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jikookuntold · 3 years ago

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Jungkook and His Cover Songs: Is “10000 Hours” about Jimin?

Disclaimer: The following post includes theories, lyric and numeric analysis, plus my personal opinions, so please don’t take anything seriously. I’m too lazy to upload photos and videos for the moments I mentioned here, but I’m sure you know about them all. Any Jikooker must know. And I’m not Korean or a Korean culture expert, I just know as much as any Stan Twitter ARMY knows about their culture.

Anyone?

Maybe one of the biggest Jikook moments of 2021 so far, is where Jimin jumped into Jungkook’s hug, in Lee Hyun’s Vlog. But the other moment on that Vlog was even more significant; Jungkook was singing “Anyone” from Justin Bieber’s new album, and Jimin was harmonizing with him while holding on his shirt. I don’t want to mention their interview moment singing “Peaches” because I know this song is super popular in South Korea right now and somehow it doesn’t count as a moment. But it’s safe to say that Jikook has something special with his songs, and JK in particular always was invested in him.

JK & JB

The reason behind Jungkook’s devotion to Justin Bieber was always a big question for me, and I got my answer not long time ago. Jungkook’s playlist for Melon Radio Station included a song from JB’s new album named “Lonely”. This is one of the most personal songs any artist can ever make, and JK recommended it to his audience. Here are the lyrics of “Lonely” by Justin Bieber:

Everybody knows my name now

But somethin' 'bout it still feels strange

Like lookin' in a mirror, tryna steady yourself

And seein' somebody else

And everything is not the same now

It feels like all our lives have changed

Maybe when I'm older, it'll all calm down

But it's killin' me now

What if you had it all, but nobody to call?

Maybe then you'd know me

'Cause I've had everything

But no one's listening

And that's just lonely

I'm so lonely, lonely

Everybody knows my past now

Like my house was always made of glass

And maybe that's the price you pay

For the money and fame at an early age

And everybody saw me sick

And it felt like no one gave

They criticized the things I did as an idiot kid

What if you had it all, but nobody to call?

Maybe then you'd know me

'Cause I've had everything

But no one's listening

And that's just lonely

These lyrics made me think of one specific thing, the thing that JK and JB have in common: They started their careers at a very young age, and their lives have been under the scrutiny of so many people. These people judged and criticized them but never tried to understand them. The lyrics are straightforward and leave no place for interpretation. By recommending this song, JK showed that he had (and probably still has) the same experiences in his life, and I think the reason he recommends or covers JB’s songs more than any other artist is that he has many things in common with him, and feels connected to his songs.

This can lead us to another theory: By covering a Justin Bieber song, Jungkook shares something about himself with us, something that he can’t express directly.

Jungkook is interested in JB’s songs, but he is not the only one. As I said earlier in this post, Jimin shares the same taste with Jungkook, and my receipt is not just that “Anyone” or “Peaches” harmonizing moments, but also Jimin’s Spotify playlists. Since 2017 (or earlier, I’m not sure about this part) he has added some JB songs to his official playlist, and even his current playlist (July 2021) has two JB songs. And also let’s not forget the fact that Jikook as a subunit started in 2014 with a JB cover. Yes, I’m talking about “Mistletoe” and as you may know, Jimin translated the lyrics of this song to Korean.

10000 Hours

Nearly 700 words and I haven’t started yet! The subject of this post was supposed to be the connections between “10000 hours” cover and Jikook but this prelude was necessary to clarify all the aspects of the topic and we find out how JB is special for JK and Jimin and how they (especially Jungkook) feel connected to him. Anyways, back to 10000 hours:

Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber released this Grammy winner song in October 2019. Here are the lyrics:

Do you love the rain, does it make you dance

When you're drunk with your friends at a party

What's your favorite song, does it make you smile

Do you think of me?

When you close your eyes, tell me, what are you dreamin'?

Everything, I wanna know it all

I'd spend ten thousand hours and ten thousand more

Oh, if that's what it takes to learn that sweet heart of yours

And I might never get there, but I'm gonna try

If it's ten thousand hours or the rest of my life

I'm gonna love you

Do you miss the road that you grew up on?

Did you get your middle name from your grandma?

When you think about your forever now, do you think of me?

When you close your eyes, tell me, what are you dreamin'?

Everything, I wanna know it all

I'd spend ten thousand hours and ten thousand more

Oh, if that's what it takes to learn that sweet heart of yours

And I might never get there, but I'm gonna try

If it's ten thousand hours or the rest of my life

I'm gonna love you

Ooh, want the good and the bad and everything in between

Ooh, gotta cure my curiosity

Ooh, yeah

I'd spend ten thousand hours and ten thousand more

Oh, if that's what it takes to learn that

Sweet heart of yours

And I might never get there, but I'm gonna try

If it's ten thousand hours or the rest of my life

I'm gonna love you

And I'm gonna love you

As you can see, the lyrics are 100% romantic, and the singers including JB, have dedicated this song to their lovers. Also, their girlfriends/wives have a cameo in the MV, which leaves no place for speculation for the context of the song: Even though the uncertainties always exist and no one knows about the future, our love is strong and will stay strong regardless of time.

The Cover and the Theories

Nearly one year later, on July 28th, 2020, Jungkook surprised ARMYs with a short video he tweeted at 11:56 AM. That video was a 49 seconds cover of 10000 hours. A few minutes later, he deleted the tweet (apparently with the advertisement excuses, because it was tweeted from an iPhone and they have a contract with Samsung). Later that night, Jungkook released the full version on Sound Cloud and tweeted the link at 11:47 PM.

Jikookers discovered numerous theories that day about the times of both tweets; if you add the digits of the time, the result is “13” for both tweets 1+1+4+7=13, 1+1+5+6=13, and as you already know “13” is Jikook’s magic number. Also, the first video he tweeted was 49 seconds and 4+9=13. But in my opinion, this theory is not strong. I know that numerology is very popular in Korean culture but still, all of this can be coincidences, but the other things I’m going to bring up are most likely not.

28th July 2020 was the 7th anniversary of the first Jikook selca posted after debut. This also might be a coincidence and to be honest, it cannot be a strong link to make a connection with Jikook, but worths sharing.

The next thing that many Jikookers also pointed out, was related to the title of the song. The lyrics say “10000 hours and 10000 more” and 20000 hours after the 28th of July is 8th November 2022. As you may know. Jikookers believe November 8th is a significant date for Jikook. I believe this can be a coincidence either, and it’s very unlikely of Jungkook to do such calculations (Koreans are interested in numbers when it comes to days and dates, but counting hours is not usual in any culture. Other than that, I’m still doubtful about the origins of the November 8th theory because we have nothing other than two tweets and G.C.F Tokyo release date and their hotel room in Tokyo which still can be coincidental). But I don’t deny these theories because even as a coincidence, it’s still very interesting.

And the next theory is connected to the “Red Moon”. On 27th July 2018, a total lunar eclipse happened all over the world, which became known as the red moon. At that time, BTS were in Malta, and on the same night, Jikook were watching the red moon on a boat. They shared plenty of photos and videos of that moment and I’m sure as a Jikooker you have seen them all and you know that night had a very romantic mood (BigHit words, not mine) for Jikook. So, a second anniversary for that night and the day after that night can be a significant date to release a very romantic cover. Is this a coincidence too? I think we had many of them already.

And last but not least is something connected to Korean culture. You probably know that 1000 days anniversaries are very important for Koreans and they celebrate them along with real anniversaries of the important dates in their lives. And guess what? 27th July 2020 is 1000 days after 31 October 2017. This day is the day Jikook’s travel to Tokyo ended and they posted their couply mirror selca on Twitter with flower bouquet emoji. Despite the one-day difference (the same case for the red moon anniversary), this is not a minor event or small coincidence. I believe Jungkook posted “10000 hour” cover for this reason and based on this, the other theories I mentioned earlier can be true either.

The lyrics hit different if you read them again, after knowing this fact. Right? I don’t want to make this post much longer but before wrapping up, I want to talk about the lyrics of “Anyone” by JB (the song Jikook were harmonizing in Lee Hyun’s Vlog):

Dance with me under the diamonds

See me like breath in the cold

Sleep with me here in the silence

Come kiss me, silver and gold

You say that I won't lose you

But you can't predict the future

So, just hold on like you will never let go

Yeah, if you ever move on without me

I need to make sure you know that

You are the only one I'll ever love

(I gotta tell ya, gotta tell ya)

Yeah, you, if it's not you, it's not anyone

(I gotta tell ya, gotta tell ya)

Looking back on my life

You're the only good I've ever done (ever done)

Yeah, you, if it's not you, it's not anyone (anyone)

Not anyone

Forever's not enough time to (oh)

Love you the way that I want (love you the way that I want)

'Cause every morning I find you (oh)

I fear the day that I don't

You say that I won't lose you

But you can't predict the future

'Cause certain things are out of our control

Yeah, if you ever move on without me

I need to make sure you know that

You are the only one I'll ever love

Only one (I gotta tell ya, gotta tell ya)

Yeah, you, if it's not you it's not anyone

(I gotta tell ya, gotta tell ya)

Looking back on my life

You're the only good I've ever done (I've ever done)

Yeah, you, if it's not you, it's not anyone

It's not anyone, not anyone

Oh, oh, oh, oh

If it's not you, it's not anyone

Oh, oh, oh, yeah, whoa

Yeah, you are the only one I'll ever love

(I gotta tell ya, gotta tell ya)

Yeah, you, if it's not you, it's not anyone

(I gotta tell ya, gotta tell ya) gotta tell ya

Looking back on my life

You're the only good I've ever done (ever done, oh, yeah)

Yeah, you, if it's not you, it's not anyone

If you read the lyrics, you will notice that the context is very similar to “10000 hours”. It talks about the uncertainties of a beautiful love or in other words: No matter what the future brings to us, this love will last forever.

This context of uncertainty and unknown future for a romance is a common concept in many of the songs Jungkook has covered and it’s not limited to the Justin Bieber covers he has done and maybe this concept can be the topic for my next analysis.

#jikook #jikookanalysis #jimin #jungkook

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golbrocklovely · 4 years ago

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remember me // colby brock

A/N: this is not a request, but this is something i have been thinking about for a long time, probs since i started writing. i only finally wrote this out bc i’ve seen a lot of edit on insta that are like ‘what if your fave didn’t exist?’ and i figured this was sign for me to finally write it. if you guys want me to make a sequel to this, lmk. hope you enjoy.

prompt: everyone has forgotten colby, except her. but why?

trigger warning: angst, kinda sad, ppl forgetting colby

word count: 3567

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The day started out like any other day for Colby. Nothing felt out of place as he woke up and laid in bed for a couple minutes. He knew today was going to be one of the less crazier days for him and Sam. No meetings of any kind, and no filming either. He had gotten everything done earlier this week and he was excited to have a bit of a day off. The only thing he had planned for today was to go workout with Sam early. He glanced at his phone. 9:34 A.M. Perfect time for him and Sam to go down to the apartment's gym and get some work done.

Colby stretched as he stood up, stumbling over to his closet and changing into what he usually worked out in, a muscle shirt and basketball shorts. He trudged into his bathroom and brushed his teeth quickly, opting to take a shower after he got home from the gym. He slipped his sneakers on as he walked into his kitchen and got a water bottle from his fridge. Taking a big gulp, he grabbed his keys and headed straight down the hallway to Sam's apartment.

He knocked three times, calling out to Sam as he waited for the blonde-haired boy to open the door. Finally, Sam did, rubbing his eyes and staring at Colby confused.

"Hey dude, did you oversleep?" Colby smirked, "That would be a first."

Sam narrowed his eyes at Colby, his voice still tired. "Um, I'm sorry?"

“Don't you remember? We planned to work out this morning. We talked about it last night.” Colby replied, twirling his keys in his fingers.

“What are you talking about?” Sam scrunched up his face.

“Last night after we filmed your video, we said we should go workout this morning…” Colby chuckled lightly, “Are you okay, brother?”

“I'm sorry, but... do you have the wrong apartment?” Sam asked nicely.

Colby exhaled. “What?”

“You must be looking for someone else, dude. I have no idea who you are.” Sam mumbled to himself, “Or how you know my name…”

“Okay, ha-ha. Very funny. Come on, Sam. Let's go.” Colby stated, taking a step back to leave.

Sam insisted, his voice getting louder. “No seriously, I have no idea who you are.”

“Babe, who is that?” A voice called from inside the apartment.

Colby looked over Sam, seeing Kat walk around the corner in her pjs. Colby glanced above Kat and noticed something off but ignored it.

“Hey Kat, did Sam hit his head last night?” Colby joked.

Sam turned to Kat. “Do you know him?”

Kat took a step back, glancing at Colby quickly. “No, I have no idea who he is. Do you?”

“No, I don't.” Sam shook his head.

“What are you guys on about? Of course, you know me.” Colby hissed.

“Seriously, I have no idea who you are or how you know me. But you gotta leave.” Sam ordered.

“What?” Colby raised an eyebrow, his voice softening, “Is this some type of prank?”

“Leave now, or I'm gonna call security on you.” Sam grunted.

Colby started. “Dude what are you talking-”

Sam slammed the door in Colby's face, locking it loudly. Colby scoffed, staring at the door for a second.

If this is a prank, I'm so gonna get him back for this.

Colby rolled his eyes and went down to the gym. He couldn't wrap his head around what just happened. Why was Sam pranking him if they already filmed last night? Was he trying to film for next week now too? Was this for someone else's video?

I mean, this has to be a prank... right?

Colby shook his head, ignoring the strange thought. Of course, this was a prank. It was probably for Jake's video. Maybe even Kat's. Or Kevin's. Someone was doing it to him. He couldn't remember the last time he had pranked somebody. But whoever he did, they were probably trying to get him back now for it. And they were doing a pretty good job.

Colby jumped onto the treadmill, keeping the pace slow at first as he searched through Spotify to find his playlist. Where was his playlist? As cheesy as it was to listen to the playlist he made for fans, it was filled with his favorite songs, so he would actually listen to it a lot. But now... he couldn't find it.

Where the fuck is it?

He searched, even going to his profile, but it wasn't there. Gone, like it never existed.

Maybe Spotify is acting up. Let me just go to Youtube.

Colby clicked on the app, searching up a song he wanted to hear. Then he paused for a moment, deleting the text he had written and typing in 'sam and colby'.

No results found.

“What?” Colby murmured, twisting up his face.

He then typed in 'colby brock'.

No results found.

Colby's heart sped up in his chest, his breathing quickening. Did his channel get deleted? Why were there no results for his channel, or 'Sam and Colby' for that matter? He finally typed in 'sam golbach', and Sam's channel appeared.

Colby clicked on it, glancing around at the different layout. This wasn't the layout Sam had had before. The only time they change it is when they are starting a new chapter, and they always do it together. Maybe he changed it last minute?

He clicked on Sam's videos. Scrolling through the list of them, he noticed something weird.

Sam always included Colby in the thumbnail. But now... he was nowhere. Now someone different was in the thumbnail, like Jake, Kevin, or even Corey. But... Colby was nowhere.

What the fuck was going on?

Colby clicked on a video he knew he was in, 'This Is How He LOST The Game’. He watched through the first ad, waiting impatiently. Finally, when the video loaded, his eyes widened at what he saw.

He wasn't in the video.

Sam had started the video off like normal, showing all the guys sitting on the couch as he explained the name of the game. But Colby, who knew for a fact he was in this video, was no longer there. His spot empty.

It was one thing to pretend not to know him, it was one thing to remove him from the thumbnails. But to remove him from videos all together...

“It's impossible.” He uttered under his breath.

Colby rushed off the treadmill, no longer in the mood to workout. He ran up to his apartment, feeling his heart bang against his ribcage.

Maybe this is all a weird ass dream? Or an extremely elaborate prank?

Colby went into his closet, deciding he wanted to change out of his clothes into something more comfortable. He gazed over at the corner of his closet, where he kept all of his merch, along with the XPLR ones too.

It was empty.

“What the fuck?” Colby grabbed at the empty hangers, spinning around his closet. He threw open drawers to try and find his merch, but he couldn't find it.

