#this is the weirdest parallel i’ve ever made wow

[cyberdva]

mark and johnny give off subtle bill and ted vibes to me and i don’t know why

[laora-inn]

Supernatural - 15x19. Why it’s a good ep considering Destiel

As all of my SPN metas, it’s Destiel positive and happy end positive, don’t like - don’t read.

I wasn’t disappointed of this ep’s outgoing, in fact, I’ve been waiting for something like that.  Here in September I wrote my specs for the last 7 eps, and for 15x19 there was one: “they will not talk about Cas’s saving. And he will be dead in this episode for sure”. I was especially sure about this spec after 15x18. ‘Cause THE INTRIGUE guys. 

There is no intrigue at all - only Cas’s returning/saving in 15x20 could SAVE THE SHOW. Other way - it’s never too late to rebel :) Though I don’t think it will be necessary, not in this case.  So I liked the 15x19 outcome and my hopes for the DeanCas happy end are strong as ever. 15x19 made them stronger. 

I liked a lot of things in the ep - so, so many of them. Jack and Dean’s grieving. Blood mark on Dean’s jacket. Sam and Dean’s readiness to surrender. Dean’s demand for Chuck, to return Cas - though ONLY CAS AND DEAN THEMSELVES COULD DO IT. Luci’s comeback as a fact - I speculated about it a bit here, though I thought more of Nick calling to Luci. But Nick was also Chuck’s puppet, why not?  Luci’s playing Cas - “let me in”. We saw Dean’s weakness, so clear that it hurts and could be even uncomfortable to watch. We ALL understood that was a coy the moment Luci called I suppose - but not Dean. And THIS FACT alone is nice - not the details though.  Michael’s tragedy, though hidden and not well-played - but it was there.  Chuck’s inability to love. The whole metaness of his character - “I’m cancelling your show” again. His death wish. Sam and Dean’s revenge neglect. “That’s not who I am. That’s not who we are”. Chuck as a human, without his strength. It’s strange, but I think he could be happy now! If he’ll change something in himself, of course.  Chuck’s empty Book of Death. His book is empty now, there will be no new Death... and he can start from the beginning. He can write his own story now and be redeemed - despite all the things he had done. It’s a new page for him as well. Chuck finally could be free himself.  The way Jack became the new Almighty AFTER exploding in the Empty. THE EMPTY IS THE ONE THAT GAVE HIM THE STRENGTH, it’s not the enemy. I wrote about it here.   Amara’s mentioning - and it was Sam who asked about her, she was important for both Sam and Dean all the way.  Beautiful acting - they certainly did their best with the script given. 

The way how the children should be free of their parents - Michael and Luci from Chuck, Sam and Dean from Chuck - and their dad, his name even wasn’t curved on the table by the end of the ep and despite the kind words to John in 14x13 we saw in 15x16 and 15x17 how destructive was John’s impact on Dean - not at Sam, ‘cause Dean was protecting Sam all along. Jack from Sam and Dean - this freedom is blurred though ‘cause of Cas’s absence in the episode structure. But his freedom is a good thing itself - for Jack it’s impossible to be a human, Kelly believed that. Cas believed that. Cas saw paradise on earth - so Jack’s chosen fate was in being a Child who is everywhere, in all of us, who doesn’t play with us, but lets us act ourselves. He isn’t the God as we understand him in strict norms, he isn’t cruel and abusive.  And he should be free of any expectations from Sam and Dean - Cas said it in 15x18 to him. Jack is a grown-up in his own manner. He is independent now, and that’s a good thing. 

Also, there is a promise in these shots:

We see these shots 3 times - before Jack returns all the humans, in the process of returning (see the girl whose bike was abandoned at the road at the end of 15x18 and at 15x19 beginning?) and when he talks about him being everywhere.  One More. The One.  Is Jack the One now? Is he the one more One?  Is it ONE MORE EPISODE? One more story? One more thing? One more... You can continue the thought if you want. All I want to say - these shots are visually important and I find them hopeful :)

I liked Sam and Dean in the end. I’m a Destiel shipper but I’ve never hated Sam and Sam and Dean’s relationship. I just think it’s not good for this relationship to be romantic - it’s not good for both of Sam and Dean. But I respect them and their bond and don’t see anything bad for DeanCas ship in it. In fact, it’s quite the opposite - Sam was helping both Cas and Dean all the time. I’m afraid of thinking what will happen without him. Nothing good I suppose. I liked the way this scene was filmed. It’s also hopeful for me - though the double reading here is possible.  But I think “just us” is not the end.  I liked the names curved on the table as the fact. Now it’s confirmed - they ARE a family. All of them.

I liked the choice of the song - Running on Empty. Wow. Symbolically - ‘cause the Empty in the story is the separate character AND the place, you know. I liked a clip-show at the end. It’s nostalgic and sweet, and it has Cas in it - he IS the part of that, not only as Dean’s love interest, hey. He has his own party.  Here the story of blood ends.  What’s next?

We’ll wait and see. 

And now - some things in 15x19 which left me disappointed. 

I must confess that I’ve always loved SPN myth-arcs and wasn’t noticing Destiel as a thing for a while because my interests weren’t in the field of shipping. This show wasn’t about shipping for me - and the weirdest, it isn’t about shipping for me now. It’s a DAMN GOOD STORY WITH THE SENSE. And the sense is love. Yep. 

So this episode didn’t do well with the myth-arc.  

You see, I kinda enjoyed some of Buckleming eps. For instance, 15x13 - I love it, and there are some more. I’ve even appreciated their lack of subtext, parallels, allusions sometimes. They could be very specific. One more example - when Dean in 11x03 cupped Cas’s face, it was very easy to understand the ROMANTIC nature of their relationship and stuff.

But this ep?! 

Pandemic situation added some stress I suppose. Nevertheless, all the story with Lucifer and Michael is just catastrophic. The only strong part was Lucifer telling Michael how Chuck can’t love - and the fact that his words were confirmed by the plot, and Chuck’s inability to love finally ended him. We’ve known that. We’ve predicted that. I’ve written about it here. 

“You’ve killed your own son” (c) Dean, who didn’t do that.   

But the rest part of this story---ugh. Killing Luci so easily? Michael is so plain as a character? Are you f*cking kidding me?!! Even AU!Michael was more interesting, I swear. I had a feeling that I myself could write this part of story better. And it’s not about lack of Cas as Dean’s love interest or hope for his returning, or for DeanCas whatever, I’m pretty sure we will get all of that. It’s about the myth-arc only! One of the main ones from season 4! 

All this epic story of Luci and Mike could be done much more better. Like WAY MORE BETTER. With the same convo, you know,with the same outcome, which is absolutely correct - we are not supposed to serve our parents. But different details, WTF! And that’s my main point here. 

