#I was shakin my head that whole video
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I missed seeing you on my dash 😭🥺 hope youve been having fun and living life to the fullest!! Also lowkey cant believe it took Jk acting up for you to comeback 😂
#thank you so much Anon!!!!!#AND HE DO BE ACTIN UPPPP#what a drama queen#I was shakin my head that whole video#I been alright 🤗🤗🤗#thank you lovely#sevenkook meme#via💋viola#jeon jungkook#bts jungkook#jungkook seven
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L. O. V. E
Warning: suggestive at the end | clingy-ish y/n | Just ony | pet names like: ma, mama ,baby ,bae
⚠️ not proofread ⚠️
“Babyyyy” you dragged the “y” while you shook him just a little bit trying to get his attention “bruh bae move get off me” you made a lil stank face
“why you actin’ like that…” “cuz you shakin’ me knowing I’m playin’ the game, you being extra right now” “YOU extra I didn’t even do nothing ! not too much lil nigga..” you said Under your breath.
But what the crazy thing was… he ain’t even say nothing back like usually he would’ve said “watch ya mouth” or sum like that he just let you walk away!
Once you got off the bed you started walking towards the walk-in closet texting your homegirls back saying “y’all know what? Nvm I will be outside today!” They texted back said they pick you up at 6 it was only 3:46 but you know you take a while to get ready so you wanna start early.
You was in the closet looking threw all them clothes you had, but you wanted to make Ony mad since he wanna act up, so you picked out a certain outfit he probably wasn’t gon like.
He was already confused when he heard the shower starting because he knows your whole schedule and this wasn’t the time you usual start your showers, but he ain’t worry about it he just kept playin his STOOPID game.
But he got even more confused when you were scouring the drawers in front of the tv in your little towel, looking for who knows what, till he saw you bring out a white lacey thong which he didn’t care but he aint see you grab a bra maybe you already had one.. yeah…
You was in the bathroom doing washing your face then started doing skincare, you heard him get off the the bed and go down the stairs, “…boy so you don’t feel the need to come see what I’m doinggg??”
You had thought in your head but you started brushing your teeth then you took off your bonnet, unt unt unt, baby you betta fix dat lace fronttt! which you did it was super cute then you started doing your edges.
Your hair was so cute! You started putting that outfit on, it was 5:27, “DANGG time went fast” you said to yourself quietly then you heard ony coming back in the room walking to towards the bathroom.
“Oh now he wanna see what I’m doing..” you thought to yourself shaking yo head side ta side, he came up behind you and started kissing yo neck and holding it while he other hand went down your stomach.
“damn ma.. you look fine as hell.. where we going?” You was was feelin him but you forgot you was supposed to be mad so you moved his hand from youre stomach and fixed you lashes.
“Mama? I asked you a question.” He said sturnly which kinda turned you on because you love when he got that tone to his voice. “WE not going nowhere. IM going out wit’m homegirls” you said smacking your lips after.
“What’you’mean” he said letting go of you completely “exactly what I said” you took you phone swiping up from the wallpaper of you and ony. Checking your messages and the time. It was 5:53 your home girl texted you that they was almost outside.
“Watch out it’s time fo me to go.” You said with a lil sas he watched you walk away he didn’t stop you, he wanted to! But he didn’t. You started putting your shoes on, with your pretty anklet and the necklace with your name on it.
Your girls was out side so you left, he was mad. You knew he was mad. He was especially mad when he seen your instagram post twerking on one of your homegirls lap. with a caption saying : “if my man don’t wont catch it my bsfs will!” With another video under it of you with someone spreading money on yo back while you twerk.
He thought about running over to that party and picking you up right away. But he didn’t. Cuz you were in for it when you got home. Oh, you was REALLY in for it when you got back.
You friend dropped you off yall did your goodbye kisses & hugs then you was finna put the key in the door but it swung open, a strong arm pulling you in then picking you up.
“Ony whatdafuck??” You said as he threw you on the bed “first you was giving me attitude then you runnin ya mouth AND shakin ya ass on someone else?? You must be crazy. Gon head take off all dat shit like bro.. you ain’t even got a bra on wit that tight ass- mannn you pissing me off more and more.”
You rolled you eyes and started undressing. Let’s just say last night was memorable.
HEY BABYESSS so if I make a pt2 it probably be of “last night” (I apologize if links don’t work I check every other day ta see jus in case!)
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WAIT CS I HAVE AN IDEA-
Y/n sneaks out to a party that she don’t have no business in going and ony catches her when she get home and fuck ha shit upp Like he always doo
AWWWW SHIT NAAAAAAA. I LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOINGGGGG.😩😩😩
party pooper
cw: gun violence
word count: 2.1k
── ⋅⋅⋅ ────꒰ ୨ ♡ ୧ ꒱───────
you were thinking about this party all week, having an outfit and everything picked so you didn’t have anything to worry about the day of. ony knew you were going out tonight, but you kind of left out the fact that you were going to the trenches to shake ass at a party. he still ended up finding out anyways, telling you to stay your ass home, but who tf want to do that.
he wasn’t supposed to be home until late so you figured you could just sneak out and be back by the time he got home. so that’s exactly what you did. your friend was outside your house by ten and you got right tf up outta there, skirt riding up your ass as you ran to the car in excitement. “bitchhh you ready?” sasha yelled, hands gripping the steering wheel as she shook in excitement.
“nah i’m actually shakin in my boots. if this man find out i think he might kill me furreal.” you and sasha were basically in the same predicament, going to this party without the approval of your boyfriends. “who give a fuck? we live right now and we’ll die laterrrr.” you giggled, nodding your head in agreement as you turned up the music and sung along for the rest of the journey.
the party was jumping. there was bitches shaking ass (including you), niggas selling drugs, and good music playing so loud that it could be heard down the block. you and sasha got comfortable real quick and we’re honestly having the most fun you’ve had in awhile. “this is your song girl you can’t let these hoes outdo youuu!!” sasha yelled as the intro to freak hoe by speaker knockerz began to play. you made your way to the middle of the floor swaying side to side until the beat dropped.
ass shaking in circles as you leaned over and held onto sasha’s arms for support. everyone’s eyes gravitated towards you as you continued moving to the song, that was until three loud gunshots were heard. bodies began to scatter everywhere as the entire party got ruined. people were jumping out of windows and running in random peoples cars just to get away from the cause of the deadly sound.
you and sasha finally made it to her car. pissed that your fun was ruined. “Y/N! bring your ass over here, NOW!!” your body froze as you listened to the familiar voice. while you was too busy being hardheaded and living it up at a party you shouldn’t be at, you didn’t think to try to at least be lowkey. ony and connie were chilling at their trap house when he looked one of his friend’s story. there you were, shaking ass for the whole world to see, skirt practically on your stomach as you gave everyone a show.
“man ima kill this girl” connie looked at his friend in concern before bubbling with the same anger as he watched the video replay on his phone. “i know that’s not my girl in the back. yea we out.” connie grumbled, pointing at sasha who was right behind you recoding as well. with that the two of them sped to the party, guns hidden securely on their waists as they walked inside.
ony didn’t plan on shooting it up, he actually was just gon calmly grab you up outta there for your safety because this is a bad area you were in. he looked around the house until his eyes landed on the center of a big circle of people. once he registered the sight in front of him he could help but reach right for his gun. your boyfriend was nowhere near insecure. he knew it was your body and that you had every right to shake some ass if you wanted, but the sight of the men around you made him sick.
cameras out, zooming closer and closer to your more private areas as you were obliviously dancing along to your favorite song. in no time his gun was out and there were three bullets let off in the ceiling. ony watched the people scatter as he waited inside for the house to be empty. him and connie stood on the porch, watching you stand next to sasha while she scrambled in her bag for her keys.
“m’not playin wit you girl. come over here now or it’s just gon be worse for you at home.” your legs moved slowly as you thought of an excuse as to why you were here. before you knew it, you were face to face with his heavy breathing chest, instantly making you revert your eyes to the ground. “unt uhh look at me mama. ian down there.” his strong hand wrapped around your throat, forcing your head to shoot upwards towards his face.
“here’s what’s gon happen. you gon get in the car, quietly. ion wanna here no crying or whining during this whole ride or ima add it on to the lesson ima teach you when we get home, understand?” his voice was low and menacing as he stared into your eyes, face drained of any emotion. “o-okay.” your lungs filled with air as ony let go of your neck, nodding towards his car.
you sat in the passenger seat scared shitless as you watched him give the guy that threw the party a stack of cash, probably for the damage he caused, before dapping connie up and saying goodnight to sasha. he got in the car quietly, not sparing you a single glacé before driving the two of you home. the ride was completely silent like he wanted. any excuses you thought of were quickly swallowed as well as the urge to cry.
you didn’t even notice when you got home until you felt your door open. “let’s go.” ony mumbled. he walked you to the living room, manspreading on the couch while you stared down at him. “m’really really really so-” he sucked his teeth before throwing you over hip lap. skirt already so short that his brown eyes got a good view of your soaked panties. warm palm caressing your ass as he spoke. “what’d i tell you baby?”
the smoothness of his voice made you shiver. “why you shakin’? ian spank you yet.” a chuckle rumbled from ony’s chest as he listened intently for your reply. “m’scared.” you were terrified. usually when you’d get in trouble your boyfriend would lecture you and make a big fuss so his calmness was very foreign to you.
“good.” a hard smack was brought to your ass causing the pending tears in your eyes to begin to fall. your hands instantly flew to cover your burning skin, sheliding them from his rough palms. “you know why ian want you over there right?” he grabbed both of your hands into his singular one, ignoring your whimpers. “b-because it’s n-not sa-“
“because it’s not fucking safe, that’s right. a nigga could’ve put sum in your drink or snatched you up. that’s the shit that be happening at parties like that and instead of being my good girl and listening to me, you decided to be. a. brat.” three more strikes were made to your ass. each harder than the last as you thrashed around on his thighs. “m-m’sorry papa.”
your tears created a small wet patch to form on the couch. you honestly didn’t mean to make him worry so much. it was just that you haven’t gotten to go out in awhile and wanted to finally have some fun. the wet patch went unnoticed until your cheek was smushed into it. ony removed himself from under you, positioning his body behind your before pushing your back down. “yea i bet you are baby. hold onto that pillow right there.”
head nodding towards the cushion as he untied the strings of his sweatpants. you gushed at the sight of his print through his grey briefs, moaning out loud as you thought of how good he was going to feel. “look straight mama. this a punishment, not a reward.” you obeyed, gripping the pillow tightly as you prepared yourself for the stinging stretch of his dick.
“be g-gentle daddy.” you mumbled as ony gripped both of your asscheeks, pulling your panties to the side and squeezing them as he spreader them apart. “be obedient.” he trusted his full length into you, giving you no time to prepare as he began pounding you into the cushion of the couch. “oouuu fuck mama. you always so tight.” ony groaned, hand flat on your back as his other delivered many slaps on your ass.
you outstretched your arm, pushing at his stomach for him to ease up. “p-pleaseeee aahhgg. jus take a little out daddyyyy.” whining as you were already trying to run from him. ony grabbed the bottom of your shirt, pulling your ass all the way back to him to the point where you were flush against his stomach. “stop running and take this shit. and move your fucking hand. barely even started yet.” he slapped your hand away, continuing to pound into you.
all eight inches of him curving just right in your pussy. as you got more used to his size, your heat grew wetter as the constant friction. moans began flying from your mouth left and right making you tighten round him. “there you go mama. takin me like a good girl.” his hips began snapping into you harder, making it more difficult for you to take him. “ahh w-wait a little bit daddy. s’too biggg.”
ignoring you, ony thrusted into you harder, pushing your back down lower so he could reach that spongy spot deep inside you. your stomach brushed against the couch as your body jolted. “unt uhh baby where’s the big girl that like t’sneak out, huh? where’s the girl that like to go out and shake her ass in a skimpy lil skirt while her man is worried sick about her?” where she at?”
wetness trickling down your thighs as you kept your death grip on the pillow. “s-she said she’s ahh s-sorry. m’sorryyyy daddyyy.” ony halted his trusts, giving you a hard slap on your ass and tightening his grip on your shirt. “mhmm throw that ass back princess. make it up to daddy.” his strong arm started you off by pulling you back and forth by your shirt before letting you do it on your own. ass clapping repeatedly as you twerked on his dick.
his brown eyes rolling as he felt you clench tighter around him. you continued working yourself on his shaft, chasing your upcoming orgasm. “d-daddy?”you were met with nothing but his hips fucking you back as he stared at where the two of you were connected. he was hypnotized by your body. “baby?” his head snapped up towards yours, shaking himself out of his thoughts before replying. “y-yea pretty? ahh fuck.” he breathed.
“i’m r-really sorry. i d-didn’t mean to make y-you worry, honest. i-i jus wanted t’go have funn, and when you told me the day of that i wasn’t allowed i g-got a little upset. i wont g-go over there e-ever again i swearrrr.” you began pushing yourself back harder as you held eye contact. ony’s resolve weakened as he felt his blood begin rushing to his dick, signaling to him he was going to cum if he didn’t get in control quickly.
ony’s hand tangled in your hair before pulling you up to his chest, arm wrapping around your middle as he kissed up and down your neck. his long tongue licked a stripe behind your ear before whispering dirty words to you. “mhmm. m’not finna say it’s okay ‘cause it’s not, but i forgive you mama. now keep making daddy feel good and i’ll give you this nut. how dat sound?” his teeth closed around your ear, gold girls pinching the skin. “y-yes please.”
the both of you moved on one accord, fucking each other dumb as you reached your climax’s. body growing weak and legs shaking as your thick cream rushed down his shaft. ony easily held you up, continuing to use you as his personal fleshlight. “ughh fuck baby m’finna cum.” his pace quickened, hips pistoning into you as you screamed from the overstimulation. he gave you one final trust before kissing you to keep you quiet, moaning into your mouth as his hot ropes flowed into your walls.
the two of you stayed like that for awhile, giving each other light kisses as you panted in each others mouths. “lemme get the water ready mama. we needa take a bath.”
#aot onyankopon#onyankopon x black reader#aot x black reader#onyankopon x reader#aot#plug!ony#plug!onyanopon
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author meme
i was tagged by @roxy206 for AITA for wanting to stop paying my wife’s “business partner” and yelling at her? (ty!!! <3)
so, i don’t use reddit but i’ve been obsessed on and off with aita videos on youtube for a couple of years now. around the end of the 2020 began a new on phase for me. i was consuming so many videos per day. all my study breaks were watching aita videos!!
one thing that i find really funny about those posts is that in about like half of them you can clearly tell the person is the asshole, even with them for sure cutting out the bits that make them look (even more) awful.
and idk, i guess my brain decided to join my two obsessions together. i thought it’d make for a really fun crack-adjacent, if not full-blown crack, fic. bc dean is totally that guy, right?? he’d be like, this is what happened, but he’d skip over everything that made him look truly terrible. and i thought it’d be fun to try to write that balance between actually presenting the situation but also not wanting to make yourself look bad hahah
then the next chapter was inspired by @bethsuglywigs suggesting having beth or annie reply. and i thought getting to drag dean as annie would be pretty fun, so i went for it. and then i had to include the update, y’know, it’s pratically reddit rules haha
and, yeah, that’s it! :)
i’m tagging:
@riosnecktattoo for Heart and Soul
@fairhairedkings for En Pointe
@nachocheese-itsmycheese for Estas Son Las Mañanitas (or The Gangsitter series as a whole)
rules under the cut
recently I have become really fascinated with fanfic authors and what exactly was rumbling around in their brain that inspired a fic?
Was it a line of dialogue you couldn’t get out of your head?
A scene you wrote WAY in advance and then crafted the whole story around?
An image in your mind?
Inspiration from another form of media?
Maybe someone suggested something to you and it just TOOK off from there?
What is the root of your fic? The cornerstone -what is it all built around? The idea that started it all?
Tag an author & their fic. Let’s hear about what sparked your story. What exactly got your booty movin’ shakin’ motivated and writin’
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You always post your writing soundtracks. Mind sharing your top ten albums with us?
I actually laughed when I read this because I’m thinking of the Anon who complained that all of my music was OLD. I mean. I’m old! What did you expect?
Never mind me, I’m easily amused. Thank you for using the word album so I would not feel like Lady Danbury with my lethal cane.
Yes, sure I can do that! I don’t know that these are my forever and ever amen top ten, but they are the ones that are coming to mind right now. So.
Under a cut, it’s long.
In no particular order.