Colby swiped open his phone, sliding to his pictures. He knew him and Sam had a recent photoshoot in the new XPLR merch, so as long as those photos were there, he knew everything's okay.

As he opened his photo album, a certain dread trickled through his body.

Colby never deleted anything off his phone. He wanted to keep as many photos as possible. Plus it was always good to have extra photos in case he didn't have anything to post on his Instagram. But now, every photo he had was different than it once was. He had many photos of him and Sam from their years of friendship. But now every photo that had him and Sam in it... was gone. It was no longer Sam and Colby. It was just... Colby.

I'm not doing this right now. This can't be real.

Colby shook his head, his nerves getting the better of him as he laid back down on his bed. He took some deep breaths, trying to relax. This must just be the most realistic dream he's ever had, and he just needs to go back to sleep and wake up to everything normal again.

Normal... Sam's neon sign was gone.

Colby groaned to himself, closing his eyes and getting comfortable in bed. No, this is not the time to think. I just need to sleep.

As Colby felt himself relax into sleep, his dreams that followed were confusing and dark. Nothing made sense, but all he knew was that he was in a panic.

Colby jolted awake suddenly. He could tell by the way the sun was peeking through his windows that it was later. He opened his phone. 1:34 P.M.

He sighed deeply. Colby was used to waking up on his days off this late. Everything already felt better.

Did I dream all of that? Or was that prank real?

As he slid out of bed to the bathroom, he decided to check twitter. If that was all real, maybe Sam had mentioned the prank to the fans.

Colby opened twitter and nothing seemed out of the usual. He looked at Sam's account, and noticed it was not following him anymore.

He's being extremely thorough, isn't he?

As he went to switch over to the Sam and Colby account, he noticed the icon wasn't there. His fingers twitched as he typed 'sam and colby' into the search bar. Everything but that account showed up. 'Sam and Colby' twitter didn't exist.

A nauseous feeling rolled through Colby's body. Colby went to his profile, looking through the people he followed, not even noticing the significant lack of followers he had. He knew he followed a couple fans, maybe they knew what was up. As he scrolled through, he noticed the usernames were different.

He knew a bunch of fans off-hand. A lot of fan accounts always stuck out to him; and it was easy to remember the username, especially if it was named after him.

But nobody's username was.

He saw a lot of 'Golbach', but no 'Brock' or even 'Golbrock', which he always thought was cute. Not a single username was related to him anymore.

Alright, that's enough.

He angrily clicked on his contacts, needing to call Sam and tell him to call off this prank. It was no longer funny and honestly, he didn't even want to be a part of it anymore. Most pranks he was fine with, but this one was going too far for him.

Colby gasped as he stared at his contacts, dropping his phone like it electrocuted him.

All his friends were missing from his contacts. The only people in his phone were his family, and that was it.

Colby began to hyperventilate, unable to stop the panic that surged through his body. He bore at himself in the mirror, staring at his stress-ridden face. He gripped the counter of his sink, trying to calm himself down.

If he couldn't turn to Sam, who could he turn to?

He picked his phone back up, leaning against his counter as he called his mom. He just needed to know that someone remembered him.

“Hello?” His mother’s voice sang through the phone.

Colby breathed, slightly relaxing against the counter. “Hey Mom, how are you?”

“Hi Cole-baby. I'm doing okay. How are you?” She asked sweetly.

Colby pouted. “Um, I'm feeling a bit... off, to say the least.”

“Oh no, what's wrong?” She responded.

“I know this is gonna sound like a weird question, but do you remember my friend Sam?” Colby questioned, tapping his hand against the counter.

She hummed, guessing. “Sam? Sam... Johnson?”

“What? No. I never knew a Sam Johnson.” Colby rolled his eyes, frustrated, “I mean Sam Golbach. Sam Golbach. Do you remember him?”

“No... should I?” She admitted.

His heart dropped at her words. “Yeah, you should. He's my best friend. We were friends all through high school. We started a literal career together, he's basically your third son at this point.”

“Woah, honey. What are you talking about?” She puzzled.

“You don't remember Sam? He's the whole reason I moved out here, Mom.” He urged, needing his mother to remember.

She paused, then spoke. “Colby, you moved out to LA alone. Last month.”

“What?” He choked.

“You worked all through high school and college and saved up money and just recently moved out there.” She informed.

His eyes widened. “Mom, I've lived in LA for almost five years now.”

Also... college?

“Maybe it feels like five years, but honey, you only moved out a month ago at max.” His mom’s voice softened, lowering slightly. “Are you okay?”

“No momma, apparently not.” He sighed, “Who was I friends with in high school if I wasn’t friends with Sam?”

“Honey, you didn’t have any… or none that you ever brought home.” She mentioned.

Colby queried. “And college?”

“You didn’t really talk about anyone. You were very focused on your schoolwork.” She explained.

That literally doesn’t sound like me at all. I couldn’t even pass math without Sam.

Colby glanced down at his tattoos for a second, pursing his lips. “Another quick question, I was allowed to live in our house with dyed hair, tattoos, and pierced ears?”

She gasped. “Wait what? You got a tattoo?!”

“Mom, I have like five.” Colby deadpanned.

“When did you find the time to get them?!” She hushed, “Cole, you know how I feel about tattoos.”

Colby grew tired. “So, you've never heard of a Sam Golbach before?”

“No, absolutely not. But don't try to change the subject on me, Cole Robert.” She scolded.

He huffed. “I'll talk to you later, momma.”

She sputtered. “What? Don't you-”

Colby clicked ‘End Call’, lowering his head to the counter, taking in a deep breath and holding it.

“What the fuck is happening right now?” He demanded out loud.

Colby jumped up, going to his closet and slipping on some clothes quickly. The only thing he knew for certain is that something wasn't right, and he needed to get out of his apartment and go somewhere else. Anywhere else.

He grabbed his keys and rushed down to the parking lot, getting into his car quickly and driving off.

He drove for a while, finally pulling into another parking lot and turning off his car. He needed to get something to eat, and then maybe he could figure things out. He glanced around and noticed the parking lot he was in was for a diner named Meyer's. He locked his car as he left, swinging the diner's door open hastily. The diner wasn't packed, but it wasn't empty either. A nice lull of conversations droned on as he sat down at the furthest booth, cracking his knuckles nervously.

He picked up the menu that was already at the table, staring at the front of it. He didn't even realize a waitress had walked up next to him.

"...Are you okay?" The soft voice said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Colby stared up at the waitress, noticing her eyes first. They were captivating and beautiful, much like herself. Her hair shined brightly in the sun that basked through the window. Her smile was wonderful to see after a day of unpleasant looks.

He stuttered. “What? Uh-I. Yeah, no, I'm fine.”

She giggled. “Okay. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Um, a water. No, a soda. Please.” Colby muttered.

“Alright. Coming right up.” She nodded.

Colby stared at the menu again, gazing over the pictures of sandwiches and wraps. He wasn't really hungry, but he felt like he should just eat something, even if it was just to pass the time.

The waitress came back over with his soda, placing it lightly down in front of him. “Are you ready to order?”

“No, not yet.” Colby answered, not looking up from the menu.

“Okay, I'll be right back.” She started to walk away, then stopped and turned back. “Are you okay? I know I already asked you that but... you look really upset.”

Colby’s shoulders slumped as he gazed up at her. “I-I... don't even know how to explain it.”

“Why? Is it complicated?” She guessed.

“You could say that,” Colby glared down at the menu. “It just doesn't make any sense. It sounds fake, to be honest.”

“Well, you can tell me. I won't judge.” She smiled.

I might as well tell somebody...

“Everyone's... forgotten about me?” Even Colby was confused at his words.

“What do you mean? Like they're ignoring you?” She questioned, her hand resting on her hip.

“No. Like they literally forgot I exist. Or, I somehow don't exist in their lives anymore, when yesterday I did.” He confessed.

She shrugged. “Well, maybe they're trying to ignore you instead of talking things out.”

“No, I don't think you understand. I don't exist to them. They don't know me. Like, at all,” Colby corrected. “My best friend, my brother, the fucking dude I got arrested with, doesn't know who I am.”

“Wait, you've been arrested?” She raised an eyebrow.

“It was just breaking and entering. And having fake IDs,” He commented. “But that's not the point, the point is no one remembers me, but I remember them.”

The waitress stood there silently, awkwardly.

“I don't know what to say.” She whispered.

He gulped. “I don't know either. But if you have a solution, I'd gladly hear it.”

“Maybe it's a prank?” She speculated.

“I thought about that too. But if it is, this is extremely elaborate. And borderline impossible.” Colby disclosed.

She argued nonchalantly. “People do crazy things for social media.”

“Yeah, but even my friends wouldn't take it this far for just a dumb video.” He complained.

“Are your friends famous?” She inquired.

“I wouldn't say that. My best friend is Sam Golbach.” Colby revealed.

“Sam Golbach? Why have I heard that name before?” She asked quietly.

“He's got a lot of followers. He’s a Youtuber.” He pointed out.

“Wait, you're Sam's best friend?” Her eyes widened.

“Yeah?” He cocked his head to the side.

She gasped. “Oh! You're Colby Brock!”

“I'm what?” He stammered.

“You're Colby, right?” She doubted for a second, “Or did I get that wrong?”

Colby jumped up out of his seat. “Oh my God, you know who I am! Wait, how do you know?”

“My one friend is a huge fan of you and Sam. She showed me you guys like a month ago.” She paused for a second, smirking. “She's actually really into you... Maybe I should call her.”

“Please do. I need to know if she knows who I am.” Colby pleaded, sitting back down.

The waitress followed him, sitting across from Colby. “Of course she does, she literally has you set as her wallpaper.”

She pulled out her phone, glancing around to make sure no one was watching her. She clicked on a contact, putting the phone on the table and clicking ‘Speaker’.

“Hello?” A voice broke in through the phone.

She grinned, staring up at Colby. “Hey Sara, you need to come down to the diner real quick.”

“What why?” Sara questioned.

“Colby Brock is here.” She announced.

Sara remarked. “...Who?”

“Colby Brock, the guy you're in love with.” She repeated.

“I have no idea who you're talking about. I've never heard that name before.” Sara denied.

“He's Sam Golbach's friend.” The waitress described.

Sara exclaimed. “Oh my God, is Sam there?! Because I’ll-”

She interjected. “No, he’s not.”

“Oh... then I don't want to come.” Sara recalled, “I've never heard Sam talk about a guy named Colby before.”

Colby swallowed the lump in his throat, his eyes falling off of the waitress’.

She fretted. “Okay then. I'll talk to you later.”

“Alright, bye.” Sara ended, hanging up the phone.

After a moment of silence, the waitress stated, “I'm sorry about that.”

“What's there to be sorry about?” Colby quavered.

The waitress scoffed suddenly. “Is this some kinda joke?”

“What?” He queried.

“Are you pulling a prank on me? Was Sara in on it? Because I’ll kill her if she met you and didn’t tell me.” She jeered jokingly.

Colby shook his head, deadpanning. “I haven’t met Sara, and I’m not pranking you.”

“How can I know if you’re lying or not?” She questioned, squinting her eyes.

“Google my name. Search me on any social media,” Colby suggested. “I don’t exist.”

“Okay…” She agreed.

The waitress quickly typed in his name into Google, coming up with no images that looked like him. None of his social media links came up either.

She gazed up at him slowly. “This is really weird.”

“You’re telling me.” Colby uttered, “No one remembers me.”

She blurted. “But I do.”

“Yeah… why is that?” He inquired.

“I-I don’t know.” She sputtered, confused. Then she jolted up from her seat instantly. “I-um, gotta go help out my other tables. Do you need me to give you some time to look over the menu?”

“Yes…” He continued, “But one other thing.”

“Sure.” She leaned in, her hands resting on the tabletop.

“Can you help me? Please?” Colby begged, lightly grabbing her hand.

She silently gasped, whispering, “How?”

“I don’t know. But I think you’re the only one that can.” Colby divulged.

The waitress stuttered, but no words fell from her lips.

He exhaled, staring into her eyes. “So, will you?”

| >>

#colby brock #colby brock fanfiction #colby brock fic #colby brock fanfic #colby brock angst #colby brock x reader #colby brock x oc #colby brock oneshot #colby brock one shot

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farfromsugafanfic · 4 years ago

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Heartbreak Weather

Genre: Weatherman!Jin, Metropolis/loosely based off comic books, Rivalry, soft Enemies to Lovers

Pairing: Jin/Male Reader

Warnings: all the sexual tension lol, hurricanes

Synopsis: The rival weatherman at Channel 5 just so happens to be Kim Seokjin who you just so happened to have had a thing with in college. Sort of. When a hurricane brings the two of you back together again, the forecast calls for love and dredged up feelings.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"Will you please turn that off?" you asked, taking a sip of your coffee. Normally, you took it with a little vanilla-flavored creamer, but much like that morning's coffee, you were bitter.

"Aw, why? Seokjin looks so cute in his turtleneck this morning," one of the writers said, fawning over the Channel 5 weatherman. "Maybe you should start wearing turtlenecks. It might boost our ratings."

You rolled your eyes as the red light came on indicating that you would soon be on camera. You set your coffee to the side and stepped in front of the green screen.

"Good morning, Metropolis," you said. "You can expect some light rain on your commute today. It should clear up by lunchtime though and it will be partly cloudy for the rest of the day. You watched as the map viewers saw at home shifted as you shifted the topic. "As you know, a hurricane is forming a few hundred miles off the coast. We are currently predicting landfall early next week. I will be traveling to Diamond Beach as the storm approaches to give you the most recent updates. Thanks for watching Channel 4 News, now here's Andrea with traffic."

The red light switched from you and onto Andrea's camera on the other side of the studio. You let out a sigh and walked back to your desk away from the main set.

"You went to school with him, right?" the same writer asked, still watching Seokjin on the screen. His station gave him more screentime because he was so well loved in the city, often they pan to him coming back from commercial breaks and whenever there was a view question or poll.

"Yeah," you said. There was only one university near Metropolis that offered a robust meteorology program and most of the city's weather people came from it. You and Seokjin had gone through together, even graduating at the same ceremony.

"Wow, was he still so stunning in college? Like, I don't think I could've focused if he was in my classes."

"Depends on who you ask."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

5 Years Earlier

"Having trouble focusing?" you asked Seokjin as you noticed his dark eyes were no longer looking down at the computer screen.

"Hmm, it's a bit hard when you look at the screen like that," he said, smirking and turning around to lean against the desk. "Tell me, what's a guy gotta do to get you to look at him like that?"

"Be a warm front." You watched as a warm front moved towards the city while a cold one moved simultaneously from the other direction.

"What if I'm a hot front?" He turned to face you, his hip still leaning against the desk, but his body was close enough that it brushed yours as he moved.

"Seokjin, stop." You clicked a few more times and turned to flip through your textbook. "It's a storm for sure. A thunderstorm or tornado. Shit, it could be anything, how are we supposed to figure this out."

"Its the weather, not heart surgery. We can be wrong fifty percent of the time and still good at our job."

"But, if we're wrong fifty percent of the time, we'll fail this class."

Jin sighed and crossed his arms as his eyes lingered down your body. "Listen, Y/N. We both know that you're going to stress about this for twenty minutes and then figure it out like you always do. Now, come on, let's take a break."

"And do what?" you asked, letting out a breath between your teeth, not tearing your eyes away from the screen.

"I don't know. I have a few ideas though" His breath was against your ear and his body heat radiated against your own.

"Seokjin, this can't happen."

"Why not?"

"Cause I need to focus on school. I'm here on a scholarship. I can't risk distractions."

Jin sighed and looked down at the weather map on the screen. "It's a thunderstorm," he said. "The currents aren't strong enough for a tornado and based on the patterns, its the most logical."

You quickly wrote down the answer and his reasoning, realizing that he was right. How he surmised the answer so quickly, especially when he was barely paying attention baffled you.

"All right, now, come on," he said. "I'm taking you out for lunch and you can't deny me that. I know you're hungry."

