Pretty Please

17) “Mo…ma..” If only it was treated more preciously back then but alas, his birth mom Ursa and him were living under Zod’s authoritarian roof in the Phantom Zone at that time

23) He marries Thara (in my version it’s a slow burn from childhood crushes to high school sweethearts and eventually married after graduation), and the two raise a kid together and it’s a whole family of Kryptonian super heroes

27) Son Gohan from Dragon Ball. In particular Gohan as we seen him in the Cell Games Saga and the movie Bojack Unbound. Just two ten year alien kids who are total sweethearts yet can get righteously dangerous when bad guys are running rough-shot and hurting their friends

Thanks for the ask @spider-jaysart

I liked these XD

#dick grayson #chris kent #ask game #sfw

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wub-fur-radio · 1 year ago

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Pop Rock Ist Nicht Tot²

Wub-Fur once again makes the case that pop rock is not dead and invites you to join us for an hour of compelling audio evidence for that bold proposition. Featuring the musical testimony of Sheer Mag, Jacuzzi Boys, Teenage Fanclub, Dignan Porch, Liz Phair, Chris Stamey, Anton Barbeau, Swansea Sound, and a dozen more bands that are not averse to adding a little shooby dooby doo wop to their rock.

Apologies to E. Ludwig & John Hinde Studios, M, the Kinks, Anne-James Chaton, and Wild Billy Childish.

Our first Pop Rock Ist Nicht Tot mix, released 2 years ago this week, can still be heard here.

▶︎🎶 Listen on Mixcloud

Running Time: 1 hour, 7 seconds

Tracklist

Intro: Fanfare from “Pop Musik” (0:07)

All Lined Up (3:39) — Sheer Mag | Philadelphia, PA

Many Multitudes (2:22) — Strange Magic | New Mexico

Free Ride (2:46) — Liz Phair | Chicago, IL

Anything (3:40) — Frankie Rose | New York, NY

Shapes (2:25) — Bong Wish | Boston, MA

Love You More (2:16) — Chime School | San Francisco, CA

Ways to Wear My Hair (2:26) — Monnone Alone | Melbourne, Australia

Waiting on the Radio (4:00) — Anton Barbeau | Berlin, Germany

The Pebble in My Hand (3:17) — The Salt Collective | Paris, France

See You in Hell (3:29) — U.S. Highball | Glasgow, UK

Pictures (2:00) — Dignan Porch | UK

Interlude: Yes it’s #1, it’s Top of the Pops (0:07)

Ami Spécial (3:12) — Special Friend | Paris, France

Realize (2:49) — Chris Stamey | Chapel Hill, NC

Gonna Have to Tell You (1:52) — The Lost Days | California

Back to the Light (3:02) — Teenage Fanclub | Glasgow,UK

Rather Blue (2:45) — Jacuzzi Boys | Miami, FL

Paradise (3:14) — Swansea Sound | Swansea, UK

Absolution (4:07) — Forest Bees | Berkeley, CA

99.5 (2:52) — TV Girl | Los Angeles, CA

Better Days (3:37) — Zack Keim | Pittsburgh, PA

Outro: Pop Is Dead, Shooby Dooby Doo Wop (0:04)

All tracks released in 2023.

💚 🎸 🚫 💀 ✳️ 🎸 🚫 💀 ❇️ 🎸 🚫 💀 ✳️ 🎸 🚫 💀 💚

#pop rock #indie pop rock #indie rock #jangle pop #psychedelic pop #music mixes

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greensparty · 9 months ago

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Stuff I'm Looking Forward To in March

Wow, somehow it's already month 3 of 2024. In addition to Daylight Savings Time (March 10 - Spring ahead), Ramadan (March 10-April 9), St. Patrick's Day (March 17), first day of Spring (March 19), Palm Sunday (March 24), Holi (March 25), Good Friday (March 29), and Easter (March 31) here is what's on my radar this month:

Movies:

Dune: Part Two

Denis Villeneuve has become one of the great visual stylists of recent years thanks to films like Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. I named his film Dune Part One, one of my Best Movies of 2021. How good Part One really was depends on Part Two, which drops 3/1.

Knox Goes Away

Michael Keaton has always been a tremendous actor and now he's back in the director's chair for the second time with a starring role about a contract killer who has a form of dementia and he attempts to connect with his estranged son. Oh and Al Pacino co-stars! Opens 3/15.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

A Ghostbusters sequel is a tall order. Jason Reitman's 2021 sequel Ghostbusters Afterlife actually had its moments and it had a lot to say about living up to a legacy, in the film it's the grandchildren of Egon, but it could also be Jason Reitman about the fear and honor of continuing a film series that his dad Ivan began. The new sequel is directed by Gil Kenan, who co-wrote this with Jason. The fact that original Ghostbuster cast members are back gives me hope. Sequel drops 3/22.

Music:

Sheer Mag Playing Favorites

I was lucky enough to see Philly rockers Sheer Mag at House of Blues in May 2022. After two solid albums, they are finally back with their third, dropping on 3/1. (Review to come)

Liam Gallagher & John Squire Liam Gallagher John Squire

Former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher's solo career has been a mixed back, but his album As You Were was one of my Best Albums of the 2010s. As shown in the 2019 documentary Liam Gallagher: As It Was, he doesn't need to play music for money or fame, he has plenty. He plays because he loves music. Now he's doing a new album with John Squire, former guitarist for The Stone Roses. Sounds like a serious meeting of musical minds! Album drops 3/1.

The Black Crowes Happiness Bastards

The first new studio album from The Black Crowes since 2009 is cause for celebration. After a bitter break-up in 2015, the brothers Chris and Rich Robinson announced they were reuniting in 2019. In early 2020, I caught an acoustic live show from Brothers of a Feather (my last concert before the pandemic lockdowns) and since that show, The Black Crowes have had some reunion tours (NOTE: by reunion - I mean Chris and Rich, not the original lineup). They've released some anniversary albums, but this marks the group's first studio album in 15 years. Looking forward to it when it drops on 3/15.

The Dandy Warhols Rockmaker

I've always loved Portlandia's The Dandy Warhols. Through this blog, I've had the pleasure of interviewing lead Dandy Courtney Taylor-Taylor and keyboardist / bassist Zia McCabe, the band's 2019 Boston concert, and their excellent 2019 album Why You So Crazy. Now the band is back with a new album dropping on 3/15! (Review to come)

Film Festivals:

Boston Underground Film Festival

Boston's fun genre film festival for horror, fantasy and bizarre is back. I've had the pleasure of covering this fest from 2016 to 2019 and returning last year. The fest returns to The Brattle Theatre (Cambridge, MA) from 3/20 to 3/24!

Conventions:

Northeast Comic Con

I've had a blast covering the Northeast Comic Con for years now (read my coverage here) and the Spring 2024 edition returns with guests like Kevin Chapman (who I worked with on Monument Ave), a Growing Pains reunion of Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller and Julie McCullough, The Go-Go's drummer Gina Schock and more! Convention is at the Boxborough Regency (Boxborough, MA) from 3/8-3/10. (Coverage to come).

Awards Season:

The awards season for the best of 2023 continues on with the Razzie Awards, actually the Worst of 2023 (3/9) and the Academy Awards (3/10).

In a Category all its own...

Shamrock shakes!!!

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marlenafortuna · 11 months ago

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Podcast Punishing - C.S

Warnings‼️ public teasing, spanking, blowjob

A/n: this is my first time writing anything in general haha. Let me know how I did

Summary: You decide to tease Chris, your boyfriend, a little during your featuring in the triplets podcast.

……………

I think the amount of times I asked my amazing boyfriend, Chris, to be in him and his brothers podcast, is uncountable.

The problem was though, me and Chris weren’t public the first 7 months of our relationship. Crazy, right?

Well Chris was very known to be scared of relationships and commitment, and suddenly announcing he was committed and in a relationship was somewhat difficult for us.

Well, the day has finally come, me and Chris made our relationship official about 3 months ago. And honestly, I don’t know how the fans have taken it.

From what I’ve heard from Chris the fans took it very well, atleast that’s what he told me.

I don’t know nor do I care.

Anyway, it’s 3 months after we made it public, and now I’m sitting in the studio ready to film the podcast.

The problem was tho, both me and Chris woke up extremely horny this morning. But I don’t know if it’s gonna be a problem.

The podcast started, they asked me a couple questions about life, Chris, and some other things.

But I start getting bored and I notice Chris like.. adjusting himself??

Did I really make Chris hard just from talking?

Seeing as I was sitting next to Chris, I decided to tease him a little, by palming him through his pants, which seemed to work.

Chris was fighting for his life not to moan or to make it any obvious that I was teasing them. But I was done with him being so stubborn.

So, I pulled down his pants and started jerking him off. I know it may sound weird, and it was, not gonna lie. But it was fun

TIMESKIP

Chris was angry, and it was obvious. Jaw clenched and muscles tense by the time we walked out of the podcast studio.

“Chris what the fuck is up?!” Nick asks, clearly confused by his brothers behavior.

“Nothing I’m fine.” responds a very clearly mad Chris. “Let’s go to my room, love” he says to me.