There are some other things that I’m disappointed about, though less:   1) Betty the Reaper was a total WTF either despite of her eager lines. 2) I need more explanations about how exactly Jack gained his new power, how is he reunited with Amara, how he returned all the people BUT NOT Donna, Bobbie, Charlie, Jody, Eileen, Cas - not the people HE cares about. Or they are not important for him now? This thing could be resolved in 15x20 though. 3) I didn’t like physical violence from Chuck. A) I have some doubts if he can properly do it, he like to watch. What’s changed? I’m not convinced. B) I felt physical pain from that scene. It was awful. It all could be showed for us in a different way, but they didn’t want that. 4) I didn’t like how Chuck’s mind changes every second. I don’t kill you, I don’t care about you, you’ll live and suffer, no, I’ll kill you. It could be written more properly, but hey. This part is much more harder to fix that Luci and Mike’s. 5) I didn’t like the dog move. Like AT ALL. I loved Jensen’s kind voice and his acting, but: A) all these doggy parallels are not for me, I didn’t like how Cas was called a dog before - in Buckleming eps specifically (and that terrible parallel in 8x15!), but not only there. I didn’t like when Atropos called Sam and Dean Cas’s pets either. Not my kink, sorry - and it’s JUST TOO THICK; B) it’s classic move. So classic that it’s dumb! The Bad Guy always hurts some cute pets. Kitties, doggies, birds whatever. That’s how we are supposed to understand that he is Bad. Hey, we all know that Chuck is bad. Why to add something? To mess with Destihellers? Not helping here. 6) The moment with Luci instead of Cas (for Dean, for Jack) could be less “haha gays” and more proper either I guess. It feels more like a mocking to me the way it is, whether the idea was good. Luci played Cas for Dean before (11x11, 11x14), as he played Jess for Sam and Sarah for Nick, and he played a father for Jack. He was in his place there - a mock from Chuck. But you can’t blame Chuck on the poor writing ALL THE TIME. 7)  Also the music. It just didn’t feel right.

8) The end for Jack is right... but also somehow confusing, like something is omitted. Or SOMEONE. You know whom.

Someone whose absence also made Michael so plain, I suppose. 

Jack’s story started with Cas, I think it couldn’t end without him. Jack was so devastated to hear about his death - and all is OK in the finale? ‘Cause he is the Almighty now? And Michael - he was also connected to Cas, we saw it in 14x10, in 15x08 - all the way actually. There should be some mentioning of Cas from Michael I think. Not from the DeanCas point of view - it’s Adam who noticed something in 15x08, not Michael, Michael was angry with Cas. But somehow their connection made Michael stronger as a character. Okay, he is not strong enough to rebel. But that’s Cas who said that! He said that he felt sorry for Michael, that it’s Lucifer who was always the smart one. 

Without this context Michael isn’t easy to understand - though we heard that Adam is erased and I liked that. That’s a hint - Michael had a strong will when he had Adam, without Adam he is lost, just like AU!Michael was. 

I think he is lost because he killed his Lucifer - in both cases. He gave Chuck his ending - and Chuck can’t respect that, he doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like to win.  So Michael couldn’t rebel though he’d known about Chuck’s motives from Cas, and not because of love, but because him being a cuck.  And all this will be much more easier to understand with Cas’s mentioning. But NO. We had a dog instead. Like WTF again??? 

The Jack’s part could be fixed in 15x20 I suppose. But not Michael’s part.  Well, sorry for him.  Now I must add the myth-arc was also connected with Cas all along. He is not just the main hero’s love interest - well, HE IS, but he has also his role in the plot. HE IS A REAL TRICKSTER of the show, the rebellious one, the rule-breaker - at all levels. So without even MENTIONING him in the main myth-arc all this arc looks like a card house, and not as proper as Luci’s card house from this ep was. 

This arc deserved much more better. It deserved Cas as a trickster. Don’t like him even mentioned ‘cause he’s also Dean’s love interest? Well, say good-bye to a proper myth story. And that’s a shame, in my opinion. 

‘Cause 15x20 could be 15x19 and vice versa and both eps could win ‘cause of that. 

Well, that’s the reality we live in. And we’ve got so much goodness already. We should be thankful for that. 

9) Who the hell is curved Jack and Cas’s names on the table? Sam and Dean? Jack? With Mary, it had sense, with all these flashbacks. I understood she curved her name herself. What’s for Cas and Jack? What’s the point? Dead for good? I know that’s NOT the point. So what is it? I can’t understand it here. 

We need continuation, guys! :)

[hudsontfreeman]

Noticing (or a Case for Seinfeld Living)

It’s really impossible to know definitively, but I’d say I’m about halfway through the fourth or fifth season of the second reboot of my life’s tv show.

This is more of an estimate - I’m not really sure how I’ve been dividing up the seasons. Obviously, the first season was the 3-4 years at the beginning where nobody really knew what was going on and the protagonist was kind of just there. He was arguably, more of a blank canvas for the audience to see themselves through, as the real protagonists (his mom and dad) did all the expository heavy lifting. To be fair, this was just an introduction to the series and audiences were at least impressed enough for it to be renewed.

The formula found its bearings in the second season, as most successful shows tend to do, and stayed more or less on track for ten seasons till adolescence prompted a hard reboot. I can’t stress enough how much the show changed: episodes varied widely week to week, multiple characters were booted, the previously so-called co-protagonists of the show (those rascally parents) occasionally became outright antagonists, etc… It was quite frankly, not that great of a show, and in many ways traded the lack of conflict of its predecessor, with an abundance of conflict rarely resolved. It was not a show anyone was enjoying and the second college reboot was a welcome return to form.

This latest season is not half bad. We’ve got a lot of good series-wide story arcs going. There is a fair amount of midseason conflict, reoccurring characters that are staying relatively fresh (with the exception of Trevor), a decent theme song (it’s currently some experimental jazz from hell), and I’m really feeling like the protagonist is “starting to figure out what his deal is”, so to speak.

It is important to note that the protagonist has “started to figure out what his deal is” many times before this season, so I wouldn’t necessarily trust his judgement, but the confidence is remarkable.

He, at the very least, seems to finally be able to admit that he is not a cool person, which is certainly progress. Naively, though; he is convinced that this admission might very well be the first step to eventually becoming cool.

Most engaged viewers know this is a misstep.

~

“Life’s not like a movie” might be as useless of a phrase as it is pervasive. The assumption of the phrase implies that everyone is going around living their lives like the main character in a blockbuster comedy - cartoonishly pursuing their dreams, accidentally falling in love, and somehow, repeatedly being surprised when things don’t work out the way they think things should.

This is clearly false. No one thinks like this.

No one thinks everything will work out. No one thinks they’ll get everything they want. No one thinks their life is simple. No one thinks they’ll find the complete answer to the question they’ve been asking all along.

No one is nearly as naive about their existence as we seem to think they are. And I don’t think people watch movies and TV shows because they want these things either.

Sure, maybe there is someone out there who says they want life to be this uncomplicated, straightforward thing, but no one actually believes them. Nearly every person I’ve ever met genuinely believes that they are the true pragmatist. Has anyone ever actually met a consciously sincere idealist? Who wants to be the sucker?

Perhaps I’m generalizing, but I don’t think people watch television or movies, read books, and tell stories because they are innocently convinced of the simplicity of their narrative structure or because they want to vicariously live through that simplicity either. People are not starry-eyed, gullible children, nor do they wish they could be. People reflect their lives through story, not because they make life seem simple, but because these stories make life seem meaningful. I would go as far as to say - they don’t just make life seem meaningful, they remind them that it already is.

~

My friend Trevor and I believe genuinely, that we are this latest generation’s reincarnation of the 90’s sitcom, Seinfeld. He is George and I am Jerry, respectively. We’ve drawn out many of the parallels over the course of our friendship and I will list them here now:

- Trevor is short and stocky (George), while I am tall(er) and lanky (Jerry).

- My friend, Sam (Kramer) often walks into my house unannounced, hair lopsided, looking to “borrow” things from my kitchen.

- We routinely complain about our lives at various diners/coffee shops loudly and with little sympathy for the people around us. (The plot of the show)

- We improvise neurotic standup routines about the absurdity of mundane life and our own selfishness. (Much like George and Jerry, these routines are more sad than they are funny)

The only thing we’ve failed to find a direct parallel for is Elaine, as perhaps the most unrealistic aspect of the show, was the fantasy of anyone staying good friends with their ex.

