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issaxcharlie · 4 years

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We say we're friends, we play pretend (1/2)

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x Fem reader

Summary: Charlie and Y/N were best friends and a couple as teens, after their breakup they meet again 4 years later on the bootcamp of JATP and have to work together. Will something else happen or they are just friends?

Charlie must have imagined something like this could happen. Since Kenny discovered her 5 years ago, she has been a really close friend to the director, participating in some way or another in almost all his projects.

In front of him after years, Y/N Y/L, his childhood best friend and ex-girlfriend. The young actor is not going to admit that he saw every single one of her projects or how moved he was by her in each one of them, many times even thinking of maybe sending her a little message saying the incredible job she did.

But he never found the courage.

It’s weird to remember how he spent most of his life next to the woman, now one of the top youth artists with multiple musicals and movies on her hits list. They always had a strong bond, every single day together. Sleepovers, music classes, dancing classes, homework, parties, movie nights, hockey, illness days, pretty much everything. At the age of 15 they began a very sweet and innocent relationship that ended at 18 when Y/N moved to New York to work in her first leading role.

The break up was on good terms but painful, so painful that both preferred to lose contact completely than to have the other from time to time opening the wound again and again.

And there she was. As beautifil as ever, speaking happily with Kenny while Madison and Owen jump up and down, Jeremy smiles and Charlie looks like he wants to throw up.

“Y/N Y/L, my golden star. She is the official composer of the soundtrack, and she will be supporting you throughout the album process as well as helping Paul and me in other creative aspects, I know she is the same age as some of you but she has a lot of experience in this and all the necessary preparation so don't hesitate to get all the knowledge you can out of her."

Everyone introduces themselves until the guitarist is the only one left, luckily for him, he’s in voice rest these two weeks so he literally cannot speak.

They both look nervous but the moment their eyes meet their complicity comes out and both smile slightly.

“He’s Charlie, he is in voice rest but we are fans of yours. We cried yesterday watching your last musical, it was just brilliant." Owen lets out hardly breathing, Y/N turns with a smile to see the Canadian boy who wants to kill his friend and then commit suicide.

“Thank you! This is going to be such an interesting experience.” The singer murmurs as she winks at Charlie.

2 hours later they had both been avoiding each other, Y/N writing in a corner while the band and Kenny discuss costumes with Soyon, in which at least half an hour has been wasted trying to understand what Charlie is trying to say with the few words he writes with an apple pencil on his ipad in his horrible handwritting.

Y/N gets frustrated and goes to where they are, approaching behind Charlie's shoulder to see the iPad. She quickly identifies the two words, one so crossed out that it looks like a doodle, but years copying each other's homework pays off.

"He's trying to say that if Luke isn't going to wear bandanas, at least consider wearing beanies." The young woman says as she leans on the shoulder of who was her first love.

Charlie freezes at their proximity, blushing a little at the feeling of being close after so long. Luckily his castmates don't realize it because all their attention is on her.

“You are just good for everything huh? Even deciphering hieroglyphs." Owen comments, smiling at her and winking exaggeratedly to make her laugh.

Charlie can't help but feel insecure with the situation. It could be a friendly thing but If Owen really tries to flirt with her, he doesn't know how he would react. Is sad enough not having her in his life anymore, having her as his best friend's girlfriend would just be too painful.

Now, he knows he’s exaggerating, and a lot. But he has to do something about it. Better safe than sorry.

He stretches his neck to meet the eyes of his ex-girlfriend, who is now only inches away. She quickly gets flustered, but hides it pretty well. The problem is that he knows every gesture perfectly and sees through her mask.

“Wh- What, Gillespie?” She manages to say, Charlie can’t help a smile seeing the way she still reacts towards him.

When you know a person completely, every facet, every gesture, every peculiarity, speaking without words is as natural as breathing. And they had both forgotten how amazing it feels to have someone in your life who is this compatible and magnetic.

They start a conversation, she answers to who secretly still believes as her person while he continues making gestures and mimics that no one else understands, writing a word from time to time to make the talk flow better.

"I know. Hey, it's not my fault! So you excuse yourself with the ‘can't talk’ thing huh? how convenient. Yeah, Ok, I will. I said I will!" Her words are the only thing that they manage to get out of the conversation that the secret ex-couple is having, since no matter how much attention they pay to him, they have no idea how Y/N manages to decipher it.

"I have no idea what's going on but I'll take it as a miracle, I was just going to suggest ignoring Charlie these 2 weeks." Jeremy jokes, everyone nods their heads.

“I mean, it’s still a good option.” Madison replies.

The 14 days go by quickly, and with the former couple spending time together daily, rehearsing Charlie's guitar solos together, with Y/N translating his horrible scribbles, or sometimes simply being close to each other enjoying the company, absentmindedly placing their hand on the other's leg or their forehead on their shoulder for a few seconds during the breaks.

Basically the whole team has noticed the flirtatious smiles and the looks, but Charlie was the weakest rival of both and the one who could release some information about it, and without being able to speak they basically ran out of an informant, since the young singer didn’t let go a word about her unexpected chemistry with the guitarist except the typical ‘we are just good friends’.

But without a doubt the energies began to multiply on Monday when Charlie arrived with the green light to be able to speak and start singing in rehearsals. Madison couldn't attend the first few hours because she was at school, so Y/N was going to cover her so the boys could practice.

“The first on the list is Finally Free, the place where we are going to record it only gave us two weeks from now so it will have to be one of the priorities. For the first rehearsal just vibe with the song and we’ll discover where to go from there. Oh, and good luck keeping up with my golden star, you’ll need it."

Y/N starts the first verse on the keyboard, and gets up to sing the chorus in the center, trying to ignore Charlie and looking up at Jeremy. She hadn’t heard him sing for a couple of years, but the same butterflies appear in her stomach and she knows that she will melt if she looks into his eyes.

Unfortunately for her, Kenny doesn't have the same plan, and just before the second verse ends he tells her to walk over to Charlie, who immediately smiles and sings the pre-chorus with much more enthusiasm. The energy they radiate floods the place, both getting closer and closer. By the time the bridge arrives, their foreheads are practically against each other, their lips only an inch apart, and with a confidence and comfort while singing to each other that makes all those who suspected that there was something between them now practically sure.

Luckily there are only Jeremy, Kenny, Owen and Paul in the room, who decide to play a game of divide and conquer now that the snitch part of the equation can speak.

“Y/N, can you come with me for a moment? I have a new idea for ‘Wow’ and a fresh pair of eyes is just what I need.” Paul says, sacrificing himself for the greater good.

“Yeah, of course, I’ll be right back.” The singer takes the opportunity to leave this staring game with Charlie and quickly walks away from the guitarist, who winks at her in a flirting way in response.

The moment they walk out the door, everyone turns to see Charlie, who has no idea what they're up to.

“What?”

"After what just happened you just can't keep pretending nothing's happening. Man, that was more intense than the whole Troyella moments during all three movies." Kenny pretends to be offended for a second and then nods.

"I have never seen anything like this in all my years of career."

“Yeah dude it was electric.” Owen replies, smirking.

“She’s my person.” Charlie mumbles.

If he’s being honest with himself, deep down he always knew she was the only one for him. But that realization was freaking scary. What's next if the only person for you has already turned the page? gave up without a fight? what's left?