Brutal Youth - Elvis Costello
My ex-husband was in love with Elvis Costello and who could blame him? The man is a genius lyricist. This is not one of his more commercially popular albums but I love every single track. (I also lined up at Ticketmaster in Oakland, CA when the man was touring in order to get tickets for my ex. I got there at midnight and spent the night, meeting a group of drag queens who were getting tickets to see Barbara Streisand. God, that was a fun night, we ate donuts one of them went on a donut run for and sang showtunes for hours. One of my favorite memories.) This verse, from Clown Strike, is one that has resonated with me since I first heard it.
Tell me what you want of me Or are you terrified of failure? You put on a superstitious face Behind all this paraphernalia We're not living in a masquerade Where you only have three wishes It isn't easy to see In a lifetime of mistaken kisses
Unrepentant Geraldines - Tori Amos
I remember the first time I heard a Tori Amos song. It was the summer directly after I’d graduated from college, I was driving my ex-husband’s car and Silent All These Years came on the radio and I was just fucking gobsmacked. I bought Little Earthquakes that day and haven’t looked back. I have all her albums. I am a big, big fan.
Unrepentant Geraldines, though. God. It came out the year before my wife died and it got me through her death. The song Weatherman is about a man losing his wife, and how he sees her in the nature surrounding him.
And.
No, sorry, I can’t write more about this, not right now. But I sing it to her sometimes.
He is not a weatherman But his bride lies with the land And she will whisper to him I'll be dressing up in snow Cloaked in echo it's almost As if only Nature knows How to paint his wife to life With every season's tone "One more look from her eyes One more look can you paint her back to life"
Ray of Light - Madonna
This album got me through my divorce from my ex-husband. I’d go out every single day during my lunch hour, this on my walkman, and walk and walk and walk until I got myself in enough control to go back and finish my work day. It’s a great album and I still listen to it a lot. It empowers me. And then my daughter was born and Ray of Light has always been her song to me, even though that wasn’t the song on the album that Madonna herself wrote for her daughter.
Faster than the speeding light she's flying Trying to remember where it all began She's got herself a little piece of heaven Waiting for the time when Earth shall be as one And I feel like I just got home And I feel And I feel like I just got home And I feel
Seven and the Ragged Tiger - Duran Duran
This one was a difficult choice. For one thing, I really love their album Big Thing, which almost nobody’s heard about but one I love deeply. This one though...I think it’s the memories, including going to see them at the Oakland Coliseum with my cousin during their tour for this album and finding out they were partially filming the video for The Reflex that night. I like to think of us as being one of those girls in the audience. (Although I wasn’t screaming. I am a Capricorn. Have some dignity.) Duran Duran were responsible for my first fanfic and I’ve had a love for them since my Dad bought me their first album for my 13th birthday. I am nothing if not loyal. I have all of their early albums, all of their 12″ singles, too, including Secret Oktober, which I have always loved with a passion.
Also, Roger Taylor can still get it.
Freefall on a windy morning shore nothing but a fading track of footsteps Could prove that you never been there Spoken on a cotton cloud like the sound of gunshot taken by the wind And lost in distant thunder racing on a shining plain And tomorrow you'll be content to watch as the lightning plays along the wires and you'll wonder
Touch - Eurythmics
Another band I still love and listen to on the regular. Annie Lennox could sing me the telephone book and I’d be thrilled. Seeing her at age 14 in the Sweet Dreams video for the first time in my Grandmother’s living room quite literally woke something in me that led to moving across the world for a woman years later. (GOD.) I have all of their albums and choosing a favorite is difficult but this one won by a narrow margin, if only for the song Regrets, which is one of the songs that describes me until I became a mother, really. Like I RESONATED with that song. Still does in certain ways, if I am being truthful to myself.
I've got a delicate mind I've got a dangerous nature And my fist collides With your furniture I've got a delicate mind I've got a dangerous nature And my fist collides With your furniture I'm an electric wire And I'm stuck inside your head
Combat Rock - The Clash
Ah, teenage Impavid first understanding that music can also be political. Listen, I didn’t know much about what was going on outside of my own miniscule sphere - I was young and the internet didn’t exist yet. We got what news we got from our local paper and TV stations and they weren’t really reporting on what was happening in the world, not in 1982, let me fucking assure you. I got this album because my Dad was a part time DJ at a radio station that played mostly country music and the general manager of the station would just toss the rest of the non-country albums they’d get as promotions. My Dad would bring them home to me to listen to. You can imagine thirteen year old me listening to this album that opened with “This is a public service announcement - with guitars!” going WHAT THE FUCK? Let me just say there were a lot of trips to the library to read various newspapers after that.
Not to mention Rock the Casbah. What was a muezzin? I had no idea. I spent half a year reading books about Islam, about the Middle East and Northern Africa, which led to a curiosity about other religions beyond the Roman Catholicism in which I’d been raised, about other cultures as well. This album and The Color Purple by Alice Walker were the two things in my teen years that woke me the fuck up.
Now the king told the boogie men You have to let that raga drop The oil down the desert way Has been shakin' to the top The sheik he drove his Cadillac He went a' cruisin' down the ville The muezzin was a' standing On the radiator grille
Synchronicity - The Police
This fucking album. This fucking album. This album reached deep down into me and pulled out my soul and kicked it around for awhile. Every single song on this album hit me like a brick wall. Still does. Most likely always will.
Listen, you either like King of Pain or you live it. There’s no in between.
There's a little black spot on the sun today It's the same old thing as yesterday There's a black hat caught in a high tree top There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop I have stood here before inside the pouring rain With the world turning circles running 'round my brain. I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign, But it's my destiny to be the king of pain...
Sign O’ The Times - Prince
The soundtrack to my University days. Jesus, it starts out with “In France a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name,” and it just keeps going. Pain, sex, wonder, glory, politics, love. It’s all there. I wore the vinyl out on this one. Amazing, amazing album. In fact, I still play it so often my kids practically know it by heart, and they don’t even like Prince!
To this day I think If I Was Your Girlfriend is the sexiest song ever written.
I will tell you this much: Sayuri’s main writing soundtrack song is Starfish and Coffee off the album, the same song I used to sing my kids as a lullaby. This should tell you a lot about her.
Cynthia wore the prettiest dress With different color socks Sometimes I wondered if the mates where in her lunchbox Me and Lucy opened it when Cynthia wasn't around Lucy cried, I almost died, U know what we found? Starfish and coffee Maple syrup and jam Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine And a side order of ham If U set your mind free, honey Maybe you'd understand Starfish and coffee Maple syrup and jam
Nina Simone Sings The Blues - Nina Simone
This was one of my Daddy’s albums. He loved it and so did I. As a child I just loved the sound of her voice - something in it both soothed me and pulled at me, made me want to run and just keep running. She still makes me feel like that. If you don’t know Nina Simone I urge you to change that, right now. There’s nobody at all like her. She’s irreplaceable. All of her material is good, not just her blues songs. Not to mention, she was an absolute brilliant genius at the piano, never mind the strength she had as a Black woman in a time when doors were shut in her face on a daily basis. Seriously. Read about her.
When I became a woman, of course, her songs took on a much deeper meaning for me, one that I could relate to. Isn’t that the hallmark of a good album, though? One that stays with you and changes with you? I think so.
If you’ve never heard her cover of I Put A Spell On You then do yourself a favor and go right now and listen. You’re welcome.
Oh and Buck from this album? Nuo to Wing, right there.
Also one of the sexiest songs ever written, this one. Especially how she sings it. The Hot Frenchman (have I ever told you about The Hot Frenchman? no? OH BOY THERE’S A STORY) told me he thought it was about drugs and I was like, honey, this tells me a whole lot about you, more than you probably wanted it to.
I want a little sugar In my bowl I want a little sweetness Down in my soul I could stand some lovin' Oh so bad I feel so funny and I feel so sad I want a little steam On my clothes Maybe I can fix things up So they'll go Whatsa matter Daddy Come on, save my soul I need some sugar in my bowl I ain't foolin' I want some sugar in my bowl
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got - Sinéad O’Connor
This is a beautiful album, full of pain and joy, her hallmark. She sings every single word with everything in her; she’s far too intense for many, many people (and while she’s been open with her mental health struggles I’ve often wondered if she isn’t somewhere on the spectrum as well) but never for me. Her raw honesty has always appealed to me. She’s political, she’s a lover, a mother, a survivor of horrific abuse, someone who keeps reinventing herself as a way to find her way through pain. I always feel, when I am listening to her music, that I am bearing witness. I’m not afraid of pain; I’ve survived it as well. This album, one of her oldest, is still my favorite.
The line “You used to hold my hand when the plane took off” is the most evocative lyric I have ever heard with regards to the ending of love. It’s a punch to the heart - she felt it and she shared it with us, her fragile heart in her palms. Oh, Sinéad.
This is the last day of our acquaintance I will meet you later in somebody's office I'll talk but you won't listen to me I know what your answer will be I know you don't love me anymore You used to hold my hand when the plane took off Two years ago there just seemed so much more And I don't know what happened to our love
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Sheldon x Reader||Chapter 11: Oops
It's been a few months and it's Halloween now. Penny has asked me to preform at her costume party. I have decided to be Link. I walk up to Penny's with Jackson and Will (My band mates). *knock knock knock* "Penny." *knock knock knock* "Penny." *knock knock knock* "Penny." She opens the door. "Oh your early." "I know we need extra time to set up." "Oh right, well come in." We come in and get set up. Jackson helps penny with the lights and stuff. "Y/n you look hot." "Thanks Penny."
(Later) There are a lot of people in this apartment. Lots of costumes. We sit at our spots for our performance. I see Leonard walk in dressed as Frodo, followed by Howard dressed as Flash and Bernadette as a lady bug, followed by Raj dressed as Thor, and Sheldon. Sheldon's dressed as Spock and Amy is in a cat woman outfit. Eh it's okay. Oh what am I say she looks super hot, even with almost all of her covered. Raj goes straight to the drinks, Leonard goes to Penny, Howard and Bernadette dance, and Sheldon leaves Amy on the couch and comes over to me. I dance a little bit with Will. (I'm a monster- Becky G is playing btw) "Hey y/n." I stop dancing. "Hey Sheldon." "I love your costume, Link is one of my favorite video game characters." "Thanks Sheldon." He 'smiles' "You know Spock was my first crush." "I did not know that, interesting." "I found his intelligence highly stimulating." Raj comes up. "Oh ho ho, y/n you are a very sexy Link." "Thanks Raj." He smiles and walks after some other girl. I giggle. Sheldon has left and is back on the couch with Amy. Jackson comes back. "Penny said we can play now."
Guitar into "I like being independent, Not to much of an investment, No one to tell me what to do."
"I like being by myself, Don't gotta entertain anybody else, No one to answer to."
"But sometimes, I just want somebody to hold, someone to give me their jacket when it cold, got that young love, even when we're old."
"Yeah sometimes, I want someone to grab my hand, pick me up, pull me close, be my man, I'll love you till the end."
"So if you're out there I swear to be good to you, but I'm done looking for my future someone."
"Cause when the time is right you'll be here, but for now, dear no one, this is your love song."
"I don't really like big crowds, I tend to shut people out, I like my space, Yeah-e-ah."
"But I'd love to have a soulmate, and god'll give his to me someday, And I know it'll be worth the wait."
"So if you're out there I swear to be good to you, but I'm done looking for my future someone."
"Cause when the time is right you'll be here, but for now, dear no one, this is your love song."
"Sometimes I just want somebody to hold, somebody to give me their jacket when it's cold, got that young love, even when we're old."
"Yeah sometimes, I want someone to grab my hand, pick me up, pull me close, be my man, I'll love you till the end."
"So if you're out there I swear to be good to you, but I'm done looking for my future someone."
"Cause when the time is right you'll be here, but for now, dear no one, this is your love song."
"Dear no one, no need to be searching, dear no one, dear no one, dear no one this is your love song."
The whole time I sang I could hardly take my eyes away from Sheldon's for more that a minute. I could see that Amy noticed how much I looked at him. Penny requested we sing the whole night. We've got a 10 minute break. I hop down with Jackson and he put his arm around me. Jackson is very attractive. Tall, muscles, leather jacket, perfect jawline, cute face, amazing hair, not to mention quite charming. But I want Sheldon. Me and Jackson are just friends anyways, I'm not interested and he knows that. "How bout some drinks little bit?" He asks. "I don't drink." "Well you do tonight." "Yeah you need it." Will adds. I take a shot. Then another. Ten minutes pass and we're back on.
"Calling all the monster, Calling all the monsters, calling all the, calling all, I'm calling all the monsters, oh hey, oh, oh hey, oh, oh hey, oh, oh hey, ey."
"Heart thumps and you jump, coming down with goosebumps, you dare to go there, I'ma ima get you so scared."
"Don't want to, were haunting you were wanting to, ey."
"You stayed in to late to be getting afraid, this ain't extreme, I'ma- I'ma get you so scared."
"Don't want to, were haunting you were wanting to, ey."
"Gonna get your body shakin', wishing you could just awake, here we go."
"Tonight all the monster gonna dance, hey-ey-ey, coming to getcha."
"Tonight all the monster gonna dance, hey-ey-ey, coming to getcha."
"If you're only dreaming, why I hear you screaming, tonight all the monsters gonna dance, coming to getcha, coming to getcha."
"Calling all the monsters, calling all the monsters, calling all, calling all, I'm calling all the monsters."
"You hide or you try, kiss tomorrow goodbye, we thrill to your chill, bu-bucking for a freak out."
"Were wanting to, were haunting you, were wanting to, yeah."
"We might just bite underneath the moonlight, it's more fun if you run, I'ma- I'm already chasing."
"Were wanting you, were haunting you, were wanting to, yeah."
"Gonna get your body shaking, wishing you could just awake, here we go."
"Tonight all the monsters gonna dance, hey-ey-ey, coming to getcha, tonight all the monsters gonna dance, hey-ey-ey, coming to getcha."
"If you're only dreaming, why I hear you screaming!"
"Tonight all the monsters gonna dance!"
"Comin to getcha, were coming to getcha!"
"Calling all the monsters, calling all the monsters, calling all, I'm calling all, calling all the monsters."
Will tunes on my voice modifier. "I'm painted red, get inside your head, head, head, like a demon quire, playing with fire, fire, fire."
Jackson with his voice modifier "Gonna get your body shaking wishing you could just awake."
Normal "Tonight all the monster gonna dance! Tonight all the monsters gonna dance!, No were coming to getcha!"
"If you're only dreaming, Why I hear you screaming!?"
"Tonight all the monsters gonna dance! Coming to getcha."
"Hey, oh, hey, no, oh hey, oh, oh hey, oh, coming to get you."
This time people dance when we sang instead of standing and watching. We got another break nice. Me and Jackson walk back over and drink and laugh about stuff. At some point Will drags us back up to sing. I'm getting a bit tipsy.
"I'm stuck in your head, I'm back from the dead, got you running scared I'm fearless, I'm calling you out, I'm taking you down, don't you come around, I'm fearless, I'm fearless."
I sing softly. The music picks up and people dance.
"Oo wooaah oo woah."
"I'm fearless."
"I've got the upper hand now, and you're losing ground, you never had to fight back, never lost around, you see the gloves are coming off, tell me when you've had enough, yeah."
"Ready for a show down, now were face to face, I think I'll rearrange it, put you in your place."
"You don't get the best of me, check it, you're afraid of me."
"I'm stuck in your head, I'm back, back from the dead, got you running scared, I'm fearless, I'm calling you out, I'm taking you down, don't you come around, I'm fearless, I'm fearless."
"I'm fearless."
"You used to make my heart pound, just the thought of you, but know you're in the background, watcha gonna do, sound off if you hear this, were feeling fearless, were feeling fearless!"
"I'm stuck in your head, I'm back, back from the dead, got you running scared, I'm fearless."
"I'm calling you out, I'm taking you down, don't you come around, I'm fearless."
"I'm stuck in your head, I'm back, back from the dead, got you running scared, I'm fearless."
"I'm calling you out, I'm taking you down, don't you come around, I'm fearless, I'm fearless."
The next song plays and people keep dancing. We take our 10 minute break and get back to the set.
"My friends don't walk they run, Skinny dip in rabbit holes for fun, Popping popping balloons with guns, getting high off helium, we paint white roses red, each shade from a different persons head, this dream, dream is a killer, getting drunk with a blue caterpillar."
"I'm pealing the skin off my face, Cause I really hate being safe, The normals they make me afraid, The crazies they make me feel sane."
"I'm nuts, baby I'm mad, the craziest friend you've ever had, you think I'm psycho, you think I'm gonna, tell the physiatrist something is wrong, over the ben, entirely bonkers, you like me best when I'm off my rocker, tell you a secret I'm not alarmed, so what if I'm crazy the best people are."
"All the best people are crazy, all the best people are."
