#the song was like this close to being in the raymond playlist but then i was like ok he might be atlas but he'd never die for you LOL | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

goodguydotmp3 · 4 years

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hi i came across ur answer about harry/his music, there was this -- "I also really hate that one song that Zayn did with Usher and Chris Brown, because you have these awful men completely misunderstanding what it means to write a love song, and then you have Zayn at the very end all like “actually I really am in love tho…” I thought the same bcz his verse is so different & feels like it doesn't fit can you explain more about it if you'd like plz? thanks :)

SO I had to re-listen to the song for this ask and it was just as uncomfortable as the first time <3

Alright lets break this down.

I. General Feel

Okay so this song is. It’s just not a good song let me put it like that. It’s an pop R&B song, obviously meant to be at the very least sexy. You have three men that are known for their sexy pop/R&B lyics and/or songs, and somehow two of them forgot how to be sexy? make it make sense. Where is the romance? the ambiance? the vulnerability? No not like that Chris Brown.

And yes there were three other writers, but that just means there is even less of an excuse for this nonsense. It literally makes my skin crawl.

II. Lyrics

Girl bye.

a. Usher, what is you doing? He starts off the verse with

Come and ride on me like the waves I flip the pages 'cause I wrote the book On the way how to sex you up, sex you up We can do it like I'm on the stage, we'll have an audience Baby, I'll show you the way that I sex you up

When I tell you I could fucking scream. Who let Usher Raymond do this? I want names, phone numbers, and addresses.

This sounds juvenile. If someone rapped this over a Nitti Beat back in 2012 I would have thought this was fire. That’s how fucking childish this is. This can’t be the same man you used to sing stuff like “if you didn’t know you’re the only thing that’s on my mind, cause the way i’m starin at you makes me wanna give it to you all night” or “I’ve been waiting all day to wrap my hands around your waist and kiss your face” or “I’ll get you hot I know you oh so well”. now are those groundbreaking lyrics? No. But they sound leagues better then whatever the hell he was doing here, Especially in context, especially when he sung them but I wanna talk about that later.

Next point of contention is:

Or I can lick you up and down 'til you say You love how I eat on that pussy You just might go put a tat' on that pussy That says Usher, Usher There's no other, other (Yeah!) Damn girl, yeah, you got that juicy Love when I make you cum, I make it gushy One without the other I'm the champion lover, lover Fuck you to sleep, wake you up again (Oh) I go so deep, beat it up again (Oh) Girl, come and sit on my tongue again 'Cause I love to taste you, yeah

Would someone be so kind as to let me know when 2010 lil Jon possesed Usher? Or maybe it was 2008 Lil Wayne? 2012 Pitbull? Either way, 2016 Usher just aint got it like. Truly if this was being rapped in a club with the bass all the way up and the melody loud enough that you couldn’t hear it, I would be like “ okay maybe horny people wanna shake they ass” but this is supposed to be sexy? Who is this seducing????? Are they okay? Can they name the current President? How many fingers am I holding up?

Last of his verse is what really gets me heated like

I can tell you been eating your pineapples (Mmm) Girl, your pussy taste like pineapples (Oh) Girl, when I hit your G, you feel like you gon' pee Baby, cum for me

First off, pussy taste like pussy you fucking coward. Second, stop god modding you clearly don’t know all that if you still think pussy taste like pineapples. And this is that immaturity coming back into play I feel like, who is this song for? Not adults. Not like this. I feel like I can’t over emphasize that this man had been putting out original music for 26 years. 26! Not only are your fans too old for this nonsense, but you should be a master song writer! I know this song came out in 2016 but that’s still over 20 years of experience.

b. Chris Brown

Huh, now where you been? It's been a year Baby, I ain't seen you, you know I miss you (Oh, woah) Baby, let me love you back to sleep once more And I know we don't speak no more (Oh) But I just wanna tell you I'm sorry (Hey!) For fucking 'round with Keisha and MaKayla (Huh) For all the Georgia peaches in Decatur For all these bitches in the elevator I just want you to love me (Yeah, yeah) Yeah, baby, don't test me (Huh), you know I'll do it You want me to say your name, girl? Okay, Karrueche

I Just

What...praytell...is sexy or romantic about...anything said there.

See this is what I was talking about in my other post, He completely misunderstands what it means to white a love song , but more than that, to be vulnerable. Saying you’re a cheating whore and begging for forgiveness in this manner is not actually apologizing for your actions, it’s just airing your dirty laundry.

If he wants to do that then fine I guess?? But I feel like he wasn't. Like, the idea totally reminds me of Charlene, Wherein Anthony Hamilton name drops his lover and begs her to come back to him. The thing about Hamilton’s song is that he doesn’t sound like a manipulative ass for one. Hamilton makes it clear there were several places he knows he fell short in the relationship, and in the end, he doesn’t make it out to be a callout post, but he does let her know that he intends to wait for her should she come back, and then promises to change his behavior. This is not that at all. When Beyoncé and Alicia Keys said Say you love me and Put it in a Love Song, This is not what they meant.

ALSO DON’T REFER TO WOMEN AS BITCHES

c. Zayn

Baby, just stay comfortable, I want you as you are Baby, just lay there naked waiting for me Let's not get emotional, let's be who we are Can we do that? Can we do that? Can we? Know it's been a long day, it's 'bout to be a long night So keep your eyes closed 'til I roll through So, baby, when you're feeling like a woman in the sheets Somebody splitting your knees, don't worry that's me I'm over here putting work in Baby, you ain't gotta tell me what you want

Am I Floored? No. Is this his best work? Also no. Is it a helluva lot better than whatever the fuck Usher and Chris B thought they were doing here? Hell yes. The vulnerability! The pleading! The fucked up headspace! This verse has it all!

III. The way the song is sung

terribly Let me start there. Wtf was usher trying to do here. The lyrics were chringy, and so was the delivery. It felt choppy as hell. Like who is fucking to this? Asking for a friend. WHo is aroused by an usher vulva tat

we need to have words.

second Chis Brown sounds like a whiney piss baby I really hope no one actually paid for that song thinking they were getting a sexy R&B hit and got that.

Zayn sounds fine on this song, like the tone is overall bittersweet, but it matches the lyrics.

okay the last thing I want to talk about is the chorus. after hearing the verses It really doesn’t match. It’s a really basic premise I feel and Usher and CB felt like they were on another song in between the chorus. Like In Sex Room, Ludacris talks a really big game, and the chorus is really simple, but It’s literally all about what he plans to do in said “Sex room”, Usher like someone told him he was gonna be singing a sex song and then went back and put a line that tied to the song at the last minute if that makes sense?

and then CB....okay.

The last thing I wanna say about Chris Brown is I actually listened to the original song, thinking maybe the original was also trash. No actually? It’s not the best, not even by Chris B standards but its not bad like?? Who let him but out this remix monstrosity?

Anyway, I actually have a Sexy R&B playlist if you’re looking for something...better. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t all romantic, but they’re damn sure sexy, and way better that wtf this song has going on

#chris brown #usher #Zaynie to the max #I got carried away lol #lemme know if you have questions :>

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artisticestheticreads · 5 years

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ROXANNE: Chapter Three

A/N: Haiiiiiii, Loves. So,I know my third chapter is late but I been sick while working some crazy, long hours and was depressed all at the same time BUT I feel better now. So, here is chapter three.

Warning: Mentions about death, weed and drug use, sexual innuendos and more.

Song Recommendation: I listened to Hey There, Lonely Girl by Eddie Holman.

Word Count: 4884

*Gun shot noises*

Erik was at the gun range, getting target practice trying to kill time before his “appointment”. He took his ear guards and shades off while pressing the button to bring the wounded paper closer to him. He placed the paper between his hands and smirked at the shots he made into a cross. He took the sheet placing on the ground beside him and adding a new sheet to the mix. He put his head phones back on with his shades, played his music and continued.

He soon found himself at a cemetery with peonies in hand. He walked up the deep hill; to a graveside with a tomb stone molded into the ground, two sat by one another.He stood with his hands in front of his pelvis and look down to see the names, Annie Marie Stevens and N’Jobu Udaku. He cleared his throat to stop the tears and said “uh, hey, ma. Hey, pop. I’m here for our monthly talk. Y’know like when I was younger. Well, life been coo lately and what not but, uh, I’m just trying to still figure out life I guess.” He looked around and all the tombstones and sighed. “What is the point of leaving life? We just all gonna end up here anyways. When we are long gone, is there actually heaven and hell or are we just done for? Do we become something or someone else or do out corpse just rot and decay away?” He shook his hand, stating “I still don’t get this shit, y’all. Life’s hard especially with y’all not being here. I mean y’all here but just... just not physically. There was so much y’all didn’t get to teach me. Like love and shit. I just wished we all had more time. Y’know I always wonder how life would be if y’all were alive, man. Would we be happy? Would I still be an angry ass person? Maybe not since ma was into self love and meditating.”

He smiled at the thought of his family sitting on the ground, meditating early in the morning. He began thinking about Roxanne too out of no where and uttered out “I met a girl. Her name is Roxanne. This woman is bad and beautiful too. Her voice is like, is like honey drizzling onto some toast. Her eyes, they got so much passion and fire into them. Her smile is just like freshly cleaned diamonds and she just so beautiful. She strong too, y’all. She reminds me of…” He looked at his mom’s grave and sighed again, missing her more and more.

Erik placed the flowers down on their graves and kissed his fingers to place by their names. “I hope I make y’all proud. See ya next month.” He began walking away when he noticed a golden miniature motorcycle that sat on a grave plot; something told him to stop and read the headstone. “To, a brother who made others smile. To, a son who warmed his mother’s heart. To, a friend who made people calm and to, a man who lived his best life. Here lies…” He stopped and knelt down when he read the last part. He read it again while holding his hands together. “Here lies, D’Angelo Fosters.” He shook his head while holding his hand to the grave and closed his eyes, mentally saying his hi and goodbye.

______

Roxanne was in her kitchen, in a wife beater, no bra and booty shorts cooking lunch for herself and Raymond. She had her hair wrapped in a towel to dry it as her hips moved to her reggae playlist. She was in the middle of making ox tails, with dirty rice and corn bread. She was winding her hips to the beat of Bonafide Love by Beenie Man. She was feeling herself as she turned the music up louder.

“I don’t why. Ooooh whyyyy”, she sung with her hands out and wooden spoon tossing in the air. “Aye, sis. I’m ba-“, Raymond said but stopped when he saw his sister vibing. He chuckled as he gently put the bag on the ground. He slowly walked behind her and began dancing like her until she turned around. “Bumbaclaat! Ray, you scared the shit outta me”, she said holding onto her chest to catch her breath.

“You was gettin’ it. girl. I was like aight then”, he said chuckling as she turned around. “You idiot. Anyways, how was the gym”, she asked, stirring the rice. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and said “ah, man. It was whatever. Just like every other day. Of course, niggas was crowding up in there. Tryna pretend to be healthy and shit knowing damn well they ass gonna quit that shit in mid February.” Roxanne couldn’t help but laugh at that. Ray went over to the fridge to grab a water bottle and chugged it in one sip, shooting the bottle in the recycling bag. “So, how was the race since I can’t go up there?”

“Fine, 12 almost caught me but you know me. Gotta thank Erik for that.” Raymond looked to her with a rose brow and asked “Erik, Erik Stevens is back?” Roxxx nodded and said “yep and breathing too.” Ray slightly smirked and said “Damn, I ain’t see E in a minute. How he doing?” Roxxx checked the rice. “Good, I guess. He pretty cool. Just like bro said.”

“Invite him over”, he said as he took a spoon, dipping to the rice and eating a chunk before tossing it in the sink. Roxxx was mixing the cornbread batter as she spoke. “RayRay, he probably busy. Probably in some pussy right now.” Ray Ray smacked his lips looking her up and down. “Then he can come for dinner, Roxxx. C’mon I ain’t seen him in years. If you love me, you’ll invite him.” She looked at him and down and said “fine, I will try and invite him for dinner. No promises he will be here though.�� RayRay kissed her cheek and ran to his room, leaving Roxxx with a smile.

_______

“Uh shit, daddy. I can feel you in my gut. Fuck”, said the light skin girl, nude and behind in the air. Erik held his fist into her lower back as they fucked to DaBaby in the background. He bit on his lip as he watched her pussy stretch around his dick, creaming all over. Yes, her pussy was good but he would get turned off when she ran. He would have to hold her in place.

All of a sudden, the ding from his phone caught his attention. He tilted to his right to see a text from ‘Roxxx’ with emojis of a chocolate and a yam . He began thinking about her so much at that moment. From her eyes, her frame to when she touched his marks. The way she smelled even made his dick hard. He smacked the girl’s ass, pretending it was Roxanne. He began pounding into her pussy as he thought about Roxanne. The way she took control in every situation got him about to explode all over. He muted out the girl’s moans and heard Roxanne’s voice in his head. He pounded in her harder while holding her hips close to him. He then released into the condom in one pump.

