#and shout out to all the disbandeds that would have made it without question otherwise lol

[barbylion]

I was tagged by bestie @everlasting-beg 🫶🏽

bias check~ list 10 groups you stan and your bias from each, then tag 10 people!

VIXX - Hyuk

SHINEE - Minho

Blackswan - Fatou

SNSD - Sunny

2PM - Taecyeon

APINK - Bomi

MFECT - Mingun

EXID - Hyelin

INFINITE - Dongwoo

I'll tag @clgzb @zea9love @dalkyum @mystericmoon @missaoapink

ofc, this is totally voluntary lol. And anyone else who just wants to share can certaintly tag me, I'd love to see!!

[attemptsatwriting-exe-blog]

Tease (Lotor x Reader)

This is an x reader posted from my previous account, @whysleepwhenyoucanwrite. It can also be found on my AO3.

Prompt: Guess who xD Cannnn I have a LotorxReader with the prompt, "How have you made it this long without someone throwing you out an airlock or something?" Because that sounds funny

A/N: Absolutely NO idea who this is XD Sorry this took so long! I’m gonna try and get my other prompts out soon aha. Sorry if you’ve been waiting for ages! I promise I’m working on your request (or will be soon). Anywho, thank you for requesting, ‘anon’!

Tease (Lotor x Reader)

Lotor had switched sides. That was what he claimed, anyway, after saving all of you and having a “discussion” with the team. He’d been a constant presence in the castle for the past few days; none of you trusted him, especially Keith and Allura, but as Shiro had pointed out, he didn’t have much reason to lie now he had been declared a traitor to the Empire, and you could keep a better watch on him if he remained in your vicinity.

So, the nine of you (if you included Matt, your newest arrival) had a tenth addition to the castle.

Which was all well and good, except he was so annoying.

It wasn’t as if there was any specific act he had committed that infuriated you; it was just his general attitude. The way he walked around as if he owned the place, that stupid smirk on his face and his fucking hair -

Another thing; he was unfairly attractive. Unfairly. Lance would be the first to agree with you - you’d caught him trying to enter Lotor’s room one time, claiming that “I need to find out what hair products he uses! It’s not fair!”

He also decided that the chair next to you was the one he sat in at every meal, making mealtimes awkward as hell. One time you’d been happily eating your food goo (or, well, as happily as you could be, considering it was food goo) when you’d turned to see Lotor staring directly at you. When you’d raised an eyebrow, he’d simply placed his spoon into his mouth, and winked. To your utter horror, your face had heated up, and you’d looked away to see Keith staring.

From that point on, you’d firmly decided to stay far away from Lotor as much as possible.

But he made it so hard.

At training he’d insist you be his sparring partner, and despite your constant glares at Shiro, he’d agreed. When you were all relaxing, he’d somehow find an excuse to sit next to you. Even when you were hanging out in the kitchen with Hunk - your safe haven - he’d miraculously appear, claiming he smelled something good - then sending you a smirk.

It was weird, and borderline creepy - scratch that, just creepy. You hated it.

“Do you have an obsession with me or something?” you’d suddenly blurted out one time in the corridor, when the purple pointy-eared bastard had shown up at your side again. Lotor simply gave you a side-eye, then smirked.

“So you have noticed my interest in you.” Not even glancing your way, Lotor huffed in amusement. “I wouldn’t call it an obsession. It’s simply more pleasing for my eyes to be around the best looking person in this castle.”

With that, he’d continued on his merry way, boots clacking against the floor as you stood stock still, sputtering in shock.

“What do you mean he called you the best looking person in the castle?!” Lance shrieked, the hairbrush he had been calmly passing through your hair jerking and probably pulling out fifty strands with it. You yelped, and Lance hurriedly apologised, going back to brushing smoothly. “I thought that was me,” he whined.

“Aw, Lance,” you giggled. “It is you.”

“Well, I’d certainly hope so,” he replied indignantly. “Otherwise there isn’t much else going for me,” he added, voice low enough you almost couldn’t hear.

“Excuse me, what?” you exclaimed, turning around abruptly. “What do you mean, not much else going for you?!”

Lance had frozen, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “Well, I mean, uh…”

“You’re our sharpshooter!” you practically yelled, your face barely inches away from Lance’s. “And you’re the one that boosts morale, that glues the team together… not just that, you’re smart, you’re protective of your friends, and you’re the best damn shot I’ve ever seen. The team wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Lance smiled, eyes glassy, and you reached around for the mirror behind you, then held it up to his face.

“Now, repeat after me; “you is smart, you is kind, you is important”.”

Lance chuckled a little, but did as you instructed, speaking into his reflection. “You is smart, you is kind, you is important.”

“Hell yes you are!” you shouted, and wrapped your friend in a hug. “Now keep brushing my hair, I like it.”

It was one thing receiving glances and vague gestures. Now he was being forthright about it.

When you were sparring, he’d lean in and whisper “you always look your best like this,” then flip you over his shoulder while you were still stood in shock. Then, while you were pinned down:

“I must admit I’ve already imagined you below me, although it was in quite a different context to this.” You shoved his smirking face away from you.

That was the first straw.

The second straw came when Allura and Shiro were explaining bayards to Lotor in depth, per his request. When Lance demonstrated how a Paladin could switch the form of their bayard, switching from his blaster to a rifle, Lotor leant down and whispered “You’ve already unlocked my bayard,” his breath hot on your neck.