"Fine," you said, shutting your textbooks and allowing the computer's screensaver to come on.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

Just hours later that same night, you found yourself looking up at the ceiling of Jin's bedroom. Soft cotton sheets wrapped around your torso and they felt softer than even the best sheets you'd ever owned. His shirtless form was turned away from you and you resisted the urge to reach up and run a hand through his dark hair. He'd let it grow long recently, the ends of his hair beginning to grow onto his neck.

"Stop staring at me," Seokjin said, you could hear the smirk in his voice. He turned around to face you. His eyes were calm and soft like the sheets, but you couldn't help but feel the sadness. The knowing.

"How'd you know?" Your voice was small.

"I could feel it. Your eyes hurt, you know?"

You did know. You knew how much it hurt Jin to see your eyes wander down the shape of his torso. That the way you always reached to push his ill-fitting glasses up the bridge of his nose hurt. That knowing he couldn't reach out and sneak his fingertips underneath the hem of your sweater.

"I'm sorry."

"I know, it's okay."

"It's not, Seokjin. We need to move on. Forget about each other. It's best for our futures."

"You know that's not true."

"Seokjin, we both want the same things in life. We'd be competing with each other for every job. We'd rush to get the story before the other. It wouldn't last."

"We don't know that unless we try."

"Seokjin, I don't want to give myself the chance to hate you."

You got up from the bed and buttoned your shirt, pulled on your trousers, and tied your shoes. Seokjin watched you, didn't try to stop you as you headed towards the door. Gripping the doorknob, you walked out and back down to the sidewalk below.

Following that day, you didn't see Seokjin again. Sure, he still sat a few rows in front of you, he still presented in class, you glanced over his name in the paper when it was announced he was taking over the weather position for Channel 5. You saw him on billboards and on Reddit posts. Yet, you never met allowed your eyes to meet his again. Unless it was through the warm, freshly printed Metropolis Daily.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

Nearly no one was heading east towards Diamond Beach. Westbound traffic was full of cars heading into the city to weather the storm, while eastbound only consisted of a few cars. Mostly media and others who couldn't drop everything and run from the hurricane.

You could just make out the Channel 5 van ahead of you. Focusing down on your laptop which was tracking the conditions minute by minute, you tried not to focus on the fact you would likely run into Seokjin.

This certainly wasn't the first time a hurricane or tropical storm caused you and Seokjin to collide like convergent fronts. Every year you found yourself at Diamond Beach trying not to watch his broadcast from a few meters down the beach.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

Two Hours Later

"Hello, this Y/N Y/L/N reporting for Channel 4 news. Hurricane Roke is expected to make landfall later tonight. Most of Diamond Beach and the surrounding areas have been evacuated as Roke is currently a category four storm. I will be monitoring the storm and providing updates through Twitter throughout the night and I'll be back on the beach at 5am. This has been Y/N Y/L/N covering Hurricane Roke. Now, back to the studio."

You felt Jin's eyes on you as you gave your report. He was about two hundred feet down the beach. He wore a similar coat to your own and even with his hood pulled up you could feel the way his eyes cut through you.

Once the red light on your camera went off, the one on Seokjin's came on and he began his report. It was nearly identical to yours, Seokjin adding his own flair and charm. Like you wished you could.

Seokjin finished his broadcast and your filmographer began to pack up. "I'll see you bright and early in the morning?" she asked, her hair catching in the wind and obscuring her face.

You nodded and helped her pack up the camera and other supplies, working quickly to prevent it from getting damaged from the wind or rain. Walking up the beach and back to the hotel felt like it took forever, especially with the heavy filming equipment.

Your filmographer had already checked in earlier and headed to her room, carrying the camera and filming equipment. You kept the portable meteorological tools, already anxious to set it up in your room. Jin and his filmographer came in just as you got to the front desk.

Giving them your name, you handed them your ID and the company credit card. The receptionist furrowed her brow and glanced up at you.

"It looks like your room was accidentally double booked," she said. "I apologize, but due to the current situation, would you mind sharing?"

"Uh, sure, that's no problem. Who am I sharing with?"

The woman squinted at her computer. "Kim Seokjin."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"You're not even going to look at me?" Seokjin asked as the two of you set up your computers. He'd let you have the desk while he took the counter of the kitchenette.

"Not until I get this setup."

Seokjin sighed and pulled out his phone. Service was already finicky, but he managed to pull up Spotify and got music to play. It was soft, as not to disturb your neighbors in the packed hotel.

You smiled as you heard the familiar tune "Dancing Queen". Jin was a fan of older music and the two of you used to listen to ABBA's Greatest Hits when studying together.

"You still listen to this?"

"Of course," he said. "It makes me happy."

It made you happy too and when you finished setting up your computer you peaked out the window. The storm was still a couple of hours from landfall, but the trees were already swaying wildly.

"It's going to be a big one," Jin said, glancing at you and catching your eye. It was the first time you'd truly looked at each other since the day you'd left him on his own. It felt like a lightning bolt skewered you in half.

"Yeah," you said, sitting down on the bed. "It is."

You traced the seams of the comforter with your index finger. The song switched and this time it was "Can't Help Falling In Love With You".

Jin finished setting up his computer. Your screen and his looked nearly identical showing a map of the coastline and the storm approaching. He sat down beside you, closer than you would've thought an acquaintance would sit.

"We should go to bed. Early start tomorrow." His voice commanded you to look at him. "Let's not fight over the bed." Placing down the two extra pillows down the center of the bed, he went to the bathroom to change.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

The storm was in full force when you made your way outside. The four of you: you, Jin, and your two filmographers tried to get onto the beach, but the sand cut your skin. Various debris already littered the beach. Mostly seaweed and tree branches, although you noticed a few shoes and patio furniture from the nearby condos.

"The hotel said we could report from outside," you said. "It'd be safer."

Jin chewed on his cheek and glanced out at the beach. The two filmographers began to set up their cameras and you did you best to ensure your hair didn't fall into your face. You stood away from the wind, finding it hard to breath with it blowing onto your face.

"Seokjin! Stop!" His filmographer yelled, abandoning his equipment, he rushed towards the other man. You turned to see that Seokjin had taken off towards the beach, seemingly want to report from there no matter the circumstances.

You looked over at your coworker and she gave you a curt nod, ensuring that she would watch over the equipment. She dragged both cameras inside the lobby one at a time. Giving her an empathetic look, you took off running towards the beach, hoping to catch up with Seokjin before he got entirely soaked.

When you came to the edge of the beach, you saw that Seokjin was already halfway out, his filmographer not far behind. You sighed and continued out, knowing he was determined to give the report from as close to the middle of the storm as he could.

The filmographer neared the middle of the beach, fearing going any further. When you caught up to him, you stopped to catch your breath, even though it was nearly impossible with the wind. Your breath was swept away as soon as you drew it in.

"He's crazy," the other man said. "I have no idea why he's doing this."

"He always has to go the extra mile," you said, rolling your eyes. "Even if it's stupid and dangerous."

Seokjin turned back to look for his camera operator, only to see him halted halfway up the beach. Seokjin was three-quarters of the way up the beach now, reaching dangerously close to the rough tide. He noticed you still running towards him and smiled before a gust of wind knocked him off his feet.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

Your chest constricted when you saw Jin get thrown off his feet. He landed a few feet away in the sand. You ran as quickly as you could, falling to your knees beside him.

"Are you okay?" you asked, looking him over.

His eyes looked up at you, obviously taking in your features. Yet, his lips said nothing.

"You crazy bastard! What the hell were you thinking? Rushing out here like that? You of all people should know how dangerous that is." You could barely catch your breath between words as you placed your hands on his arms to help him sit up. He didn't budge, however, his eyes just locked on your face.

"What are you doing?" you asked, sighing and dropping your hands from his hands, looking down to meet his eyes for the first time.

He smiled when you finally met his eyes and leaned up to connect his lips to yours. It was brief due to the circumstances, but it felt like lightning coursing through your veins.

"I ran cause I knew you would chase me."

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lwt-sun · 4 years ago

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I have the saddest shitty storytime to tell... (this happened to me yesterday 12/2/2020 at 5am)

So, I follow Vibe Tickets on twitter (they sell the Louis’ virtual show tickets) and this tweet appeared on my tl

All good, all casual, I reply to it with my Spotify Wrapped (which was entirely about Louis) with a sentence that I found funny. I wasn’t expecting anything I was literally just joking...

BUT THEY SAW IT AND THEY REPLIED

I literally cannot explain my feelings at that moment, my whole body was shaking and I wasn’t able to type a coherent aswer to them.

It was such a moment for me bc I’ve tried everything to get to see Louis’ show. Sadly I couldn’t afford a ticket but I didn’t wanted to miss it neither so having this opportunity out of literally nowhere, bc I wasn’t expecting it at all, was pretty exciting ngl.

They send me the dm asking for my PayPal link to send me £15 to buy the ticket (I WAS DYING AT THIS POINT I COULDNT BELIEVE IT), so I send it to them and they said “In the morning we’ll pay you”.

So I know that now from here eveything sounds LIKE A FUCKING DREAM CAME TRUE but it didn’t last too long..

My adrenaline was so high bc of the excitement for the whole situation that I obviously couldn’t sleep, so instead I started to read the PayPal’s terms just bc I knew things are not that easy, and I found out that to receive £’s in my country you have to pay multiple taxes that ended up being more than what I could pay.

So I had to reject the money.

I had to reject my opportunity to be a part of this show.

Basically, I had my ticket and I said “please don’t send it”

CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED?

I’M SO SHOCKED AND SO SO SO SAD ABOUT IT

It wasn’t even a giveaway they literally just contacted me and I had to decline...

I still can’t believe that happened I’ll cry over that my whole life.

The worst part is that I’m still not attending the concert and I don’t have any other alternative, I ran out of options.

So yeah, that’s all, you’re allowed to feel sorry for me :(

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angelic-holland · 5 years ago

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Lose It // th x fem!reader

Summary: Tom makes a mistake, can you bring yourself to forgive him? To move on?

Part of my Drive North series. A series of oneshots based on the songs in the SWMRs album. Take a listen to Lose It while reading.

Warnings: angst, cheating

Word Count: 4.9k

Songs I listened to while writing this: Homecoming, When I Dance With You, Gold Rush, Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Italics are flashbacks, bold is Tom’s perspective.

Your phone buzzes, you’re laying in bed, waiting for a phone call from Tom, he was going to call you after his segment on Kimmel before he went to the club to celebrate with his castmates, you weren’t really sure when that would be. You had woken up a little bit ago, way too early in the morning but you were excited about the call because you missed him. He’s been gone for what felt like ages, really only two months which seemed like a long time but in the grand scheme of things wasn’t that bad. He’s been gone for longer.

You picked up your phone, expecting a text from Tom to tell you he’d call you soon. Instead it was your sister calling you.

“Hey, what’s up? I can’t talk for long, Tom’s supposed to call soon.”

“Y/N, uhh, have you been on twitter?”

You frown, putting her on speaker and opening up your twitter app. “No, why?” “Don’t, don’t go on. You, uhh, Tom, fuck Y/N, just don’t check twitter.” “Don’t be ridiculous, what is it?”

“He, there’s no good way to tell you this Y/N.”

You checked his mentions on twitter and were flooded with blurry and dark images of what looked like Tom kissing someone at the club. Your heart nearly dropped out of your chest.

“Y/N, Y/N, are you there? Fuck, you saw the pictures didn’t you?” She asks and you feel your body start to tremble. Your breath caught in your throat.

“I, I did.”

“Y/N, don’t jump to conclusions, he might be drunk, actually he’s probably drunk and maybe she kissed him, not the other way around, that photo only shows one side of the story.”

“What other fucking side could there be?” you say, feeling the tears start to drip down your cheek.

“Y/N, just, what do you need from me?”

“Get to our place, please.”

“Y/N, you should wait. He’ll be back by tonight. Don’t, don’t do anything you’ll regret before you get a chance to talk to him.”

You couldn’t help but scroll through the photos and captions, seeing what people were saying about them.

Mostly people excited about these photos of Tom kissing this girl, his hands tight on her hips, hers around his neck, their bodies close. Little did they know you were waiting for him.

“Just, please, get here soon, okay?” You say, trying to steady your breathing.

“Y/N…”

“I mean it, please, I- I need you Alex.”

“Okay, just-”

She is cut off by your phone playing a familiar ringtone, Gold Rush, one of Tom’s favorite songs that you quickly grew to love.

“Oh fuck,” you mutter, rubbing your eyes.

“What? That’s him isn’t it? Just, hang up with me, answer him, I’ll be over in 30 minutes but you need to talk to him.”

You hang up with your sister but instead of answering his call you send him to voicemail.

You stand up, ignoring your tears as you pull open your shared closet. You grabbed your suitcase from the side, hastily opening it and throwing your clothes in. You two had moved in together a little over six months ago and you didn’t have that much.

As you stuffed the remainder of your clothes into another suitcase, his ringtone played over and over again. He kept calling, your phone sending him to voicemail after a few rings.

You were sitting on your bed when your sister found you, you might’ve been crying, you weren’t sure if you still had any tears left, your brain rushing through the worst case scenarios.

“Y/N, fuck, did you talk to him? Did you try to see what his side of the story is?”

“No, I don’t want to. I sent him to voicemail.”

“Don’t be fucking stubborn, maybe she had no idea you two were dating, maybe she likes him and kissed him, tried to make a move, you don’t know what his reaction is. Do you even know who this girl is? Here, why don’t I listen to the messages first? Then if I think you want to hear them, I’ll play them on speaker for you.”

“Fine,” you say, handing her your phone. You watch as she plays through multiple voicemails, rolling her eyes at a few of them.

“Here, you should listen to this one.”

“Don’t wanna,” you say, crossing your arms and turning away from her.

“Stop being a baby, seriously, just listen,” she says, pressing speaker and playing the message.

“Y/N, I know you probably don’t want to hear from me, but just know that I was drunk. And that’s no excuse, but I thought she was you, Ruthie, she’s one of the actresses from Far From Home, we were all partying, and baby I, I was way too drunk, said your name and everything before kissing her, thought I was kissing you. I know that’s not an excuse for kissing her, for kissing someone that’s not you. I’m so sorry, I, I’ll be back by 10pm your time, please, please wait for me, just, don’t, don’t jump to conclusions, please, I love you so much, please darling, just wait for me to get back and we can talk. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t.”

***

Tom was drunk, definitely very drunk. He was dancing very badly to whatever music was blaring over the speakers at the club. His vision was a little blurred, he saw what he thought was Y/N here, walking up to him.

“Y/N?” What was she doing here? She’s supposed to be in London right now.

She nods and Tom grins, pulling her close to him. He relaxes as her arms wrap around his neck and she kisses him, tasting like cranberry vodka.

He allows himself to get a little lost in the kiss until he remembers that Y/N hates vodka, why would she drink it? He feels someone tug him away and he’s dragged out of the club, he thinks Jacob is doing the dragging. Or it’s Zendaya. He can’t tell. It’s someone. Not Y/N, she was back at the club, why were they taking him away from her?

“What, where’re we going? Where’s Y/N?” He asks as he stumbles into the backseat of a car.

“Y/N is in London, where she’s been this entire time. What the fuck Tom?”

Tom turns and blinks a few times and sees Jacob sitting next to him.

“What?”

“You just made out with Ruthie.”

“Ruthie? No that was Y/N.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“That’s why she tasted like cranberry vodka, Y/N hates cranberry vodka.”

“Tom, you’re really drunk now, I get that, but you do realize you just made out with someone who isn’t your girlfriend, and there’s definitely photos of it everywhere. Now, I know you and Y/N aren’t public but I know, your family knows, how are they going to react?”

“Shit,” he says, the statement sobering him. He pulls out his phone, trying to call you. Your phone rang for a little bit and he bounced his knee, a nervous habit of his.

It rang through to voicemail,

“Hey this is Y/N, drop your favorite Green Day song before leaving a message and I’ll decide whether or not to call you back.”

He laughs a little at your message, something that made him smile to this day.