Minutes later, he locked up the house and lied in bed, freshly showered. He grabbed his phone and began dialing the number; he then heard “hey, baby boy. What’s up?” Erik chuckled and said “you like calling me that huh?”

“Maybe, maybe not. Anyways what you doing?” He sat up in bed, back against the headboard and said “shit nothing. Why? You wanna see me or something?” He chuckled when he heard her say “boy, hush.” He smirked as he rubbed his abs. “Well, I was wondering what you were doing tonight. You remember D’Angelo’s little brother right?”

“Ray Ray? Yeah, I ain’t seen him since graduation.”

“Yeah, well he wants to see you and invite you for dinner and whatnot. If you can’t come, I understan-“.

“Nah, I can come. What y’all plan on having”, he asked sitting up, feet planted on the floor. “I was thinking about making some pot roast, with potatoes and greens and rolls. Ray Ray wanted a cheesecake so of course I made one for later. Then I made some iced tea and what not.” The line got so quiet until Roxxx asked “you still there?”

“So when we getting married”, he said making Roxxx laugh. “Boy, I’ll send you the address.” He soon hoped in the shower again and threw on a crisp black tee, jeans and of course some all black Timberlands. He finished the look with his father’s chain and his matching watch. He looked in the fridge and grabbed a bottle of chilled Jack Daniels before heading out; he placed the address in the GPS and was off.

Erik soon pulled up to the matcha toned home and saw the garage door open. Once he parked in front of the home, he grabbed his gift and looked around as he got out. Coming from the garage was some Doja Cat playing; Streets to be more specific. As he made his way to the front door, he saw a pair of female legs under a car with her right knee bent. The car was lifted up as she worked. Erik walked up to her right side, biting his lip. He can see her print under her shorts and thick thighs slightly jiggling.

“Are you gonna say hello or are you gonna keep checking me out”, Roxanne said catching him off guard. He chuckled and asked “can ya blame me?” She rolled out carefully and looked up to him with her brown eyes. Erik liked seeing her natural beauty where he can see her beauty marks and apple cheeks more clearly with her hair pulled up in a high ponytail. Roxanne sat up on her elbows with a slight chuckle and said “do I have something on my face again?” He rolled his eyes with a smirk and helped her up. She wiped her hands on the towel beside her, clean and dusted her legs off. He looked down at her frame then back to her eyes.

“So, what you doing there”, Erik asked as he watched her. She looked back to the car and let it down before opening the hood and propping it open. “Eh, just doing a monthly check up for RayRay. He had some gas leaking so I fixed that up. Had to clean out the AC vent so the air got a lot cooler.” She bent down over the edge slightly with her flash light as Erik checked her out more. Her cheeks looked so nice and plump enough to bite and never let go. “Now, I’m just checking the alternator and making sure the car won’t overheat easily.”

“How you know so much about cars”, he asked once she turned around and wiped her hands again. She leaned against the car and explained. “My pops. Used to do a lot of work on cars, detailing and shit. He used to tell me ‘baby gyal, ya will neva need a man for any ting. Make dem need you.’ ” She smiled at the memory and Erik saw that twinkle again. “Is he still around or nah?” She was about to speak until they heard “aye, Roxy. Have you seen”, Raymond asked as he walked to the garage. His eyes grew big as he walked up to the pair and looked Erik up and down. Erik smirked and said “damn you got big, Ray.”

Raymond gave him a brotherly hug and said “welcome back, bruh.” Erik patted his back as Roxanne stood back watching. Erik looked at Ray and said “damn, you gotta be at least-.”

“16.”

“Yeah, ain’t seen you since you was like three almost. How Momma Dukes doing?”

“She’s good. I mean she in the hospital again and is in a home to be watched more but she doing better.” Erik looked to Roxanne then back at him. “Why she there?”

Roxanne looked at Ray and saw the hurt in his face as he looked at her. She rubbed his back and looked to Erik. “Ma losing her memory. Between me working every so often and baby boy in school, we couldn’t watch her all the time. She had slipped and fell apparently and was unconscious for hours until I got back from work years ago. She was out cold for like hours then when we took her to the hospital, we found out she had dementia.”

Erik looked to the pair and shook his head while saying “I’m sorry to hear that.” RayRay looked to him and smiled a little before he saw the bottle in Erik’s hand. “Is that for us?” Roxxx smacked the back of his head and he rubbed it. “Damn, bruh. I was kidding, sis.” Roxanne folded her arms and said “Ima kid my foot up ya ass. Go take the bottle and put in the fridge and clean up for dinner.”

“You ain’t the boss of me.”

“I promised ma I will be and I ain’t breaking my promise any time soon. Now go.” Erik chuckled as he passed the bottle to him and watched him walk away. “Mean ass”, Ray muttered under his breath and Roxxx threw a basketball at his back. “He must forgot I can hear anything.”

Erik followed her into the house and removed his shoes before placing them at the front door. Roxanne looked back at him and said “I see you was raised right.” He smiled and sat on the couch watching her in the kitchen as he got a text from the last jump off. Daddy, I miss that dick, he read in his head. He looked over at Roxanne as she grabbed the mitts and removed the pot roast, making his stomach grumble more. He made his way over and leaned against the corner as she stirred the greens. “You got it smelling good in here”, he complimented. She thanked him with a grin. “Who taught you how to cook?”

“Well, it was a combination of ma and my mom. Taught me all my life. I would just watch ‘em and all”. Erik looked around to see frames of multiple people but one caught his eye more. In the photo, looked to be an younger Roxanne with two other people. One was a man with soften ginger head of hair with medium brown skin. He wore a polo shirt with jeans and flip flops; the bottom was cuffed. The other person was a woman with skin like Roxanne and long braids down her back. She wore a long flow sundress that showed her frame; her and Roxanne could easily pass for twins.

Roxanne took noticed and said “those are my folks” as she drizzled juices over the roast. Erik looked back to her, with a wondering mind. He wondered if he should ask or not; he left it be.

Once they finished eating, Roxanne and Erik sat on her couch as Ray sat in his room. Roxanne came back from her room with a pencil case. She sat beside Erik as he poured the chilled dark liquor into the glasses. She opened the case to reveal a snack size baggie if weed, plenty of blunts and a R shaped lighter. She began rolling as she leaned her back against the couch. Erik took a sip of his drink and watched her. The concentration she had was immaculate. “So, what was the Navy like”, she asked as she lit the thick blunt and taking a hit. Erik took another sip and said “awe well. Kinda reminded me of MIT. Niggas tryna be all big and bad and shit. We trained a lot. I bulked up and grew my hair out.” She nodded as he thought to himself.

“Where are they now?”

“Who?”

“Ya folks”.

Roxanne still was rolling her blunt when she said “back home in Jamaica. We, uh, we got separated when I was thirteen. They ain’t had their papers, some folks found out and they were gone when I came back from school.” Erik noticed how her shoulders slumped but her demeanor stayed the same. “Sorry to hear that.”

“It is was it is. Niggas were upset to see a woman with her business of owning a restaurant and a man with a car appreciation business basically. I was put up for foster care and hopped around from home to home”, she said before stopping in mid memory. She looked to her dagger as Erik sat closer and rubbed his shoulder. “When did ma take you in?”

“Took months. I was hopping from Malibu to Vegas, the ATL and every where on this hell hole. My last name changed so much but then D’Angelo reconnecting when he saw me at the mall out here. I was down the way around that time. Been through some dark times, even thought about taking my own life until I got away. I was 17 and in a real dark place. Then ma took me but wasn’t able to be released until 18; but still stayed around.”

Roxanne passed the blunt to him so he can take a hit. Erik let the air out through his nose as he asked “when was the last time you saw them?” Roxanne took a shot of her drink and said “last year. I go out there every once in a while but since ma got worst, I gotta stay back and watch RayRay.” Erik leaned his head back looking at her face as she let out some air. “I race because my mom did it.” She smiled at the memory and said “I remember when my mom and ma was actually competing one another. My mom was a biker and that’s when I fell in love with it. She was incredible. Seeing her decked out in all black leather was like inspiration for me. My pop and I used to go a lot with her. Every race, she called us her lucky charms.” Roxanne looked over at Erik’s eyes and asked “tell me about your folks.”

Erik’s demeanor changed slightly but he pulled his eyes away from hers to look at the ceiling. “They dead. My, uh, my moms was murdered in prison and my dad was murdered in our apartment. They found these deep ass marks in his chest while I was playing basketball. Not sure what happened but when I ran up to get something to drink, he was drowning in his own blood. It was everywhere. Niggas took my dad out and I never found out who. I was just like you, hopping from place to place. Some were what ever and some was bad as hell. Had one family where they adopted all kinds of kids and made us food that was worst than the food my moms had when she was locked up. I had some dark times until my last guardian took me in. Some young cat, about 32 to at the time. Taught me how to be book and street smart.”

Roxanne looked over at him then at the tv screen. “Where he at now”, she asked folding her arms. He looked to her and then where she was looking. “Died years ago. When I was in service over seas.” She closed her eyes and took a hit of the blunt again, letting the smoke out. She shook her head as she opened her eyes and handed the blunt to Erik. “Life’s a strange thing, E. We are put on this world just to get hurt, to feel then to die. Makes no fucking sense. Never will. Like seriously what is the point of living if we just gonna rot in the ground anyways.” He looked at her to see her eyes on him and nodded, agreeing.

“So, E. How come you single anyways? I mean you seem like a cool dude”. She asked folding her legs together and looking at him. “It’s simple. Never could find the one. I like being myself. I like being to myself. Like staying lowkey. I mean I fuck from time to time but that’s just fucking to me; no strings attached.”

“Same here. I mean yeah I got my crew and Ray but sometimes I just like being alone. I can think clearly with a book and some bomb ass music while smoking or drinking ya know? It’s just that when I by myself, I feel like-“

“You can breathe with focus “, he interrupted to add and looked over at her as she smiled small. They continued smoking for a while listening to old school music. “Aight, let’s see if you got good taste. Top three old school r&b artist, go,” Roxanne said before passing him the blunt. “Easy, Joe, Tyrese, and Usher,” he said all confident before she smacked his chest. “Nigga, I said old school not 90’s r&b. Just for that you get no more weed”. He kissed his lips and said “fine, muthafucka. What’s your top three?” She looked at him and said “Marvin Gaye, Eddie Holman and Donny Hathaway, boom!” Erik shook his head chuckling and said “aight, but picture this. You get high as fuck right? What will be your playlist? Top 5, any genre of music, any decade.”

“Awe damn, E. Shit. Let’s see, um, ok I got it. Yearning for Your Love by the Gap Band, Frontin’ by Pharrell, It Was A Good Day by Ice Cube, Computer Love by Zapp and Roger and Time Machine by Willow. Your turn.”

“Aight, of course we got It was a good day, Hands on the wheel by Schoolboyq, Gangstas Paradise by Coolio, Passin Me By by the Pharcyde, I wish it would rain by The Temptations and , I guess, Stairway to Heaven by the OJays”, Erik said rubbing his abs through his shirt. Roxxx took noticed, bit the corner of her lip away from before taking a deep breath. “So, Erik. About ya marks, are they everywhere?”

He looked to her to see that she was looking at the ceiling. Her legs were wide enough for him to see her mound print. She looked good enough to eat, literally. “Nah, they not.” As he looked away biting his lip, Roxanne turned her head to him. “Did they hurt?”

“Nah, well only for like a second but the more I did it, the less it hurt.” Roxanne nodded in agreement as she started to play music, rolling another blunt. She hit shuffle on her phone and The Gap band played. She placed the blunt between her lips and lit the end waiting for the spark to pop up. She placed her lighter inside the box and leaned her head back on the couch playing the air guitar with closed eyes and tapping her feet. Erik watched her as he chuckled making her look at him with a smirk; she handed the blunt to him. He noticed the scars underneath her left forearm tattoo; he counted at least twelve. He took a hit letting the smoke leave his nose. Roxanne was too busy lip syncing the lyrics to notice Erik’s glare. Roxanne was a beautiful woman who was a boss all in one. She had everything he was looking for but it was too early to mention it. They only knew each other for like a couple of weeks or so. With eyes like the glass of Jack Daniels she held in her hand. Her lips would look like two plush pillows around him and with a body like hers, she would be the only woman he fucked with. Erik always had a thing for independent women because it showed they didn’t need a man or anyone to be around so it made him feel special in a way.