"What?" The three ask in unison, and Charles begins to sing like a bird.

“We grew up together and then we lost the way. Like in those romantic movies where just everyone knows they belong together except the childhood best friends and then they end up ruining their lives by being in denial.”

“From what I saw getting back on track shouldn't be too difficult, Charlie. I assure you that whatever you feel she feels it too. Her eyes don’t lie." Jeremy tries to reason with him.

“Leave your teen problems behind. You are old enough to decide what you want and find a way to make it work. But you have to stop pretending that nothing is happening first." Owen scolds his friend.

“Do you love her?” Jer asks.

“That answer is always going to be yes, I just could never stop loving her even If I tried. And I did.” He really did. The surprise he got when the second he had her close to him his heart began to beat like crazy and all he wanted was to hug her and fix everything. It was as if when seeing her eyes time hadn’t passed, as if only the day before they’d been goofing around together. That bond is so big that he doesn’t believe it’s possible to break.

“Then do something about it, bro! Go get your girl back!” Jeremy advises while Kenny smiles.

“Yeah man, it’s ‘Now or never’ like her song, and I guess ours too now? Since she wrote it for Sunset Curve? Well, anyway, it’s like our song says.” Owen exclaims excitedly.

“Ohhh, musical inspiration, let me try. ‘Get up, get out, relight that spark’.” Jeremy sings to Charlie.

“Jer, you are a genius. If you think about it wake up is actually a pretty good soundtrack song for this situation. ‘It's not what you lost, It's what you'll gain raising your voice in the rain’.”

They both keep singing the song until they reach the bridge, Charlie tries to look frustrated but a slight smile escapes his face.

They are right, he still hasn't lost this fight.

👻PART 2 RIGHT HERE

#jatp fanfic #jatp imagine #jatp fanfiction #charlie gillespie imagine #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie one shot #jatp luke #luke patterson fic #luke patterson x reader

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twerkinwithhazza · 4 years

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Pumpkin Seeds

Author’s Note: UH OHHH BACK AGAIN. I’m back yall finally off hiatus all because my phone is broken LOL. Anywho tumblr is a totally different place and most of my mutuals are adulting now. I would love new tumblr friends and I’m gonna try to continue this writing stuff but I’m busy with adult things now lol and it really depends on if you guys like what you see. Please excuse my rustiness this my first imagine in years... literally. I’ll get better with time. This was also slightly edited but I know there bound to be some mistakes. Anyways watch the Golden music video for clear skin and I hope you guys enjoy! I think it's so adorable that whoever requested this thought this request wouldn't speak to me lol ! It definitely did because this went from a blurb to a full blown imagine.

psst you can read my other work here!

Warnings: smut smut smut and more smut and possible shitty writing, dirty talk, light choking, and some cursing.

Glossary: (y/c/n)= your cousins name + (y/m/n)= your mothers name

Request: hi!!!! if you are wrtiting for Harry please can you do one where missus and Harry are at a family party and have a quickie in the bathroom? don’t worry if it’s not speaking to you lol xxx

Normally you and your husband loved spending time with your families. Harry was always playing a balancing act between filming music videos, doing interviews, writing sessions, and an occasional date night in the house that always involved a Postmates order from your favorite restaurants and the two of you binge-watching Netflix on shuffle. As much as the both of you enjoyed stuffing your face with poke bowls from Poke Papa and watching True Crime stories, it wasn’t exactly romantic or fulfilling for the both of you, just enough to hold you over until his schedule clears up. So when Harry finally got a weekend off, you guys were ecstatic! You spent the week cleaning the house and meal prepping so no Postmates would be needed and Harry used his free time in between interviews for shopping for special toys and pretty lingerie he wanted to see you model for him. Flirty text messages were sent back and forth during small work breaks about your plans for the weekend and now all the two of you had to do was make it Saturday.

You’re not gonna like this...

The 5 words that destroyed you and Harry’s weekend plans. Anne called while you were organizing your closet and announced that her and Gemma, along with your parents and favorite cousins were coming to town to spend time with the two of you. You tried to convince her that maybe a small dinner party at that new fancy restaurant downtown would be a perfect spot for a get together but she was adamant about coming over to cook the two of you a homecooked meal. Breaking the news to Harry was the worst part, he was clearly devastated (you swore you saw the man shed a few tears). Now here you were stuffing your mouth with Anne’s famous juicy cooked duck instead of your husband's juicy di...

“(Y/N) can you pass me the mashed potatoes”

Your dad’s strong yet muffled voice interrupted your train of thought and broke you out of your horny trance as he chowed down on his meal. Pushing the dish over in your dad's direction allowed you the chance to look around and take a glance at Harry who was making small talk with one of your favorite cousins. He was wearing a black button-down shirt, of course with a few buttons loose, and his cross necklace bounced on his chest as he laughed at your cousin's crazy work stories. You focused on his fingers, his infamous rings adorned his hands, you noted that they were slightly damp from eating and the condensation on his glass cup. As you were drinking in his appearance a small damp spot was forming in your panties but given that there were too many eyewitnesses including, yours and his parents so you chose to just clamp your thighs shut and stuff your mouth with more mashed potatoes.

Harry deserved his credit as a husband. Despite his calm demeanor, he was very well aware of your little ordeal yet still managed to give interview advice to (y/c/n) and compliment your mom’s cocktail mix. He was quite amused by how increasingly frustrated you were becoming. He noted your concentrated face as you munched harshly on a string bean, hands clenching onto the fork for dear life. He decided to do a little temperature check to truly see how far gone you were.

“So what are we thinking for dessert pecan pie or crumble cake ?”, Harry questioned as he stuck his fork in his mouth, pulling it out again once all the gravy was licked clean. Your eyes finally met and you can tell that he was tossing the ball in your court, it was your job to show him how you wanted the game to be played.

“Mmm I don’t know I guess I’ll have some pecan pie but I really wish I had some pumpkin seeds”, you flatly said as you finished sipping your wine, maintaining full eye contact with him.

Pumpkin seeds. You and Harry were “outside of the box” thinkers, you had to be with his life as a celebrity not exactly pairing well with your shared sexual fantasies. You had code words to indicate to each other when you were craving the other one's touch, but you knew that using the same words around friends, family, and other public figures for too long would possibly cause some suspicion. So your code words changed with the seasons, literally. When the leaves started turning that classic golden yellow and auburn, your code words changed thus came the use of the word Pumpkin Seeds.

Gemma and your mom shared a glance, raising their eyebrows in collective confusion.

“Pumpkin seeds.. For dessert ?” Gemma finally burst out., both of your mothers soft laughter followed in the background.

“Heyyy” ,Harry pouted as he bopped Gemma on the nose with some gravy ,“ I have you know Pumpkin Seeds are one of our favorite midnight snacks”.

“Gross“, Gemma stuck out her tongue and wiped her nose. You couldn't tell whether she was referring to the gravy on her nose, your choice of midnight snacks, Harry’s smug statement followed by a wink at you, or a combination of all three.

“Well we can be concerned with dessert once we break out the baby pictures, I’ve been dying to see the infamous skinny dipping picture (y/m/n) has been telling me about”. Anne clapped her hands together and hopped out of her seat heading to the kitchen. Your mother followed behind but not before instructing you to head up to the attic to retrieve the pictures. You glanced at Harry but he seemed occupied cleaning up the dinner plates with your dad. You let out a frustrated huff and made your way up to the attic to grab the photo albums.

