#i love how joel kept it in and its just incredibly awkward

[mobblespsycho100]

jimmy kissing joel everyone can cross that off the bingo card now i almost forgot <3

[tlou-1]

Her Own Worst Enemy | Chapter 7 | A Watchful Eye (Joel Miller Fanfic)

Ada had pulled on the one dress she owned, she had managed to trade some meat for it a couple weeks ago on a whim that she might attend her first dance in Jackson. It was simple but it was still flattering, thin straps leading to a cream crochet dress, she didn’t know how dressed up people got for these things but she did her best. When she arrived at the Town Hall she was still pretty early hoping to arrive before Abby. She spotted Ellie and Dina across the room, picking up a drink from the bar Ada joined them. “Glad I am not the only one who’s early” Ada smiled.

“Well Dina always likes to get here early so she can fit in as many dances as possible” Ellie teased. After some more small talk Ada tried to quiz them on Abby, what story was she going by? Where did she say she came from? But before the words could cross her lips, Ada was distracted as Joel walked in, he seemed to notice her almost immediately. Ada couldn’t help but look at her feet, he looked disappointed at her response and b lined for the bar.

“He seems to really care about you, you know? I know he can be a pain but you seem to keep him on his toes” Ellie chimed in, nudging Ada.

“I don’t think so. We can’t stand each other”

“Doesn’t look like it from where I am standing or sound like it either, he always brings you up any chance he can” Ellie laughed but then she turned serious, “He was going to apologise today. I don’t know what for, but if it was anything to do with last week you should know he wouldn’t have meant it”.

Ada looked confused, “That week is always a bad week for him, he’s gotten better with it but it still brings back memories for him, of Sarah” Ellie elaborated.

“Sarah?”

“His daughter” Ellie sighed.

Ada’s heart sank a little at the thought of Joel grieving his child, who she didn’t even know about, she looked across the room to try and spot Joel. When her eyes found him, she saw that Abby was standing talking to him. ‘It was sick’ thought Ada, like some creature hunting its prey or a cat playing with a mouse. Before she knew what she was doing her feet were carrying her across the room in their direction. Joel seemed surprised that Ada would walk right up to him, he didn’t say anything.

“Dance with me?” Ada asked putting her hand out, to keep Abby away from Joel she was going to have to get closer to him tonight. He took her hand silently and followed her into the centre of the room.

Ada felt his other hand move to the small of her back, moving closer into him she could smell his scent, a mix of the outdoors and fresh soap.

“I wanted to apologise earlier before you ran off” he whispered, his lips were so close to her ear that she could hear it so clearly.

“I know, I didn’t mean to run off”. It feel quiet again for a moment.

“That dress really is something on you” He said his thick accent standing out, Ada could feel him smirking as he said it, she couldn’t help but blush and laugh slightly at the comment.

“Yeah it’s better than the usual muddy jeans for patrol”

“Oh I don’t know, they do it for me too” Joel continued suggestively, his hand traced a line up the curve of her back. She became acutely aware of them being around people, particularly Abby who kept looking at them every so often.

“Joel-“ Ada began, Joel could sense in her tone that he might not like what she was going to say so he spoke before she could finish.

“I am sorry about the other night. I didn’t mean any of it I was drinking and -” He whispered and held onto her hand tighter as he swayed her to the music.

She interjected, “You meant some of it but you weren’t wrong I do find easier to be alone, it’s harder to let yourself care”

“I want to - care that is and I think you do too” he pulled back slightly to be able to look down at her, she smiled at him but quickly pressed her head back to his shoulder.

Ada was completely torn, she had known Abby a long time but they left her behind without a second thought and she had found the young woman incredibly difficult to see eye to eye with back in Seattle. And then there was Joel: although he had committed a terrible crime, he wasn’t a completely bad person, he just did what anyone would if it was their child who had been on that operating table, she looked across the room at Ellie, maybe he saw some of Sarah in her. He had travelled across the country with her, protected her, grown to love her like his own, ‘Alliances change’, Ada thought and nothing was black and white, morals were a grey area in this new world. She didn’t know what she would do but she knew she couldn’t let either of them die now, not if she could prevent it.

The song came to an end and felt Joel lips lightly kiss the nape of her neck, it was so gentle no one really even noticed.

“Sit and have a drink with me?” Joel asked and Ada nodded silently.

Her eyes were fixed on Abby whilst Joel went to retrieve them both a drink. Abby seemed to be trying to acclimatise into Jackson, speaking with different people throughout the night.

“Here you go” Joel chirped breaking Ada’s eyes away from Abby.

“So about last week-“ he continued but Ada stopped him.

“It’s alright Joel… Ellie explained to me, she didn’t tell me everything but I know it must have been a tough week.”

“She told you?”

“She said that you had a daughter, Sarah and that, that week brings back some hard memories. I am so sorry Joel”

He was quiet for a while, “So what do you think about the new addition to town?”

‘Changing the subject’ Ada noted mentally. She looked over at Abby, “I don’t know, what do we know about her? Can we trust her?”

That made Joel laugh, “Well Miss Ada, the same could be said about you”.

“Okay that’s fair. What do you want to know Joel Miller?”, Ada turned her chair into face him directly, he matched her movement.

“So what is Ada short for?” Asked Joel, Ada explained her full name was Adelaine Abertnathy. “That’s a bit of a tongue twister together but Adelaine, well it really suits you” he smiled warmly.

“Fair’s fair. I should get to ask you a question”

“Alright then, shoot”

She asked about what he did before the outbreak, Joel explained he was a carpenter but when he was younger wanted to be a country singer, “You sing? Now that I have to see” she made him promise to at least play the guitar for her once.

“Is this classed as a date or an interrogation?” Ada laughed.

“Which do you want it to be?” Joel smirked taking another sip of his beer.

“Don’t answer my question with a question. That makes it my turn again, how is it that you and Ellie are like family? I hear people call you her old man but you’re not her father?” Ada knew what she was asking and part of her knew the answer but she wanted to understand Joel.

“I ain’t her father but I promised someone I would look after her for a while, and well after months together, protecting each other, picking each other up when we needed it. I decided from there on I would look after her as long as needed.” and what Joel meant by that was until his last day on this earth.

Joel seemed to pause for a moment, almost as though he wasn’t sure if he should ask the next question.

“What happened to your family?” His face earnest. Ada shifted in her chair and began looking out the corner of her eye, where to start. “Well I have parents but they moved away across state. Honestly I don’t know what happened to them but my siblings. I had a younger sister and brother, my sister she got bit and shot herself so she wouldn’t have to turn and my brother well we got set upon my this bunch of vultures. Would shoot you for the shoes off you feet… they shot him two rounds of ammo and a handful of fucking tinned food” her voice broke slightly, Joel didn’t know what to say, “You are lucky to have Tommy and Ellie” she smiled at him, he smiled softly back and took her hand giving it a squeeze.

“Well I think that’s enough questions for one night, what do you say I walk you home?” Joel suggested.

“I’d like that”.

They were standing at the crossroads between Ada’s and Joel’s houses.

“Well I guess this is where we say goodnight” Ada said trying to break the awkward tension in the air. Joel hummed in agreement, before Ada thought about what she should do next her fingers hooked onto Joel’s belt loops and pulled him closer to her. They kissed and this time she made no attempt to pull away. She felt his hands grab at the fabric of her dress, gather it in his hands.

“Come home with me?” Joel asked in between kisses, Ada couldn’t stop herself long enough to say yes but nodded and followed Joel.

Next

[johannesviii]

Top 10 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2020

You know, when I finished my latest list and realised every decade had the same pattern and that we were slowly going towards a series of great years for pop, I didn’t realise how good that year would be.

What’s at the top? Am I boringly predictable because I already said I loved that song all the way back in January 2020? Let’s find out.

Disclaimers:

Keep in mind I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these top 10 things. There’s songs in English that charted in my country way higher than they did in their home countries, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

Of course there will probably be stuff in French somewhere on this post. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible and I’m not a critic, just a listener and an idiot.

I have sound to color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

So. Uh. How was your 2020?

Mine was actually surprisingly good, considering. I’m lucky enough to have a job that I can partially do from home, and I was extremely paranoid from the get-go and nobody got sick under this roof so far. Turns out I’m even better at my job from home and I got permission to work from home one day per week even after the health crisis is over! My first name was also finally officially approved and I can’t tell you how happy I feel about that. I almost feel bad to have had such a good year considering the circumstances. I feel like an asshole just because I’m happy, haha.

The only frustrating part was that I was supposed to see Hatari in concert in Paris in early April which, as you can guess, was cancelled. I’m not too mad about it though, since their tour was called “Europe will crumble” and the message saying the tour was cancelled started with “since Europe is actually crumbling due to Covid-19″ and that’s hysterical.

