#I'll like an album or a song and shrug at the rest of them

[shirajellyfish]

Your music taste sounds great. Any recommendations?

Warning you now that my taste in music is in fact terrible. You asked for it though, so here are some musics:

Anything on the Floraverse Bandcamp page, by user Glitched Puppet. Some favorite albums are the Lunar Depot OST, She Wants You To Listen, Broken Radio. Also, Send me In, Coach! from the this means war demo.

Unfortunately, some of my very favorite songs from this artist are no longer available, which is a darn shame. Cat Frontier, Down Here, I Don't Remember, and Welcome To Hellside are some of my favorite weird songs of all time. I don't think any of these are available anywhere anymore :(

Other musics, chosen at random: Jack Campbell's Absenteee and What it Takes, Wolf's Rain soundtrack, Well Dressed by Hop Along, Chonny's Charming Chaos Compendium (I have been OBSESSED with this album lately), the S1 Centaurwold soundtrock and the elk tour songs from S2, Charming Disaster's Love Crime and Other Troubles (and also their single What Remains), Twinsomnia soundtrack, and the Recently album from Liana Flores (that's where Rises the Moon comes from! There are other great songs on there too though.)

I fully expect people to listen to exactly one of these and go "Oh no, Shira's music is in fact cutting down my circus tent"

[tiathecreator]

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ my love mine all mine. ( dick grayson ) !

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎.𖥔 ݁ ˖✎ᝰ synopsis — " nothing in the world is mine for free, but my love, mine, all mine, all mine. " blk reader.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟwarnings — possibly ooc dick ( i never write characters how they actually are lol ),angst, possibly hurt/no comfort ( ? ), unrequited love ( sorry y'all), she's a doozy y'all, dramatic x 100000.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ tia speaks — i need to stop listening to mitski while i brainstorm new fic idea because i just keep writing song fics. but alas, here we are. i literally love this album and i lowkey might make a masterlist for my song fics because i write sooo many of them. i hope y'all like this because i am proclaiming song fics to be my brand. i also suggest listening to the song as you read the latter half of this. dedicated to @pinkhoodi cuz this OUR man.

"you'll be there, right?"

"are you kidding me? i wouldn't miss it for the world."

"where's dick?" your mother asked as you took a seat next to her at the dinner table. she was expecting the young man's presence, having gone as far to prepare one of his favorite side dishes and a little extra to take home. "i thought you said he was coming tonight?"

"more excited to see him than me, hm?" you joked, attempting to avoid your mother's question. she gave you a deadpanned stare, causing you to sigh dramatically before answering. "he told me that he couldn't make it a few hours ago, i just forgot to tell you."

"oh, honey..." your mom started, but you shook your head and offered her a reassuring smile.

"ma, it's not a big deal. i told him we could just celebrate another time," you lied, resting a hand on her shoulder as she gave you a sympathetic smile. your eldest brother sat across from you, having noticed dick's absence, but chose not to mention it. having heard the topic of conversation, he grabs your attention to congratulate you.

you were a small fashion designer, often dealing with making pieces for special events for the small city of bludhaven. you work out of a small shop that you rent with some of the money from your designs as well with the income from being a art teacher for the local elementary school. you took a leap of faith and sent a few of your designs to a big name corporations and they loved them, immediately offering you a position. this was your dream and everyone was excited for you.

and now, you're at the celebratory dinner your parents planned in your honor. the same dinner that dick was supposed to be at, pouring you a glass of merlot. he hadn't said a word. he hasn't answered your calls nor your texts. you tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, trying to convince yourself that this was just a misunderstanding on his part, but you couldn't help but care about his absence.

but this was your night. so, you sucked it up and smiled for the pictures with your friends and family. you laughed at the jokes. you even gave a big teary speech with the power of brandy.

"did you drive tonight?" your second eldest brother asked, watching as you swayed a bit before turning to look at him.

"no. i figured i'd have a ride home given that this was my celebration and i knew i'd drink, but..." you shrugged. "i'll probably just get a taxi."

"get in," he opens the passenger door, gesturing for you to get it. "i'll give you a ride."

you stared at him for a few seconds before giving him a drunken smile. "awww big brother, you're too kind."

"yeah, yeah. just remember me when you're rich and famous with your own fashion line, okay?" he said as you got into the passenger seat, drunkenly settling in the seat before turning to him and giving him a cheery smile and a thumbs up. he huffed a laugh before closing his car door.

he rounds the car, gets in, and begins to drive. he glances over at you before sighing at the melancholic gaze in your eyes.

"so," he started, his tone gentle. you perked up at the sound of his voice, turning your head to look at him. "dick didn't show."

"yeah," you sighed out, turning away to look out the window. "he didn't come."

"why?" he asked the pressing question that you were sure many others wanted to ask at the dinner as they noticed the empty chair to your left.

"he just... didn't come."

"you two fighting or something? because i can't seem to think of another reason as to why he wouldn't—" your brother started but you cut him off.

"i don't really wanna talk about it," you rubbed eyes, effectively messing up your makeup for the night. you didn't want to talk about how your best friend wasn't there to celebrate your greatest achievement to date. that was a tomorrow ( read: next week ) problem. "he didn't come. that's it."

there was a pause before he sighed. "okay."

"okay," you repeated, slouching back in your seat before smiling to yourself. "drop me off at the bar by my apartment? i could use one more drink."

"i think you've had enough to drink for one night," he responded as the parking garage of your apartment building came in the view.

as he pulled toward the gate of the garage, you looked out the window, noticing a familiar figure sitting on the hood of a car in front of your apartment building. you let another tired sigh before looking ahead of you.

"yeah, you're probably right."

you woke up to someone pounding on your door, coupled with the pounding headache as a consequence from last night's drinking. you remove yourself from your bed, dragging your feet over to your door as the knocking continued.

"yeah, yeah, i heard you the first time," you groan as you open the door, keeping the chain lock secured as you did so. you rubbed your eyes as you asked "what?"

"y/n," you startled at the sound of his voice, immediately looking up and being met with the guilty gaze of dick grayson with a bouquet in his hand. hurt and anger filled you as you rush to close your door, unsuccessful as he shoved his foot in the crack of the door. "y/n, please. i'm sorry! just-just listen to me for a second."

"go fuck yourself, grayson," you said, leaning your full body weight on the door as you tried to get it to close despite his foot being in the way. "move your foot or i'm gonna fucking break it."

"just let me in so we can talk, y/n. okay? i just wanna talk," he begged as he tried to push the door open and away from his throbbing foot.

"i said, move. your. fucking. foot." you emphasized your words as you threw your body against your door, further crushing his foot. he removed his foot, allowing you to close your door. you leaned against it as the tears welled up in your eyes.

"y/n, please. just let me in. i know i fucked up, just let me in, so we can talk," he spoke through the door. you scoffed aloud, shaking your head at the desperation in his voice. you thought about leaving him there to talk to the door as you wallowed in self pity in your bed, but your hoping heart got in the way of your vengeful mind. you stood up and undid the chain lock before open the door and walking away, allowing him to let himself in.

"why?" was the first thing you said when he closed the door behind him.

"y/n, i know you're upset—" he started, but you shook your head.

"why didn't you come?" you asked again.

"i didn't mean to flake on you like that. okay, you know you mean the world to me. i just got so caught up yesterday, y'know? like with work and barbara, i just lost track of—"

"barbara? you missed the dinner because you were with barbara?" your voice cracked as you stared at him in disbelief.

barbara.

it was always barbara.

it was barbara when he didn't come out with you for your 21st birthday. it was barbara when he missed all 10 of your calls when you found out your apartment was broken into and you just needed a place to crash for the night. it was barbara when you got rejected from your dream fashion academy and dick was the one person you wanted to comfort you and tell you that you were still good enough.

it was barbara when you finally worked up the courage to tell dick that you had been in love with him since you first met and he tells you that he finally got barbara to agree to give him a chance.

and each time, you sucked it up and forgave him, whether he knew he hurt you or not.

"yeah, i had some time to kill before the dinner and she asked me to come see her. and i mean, she's my girlfriend, so of course i went. and then i realized that it had gotten pretty late and by the time i would've gotten to the dinner, it would've been over. i came by last night, waiting for you to come back. i got this big bouquette and a cake from that shop on 2nd—" he rambled, sitting the flowers down on the counter and pacing across the floor as he tried to redeem himself.

"you missed my dinner for barbara? the dinner that my family, who lives 3 hours away, planned to celebrate me achieving the one thing that i've wanted since i could write...for barbara? for a little alone time with your girlfriend? you mean i sat through two hours of my mom coddling me because the one person i wanted to celebrate with, who i wanted to support me, didn't show because you were with barbara?" you interjected, fighting tears and swallowing the lump in your throat. dick stopped his pacing to look at you, a huge sigh leaving his body as he scratched the back of his neck.

the two of you stood in silence as you stared at the nervous man in front of you. dick opened and closed his mouth, searching for something to say as he notice the quivering of your bottom lip and the dewy glaze of your eyes.

"yeah," he broke the silence. "i know i fucked up yesterday, but that's why i'm here now. i wanted to fix my fuck up. y'know, take you out for like breakfast or to the art museum a few towns over with the fashion exhibit i told you about. we can spend the whole day out celebrating."

"well, i don't want to celebrate today. the time to celebrate was yesterday at dinner which you missed so," you shrugged at him, turning around walk into your kitchen area, hoping to contain your emotions for a few more seconds.

"i know this is important to you, okay, and i'm sorry that i missed the dinner yesterday, but i think you're being a little unfair to me, right now. i mean, i know that we're best friends and we always want to be there for each other, but i also have a life of my own. you can't always have me, y/n," he said.

you can't always have me, y/n.

the words rang through your mind as your head fell forward and your shoulders began to shake as the dam broke. your tears fell rapidly as you silently cried, refusing to make a sound to save the little bit of dignity you had left.

maybe you were being unfair. it was just a dinner and he was trying to make it up to you now. he was a busy man and you knew that, so him clearing his schedule for you was a good sign that he was sorry. and beside, he was right. you couldn't have him.

but just a little part of you, a very naive part, hoped that you could one day matter more that barbara when it came to dick.

you sniffled and let out a weak laugh. "you know what, you're right. i can't expect to have you all the time."

"y/n, you know i didn't mean it like that," he tried, approaching you to pull you into a hug as your tears still fell. you pulled away from him as you moved to lean on the sink. you crossed your arms before letting out another watery laugh and looking at the man.

"i think you should go home," you give him your best smile. it was strained and shaky, but it was all you could muster up.

"y/n, what about the museum—" he tried again. you shook your head for the umpteenth time.

"i'm not up for it today. you can make it up to me some other time but i really can't look at your face right now," you walked to your front door and held it open, waiting for him to walk out.

"no. i'm leaving you here to cry because i missed your dinner," he looked at you, frustrated that you suggested that he left you alone in the state that you were in.

"it's not about the dinner, dick," you exasperated. "i just think you should go. i'll give you a call when i'm free, okay?"

"y/n..." he started, not moving from his spot.

"dick, please leave," you finalized, gesturing to the door as you held it open. he began to walk to the door, dropping his head in shame. "take the flowers, too."

"the fl—you love daisies."