As you shuffled through old boxes holding Harry’s old tour outfits and your little knickknacks from your travels, you heard the attic door open.

“Pumpkin seeds huh?”, Harry lightly chuckled letting the attic door close and leaning against the door frame.

You refused to make eye contact with him, continuing to shuffle through the bins locating a few photo albums as you went , “It was only a matter of time Harry and you know it. Our weekend got stolen and we haven’t... ya know in like two weeks. So, yes Harry I want some damn pumpkin seeds.”

You let out a huff. You didn’t mean to come off so sassy and aggressive but you were frustrated… sexually. Your cousin was getting more Harry time in the 3 hour family dinner than you had gotten in the past two weeks. You stacked the photo albums gently on top of each other and cradled them in your arms, finally turning to face your husband but you didn't have to look very far. Harry had closed that gap between the two of you, gripping your face and making you look up at him causing you to drop the albums in shock.

“Well let’s get you your pumpkin seeds then”

That’s all it took and sparks turned into a flame, you and Harry’s bodies connected and a feverish makeout session broke out. You both were so hungry for each other after weeks of neglects and it just felt so damn good to finally connect. Harry’s wet kisses were making their way down your neck, nipping and sucking as he goes. You knew he was getting into it and normally you would be completely here for it if your kitchen wasn’t flooded with family members waiting to laugh at your baby pictures.

“Baby.. we… fuckkkkk”, You moaned out as Harry popped one of your nipples out of his mouth before moving to nip on the next one. “Baby we can’t your mom is downstairs… we have to go”, you finally let out and glanced down at your husband as pinched your nipples between his finger tips. “When has that ever stopped us”, he slyly laughs. In one swift motion, he turned you around pulling your back into his chest pulling down your skirt. You couldn’t even get words of protest out, Harry had his hands wrapped around your neck and was already freeing himself from his pants and boxers. He pulled your panties to the side and let out a hiss as he watched a string of your arousal stretch from your dripping flower to his fingers.

“Baby please just do something”, you huffed out a soft moan as you waited in anticipation. The grip around your throat tightened as he entered you, both of you letting out a sigh of relief. Harry completely bottomed out inside of you, touching that special spot that only he could. Your walls clenched around him, holding him in snug almost as if your pussy was begging him not to leave. Normally the two you were very vocal during sex from dirty talk to his loud moans and your even louder cries of pleasure. However you both knew that wasn’t possible right now and kept your moans down as much as you could. Harry was not making it easy though and the noise coming from the two of your bodies colliding were basty in the best ways possible. With every thrust of Harry’s hip you could hear your wetness coating Harry dick and as Harry picked up the speed his balls roughly tapped on your clit, only adding to your pleasure. You could barely form thoughts let alone sentence, Harry was literally fucking you silly and using your G-Spot as punching bag for his dick, The sounds and the pleasure were clearly getting to Harry as well, the grip he had on your hips grew tighter and his eyes were squeezed shut.

“Bloody fucking hell you’re so tight around me, can’t even take it”, he groans and throws his head back as he roughly draws your hips into his. It didn’t even feel like it was possible but Harry picked up the speed of his thrust continuing the assault on your poor needy pussy even further. The pleasure was all too much and that oh so familiar feeling hit the pit of your stomach and you were starting to lose your composure. Your moans were getting increasingly louder and your grip on Harry was growing tighter. Harry knew his wife and he knew your dam was getting closer and closer to breaking and he was determined to get you there. He placed a hand over your mouth and moved his other hands down to your clit rubbing it in slow circles. “ Look at you” he cooed cockily, “Taking me so fucking well like a good girl should. Barely let out a scream ‘cus you don’t want your parents to hear how much of a cock whore you are”. He knew you wouldn’t last long with the way he was talking to you and he was absolutely correct because his words were driving you insane. As the pressure was continued building up in your stomach, you felt the telling twitch in Harry’s dick that let you know he was approaching his end too.

“Gonna give me what I want uh? Gonna cum all over my cock and let me cum in that tight little pussy of yours. You gotta hold it in.. don’t want to leave any drops for our guest to find huh? Gonna be a good girl and hold all my cum in you?”, Harry grunted into your ear as you whimpered against his hands. You were seeing stars and feeling butterflies in the pit of your stomach and you knew it was only a matter of time before you both came undone.” Oh baby”, you whined and your head fell down as the pressure from your stomach finally was released as your orgasm spilled out all over Harry’s dick and thighs. The gushing feeling from your orgasm and your weak whimpers and cries drove Harry overboard, burying his face in your neck and his roughly groaning as he released inside of you. The two of you stayed connected for a bit, thighs stuck together thanks to your shared orgasm with Harry’s arm wrapped around your waist supporting both of your weights up as you composed yourselves. When he finally pulled out of you, you kept every drop he gave you tucked inside your tight walls just as promised.

“So those Pumpkin Seeds huh”

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iguessitsjustme · 2 years

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Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to get to know better. - I will not be tagging anyone, but if you want to do this go ahead

Tagged By: @pose4photoml thanks for tagging me! I might not answer all of these questions, but I’ll do my best

Name: Online - Rae. Irl - apparently it’s a good biblical name according to that one man who called my work (this is incorrect)

Star Sign: Pisces

Height: 5'5 if I stretch a little

Time: 17:01 PM

Birthday: Don’t worry about it

Favorite Bands/Favorite Solo Artists: Parade the Day, Loveless, Hunter Hayes, Celtic Woman

Last Movie: Princess Diaries

Last Show: Technically Coffee Melody..I started it but only saw about a minute.

When did I create this blog: Oh lord I don’t know. 2011? My friend actually made me get a tumblr so she made it for me and I don’t remember when that was.

What I post: About BL and my life. I basically use my blog as a diary kind of. Weird things happen to me sometimes.

Last thing I googled: The website for my old job to see if they still had my picture up on their “faces of”page - they do not.

Other Blogs: Just this one.

Do I Get Asks?: Occasionally. I do love it when I get asks, but I don’t get that many

Why I chose my url: Cause my blog is just me. I guess.

Following: Too lazy to look - not a lot though.

Followers: Also too lazy to look - not too many but I love each and every one of y’all

Average hours of sleep: I try to get 8 but sometimes that just doesn’t happen and I end up working on 2 hours of sleep and I would not recommend.

Instruments: Violin (though it’s been years), and a tiny bit of guitar, ukulele, and piano. I also sing sometimes.

What am I wearing: I literally changed out of my work shirt but nothing else so a t-shirt and a pencil skirt

Dream job(s): Currently working it :)

Favorite Food: mashed potatoes

Nationality: American

Favorite Song(s): How many am I allowed to pick? Okay I’m going to say Loveless’ entire 2021 album literally called Loveless I. Also Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Major. Also The Voice by Celtic Woman. And so, so many more.

Currently playing on repeat: I Don’t Miss You Anymore by Loveless

Last book I read: I truly do not know the answer to this question. It’s been awhile since I read a book instead of fic. I can say that I wanna reread Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. That trilogy has some of my favorite world building.

Top 3 fictional universes I’d like to live in: None. I like fiction for the escapism, but I like being able to come back to my own life and my own reality. This world is where my home is.