***

Two Years Ago

“Wait, you’re telling me you don’t know any Green Day songs?” You ask, showing up at Tom’s flat after listening to the voicemail he left you.

“Don’t know any Green Day songs, this mean you won’t call me back?”

“Well hello to you too.”

“Not even Wake Me Up When September Ends?”

“I thought that was Fall Out Boy,” He says, blush creeping up his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

“What?!” You shriek as he drags you inside, shutting the door.

“Is it really that big of a deal that I don’t know any Green Day songs?”

“Yes because if we want this to work you’re going to have to know at least their best songs from every album.”

“Oh yeah? Well do you know my favorite singer?”

“Huh? Who’s your favorite singer?”

“Ed Sheeran.”

“Okay, so maybe I need to listen to his music. No excuse though he’s not nearly as famous as Green Day.”

“I’ll make you a mixtape if you make me one?”

“A mixtape? What is this an 80s romcom? I’ll make you a Spotify playlist.”

***

“I’ll, I’ll listen to him, okay? But I don’t want to be here, I want a neutral territory,” you say, tugging your suitcase down the stairs as your sister follows you.

“Fine, we’ll go to my place but you need to tell him you’ll be there. Need to text him, okay?” She says, hand out and waiting for your phone.

“What are you gonna say?”

“That you’ll be at my place, and when he’s ready, he can come talk to you.”

“Fine,” you sigh, handing her your phone. You toss your suitcase into the backseat and slip into the front.

****

Tom’s a wreck on his flight back to London. His hangover is horrible and he’s already thrown up twice, getting scowls from the rest of the first class passengers each time he books it to the bathroom. He also hasn’t stopped thinking about you, sending him to voicemail. He’s texted your sister, you, he even texted his mom to see if she could stop by your shared apartment to check on you. She told him she would, that she’s disappointed that he drank so much he couldn’t recognize his cast mate, but she hopes he can fix it.

He bought WiFi for the plane just in case you texted him.

He was curled up in his seat, hood over his head, trying to hide the fact that he was crying from Harry, who’s already heard a long night of him crying at the hotel.

His phone buzzes and he opens it, praying and hoping that you were texting him.

Princess: hey, it’s Alex, Y/N is gonna be staying at my place tonight so if you want to talk to her, you know where she’ll be

Tom types out a text and nudges Harry, who groans and tells him to shut up.

“Read this, is it okay to send?”

“Tell her I’m sorry, tell her she doesn’t need to talk to me ever again but if she wants then I’ll be there. Tom you’re so dramatic. But it’s fine,” Harry says, turning so he wasn’t facing Tom.

Tom hit send, slipping his phone in his pocket and settling into the seat.

***

Alex had set you up with a cup of tea on her couch, watching To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before on Netflix which always managed to cheer you up. It wasn’t right now, but that was understandable.

“Tom texted, do you want to see it?” She asks, sitting next to you.

“No,” you say, moving under the blankets so just your eyes were peeping out.

“You should see what he said.”

“Fuck him.”

“Okay,” she sighs and you go back to watching the movie, part of your mind still stuck on what he might’ve said.

You remember the first time you watched this movie, a few tears slipping from your eyes.

***

“Ready love?”

“Course,” you say, sitting next to Tom, popcorn bowl in hand, handing him his soda as you curl up into his side. He presses play and you watch as the opening sequence of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before plays.

You stayed cuddled by his side, his arm wrapped around your waist, other hand feeding you popcorn between sips of his drink. You felt comfortable, here, just relaxing, and it felt right, to say what you wanted to say, in this moment. You’ve been dating for a year and a half, you’d just moved in together, at this point, you’ve been wanting to say it.

“Tom, I,” you start, mumbling the rest into his shoulder.

“What love?” He asks, kissing the top of your head.

“I love you,” you whispered against his neck, scared to look at him.

“I love you too princess,” he smiles against your head, before his hand cups your cheek, bringing your lips to his own.

You’ve said ‘I love you’ before, over text, once when he was leaving to go to the grocery store one day when you were hanging out at his place, before you moved in, a few months after you started dating, it slipped out, “bye, love you”. You figured he didn’t even realize he said it. You did. So nonchalant, those three words turned your world upside down.

“Know, we’ve said that before.”

“Not like this.”

“Like what?”

“We’ve only said it during sex or over the phone or text while you’re away. Didn’t count.”

“You don’t remember.”

“Remember what?”

“About what, year ago now? Little more than that? We ran out of your favorite cereal and you were all grumpy because the plain Cheerios don’t taste nearly as good, so I went to the grocery store.”

“Uhh, yes I vaguely recall that.”

“And I said love you, as I was leaving.”

“You, you meant to say that?”

“I love you isn’t really something you say without meaning to,” he laughs.

“No, obviously, but thought it was one of those slips, like when you accidentally say ‘bye mom’ to the delivery person on the telephone.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“It totally is!”

“I just thought you weren’t ready to say it back, that’s why I waited.”

“I’m such an idiot,” you grumble.

“Yeah but you can be My American idiot,” he sticks his tongue out and you smile at the Green Day reference.

****

Funny how it all came crashing down around you in an instant.

Alex held your hand as you cried during the credits, one of the songs he put on his playlist for you, When I Dance With You, played.

****

“I don’t want, I don’t want this to end Tom!”

“This? So if we go public you’d break up with me?”

“No! I mean this, this bliss, this secrecy, it feels safe. Telling the world, I don’t want it to change anything!”

“Oh.”

“Oh? I spill my guts to you and all you can say is OH?”

“No, no come here, wait,” he pleads, grabbing your wrist and pulling you tight against him.

“Tom,” you mumble as you rest your head on his shoulder.

“If you don’t want to tell the world yet, that’s okay. Just thought, if anyone sees us in public, like moving into the place, it would make sense to tell the world. But if you’re not ready, then we don’t have to.”

“Really?”

“Course,” he says, starting to sway with you.

“What’re you doing?” You giggle. He pulls his phone out and the music starts to play.

“When I dance with you, I feel okay, feel okay,” he sings into your ear. You giggle as he twirls you around. Before long your argument is long forgotten, as you dance around your new apartment.

****

Your phone buzzes in Alex’s hand and she checks it.

“Y/N, it’s Nicki, you should answer.”

“No, she’s just gonna speak in his defense.”

“Oh come on, she’s not her husband,” Alex jokes and you roll your eyes.

“Fine,” you sigh as Alex hands you the phone.

“Y/N, love, where are you? Went by you and Tom’s place and all your stuff is gone.”

“Nicki, did Tom tell you to call me?” You ask, trying to steady your breathing.

“No, honey, I wanted to check in with you. What Tom did, wasn’t right at all. I won’t excuse it. But I think you should talk to him, when he’s back.”

“Nicki, I just, how could he?” You ask, feeling yourself start to cry, thinking of all those pictures of his body pressed against her, about his lips against hers.

“I’m so sorry Y/N,” she says and you drop your phone onto the couch beside you as you break down into full body sobs, Alex hanging up and holding you as you shake.

As the music came to a start you cried harder, why’d he have to have such a damn good taste in music?

***

Tom didn’t sleep the entire flight, quickly waking Harry up and almost sprinting out of the airplane and to the car that was waiting to take him home. He told the driver the address of Alex’s apartment, telling him to get them there as fast as possible. He made Harry stay at the airport to get their suitcases. He didn’t have the time.

He tipped the driver probably way too much before sprinting up the steps, skipping the elevator to run up the stairs to her third floor apartment. As he’s running he remembers the first time he picked you up from this place, which you shared with Alex before you moved in with him.

****

You were nervous, this was your fourth date with Tom, and you wanted to take it further, wanted to get in his pants. You had put on your nicest lingerie, which you may or may not have bought in his favorite color, you did your hair up really nice, it was silly for a date night in at his place, eating food that his mom had cooked. That was the plan, because fuck it if you were going to get recognized with Tom Holland when the two of you hadn’t even agreed on being boyfriend and girlfriend yet.

You heard a knock on your door and Alex squealed, you rolled your eyes and took a deep breath before answering.

“Hey, you look beautiful,” he says, kissing your cheek.

“Thank you,” you giggle as you walk back down the stairs.

“Find the place alright?” You ask, slipping into the backseat of the Uber.

“Well, if it was me driving here, I definitely wouldn’t have, but thankfully Uber has fantastic drivers who wouldn’t get lost in a paper bag.”

“That’s not the expression,” you deadpan.

“What is it?” He asks, face scrunched up in concentration.

“Can’t find your way out of a paper bag.”

“Well those things are dark and small so of course I’m not going to find my way out of it.”

You roll your eyes, “it’s the expression.”

“You and your expressions.”

You finish the meal and insist on helping him clean the dishes, at least enough to put them in the dishwasher later even though you couldn’t understand the need for a dishwasher. It took so little effort to wash them by hand.

You were sitting on his couch, well he was sitting on the couch, you were on his lap, his hands gripping your waist as you make out.

He starts to kiss down your neck and you groan, hands working to unbutton his shirt.

“You, do you wanna, wanna go to the bedroom?”

You nod, smiling at him.

****

There’s a knock on Alex’s door and your eyes widen, you were not prepared for Tom to show up, so you desperately hoped that it wasn’t him, by some fucking miracle.

Alex gave you a look before getting up. You slouch down farther onto the sofa, the TV long forgotten earlier, you’d given up trying to feel better.

“Alex, is she there?”

Your breath catches in your throat as you hear Tom’s voice.

“Y/N? Tom’s here to speak to you,” Alex calls out, not letting Tom into the flat.

“Can I, please can I talk to her?” He asks, voice sounding desperate and on the verge of tears.

“Y/N?” Alex asks, and you can’t find the words to say.

“Please, let me check on her,” he says and you hear Alex sigh. The sound of two sets of footsteps moving towards you makes you push the covers off you and cross your arms.

“Princess,” he whispers, kneeling down beside you.

“Don’t fucking call me that,” you whimper, choking down a sob.

***

“Let’s cuddle princess,” he says, chest pressed against your back as you sigh, legs tangled with his.

“Why’d you call me that?”

“Because you’re very special to me.”

“Yeah?”

“Yep, there’s no one like you, and princesses are special, so you’re my princess.”

“That’s so cheesy,” you giggle as his nose tickles your neck.

“Maybe so, but I mean it.”

“Well if I’m your princess, what are you to me?” You ask.

“Well, what do you want me to be?”

“Want a hand to hold, two ears to listen, and a mouth to tell me stories.”

“I think I can accomplish that,” he says, fingers dancing down your arm to intertwine with your own.

***

Tom’s silent, watching as you cry, your eyes never meeting his own.

“Why?” You ask, staring past him at the wall.

“I was, I was drunk, thought Ruthie was you, and I said your name and everything and she nodded so we kissed and I was confused because she tasted like cranberry vodka and-,”

“Why the fuck are you telling me how she fucking tasted?” You say, hand gripping your pillow.

“No, not like that, I was confused because I know you hate cranberry vodka and then Jacob dragged me out and told me it wasn’t you.”

“Of course it wasn’t me, I’ve been here, in London, was waiting for your call when I saw those photos, plastered fucking everywhere,” your knuckles are tight from your grip on the pillow in your hand. Your eyes concentrate on the worn down blue fabric.

****

“Dunno why you have to take a pillow with you when you travel,” you say as Tom packs his suitcase.

“Because, pillows from home are always better than pillows from hotels,” he says, taking your pillow from the bed.

It became a thing when he went away, and you never really questioned it. Until now.

“And, I like your pillow because blue is your favorite color, and it smells like you.”

“Good because my favorite thing to do when you’re gone is cuddle with your pillow.”

“Almost as good as cuddling with me?” He says, pulling you into a hug.

“Nah, a little better,” you giggle against his shoulder, you could practically see his eyes roll.

***

“Forgot my pillow,” you sigh, resting your head against the blue fabric. Tom left in a hurry for Mexico, the pillow must’ve slipped his mind.

“I know, and I miss it,” he says, trying to feel comfortable against the hotel pillows.

“Yours smells nice though,” you say, cuddling it close to your chest.

“We’re going to have to get new pillows eventually, those are getting pretty worn down.”

“Thomas Stanley Holland, don’t talk about that time, it’ll be a day of mourning.”

****

Your hands are gripping the pillow so tightly you think you’ll rip it.

“Y/N, talk to me,” he pleads.

“I, I hate you.”

“What?” His voice is smaller, full of pain.

“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you,” you sob, screaming into the pillow. Your hand closes into a fist and you pound it against your leg, knowing you’ll take your frustration out on Tom if you don’t.

“Stop, Y/N, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

“Shut up, shut up! Let me talk,” you sigh, throwing the pillow at him. He catches it, putting it next to you.

He’s quiet, you know Alex is right behind the two of you listening as well.

“What you did, how you made me feel, I hate that. I hate how I feel right now Tom. And you, you made me feel like this.”

“Y/N, I wish I could take back what happened, I just, I want to make this better.”

“I don’t, I don’t think we can.”

“What, what are you saying?”

“Just listen, okay, ears to listen. I trusted you Tom. I trusted you and you went and you got drunk and made out with someone. And I know, I know being away is hard and you’re going to party and you’re going to get drunk and that’s fine. It was. I trusted you. Because I thought our love was enough. How can, how can I trust you, to go and do press and have fun all over the fucking world, while I’m stuck here, am I supposed to worry? Every single night, check twitter, see if you’ve gotten so drunk you’ve made out with another castmate?”

“Y/N, it was a one time mistake, I would never, ever do that to you.”

“But you did, Tom, you did,” you say, fingers clasped around your necklace as you cried.

****

“Got something for you,” Tom says, kissing your cheek as you got back from work.

“What’s the occasion?”

“Nothing, no occasion, just felt like getting you a present,” he shrugs, holding out a black velvet box.

You frown, looking between him and the box, “What is it?”

“Open it,” he grins, shoving the box into your hand.

You reluctantly open it, you didn’t like when Tom bought you gifts, usually expensive, elaborate, you felt bad because you couldn’t give him the same caliber of gifts.

“A mixtape? On a necklace chain?” You ask, taking it out of the box and holding it up between you.

“Yeah, you know when we first met, we made each other those Spotify playlists because I said we-,”

“Should make each other mixtapes and I said this wasn’t the 80s, I know. But why’d you get it?”

“Just a little I love you present,” he says, “here, lemme help you put it on.”

You hand the chain to him, turning quickly to hide your tears as he undoes the chain and helps put it around your neck again. You turn, still crying a little, you weren’t exactly sure why you were crying, a little overwhelmed by emotions. Touched that he would remember your joke about mixtapes, that he would remember it and randomly get you this present.

“Princess, why’re you crying?” He says, hands cupping your cheeks.

“It’s silly, just love you so much Tom,” you hiccup, tears turning into giggles as he leaves little kisses all over your face.

“Love you too princess, only happy tears from now on okay?”

“Okay,” you sigh as he kisses you softly.

****

“I’ll never forgive myself for that Y/N, but, are we, is this,” he is trying to choose his words carefully. He doesn’t want to put the words in your mouth, ask if you want to break up with him and then solidify the idea. You feel the couch dip and know Tom is sitting next to you. You want so badly to yell at him, to tell him that you hated him, to leave and never talk to you again.

But you don’t, you cry as he wraps his arms around you, pulling you tight against him, your head resting on his shoulder, tears staining his shirt.

“I love you, love you so much, let’s, let’s tell the world we’re dating. The fans will love you, and you can travel with me to some of the press dates, we can party together, or watch movies in the hotel, or just cuddle or-,”

“Tom, stop.”

“What?”

“We can’t, we can’t say ‘oh hey world we’ve been dating for two years’.”

“Why not?” He asks as you sniffle.

“Because they’ll know you, you cheated on me, you kissed that girl, while we were dating. And they’ll lose their goddamn minds, they’ll hate you. And I love you too much to put you through that.”

“So, we just tell people we just started dating.”

“No, Tom, no we don’t.”

“Why? Y/N, we need to make this work, please, I love you,” He says, pulling back to look in your eyes, thumb rubbing the small silver mixtape pendant on your neck.