"barbara loves daisies. i like lillies. i appreciate the thought, but i think you should take them, too," you told him. he looked at the bouquet on counter before retreiving it and making his way out the door. he was silent as he left out of your apartment. he stopped in front of you for a few seconds, opening and closing his mouth a few time before leaving. you closed the door lightly behind him and slid down the door, resting your back against it as you allowed yourself to cry once more.

nothing is the world belongs to me, but my love, mine, all mine.

nothing in the world is mine for free, but my love, mine, all mine, all mine.

© tiathecreator 2023. all rights reserved.

[hyunjinsbelovedamericano]

Annoying/cute things skz would do as boyfriends

Just pure fluff

proof read

Bangchan

i feel like he would just say a bunch of dad jokes and die at them,"What do you call someone with no body and no nose?","Idk what" "nobody knows".Then he'll start to cackle and roll on the floor,and you're just standing there like 🙂.He doesn't even notice that you don't find them funny because he's laughing too hard,but you don't have the heart to tell him that they really are not funny

Minho

We all know he's a butt abuser,so it's gonna be the same for you.He'll do it anytime,anywhere.You could be talking with you're friends and he'll just slap your butt.What can you do about it?You try to do it to him to get him back.It becomes a contest,you start to transform into Minho and do it anywhere.He could be about to take and shower and you just slap his butt,then he looks at you like 😒,you can't rest after that,you'll be sleeping and wake up to his hand slapping your butt

Changbin

Put you in a headlock(playfully..clean your mind)when you're in pictures he doesn't let you pose and just puts you in a headlock,its either that or him flexing his muscles,you pretend you hate it but you don't but you can't let him know that.He knows you love his muscle so he'll never stop putting you in headlocks or flexing his muscles,he would wear short sleeve shirts just for this purpose

Hyunjin

He would steal your food,you would be eating snacks then he would randomly come up too you and hug you so you would have to put your food down.He would then pick up the good then hide it from you and walk away.You would go back to eating your food then realise its not there,so you ask him "Where did my food go?" he just shrugs because his mouth is stuffed with your food.Or he would just snatch your food with no remorse,you start to chase him and he would.run away from you laughing.You get tired so you stop running and he'll eventually share with you.

Han

He loves to go shopping with you so when you go without he gets extremely sad,if you buy food he would hide the food from you so you have to buy more and then he can go with you. "I swear I brought eggs,did you eat them?" Too that he shakes his head and says "I guess we have too go back to the shop and buy more food",You agree and just grab the shopping bags, he starts to do some victory dance,chant idk he's just happy.You start to catch on to what he's doing and just go shopping with him everytime you need too.

Felix

He would sike you,he would pretend to high five you and just put his hand behind his head,and he'll never stop.He would do the too slow thing,He laughs in your face when after he does it,makes you look like a fool,but when you do it to him he will look at you like this 😦 he wouldn't expect it from you."Why are you so shocked you do it too me every day" he won't respond because he knows you're right.This kind of makes you lose trust in him with these kind of things,he would say smth like "I'll buy you the 5 star album" you get excited but your face drops remembering that he might sike you,"What?"

Seungmin

I think that he would make food for himself and not you,then you look at him in shock when you see that he only made food for himself "Seriously?" "What" he says before taking a bite of his food,if he's mad at you he would make your favourite food and eat it slowly in front of you,bro would smack his lips but then end up laughing because of how stupid he probably looks.You would obviously eat his food whilst he not looking,because you can't just make my favourite food and then expect me not to eat it.

Jeongin

Everybody knows that Jeongin can be a menace,he would say i gotta tell you something and go to whisper in your ear except he doesn't whisper,he does the opposite actually.He just screams in your ear,yk his dolphin scream?yea.He would also ask you to review a song and once you put the headphones on it's just ear rape or a song thats so base booted that you can't even hear the lyrics.He would think that this is the funniest things ever and you would just side eye him.

this is my first post so sorry if it sucked

[magickcandie]

John Deacon x Fem!Reader

In the rising fame of Queen, many journalists were often there to talk. More often than naught, the band found themselves repeating things before sending the reporter away. That was until Y/N L/N.

When she was there, she found a way to make herself like able. Speaking about the art of performing with Freddie. Roger’s song writing. Brian’s understanding of writing music. And most of all, she got John to talk and smile and laugh. None of the others could.

She was the one they sent whenever they needed information of Queen. And that became the only time John was excited for an interview.

“You guys have another interview.” Miami said, walking into the studio. “It’s with Y/N.”

“Oh, that’s great!” John said, his tone of voice revealing how he really felt about said reporter.

Roger turned to look at the bassist. “That’s the most excited I’ve ever seen you for an interview.”

“Yeah, John, what is it?” Brian asked, just as curious.

“Nothing, just… interested in the… interview topics?”

“I think our lovely John is definitely interested in something, but not the interview.” Freddie said, coming to sit next to Roger and Brian.

Roger leaned forward to tease. “My my, Deaky, do you fancy Y/N?”

John raised his brows with a mischievous grin but shook his head anyway.

“You should totally take her out. It could be so romantic,” Brian said.

“No, I could never talk to Y/N.”

“You’re distaste towards human interaction is becoming… well, quite distasteful,” Freddie said with a pout. “What if we were to do something?”

Roger jumped to his feet in excitement. “Yeah, we could talk to Y/N for you!”

“No, we won’t be doing any of that, thank you. I’m willing to let things happen on their own.”

“John, dear, if we let you deal with it like that, nothing will happen.”

Freddie didn’t give John the luxury of arguing back. Said a simple “tut tut” and walked off, taking Brian and Roger with him. Which was fine because that’s when you walked in.

“Hello, John.” You smiled at him. “Where’s the rest of them?”

“Elsewhere. How have you been, Y/N?”

“Fine, fine. And you?”

“Quite alright. So what’s the plan for today?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m to ride with you to the venue while you all do sound checks and the like. In between those is when I’ll start individual interviews.”

In many ways you were found of John as well. You felt his answers were truthful in a way that the others didn’t quite have. But that was on the professional level. He made you happy, and laugh. He was very open, which you found out was actually a rare thing.

On many occasions, you tricked yourself into thinking he was just being courteous.

Much to John’s dismay, you got Freddie first.

“Hello, Fred. You can have a seat, I just need to get a new pen. Seems that I have lost mine.”

“Oh you won’t need that. Come, let’s talk.” He hooked arms with you. “Shall I interview you?”

“Me? Whatever for?”

“What, can’t I speak with my darling friend Y/N?”

You shrugged but went along with it. “What’s bothering you?”

Freddie waved his hands in dismissal. “You shan’t be my therapist either. This is about you, my dear. What do you look for in a lifelong partner?”

“Oh, that’s a bit forward." Freddie shrugged as if it wasn't "Well I don't know. Someone who's honest, I guess."

"John is very honest. Ever think about things short term?"

"No. I see no desire in that."

Freddie crossed his legs, then uncrossed them and stood. "Well that's all I have for you, darling. I'll send Roger in."

You didn't acknowledge him as he left the room, then Roger was walking in. He took Freddie's spot on the couch.

"How have you been, Y/N."

"Fine, fine. Now, I we see that you wrote a song on the album. What influences -"

"Oh, hush up about the album. Let's talk."

Okay....

"Roger, what are you and Freddie doing?"

"Oh, he got started? Good. Are you doing anything this coming week?"

"No, not that I know of."

"Neither is John." Roger left it at that and leaves the room, leaving you completely shocked.

Brian walked in with a smile. He would be easy to ask. He'd reveal himself if you asked.

"Brian May, what are you guys doing?"

"What do you mean?" He started to play with his hands. He was already nervous.

"You, Roger, and Freddie. What are you doing?" You crossed your arms, hoping that you could weasel the answer out of Brian.

"Y/N, we're not -"

"Were you coming in here to talk about John? Now tell me, what are you doing?"

Brian sighed and deflected in defeat. "John likes you, but he wouldn't do anything. We decided that we would try to push you into it instead." He stood up. "I'll leave now."

It was the greatest news you could've heard! You couldn't wait for him to say something, because you knew John. He wouldn't on any occasion!

John coming into the room took you out of your head. He smiled at you, sitting down at the couch.

"Hello, Y/N. What questions do you have about the album?"

At least he didn't set them up, you reasoned with yourself.

"John, I don't want to talk about the album." Everything was set up, and there was no better time to admit your feelings than here. "I really like you. And unfortunately, Brian did said you did liked me too?"

He went quiet and red in the face. "Y/N, I'm sorry you had to hear it from them."

"It's fine, John, really, but is it true?"

"Yes, Y/N, I really do. You're really beautiful, insanely smart, and just so... perfect. Can I take you out?"

You embraced him. "Of course, John!"

Freddie, Brian, Roger stood standing, peaking through the door. They froze when they saw John glare at them over your shoulder. The boys laughed before shutting the door.

Freddie sighed, dropping his hand to his hip. "Well that didn't take long."

[fairykazu]

TRACK 5: KNOCK KNOCK! WHOS THERE?

"name? are you there?" kazuha asked, his voice was muffled. you laughed nervously,

"yes, i am! don't worry. i'll be there in a bit, just let me do somethiiiing real quick." you answered. you wondered what was off about your apartment until you realized it's a bit messy. by a bit, you mean, it's terrible. it's like every world storm disaster decided to visit your home. you quickly tidied up your place until it was decently cleaned. you opened the door, "hi, kazuha! i hope you didn't wait too long." his nose was dusted with a bit of pink since the cold, he slowly moved his limbs to your apartment.

"no... not at all." he spoke. you noticed you forgot to put away your undergarment on the floor, quickly, you slid it behind the closet next to the door, hoping your highschool crush didn't notice. unknownst to you, he had, he chuckled a bit before he changed the subject, "what kind of song would you want to write?"

leading kazuha to the living room, you fluffed a pillow as he sat down. putting the pillow down and sitting near him, you laughed a little, "didn't you ask me? what genre do you think fits me the best?" well, you had already done enough pop. maybe it would be time for you to do some indie? he shrugged, "what are you most comfortable with?"

"i think, pop, it's a bit mainstreamed though."

"ok, what if you go for pop again but experiment with sounds that sounds like a dream?"

"what do you mean?"

pulling out his phone, kazuha quickly searched something up and played a song by barbara, the idol known as shinin' miracles. "like a dream pop?"

“i love barbara’s music but would it be like copy cat? i dont want to be all controversial.”

he scooted closer to you. you noticed every feature of his face and especially his maple-colored eyes. shit, has he ever changed from high school? he feels the same but is he prettier than before? you tried to ignore it as he continues, “when your albums out, you could release this after and say its inspired by barbara. i'm sure she would be flattered.”

“ohh! okay, i think i have to ask the kamisatos about this but i could work with this."

you yawned as kazuha brought over the third round of canned drinks, "do you think the lyrics are good enough?" kazuha asked you as you half-hazardly glanced at the various sheets of paper. some of them was sprawled all over your star-shaped coffee table and the rest were scrunched up and littered your complex's floor. "hmmm, i think so?"

cracking opens the can, you heard the familiar crisp crrk of the can, he handed it to you. his hand lightly brushed over yours and you tried to ignore the feelings it gave to your heart. "did you even read them? or did you do 'the thing' because you're too tired to look?" he jested as you laughed.