Good or interesting albums that came out in 2020 now, let’s see.

Nightwish released Human/Nature, which was a huge letdown compared to their previous album, but I will relisten to it at some point to make sure I wasn’t just in a bad mood that day.

The Birthday Massacre released Diamonds, which might be their weakest album since their debut, but contained some real gems (I listened to The Last Goodbye on a loop, it floored me. Flashback and Enter are also very good).

The 1975 released Notes On A Conditional Form, and let’s be real, it’s a f█cking mess. You could cut half the tracks and end up with an excellent album, but as it is it’s like, yes, a collection of notes ; however there’s some truely excellent shit on it (see unelligible songs).

Thanks to a friend on a discord server I was exposed to Dorian Electra’s music and I haven’t been quite the same ever since. I’m so happy to be alive to see other enbies making such great music with an insanely good aesthetic surrounding it and asking so many interesting questions about gender. Also the arc the ‘gentleman’ character goes through over the course of the entire tracklist of the 2020 My Agenda album is absolutely hilarious, don’t @ me.

I also discovered 100 Gecs this year. Why are most of you guys saying it’s unlistenable garbage. It’s just as abrasive and over the top as industrial music is, but with none of the edginess or drama. I love it. What the hell. But yeah Tree of Clues was released this year. Good.

Speaking of industrial, in March 2020 Nine Inch Nails were like “hey remember when we released Ghosts I-IV a decade ago entirely for free and how amazing that was? Well we’re all in lockdown and bored as hell so here’s Ghosts V-VI and it’s also free. Enjoy” and I f█cking died instantly. And it’s even better than I-IV. What the hell was that year

Jonsi released Shiver. It’s strange and highly experimental. I’m pretty sure it’s a good thing I was into hyperpop this year, otherwise going from his previous material straight to this album would have been brutal.

Yadda yadda yadda After Hours by the Weeknd good yadda yadda.

I’ve joked about that already but if you had told me in 2019 that 2020 would have fires, a pandemic, riots, monoliths appearing and disappearing, and also a super good Machine Gun Kelly album, guess which part I would have found the most ridiculous. But yeah uh. Tickets to my Downfall good

So uh this year I tried to listen to some hyperpop and liked it a lot, and I also dipped my toes timidly into screamo and listened to Svalbard, who released When I Die this year, and the entire album was a very beautiful, very intricately decorated punch to the face. It sounds like God Is An Astronaut except with a shit ton of yelling. I love it. Open Wound is my favorite track on it.

But no, despite all of this, my album of the year was from a band I had never even heard about before that year, called Spanish Love Songs. The album is titled Brave Faces Everyone and it’s line after line after line of extremely relatable generational angst but yelled with complete sincerity and it’s so propulsive and energetic you can’t help but feel both exhausted and ready to fight the entire universe. I don’t know how it works, but it’s incredible. The entire album is wonderfully brutal, so it’s kind of difficult to pick my favorite songs on it, but Beachfront Property and the title track stand out.

Unelligible songs, now, and there’s, uh, quite a few of them too so I’m also gonna use bullet points. Good lord this post is gonna be long.

First, let me say I have literally no idea why Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus wasn’t a bigger hit. It’s not on the year-end US top 100 and it feels extremely wrong. Would have made it to #4 on this list otherwise.

I still entertain the vague hope that stuff from Machine Gun Kelly will chart higher in 2021 but I doubt it will happen so I might as well tackle it now and say that Bloody Valentine and especially Forget Me Too are both excellent and that it’s a shame radios aren’t playing them more often.

Heaven by the late Avicii featuring Coldplay should have charted in 2019 and still didn’t chart in 2020 and that’s a real shame.

If the world was a bit less unfair, Lovesick Girls by Blackpink would have been a hit rather than the awful Ice Cream.

One day I will stop complaining about my bafflement concerning the lack of mainstream pop charts success of The 1975. Today is not that day. I just love how they keep making songs about extremely awkward relationships full of weird details, and I haven’t grown tired of that yet. So yeah If You’re Too Shy is about a guy who’s crush is asking him to get naked on Skype in his hotel room and he’s, uh, not too sure about that idea.

And Me & You Together is about a guy who never finds the right moment to tell his best friend he’s in love with her, and he manages to do so at the end and it’s cute as hell. My fave part is “I'm sorry that I'm kinda queer / It's not as weird as it appears / It's 'cause my body doesn't stop me (Stop me) / Oh, it's okay, lots of people think I'm gay / But we're friends, so it's cool, why would it not be?”. Relatable as f█ck.

And now for an international hit that should have been bigger in the US and/or in my country but wasn’t: Head & Heart by Joel Corry and MNEK.

I’ve heard Nos Célébrations by Indochine extremely often on French radio for months now so I was very surprised to see that it didn’t crack the local year-end list. What happened.

I can finally hear the appeal of Bring Me The Horizon. It took me ages. And also Death Stranding. The song Ludens isn’t in the game per say, but it’s among the ones you can pick to broadcast briefly when people drive by your constructions, and long story short it's been living rent-free in my head for months now.

Phew.

It’s time for a round of Honorable Mentions for elligible songs, containing a couple of guilty pleasures, which is saying something considering the kind of shit I put on some of my previous lists.

Ne Reviens Pas (Gradur et Heuss l’Enfoiré) - Heuss is a French artist that kept baffling me while making my lists for the previous years, and I was like “??? ok, that’s it then, I guess I’m getting too old to get what teenagers find funny”. This one worked for me, though. And the music video doesn’t hurt. Really dumb and really fun.

Adore You (Harry Styles) - Perfectly good little pop song, very pleasant to listen to, never outstayed its welcome for me.

Mood (24kGoldn) - This doesn’t sound like a very good relationship, my dude, but that’s still a super pleasant song.

WAP (Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion) - This song is absolutely hilarious and I will hear no argument from any of you.

Control (Zoe Wees) - Was clearly a hit here. Should have been even bigger though. What a powerful but comfy voice. If I had better taste it would be on the list.

Hot Girl Bummer (Blackbear) - I. Uh. Listen. I keep saying I have bad taste and nobody believes me. Do you believe me now. But yeah. “F█ck you, and you, and you~, I hate your friends and they hate me too” is gonna pop in my head every single time someone is being a jerk anywhere near me now. It’s been happening all year already. Someone trashed my documents at work? Someone isn’t wearing a mask in public? That guy has filled his car with rolls of toilet paper? Brain goes “F█ck you, and you, and you~”. Every. Single. Time.

Come & Go (Juice WRLD & Marshmello ) - Damn, that’s a pretty good little song. I’ve seen plenty of people saying it’s ruined by the drop, but may I remind you I’m the person who loves Blue by Eiffel 65 with all my heart. If the song was ramping up consistently until the end instead of ending like that, it would have made the list, definitely.

And now, the actual list. This one actually feels pretty solid, I genuinely like everything on it, there’s no filler here for once.

10 - The Box (Roddy Rich)

US: #3 / FR: #23

Now this is a weird case, because for the longest time I couldn’t figure out why this song was so popular and I was completely neutral about it. Then, one morning in September, my mental jukebox (which always, always puts a song on a loop in my head when I wake up) decided to play it. And I was like oh wow?? I never noticed the atmosphere in that song before? It’s so great. And that hook too. Let’s listen to it.

So yeah, I don’t know what happened. It just clicked one day and everything fell into place, I guess.

9 - Alane (Wes & Robin Shulz)

US: Not on the list / FR: #93

Come on. You can’t do a remake of one of my previous #1 songs and let it chart in 2020. That’s cheating. Even with this subpar drop, I have to put it on the list, now.

I’ve already said my piece about the original, so I’m just going to send you back to my 1997 list.

8 - Kings and Queens (Ava Max)

US: Not on the list / FR: #76

[BBC documentary voice] After Lady Gaga decided to make piano balads and left her musical niche vacant, Ava Max quickly took her place as the top predator pop diva. Even after Lady Gaga was re-introduced to her natural habitat in 2020, she still hasn’t fully recovered in Europe, where Ava Max still reigns supreme on the charts -

(tldr I think it’s hilarious that this isn’t on the US Billboard while Lady Gaga isn’t on the French year-end top 100)

7 - Roses (Saint Jhn & Imanbek)

US: #19 / FR: #3

What an earworm. It doesn’t even bother trying to have an intro or an outro, so it loops almost perfectly. It’s like entering a party that started long before you arrived, and it will go on long after you leave it to go back home. Kind of hypnotic in a way.

And yes, my mental jukebox was very fond of using it to wake me up this year, so this is another song that’s here almost solely because of that.

