#the Keith urban one did get me

[sonatine]

Look at what The Good Place named their one off side characters in the Australian arc

[staytinyville]

Kiss a Girl

↣ Summary: When Bang Chan is finally over a break up, he comes across someone that seemed to make things feel like he was a high schooler again.

↣ Characters/Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader

↣ Genre: fluff

↣ AU/Trope info: idol!au, webtoon artist!reader, foreign!reader, post break-up, song inspired fic

↣ Word Count: 2.9k

↣ Warnings: none

↣ A/N: I am from Texas where country songs are just a must. I grew up on like 2000s country songs and will always go back to them lol. But I heard Keith Urban while I was in the store the other day and was like. This is giving Bang Chan. Could it be because they are both Australian? Quite possibly. But TBH I do wanna hear Bang Chan sing one of Keith Urban’s songs. 

Staytinyville’s Permanent Taglist

↣ Affiliates: @cultofdionysusnet , @k-labels , @k-vanity

↣ Special Thanks: Thank you @saradika-graphics for the amazing banners! Please go check her out if you have specific banners in mind. She is great!

You have been in Korea for the past month doing some things for a work project you would never have thought to be possible. You were just a simple college kid a couple years ago who enjoyed making comics about a couple OC you created years ago. When the story became a hit around the world it garnered a lot of attention. 

Especially TV companies that were asking you if they could create your story into a series. 

You, being someone who was studying in the entertainment industry, agreed they could use it so long as you were allowed to work on the project with them. Your credits in college really help to put them along for the ride. Now you were going to be living in Korea for a bit until production finished and the whole series came out on the TV. 

In the past month, you had made some good friends with the people you worked with. There were A-list actors who enjoyed your company and sometimes would invite you out to go drinking with them. While you did enjoy going with them, you found yourself attached to your translator a lot more compared to them. 

It was easy to find people who spoke English, especially in the area you were working in. But the way your translator had to stick closer to you than others, you both found yourselves becoming close friends. And for them, as someone who worked closely in an industry that called for a lot of high ends, they were the ones who often took you out to fancy places where normal people would only wait years to get reservations. 

“This is a very classy spot.” You told your friend as you looked around the club. 

“It's a very high end club.” Your friend/translator told you. “Like only a select few people can get in.”

You laughed out loud. “How did you pull it off then?” You asked. 

“Did you forget where it is that we work at?” They laughed. “Of course we are going to get the best stuff. Just gotta be careful because they will make us sign NDA.” They deadpanned at the end. 

You laughed even louder. You glanced around for a moment to find where the bar was, easily spotting it along with a crowd. Just as you were about to head in that direction, you froze for a moment just as someone passed in front of you.

You let out a polite excuse me, bowing your head just a bit. The person looked at you oddly for a moment before giving you a small smile and telling you it was alright. When the man began to walk away, you tried to keep a neutral face, but were secretly panicking inside over you had just ran into. 

“Bro!” You gasped quietly, smacking your friend’s arm. “Did I just see Yugyeom? Like the idol?” You gushed. 

“Probably.” They looked over your shoulders, frowning as they nodded. “This is a popular club for idols because it's so exclusive.”

“Why would you bring me here?” You looked at them wide eyed, feeling like you were going to make a fool of yourself and risk a lot of things. 

“This is where a lot of people in the entertainment industry come when they want to experience normal things. Like a club.” They explained to you. “This place is also really popular with the younger generations. You’ll probably come across a couple of people winding down from promotions and stuff.”

You did in fact see a couple of more idols. Your friend was the one who explained to you who was in attendance at the club for the ones you weren’t able to pick out right away. There was a good amount of older people as well, at least at the bar. 

Once you got a drink in, you dragged your friend out to dance, laughing as songs you weren’t able to make out the words to blasted on the speakers. WIth how much your smile seemed to stretch across your face, other people began to notice you. Many of them were much to shy or reserved to go out and dance along with you but there were a few who wanted to feel your excitable energy. 

“Hello.” A girl smiled while talking in English, coming into your closer circle. 

“Hi.” You beamed, holding your hands out to grab onto hers. “Come dance!” You swung her arms around as you tried your best to not look like a fool. 

But it seemed the more others drank and the night went on, you didn’t have to worry much about that. Things would never change once people had alcohol in their systems to make them let loose just a bit. 

With you dancing along with the girl, a lot more came to join your side as your contagious positive attitude had an effect on others around you. 

“Like this.” The girl laughed, trying to copy your silly jumps.

“Yes!” You laughed, trying to get others to dance as well. 

Just as a large crowd was beginning to form on the dance floor, there were others going around and enjoying their time with friends. There was an idol who had just arrived after finally getting out of his post-break-up slump. He was ready to get back out there and mingle with new people after being in a mental blockage when it came to friends. 

His bandmates had gotten him to agree to going out with his closer friends that weren’t any of them. They had other things to do, which did make him a bit upset but as they had told him, he had a life outside of them as well. 

“Chan!” Yugyeom hugged the man’s side. “Look at you! Finally out.” He said, showing him towards where the others of the group were. 

“I don't know.” Chan nodded to himself. “I'm ready to be out.” He said. 

“For once and it's not in the studio.” Another one of their friends teased, lightly punching Chan in the arm. 

The Australian laughed, looking around the club he had not been to in a while. He took in the large crowd that was going on around the dance floor. 

“There's a foreigner?” He furrowed his eyebrows, turning to the others. 

“She's cute!” A friend called out. “Been dancing and getting others to join. Seems social.” He added. 

“I'm going to go ask her to dance.” Yugyeom called out, going to join the crowd. 

Once others saw the boy coming down to stand next to the floor, everyone else seemed to join as well, having you get sucked into the crowd that was chanting as songs continued. Yugyeom came up to you giving you a smile as he caught your attention. 

“Dance?” He asked you.

“Oh, sure!?” You nodded your head, moving to turn and face him as his song started to play. You laughed watching as he tried to explain to you the dance moves that came along with it. 

You kept laughing, cheeks hurting from the fun you were having. You hadn’t really gotten the chance to experience something like this back home. You have been to bars but the energy isn’t the same as a club that was meant to pump people full of adrenaline. You enjoyed the atmosphere, it helped your need to be social. 

“Yes.” Yugyeom gushed in English that had an accent. “Like that. Good!” He gave you thumbs up to show that you were correct. 

You laughed at his way of trying to speak to you. You waved him off, telling him thank you in Korean which made him laugh even more. He tried to have a conversation with you, but you laughed most of it and tried to explain to him he needed to speak slowly in order for you to understand just a bit more. 

When a new song came on, you hadn’t noticed someone else coming up to your side. All you did was turn to face the DJ stand as you began to sing to Stray Kids TOPLINE. You laughed as those around you began to do the same, in your own world. You turned to the person next to you, shouting out lyrics as you both gave off the same energy. 

You started singing louder when you noticed it had been Bang Chan singing along with you. The chorus came around and you fully turned to give him your attention, trying to keep up. Bang Chan felt something in his chest as he danced with you to his own song. It wasn’t that he was proud, it was just that he seemed to be content with how you didn’t seem phased with who he was. 

When the song came to an end, you clapped for Bang Chan, giving him a dazzling smile that made him turn his lips up. 

“You know Stray Kids!?” He asked you, shouting over the speakers. 

“No, who are they!?” You shouted back, face looking serious. 

You almost laughed at how Bang Chan’s eyes went wide and he looked at a loss for words. “I'm just kidding. It's really nice to meet you.” You gushed, bowing your head.

“Oh, you don't need to bow.” Chan awkwardly giggled. “It's okay.”

“I got used to it here!” You told him, coming to stand up straight. 

“Would you like to sit with me?” He asked you after a moment.

Your eyebrows raised, eyes wide as you took in his question. Looking just around him, you noticed your friend quickly nodding their heads, telling you to accept the offer. 

“Am I allowed to?” You laughed.

He thought about it for a moment, looking over at his group of friends. “Ah, if you don't tell anyone.” Chan chuckled. 

“Sounds like a risk.” You hummed. “I'll take it.” The smile you had made Chan a bit dizzy.

It had been so long since he had seen someone look at him that way. He had a ton of people look at him that way actually, but never to someone who made it seem like they just wanted to be friends. Chan had no problems with hookups, but it was refreshing to meet someone who wasn’t over him because they knew him. 

You did know him–sure–but you were taking into account who he was which made you a bit cautious. While it was normal for others to be that way, you weren’t scared of talking to him like you had been friends for years. 

When he showed you where his friend group were, you laughed a little at how they seemed to begin hollering when Chan brought you over. 

“Don't listen to them.” He shook his head. 

“Even if I did, I don't think I'd understand much.” You told him honestly. 

“Are you visiting then?” Chan asked, allowing you to sit down first before he sat in front of you. 

The music was much quieter in the area, but you figured it had to do with the fact that the table was sectioned off in the VIP. They had their own bar as well, classy stuff. 

“It's for work. I'm going to be here for a few months.” You answered him. “I did study what I could but I still need people to talk slowly.” You explained. 

“Ah, I see. I see. Lucky you, I speak English.” He laughed. 

“Even if you didn't, I'd try my best.” You nodded your head. “Miss the chance to speak with Bang Chan? Mega producer who’s part of 3RACHA?” You gushed, making his face turn red. 

“I wouldn't say mega.” Chan shrugged, getting bashful. 

“I mean I don't know.” You pursed your lips in thought. “The Scoville scale is out here close to blowing up.” You laughed. 

Chan bursted out laughing, cheeks hurting from how much he was stretching them. “You're cool.” He told you. 

“Why thank you!” You waved him off. “I pride myself on being cool.” You said.

“Han would like you.”

“Just going to drop bandmates on me as if I'm not freaking out on the inside.” You suddenly said, making him laugh. 

“You and I both.” Chan answered truthfully. 

“No! Please don't! It's all cool!” Your eyes went wide hearing his confession.