"haha, of course not! who do you think i am?" you replied, obviously lying through your teeth. as obvious as you were, kazuha was fighting back the urge to laugh, he tried to hide it with a smile. kazuha smiled warmly, "name. you are a person who does not lie at all."

"yep! yep! haha, thats me." he chuckled at your useless attempt to lie. an awkward silence filled the air as it started to kill you, you gave in.

name: 0 | kazuha: 1

"...okay, hand it over to me."

he took the can out of your hands, and you raised a brow, "you usually spill your drinks when you're busy with something. remember in highschool-"

"oh god no! don't ever bring that up." you winced at the pain, remembering that memory. it was too depressing to remember. kazuha made a face at you as you begrudingly agreed with him, "alright. take my beautiful dr. pepper away."

you traded your soda for to read the lyrics of the devil!!! just kidding... woah!

wait.

these lyrics weirdly sound romantic....

are the high school feelings coming back? man, why could lumine be right of all people? stupid star twins. y

"anything weird?" kazuha asked, worried. oh, he's doing that face when he's too worried and may or may not have a stomachache of overthinking a problem. you nodded your head no, "nah, it's fine."

"you sure?"

"really."

celeste

masterlist | prev nxt

a new and upcoming soloist was coming into the world of tevyat. but wait… isn't that one of the triple stars?! y/n was apart of the trio band called "triple stars" with aether and lumine. but due to mysterious reasons, they left the group with no explanation. however, they have come back with a new name: celeste

notes: - song used in this chapter is called ive always had a thing for you baby by between friends - dc (divider credit): @\bunnysrph

taglist: @pyrrhicgaze @d4y-dr3am3r @murderisokayforme @aeongiies @florakis @luvnoya @mellowknightcolorfarm @elikyeet @4leyn3 @imkaaayy @xiaosonlybeloved @kavxikitty @jayxncya @sakiimeo @theblueblub @whipped-for-fictionals @ynverse @eunchaeluvr @rifran @meowmeowmau @sweetstrawberrybabe

[runningfrom2am]

all my ghosts - (d.s)

an ‘on the one screen in my town’ oneshot

summary: drew gets cast as the love interest in mason's newest music video.

this is set after 'kinda famous' but before the rest of the plot! this was also a request from @winterrrnight and i cannot disappoint my girl duh

watch the mv i based this on here!

wc: 1.2k

tags/warnings: none!! unedited?? intentional use of lowercase?? also a heads up that i did not come up with this song any of the lyrics or the music video!! all credits go to the original artist and her team (lizzy macalpine!)

requests (currently closed- feel free to send whatever but it will be a while before I get to them!)

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series masterlist

"do you know who they casted yet?" este asks, brushing back mason's hair away from her eyes to pull it up in to a messy bun for the opening shots.

"no, no clue." mason replies, watching her friend in the mirror and trying to stay as still as possible.

"don't you get to make these decisions?" este laughs, throwing the bun loosely into a scrunchy and reaching for her bobby pins to secure it.

"nope." mason giggles. "but i trust my team. i just said someone who gives kind of a 'boy next door' vibe but in a very relaxed way, who's taller than me, and doesn't look like he's forty."

"jeez, lower your standards." este chuckles, shaking her head. "i'm sure they found the perfect person. it'll be so, so good."

"i'm a little nervous." mason admits. "it's my first single after the last album, after the breakup- i don't want to disappoint anyone. you know?"

"i get it." este nods. "but this song is amazing, the video will do it justice. i know it." she assures her friend, leaning down to get a better look at her hair in the mirror. "i think you're ready! just don't throw your hair around too much. it takes a lot to perfect a messy bun."

mason smiles and turns her head to look at her makeup and hair, grinning in satisfaction. the bags under her eyes were emphasized and her brows darkened, but the rest of the makeup was meant to look very minimal. "i'll be careful." she assures her friend, standing up and stretching out.

"mason! we're ready for you." one of the producers is sticking her head in the door of the trailer, and the star quickly adjusts her costume, sweat shorts and a tank top before following her out, waving goodbye to her best friend who is already getting ready for her next client; mason's costar.

mason goes out and shoots a couple casual shots, walking into the corner store and browsing at a few different aisles and coolers. they don't know what will make the final cut just yet, but they'll gather an array of footage just in case.

"okay, we're going to get you guys together now, just act natural, have a look around and be very casual but definitely make it your own. it'll make it real- but we can always try again." the director says and mason nods, looking past her as the bell on the door rings and they bring in her costar.

mason stands on her top toes to look over the shelves in front of her, and smiles wide when she sees who they had casted. "drew! hi!" she grins, quickly making her way over and dodging cameras and mic's to give him a hug.

"hey, mason." drew smiles, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"oh my god!" she laughs, quickly pulling away. "i didn't even know you auditioned!"

"well, i thought i wouldn't tell you until i got it. it would be embarrassing if i didn't, hey?" drew chuckled. "and then i figured i'd just see you here."

"of course you would get it, are you joking?" mason smiles, hugging him quickly again. "i'm really glad you're here. this will be fun."

"it sounds like it." drew nods, that ever lovely smirk present on his lips.

"basically, we're just fucking around and they're filming it. minimal acting required." mason shrugs as drew slips an arm over her shoulders.

"perfect- let's do this." he nods, quickly pressing a kiss to the side of her head before moving away.

"okay we're ready." the director says, grabbing their attention. "whenever you guys are, just act like we're not here."

"somehow that makes the pressure worse." mason giggles, shaking her head slightly and avoiding eye contact with him now.

"you know all the words, right?" drew asks, a teasing smirk on his face as they walk down the aisle, followed behind and ahead of them by cameras at different angles.

mason gasps, gently shoving him. "how dare you! i wrote every word myself. of course i know them." she giggles.

"okay, well, what's it about?" he asks, grabbing something random off the shelf and turning it over in his hand for just a moment before returning it to its spot.

"you haven't heard it? ouch."

"of course i've heard it. i just want to hear it from you."

"okay," mason nods, continuing to walk beside him slowly as she thinks it over. "it's about falling in love again after being heartbroken, i guess. like, everyone has something that has happened to them in their lives that kind of... haunts them. that they can't let go of, but you can grow around whatever happened and be happy again."

"i see." drew nods. "i get that feeling. it's an amazing song, by the way."

"thank you." mason says, pride evident in her voice along with a slight nod.

it only took a couple of days to shoot the whole thing, most of it just pulling random clips of drew and mason talking and giggling outside of the clips she filmed herself, dancing and singing to the lyrics of her own song.

the last one they filmed together had been the wedding scene, and drew was smiling like an idiot the whole time. the finalized clip only lasted a few seconds, but as he looked her up and down in the white dress, something in him had changed. usually acting to him was no big deal, he could compartmentalize himself from his characters, but this shoot had been entirely different with the producers pushing on them over and over to just 'be themselves'.

"okay! that's a wrap for drew." the producer called as they cut the cameras, the two of them standing face to face at the front of the church.

"thank you so much." mason smiles, reaching around him with the bouquet in hand to give him a hug.

he gladly returned it, gently rubbing her back. "thank you for having me. this was so fun."

"anytime! seriously." mason says, pulling back from the hug after a moment. she's in a bit of a rush to get out of this slightly itchy wedding dress, so she's already stepping down off the small preachers stage.

"hey, wait," drew calls after her, following on her heels as she turns to look at him. "are you free this weekend? to grab lunch or something?"

mason is taken a little by surprise at this, pausing in her step toward the costume tent. "i.. yeah! i would like that. maybe not this weekend, but i'll call you, yeah?"

"okay, yeah. whatever works for you." drew nods, shoving his hands into the pockets of his dress pants.

mason's cheeks are flushed as she looks up at him. "sweet. okay. i've got to get going, but i'll see you soon."

"yeah, see you soon." drew smiles, shifting his weight back onto his heels.

he lets her go, walking the rest of the way down the aisle dressed fully as if she was getting married today. he's quick to lift his hands and rub his palms over his face when he encounters the thought that one day he'd like to see her like this again, be marrying her for real. is he crazy? god, he hopes he isn't crazy.

as she passes off the bouquet to the prop girl, giving her a polite and grateful smile, drew knows he can't wait to see mason again. whatever that may take.

taglist: @bookishbabyyy @madelynie, @whore-4-drewstarkey, @slut4drudy, @winterrrnight, @totalswag, @sadfury @fullfledgedemo @rafemotherfuckingcameron, @urfaveluvr, @alimaythings, @chenslucy, @s-we-e-t-t-ea, @tahliac11, @saccharinesammie, @suzyheartsrafe, @maybankslover, @redhead1180, @lovelyxtommy, @thelomlisrafecameron, @realwifeofjackharlow

[russenoire]

Getting to Know You Meme

tagged by @ygodmyy20! thankee kindly.

01) are you currently in a serious relationship? nope. can't say i miss it.

02) what was your dream growing up? i had a new one every month. the one that stuck around the longest was 'astronaut' until i learned that NASA's manned space program hasn't done much since skylab, outside of testing the limits of human endurance in low earth orbit. still cool! but i'll keep my unnaturally dense bones, thanks.

03) what talent do you wish you had? the talent to work any job i wanted without medication.

04) if someone bought you a drink what would it be? a cocktail of some sort. most likely a gin and tonic, a negroni or a mojito.

05) favorite vegetable? too many to count. easier for me to tell you what i don't like: green beans. if they're only palatable tempura-fried, i don't need them in my life.

06) what was the last book you read? currently working through your brain's not broken, by tamara rosier, ph.d.

07) what zodiac sign are you? virgo. and no, i don't wanna hear about how virgos are hyper-organized control freaks. i am neither of these things.

08) any tattoos and/or piercings? five in a single ear, one in the other. two make up an industrial piercing. i have no tattoos but want one of the kageyama brothers from mp100 someday.

09) worst habit? getting too hung up on the 'right time' to do things.

10) what is your favorite sport? to play? dodgeball. to watch? either figure skating or tennis.

11) do you have a pessimistic or optimistic attitude? recovering pessimist here. i'm optimistic about some things and nihilistic about others.

12) tell me one weird fact about you. i never learned to ride a bicycle.

13) do you have any pets? no. i love cats and regularly-washed dogs though.

14) do you think clowns are cute or scary? i don't have a strong opinion about clowns, tbh.

15) if you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? nothing. anything i can change is changeable.

16) what color eyes do you have? brown.

17) ever been arrested? nope.

18) bottle or can soda? bottle. though i don't soda very often.

19) if you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? pay off my student loans and save the rest.

20) what's your favorite place to hang out at? a vedanta temple in the foothills here, or a park on a hill with a historic frank lloyd-wright-designed home.

21) do you believe in ghosts? maybe. i know people who can see them.

22) favorite thing to do in your spare time? singing. or learning.

23) do you swear a lot? very much so.

24) biggest pet peeve? how long you got? we could be here all week.

25) in one word, how would you describe yourself? iconoclastic.

26) do you believe in/appreciate romance? *shrug* i believe in and appreciate love, wherever it comes from.