6 - Physical (Dua Lipa)

US: Not on the list / FR: #69 (hehehe)

“Hey I’m not that old” says the guy who’s definitely a sucker for this kind of retro throwback that was so popular this year. Oh well.

I don’t have anything interesting to say about this one, though. Apart from the fact that everyone seems to have a different fave song on that album. Guess that’s quality for you.

5 - Rain on Me (Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande)

US: #48 / FR: Not on the list

That is far from being Lady Gaga’s best song, but it was a joy to listen to everytime it was on the radio anyway. Also Ariana Grande has surprisingly good chemistry with Gaga! This year was full of strange duets mostly made for commercial reasons, and this one isn’t an exception, but unlike a lot of them, it really, really works.

4 - Dynamite (BTS)

US: #38 / FR: Not on the list

I’m still not 100% sold on k-pop even if a ton of it sounds super good, but come on. Even if some bits of this song (especially the beginning of the second chorus) sound a bit like they were made on autopilot, it still sounds just as happy and fun several months after I first heard it and I never got tired of it. That’s quality. You hear it and you can’t help but tap your feet and smile.

Actually, I’m sure there’s people somewhere that don’t smile when they hear this song. And they must be avoided at all costs.

3 - Godzilla (Eminem ft Juice WRLD)

US: #62 / FR: Not on the list

What are you doing so high on this list, old man. Why are you still here in the year 2020. I thought we left you in the previous decade. Who gave you the right.

I’m gonna tell you who did, and it’s actually Juice WRLD. Because that chorus is incredible, and like a lot of people I’m pissed off because the guy died super young and this shit shouldn’t happen to anybody. No, his early material wasn’t great, but I’m sorry I’m gonna say it again: have you heard this damn chorus? It’s suspenseful and dark, it’s got this lowkey menacing quality, it’s an earworm and a half, and it’s more convincing in like six lines than Eminem’s own flexing is in the entire song.

The beat is extremely good as well, and the flow, obviously, impressive. The weakest link is Eminem’s writing, which is as usual full of puns and weird wordplay, except here a lot of it isn’t great, and that last ultra fast part at the end is technically impressive but it also drives the song up a cliff and stops it dead in its tracks once it’s over. But frankly the lines fly by so fast it’s difficult to be too annoyed by them.

Can I sincerely put this extremely flawed song so high on my list? A better question would be “did I spend hours trying to learn how to sing this shit without choking on my own spit?”. The answer is yes. To both.

2 - Heartless (The Weeknd)

US: #28 / FR: Not on the list

I’ve said it on my 2015 and 2016 lists already, but just for the record I’ll say it again: it took me ages to like The Weeknd, mostly because I found most of his songs fairly boring, or disliked the lyrics, or both. Also I never really liked the general vibe of his “sexy” songs like The Hills, they felt dark but in an unpleasant creepy way. Felt like miserable hedonism, if that makes sense.

So, because I’m a person with extremely consistent and logical tastes, here’s the exact same shit he was making before, except that this time I absolutely adore it.

What is he doing differently that makes the whole After Hours album click for me whereas almost all of his previous material failed to do so? Is it the energy? Is it the reverb? Is it the fact that the narrator sounds properly unhinged and, frankly, scared to be spiralling out of control? Why are the colors so beautiful yet full of anxiety? Why is that bridge so fantastic? How can you make your voice look like a glowstick in the dark?

I give up. I have no clue. At least I’m done talking about-

Oh.

1 - Blinding Lights (The Weeknd)

US: #1 / FR: #1 (listen sometimes something’s just that good, ok)

Surprise. Or not.

Wow, look at that, Johannes has put this year’s number one pop song at number one on their personal playlist. The audacity. The edge. What a hot take.

I discovered that song when it first came out at the end of 2019 and I adored it instantly. And I was so scared it wouldn’t be a hit. Which means I’m a f█cking dumbass considering it ended up breaking all sorts of records in 2020. But what can I say, overplay can be a blessing when you love a song that much.

Like every single song I put at number one on one of my lists, I will draw this one at some point and you will understand how incredibly satisfying it is to listen to a song called Blinding Lights, talking about city lights looking blurry when you’re driving at night, while looking itself like a bunch of blurry city lights passing by super fast. Perfect in every way.

Also it sounds exactly like A-ha, and that never hurts.

See you next year! Pretty sure it will be even better music-wise.

[sauntered-vaguely-downward]

Friends. Eric Bemis x Reader

Warnings: None! 

Eric Bemis x Reader

Sorry couldn’t find a better gif. Just a slightly longer than planned oneshot I had in my head since starting watching season 3. 

You could remember the day your life took a slightly strange turn. Abby had asked you to drop off the notes from your English class as she had yet again missed another day of school. Being the amazing best friend in the world you obviously agreed to drop them round at the end of the day. Originally you had just planned to slip them through the letterbox, send her a text and make your way home, no need to hang about you had work to do. Things soon changed when you came up to your friend's house, only to notice that her front door was open a little, and from what you could see through the house there was a trail of destruction leading into the kitchen. Most people would turn around, call the cops, or not do what you did, which was to walk into the house, following the path of chaos.

When you entered the kitchen, slowly as not to alert anyone in the house, you did not ever expect to see what was before you.  Sheila, Abby’s mum, was standing covered in blood with what looked like an… ear hanging out of her mouth, while a body laid on the floor, blood leaking everywhere. Abby and Eric, your other friend, looking somewhat horrified but not nearly as surprised as you probably looked. It was only when Joel came into the house carrying a bag of cleaning supplies that anyone had noticed you were there.

“Shit!” Joel cried from behind you, “Y/N is here! What a nice surprise, look, Sheila, Y/N our daughter's friend, is here.” Sheila, Abby, and Eric all span round to see you looking horrified.

“Y/N! Hi!” Nobody really knew what to do. After some serious explaining, later on, Abby and Eric sitting down with you to explain everything, even introducing you to the talking head in the basement,  you found yourself helping clean up the blood through the kitchen. Safe to say, since that day you Abby and Eric had all become considerably closer, especially now that you were involved in everything in their lives, even the weird and wonderful.

You loved being friends with the duo, being able to relate to both of them. When it came to Abby, you always enjoyed her company, mostly because she was just as badass as yourself, believed in the same causes, shared the same music taste, and general ‘I’m the boss’ attitude as you. Abby, and her family were so much fun to be around, putting aside the somewhat homicidal tendencies of her mother, but no matter how similar you and Abby were, Eric was always the one you gravitated towards.

Eric was the biggest nerd going. Academic genius, lover of books and films, massive fanboy about basically anything that could be considered dorky, and you loved it. He was shy, sweet, caring, and unbelievably funny, even if he didn’t know it. From a while before the dead guy in the kitchen incident, you had a little crush on him, but after you became closer since then you realised just how wonderful he really was. Any time he could, he went above and beyond for everyone, even when it risked his safety. You couldn’t help but love him really, he was a total dorky dreamboat, you knew nothing would really come of it, but it was always nice to imagine. So when he offered to help you with some chemistry homework you were more than happy to let him be the hero.

When you knocked on his door his mum answered. You liked his mum, she was a bit forward but it was sweet how much she cared about her son’s interests and you loved her raw confidence in herself.

“Hello Y/N, Eric said you were coming by,” She smiled, welcoming you into the house. “You know where his room is, have fun.” Winking at you, she walked away into the kitchen. Giggling a little bit, you jogged up the stairs ignoring the little flutter of butterflies in your chest as you made your way to his door, feeling nervous as you knocked and waited to go in, not wanting to intrude on him. When he opened the door, a shy sorta grin on his face you couldn't help but smile brightly back at him.

Oh, how he loved that smile. You may have had a little crush on him for a few months or so but Eric, well eric was bloody smitten and for as long as he could remember. You were wonderful in every way. Sure you were gorgeous, and he thought you were one of the prettiest people he had ever come across, but that wasn’t why he adored you. You were simply you, unapologetically Y/N all the time. You knew what you liked, you worked hard on what you enjoyed, you were smart, kind, caring, and soft but there was always that badass side to you. You were complex but yet so easy to read. Some people didn’t get you, thinking you were a bit weird, but Eric loved that he could read you so easily. It was as though you were a book, but rather than it being in English it was in a language only Eric understood. He got that you had this dark side, you were a strong independent woman, but he loved seeing your softer moments when you helped people, or when you geeked out to him about the latest Marvel films or some Harry Potter fanfiction you had been reading before class, Eric adored you so when he looked at your big smile as you stood in his doorway, he couldn’t do anything to stop the butterflies from swirling around in his stomach and chest.

“Heyyyyyyyyy Eriiiiiicccc,” you beamed at him, dragging it out like an over-excited child.

“Hey, Y/N,” he blushed, loving how eager for everything you always were, “er come in, I’ve got all the books set out on the desk we need.”