All of these specific comparisons aside, I think what Trevor and I really like about this joke, is the idea that the only difference between our lives “in the real world” and our lives as tv characters, is the perspective that comes with observing rather than experiencing. What I mean by that is to say, there is something inherently and beautifully constructive about observing years as seasons, days as episodes, and people as characters. They become features of the life we are actively noticing, not just necessities of the existence we are passively being forced to endure.

As many sad, 90s-sitcom-obsessives like myself know, the significance of the creation of the Seinfeld rested in the catchphrase Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld sold the show on - it’s “a show about nothing.” The idea of it was, if you take a comedian like Seinfeld and put him in a variety of mundane settings, the jokes will come, not from heightening his experiences, but by letting him endlessly interpose his observations on the absurdity of the mundane itself. But I don’t think that’s significant in the way people may think it is.

Yes, George/Jerry/Elaine/Kramer are funny, goofy people with above average neurotic tendencies. Yes, it is a situational comedy written by professional comedy writers, building narratives out of the ways standups get their material. Yes, it broke many mainstream television conventions and historically broke the formula of the sitcom. But I think the most brilliant thing Seinfeld did, is definitively inspire the tacit belief that everything is worth paying attention to. Maybe, it’s worth noticing because its infuriating, or ridiculous, or hilarious, or disturbing, etc… But absolutely everything demands to be noticed.

In the fourth season of Seinfeld (arguably the best and most influential season), George and Jerry begin developing a TV show in much the same way Seinfeld and Larry David did four years prior. Throughout episode after episode, they go back and forth trying to come up with some fresh idea to wow NBC executives. This goes on with some degree of expected laziness and hijinks till George finally has it. Ever the meta-self-referential goldmine, George decides it should be “a show about nothing.” NBC executives are neither wowed nor thrilled, but the pilot get’s made, and all the characters in Seinfeld get remade in the show-within-the-show - “Jerry”. This was genius for two reasons.

It justified itself as a show by explaining its own concept directly to the audience through the show itself. (Perhaps the reason why this season skyrocketed the shows viewership)

It explained how television works, and more importantly, it explained how stories work.

The characters of Seinfeld, much like the characters of any story where the writer takes the time to describe them, are just bizarre people living in our bizarre world. Brought to their logical conclusions, television characters are human beings incapable of not observing the particularities of their existence. They go to the same coffee shops, they hang out with the exact same people, and they can’t stop scrutinizing the smallest detail of, or change, to that reality. Television shows remind us that the details of our existence are interesting.

The characters we surround ourselves with can be the funniest people in the world when we notice why they do what they do. The job we spend thirty to seventy hours a week at can be the weirdest thing in the world when we notice how ridiculous it is. This year can be a not-so great season. Tomorrow can be a particularly great episode. The television show we’re participating in can be surprising and disappointing and funny and sad and predictable and strange, but its a show we choose whether or not to watch - just watch it!

~

Sometimes, when I have a bad day, I go home, I go to bed, and I narrate out loud, “Hudson was not having a good day.” It almost always helps. Not because it reminds me that I am an insane person and that’s funny, but because it reminds me that I am a character in a movie I am watching, not just playing a role in. I am the protagonist of my own movie, playing a character in other people’s movies, learning how to notice why we’re in a movie at all. Any moment that we don’t realize that, that the story is meaningful, whatever it is, is a moment lost to ourselves.

"Life’s not like a movie” is a pointless phrase that doesn’t mean anything about anyone. We know life is not simple, but we want life to be consequential. Stories tell us it is. So we remind ourselves by telling the stories and listening to the stories and vice versa and on and on till we're dead and death is always a pretty good story too. (Almost always a great tv show or movie)

Life may not be painless or easy, but it is certainly interesting. Movies, television, novels, myths, comics, plays, etc… Those things are at their best when they remind us that the only difference between letting living pass us by and actively choosing to experience existence, is the amount of attention we pay to it. The latest season of the tv show that is my being is sometimes pretty rough, especially when I’m arguing with Trevor about who the main character is, but it is not boring. I can’t ask for much else.

[living-dead-parker]

The MOMA - H.H

Pairing: Harry Holland x reader

Summary: Where Harry sees the most beautiful piece of art the world has ever seen...oh and there's, like, pictures there too. (Where Harry meets reader at the Museum of Modern Art)

Warnings: cussing

Word Count: 1.9k

N/A: This is based off my experience at the SFMOMA in June where I saw a really cute guy who I thought was the love of my life bc he was so cute and soft and with who I had such strong bi-fi connection except this is more how i wish it went down bc me and the dude never talked. Like, we would steal glances at each other and follow each other through the whole Magritte exhibit but unfortunately he was the one who got away :")) but ye and the Tilted Plane part made me really wish I had a Harry Holland to hold hands with so I HAD to add that in too

"Tom fuck off." Sam laughs after Tom pulls his hair as we wait in line to get tickets for the Museum. Tom, Haz, Sam, and I decided to have an impromptu trip through California.  We decided that we're only ever here for work and never get to explore the state.

Currently, we are waiting in line at the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco. San Francisco was just one of the plenty stops in our road trip and the next is San Luis Obispo to go to different beaches. We decided to stay in San Francisco for three days to witness as much as we can.

"Guys, shut the fuck up. We're in a museum." Haz says. We all nod and quiet down. We pay for our tickets and go down to the entrance.

"Last chance to upgrade your tickets for the Magritte exhibit." the man at the entrance tells us. We all look at each other and nod, deciding to give it a shot. We upgrade our tickets and take the elevators up to the fourth floor where the exhibit is.

Once we get there, we see a group of people standing in a room. We see some people conversing, others looking at the art and others reading the description on the side. We walk through the first room. However, in the second room, my eyes lay on a girl with two girls making out next to her.

She has h/l h/c hair. She wears a white lacy dress with her hair in two buns. She has a pink backpack on her shoulder and black Doc Martens. She turns to her friends and I get a brief look at her face. She has e/c eyes and a cute nose. She has red lipstick and winged liner.

"Uh oh, Harry's being a creep." Haz says. I snap out of my trance and turn to the group.

"Huh?" I ask. They all chuckle, looking behind me.

"She's a cutie for sure." Tom says. Everyone nods in agreement and walks off. They don't stray too far but are obviously giving me space to try something.

"You sure?" I overhear her friend ask.i turn and notices she's alone now.

I walk around the exhibition, stealing glances from her, enjoying how she  looks. She'll occasionally go to the other side of the room but I'd follow her through the whole exhibit. She read through all of the descriptions and takes in all the art. In the fourth room we see a painting of a man with a cage as his head.

She pulls out her phone and takes a picture. I step closer and suddenly decided to speak up.

"Pretty dope painting, innit?" I ask. She turns around, eyes wide in shock

"Definitely. The Therapeutist. One of his weirdest for sure." you respond.

"I'm assuming you're big on art, huh?"  I ask. She nods, looking down a little.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." you say.

"I'm Harry, by the way." I say holding my hand out. She takes my hand and shakes it.

"Y/n."

"What a lovely name. Say, y/n. Since you know so much about art and this dude, why don't you teach me about his art?" I ask.

She smiles as she nods at my proposition. Turning around, she leads us to a picture of a rose with a knife. She takes it in for a while, running a finger across her chin as she thinks.

"So this one, it's actually my favorite of them all, is called Le Coup au Couer. The Blow to the Heart. It was created in 1952." she says. She looks up at the picture and examines it.

"It seems as the flower is holding the dagger and my way of interpreting it is that those you love tend to hurt you the most. Their love is the rose but their actions or words can be the dagger." she says. I nod, taking in every word as she begins to dissect everything about the painting. The colors and the color scheme, the parallels, how the lines can symbolize different things and I realize what she's doing.

"Can I ask, are you into photography?" I ask. Remembering I've had to dissect and analyze tons of my photographs in old photography classes.