27) favourite and least favourite food? does anyone have a single favorite? anyone? i do not. least favorite food is canned vegetables, except for beets and corn.

28) do you believe in god? i believe in the divine, a Self that we are one with and all have access to. whatever you choose to call that is up to you.

29) what makes you happy: soft fluffy things, palpable texture in weaves and knits, sweet or creamy fruits, singing and/or listening to music, my friends, learning something new.

30) currently listening/the last thing you listened to: hiroko suzuki, 'bara wa utsukushiku chiru'.

31) favorite place to spend time: at home.

32) favorite lyric: 'love is like the scabs from sunburn' from the OP to kenda master ken.

33) recommend a film: at random? good morning, by yasujirō ōzu.

34) recommend a book: oranges are not the only fruit, by jeannette winterson; islands, the universe, home, by gretel ehrlich.

35) Recommend a band, a song, or album: uchikubi gokumon doukoukai, 'shufu no michi' (way of the house-husband)

36) recommend a TV show: rose of versailles. soapy as hell, but great if you love historical dramas and anime. it's fairly well-researched too.

37) where are you from, and do you still live there? Where have you lived? the pacific north american coast; i'm still here. i've lived in texas and georgia, USA.

38) do you have any pets or animals in your life? how did you find/get them? no pets.

39) what's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten? bull penis. 0/10 do not recommend. the most unusual thing i've actually enjoyed is probably fried crickets.

40) how did you 'find' fandom? got obsessed with a story and wanted to share that love with other people. didn't happen until my mid-thirties though with steven universe.

41) make a list of 5 things that you see without getting up. a heat gun, a soldering iron that i have never used for actual soldering, the laptop i'm typing this on, the laptop connected to my projector, a plastic mask.

42) how do you style your hair? usually a tall bun. my hair is long enough to sit on and this keeps it out of my way.

as always, no pressure: @yaraneechan @eshithepetty @impmansloot @gumy-shark @sukunekatano

@cheese-enjoyer9471 @sulfurousmirrorscapes @creativenicocorner or anyone else who sees this and wants to!

[masterwords]

who do you think you're fooling?

Summary: Hotch breaks an important date with Morgan and is faced with the choice: make a big gesture to get him back or risk losing him forever. (Spoiler alert: he makes the gesture.)

Pairing: Hotch/Morgan

Words: 6.2k

Notes: I listened to Cher's album "Believe" on repeat for hours while writing this. I could keep editing this forever to include all of the vibes but I'll spare you. (Or maybe I'll just do this story again later with MORE VIBES.) The club described is one I used to go to ages ago for drag shows (though not even close to DC so here it's totally made up) and this trip down memory lane was a fun place to insert these two fools for a short time. Anyway. This is a silly little romp through a lover's spat set to the enchanting music of her highness Cher. Listen to "All or Nothing" and you'll feel this fic I think. if I did my job.

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

“I saw Morgan at a gay bar last night,” Emily whispered, leaning so close to Reid’s ear that he could feel the spider-leg tickle of her hair as it cascaded over her shoulder and onto his. He shivered and pulled away just slightly, frowning.

“What?”

“Last night. Gay bar. Derek Morgan.” She was grinning wildly, that kind of cat eating a canary grin that he thought made her look like a movie star. Her smile was too wide, too perfect, and for a split second his attraction to her was through the roof. It overshadowed everything she said. “Hello?”

“Sorry,” he muttered, shaking it off. She was just like that. She kind of made everyone stupid sometimes. “What were you doing at a gay bar?”

She looked dumbfounded and a little shocked that that was where his mind went – not on the juicy gossip but on her own culpability. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised by that, she would have reacted the same way. “One of my good friends is a drag queen and she was performing last night.”

“Ahhhh,” Reid hummed, nodding. He didn’t entirely believe her. “So maybe Morgan was there supporting a friend too?”

She didn’t like his tone. The accusation that one or both of them was lying. “Look you little turd, he was on the dance floor surrounded by men and doing neon green jell-o shots. He knew every word to ‘I Will Survive’...isn’t that about as gay as it gets?”

Reid shrugged, trying to keep his features as neutral as possible. Part of it was simply that he didn’t believe it, there had to be an explanation. Derek Morgan liked women, maybe a little too much. In Reid’s imagination, he was taking home a different woman almost every night and whether he knew their name or not was of little consequence. He didn’t want to think of that being wrong because it meant he didn’t know Derek as well as he thought. It meant Derek was keeping a big secret from him, the kind that begged the question – why? His response to Emily’s question as about as lame as it got.

“I know all of the words to that song too.”

Read the rest on AO3!

[bluewinnerangel]

okay okay let's go this - gimme your honest thoughts on headline

Nooooooooo I worked on an answer for like an hour and then tumblr said BLOOP BYE ok

This one suprised me because he fully prepped me with the preshow and tour bus playlists and recs that I thought it would be so heavy on the greatest and ooms and silver tongues kinda sounds? And unfortunately I do like my noise and I do believe he's loves his noise and I do think he wants to move towards noise? So my response was more of a what happened lol maybe I misjudged it maybe he's still kinda careful and easing us into it (tbh I think this) and it's for lt3 or maybe this is just what he's more comfortable with (and a lil this). Not that I think he doesn't love this sound. Or that I don't love this sound. Just didn't anticipate this many softieboppies that's all. Expectations were high and he fking met them don't get me wrong I just didn't expect this ALSO yeah it's crazy he just did it all lol.

Sonically she feels timeless like she belongs in the 60s 70s 80s 90s- projected into the future- projected into AUs- she belongs wherever she goes i don't know how to explain it I don't have the knowledge but she's just a lil bit of every era and never too much she's just out there being the sidecharacter in all of them sorry she's not the main but she's there she's definitely there

T H E TITLE is everything like going for a track called Headline being someone who has been the subject of many shit headlines over the years is just very hot no matter the context or how its used as a metaphor, but then so casually "you used to read me like a headline" that can be taken many ways both positive and negative is just oof chefs kiss.

For the rest of the song lyrically I don't have much to say, there's not many plays on words I can break down over or not that I've noticed yet apart from the links with the rest of the album in the first verse which I'll get to in the end, and the concept isn't relatable to me either so yeah eh shrug on them oop.

He's mentioned he didn't write it, just tweaked it:

I love this for him tho

[Verse 2] You spent your summer workin' for your education // While I was runnin' after dreams that kept us waitin' // You never told me "never" //I guess I never knew we'd have the shortest forever //I thought I could, but I can't forget ya

But then then I wanna talk about the 1st verse:

[Verse 1] Sometimes, I wake up and I hear you through the silence // You let your pride hide all your beauty and your kindness // So fast to judge in error, you thought you knew me better //So quick to kill forever

I like that this verse matches pieces of the rest of the album in terms of keywords: we got hearing you through the silence vs he can still hear the silence in Holding on to Heartache, then Beauty being another song, kindness just throw TPWK in there why not, then so fast to judge and quick, like quick to judge in Bigger Than Me, and then there are a bunch of forever and evers all over. It's like this first verse makes this song belong on this album. To me it actually feels like this is what he tweaked to make it fit on this album. And then that stops and just kinda bops on I guess 🙆🏻‍♀️

....I feel like this needs a conclusion but its really just

[magentagalaxies]

hi @liliana-von-k, thanks for the follow! i have answered this question before but i love talking about kids in the hall and my "origin story" with them so i'm happy to tell it again (jsyk it will be a long post bc i always have to tell the full story bc i love it so much)

basically my parents have both been kith fans since the 90s, so even before i had seen any of the show itself there were certain kith quotes that were just part of my family's vocabulary. the first sketch i watched was "these are the daves i know" when i was like 8 years old and i became obsessed with that song. i watched a few other sketches/the first few episodes from season one but i didn't truly get into kith until after their documentary "comedy punks" was released

see, my mom is a big documentary person so she was like "oh hey there's a new kids in the hall documentary! do you want to watch it?" and i just kind of shrugged and was like sure i'll be in the room while it's on, probably working on my own stuff or scrolling on my phone. but like not even five minutes in i was hooked. while i'd always enjoyed kids in the hall's comedy, something about hearing the very personal histories of how the troupe came together and survived for all these years was so affecting. i think it was scott specifically that really signaled to me that this show was something special, and the part where bruce talked about comforting scott while he had cancer by telling him how the rest of the troupe would die first was so powerful. honestly no individual movie has changed my life more than comedy punks did specifically bc it gave me that push to get into kith and approached it from such a human perspective, which definitely informed my approach to the rest of their work and them as people. i remember watching comedy punks for the first time and getting this strange feeling i couldn't pin down yet that was like this is important, not just referring to the show or the troupe, but like this feeling that i had just crossed a turning point in my life, and i remember feeling this pull towards toronto which seemed frivolous at the time but has been so heavily solidified as i'm now planning to move there in just over a year.

so i bingewatched all of the kids in the hall tv show in summer 2022, as well as brain candy, death comes to town, the amazon season, etc. basically as much kith stuff as i could find. but i needed more. so i started getting into side projects, which brought me to "mouth congress" (a queer-punk band scott thompson and paul bellini had in the early 80s that they've recently started putting out new music with again). i found a youtube channel with a bunch of recent live performance clips of the band and each video had like less than 10 views. so since i didn't have anyone to infodump about kith with irl (aside from my very patient mother lol) i started commenting on every video, complimenting the performances and pretending i was talking to a friend, confident no one would actually see it

after 2 weeks of this, turns out someone did see it. PAUL BELLINI HIMSELF. this led to a whole back-and-forth which eventually ended up with him emailing me a copy of the unreleased mouth congress documentary, i emailed back asking if he'd be interested in meeting on zoom (since i am a queer comedy writer myself so both he and scott are my biggest comedy inspirations), and yeah bellini is a delightful person to talk to and we very quickly became friends. i ended up offering to run mouth congress's social media, which can be found on both tumblr and instagram as @mouthcongress and posts both vintage videos from the 80s/90s and recent live clips. they're currently working on an album of entirely new material written in the past 2 years which is going to be released soon (we don't have a specific release date but the recording is completed and they've started filming music videos for it!! but i'm getting ahead of myself lmao)

a few months pass and mouth congress is set to perform at a new year's eve show at a local club in toronto. i'd never been to toronto before, never even left the united states, but paul says it would be so great to have me there and by some miracle my parents say yes to making the trip (they still can't believe this is happening either, since they were kith fans first!). the trip is wonderful, i immediately fall in love with the city, i get lunch with paul irl for the first time and get to have my very first face-to-face conversation with my number one comedy inspiration scott thompson. it's honestly a little awkward but in an adorable funny way. i also have my first legal drink at that show (bc canadian drinking age is lower than the us), specifically saying i want to have my first drink with buddy cole, which both scott and paul are very into

it's actually only a couple weeks until i'm in toronto again, because scott is debuting a new buddy cole show consisting of monologues that were all censored by amazon that he pitched during the revival season. this is my first time traveling a long distance without my family which my mom is anxious about so paul bellini lets me have him as my emergency contact. the show is amazing, i get to stay for the afterparty, and while i'm there i casually mention that i'm surprised no one has made a buddy cole documentary yet. like, this character has such a rich history even beyond the kids in the hall (which i can infodump about all day lmao) and is such an important staple of queer comedy that doesn't get the attention he deserves. the kith documentary is great, but where's my buddy cole documentary? paul accepts my pitch (that i didn't even realize i was pitching), passes along the idea to scott, and yeah now i'm legit directing a film with my number one comedy heroes and i haven't even graduated college yet. what the fuck. i expected this to be the type of thing i accomplish over 20 years into my career, not at twenty!! so yeah that's how the buddy cole documentary started. i'm still in preproduction on it but we're launching an indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for it in the next 2 weeks bc this has evolved into a full feature-length film with some incredible celebrity interviewees, both kith and otherwise.