For hours, they just sat in comfortable silence, enjoying one another’s company. Roxanne was hanging off the couch with legs on the wall while Erik rested his head on her legs looking at the window, at the dark skies. “Aye, Roxxx?” She looked up at him like in slow motion and said “yeah?” His eyes fell on hers and said “we been getting fucked up all day, ma.” He smirked and she started laughing, agreeing with him. “Shit, the sun just said fuck y’all niggas, I’m going to bed”, she commented making him laugh. “Like I’m out this bitch. Y’all with the shenanigans”; they laughed again out loud enough for Ray Ray to come out. He was dress in a clean tee and sweats as he rose his brow to them. “Y’all niggas fucked up, man.” Erik and Roxxx looked at him and started laughing again.

Ray Ray rolled his eyes as he made his way to the door and he opened it, he reached out for a slender woman’s waist. Roxxx looked towards the door when she took in the faint smell of Bath & Body Works’ Japanese Cherry Blossom body spray, making her sit all the way up. The woman had icy blonde hair and medium brown skin. She wore a green tube top, jeans that hugged her curves and matching fuzzy slides. “There go my baby”, RayRay said kissing in her neck. She giggled while trying to get out of his grasps. Erik looked over at Roxanne who held a stank, irritated face; he chuckled while leaning back. RayRay looked into Erik’s face and said “Erik, this is my baby, Angelica. Angel, this is my brother, E.”

Angel saw Erik on the couch and said “hello, Erik. I see Roxxx finally found a man instead of acting like one.” Roxanne was about to hop off the couch with her knife but was pulled back by Erik. Erik whispered in her ear low enough for the others to not hear. “Chill. We good, aight.” She looked back at him then rolled her eyes leaning forward. “And it look like ya finally got some good hair instead of that dusty crusty one you been rocking since Obama was in office the first time, huh?” Raymond chuckled but waved it off. “Sis, chill. My baby still looked good.”

“Since when has she every looked good. I’m amazed her pussy ain’t start a huge as tornado with all that hot air going in and out. More niggas ran through her than a white bitch in an all black porno gang bang.” Erik spit out his drink before covering his mouth. Angel placed her hands on her hips and said “you got jokes, huh? Well, I got one for ya. What you call a bitch that ain’t had dick since the ‘incident’?” Roxxx looked up at her with an irritated look then to Raymond. “You told her about that?” Raymond looked to her and said “nah, she probably over heard-“.

“Over heard what”; he was silent looking at Angel. Roxxx leaned forward picking up a new wrap as Erik watched. “Raymond, you need to go pack a bag. You need stay with that bitch for the week.” Roxanne began wrapping the blunt as Ray shook his head before looking to Angel, signaling her to go to the car; she went as he went to pack a bag and leave, slamming the door shut. Roxanne’s lit the blunt between her lips and lied back. Erik wondered what they all meant but decided it wasn’t his place. “You good, Roxxx”, he asked with a rose brow. She looked to him and said “I’m good. Just-“, she stopped and blinked away a tear he couldn’t see on the other side of her face. She stood up and handed him the blunt before saying “you can stay the night if ya want. We been drinking all day and I can’t let anyone get hurt drinking and driving out here.” He nodded and said “I’m down” She took a deep breath, clearing her throat and said “I’ll go get you some blankets and shit. I- uh- just washed so you good.” She smirked a little before straightening her face again and going to fetch the new sheets.

Hours later, Erik was lying on the couch with his tall frame knocked out as Hey There Lonely Girl by Eddie Holman played from her room. Roxanne looked up to the ceiling in deep thought, right arm behind her head and left head arm resting against her stomach. Her lips were tight as she bit on her bottom one, nostrils flaring and eyes red, soaked with tears and brows stitched in anger.

I hope y’all enjoyed this chapter because the next would definitely make ya emotions stir up.

*𝕋𝔸𝔾𝔾𝔼𝔻 𝕃𝕆𝕍𝔼𝕊*

@muse-of-mbaku @im5ftbutmythroat66 @chaneajoyyy @melanin-samii @theunsweetenedtruth @doux-ciel @unicornluvin8765 @vikkidc @wakandantings @thadelightfulone @mzamethystp @simbiann @tropicalsun10 @babydoll756 @notoriouslynay @vminax @quinsly @pinkdemolition @quietstorm-73 @chaoticcashfancroissant @bugngiz @chocolatedippedinhoney @yafavcocoa @lostgalaxies @mbakuwife @youreadthatright @babygotl01292003 @acceptyourselfloveyourself @madamslayyy @yoyolovesbucky @theogbadbitch @wakanda-inspired @bitchacho25 @toniilaney @wakandascrystal @girlsneedlovingfanfics @raysunshine78 @melodyofmbaku @hearteyes-for-killmonger @silenceisplatinum @thickemadame @shookmcgookqueen @heykillmongerluhme @fonville-designs @cutewylie @allhailqueennel @10bsatatime @nickidub718 @lildashofmelanin @allhailqueennel @amirra88 @hakunalive4eva @thickemadame @ghostfacekill-monger @cherrystainedlipsbaby @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @fd-writes

#Erik Stevens #Erik Killmonger #erik stevens x reader #Erik Kilmonger #Erik killmonger x Reader #erik killmonger x oc #killmonger x reader #black panther #killmonger imagine #ROXANNE SERIES

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hopeandlimerence · 5 years

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( warning long post lol I’m sorry I got carried away also some triggering topics about ann’s life )

GETTING TO KNOW THE MUN :

NAME : Danielle NICKNAME : Dani FACECLAIM :

PRONOUNS : she / her HEIGHT : 5′3 BIRTHDAY : January 25th AESTHETIC : Lots of t-shirts, jeans, I wear bows in my hair a lot, I almost always wear mascara but sometimes I like to wear the whole eyeshadow, foundation, eyeliner, lipstick, etc. LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO : Ashes by Celine Dion FAVORITE MUSE (S) YOU’VE WRITTEN : My top 3 favorites have been 1. Ann (this blog) 2. Semira from underworld @ my multimuse @inacciaio and Marisa Coulter, who I’ve yet to play on tumblr, mainly because there isn’t a His Dark Materials/Golden Compass fandom on tumblr but with the BBC/HBO show coming out soon, hopefully that will change~

GETTING TO KNOW THE ACCOUNT :

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE ON THIS MUSE : I am insanely fascinated with Ann Fleming’s life. Like I’ve always been a James Bond fan, ever since I was a child, and I’ve also always been into history, so when a biopic miniseries came out called Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond, I was really intrigued by that, so I began doing research on Ian Fleming, Ann Fleming, and when I started researching them, I kept having more questions, and those answers led to more questions because they were very complex people with very complicated lives and relationships, especially their relationship in particular. But after a while of researching Ann, I began forming an attachment to her honestly, like her life was hard, man. People made her out to be this person who had it easy because she was rich and because she came from a good background but like 1. her family didn’t even really want her, like her mother died when she was young, and her father wanted nothing to do with her until adulthood where they somehow became friends like ??? okay 2. she had such a lack of affection growing up plus physical and emotional abuse and neglect gave her such a warped view of affection and love, like it hurts me 3. her relationships were honestly so broken and painful and it’s complicated to describe them. like Ann enjoyed cruelty. she found comfort when her partner was cruel to her. at her core, in her subconscious, she craved things like agony, violence, meanness, and her last husband Ian Fleming had similar childhood abuse that led him to crave the same things, which was why they were both so connected with a deep understanding of each other, yet so volatile and destructive towards each other. and they both thrived yet were barely holding on by a thread at the same time with this kind of mentality and desires. they both insisted that they were each other’s true loves however, being very passionately in love and having a surprisingly loving and affectionate relationship despite all of the ways they hurt each other, and the only time their relationship ever truly “died” was when they got older, their sex life slowly diminished, and Ian began seeing other women, then Ann seeing another man out of spite. 4. she outlived almost everyone she ever cared about. She outlived a. her parents, b. all three of her husbands c. her youngest sister who died of alcohol poisoning d. a lot of her best friends e. she had a miscarriage d. and probably the most painful, her youngest son killed himself in his early 20′s. Like her life was tragedy after tragedy and in the end she had to face it almost completely alone. By the time she was near her death, now diagnosed with cancer, the only people who were really close to her and still alive were her two children Raymond and Fionn who both had their own lives and responsibilities, living far away, etc. So yeah, I became extremely attached to her and there have been so many times during researching her life I’ve just straight up cried. Was she a perfect person? No, of course not. But she also had a lot of wonderful qualities among her faults, like she was a wonderful friend who genuinely liked putting others before herself, she so badly wanted to be a good person and tried her hardest to be, and she recognized most of her faults when she either realized them or someone pointed them out to her. So me being so passionate about this person + the miniseries coming out, of course I had to make Ann into a muse. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ASPECTS OF YOUR CURRENT MUSE : I love how charismatic Ann is. Like she can talk her way into a lot of things, she is friendly to pretty much everyone, and she can blend in to practically any crowd. Even people who are wildly different from her with wildly different opinions, 9/10 times she still wants to be friends with them. Also I 100% love writing all of the crazy shenanigans she got into. Like I have a book of letters written by her, to her, about her, etc. and so many of them contain fucking gems of wacky stories, wild adventures, quirky little happenings in life and her friends lives and they’re a a joy to read and a joy to portray. WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING : When it comes to writing Ann, a lot of music and any kind of scenes from movies or tv shows that remind me of her or her life. The miniseries is especially an inspiration, Lara Pulver’s portrayal of Ann was absolutely perfect and it’s why Lara Pulver is my face claim for Ann. Her book of letters is also a huge inspiration to me, so if I ever need inspiration for writing Ann, I’ll usually either 1. listen to her ever growing playlist 2. watch the miniseries again or 3. read her letters FAVORITE TYPES OF THREADS : I love shenanigans. They’re probably my favorite of all time. Along with that though, I also like shippy things, angst things, with Ann they usually go hand in hand, but there will still be a lot of fluff in between. Some of my favorite letters between Ann and Ian are the ones talking about how much they love each other and how wonderful they think the other is, some of their letters are honestly so sweet and mushy, it’s adorable. BIGGEST STRUGGLE IN REGARDS TO YOUR CURRENT MUSE : Writing some of the hard stuff is definitely a struggle. I’m always partially afraid of writing it because I don’t want to upset anyone who might be going through/has gone through some of these things, though that’s why in my blog disclaimer in my rules, I try to get across that I am going to be discussing these really hard topics on this blog, because they were huge parts of Ann’s life and personality, like without these things, Ann wouldn’t be an accurate representation of who she was. And speaking of accuracy, of course with Ann being a historical figure, I always worry that there may be certain things of my interpretation that are grossly inaccurate, or disrespectful, and it’s never my intention and I hope that this is never the case because as said above, I genuinely care about Ann. I love and adore her, if I could meet any historical figure ever, without a doubt it would be Ann. Not because she’s the best historical figure or anything, but because she’s so fascinating to me and I feel such a bond with her as stupid as that probably is. Like I’ve been researching her since I was 17 and I’m 23 now, I care about her honestly more than I probably healthily should lol. Ann means a lot to me and I hope that my writing is doing her justice, and I hope that I’m portraying her as accurately as I can without the ability to do something like interview her or have every single piece of information about her life.

TAGGED BY : @shcrpwits TAGGING : @lettergave, @mysterymanjoseph, @warringpeace @revcl @wineinthewidow @motherwitch @magaprima @killedinstead @betterhealing @blockbustertm @ineffablemum @pressedsuits @pierre-renaldi @hatesamateurs @hrhmonpetitchou and anyone else who would like to do this!

#aboutann

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waywardnerd67 · 6 years

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Writing Your Story: Chap. 13 - Only Tonight

Summary: Raelyn and Dean take a romantic weekend trip to get away from everything dealing with the Hooded Man. Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Castiel and Raelyn Nichols (OFC) Pairing: Dean X Raelyn (OFC) Warnings: Fluff/implied smut/adorable boyfriend Dean (yes it’s a warning) Word Count: 4140 A/N: I hope you all are ready for some adorable, loving, romantic Dean and Raelyn action! This chapter will probably rot some people’s teeth and I’m not sorry about it. After this chapter be prepared for all the angst! As always this is unbeta so all mistakes are mine. Likes, comments and reblogs are splendid and I will love you doubly for them! Enjoy!

When they told Sam and Castiel that they were going to take a weekend trip alone they were more than supportive. “I think that’s a great idea. Cas and I will keep on the Raymond mission.” Dean shook his head. “Sammy, we all need to take a break even if you take one day but go do whatever it is you do for fun. Poetry reading, all night bender playing Dungeons and Dorks, anything fun.” Sam rolled his eyes at Dean as Raelyn chuckled. “Well there is a convention in St. Louis this weekend that I would love to go too.” Dean smacked Sam on the back, “There you go! Have fun with all the nerds.” Raelyn and Sam glared at him as he held his hands up, “No offense. Nerds are awesome.” Raelyn smirked and kissed him on the cheek, “Much better pretty boy.” Dean smiled proudly as Raelyn walked towards her room.