"Where is my prescription? Doctor, doctor, please listen, my brain, is scattered, you can be Alice I'll be the mad hatter."
"I'm pealing the skin of my face, cause I really hate being safe, the normals they make me afraid, the crazies they make me feel sane."
"I'm nuts, baby I'm mad, the craziest friend you've ever had, you think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone, tell the psychiatrist something is wrong, over the ben, entirely bonkers, you like me best when I'm off my rocker, tell you a secret I'm not alarmed, so what if I'm crazy the best people are."
"You think I'm crazy. You think I'm gone. So what if I'm crazy? All the best people are."
"And I think you're crazy too. I know you're gone. That's probably the reason, That we get along."
"I'm nuts."
"Baby I'm mad."
"The craziest friend, that you've ever had."
"You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone, tell the psychiatrist something is wrong."
"Over the ben, entirely bonkers, you like me best when I'm off my rocker, tell you a secret I'm not alarmed, so what if I'm crazy the best people are."
"All the best people are crazy."
"All the best people are."
"All the best people are crazy."
"All the best people are."
We take our next break. "Last song of the night." Will says. "Yeah." I frown. "This was fun!" Jackson smiles and squeezes my shoulder. A few more drinks and it hit me like a train. I'm far beyond tipsy. We go back on. This one is me and Jackson.
(Jackson) "I'm sitting eyes wide open, behind these four walls, hoping you'll come. It's just a cruel existence, like it's no point hoping at all."
(Jackson) "Baby, baby, I feel crazy, up all night, all night and everyday, give me something, or would you say nothing, what is happening to me?"
(Jackson) "I don't wanna live forever, cause I know I'll be living in pain, and I don't wanna fit wherever, I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Jackson) "I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Jackson) "I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Me) "I'm sitting eyes wide open and I got one thing suck in my mind. Wondering if I just dodged a built or just lost the love of my life."
(Me) "Baby, baby, I feel crazy, up all night, all night and every day. I gave you something, but you gave me nothing, what is happening to me?"
(Jackson) "I don't wanna live forever, cause I know I'll be living in pain, and I don't wanna fit (Me: fit babe.) wherever (wherever)
(Both) "I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Both) "I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Both) "I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Me) I've been look inside in all the nicest places, (Jackson: baby, baby, I feel crazy), I see you around in all these empty faces, (up all night, all night and every day), I've been look inside in all the nicest places, (give me something or would you say nothing), now I'm in a cab, tell them where your place is."
(Both) "What is happening to me!? I don't wanna live forever, cause I know I'll be living in pain, and I don't wanna fit wherever, I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Both) "I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Both) "I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Both) "I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Jackson) "I just wanna keep calling your name, until you come back home."
(Me) "I just wanna keep calling your name."
(Jackson) "Till you come back home."
(Me) "Until you come back home."
That was out last song we play tonight. The last hour is up to Penny's playlist. I grab another drink and walk around. I spot Raj chatting up some girl who really doesn't want to talk with him. Penny's taking with Leonard and her friends. Howard and Bernadette are making out. Cute. I spy Sheldon talking with Amy and he has a drink. His face is a little red. Has Shelly been drinking? I see Amy answer her phone and step outside to talk. I walk over to Sheldon. "Heeeeeeey." "Hi." He says. I sit down next to him. I put my feet on the coffee table. "Fun party huh?" "Yes I guess so." I stare him in the eyes. He stares back. We both lean forward and his lips so close to mine. I get to close I feel his breath on my lips. I place my hand on his leg and it slips.
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The Masked Singer Season 4 Episode 5: Last but not Least, let's (finally) meet Group C! (Commentary and Guesses)
Hey fellow Masked Singer fans! Welcome or welcome back to Ana’s Masked Singer recap, where I, Ana, recap every episode of the Masked Singer. I am so happy to be back after a short break after the World Series (thank God for the Dodgers). If you don’t know how these recaps go, first of all hi, feel free to follow me if you want to see more of these. Anyways, so how these work is that I first talk about who gets eliminated, give my thoughts, and then give my guesses and commentary for the remaining contestants and their performances. I also try to back up my guesses as much as I can by using the clues... even though I guide myself with the voice of the individual contestant. Anyways, having said that, let’s jump into it:
Warning ⚠️: If you haven’t watched the show yet, there are spoilers below, so read at your own risk.. this is your official spoiler alert warning. Don’t say I didn’t warn you...
With this episode, we met our last group of contestants, Group C, which consists of 5 masked characters, Squiggly Monster, Mushroom, Jellyfish, Lips, and Broccoli. Overall, to me, they are the weakest group vocal wise, but they were still fun to watch.
Alright, so let’s talk about the eliminated contestant, who was...
*DRUMROLL PLEASE*
Lips 💋
Performance: Alright, so she sang “Native New Yorker,” by Odessy.... and I really try to be as kind and constructive as I can with these recaps especially when critiquing their performances because being rude really doesn’t solve anything and I want you guys to understand why I don’t like a performance if I dislike a performance (so we can start an open dialogue you get me?) ... but I am so sorry, this lady can’t sing like at all. Oh and I knew exactly who she was (haha insert Ken’s voice into that phrase lol) the moment she opened her mouth. The thing is she is talking and she messed up in the middle by laughing/snorting in the performance, it was kind of hilarious not gonna lie... it made me laugh, which I guess is a good thing, but like yeah it’s kind of obvious why she left first, because she (I mean no offense to this.. well maybe I do because I am not a fan of the person under this mask like at all since she ain’t kind and civil like at all) blew it, like it kinda felt like she messed up on purpose or that she is actually horrible at singing, which is ok because she isn’t supposed to be a professional singer and that’s fine. All that to say Lips made me laugh and I appreciate it but I am kind of glad she was the first one to go....
Anyways, she was revealed to be (to no surprise of my own) controversial talk show host...
Wendy Williams
Whoop whoop, I got it right (as did like everyone who knows who she is because her voice is that distinct... oh and also she spoke during the song so it was kind of obvious, but I am still claiming my victory: Gotten 3/5 correct so far and I am proud of that number)! Anyways here are the clues that pointed to her:
Shock= she says very shocking things on her show and is a pretty polarizing figure, you either love her or hate her (I am not fond of her myself but whatever I guess)
“Speak my truth”= she’s known for stating her mind and is unfiltered with her thoughts on things
West Wing= her initials WW
Fire= Hot Takes is a segment on her show and also a reference to her book Wendy’s Got The Heat
Alright, now that we have finished with her, let’s talk about our remaining 4 masked contestants:
1. Squiggly Monster 👾
Performance: I really liked his performance of Have You Ever Seen the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival. He did super well, like I really liked it, I had low expectations because of the costume (it’s kind of creepy looking ngl) but I was pleasantly surprised. Having said that, the moment I heard him, because of his tone, I knew exactly who it was (again insert Ken’s voice here)...
So, for my guess, I think it is Full House actor/comedian:
Bob Saget
Ok, so besides the voice, lemme give you why I think that clues wise (credit goes to this Screen Rant article for the details idk on my own):
Penguin visual in the package= he directed a parody nature documentary called Farce of the Penguins
Father and a scoundrel= father part due to him actually being a father to 3 girls/his role on Full House as Danny Tanner (a single father of 3 daughters which I think is wow funny) and the scoundrel part referring to his raunchy/dirty comedy
Cookie clues= nod to Michelle from Full House and her love of cookies
“Breaking News” and him on a news show kind of thing= reference to his Full House character Danny Tanner being an anchor for Good Morning San Francisco
He also was on the show as a shrimp cocktail as the friend for the Taco aka Tom Bergeron! So it makes sense for him to come back this season which I am all into
2. Mushroom 🍄
Performance: Ok, so this is like the most confusing, is it a he or is it a she? That’s the biggest question, my money’s on a boy... so my guess is going to be male (I am gonna call Mushroom a he because of that so I apologize if I am misgendering them, I just need to narrow it down somehow and I am gendering them based on who I think it is, and I feel like he is the correct pronoun). Anyways, I love him, he’s my favorite Group C contestant, and his performance of This Woman’s Work was amazing, people said it was not good, but I really enjoyed it because I am a sucker for a good falsetto and this guy was almost all falsetto, I was feeling it. Having said that, maybe I like him so much because I feel like it is someone I adore, like if I meet him, I will faint status...
Having said that, I think it is Broadway star, heartthrob, actor, singer, adorable human...
Jordan Fisher
Omg he is so cute... sorry I am gonna stop being 😍 for him I promise. Anyways, big clue was a video of him singing this exact song (I think it sounds so similar, but you guys can judge for yourselves), here it is: https://youtu.be/3lzRsMl8M8Q
youtube
Apart from that, here are some actual clues (with a bit of help from this Screen Rant article) that got my mind thinking it is him:
WAITTT 🤔... before we get into that, what I found interesting is that he tweeted and I quote “Seasonal tweet to let everyone know that ____ on the masked singer is once again not me 💜” and THE MASKED SINGER RETWEETED IT... but also I just checked and this is the first time he’s ever had to clear that up... soooo maybe he’s a liar (bc of an NDA ofc you cannot really spill the beans.... but let’s go with he’s a liar)... a cute liar... but he’s lying.
Ok, now onto the clues:
A lot of Hamilton clues= “a healer and a scholar,” “young, scrappy, and fun-gy,” “shroom where it happens” = he replaced Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton in the Broadway musical Hamilton (and also can reference his Broadway roots in general like being on Dear Evan Hansen)
Started at a “rat race” and Men in Black were mice= could be a reference to his start on Disney (Liv and Maddie and Teen Beach Movie)
A shot to turn a hobby into a career= reference to him streaming video games on Twitch
Stars clue with audience= he won Dancing with the Stars back in 2017 and also hosted DWTS Junior
3. Jellyfish 💚
Performance: I really liked her performance of Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie even though I felt like she was holding back a bit (I can kind of say the same about Mushroom... but I still enjoyed it). I am really curious to see what she can really do, because I felt her nerves in the performance and like she can do more. This one’s killing me because I feel like I have heard that voice but I can’t put my finger on who it could be
So, with that said, I have no idea who to guess:
But I do know that it isn’t ✨Billie Elish✨
No, but like seriously, that ain’t Billie Elish even tho a lot of people are guessing it, I am not buying it... you’ll see why in a second, here are the clues:
The Little(ish) Jellyfish title on a book
Reigned supreme in an underwater kingdom
Fans, Tiara (“princess”)
Angel Fish
Flower Crown
Missed out on normal girl stuff like parties and making friends
Billie Elish “Bad Guy” lyrics in the background= that’s way too obvious for it to be Billie Elish
4. Broccoli 🥦
Performance: His performance of House is Rockin’/Whole Lotta Shakin Going On by Stevie Ray Vaughan/Jerry Lee Lewis was not what I expected to be honest. I thought it was going to be someone younger or a rapper, but it was an older gentlemen, and he was rockin, not gonna lie. I really liked it, not my favorite though I don’t think he is bad by any means. Anyways, I feel like I know who it is... maybe I am getting this from another person on YT’s guess who I really liked (Shoutout to them idk their user sorry)
So, for my guess for the Broccoli, I think it is legendary singer...
Paul Anka
The reason why is because of the following clues:
Can of Soup= he won a Campell’s Soup competition and that jump started his career
Tik Tok reference= his song Put Your Head on My Shoulder went viral on Tik Tok
Also, the letterman jacket is very 60s which is his era I guess (my mom knows more ab it than I do)
Anyways, that’s it, guys! I hope you enjoyed this recap, I apologize for how long they are, it’s kind of my thing lol! Don’t forget to comment your guesses (do you agree with me? Disagree? I wanna know below... especially Jellyfish guesses bc I have no idea who she can be), like, and follow for more Masked Singer content. I’ll see you all next week for the Group C Playoffs! Bye guys! 👋🏼
#the masked singer season 4#the masked singer#themaskedsinger#celebrities#hollywood#movies#music#tv series#tv shows#wendy williams#lipsmask#bob saget#jordan fisher#paul anka#performance
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Black Stone Cherry - Ringin' In My Head (Official Lyric Video)
Lyrics: People, people, your attention, please I need to tell all y'all about a new disease It's crept right up from beneath our nose And what happens next, we already know
You get a ringin' in your head Your bones start shakin' You got somethin' needin' be said You got a ringin'
I got a ringin' in my head My bones are shakin' I got somethin' needin' be said I can feel it in my chest I got a ringin' in my head The whole world's been shaken By the time they find us dead They got a ringin' in their heads
Brother, brother, could you lend a hand? I'm in a prison in my own land Enlist resistance with a peaceful heart Can't let these times tear us all apart
I got a ringin' in my head My bones are shakin' I got somethin' needin' be said I can feel it in my chest I got a ringin' in my head The whole world's been shaken By the time they find us dead They got a ringin' in their heads
You get a ringin' in your head Your bones start shakin' You got somethin' needin' be said You a got ringin'
I got a ringin' in my head My bones are shakin' I got somethin' needin' be said I can feel it in my chest I got a ringin' in my head The whole world's been shaken By the time they find us dead They got a ringin' in their heads
I got a ringin' in my head My bones are shakin' I got somethin' needin' be said I can feel it in my chest I got a ringin' in my head The whole world's been shaken By the time they find us dead They got a ringin' in their heads
I got a ringin' in my head My bones are shakin' I got somethin' needin' be said I can feel it in my chest I got a ringin' in my head The whole world's been shaken By the time they find us dead They got a ringin' in their heads
#music #rock #hardrock #southernrock #heavymetal #countryrock #blackstonecherry #thehumancondition #ringininmyhead
(via https://youtu.be/I6J-F2xKVfU)
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What Happens During The Livestream
Klance AU month! Forgive me but they are going to be horribly out of order (for a reason) and most likely late (I’m lazy).
This is day 12, Modern. I picked YouTubers, and it’s going to be the start of a series of oneshots, Enjoy!
"Alright everyone, that was a great workout for this morning." Shiro addressed their viewers. He watched as people quickly typed in the chat their thanks. "No, thank you all so much! Your time and donations means so much to us and the charity. My time with you is up now though. Up next will be everyone's favorite grumpy gamer and Lance."
At that moment the door to the large entertainment room opened and in shuffled said sleepy gamer. Keith's hands were filled with a large mug of coffee and a plate laden with pancakes. Shiro raised an eyebrow, eyeing the sugary plate.
"Hunk's up making breakfast." Keith explained as he sat down next to Shiro in front of the cameras and monitor set up.
"Hunk should be sleeping! His portion of the stream ended not too long ago." Shiro protested.
"You try making him not feed everyone in the house." Keith replied, digging into his food.
He turned to the monitor that had the streams chat up and began reading the conversations. Shiro meanwhile, got up to leave the room to head to the kitchen. Lance entered the room, carrying his own pancake laden plate just as Shiro was passing the threshold. Greeting each quickly, Shiro pressed on and Lance sat down in his abandoned chair.
"What's shakin, all my bacon? How is everyone this morning?" Lance addressed the main camera. He watched as the chat lit up with happy greetings and emojis.
"Looks like we have some new viewers that don't know what's going on." Keith piped up from his side. Both watched as a few people agreed.
"I'll be happy to explain what's going on to you all!" Lance said happily, a wide smile on his face as he quickly took a gulp from Keith's mug. He ignored the glare he felt boring into the side of his head as he explained.
The Lion's Den. One of the most popular groups of content creators on the platform, consisting of six friends plus their editor and a manger. Each person was scheduled to upload their own content on a specific day of the week, with Sunday reserved for uploading a bloopers reel from the week.
Shiro created for Mindful Mondays. He would make videos to start the week off right. His portion consisted of handicap modified exercises and yoga, as well as inspirational talks.
Pidge had control of Techie Tuesday, where she would review anything technological. Sometimes she would present her own inventions.
Keith ran Lion's Den Gaming on Wednesday, and did exactly that. His portion consisted of Let's Plays, and he was known mostly for his horror game playthroughs.
Lance had Thursday, a portion he had lovingly called 'Lance Does A Lot,' though many fans have taken to calling his program Lancalot for short. It stuck. Lance does exactly what his channel says, he does a little bit of everything. Depending on his and the viewers mood, he'll sing, or vlog, or try new things.
Hunk mans Foodie Friday. He would go through recipes and cook or bake for his viewers. He also would show how to do recipes with replacement ingredients, such as what to do if you don't have the milk your recipe called for.
Rounding off the week was Allura, who ran Week In Review. It consisted of Allura addressing big news topics of the week, latest trends, and a discussion.