anyway a few months later it's announced bruce mcculloch is bringing his one-man-show to the city i go to school in. not only that, but his theater is literally 2 blocks from campus. i ask paul if he'd give me bruce's contact so i can set up an interview for my school's newspaper, paul gives me bruce's assistant's email, and i set up a 30-minute zoom two weeks before bruce will be in town. the conversation honestly goes bizarrely well. like it's honestly surreal how close bruce and i got after only knowing each other for a half hour? he's such an easy person to talk to and literally by the end of that conversation he was already calling himself my mentor, asking about my comedy, and offering to let me meet him backstage after his show. which is exactly what i did, launching yet another incredible friendship-slash-mentorship with one of the kids in the hall.

bruce eventually signed on to executive produce the buddy cole documentary (alongside paul bellini), i've been up to toronto in january, april, june, august, and october this year (so essentially every 2 months, though it was slightly offset by going twice in january) and i'm planning on going up in december, every time not only do i find time to meet up with scott, paul, and bruce but they all deliberately try to reserve as much "jess time" as they can because i have a unique and powerful friendship with each of them, every time i finish a new creative project paul has to see it bc he loves how ambitious i am, i repeatedly wake up to texts scott sends me at 3am about the documentary and how excited he is to have me on tour with him to film it next year, bruce thinks it's hilarious he used to think i was "shy" bc i've gotten so comfortable going on infodumps and tangents about things i'm passionate about, and the three of them all feel like extended family. best of all, i actually have plans to graduate from college a semester early so that i can use the money (and time) i've saved to find a place in toronto and start making even more connections with the comedy community up there (also for the record: no i have not met mark, kevin, or dave yet. i know kevin is aware of my existence from bruce giving me a shoutout at a show they both did but that's about it. but i know i will interview all of them for my documentary)

so anyway that's how i got into kids in the hall. i know only the first 2 paragraphs answer your question, but at this point my love for this show has become so so intertwined with my relationships to bruce and scott and paul as humans that i don't really consider getting into kids in the hall and getting to know the kids in the hall as separate things in my life.

(also if you have any follow-up questions on anything mentioned feel free to reply or dm me, this goes for everyone else too!)

[burrowbabe]

Give and Take - Chapter 3

"Hey, so we were just talking ... since Joe and Ja'Marr are just looking to spend the off season in LA, I offered they just stay here." AJ shrugs looking to you as if asking permission.

You were speechless for a moment, thinking about being in such close proximity. Not even because you just met them - your house had basically become a hotel for your brother and best friend's late night hookups - but for the simple fact that you think you have a crush.

How weird could it get? You think, nodding to your brother and Joe.

"Y-Yeah that's fine." You quickly say.

"Word." AJ smiles and resumes eating his breakfast.

"Thank you guys, seriously. You really don't have to do this for us." Joe says, looking between you and your brother.

"N-No, its our pleasure. We're all friends." You say, giving him a close-mouthed smile. You and Joe hold eye contact for a moment, almost as if trying to read one another's expressions.

"Welp, I'm gonna go shower." You state, once again trying to escape an awkward situation.

“We have some recording to do today.” You direct towards your brother. Quickly getting up from you chair you think, what is wrong with you? Shaking your head as you ascend the stairs. He must think you're so weird.

The self deprecation continued all throughout your morning routine, and as time passed, you realized that not only was that nagging feeling in your body exhausting, but you truly were tired from not sleeping the night before.

You had a deadline coming up for the release of your new album. The label had been checking in non-stop to make sure you were being productive - which you were - but not at the pace they would've liked.

After combing through your wet hair, you hear AJ call up to you from the bottom of the stairs.

"Ann! I brought all our shit down here because of the good acoustics, remember?"

"Yeah, OK. I'll be right down." You reply.

Even though you had spent thousands of dollars on a state-of-the-art home recording studio, you found that recording your vocals in the kitchen sounded much better. Of course, the studio was still put to use, but you both found yourselves set up on the kitchen island more often than not.

When you descended the stairs, you could see everyone sitting around the island waiting for your arrival. An audience was nothing new to you, but when you were performing the song finished, not during the creative process.

Having your friends Tana and Nick listen in was one thing, but now Joe and Ja'Marr sat patiently as well, which churned your stomach with anxiety.

"Jeez, we got a full house." You jokingly say, laughing awkwardly.

"They wanna see how the sausage is made." AJ jokes, garnering laughter to erupt from the table. You laughed along to play it cool, but you knew this was going to be difficult. Your songs were personal to you and it was important to you to have a safe space where you could criticize yourself, cry, goof off and argue with your brother over the sound engineering without people judging.

"All we know is football. I wanna see how y'all make my favorite songs." Ja'Marr says, smiling encouragingly.

Deep down, you knew everything would be fine, but you totally felt put on the spot.

"Of course, of course." You smile, swallowing your nerves.

For the rest of the afternoon, you recorded a handful of songs, some rap, some R&B and pop that showed off your range. The process became easier as time went by, with the guys offering words of support and cringeworthy synchronized dance moves to the beat of the songs.

Everyone spent the time laughing and having fun, accompanied by your famous obscene lyrics that you became popular for. You didn't know if this impressed Joe or not. Would he think you were sexy for being empowered and aggressive? Or would it be a turnoff that you were so vocal about your sexuality? Nonetheless, a smile never left his face, which you took as a good sign.

After spending some time in the living room watching a raunchy, late-night comedy, Tana suggests you go for a swim.

"Now?" You whine, but everyone else was eager to change and jump in the pool.

Digging through a drawer of bikinis in your bedroom, you debated which one you wanted to wear. Should you be modest or sexy? That was the question. Deciding on sexy, you put on a bright blue, micro bikini. Your brother wouldn't be pleased, but you wanted to show off your body a little bit.

You were the last to emerge from the house, closing the sliding glass door to the patio behind you and seeing everyone splashing in the pool having a chicken fight.

You certainly needed some liquid courage to stop your racing mind from feeling self conscious. So, you grabbed the bottle of vodka from the night before to drink straight up.

Throwing your towel down on one of the sun chairs, Tana turns her attention to you from atop AJ's shoulders.

"Holy shit! You look hot!" She exclaims, causing everyone else to look in your direction. You try not to catch Joe's eye and thankfully the darkness of the night hid the blush that crept up on your cheeks.

You murmur a 'thank you' before taking a swig from the bottle of vodka.

"I just kicked Ja'Marr's ass! Ann come play chicken. You can be Joe's partner!" Tana suggests excitedly.

You set the bottle down and turn to see Ja'Marr fall off Joe's shoulders and swim towards the edge of the pool to pull himself out.

Anxiety struck you once again, but you obliged and eased into the pool.

Great, now my literal vagina is going to be up against this guy's neck.

By the time you reach Joe, and before you can even blink, he's hoisting you up atop his shoulders with such ease that you feel your core clench with arousal.

You just met this guy yesterday, calm down. You remind yourself, hoping to God he did not just feel the reaction he gave you.

"Push her! Push her!" AJ screams as you and Tana interlock fingers trying to throw each other into the pool.

With Joe's tight grip on your shins and a hard shove that you mustered up, you sent Tana flying backwards into the water.

"Yes!" You scream. Joe takes you off his shoulders with a huge smile plastered across his face. You high five and celebrate as Tana spits out water and attempts to clear her eyes of chlorine after going under.

It was only after the commotion died down, and people started venturing into the hot tub, that you noticed the muscles on Joe's shirtless body. This was something you could not find on the internet the previous night ... and you had tried.

Before you could get too ahead of yourself, Joe's voice broke you out of your trance. You realize it was only you and him left in the pool and he's asking you about your plans for the next day.

"Oh, I'm not doing anything I don't think." You say.

"Good, I was hoping to take you all out to dinner to say thank you for letting us stay here." He replies.

Hope deflated slightly in you, thinking that maybe he was going to ask you out on a date. But, again, you remind yourself that you and him barely know each other, and he has not shown any interest in you.

"That sounds great." You say with a small smile.

"Do you want to get in the hot tub?" He asks.

Feeling slightly rejected, you shake your head. "No, I think I'm gonna head up to bed. I didn't get much sleep last night."

His brow slightly furrows and for a second, you think he looks disappointed.

"Joeyyyyyyyyyy!" Tana calls from afar. "Come sit next to me!"

Looking at each other once more, he nods quickly. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Sleep well."

With that, you hoist yourself out of the pool and gather your things. Watching Joe get into the hot tub next to Tana caused a wave of jealousy to come over you, but you needed to stop yourself from getting into something that could hurt you again.

[nerd-at-sea5]

alright this is pt 2 to 'i spent my teens in rage, spiralin' in silence' AKA the long ass yellowjackets fic i'm writing AKA the sam fender fic

pt 1 is here, pt 3 is here, ao3 link here

and uh yeah. lets go pt 2

also, during any wilderness scene this takes place in-between s1e7 and s1e10, laura lee is alive, taivan came out slightly earlier (during/around the wolf attack)

it feels weird, she thinks, to be this focused on a girl when one of the greatest albums in nat's collection is playing-and for once, for once-no one on the team is complaining.

but natalie's sitting in one of taissa's chairs, nirvana's 'bleach' halfway over from her record player-and nat can barley focus on the lyrics.

they don't need to, they know it by heart, but there's something about the way lottie's lips move to the lyrics of 'paper cuts' that make nat's stomach feel fuzzy.

van flops down next to-practically on top of her, and after one glance at their pink cheeks, nat twists around to see taissa walking out of the hallway that leads to the bathroom. she smirks at van, raising an eyebrow, how'd that go? and gets a smile and a thumbs up in response, pretty damn good.

'and they cock and-' "WOAH."

natalie's jolted out of her wordless conversation with van, as well as their increasingly more concerning lottie thoughts (now that's she's taken the time to unpack with van and realized what they actually mean) by laura lee's shocked yell, quickly scrambling to stop the record.

"laura lee, the fuck?"

"that's not-i don't get-why would that be in a song?" her face is getting redder by the second, and nat feels a small twinge of remorse, "kurt cobain-"

"it's actually an abuse metaphor," lottie interjects, and natalie's jaw almost hits the floor. the taller girl’s words are soft, her hand resting on laura lee’s knee to calm them, and nat feels a pang of jealousy. “the lyrics before 'the lady whom i feel maternal love for / cannot look me in the eyes / but i see hers and they are blue' is about how the mom who's abusing her kid can't look him in the face, but the kid can-"

"and the kid sees her true self." natalie interjects, and lottie gives her a soft smile that sends a jolt down their throat, her brown eyes flickering in the light of the lighter van is playing with-who snorts and lets nat continue. "and that true self is a monster."

she twists their hands in her lap, laura lee's eyes flicking around while she processes it, maybe they shouldn't have jumped in to explain those lyrics. van notices, and a hand closes around natalie's as tai turns to lottie, "how do you know that?"

the other girl shrugs, "i knew nat liked them, i figured it'd be a fun thing to check out and research."

the fuzzy feeling returns, racing to nat's heart as she spots a little blush on lottie's cheeks.