As you walked into the room, you looked around, just admiring all the posters and merchandise that hung from the walls. Sitting down at his desk you looked at a framed photo of you, Abby and Eric, it was from before you were really close at all, if you remember correctly it was from the beginning of the year on some class retreat you had taken, the first time you had really joined the duo. That was ages ago now, you had no clue this photo had even been taken but the fact he had it made your heart flutter a little more than it already had been.

Eric smiled down at you before pulling up a stool to sit next to you at the desk. He helped you with all the questions you were stuck on, making sure you understood everything he was talking about. He loved watching as you listened, properly making sure you understood everything he was telling you. After what felt like only a few minutes, but was really closer to a couple of hours you were done, the sun beginning to set outside the windows. Eric couldn’t help but feel a little bit sad as you packed up your stuff, before really thinking it through, he suddenly blurted out,

“Doyouwannawatchamovie?” He cringed knowing how stupid he must have sounded. You giggled, noticing the blush in on his cheeks getting darker and darker.

“What did you even just say?” You smiled, laughing a little at how flustered he was.

“I was wondering if you wanted to watch a film, I’ll walk you home after if… actually, you know what don’t worry I don’t know why I asked, its getting lat-”

“What do you want to watch then?” You smiled, setting down your bag, moving to sit on the edge of his bed. Both Eric and yourself were a bit taken back by what was happening. Eric had neither planned to ask, let alone you agree to stay and watch a film, and you were a bit surprised he had asked at all. Trying to stop himself from stumbling over his words, he replied, rambling a little

“Well I have Lord of the Rings, but that's kinda nerdy so we can stream something instead. I have Netflix or Prime, it’s up to you really.” You liked seeing him this flustered, it was incredibly cute.

“Lord of the Rings is good.” Eric beamed at this response. God you're perfect, Eric thought.

After setting it all up, Eric turned back to see you sitting a bit comfier in his bed. As much as he loved seeing you in his bed, awkwardness crept into him a little, realising he hadn’t thought this much through, so as the film began to play he perched on the side of his bed, not trying to get to close in case you weren't comfortable with that. You noticed his awkwardness, deciding he needed to realise you were more than happy for him to get closer, you tugged him a little bit towards you, slowly bringing him closer so you were half hugging, you lay down a bit more than he was, your head just gently resting on his chest. Through the thin material of his t-shirt, you could hear his heart beating at an unnatural pace, which worried you, but as you went to pull away, an arm wrapped itself around your shoulders. You smiled, settling in closer to before turning your eyes to the small tv screen as the film played.

Eric kept his eyes fixated on the screen, worried that if he moved you would pull away and the moment would be gone. Now the awkwardness he placed upon himself was gone, his heart returning to a semi-normal heart rate, he was beaming inside as you cuddled against him. He wasn’t sure what this meant really, but he didn’t much care, right now at this moment he was just happy to be this close to you.

Around halfway through the first Lord of the Rings film, he noticed the sun had completely gone down, and the head resting on his chest had become heavier, your breathing becoming softer, more even. He looked down to see you had drifted to sleep in his arms. He smiled a warm feeling dancing in his chest. Trying not to disturb you too much, he lent down, just enough to kiss you gently on the head before pulling the blanket from beside you around him and yourself. Quietly he whispered a goodnight to you, smiling as he turned back to watch the film. Eric had no idea where this would go with you, but as the too drifted into a land of dreams, he couldn’t have been happier.

--

An hour or so later, Lisa came to check on her son and Y/N, having not heard much from them. As she entered the room, she couldn’t help but smile at the sight in front of her. The Tv was now running a long list of credits, and in the light of the TV screen, she could see her son cuddled up to Y/N, both of them happy in each other's arms as they slept. Snapping a picture to send it to Y/N’s parents to let them know they were okay, she smiled as she shut the door behind her, leaving her son to dream peacefully next to the one who had captured his heart.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 13th October 2019

This was a pretty important week, as while we only had around four debuts, there’s finally some more shake-up in the top 20, which had been pretty stagnant for a while, and two new arrivals entering directly in the top 20 so without further ado, let’s review the charts.

Top 10

Still at the top for its second week this week is “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I, also entering at #96 in the US, which is expected as I’ve been predicting a crossover for weeks, but I did not expect this to be such a global hit in all honesty, mostly since the song felt too low-key to just not be a European indie fluke hit. I suppose I really have no idea what becomes a hit or not in 2019.

Our first new arrival is at number-two, with Travis Scott’s lead-off single, “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM”. The song debuted at #1 in the US, but here it’s just barely been kept at the runner-up spot, and I don’t mind either way, because while “Dance Monkey” may be a lot more distinct, both of the songs are very middling in terms of quality. This is Scott’s ninth ever UK Top 40 hit, sixth Top 20 and his third Top 10 hit. In fact, its debut at #2 made it trump “Zeze” with Kodak Black and Offset (peaked at #7) as Travis Scott’s highest-peaking song in the UK. How on Earth it did that is for me to talk about later, so for now let’s move on, as I don’t see this sticking.

Since there are no massively dramatic changes in the top 10 other than the debut of “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM”, most songs here are just down one space, including “Ride It” by Regard featuring Jay Sean to number-three.

AJ Tracey’s “Ladbroke Grove” is also down one spot this week to number-four.

Interestingly, up one position this week is “Circles” by Post Malone, which I’m going to say now, will become a #1 hit near Christmas if not sooner.

Kygo and the late Whitney Houston continue the trend of brief descent as “Higher Love” is down a spot to number-six.

Joel Corry’s “Sorry” featuring uncredited vocals from Hayley Mays hasn’t moved since last week at number-seven.

Up six spaces from last week and entering the top 10 for the first time is “Outnumbered” by Dermot Kennedy at number-eight, becoming Kennedy’s first top 10 hit and this success should have been obvious from the start of its chart run, although personally I’m not a fan.

Dominic Fike’s “3 Nights” is down a spot to number-nine.

And finally, rounding off the top 10 are Young T & Bugsey featuring Aitch with “Strike a Pose”, also falling a singular space this week.

Climbers

Our climbers here are pretty sparse, mostly affecting songs that debuted last week. Aitch gets his fifth UK Top 20 hit as “Buss Down” featuring ZieZie (It’s his first) is up five to #20 thanks to the release of the video. Outside of the top 20, “South of the Border” by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B experiences a pretty uncommon climb of 16 spaces to #24 off of the debut, although that doesn’t mean it’s of any quality, of course, as this is probably the worst song on the tone-deaf Ed Sheeran collaborations project. Hopping off of that success is Camila Cabello’s solo work, as for whatever reason, “Liar” is up eight positions to #27 this week. Also increasing off of its debut last week is “Turn Me On” by Riton, Oliver Heldens and Vula, moving up eight spaces to #29, and that’s all.

Fallers

While we had some pretty big climbers, they really do not compare with the impact of the fallers this week, with enough quantity but the songs themselves are genuine smash hits for the most part, although I still feel like we could have easily had some more notable drops here. “Bruises” by Lewis Capaldi is down five to #16 off of the re-entry, “Taste (Make it Shake)” by Aitch suffers streaming cuts (see: dumb UK chart rules that admittedly keep the chart constantly fluctuating and interesting) down a whopping 22 spaces, landing at #26, “Senorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello is down six to #30, “Beautiful People” by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid is thankfully down six to #34, “Playing for Keeps” by D-Block Europe featuring Dave has floundered entirely off of the debut, down 16 spaces to #37, and finally, “Harder” by Jax Jones featuring Bebe Rexha is down seven spots to #39.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

It seems like for a while, we’ll just have Post Malone songs dropping out and exchanging themselves for... other Post Malone songs. This week, “Goodbyes” featuring Young Thug dropped out from #23 and “Sunflower” with Swae Lee from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack dropped out from #31, in exchange for other Post Malone songs outside of the top 40 to re-enter (“Take What You Want” and “Saint-Tropez”). Other drop-outs include “Nookie” by D-Block Europe featuring Lil Baby out from #30 and “boyfriend” by Social House featuring Ariana Grande out from #34, but there are no returning entries (in the top 40), so it’s time to talk about the new arrivals.