"Sometimes we collaborate on each others segment." Lance finished up the description of what made up The Lion's Den. "We also do live charity streams. Every few months though, we'll do a huuuuuuge..." Lance elongated the word, stretching out his arms to emphasize how huge it was while backing up his chair. In the process he (gently) flung a hand into Keith's face, who glared once again and (not as gently) pushed his hand away. "Long stream. We all invade Allura's house and stream live constantly from Friday morning to Sunday night. We then rotate shifts so we can get some sleep during this. We leave the donations open the whole time, and have special events when we reach a goal."
Keith glanced at the donation amount and snickered. "Guess what Lance?"
Lance groaned and invaded Keith's space, draping himself over his friends back. Keith froze briefly when Lance touched him. 'Not now gay thoughts, not now!' He thought to himself, suppressing the pleasant shudder that wanted to shoot through him.
"Nooooo..." Lance bemoaned. "I mean great for the charity, but not so great for me!"
Keith motioned to the large white board behind them, jostling Lance in the process. "For those that are just joining us, we reached our first goal last night. The event was Pidge had to bake something without a recipe."
"With Hunk's supervision of course cause we all know how dangerous Pidge is in the kitchen." Lance added. He pulled himself away from the gamer and settled back into his own chair, wheeling it back to the desk. Keith sighed at the loss. Lance began to dig into his own breakfast. "She made cookies that were surprisingly almost edible!"
Keith snickered, looking at the donation bar again. "And we're only $1,000 away from our next goal. So guys, if you want to see Lance play a horror game of my choice..." Keith put a hand on his own chest. He could feel the anxious energy rolling off his friend. "Get those donations in!" He finished.
The pout on Lance's face was too adorable. 'Not adorable! Definitely not adorable!' Keith screamed at himself. On the outside though, he only rolled his eyes.
"You didn't have to agree to this, you know. We could've come up with something else..." Keith said. He stood up and gathered both of their empty plates and his mug for a refill. He paused at the door though when Lance, usually vocal about everything, was silent. Keith turned back and saw Lance engrossed in the chat screen. From his vantage point by the door, it looked the chat was going fast. Keith shrugged his shoulders though and left for the kitchen. If it was important Lance would tell him when he got back.
And boy was it important.
Lance was still unusually silent when Keith returned with two full mugs of coffee. Black for himself, and an ungodly amount of cream and sugar for Lance. Ignoring the contemplative look on Lance's face for the moment, Keith set down the mugs and leaned over to look at the chat.
The gamers eyes bugged wide and he sputtered as he read what the viewers were discussing. "We aren't going to kiss guys!" He cried, settling back into his chair.
Lance twiddled his fingers and quietly said, "We could..."
Keith's blood ran cold. Lance was known for his jokes, both good and bad. In the past he had tried to jokingly obnoxious kiss everyone on the cheek. This wasn't like that time. Keith didn't know how to react.
"We're not going to kiss instead of you playing the game. You're not worming your way out of that." Keith finalized.
"What if that's not what I was talking about?" Lance wouldn't look directly at Keith, but he could see the Cuban's tanned cheeks darken with a blush.
The chat exploded with comments. Much like Keith's brain was currently doing. While he floundered for something to say, Allura entered the room. Still in pajamas and no makeup, she had clearly been in bed. She put a hand on each boy and squeezed their shoulders.
"I think you two should go have this conversation elsewhere. I will take over for now."
Both boys gaped up at her, Lance finding his voice first. "But Allura, it's not your turn. You're supposed to be asleep!"
"I was. But then I woke up and turned on the stream. This is a private matter though. You come back when this is all sorted out."
Allura left no room for arguing as she lightly pushed them to get them out of their chairs. Keith sighed and stood up first.
"Yeah, you're right Allura. Lance, come on. We have some things to talk about." With a blush rising on his own light checks, he held out a hand for Lance.
Lance looked at it, bewildered, for a moment. Then he smiled and grasped the offered hand, hauling himself up. "Yeah, we do need to talk. I'll follow you." Lance said softly, squeezing their linked hands.
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Ahhhh chapter 24, who knew it would go this far and keep chugging? Life of its own. It's too big to post the whole thing, which can be found here, but until then here is a snippet from the beginning although this is actually a Kayo and Selene heavy chapter.
Selene stretched, feeling the muscles of her back pop as she moved.
"Oooh, that hurt," she twisted to one side, then the other. Too many hours sitting at John's desk doing video consultations had played havoc with her spine. And she still had her card readings to finish. Luckily those didn't require any face to face time.
Needing to move she gathered up her cards and her tablet then went for a wander. The villa was surprisingly quiet, although she could hear the faint notes of the piano and followed them to the lounge. Virgil and John were the only ones there.
V was tinkling on the ivories, playing a soft little tune, while John was quietly reading. She wandered past the piano, stopping to give Virgil a little shoulder squeeze in greeting, not wanting to interrupt him too much, then continued to the seating area.
She looked from her spaceman, to the couch, to the floor and back again. Sure, she could sit on the floor at the table, but then she'd be far away from John again, and that wasn't part of the plan, he was definitely the better option.
Not giving him any choice in the matter she nudged his book out of the way and flopped down, lying on her belly across his lap. John, fairly used to her antics by now, simply lifted his arms, waited until she got comfortable and lowered them again, resting his book on her backside.
Holding herself up on her elbows she shuffled the cards and started her first spread, setting her tablet to voice typing as she got to work.
"Distant Past, four of cups, element of water signifying a very emotional time in your past which has had a major effect on your life now. It's the card of missed opportunities, boredom and reevaluation-" she paused when John shifted to get comfortable, his hand coming to rest on her left butt cheek after he turned the page of his book. Smiling to herself she continued with her reading.
"Present, Queen of Swords, an older woman will step into your life and protect you when you need it most."
She finished the reading, quietly adding more details and explanations, checked that the tablet had recorded and translated it all properly then gathered up the cards to shuffle them again, laying out another spread.
She was half way through the cards, murmuring quietly into her tablet when the peace was ruined by Gordon clattering into the room.
"What's shakin' bacon?"
He stopped dead, face creased in confusion. "Sel?"
"Hmm?" she turned away from her cards to face the aquanaut. "Sup?"
"Does he even realise he's doing that?" amusement tinged his words as he nodded towards John.
She lifted her head to glance over her shoulder at her love, smiling indulgently. "Nope."
Virgil looked over at them, his fingers never ceasing their dancing on the piano keys. He smiled, spotting what had made Gordon laugh.
"John?"
Nothing. Not even a flicker.
"John?" Gordon tried again.
Nope, still nothing.
"John?" Virgil tried for him.
"Yeah?" He didn't look up from his book.
"Hey, how comes he answered you?"
"I've learnt to tune you out with years of practice."
"Mean."
"Did you want something or were you just interrupting for the sake of it?"
"No, it's fine."
Selene sniggered as Gordon settled on the couch opposite to wait.
Everyone drifted back to their activities, Selene softly reciting, Virgil continued to play although his focus was back on his sheet music and John returned his attention to his book while Gordon checked his social media accounts.
Peacefulness reigned for no more than ten minutes before Alan shattered it by bounding into the room with his usual inexhaustible energy.
He too stopped in front of the couch, but he was even less subtle than Gordon if such a thing was even possible.
"John, why are you doing that?"
John's epic sigh was the stuff of legends.
"Doing what? Reading quietly like a normal person?"
"No, stroking Selene's butt in the lounge."
Virgil and Gordon couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
"What are you talking about? I'm not-" he interrupted himself as he frowned, looking down at his hand which had been absently petting her behind. His frown morphed into a glare as he immediately stopped, breaking contact. "Where did the cat go?"
"He's been with me for the past two hours."
"Really?" John frowned.
Alan turned, revealing Armstrong happily curled up in his hood like it was a hammock.
Selene took pity on John, heaving herself upright and settling beside him. "Hardly his fault that my butt is so amazing."
"No, my butt is amazing, yours is just OK," Kayo grinned as she appeared in the doorway. "Are you busy, witch?"
Selene glanced at her cards, ignoring the insult to her behind. "I've got a couple of things to do, but not really, why?"
"Fancy a road trip? I need your help."
"What with?" John was instantly suspicious, his previous predicament forgotten. He wasn't aware of Kayo having anything that she needed help with, which put him on edge. He was usually aware of everything that went on with International Rescue and its operatives, sometimes too aware, he shuddered inwardly at the memories of a few things he'd seen and heard that he'd rather forget but seemed to have etched themselves onto his brain.
"Things are quiet and I saw that some of my old university friends are having a reunion. Since everyone is always saying that I don't have time for socialising I thought I'd make time. Unfortunately updating my wardrobe is another thing I haven't had time for, so I thought I'd enlist a little help. I'd ask Penelope but we have very different tastes in clothing, although I'm sure Selene could lend me something, and come with me to the reunion tonight?"
Selene was struck dumb for a moment, of all the things she had expected to hear from Kayo, this was not one of them. But she pulled herself together quickly.
"Yeah, I'd love to come, let me just sort a couple of things first, OK?"
Kayo shrugged. "Sure, just don't take too long."
Selene snapped a picture of the tarot spread for future reference and checked her list of jobs to do for the next few days, seeing what she could put off.
John lent over to glance at her tablet, checking her list. "Anything I can help with?"
She frowned, thinking about it. "Not really, I've nearly finished this reading and it's not due for a few days anyway, and other than that the only things left to do are natal charts, I've been putting them off as it always takes me forever to plot each bloody thing."
He squinted at the charts she had partially plotted. "Looks easy enough, just plotting the location of specific stars and planets on specific dates at a certain time, right?"
She made a face. "Pretty much, I mean there's interpretation of it after, but yeah."
He slid her tablet out of her hands. "Then leave them to me, what will take you hours will probably take me minutes."
She stared at him for a second, then patted her heart in gratitude. "You get better every day. I have no idea why I didn't think of making you do them before, but thank you."
"You good to go now?" Kayo was never one for patience.
"Yep, let me just grab my bag and coat, then I'm all yours," she was already halfway out the door heading for the bedrooms.
"You had better look after her tonight, I've heard the stories of your college drinking and seen the pictures to back it up," John warned Kayo.
Kayo snorted. "This is the woman that somehow accidentally went out drinking with Scott and not only survived, but made it a regular thing, if anything it'll be me that needs the help. Don't worry, it won't be a heavy night, I just need some back up, those women are more ruthless than I am."
"Is such a thing possible?" Alan asked, sitting carefully to avoid squashing Armstrong.
"Maybe I need to come along too, you know, to keep the ladies entertained," Gordon offered. "Purely to be helpful, obviously."
"Obviously," Kayo rolled her eyes. "Thanks, but no thanks, we've got this, plus it's ladies only."
Selene trotted back into the lounge carrying her massive handbag that she refused to leave home without. "OK, I'm ready, let's go."
Kayo led the way to the concealed hanger entrance, touching her hand to the camouflaged panel, standing back as the wall slid aside.
"Hey, aren't you forgetting something?"
"Shit! Yes, I'm sorry," Selene ran back to the sunken seating, diverting past John to Alan. "Bye Armie!" she fondled the cats soft head, ignoring the sniggering of John's assembled brothers.
"At least we know who the important one is now," John huffed.
"I'm joking, I'm joking!" she bent over to kiss him. "Bye gorgeous." She pecked a kiss to his lips, aware of the audience they had but for once John didn't seem to mind. His arms banded around her waist, tugging her down onto his lap.
"Goodbye, have a good time, but behave. And no bringing home any more strays."
"It was one time, John, get over it," Virgil groaned. "It's not like we've made a habit of it and the island is overrun with animals."
"Still, behave," John kissed her softly, a little deeper and a little longer than was strictly PG.
Kayo coughed impatiently. "Are you two done?"
Selene smiled against his lips, breaking the kiss, though she pecked another there just because, then extracted herself from his arms.
"Yep, done."
The two women vanished, the wall closing silently behind them.
"Show off," Gordon grumbled.
John just grinned and stood up, picked up his book and Selene's tablet. "I'm heading to the office."
"Seriously, the second she leaves?"
"Yep, I'm going to get to work on her charts and catch up on some jobs she banned me from doing for another few days."
"She'll kill you if she finds out," Virgil warned, but amusement tinged his words.
"The key word being 'if'," John confirmed. "I'll be back before she is, I'll see you soon."
#john tracy#kayo kyrano#Thunderbirds#thunderbirds 2015#thunderbirds are go#thunderbirds fanfiction#fan fic stuff#fan fic update#fan fiction#fan fic writing
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TITANS: sn2 ~ ep3
(DISCLAIMER: MY OPINION IS MY OWN AND CAN BE DEEMED INVALID TO THOSE WHO DON���T CARE FOR IT.)
I’m on time this week.
GHOSTS
“The one and only DEATHSTROKE.” - JASON
That mini flashback had me wanting more!
DONNA had her little flashback too!
“She sorta vanished.” - DONNA
Bitch, she was kidnapped!
“Save the rara speech.” - HANK (The disrespect that HANK gives DICK really does tickle my spirit.)
*sees video footage of DEATHSTROKE* “Fuck me!” - HANK
“DEATHSTROKE is the reason we shuttered this place. We limped away; I didn’t come for round 2.” - DONNA
Damn, he fucked y’all up that bad?!?!
KORI IN HANDCUFFS
“Don’t make ask again.” - STARFIRE
Dumbass youre in handcuffs what exactly are you going to do to him if he doesn’t take them off?? Sweep kick his ass??
Her eye socket looks nasty af
wow... her own father killed his own son... crazy shit
Damn, he took his own daughter’s fucking eye out. (ig you can say their twins...)
Man I gotta say these fathers on this fucking show are ruthless LOL
TRAINING SCENE: JASON, GAR, and RAVEN
They seem to be getting pretty good...
DAMN, SHE GOT MAD AF!!!!!
“You stay away from me you fucking freak!” - JASON
“You need to have that shit looked at... by a fucking preist!!” - JASON
ROFL KORI lookin’ at this dud like he needs to stf
Hey since we’re back on KORI I have a little theory... I believe that when people come from Tamaran they choose a skin tone that they think would be suitable for them in order to look normal.
If you think about it when ol’ homeboy came up on STARFIRE she didn’t recognize who he was until his eyes flashed green.
I am still holding out to see STARFIRE and others from Tamaran have their original orange skin.
SIDE NOTE: This makes me really want to see BLACKFIRE now.
STARFIRE + RAVEN = OTP
ICONIC DIALOGUE
STARFIRE - “Did my parents send you?”
OL’ BOY - “Your sister. BLACKFIRE.”
STARFIRE - *chuckles* “Ofc ofc. Of all the royal guards she sends the one that I slept with.”
OL’ BOY - “No she didn’t choose me. I voulnteered.”
I’M FUCKING SICK!!!!!!! I JUST TYPED AND POSTED A WHOLE GIF OF BLACKFIRE!!!!!!!!! sadfghjhgfds
RAVEN is lookin’ exceptional with the new hair
I can still tell it’s a wig tho...
ROSE + RAVEN = DADDY ISSUES
lol they deadass did a camera shot of titan tower just to go back into another scene in titan tower.
DR.LIGHT is really pushin’ it talkin’ to DEATHSTROKE like that.
“Okay, you wanna mind fuck ‘em!? Alright, I’m down for that.” DR.LIGHT
LMFAO he made a joke about his eye
That house has too many windows but it still looks nice.
HAWK & DOVE havin’ a little heart to heart.
The scene was really nice but I had to skip through it a little bit...
BRUH HE REALLY FUCKIN’ STOLE THAT NECKLACE!!!!!!!
Ofc the power shut off right at that moment.
JASON is gonna disobey orders like usually I just know it.
EDIT: oh wow he actually listened and didn’t go.
FIGHT SCENE: DONNA, DICK, HANK, and DAWN
DICK looked startled af when that light came towards him!
Honestly, that backflip was DICK’s recovery.
dang, they let him get away
did they steal that car?
STARFIRE & OL’ BOY had a nice little chat
JASON & DICK better fuckin’ fight!!!!!!
DAAAMMMNNNN HE SLAMMMEWDS THE SHIT OUTTA HIM!!!
We really have to get DICK a new suit.
This chick almost lost her other fucking eye!!! She betta chill tryin’ fight DICK like that.
RAVEN sounds depressed
KORI really told this child to let it out now damn well that child is practically Satan.
I knew she was gonna shut that door.
DICK and HANK havin’ a little heart to heart
GAR + JASON = An Awesome Pairing
“... I’m callin’ DICK.” - GAR
Aww GAR’s a little scared but that’s normal.
Well, JASON’s down for the count at the moment.
FIGHT SCENE: JASON and DR. LIGHT
JASON is such a little shit talker
Bro JASON is about to kill this DUDE
“This Titan is back bitch!” - JASON
FUCKING DEATHSTROKE!!!
Gotta be quicker than that BEAST BOY!