I know I’m gonna get punished for this, and I’m so looking forward to it.

We walk down to his room, and when I shut the door, he immediately slams me up towards it and pins my hands over my head.

“Do you really think you can just sit and tease me during a podcast and expect me to not react to it? Get on the bed, your clothes better be gone by the time I’m back” Chris demands through gritted teeth. I say nothing. I walk over to me and Chris’ shared bed and start stripping, slightly turned on by this situation.

……..

“I’m back, love.” Chris says as I’m laying on the bed. Head on the headboard with my right leg tucked up, naked. “Kinda expected to come back to you touching yourself”

I say nothing, because he rambles on.

“You’ve been bad. What do bad girls get in return?” Chris asks me, a smirk on his face.

“T-they get punished, right?” I ask, uncertainty in my voice, but I’m still confident I’m right.

“Mhm that’s right love, you’re so smart. Do you remember your safe word baby?” He grins

“Mhm” I nod.

Slap.

Chris slapped my left cheek.

“I need words baby, I thought you knew this”

“Now what is your safe word” he demands me to tell him.

“Red. My safe word is red.” I reply, getting impatient.

“That’s good ma” he smiles.

Why did he make me go over our safe word? What the hell does he have planned?

He flips me over and ties my hands to the headboard with his belt.

“Alright, I did some thinking, and I think your punishment should be spanking. 25 on each cheek. How’s that sound ma?” He suggests, not wanting to make it too much for me.

“Mhm, sounds good Chris.” I reply, genuinely okay with it.

“Alright ma, I do have one request tho. You’re gonna count them all, and you’re not fucking cumming. Understood?”

I agree, with words this time.

Slap. “1” I gasp, slightly surprised.

Slap. “2” a little harder this time.

Slap. “3” ouch.

……..

“50” I count, my ass stinging and burning from how harsh Chris’ slaps were. I cant say i didn’t enjoy it though.

“That’s my good girl, ma, now get on your knees for me.” He unties the belt while saying.

I get on my knees in front of his crotch, his pants slightly falling down from the removed belt he used for my hands.

I start pulling down his pants, palming him over his boxers.

“Stop fucking teasing me and get to work” he grunts, not liking my teasing.

I pull down his boxers along with the rest of his pants, and he steps out of them while I start slowly stroking his cock.

“Mmmmmh fuck” he moans out in relief, I understand that though, his cock was as angry red at the tip, throbbing and leaking precum. He looked almost in pain.

I start putting my tongue flat on the base of his shaft, slowly moving upwards and putting his tip in my mouth and sucking on it.

The noises he was making had me dripping everywhere on the floor. His noises were a mix of whimpers and moans, I LOVED it.

I start bopping my head on his cock, going up and down in a fast pace.

“Oh fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck so good ma.” He moans out. That has to be my favorite sound ever.

After a minute or two he pulls my head away, I look up at him in confusion.

“Sorry love, wanted to spare my cum for that pretty pussy instead” he says with a slight smirk, his eyes dark of lust and need.

“Get on the bed” he demands, and I oblige.

I lie down, legs spread, my arousal dripping just for him. He look at my glistening folds for a moment.

“So wet just for me ma? Damn I’m gonna destroy you.”

_____________

Part 2 will maybe occur.

#sturniolo #sturniolo x reader #sturniolo triplets #chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #Chris sturniolo smut

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deadcactuswalking · 1 year ago

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 25/11/2023 (Tate McRae, Drake)

Content warning: Holiday festivities (bah humbug)

For a second week, Jack Harlow - sadly - holds onto the #1 with “Lovin’ on Me” on the UK Singles Chart. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, as this is very much a regular November-era episode, Hell, probably the real start of the Christmas music era, also known as the end-times, we start with our notable dropouts, which are songs exiting from the UK Top 75 - since that’s what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid our farewells to an actually pretty considerable selection of big hits, those being “TOO MUCH” by The Kid LAROI, Jung Kook and Central Cee, “Can’t Play Myself (A Tribute to Amy)” by Skepta, “IDGAF” by Drake featuring Yeat - most likely making way for Drake’s debut this week and will be back the next - “3D” by Jung Kook and Jack Harlow (also potentially back next week thanks to the Justin Timberlake remix), “Say Yes to Heaven” by Lana Del Rey, “Party All the Time” by Hannah Laing and HVRR (Rest well, sweet prince), “It Goes Like (Nanana)” by Peggy Gou, “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac, “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, “Escapism.” by RAYE featuring 070 Shake, “As it Was” by Harry Styles and finally, “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi. It’s likely that these end up back in the chart after Christmas, and really, there is no silver lining because we’re shoveling out old tracks for even older ones.

Now as always, I will never cover all of the Christmas songs but this is the week this year where we get the influx of the truly canonised classics, at least most of them, so for their first week in the top 75 this year, we have “Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow” by the late Dean Martin at #69, “Snowman” by Sia at #67, “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” by Band Aid at #65 - wow, not off to a good start at all. Thankfully, we do clean up with “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by the late Andy Williams at #57, “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues featuring the late Kirsty MacColl at #53, “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens at #51, “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson at #49 and “Jingle Bell Rock” by the late Bobby Helms at #44. Wham! are at #14, Mariah’s at #16, Brenda Lee trails in third at #31. We do also see some non-holiday gains, namely “Lil Boo Thang” by Paul Russell at #36, “Angel Numbers / Ten Toes” by Chris Brown at #31 for whatever reason, “First Person Shooter” by Drake featuring J. Cole at #27 thanks to the video - more on Drake later - and “Can’t Catch Me Now” by Olivia Rodrigo at #13. We also see the bizarre re-entry for Ye’s 2010 track “Runaway” featuring Pusha T at a new peak of #34. Yeah, I assume there’s some TikTok virality here because I can’t figure out why otherwise, though it is a fan favourite - even if I think it’s pretty overrated, like the rest of that album. For the record, this is only its third week in the UK charts; it peaked at #56 for two consecutive weeks in 2010 and vanished thereafter.

And for THIS week in the UK Singles Chart, our top five starts with “Water” by Tyla at #5, in no doubt helped by remixes with Travis Scott and Marshmello of all people, and sadly not other Afrobeats artists as would have probably worked a lot better. Regardless, we then have “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan at #4, “greedy” by Tate McRae at #3, “Prada” by casso, RAYE and D-Block Europe at #2 and of course, Jack Harlow at the very top. Now to pick through our limited little bag of new entries.

NEW ARRIVALS

#75 - “Stay Another Day” - Jorja Smith

Produced by who cares?

Well, it’s that time of year again where we get the charts flooded with Amazon originals, tracks recorded for the Christmas season exclusively by artists working with Amazon Music that autoplay when you ask Alexa for holiday tracks. I think I would have loved to hear a Jorja Smith cover of “Stay Another Day”, personally, as her sultry voice would make the saccharine melodies of the boy-band original much easier to stomach. East 17’s 1994 original is barely even a Christmas song, it just happened to be released in late November and have a snowy video… well, they knew what they were doing with the sleigh bells at the tail-end. It’s not really a song I ever got, but it did spend five weeks at #1 and was the Christmas chart-topper for that year. So naturally, I’m going to talk about abstract hip hop. I made a Google form earlier this month asking for song suggestions to replace the Amazon originals, and got around 51 songs - all unique to be fair - sent to me, so I used a random number generator and selected two for this week. I probably won’t go into as much depth, and they won’t be covered in the conclusion out of fairness, and really for this suggestion, I don’t know where to start. “The Gods Must be Crazy” is a track from We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, the latest album from alternative rap duo Armand Hammer, consisting of rapper-producers billy woods and E L U C I D. With a beat from El-P, both rappers trade sarcastic, at times pretty funny, bars and some striking imagery regarding race, particularly the white misuse and misunderstanding of the black culture they use whilst also neglecting. E L U C I D goes for the abstract whilst woods is arguably more straightforward, but they both end up with some really poetic lyricism, often almost revolutionary and it definitely sounds like they’re leading a protest over some of the grooviest production I’ve ever heard from El-P, with the driving glitched-out vocals, with just enough fuzz to make it hit really hard, and a distanced, unpredictable set of drums. It’s a great track, but definitely one I feel will be much more effective in the context of the album, and I’d love to read a full analysis that puts some of what I simply don’t understand from E L U C I D’s brash delivery and woods’ as always effortless lyrical riffing into perspective.