"I like taking pictures of things for sure. But I used to take a photography class my last two years of high school, so analyzing pictures was a big thing in that class. Guess it just stuck." she says. I smile widely.

"That's so cool. I'm a photographer, so I think it's cool how you do that." I say. She smiles widely.

"That's so cool, I'd definitely love to see your work someday!" she says.

We continue through the exhibition and at the end, I see the guys sitting down and talking. They look up and notice us walking out together, laughing at some dumb thing we heard someone say.

"Well, it was nice talking your ear off, Harry."

"Oh, I didn't mind. I enjoyed it actually. Learned something new." I say. She smiles widely and nods.

"Well, I should go find my friends. They said they'd be here but they're not." she says with a frown.

"You can join me and my group, we can help you look for them." I offer, knowing they wouldn't mind. She shakes her head.

"Nah, it's cool. Don't wanna take your guys time here. I'll be fine." she says. I shake my head this time.

"No worries, join us. They won't mind, I promise." I say. She looks around contemplatively before giving out a simple yes.

"Okay, yeah I'll go." she says. I smile at her and lead her towards my group. They all look up at us with wide knowing smiles.

"Hey guys, so this is y/n. A new friend. She lost her friends somewhere so I told her we'd help her find them." I say to the group. Eagerly, they nod, while greeting her.

"I don't mean to sound like a fan girl or anything and I'm so sorry but holy shit you're Tom Holland. Wow." Y/n says as she looks at Tom with an excited look. However, she doesn't freak out like girls in the past have. Something different, which I like.

"Sure am, nice to meet you y/n," he says as he stands to greet her. "I assume you're a fan?" he asks.

"If I'm being honest, Homecoming was better than the other Spiderman movies. But yeah I'm kind of a fan." she admits with a shrug. A wide smile spreads across Tom's face.

"Well thank you!" Tom chirps, his face turning into a genuine smile.

"Anyways, Tom is my brother. Then there's his best mate, Haz. He's basically like another brother. Next to him is my twin brother, Sam." I tell her. She greets Haz and Sam with a simple handshake and a courteous hello.

We walked around for 10 minutes before we found her friends. The friends came up to her, screaming about how one of them almost broke a sculpture. Something about accidentally leaning on it.

"Leave it to Nadia to almost break something. Disaster gays, am I right? Well, we should head to the top floor and then head out?" she asks her friends. They agree with her and are quick to turn around.

"It was nice meeting you, Harry. Again, thank you for letting me talk your ear off." she says. I shake my head, indicating that it was fine.

"It's fine, I enjoyed it." I say. She smiles shyly and waves, walking off. I turn around and see everyone looking at me with deadpan looks.

"What?" I ask. They all roll their eyes at me as I shrug at them.

"You could've asked for some way to contact her, man." Tom says like it was obvious. Which it was.

We continued out throughout the rest of the museum, exploring the top floors first. Occasionally, we'd bump into y/n and her friends. She'd wave at me from afar and vice versa. However, we all managed to ride the same elevator up to the sixth floor. As we began walking the floor, I noticed that y/n's friends would push her towards me. I saw them become friends with my group. All of them would stay behind us a bit, Sam taking my camera from me to enjoy ourselves. We went into one of the showrooms and watched a video on modern black history. We moved into a different show room where they had three giant screens in a dark room that play sea noises.

However, things picked up in an exhibit called the 'Tilted Plane'. The point of the exhibit was that it was a dark room with lights hung up cascading down at an angle so that it seemed the room was tilted. It did feel that way as our eye adjusted to the dark. I walked in side by side with y/n, enjoying the trippiness.

"Oh shit." I hear y/n whisper as she grabs hold of my arm. I reach out to her, holding her up slightly.

"You alright, love?" I ask. She nods rapidly, a chuckle emitting from her lips.

"Yeah, I just got really tripped out right now and almost fell." she says. I laugh lightly as she lets go of my arm. We move throughout the room and I take notice of how the lighting makes her just so much more intriguing.

We walk around the room for a while longer and enjoy the atmosphere. After 10 minutes, though, we notice we're the only ones in the room. Everybody left and she begins to take notice too.

"We should probably head back. They must be wondering where we're at." She says.

"Yeah, probably." I say. She leads the way, being careful as we walk out. We notice the big group hanging out near the elevators. We walk up to them and I see y/n frown.

"Looks like this is the end." she says lightly. She seems disappointed that our time is up.

"You've been on all the floors?" I ask. She frowns as she nods. I sigh as I begin to muster up some courage.

"Before you go, can I ask for your social media?" I ask nervously. She chuckles nodding. Within a matter of seconds, she pulls out a pen and a random receipt and begins to write down her Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat handles. She hands me the paper with a smile on her face.

"It was nice meeting you Harry. And if you're still here later today, I may or may not be at Fisherman's Wharf later today around 4." she says. I nod and wave her off as she walks away with her friends.

"My man!" Tom says excitedly. I chuckle as I put the paper in my wallet to keep it secure.

"Damn Harry got game!" Haz says. I shrug.

"She was perfect." I say.

Later that day, I looked through my camera, noticing Sam took pictures of me and y/n. A lot of them were from behind as we talk about an art piece. Some were from in front as we looked down at something, probably reading a piece's description. However the best ones were silhouette pictures in the 'Tilted Plane exhibit. All of those ranged from us standing side by side as we walk further in, some were of me holding y/n up, others from us looking at each other talking.

"Ready to go to Fisherman's Wharf?" Tom asks. I look up at him with wide eyes and a shocked smile.

"We're going for sure?" I ask. He nods with a wide smile.

"Yeah, let's go you twat. You have people to meet."

[almaasi]

reaction post typed while watching SPN 13x23 “Let The Good Times Roll”

idk what you guys thought but I LIKED IT and here’s why!!!! (EXCEPT THAT THING WITH THE KNIFE??? WHAT THE HELL???)

04:02pm

so it only took 45 minutes to an hour to find somewhere to watch this, my thanks to @trisscar368 for helping me out!!!

eventually found it streaming rather than downloading, would not recommend but HEY IT WORKS (for now) [http://gorillavid.in/zbtu97hfei65]

this feels like it’s 2008 all over again, trying to watch doctor who after school

OKAY LET’S GO

i’ve seen a bunch of major spoilers but i know cas doesn’t die so i’m good. apparently it’s A Boring Episode but also MICHEAL and LUCIFER so

idk idk let’s just watch the thing and find out what happens

-

04:04

rowena: is there, i dunno, music? CARRY ON MYY WAYWAR---

fuck

-

04:09pm

feels good having bobby there

-

BOBBY’S REACTION TO TRUMP IS THE BEST EVER

“and you call where WE come from ‘apocalypse world’?”

-

04:11

cas: “they’re talking about whether kylie jenner would make a good mother. consensus is no”

hey give her a chance

i mean i know nothing about her but she seems... teachable?