You both spent a good hour sitting at the table laughing about stories that would come up or just things about the other’s life. Chan hadn’t noticed when his friends would get up to get more drinks or when they would go out to dance. And they didn’t want to disrupt you two either, eyeing each other with smirking as they teased the poor boy behind his back. 

Before you knew it, you were telling your friend that you would be heading back to your temporary home with Chan as company. They gave Chan a thankful smile, bowing down in respect for someone of higher standard. But they told you to be careful, having gotten used to you always telling others that whenever they would leave. 

You found yourself outside some plaza eating Tteokbokki from a small restaurant outside on the sidewalk. The night was nice and cool, leaving you in a refreshed feeling after having danced in the hot club. Chan was laughing at you struggling to get the rice cake on your chopsticks. 

“Why would you eat it like that!?” He laughed, covering his mouth.

“I can't pick it up with the chopsticks!” You exclaimed, stabbing the rice cake treat with both chopsticks so it looked like you were at least eating them correctly. You managed to put it in your mouth before looking up at Chan who was pursing his lips. 

“Don't look at me like that!” You gushed, smile on your face. 

“It's like this.” He moved closer to you, trying to get you to hold the chopsticks correctly. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t know how to use them, it was just that trying to pick up slippery food proved to be harder than you cared to admit. 

“I'm trying!” You exclaimed, moving closer to him as he kept trying to put some food on your chopsticks. 

As you were moving to place it in your mouth, the slippery cake fell from your utensils and onto the floor. “My Tteokbokki!” You cried out.

“Ok fine. Keep stabbing it.” Chan laughed, giving up.

Next thing you knew the night had come to an end and Chan had walked you to the building you were staying at. He had his hands in his pockets, looking up at the tall apartment building before giving you a kind smile. 

“This is me.” You told him. “I had a great time.” You confessed. 

“Me too.” Chan smiled softly. “Thank you for coming out with me.” He added. 

You laughed as your face flushed red. “Of course. Thank you for inviting.” You told him. 

“Ah. I guess I'll see you.” Chan nodded his head, shoulders dropping for just a moment. 

“Yeah.” You nodded your head, soft smile on your face. “I had a really great time. I mean it—thank you for taking me out. Only could ever dream of something like that.” You told him honestly. 

“Yeah.” Chan thought about something for a moment, which made you stop from going in completely. “Ah, is it okay if I ask for your number?” He asked you.

“I mean for me it is but is it for you?” You joked once more. 

“Sounds like a risk. I'll take it.” He mocked you from earlier.  

“You know though, I really don't want to make you sign an NDA.” He quickly added after you both traded numbers. 

“To kiss and tell is just not my style.” You sang off, grinning from ear to ear. 

Chan laughed for a moment, understanding your joke. “But the night is young and it's been a while.” He played along. 

“Ah, you know it! Wasn't expecting you to honestly.” You told him.

“I'm a music producer—I listen to a lot of things. Besides, it's kinda relatable.” He smiled a little, looking down as he took in a calming breath. 

You weren’t going to ask about it, it wasn’t your place. You knew what the song was about–it was one you had heard since you were a little kid. Besides, Chan was an idol who had secrets to keep from the public. That was one of the first things you had to get used to when moving to Korea and working in the entertainment industry. 

“Then I'm happy to be that girl you wanna kiss.” You joked, thinking about the rest of the song.

“I wouldn't go that far.” He laughed, shaking his head. 

You gasped, eyes going wide at the scene you had just made. “Making me sound like a fool then. Ah, forget about it.” You said in a rush, face red from actual embarrassment this time. 

“No, I don't think I will.” Chan hummed, stepping closer to you. 

You watched him step closer, feeling your heart stop for just a moment as he placed his lips against your cheek. “Goodnight, (Y/N).” He told you softly.

“Goodnight Chan.” You smiled. 

You waved him off, turning around when a cold breeze blew past you. He continued on his journey towards his car parked in the front of the building. 

“I wanna kiss a girl. I wanna hold her right. Maybe make a little magic under the moonlight.” You sang to yourself, nodding your head along to the nonexistent beat you were playing in your head. 

“Don't wanna go too far just to take it slow. But I shouldn't be lonely in this big ol world. I wanna kiss a girl.” Chan quietly sang to himself as he walked home. 

Permanent Taglist: @hecateslittlewitchling , @ldysmfrst , @rln-byg , @vampcharxter , @angieskzzzz , @puppyminnnie , @marvel-potter-1d-korea , @smilingtokki

[baby-alien11]

Lover (Y/N Ulrich Universe)

Everyone say thank you to the million of videos of the Eras Tour that have appeared in my fyp on tik tok, because thanks to them this chapter was made

taglist: @volturi-girl-imagines @dessxoxsworld @aonungsgirlfriend @ethanlandryluver @wenvierismycomfort @aliciacat20 @gabbylovesreading @nikfigueiredo

To say you were surprised when you woke up one morning and saw Jack eating breakfast with your dad in the dinning room was nothing, especially because the day before he told you he was filming

Even more surprised when he revealed two tickets for "The Eras Tour" of Taylor Swift for that weekend in Philadelphia, making you scream in emotion and jump in his arms, not noticing Skeet was filming everything

So, thank godness that your passport was renewed, both of you with your cordinated outfits, flew to the city the day before to rest and made sure to be ready for the concert

When the day arrived, both of you put on your costumes inspired by Midnight Rain, that consisted in you wearing a dark blue puffy long sleeve top and straight jeans, and Jack wearing a yellow short sleeved button up with a withe tank top under and jeans, and went to the stadium, were after you gave your tickets, they led you both to the vip section on the floor area, thanks to both of you being famous

"I can't believe we are really here", you smiled in desbelief watching how the stadium started to full

"I can pinch you if you need it", Jack joked hugging you from behind

"Please do it", you joked in return which made Jack to start tickling your sides making you laugh, "I said pinch me, not tickle me!"

"You know I won't pinch you", Jack responded kissing you on the cheek, "While the concert start, why don't we get something to drink?"

"Yeah, sure", you nodded

Without leaving your area, both of you purchased two plastic cups of orange juice and also went to the merchandise spot to get some t-shirts and sweatshirts

"I love seeing all the inspired outfits", you commented watching the arena

"They are so creative", Jack agreed

Interrupting the apreciation of the outfits, both of you heard your names being called, which made you to turn your heads at that direction watching a group of five girls dressed as the eras aproaching the area as most as they could because of the security fences

"Y/N, Jack!", the girls continued to scream

"Hi!", you greeted with a smile, "How are you? I love your looks"

"We didn't expected to see you here", one of the girls said still with excitment

"I had to bring her", Jack shrudded his shoulders, "She loves Taylor"

"Your Midnight Rain outfits are so cool", another girl complimented

"Can we take a photo with you?", other girl asked

"Sure", you nodded

Mannaging to get the closer to them because of the security fence, a few photos were taken with different posses

"Thank you so much", another one of the girls thanked, "You are so Taylor Swift coded, both of you, and your relationship too"

"That is one of the best compliments we've ever had", Jack said smiling, "Actually the best"

"And we also wanted to give you some bracelets", the first girl who spoke

"Oh my God, you are so sweet", you said a little emotional, "But we don't have any to trade"

"Doesn't matter", one girl shrudded her shoulders, "It will be an honor if you accept them"

"Okay", both of you nodded

Recieving one bracalet form each one of the girls, Jack and you ended with five bracelets in your wrists

"This are so cool", Jack commented looking at the bacelets, "Did you make them yourselves?"

"Yeah, and we already trade some of them with other swifties", one girl answered

"I love this fandom", you smiled

After saying goodbye to the girls, both of you continued to enjoy the enviroment and pointing some of your favorite outfits, and having a fangirl moment when Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban entered the area, greeting the both of you like they knew you for forever

"What the hell is happening?", you asked still in shock

"Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban hug us", Jack responded the same way you were, "This is crazy"

"I guess they were right when they say that anything can happen in the Eras Tour"

In the time while the concert started, more fans aproached your area to keep giving bracelets to all four of you, talk and take photos

When the speakers anounced that the concert was about start, Jack and you were quick to put your phones in your purse to enjoy the concert without distractions

During the whole concert, Jack hugged you from behind with his head on top of yours and his arms circling your waist, while yours were in top of his with your hands intertwined with each other

In general, both of you enjoyed the three hours with fifteen minutes of the concert, but your favorite parts were during "Lover", "You Belong With Me", "Love Story", "Enchanted", "Style" and "Wildest Dreams", when Jack sang the lyrics to the songs in your ear almost leaving you in tears because of how beautiful the moment was

Also leaving both of your hearts and voices singing the rest of the songs (the drama during Taylor and the security man during Bad Blood was something else), and meeting more fans and recevieng bracelets and other gifts

In general, it was a perfect date

jackchampion, camimendes, isabelamerced and 97, 381 more

yn.ulrich he was sunshine, i was midnight rain

thanks to nicolekidman for telling us how to pose and keithurban for taking the picture

#TheErasTuour

tagged jackchampion

naiia EXCUSE MEEE, YOU SAY NICOLE KIDMAN AND KEITH URBAN??

› yn.ulrich yeah, we were in the same vip tent

› julrich21 WHY ARE YOU SAYING IT THIS NORMAL

› jackchampion dude, believe us, we freak out when we saw them

nicolekidman it was so nice to meet you both, you are such a sweathearts

› yn.ulrich i literally almost cried when you hug me, it was awesome to be in the same place as you

user928 I KNEW THEY WERE THEM

› user315 THANK GOD IT WASN'T MY IMAGINATION

› user22 WE ACTUALLY TRADE BRACELETS WITH THEM, THEY ARE SO NICE

yn.ulrich, misstrinitybliss, masonthegooding and 150, 948 more

jackchampion first concert together

we laugh, we cried, we sang, we left our hearts in there (and our voices)

#TheErasTour

tagged yn.ulrich

yn.ulrich first of many concerts together babe!!