NEW ARRIVALS

#38 – “Graveyard” – Halsey

Produced by Jon Bellion, Ojivolta, Louis Bell and the Monsters and the Strangerz – Peaked at #11 in Belgium and #44 in the US

Halsey’s album release has been pretty messy but to be fair to her and her team, I’d have no idea what to do after how globally massive “Without Me” was, as I don’t think Halsey would have wanted to continue down an R&B-pop lane... and clearly, she didn’t, as her next single, released months after, was “Nightmare”, a pop punk belter that pretty much nobody liked and it underperformed heavily, which is unfortunate as I actually quite enjoyed that song. Now Halsey’s back with a safer, more accessible single from her upcoming album Manic, set to release in 2020, and promoted by a livestream of her painting the album cover, for whatever reason, and, well, we’ll see how it holds up to her hit singles from other album eras, including “New Americana” and... “Bad at Love”... okay, so if this isn’t terrible, I’m marking a pretty great improvement on Halsey’s part. Regardless, this is her eighth UK Top 40 hit and... why does this need seven writers again? Five of those writers are confirmed producers, but Halsey and her co-writers seem to be out to damage her singer-songwriter/indie queen image, signifying perhaps that this new album will be more of a traditional pop record. Okay, I’m not going to lie, I’m pretending to be interested in whatever Halsey’s doing, I’m just excited to listen to this because I love Jon Bellion. I always forget he exists, but whenever he produces a new single or comes out with a fantastic album out of nowhere like last year’s Glory Sound Prep, I’m pleasantly surprised. You can definitely tell “Graveyard” is a Bellion production, albeit it does feel his maximalist style has been watered-down to fit Halsey’s cynical songwriting. The sweet guitar is definitely reminiscent of Bellion, but it’s chopped in an EDM-like fashion, and the bouncy synths are actually pretty cute surrounding Halsey’s... well, they sure are vocals. The tropical percussion sounds pretty cheap and the loop ends abruptly, with the vocals and synths occasionally clipping in the mix, which doesn’t really make much sense here, and in the chorus, Halsey punches in a line so blatantly that it is a painful, slightly off-beat jerk towards the next line. It’s probably the most incompetent production I’ve ever heard on a Halsey song, which is surprising for a song with five producers. You’d think someone noticed that during the process but that happens not to be the case... but it’s in the chorus, guys! Surely, you’d want the hook to not sound awkward and have, you know, any impact. It’s not a bad song, and it’s not like I had that high expectations, but somehow I’m still disappointed. Bellion can do better. Not sure about the other six songwriters, though.

Also, that bridge is absolutely pathetic, like come on, you didn’t even try.

#25 – “Playing Games” – Summer Walker

Extended version features Bryson Tiller – Produced by London on tha Track – Peaked at #16 in the US

Bryson Tiller isn’t credited on any of the British chart info, but his extended version is what’s getting the most plays, his verse is in the music video, Wikipedia credits him and the album adding this extended remix with Bryson Tiller is the only reason it’s even close to this high so let’s talk about Summer Walker. I mean, yeah, I like SZA too. Summer Walker to me seems like the amalgamation of all of the better female R&B singers to come before her that are in her same lane, in fact, some of the males as well. She’s like Khalid had a child with Jhené Aiko out of wedlock, but Jhene wants a DNA test as that child might have actually been with the Weeknd or another suspected dad, 6LACK. I don’t usually mind Summer Walker but I’m just frustrated with her. Ever since her debut mixtape Last Day of Summer dropped, I have been waiting for a single from her that doesn’t completely flout her talent, but it has yet to come, and when I like a song from her, it’s mostly because it has a sweet guest spot from someone else who knows how to play to their strengths, like Usher who has a placement on “Come Thru”, which probably should have been the lead single if I’m honest. Over It, Summer Walker’s debut album, was released last week to a lot of success, especially in the US, where it had the biggest ever streaming week for a female R&B project, and it featured an extended version of an already incredibly disappointing single released after she picked up a lot of traction with “Girls Need Love”, propelled by a Drake remix (It’s probably one of Summer’s best songs). “Playing Games” is one of the worst songs I think I have ever heard that reached the US Top 20, but it’s December in two months. List season is very much upon us. I don’t want to waste my energy. This will definitely still get Worst of the Week, but I don’t want to talk about it and spoil anything for the Top 10 Worst Hit Songs of 2019 list, as this will be pretty high on it.

#19 – “10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber

Produced by Dan Smyers – Peaked at #2 in Canada and #4 in the US

Country music doesn’t appear on the UK charts often, it really doesn’t, but it’s had a pretty great year in terms of popularity, with so many of these random country songs that would have never peaked at higher than #30 in any other year are getting in the top 20, to the point where I’m worried I’ll have to start educating myself on the genre in case there’s ever a British country boom. “Whiskey Glasses” by Morgan Wallen, “The Git Up” by Blanco Brown, “God’s Country” by Blake Shelton, “Beer Never Broke My Heart” by Luke Combs, just to name a few. Is “Old Town Road” a product of this sudden surge in country’s popularity or is it a catalyst? I’ll leave that to thinkpieces and video essays to find out because I don’t care and I don’t know a damn thing about country, I just know I love this song, and I can’t exactly figure out why. Dan + Shay are a country music duo and arguably the biggest country band right now, with massive sleeper hits like “Speechless” and especially “Tequila” which was on the Hot 100 for about a year if not more yet it never peaked higher than #21, still making the Year-End top 40 for 2018, and I didn’t mind that song either but mostly because it was very far away from what I felt was actually country... it’s safe to say that “Tequila” now sounds like it comes straight from Roger Miller because “10,000 Hours” is about as country as strawberry ice cream is healthy. I mean, it has the right components to fill that quota, but it does not make use of them in a way that fulfils the criteria, and more often than not, completely dismisses them to focus on quality. This is basically a boy band song. It starts with a lush guitar sprinkled over a barely audible drowned-out drum break, with Dan and/or Shay singing in their traditional high-pitched tone with a pretty much non-existent country twang through a pretty quick first verse. Once that chorus hits, I fell in love with this song. It’s so cheesy, it’s so melodramatic, yet it works incredibly well because it feels like a genuine declaration of love and dedication towards each artists’ respective wives, and yes, you could say that it’s corny or saccharine, and I’d fully agree with you, but that’s why it’s worth listening to. Dan’s voice especially sounds pretty great for this type of song, and the vocalising in the post-chorus is pretty sweet, though I expected it to either run into Justin’s verse a bit more fluidly or go off into a bridge on its own, but it never really does, which is disappointing. Justin’s verse, as most of his verses are nowadays, is hilarious, with a punch-in that sounds like a line was completely replaced with the “Did you get your middle name from your grandma?” line, which has an oddly creepy inflection that is not helped by Justin’s huskier Auto-Tuned drawl, but his cooing and harmonisations otherwise work, especially in the pre-chorus. I also love how the drums come in for the chorus. The bridge is great on its own (albeit slightly awkward, which has its charm), but I’d appreciate it being expanded and having more harmony with Dan + Shay and Justin. Dan shines especially in the final chorus though, and the song ends with just a bunch of vocal riffing, which is pretty fitting for what’s essentially a wedding song. I love this song, but that might just be because it’s essentially a Christmas song in spirit and a Backstreet Boys song in execution. Oh, and did you know this is the most-streamed country song ever? That’s pretty crazy.

#2 – “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” – Travis Scott

Produced by OZ, Nik D and Mike Dean - Peaked at #1 in the US

I have spent hours trying to find out why “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” by Travis Scott debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. I listened the song once and was perplexed. Okay, first of all, let’s talk about the song, it’s not bad at all, in fact, I’d argue it’s pretty decent. I like the eerie vocal sample with a pretty speedy Latin guitar. Travis doesn’t say anything of interest and his oddly-mixed ad-libs are pretty fun, especially in the chorus, but it does seem a tad rushed overall. The verses and chorus very smoothly transition to each other, but the mixing is really shoddy at times, I feel like it’s mostly bass mastering that make this hard to listen to. It also has a pretty odd falsetto part at the end, but the outro is probably the best part of the song, with the pretty epic distorted synth layers and aggressive drums just piling on top of each other, with lyrics that are incomprehensible on top of them. So why is this #1 on the Hot 100? Well, okay, so let’s go through each idea.

The outro’s lyrics are incomprehensible, and Travis himself sold merch that claimed the outro was not for “decoding” and he told his fans to “just vibe”. Surely, that made some people that wouldn’t normally listen pretty curious. Rap Genius transcribers would have tried to listen to that outro and hence the song on loop for hours, just for Travis to literally delete it and annotate the outro saying that there shouldn’t be any lyrics or decoding, pretty much confirming that he’s saying nonsense words.

The song is about Travis’ ex-fiancé Kylie Jenner, who had reportedly separated two days prior to the release of the single. Kylie Jenner also promoted the single when playing a demo of the song in an April video about some kind of eyebrow product. There’s a lot of drama to unfold there and Travis does briefly mention Kylie, not by name, in lyrics. Kylie would later be seen at a party with Tyga.

From May to August, Travis teased the song several times by playing it at live shows. There was originally going to be a Lil Baby feature that was played at an August show.

Travis released an incredibly wacky, funny music video with a lot of vivid colours and interesting concepts to accompany the single release.