#64 - “Surround Sound” - JID featuring 21 Savage and Baby Tate

Produced by Christo, DJ Scheme and Nuri

And bizarrely enough, we’re sticking with alternative rap though clearly, much less abstract. This was the lead single for JID’s great album The Forever Story last year, which peaked at #74 in the UK, and it was definitely one of the highlights for me, mostly because of the great use of Aretha Franklin’s 1965 track “One Step Ahead”, used similarly to how it was in Yasiin Bey’s 1995 track “Ms. Fat Booty” - which peaked at #85 in 2000, when Manic Street Preachers were at #1 - but instead layering it behind a killer trap beat. TikTok virality pushed this song back into mainstream popularity, but I’ve been bumping this one since release, with JID effortlessly rattling off flows as always, littered with breathy ad-libs and seamless rhyme schemes, so much so you almost forget most of this is just flexing. I love how the sample comes back in to act as an introductory jingle for 21 Savage, entering the ring with some of his coldest bars at that point, in a flow he hadn’t yet overused, and an overall brilliant if fleeting guest verse. Then Baby Tate strangely comes in, mostly moaning in a half-finished verse excerpt that blurts itself between the “banger” first half and a static noise that fills out the track before returning to a dark, fragmented beat that cuts in and out amidst JID’s grimier gangsta rap lyrics, with a menacing charisma honestly kind of reminiscent of Eminem, using flows and schemes that never seem to actually get a hold of the verse, it strays really far from the tightly-composed hit that makes up the first half and seems to show the grimmer reality of Atlanta that all three artists here are based in. Overall, I mean, it’s brilliant top-class hip hop, the kind you never expect to chart outside of the big-hitters like Kendrick and Cole, and I really hope it survives Christmas because it is fantastic.

#60 - “Lose Control” - Teddy Swims

Produced by Ammo and Julian Bunetta

I first heard Teddy Swims as a feature on a Meghan Trainor song, then discovered his real second name was Dimsdale so it really does not seem like a good first impression for Mr. Dimsdale or his pop-music Dimmadome but jokes aside, this has been his breakthrough hit in the US for a couple of weeks now, just hitting the top 40 on Billboard recently, and Mr. Dimsdale’s story is one we often see. He attracts a YouTube audience with cover songs and eventually sees industry attention. This is an original song and… well, wow, this guy can sing. That is probably the intended reaction to this, as content-wise, it’s not great, mostly because it feels a bit too obvious, but I mean, the whole song kind of toys on that boat of bombast, so it makes complete sense. The mix clips in the first verse with a slightly blocky-feeling bass and snaps that actually sound real and then that chorus comes in with the blasts of horns and the clanging percussion that despite the choir vocals, the clamouring of the production… it feels a bit empty, lacking in the actual composition, and I actually quite like that. It works for his raspy belt, the metallic attempt at recreating a big-band feel, it doesn’t feel “complete” or natural and this kind of breakup song where Dimsdale is rendered a broken man actually seems to warrant that sound. It even has a guitar solo that doesn’t deviate much from the chorus melody sadly but adds some needed grit before Mr. DImsdale really hits that note in the final chorus, and yet it doesn’t have a bombastic ending, or at least not as much as it needs. It just slips back out of existence, it’s kind of depressing in that aspect, I suppose. I guess, it’s not great, but I’ll take it.

#50 - “You’re Christmas to Me” - Sam Ryder

Produced by The Nocturns

The grip that Amazon has on the UK Christmas market is starting to be of concern. This is from the SEQUEL to an Amazon Prime-original Christmas film starring all British actors. There is a franchise at work, for God’s sake! At least this is an original song, and I will say this one is on YouTube but on principle, I will still refuse to review it and instead randomly select… “The Rose Song” by Olivia Rodrigo, which is also from a piece of visual media, that being the second season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. I have not watched that because, to put it bluntly, I’m not 12, but I’m sure it’s decent enough Disney sitcom fluff and you can definitely tell that Rodrigo still actually wrote this character’s songs, it wasn’t a screenwriter here, as it’s very much in the vein of her own solo work. It’s got similarly wordy moments, the actually pretty beautiful rising pianos amidst a shaky falsetto in the chorus, and none of the floaty over-production or attempts at grit that were on GUTS, despite one of her actually most impressive performances yet and a wonderful string swell that definitely sounds Disney but hey, there’s a reason why Disney still hits all these years on. The song’s content is about realising she’s more than what she is to this guy, who doesn’t seem to value her as a partner or really, human, and whilst it does go into clichés occasionally, it does it tastefully and with the power you can expect from a really good O-Rod ballad so… yeah, surprisingly enough, I really like this. It’d definitely be better than whatever Sam Ryder pushed out, at least. If I’m wrong, I don’t care.

#48 - “Body Moving” - Eliza Rose and Calvin Harris

Produced by Calvin Harris

I really didn’t expect Eliza Rose to grab a second hit after “B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All)” but I guess handing over most of the production duties to Calvin Harris is the best way to do so, and with sadly no relation to the Beastie Boys song, we have a song that feels pretty separate from “B.O.T.A.”, even if Rose has the same… interesting delivery and pretty terrible lyrics, which absolutely did not ruin that song, in fact they added to its charm. I’m not sure if I can say the same with this one, which just feels… random, for lack of a better word. The drums are all over this, layered to skitter and clatter over places where I feel they shouldn’t be, we have a whispery vocal loop from Ms. Rose in the back of the mix but still way too loud, not that you can hear it over the horn blasts that honestly don’t even sound in key, even if they probably are. They don’t build up effectively to a drop either, which just kind of crashes in with again, an overly-scattered set of metallic drum patterns, and Rose being interrupted by those gross, blaring horns. I like the keys and strings added in that second verse, probably the only real resemblance to “B.O.T.A.” here, but it doesn’t bother much with that atmosphere, neglecting it for the sake of a bombast that isn’t there. It really just doesn’t feel like anyone was in the same room making this, and it really is a shame because this collaboration on paper should have been way better.

#26 - “You Broke My Heart” - Drake

Produced by Vinylz and FNZ

Out of all the songs to chart from Drake’s deluxe edition of For All the Dogs, subtitled the “Scary Hours Edition”, it had to be the one perhaps least representative of those six new tracks, which mostly consist of sluggish, paranoid jazz-rap rambles, most of the time eschewing the need for an actual drum pattern and using endless loops for some of Drake’s most self-aware yet least sobered writings in years. For the record, I like all of them, but I am partially glad that say, “The Shoe Fits” or “Stories About My Brother” didn’t chart because they’re heady, conscious and introspective tracks, whilst this song… it’s the relapse. It’s the full circle moment where Drake gives up on trying to contextualise everyone and everything around him, resorting to monosyllabic chants in the bridge - or “hook” at a stretch - and barely landing on a coherent flow over a cascading sample beat, that seems to go for the same drumless, hypnotic feel of the rest of the bonus tracks, switching between samples of Major Harris and the Supremes before the bait-and-switch into a hard trap beat wherein Drake can just flex and dismiss instead of the bitter breakup balladeering of the first verse, back in the mode of For All the Dogs. Now why do I actually like it? Well, it’s silly, it took me by surprise, it does a good job placing the murky, desperate “Stoned Love” sample from the Supremes - which peaked at #3 in 1971 behind George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” at #1 - against the almost rage-esque beat where OVO protégé Smiley provides… juicy ad-libs. He eventually gets back into talking about his ex but it’s in these whispered yells and rants that are just comedy, it’s a fascinating listen to me, maybe not as good as “Wick Man” or the more lyrical tracks I mentioned earlier but very much still in good fun. It won’t last past this week, though, as Yeat will come back like Superman to rescue the UK Singles Chart from… Smiley, I guess.

#12 - “exes” - Tate McRae

Produced by Ryan Tedder and Tyler Spry

Well, that next Tate McRae album is coming sometime soon and with the help of pop songwriting giant Ryan Tedder, she’s definitely in full “pop girl” mode, and this time without an obvious Timbaland sample to back her up. And surprise, surprise - the song is not great. It’s hard to take McRae’s sing-songy chorus and fake laughter seriously when Dua Lipa does the same conceit a lot better and a lot sexier on “Houdini�� whilst trying less, as Tate moves on with guys very quickly and keeps memorabilia of all of her exes even if the relationships mostly meant nothing. It’s a shame that this is awful, genuinely, like it took a while but this is driving my insane. Why do we have a random blend of instruments functioning as the monogenre melody, and none of them mixed to be a focal point? Should I be focusing on the muffled, cheap and jaunty acoustic guitar line (which sounds especially terrible in the outro), the airy keys or the reverb-drenched rubbery vocal loop that is mixed in the chorus so it’s nearly as loud as Tate, who just sounds terrible because bless her, she’s not the best singer, and definitely not the most emotive, so she can’t sell this dead-on-arrival song with a rhythm that decided to add trap skitters for basically no reason when a more bass-focused funk groove or even a drum and bass backing would make this hit much harder. It sounds dated on arrival too, like this is something that Selena Gomez would have picked up in 2019, and McRae going for a semi-rap delivery sometimes just sounds forced and gross, especially coming from someone void of personality and full of Auto-Tune, and ESPECIALLY on the half-time trap breakdown in the second verse that made me have to stop the song just in shock of how insufferable it was. It never truly progresses either outside of layers of synth nothingness and vocal harmonies that basically register as Auto-Tuned whining baby noises from the back of the mix. God, this is just shockingly awful, especially from veterans like Ryan Tedder. Get this away from me before I start noticing more things to hate about it.