Through your frustration, the soft ‘oof’ that came from the Prince as your elbow made contact with his midsection was quite satisfying.

After the group had disbanded, you approached Allura, figuring she’d at least have some idea of how to deal with unwarranted flirting.

“Princess.”

Allura turned to you, blue eyes questioning. “Yes, Y/N?”

You’d planned to be quite calm and collected when you approached the Princess about this; after all, she clearly appreciated maturity, and you wanted her full attention on this.

Instead, your voice cracked as you managed a desperate “help me.”

The last straw came at dinner, after a brief respite period with no random invasions of privacy, no pick up lines, and no flirting. In retrospect, you should have known it was coming.

He’d been silent next to you for the entire meal, which should have been a warning sign in itself. Right when you were least expecting it, the uncomfortably familiar sensation of whispering in your ear was present again, paired with the words “While this food goo does prove itself satisfactory, I’d much prefer to… how you Earthlings might say… eat out.”

That was it.

Within a second, Lotor was blinking at you through the food goo that dripped down his face and hair, looking ultimately displeased. Before anyone could open their mouth, you beat them to it.

“How have you made it this long without someone throwing you out an airlock or something?” you exploded, standing up for emphasis. “Do you treat everyone like this, you fucking dickass?”

“Language,” Shiro chided, and you turned to him hoping your eyes were screaming murder as much as your brain was, because really?

A tense silence descended upon the table, with you staring daggers at Shiro, and Lotor glaring at you through food goo, before it was broken with an indignant cry.

“His hair!”

Of course, Lance.

“Don’t you understand how much effort goes into having hair like that? The - all that work - gone to waste -”

“It was FUCKING WARRANTED TRUST ME,” Pidge spoke through gritted teeth, staring at the table with wide eyes. Matt sent her a confused glance, before turning to Lotor.

“What did you just say to traumatise my little sister?”

A heavy weight dropped in your stomach as you realised - “Oh GOD you heard that.”

Pidge nodded, still not looking anywhere but directly in front of her. Even Lotor had the decency to look relatively ashamed. Allura narrowed her eyes at the prince, crossing her arms, while Keith’s eyes darted rapidly around the room with confusion.

The room became instantly more uncomfortable, and you felt a hot flush creep up your neck. Any minute now -

“So, uh… what did he say, exactly?” Keith asked, eyebrows raised.

“You don’t want to FUCKING KNOW,” Pidge groaned, leaning forwards to whack her head on the table. At this, Shiro frowned at Lotor too, shoulders rising. The half-Galran looked around the room; Lance appearing conflicted, Keith, Hunk and Coran confused, Matt and Shiro intimidating, Pidge mortified, and Allura murderous. Evaluating his choices, he appeared to come to a smart conclusion, because the prince mumbled an apology in your direction before leaving the room in a hurry.

As you were getting ready for bed that evening, you were disturbed by a knock at the door. Opening it to see Lotor, looking sheepish, you tensed, back straightening.

After waiting for him to say something, and instead meeting an awkward silence, you cleared your throat.

“What do you want?”

Cheeks flushing a slightly darker shade of purple, Lotor refused to meet your eyes as he spoke.

“It has been brought to my attention that my behaviour towards you has been… extremely inappropriate.”

“You can say that again,” you snorted, and received a harsh glare. Unfazed, you smirked in return. “Just telling it like it is, Prince L’Oreal.”

“It was not in my intention to make you uncomfortable.” Still looking anywhere but at your face, Lotor continued. “I wish to apologise for my behaviour.”

Analysing the man in front of you, you considered your options. You could refuse his apology, and either he’d stay away from you… or he’d keep the comments coming with a vengeance. That, or you could accept his apology and see how things went.

“You’ll stop with the unwanted comments?” “Of course.”

You fixed Lotor with a suspicious stare, scrutinising him with your gaze. While he still didn’t meet your eyes, he did appear sincere.

“Fine.”

He looked up at that, blue eyes gazing directly into yours. “… ‘fine’?”

“Fine.”

Appearing satisfied, the prince turned and walked away. Just as you made to return to the safety of your room, he swivelled on one foot and appeared in your doorway again. Your eyelids lowered in exasperation.

“What now?”

Once again, he wouldn’t meet your eyes.

“The Princess, ah… advised… that if I really desired you the way I do, I should court you.”

You blinked.

“Court me?”

“Yes.” Gaining confidence, Lotor extended a hand to you. “Spend time with you. Buy you gifts. Make you happy.”

Courting. No one on Earth did that anymore; romance had mainly descended to ‘send nudes’ and the occasional date. It sounded… old-fashioned, sure, but kinda nice.

The only thing you were doubtful of was the person you’d be courting.

You began to evaluate the decision in your head. First and foremost, Lotor was certainly not lacking in the looks department, that was for sure. However, you’d been fighting against him for months, and still weren’t necessarily able to trust him. Also, he’d been a dick similar to the fuckboys you’d encountered back home. Ew.

Still, he seemed sincere in his apology, and his intent. Besides, you could easily end the process whenever you wanted to - with the knowledge that Allura would kick his ass if he did anything to hurt you.

Well…

“You know what? Sure.”

Before Lotor could speak, you uttered one last sentence before closing the door in his face. “But I expect flowers, bitch.”