"i...thanks, lot."

van audibly groans, "alright, um...nat can you grab me some water, dude?”

"why the fu-oh. yeah, anyone else want some?"

laura lee holds out her cup, “me please.” while lottie raises a hand, "i'll go with you?"

natalie nods as van shoves her out of the chair, flashing a thankful look at the redhead, whos already moved on to show laura lee how to make a paper airplane out of taissa's homework.

the two end up in tai's kitchen, and when nat remembers that van loves chewing on ice in their water, lottie offers to hold open the freezer door while nat grabs some.

they do so, thankful for the burst of cold air that can be used to excuse the pink tinge on her cheeks.

it's only when natalie straightens, turning around and placing the glass on the counter next to them-she realizes that with lottie's arm stretched to prop open the door, when they turn, natlie is not only standing semi-inside the freezer-she's also chest-to-chest with lottie, who clearly wasn't expecting being this close either, and who is looking down at nat with those goddamn brown eyes.

"i-sorry, i can move-" lottie reaches to pull her arm back, and without thinking, natalie's hand lands on top of her wrist, holding it in place on the door, they can feel lottie's pulse racing-mimicking the quick thudding in nat's chest.

"....don't."

they've somehow ended up even closer now, and it's a single look; lottie's already been looking slightly down at nat-but now, her eyes drop impossibly lower for a split second-right to her lips, and directly back up to their face.

it's the 'go ahead' that she needs.

nat's hand leaves her wrist, moving to grab and pull lottie by the collar of her blue flannel while lottie's hand simultaneously cups the back of natalie's head, pulling her up ever so slightly.

it feels so different from all other kisses they've had, from all the boys when they were drunk or high or both, the boys who she'd kiss so she could ignore who she really wanted to kiss, all the times when they've been fully in control.

lottie doesn't feel like she's kissing natalie to do anything else. not to go any further or to get something out of it. it feels like she's kissing nat simply to feel their lips pressed against hers. it's a breath of fresh air-a joyous laugh in the face of everyone who made nat think you had to go further.

lottie isn't kissing natalie to go further. natalie's never wanted to go further. lottie is kissing natalie's just to kiss her.

and natalie's heart is cheering.

there's no control, everything is sliding in their brain, landing perfectly in it's place-it feels so, so right.

lottie tastes like strawberries and chocolate and for some reason natalie loves it. she wants to bottle it up and drink it when they're having a shit day, or just hold in this moment and never let go.

she feels like she's on the step to the edge of the diving board, right before you jump in, the first breathe of summer air when the school bell rings, the way biting into buttered challah feels.

there's a glowing heat spreading to their chest, their lips, their fingertips as lottie's other hand rests on her hip, she's leaning forward and natalie steps back, intending to let her back hit whatever wall was behind them-forgetting it's an open fridge-and nearly headbutts the pickle jar.

they break apart, and for one terrifying moment, natalie thinks lottie's going to run, back upstairs, back, back and away from her.

but insted, lottie smiles, tracing her hand down nat's arm and intertwining their fingers together.

---------

natalie really thought that after seeing coach's crushed leg, maggots inside a deer, her girlfriends possession and her dad's half missing head every night in their dreams for the past few weeks-nothing gory related could shake her much any more.

clearly, based on how the moment tai's legs gave out and van crumbled in front of them, natalie caught one look at the soaked blood through the clothes on van's face, down their side, down taissa's side and froze-they were very wrong.

she could hear everyone else screaming around her, maibly coach ben’s voice-trying to give off some futile attempt to show authority-but everything tunneled down to van's hand, gripping nat's leg like a lifeline, and the repeated tapping becoming more and more urgent until-

'hug?' morse code.

"yes. yeah, god fuck. van-" natalie wraps her arms around van from the non-injured side, tai still holding tightly onto van's hand.

a vivid memory of both van and nat flinching away from needles during the flu shots given, van bursting into tears only seconds after natalie, comes surging back as nat watches akilah angles the needle to van's cheek, taissa’s fear stricken face, gently rubbing van’s forehead, nat feels van's legs shaking.

nat can barley even watch without feeling her whole body go into panic mode, instead forcing themself to look at laura lee's soft hands holding down van's arm, a carefully crafted mask over the blonde girl's face, whispering silent prayers. she nods at nat, then at akilah. coach ben is at van's head, terror clear as day in his eyes, “carful. please.”

nat holds down van's legs while holding back tears. why van? why happy, funny, kind van? why her best friend? the sudden stillness of van's movements letting nat know that they've passed out does nothing to ease her anxiety, in fact it might make it worse.

she refuses to leave, mirroring tai as the two sit and silently watch over van's sleeping figure. it's only when shauna and lottie come in, shauna sitting next to tai and slowly coaxing her out of the room (not without many protests on tai's part, and one minor attempt from ben-that does not work) and to sleep for the first time in what nat thinks is around 36 hours.

"if you're going to tell me to sleep-"

"never."

lottie's voice is calm and caring, as she takes tai's former seat, gently taking natalie's hand, breaking the grip that the blond had been holding her other wrist in, leaving small, crescent shaped marks.

lottie ran her fingers over nat's hand, tracing the lines and keeping it in place when nat subconsciously jerks back to indenting their own skin.

nat dosen't realize she's begun to cry until lottie's hand cups their head as they fall into her, shaking silently.

something about lottie and holding her head always made nat feel safe. maybe it was the way lottie's hands were always soft, despite the manual labor they'd been in for the past weeks, or maybe it was because she always held nat close and tight. maybe it was that natalie could just exist around lottie, she didn't have to say anything or do anything, just existing was good enough.

the brunette said nothing, just held natalie as close as possible, that same soft, caring way she always did, gently running her hand through their hair.

"they'll be alright."

"what if they're not, lot? what if they'll never be alright? what if-"

"nat." lottie interrupts before natalie can send herself into a spiral, "breathe, baby. ok? can you do that for me?" nat shakes her head, worse case scenarios popping up each time they try to inhale, fists clenched tightly in their lap.

they feel their body move, vaguely aware of her back pressed to lottie's front, lottie's hands worming their way into nat's fists.

lottie's good at this, diffusing natalie's anxiety-not as good as van, she thinks as a fresh wave of anxiety hits.

they don't know how long they sit there, but natalie can feel their breathing go back to normal, can feel lottie press a soft kiss to her temple, "feeling better?" "mhm."

van whimpers, lottie and nat instantly on their feet as van's face twitches.

lottie squeezes nat's hand, another soft smile that has natalie feeling warmer even after lottie's hand leaves, quickly leaving the room to go retrieve taissa.

"nat?"

van gets an answer, non-verbal, but physical, with natalie throwing herself onto van (avoiding all of the wounds) and squeezes them so tight she can feel her own arms straining, "if you ever" nat manages to breathe out, "scare me like that again and i swear on laura lee's bible i will fucking kill you."

van's chest shakes slightly, they wince, slowly forming words, "good to know you love me."

"so fucking much."

---------

only jackie taylor would find a way to have a team bonding moment while trapped in the middle of nowhere.

travis, javi and coach are off having a ‘boys night’ or whatever the fuck that means (lottie thinks they just wanted some alone time) so all the team members are outside around the shitty fire they managed to make with a lot of swearing, minor shoving, and nat’s lighter.

in all honesty, lottie didn’t even want to be here. it’s been getting harder and harder to block out the thoughts that aren’t in her own voice, or to not flinch when she looks at one of her friends and spots a bug on their face. it always starts small.

she’s been falling back in on herself, regressing to behaviors she hasn’t shown since middle school. laura lee notices, laura lee was there when she freaked out in seventh grade, laura lee was there when she got diagnosed, laura lee’s always been there, she always knows.

nat notices, but natalie dosent know, lottie doesn’t want them to know. she’s heard natalie waking up every night, breathe tight and fast, whispers of dead men who haunt them when they’re asleep and even more when they’re awake. natalie dosent need to know. she won’t, if lottie can do anything about it.

lottie smiles to herself at the sight of natalie's face, pushing back her mind and focusing on the shorter girl.

mouth slightly open, pulled into a slight smirk at the left side, brow furrowed with one eyebrow raised, freckles across her nose shining out bright as day in the firelight, she's scoffing at jackie, van snorting next to her, a tight lipped smile doing little to hide the humor on their face while tai watches, a lovesick expression clear as day on her face.

jackie's expression doesn't shift, and laura lee flashes lottie a look from across the circle, "what about never have i ever?"

natalie looks down, mindlessly drawing in the dirt with her fingers, shrugs, "what the hell else are we gonna do?"

"i can recite-"

"van, dude, babe, sweetheart, love of my love-i love you, i truly do, but if you recite the plot of 'dead poets society' again i do not think laura lee will recover from her tears."

"it's really sad, ok?!"

lottie grins again, "ok, next time how about 'heathers'?” van flashes her a grin and a thumbs up as they slump against taissa, the latter kissing them on the forehead as they do, “but for now, we don't need to drink, just hold up five fin-ok we all know how to play."

nat knocks her elbow into lottie, only to drum on her sleeves with her fingers while rolling their eyes at the taller-but it's accompanied with the same smile that lottie only ever sees aimed at her.

mari goes first, 'never have i ever thrown up in school', lottie's finger goes down-a side effect of the first meds her parents tried, so does van's-that one time their mom made them go to school with the flu, and right after seeing van vomit at practice-yep, there goes shauna.

gen next, 'never have i ever gone surfing' where, to lottie's surprise, taissa and melissa are the only ones to put a finger down.

it goes like that for a bit, natalie and lottie both go out for being high at school, jackie for accidentally hitting someone's mailbox more than once in the same car (lottie had to question laura lee's specificities), lottie goes out again with taissa, jackie and shauna for traveling out of the country before, and then it's misty's turn.

"uh..never have i ever had my first kiss?"

van snickers, but around the circle-jackie, shauna, nat, tai, van, lottie, akilah, and laura lee's fingers all go down.

taissa's eyebrows shoot up and lottie can almost predict what she's going to say before she does, "wait-laura lee, who did you kiss?"

the blonde grins shyly, "that wasn't the question."

jackie holds up her hand to laura lee, "nicely done, laura lee."

nat leans forward "ill give you a really cool lookin' pine cone if you tell me." but shauna interrupts before laura lee can respond, “we could go in a circle and say who our first kiss was?"

no one opposes, so she glances at jackie before at the rest of the group, lottie can see most people look calm, jackie looks slightly more on edge, but she's hiding it well.

"so..who's first?"

out of the corner of her eye, lottie sees van and nat glance at each other, then burst out laughing, through gasps of air, they each choke out the others name.