› jackchampion we need to start planning the next one!!

user301 I SAW THEM FOR LIKE TEN MINUTES DURING THE CONCERT AND HE WAS SINGING LOVER IN HER EAR

› user593 MANIFESTING TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP LIKE THEM

baileybass how was seeing THAT moment during bad blood?

› jackchampion we were confused at first, but then some fans close to us tell us what was happening

[hard-core-super-star]

Hi, may I please request Reader is Australian and is a judge on the Voice, Australia. Hailee (Steinfeld obviously), with the other judges help to surprise Reader by 'auditioning'. (Reader obviously turns her chair. They've been dating for a couple of years.)

keep on coming back for more [H.Steinfeld]

pairing: hailee steinfeld x musician!reader

summary: you don't really like surprises...unless they involve a certain brunette and your favorite song.

warnings: none, just fluff; me pretending like i know what i'm talking about when i really don't; R is technically a guitar player but that's not expanded upon; like two seconds of nervous hailee

wordcount: 1k

a/n: messed around with the pov on this one again so...yeet. i also did the most scuffed research on the voice, australia so forgive me if it sucks/if things are too vague. this fic was also just an excuse for me to scream into the void about rock bottom because it's one of hailee's best songs, argue with the wall. [but not the version with dnce because...men. do i have to say anything else?] hope you enjoy <3

* * * * * * *

Hailee knows being nervous about this is ridiculous but that doesn’t stop her heart from thundering in her chest or her hands from growing clammy. Usually, those things are a sign of excitement but today, the butterflies in her stomach feel a little more uneasy than usual.

It’s been more than a few years since the last time she performed this song live and, if she’s being completely honest with herself, she’s worried about what you’ll think.

Surprises aren’t her strong suit, especially not when they involve your work but it’s been a few months since you left L.A to start working on The Voice, Australia and she hasn’t had a chance to come see you until now.

She was originally just going to visit you on set and let that be the surprise but she may have texted Rita Ora about her idea to fly to Sidney to see you and then one thing led to another and now she’s here. Minutes away from pretending to be yet another blind audition for the show.

Everyone had agreed it would be a great way to get more people to watch the show, or at the very least the clip that would be posted on YouTube later, but she didn’t care about any of that. She just cared about getting to see your smile again. 

“You’re on in five.”

The brunette nods in response, practically counting down the seconds until the two of you are finally reunited. Dramatic, sure, but also sweet in a way that makes you melt every time.

While Hailee’s getting ready for her surprise performance, you are doing your best to act like you’re paying complete attention to whatever ‘argument’ Rita and Jessica are having to convince the most recent auditioner to join their team. 

You’ve been a witness to these ‘arguments’ a couple of times since filming started but you always stay out of them. Mainly because they’re fun to watch but also because you’re technically the new kid on the block and you have some massive shoes to fill. Keith Urban-sized shoes to be specific. 

You still don’t know how you went from playing the guitar in your room to being a professional musician to being a judge on The Voice but you’re not about to complain. That doesn’t mean the job isn’t tiring but you can’t afford to look like you don’t know what you’re doing. 

The young singer ends up choosing Rita’s team and you’re given a quick break as the crew gets everything ready for the next contestant. You resist the urge to check your phone, knowing all it will do is make you miss your girlfriend. This wasn’t the first time the two of you were doing long distance but it never gets easier. 

You don’t get the chance to dwell on your thoughts too long since filming resumes. You straighten your back in the surprisingly comfortable chair and prepare yourself for the next blind audition.

A few seconds go by before you hear the beginning notes of a song you know like the back of your hand. The smile on your face gives away your growing excitement at getting to hear someone cover a song you love so much. 

You're honestly a little surprised it's taken so long for someone to audition using one of Hailee’s songs. It’s a shock but a welcome one for sure. Just because they're using one of your girlfriend’s songs doesn't mean you'll go easy on them, though. You’re easygoing but extremely picky when you want to be. And you’ll be extra picky just to honor the one you love more than anything else. 

“What are we fighting for? Seems like we do it just for fun…” 

Your eyes widen at the sound of that voice. 

For a second you think you’re imagining things but there’s no possible way you could be wrong. You could be underwater with a bag over your head and still manage to recognize your girlfriend’s voice.

“Breathe deep, bottle it up…”

You don’t waste another second in pressing the red button that allows you to turn around and see Hailee in all her glory. Your breath gets caught in your throat at the sight of her and suddenly, everything else around you disappears. The lights, the audience, even your fellow judges, all you can see and hear is her.

Her brown eyes are trained on you and you have no doubt she’s feeling exactly what you’re feeling. The smile on her face tells you all you need to know about where her mind is. “Oh, we’re on the right side of rock bottom…”

She can’t hold herself back any longer and she takes a few long strides, walking down the stage steps and reaching your chair with a smile so bright it rivals every star you’ve ever seen. Her hand reaches out toward you and you take it without hesitation, allowing her to pull you toward her.

The moment might go viral later but neither of you is focused on anything except the other.

“You’re the best kind of bad something,” she sings, her face mere inches away from yours. “‘Cause we keep on coming back for more.”

This time, you’re the one who can’t hold back. You wait for her to pull her microphone away before you lean in and capture her lips in a kiss filled with all the love you’ve had to keep inside since you left L.A.

You have no doubt the studio probably wanted more words exchanged and overly dramatic shocked expressions but all those complaints will come later. Hell, you’ll even reshoot the whole thing if it means getting to spend time with Hailee on set. But all of that can wait until later.

“Warn a person next time,” you whisper with a grin once the two of you part for air.

“Where’s the fun in that, babe?”

You playfully roll your eyes at her, pretending to be annoyed when you’re truly overjoyed to hear her teasing remarks in person again. “You’re the worst.” 

“You love me,” she replies with a shrug.

She starts to move away but you pull her back in for another quick kiss before she can get too far.

You hear the commotion that comes with getting ready for filming to resume but you’re too busy giving Hailee all your attention to care. You’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be here, and you absolutely love your job, but your girlfriend will always come first.

[maxwell-grant]

So yesterday was my birthday and I invited a friend over to watch some movies we’d been each putting off. He showed me They Live, which I’d somehow never seen, for the first time, and I repaid the favor by breaking his brain with Speed Racer and letting him see how everyone ever was 100% wrong about that movie at release and it is in fact the best thing ever, but in regards to They Live:

I expected a good time and had a really great one. I knew about it’s central alien allegory, and how it’s been co-opted by anti-semitic memes and right-wingers who think they’re being cute. I knew it inspired dialogue in Duke Nukem, I knew it was a John Carpenter film starring Roddy Piper with Keith David in it, and that was it. I was blissfully unaware of everything else, including the fact that it somehow winds up being a spiritual successor of “The Challenge of the Beyond”, the pulp writer round robin exercise nowadays most famous for it’s H.P Lovecraft - Robert E.Howard parts.

There’s a post on it that floats around regularly and I’ll link here for better explanation, but in short: Lovecraft’s section of this story had the protagonist George faint from terror constantly and go mad after turning into a giant alien centipede, which was followed by Robert E.Howard immediately retconning said madness in his opening line and having the character embrace his new life as a horrid centipede beast in a new planet and go on a conquering rampage of “titanic adventure” as George the Centipede Barbarian. I bring up George the Centipede Barbarian not because it’s funny, but because They Live intentionally pulled off a very similar kind of brutal tonal dissonance.

They Live is very comparable to The Thing in the sense that it is a 50s concept told through 80s filmmaking and distorted accordingly, to the extent that the black and white parts are not just colored differently, but shot differently from the rest of the film in a way that’s far more reminiscent of 50s horror films. Our protagonist is an 80s meathead cowboy who lives in a struggling urban landscape with mysteries and horrors he never quite understood but continue to plague him and those around him, and he has a moment of truth when he puts on magical sunglasses and finds out that he’s been living in a Twilight Zone episode the whole time, and so has everyone. The black and white allegorical terrors won and have been running everything all along, and that is the point the episode should end with our protagonist horrified and broken, “wouldn’t that be fucked up / doesn’t this remind you of something / these horrors are real” message conveyed, episode over.

Except our protagonist is an 80s meathead cowboy, so instead of surrendering to the horrors after finding out everything is a monstrous lie, he fights back with a shotgun and a bag of one-liners. Dude just immediately, like not even 10 minutes after he first puts on the glasses, starts blasting alien cops and bankers and spaceships. I really did not think that “bubblegum” one-liner happened that early in the movie. This dissonance would have been wonderful regardless but it helps that it’s done so intentionally.

I really didn’t expect that the movie was this 100% completely blatantly unsubtle about the true nature of the alien ghouls as bloodsucking capitalists. It’s not some veiled allegory that can be left to interpretation, the movie tells you repeteadly and explicitly what it is about. The film tells you that the aliens are weaponizing communist paranoia to gain control over cops, preceding a line “We'll do anything to be rich” and then a description of them as “They are free enterprisers. Earth is just another developing planet, their third world” is actual dialogue from the film and that’s just before we learn the aliens all wear expensive watches, that most of the cops going around brutally gunning down the resistance are humans who sold out, and get scenes of the aliens and humans standing around in suits congratulating each other on profit margins. I don’t meant this as an insult but it’s frankly cartoonish in how unsubtle it is, it’s insulting that John Carpenter even had to set the record straight with Yes This Was About Capitalism and Reagan and Yuppie Bloodsuckers You Stupid Fucks like the movie isn’t hammering the point constantly.

If you haven’t watched it, did anyone ever tell you that the inciting incident of the movie is the protagonist being radicalized by police brutality? Yeah, funny, nobody ever talks about what happens in the movie before George puts on the sunglasses. The first 20 or so minutes are about the protagonist, George Nada, arriving in the city and struggling to find a job or place to stay and being offered one by Keith David’s character Frank, who takes him to a homeless community. They have a handful of dialogues together where Frank repeteadly expresses a cynical viewpoint towards life under You-Know-What, over opportunities turning into traps and steel mills giving themselves raises by screwing workers over, and George brushes him off stating he still believes in America, he still believes in getting a fair shot.