[mrslittletall]

Title: The Living Dreams (Chapter 4) Fandom: Dark Souls Characters: Dragon Slayer Ornstein, Dark Sun Gwyndolin Word Count: 1.677 Previous chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/185085867229/title-the-living-dreams-chapter-3-fandom-dark AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18705706/chapters/45390184

Summary: Ornstein seeks help and tells Gwyndolin about this dreams.

(Author's note: While this chapter doesn't feature smut, it surely features talk about and a fair warning, Gwyndolin talks very casually about sex in this chapter. If you prefer to interpret them otherwise, I won't stop you, just know, that these are my headcanons. Thank you very much ^^)

“You wanted to talk to me?”, the voice of Gwyndolin sounded over to Ornstein, who sat in his chair at the usual table in the Dark Moon Tomb, swirling his teacup in his hands, watching how a little whirlpool formed inside.

“Um yes, actually, but it is not about me... it is about a friend...”, Ornstein started. Gwyndolin dismissed him with an unmistakeable hand gesture.

“Ornstein, whenever someone says something like this, they are meaning themselves. You can talk freely to me. We have been friends for hundreds of years now.”, they said.

“But you are also my lord.”, Ornstein said, eyes locked on the whirlpool in his tea cup.

“Right now, I am sitting here as your friend and not your lord. Please, you don't have to be afraid.”

Ornstein took a deep breath. “Fine, then... lately, I am having this... strange dreams.”

“This again? We already talked about this. That you keep seeing Artorias getting swallowed by the abyss is a sign of your own guilt, your nightmares will stop once you are able to forgive yourself.”, Gwyndolin said while throwing their hands up in the air.

Swallowed by the abyss. Gwyndolin wasn't aware how fitting their wording was and so Ornstein's face flushed red, then he quickly shook his head. “No no no, that's not it. The dream was... different.”

“Different? Different how?”, Gwyndolin's blue eyes locked on Ornstein. When they were together, they often preferred to remove their mask, after all, Ornstein normally was also sitting there without his helmet on (although still with the rest of his armour).

“Well.”, Ornstein finally put his tea cup down, if he continued to swirl it like this, he would make a mess sooner or later, and instantly began fidgeting with his fingers. “At first the dream was normal and I did what we discussed. Apologizing to Artorias.” Ornstein took another deep breath. “And I first expected him to get mad at me and that everyone would play out as usual.”

“You still haven't forgiven yourself, Ornstein.”, Gwyndolin mentioned. “Please continue.”, they said and took a sip of their tea.

“And then Artorias kissed the beast of the abyss.”, Ornstein finished. Gwyndolin spat out their mouthful of tea after hearing this.

“What? Like, on the mouth? A real kiss?”, they asked, mouth agape, tea dripping down, not looking like a Lord at all like this. Ornstein quickly handed them a handkerchief which they used to absentmindedly wiping their mouth.

“Yes, it was a real kiss.”, Ornstein murmured and continued quietly, almost not audible. “And it didn't stay a kiss...”

Gwyndolin put both elbows on the table, leaned their chin in their hands and gazed at Ornstein. “Don't tell me they had sex.”

Ornstein's deep red blush of his face betrayed any lie he could have thought up, so he simply nodded and then shook his head. “Yes. And no.”

“What do you mean by this? I can only help you find out why your dream is like this, when you speak clearly to me.”

“Well, in the second dream it was a hand job. In the third dream it was a blow job.”, Ornstein's face felt hot, far too hot. He started to fan himself with his hand in an attempt to cool down.

“So, was Artorias the one who received the favour or the beast?”, Gwyndolin casually asked.

“The.. the hand job was given to Artorias. And the blow job actually was given to both of them, Artorias even mentioned that he wanted to return the favour.”, Ornstein stared down at the table and his still untouched tea cup, not believing that he let Gwyndolin hear this words out of his own mouth.

“Interesting. So was it consent?”, Gwyndolin asked and Ornstein simply nodded, before adding: “Gwyndolin, you are surprisingly aware about what I am talking about. I mean, I have never seen you a with a partner of yours...”

“Ornstein, just because I have never engaged in the act myself, doesn't mean that I haven't educated myself on it.”, Gwyndolin said with a smile. “I have read all kinds of books on this matter.”

“Hopefully not the ones Seath wrote.”, Ornstein muttered. Having read them himself had been one of the worst mistakes of his life, but he hadn't been able to put them down either. He still remembered how much Artorias had laughed about the flowery words the pale drake had used to describe all kind of acts. The poor channeler who had to write the books for the pale drake, probably died at second hand embarrassment.

“Them too.”, Gwyndolin mentioned and their gaze briefly flickered to the side. “Though they are hardly the ones to call educational titles. I have of course read books from a far more serious source.”

It still made Ornstein a tiny bit uncomfortable, that he basically brought this matter to a virgin who didn't even showed any interest of having the act themselves, just being interested in the theory behind it. But they were by far the only person he could think about talking to about that matter.

“I have the feeling there is still something you want to say to me.”, Gwyndolin continued. “I know you, Ornstein, and normally you would just wait this thing out until it was over or something happened. So, what happened? Was it a wet dream for you?”

Now it was Ornstein's turn to spat out the tea he finally had taken a sip from him. That Gwyndolin had been able to get to the point so quickly both amazed and scared him. He simply nodded, although throwing a questioning look at Gwyndolin.