“I just, I can’t trust you. And I don’t know how you can get that trust back without hurting yourself.”

“I’m already hurting, seeing you in pain is killing me.”

“Then I guess we know what we have to do.”

You know it, you’re sure he knows it too. He’s quiet, almost as if he doesn’t want to say it out loud, it’ll hurt too much.

“I just, I need time, I need space, I need to know if I can trust you again. I need to recover, okay?” You say, your fingers enclosing around his wrist, pulling his hand away from the necklace.

He doesn’t say anything. You don’t either. You take a few deep breaths, “goodbye Tom.”

“No, no this isn’t, this can’t be goodbye, I love you Y/N.”

“Tom, we’re, we’ve got plenty of time, we’re just kids, maybe this is goodbye for now, maybe it’s goodbye indefinitely, but I just, I need to say it okay?”

There are tears in his eyes, threatening to spill over, and that makes you cry harder as you stand up.

He reluctantly follows you to the door of the flat, pausing when you open it to stare at you, a few tears slipping down his cheeks.

“Goodbye Tom,” you say, waiting for something, anything from him, but he’s silent, again. You close the door behind him, almost collapsing on the ground, Alex catches you and walks you back to the sofa as you cry. You weren’t sure you had any tears left but apparently, when your heart hurts this much, your tear ducts were working overdrive.

****

Tom fell down to his knees outside your door, wanting so badly to burst back in, to tell you over and over how sorry he was until you believed it, until you trusted him again. But he didn’t.

“For now,” he whispers, standing up and walking down the hallway in defeat.

“For now,” he repeats to himself, a little louder, “for now.”

***

tag list: @danicarosaline

#tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland x reader angst #tom holland fic #tom holland oneshot #tom holland x reader oneshot #tom holland one shot #tom holland imagine #briefest hint of smut #tom holland x reader smut #sorta #whatevs #tagged anyways #last of drive north series #drive north series

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occasionalfics · 6 years ago

Text

Christmas Cheer (Thor X Reader)

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For @warriorsacrifice: “Thor's s/o and him spending Christmas together and they decorate the house and tree as well as eating cookies and watching movies? Then she tells him about Santa and he's all giddy?”

A/N: I actually loved writing this? I know it’s...not at all the right season but I don’t even care? And if you know anything about me, you should know that I’m a hopeless romantic so of course I had to work mistletoe into this! Also, I’m Jewish so...I based most of this off of what I’ve done with friends for Christmas and/or things I’ve seen in movies (legitimately) and read in books. I...think I got things accurate, but I’m not gonna pretend like it’s all perfect.

Oh and yeah Elf is my favorite Christmas movie. Because, “The best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” And also because “Smiling’s my favorite!” AND “Bye Buddy! Hope you find your dad!” AND Zooey Deschanel singing “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”

Warnings: Nothing, super cute and fluffy!

Words: 2,524

Normally you went home for the holidays, but this year, your parents had decided to go on a Cruise instead of hosting Christmas at their house. That ended up being for the better, you thought. You wanted to spend Christmas with Thor, but you weren’t sure it was time for him to meet your family yet. You’d only been dating a couple of months, and you knew family could be something of a touchy subject for him. You didn’t want to rush anything, so you decided to decorate your apartment and host a mini-party for just the two of you.

He stayed over the day before Christmas Eve and helped you decorate the living room. You already had your tree up - it was one of the fake ones that fit on top of a table, given how small your space was - but you’d saved a few ornaments for him to place on it. He studied each ornament closely, asking questions about the details like, “This is that Queen from Alderaan, right?”

You nodded. “Princess Leia,” you told him, unwrapping the last ornament from the bubble wrap you kept around the breakable ones.

“Your favorite,” he said, a proud smile on his face as he placed the Leia ornament over one of the small branches.

“That she is,” you said, handing him the final ornament. “Doesn’t hurt that you kinda remind me of her.”

Thor took it as a compliment, like it was meant. He beamed, probably remembering the last time you’d made him watch the original Star Wars trilogy. You weren’t totally unconvinced that Leia wasn’t his favorite, too, although he always said it was Chewbacca.

That night, you watched It’s A Wonderful Life. It was your mom’s favorite movie and a Christmas tradition. Thor paid attention the whole time, waiting until the end to ask, “Is that really a thing Midgardian teachers say? About the angels?”

You laughed and shook your head. “Not anymore, anyway. It’s just...a nice line in the movie, I guess.”

He hummed his response as the end credits rolled. As the DVD menu came up, he said, “I know George Bailey had to go through all of that to learn his lesson, but I must say, I don’t think I agree.”

You turned to him and asked, “How so?”

“Wishing that he’d never been born? How could he ever expect that his friends and family would be better off without him? His wife was so lonely…”

“She wasn’t his wife if he’d never been born,” you said, giving him a somewhat sad smile.

“Yes, but that’s my point! Life happens as it’s meant to. Tempting fate by reversing time is dangerous. And, in George’s case, selfish.”

You nodded. “But you said yourself he had to do it to learn.” You tilted your head and watched his serious face. “Are you telling me you’d never go back and change even just one thing that happened before today?”

He paused, then shrugged. “A life lived without regrets is a life lived without growth. That’s why I love that cartoon about the mouse who cooks,” he said, his smile widening just a bit.

You laughed at that. “He’s a rat. They’re bigger, and they tend to be more highly stigmatized.”

“Right. But I meant that that movie deals with mistakes and failure in a much healthier manner,” he said. “But I assume it’s not meant to be a movie viewed during Christmas?”

“It’s more of an anytime movie,” you said. “But I do have one you might like more. It’s a comedy, and Santa Clause is in it!” You got up off the couch and went to your movie collection to find Elf. You changed the discs in your player, then sat back beside Thor and watched his face change from contemplation to elation. Oh yes. He was going to love Elf.

He spent the next morning going over all of the jokes he’d loved from the previous night. “And Mr. Narwhal?” He nearly bent over laughing. “‘Bye Buddy, hope you find your dad!’” he said in an exaggeratedly light tone before placing his palms on your dining table to hold himself up. “You were right. I quite liked that movie!”

“The man who plays Santa in it is also in Up. you remember that one, right?” you asked, pulling more decorations out of the bin on the table. You had garlands and a wreath, jingle bells and holly all laid out, but you were digging for your mistletoe. You had one little (fake) branch that you wanted to keep out of Thor’s sight so you could hang it up later and surprise him, but you couldn’t remember where you’d put it.

“Of course I remember!” he said, reminding you that you’d asked him a question. “And you know, now that you mention it, I can hear the similarities in their voices.”

“He’s Ed Asner. Super snarky on Twitter. I love him.” You handed him a garland and some tape, then showed him where it should go and how to properly hang it so the tape wouldn’t ruin the shiny material or your paint job.

You opened Spotify on your phone and placed it in your speaker-dock so you could listen to Christmas playlists while you worked. Eventually, you found your mistletoe at the bottom of the bin. You told Thor you were just going to the bathroom, but really you went into the bedroom and hid the mistletoe in your bedside table.

That night, you and Thor made cookies (from scratch, because you found an easy sugar cookie recipe online) for Santa, which, of course, you had to tell him all about. “It’s just a little snack while he leaves presents under the tree. You know, because leaving presents in every house all over the globe is really rough work and everything.”

“This is what you tell the children, right?” he asked. “I may not be from Midgard, but I do know that not everyone here recognizes this Santa Clause, nor does everyone celebrate Christmas.”

You knew he meant well, so you sighed and nodded as you mixed ingredients together. “Yes, Thor.” You flashed him a smile so he’d know you weren’t put off by his question. “Santa’s mostly reserved for kids. It’s still fun to make the cookies and eat them in the middle of the night to make it look like Santa did it instead.”

He placed parchment paper along a baking sheet and nodded in time with the music you still had playing. “I think Santa’s quaint,” he said, seeming genuine as his smile remained. “Although it is a little odd that so many people just accept a jolly round man slipping in and out of their homes for a night.” He pushed the baking sheet over to you before covering a second. “Still, it’s nice to have a unifying figure in whose honor we’ll eat these tonight!”

You laughed as you started to place little lumps of dough on the sheets.

While the cookies baked, you sat and watched more movies together. You put on Nightmare Before Christmas first, telling him that yes, it was both a Halloween and a Christmas movie and it had always meant to be both. Right after Jack made it to Christmas Town, you excused yourself once more to fetch the mistletoe. Then you brought it to the space between your kitchen and bedroom, dragging a chair along your - fortunately - carpet to stand on. You pinned the mistletoe to the ceiling so it hung facing down, then you put the chair back and even took the extra measure of flushing your bedroom toilet to make it sound like you’d been in there the whole time.

Thor didn’t say anything until the end of the movie. You barely missed him checking over his shoulder toward the bedroom, so you panicked, trying to keep the mistletoe a surprise as long as possible. You launched yourself across his lap, drawing his attention back to you.

“Do you need something?” he teased, and when you looked back and up at him, you saw he was smirking.

“I just…” You tried to think of something convincing to say, but all that came out was, “my legs were cramping.” You let your shins fall against the arm of the couch and tried to smile at Thor.

He rose his eyebrows and asked, “You’re sure this doesn’t have anything to do with the mysterious plant you’ve hung from the ceiling over there.” He pointed back at the mistletoe, his smirk widening.

Your head fell forward and hit the couch cushion next to him as you groaned. Of course he’d heard you put the thing up. He’d probably peeked then, and you hadn’t even noticed! You really should’ve gotten your step stool out instead of dragging a chair all the way across the room if you’d even thought about it a little bit.

Thor just laughed, though. He tapped one of your butt cheeks lightly, and you tried to bring your heel up to smack him in the shoulder, but you didn’t bend quite far enough. You ended up just kicking air, which Thor laughed at as well.

“Alright, alright,” you said, pushing yourself up off the couch. You slid from his lap and stood up. “C’mon. I suppose I have to explain the mysterious plant hanging from the ceiling.” You held a hand out to him, knowing he didn’t at all need assistance in standing. Still, he took your hand in his and then followed you around the couch and over to the mistletoe. You took a deep breath as he looked up at the plant, and then you dived in.

“Okay, so this is called mistletoe. It’s actually a parasite in nature, but this one’s fake anyway. It’s a Christmas tradition for two people to stand beneath it and share a kiss.” At that, he looked down at you, but he didn’t say anything. “I think that has something to do with it being used as a sign of fertility in ancient civilizations. Although, closer to you,” you pushed one pointer finger into his chest playfully, “it’s more of a sign of peace among enemies. So, I guess it’s generally just a unifying symbol of...mutual respect or something. Affection, in the case of Christmas.”

You pulled your phone out of your back pocket and checked the time, then smiled. You’d timed this almost too perfectly. “Which, by the way, is happening now.” You shoved your phone back, then put that hand around the back of Thor’s neck. You stood on your tiptoes and brought him down to you at the same time, and then you shared your first Christmas kiss with him.

He kept it short and sweet, pulling his lips back without moving anything else. His blue eye locked on yours as he said, “Merry Christmas, (Y/N).”

You pecked his lips once before returning, “Merry Christmas, Thor.”

You woke up early to put out a handful of presents beneath your tiny tree. Thor had placed some there when he’d first come over, so you had an idea of how many gifts to expect - not that the number mattered, really. It was just that he would wake up and see even more beneath the tree and, just maybe, understand what getting presents from Santa might feel like. All he had to do was suspend disbelief.

You added the final touch to the room quickly: you hung up the stockings you’d made weeks ago. Two red and green stockings went on the wall above your TV; one had your name on it and a few little glittery decorations, and the other said Thor with lightning made of glitter and glue all over. When you were satisfied with their placement, you went back to the bedroom and jumped onto the bed.

“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!” you practically yelled, shoving Thor hard because you knew he slept like a rock. “It’s Christmas morning!”

He groaned, but when you shoved him again, he laughed and said, “Fine, alright! I’m awake!” He turned toward you, his hand going to the back of your neck so he could pull you down for a kiss like you had last night below the mistletoe.

You only let him kiss you for a few minutes before you pulled his hand down and tried to get him out of bed. “C’mon! We have to go see what Santa left you!”

He laughed, and you knew he’d go along with whatever you told him today. You were finally able to get him out of bed, then you dragged him into the living room to show him the tree. He did, indeed, remark that there were more presents beneath it than there had been last night.

“I told you Santa was magic,” you said, squeezing his hand in yours. You picked up the first present you wanted him to open, then gave it to him before going to grab some chairs to bring over to the tree. You opened presents one at a time, leaning over to kiss and thank one another in between.

Thor had gotten you a scar he’d seen you looking at whenever you passed a little boutique uptown, a copy of a movie you always talked about (he conceded and told you Tony had to help him track it down), and an ancient-looking, though in good condition, book of Scandinavian runes. “I know you like having some books for decoration,” he said. “Though, I do love the idea of you knowing more of what I do.”

You fingered the delicate pages tenderly, looking through the descriptions of the runes without taking in too much information at first. With a huge smile and a few tears in your eyes, you pulled the book to your chest and told him, “This is...really wonderful, Babe. I love it.”

You’d gotten him, among other things, an intricately carved charm of Mjölnir and a silver chain to hang it on. He studied the details in the charm silently for a few minutes, then he looked up at you and beamed. Just like you had with the book, he had tears in his eyes as he held tight to the charm. “Did you make this?” he asked.

You felt a little guilty, but only because you hadn’t made it. You’d found it on Etsy, actually, but you made sure to buy from a Scandinavian shop. You shook your head sheepishly and explained where you’d gotten it, and you noticed that his face never changed. He still looked proud and elated, and it made your heart melt.

“I love it,” he said. He unclasped the chain, then placed it around his neck and clasped it again. The charm hung around his neck when he asked, “How does it look?”

“Perfect, if I do say so myself,” you responded.

He sighed contentedly, then waved for you to come to him. You did, sitting on his lap as his arms wrapped around you. “This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.” He kissed you quick, then said, “Thank you, (Y/N).”

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Thor: @thewayilookatbacon @athorable-and-deanlicous @baileythepenguin @girlwhoisfearless @tegan-eva @mrsdeanwinchester19 @loverofthor @eyesfixedonthesun22 @rishlo @mjolnir-s @multi-fandom-imagines8 @sthorgestavenger @ineffabl-y @warriorsacrifice @pensysto @marvelous-super-soldier @virizona @jumpingmanatee

Drabbles: @athorable-and-deanlicous @esoltis280 @pensysto

#thor x reader #thor odinson x reader #thor drabble #drabbles

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seven-oomen · 4 years ago

Photo

First, I swear I’ll explain about the picture in a minute.

Next, it’s totally okay, I understand completely. I, too, am prone to being a total space cadet sometimes. My top skills are remembering/thinking of things when I’m in no position to act on them (composing review questions while at work, thinking of phone call I forgot to make while driving, realizing I didn’t show my mom the sonogram my friend sent me right as I fall asleep, etc.) Really, I’m just happy finding others to talk about this stuff with who seem to appreciate and enjoy it as much as I do. :D

Omg, I’m SO EXCITED to see the necklace turn up, however that happens! And as someone who 90% of the time also uses drinkware featuring superheroes and other nerdery for their alcohol, I very much approve Derek’s choices, whether it makes it into the story or not. I also enjoyed both versions of the chapter flashback, but the first was definitely more “Oh My…”, and the redo more straight up fluffy and adorable.

And I love all that stuff in the ideas tag! With Corey there’s so much potential stuff that can be done with someone with those types of powers. I admit I don’t know too much about exactly how his are supposed to work. his powers are due to genetics and not outside forces in this, could it perhaps be connected to how Gerard has been able to do some of the things he’s done? (Could the wolves track him while invisible in the show?) And oh, my God, that is a total Moon Moon moment (resisting the urge to make a comment about why Ian was trying to fit a ball in his mouth). I choose to believe that Noah and Chris coordinated to trick Peter into doing that and managing to get it on camera. They threaten to make it part of the family Christmas card. Peter only agrees if they make it so that all the pictures used embarrass everyone equally. Which is where some of the BTS type stuff could come in. (My lord, they are all such dorks. I mean, I follow Ian, Linden, JR, and Hoechlin on Insta and or Twitter, so we been knew, really, but still. XD ) And I’m all for any plot points or incidents that allow Lydia to showcase just how awesome she truly is. Also, I will never turn down an idea that involves puppy piles and cuddle puddles. I’ve been in this fandom too damn long not to have developed a deep-seated love for damaged characters getting the affection and comfort they deserve.