George is quickly and immediately reduced to horrified bystander as the police storms his community and destroys their church and goes around beating up them up and evicting tents by bulldozer, while George runs around trying to help and save at least one of them. The next time we see him, he puts on the sunglasses and learns the awful truth and starts his rampage (framed in no uncertain terms as an act of revolution) by doing, what else, shooting cops. Or, well, aliens who approach him as cops and tell him that, now that he sees them, they can work out a deal to profit together if he just goes quietly. The movie makes it as obvious as it could possibly make it.

So yeah, watch They Live, it’s Duke Nukem vs The Twilight Zone’s Episode on Capitalism (with Extended “Guys Being Dudes” Action, I’m glad I didn’t know about that alleyway fight scene beforehand). Also watch Speed Racer, it’s glorious, and it has the exact same villains. Had a really great time yesterday with both.

[scarisd3ad]

Highway don’t care

Pairing - pre outbreak!joel miller x f!reader

Warnings - cursing, angst?, age gap

Masterlist

Inspired by the song highway don’t care by Tim McGraw (feat Taylor swift, and Keith urban)

Joel and I had gotten in a fight earlier, which led me to here driving down the highway towards my parents' house. my hair pulled up in a ponytail, my dead cellphone tossed to the side in the shotgun seat, and I was probably driving a bit too fast. it was late, the clock in my car read 10:30. I was slowly falling asleep, so I turned the radio on to keep me awake. the music played quietly as I tried to not think about him. I guess this is what deserve for pursuing a relationship with a man older than me, 9 years older to be exact.

I try to blink back tears as I realize what song is playing on the radio. it was Joel and i's song, the song that played when we first met at a mutual friend's wedding a year ago. I guess we did move a little fast we meet a year ago, started dating 11 months ago, and moved in together 5 months ago. I'm 23 and he's 32 I guess we just live in two entirely different worlds he's got a kid and I'm barely out of college this was bound to happen. we just weren't meant for each other, I thought as I drove off of the exit that led to my parents' house. I just know he's blowing up my phone with calls and texts.

we just weren't meant for each other, but I can't live without him. my entire life revolved around him, and I don't know what I'd do if this was it for us. a tear rolls down my check as I try not thinking about turning around. I try not to think about turning around and running into his arms. I just want him, I need him.

'I can't live without ya, I can't live without ya baby.'

I make a quick U-turn and get back onto the highway, probably speeding towards our house. when I pull back into the driveway, I see Joel sat on the porch steps with a cigarette in one hand and his phone pressed to his ear in the other. he only smoked when he was stressed. he looks up from the ground and quickly gets up running towards my car. I take the keys out of the ignition and get out of the car. "Is your phone dead?" he asks, and I nod before a tear falls down my cheek. "I'm sorry Joel, I'm sorry I'm childish, and I-I-" I cut myself off with a sob "I'm really sorry Joel" I whisper. he cradles my face in his hands like I'm as delicate as glass. "You don't need to be sorry sweetheart" he whispers as he wipes a tear that falls down my cheek with his thumb. "Are we-we alright? be-because I don't think I can live without you Joel."

he chuckles "I don't think I can live without ya either baby" he whispers before he presses his lips to mine.

[galindathrop]

Eras Tour Setlist and Surprise/Secret Songs (as of February 16, 2024)

Taylor Swift

Tim McGraw - March 17

Picture to Burn - July 14

Teardrops on My Guitar - May 5

A Place in this World - April 22

Cold as You - April 23

The Outside - February 9

Tied Together with a Smile - July 23

Stay Beautiful - November 17

Should’ve Said No - May 19

Mary’s Song

Our Song - March 24 and August 4 (Guitar Surprise song in Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour film)

I’m Only Me When I’m with You - June 30

Invisible - May 20

A Perfectly Good Heart

Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

Fearless

Fifteen - May 6

Love Story

Hey Stephen - May 14

White Horse - March 25

You Belong With Me

Breathe (feat. Colbie Callait) - June 10

Tell Me Why - August 25

You’re Not Sorry - April 21

The Way I Loved You

Forever & Always - May 13

The Best Day - May 14

Change

Jump Then Fall - April 2

Untouchable - November 25

Come In with the Rain - February 10

Superstar

The Other Side of the Door - April 28

Today Was a Fairytale - April 22

You All Over Me (feat. Maureen Morris) - June 3

Mr. Perfectly Fine - June 16

We Were Happy

That’s When (feat. Keith Urban)

Don’t You

Bye Bye Baby

If This Was a Movie - June 23

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) - Announced May 5th, 2023. Released on July 7th, 2023.

Mine - May 7

Sparks Fly - May 5

Back to December - July 15

Speak Now - April 13

Dear John - June 24

Mean - April 15

The Story of Us - June 17

Never Grow Up - July 7

Enchanted

Better than Revenge - November 12

Innocent - November 24

Haunted - June 9

Last Kiss - July 8

Long Live (added to setlist on July 7th for the release of Speak Now TV. Performed on the same koi fish guitar from the Speak Now Tour) (removed from Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour movie.)

Ours - March 31

Superman - February 9

Electric Touch (featuring Fall Out Boy) - February 8

When Emma Falls in Love - July 7

I Can See You (music video released to concertgoers on July 7 and online on July 8) - August 3

Castles Crumbling (featuring Hayley Williams) - July 28

Foolish One

Timeless - July 14

Red (Taylor’s Version)

State of Grace - March 18

Red - May 21 (Performed on Guitar instead of Piano due to rain damage from May 20), February 16

Treacherous - April 13

I Knew You Were Trouble

22

I Almost Do - June 9

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Stay Stay Stay - July 29

The Last Time (featuring Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol) - June 16

Holy Ground - May 27 and February 7

Sad Beautiful Tragic - March 31

The Lucky One - April 2

Everything Has Changed (featuring Ed Sheeran) - July 22

Starlight - July 15

Begin Again - April 23

The Moment I Knew - June 4

Come Back… Be Here - May 12

Girl at Home

Ronan

Better Man - May 19

Nothing New (featuring Phoebe Bridgers) (added to the setlist on May 5, only to be performed when Phoebe Bridgers is one of the opening acts.)

Babe

Message in a Bottle - July 23

I Bet You Think About Me (featuring Chris Stapleton) - April 30

Forever Winter

Run (featuring Ed Sheeran)

The Very First Night - November 9

All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

Eyes Open

Safe and Sound - November 25

1989 (Taylor’s Version) - Announced August 8th, 2023. Released October 27, 2023.

Welcome to New York - May 28

Blank Space

Style

Out of the Woods - May 6 and November 11 (mashup w/ Is It Over Now?)

All You Had to Do Was Stay - June 10

Shake It Off

I Wish You Would - June 2

Bad Blood

Wildest Dreams

How You Get the Girl - April 30

This Love - May 13

I Know Places - August 8

Clean - April 1 and May 28

Wonderland - April 21

You Are in Love - August 4

New Romantics - August 9

"Slut!" - November 12

Say Don't Go - November 26

Now That We Don't Talk - November 24

Suburban Legends - November 17

Is It Over Now? - November 11 (mashup w/ Out of the Woods)

Sweeter Than Fiction

Reputation

…Ready for It?

End Game (featuring Ed Sheeran and Future) - November 11

I Did Something Bad

Don’t Blame Me

Delicate

Look What You Made Me Do

So It Goes�� - November 20

Gorgeous - April 29

Getaway Car (w/ Jack Antonoff) - May 26

King of My Heart - August 8

Dancing with Our Hands Tied - November 19

Dress - August 23

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things - July 22

Call It What You Want - July 1

New Year’s Day - August 9

I Don’t Want to Live Forever - June 3

Lover

I Forgot That You Existed - August 24

Cruel Summer

Lover

The Man

The Archer (removed from Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour movie)

I Think He Knows - May 21

Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince

Paper Rings - June 23

Cornelia Street - August 26

Death by a Thousand Cuts - April 1 and August 5

London Boy

Soon You’ll Get Better (featuring The Chicks)

False God - May 27

You Need to Calm Down

Afterglow - August 27

Me! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco) - November 20

It’s Nice to Have a Friend

Daylight - June 24

Beautiful Ghosts

Only the Young

All of the Girls You Loved Before - July 29

Folklore

The 1

Cardigan (removed from Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour movie)

The Last Great American Dynasty

Exile (featuring Bon Iver) - August 23

My Tears Ricochet

Mirrorball - March 17

Seven (spoken transition part of setlist) - (w/ Aaron Dessner) June 17

August

This Is Me Trying - March 18

Illicit Affairs

Invisible String

Mad Woman (w/ Aaron Dessner) - April 15

Epiphany

Betty

Peace

Hoax

The Lakes - June 2

Evermore

Willow

Champagne Problems

Gold Rush - May 12

‘Tis the Damn Season

Tolerate It

No Body, No Crime (feat. Haim) (replacing ‘Tis the Damn Season, during the shows where Haim is one of the openers) (removed from Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour movie)

Happiness

Dorothea - July 8

Coney Island (feat. the National) - April 28

Ivy (w/ Aaron Dessner) - July 1

Cowboy Like Me (w/ special guest Marcus Mumford) - March 25

Long Story Short

Marjorie

Closure

Evermore (feat. Bon Iver) - June 30

Right Where You Left Me (w/ Aaron Dessner) - July 28

It’s Time to Go

Midnights - Midnights: The Til Dawn Edition and The Late-Night Edition released on May 26.