"what?!" taissa's starring at van in shock, and lottie can only imagine that her face holds the same expression as she looks at natalie.

van holds up their hands, giggling at jackie's startled expression and misty's wide eyes, "look. look-we were like 14, and-"

"it was so fuckin’ bad."

"nat!"

"i'm not sorry! it was, it was like kissing your sibling! hated it."

van pauses for a moment, composing themself,"yeah i hated it as well."

lottie sighs, scooting closer to nat, "jealous?" the blonde whispers at her, slight anxiety coating her words, lottie shakes her head, "i think it's funny." nat nods slowly, smiling up at her "ok, thanks."

van giggles, "hey, i mean-remember that spin-the-bottle a while ago when tai and nat kissed?"

taissa scoots away, van almost falling over, "dude!" "i thought we agreed never to mention that."

the four of them laugh again, and misty raises her hand, "wait-ok. who did laura lee kiss, and...how many people here have kissed natalie?"

laura lee catches lottie's eye from across the circle, tilting her head to the side, a silent 'is it ok?'. lottie nods.

"i kissed lottie."

"i beg your fucking pardon?" nat is staring at lottie with the same face she was just staring at them with.

"LOTTIE?!" jackie's mouth is hanging open so wide that shauna lifts up her hand to put jackie's chin back.

"hey! welcome to the gays, man." van is grinning madly when they say it, a double thumbs up in laura lee's direction.

shauna turns to face lottie, who can feel herself going red from how hard she's trying to hold back her laugher, "i was trying to figure out if i liked girls.....what are friends for?"

laura lee giggles, "it was a fun experience, it's not like it was anything bad."

mari shrugs, "i feel a little slighted by the fact that you've kissed someone before me, but going back to the other one-nat. how many team members have you kissed?"

lottie turns to natalie, who glances up at her with a sly grin, "van and tai we've already covered, lottie, shauna-that time at a temple trip on a dare, and ja-"

"it didn't count."

shauna's head snaps to jackie so fast that for a split second lottie thinks she whiplashed herself. "you've kissed natalie?!"

"it didn't count!" jackie repeats, "my first kiss was jeff. besides it wasn't even a real kiss, i'm not a lesbo, anyway."

instinctivly, lottie's hand gripped nat's, who's had already curled into a fist, laura lee and tai had both flinched slightly, while van was glaring daggers at jackie, “what the fuck, man?” -shauna looked hurt.

lottie watched natalie's gaze harden, "yeah, didn't seem to count-what with you pushing me into the locker and-"

jackie lunged forward, clapping a hand over natalie's mouth, knocking them flat on their back while jealously lottie didn't know she possessed spread out through her stomach.

"shut the fuck up." jackie nearly growled, she removed her hand from natalie's mouth, only for the blonde to flash a wicked smirk, "make me."

there was more venom packing the words than any other time lottie had heard nat speak them, and yet while jackie's face flushed red, lottie felt the urge to shove jackie off nat and kiss the latter seneless.

she caught nat's eye, the blonde flashing her a familiar look, 'i can stop if you want.' but as much as she was tempted to nod, some part of lottie enjoyed what she was watching. she shook her head, and natalie grinned.

"what's your problem anyway, taylor? i never said you were gay."

"i'm not!"

van's laugh was stifled by tai's elbow-but she was also giggling.

nat's grin only grew, "then how'd you like to stop straddling me, 'cause this looks pretty fuckin' gay to me."

"i wouldn't know if it was gay or not. i'm not gay." but she still flew off natalie like they were suddenly on fire.

now lottie was trying to refrain from giggling, even shauna-who had looked a little like a kicked puppy up to this point-had shaking shoulders and a hand over her mouth. laura lee looked as if she was about to cover her eyes, but also didn’t seem to want to stop watching.

jackie, on the other hand, was bright red and a mix of angry and embarrassed, "seriously just fuck off, scatorccio-i'm not a fucking dyke, i don't like any of that shit."

van flew to their knees before lottie even had a chance to react, "jackie taylor i swear to fucking god-" but the combined hands of taissa and natalie-both of whom looked like they were about to slap jackie to hell and back, pulled van back down.

looking back on it, it was not the smartest choice, or even the best-and god knows lottie could have come up with a better line-but she thought it was clever in the moment, and so with a glance at natalie, then to jackie, "well, maybe your not watching the right shit, here-let me help with that.”

and with that, she pulled natalie back up to their feet and kissed them as hard as they could.

she could feel natalie's hands digging into her t-shirt, always moving, the warmth radiating off of them, and when nat leaned back into a tree, pulling lottie with her, lottie couldn't help but smile into the kiss, nat grinning right back at her.

they broke apart at van's wolf whistle, that was quickly shut off by laura lee's stage whisper of 'van! let them have their moment!'

later that night, curled up under blankets, listening to mari and gen's soft snoring, lottie pulled natalie closer to her.

the blonde was already half asleep, so lottie faced no sarcastic, half-assed protests that would only really lead to nat cuddling closer like she did every night. she only felt the rhythmic rise and fall of nat's chest and their hands wound tightly in lottie's shirt.

"hey nat?"

"hm?"

"i love you."

nat's eyes shot open, bright blue in the moonlight, staring directly into lottie's.

"......"

"you don't have to say it back-"

"do you really mean that?"

it was only her tone that made lottie hesitate. for the first time that night-even after jackie's comments, they understood but it was still out of line, even after it all-this was the first time natalie's voice was anything aside from sure of themself.

to lottie, they sounded scared, terrified that she didn't mean it and that it would all go up in flames.

lottie didn't want to hear that tone from natalie ever again, not if she could help it.

"yeah. yes. of course i do."

relief washed over the blonde, and lottie felt herself smile, grinning like she was in a cheesy romcom.

"i love you, lottie."

[sinceileftyoublog]

Omni Album Review: Souvenir

(Sub Pop)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

On their fourth album Souvenir, Atlanta post-punk trio Omni don't necessarily sound like a new band, but they're certainly reinvigorated. From 2016 to 2019, they released three records, including their Sub Pop debut full-length Networker. Five years later, with some time to think, writer, record, and mull over next steps, Omni have given us their first record on which any song could be a single, each managing to worm its way into your ear while still defying expectations.

For one, Omni has refined their aesthetic. Singer and bassist Philip Frobos went into the recording of Souvenir inspired by the gentle, melodically droll singing of his favorite college rock frontpeople. Engineer Kristofer Sampson, working with the band for the first time, placed Frobos' voice higher in the mix than on past albums, increasingly emphasizing the songs' obtuse lyrics that fittingly contrast the acuteness of the instrumentation. Drummer Chris Yonker joined Omni full-time, offering cutting precision on "Exacto" (no pun intended), skittering flourishes on "Common Mistakes", and disco grooves on "Verdict". And vocalist Izzy Glaudini of L.A. no wavers Automatic joins on three tracks, harmonizing and engaging in absurdist chants with Frobos.

Two tracks on Souvenir stand out not for necessarily being catchier or better than the others, but for the extent to which they exemplify Omni's essence. On opening track "Exacto", Frobos sings, "Exacto, de facto, concise, quite right," as if to create a mantra, but later defies the band's facetiously robotic tendencies with dry jokes and sprinkling effects. "I'll love you like the first night / For the rest of our lives / Mr. Big Shot always forgets to introduce his wife," he jokes. On "INTL Waters", he asks, "Why follow the rules like everybody else?", the band eventually interrupting the song's established light piano and wiry bass with brash, staccato percussion and Frankie Broyles' buoyant lead guitars. Whether Omni's settled into a treadmill or strayed from their defined formula, they're effective satirists of the everyday.

The songs on Souvenir certainly don't tell stories, per se, but they find the pathos in individual moments. Two people in a fraying relationship get mugged on "PG", as Frobos looks on the bright side: "You know I never minded the taste of blood." They find their inner grump on the wincing "To Be Rude", Frobos crooning over Broyles' scraggly guitars, "Excuse me ma'am / What's in your decanter? Mezcal and endless banter." And then there's closer "Compliment", a post-modern collection of anxieties about the economy, self-image, and artistic integrity. "It's nothing new / I'm guilty of it, too / Looking at someone else's life / Thinking, hey man, that looks nice," Frobos shrugs. When Omni is thoroughly enjoying observing everyday life, who can fault them for finding inspiration in what's right in front of them?

[methodrones]

despite my inability to not make fun of anton newcombe, i've gotta give props to the guy – he created a band and some really fucking beautiful music that will genuinely never part with my soul. like i am tethered to this music for the rest of my life, and i'm lucky enough to be able to discover new music from them every day because of the sheer amount of obscure, unreleased tracks and albums they have. i think if the '98 peel sessions, the diane perry tape, and/or pol-pot's pleasure penthouse were ever released on spotify, i would genuinely lose my shit. just saying. but i truly do feel lucky, and to be so completely honest, this feels like the band i was always meant to find.

it's so easy to take a surface level look at the brian jonestown massacre and shrug them off as your usual, generic rock band – or raise your brows at the name and simply move on – but there really are layers to this band that i can't even properly describe. so much emotion and care goes into these songs that you can just feel it. especially when you dive deep. even spacegirl holds that feeling, which isn't an unreleased album, unlike pol-pot or peel sessions. i still remember the night i first listened to pol-pot's pleasure penthouse and sobbed my eyes out after hearing chameleons. there's just not another band out there that can make me feel the way bjm does, and even when i drift away for a little bit, i'll always have this band as my cushion. my comfort band through and through <3

[griffinsspike]

I think this is too much to fit in a reply, so

with Le Risque, I'm not sure if I like the vocals. but I do like the fuzz guitar and harmonica combo a lot. it might grow on me - I remember disliking Predator X the first time I listened to Omnium Gatherum

I think I'm the same way as far as "replay value" goes with music. a lot of my favorites have a lot going on, so there might be new details to notice. well, that, or they're a little overwhelming lmao for a while I was REALLY into Melt-Banana, whose cover of The Damned's song Neat Neat Neat might be the loudest music I've ever heard. I'm a little into free jazz for the same reason, love how chaotic stuff like John Coltrane's Ascension is.

which actually, I think ties into the fact that In The Court of the Crimson King is the only album on this list I've heard in full (excluding KG of course). gonna have to check more out. but anyway, every now and then they'll play the heaviest thing I've ever heard and then have some crazy chaotic dissonant stuff come in. huge fan of that. wouldn't be surprised if it was free jazz influence since they've got that jazzy reputation.

Discipline might be my favorite KC album - I love how much Adrian Belew sounds like David Byrne on it - but Larks' Tongues and In The Court of The Crimson King are really good!

on the topic of Devin Townsend, I do remember liking City by Strapping Young Lad when I was getting into industrial music

as far as Steely Dan goes, the first few tracks on The Royal Scam (and Green Earrings) are some of my favorite stuff by them. I showed one of my friends The Caves of Altamira, then he asked for something else that good and I kinda had to shrug. I don't think I've listened to all the solo stuff, but The Nightfly is definitely a standout there

I think while I'm going I'll list a few favorites that come to mind for me, too: The Beach Boys - The SMiLE Sessions/Pet Sounds Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Herb Alpert Presents Stereolab - Fluorescences (EP)/most of their albums Talking Heads - Fear of Music (and the rest of their first five albums) Melt-Banana - Charlie The Olivia Tremor Control - Dusk at Cubist Castle Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine

What are some of your favorite albums?