Travis released merch bundles where you could buy a digital single for free essentially if you buy a hoodie or something, most of the clothing having direct relations to the song and its lyrics. There were also several different physical versions released, including a CD, vinyl record and cassette tape. These bundles and merch are probably the reason it debuted so high all things considered, but do physical merch sales really drive a song to #1? Travis does not have near enough a pull in the UK to get a top 10 hit on his own, so I imagine the physical sales really drove this up to the #2 spot, as well as the merch bundles. This means that Travis now has a second #1 in the US to his name pretty much purely because of merchandise. It did not have radio support at all despite monstrous streaming and without the merch and physical sales, it would have debuted in the top 10 easily, top five probably, but definitely would not have dethroned the much more stable and balanced song in all platforms, “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo. Also, I know there are a lot of Travis Scott fans and they are all very dedicated people, but even they can tell this was probably made in a day, right? It’s just “BUTTERFLY EFFECT” again, but it’s not even by the same producer, so Murda Beatz pretty much had his beat ripped off for some throwaway single that somehow got to #1. Surely, to buy a physical copy, you need to care enough about the song. The music video was pretty great, fair enough, and Kardashian drama does bring a lot of publicity, but I do not see how in any way this song is captivating enough to be documented as a #1 debut. The song had essentially been leaked in its entirety – plus a Lil Baby verse that could have made it even bigger – at live shows. You have to be interested in the song enough to care about the lyrics, and I can’t find anything here that resonates. Billboard’s merch rules need some re-evaluation, man. It’s an okay song though, pretty disposable.

Conclusion

I’m not as angry at “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” as it looks, the song’s tolerable, so Travis Scott isn’t even getting a Dishonourable Mention, in fact the Best and Worst of the Week fall out easily. Summer Walker and I guess Bryson Tiller get Worst of the Week for “Playing Games” (More on that song in a couple months) and Best of the Week goes to Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber for “10,000 Hours”, which is a really stupid song but it’s so fun. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more musical ramblings and I’ll see you next week!

[cwnerd12]

Royal Council, Again

“Royal Council, Again” Morning light shines on David’s face. He opens his eyes, and sits up. He’s still in Jessie’s hotel room, in Reinhardt’s suit, on the sofa. Jessie sips coffee at the table. David, “Shit!” Jessie, “You fell asleep while we were talking last night, I didn’t want to wake you up.” David, “I have to get ready for Council!” He grabs his phone, “My phone’s almost dead!” Jessie, “You have two hours. You can still have breakfast with me.” David, “No, I really have to get going, Mom!” He gets up, goes over, and kisses her on the cheek, “I’ll see you later, okay?” Jessie grabs his wrist, “David, whatever happens today, just know that I’m proud of you. You’ve done nothing but honor your father and Eli, and I know they’d be so proud, too.” David, “I have to go.”

In the back of an SUV, Abby, wearing her uniform, shoves a protein bar into David’s hand. Abby, “Fucking eat something, you need to be as ready as possible.” Monique, in the front seat, turns, “Do not get crumbs on your uniform.” David awkwardly angles his head away from his chest and eats. Abby, “Did you at least sleep last night?” David, “Yes, I did.” Abby nods, “Good. Just remember, David, not only are you a better leader than Abner, you’ve fucking earned your right to sit at Council. You deserve to be king. That’s something Abner will never have.” David smiles sadly, “I think Michelle is gonna be there. I don’t know if they’ll let you talk to her.” Abby, quietly, “I’ve been trying not to think about that. I don’t know what I’ll do if I see Michelle but then can’t be with her.” She wipes her eyes. David, “I’ll do what I can.” Abby, “Whatever happens, happens. There’s a lot that’s riding on this council, and me seeing Michelle is just a fragment of all that. Try to keep your focus on what’s really important.” David, “I will.” Abby, “I believe in you, David. I’ve believed in you ever since I met you. It’s been an incredible honor to be at your side.” David, getting emotional, “Don’t say that shit right now. It’s hard enough to keep myself together without it.” Abby, “Okay. You’ll do great. Because you are great.” David, “Thanks, Abby.” The SUV approaches the palace. Crowds swell out front, waving countless AFG flags and signs of support for David. Abby, “Holy shit. You’d think you were already king.” David gawks at the crowd as the SUV pulls to a stop. Abby puts her hand over his, “You ready?” David nods, still awed by the size of the crowd. He undoes his seatbelt, opens the door, and gets out. The crowd roars and chants, “David! David! David!” In Jack’s hospital room, Helen sits beside him as they watch TV. Helen, “There he is!” Jack watches without saying anything. Helen, “He looks good in a uniform. No wonder you like him so much.” Back at the palace, Abby steps by David’s side. Up in the throne room, looking down, Michelle sees her, and clasps her hand over her mouth, her eyes full of tears. In a shitty hotel room, the Bros sit around, watching on a small TV. Ethan, “There’s our dumb baby brother. On TV. Again.” Sean, “Shut up, man.” David looks down at Abby, and she gives him a reassuring smile. Abby, “Let’s do this.” They begin to walk towards the door together. Cameras flash, and TV reporters yell, “General Shepherd! General Shepherd!” David simply waves and keeps going. He and Abby go inside the palace.

Inside, an employee gestures them to the elevators, “General Shepherd, this way, please.” In a waiting room, Abner talks to Kings Lawrence and John while Laura, Warner, and Anthony all talk to their advisors. David and Abby enter. Abner casts David a dirty look, but then pretends to ignore him. Laura goes up, “David! How are you?” She hugs him. David, “Still alive, I guess.” He looks over at Abner. Laura, “Just know that whatever happens, I’m squarely on your side. No one else is the rightful king of Gilboa but you.” David, “Thanks, Laura. Will you give me a minute?” He goes over to Abner, “Your highness, may I speak to you?” Abner casts him a suspicious look, and then says, “What do you want, Shepherd?” David, “I just want to say, whatever happens today, the most important thing here is Gilboa and its future.” He sticks out his hand, and Abner shakes it awkwardly. The door opens, and Gerald enters. For a moment David and Abner are united in giving Gerald their deadliest, most hateful looks.