Lavender Haze

Maroon - May 26, August 3, and August 27

Anti-Hero

Snow on the Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey) - March 24 and August 25

You’re on Your Own, Kid - April 14, August 5, August 26, February 10 (Piano Surprise song in Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour film)

Midnight Rain

Question…? - May 20

Vigilante Shit

Bejeweled

Labyrinth - November 9

Karma

Sweet Nothing - August 24

Mastermind

The Great War (w/ Aaron Dessner) - April 14

Bigger Than the Whole Sky - November 19

Paris

High Infidelity - April 29

Glitch

Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve (w/ Aaron Dessner) - May 7

Dear Reader - February 7

Hits Different - June 4

Karma (featuring Ice Spice) (Added to the setlist for shows on May 26, 27, and 28. Music video released for concertgoers on May 26 and online on May 27)

You’re Losing Me (From the Vault) - February 16

Other

I Miss You, I’m Sorry (w/ Gracie Abrams) - July 1

[halfmoondaze]

The Way Things Are

A series collab with @heavyhitterheaux

Series Masterlist

Previous

Y/N and Isadora Sterling sat at a cozy corner table in a quaint coffee shop. 

“So how’s everything up there?” Isadora asked. 

“Up there?” 

“Yeah, girl your song is number 2 on the top 100” 

“You’re one to talk, two-time Grammy nominated” 

They laughed. 

Y/n tried to maintain a nonchalant demeanor but he excitement bubbling within her was too hard to contain. 

“I have news” 

Before Isadora could reply, she dramatically extended her hand and revealed the engagement ring, sparkling beautifully on her finger.

Isadora eyes widened as she gasped. “Oh my goodness!” 

Y/N chuckled at her exuberant reaction. 

“Girl, people are starring” she teased her. 

“So what? My bestie is getting engaged”

Y/N laughed. 

“How? When did this happened?” Isadora asked eagerly, dying to know all the details. 

Y/n eyes glimmered as she told her everything from Keith surprising her in New York, to their elegant date to him going on one knee at the beach. 

“He’s amazing” she said as she looked down at the ring. 

“I can see it. You’re glowing girl. Love looks good on you” Isadora said. “I’m very happy for you, you deserve all the happiness in this world” 

“Thanks” she smiled. “Well, enough about me, how was your tour?” 

“Amazing!” Isadora replied with dramatic hand gestures. “I have to tell you all about it”

They spent the rest of their evening, sharing stories, and laughter.

Y/N managed to arrive an hour before her scheduled recording session at the studio. 

Suddenly the heavy footsteps broke the comfortable silence, echoing down the hallway. Keith Russell aggressively stormed into the studio and walked over to Y/N. His hot breath reeked of coffee and cigarettes. 

“You need to leave now” Y/N asked trying to keep her voice steady. 

Their voices echoed down the hallway. And as Jack, Bryson, Sunni and Urban arrived at the recording studio, they could hear Keith’s furious ranting. They arrived at the scene. 

“Get the fuck out of here” she demanded. 

“Y/N, please” he pleaded. 

“I said get out of here” she exclaimed with her voice shaking in anger. 

“No” 

“You couldn’t even be man enough to keep it in your own fucking pants” she said inches away from his face. 

Keith at this point was fuming, as his eyes narrowed into slits and raised his hand at her. 

But before he could touch her, Jack, Bryson, Urban and Sunni stepped in front of Y/N and push Keith back before he could touch her. 

“You heard her” Sunni said. “Leave”

Security guards step into the hallway. 

“Sir, we’re going to have to ask you to leave” 

“Stupid bitch” Keith muttered under his breath but clearly enough for everyone to hear. 

He gave a curt nod and allowed himself to be escorted out. 

Y/N looked beside her and saw Jack standing there, his face etched with concern.  

Without a word, he pulled her close, enfolding her into a warm embrace. 

Y/N could feel her body go limp as she leaned into him and broke down crying into his chest. 

Taglist

@jackmans-poison

@nattinatalia

@harlowsbby

@harlowcomehome

@killatravtramp

@earthtoharlow

@iguessweallcrazyithinktho

@jeyramarie

@itsyagirljaz

[jadejedi]

Fantasy Book Review: The Tarot Sequence (Books 1-3) by K.D. Edwards

JJ’s rating: 4.5/5

How feral did it make me: 5/5 

My book reviews

Okay, I read these kind of randomly, not really sure what I was getting into, and oh my god. Oh my god!! Okay, so most of the sci-fi/fantasy books I have read other than these were written by AFAB authors in their 20s and 30s. Which is great, and fine, but that’s a fairly limited perspective. These novels were written by an asexual man in his forties (sorry Keith, just sort of guessing on your age here lmao) and is it weird to say that it’s kind of refreshing to read a mlm romance actually written by a queer man? No, I don’t think so. These books, despite the dark topics they sometimes cover, feel like warm coziness to me. Reading these books feels like following along with a group of your beloved friends. God. I love them. 

Summary time! In a world in which Atlantis was a secret society of demigods called the Arcana (all named after tarot cards) before being destroyed in a civil war with humanity, the remaining Atlantean society has relocated to the island formerly called Nantucket. Rune St. John is the last son of the Sun Court, the rest of the Sun Court destroyed in a mysterious attack that left Rune with emotional, mental, and physical scars. Rune and his Companion (think platonic soulmate meets bodyguard), Brand, hire out their work essentially as mercenaries to scrape by. When a son of Lady Justice goes missing, Rune and Brand are hired to find him. Also, they acquire an orphaned teenager? Are they fathers now? They might be fathers now. 

These characters guys. Holy shit. They are perfect to me. K.D. Edwards was really out here like, what if I just�� smash every toxically masculine stereotype out there? What if I make a snarky bodyguard character who unabashedly loves his best friend? What if these two men who have known each other all their lives are not afraid to be open about how important they are to each other and how much they genuinely LOVE each other? What if I make a romantic interest who is patient and kind and loving and not at all threatened by the relationship between his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s oldest and most important relationship? What if I create a relationship between these three men that blurs the lines between romantic and platonic?? What if I create an urban fantasy society in which queerness is normal and accepted, and where polyamory is normal and accepted? What if I make a group of characters who need a family and then FIND ONE WITH EACH OTHER???? WHAT. THEN????? (then we all cry, that’s what)

FUCK! 

These books are fun, witty, full of monsters and villains, but also some of the most heartwarming characters and relationships I’ve ever read??? Like, god. These are some of the few books that I have bought both audio book and e-book copies because I could not put them down. I *had* to be reading them, if I were at home, or at work, or in the car. And as soon as I finished them, I picked up the first one and reread them. 

This series is planned to be a trilogy of trilogies, with books 1-3 currently finished, and book 4 being written right now. I am so excited for more of this series, I can’t even tell you. Dear god. 

There is some dark content covered in these books, specifically based around what happened to the Rune on the night when his father’s court was destroyed, so if you have any questions about trigger warnings, don’t hesitate to ask. 

These books are an absolute DELIGHT. They are the queer fantasy I’ve always wanted to read, because Edwards understands that what makes the queer community special is the COMMUNITY. It’s about finding and CHOOSING your family, bitch!

Here’s a meme I made a while back to convince people to read these books (yes I spelled dinosaur wrong. oops):

READ THEM!!!

[declanlikesmusic]

The Best Song on I'll Try Living Like This

In May of 2015, the now legendary & iconic vaporwave trio known as death's dynamic shroud put out what would be the 12th album in their now 50+ discography of full-length records, this one on the then-prestigious Dream Catalogue label: I'll Try Living Like This, produced solely by two of its members James Webster (known as HCMJ) and Keith Rankin (known as Giant Claw). The album was produced in the midst of awaiting cassette production for what would end up being their 13th album in 2016 on Rankin's Orange Milk Records label, produced by the remaining member Tech Honors: CLASSROOM SEXXTAPE.

From the moment it came out to this very day and beyond, I'll Try Living Like This remains to be seen as death's dynamic shroud's revolutionary, genre-redefining magnum opus and it stands as one of vaporwave's most creative & experimental records to achieve this level of notoriety. There's a lot to be said about each individual track and how it pushes the boundaries of a genre so many people neglectfully view as reductive & derivative. But one tracks I want to particularly highlight is one that isn't often seen as the emotional high point that it is early on into the record.

혼자 남은 지금 꼴이

The fourth track into the record in a short streak of amazing tunes kicks off with two samples: The introductory vocal humming of Avant from his song Separated and the stretched out instrumental to AOA's Miniskirt providing the beat & chords, provided more density & reverberation added to the beat. Beyond that, you hear a whole lot going on. There's a specific recurring vocal sample that gets chopped up & glitchy throughout the song, I can't confidently tell you where that's from, it could be from Separated again for all I could tell. Above that, you hear dialogue from CSI: NY spliced in, coming from Kim Kardashian of all people, some shimmering sounds coming from the intro to Fleetwood Mac's classic song Everywhere and later on, some lesser edited samples of the Legend of Zelda Sound & Drama, which I'll touch on in a moment.

It's an incredibly dense track, but more important than what it samples it how it feels to sample these things. The Miniskirt beat, once an upbeat, sharply produced k-pop track, is paulstretched & echoed out to feel much more lethargic but equally intoxicating. I think even without the added elements, the backing track is absolutely thick & heavy. It's like walking through the city on a packed night and just slowly dragging yourself through an extremely concentrated atmosphere, an opaque fog of urban smoke & emotional weight, and it wouldn't feel that way if it didn't sound so… melancholic.

There's a sadness permeating throughout the song. The strange CSI: NY dialogue, the dragged out & buffering vocal glitches, the lonely Avant vocalizing, there's something about all of those elements, combined with the once sensual love song beat profusely slowed down, that makes the whole experience feel so depressive, like an alcoholic bender. After two and a half minutes of this, you're given even more hints to what all of this is. A Japanese dialogue sample from the aforementioned Zelda Sound Drama plays and it of course reads like a piece of Zelda drama… but one sentence sticks out:

愛が鍵です。(Love is the key.)

A little further in, the shimmering of the Everywhere sample strips away. For a moment, it feels less crowded, but still… sad. Shortly before the four minute mark, Link's cry for Zelda is heard, the beat disappears for that moment and when it cuts back in, you hear something swelling in the background. You feel an emotional tension starting to rise. Then Avant sings.