_______________________
You know I’m really just loving this season so far! I had to make some of these fucking gifs because Tumblr didn’t have it in the search engine shakin’ my fuckin’ head. The things I do for this blog.
#brenton thwaites#conor leslie#Anna Diop#curran walters#Ryan Potter#Teagan Croft#esai morales#chelsea zhang#minka kelly#alan ritchson#iain glen#batman#dr. light#deathstroke#slade wilson#rose wilson#raven#rachael roth#beast boy#gar#wonder girl#jason todd#dick greyson#donna troy#hawk and dove#hank anderson#dawn granger#starfire#titans#titans series
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Riot Fest 2018 - Day 2 – Saturday This was my favorite day of the festival because it included a lot of great music as well as hanging with our good friends who came for this day. My wife also attended this day, her first time ever at Riot Fest. (My younger son came this day as well, but hung out with his friends rather than his parents. Can’t say that I blame him!) The day also ended on a nice note as our friends knew a couple that lived two blocks from the Riot Fest entrance. We stopped by their home after festival and had pizza and beer on their back porch. Being an old west-sider, it was a treat to sit outside in the West Side on a sweet late summer night. These are the bands I saw:
The Frights (Roots Stage) An excellent band to start off Day 2. I was not familiar with this band before Riot Fest, but I listened to their albums and took an immediate liking to them. From San Diego (Poway), they played a great set of Surf Punk and Garage Punk. They engaged with the audience and were very energetic on stage.
Mannequin Pussy (Rise Stage) Already getting toasty from the intense sun, we retreated to the “chill hill” near the Rise stage to get some shade while listening to this band. They were OK. The lead singer is a female screamo. I like them when I listened to their records as she struck me as a Riot Grrrl type of singer, but I did not get into her vocals seeing the band live. She used a distorted sounding microphone, which I presume was for effect and not a technical issue. Whatever the desire effect, it just did not resonate that well with me. We listened to a few songs and then left to meet up with our friends.
Reignwolf (Radicals Stage) This band was outstanding! A power trio led by Canadian guitarist Jordan Cook, they play a Blues based Hard/Stoner Rock. Cook is a fine guitar player and entertainer. (He played the Montreux Jazz Festival at the age of 15.) He would often hold the microphone in his hand while playing guitar and singing in intervals. The bass and drums provided the hard rocking backbone while Cook strutted around stage and shredded his guitar strings. Overall, I would say this was my second favorite act of the weekend.
Wolfmother (Radicals Stage) I periodically listen to this band, so it was nice to see them perform live. They are a Hard Rock/Stoner Rock band with a bit of Psych Rock added in. To me, they sound like a very typical 1970’s band. While I was certainly heavier into Prog Rock in the 70’s, Wolfmother’s style of music was ever-present on radio stations and turntables. I appreciate it now more than I did in the 70’s. They are a four piece band and played a good set with some fine jamming.
Elvis Costello and The Imposters (Riot Stage) I thought this was a descent show. I think my wife was a bit disappointed, but I thought it was OK. I had seen Elvis once before, opening for The Rolling Stones on a freezing cold October night. I liked this show much more. Prior to Riot Fest, rumors were swirling that Elvis would back out because he had cancelled his current tour due to cancer surgery. But apparently he felt healthy enough to honor this commitment. (I think he plans to return to touring in November). He played some rockers, some slow stuff and did some guitar solos. I mostly liked the early stuff as his first album is one of my all time faves. He is reunited with The Imposters for the first time since 2008 and has new album out soon.
Jerry Lee Lewis (Radicals Stage) Well we had to see The Killer! At this point, running a bit low on energy, we opted out of being near the stage so we could sit and chill for a bit. The show was good, and pretty much what I expected from the 82-year-old rocker. His band played five songs before he even took the stage. (A classic format for early Blues, Country and Rock ‘n’ Roll artists.) He ended up performing nine songs, finishing with his well known hits Great Balls of Fire and Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On. Given his age, I thought he played piano and sang really well. Two thoughts crossed my mind during his set: The first was that as one of the early pioneers of Rock music, he is one of the reasons why we are at Riot Fest today. The other thought I had as I kicked back under the sky on this beautiful late summer night was about anyone that enjoyed his music back in the 1950’s. I’m sure a countless number of people in the late 50’s kicked back on a warm summer night and listened to Lewis perhaps on a transistor radio or on a car radio. It’s remarkable to think that 60 years later, we are listening to him play a live show. Along with Little Richard (age 85), Lewis is the last of the Rock music pioneers and it was a privilege to be able to enjoy a live performance.
GWAR (Rebel Stage) GWAR plays Riot Fest every year. Along with Andrew WK, they are Riot Fest regulars. They are a Metal band with a sort of science fictions theme and bizarre futuristic costumes. I have never watched an entire set, but I try to stop by their stage every year for a few minutes just to get a taste. While refilling my water bottle before Jerry Lee Lewis, I stopped by the Rebel stage which was near the water station. I caught just a few minutes of GWAR, but it looked like a fun show. They are always entertaining and have a good sense of humor. The woman who’s home we visited after today’s festival told me she crowd surfed during the GWAR show.
Beck (Riot Stage) This was my favorite show of the weekend. Beck played a wonderfully entertaining set. I had not previously seen Beck in concert so I was not sure what to expect. It turned out he was a real crowd pleaser. He wasted not time getting into it by opening the show with two fan favorites, Devil’s Haircut and Loser. He had an awesome back up band that played with enthusiasm. At one point during the show, they slowed it down a bit and all the band gathered into one unit on stage to play acoustic renditions of Lost Cause and Blue Moon, songs that are from his mellow albums Sea Change and Morning Phase. The light show was very cool. A variety of projected patterns covered the stage through out the show and with some of the band member performing from a rise, it gave the appearance that they were standing in the videos. The last part of the show was great. (Spoiler alert if you plan to see Beck on this tour.) He started playing my favorite Where It’s At, but about midway through the song, he stopped to introduce the band members. At first I thought, “Why didn’t he finish the song?” It later became apparent that he would eventually circle back to the song. As each band member was introduced, they would start playing a solo of a cover song and would soon be joined by the rest of the band. They did parts of several songs including The Rolling Stones Miss You where they got the entire audience singing “woo woo woo woo woo woo woo” as well as covers of Once In A Lifetime (Talking Heads), In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins), and Cars (Gary Numan) which included a guest vocal appearance by Gary Numan himself. (He played a set at Riot Fest earlier in the day.) Maybe some Beck fans would have been disappointed that he did not go deeper into his catalog during the show, but for a 75-minute set on a beautiful Chicago night, I could not have asked for anything better.
Gary Numan guest appearance video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=5SXQstOSeBk
#riot fest#douglas park#chicago#the frights#mannequin pussy#reignwolf#wolfmother#elvis costello#jerry lee lewis#gwar#beck#gary numan#fuck yeah riot fest
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Sins of the Past, final
Read on AO3 HERE.
Summary: A bittersweet reunion.
Warnings (contain spoilers): LV issues, off-screen violence and death, issues of self-worth, oblique references to rape, references to poisoning, references to regicide. Explicit--not non-graphic--mention of very serious, debilitating illness/poisoning.
The door opened, and Sans stared at the other skeleton. His brother, but so changed. The right side of his face was shattered, the socket cracked and his eyelight dead. “…Papy?” he asked, not wanting to believe that this was his brother. What had she done to him? What happened, after Sans was ushered out and sold off? “Is that…is that really you?” The stranger in his brother’s bones smiled broadly, and Sans’ soul clenched as tears gathered in his sockets. “Papy!” he said, certain now.
Papyrus knuckled the top of his head, but his eyelight remained fixed on Undyne. “Ya really brought ‘im, then?” he said, something like wonder in his voice, “I thought…I thought it was a trap. But ya really….” He stopped speaking and coughed, stepping aside so Sans could come in out of the cold. “Not you, fish,” he said, holding up a hand to ward her off. “I ain’t ‘bout ta let the captain ‘a the guard inta my house. Here’s what ya came fer.” He reached into his inventory and pulled out a thick file folder. “Everythin’ I know ‘bout the Spider Gang. Now get the fuck outta my town.”
She took the file. “Don’t get uppity, squirt. After I roust the Spider, I’m coming after your boney ass.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving her off, “ ‘m shakin’ in my boots, sweetheart.”
She flipped him off but left without protest. Sans watched her go, briefly wanting to run after her. She’d been one of his only friends in the castle, after all. But…his gaze fell on the folder in her hand. Would she really have delivered him to his brother if Papy hadn’t agreed to share his information with her? Had he, once again, been bought and sold by people he trusted?
Did it really matter? It was the way of their world, after all. This was just the way things were. Had he really expected something better?
His brother ushered him inside, and as soon as the door shut, Papy swept him up into a hug, checking him over as he brought him to the couch. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Sitting down, Papy pulled at his shirt and the cuffs of his pants, studying his tibia, fibia, ribs, and arms for any sign of damage. Then his gaze fell on the collar around his throat. He shifted it, revealing the network of small scars it hid.
“I have the key,” Sans said, voice small and ashamed. With shaking fingers, he reached up to pull it off…but his fingers stuttered and fumbled. Carefully, Papy took over, twisting the key in the lock. The collar opened and he flung it into the corner of the room, again studying the scars around Sans’ neck.
“Oh, Sans….” His voice sounded so soft and mournful.
It was too much. Sans inhaled sharply, chest hitching as he started to sob. Papy gathered him in and rocked him, arms tight and solid and there. Both of them started projecting, a confusing muddle of /JOY/care/LOVE/warmth/AFFECTION/security/strength/stability/. Papy’s projections weren’t as strong as they used to be, though, and Sans Checked him on a hunch.
His LV had shot up by 3. From 12 to 15 in less than a year. Seeing his HP was like getting a punch to his nonexistent gut, however. He was at full health, but the base stat was much lower than it had been when Sans saw him last. Gaining LV should have raised his HP, not lowered it. Which meant his brother…happy, cheerful, hopeful Papyrus…had started to lose HoPe. Sans’ soul ached, and he couldn’t keep silent anymore. “Papy? What happened?” he asked, running fingers over his scarred face. “What did she do to you?”
Papy sighed, pulling Sans’ hand away from his face and folding his fingers around it. “’s not important, bro. ‘m fine. An’ yer back. We’re t’gether again. Tha’s what matters, right? We’re t’gether, an’ we’re safe.”
For the moment, Sans didn’t argue. He buried his face in Papyrus’ chest and allowed himself to be held, still crying in relief, in joy, and out of bone-deep sorrow. Only after he was all cried out did Papy show him around the house. One of the upstairs rooms had been prepared for him. A handmade set of shelves was pushed against one wall, a few books already tucked inside—astronomy books, mostly, but a few looked like puzzle books. The bedframe was handmade as well, stars and moons cut into the headboard. The walls and ceiling had been painted a deep blue, precisely painted constellations arcing across the pseudo-sky.
He sat down heavily and Papyrus sat beside him, both of them looking up at the stars. “Figured since we can’t see the real thing…I could make a substitute fer ya.”
Sans couldn’t say anything. He just stared up at the ‘sky’, soul aching. He suspected that, if he were to check them against the star charts in the astronomy books, they’d be shockingly accurate. Papy could be almost obsessively precise when he had a project, and Sans could easily imagine him working feverishly. Skipping even those brief naps that served as his semi-regular sleep schedule in an attempt to distract himself from everything.
He leaned against Papy, and the larger skeleton threw an arm over his shoulders, pulling him close. They slept in the same room that night. Well. Sans slept. Papy rarely slept a full eight hours, but he was there when Sans fell asleep and he was there when he woke up, taking apart what appeared to be a coffee maker. When Sans sat up and greeted him, he blushed and looked away, scratching the back of his neck. “Still ain’t much fer cookin’. Place down the way sells cinnamon bunnies—not half as good as yer skulls, but tha’s ta be expected—and sumtimes I can talk Grillbz inta—“
“I can make breakfast.” He hesitated, and Sans understood. “Papy, this is my home, isn’t it? I’m not a guest. You don’t need to look after me. Not like that, at least.”
A sheepish smile—and it hurt to see that familiar expression on a cracked and broken face; stars it hurt more than Sans could say—touched his mouth, and he chuckled. “Yeah. Yeah, yer right. So—whaddaya need?”
“Eggs, milk, butter, sugar, and flour. Maybe a can of soda, if we can scrounge it up.” Soda gave pancakes a nice, fluffy texture that nothing else could quite match.
“Right. I gotta go ta the store. I’ll be back.”
It occurred to Sans that his brother probably hadn’t had a good, home-cooked meal since they’d been separated. Was he thinner? So hard to tell, since they weren’t fleshy monsters. “Can I come too?” Papy wouldn’t be skipping meals or trying to live off whatever he could scavenge again. Not with Sans here.
Papy hesitated, then he thought about it. With a shrug, he stood and said, “Don’ see why not. Ain’t nobody in Snowdin stupid ‘nough ta fuck with ya, not with me ‘round. Get dressed an’ we’ll head out.”
When Sans pointed out that he only had the rather revealing sweet-piece clothing he’d arrived in, Papy smirked and marched over to the closet, throwing it open to reveal a few hoodies and some tennis shoes. There were undershirts and pants in the dresser, as well as socks. “Found what I could fer ya. Later, we can head ta the dump an’ see what we can find. Or we can try ta trade what we got. Up ta you.”
Grateful, Sans ushered him out so he could get dressed, then they both headed out into the snow. Sans looked up at the ceiling, watching the snowflakes flutter down. He held out his hand, catching them. The warmth of the mana in his bones caused the flake to melt in his palm. The way the snow flaked as he kicked it made him smile, and he wondered if they could try out some of those winter activities he’d seen in human videos. Making snowmen. Snowball fights. Snow angels. The possibilities—
He looked up with a smile, ready to babble excitedly, but Papy’s features were sharp and cruel, his ever-present grin manic and nothing but pure threat. Menace radiated from him and the monsters they passed went pale and ducked away as soon as they saw him. They were afraid of him. More so than they had been even in Hotland. Combined with his jump in LV, it painted a disturbing picture.
The reminder of just how brutal their world could be sobered Sans immediately. He knew what it cost, to take hold of a stretch of territory. And what it took to keep it. Papy had called this ‘his’ town, and Sans hadn’t questioned it, hadn’t considered the implications before.
Oh, Papyrus.
He resisted the urge to reach out and take his brother’s hand. In public, at least, such soft displays would not be welcome. It made his soul ache to think of, but he could only steel himself. This was the way of things, wasn’t it? This was how it had to be, right? This was just…the way things were. Hoping for something better would only lead to disappointment.
Bile rose up, but he pushed it aside, following his brother into the general store. The snowbunny behind the counter jumped when she saw him, whiskers twitching. She stepped forward, pushing a rabbit kit behind her back. “Papyrus!” she said, too loud, too high-pitched. “How…?” She cleared her throat, taking a breath. “How can I help you?” she asked, forcing a smile.
Papy planted one arm on the counter, propping his chin on his fist. “Mornin’, darlin’,” he said, grinning. “I ain’t doin’ the shoppin’ taday, matter ‘a fact. ‘s the little guy.” He jerked a thumb at Sans, and the bunny’s nose twitched. “Mind helpin’ ‘im out?”
“Of-of course!” She jumped, coming around the counter to look down at Sans. Her kit tucked himself underneath the counter, hiding. “And what do you need…um….” She froze, realizing that she didn’t know his name.
The whole process made Sans’ soul ache. He glanced at Papy, who was feigning boredom. He knew his brother, though. It had to kill him, playing the bad guy. And…Sans would be expected to fit the role too, wouldn’t he? Or was he supposed to cower before his own brother and play the victim? And exactly how much would that hurt Papy?
It made him sick. The whole thing. His soul roiled and his bones chilled. He tried to speak, tried to fill the role he was assigned…but the words caught in his throat. He swallowed them down and tried again, only to find himself rendered mute.
He couldn’t do it. He simply couldn’t. Couldn’t abuse the already beaten-down shopkeeper. Couldn’t treat his brother—his HoPe already damaged, his LV already obscenely high—like he was a bad guy. Maybe Sans really was nothing but a sweet-piece. Maybe he simply wasn’t cut out for life out in the wider world…. But he couldn’t be anything else, anything other. So Sans looked up at the bunny monster and offered up his sunniest smile, even as his soul felt like it was cracking. “My name’s Sans! The Sensational Sans!”
Papy quirked a smile, and Sans’ soul relaxed. “Doncha mean ‘Sansational’, bro?” He giggled, delighted at the pun. He’d been afraid Papyrus would be embarrassed or upset with him. Upset that Sans wasn’t a real monster. That he was nothing but a sweet-piece.