The monarchs line up with their advisors beside them, David and Abby at the very end. Abby, “Just be yourself, David. You’re the one that everyone loves.” The doors open, and the monarchs begin the march into the ballroom, set up for Royal Council. The crowd stands and applauds. Everyone is divided into national contingencies, the flags of their nations hanging above them. The AFG contingency is a wall of solid blue. Monique, Asher, Shay, and Joel sit in their formal uniforms at the front. In the middle, Beth sits, nervously applauding. In the Gilboan contingency, Rose and Michelle, still wearing mourning black, clap, while Michelle struggles to keep from crying. Abby sees her, and smiles, tears in her eyes. Michelle puts her hand over her heart. In the Moabian contingency, Jessie applauds and cries with pride while Frankie hoots and fist-pumps. The monarchs gather around the table in their correct places. David stares down at his nameplate, General David Shepherd, Army of Free Gilboa. Emma stands at a podium, “Royal Council will come to order. When your name is called, please sit. King Lawrence Merritt of Edom.” King Lawrence sits. One by one, the monarchs are called out, each name earning polite applause: King John of Samaria, King Anthony of Aram, King Gerald of Gath, King Linus of Gilboa, Queen Laura of Moab, and finally, “General David Shepherd of the Army of Free Gilboa.” David steps forward. The crowd explodes into raucous applause. David sits down, and looks around at the crowd, heartened by the support. Abby looks around and smiles brightly. Abner scowls. He leans in to speak into his microphone, “That’s enough.” The applause comes to an abrupt, awkward end. Everyone stares at Abner. He goes on, “It is my privilege to invite my fellow monarchs, and General Shepherd, to Shiloh Royal Council today. Today, we gather to debate who is the rightful king of Gilboa, myself, or General Shepherd. The law here could not be more clear, a king has a right to declare a successor, and in his will, King Silas declared me his successor. I’m not as handsome or charming as General Shepherd, but I am very much the King of Gilboa.” The Gilboan contingency applauds, but Rose and Michelle don’t. Everyone looks at David. David takes in a deep breath, “I think the people of Gilboa couldn’t be more clear, they want me as their king.” The AFG contingency roars, and Michelle applauds. David smiles, “King Linus and I have both lead armies, but Linus only lead in King Silas’s footsteps. I’ve spent the past two years fighting and bleeding for Gilboa. When Silas and Linus refused to acknowledge the Amalekites, I dedicated myself and my army to fighting them,” he raises his broken hand, “I got this beating Alek Amal’s face in.” Shouts of support from the AFG. David grins, confident, “When it was clear that the Amalekites were the greatest threat to Gilboa, I put aside my differences with Silas and united our armies to fight them. Because of this, we saved hundreds of lives at the Western Mall. When Gath tried to invade Gilboa, our armies again united, and we stopped the invasion. I’ve survived things that by all accounts, should have killed me. I’ve lost dear friends, both when they died and when they turned against me. Even facing horrific loss after horrific loss, I’ve kept fighting, because I believe in what I’m fighting for: A peaceful future. A free Gilboa. I believe I’ve earned its crown.” Sustained applause from all of the crowd. Jessie beams with pride. Warner, “I cannot abide a homosexual as king.” Boos from the crowd. David, “With all due respect sir, if I may correct you, I’m bisexual. To be honest, I really don’t like labels, although, I am somewhat partial to the Japanese euphemism, ryototsukai. It means one who wields two swords.” Warner, “A bisexual can’t lead an army.” David, “Were you home sick from school the day they taught about Alexander the Great?” Laughter. Warner shoots him a look, “And where did you learn this bisexuality?” David, “At the Dietrich-Brando Institute of Bisexual Arts.” Warner, “You’re just gay.” David, “Your mom didn’t think I was just gay.” Abby’s eyes widen in shock and horror as the crowd erupts with laughter and cheers. Frankie hoots, “Shit, son!” David suppresses a smirk. “His sexuality is irrelevant, Warner.” Warner, “It’s not irrelevant when a leader lies about the sort of person he is.” David, “I’ve never lied.” Warner, “And what about your relationship with Jack Benjamin?” David grows more serious, “I never denied being in a relationship with Jack. Everyone close to us and in the AFG knew about us. But we made the decision to be discrete so that no one would try to hurt me by hurting Jack.” Warner smirks, “And that’s exactly what happened, isn’t it.” David determinedly doesn’t look at Gerald. Gerald, “I will say that when I shot the prince, I only intended to hurt Silas. Any additional hurt was… incidental.” David clenches his teeth and  fists, struggling to keep the burning fury within himself. Abner gives Gerald a hateful stare. Rose struggles to swallow her disgust, and Michelle jumps to her feet. Rose grabs her wrist and tries to pull her to sit back down, but Michelle resists. Abby looks on, struggling not to cry. Finally, Michelle gives in and sits back down. John, “I don’t understand everything that’s happened. What is your story, General Shepherd?” David, “Uh, are you willing to sit here for a while? If you want the full story, I’m going to need some help,” he turns back to Abby, “You want to help, Abby?” he turns over and looks at the AFG, “I’m gonna need my officers, and uh, Princess Michelle should probably come down here, too.” Abner, “They will stay where they are seated.” John, “Where did this all begin?” David, “With the tank, I guess.” John, “What inspired you to go against orders, facing a court-martial, risking not only your life but the lives of the two captive soldiers you were after, and the lives of those in your camp?” David, “Well, my mom will tell you that I’ve always been an idiot, but, I knew what was going to happen to those soldiers if someone didn’t intervene quickly, and, even though at the time, they were just two strangers, I couldn’t stand doing nothing. Unlike King Linus, who during his time as a soldier was perfectly content to let King Silas do all the heroics, I decided to do the right thing. I did something incredibly stupid, and nothing since then has been the same.” John, “Is that when you fell in love?” David blushes slightly, “I- I knew about Prince Jack beforehand, I knew his reputation and the image he projected. The soldier I met that night was someone very different, someone that I don’t think many people ever were allowed to see. He said his name was Jack, and he was from Shiloh, and that he was going to be king when he left the army…” he pauses, “I guess I should have picked up on something there,” soft laughter, “But I didn’t realize who he was until King Silas entered the tent, and walked right past me when I tried to introduce myself. For a while I thought that the person I saw didn’t really exist, but, he came back. And I knew when I saw him again that I was in love with him.” In his hospital room, Jack cries. Abner, smugly, “Has it been difficult, being separated from him?” David, “The worst six months of my life.” Abner, “What would you be willing to sacrifice to see him again?” David, “I’m not capitulating to you. I still have support.” Abner, “So you would be willing to walk out of here, not being able to see him again, if it meant taking the moral high ground and insisting that you are the rightful king?” David, “If I have to, I will continue to fight, and I know that nobody here believes that you’re a good king.” A roar from the crowd. Laura, “My support goes to General Shepherd.” Anthony, “As does mine.” Lawrence, “You must admit, Linus, General Shepherd has shown exemplary skill in leading his army.” Abner, “Was he skilled when he killed Alek Amal and set off thirty bombs across Shiloh?” David, “I had no way of knowing that would happen.” Abner, “Alek Amal was the master of laying traps, how could you not think he wouldn’t have a trap laid for you?” David, “I thought it would be a trap for me, not innocent people. And I, at least, was actually trying to stop Amal. If I had done like you and ignored him, he’d still be killing people.” Applause. Abner scowls, “You aren’t as skilled a leader as you pretend to be, and you aren’t as morally righteous, either. Tell everyone about the execution of Douglas Ericsson.” David, “Doug was a traitor who caused the death of eighty-six people, and whose continued treachery forced the AFG to go into Ammon.” Abner, “Is that what you tell your mother? Do you always leave out the fact that he was a friend of yours?” David, “He was a traitor, and he had to be executed.” Abner, “Executed by you?” David, “It had to be done.” Gerald speaks up, “Gath is at war with Gilboa. What are each of you going to do about this?” Abner, “You killed my king and my best friend-” Gerald, “He killed himself.” Abner, “I am going to destroy Gath. It’s the only option I see.” Gerald looks at David. David, “I’ll be honest, I want to do the same. I want to bomb Ashdod into oblivion and then mount your skull in my office. But I’m not going to do that. You are not the people of Gath, and the people of Gath don’t deserve to suffer because of what you did. I set out to end the perpetual wars that Gilboa finds itself locked in, and I still mean that. I intend to settle peacefully with both Gath and Ammon.” Lawrence, “I’ll admit, General, you have proven yourself as a leader. But the law is the law. I’m afraid that I must support King Linus here.” John, “I concur.” Warner, “I concur.” Gerald, “I concur.” David, “You said I was king! You shot Jack, Silas killed himself, and then you looked straight at me, and you said, ‘You’re king!’” Gerald, “I didn’t realize that Linus had been chosen as successor.” Abner, “Supporting a rebel like Shepherd undermines all of our crowns! If Shepherd becomes king, what will happen next? Will there be insurrections in Ammon? In Aram? In Edom? If Silas can be overthrown, any one of you can be overthrown!” Anthony looks from Abner to David nervously, “As much as I like you, David, I must concur that Linus is king.” Laura, “You come from a stable country, Anthony. Every day, I wake up and face numerous groups that are trying to overthrow me. Gerald and Warner both do, too. David may stop fighting, but others will come for Linus. Because the people want what David wants. They want peace, and they want freedom, and they are willing to fight and die for it. Do you know how I’ve kept the peace in Moab? I listen to my people. I respect them. I honor them. And because of that, my people support me. Because I know where my people’s support lies, I am not afraid of being overthrown. I know that I am loved. David is loved. And love is always stronger than fear. And so I object. And I will not back down. David is the rightful king!” Applause from the AFG. Warner, “Are you going to keep us here all night, then?” Laura, “You only support Linus because you want Gilboa to collapse! You want to spread your twisted version of Christianity across the world, and you know you can defeat Linus, but not David! I ask my fellow monarchs, what will become of your countries if Gilboa collapses?! Linus may have the law on his side, but when it comes to who is the right leader, the answer is overwhelmingly David!” Abner, “I am not incompetent! For twenty-five years, I led Silas’s army, and I led it well! Silas was a smart enough leader to know that nepotism would only hurt him! He never would have appointed me General if he didn’t believe I was a capable leader!” Laura, “You try so hard to be Silas, but what did he ever do for Gilboa? If he was as great a leader as you say, they wouldn’t be burning his effigy in front of his own palace.” Abner, “You cunt!” Boos and hisses from the crowd. David, “For the record, I would never use that kind of language against a woman.” Applause. Laura, “You will never have my support, Linus. I will sit here until I pass out.” Abner, “If Shepherd agreed to something, would you support him?” Laura, “David will never support you.” Abner looks at David, “How’s your mental health, Shepherd?” David, “What?” Abner, “You’ve been fighting  this war for a long time. I know what kind of effect it has on soldiers. Do you sleep well during thunderstorms?” David bristles, “I’ve been seeing a doctor who diagnosed me with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. I actually rather resent the implication that being affected by mental illness makes me somehow weak or unfit to lead. This sort of stigma only encourages brave, good soldiers to avoid treatment and does incredible amounts of harm. Depression and PTSD, well, quite frankly, they suck, but they’re treatable. I’ve been treating mine, and I remain strong and willing to fight.” Abner, “Do you have nightmares?” David, gritting his teeth, “Yes.” Abner, “Have you ever been suicidal?” David, “There was a moment after Jack was shot and you announced your kingship, but… it passed. And I had people looking out for me.” Abner, “If you’re already traumatized, why keep adding to it? How much longer can you fight? How many more battles are in you? How many friends are you willing to lose? You must be tired.” David, “I will keep fighting as long as I have to.” Abner, “You say you want to negotiate peace with Gath. That means long, exhausting hours spent face-to-face with that man,” he points to Gerald, “You watched him shoot the person you love more than anything else. Aren’t flashbacks to traumatic events a part of PTSD?” David keeps his gaze away from Gerald. Abner, “Look into his face right now, and tell me what you see.” David raises his gaze. Abner, “Do you see him shooting Jack? Do you hear the gunshot? Do you feel to cold air of Mt. Gilboa? Can you smell the blood?” David, “I don’t understand how you can look at his face and not see the face of the man who sought to kill your king and best friend.” Abner, “Oh, I do. Believe me, I do. And I don’t kid myself. I know he’ll never agree to peace, he’ll only try to hurt me if I give him the chance. Do I don’t give him the chance. You have your ideals, Shepherd, but I’ve watched first-hand what it takes to be king, and I know what the world is really like. Sometimes, you do what you have to do, even if it means execution. Do you want to be king, David? Do you really want to be king? Have you ever really wanted to be king?” David, “If this were solely about what I want, Jack and I would be living in a beach condo in Moab. This is not about me, and it never has been. It’s about my brother, Eli. And my father. And Reverend Ephraim Samuels, and Leo and Nora Levinson, and Isaiah Clemens, and everyone who died because King Silas did nothing to stop the Amalekites, and all the names in files in the MSS building, and all the loved ones who have spent years wondering what happened. This is about something much larger than myself, and what I want is completely irrelevant.” Abner stares straight at David, “I will let you see Jack.” Absolute silence in the room. Everyone hangs in suspense. David stares at Abner. Abner, “Council is on my side, David. You’ve lost. If you continue to disagree, you will walk out of here, and never see Jack again. If you concur with the council, and agree to stop fighting, I will let you see him.” David sits without saying anything. Michelle has tears in her eyes. Jack clutches Helen’s hand. Abner, “You don’t even know what condition he’s in do you?” David stares at Abner, “No.” Abner he looks at the other monarchs, “I’ve deliberately withheld any update on the prince’s condition, for a moment like this. Brain injuries, as you must know, can completely destroy a person’s mind. People with brain injuries often can’t speak, can’t walk, lose their memories, don’t recognize the ones they love.  They are left an empty body with no mind at all,” he looks at David, “You don’t want Jack to be left all alone like that, do you?” David, his voice wavering, “He’s not like that. He’s doing well, that’s why you’ve withheld any announcement about him, you don’t want to give me hope.” Abner, annoyed, “Jack woke up five days after he was shot, late in the evening. I believe his sister was there with him at the time. He recognized her and was able to squeeze her hand. At first, he couldn’t speak, and he could barely move. He couldn’t even hold his head up. Since then, he has progressed well. He has regained a few words. He’s almost able to stand on his own. He asks for you, David.” Tears fall down David’s cheeks. Jack, softly, “No, no, no.” Abby and Michelle exchange nervous glances. Abner, “Brain injuries like Jack’s take highly intensive therapy, and still, they take years to recover from. Jack has and incredibly long and difficult road in front of him. He needs you, David.” David shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath, “I want amnesty. Complete, unconditional amnesty for anyone involved with the AFG.” Laura, “David, no.” David, “And there has to be reform. Things can’t go on like they did under Silas.” Abner, smiling smugly, “I can agree to that.” David, “Then I concur.” Jack, “No!” Laura has tears in her eyes, “David!” He looks at her, “Laura, please.” Laura puts her hand over her mouth. Shay, Joel, Monique, and Asher all exchange tense looks. Laura sniffs, “Fine. I concur.”Emma rushes up to the podium, “With this agreement, Royal Council is hereby concluded.” Abner jumps to his feet, “I thank you, fellow monarchs!” He vigorously begins shaking hands. Abby rushes up to David, “What the fuck?! David!” David, quietly, “Go be with Michelle, Abby.” Abby looks at Michelle, who cries. Abby, “David…” David, “Go be with Michelle.” He stands up, “I want to see Jack! Bring me to Jack right now!” Abner, “He’s just at the hospital. Go see him.” David turns around and begins marching towards the exit. Beth sobs uncontrollably. Abby looks from David to Michelle, back to David, back to Michelle, and then runs towards her. Michelle runs toward Abby, and they tearfully embrace. Shay, Monique, and Asher sit stunned while Joel hangs his head.