-

dean: “yeah well, that’s why i’m a chloe man”

WHOOOOOP dean loves his girly trash tv i see

-

brown werewolf: “now that is why i’m a chloe man”

dead brown person alert :|

how naive i was to think he might be left alive because he got a speaking line and made himself a dean parallel with that single line

-

04:16

mary: “do you really like the rain?”

bobby: “when it’s this beautiful, i do”

lest anyone forget bobby is a gentle down to earth sweetheart

soft papa bear

-

“rowena and charlie are road-tripping it through the south-west”

WOULD WATCH THAT SPINOFF

but #savewaywardsisters first

-

04:19

dean: “can you imagine? you, me, cas, toes in the sand, couple of those little umbrella drinks, matching hawaiian shirts, obviously”

PLEASE

“....some hula girls“

mmmm *squints at how that part was said after a....... pause, off-screen with the camera on sam*

-

04:24

dean to jack: “it’s not about being strong....... i don’t know what you went through over there... but i know you came out the other side. because you ARE strong”

good papa dean words

much love for him and his emotional avaliability

-

04:26

dean: “whatever you’re dealing with, whatever comes at us, we’ll figure out a way to deal with it. together. we’re family, kid”

sam said it to dean, dean said it to jack

i guess the next step is ...jack saying it to cas?? SOMEONE’s gotta say it to cas

but also WOOOO DEAN’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT REGARDING JACK SINCE THE START OF THE SEASON

-

04:32

um

is it just me or is this a seriously unfortunate racist-looking coincidence

desperately hoping this wasn’t the guy who killed maggie

(i don’t think it is, which means maybe this is a “don’t jump to conclusions” kind of storyline which has a race-relations subtext??? i wish it meant nothing besides jack’s need to protect others, but given the lack of living characters of colour on this show, the minute a person of colour shows up, it BECOMES about the fact they’re not white, bECAUSE they always die, invariably)

anyway, my point is: this is problematic

also the red shirt. as in “red shirts always die” ??

edit: thank goodness....... RED HERRING

-

“3 sheeps” poster in the background

i remember this symbolism from something earlier but can’t remember exactly what

i’m thinking lambs to the slaughter, or being part of a flock, or being herded into something they’re wrong about, being naive, following each other one by one into the unknown

wow reading tarot has improved my “make a list of all the obvious symbolism” skills

-

04:39

the fact cas is suffering with the angel language whistle is interesting?? i thought it hurts dean because he can’t understand it

which means.......cas isn’t understanding this noise?

or maybe he is understanding, it’s just real loud

-

04:42

enjoying sam being protective of cas

-

lucifer: ........”the three amigos.... sam, dean, and the other one”

that’s probably how a lot of people see team free will tbh

how sad

-

lucifer: “you want a lightsaber?”

jack:

vroom

we mAY HAVE LONG SAID HE’S TOO PRECIOUS FOR THIS WORLD BUT WE NEVER MEANT FOR HIM TO LEAVE

-

04:50

that awkward moment when you’re trying to solve a murder and your adorable magic grandson comes home with the devil

:o

-

the face you make when the devil makes an ableist joke about your son and then says “no offence”

(the ”i would murder you but there’s enough dead bodies in here right now” face)

-

04:56

maggie: “kinda seems like you have... you know, bigger.... satan-y... problems”

bless this girl

-

05:00

dean: “as shakespeare once said: eat me, dick-bag”

tbh shakespeare probably did say that at one point or another

add shakespeare to the list of dean’s bisexual heroes

(follow up thought: what if when cas could time-travel, he and dean and sam went to go explore shakespeare’s town and dean made.... Friends)

-

05:04

lucifer’s talking to jack about their future space travels

i mean i think it’s fairly obvious, lucifer was the one who killed maggie, so he could bring her back and impress jack

maggie said “i didn’t see their face but i saw their eyes” and that means it was either lucifer or michael with the glowing eyes, and micheal said to dean “you’ll be the first life i take in this world” which leaves lucifer

stinking nasty manipulative trash angel

-

05;07

micheal, while strangling dean: “could’ve done this quick, but i wanted to enjoy it, that moment when the soul leaves the body”

yeeeah okay sure, speak aloud your reasons you’re stalling for time while jack figures out how to get back

-

05:10

jack to lucifer: “you’re not my father. you monster”

HUZZAH

-

for the record i’m... reaLLY ENJOYING THIS episode so far

it’s all big and mighty and magical but the core of the story is a boy trying to find his family and figure out the truth behind his manipulative father

i’m so glad it led to this because i am HERE for this kind of story

the world hangs in the balance, but it’s not dean, cas and sam trying to save everyone, it’s jack trying to find his place among loved ones, and by following his desire to help people he’s learning what he needs to know

i fucking love this okay

-

05:14

lucifer: i just need your power--

OH NO I SPOKE TOO SOON

OH NO

-

05:17

michael: “this is the end. of everything”

I SEE DEAN’S COGS WHIRRING AND I WORRY

nine years of not saying yes to micheal and now it’s happening isn’t it

-

05:20

jack’s pained little whimper :c :c :c

-

05:21

dean: “i am your sword”

CHILLS

-

05:22

dean: “CAS I DON’T HAVE A CHOICE”

cas: D:

PERFECT MOMENT FOR AN AGGRESSIVE KISS but nope that would be too much like goodbye

-

05:24

third option rather than sam or jack trying to kill each other: they pick up lucifer’s blade and kill lucifer with it

-

05:26

WHAT 

NO

??????

BAD IDEA????

JUST STAB LUCIFER????

-

jack:  i love you

NOO ;;A;A;A;A;A;A;A;;A;A

DJSGJD

I’M NOT ENJOYING THIS 0/10 WOULD NOT RECOMMEND 

PLEASE STOP

-

05:27

WELL FUCK

hi there

WHHHOOOOOOO

meanwhile back at the bunker: cas has the weirdest traumatic boner

-

05:29

THE WINGS KEEP GETTING BIGGER

-

05:31

interesting angel flying physics here

dean flails while sailing slowly backwards

i mean i know he’s on a suspension wire but technically waving his arms about ought to affect his position

-

05:33

LITERALLY SAM COULD’VE DONE THAT TO BEGIN WITH

WHAT EVEN WAS THE POINT OF THIS

HE COULD’VE ACTED LIKE HE WAS ABOUT TO STAB JACK AND THEN GO WHOOSH AND STAB LUCIFER

SAM HAS FUCKING NOODLE ARMS HE COULD’VE DONE IT WITH HIS EYES CLOSED

JEEZ

-

05:35

okay but i’m laughing right now

are you telling me this is what happens if lucifer accidentally trips and falls on his knife

where did that golden blade come from anyway

has lucifer just been carrying it around this whole time?

COULD ANYONE HAVE PICKPOCKETED THAT KNIFE AND STABBY STABBY >>> EXPLODING FLYING FLAME DEVIL ??

WHAT BRAIN CELLS WAS LUCIFER MISSING TO HAND THAT BLADE TO SAM WINCHESTER IN THE FIRST PLACE

OR GO INTO BATTLE WITH MICHAEL WITHOUT THE KNIFE

OR TO HAVE THAT BLADE ON HAND IN THE FIRST PLACE ??????????

I’m sorry i just find this hilarious

i mean good fucking riddance to this trash angel but wow what a way to get there

all of this was so easily avoidable ?? i seriously don’t understand what possessed sam to think “aw yeah let’s pick up this magic devil blade to KILL MY OWN SON and/or HAND IT TO HIM SO HE CAN KILL ME” instead of “umMMM the devil just gave me a magic knife and is trying to tell us to kill each other maybe we should kill him with it”

I HOPE SOMEONE IN THE WRITER’S ROOM HAS A REALLY GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS

-

05:45

HAPPY RELIEVED SAMMY

why do i feel like everything’s about to go terribly terribly wrong, worse than before

-

05:48

i mean micheal!dean looks good though

despite everything i think dean would approve of the outfit

-

like he actually looks a little bit TOO attractive

definitely not to be trusted

you know when people just look TOO handsome and shiny and perfect and they’re TOO charming and you know something’s up

this guy’s got danger written all over him in sleek & elegant calligraphy

-

05:50pm

mmmmmmmmm okay, it’s over

i liked it ?

felt old-school, kinda like a buffy episode or an x-files episode

things i’m happy about: everyone lived and lucifer died!! this is a pretty cool progression of events and i’m interested to see where it goes (not EXCITED, i’m not EAGER, but i am interested). that black dude was not the one who killed maggie. maggie survived!!!