#rae irl #ask game #kind of #i don't know #i'm hungry so now i'm going to eat my weight in mashed potatoes please excuse me

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waveypedia · 3 years

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and now, for my next number, i’d like to return to the classics

Rymin Week Day 7: Domestic

1 2 4 5 6

Ao3

It’s been years since he lived primarily in his van on tour, but Ryan will never not be grateful to always have a kitchen.

Early morning sunlight streams through the soft white curtains as he goes through the motions of breakfast. The curtains were a gift from one sister, the cookware a gift from their old manager before she got promoted. The sleek fridge, which Ryan opens next, was a careful purchase he and Min worked together to carefully pick out, as is the same for most of their furniture. The eggs he pulls out from inside it are from their local farmer’s market, where all the vendors know them by name. Not because they used to be semi-famous rock stars, but because they come by every week toting instruments to serenade the shoppers with.

Ryan coats the pan in nonstick cooking spray and cracks the eggs into it. Salts it. He puts the ingredients away while he’s waiting for it to cook and pours two glasses of water.

Then, all that’s left is the waiting.

Ryan finds one of his guitars leaning against the wall in the next room. Their apartment is chock-full of all kinds of musical instruments they’ve accumulated over the years. After all the fuss Ryan had to go through to get his first guitar as a teenager, it feels both strange and gratifying to see how far he’s come.

One instrument they do not have is a viola. Min has played it on his own, usually on lease from friends, but he won’t play it regularly enough to buy one. Ryan is more than happy with that.

Ryan sits down on top of the counter and plucks a few, soft notes on his chosen guitar. He doesn’t have any particular melody or song in mind; he just lets his fingers play what they wish.

In no time at all, the eggs finish cooking. Ryan regretfully sets down the guitar to flip them and slide them onto plates. Just as he’s turning off the stove, the sound of a door opening down the hall and resounding footsteps reaches his ears.

Ryan snorts.

His husband emerges into the kitchen, hair still messy from bed. Even after all these years, Ryan’s heart flutters at the sight of him.

Min leans down to steal a kiss off the top of Ryan’s head. “Ooh, eggs. Are those for me?”

Ryan swings the plate away, nearly spilling the coveted breakfast. “Of course not. I cook for myself. Never for my handsome husband.”

“Hmm, too bad.” Min grabs a fork and leans in for a bite. “Hey, these are good!”

Ryan laughs and leans against Min’s chest. “Almost as good as your ability to come running as soon as there’s food ready. I swear, Min, it’s superhuman.”

“Only if it’s your food,” Min promises, struggling not to laugh.

Ryan cackles. “Of course. I see how it is”

Min kisses him again and steps away. “I’ll get the table set if you plate the eggs and get some fruit, dear.”

“I can do better than that!” Ryan dishes out the eggs on two plates and cuts some oranges up. He walks over to the toaster and drops two pieces of toast in. “A full breakfast. How about that?”

Min laughs and pulls a tub of butter out of the fridge. “Lovely, thank you.” He peers at the plates. “Eggs and toast. How downright American of you. Would you like some bacon with that?”

“Hey, at least it’s not post-war,” Ryan quips back. He stretches his arms over his head and sets the plates down on the table. “Eh, that would take too much time.” He leans over to peck Min’s cheek. “After all, I would hate to miss breakfast with my lovely husband.”

Min beams. “Good choice.” His wedding ring twinkles in the early morning sunlight.

Ryan sighs dreamily. “Man, am I glad I married you.”

“Me too.” Min’s smile is fond and so full of love it makes Ryan’s heart swell. When he smiles, all his wrinkles soften and curve upwards like little smiles themselves. Ryan loves to kiss each one.

“So.” Min straightens out and pulls out his phone. “We have a practice session at 4 today, booked at the venue for Saturday’s performance.”

“Okay, good.” Ryan nods. “I want to run through the new arrangement Train to Nowhere.”

Min shakes his head, chuckling. “We’ve been playing that song for forty years, Ryan. Shouldn’t you know it inside and out?”

“I just want to tweak some things for this arrangement,” Ryan shoots back, not unkindly.

“Ryan.” Min reaches across the table to lay his hand on top of Ryan’s. Their wedding rings make a soft clink sound when Min’s hits his. “It’s going to be fine. The fans love that song, as do we. We know it well.”

I know, I know.” Ryan squeezes Min’s hand and glances away. His eyes catch on a vase of beautiful purple flowers. I need to water those today, he notes offhandedly. “That’s why I want it to be as good as it can be.”

“It will be,” Min promises.

Ryan smiles. “I believe you.”

Min laughs, reaching across with his other hand to squeeze Ryan’s cheek gently. Ryan laughs, batting his hand away. “Of course you do. You should listen to your husband more often, Ryan.”

“What are you talking about? I always listen to you,” Ryan snorts.

Min waggles his finger. “Ah-ah, that sheet music you bought last week would beg to differ,” he says. “I told you we already had it in a songbook somewhere.”

Ryan crosses his arms, faux-affronted. “Excuse me for wanting more music to play!”

“I don’t care about that. Just spend our money on music we don’t already have,” Min says, leaning back in his chair with a smile.

Ryan shrugs and lets out a small huff of laughter. “I can do that.”

“Good.” Min gets up to clear their plates. “I’m going to go grocery shopping and then call my parents. Do you need anything?”

“No, but I’ll pop on that call if you don’t mind,” Ryan replies, standing up. “And can you grab some cheese? And the-“

“Those crackers you like, the ones that come in the blue box, I know, I know,” Min says, laughing and shaking his head affectionately. “It’s on the list.”

Ryan walks over and wraps an arm around his husband. “Ah, you know me so well. Thanks, babe.”

Min shrugs him off, laughing. “Stop calling me that! It’s not classy!”

“Pfft, okay.” Ryan kisses Min on the cheek before releasing him. “See you in a few hours?”

“You know it.” Min waves and kisses him goodbye before he’s out the door.

Ryan hums softly to himself as he cleans up the kitchen. It starts out as a B-side from one of Chicken Choice Judy’s earlier albums - their third, if memory serves correctly. Four years after they’d escaped the train, when their career was steadily taking off and they started touring outside of North America.

Ryan shook his head, chuckling softly to himself as he wiped a dish clean. “Man, what a time.”

As he works, the tune slowly shifts into something more original and unique. Something new. When he notices the change, he immediately scrambles for a pen and paper. Luckily, there’s a large notebook of blank sheet music in the drawer under the microwave for this exact reason.

Ryan flips past pages of sheet music penned from similar scenarios to a blank page. He leans against the counter, writing down notes and chords and lyrics as time slips away. Before he knows it, he has a full song on his hands and Min’s returned.

“Hey, honey,” Min says, dropping the grocery bags on the kitchen table and leaning in for a kiss. “Whatcha got there?”

Ryan tips the sheet music notebook over so Min can see. “A new song. I’m calling this one ‘Sunsets’ for now. What do you think?”

Min hums thoughtfully as he peruses the notes. “It sounds pretty, Ryan! May I suggest a ukulele rift here?” He taps the third line down as he talks. “I think that would add to the image.”

Ryan grins. “You’re a genius, Min.” He’s said similar statements many times over their forty-year music-writing career, but it never gets old.