(“Sky Full of Song” Florence + The Machine) David, minus his jacket and tie, barges into the waiting room of the hospital, where Dr. Hussein waits for him. Dr. Hussein, “General Shepherd.” David, “Where is Jack?” Dr. Hussein, “Before I take you to him, I should prepare you-” David, “I want to see Jack!” Dr. Hussein, “He had surgery about a week ago, so his head is still bandaged. His speech is very limited-” David, “Please, please, just take me to Jack!” Dr Hussein, “All right, follow me.” Cut to: Dr. Hussein opens Jack’s door. and David rushes in, “Jack!” He sees Jack, sitting in his bed. Jack, “David! No!” David rushes over and hugs him and kisses him, crying uncontrollably, “Jack, Jack…” Jack, crying too, “No, no, no.” David, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He looks Jack in the eye, “I’m tired of fighting. I’m so fucking tired.” Jack struggles to say a word, and finally blurts out, “King!” David, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” Jack, “King David!” David, “That’s not going to happen, Jack.” Jack, “No!” David kisses him again and again, “I love you. I love you so fucking much.” Jack, “David, David…” In her room at the palace, Michelle and Abby passionately make love. Rose fixes herself a drink, the portrait of Silas looking over her shoulder. In her room, Helen looks at a picture of Seth and Silas. In front of the palace, Asher, Shay, Joel, and Monique all stand dejectedly. Joel, “So what now?” Shay, “I don’t know. I really don’t know.” Monique, “I think we’re supposed to just live our lives.” Joel, “That’s bullshit.” Monique, “I’m going back to the MSS building. I’m hungry. They should have dinner ready soon.” Asher, “You guys go there without me. I need to go somewhere.” At a bus station, Beth buys a ticket, “One for Menasseh, please.” In the palace ballroom, Abner laughs with Lawrence, John, Warner, and Gerald. Anthony stands by them without really joining their conversation. Laura cries in the back of her limo. David carefully lifts the edge of Jack’s bandage, revealing the bullet scar on his forehead. David, “You have a scar.” He shuts his eyes and kisses it. He looks into Jack’s eyes, “I can’t tell you how badly I’ve wanted to see your face with a scar instead of a wound.” Jack buries his face into David’s neck, and David caresses his cheek. Abby and Michelle lay in each other’s arms, looking into each other’s eyes. Abby, “I’ve missed you so much.” Michelle, “I know.” Abby, “I love you.” Michelle, “I love you, too.” Rose sits on a sofa and looks up at Silas’s portrait, a glass of scotch in her hand. She knocks back the last of it and sets it on a table. She cries bitterly. Abner and Emma host the other kings and their queens at the traditional post-Council dinner. Laura’s seat is conspicuously empty. Jack lays on David’s shoulder while David holds him. Beth boards a bus marked Menasseh. She sits down in her seat, very much alone. Outside the MSS building, AFG soldiers and citizens gather, holding candles. Joel, Shay, and Monique arrive and get out of their car. They look at the vigil gathering, the flowers set at the memorial wall. Up in his office, Reinhardt looks down at it all. Asher sits in an empty synagogue and prays. David speaks to Jack, “I have to tell you, I- I slept with a girl. I-” Jack claps his hand over David’s mouth. Jack looks up at him angrily for a moment, but can’t sustain it. He moves his hand away and kisses David forgivingly. David, “I’m so sorry.” Street lights shine over Beth’s face as the bus travels down the highway. The tears on her face sparkle. Abby and Michelle sit on a sofa, looking at the news. Helen watches the news. Emma watches the news. Jessie watches the news. A reporter reports from the now massive vigil in front of the MSS building. Joel, Shay, and Monique stand at the top of the stairs. Joel raises his fist, and others raise their fists with him. Asher sits in contemplation. David and Jack lay together, peaceful and quiet. The door opens, and Rose walks in. David stands up. Rose stares at him for a long moment, and then steps forward and hugs him. Awkwardly, David hugs her back. Rose looks at Jack over his shoulder. Rose, “You’d better take good care of him.” David, “I will.”