things i’m not thrilled about: the fact sam didn’t just stab lucifer in the face when he was right next to him holding the magic knife?????? i don’t get it and i don’t think any kind of meta is actually gonna be able to explain how ~UM EXCUSE ME JUST ONE SECOND~esque that moment was

no bechdel test pass

jack’s personal arc this season was great and i love him

as always, this show is riveting to me only because i care so much about the characters, and i cannot tELL YOu how fucking pleased i am that this show’s universe is now a universe where bobby, charlie, mary, rowena, dean, cas, sam, jack, jody, donna, claire, the other wayward girls, and billie ALL EXIST AND ARE ALIVE

seriously could’ve done with some kevin too, i’m still bummed that he’s died TWICE now and isn’t back permanently yet

but HOLY SHIT THE REST OF THEM ARE ALL ALIVE 

GIVE ME A TEAM-FREE-WILL-MAJOR SEASON WITH ALL THE SQUAD ALIVE AND KICKING ASS AS A GROUP

like... save dean as a group, then one by one discover that dean and cas have been locked in a room without clothes for three days, then save the world and retire forever as a happy, healthy hunter squad with their gay dads

FUCK YEAH

overall, this episode is maybe a 9/10 just because that FUCKING KNIFE man. i dunno what to think about that.

like .........why

i also want cas to have a season arc!!! a positive one!!! where he actually accepts love and expresses affection and receives AUDIBLE AND VISIBLE AND TANGIBLE affection from others!!!

and for fuck’s sakes stop killing people of colour, give us more women of colour who are good and don’t die, pass the bechdel test more often

AND ABOVE ALL GIVE US WAYWARD SISTERS I WANT THAT SHOW SO BADLY AND EVERYTHING IT REPRESENTS

IT WOULD FILL IN ALL THE GAPS THAT ARE MISSING FROM THIS SHOW

PLEASE

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 3rd February 2019

This is super late so sorry about that, I’m just not sure if I care about this series that much anymore, honestly. I need something to spice it up and I’ve been doing that with the Featured Songs and such (That won’t be weekly, by the way), but otherwise, I need the charts to shake up and be more interesting because right now I’m tired of covering the same stuff every week.

Top 10

And at number-one for a second week is “7 rings” by Ariana Grande, propelled by streaming and sales bigger than even “thank u, next”, as well as controversy and the video. Still a lousy song, though.

“Sweet but Psycho” by Ava Max also stays at the runner-up spot for another week.

Sam Smith and Normani’s “Dancing with a Stranger” is also staying still at number-three.

“Giant” by Calvin Harris and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man is up one space to number-four, switching places with...

“Wow.” by Post Malone, down one spot to number-five.

“Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” by Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus stays at number-six.

As I predicted last week, Mabel’s “Don’t Call Me Up” is up four spaces to number-seven, entering the top 10 and becoming Mabel’s second single to do so.

Sadly, this means Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower” is down one spot to number-eight.

We now have our second top 10 entry and first new arrival, “MIDDLE CHILD” by J. Cole, debuting at number-nine, mostly because of insane streaming, I imagine. It’s actually become his highest-charting single in both the US and the UK, being his fourth Top 40 here and first ever Top 10. Congratulations, but we’ll talk more about it later.

We have another top 10 entry here as well, with “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi, which is also his first ever top 10, up three spots to #10.

Climbers

Other than the top 10, we don’t have many climbers at all, with the only really notable ones here being “Hello My Love” by Westlife somehow grooving up nine spots to #20, “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper perhaps having an awards show boost up five spaces to #26, and “Leave Me Alone” by Flipp Dinero up seven spots to #30 – I loved that song initially and it has only grown on me, let’s make it a hit.

Fallers

There’s not actually that many of these, either, I mean, we have “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande collapsing 14 spaces down to #22 due to the streaming cuts that happen after a song has been very popular for an extended amount of weeks, but other than that we just have the expected hit for “Psych Out!” by AJ Tracey off the debut, down nine positions to #36. The album’s coming out so it’ll rebounded next week, maybe even reach a new peak.

Dropouts

“Rewrite the Stars” by James Arthur and Anne-Marie is out from #17 due to a streaming cut as well as general Greatest Showman hype dying down, “Ruin My Life” by Zara Larsson is out from #23 (maybe it was that streaming cut, but it didn’t seem like it was eligible for that yet), “imagine” by Ariana Grande is out from #35, “Promises” by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith is out from #38, “This is Me” by Keala Settle and the Greatest Showman Ensemble is out from #39 (and for once it seems like it’ll be STAYING out and not coming back the next week), and finally, “2002” by Anne-Marie is out from #40. There are no returning entries so let’s get straight to the new arrivals, because there’s quite a few.

NEW ARRIVALS

#40 – “Nights Like This” – Kehlani and Ty Dolla $ign

I still think it’s pretty sad that Kehlani has to duet with men in her love songs to get hits or at least attempts at hits, but at least she’s collaborating with some of the most talented urban sing-rappers. We’re not seeing Kehlani featuring Juice WRLD anytime soon is what I’m saying, and I really loved “Playinwitme” with KYLE last year, it ended up becoming one of my favourite songs of the year, so out of that and only that song and “Done for Me” by Charlie Puth which she also featured on (and was also fantastic, and will make my list of the best hit songs of the year), I have high hopes for Kehlani at least, but I know Ty Dolla $ign only for his beautiful features, so I expect this to be pretty great. This is only Kehlani’s second Top 40 hit but is probably more for Ty Dolla $ign because he racks up features like crazy and I couldn’t be bothered to count ones I remembered (Wikipedia doesn’t list the UK chart placement for some reason). Anyway, enough rambling on, is the song good? Well, yeah, obviously. I love Kehlani’s powerful, albeit nasal and almost childish voice, reminding me of Bebe Rexha on “Girls”. That’s probably the best comparison I can make, with the careless high notes showing a lot of naivety but passion, which is perfect for the subject matter of this song, and its catchy hook, reverb-drowned kicks and skittering trap hi-hats. I love how empty and lowkey everything is, it really adds to the atmosphere, although I feel like it’s somewhat underwritten. Ty, who I’m pretty sure is currently serving 15 years in prison for cocaine possession, by the way, has a somewhat underwhelming verse but great harmonies in the hook with Kehlani so, yeah, this is pretty cool. Glad it charted.

#38 – “Swervin” – A Boogie wit da Hoodie featuring 6ix9ine

Oh, come on, I thought we were keeping 6ix9ine in 2018, because he is deservedly jailed for a definite, extended length of time – not for sexual conduct with a minor, but racketeering and fraud is good enough. I do like A Boogie wit da Hoodie though, his album, while bloated, definitely shows his talent and his appeal because he’s a 2000s emo singer who decided to be a SoundCloud trap-rapper in the middle of his career, but hates it. Well, he’s not, obviously, but that’s how he always comes off and it makes a lot of his songs pretty hilarious to listen to, especially when he says something sexually explicit, because he sounds funny with his pathetic falsetto, especially in this song, which is basically a pop song with a 6ix9ine feature... but honestly, I’ve been listening to this song for months, I like it a lot. Boogie isn’t as charismatic as usual, but his melodies here are some of his catchiest and most fun, especially in his verse, where he has a pretty off-kilter flow that almost parallels the polished guitar. Nevermind the chorus, just listen to that snappy refrain... and then hear it get interrupted by 6ix9ine... who is great on the song. He restrains himself from screaming, rather just yelling with great chemistry from Boogie too, as he kind of replicates Boogie’s melody while also dismantles the song entirely, and I like to think that this is a nu-metal song except 6ix9ine is the pedophile version of the Mike Shinoda rap breakdown, and it’s produced by London on tha Track. The outro where Boogie’s vocal is chopped up is great. I’m disappointed to say this is only Boogie’s first top 40 hit (congratulations) and 6ix9ine’s fourth (four too many), but, this is good.