We never turned our backs on each other But now that we're separated We can't stand one another And when we were together We never turned our backs on each other But now that we're separated We can't stand one another You did me wrong

This is a breakup song. More than anything else, it's a tragic, bittersweet, heart-wrenching breakup song. The added bass synths to the beat and orchestral strings climbing further up in the background for as long as those lines are sung; it feels like the rest of the track that came before was trying to suppress its deeply sorrowing emotions before all that resistance just shatters and every ounce of grief just spills out into tears falling into the puddles of rain below. The song concludes from there and it overall changes the dynamic depths of this album's extremely abtract concepts that are as hard to define, pinpoint or deciphir as this one is, if not more so.

This wasn't my favourite song for the longest time. I mean, for a long while, it was 그대 기억에 지쳐 잠들죠, but that's more of an interlude piece that directly transitions into a reprise of this song, funnily enough, that further elaborates on that Miniskirt sample with a bit of an eccojam. But other times, it was Loving is Easy or everybody's favourite 내 마음은 떨고. It was hard to define what really makes I'll Try Living Like This's best song. Sure, the latter had probably the best production of the bunch and the most energy for it, but an emotional pique or a definitive highly was hard to come by in an album that was always so consistent but always in some way relied on its surrounding pieces or the overall album package. 혼자 남은 지금 꼴이, however, completely stands on its own. As its own song and its own emotional piece.

I think it goes ultimately unrecognised in the grand scheme of this album because of how subtle it all is. Everything I just described to you about the song is subtle in their respective degrees. You really don't come to notice its value at the face; you find it out by digesting it further & more thoroughly, giving each listen its own time to clue you in to what it's about and what it's doing here on the album. It ultimately comes across as the most rewarding song on what is considered to this day to be death's dynamic shroud's masterpiece.

One that is immeditely ruined by the vocal samples on 이보다 좋을 수는 없겠어, but believe me, we do not want to have that conversation today.

[meganmk28]

Were you named after anyone? My middle name is after my Mom... 😊

Are you a health freak? I take care of my health... but I'm not a freak. You'd think I would be since my Mom is a nurse.

Okay, what about a clean freak? If you consider keeping your house clean, then yeah.

Do you smoke? Ish, no.

List 3 turn offs. Blonde hair, Lying, disrespectful to their parents.

Favorite car? Chevy Camaro

Favorite genre? Country... Yee-Haw

Have you ever tried drugs? No. Drugs ruin lives.

When did you stop believing in Santa? Wait... what? He's not real??

Favorite TV show? Friends, FBI, Anything criminal... ID Channel.

Name something you can't stand. Greedy people,Liars, child predators, animal abusers. Cheaters.

Are you able to go to Target to only get what you need? Never. I feel like Target takes advantage of my weakness to spend money.

What's a talent you have? The claw machine... I stay winning.

Have you ever cheated? No. I would never hurt someone like that. I'd rather take the pain than cause it. Stay faithful or stay single.

If money was not an issue, where would you move to? Nova Scotia. I love the East coast & the ocean.

How many siblings do you have? 1 sister.

Do you drink alcohol? Nah... I don't have a taste for it.

Hottest person in the world? Me of course... lol, jk. Keith Urban.

Do you hold grudges? I wouldn't say grudges, but if you fkd me over & hurt me beyond repair, then I won't forget or forgive.

Dream job? I always wanted to be a Detective. Helping solve crimes & writing the end to someone's story is something I've always dreamed of. For now CSI is just as good.

Favorite movie? Beauty & The Beast.

Do you like surprises? Uhm, no. I have enough anxiety. Lol.

Where would or did you get married? I don't believe in marriage.

How do you feel about tattoos? They are a story for many... I personally wouldn't get one. However I think they are very sexy. Especially neck tatts.

Can you swim? Absolutely. My mom always said I was a fish. I spent all my summer days in the pool or lake. Growing up on a lake, you kinda learn that early.

List 3 things that are a turn on. Blue eyes are my weakness, humor & being a foodie. Lol.

Ever been to jail? Uhm, everyday... but not for myself.

Favorite holiday? Christmas. There is something so magical about it. The feeling, the smell, the comfort. It's so perfect.

Favorite season? Fall & Winter.

Favorite sport? I love all sports. Football is my main though.

Favorite color? Any shade of purple... pastels.

Favorite song of all time? Angel - Aerosmith.

[carinalastimosa]

20 Reasons Why I’m a J.Lo-ver

I love Jennifer Lopez. And let’s face it, she could use the love these days. Bennifer 2.0 has already come to an end, marking 20 years of one of the most documented Hollywood on again-off again romances so here are 20 reasons why I love her. From the highs to the lows, beauties and flaws, this is her then and this is her now. 

She made Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list. If you’re not gonna believe me that Jennifer Lopez is amazing, take it up with Time.

She’s broken barriers within the romcom genre. I didn’t realize it when I was a child, but Jennifer Lopez was doing something exceptional within movies. She normalized headlining popular movies with huge box office success as a woman of color with movies like The Wedding Planner and Maid in Manhattan. Normalizing it, not only for me, but for mass audiences, that movies do not need to have white leads in order to equal success. And she continues to provide, breaking another barrier, proving that women in their 50’s can still be viable leads with movies like Shotgun Wedding and Marry Me.

She co-headlined one of the best Super Bowl Halftime performances. Do yourself a favor and watch the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime show headlined by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. Just watch it and you'll see why it's one of the best.

She’s the reason why I bought a matching velour tracksuit as a teen in the 2000s. I’m sure there’s some photographic evidence of this in a photo album buried in my family’s home and it should stay that way. 

She’s the first perfume I’ve ever bought. Okay, I’m technically not the one who bought it. I basically pleaded with my mom at Macy’s to buy me Glow by Jennifer Lopez cause I wanted to smell just like J.Lo. 

She deserves to be Academy Award Nominee Jennifer Lopez. While 2019's Hustlers may have been her most noteworthy of performances to get considerable Oscar buzz, she's shown her range throughout her career with 1997's Selena, 1998's Out of Sight, and 2006's El Cantante.

She deserves to be Grammy Winner Jennifer Lopez. J.Lo has the hits. You know she does, don’t deny it. Ever heard of Jenny From The Block?” Of course you have, and you either hate or love yourself as you start to sing along to it whenever it comes on. Despite a 20+ career in the music industry, Lopez has only gathered 2 Grammy nominations.

She’s the first artist to have a movie and an album debut at #1. As part of showcasing her ability to do it all, she made history with the movie The Wedding Planner and album This Is Me… Then.

She was the reason behind the creation of Google Images. Go ahead and Google her 2000 red carpet appearance to the Grammys in the now iconic green Versace dress for old times' sake.

She’s a part of my favorite rotation of American Idol judges. Yes, there’s nothing quite like the spark of the initial trio of Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, and Randy Jackson but audiences did not give enough credit to the trio of Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban. I also think an American Idol reunion with Connick Jr. and Lopez would be the perfect romanic comedy.

She’s the definitive Selena. Netflix tried with their series on Selena Quintanilla in 2020 but it didn't come close to the 1997 movie and a lot of that was in thanks to the casting of Lopez.

She can deliver a line like no other. Not every Jennifer Lopez movie is a hit. There are some really bad ones out there and The Boy Next Door is one of them. It contains one of the most unintentionally funniest line deliveries ever. The said boy next door gives Lopez’s character, a high school teacher, a book. But not just any book, oh no, it’s the first edition of the Iliad. The ILIAD. An oral poem dating back from 3,000+ plus years ago, that was estimated to have finally been written out around 850-750 BCE. The way Lopez opens the book and utters, “Oh my god, this is a… this is a first edition?” is so earnest. That is capital A acting right there! It’s perfect. 

She’s learning Spanish just like us. Like myself, Jenny grew up only learning how to speak English and now, as an adult, is making valiant attempts at trying to learn Spanish. But being a public figure, she has to try and speak it publicly, while I can attempt to learn Tagalog in the comforts of my own home. 

She knows how to squeeze in some self- promotion while being patriotic. Lopez has no shame when it comes to promotion, especially when it comes to promoting herself. No one does celebrity quite as well as J.Lo. This was on full display for President Joe Biden’s inauguration when she was performed a medley of not just “This Land Is Your Land” and “America the Beautiful”, but added her song “Let’s Get Loud” into the mix because we got loud with our vote. 

She’s the original booty queen. Before Kim K., there was J.Lo and don't you ever forget it!

She’s given us our modern day Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton tabloid romance. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have already given us 20 years worth of tabloid fodder and I’m sure there’s more to come. While Ben and Jen have gotten together twice already, they’ve only been married once. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton got married twice so the ball is still in your court Bennifer. 

She’s a hard worker. This may be what has drawn me to Jennifer Lopez for all these years. She’s a hard worker. She is someone who has to show you the work to show you that it amounts to something. As long as you work hard, you’re special, right? We may not have been destined or gifted with the vocation we’ve chosen, but we’re going to work hard in order to make it work. Lopez has made it work, but it’s work. What has made some of the greats great onscreen is that you don’t see the work. It’s effortless. Jennifer Lopez is a star, and she still has what I believe to be several more decades left of entertaining us. I hope she doesn’t have to work so hard to show us that and for us to finally embrace her as she is.

She gave us 3 iterations of This Is Me… Now. As she says in the behind the scenes documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, of her album This Is Me… Now, “It's not like anybody was clamoring for the next J. Lo record, you know what I mean?” and yet she gave us 3 different projects surrounding said record. The record itself, a play on her album, This Is Me… Then, released about 20 years later in which she finds herself again with Ben Affleck. A don’t call it a music video, so a music journey with moving pictures using songs from the album to create a loose narrative. And a behind the scenes making of the record/not music video. And guess what, unlike most of the public, I consumed and loved all of it! 

She loves her children. While we cannot believe everything someone posts on social media, as it’s crafted for us to think a certain way about their lives, I choose to believe that Lopez really is an awesome, loving, supporting, and caring mom. 