“I suppose so,” Sans agreed, then refocused on the bunny. She looked between the two of them, obviously still nervous and unsure of this whole situation. “What’s your name?”
She glanced at Papyrus, who just raised an expectant brow-bone. She swallowed and, shifting uneasily, said, “Bonny.”
Sans was not bold enough to ask after her kit. He didn’t want to spook her. “What a lovely name!” he said cheerfully, “And—are you the one that makes the cinnamon bunnies?”
Another glance at Papyrus. “I…I do. Yes.”
He giggled. “I like to make cinnamon skulls. We should compare recipes sometime.”
“I…I suppose.” She kept darting glances at Papy as she spoke, afraid he was going to snap at her. “What…what can I help you with, then?”
“Oh, right! I was going to make breakfast, but my brother doesn’t keep a well-stocked pantry. So I’ll be needing some basics for now. Flour, sugar, butter—“ He started listing things off on his fingers, careful to keep his tone cheerful and light. Trying not to be demanding. When Bonny confessed that they were out of butter—there was a shortage, and the capital was starting to impose rations—Sans waved it off as if it didn’t matter. “Vegetable oil should be fine, then,” he said, bright and happy.
She still wasn’t at ease when she rang them up, but she wasn’t as nervous as she had been when they first came in. Her kit was peering at them from behind the counter, and Papy spotted him, saluting with a genuine grin and a wink. Bonny inhaled sharply, but the kit just waved tentatively back. Then Papy’s eyelight caught on the kid’s bandana, and he met Bonny’s eye. “Ya got any ‘a those fer sale?”
Instead of answering, she just plucked the bandana off her kit’s neck and handed it over. Sans frowned, about to protest, but Papy knelt down and tied it around his neck, hiding the scars his collar left behind. He reached up and tugged on it, a familiar gesture. The soft fabric slid over his bones, soothing rather than cutting. It felt like an anchor. A reminder of his freedom. Unable to stop himself, he flung himself into his brother’s arms and held tight, fighting down relieved tears.
Papy returned the hug and met Bonny’s eye again. “Thanks, sweetheart. Won’ ferget this.”
For the first time, she looked at Papyrus with something other than fear. She lifted her chin and nodded once. “You’re welcome,” she said, then looked at Sans. “I’ll send word when I get the next shipment of butter in.”
They left once Sans had control of himself, and as they walked, he looked around again. Watching everyone flinch away from them. Taking in the high palisade that surrounded the town. It hurt his soul, seeing the fear and suspicion in their faces. Maybe that’s why, when he next baked cinnamon skulls, he went out and delivered them to the guards, the snowbunnies, the green fire elemental his brother called ‘Grillbz’, and anyone they passed on the way.
The first time, only Grillbz and Bonny were willing to give the skulls a try, but he made a weekly ritual of it, and soon enough, the others grew more courageous. He started to visit whenever he heard someone was sick or injured, bringing soup and biscuits. In time, he became a rather popular figure in the town, earning smiles and waves when he went out. He ignored the whispering that often followed him. The leers. The jeering and the comments. He was a sweet-piece; what else had he expected?
All the while, Papy insisted on acting as his escort, and in the woods outside Snowdin, he took the time to teach Sans how to defend himself. They talked—once—about gaining LV. While sitting on a rock out in the forest, Papy ate one of the cinnamon skulls to regain the mana he’d lost in a recent scrap. Dust floated in the air around him, but he’d used snow to scrub his hands clean. Sans’ hands were pristine. No need to scrub snow between the phalanges. Papy had made sure of that, and Sans wasn’t sure what to make of it. Didn’t Papy want him to gain LV? To be useful? To be stronger? He didn’t really want his brother to be nothing but a sweet-piece…did he?
“If I gained LOVE,” Sans started, tentative, “I’d be stronger.”
Papy paused, eyeing him. “Would ya?” he asked, picking at the skull.
“My attacks would be stronger,” Sans said, “And my base stats would be higher….”
Papy nodded, still picking at the pastry. “Yeah,” he agreed, jumping off the rock. “But would that make ya stronger?”
“I….” Sans looked up at him, uncertain. “Yes?”
Papy knelt in front of him, scrubbing the top of his skull with sticky fingers. Sans frowned and batted at his hands, earning a grin. Then Papy’s expression sobered. “Yer stats’d be higher, yeah, but you’d be brittle ‘round the edges. Maybe not the first time. Er the third time. Er the tenth. But ‘s an easy slope ta slip down. ‘fore ya know it, feels like everythin’s slipping ‘tween yer fingers, an’ yer not even sure ‘a what ya used ta be. Stats ain’t everythin’, bro. Sure as fuck ain’t the most important thing. Don’ sacrifice the important shit fer a string ‘a numbers. It ain’t worth it.”
Sans looked at him, soul aching all over again. “But you….”
Papy smirked. “Aw, darlin’. Ya really think I give a shit ‘bout stats?” Before Sans could ask why he’d gained so much LV, if not for the stat-boost, Papy scooped up a huge handful of snow and dumped it down the back of his shirt. Screeching, Sans twisted and turned, trying to shake out the snow as it melted against his spine. Papy took off running, and Sans chased after him, screaming.
They didn’t discuss LV after that. There were a lot of things they didn’t discuss. Papy refused to give him a straight answer about his new scars, and Sans was reluctant to talk about his time in the palace, though he knew Papy assumed the worst because of it. They didn’t talk about the days Papy would come home with dust and magic on his hands, knuckles bruised. Or the fearful glances townspeople shot him. And they never talked about the way Papy’s HP would dip and swell by turns, unstable and unsteady.
They didn’t talk about it, but Sans noticed, and he well knew that something had to change. The Underground’s problems were so extensive, though, so far-reaching, and he was nothing but a small skeleton tucked away in an isolated corner of the Underground. Weak. Helpless. Nothing but a sweet-piece.
…but even a sweet-piece could have a few tricks up his sleeve, couldn’t he?
He’d thought it would be more difficult, really. But Papy was happy to help him turn the old shed into a makeshift greenhouse. UV lamps provided plenty of ‘sunlight’. Raised beds made the best use of the limited space. Getting the right seeds was the most difficult part, but Bonny was more than happy to place a few special orders. Papy’s extra-curricular activities provided enough money to grease the necessary palms, and soon enough, Sans had a thriving indoor garden.
Among the tomatoes and carrots and potatoes, he’d planted some of the herbs and flowers the sweet-pieces had taught him about. Lavender and chamomile to help a restless monster find sleep. Echinacea for simple colds. There were other plants, too. All of them with medicinal purposes at a certain dosage. He didn’t limit himself to plants, either. Along the back wall, he grew mushrooms as well. Most of them were edible.
His most important project was confined to the basement, though. He’d talked with Papy about his idea, and while he’d been reluctant at first, he’d caved eventually, agreeing that something needed to change. Thus, the basement transformed into something that looked more like a chemistry lab than anything else. Claviceps purpurea could be cultivated in isolation, he’d been happy to learn, afraid he’d need to find a way to grow a field of rye. It wasn’t easy, though, and the fungus was temperamental at best. Thankfully, once he’d harvested enough, it was much easier to get a message to Undyne, even if Papy wasn’t exactly happy to play messenger.
She sat down to tea in their kitchen, warily eyeing Papy even as he did the same to her. Sans pushed a tray of teacakes toward her, smiling brightly. “Thank you so much for coming, Captain!”
She grunted, still glaring at Papy. “I came because he said you needed me,” she said, finally turning to regard Sans. “Are you okay? Did something happen? Is he treating you well?”
“Yeah. Brought ya ‘ere ‘cause Sans says ‘m abusin’ ‘im. Go fuck yerself—“
“Papy,” Sans chastised, earning an eyeroll and a huff. Clearing his throat, Sans turned back to Undyne. “We’re…well enough. As well as can be expected, at least.”
“Hmph.” She took a sip of her tea, still keeping her eye on Papy. “So? Why am I here?”
“Bro, I c’n talk ta ‘er. Ya don’ need ta be ‘ere. Don’ need ta risk—“
“Papy, it was my idea. My plan. If Undyne feels the need to charge me with treason, then so be it.”
Undyne put the cup down, tea sloshing over the sides. “One of you better start talking right now,” she said, voice low, “or you’re both going to be arrested. You for illegal gambling and smuggling and who the fuck knows what else—“
“You can’t prove shit, fish-bitch.”
“—and you for wasting my time,” she said overtop Papy, pointing to Sans. Papy opened his mouth to retort, but she continued without pause. “So? Who’s gonna explain?” She looked between both of them, and Sans finally pulled out the capped bottle. He pushed it toward her. She eyed it, brow raised.
“You’re familiar with Angel’s Fire?”
“Of course.” The disease came and went Underground, all depending on the state of the wheat harvest. It had grown less common as the monsters grew more experienced with farming underground, but it still cropped up on occasion. Not all monsters were affected, of course. The carnivores, who didn’t eat the contaminated wheat, survived the outbreaks untouched. Skeletons and elemental-types weren’t affected because they didn’t have blood vessels. In fact, only the omnivorous or herbivorous mammals were affected.
So it wouldn’t be that suspicious, if only a single monster were to fall ill. Ergot was not a traditional poison in any case. It was an agent of disease, not murder. Certainly not regicide.
He tapped the vial. “This is the fungus that causes it. Powdered for easy use.”
She looked between him and the vial, shaking her head slowly. “Look, squirt, I don’t know where you’re—“
“You and I both know Prince Asriel would make a better king than his father.”
Undyne went very, very quiet. She took the vial, considering it. “Angel’s Fire, huh?”
“Everyone knows Angel’s Fire is…capricious.” The way it passed over one house, only to devastate another had earned the disease a somewhat supernatural reputation, even after they came to understand how it spread. More than a few monsters would whisper to themselves that the old King had done something to displease the Angel. That the Stars had cursed him. “And the symptoms…?” He raised a brow-bone. “You and I both know he’d be deposed. Fast. If he’s not smart enough to step down himself.”
He watched her, noting her considering look. Hallucinations. Convulsions. The sensation of burning in the extremities. Not to mention the more serious effects—gangrene, vision trouble. Possibly death, though Sans didn’t think it would progress to that. No matter what, though, a monster suffering those symptoms could not rule the Underground. Not as it was. A gentler populace might not take advantage, but as things were….
Sans did take some small satisfaction in the knowledge that Asgore would be a victim of the systemic brutality he’d taken such pains to foster.
“And what do you want me to do with this?” Undyne asked, eyeing them both. “What’s the deal here, huh? I…use this. And—what? What’s in it for you two?”
Papy stepped forward, laying a hand on Sans’ shoulder. “There’s no deal, fish. No price. ‘s a gift. An’ not one either ‘a us expect ya ta repay. Or ta use, if tha’s what you decide.”
Her brow crept higher. “I don’t understand.”
He and Sans shared a look. “We’re jus’ a pair ‘a gutter-rats, sweetheart,” he said, grinning when she bristled at the pet-name. “Politics’re a bit above us, doncha think?”
“So this…?”
“Is for you to decide,” Sans said, shrugging. “Papy’s right. I didn’t even spend a year in the palace. I can see that something’s wrong. Very wrong. And not just in the palace—everywhere. We’re tearing each other apart, and something has to change. It has to. But….” He gestured helplessly. “I don’t know what or how. You be the judge, Captain. You’re strong. Intelligent. Principled. I trust you to know what’s best for us. Take the vial. Do whatever you think is best. It shouldn’t spoil, so you can take your time.”
She looked at the vial and pocketed it. She stirred her tea but had apparently lost her appetite—she didn’t take any of the teacakes and she didn’t drink again. “This meeting…?” she said slowly, as if it was a question.
“Was my first interview for the guard,” Sans said, and she jumped, brow-bone raised.
“You’re kidding, right?”
He beamed at her, demeanor sunny and sweet. “Certainly not, Captain! I am very dedicated to making the Underground a better, safer place! I would be delighted to serve in the guard—if you’d be kind enough to consider my application.”
He passed the application to her, still beaming. She eyed it. Eyed him. Then finally eyed Papy, who just winked. “C’mon, Cap’n. Ya know my bro’d be a good choice. Who better ta keep the riff-raff in line than the Sensation Sans? Sure does a good job ‘round ‘ere, doesn’ he?” Grabbing the application, she shook her head, torn between annoyed, amused, and thoughtful.
After she left, the brothers regarded each other silently. “Think she’ll do it?” Papy asked, and Sans shrugged.
“Don’t know,” he said.
“Think she should?”
Another shrug. He dipped his finger in his tea and used the water to trace patterns on the lacquered wood. “Papy?”
“Yeah, bro?”
“…do you think things can get better? Or is this…is this the best we can hope for?”
To his surprise, his brother’s face split into a wide, genuine grin. “Aw, darlin’. Things ain’t that bad, are they? We got each other. Got a roof overhead. Got plenty ‘a food. Things’re already better’n they were, right?” He scrubbed a hand over Sans’ skull, scratching at his coronal suture. He sat beside him and snatched up a teacake, wiping off the frosting with his finger before popping the cake into his mouth. When Sans just continued to trace patterns on the table, Papy pulled Sans’ chair beside his, draping an arm over his shoulders. “Wha’s on yer mind, little bro?”
He snuggled into Papy’s side, ready to cry. “I…I just. I hate this. I hate feeling so helpless. So small. Like…nothing I do matters.” Like a sweet-piece.
Papy’s brow-bone lifted. “Like nuthin’ ya do matters,” he echoed. Then, wiping off his hands, he drew Sans up and pushed him out of the kitchen. “C’mon. We’re goin’ on a field trip.”
Confused, Sans allowed Papy to guide him out into the snow. They passed a number of monsters as they went. Some of them leered at Sans, earning a vicious glare from Papy. Others waved and stopped for a moment, moving on when they realized Sans wasn’t in the mood to talk. Sans paused when they reached the shop, trying to figure out what Papy was up to. He didn’t protest when Papy brought him inside, though, or when he called out, “Heya! Anybody ‘ere?”
Bonny and Cinnamon—her kit—came in from the stockroom, grinning when they saw Papy and Sans. “Well, hello!” Bonny said, while Cinna ran over to hug Papy’s leg and beg Sans for a treat. “Cinna! Don’t be rude!” she chastised, but she was smiling. Looking at the two skeletons, she asked, “And how can I help you today?”
“Jus’ a social call,” Papy said, “Wan’ed ta know how it’s goin’ ‘round ‘ere. Any gossip fer me?”
A sly look crossed Bonny’s face, and she sidled closer to share what she’d heard. While they talked, Cinna took Sans’ hand and brought him to the box of toys Bonny kept under the counter for him. He was a pretty quiet kit, but he was happy to push his toys into Sans’ arms and tell him all about them. Sitting on the floor, Sans smiled gently, not fully able to understand what the kit was saying but happy to sit and listen, nodding as appropriate. Had Papy brought him here to cheer him up? He supposed talking to the little kit did make him feel somewhat better….
They didn’t stay long, going on to visit the Innkeeper and Grillby. The Librarbian got a visit too, as did the guards. All of them were pleased to see him, even if they glared at Papy or threatened him. Sans supposed it did cheer him up a little, talking to the people he’d gotten to know since his stay in Snowdin. He wasn’t really in the mood to talk, but their smiles did make him feel a bit better.
Finally, as they started for home, Papy asked, “So…still feel like nuthin’ ya do matters?”
Sans blinked, looking up at him. “I…uh? Y…yes?” He didn’t know what he was supposed to say, so he told the truth.
Shaking his head, Papy pushed open their door and brought him back inside. “Sans…think back, yeah? Months ago. Ya remember what it was like ‘round here when ya first arrived?” Slowly, he nodded, and Papy grinned. “Ya made a difference ta them, didn’ ya?”
Sans huffed, impatient. “That doesn’t count.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“Because—I’m not—I didn’t—I was just nice to them. That’s all.”
Scrubbing the top of his skull, Papy said, “Ya gave ‘em a friendly face. Food they could trust. A kind word. Ya gave ‘em sumthin’ ta believe in. Sumthin’ ta hope fer. ‘s jus’ a bunch ‘a little things, yeah. But they mean more’n ya think, bro. Mean a lot. Ta them…an’ ta me.” Kneeling down, he framed Sans’ face between his hands. “Long as yer ‘round, I’ll always believe things c’n get better.”
The words stunned him. He hadn’t even considered that such small things could mean anything. Chest hitching, he leaned into Papy and started to cry. “I-it’s so hard,” he said, forehead pressing into his brother’s chest. “Why’s it so hard?” Papy ran a soothing hand up and down his spine.
“I know,” he said, holding him close. “Hope hurts,” he said, chin resting on top of his skull, “but ‘s worth it. Promise, sweetheart. ‘S worth it.”