#34 – “Think About Us” – Little Mix featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Little Mix... eh, okay, I don’t like anything they put out. Out of the 23 Top 40 hits the girls have had before this, I’ve liked one. Their 23rd, “Strip” featuring Sharaya J. This is their 24th, and I hope this isn’t as messy, plastic and cluttered as stuff like “Power” and “Woman Like Me”, or as boring as “Touch” or “Hair” (with Sean Paul of all people). Probably won’t be, because Ty Dolla $ign is a perfect human being (who is arrested for 15 years due to cocaine possession), or at least I hope so. I’m pretty sure this is a remix though, which kind of proves that their whole ‘all women!’ motif (that didn’t even end up being true for the album, the lead single was written by Ed Sheeran) didn’t work, sadly, and they need to rely on rappers to get their hits, which is unfortunate but understandable, because they do have to do that, especially right now in pop where women practically don’t exist on the Hot 100 (Yeah, they’re constantly trying to cross over to America again but it’ll NEVER happen). Oh, yeah, this song is awful, but I’m not sure if I’m supposed to take it seriously or as a complete joke because this is bloody incompetent to extreme levels, like this isn’t appealingly glitchy like “Strip” or even Ariana Grande’s “imagine”, it’s just a pop song that should have been aborted because clearly someone misplaced the FL Studio stems and put them in random places with cheap Audacity effects. The girls’ vocals are often too isolated, with only that random reverb-drowned drum hit being their accompaniment as well as a few shrill synths and some fake finger-snapping, until the drop which is just... what? Is this Sean Paul again? Sean Paul mumbled into a microphone and they pitched it down, and that’s how we got the messy vocal drop. It’s just an autotuned deep-voiced man saying nonsense words, and somehow they made that off-beat. How incompetent is the producer, sorry, the four producers? Geez! Ty Dolla $ign’s verse is beautiful and criminally misplaced. Please re-use this verse for your album, which will be released in 15 years after your arrest for cocaine possession. I’m just kidding, he’ll get bailed in a couple months at most.

#32 – “Comfortable” – Yungen and Dappy

I’ve been getting REALLY into British rap recently, mostly because I love the accents. I am British myself, so English accents should be something I’m used to, but “Funky Friday” by Dave and Fredo is equally as funny, perhaps unintentionally, as it is a banger. Fredo released an album and I haven’t heard it yet but I’m definitely going to listen to it at some point because he is the most charismatic dude, with some of the weirdest metaphors I think I’ve heard in pop rap. I hope Dave’s releasing something too, I’m going to listen to that AJ Tracey one too, although I do like some of the more underground stuff, who I hope blow up because they have such good material. Check out “Picasso” by Whvsper, it’s such a fun song. Yungen, however, has never impressed me. I don’t like the dudes who sing, I like the guys with straight bars and blunt, catchy delivery, these melodic British rappers just bore me. This is Yungen’s third Top 40 hit, with his first being “Bestie” (one of the worst songs to come out of the UK rap boom of recent years), featuring a vocalist Dappy, who was the lead singer and rapper of London grime duo N-Dubz, who broke up in 2011. I’m just amazed this dude still gets hits, this being his tenth without the other two members of N-Dubz, and his second since he started to take advantage of the UK rap boom. Oh, yeah, this is pretty good, actually, with some... questionable metaphors and an off-kilter yet boring beat that really does not fit with the cloudy synths and such, although Yungen and Dappy ride it incredibly, Yungen in particular having a great flow in the hook. The melody in the intro is pretty catchy, I like his nasal, obnoxiously British voice. It’s a bit too long, though, and I’m not sure if I’m entirely fond of Yungen’s straining emo voice. Putting that aside, this is catchy, and fun, and that’s all I need in this type of UK rap, so, I’m okay with it.

#25 – “Swan Song” – Dua Lipa

No, Dua Lipa is not dying, and this is not her last ever song. This isn’t HER swan song, this is a song titled “Swan Song” from the film Alita: Battle Angel, first announced in 2003 before starting production for more than a decade and a half, being released in 2019 with a trendy pop singer with a little inoffensive ballad. It’s charted because Britain loves soundtracks, and Britain loves Dua Lipa. If you want proof of that, this is her 12th Top 40 hit since 2015. Honestly, I’m pretty impressed by this, though, as it is NOT inoffensive and it is NOT little. It’s minimalism in its most maximalist way, with an attack of hi-hats assaulting our ears in the most beautiful way with only small muted electronics building it up, almost too much at once, with that insane horn riff and some vocal chanting which sounds great. In the pre-chorus, some reversed orchestral strings in accompaniment with a great guitar solo are added and they’re kind of chopped up just for the sake of the epic drop, which is... so weird. It’s just Dua Lipa yelling in autotune, pretty much, and throughout all of this there’s a deep bass that adds so much “oomph” to the whole thing. This sounds like something Bjork would do, and I’m not saying it’s all that artsy, but oddly experimental and just massive-sounding, with Kanye-like vocal effects surrounding Dua in the instrumental bridge, along with a different horn riff and some more chanting. God, I didn’t expect this, and it’s honestly pretty fantastic. I’m impressed by this, but I’m also surprised, and this intrigues me. Where is Dua Lipa going with her next album? Is it going to be weirder? If so, I hope this somehow ends up on it because this is cinematic. This is a fight scene in pop music form, and I hope it succeeds.

#9 – “MIDDLE CHILD” – J. Cole

Oh, and J. Cole exists, I suppose. Well, I like T-Minus’ beat, I suppose. Apparently they paid like $500 for that horn sample, and it was probably a waste of money because you can barely hear it under some yelling vocal samples, bass, and, sigh... J. Cole is so boring in his solo work. I love a lot of his features because he is insane when he goes off on a track, like on “Off Deez” by JID or “a lot” by 21 Savage, but here, he’s exhaustingly boring. Yeah, okay, that bass is pretty hard-hitting, and I like how Cole sounds with that autotune and distortion (honestly I want more of it), but mostly, his oddly-mixed vocals are just re-treading his desperate attempt to be accepted as hip hop’s “middle child” (sorry, “MIDDLE CHILD”) because he likes both mumble-rappers and JAY-Z, I suppose? Who cares, man? Can J. Cole go away for a year? Have your “Off Season” you promised and go back to appearing when nobody expects you to on trap bangers, whilst crafting a concept and project that anyone would actually enjoy. I like Cole, but he tests my patience with underdeveloped tracks like this.

Conclusion

This is one of the odd weeks when choosing Best of the Week is a difficult choice, but I’m going to give it to Dua Lipa for “Swan Song”, with tied Honourable Mentions to A Boogie wit da Hoodie for “Swervin” and Kehlani and Ty Dolla $ign for “Nights Like This”. Worst of the Week goes to Little Mix, obviously, for “Think About Us” – that track is borderline unlistenable. See ya next week!

[bookreadalongs]

Flat Out Love (accidental x-post)

21:10 6/25 monday 2018

Finn is clearly dead and Matt is the one texting her. Idk what Celeste’s deal is? Maybe social something?