Min preens, laughing. “Oh, I know. I’m gonna call my parents in a few, okay?”

“Sure. Call me when you’re ready.” Ryan doesn’t take his eyes off the music as Min leaves.

When he eventually hits a block, he puts away the groceries. He’s just finished when Min pokes his head out of the office door and beckons.

“Hello, Ryan!” Min’s mother greets when he steps inside. “Lovely to see you.”

“You as well, 어머님,” he replies, squeezing into the office chair next to Min. It’s not supposed to be big enough to fit them both, but they always seem to manage. Min laughs and tries to bat him off, but it’s halfhearted at this point. Ryan has been doing it for long enough that Min gave up a while ago. Besides, they both know Min likes the subtle affection.

“Just get another chair,” Min’s father grumbles, not unkindly. His wife gives him a small nudge on the shoulder.

“Leave them alone. Let them enjoy each other’s company,” Min’s mother replies, shaking her head in mirth. “If they’re still in their honeymoon phase after all this time, that’s on them.”

“엄마, please,” Min sighs, burying his head in his hands. His mother just laughs.

At precisely four P.M., he and Min are settled onstage at Saturday’s venue. It happens to be a beautiful outdoor amphitheater with vines and greenery gently climbing up the pillars holding up the stage’s ceiling. The audience area is open-sky and curves gently downward, like a bowl.

Ryan stands in the center of said “bowl”, guitar hanging from his shoulders by its strap. He raises his arms to the sky and spins, taking in everything.

From his place onstage, behind his synthesizer, Min laughs. “What are you doing?”

“Just taking in the sights.” Ryan does a final spin for good measure before turning to face Min. “It really is quite pretty.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Min gazes up at the orange-tinted sky with a soft smile. “Our manager really outdid herself with the booking this time. We’ll have to thank her.”

Ryan clambers up on the stage, silently wincing at the height gap between the audience floor and stage floor. He’s really not as young as he used to be, is he? “Should we send her flowers?”

“I think she really liked the sunflowers we got her last time. They were on her living room table when we visited her.” Min places his fingers on the keys, hovering just above them. “Maybe chocolate, too.”

Ryan laughs. “How cliché. Is there something I should know?” He waltzes over to Min and wraps a lazy arm around his husband, leaning all of his weight into Min’s shoulders.

Min laughs and shoves him off. “Please, do I have to come out to you again? Not all of us are interested in women, you know.”

“And what a great loss to the female community it is. The ladies of the Min-Gi Park fan club will have to go in mourning,” Ryan giggled. “But really, flowers and chocolate sound nice. She’ll like it.”

Min gave him a thumbs-up. “Sound check?”

Ryan gives his guitar an experimental strum. It echoes across the amphitheater beautifully, filling the bowl with sound and vibration. He whoops. “Let’s get this party started!”

“Not until Saturday, or else we’ll have some very unhappy neighbors to contend with,” Min admonishes, laughing. His fingers fly across the keys. “I’m good too.”

Ryan taps his mic. “Then let’s get ready to rock!” His voice booms across the venue. A few peacefully roosting birds take flight, squawking indignantly.

Min rolls his eyes. “Leave the poor birds alone, and you have a deal.”

“Please, we all know they just want to hear us play.” Ryan fishes his guitar pick from his jacket pocket and holds it poised over his guitar strings. “How do you feel about Train to Nowhere as a warm-up?”

“Fine by me,” Min says. His eyes don’t leave his synth. “It’s my favorite song to play with you, Ryan.”

“Well, of course,” Ryan says. “It’s what got us together, after all. In more ways than one.”

Min laughs. “Well, I can’t argue with that. Care to count us off?”

“Oh, I was just waiting for you to ask.” Ryan raises his pick and grins. “Five, six, eleven, twelve!”

Somewhere in Canada, the sun sets over a practicing music duo in the early 2020s. They laugh and goof around on an empty stage as birds and a few curious passerby stop to watch. The notes of their original hit song, “Train to Nowhere,” grace the evening air.

In the middle of the song, their eyes meet. They do not speak outside of the song lyrics, but an entire conversation passes through their gaze. It’s all they can do to not run to each other and hug each other right then and there.

After all, Ryan and Min-Gi Akagi-Park have lived a lifetime with each other. And they will live out the rest of their lives with each other, happy and content beyond imagination.

i'm not korean so i'm not sure if the words i used for min's mother are right. if anyone knows better and sees i'm wrong, please tell me! the website said the word min uses ( 엄마 / eomma) is the informal way to say mom, and you only use it for your own mother. the word ryan uses ( 어머님 / eomeonim ) is formal and often used for mothers-in-law. eomma is really similar to the hebrew word for mother, which is amma. i think that's fascinating because hebrew and korean are not similar languages at all. lingustics as a whole is fascinating because you can see where languages and dialects split off from each other and where/why that happened in history. it's also really cool to see languages so similar to each other you can communicate with someone else in two different languages. languages also have cognants (not sure if i'm spelling that right) where a word is basically the same across multiple languages. it's really interesting to see in this modern world of quick and easy communication how many cognants we have, especially for semi-recent terms (the technology unit in french was SO easy). anyway sorry for the tangent i just really love linguistics

man i wasn't planning to write for today until i realized i'd overestimated the chapter count and it felt weird to not write aksdgfjs. i hope i can keep to this schedule of writing every day but school will probably put a hard stop to that. gotta get out as much writing as i can before then! i started writing this at like 9pm i'm so sorry if it's messy dkfhjfkd

we've come full circle! this started with baby rymin and now we have much older rymin. poetic cinema........

the euphoria i got everytime i wrote "his husband"......... they are MARRIED gamers!!!!!

this is a callout post for every time i pour myself a bowl of chips at my aunt and uncle's house and all five of them suddenly think my bowl is a free-for-all even though the bag is sitting right there. stop i am not a chip dispensary. do not be min-gi akagi-park leave my chips alone

title is from uhhhh i don't know what it was called (some indie thing) but it was in my last winterguard show (fuck covid i wanted a senior season) and it just popped into my head. or it might have just been a voice line from something i heard it in another show with different music. whatever it's almost 1 am i'll look it up later. i put it on my titles doc (which is 90% song lyrics and which my brother likes to call the "song lyric moodboard" even though it's just a bullet list) out of impulse and nostalgia and never really intended to use it but it actually fits really well here?? who knew

it didn't make it in but i imagine that ryan and min have a parrot named kez and they've taught it some of kez's favorite and most iconic phrases. imagine you are visiting acclaimed musical duo chicken choice judy's house and you hear a parrot squawk at you "Why do you hate fun, Min." another thing that kind of made it in but not quite was that ryan has all those weird guitars. im picturing this one my temporary songleading teacher at camp, who's a professional musician and probably the most famous jewish folk artist out there (which is a very niche group so he's not really famous), brought out once. it was really small and had like eight tiny strings all crammed in together and it both fascinated and terrified me. i have no idea how you can play that without accidentally pressing all the wrong strings all the time but dan nichols can do it so i've decided ryan can do it too

tomorrow is au day... you know what that means... *shoves rymin into my current hyperfixation*

if you ever wanna talk infinity train, writing, these amazing characters, or really anything hmu here on my tumblr or on twitter! thank you for reading, and please leave a reblog/like/comment if you enjoyed it!

