#liam would get into it as a health craze thing maybe

[evermoredeluxe]

ooh chiming in on this post 1d discussion! ofc harry has been doing the best fame wise and his music is pretty much ubiquitous now, which as u mentioned is bc of a variety of factors like marketing, talent, charisma, etc. nothing much to say outside of this really, except that i do think his 1d days image as "the face of the band" or "the main guy" really helped the spotlight on him.

niall, i think, he's doing pretty good for himself, but judging from how he talks about stuff i would say he really wants to take it a step further, but he would need something More to kind of, break out in the public eye once again. like his music is Good, but nothing ground breaking imo. once he gets that i think he can shoot up too!

as for louis... i really liked his album and i think he has some great things to contribute to music, with interesting lyrics and a production style that makes up for his pretty average vocals but oh lord the guy has no stage presence!! that is one of my major quips with louis, maybe his fans feel differently but i do not vibe with him as a performer. and also i think his style is perfectly bland which, for better or worse, does play a part in how ure perceived as an artist, u know? personally for those reasons i dont engage with anything about him outside of his tracks on spotify and the occasional fan interaction because tbh i think he's a really fun and sweet guy who adores his fans and is adored in return for it!

liam i simply do not care about he showed in 1d that he has amazing vocals but damn did he make some Bad Choices vis-à-vis the direction of his music... kinda hard to feel bad about him too since the nft craze and whatnot but eh. i hope he can find his way to something that works for him tho because it would be a shame for all that potential to be lost to blockchain monkeys.

now zayn!! honestly i think of them all zayn seems to be the most content with his music? like hes definitely found his sweet spot and it works for him for sure. it's sad for me as a casual fan that he doesn't do live performances but if it's that versus his mental health then it's a no brainer u know... he stream well enough too esp when u see the absolute crumbs of promo he does. i do think his label is not as confident in his music as he seems to be in it and provide minimal support which sucks. i've kind of accepted by now that we might never really get anything from zayn beyond an album every few years and he lives the kind of private life he wants but i think it's harder for the label etc to have such a talented singer and not have him reap every possible source of income so they're hesitant to invest in him until he goes all in.

of course all of this is just speculation on what's going on bts haha

i think one other thing that applies overall to every single artist at the moment is that indie, rock music is “cool” right now and you have to try harder with pop. like you can’t just make a mediocre pop song and expect good return on it. pop girls try hard and they excel whereas some of the men don’t try As Hard (oops). harry knows that and he/his team play it smart and use his assets. also, he is all promo and active while releases and tour etc and opposite when he’s just making music and the public gets a break from him and it prevents overexposure etc. i agree with most of what you said! don’t have much more to add.

[clumsyclifford]

86 with Mashton? 🥺☺️

sneaky one direction? maybe so thats just how we do here on clumsyclifford here u go anon i actually would die for this prompt fun fact !! so well chosen

-

Michael remembers a conversation he’d had with Louis back when they were touring with One Direction. They’d just gotten through a big crowd of people to get to the hotel, and One Direction’s relentless security detail had kept most of the crazed fans out of arm’s reach, but nevertheless Niall had vanished to the bathroom as soon as they’d gotten in the hotel. Michael had frowned, watching him.

“Is he okay?” he’d asked Louis.

“He’s just a bit claustrophobic. Not great with small spaces, big crowds. He’ll be alright in a few.” And then Louis had huffed a laugh and added, “Probably picked the wrong job, but what can you do?”

Niall had come out of the bathroom a minute later, as predicted, and Liam had rushed over, and Niall had waved him off with an uneasy grin, and that had been that.

Now Michael kind of wants to call Niall and ask how he’d done it.

It’s not that Michael isn’t used to crowds. His entire career relies on crowds. And he’s been to too many concerts not to know how to navigate a wall of people, and nine times out of ten, he’s fine, really. He doesn’t need any special care and keeping. He’s a grown man, and he can handle himself.

Most of the time, that is. Sometimes, though, his head feels loud, and the screaming girls make it louder, and everyone is far too close, and Michael wants to tear off his own skin and disappear into the sewers.

Today is one of those.