OH DUUUDEE!! GREAT QUESTION THAT IS /REALLY/ TOUGH TO ANSWER!! but i appreciated that you asked ^_^ i tend to rank my favorite albums not just by how cool/enjoyable i think they are, but how i could probably listen to them tens of thousand of times and never get bored! here's a handful that pop to mind first; - Fishing for Fishies, LW, Paper Mache Dream Balloon... etc. (King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard) *I could listen to a lot of their albums over and over again w/o getting bored LOL - The Raven That Refused To Sing (Steven Wilson) - In The Court of the Crimson King (...King Crimson) - Foxtrot (Genesis) - Worlds Apart, Silent Knight, Network (SAGA) - The Flat Earth (Thomas Dolby) - Emily's D+Evolution (Esperanza Spalding) - Flex-Able (Steve Vai) - Spilt Milk (Jellyfish) - Signify (Porcupine Tree) - Ziltoid The Omniscient, Casualties of Cool (Devin Townsend Project) - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, Danger Days, The Black Parade (My Chemical Romance babyyy!!!) - Clancy (Twenty One Pilots)

... the big chunk in the middle is what i'd describe as MOSTLY progressive rock/metal! all with varying sounds, from varying eras, where some might sound more "classical" so to speak (KC and Genesis come to mind) others might sound more "modern" and hard rock/metal-y (Devin Townsend, SAGA, Jellyfish...kinda!) Steven Wilson is a mix of both, as it harkens back to older prog rock sounds while sounding much heavier later on (the same sound you'll hear in the Porcupine Tree album, given Wilson is the lead singer of both bands) Flex-Able + Emily's D+Evolution are what i could describe as being very Frank Zappa-esqe. funky, groovy, but still sounds like prog - though Spalding's album is a lot more serious than Vai's! as for Thomas Dolby that's more New Wave than anything. MCR & Twenty One Pilots speak for themselves i think, being more poppy (TOP especially, is Pop music, but definitely their best album by far)

[illicitlimerence-writes]

our song | c. leclerc

pairing: charles leclerc x singer!reader word count: 1.9k words. request: yes/no by anons "charles one shot where his gf is a singer/songwriter. she's making a new album and he's playing the piano and accidentally uploads him playing the melody in the piano in a insta story. a while later the song comes out and charles surprises her in one of her concerts playing the piano to the song 🥰" & "hello, could you maybe write a charles lecerc x reader? with story he posted when he plays the piano?" aaah! so sorry this took so long. i really hope you both like it. prompt: roses from this prompt list. warnings: language, kissing, fluff, it gets kinda suggestive in the end. i think that's it. a/n: here's day 2! i had one (1) piano lesson when i was ten and guitar lessons from ages 12 to 15 so i apologize if there're any mistakes about terminology and stuff. just like my xmas fics, PLEASE DON'T SEND REQUESTS FROM THE VALENTINE'S PROMPT LIST. i'll tag all the fics as illicitvalentine's so it's easier to keep track of them.

my masterlist / valentine's day masterlist

you’re laying down on the couch, with your back pressed against the armrest as you read a book, the soft music charles is playing in the background is the perfect soundtrack. you read about a girl running away from a life she didn’t want, and as she thinks about everything her life could, can, be, your mood falls as charles stops playing.

“why’d you stop?” you ask, placing your bookmark in the page you were reading.

“my fingers hurt,” charles replies, stretching his fingers.

“that was a nice song, where did you hear it?” you ask as you walk to him, sitting next to him on the small bench in front of the piano.

“it’s mine… i came up with it,” he says, and you think you see his cheeks reddening. “i’ve had the melody in my head for a while now,”

“why didn’t you tell me? charles, you just composed an entire song in your head, remembered it long enough to get here and play it. not even i can do that,” you smile, grabbing his face and placing a soft kiss on his lips. “you’re amazing,”

you’d been feeling a lot more connected to charles lately. maybe it was the fact that you had to leave him for a few months, with your world tour coming up, you wanted to spend every moment you could with him. loving him.

“it’s nothing, really,” he shrugged his shoulders, making you roll your eyes.

“don’t do that. you’re a very talented person, you have a gift.” you lean your head on his shoulder, placing your fingers on top of the keys as you start playing a song you’d written for him about a year ago. he helped you play it, your fingers occasionally grazing his as the melody sped up.

there are words floating in your head, your phone is on, the front-facing camera recording everything you’re humming, mumbling, singing as you try to find the right words for the song.

"there must be more to life, than just empty promises and never-ending lies," you sing, pressing the keys and testing different notes and rhythms.

you don't know how long you stay there, trying to find the right melody for the story you’re building in your head. you let out a small yelp as you feel a pair of arms sliding across your waist, a chin rests on your shoulder, smiling at your reflection on your phone screen.

“sorry, i didn’t mean to scare you,” charles smiles, pressing a kiss on your shoulder. “you were too caught up in your music you didn’t hear me coming in,”

“yeah, i’m sorry,” you laugh, scooting over to one side, making enough space for charles to sit down next to you. “i can’t figure out the melody for the song, i- i’ve been sitting here for hours and still can’t get it right,” you lean your head on his shoulder. this wasn’t new to him, or you. he’d been by your side multiple times as you wrote your previous albums, offered help and support whenever he could. “i think i should just give up,” your hands move to pull down the fall board, but he stops you.

“don’t. show me what you got so far, we can work on it together,” you nod, reciting the lyrics you had written even though it wasn’t finished yet, playing the different melodies.

“but it just doesn’t fit, it doesn’t feel natural,” you get up, walking to the kitchen to get a glass of water. you lean against the marble countertop, watching the sunset through your window. the soft sound of the piano playing brings you out of your thoughts, and after a few seconds, you recognize the melody. it was charles’ song.

you walk back to the living room, where charles has set up your phone in a way where you can only see his hands and torso, the picture cutting off at his neck. you sit next to him, smiling at the small frown on his face, a sign of concentration.

“are you bragging, mozart?” you laugh, watching as a smile forms on his face. you expect him to stop once he reaches the part where he’d cut off the last time he played it, but he keeps going, the build-up makes you shiver, and you get goosebumps once the crescendo fades. he finishes in a perfect fade out. “you finished it,” you gasp, showing your arm, “i got chills. it’s amazing,” you grab his face in your hands, planting a soft kiss on his lips. “you have to register it, publish it somewhere, somehow. charles, this is one of the best songs i’ve ever heard,” you throw your arms around his neck, pulling him close to you.

“i, uh, actually had another idea,” he says as he pecks your cheek.

“what?” you ask, letting go of him as he places his fingers over the keys again.

he starts playing, and after a few seconds, he hums a melody. your melody.

‘pop star (y/n) (y/l/n) teases possible collaboration with long time partner, formula 1 driver, charles leclerc. the young singer posted on her instagram a video of the two of them playing the piano as she sang words to what fans assume is her next single.’

the headlines, tags, mentions and comments flood your cell phone. you read one after the other, feeling a pang in your chest at the mistake you’d made a few days ago. what was supposed to go on your personal, private instagram account, ended up for the whole world to see.

“i’m sorry,” you pout. charles holds your hips and brings you close to him. “i know you said you wanted to use a pseudonym,”

“it’s fine. creating this song with you has been one of the greatest thing i’ve done in my life. i didn’t want to take attention away from your success by having my name involved,” he kisses your forehead, leading you to the piano. your safe place. “but don’t let this stop you. you have to keep the song in the album, it’s your song.”

“god, i love you,”

-

you say hi to the people as you pass by them, heading to your dressing room to prepare for the concert. the sound of people yelling, chanting your name, screaming the lyrics to your songs is music to your ears, it helps ease the pain you’d been feeling all morning.

no matter how much you and charles both tried to spend valentine’s day together, you simply couldn’t make it work and had to spend the day of love with an entire ocean separating the two of you.

as you open the door, you’re surrounded by colors, the scent of flowers strong given the number of roses that currently occupy most of the room. your heart flutters as you stare at the delicate roses, eyes watering at the thought of charles going out of his way to prepare something for you even when you’re both miles apart.

it’s past midnight back in monaco, so you settle with texting a red heart emoji, alongside a picture of your teary eyes to charles. your hair and make-up team walks in, they squeal in delight as they see all the roses.

“thank you so much for joining me today, this is a special day for all couples, and throughout the night i’ve seen countless couples singing, dancing and it really means a lot to me that you, all of you, decided to spend this night with me. this next song is one that my boyfriend and i wrote together. and even though i can’t be with him tonight, i’d like to sing this song, our song, as a way to feel closer to him.” you speak into the microphone, hearing the thousands of people yelling in excitement. “it seems that you like the idea,” you giggle, looking around at the sparkling lights from the bracelets the crowd received when they entered the stadium.

you felt nervous about performing the song, even though you sang it at every stop of the tour because it quickly became a fan favorite, this song meant so much to both you and charles, and you wanted to perform it the best way you could, knowing that this would be all over the internet the next day.

“this is called ‘for you’ and i hope you like it,” that’s your cue for the keyboardist to start playing. the screaming and yelling die down as you wait for the melody to begin, but it doesn’t come. you turn around, noticing that the spots where the rest of your band is supposed to be are empty. you look around, seeing your publicist and the band with smiles on their faces, you frown and are about to say something when the melody starts.

the crowd cheers as they hear the piano, and you feel the stage shaking beneath your feet. worried, you look at your band, your friends, who are signaling for you to keep going. to start singing.

you clear your throat, softly singing the first verse. there are cheers around you, they get louder, and you don’t really know why. thanks to the giant screens on top of the crowd, you see movement behind you, something is being lifted from under the stage. you don’t know what’s going on, but the music keeps going, and so do you. there’s something familiar about the way the person plays the piano. the screaming and yelling get so loud, and as you turn around you understand why.

there, sitting on a piano bench is charles. playing the piano to your song. you can’t keep singing, your eyes widen as he smiles at you, all you can see is him.

“you’re here,” you say. he finally stops playing, standing up and wrapping his arms around you.

“i really want to kiss you right now,” he whispers in your ear.

“me too. god, i love you, i-” you shake your head, tapping the corners of your eyes with the pad of your finger. “i can’t believe you’re here,” you throw your arms around his neck, it feels so good to be in his arms after so long. you loved touring, you really did, but nothing could ever compare to the feeling of being home.

“what did you think of your debut as a pianist?” you ask, you’re laying down in the bathtub of your hotel room, your back against charles’ chest. the carpet floors were covered in rose petals, and there was a red heart formed with the petals on the bed as well. there are candles lit up and baby pink petals floating in the bathtub water.

“i liked it. i think i might stick with racing, though.” he chuckled.

“you were amazing. i love you. thank you so much for this, i-” he cut you off with a soft kiss on your lips, grabbing your chin and moving your face toward his. you hummed softly, turning around until you’re sitting on his lap. you continue kissing him, feeling his hands over your bare, wet skin.

you shiver as something soft trails down your back, charles is holding a rose between his fingers and caresses your skin with it. you smile against his lips, getting ready to enjoy valentine’s day as you’re supposed to. in the arms of the person you love.