@ryminweek

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soundsof71 · 4 years

Photo

FIVE ALBUMS YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW!!!

aka, My Top 5 of 2020, but I didn’t want to seem too retro!

Yep, I have a classic rock blog. Yep, I think that the best rock and roll in history is being made RIGHT NOW. And yep, ALL of it is being made by women.

(Shown at top, Nova Twins by Ant Adams [x] and The Tissues by Michael Espleta [x]. I was planning to make a collage of all my faves in concert, but not all of them were able to play in 2020. Both of these photos are pre-pandemic.)

There’s been quite a bit of movement on this list, and all five of these have spent some time at Number 1 as the year has done (gestures broadly) All This™. Anyone looking for rock and roll is going to dig any of these.

Rocking out is just the start of it, though. Wrestling with my bipolarity and schizophrenia is tough on a good day, and there haven’t been too many of those lately. The plague has also taken its toll around me, with two family members dead and a third who’s doing better, but will likely never be all the way back. (Mask up, kids!)

I’ve written plenty about how deeply Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers have moved me this year (and will do so again), but in those rare stretches where I’ve had enough spare energy to listen to music at all these days, I’ve mostly been looking for more than beautiful music. Heavy times need heavy lifting, and I find that in heavy music.

The five albums here have all helped carry me, pointing the way toward light.

1) BULLY, SUGAREGG

Alicia Bognanno is a force of nature as a guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer/engineer. (While working on her degree in audio engineering at MTSU, she interned with Steve Albini, who remains both a fan and an admirer). A Nashville transplant from Minnesota, she’s still a natural fit in her home on Sub Pop: as heavy as Soundgarden, as hooky as Sleater-Kinney.

I was blown away hearing her searing honesty while working through her discoveries of her bisexuality and bipolarity (double bi!), and her triumphant roar lifts me out of my seat every time I listen.

“She sings the hell out of [these songs], her voice fraying to the point of combustion every time she launches to the top of her range. This is phenomenal music for converting anger and anxiety into unbound joy.” ~Stereogum, Album of the Week

Also, check this fantastic interview with Alicia in the New York Times talking about what she’s gone through to get here.

TURN IT UP!

youtube

2) GANSER, LOOK AT THAT SKY

Ganser syndrome is a rare dissociative disorder characterized by nonsensical or wrong answers to questions and other dissociative symptoms such as fugue, amnesia or conversion disorder, often with visual pseudohallucinations and a decreased state of consciousness. ~Wikipedia #it me

‘Just Look At That Sky’ doesn’t presume to offer solutions; it’s an honest document of what it feels like to wade through anxiety, day by day, not a survival guide or handbook of answers none of us actually have. Whether or not you pay attention to this, Ganser are simply one of the most invigorating, exciting new bands. ~Clashmusic

I saw one very positive review compare Ganser to a cross between Fugazi and Sonic Youth, but I think they hit much, much harder than either of those. And as you can surely guess, I also deeply relate to their themes of mental illness and dissociation while trying to make it through All This™. But my god, are they TIGHT. This is a BAND.

Ganser has two fantastic lead vocalists, and on “Bad Form”, bassist/vocalist Alicia Gaines wrote the song for the voice of keyboardist/vocalist Nadia Garofolo. Alicia also wrote a FANTASTIC essay on the strains that making an album during a pandemic puts on the mental health of the entire band at talkhouse: “Writing, recording, reaching out, balancing relationships outside and within the band, I found (and still find) myself under-rested and agitated to no particular end. More than not doing enough, I was not enough.”

(If you can’t relate to that, I can’t relate to you, tbh.)

This video also does a fantastic job of showing dissociation. TURN IT UP!

youtube

3) THE TISSUES, BLUE FILM

“Blue Film” is a ten-song shot of dagger-twisting electro-(s)punk. It’s completely addictive from the very first listen. The tour de force is “Rear Window”, an art-punk masterpiece of slashing guitars and mad caterwauling. Copious doses of jaunty poetics and social commentary reward the earlooker patient enough to untangle Kristine Nevrose’s hysterical meowing about intergalactic salt shakers and hysterectomies, but I’m too emotionally invested to look under the hood.” ~ Sputnik Music

“Rear Window” is in fact my most-played 2020 track. TURN IT UP!

youtube

4) GUM COUNTRY, SOMEWHERE

It’s not all heavy! But even when I’m looking for something light and hooky, I need a bite, and Gum Country has done it with the kind of swirly, feeedback-laden wall of sound that Lush or Yo La Tengo would make if they lived in LA. (Recent transplants to SoCal from Vancouver, I do think that the sunshine has gone straight to their heads, in the very best way.)

Indie music nerds will know guitarist/composer/singer/front woman Courtney Garvin from The Courtneys, and she really does throw up a glorious wall of sound. I adore this video too! Sweet, swinging, fun -- and yes, the drummer is playing keyboard with one hand while slapping the skins with the other!

I mentioned earlier that all five of these albums have spent part of the year at #1 on my list -- I think that this one might have spent the longest stretch there. Like all shoegaze, even as hooky as this, the truth of these songs is revealed in VOLUME. TURN IT UP!

youtube

5) NOVA TWINS, WHO ARE THE GIRLS?

Now, THIS is heavy! Amy Lee (vocals, guitar) and Georgia South (bass) are fucking LOUD, and insanely intense. A mix of grime, hip-hop, metal, punk, and good old rock and roll, they’re a harder-hitting, more theatrical Prodigy, with a pyre of intensity that recalls the heaviest howls of Rage Against The Machine. Indeed, Nova Twins spent a good bit of 2019 playing heavy metal festivals and toured as openers for Prophets of Rage. (Tom Morello has been a fan and supporter from the beginning.)

As you may have noted in the photo at the top of this post, their musical audacity extends to visuals too: they design their own clothes, hair, and makeup, they art direct their own videos, and more. They impress the hell out of me, and I’ve been a huge fan since hearing their first singles in 2018. I’ll plant a flag and say that Georgia South in particular is the most innovative musician on any instrument in any genre right now, but they’re both absolutely monsters.

I’m honestly not at all sure that #5 is high enough for this, but I’m absolutely certain that after this video, you’re gonna need to rest for a little. LOL

“Taxi” is the story of two gleefully and creatively violent women shaking up the local crime syndicate as they use a vintage cab for their moving murder scene. This is the movie that Robert Rodriguez wishes he was making with Sin City, if it were combined with Blade Runner and The Matrix. And gangsters. And a snake.

I’m gonna take your crown I’m gonna, I’m gonna bleed you out We demand it by the hour We devour, control, power

I’m gonna burn it down Even the, even the royals bow

So not the same kind of therapeutic work being explored on this rekkid, but you know what? Fucking shit up is therapeutic too!

Definitely take this full screen, and for the love of fuck, TURN IT UP!

youtube

SO. Not done with the best of 2020 yet? I’m sure not! A lot of my favorite songs aren’t on albums (at least not yet), so for an unedited list of everything I’m finding, check out my Spotify list, 2020: Shuffle This List! 268 songs and counting, over 15 hours, and not finished yet. I’m still checking out everyone else’s Best of lists (including yours! Message me links to yours!!!), so will probably be adding to this for most of 2021, too.