I’m so glad you’re enjoying the examples of my often questionable musical tastes. ;D I think I first heard that song on an anime music video (for LOVELESS I think, of all things), and I was just like “well this is catchy as hell”. As someone whose musical tastes are all over the gd place, I like to imagine they all have some genre that they’re secretly a fan of but don’t want to admit to because it might clash with their grunge-y punk image (the other two totally know anyway.) Speculatively I’d say boy bands for Peter, bubblegum pop/pop-punk for Chris, and classic (read: dad) rock for Noah, but I welcome other opinions.

And jsyk, it really makes me happy to know that my reviews are helpful for more than just story ideas. Which partially brings me to the picture I’ve attached. I work in a pet supply store, and the item on the right is a dog toy we carry and every time I look at it, all I can think of is how much it reminds me of Deucalion. Like, I can’t not see it at this point. And nobody I work with would have the slightest idea what I’m talking about, so I finally made this so that I could share it those that might get why it’s so funny to me. So here it is. And if you are still in need of things for distractions, here is a list of some random incidents that have (mostly) occurred at my work in the last few days:

1) Someone left a 4 Iron in one of our shopping carts along the far wall of the store. We have no clue where it came from, we aren’t anywhere near any kind of golf or sporting goods store. (I checked and there was no sign of blood on it, so no one was ditching a weapon on us or something.)

2) I walked into our warehouse and asked “why does it smell like sparklers in here?”, saw a coworker standing looking out the back door, and walked over to see that there was a car on fire about a block away in another parking lot. (The fire department was already on scene putting it out, it looked like it started near the front driver’s side tire?)

3) A child ate one of the fancy dog treats we have on display (luckily that one is mainly yoghurt and peppermint extract), and then try to drink from the fountain we have set up for any dogs that come in. I don’t think mom ever noticed.

4) We now carry a special, highly filtered, and ph-balanced (and overpriced) bottled cat water (no really), that seems simultaneously like a brilliant idea (because UTIs), but also somehow one of the whitest things I’ve ever seen (and I say this as a white person who grew up basically middle-class).

5) One of the smoke alarms in my apartment started doing the dead battery warning beep at around midnight Sunday night. I unfortunately was out of the size I needed to replace it, so I just popped out the one that was in it. Turns out it’s also hardwired, so that did nothing. It beeped the entire night. I would have gotten worried about my neighbors, but they had one that they let beep for like a week back in Feb, so I decided I didn’t care. When I stopped to buy a replacement I also ended up buying two bags of candy with the justification that they were on sale and I might need them for the next chapter.

6) Our pet bathing area re-opened, which meant we finally got a visit from one of my fave canine customers. His name is Jax, he’s an American Akita, and he is a gigantic, sweet, bear of a dog. Seriously, he comes to about my hip (I’m right around 5'4), weighs around 190lbs, and is a beautiful dark brown/black brindle all over. He is also one of the most calm, chill dogs I have ever met (he’s been coming in for years), and I love to watch other people react to seeing him for the first time.

7) While searching around my music files and Spotify for suggestions, I got distracted and ended up treating my neighbors to an impromptu concert that consisted mostly of 00s divas and 60s bubblegum pop (oddly, a lot of Herman’s Hermits and Ohio Express has a very similar vibe to Bowling for Soup, to me at least), because I had headphones in, and didn’t realize I’d started singing along for…a while. I did consider apologizing for that, at least, but ultimately decided to just ignore that it happened.

Anyway, I hope you are feeling a bit better now, and that some of the weirdness that is my life at least provides some entertainment. And that the therapy session at least feels like something you think will help in the long run, even if it sucks massively right now. I’m so proud of you for going, and sticking with it (I know so many who need to who don’t, for whatever reason). It is hard, and exhausting, and I am always awed by those that are determined to see it through. (Sorry if any of that comes across weird. My automatic supportive defaults tend to be humor and awkward sincerity, and I always worry that one will come across as the other and vice versa. Social anxiety is a hell of a drug.) So, I’m gonna go ahead and wrap up the verbal flailing for now, please enjoy whenever you see this tomorrow (I think? I’m terrible about keeping track of that sort of thing. Also, how is most of Europe just one time zone?! …anyway…)

Ok, I need to find out where I can get that crocodile/Alligator. for uh, for Mo...

Yeah for Mo.

(It’s for me, I would totally buy a dog toy if I thought it looked adorable.)

I definitely toned that scene down, though I kept some necessary exposition where Chris thinks on what happened between them. Might include some teenage raunchiness later, as someone pointed out to me, Peter would definitely be like that, as would Noah (probably). Chris would definitely be more reserved, he barely got a sex education aside from abstinence. ( Because I don’t see Gerard as the type of person who’d give his son the talk, honestly.)

And as someone who also drinks alcohol in superhero or Halloween glasses and mugs, I had to throw Derek’s very mature choice in there. Batman mug stays XD

I’ll admit, that was exactly what I was thinking with Corey’s power and how I could use it in the story. So I’m curious to see where I’ll go with it eventually, but yeah, that’s on my idea list.

.. must resist Ian & JR ballsy jokes.. you are not twelve Ben.

I am.

I really am. A twelve-year-old in a twenty-nine-year-old body.

I bet Ian wanted to prove what he could fit in there. He wanted to show some ballsy moves. It’s practice for-

Okay, I’ll stop.

And they are the biggest dorks, I follow Ian, JR, Colton, and Holland on and my lord, they’re such dorks. Definitely following Linden now too though. hehe.

I can see them trying that trick with Jackson, Malia, Ben, and Scott as well. Scott just falls face first and tries to fit a tennis ball into his mouth. Ben just looks at the tennis ball, figures that ain’t gonna fit and balances it on his face instead. Malia opens her mouth, notices the camera coming out, and just poses while smiling at the camera. Jackson though pretends to not understand what he has to do until Chris shows him how it’s done and then Jackson quickly points to Chris and while Noah films it laughing his ass off.

They make an awesome Christmas card with all of them doing something with that tennis ball.

Speculatively I’d say boy bands for Peter, bubblegum pop/pop-punk for Chris, and classic (read: dad) rock for Noah, but I welcome other opinions.

SO MUCH YES.

Also, Nickelback for Chris & Never gonna give you up. They're guilty pleasures. I would also like to suggest for Peter, either the Spice girls or like the Vengaboys. Gets him going but only when he’s alone at home and he’s wearing headphones. Because God forbids someone else hears it too. And I kinda wanna say Baby Metal for Noah. Idk seems like that might fit him and it’s hilarious to think about. Some headcanons don’t need to make sense.

Also, just for shits and giggles.

Caramelldansen in English and Swedish.

Makes these dads (and Melissa and Derek) move and dance around the new house like crazy, Ben joins in, because of the funny voices.

The teenagers are mortified.

MORTIFIED.

This made me so happy,

I feel like that’s basically toddler behavior. Also, Ben did this at some point. One hundred percent. He walked into the pet section at a store and started eating the dog treats. Chris didn’t notice, Peter did, asked him about it and went; well, it’s probably not toxic for him, so whatever. He did film it. Noah and Chris yelled at him.

That is the whitest shit I’ve ever heard. And yes I’m white too from lower middle class. But still...

But maybe that’s because I live in a country where I can drink tap water so that’s what Mo gets in his fountain.

And your stories made me smile my friend, every single one. <3 thank you for sharing these.

I wish I had funny ones really. Only one I can think of is some of my customers I run into as a tech support guy.

Customer calls me to tell me they don’t have internet. I ask, “Where’s your modem and how is it plugged into the network?”

Customer: It’s still in the box I received it in.. it’s wireless..”

Me:

Cue ten-minute argument on how it’s not wireless like that and how he needs to install his modem... yeah. People and technology...

But anyway, I’ll stop rambling now because it’s 1 am here and I need to go to sleep again.

1 am is in the Amsterdam/Berlin timezone where I live in.

That is 6 pm in NYC

And 4 pm in California.

So I am 7-9 hours ahead of the US, to give you an idea about timezones.

#ben says stuff #once upon a time comments #once upon a time scene ideas #submission

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shadyb00ts · 7 years ago

Text

My Top 12 Favorite Pop Albums of 2017

Man, 2017 was a great year for pop music especially. This year was also when I started actually using Spotify, subscription and all, for the first time, so the new music I discovered just kept on piling up and I was so here for it. I decided I’d compile a top 12 list of my favorite albums, since it’s the end of the year, why not. And yeah I know the “normal” format is top 10, but bitch I have 12 favorites, whaddaya want. And even these I had to really narrow down. If you follow me on Twitter at all though, you probably know exactly what my number one album is. It’s an album that’ll probably be on many people’s number one spots, but I think I’ll do this list descending. This is also only the music that I’ve discovered personally, so if a big pop album/EP from this year wasn’t mentioned, means I either didn’t really like em that much or I have yet to discover them.

#12. BETTY WHO - THE VALLEY

Spotify | iTunes

I actually first heard of Betty Who through Troye Sivan’s song “Heaven” which she featured in. She strikes me as Australia’s equivalent of Carly Rae Jepsen because her songs are all just the completely infectious, bubblegum pop sound that I find irresistible. Some of my favorites from this album are “Mama Say”, “You Can Cry Tomorrow” and “Human Touch”. This is a great album to put on when you’re getting ready with your friends or just wanna jump around and be crazy. If you’ve never heard of her and you’re a pop music freak like me, this album is right up your alley cause it’s chock-full of bops. I’d also recommend checking out her debut album, Take Me When You Go, which has more of the Carly Rae-esque 80s-y feel to it than this one.

#11. TOVE LO - BLUE LIPS (LADY WOOD PHASE II)

Spotify | iTunes

Oh, Tove. What else can I say? If you love pop music then you know exactly why this album made the list and it probably made yours too. She is just the ultimate master of making unapologetically sexual bops. She’s always been very sex positive and seriously, the production on her songs is always spot on as fuck. I’d say “shivering gold” is one of the songs that I keep coming back to the most, as well as “stranger” and the addictive lead single “disco tits”, but this entire album is filled with solid and sultry pop songs that you can pop your pussy to any time. Tove is just always so unabashedly nasty and honest, I always love that about her.

#10. ANNA OF THE NORTH - LOVERS

Spotify | iTunes

One of the indie artists I discovered on Spotify which I’m immensely grateful for. Her music is right up my alley; modern yet very much rooted in dreamy, 80s-inspired synthpop. I pretty much like every single song across the board, but some of my favorites are “Money” which is a really cute song about warning a guy about dating a gold digger, and then “Feels” and the title track “Lovers “ which both just make me drift off into a dreamlike state every time and zone out, and I find most of the songs on this album have the same effect on me. “Dreamy” really is the perfect adjective to describe it. I strongly suggest checking her out if what I’ve described is your thing.

#9. BILLIE EILISH - DONT SMILE AT ME

Spotify | iTunes

I know this is technically an EP since it’s under 10 songs, however I couldn’t possibly skip out of putting it on my list. Billie Eilish is one of the biggest breakout artists of this year I think. I saw a tweet recently from someone who said and I quote, “Whatever ‘it’ is, Billie Eilish has it.” I agree 1000%. She’s got star quality all over her. Looks, talent, all of it. The thing I love about her songs is that her attitude is always present in every one of them. Like in “my boy”, when she’d go “WHAT” or “Alright, dude, go trip over a knife” in between the breaks, and in “COPYCAT” where she does this long, drawn out apology only to top it off with a “sike”. “party favor” is also a very interesting song since it starts off with an answering machine message and it gradually fades into the actual song, and I thought that was such a cool effect; her personality just shines through in her music and that’s what makes her such a star. I have a feeling Billie is going to take 2018 by storm.

#8. DUA LIPA - DUA LIPA

Spotify | iTunes

Yet another new artist who is just oozing with star quality. I had a bit of a slow-to-grow thing with Dua though, for whatever reason. I held off from actually listening to her debut album because I wasn’t really feeling the singles she’d released prior to it. I recognized that she had an incredible voice, but for some reason I just wasn’t warmed up to her enough yet. Enter “Scared to Be Lonely”, her duet with Martin Garrix, which I think is one of the best EDM songs ever made. When I heard that song, I was like okay let me just sit down and listen to this bitch’s album and see what she’s all about. And I was pleasantly surprised. I was surprised at how diverse this album was especially cause she explored a lot of different sounds for almost every song. “New Rules” will always be my favorite, because obviously. That followed by “Genesis” and “Begging” are just a few of the stand-outs for me. Just like Billie, I have a feeling 2018 will also be a big year for Miss Dua.

#7. MUNA - ABOUT U

Spotify | iTunes

God, I am so happy I found this group. I first discovered them through their song “Winterbreak” which I thought was so beautiful and melancholic, I had to dig up more of their songs. Even just thinking about this album gives me a feeling of joy because I just fucking love their music so much. It’s not even something I can explain, you just have to hear it really. The stand outs for me are, well shit, there’s a lot actually. As well as “Winterbreak” I also really love “So Special”, “Loudspeaker”, “I Know A Place” (which I think of as a queer anthem tbh and it is such an empowering, joyful song) and “Crying on the Bathroom Floor” (which has a pretty morbid subject matter but is I think one of the best songs on the album). Please please check them out and support them if you like what they’re giving. I can’t wait to see what they do next cause I am all aboard the MUNA train for sure.

#6. LANA DEL REY - LUST FOR LIFE

Spotify | iTunes

I thought for sure LFL would make it onto my top 5 but it just scraped it. I think when I first listened to the album I was a little too quick to say that it was Lana’s best album to date. I think I was just so wrapped up in the fact that she was back that the excitement and how much I stan for her had me caught up in the moment. I mean let’s be real, even though I do love all her albums, I think most people are in agreement that Born to Die will always be her best. I did really enjoy this album however, especially Lana’s new happier outlook and the fact that she’s a little more political with her lyrics. Even just looking at the album cover, you can tell that she’s in a much better place in her life My favorite song from the album is without a doubt “13 Beaches”, it’s just so stunning and so quintessentially her. Overall I was just happy to hear that she didn’t stray too far from her sound for this album; she’s still unmistakably Lana.

#5. KESHA - RAINBOW

Spotify | iTunes

The long-awaited comeback that at one point I honestly thought would never come. I remember the #FreeKesha movement and how horribly Kesha was treated in the entire case against that monster Dr. Luke. It made me sick how he literally owned her soul at one point, and I’m glad that now despite the fact that she isn’t fully free of his influence, she was at least able to work without him and produced this magical little album. When the video for “Praying” first dropped, I was in tears. In legit tears, because it was the perfect comeback. Her vocals in that song gave me chills, and even though those of us who are massive fans of her have always been aware of her vocal ability, I feel like Kesha always has to constantly prove to the world that she can sing all because for the longest time she was known as “the autotune girl”. While Animal and Warrior were really good albums in their own right and I have a lot of nostalgic affection towards them, I feel like Rainbow was the album she always WANTED to make, just like Joanne was for Gaga. It gave her a chance to truly showcase her talent, which people often forgot or didn’t even know she had. But the thing I love most about this album is that it comes from a place of triumph. I am so proud of my girl. I hope one day she’ll be free of her disgusting abuser and can truly be happy.

#4. ALLIE X - COLLXTION II

Spotify | iTunes

I hesitate to use the word “perfect” a lot of the time, but Jesus Christ I can’t describe Allie in any other way. Even when I first discovered her via her 2015 EP CollXtion I, I immediately described her music as “pop perfection”. Because that’s literally what she does. She takes everything that sounds good about current pop music and makes it her own. She is such a hit maker and it boggles my mind how underrated she is. I think her song “Sanctuary” from her first EP I would even go as far to say as one of the best pop songs I’ve ever heard in my life. IN MY LIFE. In this particular album, every song is a certified bop. “Casanova” is for sure my number one song from it because that production is so flawless it’s criminal. If you’ve never heard of her and are listening to her songs for the first time, make sure to hide your wigs because I’m telling you; they’ll all disintegrate by the time you’ve gone through her discography. Allie X is the real deal, and she deserves WAY more fame and success than she’s getting.