Conclusion

It should be obvious, Tate McRae gets Worst of the Week for “exes”, which is by and far the absolute worst song that debuted, and sadly, I do have enough disappointment to give the Dishonourable Mention to “Body Moving” by Eliza Rose and Calvin Harris, it is quite a shame. As for the best, we do have two great hip hop songs here, which feels good to say in a year that has been kind of lacking for mainstream rap. Drake gets the Honourable Mention with “You Broke My Heart” but the Best of the Week, similarly far ahead, goes to JID for “Surround Sound” featuring 21 Savage and Baby Tate, I really hope that one sticks around. As for what’s on the horizon, we’re safely in holiday territory now, so expect more of that. For now, thank you for reading and for once, I’ll see you earlier than next week. Stay tuned.

#pop music #song review #uk singles chart #tate mcrae #drake #eliza rose #calvin harris #teddy swims #jid #baby tate #21 savage

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georgiapeach30513 · 1 year ago

Note

Happy December 7th and another episode of December Fun & Silliness Challenge!

Today's Challenge: Which character of Chris and Seb's would be mostly likely to be a grump during the holidays?

Cole Turner Lucas Lee Frank Adler Ransom Drysdale Robert Pronge

Bucky Barnes Steve Kemp Charles Blackwood Chase Collins Carter Baizen

*******************************************************************

The holidays are hard, we can all be grumpy. But poor Cole. He's been waiting and waiting for Anne and where is she? Is she stuck in the snow? Flight delayed? Cole's got all these presents for her and made the porch all romantic with lights. No calls. No texts. Not even a cactus emoji! It's making him very sad and grumpy. Not even wrestling in the snow can cheer him up.

@distractingbeth

Ooh!! I’m not sure what @annislittleshopofhorrors is going to do about her Mr. Gumpy Pants!

I’m going to say Ransom. All Ransom ever wanted was a nice Christmas time. He wanted what they have in the movies. The lights, the tacky Christmas decorations, the loudness, most importantly the togetherness. The warmth. The lessons, and how love is what makes Christmas the best. He’s never had that. Never wanted for anything. And when he leaves abruptly on his family’s Christmas dinner, he wasn’t expecting to go to some filthy little diner. And definitely didn’t think he would see the most beautiful snow Angel he ever did see as his waitress.

You could defrost any chill in the room. You are the embodiment of pure joy. And you see he needs something more. What turns into shitty diner food and stale coffee ends up you giving Ransom a tour of your quaint New England town. And so so much more!

#25 days of Chris-mas #polls

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yeeunswrld · 1 year ago

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↢ PLAYLIST ∘˚▸! 🎧

1. sumin - stayc

2. yunjin - le sserafim (gif by @/wonhrts)

3. yoon - stayc (🎧 Fergalicious - Fergie, Will.i.am)

4. soyeon - (g)-idle (🎧 Run Devil Run - Girls Generation) <- bratz event

5. giselle - aespa (🎧 Lemon - N.E.R.D, Rihanna, Pharrell Williams)

6. winter - aespa (🎧 Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Rey)

7. xiaoting - kep1er (🎧 Chiquitita - ABBA)

8. wonyoung - ive (🎧 Obsessed - Mariah Carey)

9. yunjin - le sserafim (🎧 The Great Mermaid - Le Sserafim)

10. keeho - p1harmony (🎧 Wicked game - Chris Isaak)

11. nayeon - twice (🎧Doughnut - Twice) <- ATLA event

12. chuu - soloist (🎧 when doves cry - prince)

fanfare : the collection (TW: flashing colors)

13. J - stayc (🎧 bubble - stayc)

14. seeun, J, isa - stayc (🎧candy pop - twice)

15. new jeans - new jeans (🎧super shy - new jeans)

16. Ni-ki - enhypen (🎧 bills - enhypen) <- bside event

17. Sieun - stayc (🎧Every Summertime - NIKI)

18. yoon - stayc (🎧 No one knows - queens of the stone age)

19. yena - soloist (🎧 falling behind - laufey)

20. jiung - p1harmony (🎧shut up my moms calling - hotel ugly)

21. chaeryoung - itzy (🎧 the only exception- paramore)

22. beomgyu- txt <- breakfast event

23. felix - stray kids (🎧 i just threw out the love of my dreams - weezer)

24. doyoung - nct (🎧 better things - aespa) <- secret santa event

25. hanni - new jeans (🎧 attention - new jeans)

26. sullyoon - nmixx (🎧 ditto - new jeans)

27. gunwook - zerobaseone

28. wonyoung - ive (🎧 baddie - ive)

29. san - ateez (🎧 day 1 - red velvet) <- aiqnes 4 year valentines event

30. eunchae - le sserafim (🎧 angel - pinkpatheress) <-slept on sanrio event

31. ten - nct (🎧 nightwalker - ten)

32. ningning - aespa <- bunny day deliveries

33. ryujin - itzy <- fuckici ever after high event

34. sohee - riize

35. jimin - bts <- bunny day deliveries

36. iroha - illit (🎧 ma boy - sistar19)

37. yoongi - bts <- bunny day deliveries

38. yoongi - bts <- bunny day deliveries

39. winter - aespa (🎧 russian roulette- red velvet)

40. yunah - illit

41. eunchae - le sserafim <- bunny day deliveries

42. han - stray kids <- bunny day deliveries

43. rei - ive (🎧 heya - ive)

44. chaewon - le sserafim

45. woojin - ghost9 (🎧national anthem - lana del rey)

#kpop moodboards #kpop #moodboards #moodboard #kpop moodboard #yeeunswrld

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annislittleshopofhorrors · 2 years ago

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Good Morning,

First of all, I haven't really checked my inbox yet. Just read some messages. Because searching for the missed matchbox Mercedes Benz AMG GT 63 car (did you know this is existing 😅) was more important yesterday. And yes, I have the sugarbaby screenshots that Joana and Dustbin followed. I'll search for them and post it.

Let's see, if I have to delete this post here, too. Or turn off the anon asking function. But I always feel like the European day shift here on Tumblr 🤣.

Ok, I haven't sorted my mind now. So I will just write down dates that are flying through my mind:

- Sept - Dustbin followed Chris

- Oct - Chris followed Dustbin

- Nov 6 - Scott followed AB

- Nov 17 - AB followed Scott

- Nov 25 - AB in Europe

- Nov 30 - Scott posted scare video (basement MA, same day of ChrABs scare video)

- Jan 5&6 - Portugrifters in LA

-> so I still have to think about this. But please keep in mind, we are talking about the past. This is not the situation which we see now.