Dean spent an entire day planning out their weekend trip and would not tell Raelyn any of the details. “How am I supposed to pack?” she asked as he was sitting on her bed with his laptop. “I’ll pack for you.” Raelyn turned her computer chair around, “Winchester, you are not going through my underwear drawer.” He glanced up biting his lip in thought and then smiled, “That is a thought, but I will let you pack the undergarments.” He chuckled as Raelyn went back to the article she was reading about the connection between twins. Ever since they all agreed to take a weekend off the atmosphere in the bunker had lighten up. After the last nightmare with Raymond, Raelyn focused on the connection between twins instead of trying to find something on hybrid monsters. Something deep down inside her nagged at her that the answer was more about their connection and not about him being a monster. She ran her hand over her new scar on her arm. Luckily, the cut on her cheek healed nicely without any scarring, but her arm was not so lucky.

On Thursday afternoon, Dean was packing the Impala for their trip as she was packing her laptop bag. The only way Dean was allowing her to bring her laptop was for her to work on her manuscript. She was getting ready to walk out of her room when Castiel came in. “Hello Raelyn.” She looked up as she slung her bag over her shoulder. “Hey Cas, what’s up?” Castiel held out a box with a blue bow on top of it. “This is for you. I know you love to take pictures and the man in the electronics store said this is the popular option.” Raelyn smiled as she opened the box for the Polaroid Snap camera. “Cas, this is amazing. Thank you.” She hugged Castiel as he stood there awkwardly. “Uh, Cas, this is when you hug back.” He chuckled slightly as he stiffly hugged her back. She let go him and went to her desk pulling out an extra micro SD card and inserting it into the camera. “Wait.” She said as Castiel was walking out of her room. She stood next to Cas and put his arm around her shoulders, “Smile!” She pointed the camera at them snapping a picture. The picture printed out and she started laughing. “You look constipated, Cas.” He cocked his head to one side, “I do not feel restricted in any way.” She rolled her eyes as she placed the picture of them on her desk.

“Do you have everything?” Dean asked her as she walked into the garage with Castiel. “Sure do! Look what Cas got me for our trip.” She showed Dean the camera as he smiled down at her. “That’s really cool. Okay, let’s get this show on the road. We have a day’s drive ahead of us.” Raelyn sighed, “A whole day of driving. Jeez…” She hugged Sam goodbye and they took off out of the garage. They had been driving for a few minutes when Dean glanced over to Raelyn, “Will you play your mix playlist?” he asked. Raelyn smiled pulling out her Bluetooth speaker sitting it between her and Dean. “What song do you want to hear first?” She asked as Dean raised his eyebrows at her. She scrolled through until she found the song he always wanted to listen too.

As soon as it started playing she heard him humming along. “Why do you like this song so much?” she asked as she stretched her legs out across the seat resting her feet up against his thighs. “I think of you every time I hear it and that makes me happy.” Raelyn felt a fluttering in her stomach that bubbled up into light giggling. “Wow, Dean Winchester I never thought you would be so sappy.” Dean pointed a finger at her, “Don’t you dare write that in your Supernatural books. This is our little secret.” Raelyn started laughing and leaned forward sticking out her pinky finger, “I promise I will never write about how the great Dean Winchester is just an ole lovable sap.” He hooked his pinky with hers and smiled.

During their twenty-four drive Dean stopped at every little tourist site they passed. Raelyn would take pictures of them with her new camera and place the prints in her journal. They stopped in Utah to sleep for a bit before making the rest of the trip out west. Raelyn repeatedly asked where they were going and Dean would not give her anything. “You’ll see.” Was all he kept saying to her. When they hit the California state line Raelyn drifted off to sleep. A few hours later, Dean shook her shoulder and she slowly opened her eyes. “Come on sleeping beauty time to wake up.” The smell of salt water overwhelmed her nose and the calming sounds of waves flooded the car. She looked out over the dashboard to see the sun starting to set over ocean. She looked over to Dean grinning from ear to ear. “Raelyn Nichols, welcome to Santa Cruz, California.” She jumped out of the car excitedly and ran over to the railing looking out. They were parked outside a nice hotel called the Sea and Sand Inn which was near the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. She watched as people walked up and down the boardwalk and families sat together on the beach.

She felt Dean’s arms wrap around her waist and she leaned back against him. “What do you think?” She turned in his arms interlocking her fingers behind his neck. “I love it, Dean. Thank you.” She pushed herself up kissing him. She felt him smile against her lips and his hands traveled down the small of her back and resting on the back pockets of her jeans. He pulled away from her and gently kissed her forehead, “Come on, let’s get check into our room and plan our evening.” Dean smacked her butt as he let go of her walking towards the back of the Impala. “Pretty boy, what did I tell you about smacking my ass?!” she shouted as he started laughing. “I believe it was in the bar when you told me that would be the only time I’d get away with smacking you ass, but I believe I just did it again.”

He was carrying both their bags as she slung her laptop bag over her shoulder. “You’re lucky I like you and you’re handsome.” He gave her a cheesy smile and laced their fingers together. Raelyn could not believe the beautiful view from their room. Raelyn stepped out on their balcony letting the breeze from the ocean sweep over her. She closed her eyes breathing in the smell of the beach feeling all the tension release from her body. She heard Dean walk out next to her, “So, tonight is your night. Anything you want to do we will.” He rested his forearms against the railing looking out to the ocean, “What would you like to do gorgeous?” She thought for a moment, “A date of my choice?” Dean nodded and she smiled. “Then I know exactly what I want to do.” She bit her bottom lip and looked up at him from under her dark lashes.

“This is not what I had imagine you wanting to do on your perfect date.” Dean said as he went from rack to rack trying to find a bowling ball that would fit his large hands. Raelyn laughed as she found a bowling ball that was the right weight for her. “Consider yourself lucky that I don’t have my own equipment with me.” Dean stopped and looked over at her curiously. “Your own equipment? As in…” She walked over putting the bowling ball on the ball return. “As in I have my own bowling balls, shoes the whole thing.” Dean pursed his lips together trying not to laugh. He put the ball he found next to hers. “Think that’s funny Winchester? Care to wager a bet?” Dean looked up at her as he sat down tying his bowling shoes.

A cocky smirk coming across his gorgeous face, “What did you have in mind?” Raelyn finished putting on her shoes and started putting their names in the computer. “If I win then we go down to the Boardwalk and we play every game they have. Also, ride all the rides I want.” Dean tilted his head from side to side slightly thinking, “Okay and if I win?” Raelyn stood in front of him in between his legs. His hands went up to her hips as she ran her hands through his hair. She leaned down and whispered, “I will give you what you want most from me.” Dean’s eyes went wide as he sucked in a quick breath. Raelyn licked her bottom lip as he stared at her lips, “I’ll make you my grandma’s famous cherry pie.” She started giggling seeing his reaction and stepping away from him. He narrowed his eyes on her, “You’re on.”

Dean was still grumbling as they were walking back to the hotel from a few hours at the boardwalk. Raelyn was blissfully skipping alongside him holding a large stuffed tiger he had won at a shooting game. “You didn’t play fair. If I had known you were a damn professional bowler I would have never made that bet.” Raelyn hooked her arm with Dean’s, “I’m not a professional bowler. I just so happen to have bowled on a league and a few competitions for all of my youth and well into adulthood.” Dean shook his head as they walked up to their room and unlocked the door. Raelyn set her tiger on the couch as Dean flopped down onto the bed. “So, what is the plan for tomorrow?” she asked as she went through the clothes Dean had packed for her.

“Well I figured we would hit the beach for a little while go swimming in the ocean since I’ve never done that before. Relax and then take you shopping for something to wear tomorrow night on our date.” Dean looked over at her as she looked through her bag again. “Dean, you didn’t pack my swimming suit?” Dean looked up at her with a smirk and wiggled his eyebrows. She looked at him seriously as he chuckled, “I couldn’t find it when I was packing so I figured we could go get one.” Raelyn sighed and sat down on the bed. She felt Dean sitting up as the bed shifted. “What’s wrong?” She sighed shaking her, “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” She got up but Dean caught her wrist. “Raelyn, what is it?” She looked down at him, “It’s… I can’t just go into any store and find a swimsuit. I’m not small like normal girls.” Dean got up and walked over to towards her. She was trying hard not to let her insecurities show but by the look on Dean’s face she was failing. She shivered when Dean placed his hands on her hips. “Raelyn, you don’t have to be embarrassed or self-conscience around me. I’m attracted to you just as you are. If you don’t find a swimsuit then we can just buy a shirt and shorts for you to swim in.”

Raelyn rolled her eyes and surprisingly her anger flared. “Yeah because that is exactly what a girl wants to wear when going to the beach with her boyfriend. A baggy shirt and shorts. So sexy Dean.” Raelyn pushed past him going outside on the balcony. She did not know why she reacted so harshly. He was trying to plan a romantic day for them and she was ruining it. Her insecurities always popped up at the wrong times. She heard the door open and Dean’s arms wrapped around her as he rested his chin on her shoulder. He slid his arms back to run his hands across her stomach. She felt his soft lips leaving a trail of kisses down her cheek to under her ear. “Dean…” He shushed her as he continued kissing down her neck. His hands moved down to his hips then slipping under her shirt. His rough hands slid up her curvy sides to her ribs and back down around to her stomach.

As he kissed his way back up her neck he let out a small moan setting shivers down her body. “Raelyn, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a sexy outfit, baggy sweats or a swimsuit. I think your gorgeous no matter what. You’re smart, sassy, funny and one of the most caring people I have ever met.” She sighed relishing in his touch, but she turned in his arms to face him. Dean kept his hands under her shirt running his calloused fingers down her spine. She rested her hands on his firm arms. “Dean, I know I’m not the prettiest girl and I know my personality makes up for it. I just…” His lips came crashing down on hers rough. Pressing his hands against her back bringing fleshed against him. His expert mouth moved against her as she moved her hands up to grip his shoulders. He pulled away taking a few deep breaths.

“It wasn’t your personality that attracted me to you, Raelyn. As much as I would love to be the guy who tells you it wasn’t your looks but I can’t. The moment my eyes laid on your sweetheart face, killer curves and amazing ass of yours I wanted you. At first, I was fine with getting with you any way I could, but then you ran your smart mouth. For the first time I wanted something more and then Cas told us we were soulmates. I knew, I knew he was telling the truth and it scared the holy hell out of me.” Raelyn stared up at him in disbelief. “When I say your beautiful, gorgeous or whatever I mean all of you. Physically and personality you are the sexiest woman I have ever been with.” He slipped his hands out of her shirt and rested them back on her hips. “Dean?” she asked and he nodded. “Thank you.” He smiled down at her and place a chastised kiss on her lips. “Come on, let’s get ready for bed and watch a movie.”

The next morning, Raelyn woke up her head resting on Dean’s chest. Her arm was wrapped around his stomach and her leg was resting across his waist. She looked up at him a couple days’ worth of stubble darkening his chin and chiseled jaw. She gently ran the tips of her fingers along his jaw causing him to shift slightly. His arm tightened around her back and his other hand gripped her thigh. She slowly reached over him grabbing her phone and snapped a picture of him sleeping. “No pictures before bacon and coffee.” She giggled feeling his chest rumble as Dean spoke. “Then I guess we better get up and going.” She went to move and Dean held her against him. “Five more minutes. We’re not in a rush.” Raelyn laid her head back down on his chest for a moment, “You know the sooner you get up the sooner we can go out and I can model off dresses and swimsuits for you.” She watched Dean’s eyes snap open and he flew off the bed leaving her face first in the mattress laughing.

Raelyn could not think of a more fun day she had than spending the day with Dean. They went shopping in the local mall which Dean was stalked by the ladies in Lane Bryant as Raelyn picked out a dress and swimsuit. They had gone into American Eagle to grab Dean a pair of trunks where she learned that Dean had a jealous side from a worker hitting on her. “Back off or I’ll break your nose.” Dean said as he came out of the dressing room scaring the crap out the poor guy. They went back to their room for an early lunch where they changed into their swimsuits. They walked down to the beach and Dean laid out a blanket for them to lay on. “Wanna go in the water with me?” he asked and she shook her head. “I’m going to relax here for a while and read my book. You go ahead.” She watched Dean kick off his shoes and pull his shirt over his head. Seeing him stand there like a model. He ran down to the water and jumped right in.