Maybe she feels responsible for his death? Obviously mom was bugged that “Finn” is communicating to Julie now as well as Celeste. It must hurt her. It also really bothers me that this is third person but reads like it’s first person. We heard Julie’s thoughts and opinions, but it’s third person. It’s just wrong 21:20

Obscured face? Think it’s not Finn? Excessive research for Finn look alike a? 21:21

Aww, Matt. “Celeste always looks nice” 21:23

This is so slow. It’s nice to see it’s building up to something. I just wish there was more tension. More to hold on to and hope for. I just want everything to be as captivating as the hating game was in the beginning. It was good all around tbh. End was weaker than the rest, but still feel good. 21:50

Wow part 2? Wonder what’s breaking the parts up. How they’re categorized. 21:54

Oh. Finn is gay? Maybe he is a real person after all. Maybe he’s trying to not have Julie fall in love with him. 21:59

Does that imply Finn is not gay, but just quoting South Pacific? Also, clearly she will teach Matt about socialization…and probably love. 22:02

Gee he’s the same way about Celeste as Matt is. I realize Matt is just tight lipped about it, which makes sense, but still. See? It’s so him. Also, Matt would fall for her if he’s helping his sister and he sees that patience and compassion every day. 22:14

You’re lucky to have your mom?? 22:15

Wonder if he mom guilted her dad into his trip. 21:17

They’re kind of hold hands. He’s kind of holding her hands, at least, and she’s fine with it. He likes her. She likes Finn. He’s Finn. Bet. 22:23

Ah, yes. “The Finn situation” in which he is out of the picture for he is dead. 22:26

This non-temporary problem…of death. 22:28

Bet he’ll get the time wrong – oh wow already getting caught up with the locations. Don’t think I didn’t notice someone in a wetsuit isn’t extremely identifiable. Wow, Matt is doing a lot. He has to deal with a lot as well as constantly be told he’s not doing enough from his mother. Ouch. Then the dad leaves on purpose? 23:33 womp womp

Not now? You know what? I think Matt just feels uncomfortable expressing his emotion in person. He hides behind this screen to show how much he loves Celeste, and now how much he loves Julie. 22:37

6/26 5:47

Wow Matt is tired after Julie stayed up until 3 talking to Finn? Wild

Obviously Finn was going to consol her. It was cute and cool. Has matt ever done something like that? Go outside even? Maybe before Finn left. Now Matt derailed his mother too. Celeste was confused when the gift came. She started to move on. I wonder if Finn died doing one of his amazing things. 06:19

Wow. Confirmed. Matt made the WOW wood block. Solid confirmation, bro. I wonder if people are meant to find it out there, or at least wonder. If Finn made it and died before she appreciated it…but no. She just never looked to appreciate Matt as much. Middle child syndrome indeed. 06:20

She may be a bit absent, but she knows Matt likes Julie. She’s not a bad mother. She’s just been dealt a hard hand. I appreciate that. I appreciate the author for putting that in. 06:23

This is written fine. She clearly has a strong voice, so I just wish it were presented in first person. 06:26

Oh my gosh. Matt is such a cutie! 06:29 it’s interesting how Finn has become an alter ego. I guess from the beginning you were supposed to understand this was a millennial book…

I hope the author means for us to know by this point. It’s very cut and dry. It’s so funny that Julie goes “it’s almost like Finn is here now, sitting next to me” like, wake up girl. 07:03

OMG HE WAS ABOUT TO ALLUDE THAT HE IS FINN! JULIE WHY YOU GOTTA DO THIS?! These things wouldn’t be as funny or maddening if you didn’t know. This is a fun read. 07:05 I like when you feel smart for just pointing out the obvious

Hmm…“you’re probably better for her than I am” like than he is for Julie? 07:08

Hahah that’s a jab id say. Surreptitious, you’re not. 07:09

If the thought is cash then yes ahaha this is getting better. More fun. More tension is building. 07:11

Wait, what? Did she end up going home? What did she do for Christmas? I love Christmas parts of books! I feel robbed. 07:17

So, is Finn and outlet for all of Matts quandaries? The way lying under a tree is for Juliet 07:21

“He couldn’t be gone forever.” Unless he’s DEAD. 07:23

Matt was drunk alone on New Years too? He’s sad that Julie loves him but not him. 07:32

I can’t believe they both told Celeste to shut up. I’m shook. It’s not even a big deal though? 07:40

This fricken tease of an author. “You kind of already told him.” GIRL! I thought that would lead to a confession! 07:46 it’s funny I’m so amused right now

Roger doesn’t like Celestes outfit? Becoming a mini Julie may not entirely help the not becoming a mini Finn. I hope Celeste does stay quirky. She must. The author already put so much in to establishing that her quirks are good. 07:49

The thing about Julie is that she always thinks she knows best. I hope she realizes she doesn’t at some point. She doesn’t know the whole story. 07:52

Weak you are not. Mannerisms are there. In speech. 07:59

That was so funny! That was meant to be caps. They didn’t kiss. His hands aren’t shit. Omg did he tell her? He loves Julie? Wowowowoowow im shook. So funny! Fun writing! It started slow and a little boring for me. I love this though! 08:12

Oh, look. Julie pushed too hard. It was bound to happen. I like this book. Predictable, but not enough to keep me off my toes. 08:14 sweet balance

“And you don’t like me the way I am” aww no one just likes him for him. Not even Celeste completely…it’s always Finn. Must be hard. Now, all of his dedication and work is coming down for him with celeste and Julie. 08:20 is it possible to be legitimately addicted to reading? I worry a little sometimes. Maybe it’s just being a coward and not wanting to really live in the real world 08:21 interesting and refreshing take on technology’s affect on everyone

He lulled her into a place that didn’t hurt anymore. The dream. Like calming her down in the elevator. The dream. 08:24

Celeste is making breakfast like Julie wanted her to make lunch! 08:29

Oh, before I get? Double major math and English? 08:32

I love her inner monologue and how she somehow convinced herself he thought she was a bad kisser. Relatable. Just ending up far from the beginning with a bad conclusion. 08:33

No family vacation because the whole family wouldn’t be there, right? RIP Finn. 08:45

Lul so she was smelling Matt’s shirt? Is he really the adrenaline junky? But he can’t now because he has to be more responsible? Matt was the only one who would disrupt finns room, I bet. He had to or it would’ve been a shrine. 08:48

Wow. I guess I didn’t realize how it would also be helpful for Matt in a way to have Finn around too. 09:00

Matt already was at MIT at this point, he just went ham after that…? To not be like Finn. Maybe for the sake of them all again. 09:01

This is like Dear Evan Hansen except Evan is the only one who wasn’t lying. He fixes everything for everyone, but at what cost? 09:04 weird and not completely parallel comparison.

Oh my gosh. He was actively involved in the Boston minerals club. Love it. So cute. Love “of course he was” she’s a good narrator. A little perfect, but it’s alright I guess. 10:14

I was like, do they live in Nevada? This whole time I didn’t know? Then I remembered…oh right Boston. 10:25

Wow that’s a solid ending. I like it. I appreciate that we didn’t need to hear that Matt never actually kissed Dana. Now I can see how a world can just be built around a few people, especially if you want to excel in school. I believe this story. Though, it is the weirdest contemporary I’ve read in a while. I love it in a way I didn’t expect to. It’s surprised me. I would say 4.1 probably. I’d read it again for sure, but I’d have to be ready for a slow beginning and hold my breath when Julie is being a little snooty. I love that they tied in the Star Wars thing. It was written pretty well. I feel like if I reread it and understood all of the allusions I’d appreciate it even more. It’s a good story, I think. I want to say 4.5, but then The Hating Game would have to be a 5. Colleen Hoover books are a little forgettable tbh. I know I’ll remember this weird book. It’s so cool that she’s from Ohio and it takes place in Boston. I wanted to read this for years. Before I moved to Boston. I didn’t know. I’m sure when I made my new Goodreads account I knew. I vaguely remember learning that. I’ve wanted to read this for so long. I guess I have to give it 5…no the later half was 5. 4 makes sense. 4 feels good. I would read more from this author though, for sure! 10:32