16 notes · View notes

wqbytop100 · 7 months ago

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WQBY

TOP 100 for the week ending May 19, 2024

Lighter --Galantis, David Guetta, 5 Seconds of Summer -1

End Of Time --Lucas & Steve, LAWRENT, Jordan Shaw -92

Sleep Tonight (This Is The Life) --Switch Disco, R3HAB, Sam Feldt -2

Love & Pain --Enrique Iglesias -3

Buscando Money --Twenty Six, Tayson Kryss -7

Eyes Closed --Imagine Dragons -11

Beat of your Love --Ownboss, LAWRENT, Ekko -5

One, Two & 3--Galantis -22

Fallin Luv -Gordo, Jeria -8

What If We Met --Ali Gatie -4

Jet Plane --R3HAB, VIZE, JP Cooper -6

Kissing Strangers --USHER -12

Weight of the World --Bonnie X Clyde -9

Heaven Or Not --Diplo, Riva Starr, Kareem Lomax -10

***Lovers in a Past Life --Calvin Harris, Rag'N'Bone Man -(new)

Low Again --BAKERMAT -17

***I Had Some Help --Post Malone, Morgan Wallen -(new)

Make Me Your Mrs. --Mae Stephens -

When I Wake Up --Lucas & Steve, Skinny Days -20

Hell Together --David Archuleta -21

Addicted --Zerb, The Chainsmokers feat/INK -23

Without You --Disco Fries, Lavish Life -19

Underwater --DubVision, Afrojack -34

Glad I Found You --Elderbrook, George Fitzgerald -29

Reckless Child --Milky Chance -16

We Ain't Good At Breaking Up --Brothers Osborne -37

Take A Moment --ATB, David Frank -32

The Moves --NEIKED, Muni-Long, Nile Rodgers -28

Young & Foolish --Loud Luxury, Charlieonafriday -14

Outlaw Love --Brooke Eden (Dave Aude Remix) -18

Monster --A7S, ALOK -27

Enhancer --Northeast Party House -60

Before You Go --Seeb -15

Electricity --Fast Boy, R3HAB -26

Anthem --Diplo, Shram, Pony -24

Feel This Way --Victoria Nadine, R3HAB -25

The Afterhours --Kyle Watson -30

My Body --Illusionize, Y&M -33

Houdini --Dua Lipa -35

Lil Tune --Gus Dapperton, Electric Guest -41

Lonely Dancer --Conan Gray -39

Undone --Forest Blakk -59

One On One --Robin Schulz, Oaks, Topic -36

Nothing Ever Changes --Vintage Culture, MAGNUS -61

Loose Ends --Lucas Estrada, Syn Cole -48

Level Up --Wolfgang Gartner, Scrufizzer -55

Don't You Cry --Sunday Scaries, Discrete -45

Slide Out --Life On Planets -38

Never Be Friends --Jost, Minogue -42

My Favorite Drug --Justin Timberlake -62

She's On My Mind --Romy -43

Waterslides --Tiesto, Rudimental, Absolutely -40

Cutting Loose --Disco Lines, J. Worra, Anabel Englund -44

Love Me --INNA -47

Willing To Let You Go --Diplo, Anella Herim, Abby Anderson -120

Shadow --Trixie Mattel -69

Never Ending Song --Conan Gray -66

Wish I Never Felt --Nate Smith -68

Fantasy --Cosmo's Midnight, frank Moody -65

Yellow --Jxdn -70

***No Shade at Pitti --The Chainsmokers -(new)

Don't Look Down --Lucas Estrada, James TW, SUPER Hi -96

Soultrain --Tripolism, Nandu, Radeckt -79

***Forgive Me (LIVE) --ODESZA, izzy Bizu -(new)

Wake Up --Young Franco, Master Peace -93

Stereo --Two Colors, Roe Byrne -95

***God Don't Leave Me Alone --Gioli & Assia -(new)

Save You A Seat --Alex Warren -31

***Last Night --LOOFY -(new)

Eat The Bass --John Summit -63

***Make You Mine --Madison Beer -(new)

***Weatherman --Zach Hood -(new)

Whatever --KYGO, Ava Max -99

***Wake Up ---Skylar Blatt feat/ Chris Brown -(new)

Animal --R3HAB, Jason Derulo -78

Illusion --Dua Lipa -76

Home --CamelPhatt, RHODE (Vintage Culture Remix -51

***Disconnect --Becky Hill, Chase & Statis (Tiesto Remix) -(new)

***Messy Little Happiness --Jany Losey -(new) >>>

Anyone --Morgan Page -53

Dance Alone --SIA feat/Kylie Minogue -91

Why Should I --Z3LLA -94

Better Me --Michael Schulte, R3HAB -98

Regret The Morning --SILK, Mali-Koa -97

In Your Arms --Jess Bays, Jem Cooke -56

Come With Me --Claptone -49

Murder On the Dancefloor --Sophie Ellis-Bextor -58

Monster --Don Diablo, Felix Jaehn -50

***Without You --Felix Jaehn, Jasmine Thompson -(new)

The Weekend --Anit-Up -73

Good As It Gets --Blanco Brown -77

Kettle's Up --Mahmut Orhan, Axelax, Botin -87

Weak --Vintage Culture, Mavereick Sabre, Tom Breu -82 >>>

Dirty Desire --Vicetone -83 >>>

Karma --JoJo Siwa -71 >>>

Public --Mike. -46 >>>

Mas Que Nada --Oliver Heldens, Ian Asher, Sergio Mendez -52 >>>

***America --Charlie Crockett -(new)

Outside Of Love --Becky Hill -100

***Give It To Me Good --SIDEPIECE, Disco Lines -(new)

14 New***This week 5.19.24 >>> 6off next week #15 Lovers In A Past Life #17 I Had Some Help #61 No Shade At Pitti #64 Forgive Me #67 God Don't Leave Me Alone #69 Last Night #71 Make You Mine #72 Weatherman #74 Wake Up #78 Disconnect #79 Messy Little Happiness #89 Without You #98 America #100 Give It To Me Good

#alwayshappymusic

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nsfwhiphop · 8 months ago

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List of Eightees Babies - Born day in the 1980s - Enjoy!

I was born in November 1981 and I wanted to show you a list of celebrities born the same decade.

Here's the list of celebrities born in the 1980s, ordered by their date of birth:

1980:

Christina Ricci - February 12, 1980

Zooey Deschanel - January 17, 1980

Channing Tatum - April 26, 1980

Kim Kardashian - October 21, 1980

Jake Gyllenhaal - December 19, 1980

Remy Ma - May 30, 1980

Ryan Gosling was born on November 12, 1980.

Laura Prepon was born on March 7, 1980.

Ben Foster was born on October 29, 1980.

Chris Pine was born on August 26, 1980.

Kristen Bell was born on July 18, 1980.

Gisele Bündchen - July 20, 1980

Eva Green - July 6, 1980

1981:

Natalie Portman - June 9, 1981

Beyoncé - September 4, 1981

Alicia Keys - January 25, 1981

Paris Hilton - February 17, 1981

Vashtie Kola - April 23, 1981

Elijah Wood - January 28, 1981

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - February 17, 1981

Meagan Good was born on August 8, 1981.

Justin Timberlake - January 31, 1981

Kelly Rowland - February 11, 1981

Jessica Alba was born on April 28, 1981.

Dawn Olivieri - February 8, 1981.

Christina Milian - September 26, 1981

Rocsi Diaz - November 17, 1981.

Romain Gavras - July 4, 1981

Pitbull a.k.a Mr. Worldwide - January 15, 1981

Adriana Lima - June 12, 1981

Alessandra Ambrósio - April 11, 1981

Sonia Rolland - February 11, 1981

Britney Spears - December 2, 1981

1982:

Anne Hathaway - November 12, 1982

Kirsten Dunst - April 30, 1982

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge - June 21, 1982

Terrence J - April 21, 1982

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) - Born on January 9, 1982.

Nicki Minaj - December 8, 1982

Priyanka Chopra - July 18, 1982.

Sofia Boutella - April 3, 1982

Lil Wayne - September 27, 1982

Keri Hilson - December 5, 1982

Juelz Santana - February 18, 1982

Cobie Smulders - April 3, 1982

1983:

Emily Blunt - February 23, 1983

Henry Cavill - May 5, 1983

Mila Kunis - August 14, 1983

Jamie Chung - April 10, 1983

After 1983:

Katy Perry - October 25, 1984

Scarlett Johansson - November 22, 1984

Lauren London - December 5, 1984

LeBron James - December 30, 1984

Trey Songz - November 28, 1984

Gal Gadot was born on April 30, 1985.

J. Cole - January 28, 1985

Matt Pokora - September 26, 1985

Drake - October 24, 1986

Cassie Ventura - August 26, 1986

Amber Heard - April 22, 1986

Deepika Padukone - January 5, 1986

Megan Fox was born on May 16, 1986.

0 notes

stayconnecteed · 11 months ago

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🪐˓⠀˚⠀24 to 25⠀@⠀kim seungmin.

SEE MORE.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀5.3k words. ⠀⠀general mlist.⠀⠀join taglist.

⠀⠀⸺⠀⠀warnings ★ mentions of reader's mom passing away in the past, maybe reader being a little bit workaholic, insecurities about getting to know more your boyfriend's family... but then just fluff.

⠀⠀⸺⠀⠀author's note ★ i'm late (as always) but happy chris-mas to everyone here or winter break to those who doesn't celebrate!! hope you like my silly fluff seungmin fic ♡

You had never enjoyed the classic idyllic Christmas, with big family dinners, serving feasts that took too long to prepare, listening to laughter and lively conversation as everyone helped set the table. The next morning it had been unusual for you to find big presents under the tree, or a lazy breakfast still wrapped in blankets, with a satisfied smile on your face. You hadn't had a bad time, your mother had always tried to make it happy for the little family you and your twin sister formed, but your winter holidays had always been different from those of your classmates. And even more so since your mother had passed away ーher absence left behind one of the coldest Decembers you had ever experienced.

Luckily your job kept you pretty busy, travelling practically all year and asking for the shifts on those specific days. Your colleagues thanked you every year, thinking that it cost you as much as they did to give up an afternoon of family happiness, but you didn't really care. You knew it meant a lot to them, and it was good for you to keep your head occupied on those chilly nights, so you smiled at their words and ducked your head, feeling a little uncomfortable at their effusiveness.

The only time you had been to one of these dinners had been your niece's first Christmas. You knew your brother-in-law, and you adored him and the rest of his family, whom you had met at your sister's wedding. So your reluctance was not because you disliked them ーthey had never given you reason to doubt their kindness or hospitalityー but because you knew that this was not your home. You had attempted to insert yourself into their conversations, contributing jokes and anecdotes, talking about your sister and your childhood, but you didn't quite fit in. They already had their family roles covered, and you could only tiptoe on the sidelines, adopting the role of nanny to your niece instead of aunt.

The whole situation was something you were unwilling to repeat, and the fact that your job allowed you to take refuge in unplanned trips and night shifts made you hide in hours of paperwork and made-up appointments, especially when someone suggested plans. This continued even when you met Seungmin. You had met at a Starbucks in Los Angeles in the summer, a couple of years ago, and he had almost thrown his coffee all over you. He knew he shouldn't have, but after hearing you respond to his apology in Korean, he couldn't help but ask for your number. And after that meeting you went on a couple of dates in Seoul, slowly falling in love with every bit of your lives that you decided to share with each other.

Despite all the time you had been together, you were both quite reserved, so it was no surprise to anyone that each of you still lived separately. Besides, on those important dates he usually also had to work on creating themed content with his Kpop group, or even making a quick visit to his family before coming into your flat with just the right amount of energy to take a shower and fall asleep in your arms. Those Christmas were your favourite. Nothing out of the ordinary, just being able to enjoy his warmth and company, the two of you, in a quiet moment.