“What's with the look, Ornstein? Just because I don't engage in the act myself, doesn't mean that I don't know or have wet dreams.”, Gwyndolin said with a smile that didn't fit their words at all.

“Too much information.”, Ornstein coughed. “Even when we are friends, I don't think we are that close.”

“But Ornstein, didn't you had my brother in you once?”

Ornstein's jaw almost dropped: “Don't tell me he told you about what we did!”

Gwyndolin shook their head: “Of course not, but it was apparent just looking at him when you two had one of your nights. Sometimes I envied him, because he had something I probably never would experience, at least not with pleasure or joy, but I came to terms with myself and decided that I wouldn't need it. I am happy without it.”

“Alright, now that we have this over with... what can my dream mean? And how can I get rid of it? I am actually fearing that it will come back tonight.”, Ornstein said.

“For getting rid of the dream, it isn't that easy.”, Gwyndolin started to explain. “When you have a recurring dream, you normally have to face something in your life which is eating away at you. We already determined that the first version of your dream was most likely your guilt. But now the dream switched over to something else. Because of the contents of it, it could maybe be sexual tension.”

Ornstein suddenly shot up, both hands on the table, shouting: “I am neither interested in Artorias or the beast like this!”

“Your dream tells us otherwise.”, Gwyndolin said with a darling smile before their face darkened. “But that is just one theory. Ornstein, since my brother left, how often did you had sex?”

Ornstein sat back down on the chair, shrinking. “Once.”, he replied. “With Artorias.”, he added sheepishly. “But.”, he quickly added, seeing that Gwyndolin already grinned triumphantly. “I was very drunk and didn't intent for it. I don't really remember much about it, mostly that I woke up in Artorias bed and urged him to never tell anyone about this. I never saw Artorias as something other than my friend.”

“Are you sure about this? Haven't you felt feelings like jealousy or similar things in that dream?”, Gwyndolin probed.

Ornstein shook his head: “No, not at all. I was …, um, weirded out, I guess? And a bit disgusted. And in the last dream I just wanted it to be over, like getting a painful wound treatment, you just endure it, because it won't hurt forever, you know?”

“Very well, I believe you that the dream didn't occur because of some pent up feelings for Artorias.” Nonetheless, Gwyndolin stared at him. “Still, how long has it been that my brother left? And you only had sex once in all that time? Ornstein, maybe you are just dreaming this dream because of your own pent up sexual desire.”

With how celibate Ornstein was, he didn't even masturbate a lot, Ornstein could believe it. It also was pretty common for him to have wet dreams, but... normally they would feature a much more pleasant sight for him. Like his old lover. Not Artorias getting it on with the beast from the Abyss.

“I don't think that's it. Like I said, I don't feel any tension when I watch them, I feel weird and disgusted.”, he said a bit too quickly.

Gwyndolin sighed. “We won't go anywhere when you don't accept your own feelings, Ornstein.”

Ornstein looked down at his lap. “I just want to have a calm night, that is all.”

“Oh, when that is all.”, Gwyndolin said, wiggling away from the table. Ornstein could hear them rummaging around until they returned with a small bottle with a bluish liquid in it which they handed to Ornstein. “Drink this before you sleep. It should let you have a good night's rest.”

Ornstein eyed the bottle a brief moment. Gwyndolin's medicine tended to have side effects, but mostly they weren't very severe. “Thank you, Gwyndolin. And thank you for listening to me. I... I really didn't know who else I could have told about this.”

“It's alright.”, Gwyndolin said, disbanding Ornstein with a smile. (Author's note: Seath writing awful porn is my favourite new headcanon.) Next chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/186026118374/title-the-living-dreams-chapter-5-fandom-dark

[idolizerp]

LOADING INFORMATION ON INDIGO’S MAIN VOCAL NO SIWOO...

IDOL DETAILS

STAGENAME: N/A CURRENT AGE: 24 DEBUT AGE: 19 TRAINEE SINCE AGE: 16 COMPANY: MSG ETC: this member was known for the influx of attention they gained after REGroup.

IDOL IMAGE

siwoo originally debuted with a younger brother type image - goofy but sweet, wholesome but a charming nuisance to the older members of the group. he was comfortable with the role and played it well, but it was too conventional and he tended to be overlooked as a member. after his popularity grew from regroup, however, siwoo has shifted into an older brother type of concept - dependable, admirable, ruffling hair and teasing everyone. he was teased both by fellow contestants on the survival show and by his group members about his “angelic” image, developed after he garnered praise for his patience and willingness to help.

of course, he’s hardly angelic behind the scenes. siwoo is proud and refuses to acknowledge his own mistakes. he doesn’t always recognize limits like when a joke has come too far or when he’s pushing someone too hard, which not only creates tension but also damages his now-carefully-curated image. he’s easily affected by the trend - if things are going well, he rides that high, but he’s easily defeated once the tide turns. it’s true that he’s generous and helpful and a true team player - he believes that a group can only be successful if every member trusts and relies on one another. however, he’s very attached to the idea of indigo as a unit. this developed primarily during their slump, when siwoo began to fear disbandment, but his clinginess worsened once the group began rebuilding and reaching new heights. the boys, himself included, now take on more individual schedules, and he’s afraid of one of them achieving enough success in a field that they’ll leave the rest behind, dooming the others to flopping like before. part of him knows that teamwork also means supporting one another in all your endeavours, not just in those related to actual group work, and siwoo does support his members - he just doesn’t want them to succeed individual at the cost of indigo.