Sans wasn’t sure if he believed him. Not at that moment, at least. He simply allowed his brother to hold him, taking comfort from his solidity and strength. But the next time he went out to deliver cinnamon skulls, he took note of the smiles he received. The thanks. He saw the way the other monsters’ shoulders relaxed, how they invited him to stay and talk. Others still called him ‘sweet-piece’ as they passed, and Papy’s fierce glares wouldn’t ever quiet them. Sans chose to block it out, clinging to those little signs.
He wasn’t sure how to react when Undyne sent a messenger, ordering him to report for guard training. They’d only meant for that to serve as a ruse. A cover story. But it was nice, spending time with her. Sparring. Cooking. And talking about ways the Underground could change. Could be better. Could be different.
But his first real glimmer of hope came when—months later—King Asgore stepped down and allowed his son to take the throne. There was no mention of illness or Angel’s Fire. And when Sans next visited Undyne, he didn’t ask. But he accepted the stack of posters she passed him—slogans like ‘Spread love, not LOVE’ printed on bright backgrounds—with a smile.
“Your first order as an official guard-in-training,” she said, “is to post these around Snowdin. Think you can handle it?”
He saluted swiftly. “Absolutely, Captain!”
For the first time in a long time, Sans actually had hope that things could change for the better.
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Welcome to Music Monday when we bring you chart-topping songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we have Kenny Chesney singing the #1 country music single of 2002, “The Good Stuff.”
In the song, a young man learns some critical life lessons from a middle-aged barkeep who recently lost his wife to cancer. The younger man heads to the bar after having a major disagreement with his new wife, and orders “the good stuff.” But instead of serving whiskey or beer, the bartender pours two glasses of milk and shares his views about the things in life that are really “the good stuff.”
Among these items is an engagement ring that a nervous suitor accidentally dropped into a plate of spaghetti and a cherished pearl necklace that marked a special occasion.
The sing-along chorus contains these memorable lines… “’Cause it’s the first long kiss on a second date / Momma’s all worried when you get home late / And droppin’ the ring in the spaghetti plate / ‘Cause you’re hands are shakin’ so much.”
Later in the song, Chesney sings, “Was the sight of her holdin’ my baby girl / The way she adored that string of pearls / I gave her the day that our youngest boy Earl / Married his high school love.”
Written by Nashville hitmakers Jim Collins and Craig Wiseman, “The Good Stuff” was the second single from Chesney’s album No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems.
The song zoomed to #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and had cross-over success, topping out at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “The Good Stuff” would go on to become the #1 country music single of 2002, according to Billboard.
Wiseman told The Boot that “The Good Stuff” was loosely based on the heartbreaking story of a dear friend, Rusty Martin, who lost his wife to cancer.
“I actually played Rusty the song,” Wiseman said. “I told him the song was inspired by him in some ways so I wanted to make sure he was OK with it.”
Wiseman continued: “I had gotten in touch with the funeral home where he had buried his wife and had a matching foot stone made for her that was engraved with ‘The Good Stuff.’ I went and gave it to him at the No. 1 party. Everybody was crying.”
Born in Knoxville, TN, in 1968, Chesney has recorded 32 Top-10 singles on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts and has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.
We hope you enjoy the video of Chesney’s live performance of “The Good Stuff.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…
“The Good Stuff” Written by Craig Michael Wiseman and Jim Collins. Performed by Kenny Chesney.
Well, me and my lady had our first big fight So I drove around till I saw the neon light The corner bar. It just seemed right so I pulled up.
Not a soul around but the old bar keep Down at the end lookin’ half asleep But he walked up and said, “What’ll it be?” I said, “The good stuff.”
He didn’t reach around for the whiskey. He didn’t pour me a beer. His blue eyes kinda went misty. He said, “You can’t find that here.”
‘Cause it’s the first long kiss on a second date. Momma’s all worried when you get home late And droppin’ the ring in the spaghetti plate ‘Cause you’re hands are shakin’ so much
And it’s the way that she looks with the rice in her hair. Eatin’ burnt suppers the whole first year And askin’ for seconds to keep her from tearin’ up Yeah man, that’s the good stuff.
He grabbed a carton of milk and he poured a glass. And I smiled and said, “I’ll have some of that.” We sat there and talked as an hour passed like old friends.
I saw a black-and-white picture and it caught my stare. It was a pretty girl with bouffant hair He said, “That’s my Bonnie, taken ’bout a year after we wed.”
He said, “I spent five years in the bar when the cancer took her from me. But I’ve been sober three years now ‘Cause the one thing’s stronger than the whiskey. Was the sight of her holdin’ my baby girl The way she adored that string of pearls I gave her the day that our youngest boy Earl Married his high school love. And it’s a new t-shirt sayin’ I’m a grandpa. Bein’ right there as our time got small And holdin’ her hand when good the Lord called her up Yeah, man, that’s the good stuff.”
He said, “When you get home she’ll start to cry. When she says, ‘I’m sorry,’ say ‘So am I.’ Look into those eyes so deep in love and drink it up ‘Cause that’s the good stuff.”
That’s the good stuff.
Credit: Image by LawrenceFung, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 09/01/2021 (Justin Bieber, SZA, Jason Derulo)
Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to 2021 on REVIEIWNG THE CHARTS – or I guess you could call it “Season 4”. I’m going into this year with cautious optimism – that goes for pop music, mind you, and not actual world events which I suspect will just get even direr as the years go on. For 2021 on the charts, I’m hopeful and I hope that’ll show in this next year as I’m in a better place than ever, partly thanks to my decision to renew this series in the Autumn, and we’ve got a busy week – or year – ahead of us. I can keep up with new releases every Friday like I used to and generally kick myself back into a routine with all these musical hobbies. I stay cautious in my optimism for 2021’s pop music because frankly, looking at this top 20, I can’t say I like a lot of this at all. I mean, I guess I’m fond of some of these tracks but I suspect a fair few of these songs to have their last shred of success this Winter and not turn out as year-long hits. I can’t say that for our #1, which is “Sweet Melody” by newly-collapsed girl group Little Mix, the fifth credited #1 for the group and their first since 2016’s “Shout Out to My Ex”. Admittedly, I feel like Little Mix ends here, hopefully with a bang as this was one of the few bonafide smash hits that lasted through Christmas, and I see it lasting a couple more weeks at #1 as a good send-off because I don’t predict the band getting back together without Jesy anytime soon... not that I care about pop-group politics, of course. On that note, let’s divert to our rundown. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.
Rundown
There is a single song in the UK Top 75 – which is what I cover – that has not gained, returned or entered for its first week, and that’s “Love is a Compass” by Griff from Disney’s Christmas advert down to #50 – it’ll be gone next week, but I honestly don’t really understand why it lasted an extra week. Maybe Soul and Disney+ had something to do with it, because I cannot see this getting consistent streams. Otherwise, look: I’m not mentioning every single drop-out because I would just be repeating every single drop-out because I would just be repeating all of the Christmas songs that I’ve already listed every single week since late November. I will say this: “Last Christmas” by Wham!, last week’s #1, is gone from the top 75, alongside “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey, “This Christmas” by Jess Glynne, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Justin Bieber, “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues featuring the late Kirsty MacColl, “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens, “Step into Christmas” by Elton John, “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” by Band Aid and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Bublé are all gone despite staying in the top 10 in last week’s awkward grouping of holiday trite and regular pop. Everything else I’ve said over the last few weeks in the returning entries and gains sections, Christmas-wise, is gone, and I don’t want to list any other drop-outs, including even all of last week’s new arrivals. The only other notable song dropping off from the chart that’s not explicitly Christmas-related is Liam Gallagher’s charity single “All You’re Dreaming Of”, and that’s not exactly a surprise to anyone. Okay, so for our returning entries and gains, I’ll list them in some kind of janky order. Starting with returning entries, the category that fits most of these songs is: “year-long hits that have had one final and brief second wind after the holiday season that will later be replaced as Spring comes”. This includes “Giants” by Dermot Kennedy at #75, “Breaking Me” by Topic and A75 at #74, “Roses” by SAINt JHN and remixed by Imanbek at #71, “Rain on Me” by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande at #70, “ROCKSTAR” by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch at #68, “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa at #67, “Lighter” by Nathan Dawe and KSI at #61, “Ain’t it Different” by Headie One featuring AJ Tracey and Stormzy at #60, “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” by Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo and remixed by BTS at #58, “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi at #56, “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion at #47, “Take You Dancing” by Jason Derulo at #46, “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles at #41 and “Looking for Me” by Paul Woolford and Diplo featuring Kareen Lomax at #39. Our next category is: “really old – and massive - songs riding off the coattails of a weak chart for a cheap additional week to add to their repertoire”. This includes “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper at #73, “Baby Shark” by Pinkfong at #72, “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran at #66, “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac at #64, “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi at #45, “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I at #38, and I guess even “Train Wreck” by James Arthur returning big at #18. Our third category consists of: “mostly more recent and decently-sized hits coming back because they’re still popular but won’t be re-peaking any time soon”. These include “Gnat” by Eminem at #69 (although you’d be stretching to call that a hit exactly – would have been without Christmas), “Show Out” by Kid Cudi, the late Pop Smoke and Skepta at #62, “Lasting Lover” by Sigala and James Arthur at #57, “Princess Cuts” by Headie One featuring Young T & Bugsey at #55, “no body, no crime” by Taylor Swift featuring HAIM at #54, “pov” by Ariana Grande at #52, “Tick Tock” by Clean Bandit and Mabel featuring 24kGoldn at #51, “Diamonds” by Sam Smith at #49, “Body” by Megan Thee Stallion at #44, “Plugged In Freestyle” by A92 and Fumez the Engineer at #43, “champagne problems” by Taylor Swift at #42, “What You Know Bout Love” by the late Pop Smoke at #36, “i miss u” by Jax Jones and Au/Ra at #34, “See Nobody” by Wes Nelson and Hardy Caprio at #33 and “Lonely” by Justin Bieber and benny blanco at #32. Our last category consists of songs that returned and peaked this week, including many in the top 40. These include “You’re Mines Still” by Yung Bleu and remixed by Drake at #59, “All Girls are the Same” by the late Juice WRLD at #53 (still very strange to see that song from 2017 peak nearly four years later), “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals at #48, “SO DONE” by The Kid LAROI at #40 (more on him later), “The Business” by Tiesto at #31 and “Golden” by Harry Styles at #26. These are the most important returns because they signify what could be coming down the line for our genuine Winter hit parade, or at least the post-Christmas half of it. What might better show this are our gains, however, as these songs were sticking through the holiday season and took advantage of it this week to poke through even higher in the top 40 and often top 10. We have “Forever Young” by Becky Hill at #35, “Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus at #29, “Lemonade” by Internet Money and Gunna featuring Don Toliver and NAV at #27 (as soon as I can stop saying that full song name the better), “Monster” by Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber at #25, “No Time for Tears” by Nathan Dawe and Little Mix at #24, “HOLIDAY” by Lil Nas X ironically up to #23, “positions” by Ariana Grande at #22, “Holy” by Justin Bieber featuring Chance the Rapper at #21, “Loading” by Central Cee (still growing on me) at #20, “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK at #19, “Dynamite” by BTS at #17, “Mood” by 24kGoldn and iann dior at #16, “Therefore I Am” by Billie Eilish at #15, “Really Love” by KSI featuring Craig David and the Digital Farm Animals at #14, “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd still here at #13, “willow” by Taylor Swift at #12, “Prisoner” by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa at #11, “Paradise” by MEDUZA and Dermot Kennedy at #10, “you broke me first” by Tate McRae at #9, “34+35” by Ariana Grande at #8 and “WITHOUT YOU” by The Kid LAROI at #7. I can reassure you I’m overjoyed about that last one – not because the song is good, quite the opposite, I just like having easy targets ready for the end of the year when I actually end up doing a worst list. Oh, and that’s not the end of it: “Get Out My Head” by Shane Codd is at #6, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa and remixed by DaBaby is at #5, “Whoopty” by CJ is somehow at #3 and finally, “Afterglow” by Ed Sheeran is at #2. We already mentioned “Sweet Melody”, so now finally, it’s on to our new arrivals. What did you gain from reading me list sixty-odd songs in rapid succession with minimal commentary? Nothing. What did I gain from it? Whatever’s just above nothing, but as is the UK Singles Chart in early January.
NEW ARRIVALS
#65 – “Your New Boyfriend” – Wilbur Soot
Produced by Wilbur Soot
Before I put two and two together, I was incredibly confused to who this guy was and why he was charting – he’s doing particularly well on Spotify for this indie singer-songwriter, right? I did one quick Google search – literally typing in “Who is Wilbur Soot” – and soon found out that I actually already know the guy from “SootHouse”, a YouTube channel I think I might even be subscribed to. Huh, I guess that shows how faceless social media platforms can be – his name is in the videos and I should have assumed from “Soot” but that missed me until now. Right now he’s part of that whole worryingly popular group of content creators that tread the very thin line separating Minecraft let’s-players from commentary YouTubers and Twitch streamers from paedophiles. I’m too old to understand any of this garbage but from what I see trending on Twitter all the time, it seems toxic and frankly I don’t want in any part of that. I don’t want to have my grandparents’ graduation photos leaked to the Internet alongside my address, thank you very much, so I think I’ll distance myself from the whole “Internet celebrity” and just talk about the music. This is the last in a trilogy of E-boy indie-pop songs, because of Goddamn course that exists. Song number-one, “I’m in Love with an E-Girl” is a dreary acoustic duet that forgets that comedy songs are supposed to be fun or witty, relying on obscure inside jokes and references to recently-outed paedophiles. I do like some of the jabs later on about romanticisation of mental illness and Chevy’s voice is really nice, whoever that is, but it’s too little too late to be a worthwhile track. Now for song #2, “Internet Ruined Me”, which is a slightly livelier rendition of what is pretty much the same song, with lyrical gems like, “My Twitter feed’s like my brain ‘cause I have it on dark mode.” At least it feels like a more honest attempt at a song, but song #3, “Your New Boyfriend”, the one that’s charting, is obviously the most realised out of these acoustic demo skits, with some pretty sweet piano melodies and Wilbur getting into his comically struggling high register to depict his naivety as a teenager when attempting to get into both a long-term relationship and career as an entertainer. Sure, the song’s janky and awkward, but the chorus has a genuine punk groove, even if it wants to stop to interject ad-libs for no reason and kind of ruin whatever momentum is there in the first place. By the second verse, the punchlines devolve to “No homo, though” and though I do like how those horns sound, they are somewhat clouded in a messy mix that does not help Wilbur out vocally at all. Chevy’s background vocals do help here and add a lot to the floaty atmosphere of the song, and, okay, I’ll admit: the song’s good, if a bit ridiculous and almost Weezer-like in lyrical content... but hey, I like Pinkerton, and there’s certainly enough pointless noise in this song to fit the criteria, so... Goddamn it, I have to recommend this one. Let’s just date this episode – and song – even further by requesting Carson and Pyrocynical hop on a nonce-rock remix, perhaps. Bring Dream along too.
#63 – “Reminds Me of You” – The Kid LAROI and Juice WRLD
Produced by Aaron Joseph, Theron Thomas, Sam Sumser, Sean Small and Dr. Luke
Oh, and speaking of sex crimes by men in places of power, welcome back, Loctor Duke, Tyson Trax, or as I prefer, (alleged) rapist. I don’t like to get too moralistic on this show because it is about the music but I cannot think of any person who would in their right mind know of “Praying” by Kesha and still want to collaborate with this waste of space who uses his monopoly on pop songwriting to continue raking in cash from vulnerable young singers, to the point where I’m not sure if I can truly blame artists for ending up with Dr. Luke production or writing credits... oh, wait, yes, I can! I don’t let Saweetie, Doja Cat or even Kim Petras off the hook for actively collaborating with Luke seemingly in defiance of, you know, moral decency, so I definitely won’t give The Kid LAROI a pass, especially if he and the label are going to use this as another opportunity to milk the passing of a genuinely talented man in Jarad Higgins, or the late Juice WRLD, for the sake of a chart hit for this bumbling Australian wannabe and a sexual predator. This is not the first time, either, but I’ll admit the story gets fuzzy, as Kim Petras did reveal that this performance from Juice was in the studio as she was recording a song, supposedly, that is – I have no hesitation to say I think stories could be made up by record labels to make whoever’s involved look a tiny bit less of an ass. Oh, and by the way, this isn’t even originally a Kid LAROI and Juice WRLD track. Let’s talk about “Reminds Me”, a pretty mediocre Kim Petras song where she blatantly imitates Juice on a trap-pop instrumental that’s just pitiful, as is her vocal delivery that makes lyrics Juice clearly wrote unconvincing. Kim Petras isn’t doing a homicide, I mean, I hope she isn’t. So now we’ve got a “reimagination”, “revamp”, “remake” – or to put it realistically, remix – of an already worthless, disposable song made by a sexual predator and its enablers, spat on by The Kid LAROI’s unforgivably gross delivery where he essentially covers the Kim Petras song and does even a worse job of it, mixed bizarrely – especially in the vocal department – and topped off with a tacked-on Juice WRLD demo verse, so lazily put together that they just repeat his verse to awkwardly lead into an anti-climactic chorus where Juice is nowhere to be found. Everyone involved in the making of this song lost whatever shred of respect I had for them in the first place for putting this out – and that doesn’t include Juice, who’s clearly being mismanaged post-mortem. If The Kid LAROI sticks around, don’t forget this and don’t forget everything he’s done – intentionally or unintentionally – to heartlessly pinch pennies out of Juice’s legacy.