She believes in love. ❤️

[jackandjackiekennedylover]

College Friend

Imagine you went to college with Cole Sprouse

Y/N Skarsgård before 2009 as Y/N Elizabeth Urban - Ulrich AO is a New Zealand-born Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist, and songwriter known for her work in country music.

Born: January 22nd, 1990 ( age 27 years ), Whangārei, New Zealand

Height: 5'11''

Parents: Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman, Skeet Ulrich

Spouse: Bill Skarsgård ( m.2009)

Children: 2

October 14th, 2017

I'm so nervous ," Cole said with a sly smile.

Why ," KJ asked ?

My old friend from college is going to be in season two of Riverdale ," Cole said with a smile.

Girl or boy ," KJ asked ?

Girl. Her is name Y/N Urban ," Cole said with a smile.

I love her music," KJ said with a smile.

You listen to her," Cole asked.

Yeah. I have been to a bunch of her concerts," KJ said with a smile.

I didn't know that ," Cole mumbled.

Did you ever have a crush on her ," KJ asked.

Oh yeah," Cole said with a smile

Do you still have a crush on her," KJ asked.

Yeah I do ," Cole said with a smile.

KJ looked at him.

A car pulled up.

She is here," Cole said with a smile.

You open the car door. Your blonde hair was cut short and you had on a white t-shirt and blue jeans. You could see your tattoo on your right arm.

Wow. She change a lot , " Cole mumbled .

Hi cole ," You said with a smile.

Hi. I'm so happy to see you again ," Cole said with a smile.

Same. Who is this ," You asked with a smile.

Hi. I'm KJ," He said with a smile.

Hi," You said with a smile.

I love your music , " KJ said with a smile.

Aw, Thank you," You said with a smile.

What have you been up too ," Cole asked ?

Just being a mother ," You said with a smile

You have kids ," KJ asked?

Yeah. I have twin girls. Their names are Nadia and Noa ," You said with a smile

How old are they ," Cole asked.

They are three months," You said with a smile.

Did you play in any movies ," KJ asked ?

Yes. I played in Scream, The Craft ," You said with a smile.

That's you that Skeet was holding hands with at Scream Premier in 1996," KJ said as he smiled at you.

Yes, it was," You said with a smile.

Y/n," Skeet said as he smiled at you.

Hi dad ," You said with a smile as you hug him.

Dad ," Cole asked ?

Your last name is Urban," KJ asked.

Yes, but He adopted me back in August 96,” You said with a smile.

Oh. I didn't know that,” Cole mumbled.

Why did he adopt you ,” KJ asked.

Her father Keith and Her Mother Nicole died in a plane crash while she was filming Scream,” Skeet said with a sad smile.

Twenty-one years without them. They didn't get meet Bill or the girls. I miss them,” You said with a sad smile.

Ik that you miss them,” Skeet said as he kissed your head.

Who's Bill,” Cole asked.

Tell him,” You said as you looked at Skeet.

Bill is her husband,” Skeet said with a sly smile.

Oh. How long have you two been married for,” Cole asked hurt.

Eight years,” You said with a smile.

What's Bill's last name,” KJ asked.

Skarsgård ,” You said with a smile.

Your husband is the one that plays the new pennywise ,” KJ asked ?

Yes that's him ,” You said with a smile.

Damn. I wish that I knew that sooner bc that movie gave me nightmares for a week ,” KJ mumbled.

You looked at him with a smile.

How tall is he ,” Cole asked ?

Cole is 6’0 ,” KJ said .

Bill is 6’4,” You said with a smile.

Damn,” Cold mumbled.

He is taller then you,” KJ said as he grinned at him.

Shut up,” Cole mumbled.

Where is he from,” KJ asked.

Stockholm,” You said with a smile.

California ,” Cole said .

Sweden ,” You said with a smile.

He from Sweden ,” Cole said .

Yes. His dad is Stellan Skarsgård ,” You said with a smile.

That's his dad. His dad is fantastic,” KJ said with a smile.

I have one sibling that's Dylan. How many siblings does Bill have ,” Cole asked?

He has six,” Skeet said with a chuckle.

Damn ,” Cole mumbled .

He has two stepbrothers from his dad’s new marriage with Megan,” You said.

Y/n ,” A Voice said.

You turn around and see Bill smiling at you.

What are you doing here? I thought you posted to be in Paris,” You asked with a smile .

I didn't want the role anyway. I just got back from filming IT back in August.You need help with the twins and I hate leaving you and the girls,” Bill said as he smiled at you.

That's so sweet,” You said as you smiled at him.

I hate being away from my family,” Bill said as he smiled at you.

The girls and I always hated it when you leave thought it's your job ,” You said as you gave him a sly smile.

I had miss you ,” Bill said as he kissed your head.

I had miss you too,” You said as you smiled up at him.

I love you,” Bill said as he smiled at you.

I love you too,” You said as you smiled at him.

[wildflowerteas]

me after you finally clear out the spam we put in your inbox: wow I should send more asks. obviously. anyway I vaguely remember you mentioning the potential of a tsp sskk playlist at some point I have gotta know some of the songs you would put on that cause frankly I'm not getting enough emotional damage already from overthrowing the skk one

i love having you guys in my inbox. but i am starting to wonder if you guys are in the anti-sleep chamber again.

A lot of the songs i'd put on the tsp!sskk playlist would be transplanted from the Red Camellia playlist ( they're on there for now because they have no home to go to ) but here are some i've been thinking of putting on it, and what they'd represent/reference:

Disturbia - I mean, 'It can creep up inside you and consume you/a disease of the mind it can control you' it's also covered by The Cab ( one of my favorite bands ever ) who've got that early 2000s pop/punk DOWN, though I'm not opposed to the original

New Americana - 'The City's ours until the fall' and the collapsing-dynasty vibe to it all . . . yeah.

God Save Our Young Blood - as I mentioned in that other ask ( me and my big mouth . . . ) if Infatuation is Soukoku's driving-down-highway 1 song, this is shin-soukoku's

Cheri Cheri Lady belongs on both playlists because it was the song I've had in mind since January as the one that would play while shin-soukoku are at Tycheron.

Electric Love is also very shin-soukoku. They've got their whole lives ahead of them so I won't shy away from putting fluffier things on their playlist

Stayin' Alive - obviously.

California Soul by Marlena Shaw

Aint no Love in the Heart of the City by Bobby Bland

I would put September just to be funny ( since Shin Soukoku are currently having the absolute worst September of their lives ) but it's also such a good song i imagine if TSP had a funny bloopers-reel end credits it would play then.

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. I would be a fake fan if I did not put at least one song from Rumors on a tsp playlist ( and I was tempted to put Go Your Own Way but it just didn't fit . . . ) I'd also put Dreams for shin-soukoku beach dates.

DONNA SUMMER. QUEEN OF DISCO. Hot Stuff fits on the playlist better but I Feel Love is SO disco and listening to it makes me feel like my heart is in my head its so comfortably disorienting

Get Down On It by Kool & The Gang

this one is so out of place but The Fighter by Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood. I just like that song.

Lastly, Endlessly by The Cab. For that life Shin-soukoku have ahead of them.

[bisluthq]

Just a correction, Harry was likely caught checking Olivia’s fan page for a very specific reason. In the specific story he looked at, Olivia was hanging out with Harry’s manager’s mom, Shelli Azoff. And then she followed Shelli on ig that same day.

Olivia has been openly obsessed with Harry since the breakup and I think she’s been acting out behind the scenes (I’ll explain why in a sec), so Harry was worried, since he was getting with Taylor. It’s actually nuts once you look at it.

1. Olivia’s publicist went to People Magazine to say that Olivia was crushed by the breakup like a week after it happened. That was pretty fucking weird. Why would she do that? We know People doesn’t publish fanfic so that came straight from her publicist

2. She went to Maui with her BFF right after the breakup, and months later, when there was a whole hurricane issue in Maui, she was posting about gathering relief for it and literally captioned the pics with “Maui picked me up from the floor when I was shattered in pieces.” Like, she really didn’t need to do that!!

3. In February there was ANOTHER People article stating how Harry and Olivia were still close friends and detailing how many projects Olivia had to direct (where are they?) so it clearly came from her camp as well

4. At this point Harry was being openly flirty on stage and it was heavily rumored that he was hooking up with IG models that his friend Brad met on Raya lmao. His personal head of security, Paddy, was even seen approaching two girls in Australia. He seemed more than fine.

5. Harry had his keyboard player Nyoh open for him in New Zealand because that’s her home country. Nyoh had followed Olivia on IG in 2021, Olivia followed her back the day it was announced she’d open for him, making it clear that Olivia was following news about Harry, because she couldn’t have found out simply from her TL.

6. In March, when Harry made out with Emrata, Olivia unfollowed Emily, and Olivia’s friend (@icouldbeblonder) posted “You can’t have Ratajkowski without Rat” in her stories. There were pictures of Olivia and this woman hanging out a few days later too, so absolutely no excuses. Btw, as someone who was a huge fan of Olivia’s until this whole thing, she and Emily were NOT friends. They had hung out publicly exactly two times, one was when Emily went to Harry’s concert in July 2022 (and she went to his concert in Paris the day before she walked for Balenciaga, she probably was just in the area and was invited, Lenny Kravitz and Keith Urban were also at that show, also hanging out with Olivia). Olivia followed Emily on instagram after this show, not before. The second time they were seen hanging out was just sitting in a group at the Vanity Fair’s Oscar party. They never interacted publicly other than Emily saying Olivia didn’t deserve the hate she got. Like, legitimately, she was mad a hot girl was banging her ex, because she had no leg to stand on. Olivia is super open about her friends so the fact that she never mentioned Emrata makes it pretty obvious they weren’t even acquaintances.