IDOL HISTORY

the no family filled their home with music.

the notes of chopin twinkled out of the radio while their father cooked, carly simon’s voice underscored family game night, uhm junghwa blasted out of the car as soon as the key turned in the ignition. every birthday dinner ended with a trip to the local noraebang. family gatherings were incomplete without someone sitting down at the piano while others shouted out requests and sang along at the top of their lungs. it was rare for there to be a quiet moment at home.

it shouldn’t have been surprising, then, when their middle son came home from school one day and declared that he was going to put his heart and soul into pursuing a career in music. you’d think that he was being set up for this future, that it was inevitable, all things considered, for him to want to make a life out of this.

the no family loved music. it was a hobby, an escape. it was also an unstable, dangerous, exploitative career path. the industry was corrupt, cruel, extremely difficult to break into, extremely difficult to stay in. it wasn’t the right place for someone soft, sweet, and warmhearted like their son. careers should be pursued in fields that will never be deemed luxurious or unnecessary - like the family plumbing business. the world will always need plumbers. will they need musicians?

siwoo thought they did. plumbing was a respectable profession - he was never ashamed of what his family did for a living - but fixing rusty pipes and renovating washrooms never seemed as exciting to him as the rush of standing onstage, delivering music that gave people strength and allowed him to express himself beyond what words alone could explain.

his older sister, who went the practical route by studying accounting in order to become the family business’s bookkeeper, had been giving him piano lessons since he was a kid. for siwoo it had always been his three hours a week of respite. he confided in her about his wish to pursue music, confessing that it was the only thing he could imagine himself doing, even if their family didn’t understand it. she told him that she understood, and that she had a friend who was a trainee at an entertainment group - maybe they could get together and he could find out more about what the industry is really like. they met at a coffee shop on the trainee’s day off, siwoo filling a three hour conversation with probing questions about trainee life. the industry was hard, the trainee acknowledged, and the vast majority of trainees never reached debut. but if you loved music that much, wouldn’t you regret not even trying?

siwoo signed up for auditions at every company he could find, scheduling them months in advance to give him time to prepare. he could play piano, and he had a naturally clear singing voice that earned him compliments from untrained listeners, but he worried about whether that would be enough for entertainment companies that looked for visuals, charisma, and charm on top of talent. he signed up for dance lessons at his local community centre, nothing fancy or impressive but enough to give him a sense of rhythm and make him more comfortable with moving his body. he spent time every night practicing his singing and his piano, his concerned parents listening as the music bled through the walls. finally he auditioned, and auditioned, and auditioned. he failed many, but passed a couple, and ultimately chose to begin training at msg entertainment.

training was, predictably, hard. he had to work hard into the night, keep a diet, and continue going to school. he was far from home, and his parents were still unhappy with his decision - they sent him a meager allowance, and he called them regularly, but their tone was always cold, always distant, and probably would be until he relented and came home. but siwoo, proud as ever, refused. as exhausting as it was, training was the first thing he’d ever really been good at. he thrived under pressure, loved proving others wrong, relished every opportunity he had to improve his singing. he worked best when he had a goal in his sights, and he had lots as a trainee: the biggest one being debuting, of course, but smaller ones to help him get there too, like getting the top score on the next trainee evaluation or successfully singing a piece in a higher key. he was motivated and he pushed himself until he was placed in the lineup to debut and finally, in spite of it all, proved himself.

or so he had thought. indigo hit the ground running, earning praise and attention from all sides with their debut release. it was too early for his parents to be fully convinced of their son’s success, but his sister told him that they had put up his posters in the office and had bought their debut ep and were trying to convince every customer, neighbour, family member, and friend to do the same. siwoo thought that if indigo had a few more successful releases, his parents would finally admit to him that he made a good decision in pursuing this path, and their relationship could finally mend. but their first comeback got significantly less hype, and the third even less. indigo was shaping up to be more or less a failure for msg, not quite becoming entirely irrelevant but certainly not living up to their initial burst of popularity. siwoo’s pride disintegrated. what his parents had feared had come true: their son couldn’t make it in music.

he was young at debut and didn’t have an image that stood out much - he was a younger brother character, cute and sweet, straddling the line between irritating and endearing. msg didn’t have much for him to do when indigo slumped, so he went on the few shows he was invited to and otherwise didn’t do much of anything. he struggled when there were no discernible goals ahead of him - they had missed the window to win rookie of the year awards, they were not nearly popular enough to hope to get their music show win on any of their few comebacks. siwoo isolated himself, spending as little time in the dorm or the company building as possible, doing little more than the bare minimum when indigo prepared for an event or a performance here and there. the motivation that made him such a great worker as a trainee evaporated in the face of indigo’s decline

regroup changed everything. the way the company told the members that they were going on a show for failed idols made it sound like a last resort, but siwoo saw it as a new chance. it was essentially like training again - competing with a large group for limited spots, undergoing evaluations and exhausting schedules, and, most importantly, meeting goals. he regained the motivation he had lost, and viewers took note of how hardworking he was. he got to sing ballads than indigo’s dance tracks let him and got some attention for the extent of his talent that had previously gone under the public’s radar. he had a positive, easygoing attitude, and made friends easily with the other contestants. his popularity skyrocketed after an episode where he was grouped with a team of dancers on a vocals challenge and stayed up late every night leading up to their performance to help each member with their singing, leading that team to winning the challenge. he became known for having a heart of gold, being sweet, outgoing, patient, and helpful. he climbed the ranks of the show from borderline irrelevant to twelfth place, missing the final lineup by fewer spots than anyone had originally anticipated.