This year you were in Berlin. The firm you worked for had organised a Christmas campaign in the German capital, and it was your turn to go, since your return date was just after Christmas Eve. Seungmin had a busy afternoon filming the SBS Gayo Daejeon Christmas music festival, so you weren't going to be able to see each other anyway. You weren't worried. He could spend Christmas Eve with his family, and you would enjoy the rest of his days off between your place and his dorm, watching movies and drinking hot chocolate, even going for long walks around the city if it didn't snow too much.

That was your plan, at least, until two days after landing in Europe, jet lag still slowly leaving your system, you received a call at four in the morning. The number was saved under Seungmin's sister's name, and your heart started pounding at the possibility that something terrible might have happened to your boyfriend. People only call at dawn if it's to deliver bad news, right? And you had a cordial relationship with his family, having eaten with them on a few occasions. It was not as if that level of relationship would allow calls simply because they were interested in your welfare, there wasn't that much trust yet.

"Seunghee unnie?" you asked, your voice slightly raspy, eyes buried to shield yourself from the bright screen of your phone.

"YN-ah! Hii!" she exclaimed, and you winced at her volume, pushing the phone away slightly.

"What happened?" you breathed, barely able to keep the words in your mouth, sitting up slightly and turning the light on low. You weren't going to be able to sleep after this.

"Happened?" stuttered Seunghee, his animated voice dropping at the way you had spoken. "Why would anything happen?"

"It's four o'clock in the morning, unnie," you explained, stifling a yawn. "In Korea I suppose it would be ten or twelve, I don't know, but here it's still dark here".

You heard her muffle an exclamation, and she hastily stammered out a string of halting apologies, the knot of worry in your chest slowly unravelling. Seungmin was fine, then. Nothing bad had happened to him.

"Forgive me, Ynnie, really" he whispered one last time, and you noticed the panic from the other line.

"It's alright" you replied, a soft chuckle leaving your lips, rubbing your eyes with your free hand to get rid of any trace of sleepiness you might have had.

"Seungminnie mentioned you were working," she told you, "but we all assumed you were in Seoul, not travelling. I wouldn't have called now if I'd known, let alone over a silly thing like this."

"Oh, but it's not nonsense, unnie" you reproached, sitting cross-legged on the soft hotel mattress, "if you were calling for something, tell me, I'm listening".

"In our house, since my brother is an idol, we celebrate Christmas with him at a dinner on December 25th," she said, after taking a deep breath, "at least the closest family. And since he always complains that you hardly see each other because of your schedules, Omma suggested that I should invite you to that dinner. It's a surprise for Seungmin, but also because we love having you at home!"

You were silent for a few moments, processing the information she had just shared with you. You knew that your boyfriend valued every moment you shared, but you had never noticed that he felt it was too little. You had assumed that both of you were comfortable with the dynamic you had, seeing each other a couple of times a week if he didn't have a schedule or you weren't travelling. It had worked so far. And even though you had started to want to spend more time with him, you hadn't said anything because you had assumed you were fine with it. But he had complained to his family instead of talking about it with you, and you worried that he felt there were things he couldn't tell you.

"Ynnie?" whispered Seunghee, pulling you out of your mind, and causing you to clear your throat, letting her know you were listening. "I didn't mean to make you doubt your relationship with my brother."

"No..."

"You did doubt," she stated, interrupting you, and sighing softly before continuing. "I know we don't talk much, and maybe it was my fault because I'm introverted, but I really like you. You're a big-hearted, strong girl, and you're a good listener. You make Seungmin very happy, and that's all I'm looking for."

"Unnie, I..." you began to murmur, flooded with affection.

"I want to be friends with you, YN," she added, and you could taste the fondness in her words, "you deserve that I call you dongsaeng. And it's not about Seungminnie, it's about us".

"I want it too, unnie," you managed to stammer out, a wide smile blooming on your lips, "I'm in love with Seungmin, and I know we both want our love to last. To be considered one of your family would be an honour."

"From the moment you first came home, we already consider you part of our family," Seunghee told you, letting out a chuckle at your exclamation of surprise. "You're very dear to us, dongsaeng, and you got into our hearts very quickly. Omma always asks Seungmin to share with her anything about you".

You felt your cheeks flush at her words, forgetting what time it was or where you were, and simply enjoying a pleasant conversation with your sister-in-law, "So, the dinner you were talking about?"

"Oh, yes!" she said, the talk flowing as if you both had a weight off your shoulders, "On the 25th in the evening. Seungmin is busy until six in the evening, and then he's coming over. I don't know what your schedule is like, but we'd like you to come as a surprise".

"I think I can do that," you whispered, your mind calculating hours, the time gap between countries and the flights you had booked, "maybe I'd be a little late, but Seungmin already thinks I won't be there. I told him I'd take the plane to land in Incheon on the 26th".

"Perfect!" she exclaimed, and you heard her get up from wherever she was sitting, repeating your words to someone. "Omma says to dress however you like and if there's anything typical for Christmas that you really like or don't like at all let us know so we can change the menu."

"Oh, no, please, there's no need" you protested, pouting, not knowing how to accept so much concern and interest, "I'll take anything, really."

"I'm going to pretend you said bulgogi and kimchi and hope you like them" she commented, switching to an inexperienced and certainly cute English, "because my mother only knows Korean, but she's not capable of taking no for an answer."

You let out a laugh at your mother-in-law's antics, which reminded you too much of your own mother's, and just told her that yes, you liked it, that even if you didn't like it you would eat it anyway, just because they had made it for you, that you would go that night, and as many nights as they wanted you there, and that of course you were willing to meet her on your days off, and make room on your busy ones. It felt like a ray of hope in all your lonely, calm Christmas, and you wanted it to mark a before and after in your life.

That's how you got involved in this situation. As soon as you got off the plane you had sent a message to Seunghee, with whom you had started chatting a lot, and she had not been able to hide the sincere smile that curved her lips when she read it. You glanced at the clock, your heart pounding at the speed of the hands, checking everything you had to do before heading to the Kims' apartment. You were to avoid the area where you knew Seungmin lived, and the entire route from where the music festival was being filmed, which his manager had very kindly shared with you when you had explained the plan.

You needed to take a shower, and go back to your home to get everything ready. Since your conversation with your sister-in-law you had rethought many aspects of your relationship with your boyfriend, only for the better, of course, and you had come to the conclusion that you were ready to go one step further. That's why on the way to your apartment you had to pick up something you had previously ordered. You took a cab, trying to avoid walking your huge suitcase around Seoul, and made the relevant stops before taking refuge in the comfort of your home, doing the same routine you followed after every trip: unpack, set up the washing machine, put away bathroom products and charge your laptop.

And it was when you stepped into the bathroom, the glass partition blurred with steam and water cascading over your head, that you let out all the air you had been holding in your lungs. You had plenty of time to get ready now, everything was going according to what you had talked about. Seunghee had warned you that his brother would take at least an hour to arrive, because he also wanted to relax a bit after his performance, and in the cab ride you had seen a few minutes of the live he had done with his group on You Tube. You hadn't been able to enjoy his performances, although you were sure that both the Stray Kids and the one he had in duet with Jeongin had turned out great, but you knew that Seungmin preferred you to watch them in front of him anyway so that he could witness your emotional reactions to his voice.

As his mother had told you, you didn't dress up much, and Seunghee had warned you to take it as an obligation. Matriarch Kim's intention was for you to approach this Christmas dinner like any other family gathering, and to be comfortable, so following her words you dressed up in jeans you had recently bought and one of your boyfriend's favorite hoodies. It had snowed quite a bit the day before from what you had seen on your cab ride, so you bundled up as much as you could before leaving home.

It was a few neighborhoods from your apartment to your destination, so you had no choice but to take the subway. The transport service in Seoul was quite expensive, and by using the cab on the way there you had denied yourself the possibility of using it on the way back: your salary was not enough to waste it on trips that you could perfectly well make by subway. So, with your beanie on, you made sure to leave the apartment locked, and headed back to the street, where it was quite cold. Your exhalations rose like clouds of steam as you breathed, and even with your hands in your pockets you could feel the biting temperature that made both the tip of your nose and your cheeks flush.

You hadn't seen each other for a while. It hadn't been the best time for you because since he had started practicing for his comeback you had only met a couple of times, but in mid-November you had had to travel all the way to the United States, then back to Korea for a quick meeting with your firm's management and then a long stay in Japan before heading to Germany. It had been really crazy, and that without counting Seungmin's own schedule. That's why you'd seen him pout so many times in your video calls, complaining that your demanding jobs wouldn't allow you to see each other face to face until almost New Year's 一and considering he still had shows to go to. But you both knew it was going to be difficult when you started your romance, no wonder you had met on the other side of the map.

The fact that you were going to be present at one of his family gatherings, as important as they were to him, was going to be a statement of intent on your part. It was your way of assuring him that you were committed to him, that even though you had only been together for a few years, you were serious about it. And that was the main reason why you were so nervous, your leg anxiously going up and down against the platform's polished floor. You checked the time again, looking at the information screen of the subway arrivals and departures, and stood up when you saw that the one you were supposed to take was just around the corner, deciding to stretch your legs when you noticed they were starting to freeze from the cold.