#3. SZA - CTRL

Spotify | iTunes

Okay, yes, I know that technically this is an R&B album, but it would’ve been criminal for me not to put SZA on the list. She joins Billie and Dua as some of the biggest breakthrough artists of the year. I don’t really know why I fell in love with SZA and this album so much, because it’s normally not the kind of music I go for or am interested in. But for some reason I got lost in her gorgeous voice and the insanely crisp production of the songs that I was just hooked the house down boots. Initially my favorite song was “Prom” because it was probably the most pop-sounding song out of the bunch, but it wasn’t long before I grew to love the entire album as a whole, which I didn’t expect to happen since it’s so out of my comfort zone. SZA has this honest way of writing that really cuts deep at times, for example in “Drew Barrymore” when she says: “I get so lonely, I forget what I’m worth / We get so lonely, we pretend that this works” that shit hit hard. It’s REAL. “20 Something” is another one of those songs that anyone in their twenties could probably relate to due its pure honesty. Ctrl was seriously the surprise hit of the year, and I can’t wait to see what SZA does next. I low-key hope her next two albums will be called Alt and Delete.

#2. LIGHTS - SKIN&EARTH

Spotify | iTunes

I have kind of a special connection with Lights. I first discovered her through her song “Savior” back in like, 2010-ish. I was in eighth grade at the time and it was a very tumultuous period in my life. I was in an Islamic school, I had zero friends and I was still coming to terms with the fact that I didn’t fit in with anyone and I never would. I was in a deep depression, and her debut album The Listening helped me through a lot of that period of time. While most people coped with depression through listening to music that mirrored those feelings, I dealt with it by listening to songs that were happy and upbeat. Lights’ songs at the time were adorable and cheerful, sort of akin to if Owl City had a female vocalist. Ever since then, whenever she would release an album, it always helped me out of slumps, and I became really devoted to her. I was obsessed with her follow up albums Siberia and Little Machines, and now Skin&Earth falls into that category. I adore this album, and it’s one of those albums that I have to listen to from start to finish all the time because I just love it so much as a whole. At this point I know she could never disappoint me, and she’s one of the girls I always look to for catchy pop sounds with beautiful lyrics. I love her dearly, and I implore you to go through her catalog if you’ve just now discovered her. She is a true pop gem.

Before we get to the #1 (which I’m sure is pretty obvious at this point), some honorable mentions, most of which are EPs. I’ve attached each of them with their respective Spotify links in case you wanna have a listen to any of em. In no particular order:

Astrid S - Party’s Over (EP)

Monogem - 100% (EP)

Khalid - American Teen (this one almost made the list)

Superfruit - Future Friends (this one too)

PVRIS - All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell

Terror Jr. - Bop City 2: TerroRising

Terror Jr. - Bop 3: The Girl Who Cried Purple (EP)

Sigrid - Don’t Kill My Vibe (EP)

Daniella Mason - Daniella Mason (EP)

Echosmith - Inside a Dream (EP)

Phoebe Ryan - James (EP)

Charli XCX - Number 1 Angel

Fickle Friends - Glue (EP)

FRND - In Your Dreams (EP)

Paramore - After Laughter (another one that just scraped the list)

Transviolet - Kaleidoscopes (EP)

Zara Larsson - So Good

Lola Marsh - Remember Roses

Thomas Azier - Rouge

Halsey - hopeless fountain kingdom

Ralph - Ralph (EP)

Sabrina Claudio - About Time

Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me

Vera Blue - Perennial

Brother Sundance - Honey (EP)

Fifth Harmony - Fifth Harmony

MØ - When I Was Young (EP)

Stalgia - NOMAD

EMBRZ - Progress (EP)

Aly & AJ - Ten Years (EP)

LP - Lost on You

Mothica - Heavy Heart (EP)

SAKIMA - Ricky (EP)

Ella Vos - Words I Never Said

I highly suggest checking these artists out. Just because they didn’t make the list, doesn’t mean they’re less good; my favorites just sorta overpowered them. Anyways, now that that’s outta the way, onto my not at all surprising number one pick.

#1. LORDE - MELODRAMA

Spotify | iTunes

I told you this was Melodrama. How could I not crown this masterpiece of an album number one? Ever since I first listened to it, I was adamant in saying that it would be THE album of the year and I’ve stuck to that. I strongly believe that it should win the Grammy, and deservedly so, because Lorde really outdid herself with this. I mean, holy fuck. When I first heard Pure Heroine I knew she was a talented writer and that was a great album, but I had no idea she was THIS talented. Melodrama really captured the depth of her ability and also how much she’s grown as both an artist and a person. Pure Heroine was all about teen life and coming of age, it was a very cohesive and uniform album and also a very influential album musically speaking, since Pure Heroine along with LDR’s Born to Die has such a heavy effect on the pop music of today. Melodrama still has some of that Pure Heroine charm but it’s unmistakably more adult, darker and grittier, and maintains the cohesive theme of the rise and fall of a relationship. I don’t know how Ella’s mind works but she writes like a dream. All of these songs are masterfully written, and her and Jack Antonoff make an amazing team. One of the songs in particular, “Supercut”, gives me a very euphoric feeling in a way that it makes me want to dance around while laughing and crying at the same time. It is very reminiscent of my feelings toward Gaga’s song “Gypsy” from ARTPOP. “Liability” is a standout in regards to songwriting also, because a lot of artists like to promote their work as “personal”, but this song and really this entire album is pretty much Ella baring her soul, and that’s as personal as “personal” can get. I’m just really in awe of her talent, and Melodrama deserves to top every “album of the year” list out there. It’s an incredible piece of artistry and I think decades from now it is going to be remembered as a classic.

#pop music #my favorite albums #best of 2017 #pop songs #year-end list #personal faves

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un-enfant-immature · 5 years ago

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Spotify Wrapped expands to include your favorite music from the decade, plus podcaster metrics

Spotify’s annual “Wrapped” feature, which allows listeners to look back on their favorite music from the year, is expanding in 2019 to include a whole decade’s worth of favorite tunes, the company announced today. In addition, the feature is for the first time being made available to podcasters, in addition to Spotify users and Spotify artists.

“Wrapped” has become one of Spotify’s more anticipated releases among those who use the service regularly, as it allows users to explore their own top songs, top artists, top genres and minutes listened for the year. Many users also like to share their “Wrapped’s” findings on social media, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.

As 2019 draws to a close, Spotify is offering its annual version of the personalized “Spotify Wrapped,” as well as a new one that showcases your listening history through the last decade. That means your Wrapped will include the songs, artists, albums, and podcasts you discovered on Spotify in 2019, plus the artists you streamed over the past decade, through a “My Decade Wrapped,” option.

Notably, Spotify’s chief rival Apple Music last month launched its own multi-year retrospective, with “Replay,” a personalized playlist of your top songs by year. Replay is very much like Wrapped, except that it includes playlists for every year you’ve subscribed to Apple Music, retroactively.

Spotify’s launch of “My Decade Wrapped” is clearly meant to be a competitive offering.

This year, the feature is for the first time being integrated directly in the Spotify app, in addition to being available on the web at spotify.com/wrapped, as before. It’s also now highlighting how global users’ listening habits are, by showing your top artists on a world map.

Spotify Premium subscribers, meanwhile, will have access to more personalized data stories and insights, including things like the numbers of artists discovered and the top artist they discovered. Besides being a fun point of reference for Spotify users, this sort of data can help to reinforce the company’s brand message — that Spotify is more than just another streaming music app. It aims to demonstrate that it can actually help users discover new music, not just offer them an easy way to play the songs and artists they already know.

The final product, including now both the “2019 Wrapped” and “My Decade Wrapped,” can be posted to social media with the provided share card that summarizes your top tracks, artists and listening history.

Also new this year is an expansion of “Wrapped” to podcasters.

Already, Spotify artists had their own version of “Wrapped” which allowed them to discover how their music reached fans around the world, available through the Spotify for Artists dashboard. This year, podcasters will get their own “Wrapped” accessible through Spotify for Podcasters.

This feature will allow podcasters and their team to look back at their show and audience’s growth over the past year, and easily see which were the top episodes. They can also see their year over year gains in followers, their top country for audience growth, number of fans who have the show as their top podcast, the four related podcasts their fans also listen to, and more. Essentially, it’s a new way of packaging up analytics that podcasters already access, but looking back at the full year.

This information can also be posted to social media through the included “share” care, which includes the total number of episodes produced, the total number of hours produced, and the podcasters’ top two countries.

Podcasts have been of increased importance to Spotify, and the company has made several investments in this space over the year, including the acquisitions of Gimlet, Anchor and Parcast, and a number of exclusive deals with podcasters. As a result, Spotify says podcast consumption doubled on the platform in 2019 and the platform saw a 39% increase in podcast consumption in the last quarter alone. Today, there are over 500,000 podcasts on Spotify, across over 75 countries and territories, the company says.

youtube

#TechCrunch

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junkshop-disco · 7 years ago

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hi!! for the skam question thingy: 7. favourite episode from each season and 13. top 5 SKAM songs!!

7. Favourite episode from each season

Idk if I can choose between 9 and 10 (and 11, I think the three of them play out so nicely together, like a film or a three act play). I really love the Isak/Eva stuff (and I actually thought Isak was going to try and get with Eva EVEN THOUGH I saw s3 first lol) and I so clearly remember watching the end of episode 9 and shouting ISAK YOU FUCKING GIANT BAG OF DICKS at the screen and desperately wondering what Eva would do. And then we get the reveal about Isak’s home life and that scene with Jonas and it’s all so well done.

Episode 4. I watched it really late at night and found it quite genuinely scary in some places, because I’m a wimp. And I LOVE seeing girls hanging out and being silly. It’s so rare we actually get to see that on screen and it not to be ‘and then the boys arrive and the fun starts’ it’s just girls having fun and pranking each other in the snow.

Can anyone truly pick a favourite episode of this season? GAH. But I think maybe episode 6. Because we have all done That Walk and had fate or the universe or whatever fuck us over, and Tarjei sells being walked into SO well, and if I had to pick A Moment where I was like, ‘ok Isak is now my favourite awkward chicken forever’ it’s THAT moment. I’m also really, really into those small, quiet moments of courage and I love the way this episode starts with Isak being really uneasy talking to Jonas and Jonas being kind of pissed at him but also letting him know he’s there, then the canteen cheese toastie of heartbreak, then talking to Doctor Skrulle (which is my favourite Isak Character Scene), then on the basis of those, Isak again gathering all his courage to talk to Jonas and Jonas totally bossing his response. The end of that episode makes me cry and grin at the same time, which is no mean feat at all.

I think... reluctantly... it’s got to be episode 10? Even though it made me riotously sad that we’ll never get an Even, Chris, or a Vilde season. I love the lead in with Sana’s prayer asking for everyone to be watched over and then Vilde’s clip is just heartbreaking. I would watch literally 100 hours of Chris and Doctor Skrulle because they are hilarious but also kind of get each other and I think that’s beautiful. And then Vilde and Chris at the party basically broke me.

13. Top 5 SKAM songs

5. Annie - Chewing Gum. I have wanted to marry Annie for years and when this song showed up in the background it was like WHAT WORLDS ARE COLLIDING. I'm gonna tell you how it's gonna get done/I'm just a girl that's only chewing for fun/You spit it out when all the flavor has gone/Wrap him round your finger like you're playing with gum. If you never listened to Anniemal, basically do yourself a favour today and proceed directly to your music provider of choice.

4. Tears for Fears - Head Over Heels. Like this song is not a song I ever imagined would sneak in and wedge its way into my soul forever but HERE WE ARE. Those opening piano chords are like catnip to me now.

3. Radiohead - Talk Show Host. Like fucking hell, that song is so perfectly Even and so perfectly placed and so gloriously raw in its expression of what it feels like to live with a mental illness but also really fitting for the way Isak is ready for Even to come bang on his locker. I just... I’m so glad Skam got to use this song.

2. Peaches - Dick In The Air. Will ANYTHING ever fill me with the same feminist glee as the girl squad walking to the party like a bunch of total badasses with this playing in the background. No, it won't.

1. Gabrielle - 5 Fine Frøkner. Anyone who follows me on Spotify or Twitter will already know my devotion to 5 Fine Frøkner is unwavering. Like. It’s genuinely one of the best things Skam has brought into my life. It makes me happy when I’m not, I listen to it as work as my ‘don’t want to do this meeting but I gotta’ fight song, where would this fandom be without Gabrielle, frankly.

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mstrangebird · 6 years ago

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2018

I posted this on my other blog but still I want to have this here.

I finished my wrapped up on January 3rd around 3 in the evening. I wrote them down in 2 different blank pages. At the beginning, on January 1st if I’m not mistaken, I wrote on my laptop, separated them into some sections like usual but then, it got hard. I didn’t know why. It was just really hard to rewind everything in my head, so I stopped. In the afternoon of January 3rd, I tried again. But then I chose to write on my journal book with my hand. I didn’t separate them and just poured everything that I felt it was needed for reflection. And I successfully finished it with a good bye and warm smile still hoping it won’t go away.

I read them few times. And I decided I won’t publish all of them. I remembered what the purpose of writing down what happened in a whole year is: for reflection, sorting out what’s good, so I can keep it up and what’s bad, so I could do better. I, right now, somehow question myself why I put them here in a first place if it is pure for my own way to reflect. Weird, but I did.

It is (((too))) personal. That’s my main reason

Every time I typed something, I ended up erasing it. Gosh. This is my weakness. Once I told a very simple thing, the other would follow. I can’t really sort of what needs to be posted.

Anyway…

Have you ever felt so stuck? That you just stood there without knowing what road you should walk on? That you just saw people around you creating their own paths, yet you couldn’t move your feet? That you chose to block everyone and locked yourself till you felt better? That you stayed up till dawn and blamed yourself for every shit you made? That you even drowned yourself into other fictions, so you didn’t need to face your own story? That you even had suicidal thought because you felt so useless comparing to people out there? That you felt so tired just to interact and talk, so you said no literally to everyone?

That paragraph above described exactly what I felt more than half of 2018.

I’m not proud that I let my thoughts consumed me, but I can learn so many things.

If you happen to know me in real life, you probably can see that I didn’t make big things. Graduate, for example. I might seem don’t care at all. Just so you know, I care too. I also have the plan in my head.

I just checked out my goals in 2018, and I didn’t even achieve half of them. And the weird feeling is I’m okay with that. I might not achieve “those big things” and step into the higher state of life. There was a hurricane inside me that kept raging, that needed to be handled. Conquered it, and now I’m here. It was like going thru some huge wave in the ocean and finally land in a peaceful shore with the breeze and the bird flying around.

Things that I wrote were something that needed to be seen. The result of real actions, like yeah graduating or going to music festival. But then, something unexpected came, just like that. It shook my inner system and almost destroyed my brain. It was not easy. Waking up because a really bad dream or unable to sleep because too many bad thoughts. I couldn’t even choose how I should spend my night. It was always been those two. There was nothing in between.

The rest of 2018 was all about taking care of myself. I felt bad for friends who tried to reach me, but I pushed them away. I was trying to figure something out; figuring how to feel okay again; figuring how to manage myself, even pushing myself to do more.

All I need was feeling happy and content. Stop comparing myself to them. Trying to be zen.

I even tried to eat more veggies and fruits, to avoid coffee if I haven’t had heavy meal, to have lil workouts, to wake up early for morning prayer, to be on-time, to write on my gratitude journal every morning, to write down what to do tomorrow on the night before, or just small thing like washing the dishes right after I used them. I was trying to have a routine to feel useful. Not only laying down for too many youtube videos and tv series or scrolling twitter’s timeline.

I dealt with something inside me. It was something you couldn’t see.