And for more banging tracks by women from 2020, plus a few 2019 gems that I’m still grooving to, check out my more thoroughly curated Spotify playlist Women Bangers: A Tumblr New Classics Jam. (You’ll see a couple of these tracks there!) I’m working on a YouTube playlist and an essay to properly roll that one out. I’m also still tweaking the ending, but the three dozen or so tunes there are definitely bangin’.

Tell me if you hear anything you dig here, and tell me what YOU’VE found! We’re gonna get through this together.

Yr pal, Timmy

#me #new classics #classic rock #women in rock #best of 2020 #bully #ganser #the tissues #gum country #nova twins #essay #youtube #punk rock #punk

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kazuharem · 4 years

Text

“Out About on the Town” - HC [FLUFF]

Thanks so much to @in-a-world-of-my-own-invention for my first ever request! (So sorry this took so long to complete!) This was so much fun to brainstorm 💖💖

A/N: Basically these HCs each have 3 events. 1 is described in little detail, another is described in moderate detail, and the last one is described in great detail.I did try to make each guy about the same length. If I wrote all three events in great detail, I’d be writing fics lol (brace yourselves,-these are long) Also sorry if the last lines sound like karma lines RIP

Here are the boys being dragged around by MC~

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Gavin: "Memory Lane of the Youth”

(Ngl, this was the hardest for me to write for some reason, but I’m very satisfied with the results I think; thanks so much to @stehkotori for all the info/ideas on our favorite Birdcop ♡)

💫 The “Letters Through Time” segment that you did became a huge hit and Loveland TV want you to do a part two on favorite haunts of people from when they were young

💫 You finish your interviews and find that the favorite memories happen to be an old timey arcade in the middle of the city, an amusement park that had been open for several decades, and a cliff side park where people particularly enjoy stargazing

💫 You want to call Gavin to come with you, but hesitate, is he still on mission?

💫 Just when you make the decision to call him anyway, your phone rings. It’s Gavin and you almost hang up on him in surprise

💫 “Gavin! Are you back from your mission? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

💫 You hear Gavin laugh and your heart just swells “I just got back,” he tells you, his voice light, “It was a pretty easy mission this time. What’s up?”

💫 You tell Gavin about the show you’re shooting for “Do you have any free time? I’d like to ask you on a date for you to come with me. You were such a big help to me last time, and this excursion sounds like fun. If you’re not too tired, of course”

💫 He’s already in even before you asked “I’m free, where should I meet you?”

💫 You tell him the address of the arcade, intending to meet him there. Not even 5 minutes later, you hear the familiar roar of Sparky outside your apartment window. You run downstairs to meet him. “Gavin! Wha-”

💫 “Need a ride?” Gavin asks, leaning against Sparky. You eye him carefully and he smiles “I didn’t get hurt, I promise” You don’t believe him and inspect him carefully

💫 The two of you head to the arcade, your arms are wrapped around Gavin’s waist. It’s the first time in a while since you’ve felt free

💫 You arrive at the arcade and you gaze at the building, amazed. Despite its age, bright neon lights flashed continuously across its walls exactly how it did five years ago. Immediately, you pull out your camera and start snapping away. “It’s just like I remembered,” you say aloud, “I came here once with my friends.” Then you grab Gavin’s arm and pull him towards the entrance, “Come on! Might as well play some games”

💫 You go inside and an elderly man greets the two of you warmly “You’re welcome to play any of the games, just ask me for the tokens.” You look at the surroundings. There was Pac-Man, Galaga, Pinball, (wow hahaha I am old) and many more games of the past. Then you see a basketball machine and you spot a glint in Gavin’s eyes

💫 “Let’s go play basketball!” You suggest, remembering that Gavin loved to play basketball. You pass some bills to the elderly man and he gives you a handful of tokens. “Come on!” You hand Gavin some of the tokens, “I want to see you play”

💫 Gavin’s skills are unmatched, and you watch in admiration as he shoots ball after ball into the hoop. You snap a few pictures and the machine dinged

💫 “Young man,” the elderly owner says, awestruck, “You just beat the high score that no one has been able to in years”

💫 Gavin rubs his neck, a little embarrassed, “I just like it, that’s all” NAW homeboi was trying to impress you but also he is really good

💫 “Well you have some talent,” the old man says as you drop your unused tokens into a bowl, “Come back and play anytime”

💫 “Thank you so much!” You thank the owner for the interview and the two of you were on your way to the amusement park

💫 “I can’t believe this has been here all there years,” you marvel at the spinning rides, the Ferris wheel, and the carousel. “Now I can understand why this made it into the top spot for favorite haunts”

💫 For the rest of the day, you drag Gavin from ride to ride, taking pictures every chance you get

💫 It was twilight when the two of you get done with the amusement park. “What’s next?” Gavin asks

💫 You grin, “Our favorite pastime,” you blush a little at the word ‘our.’ Before he could ask, you blurt out the answer in excitement, “We’re going stargazing! And tonight’s perfect! Come on!”

💫 It’s quite a trek up to the cliff-side park, but Gavin is here and he has an arm around you, supporting you. The two of you hike up the mountain and the trail ends in a grassy meadow. Your mouth drop open, “It’s beautiful up here!” You exclaim, the tiny lights of the city seem so far way

💫 Luckily, there doesn’t seem to be anyone around so you and Gavin have the area to yourselves. Gavin settles himself on the grass and extends a hand towards you, “Come here”

💫 You sit and suddenly Gavin tugs on your hand, sending you flying into his chest. Your face flush instantly, “Gavin!”

💫 He laughs and you feel the sound rumble through his chest, warm and comforting, “We’re stargazing,” he reminds you and positions you so that you could comfortably look up at the sky. Your face turns a even brighter red, if possible

💫 You soon fall into a comfortable silence as the sky darkened to a inky black and slowly, twinkling stars start to appear

💫 “It really is beautiful,” you break the silence softly, wonder lacing your voice. Gavin makes a noise of agreement and he pulls you closer to him. “Gavin, I want to know about the constellations” you gently request

💫 And in his sure, soft voice, Gavin starts to name the constellations in the sky, pointing them out and telling you random facts

💫 You stretch your hand out towards the glittering background, “Don’t you ever wish you can just...reach out and grab them?” You ask softly, “Something about it makes me feel safe, like someone is watching over me”

💫 A calloused hand covers yours, the touch gentle, but you can feel the firm strength that you always associate with Gavin coursing through

💫 “The stars and I will always be there to protect you, no matter what”

Kiro: Night Market Expedition

(This isn’t exactly across the city, but MC does drag Kiro around. I thought it would be cute! This was loosely modeled after the Japanese Fireworks Festival, hanabi. This one is a little short - sorry!)

🎆 It’s summer and that means festivals galore! One of the key parts of the festival is the night market, full of food and quaint handicrafts. After the night market, there will be a fireworks show

🎆 You invite Kiro out since the two of you love to chow down his album recording wrapped and you thought he deserved a break. DON’T TELL SAVIN ABOUT THE FOOD

🎆 Kiro is super excited at the prospect of all that food getting the opportunity to spend time with you as well as being able to see the fireworks

🎆 He meets you at the bustling square in his typical disguise, a hat and black frames. The various vendors are already making food and delicious smells fill the air. Kiro is practically bouncing as you make your way to him. “Miss Chips! Are you ready for our food expedition tonight?”