indigo blew up afterwards, and siwoo blew up with it. msg decided to all but scrap the group’s original dance-heavy sound and focused instead on showing off the boys’ vocal talents, and as main vocal, siwoo had some of the most attention-grabbing adlibs and lines in their songs. but even more than for his voice, he had become popular for his personality, and msg capitalized on this by throwing him into variety. siwoo was friendly, bright, and not easily embarrassed - he dove right into whatever humiliating situation the show called for without hesitation. he got good press after an indigo appearance on i can see your voice and got invited back to be on the panel several times since, and he was praised for his charming anecdotes on his frequent appearances in happy together episodes. he’s succeeded, as both a musician and a public figure, and most importantly, he’s proved himself to his family. they still aren’t happy about what he’s doing, but they can hardly argue with him now. everything is going more or less perfectly, but siwoo is starting to worry: if indigo continues on this upward trend and achieves even more heights, siwoo is, frankly, going to run out of goals. he’s thrilled with their success, and there are still some milestones both the group and he himself have not yet reached, but he’s afraid of running dry and plummeting into a debilitating slump again.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 25th August 2019

Top 10

On the US Billboard Hot 100, after “Old Town Road” dissipated, they’ve been treated with a couple #1s switching in and out. “bad guy”, “Senorita” and probably “Truth Hurts” and unfortunately “Ransom” soon enough... while here in the UK, “Old Town Road” was only at the top spot for a week, and instead we’ve just had “Senorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello for six straight weeks... Nice.

“Beautiful People” by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid is at number-two still, and we actually have a pretty busy week that did not translate to the Top 10 – it never does.

“3 Nights” by Dominic Fike is steady at number-three but I’m not complaining; this song is great.

I’m not upset about the one-space boost for Kygo and the late Whitney Houston’s “Higher Love” either at number-four, it’s not a bad song and if anything I’m just excited to see Houston on the charts again.

AJ Tracey returns back to the top five with “Ladbroke Grove” up a spot to number-five.

Aitch’s newest major single, “Taste (Make it Shake)”, is down two spaces to number-six, but that’s still way too high. I honestly do not understand the appeal in this one, it’s not quirky or interesting, it’s over-long, it’s barely got a chorus. Out of all UK rap singles to hit the top 10, this is easily the most puzzling hit.

I’m also not exactly pleased about “Ransom” by Lil Tecca zooming up six spaces to become his first top 10 hit here in the UK... why?

Unfortunately, this means “How Do You Sleep?” by Sam Smith is down a spot to number-eight, and honestly this song is just growing on me.

Speaking of unfortunate, at number-nine is “So High” by MIST and Fredo, also down one space, and while I’m not that big of a fan of this song (Yet) or the discography in general, MIST has recently been stabbed, and he says he’s been recovering well, which is good, I just wanted to note that these things do happen to people who seem like they can’t be touched due to fame and success, especially recently. I hope he’s okay.

To elevate the mood, there is quite literally a Love Island anthem in the top 10, as Joel Corry and Hayley May get their first ever UK Top 10 hit with “Sorry” up six positions to #10. It’s not a bad song, but come on, guys, really?

Climbers

Outside of the Top 10, we have one climber and it’s not exactly notable either... Jax Jones and Bebe Rexha’s radio fodder “Harder” is up five spots to #25. I mean, when so much of the Top 40 is rap, I guess the radio’s got to have something to safely play without having their audience hear a bunch of censor bleeps every ten seconds.

Fallers

Now, we don’t exactly have many fallers, but a lot of them are very notable as these are massive hits dropping incredibly low, starting with #40 which is the top five hit “Location” by Dave featuring Burna Boy down a whopping twenty-three spaces and barely gripping onto that last spot in the chart, after having a brief rebound thanks to the video. While I prefer “Disaster”, “Streatham”, “Black” and pretty much all the songs on PSYCHODRAMA, I’m so happy that Dave and his album have had so much longevity and chart success considering how great this album is (Since this does seem to be the end of the album cycle). This year’s been very kind to British rap both mainstream and underground (Check out Little Simz, she’s mind-blowing) and this is definitely one of the achievements the genre can display proudly. Other than that, we have another top 10 hit in Sigala’s “Wish You Well” featuring Becky Hill dropping down 14 spaces to #38, as well as the faller I’m obviously the happiest about. Despite the fact there might be a rebound due to a video release, I’m going to live in blissful ignorance about that, since “Hold Me While You Wait” by Lewis Capaldi, which has been the worst song in the top 20 for like three straight months, is out of the top 20, falling 17 positions to #26. It’s not out of the chart entirely, but I’ll take it. Oh, and “Panini” by Lil Nas X is down five spaces to #36 but Thog don’t caare

Dropouts & Returning Entries

There aren’t any returning entries this week but since there are five new arrivals, there are obviously quite a lot of drop-outs. “Find U Again” by Mark Ronson featuring Camila Cabello is one of them, dropping out of the charts entirely from #37, which really sucks because that song is amazing. Otherwise, we have some notable but very much expected drop outs for “SOS” by the late Avicii featuring Aloe Blacc and its impressive chart run from #32, “You Need to Calm Down” by Taylor Swift out from #38 (God, what an awful song), “Vossi Bop” by Stormzy finally out from #39 (Although I think that song is great actually) and off of the sole debut last week, we have “Hot Girl Summer” by Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign out from #40. I know American female rappers haven’t exactly crossed over here yet but I thought this would have least lasted a week, and it is a pretty damn good song, it’s got a video coming soon though so we’ll see what that’ll do.