The wagon you had gotten into was practically empty, but you didn't pay much attention either, your mind busy checking that you had packed everything you needed in your bag. Since you had started dating Seungmin, only the last two Christmases had he returned from his parents' home, past midnight, to sleep next to you. You didn't know if that would be the case that night, but you had packed your overnight bag just in case: if the only reason he didn't sleep in his room when he was a teenager was you, maybe the fact that you were there would make him stay.

Seungmin had indeed called for a cab. After SBS Gayo Daejeon he had gone for a walk with Jeongin to take some photos to upload to Instagram later, but they had to return shortly to the dressing room. They had almost twenty minutes to change before starting the You Tube live, and by the time they had finished, night had fallen over Seoul. They still had some energy in the car ride back to the dorms, adrenaline coursing through their systems, just like every time they performed in front of fans, and he used it to shower in record time and change into some baggy pants and his favorite oversize jacket. He considered texting you, but he didn't know what time it was in Berlin and he had to take a cab if he wanted to get to his family dinner before the starters.

The short ride was quiet, the driver playing soft music in the background while he looked out the window at the snowy landscape, the mask covering the lower half of his face. After paying he hurried out of the vehicle, slung the backpack in which he brought clothes for the next day over his shoulder and hurried across the sidewalk to enter the building as soon as possible. He had his keys in his backpack, neatly tucked away, but he had always liked to ring the doorbell. At first he hadn't done it because he felt that by entering with his own keys that was still his house, but over time he had accepted that his home was his group mates, and later you, and he understanding that he shouldn't limit his home to one place had allowed him to enjoy the look of joy on his mother's face when she opened the door and saw him on the other side.

That time who greeted him was his older sister, and though he saw her frown for a moment, he suddenly found himself wrapped in her arms, her cheek on his chest, and felt his own face soften at the familiar contact.

"I'd forgotten you rang the doorbell" she whispered, Seungmin draping his arms over her back to comfort her. "You have to come more often."

He made a slight affirmative noise, leaving it up to Seunghee to decide when to part ways. One of the big differences between his sister and him was that she was a big fan of physical contact 一it was her love language. Even if Seungmin wasn't a enthusiast of it he knew that his sister had been going through a rough time after his debut and any little moment he could spend by his side was welcome, hence the constant messages of affection and support. He was her little brother, after all.

"Seungmin!" exclaimed his mother from somewhere in the kitchen as soon as Seunghee had separated, as if she could sense what her two sons were doing at all times.

"Hello, omma!" he replied, walking the few steps that separated him from her and taking refuge in her warmth, "merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, son" said his father behind them, resting a hand on his back affectionately, while his mother left soft kisses on his cheek.

"Merry Christmas" he breathed, swallowing the lump in his throat. He would never accept it, but coming back to his childhood house on such a cold day, when he was totally exhausted, to dine on his mother's delicious home-cooked meal was like going back to his early days. And it made him very nostalgic.

"Now that you're here we can go bring the dishes to the table" his mother indicated, wiping her hands on her apron and turning to the counter to finish plating the bulgogi. Seungmin flashed a shadow of a smile as he remembered that it was one of your favorite meals, and picked up the dishes she had prepared by the sink to go set the table.

"Why are there five dishes here?" he asked, confused, as he entered the dining room and began to set them. He heard a thump in the hallway and saw his sister on the floor. "Noona?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she hastened to say, leaving the chair she had been perched on in the kitchen and taking the dishes from his hands, "Omma must have miscounted, let me do it."

Seungmin looked at her with narrowed eyes and raised an eyebrow, "Since when did you prefer to set the table yourself rather than me?"

"Oh please, just accept it and be happy," she sighed, rolling her eyes, "Like you're not exhausted. Go help appa wrap presents for our cousins."

He chose to shrug and listen to her as the best option, knowing how bossy she could get if things didn't go her way. So he ended up in his father's office, cutting up pieces of tape and passing them to him so he could fold the decorated paper over the boxes of toys his little cousins would receive the next day. He tried not to pout as he realized that for another year he was going to have to watch their reactions on video, and listened to his father tell him how his grandparents were doing, then explained his plans with Stray Kids for the next year.

It struck him as odd that his sister was so quiet, or how attentive she was to her phone, at least when their mother called them to take the starters. He frowned again when he saw the fifth plate next to Seunghee's, and decided to risk being wrong, but find out what the heck was up with that damn plate.

"Is anyone else coming to dinner?" he asked, in an innocent tone, his heart skipping a beat as he saw his mother's surprised look and his sister's gesture, "You have a boyfriend!" he accused her, covering his mouth with his hand dramatically.

"I don't have a boyfriend!" protested Seunghee, resting her hands on the table, willing to avoid showing the relief she felt at seeing that her brother didn't suspect anything.

"Girlfriend?" he hesitated, ignoring tired sigh from his mother.

"Oh, please" she repeated, just as she had done a few minutes before. "I wouldn't bring my date on Christmas for you to meet, I wouldn't be that inconsiderate."

"Wow, noona" Seungmin replied, to his father's amused look, "you're never going to get over it."

Yes, the first time you had met your sister-in-law had been at Christmas, three years ago. You had seen your in-laws one afternoon in early November, when Seungmin had announced that he had a girlfriend, but Seunghee had been out of town, missing the occasion completely. Seungmin had taken you to breakfast 25th December in the morning, before you had your shift at work, and it had been somewhat awkward because Seunghee was quite an enthusiastic person, but only when there weren't unknown people in the middle 一as you were一, so you had communicated in monosyllables until it was time to leave.

And no, she hadn't gotten over the fact that Seungmin had chosen that date as the day he was introducing you for the first time.

Seunghee had to find any excuse that would allow her to steer the topic of conversation to one that wasn't the fifth person invited to dinner, at least until you walked the few streets from where you had gotten off the subway to get there. The latest news was that you had arrived at the indicated stop about five minutes early, so you should be about to arrive. And she was ready to start an argument with her brother, just like they always ended up doing playfully, if it meant her surprise wasn't ruined.

"Well, if you'd thought first before you brought her" she protested, getting into her role, "maybe we'd be friends now."

"I don't need you to be friends with her" Seungmin replied, leaning back against his chair, "we're fine as we are."

"Enough, kids" warned their mother pointedly, clapping her hands, but smiling warmly. Even if she heard them bickering all day she couldn't help but adore them.

"You should bring her home more often" his father murmured, his eyes sparkling with mischief, earning a look that exuded betrayal from his daughter and an impassive gesture from his son.

"It's hard to find dates that suit both of us," he explained, hiding his discontent at that information he had so often shared and so little liked, "because living so far away, and between her travels and my work…"

And then the doorbell rang. His father's smile curved even more, his mother let out a soft chuckle, but no one moved. Seungmin exchanged a glance with Seunghee, and at the visible nervousness she displayed, he stood up abruptly, exclaiming "Oh my god you do have a boyfriend!". And although his intention was indeed to be the first to discover his older sister's supposed new partner, as he opened the door, he made eye contact with you, and then he was the one who was petrified.

He ran his gaze over you, his eyes fixing on your flushed cheeks, how much your eyes sparkled, your beautiful smile, your wind-blown hair, the coat you had decided to wear, in which you seemed to be drowning with delight. For a moment he didn't know how to react, his mouth ajar eliciting muffled laughter from his family, his heart pounding. He wasn't able to process your presence in such a different environment than usual, on such an uncommon date, no… it couldn't be you, really, after being separated for weeks. But then he heard your crystalline laughter, your eyes dwarfing into two beautiful crescents, and he opened his arms for you to shelter between them.

He could smell your shampoo, the familiar scent tickling his nose as he had rested his cheek on your head. Hell, he could smell his own cologne on the article of clothing you were wearing. And more importantly, he could feel you. Your arms around his waist, the soft flutter of your eyelashes brushing against his collarbone, your heart, as fast as his, beating against his chest. You were, next to him, and like every time you met again after a long time, he swore to himself that he wasn't going to let you leave again, not for weeks, not without him.

Then he felt something metallic scratched his back, and he pulled away, startled. Your eyes reflected embarrassment, and you tried to hide the thing in your hand behind you, praying that your puppy eyes and smile could erase your boyfriend's memory. But Seungmin was stronger than that, at least in that situation. He raised an eyebrow, questioningly, and gestured with his chin, pointing to your arm, "What are you hiding?"

You closed your eyes, grimacing, and held, palm up, the key you had picked up just after arriving in Seoul. You sighed, before opening them and meeting your boyfriend's confused gaze, and took his hand, keeping the key inside his fist and kissing the back of it, your lips sending a shiver through his body.

"They're the keys to my apartment" you explained, looking at him with a shy smile curving your lips. "I asked my sister to make me a copy while I was in Berlin to give to you as a Christmas present."

"But why would I want the keys to your apartment?" he asked, his frown making him look like a puppy. "I only go when you're there. There's no use for me to go if you're not there."