Anyone who would see him now would never know that he had battled monsters, was a demon for a while, went to hell and saved the world countless times. He was strong, badass hunter who at the current moment was acting like a big kid in the ocean. After several minutes he ran back up to her and she looked up at him over her sunglasses. His chest was glistening from the ocean water and his blond hair on his head shined from the sun. “Raelyn, come play with me in the ocean.” She chuckled at his whiny tone. She stood up and took off her cover-up revealing her royal blue tankini top and black swim shorts. She bent over setting her sunglasses on her book and heard Dean whisper, “Damn.” She glanced over to see him checking out her butt. “Like the view?” She asked standing up. Suddenly, Dean swoop her up over his shoulder and carried her down to the water. “You have no idea, sweetheart.” He swatted her butt making her yelp.

After a couple of hours at the beach and swimming they went back to their hotel to relax before the date Dean had planned. As Dean slept, Raelyn worked on her manuscript out on the balcony. Everything that had happened this trip she wrote in her manuscript to show Dean how she saw him. She knew all of them had low opinions of themselves and she wanted them to see themselves through her eyes. How much she admired their strength, their character and how normal they could be. That having a normal life and being a hunter was possible for them. With her earbuds in and being so focused on writing she did not hear Dean come outside and only noticed when his hand was waving in front of her. She pulled out her earbuds out, “Sorry…” she trailed off her eyes ran down his body. He was standing there in only a pair of red and black gym shorts with his hair sticking up wildly from sleeping. “Stop gawking. Come on it’s time to get ready for our date.” She saved her document and shut down her laptop. “I’ll stop gawking when you do pretty boy.” She got up going inside leaving him chuckling.

After taking a shower, doing her hair and adding some make-up to her sun kissed face she walked out in the black dress she bought earlier. Dean was waiting for her on the couch. “Alright, I’m ready to go.” She said as Dean turned off the TV and stood up. He licked his bottom lip as he approached her. Raelyn could not believe this was the same Dean Winchester who has flannel collection lumberjacks would envy. There he stood in dress shoes and slacks, crisp white button-down shirt with the first few buttons undone and a navy jacket. He twirled a strand of her hair as he looked her over. “Raelyn, you look beautiful in that dress.” She blushed as she leaned up and kissed him quickly. “Thank you. Now let’s go because I’m hungry.” Dean chuckled motioning for her to lead the way.

Dean drove them to a little restaurant a little way down from their hotel. They ordered a bottle of wine and chatted. Raelyn loved that they could chatted about mindless things like ridiculous TV shows that Dean loved like Real Housewives of Atlanta. Dean shared stories about hunting as a kid and funny stories about Sam. They shared food of each other’s plates and shared a piece of pie together. After dinner they walked to a nearby bar that had a band playing. After a few drinks, Raelyn convince Dean to dance with her. The band was playing oldies music from the fifties and sixties which Raelyn loved since Morgan’s dad was in an oldies band since they first became friends. They laughed and danced the night away until the band played their last song.

As they walked back to the car, Dean put his jacket over Raelyn’s shoulders and carried her heels for her. Raelyn woke up as Dean was laying her down in bed. “Hey sleepy head, go back to sleep.” She looked up at Dean and grabbed his hand pulling him towards her. She curled her finger motioning him to come closer and as he leaned down she slipped her hand around to the back of his neck. She pulled him down his lips meeting hers. The scent of salt water and her perfume mixing together. She ran her tongue over his bottom lip and as he deepened the kiss she tasted his last whiskey he drank. One hand pulled his hair gently as the other grasped the back of his shirt. Dean shifted his body hovering over hers for a moment and then softly laying partially on top of her. Feeling his body pressed against hers was comforting and she needed to feel more of him. She tilted her head to one side as Dean started leaving little kisses down her neck. When he kissed the crook of her neck she let a soft moan out and she felt him smile against her skin. Raelyn pushed him up so he was sitting back on his legs and she stood up.

“Raelyn, I’m… sorry if…” She shook her head stopping him. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and she stood between his legs looking down at him. She leaned down and kissed him for a moment before whispering against his lip, “Dean, I want this, but…” She leaned back as his hands traveled up her back as she started giggling, “You can’t exactly take off my dress if I’m lying on my back.” His smile was contagious and she felt him draw the zipper down her back. Slipping the straps off her shoulders she let the dress pool at her feet. Dean sucked in a breath as she stood there in a match black lacey bra and panty set. Suddenly she felt insecure and she wrapped her arms around her stomach. Dean quickly took her arms and pulled her on top of him. She squealed as she flew forward and bracing herself with her hands on either side of Dean’s head. Her long hair creating a curtain around them. “I told you, don’t be insecure about your body.”

His hands were on her hips and he bucked his against her. She went forward giggling, “Can you feel the kind of effect you have on me?” She nodded feeling her body heat up. He leaned up slightly and her breath hitched in her throat. His lips were barely touching hers when he said, “Raelyn, I want you.” That was all it took for her to press her lips against his. She started unbuttoning his shirt and pushing it off his shoulders. She started giggling again when he flipped her over onto the bed and he sat up pulling his undershirt over his head. He hovered over her as his hips pinned her to the bed. Dean kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose and her finally her lips as he hands started to undo his belt. “Are you sure, Raelyn?” he asked one final time. “More than anything.” She whispered as he kissed her again.

My Nerd Herd: @carryonmywaywardcaptain @waywardrose13 @anotherwaywardsister @waywardbaby @ladywinchester1967 @dwgrl1903 @1967-essentialghoul @weirdoblogger69

#waywardnerd67 #Writing Your Story Series #chapter 13 #only tonight #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester fanfic #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester fluff #dean winchester #dean fanfiction #dean fanfic #dean x reader #dean fluff #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fanfic #supernatural #fluff

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Critics Choice Awards Favor Nomadland and Promising Young Woman, Reshape Awards Race

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What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago, the Golden Globes arrived with controversy and allegedly upended the race with some major surprises (and major head scratchers). Is Jodie Foster really a contender for Best Supporting Actress? Was the support for Maria Bakalova just internet hype? There was plenty of hand-wringing, but Sunday night’s 26th annual Critics Choice Awards arrived to recalibrate the state of the awards race—and to give an interesting look at how a singular industry marches on during a pandemic.

The biggest winner of the night was Nomadland, which picked up the Critics Choice Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, making Chloé Zhao an even more concrete frontrunner at the Oscars (ahead of her Marvel debut via Eternals). But after the Golden Globes shut out Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, the movie’s star Carey Mulligan took home the Best Actress prize at the CCA while Fennell herself won the Best Original Screenplay award. With the pitch black comedy/feminist thriller being one of the most talked about films of 2020—and one that had an honest to God theatrical release—its resurgence at the CCA will counteract last week’s media narrative that it is too outside the box and too hard to categorize (or feminist) for awards voters as the race moves forward toward the guilds.

Similarly, Maria Bakalova got a major bump after she lost in the Golden Globes category she seemed like a shoo-in for (Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy). Prognostications that the chances of the Borat 2 star winning a major award had vanished proved premature, with Bakalova taking home Best Supporting Actress over perceived favorites like Amanda Seyfried for Mank and Olivia Colman for The Father. She also teased us with information that she’d be there in a heartbeat if Sacha Baron Cohen ever decided to make Borat 3.

Overall the awards circuit continues to be strange during the COVID era. Once again stars and filmmakers appeared Zooming from their homes or hotel rooms. Jason Sudeikis, who’s Ted Lasso won Best Comedy Series and Best Actor, once again appeared in a hoodie (this one from the set of Booksmart). Conversely, Anya Taylor-Joy—the breakout star of The Queen’s Gambit who won a Critics Choice Award tonight, as did her show for Best Limited Series—was in an evening gown in the wee small hours of the morning.

“It’s kind of fun dressing up in your own house. I don’t know what it is, but you get to play your own playlist, you just sort swing around, and you get to be in your pajamas in a minute,” Taylor-Joy says about awards Zooming. On the subject of fabled awards after parties, she also notes, “It’s going to be like 2 a.m. in London quite soon, and I have to go to work tomorrow, so I’m going to work! Which I’m really excited about; it’s my favorite place in the world.”

Yet in such strange times, celebrating art that actually entertained or distracted people has perhaps greater merit than ever. And it can bring attention to unique projects. That’s at least one silver lining Andy Samberg, who picked up the Critics Choice Award on behalf of Palm Springs in the Best Comedy Movie category, told us.

“I always hesitate to say this, because there is nothing good about the quarantine and the pandemic, and everything, but I think in a lot of ways it helped people see our movie more because everyone was at home [and] because it went straight to streaming to Hulu in the States,” Samberg says. “It came out really at this moment when movies were just starting to come out again… We were like the first wave of ‘see what happens when you put a movie out!’ It turns out people were just sitting there waiting for new stuff.”

Below is all the new stuff that was awarded by the CCAs. Winners (including a few ties) will be BOLDED.

Critics Choice Awards 2021: Complete Winners List (Film)

Best Picture

Da 5 Bloods (Netflix) Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) Mank (Netflix) Minari (A24) News of the World (Universal) Nomadland (Searchlight) One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios) Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios) The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)

Best Director

Lee Isaac Chung – Minari (A24) Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) David Fincher – Mank (Netflix) Spike Lee – Da 5 Bloods (Netflix) Regina King – One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios) Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Actress

Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Hulu) Sidney Flanigan – Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Focus Features) Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman (Netflix) Frances McDormand – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) Zendaya – Malcolm & Marie (Netflix)

Best Actor

Ben Affleck – The Way Back (Warner Bros.) Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios) Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) Tom Hanks – News of the World (Universal Pictures) Anthony Hopkins – The Father (Sony Pictures Classics) Delroy Lindo – Da 5 Bloods (Netflix) Gary Oldman – Mank (Netflix) Steven Yeun – Minari (A24)

Best Supporting Actress

Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios) Ellen Burstyn – Pieces of a Woman (Netflix) Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix) Olivia Colman – The Father (Sony Pictures Classics) Amanda Seyfried – Mank (Netflix) Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari (A24)

Best Supporting Actor

Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.) Chadwick Boseman – Da 5 Bloods (Netflix) Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) Bill Murray – On the Rocks (A24/Apple TV+) Leslie Odom, Jr. – One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios) Paul Raci – Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios)

Best Acting Ensemble

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) Da 5 Bloods (Netflix) Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.) Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) Minari (A24) One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios)

Best Original Screenplay

Lee Isaac Chung – Minari (A24) Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) Jack Fincher – Mank (Netflix) Eliza Hittman – Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Focus Features) Darius Marder & Abraham Marder – Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios) Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Paul Greengrass & Luke Davies – News of the World (Universal Pictures) Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller – The Father (Sony Pictures Classics) Kemp Powers – One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios) Jon Raymond & Kelly Reichardt – First Cow (A24) Ruben Santiago-Hudson – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Cinematography

Christopher Blauvelt – First Cow (A24) Erik Messerschmidt – Mank (Netflix) Lachlan Milne – Minari (A24) Joshua James Richards – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) Newton Thomas Sigel – Da 5 Bloods (Netflix) Hoyte Van Hoytema – Tenet (Warner Bros.) Dariusz Wolski – News of the World (Universal Pictures)

Best Editing

Alan Baumgarten – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) (TIE) Kirk Baxter – Mank (Netflix) Jennifer Lame – Tenet (Warner Bros.) Yorgos Lamprinos – The Father (Sony Pictures Classics) Mikkel E. G. Nielsen – Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios) (TIE) Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Production Design

Cristina Casali, Charlotte Dirickx – The Personal History of David Copperfield (Searchlight Pictures) David Crank, Elizabeth Keenan – News of the World (Universal Pictures) Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas – Tenet (Warner Bros.) Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale – Mank (Netflix) Kave Quinn, Stella Fox – Emma (Focus Features) Mark Ricker, Karen O’Hara, Diana Stoughton – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)

Best Costume Design

Alexandra Byrne – Emma (Focus Features) Bina Daigeler – Mulan (Disney) Suzie Harman & Robert Worley – The Personal History of David Copperfield (Searchlight Pictures) Ann Roth – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) Nancy Steiner – Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) Trish Summerville – Mank (Netflix)

Best Hair and Makeup

Emma (Focus Features) Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix) Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) Mank (Netflix) Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Hulu)

Best Visual Effects

Greyhound (Apple TV+) The Invisible Man (Universal Pictures) Mank (Netflix) The Midnight Sky (Netflix) Mulan (Disney) Tenet (Warner Bros.) Wonder Woman 1984 (Warner Bros.)