NEW ARRIVALS

#34 – “Post Malone” – Sam Feldt featuring Rani

Produced by Sam Feldt – Peaked at #7 in Ireland

Sam Feldt is an irrelevant Dutch DJ, to put it bluntly. Two years ago, he made a song with Akon and that was his second biggest hit until 2019, second to his only actual hit, may I add. So, what better way to make a name for yourself in America than to go viral with a meme song that references pop culture and has a drop expressive enough for TikTok. Indeed, it worked, he was on the top of the Spotify Viral 50 with “Post Malone”, because if you want to keep your target white audience as an EDM-pop or rock artist, the only hip-hop artist you can seemingly admit to liking is Post Malone. Even the Jonas Brothers are shouting them out in (Absolutely dreadful) hit songs like “Cool”. It didn’t even work, by the way, it barely peaked in the top 10 of the American dance charts but it worked on like all of Europe, especially on the chart that isn’t actually in the EU, technically, maybe. Funnily enough, it’s not that big of a hit in his home country of the Netherlands, peaking at #85. I don’t know who RANI is, do you? Listen, it’s Feldt’s second UK Top 40 hit, his first since 2015, and it’s from his Magnets EP. RANI is a female singer who seems to specialise in being a puppet for EDM DJs, and had  a minor hit doing so with “Crying with the Sun” last year, but this is her first appearance on the UK Top 40. Hiring RANI seems to be the cheap option compared to an actual celebrity, the girl doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page, and the whole song in fact is really cheap, with a couple 2014-esque synths carrying a flat, tinny EDM beat until that chorus hits, and Jesus, this song was not meant to ever have “Post Malone” in the lyrics. It’s lodged in that chorus with all the care of a bull in a china shop with crowd cheering in the background before the generic build-up of hi-hats until a pretty simple vocaloid drop and yeah, I question why anyone thinks this song is worth listening to. The drop ends abruptly with literal silence instead of even transitioning into the verse all that well, which is lazy and nonsensical on his part because he’s going to have to transition this into other songs in a DJ set, he wants that to be smooth. Yeah, skip this, it’s trash, which is exactly what I expected.

#30 – “Motivation” – Normani featuring uncredited vocals by Ariana Grande

Produced by ILYA – Peaked at #20 in Belgium and Scotland, and #33 in the US

Fifth Harmony’s disbandment let one star really get a lot of shine, and that was Camila Cabello, who is still gathering a lot of success to this day, but what I didn’t expect is a push towards another pop girl with Normani, whose debut solo single has been racking up a lot of streams and chart success pretty much worldwide. It’s not that massive yet but it does have the potential to be, especially with the high-profile collaborations like Khalid and Sam Smith that Normani has been greeted with this past year by her label, so it seemed inevitable. I fully expected Normani to go the R&B route, probably a more throwback 90s style, and yeah, I was right, but I really didn’t expect a song this good. Written by Normani herself with Ariana Grande, ILYA and Max freaking Martin, this song is an earworm determined for success, and has hence become Normani’s third UK Top 40 single. Starting with an intriguing Ariana Grande-esque voice memo of some sort, it immediately lands into the bass-lead R&B beat that feels 90s and 2000s at the same time yet definitely modern due to Normani’s sultry vocals, but in the chorus, the kiss-off lead by harmonies and subtle background vocal samples from Grande feels very anthemic and almost sarcastic. I do feel like maybe it’s a bit too minimalistic of a debut single, but there are a lot of little quirks, including the eerie Caribbean vocal sample in the bridge coupled with a smooth horn section, and I don’t have much to say about this one evidently, but it succeeds on every level at just being a pretty perfect pop song. The idea of Normani telling her ex to “Think about it” afterwards isn’t a pledge from Normani here, though, it seems very much like she’s bragging and telling this guy to re-consider the fact that he dumped someone with a net worth more than his lifetime salary, it’s almost kind of hilarious how she sasses this guy around, especially in the verses. The title seems to be based around the fact that the guy ever had a girl as good as her... which is considered “motivation”. Well, that’s just pretty epic. Yeah, great song, and I’m really excited for whatever Normani does next.