I was just trying to take care of me despite what people might think of me. I don’t care how many times I mentioned trying or tried. But really, I tried so hard living my best life. Figuring something out. Cutting all the things that made me insecure and worried. Wow I looked like a coward. But for that, I’m proud of myself.

What I achieved in 2018 is unseen, just like I said above. It is something that I feel within.

I would be lying if I said I’m not worried anymore, but 2019 is the new hope; to achieve them all.

Thank You, God! For allowing me to enter another year. For giving me what I need. For the relief feeling to accept everything. For every small thing which turned out to be really mattered.

Thank you, Mom&Dad for yeah, the patience, waiting for me to graduate. I know you already planned the outfit for my graduation, tho. But please, wait a little more.

Thank you to all my friends. I know I wasn’t being a good friend. I pushed away many times. With this, I hope you understand.

Thank you for everyone who comes and goes. Literally everyone. I know your presence mattered.

And I thank me. For going on though it hurts. For staying strong though the hurricane blows.

And last. My latest discovery on music, BTOB. It may look really cheesy (((REALLY CHEESY))) but really, these 7 dorky guys made my 2018 lighter. Like, every time I felt so done with my thesis or the chaos in the world, I would just open my Spotify and played their music or go on Youtube and watched some hilarious things they did. I’m surprised it helps. Wow.

2018 was something. A roller coaster which helped me to find my core again. It wasn’t sweet, ofc. But I’m glad I could handle.

To you, people out there, the ones who have this war in mind; the noise inside the head; the bad thoughts around midnight, hold on… we’re going thru this.

I’ll end this here or I’ll maybe spill out more, and that’s not good.

(finally finished this on January 14th, 2019 around 12.17 AM)

#2018 story #self care #YOU ARE MATTERED

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christianworldf · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on Christian Worldview Institute

New Post has been published on https://christianworldviewinstitute.com/bible-prophecies/end-time-events/book-of-revelation/women-dragon/calum-scott-no-matter-what/

Calum Scott - No Matter What

‘Only Human (Special Edition)’ feat. “No Matter What” is out now: https://calumscott.lnk.to/OHSpecialEdition

Director: Ozzie Pullin Producer: Molly McGregor Director of Photography: David Foulkes Editor: Sam Bould @ Cut & Run Production Company: Partizan Colour: Jonny Thorpe @ Glassworks

Lyrics: When I was a young boy I was scared of growing up I didn’t understand it But I was terrified of love Felt like I had to choose But it was out of my control I needed to be saved I was going crazy on my own

It took me years to tell my mother I expected the worst I gathered all the courage in the world

She said I love you no matter what I just want you to be happy And always be who you are She wrapped her arms around me Said don’t try to be what you’re not Cos I love you no matter what She loves me no matter what

Got a little older Wishing all my time away Riding on the pavement Every sunny day was grey I trusted in my friends Then all my world came crushing down I wish I never said a thing Cos to them I’m a stranger now

I ran home, I saw my mother It was written on my face Felt like I had a heart of glass about to break

She said I love you no matter what I just want you to be happy And always be who you are She wrapped her arms around me Said don’t try to be what you’re not Cos I love you no matter what Yeahhh

Now I’m a man and I’m so much wiser I walk the Earth with my head held higher I got the love that I need But I was still missing one special piece My father looked at me

He said I love you no matter what I just want you to be happy And always be who you are They wrapped their arms around me Said don’t try to be what you’re not Cos we love you no matter what They love me no matter what

Follow Calum Scott: Facebook: https://calumscott.lnk.to/facebookYD Twitter: https://calumscott.lnk.to/twitterYD Instagram: https://calumscott.lnk.to/instagramYD Spotify: https://calumscott.lnk.to/spotifyYD Soundcloud: https://calumscott.lnk.to/soundcloudYD Official Site: http://www.calumscott.com

http://vevo.ly/Hlaoig source

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latestnews2018-blog · 6 years ago

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There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than Beyoncé's Braid

New Post has been published on https://latestnews2018.com/there-were-zero-things-better-this-week-than-beyonces-braid/

There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than Beyoncé's Braid

Welcome to Good Stuff, HuffPost’s weekly recommendation series devoted to the least bad things on and off the internet.

Beyoncé has had a hell of a week. She was granted full control over Vogue magazine’s coveted September cover and used her power to hire the first black photographer to shoot the cover in 126 years. This was before she dragged the fuck out of her husband’s former mistress while performing onstage during ANOTHER sold-out world tour before she got her nails done at 1 a.m. as we lessers slept.

But her best moment came during the On The Run II tour stop in Philadelphia, when our Queen Beyoncé resurrected her high braid — a mythical creature that first graced us with its presence during the Tidal x 1015 concert in 2016. In one memorable moment, the braid takes flight, swinging to the left before floating briefly in front of its master’s face. Then it snaps to the right and drapes itself over her shoulder. Even the braid bows down, despite having the capability to slice Becky With The Good Hair in half. Wow.

How the braid whips, bounces, spins, jerks, twerks and prances through the air with a distinct choreography that, somehow, moves in tandem with Beyoncé is something I still haven’t figured out. But I am nothing more than a mere mortal gazing upon a goddess and her agile, all-powerful braid. I’m convinced that the braid is the last Infinity Stone. It will save the universe from Thanos, climate change, income inequality, racism, sexism and all other social ills since the goddess wielding it is a black woman dedicated to improving the lives of marginalized groups.

Do you now understand why your fave could never? ― Julia Craven

Henry Cavill’s Magical Beard In ‘Mission: Impossible ― Fallout’

my sexual orientation is henry cavill loading his biceps so hard he actually grows more beard and forms a pocket in his shirt pic.twitter.com/lo9tN3D8WR

— little king trashmouth (@masonjar92) August 2, 2018

One time in high school, I tried to grow a beard instantaneously. Everyone else laughed and said it couldn’t be done. After puckering my face a while in an attempt to squeeze out a follicle without anything happening, I started to believe them. At least, until the recent release of “Mission: Impossible ― Fallout.” From that movie comes the GIF of Henry Cavill cocking his arms and magically growing a beard. He even grows a breast pocket for good measure, like a real gentleman.

Since then, my life has changed.

I want to say thanks, Henry Cavill, for giving bare-faced high school kids hope. I want to tell you that all the grief you’ve gotten for the weird CGI cover-up in “Justice League” was worth it.

But mostly I just wanna say, “Eat my shorts, Class of 2006!” I told you it could be done. (And while I’m at it, to my childhood development class teacher: I know I said I was sorry for drinking that extra grape juice box, but I’m not. I wanted to drink it. I like grape juice. And it was delicious.) ― Bill Bradley

The RHONY Boat Ride From Hell

This week, “Real Housewives of New York” fans finally got to see the long-awaited “boat ride from hell.”

There is a particular pleasure in watching arguably terrible people you alternately love and loathe experience the terror of a clunking mini-yacht getting swept up in the choppy waters of Colombia. Sonja Morgan and Ramona Singer volleyed between screaming up at the sky and clutching each other. Carole Radziwill vomited into a champagne bucket and later said the boat was scarier than being a foreign correspondent during wartime. Bethenny Frankel held Radziwill’s hair back and tried to avoid being hit with flying deck furniture. Luann de Lesseps hit the floor for cover. Dorinda Medley frantically searched for life jackets (there was only one) as she yelled that she smelled smoke. Tinsley Mortimer and her perfect french braids were unfazed. Afterward, the housewives were safe, but they all had diarrhea.

Some might call watching the boat ride from hell a guilty pleasure, but I feel no guilt. As Vulture’s Bryan Moylan put it: “This is the apocalypse that we hath wrought and it is glorious and it is still not enough.” ― Emma Gray

A Good Week In Music

This was a really good music week. NPR kicked it off with a project that ranked “the top 200 songs by 21st century women+” ― an awesome cross-genre compilation of music from the last 18 years that I’ve spent most of the week cycling through. As a country fan, I was happy to see so many women from a genre that usually ignores them get their due, and while I naturally have some small quibbles (I might have chosen different songs by Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves), the list overall was a great installment in NPR’s ongoing effort to celebrate pop music in “more inclusive ― and accurate ― ways.”

Then, on Friday morning, a friend on Twitter pointed me toward “To The Sunset,” a new album from Americana/folk/country crossover artist Amanda Shires. “To The Sunset” is yet another album that doesn’t fit neatly into any single pop genre ― Shires called it “futuristic” in an interview with The Boot this week, and has openly talked about breaking from the traditionalism of both country and Americana. You can hear that sort of sound from the opening notes of “Parking Lot Pirouette,” the album’s opening track. And “Break Out The Champagne” might wind up as one of my favorite songs of the summer.

“I don’t usually toot my own horn, but it’s a pretty good record,” Shires said in The Boot interview. I’ve only made it all the way through once as of this writing, but so far, “pretty good” is a pretty big understatement. ― Travis Waldron

A Dog Dancing With A Frilly Pink Umbrella

Dog Umbrella Dance pic.twitter.com/K3KUvO692g

— Nature is Amazing 🌴 (@AMAZlNGNATURE) August 2, 2018

Apparently this video is from 1999, if a YouTube account called ViralHog is to be believed, but I didn’t experience this jovial prancing pup until this week, so it counts. There are so many good things about this: his frilly pink umbrella, his jaunty hops, the fact that a Twitter account called “Nature Is Amazing” posted this. The best part, though, are the very stilted (and fancy!) crossover steps he takes toward the end of the video — the whole thing is 15 seconds, so don’t worry, you don’t have to wait long. What a good boy. Nature is amazing. ― Jillian Capewell

LeBron James’ School

Allison Farrand/Getty Images

LeBron James addresses the media following the grand opening of the I Promise school on July 30, 2018, in Akron, Ohio.

The best thing I saw this week was the rollout of LeBron James’ new school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. The I Promise School, as it’s known, isn’t a private school, and it’s not a charter school. It’s a straight public school, but with exceptionally progressive ideas meant to help children in the same position James once found himself.

“I know these kids basically more than they know themselves,” he said this week. “Everything that they’re going through as kids, I know.”

As such, the I Promise School focuses on kids who are behind their peer group, and it tries to help their parents and guardians, too, with GED classes, job placement services and more. School days will be longer, as will school years, but that’s to keep the kids out of trouble. Transport is free. So is breakfast and lunch. Each kid gets a free bike and helmet. And if a child successfully graduates from James’ school, he’ll pay for his or her tuition at the University of Akron. Somehow, all that still doesn’t come close to explaining everything about this school, which came as a much-needed dose of inspiration for me this week. ― Maxwell Strachan

A Very Pretty Song About What A Disappointment I Am

Although Pitchfork tried its best to make me ashamed of it, I adored the dreamy debut Wet album, “Don’t You” so much that it dominated my 2016 Spotify wrap-up playlist. The indie pop group’s sophomore album, “Still Run,” dropped last month ― in the interim, the band went through a crisis that resulted in a lineup change and a romantic break-up between two members ― and I have now gotten around to being obsessed with one of its gorgeous singles, “Lately,” a wistful yet full-throated artistic break-up song with lilting verses that make my insides feel like they’re floating free in a sea of salt tears.

“Lately” is about trying to make someone feel useful while dealing with the reality that they’re not useful. “Lately” is about having a selfish boyfriend, maybe, or a lazy co-worker. “Lately” is about giving everything you have to give and then giving a little more and then saying “enough.” Band leader Kelly Zutrau’s voice alternately whispers and throbs; when it throbs, I feel like an invisible wire is tugging at my heart, trying to pull it out from behind my rib cage.

I listen to it all the time: on the subway, while elbowing through tourists in Union Square, while washing the dishes, while sitting at my desk. I listen to Zutrau croon, “I’ve been bending over backwards just to make you feel like you’re wanted / I use up all my energy just to make sure that you know you’re important.”

I imagine that this is what my editor thought when I sent her a rough draft that ends “TK ending, any thoughts?” and then followed up with a Slack message complaining that no one takes my writing seriously. My eyes grow damp. I softly warble, “So what have you done for me lately?” The Union Square tourists give me odd looks. I don’t care. That is the power of this song. ― Claire Fallon

‘The O.C.’, 15 Years Later

It’s been 15 years (!!!) since “The O.C.” premiered on Fox, and this story in The Washington Post was a delightful nostalgia trip that examines the role indie music played on the show. There are lots of fun tidbits in that story (who knew Rooney was named after the principal in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”?) but mostly, it’s just a fun look back at the melodramatic music that served as both the soundtrack to the show and to the high school years of many American teens who dreamed of living rich in California ― myself included.

Can anyone listen to The Dandy Warhols now without thinking of Seth Cohen bopping through his house in a bathrobe and a graphic tee? ― Paige Lavender

‘Eighth Grade’ Opening In Wide Release

August is always a spotty month for movies, left to catch the summer-blockbuster runoff and pave a fresh road toward Oscar season. This week’s big studio releases — the action comedy “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” the YA sci-fi knockoff “The Darkest Minds” and the melancholic kiddy caper “Christopher Robin” — are mostly disappointments. So instead, you should see “Eighth Grade.”

Centered on the social frailty of a 13-year-old (promising newcomer Elsie Fisher), Bo Burnham’s directorial debut has been steadily expanding to more theaters over the past few weeks, and now it’s nationwide, poised to delight everyone who enters its orbit. Here, middle school is just as terrifying as anything you’ve seen in “Hereditary” or “A Quiet Place” — but the movie makes up for it with a smokin’ hot dad (Josh Hamilton), salient commentary about the trials of social media, a timeless portrait of adolescent anxieties and a note-perfect music cue from the one and only Irish castle dweller known as Enya. “Eighth Grade” is the “Lady Bird” of 2018, ushering in a month full of astute films about teen girls (see: “Skate Kitchen,” “Madeline’s Madeline”). Don’t miss it. ― Matthew Jacobs

A Band Called Let’s Eat Grandma

Let’s Eat Grandma ― an experimental “sludge pop” group comprised of lifelong BFFs Jenny Hollingworth and Rosa Walton, both 19 ― released their second album, dubbed “I’m All Ears,” in early July.

A huge fan of their first album “I, Gemini,” a fairy tale-inflected freak show for the ears, I was excited to press play. The first song sounds like a threesome between Robyn and the “Phantom of the Opera” duo ― i.e. MY TWO FAVORITE THINGS.

The album perpetuates LEG’s predilection for twisting people’s perceptions of girliness to uncanny extremes. (The musicians are known to, at concerts, flip their waist-length hair over their faces and perform secret handshakes like haunted twins.) “I’m All Ears” continues to explore teenage girlhood using fantasy and horror as lenses ― or in their case, kaleidoscopes. ― Priscilla Frank

The Future Of Film Is Female

This week marked “The Future of Film is Female,” a fun series of films hosted by New York’s Museum of Modern Art, featuring women directors and creators. The organizers, Nitehawk Cinema’s Caryn Coleman and MoMA’s Rajendra Roy, did a good job picking out important, up-and-coming filmmakers to spotlight. I was lucky enough to see “Landline,” the charming 2017 comedy about family, fidelity and growing up, as well as “Bar Bahar” (“In Between”), about three female flatmates in Tel Aviv whose attitude and togetherness pushes them through tough times. “Landline,” in particular, sparkled for its snappy writing (by a woman) and its lovable lead actress (Jenny Slate). ― Anna Krakowsky

Patti Smith Eating Carrot Salad Over And Over Again

Instagram

I check the hashtag #carrotsaladatumas on a weekly basis. It’s never updated that often, but I labor in the pursuit of a digital Patti Smith sighting that warms my otherwise cold, depressive heart. In each of the photos associated with the tag, Patti appears at a Far Rockaway cafe alongside an unassuming bowl of electric orange wisps. A profoundly well-coiffed man sits next to her. It’s always Klaus. (Klaus Biesenbach, the violently handsome former museum director of New York’s MoMA PS1, who’s headed to LA for a fancy new gig.) And his caption is usually the same: “good to have a weekly routine.” Goddamnit, he’s right. ― Katherine Brooks

Read last week’s Good Stuff.

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