7. This is why I think something happened behind the scenes. Someone went to Page Six to say that Emily was “begging for forgiveness” about making out with Harry, which made Emily look super bad. Then immediately after, there was a source in People Magazine saying that Emily and Harry weren’t serious but they were hanging out and spending time together. It was from Emily’s perspective and it said that she liked him but wasn’t looking for anything serious. This, to me, was Emily being like “fuck you bitch I don’t want forgiveness.” But Page Six didn’t get that out of nowhere, and Olivia and her publicist have used Page Six a bunch in the past. Also, the third party involved (Harry) didn’t look too well in that scenario either, so there was only one party involved that would want that narrative out there. I can’t imagine that if she and her friends were nasty publicly, they just did that privately. I’m sure he got a bunch of angry messages and stuff. I don’t think he and Olivia were talking at this point. He wasn’t even trying to hide to be hooking up with hot girls on tour (as he shouldn’t he was 29 and newly single after two years!!)

Also, the whole “they’re friends it’s a break not a breakup” to ME was nothing more than PR on Olivia’s part. If you look at the timeline of what happened and how they broke up and when, it’s pretty clear that he ended things because of the nanny articles, which outright claimed that Olivia had LIED to Harry about her relationship with Jason and when it ended, and then CHEATED on Harry with Jason for two months. Also, Olivia apparently told Jason that Harry and FLORENCE were sleeping together, to throw him off her scent. But I find it incredibly unlikely that was real, because there wasn’t any time for that at all (Harry didn’t get to LA from Europe until late September 2020 and he and Olivia were official-official like three weeks later), but also, Flo and Zach Braff ended things on really good terms and worked together after breaking up. I cannot see that being the case if she cheated on him with a close friend (Harry and Zach had been friends since 2013). That’s probably one of the reasons Flo had issues with Olivia (not the only one, imo).

The nanny articles came out October 17 and the breakup was announced November 18. Also, 10 days before the nanny articles, Harry had to postpone a concert in Chicago out of nowhere, which he never does. The excuse was “band illness” but his band was all accounted for and were seen hanging out in downtown Chicago. Immediately after this cancellation, Olivia who had been stuck in LA with her kids who had school there (in the past she went to Harry’s tour whenever Jason had the kids, but he was stuck in London filming Ted Lasso), flew to Chicago for 24 hours. Then immediately went back to LA. As soon after she left, Harry’s mom and sister showed up in Chicago for like two days, which they usually never do. They usually just do LA or NYC in the States. It was a random trip, too short for their standards, in the middle of the week. What I gathered from this movement is that Daily Mail sent an advanced copy of their Nanny expose, which was about to come out, and Harry lost it at finding out his girlfriend of two years had lied and cheated on him. Had to postpone the concert and they ended things, so his family went there to support him.

They were only seen together once between the nanny article and the breakup article, and he looked fucking MISERABLE. Walking a few steps behind her, when he was always all about PDA with her (they’d been photographed making out on the street a few weeks earlier). Then when they got to the car, she was about to sit on the passenger seat as he sat on the driver seat, and then Harry saw that, said something to his friend Tom, who ran around the car and told her to sit in the back. There’s video of it on Daily Mail and it was always so telling.

I don’t think it was an amicable breakup, but I think he agreed to play nice because he wouldn’t benefit from the scandal either. I don’t think there’s ever been any communication between them and I don’t think he was stalking her fan account because he missed her. More so, he was worried she’d pull the same shit she did with Emrata with his new girlfriend. Most likely scenario someone in his circle sent him the story like “lookout she was with Shelli.”

I didn’t mention a bunch of other stuff, like her following Djuna and Nikolai Haas, two of Harry’s friends he met through Camille (Djuna followed Olivia before she was even with Harry, but Nikolai never followed her, to this day). Following his makeup artist. Following his very low key friends, like Gabe Turner. Liking a bunch of pics of him on random accounts like Vogue. Posting pictures of her children wearing gifts he’d given HER while they were dating (and not any random gift, like, at some point she posted her daughter wearing a hat he’d bought that Olivia herself had worn in a photo shoot, like, the hat had lore and articles written about how HE had bought it for her. Why put her daughter in that position?)

She followed the White Cube gallery when he was seen with Taylor Russell there. Then she followed another Whit Cube gallery when Harry was seen there on a trip to NYC to see Taylor while she was working. Olivia also unfollowed Vogue when they posted pictures of Harry and Taylor Russell together calling them a chic couple.

She posted a whole ass throwback picture of the inside of his house right after he and Taylor were seen together. She’s certifiably nuts. I used to adore her but I felt so weirded out after finding out what she had done and how she was behaving.

”She’s certifiably nuts. I used to adore her but I felt so weirded out after finding out what she had done and how she was behaving.” - this is me. Loved her since The OC but she’s a crazy fucking bitch lol. Not a fan anymore. Also not entirely convinced she can’t reel Harry back in and not saying this in a misogynistic way like saying this in a “crazy women who are hot are crazy and hot and often get away with craziness” way.

[whiskeyswriting]

Break On Me

⚠️TW: Mentions of death

📝A/N: Song Inspiration: Break On Me by Keith Urban

After her early morning run, Alana made her way to get breakfast before heading to the base.

Before starting work, she opened and began replying to an email from her cousin. Both were in the Navy and told each other everything. She hadn’t finished her response when Admirals Kazansky and Simpson reach her office and close the door behind them.

“Morning Admirals. What can I help you with?”

“Lieutenant Commander Metcalf…” Iceman starts. He looks to Cyclone before continuing. “We have been asked to inform you that your cousin, Petty Officer Jacqueline “Jax” Torres has been reported dead in Souda Bay, Greese at 19:00 last night. On the behalf of the Secretary of Defense, I extend to you and your family my deepest sympathy in your great loss.”

It was the news that she wasn’t prepared for. Then again who is ever prepared for the news that tells them their lifelong best friend and favorite cousin had been killed in training while overseas.

The moment Jake reaches Alana’s office he notices the closed door and whispered voices. He starts to leave but it’s then that the door opens and Iceman and Cyclone leave her office.

He pops his head in and sees she and notices her crying. “Cin? Is everything okay?” He asks her.

She’s so caught up in the news of her cousin that she doesn’t see or hear him at first.

It takes him a second time asking and gently placing a hand on her. “Hey… babe… What’s wrong?”

Cin startles but shakes her head. “I have to go home… I can’t…” her breathing starts becoming ragged and shallow.

Jake wraps her in his arms. “Breathe with me. In… Out. In… Out. There you go.”

Ice comes back to her office with Cyclone and they see Jake with Alana. “Lieutenant Seresin. Please escort Lieutenant Commander Metcalf to her home,” Cyclone instructs Jake.

He nods and gathers her phone, charger and laptop. “Did you need anything else aside from your bag?”

She shakes her head. “I just got here…”

“I’ll drive you home and I can come back later with Javy to get your car. Is that okay?”

Alana can only nod numbly. Her eyes refill with unshed tears.

He places a hand on her lower back as he walks her to his truck. He helps her up and buckles her in when he sees she’s not moving.

He rushes to the driver’s side and heads to her grandparents house. He knew Viper and his wife were still out of town so he would stay with Cin for as long as he could. Cyclone already texted him to stay with Cin and he would have someone cover for his class.

Jake helps Cin down from his truck and into the house. He starts leading her up to her room. As they walk past the wall full of family pictures, Jake hears the sound that breaks his heart.

Cin releases the sob that she was holding in since she got the news. She stops walking and is staring at a picture of her and Jax at their graduation from the Naval Academy. Next to it is one from when they were both 5 with matching missing teeth and dressed as fighter pilots.

“Oh babe…” Jake whispers softly as he continues to lead her to her room. He sets her down on the bed and removes her boots and gently undoes her hair. He has her lay down and pulls her close to him.

“Cry all you need Cin. I’m right here. I’ve got you babe.” He whispers to her as she continues to sob against his chest.

“When you need somebody right now, you're where I'll be. Break on me. Take as long as it takes, girl. Break on me. Put your head on my chest. Let me help you forget,” he says as he rubs her back soothingly.

Soon, Cin cries herself to sleep against Jake’s chest. He keeps his arms around her and soon joins her in sleeping.

When he wakes up in an hour, he sees she’s still sleeping so he gently removes his arms from around her so he can get her a bottle of water.

He stays looking at the pictures of her with her family over the years. His favorite photos were those where Alana was being so carefree. So… Cin.

He knows the rest of the squad will one day give him grief but he decides to call Grace and Baylie. “Get your bags for you and your husbands. Cin needs you. She can’t stay alone in the house for now.”

“Just how do you know she’s alone? Hmm? You spying on her? Is that why you bailed on teaching your classes today?” Baylie asks teasingly.

“She… Jax was killed last night. Ice and Cyc were the ones to inform her this morning.”

“Oh shit… I’m sorry… I’ll head over with Mickey once we’re done.”

“I can pass by your place and get your bag Bay,” Grace says. “We just redid ours last week so we’re good. Besides, we have all left stuff at her house.”

“Yeah… I have to call Javy. We’ll need to bring her car home.”

“I’ll take it,” Baylie says. “I have the spare key to her car here in my locker. Mickey can take our car.”

“Okay sounds good… I appreciate it, Garcia,” Jake says.

“And I’ll prepare her a few meals for the next couple days,” Grace adds.

“Keep our girl safe Seresin… We… We need her,” Baylie adds before hanging up.

Once he finishes giving Grace a few details, Jake heads back upstairs to Cin’s room.

Jake finds her awake and staring at the door. “Hey beautiful… Spicy and Lucky are going to come later today and stay with you.” He runs a thumb under her red and swollen eyes.

“Are you staying too?” She asks softly, her lower lip trembling.

He leans in and kisses her softly. “I’ll stay as long as you want me to stay Cin. I meant when I said you could break on me. I’ll be here for you.”

He climbs back into the bed with her and they just stay staring at each other for a long moment. No words are exchanged between either but they both knew this moment just changed everything for them. This was their turning point. This was the moment they became more than just friends with benefits.

- -

Discord 🏷 List: @callsign-dragonbaron @cycbaby @callsignscupcake @mtnofgrace @bayisdying @askmarinaandothers @cosmicshrine @breadsquash @callsignthirsty @mischief-siriusly-managed @persephonesportal