Best Score

Alexandre Desplat – The Midnight Sky (Netflix) Ludwig Göransson – Tenet (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard – News of the World (Universal Pictures) Emile Mosseri – Minari (A24) Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Mank (Netflix) Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Soul (Disney)

Best Song

Everybody Cries – The Outpost (Screen Media Films) Fight for You – Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.) Husavik (My Home Town) – Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Netflix) Io sì (Seen) – The Life Ahead (Netflix) Speak Now – One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios) Tigress & Tweed – The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Hulu)

Best Foreign Language Film

Another Round (Samuel Goldwyn Films) Collective (Magnolia Pictures) La Llorona (Shudder) The Life Ahead (Netflix) Minari (A24) Two of Us (Magnolia Pictures)

Best Comedy

Palm Springs (Hulu and NEON) Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios) The Forty-Year-Old Version (Netflix) The King of Staten Island (Universal Pictures) On the Rocks (A24/Apple TV+) The Prom (Netflix)

Best Young Actress

Alan Kim – Minari (A24) Ryder Allen – Palmer (Apple TV+) Ibrahima Gueye – The Life Ahead (Netflix) Talia Ryder – Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Focus Features) Caoilinn Springall – The Midnight Sky (Netflix) Helena Zengel – News of the World (Universal Pictures)

Critics Choice Awards 2021: Complete Winners List (TV)

Best Drama Series

Better Call Saul (AMC) The Crown (Netflix) The Good Fight (CBS All Access) Lovecraft Country (HBO) The Mandalorian (Disney+) Ozark (Netflix) Perry Mason (HBO) This Is Us (NBC)

Best Comedy Series

The Flight Attendant (HBO Max) Mom (CBS) PEN15 (Hulu) Ramy (Hulu) Schitt’s Creek (Pop) Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Best Limited Series

I May Destroy You (HBO) Mrs. America (FX) Normal People (Hulu) The Plot Against America (HBO) The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) Small Axe (Amazon Studios) The Undoing (HBO) Unorthodox (Netflix)

Best Made for Television Movie

Bad Education (HBO) Between the World and Me (HBO) The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (Lifetime) Hamilton (Disney+) Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Studios) What the Constitution Means to Me (Amazon Studios)

Best Actress in a Drama Series

Emma Corrin – The Crown (Netflix) Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (CBS All Access) Olivia Colman – The Crown (Netflix) Claire Danes – Homeland (Showtime) Laura Linney – Ozark (Netflix) Jurnee Smollett – Lovecraft Country (HBO)

Best Actor in a Drama Series

Josh O’Connor – The Crown (Netflix) Jason Bateman – Ozark (Netflix) Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC) Jonathan Majors – Lovecraft Country (HBO) Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul (AMC) Matthew Rhys – Perry Mason (HBO)

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Gillian Anderson – The Crown (Netflix) Cynthia Erivo – The Outsider (HBO) Julia Garner – Ozark (Netflix) Janet McTeer – Ozark (Netflix) Wunmi Mosaku – Lovecraft Country (HBO) Rhea Seehorn – Better Call Saul (AMC)

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Michael K. Williams – Lovecraft Country (HBO) Jonathan Banks – Better Call Saul (AMC) Justin Hartley – This Is Us (NBC) John Lithgow – Perry Mason (HBO) Tobias Menzies – The Crown (Netflix) Tom Pelphrey – Ozark (Netflix)

Best Actress in a Comedy Series

Catherine O’Hara – Schitt’s Creek (Pop) Pamela Adlon – Better Things (FX) Christina Applegate – Dead to Me (Netflix) Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant (HBO Max) Natasia Demetriou – What We Do in the Shadows (FX) Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) Hank Azaria – Brockmire (IFC) Matt Berry – What We Do in the Shadows (FX) Nicholas Hoult – The Great (Hulu) Eugene Levy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop) Ramy Youssef – Ramy (Hulu)

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) Lecy Goranson – The Conners (ABC) Rita Moreno – One Day at a Time (Pop) Annie Murphy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop) Ashley Park – Emily in Paris (Netflix) Jaime Pressly – Mom (CBS)

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop) William Fichtner – Mom (CBS) Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX) Alex Newell – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC) Mark Proksch – What We Do in the Shadows (FX) Andrew Rannells – Black Monday (Showtime)

Best Actress in a Limited Series or Made for TV Film

Anya Taylor-Joy – The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) Cate Blanchett – Mrs. America (FX) Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You (HBO) Daisy Edgar-Jones – Normal People (Hulu) Shira Haas – Unorthodox (Netflix) Tessa Thompson – Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Studios)

Best Actor in a Limited Series or Made for TV Movie

John Boyega – Small Axe (Amazon Studios) Hugh Grant – The Undoing (HBO) Paul Mescal – Normal People (Hulu) Chris Rock – Fargo (FX) Mark Ruffalo – I Know This Much is True (HBO) Morgan Spector – The Plot Against America (HBO)

Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Made for TV Movie

Donald Sutherland – The Undoing (HBO) Daveed Diggs – The Good Lord Bird (Showtime) Joshua Caleb Johnson – The Good Lord Bird (Showtime) Dylan McDermott – Hollywood (Netflix) Glynn Turman – Fargo (FX) John Turturro – The Plot Against America (HBO)

Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Made for TV Movie

Uzo Aduba – Mrs. America (FX) Betsy Brandt – Soulmates (AMC) Marielle Heller – The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) Margo Martindale – Mrs. America (FX) Winona Ryder – The Plot Against America (HBO) Tracey Ullman – Mrs. America (FX)

Best Talk Show

Desus & Mero (Showtime) Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS) The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC/Syndicated) Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch)

Best Comedy Special

Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (Netflix) (TIE) Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia (Netflix) (TIE) Fortune Feimster: Sweet & Salty (Netflix) Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (Netflix) Marc Maron: End Times Fun (Netflix) Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything (Netflix)

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thecastingcircle · 6 years

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By day, Jennifer Turner works in law enforcement in Vancouver. But on this particular late August weekend, she’s in Cleveland, attending JemCon, an annual gathering for devotees of the colorful Eighties cartoon Jem and the Holograms. Turner’s fandom runs deep. She grew up with a single father who supported her love for all things Jem. One Christmas, she woke up to find he had bought her every single Jem-related doll available at the time; other times, he would set an alarm and wake her up early so she could watch the show before school.

“It was such an escape, and so different from the regular narratives that you had about mom and dad,” Turner says of the cartoon, which follows the adventures of a philanthropic-minded orphan named Jerrica — proprietor of an orphanage for teenage girls, the Starlight House — who has a rock-star secret identity/alter-ego, Jem. “I think I identified a little bit with Jem losing her parents.”

In hindsight, Turner, who sports a detailed, full-color tattoo of Jem on her right calf and ink depicting a rival bandleader named Pizzazz on her left calf, also recognizes how the show informed her feminist worldview. “Here was a heroine that owned her own business, was a humanitarian, ran an orphanage, took care of her sister. [She] had a romance, but it was never the whole point of the story. It was about her, and her career. It whisked me away.”

For many, Jem is a forgotten retro footnote. The cartoon had a relatively short lifespan — 65 episodes aired between 1985 to 1988 — and the accompanying doll line enjoyed only a brief burst of popularity. But for fans such as Turner, Jem was a life-changing phenomenon.

Thirty years after the cartoon initially went off the air, and three years after a poorly received live-action feature-film reboot, the Jem universe — or “multi-universes,” in the words of Samantha Newark, who provided the speaking voice for both Jem and Jerrica on the cartoon — remains a vibrant, creative space. Jem lives on via fan art and detailed websites dedicated to the brand. T-shirts mash upJem characters with art in the styles of Duran Duran, Queen, Mötley Crüe, Poison and the Misfits (who share a name with the Holograms’ rival band on the show). There’s also Truly Outrageous: A Jem Fan Film, a Kickstarter-funded live-action short named after a key line in the chorus of the show’s theme song, and a Spain-made short film, MisfitSized. Newark has even compiled a “Jem Drag Stars” playlist on her YouTube channel, featuring detailed makeup tutorials and drag performances themed around the characters.

That same dedication permeates “How Rock & Roll Infiltrated Saturday Morning Cartoons,” an unofficial JemCon kickoff panel discussion and Q&A. Held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the event features appearances from three luminaries in the Jemuniverse: Newark; series creator Christy Marx; and cartoonist Keith Tucker, a storyboard artist on many of the show’s music videos.

Newark, a beaming presence with cascades of auburn hair, trills one of her character’s signature lines into the mic: “It’s showtime, Synergy!” All three speakers have an easy rapport as they share behind-the-scene tidbits from the cartoon. At one point, Marx draws gasps of wonder by revealing she once pitched a Jem episode set in the Rock Hall that never moved forward.

As the Q&A wraps up, a young woman standing against the wall raises her hand and shares that her name is Jherica —and that she is, in fact, named after Jem’s non-rock-star persona. Incredibly, Jherica Belle isn’t from Cleveland and hadn’t heard about JemCon but just happened to be in town for a work conference and decided to visit the Rock Hall, where she came upon the panel. Her close friends and family call her Jem, Belle shares later via e-mail. “No more than a handful,” she writes. “Not everyone can call me Jem. That name is special.”

Jem and the Holograms was originally created by Sunbow Productions to promote a line of rock & roll-themed dolls produced by toy giant Hasbro, whose other properties included G.I. Joe and My Little Pony. The original Jem doll line is a New Wave fever dream encompassing neon-hued clothing, shoes, accessories and musical instruments. Some toys even came packaged with actual playable cassettes featuring original songs heard in the cartoon.

The show expanded on the dolls’ backstory. After the death of her parents, an ambitious young woman named Jerrica suddenly finds herself running an orphanage and owning half of her late father’s record company, Starlight Music. Simultaneously, Jerrica discovers that her dad created a smart computer named Synergy, who informs the budding music exec that her magical, star-shaped “Jemstar Earrings” can create holograms that allow her to assume the identity of a rock star. Cue the formation of the band Jem and the Holograms, whose lineup features Jerrica’s younger sister, keyboardist Kimber and two adopted sisters: guitarist Aja and drummer Shana.

The show’s 65 episodes boast plenty of over-the-top drama and narrative cliffhangers. Jerrica’s Starlight Music CEO competition is Eric Raymond, a slimy character who constantly tries to sabotage and undermine her. Jem and the Holograms do battle both onstage and off with the Misfits, a gang of felonious (if musically talented) mean girls managed by Raymond. Jerrica also takes care of the Starlight Girls, the foster children who live at Starlight House, and navigates her relations with boyfriend Rio. In true fantasy-land fashion, Rio also falls in love with Jem, but never discovers that the two women are one and the same.

“It’s a character-driven show,” says Christy Marx. “Basically a soap opera for kids is what it was — [or] ended up being anyway.”

This cartoon drama mirrored the press-inflated real-life drama involving the toy lines. As it goes with many real-life female musicians, Jem was often pitted against another female talent: Mattel’s doll juggernaut Barbie. An October 1986 Los Angeles Times article,“Barbie Takes Up Rock ‘n’ Roll to Match Rival Jem,” detailed the emergence of Barbie and the Rockers, a line of rock-themed dolls that debuted in stores shortly before Jem did.

The competition was at least healthy. According to an August 1987 Los Angeles Times story, Jem had sold more than 3 million dolls to date, and the cartoon was drawing 2.5 million young viewers each week, “making it the third most-watched children’s program in syndication.” Unfortunately, Jem’s pop-cultural moment was short-lived: The animated series was canceled in 1988 due to the doll line’s decreasing popularity.

The ongoing fascination with Jem and the Holograms certainly has something to do with nostalgia. Yet Jem isn’t like most children’s entertainment. The show’s sophisticated story lines often involved heavy real-world issues; for example, a runaway hotline was flooded with calls after the phone number ran at the end of one episode. Plus, even minor characters have elaborate backstories, making the show feel more like an adaptation of a novel rather than a cartoon spun off from a toy line.

According to Newark, it was by design that the characters on Jem felt like three-dimensional people. “Our reads had to be very real,” she explains. “They didn’t want cartoony. They were like, ‘No, we want the kids to look up to you, like you’re their older sisters, or their friends.'”

The quality and care that went into Jem’s narratives extended to its in-episode animated videos, whose original music and lyrics also promoted thought-provoking messages. “You might dismiss [the songs] as cheesy, but they’re not,” says Ari Gold, who provided the singing voice for the character Ba Nee, an eight-year-old Vietnamese orphan who was losing her sight. “The messages are good; they’re complex; they’re messages that we still need to hear today. There’s really almost a Jem song about every situation in life.”

Gold, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, notes that their character’s signature song, “A Father Should Be,” is “about the ideal father that so many of us didn’t have.” As another example, they cite “Alone Again,” a rather serious song touching on depression and feeling self-conscious that was sung by a young character dealing with drug addiction. “I mean, this is a cartoon in the Eighties for children. This is before Oprah was talking about this stuff,” Gold says with a laugh. “It was so ahead of its time in so many ways.”