It starts bad enough, because when Michael wakes up he wants to go back to sleep forever, and it’s only Calum’s insistent prodding at his shoulder and loud, annoying wake-up calls that drag him sluggishly out of bed. He knows he’s not doing a very good job convincing anyone that he’s okay, and Ashton gives him several concerned looks, but Michael waves him off. He doesn’t need taking care of. He shouldn’t. He’s an adult.

Most of today is traveling, anyway, so Michael holes up in his bunk, ignoring the various texts coming in from his bandmates — mostly Ashton — asking after his mental health in favor of playing Minecraft. He listens to music but nothing feels right; he tries to be productive, to maybe reply to some Tweets or something, anything, but he doesn’t want to come across as uncaring, so eventually he throws down his phone in frustration and just takes a nap.

When he wakes up, it’s because the bus has stopped and Ashton has pulled aside the drape to say, “Mikey, we’re here.”

Michael blinks up at Ashton. He’s still tired — he feels endlessly tired — but he gets out of bed and follows Ashton out. Luke and Calum are nowhere to be found, but they’ve probably already been escorted into the hotel, so Michael’s not worried. Then they step out of the tour bus, and Michael loses the capacity to be worried about anyone or anything else, because there are so many people and they’re all screaming and yelling and shrieking and some of them are throwing things and Michael feels his heart racing furiously against his chest, frozen at the entrance of the tour bus, until there are hands pushing against him. Michael jerks away but the hands come back and then Ashton says quietly, “Don’t be scared, I’m right here. Just keep walking.” So Michael walks and watches his feet and tries to resist the instinct to squeeze his eyes shut and start crying right there, and then they shove through the door and they’re in the hotel lobby and it’s over.

Michael turns around and wraps his arms around Ashton. Ashton hugs him back, warm and sturdy and comforting as he always is, and says nothing, just rubs circles against Michael’s back until Michael feels like his heartbeat is back to a roughly standard pace.

“Sorry,” he mumbles. “I froze.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Ashton says immediately, and though his tone is gentle there’s a fierce undercurrent in his words. “I shouldn’t have — I should have warned you.”

“It’s not your job to take care of me,” Michael says into Ashton’s shoulder. Ashton is quiet for a moment, and Michael knows he’s thinking that it is his job. Because Ashton is just like that. Ashton has always been the first to take up the defense of Michael’s heart and soul, the founding member of the Protect Michael Clifford Club.

“I want to,” Ashton says. 

Michael exhales, face tucked into Ashton’s neck. “Okay.”

“Do you want to go to your room?” Ashton asks. Michael nods. “Do you want to share with me?” Another nod. “Okay. I’ll tell Calum.”

Michael waits by the elevator while Ashton sorts out the rooms, and then they both go up, and Ashton unlocks their door. Michael trudges in, feeling heavy and exhausted, and crawls into bed, on top of the comforter, kicking his shoes off as he goes. Ashton lies down next to him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ashton asks. Michael shakes his head. “Okay. If you do, I’m here.”

“Stay here?” Michael asks, feeling embarrassingly childish, but Ashton just smiles that soft, sweet smile of his, and leans in to kiss Michael’s forehead.

“Of course,” he says. “Are you going to sleep?”

“Maybe,” Michael says. There’s not really any reason to stay up, even though it’s only nine p.m., but he would feel badly keeping Ashton here for hours while Luke and Calum probably have a super fun night in their room. “You don’t have to stay.”

“I just said I would,” Ashton says, as if he’s annoyed, but the fondness in his tone betrays otherwise. “I want to be here.”

Michael wants to say a million things ��� like you shouldn’t have to take care of me and I shouldn’t need protecting and why would you stay with me when you could be somewhere else doing something more fun and I can’t believe you like me when I’m like this — but all of those are ugly thoughts, and he closes his eyes and counts to ten and then opens them, and all he can see is Ashton, watching him.

“Thank you,” he says. “I’m lucky to have you.”

“Yeah, you are,” Ashton says, smiling. “Come on, turn over. You can be little spoon.”

Michael does. He’s not usually the little spoon, but he feels calmer in Ashton’s arms than he has all day, and he falls asleep despite his midday nap with the warm promise of Ashton’s body next to him, like a rock, a guardian angel.