#23 – “Lover” – Taylor Swift

Produced by Jack Antonoff and Taylor Swift – Peaked at #4 in Malaysia and #19 in the US

Ah, Taylor Swift and the messy roll-out of her newest album, Lover, which I have yet to really form an opinion on but it’s gotten a lot of positive reviews which I didn’t expect because of the absolute trainwrecks that were released as singles, such as “ME!” which the general public soon showed their distaste for, so much so that Swift had to edit out the most cringeworthy lyrics, “You Need to Calm Down” which had a very polarising reception mostly because of how people believed she was pandering to the LGBTQ+ community with the music video, and had some cringeworthy lyrics there too, but it was a bit more positive. Then things took a large turn for the better with the release of the promotional single “The Archer”, which a lot of people loved and seemed to think was a return to form, but I wasn’t impressed. It was boring, and while the songwriting is good, when there’s not a musical climax, it feels like a lot of wasted time and overall, the song feels like an overproduced synth-mush and I was really not a fan of that one, but it wasn’t awful... and it only peaked at #43 here. Then she released this song, which seemed to have shifted the public opinion on the album entirely, even among critics, because it’s a Jack Antonoff-produced return to the country pop sound of her previous work, and while “You Need to Calm Down” might have been pandering to LGBTQ+, I think this should be clowned more for pandering to Pitchfork, but I digress. Is the song any good? Well, it’s her 27th(!) UK Top 40 hit, and it might as well have convinced me too... mostly because this is a Christmas song – albeit a bit more of a intimate, downbeat, guitar-lead country ballad of a Christmas song, but with a direct reference to the holiday, I know what she’s going for. She sounds a lot better on the song than usual, I’m not a fan of Swift’s voice in general but she definitely uses it to her advantage here, staying mostly subdued on the verses until an admittedly janky pre-chorus, until that title drop, which is fantastic, especially with the bells and guitar that follows but honestly, the star here isn’t Swift. It’s the string section and the choir, who elevate that pre-chorus with a lot of cheery vocals and the plucky strings in both the bridge and the brief burst of violins in the second verse, really emphasise the lyrical theme of devotion. While I dispute the fact that Taylor Swift has ever heard a dirty joke in her life that wasn’t made by Kanye West, that bridge is incredible, and honestly this whole song is pretty great, and I think THIS is the return to form she needed. There’s a lot of genuine groove and swing to this ballad and the chorus is heavenly, and may I say that the cover art fits perfectly. This is good, check it out, next.

#22 – “Both” – Headie One

Produced by Nastylgia and PJ Pipe it Up

I’m going to be honest here; from what I’ve heard from Headie One, I don’t really like the guy. I don’t think he’s as witty or entertaining as his peers and more often than not, he’s just a tad dull, but with his seventh mixtape release, Music x Road, I have been somewhat intrigued to check it out since NME described it as “far from drill”, which means he is branching out and this could either be a surprise success or complete wretched failure. I believe this is Headie’s third UKTop 40 hit and, well, to be honest, it’s not that bad. I love that guitar loop, it sounds straight out of the intro to a metal song, and the way it’s pitch-shifted to act as an eerie synth is pretty cool when it gets to the verse; if I’m honest this trap beat is pretty great... and so is Headie. To say he doesn’t ride this beat would be a lie, I don’t like the guy that much but he bodies this, not with much wordplay obviously but his delivery is tough and very straight to the point, no-nonsense, which is interesting when being put against the gospel choir sample which is absolutely mangled and just kind of placed every couple bars, and it sounds great, really intense. I’m not sure how I feel about that bridge though, the subdued, mumbling flow with the distortion and Auto-Tune sounds cool but it kills the momentum and doesn’t really fit with the guitar-lead trap beat. I’d prefer maybe to get rid of that part entirely and just have the beat cut out for the start of the chorus without the transition, or have Headie harmonise with the sample from “Free” by Ultra Nate, that could have sounded pretty cool. As it is, it still bangs, and looking at the lyrics there’s a lot of detail I don’t usually see, and somehow he made peanut butter on oats sound cool, so you know what, Headie, I like this one. Check it out.

#18 – “Be Honest” – Jorja Smith featuring Burna Boy

Produced by Cadenza and IzyBeats

Jorja Smith has had a pretty quiet 2019. After 2018 and her BRIT Award wins and impressive performance, she’s understandably laid low with only a couple of features including one on my favourite British rapper Loyle Carner’s second album, but this seems to be the birth of the roll-out for her sophomore effort, or at least a standalone single. I didn’t really like Jorja Smith because I knew her for her EDM collaborations but after listening to Lost & Found, I’m not going to lie, I really enjoyed her UK garage and trip hop-infused brand of R&B, especially the single “Blue Lights” and her sample on AJ Tracey’s banger “Ladbroke Grove”, which added to the song immensely. A new song from Jorja won’t connect with me at first, they never do, she’s one of the artists who has to grow on me, but I like Burna Boy to an extent so I doubt this’ll be any less than decent... and yeah, it’s not bad. I like the sweet guitar and synths/flute(?) that start off the song as the primary melody (which I believe is a sample) and the steady drum beat adds to the tropical, summery feeling of the track. Jorja sounds great as always, with a pretty sensual performance she can do pretty well, but the chorus is pretty weak and I feel a tad underwritten. Burna Boy’s verse is pretty fun and bouncy but this isn’t standing out to me as anything that great initially. It’s definitely not bad, but underwritten and a tad sub-par perhaps. Also, I like the horns in the final chorus but it’s too little too late at that point.

Conclusion

Honestly, this is a pretty great week on the chart, with four out of five new arrivals that I quite enjoy, and the Summer-Autumn transition is looking good. Best of the Week is tough but I’ll give it to Taylor Swift for “Lover” – hey, I’m a sucker for Christmas songs – and a tied Honourable Mention to Normani and Headie One for “Motivation” and “Both”, while there’s nothing worth a Dishonourable Mention here other than our Worst of the Week, going to Sam Feldt and RAMI for whatever “Post Malone” is. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more musical ramblings and I’ll see you next week!