The lyrics were set to equally high-quality music, courtesy of co–composer-arranger Anne Bryant, who noted in a 2009 interview that the Holograms’ songs were orchestrated with real horns, woodwinds and strings, while the Pizzazz-led Misfits tunes had electronic elements and guitars. “[Anne Bryant] was writing pop music, but with a lot of key changes,” says Britta Phillips, who was the singing voice of Jem and is now better known as a member of the band Luna and duo Dean & Britta.

“It was all very sophisticated, and not simple vocally at all,” Phillips says. “I feel like I really learned how to sing doing that. I had a really powerful and high voice, but not a lot of nuance or flexibility or any of that until I started doing the Jem stuff. That all came from that, from working with Anne.”

The show’s smart, non-pandering approach can be traced to Marx, who is revered by fans. Stefan Spierings recalls being “extremely nervous” before he and his cousin Rob met Marx at the 2007 JemCon. “To us, it was almost like meeting Madonna,” the Netherlands native says. “She’s one of our heroes.” A cosplay fanatic named Raven, who published her first book in 2016 under the pen name Evelyn Whitney, could be seen furiously scribbling notes during one of Marx’s JemCon presentations and also considers the creator a writing role model. “I want my career to look like hers,” she says.

The respect is mutual, however. As JemCon unfolds, it’s clear that Marx, who also wrote 23 episodes, takes her role as the shepherd of Jem’s legacy quite seriously, and answers fan questions about character motivations with care and respect. The attention to detail makes sense: Marx grew up an ardent fan of comic books, and worked in TV production before becoming a writer.

When Marx signed on to the Jem project, certain elements were already locked in place, including the rock-star premise and the Jem/Jerrica secret identity. Yet many other elements were in flux, right down to character names (Jem was originally known as “M”). Marx also recalls being given conflicting directions as she began to flesh out and develop Jem’s world. “They said, ‘OK, it’s a girl’s property, and it’s got to be romance and fashion and glitter and glamour,’ and all of this stuff. ‘But we’re afraid the boys might change the dial, so there’s got to be action!'” She laughs. “It was really interesting how they were trying to juggle all of this.”

Despite such seemingly divergent directives, she says working with Sunbow Productions was “a dream” and adds that Hasbro was, for the most part, “hands off. They had moments, perhaps, when they exerted a bit of control over certain stories, but not much. They really let us have a lot of creative freedom.” That helps to explain why Jem explored deeper themes than other cartoons of the time and featured such a stereotype-breaking female lead. Jem herself is a quintessentially Eighties icon, a fashion plate with a shock of pink hair and cutting-edge outfits who’s also whip smart and a total boss. Despite the tragedies Jerrica/Jem has faced, she seemingly has it all: a fun, glamorous and successful life full of romance, rock and responsibility.

The cartoon’s progressive approach toward ethnic diversity — Holograms member Aja is Asian-American and Shana is black — also resonated with fans such as Christina Santisteban, who sports pink glitter eyeshadow, a blue wig and a yellow lace dress. “There were very few other cartoons that were so diverse in its characters, and so inclusive,” she says. “Where do you get a girl band that had sisters that were of different backgrounds? It was very, very well representative of what the ideal should be, in a sense. Jem was a wonderful microcosm.”

For all of Jem’s over-the-top flash, the show also offered subtler messaging to some fans. “[The show] did have an unconscious appeal to the LGBT community, because [of] the secret identity, and being afraid of people finding out and using it against you,” says Garth Jensen, who’s known in the fan community for his seamless custom mashups of Jem cartoon songs with Eighties hits such as New Order’s “Blue Monday” or Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.” “And just the idea that it was OK to be different — and it was OK to have that side of yourself that was fabulous, and you could bring that out. Being your true self is your ultimate goal.”

Will Edwardson, who boasts colorful, intricate tattoos of the faces of the Misfits and Holograms on his right arm, had a similar takeaway from the cartoon. As a gay teenager growing up in rural Kentucky, he turned to music for solace. “It was a comfort for me, because I was, of course, an outcast,” he says. “[I] didn’t fit in in my area. Being gay was just not the thing to be. It was pretty lonely and isolated.”

Developing an affinity for Jem and the Holograms‘ music- and glitz-filled premise was a natural next step. “I’ve always loved movies and [been] attracted to showbiz and fame,” he says. “So here’s a show of someone who has a dual identity — you have to be someone here, and you have to be someone else here — along with the music, the colors and the clothes. I just identified so much with that.”

Neither Marx nor Newark were aware of how much of an impact Jem had when it originally aired. But as Newark has started attending more conventions, and met fans, she’s seen the show’s profound, enduring effect on people.

“I have a lot of criers,” she says. “They just burst into tears. Nostalgia’s so powerful, and I realized quite a long time ago that I am custodian of something very precious, and I take it seriously. They’re, of course, like, crying and apologizing, and I’m like, ‘No, I understand.’ They’re suddenly eight years old again, or five years old, or however old they were. And the show’s just meant so much to them.”

Jenny Dumlao — a gregarious, enthusiastic New Yorker who traveled to JemCon with her two daughters, eight-year-old Aurora May and six-year-old Leilani — in particular gets extremely emotional when she talks about the ways Jem has provided her with guidance and comfort throughout her life. Born in the Philippines, she moved around frequently as a child after coming to the U.S., and fell in love with Jem early on. In fact, she and one of her best friends would play “radio” using a boombox, and pretend to be DJs talking over the Jem music cassettes — idle play which sparked a lifelong love of music and even a future foray into real-life radio DJ’ing.

“[The show] stays with you, and you experience it in so many different ways as you’re getting older,” she says, adding that she also sees now how big of an impression the show’s ethnic diversity left on her. “I was a kid that would get very excited if there was a character that was like me. And so Aja was the first favorite character. Because you’re like, ‘Oh, she’s Asian, but not only that, she’s so cool — and she’s so smart.'” A few minutes later, she becomes overcome with emotion as she talks about the power of this representation. “I don’t know, as a parent and just even back then, that’s really important to me in media, seeing yourself.”

When her daughters were old enough, Dumlao naturally introduced them to Jem and the Holograms. This introduction came at a time when she was leaving the girls’ father, as their relationship had turned toxic. “Sometimes bad things would be happening, and our safe space was in my room, in the bedroom away from stuff,” Dumlao recalls. “And we would watch [Jem].

“I didn’t think it was happening at the time, but I know based on how [the girls] would talk about the show that it was helping us in those times,” she adds. “And sometimes it was helping me too — whether at that moment I was getting inspiration, or whether I feel like I was going to a simpler time.”

Dumlao and her girls are in a much better place these days. Unsurprisingly, both Aurora May and Leilani are now mega-knowledgeable Jem fans in their own right. (During Friday night trivia, although they seem to be concentrating on coloring, they very quietly answer some difficult questions correctly.) Dumlao recognizes their Jem fandom might not always persist in the same form, but she sees how they’ve soaked up lessons from the cartoon, including the value of hard work, as well as the idea that girls can be anything and everything they want to be.

“I remember one time the girls said to me, ‘You’re like Jerrica — you work really hard, Mama,'” she recalls. “And I was like, ‘Wow. Thank you for noticing that.'”

JemCon kicks off bright and early on Saturday morning with toy designer Stefanie Eskander, who draws a rapt audience to a fascinating, photo-packed presentation covering her time working on Hasbro’s Jem doll line back in the Eighties. To the delight of everyone in the conference room, at one point she reveals her original concept art for Jem’s pet llama, Rama Llama, a fan-favorite cult item that ended up being available only as a mail-in incentive.

People furiously snap photos of a slide featuring Eskander’s drawing of the pink-hued animal, which she initially named Dolli Llama and gave accessories such as a smart bowler hat and hatbox. For a capper on the reveal, she pulls out a prototype llama figure that’s pale yellow, not shocking pink; it occupied a prominent place on her art table in the vendor room all weekend, a mini-celebrity in its own right.

Over the three-day weekend, more than 140 people from all around the world — two attendees short of the all-time JemCon attendance record — will converge on (and brighten up) this otherwise nondescript suburban Double Tree Hilton. The JemCon agenda is packed with activities, including trivia, a costume masquerade and late-night disco, panel discussions, karaoke, a charity auction, and a vendor room full of Jem ephemera for sale and display.

Loyalists devour this kind of minutiae, and have impressive knowledge of every inch of Jem’s narrative world, judging by Friday night’s competitive trivia round. (Sample: “This San Diego Comic Con-exclusive doll had issues with mold in the packaging.”) The Jem-inspired cosplaying is also truly, truly outrageous (and impressive). A willowy 17-year-old named Erica Hill — an aspiring graphic designer who “became totally obsessed” with the Jem and the Holograms cartoon via TV reruns — sports three separate outfits painstakingly constructed by her mom, Andrea, from a combination of thrift store finds and homemade flourishes. “She’s a MacGyver when it comes to birthing cosplay ideas,” Erica says proudly.

JemCon founder Liz Pemberton, who came to Jem after she started collecting the dolls in the early 2000s, launched the convention in July 2005 as a one-day event at the University of Minnesota. That initial installment drew 50 people and, from there, JemCon has happened every year since then in various cities. “Which astounds me,” Pemberton says with a laugh. Even more impressive, JemCon is still a very grassroots, DIY effort: It doesn’t have huge sponsors, and is a volunteer effort planned by a different person or group of people each year.

“I just wanted to get people together to look at our [doll] shoes and fashions,” says Pemberton, a thoughtful speaker who wears her silver-gray hair pulled back into a ponytail. “That it has grown into this much more comprehensive [thing], and that it has become such a welcoming place for such a diverse lot of people, continues to amaze me and makes me very happy.”

In Cleveland, every JemCon attendee has a different story to tell about how they came to Jem or why the franchise is meaningful to them. There’s Ankur Malhotra and TJ Schuessler, who started dating after they met at JemCon; Ilana Pernica, who has fiery red hair and cat-eye glasses and stresses with great urgency that she is the biggest fan of the Stingers, a fictional band introduced later in the series; and first-time attendee Becky Scott, who first loved Jem after hearing cassettes of the music.

Many fans have traveled great distances to JemCon or have parlayed their fandom into a career. Italy native Davide Quatraro learned English from watching the cartoon and now works in the dubbing industry; in fact, he even translated the Jem and the Hologramsmovie into Italian. “It was a huge thing,” he says, “when you can have your greatest passion turn into a job.”

As a kid, Rachel Pankiw — host and organizer of the Cleveland JemCon — was first drawn to Jem and the Holograms by the bright, eye-catching packaging of a VHS tape. But once she watched the cartoon, she saw her own life reflected in the story lines. “I really related to this whole story of the Starlight Girls, and the whole thing with kids not getting attention or getting left out,” she said, adding that her parents were divorced when she was small, and her dad wasn’t around much.

Independent of one another, and without prompting, multiple people express that JemCon feels like a family, which would be a cliché if it didn’t feel so absolutely true. This inclusivity isn’t just lip service, confirms Will Edwardson’s husband, Steve. “I’ve made a lot of good friends here,” he says. “With him being the collector and the one into Jem — and me being a supporter — they’ve made me feel very welcome.” In fact, the soft-spoken Southerners decided to get married in a surprise ceremony at the 2010 JemCon in New Hampshire, since same-sex marriage was then still outlawed in their home state of Tennessee. “We talked about it, and we said, ‘What other place to get married than at JemCon?'” Steve says.

Pemberton gets choked up while mentioning the Edwardsons’ JemCon marriage, and that Malhotra and Schuessler also connected romantically there. “Their lives have changed,” she says. “You don’t go into a convention going, ‘I’m going to change people’s lives.'” She laughs. “Just the way you don’t write a cartoon going, ‘I’m going to change people’s lives.'”

Certainly those attending JemCon represent a cross-section of the most dedicated Jem and the Holograms fans. Pemberton realizes that, in the greater scheme of pop-culture fandom, the brand’s impact is small. When she attended the official 2010 Barbie convention to promote JemCon — while dressed as the Misfits band member Pizzazz, bright green wig and all — “nobody recognized me,” she says, save for one man she knew from the Jem message board. But an interesting twist, Pemberton recalls that there were dancers dressed as Barbie and the Rockers at the convention who “made some joke about Jem and Jerrica, some little insult kind of joke.” She laughs as she adds, “And I’m like, ‘Mattel certainly knows who Jem is still!'”

That Jem and the Holograms hasn’t been given more of a modern second chance is curious. Nostalgia for Eighties cartoons shows no signs of abating, judging by the popularity of modern iterations of My Little Pony and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a buzzed-about new Netflix reboot, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Unfortunately, the cartoon’s polarizing reemergence into pop culture has something to do with it: The 2015 Jem and the Holograms movie was lambasted by critics (it has a 20-percent-fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating) and earned an anemic $2.3 million worldwide at the box office.