Unable to help it, you pouted, your heart feeling the warmth of his words, but you shook your head, "They're not for you to come whenever you want, pabo," you told him, taking his hands between yours, "they're for you to move in with me, for us to live together."

You heard Seunghee stifle an excited cry behind his brother's back and hurriedly explain to his mother what you had just muttered. Seungmin had gone still again, holding his breath, believing that if he stopped breathing perhaps the moment would last forever, that if he stayed like that long enough he could soak in the sound of her heartbeat and record every second into his memory.

"What do you say, eh?" you asked, your nerves betraying you at the last second and causing your voice to crack a little. You cleared your throat, waiting for an answer, "Do you... huh, do you want to move in with me?"

Seungmin rested the hand that wasn't holding the key against your cheek, cradling it, his skin soft against yours, and looked at you with misty eyes, on the verge of tears. And he nodded. He nodded, because he knew if he opened his mouth he'd burst into tears, and then he thought if he got like this over a key, it was going to be funny how much he'd cry when he proposed to you, and then he let out a laugh, lowering his gaze just enough so that his blond bangs hid from you what he was feeling.

"Oh, come on, Kim Seungmin," her mother threatened, who had her father's arm around her hip in an affectionate gesture, "you can tell her yes and kiss her now."

"Yeah," Seunghee added, winking at you, "I didn't fall out of the chair placing the mistletoe for nothing. It's tradition, you have to kiss each other."

You both looked up at the same time, noticing the two small branches of mistletoe placed with red ribbon on the door frame, the dark green leaves highlighting the cheerful vermilion of its round fruits, and when you looked straight ahead again, Seungmin already had his gaze on you, just like always. He loved watching you, making you feel seen, important, noticing all those little quirks you had that had made him fall for you.

"I want to live with you, YN" he breathed, his exhale caressing your skin, your faces mere inches apart. "I want to stay by your side forever."

"Together" you whispered, closing your eyes and laying your forehead against his, your hands sliding up his chest to rest on his shoulders.

"Together" he repeated before moving your head with the hands he had on your cheek and tilting the just enough to connect his lips to yours. You felt him sigh into the kiss, and the corners of your lips curved, feeling the soft fabric of his jacket under your fingers as you let him devour you. Dinners like this were worth missing so many others.

#﹙ ★ ﹚ mars — writes.#stray kids fluff #stray kids x reader #skz x reader #kim seungmin #seungmin fluff #kim seungmin fluff #seungmin imagines #seungmin x reader

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cyarskaren52 · 1 year ago

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The Notorious B.I.G. may have had a relatively brief career, but that has never obscured the fact that the Brooklyn emcee is one of the greatest to ever pick up a pen. You can't quibble about the brevity of a legend's catalog when the body of work is as uniformly strong as Biggie's. No, quite the opposite: it should bring the greatness into sharp relief.

So much of the legacy of Biggie Smalls spans two official studio albums over the course of two-and-a-half years, and in that regard, Biggie is like a Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain. Neither of those rock legends had long careers, but the impact of their art was/is seismic. Biggie's brilliant lyricism is on full display across Ready To Die and Life After Death, a rapper capable of painting pictures with his words; blessed with a gift for the descriptive, as well as a macabre sense of humor that was always unique.

It's been decades since we lost Biggie, but his body of work is always here to remind us of his gifts. We had to pick the 25 Dopest Songs from The Notorious B.I.G. And it wasn't easy.

#26

"THIS TIME AROUND" MICHAEL JACKSON FEAT. THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. [BONUS SONG]

Our BONUS SONG pick is a celebrated classic guest spot! MJ goes off on his haters with a Hip-Hop legend riding shotgun. Even the King Of Pop was a fan of Chris Wallace.

#25

"TEN CRACK COMMANDMENTS"

Biggie Smalls breaks down the dope game with ten simple rules on this classic Preemo track that infamously flips Chuck D's plea for economic empowerment into a cocaine manifesto. Irony, thy name is Christopher.

#24

"MY DOWNFALL" FEAT. D.M.C.

The King Of Rock reinterpolates a classic line from "Here We Go" as the hook for this B.I.G. anthem. Over an urgent backdrop, Biggie's paranoia is raised to a fever pitch. Puff plays instigator.

#23

"MACHINE GUN FUNK"

Arguably the most underrated song on "Ready To Die," Biggie gets to lean into his lyrical bonafides on one of his debut album's best slices of boom bap.

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#22

"PARTY & BULLSHIT"

The song that started everything. Biggie's flow and voice were so unique and his lyrical delivery was the perfect instrument for his wit and skill. A star from Day One.

#21

"LONG KISS GOODNIGHT"

A RZA beat and a reference to the woefully underrated Geena Davis/Sam Jackson flick form the foundation for one of Biggie's most darkly murderous revenge fantasies.

#20

"ME AND MY BITCH" (COMPUTER LOVE REMIX)

The "Ready To Die" original is more famous, but those who know remember this stellar remix from "The Show" original motion picture soundtrack.

#19

"SOMEBODY GOTTA DIE"

The dark story of vengeance gone awry, this standout from "Life After Death" served notice, early on in that album's tracklisting, that Chris Wallace was stepping his game up.

#18

"NIGGAS BLEED"

Another macabre slice of Hitchcockian storytelling; this time the rap Frank White dictates a narrative about robbery, murder and mayhem. One of his absolute best. And absolute darkest.

#17

"THE WHAT" FEAT. METHOD MAN

Two legends who were just becoming household names in 1994, the Brooklyn icon and his Wu-affiliated compadre bring out the best in each other here.

#16

"NOTORIOUS THUGS" FEAT. BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY

Another famed guest appearance in Biggie's catalog, Bone Thugs show up on this classic from "Life After Death" and influence the East Coast emcee to adopt a little Midwestern speed rap flavor.

#15

"MO MONEY, MO PROBLEMS" FEAT. PUFF DADDY, MA$E AND FAITH EVANS

The video became a staple of the Shiny Suit Era, and unofficially furthered the Bad Boy image in the Puffy and Ma$e era, to the point where the fact that it's a Biggie song can sometimes feel obscured. But make no mistake: B.I.G. ROCKS this.

#14

"WHAT'S BEEF"

From one of the sunniest tracks he ever released, to one of the darkest and most sinister. Over those dramatic strings, Biggie once again leans into his "rap Alfred Hitchcock" side, offering up a chilling ode to murder and vengeance with shock value to spare.

#13

"SUICIDAL THOUGHTS" - NOTORIOUS B.I.G.

The album close from "Ready To Die" is Biggie at his most chilling. The song is driven by Biggie's broken rant to his friend Puff, grimly echoing the title track's themes of alienation and despair.

#12

"SKY'S THE LIMIT" FEAT. 112

One of Biggie's greatest gifts is how he could contrast the darkness with the light; and this effervescent single was B.I.G. at his most upbeat, reveling in how good things can get.

#11

"GIMME THE LOOT"

Biggie adopts the persona of two BK stickup kids on this classic from "Ready To Die."

#10

"HYPNOTIZE" FEAT. PAM LONG

One of Biggie's most inescapable singles, it came to define the sound of 1997 Bad Boy Records. Proof positive that, for all the praise he gets, we sometimes underappreciate Biggie's gift for songcraft.

"WHO SHOT YA?"

The controversial B-side that served as a catalyst for Hip-Hop's most infamous and tragic feud, the song is an all-timer, even divorced from the drama that would come to define it.

"UNBELIEVABLE"

Over one of DJ Premier's dopest beats, Christopher Wallace flexes his lyrical muscle.

"I GOT A STORY TO TELL"

When B.I.G. is mentioned as one of the greatest storytellers of all time, this song is one that seems to always affirm his stature to doubters. Biggie at his funniest, most descriptive and absolute best.

"EVERYDAY STRUGGLE"

One of the best examples of Biggie's gifts as a storyteller, it's a master class in rhyming narrative. And B.I.G. introduces us to some of his classic characters, including Two-Techs and Alberta.

"KICK IN THE DOOR"

Over a flip of Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Biggie goes off. One of the best lyrical showcases on an album overstuffed with greatness, it's B.I.G. at his most nimble.

"ONE MORE CHANCE"

The popular remix to one of the standout tracks from "Ready To Die," it further cemented Biggie's playarific persona and the video is one of the era's most memorable.

"WARNING"

After establishing B.I.G.'s "Ready To Die" campaign with a pair of feel-good singles, the Brooklyn emcee's dark storytelling side came to the fore on this sinister hit.

"JUICY"

There are few opening bars in music as iconic as the couplet that kickstarts this uber-classic. Biggie announced himself to the mainstream with this rags-to-riches classic that sounds like the story of Hip-Hop itself.

"BIG POPPA"

It's one of the most definitive songs of the 1990s and so anthemic you could argue it's Christopher Wallace's theme song. The late Chucky Thompson laced The Notorious B.I.G. with one of the most recognizable tracks of all time.

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#hip hop 50 #today in hip hop history #todayinhiphophistory #hiphop #hip-hop #hip hop #hip hop music #hip hop history #hip hop culture #music #history #music history #television #rap #rapper #emcee #mc

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