#37 – “Goosebumps” – Hvme
Produced by HVME
I’d make the easy, cliché joke that this isn’t living up to “goosebumps” by Travis Scott featuring Kendrick Lamar, but... this IS “goosebumps” by Travis Scott featuring Kendrick Lamar. HVME is this boring faceless nobody—I mean, “mysterious” Spanish DJ who made a garbage deep house remix of a pretty decent Travis Scott song, but not using the original vocals and stems, which would have probably made this listenable, but instead covering the song himself, stripping of it of Travis’ original energy that carried the eerie trap instrumental and pretty pathetically attempting to replicate the “Straight up!” ad-lib. The mix is fine but puts way too much emphasis on all the swooshing and nothingness synths that do little to get in the way of the typical pumping bass-line you hear in this type of house, and, yeah, this is pitiful once again and reeks of no-effort dance music made in a bedroom you wouldn’t even hear bumped in clubs. He doesn’t even try and re-sing Kendrick’s verse – good – and his attempts at picking up Travis’ masterful flow from the original is comical at best, to the point where I genuinely laughed out loud as his measly “brr-brr-brr” sound effects. I don’t understand why this is so high, yet it has 112 million Spotify streams as his only release on the platform, and I can only assume this is thanks to Ministry of Sound and some Lithuanian record label (don’t ask; I don’t know either). I don’t see this surviving January, thankfully, so you can say goodbye to this guy and his awful, awful cover for good... hopefully.
#30 – “Love Not War (The Tampa Beat)” – Jason Derulo and Nuka
Produced by Nuka
I don’t think there’s any “Tampa Beat” to speak of so Jason Derulo, are you just putting “(Blank) Beat” at the end of all of your songs now? What do you even gain from that? Except there is a “Tampa Beat” – unlike Jawsh 685’s original track, however, it wasn’t called that. Nuka is a New Caledonian producer and she made a song called “4 Bryleans (WayzRmx2018)”. Alright, well now it’s the “Tampa” beat, because I’m sure Florida is close enough to a French territory in Oceania, right? Maybe he’s talking about the ghost town in Australia, or the... small Transylvanian mountain. Okay, I’ll stop kidding myself: this title is complete nonsense. At least he asked for the sample before using it this time, and if Derulo makes careers out of this, then I’ll be glad for these underground Oceanian producers. The difference is here it just feels lazy and co-opting a style he’s clearly not in tune with for the sake of hits for himself. It would make more sense for him to keep on working with Jawsh if he really had good intentions for producers out there in the Pacific. Anyway, much like the title, this song, produced by someone who claims to make the best cheesecake in the Pacific (which I wouldn’t think is that hard of an award to claim), is nonsensical. It’s stuck in 2014 with gross synth leads, clipping percussion and finger-snaps straight out of DJ Mustard’s older stuff, along with what I guess is the sound of the Pacific: Jason Derulo doing fake accents over incessant horns and over-produced garbage that seems like its sole purpose is to annoy... and I liked “Savage Love”! I think my favourite part of this production is when he pitches the horn line down for the verse and then it comes back mid-way through as annoying as ever, even if this mix is crowded enough for you to just barely ignore it. Derulo isn’t doing much here either other than straining his voice for a belt no-one asked for and having a complete dissonance between verse and chorus in terms of lyrical content. Oh, and there’s a copious amount of remixes that are all garbage. The instrumental’s on Spotify too under “Waterfall”, so I guess that adds another name to the list of names this song has for no reason. At least with “Savage Love” I got to hear BTS drop F-bombs, this is just worthless.
#28 – “Good Days” – SZA
Produced by Los Hendrix, Nascent and Carter Lang
I came into this episode all optimistic and ended up just moaning about sex crimes and Jason Derulo but I think if there’s going to be any shred of true quality from our new arrivals, it’s the new SZA track that’s shaping up to be genuinely big organically on radio and streaming, “Good Days”, from that new album, whenever Top decides he’s going to let her release it. I’m not the biggest fan of SZA; you probably don’t remember that she ended up on one of my worst lists a couple years back, although that’s mostly at the fault of Travis Scott more than her. This doesn’t mean I’m not excited to hear from her, though I did like some of the stuff off of CTRL, particularly “Prom” and “20 Something”... and, yeah, in terms of what I want from contemporary R&B, I’m not mad at “Good Days” at all, though it’s going to take a lot of growing on me because I immediately hate this mix and production, which relies on slick, lo-fi guitars being drowned out by overweight percussion that sounds organic but pretty unfitting and awkward amongst the reverb-drenched vocals and unrecognisable mix that doesn’t compliment SZA’s at times awkward delivery. That’s a shame to say because I think she harmonises well with co-writer Jacob Collier, especially on the chorus, where she wishes for good days ahead, which is lyrical content I can get behind: coming out of a bad place and knowing you have no authority over your future but wishing for good days regardless. When the synths come in after the third verse at about three minutes and SZA’s voice disappears from the mix, becoming less overbearing than it is, I can appreciate the song more and especially when that final chorus comes in... except there isn’t a final chorus to leave this song off with much of an impact, rather just a tacked-on instrumental section that felt like Jacob Collier was tasked with just extending a snippet, which given how the song was teased in “Hit Different”, might actually be the case. I like the lyrics a lot, and do think it picks up after the song practically ends, but I’m not sure about this right now, and could see it growing on me as good days either become more imminent or drift even further away.
#4 – “Anyone” – Justin Bieber
Produced by watt, The Monsters & Strangerz and Jon Bellion
I’ve done a lot of writing and reviewing this week so I’m glad I can sum this up in a few sentences. Justin Bieber is an overexposed hack who I cannot feel any emotional connection towards at all, so him continuing to make any art is moot. This song has a loading screen of a synth melody, and that’s before that really ugly chorus that Bieber really can’t save with his Auto-Tuned whine of a voice, alongside acoustic guitars that clearly do not blend well. Jon Bellion’s production at the end of this just barely saves it by doing some kind of 180 shift into slow synth-pop, clearly coasting off of the Weeknd’s success in the same style without realising what made his record worthwhile. Camila Cabello recorded a demo that I’m glad isn’t the official version because her squealing would not sound good here either; really, I think Bellion could have kept this to himself but he knows he would put a lot more effort and character into his own lyrics than this – he would also write an actual bridge for his own album, I’d hope. It isn’t catchy, it isn’t intriguing and it is gutless, like Bieber has been for the past two album cycles and I guess it’s not changing this time.
Conclusion
What a downer for my optimism about pop music going forward this was! Even the best songs here I feel mostly ambivalent on, to the point where I can give Wilbur Soot of all people Best of the Week for “Your New Boyfriend”, which shocks me since I thought SZA would run with it, although “Good Days” does grab the Honourable Mention. Worst of the Week should be a toss-up if it weren’t for the fact that The Kid LAROI exists so he can get that for “Reminds Me of You” featuring the mangled remnants of whatever’s left of the late Juice WRLD’s Google Drive folders full of demos and leaks. I suppose Dishonourable Mention can go to HVNE for “Goosebumps”, but I’d understand it for anything else here. Here’s this week’s top 10:
Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more rambling – I swear I’m not usually this angry – and I can’t really predict anything going forward either, other than unfortunately more Dr. Luke, but we’ll see what the charts decide to bring us next Saturday when it comes. I’ll see you next week.
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Lie- Part 15
Pairing: Jimin x Reader
Genre: Angst / Fluff
Summary: There was a time when you loved him and he hated you. Now you hate him, but does he love you?
Parts: 0 // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // FINAL
You were in awe, watching the five members of Big Bang perform on stage. Never once in your life had you ever thought about going to a concert, mainly because you never had anyone to go with. But thanks to Jimin, you were finally able to experience the thrill of seeing idols in-person.
And as incredible as it was to see a wild G-Dragon or a shirtless Taeyang, you found yourself glancing every now and then at the boy standing right next to you. You couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but there was something sparkling in the eyes of Jimin as he watched the performances. At the very least, you were glad he was enjoying the concert as much as you were. After all, seeing your favorite idols perform live wasn’t something you could do every day. So you forced yourself to pay more attention to the stage.
During the final song, the arena was showered with confetti. You couldn’t help but turn one last time towards Jimin, the boy who shone brightest under the sparkly confetti even in the presence of Big Bang themselves.
Just before you were about to look back towards the stage, Jimin turned to you with the biggest smile you’d ever seen from him. You were a bit flustered that he had caught you staring, but then he said something that made your heart jump.
“What??” you shouted, trying to be heard over the booming waves of music. You needed to make sure you hadn’t misheard the boy.
He covered a giggle with his small hand and just shook his head, mouthing “nevermind” to you. Surely it was something he had wanted to get off his chest without letting you know.
But you heard him.
-
“OMG I can’t wait!!!” Yoora jumped up and down, wildly flapping a Jimin fan in an attempt to calm herself down. You couldn't blame her. The stage was practically right in front on your face, giving you one of the best views in the arena. “We may have waited in line for twelve hours, but it’ll totally be worth it when I get to see-” she paused as she looked at you and then at her fan, “him…” You were both reminded of the incident that had nearly torn the two of you apart. And although it would take some time before your friendship was completely healed, you were thankful that the two of you were at least back on decent terms.
“I know I’ve said this a thousand times, but I’m really sorry about the thing with Jimin…” You hid your face behind the fan Jungkook had given to you before he left for soundcheck. And for some odd reason, it had Jimin’s meme face with a drawn-on moustache rather than your boyfriend’s face. But that was probably just Jungkook being Jungkook.
Yoora lowered your fan with a gentle hand, “It’s fine, Y/N. Really. Let’s just enjoy the concert together, okay?” She gave you a cute smile until the arena lights dimmed and screams erupted.
Your head shot towards the stage, but no one was there yet. False alarm. You shook your head and laughed at your overly anxious self. You couldn’t help it though. The last concert you had gone to was the one with Jimin. And this time, he would be the one you’d be watching on stage.
Suddenly, the VCR turned on, introducing each member one-by-one. The intensity of the screams even before the boys stepped out on stage was impressive. When the pink haired member appeared on the screen, the screams felt exceptionally loud. And for the first time, it finally sunk it. Jimin, the shy cutie from your childhood, really was one of South Korea’s most popular idols.
“Welcome, first time with Bangtan?” They opened up with Dope and followed with several other hits before pausing for a brief talk with the audience.
Hoseok did a cute dance to show his feelings, Seokjin blew his aggressive kisses, Taehyung did his best aegyo, Sugar ripped his earpiece from his ear and listened to the screams in dramatic fashion, Namjoon thanked everyone for coming and poked his dimples, Jungkook talked about how he couldn’t sleep all night out of excitement, and Jimin called Jungkook out for playing video games all night before giving the crowd an eyesmile and full-body laugh. And then they went back to performing.
Even though Yoora had shown you nearly all of Bangtan’s performance videos, you were still amazed by the sharp choreography, the powerful rap and vocals, and the stage presence as a whole. There were so many things happening all at once and you tried your best to give each member an equal amount of your attention. But naturally, your eyes were drawn to the captivating movements of the pink haired Jimin. You were so close you could see the passion, the focus, the fire, all in his eyes. He danced and sang with so much confidence, and it made you proud to think about how hard he must’ve worked, how badly he desired to perform on stages in front of the world.
As they sang their last song of the night, they walked around different parts of the stage, interacting with fans and putting on fan-made headbands and gifts. Jungkook was spinning around when your Jimin fan caught his eye. He paused mid-spin to draw an invisible moustache on his face before jogging to the other side of the stage.
The next thing you knew, Jimin was walking your direction, looking left and right into the crowd of thousands. Everyone around you was screaming his name, fighting for his attention as you stood there with your fan. You weren’t sure if you wanted him to see you, or if he wanted to see you. But when you really thought about it—about how you had always encouraged him to pursue dance, about the friendship he and you shared, and about the love you had for him—you realized you wanted him to know you’d always support him, even if from afar.
“Jimin!” you called with your tiny voice. The boy froze before he could take another step, his eyes widened. His head shot right in your direction with his eyes scanning all around until they managed to lock with yours. His face brightened. It was the same big smile he had shown you at the Big Bang concert. He saw you.
“It’s time to say goodbye now!” Namjoon spoke as the rest of the members assembled at the center of the stage. The crowd let out a long whine that quickly turned into cheers as each member said their individual farewells.
As the other members spoke, Jimin kept glancing over at your section of the pit. And when it was finally his turn to speak, he looked around at the rest of the crowd too, but somehow his eyes always found their way back to you.
“I love you~” He gave you one last smile before he and the other members exited off the stage. I love you. You had to remind yourself that he was talking to the entire crowd, and not just you.
-
Backstage, you and Yoora sat in one of the small rooms, waiting for Jungkook to wash up. Your friend was practically screaming into your ear, half out of excitement, and half because neither of you could hear anymore.
And because you could barely hear, you were an easy target for your boyfriend to sneak up on.
“Boo!” A pair of hands grabbed your shoulders from behind. You screamed louder than you had during the concert and turned around to make a face at Jungkook. To make it up to you, he brought you into a nice hug, and probably would’ve never let go if he hadn’t spotted Yoora staring right at you. He waved at her shyly as he peeled himself off of you. Yoora only gave you a smirk before leaving to give you and your boyfriend some alone time.
“I’m surprised you actually found me.” You hit Jungkook with your fan.
“Of course! I drew that moustache on Jimin for a reason!” He took the fan and laughed at it, pointing at Jimin’s meme face. “Did he see you too?”
You nodded. “You told him where I was, didn’t you?”
“I had to!” Jungkook held his hands up in defense. “It’s been a while since he last saw you, right?”
“Yeah, it really has,” you sighed. It may have been only a few weeks, but it felt like forever. “Thank you, Kookie.”
“Anytime, Y/N,” he smiled before looking past you. “And speaking of Jimin... Go talk to him before he leaves for tour!” You felt a shove of encouragement push you toward Jimin and Yoora. “I’ll catch up more with you later!” Jungkook shouted, already running away down the hall.
Just as you were about to interrupt Jimin and Yoora’s conversation, you paused and hid behind a shelf at the sound of your name coming out of Jimin’s mouth.
“Thank you for sticking with Y/N,” Jimin said, ruffling the back of his hair. “I was so worried…”
“I mean, I still a little mad… But what you told me the other day makes sense,” Yoora nodded.
“I think as long as Y/N still has you and Jungkook, everything’ll be okay.”
“Just me and Jungkook? What about you?”
“I can’t.” He shook his head and hung it down low. “Our friendship is already beyond repair. I think it’d be best if both of us stopped forcing something that never was.”
Your heart sank. Just because you were dating someone else, it didn’t mean you wanted Jimin completely out of your life. But it sounded like he didn’t feel the same way about you. And you didn’t want to hear any more.
You stepped out from behind the shelf, right into Jimin’s view to let him know you had heard everything. Yoora looked in your direction before quickly excusing herself. Jimin just stood there stunned, unable to look up as you approached him.
“We were forcing something that never was?” you repeated his words. “Am I that big of an idiot for thinking we were friends all this time?”
“Y/N, that’s not what I meant…”
“Then what, Jimin?” you yelled, not waiting for him to answer. “If you really don’t want me in your life, just say it to my face. Don’t make me wait year after year again. And don’t force yourself to stay with me either.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you in my life,” Jimin shook his head. “I just… I’m sorry for everything.” You heard the sorrow, the regret, all in the shakiness of his voice. But what you wanted wasn’t an apology.
“So you’re just going to run away again?” You did your best to hold back tears. “Like when you left Busan?”
A/N: The next part is the part I’ve been dying to write since I first started planning out this fic! So stay tuned~~~
#bts scenarios#bts fanfic#bts fluff#bts angst#jimin fanfic#bts imagines#jimin#bts#bangtan#jimin x reader#lie
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