Perhaps because the show remains a cultural underdog, fans are intensely loyal to the franchise and its principals. Newark has parlayed her time with Jem into a musical career, and records danceable synth pop in the vein of Kylie Minogue or early Lady Gaga, while Britta Phillips too has Jem fans come see her live. “The confidence it gave me later in life, hearing that people were still so into [Jem], has given me confidence as a musician, in my singing,” she says. “It took me a long time to make a solo album, but I made one a couple of years ago, and the Jem fans were so supportive of that even though it sounds nothing like Jem.”

Unsurprisingly, JemCon attendees also have very detailed opinions over why the 2015 Jem movie does (and doesn’t) succeed. “Christy Marx wasn’t given the opportunity to write the movie,” says Katie Brandt, who’s attending JemCon with her younger sister, Colleen O’Leary. “That’s why it didn’t work; that’s why it fell apart.” This isn’t an assertion out of left field: Even producer Jason Blum apparently admitted in June that the movie should have had Marx involved.

Still, Marx did make a cameo in the film, portraying Lindsey Pierce, a Rolling Stone reporter, and received a warm welcome on the set — to the extent that when she asked to change some of her lines, she was given a green light with no hesitation. Marx is also extremely complimentary toward the actresses in the movie, even as she too expresses wishes that she had been involved with the writing.

“I think that the essence of Jem got lost, and we lost a great opportunity to genuinely reboot Jem,” she says. “I’ve had so many ideas over the years — of ways to reboot Jem, to bring it back, to rejuvenate it—and yet could never get any traction to do that. And so I think it’s just a shame that opportunity didn’t get pursued.”

“I think there’s a lot that can be done to update it, but keep it true to its essence,” she adds. “So I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen. I kind of doubt it at this point. “

Still, Jem is staying alive in pop culture. In recent years, Integrity Toys launched a high-end Jem and the Holograms doll collection. There’s a special edition, Jem-themed Manic Panic hair dye that glows under black light, while Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken has featured Jem in multiple episodes, once envisioning the character as a pop star who’s fallen on hard times since her Eighties heyday, another time as a foul-mouthed sexpot. (For an even raunchier take on the show and characters, there’s also a mega-NSFW fan parody on YouTube dubbed “Jiz and the Mammograms.”) The original Jem cartoon is finding a new audience as well, in the form of a comprehensive DVD release and, in recent years, syndicated reruns on the Hub (later Discovery Family) and Netflix.

One of the most groundbreaking extensions of the Jem and the Holograms legacy is the IDW Publishing comic book series produced between 2015 and 2017 written by Kelly Thompson. The comics feature characters with body diversity — a particular strength of artist Sophie Campbell, who drew many of IDW’s Jem issues, Thompson says — and expand the backstories of some Jem regulars; for example, Holograms keyboardist Kimber and Misfits keytarist Stormer are openly gay. Later in the series, the comic also introduced a musician named Blaze who is a transgender woman.

“I was interested primarily in drawing out the spirit of the original, which was incredibly diverse for its time, and making sure we continued that tradition by modernizing it and making it even more diverse,” Thompson says.

At JemCon, the Saturday evening festivities especially embody Jem’s spirit of diversity, and playful music and fashion. The impressive costume contest possesses both an abundance of inside jokes and attention to detail. Cherise “Tootie” Sims, who’s cosplaying as Jem’s boyfriend, Rio — specifically as he is in an episode where he kicks a plant in frustration — draws raucous laughter as she mimes kicking a tiny manicured fake plant with exaggerated anger. A veteran JemCon attendee named Jacques, who’s dressed as Jerrica’s late father, Emmett Benton, sports a lab coat and carries a working, light-up prototype of supercomputer Synergy.

With a giant smile on her face, Raven sweeps around the room wearing a floor-length cloak over a black miniskirt and yellow print leggings; she’s portraying a character dressed like an oracle, as seen in the beloved episode “Midsummer Night’s Madness.” Pittsburgh resident Danna Kurela glides gracefully in a costume handmade on her embroidery machine: a shiny gold dress with a fur-trimmed collar based on the Integrity doll line’s Glitter ‘n Gold Jem. The eventual winners are Dumlao — who draws laughter as she does ballet moves around the floor while dressed as Synergy, complete with purple body paint and a silver jumpsuit — and her girls, cosplaying as Jem and Jerrica.

Once the contest is over, the musical portion of the night kicks into high gear. Jem-themed musical karaoke goes longer than it’s supposed to, simply because everyone is having so much fun belting out the songs from the show, although Dumlao (under her DJ name, Jenny Doom) eventually packs the dance floor by spinning an all-killer mix of tunes: Prince, the B-52s, Madonna, Cardi B, Sugarhill Gang. The time ticks away toward midnight, and JemCon has been going full steam for nearly 15 hours.

Plans are already in motion for the next JemCon, which will take place in September 2019, in Buffalo, New York. An agenda and guest list are still being worked out, but it’s safe to say many in attendance in Cleveland are already looking forward to next year.

“I meet so many little kids now,” Newark says. “Some of them come in full cosplay, like a little tiny Pizzazz or a little Jem. I always wondered if [the cartoon] would translate, because it was set in the Eighties, but they don’t care. They love the whole thing: the color, the music, the sparkle, the glamour. [There are] new little Jem boys and Jem girls running around. It’s so cool.”

“The characters, the stories, the emotional elements of it, the fashion, the music,” Marx adds, “I mean, it all came together in a perfect storm, and became this amazing phenomenon that’s called Jem.”

#jem #jem and the holograms #jem & the holograms #the misfits #the stingers

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brittanyyoungblog · 3 years

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Does Listening to Sexy Music Get Us in the Mood for Sex?

Guest post by Katie Adams

“I've been really tryin', baby / Tryin' to hold back this feeling for so long / And if you feel like I feel, baby / Then, c'mon, oh, c'mon / Let's get it on.” — Marvin Gaye, “Let’s Get It On” (1973, side one)

Imagine turning on the radio and hearing Marvin Gaye sing those sexy lyrics. If you weren’t already in the mood for sex, would his music help get you there? The popular media sure seems to think so, as evidenced by numerous articles and blogs presenting playlists guaranteed to “get you lucky” or put your partner “in the mood.” For example, Cosmopolitan published an article listing “23 sex songs you need on your bedroom playlist” and Thought Catalogue published a post titled, “17 Super Sexual Songs That Will Make You Drop Your Panties Immediately…With Lyrics!” [1, 2].

Music is known to alter mood in general, especially through its mode (major or minor), tempo, and pitch [3], but can it also alter libido? Does listening to Marvin Gaye and other sexy song-makers really make people want to “get it on” and, if so, why?

Analyses of popular songs dating back to the 1940s shows that as many as 70 to 90% of songs contain sexual themes [4]—that’s a lot of sex songs! And people sometimes incorporate these songs into their intimate lives, with research showing that people, and especially those who desire short-term or causal relationships, often report using love songs for sexual purposes [5]. This kind of music could potentially assist in regulating mood (e.g., making you calm and happy), increasing arousal, or conveying a message (e.g., “I want sex”). This, in turn, could get both partners in a sexual mood and facilitate the initiation of sex.

It may also be the case that sexually suggestive lyrics might make sex-related thoughts and behaviors in one’s mind more accessible and cause you to continue thinking about sex even after the song is over. You may also become directly physiologically aroused by the sexual messages in the song’s lyrics (or the sound of the performer’s voice). All of this might add up to increased interest in sexual behavior, should a potential opportunity arise.

In light of this, I wanted to test whether listening to sex-related song lyrics would prompt more interest in casual sex. To do so, I conducted a study on the immediate influence music has on individuals’ internal states, including their thoughts and arousal [6]. I anticipated that after hearing music with sexual lyrics (compared to hearing music without sexual content), participants would be more likely to indicate interest in a short-term sexual relationship if given the opportunity.

I asked 108 undergraduate students to complete a hypothetical dating profile while being exposed to either a playlist of sexual songs, instrumental covers of those same sexual songs, or generic instrumental songs. Participants answered a variety of multiple-choice questions modeled from various dating websites, which covered topics such as relationships, politics, and faith/religion, as well as a question about the desired length of their next relationship—the key variable of interest.

I expected that sex-related lyrics (as compared with the two control conditions) would decrease the desired length of their next relationship—in other words, they’d be more open to a casual fling. However, contrary to my expectations, there was no effect of sexual lyrics on desired relationship length compared to the other music conditions.

In thinking about why the results didn’t turn out the way I expected, one possibility that came to mind is it might be due to the choice of music. All songs were pre-selected by the research team and consisted of pop and R&B songs from the 1990s-2010s (except for “Let’s Get It On” from 1973). Perhaps it is not sexy music per se that is the key—maybe the effect depends on listening to music that is sexy to you, which can be highly individualized. Allowing people to select their own sexy song playlist might therefor have a very different effect. Also, we cannot be certain which aspects of the music are most important. Is it the sexual lyrics themselves, or is it the sound of a sexy voice, or the mental image of a musician you find sexy that matters most?

It is also possible that any potential effect of music might be different for different people—music is more powerful or impactful for some than others. Perhaps for those who are more musically inclined or sensitive to sound, sexy music could have a bigger effect than for those who are not.

Another possibility is that even though music has been repeatedly found to impact mood [7], it may be that it does not create something out of nothing. One’s own motivations and desires, especially regarding mating and sexual behaviors, may be the driving force behind our actions. Similar to how people chose to listen to music that matches their current mood [8], listening to sexually themed music may only serve to amplify an existing mood or desire—not create a desire that otherwise does not exist.

A recent study worth mentioning found that non-sexual music can prompt feelings of sexual arousal—but only when that music had been previously paired with sexual cues [9]. Thus, when we psychologically associate a song with sex, listening to it can create a feeling of arousal, even if the song itself is not necessarily about sex. This opens up a whole new way to think about when music is likely to put us in the mood—what feelings or memories come to mind when you hear a given song? If it reminds you of something arousing, you may very well start to feel aroused. But because different people may be reminded of different things by the same song, they might experience very different effects.

In light of this, you probably can’t just put on some sex-themed music and expect sexual magic to commence. However, if you and your partner have a song or playlist that you both associate with sex or with a positive sexual memory, it might very well help to put it on when you want to set the right mood.

Thanks to Katie Adams for this guest post! Learn more about her below:

Katie Adams is a Doctoral student at the University of Kansas in the Social Psychology program, working with Dr. Omri Gillath. Her research focuses on close relationships and the underlying motivations of attraction, sexual behaviors, and short- vs. long-term commitment. She is currently heading research projects on (1) the creation and validation of a measure for pornography consumption motives, and (2) the motivations for, and outcomes of, communicating infidelity to one's partner. She completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of Rochester (2014) and her Master’s degree at Villanova University (2016). This is her second guest blog post for Sex and Psychology.

Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click here for more from the blog or here to listen to the podcast. Follow Sex and Psychology on Facebook, Twitter (@JustinLehmiller), or Reddit to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTube and Instagram.

[1] Gilmore, P. (2017, October 20). 23 sex songs you need on your bedroom playlist. Cosmopolitan. Retrieved from http://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk

[2] Tarkoff, N. (2015, March 30). 17 super sexual songs that will make you drop your panties immediately…with lyrics! [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://thoughtcatalog.com/nicole-tarkoff/2015/03/17-super-sexual-songs-that-will-make-you-drop-your-panties-immediately-with-lyrics/

[3] Västfjäll, D., Juslin, P. N., & Hartig, T. (2012). Music, subjective wellbeing, and health: The role of everyday emotions. In R. A. R. Raymond, G. Kreutz & L. Mitchell (Eds.), Music, health and wellbeing (pp. 405–423). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[4] Arnett, J. J. (2002). The sounds of sex: Sex in teens’ music and music videos. In J. Brown, K. Walsh-Childers, & J. Steele (Eds.), Sexual teens, sexual media (pp. 253–264). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

[5] Brockert, D., Haj-Mohamadi, P. & Gillath, O. (2016, April). Attachment style, sexual strategies, and love songs. Poster session presented at the 19th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, Lawrence, KS.

[6] Adams, K. N. (2018). Let's get it on: Music lyrics' influence on mating strategy (Order No. 10845271) [Master’s thesis, Villanova University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

[7] Saarikallio, S., & Erkkilä, J. (2007). The role of music in adolescents' mood regulation. Psychology of Music, 35,88–109.

[8] Thoma, M. V., Ryf, S., Mohiyeddini, C., Ehlert, U., & Nater, U. M. (2012). Emotion regulation through listening to music in everyday situations. Cognition and Emotion, 26, 550–560.

[9] Wan, C., & Lalumiere, M. L. (2017). Can music cue sexual arousal? The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 26(3), 238–248.

Image Source: 123RF/Pawel Sierakowski