�� “Yes!” You say as Kiro cheerfully wraps you in a hug as way of greeting

🎆 “What’s our plan of attack?” He ask as he surveys the sprawling vendors, cerulean eyes twinkling with anticipation

🎆 “I did some research,” you say as you pull out your phone, “I’ve narrowed it down to ‘Foods We Have to Try,’ and ‘Viral Foods.’ Where do you want to start?”

🎆 Kiro studies your list with intense concentration, “The King Takoyaki first,” he says finally

🎆 “That’s exactly what I was thinking!” You exclaim and Kiro sends a million-watt smile your way

🎆 “Just as I thought, Miss Chips and I are really connected!”

🎆 You pull out a map that you procured earlier and study it. “Let’s go!” You grab Kiro’s hand and pull him along to the vendor

🎆 Along the way, you can’t help but snap pictures of the various handicrafts that people are selling. Kiro asks if you want to stop and check some of these out

🎆 “Later! We’re here to eat first,” you pull Kiro along, with nothing but your destination in mind. You arrive in front of the “King Takoyaki” stand. You and Kiro share a gleam with excitement and order 2 takoyaki

🎆 Kiro is about to take a bite when you stop him, “I need to take pictures first!” He laughs and grabs your phone

🎆 “Miss Chips, let’s take one together!” He pulls you closer to him and holds up his takoyaki, grinning at the camera

🎆 He takes a picture of you two, grinning goofily with your takoyaki

🎆 “Ready? On 3, 2,1!” The two of you bite into the savory ball.

🎆 “Mmm!” Kiro wriggles with delight. You laugh and sneak a picture of him when he’s not looking. “Oh this is so good! Good call, Miss Chips!” He high fives you, “What’s next?

🎆 You look at each other, “Ringo-Ame!” [apple coated in crunchy sugar candy] Both of you say in unison and the two of you break out into a fit of merry laughter

🎆 “Come on!” You say, tugging on Kiro’s arm. “I think I saw it earlier.” You lead the way amidst the bustling vendors and stop in front of a little cart filled with bright red glossy apples on sticks

🎆 You pause to take some pictures. “Here!” You turn towards Kiro’s voice and suddenly your mouth is filled with a sweet tanginess

🎆 Kiro grins, “Is it good?” You nod as you chew and Kiro laughs aloud. His laugh is bright and carefree; it makes you smile as well

🎆 “We’re supposed to eat it together,” you mumble when you finally finish chewing

🎆 Kiro hands you an apple on a stick, “Then it’s your turn to feed me!” He opens his mouth wide and you stick the apple in his mouth. “Just as I predicted, whatever Miss Chips feed me is unbelievably delicious!” His voice is a little muffled

🎆 You put your hands on your waist and pretend to glare, “Of course! I only introduce you to good food, you know!”

🎆 Kiro smiles and it’s infectious. Your lips tug up in an answering grin

🎆 The two of you go from stall to stall, sampling various foods when suddenly you hear a commotion near the river

🎆 “The fireworks!” You exclaim, “They must be starting! Let’s go!” You grab Kiro’s hand and pull him towards the crowd. Everyone is congregating on the banks of the river, getting ready for the fireworks show

🎆 You manage to find an empty spot a little ways from the crowd. After all, you didn’t want Kiro to be mobbed

🎆 The two of you sit and wait. Kiro pulls you close and there is a thunderous BOOM!

🎆 The sky bursts into dazzling colors and the crowd oohs

🎆 “So pretty!” you shout to Kiro over the noise. He nods, staring at the colorful bursts. You steal a glance at him. The various colors and flashes from the fireworks throws different colors across his face, and you forget to breathe for a moment. Kiro looks ethereal

🎆 Kiro glances at you and your eyes meet. You can feel the ever present warmth emanating from his bright blue eyes and it warms you all over. He pulls you even closer to him. “What are you looking at?” He asks loudly

🎆 You smile and press your lips against his ear, “I was just thinking, that just now you looked like you do on stage. With the lights flashing, only right now the stage lights are replaced with fireworks. A true idol, bringing light to his fans,” you say, speaking from the heart

🎆 He gazes tenderly at you for a moment and then leans down to whisper in your ear, just like you had with him, breath ghosting over your ear,

🎆 “But to me, Miss Chips is my light, she outshines even the most beautiful of fireworks”

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Lucien + Victor under the cut

Lucien: Cherry Blossom Tour

(FYI contains traces of Blossom Date-my Lucien creative juices has been used up by writing my other fic lol. NOTE: What I tried to write here is basically hanami aka a Japanese tradition of viewing cherry blossoms and eating/drinking. Also, this might be a bit biased oops)

🌸 It’s springtime and cherry blossoms are finally in season!

🌸 Cherry blossom themed everything have been popping up everywhere. Cafés, bakeries, ice cream shops, you name it. It’s the perfect time for couples to go out and enjoy spring under the cover of pink and white

🌸 You have been working nonstop for days and you were getting a little jealous at all the cute desserts that your coworkers posted on their social medias. This weekend, you finally have the day off and you want to go see the cherry blossoms before they’re all gone

🌸 You invite Lucien, and he readily agrees. He has been waiting for your invitation

🌸 He shows up in front of your door at 10am on the dot, dressed in a cozy white sweater with a black overcoat. “What’s the itinerary for today?”

🌸 You grab his hand and excitedly show him pictures on your phone. “So Kiki recommended this café and she said that the sakura latte is a must try! Also, afterwards, maybe we can go to this bakery! The mochi there looks so cute! And then after the bakery, we can go to this spot. I heard it’s the best place in the city for cherry blossom viewing!”

🌸 Lucien smiles as he lets you pull him along and ramble about all the places you want to see. “Slow down, silly girl, we have all the time in the world to see everything you’re interested in”

🌸 The two of you get to the café and settle down in a booth near the window. You eagerly order the sakura latte, Lucien orders the cherry blossom tea. As you wait for your drinks, the two of you chat casually about work. With Lucien around, the conversation is never dry, no matter how boring the topic

🌸 Your drinks arrive and Lucien waits expectantly, knowing that you wanted to take pictures. You quickly snap a few pictures of the pretty drinks and upload them onto your social media with the caption “Trying this for the first time!”

🌸 You take a sip carefully and Lucien watches with amusement. “Is it sweet?” You nod happily. Lucien chuckles, “Silly girl, you got foam all over your mouth”

🌸 Before you can grab a napkin, Lucien tenderly swipes his thumb across your lips. In the blink of an eye, his tongue darts out, catlike, to taste the foam on his finger. “You’re right, it is sweet,” he grins at your shell shocked face

🌸 LUCIEN CAn YoU nOT

🌸 After you recover from ProfessorSmooth Lucien’s antics, you finish your drinks and head over to the bakery to try the special sakura mochi

🌸 “Welcome! For today, we are having a lovers’ special! For every couple, we are giving them 2 free sakura mochi with the purchase of the special couple cherry blossom waffle set!” The cashier greets you cheerfully

🌸 “Er...” You are flustered

🌸 “We’ll take it,” Lucien answers for you as he wraps a arm around you, smiling politely at the cashier

🌸 Smooooooooooth

🌸 You collect your food and you once again take pictures of the delicate desserts

🌸 Lucien waits patiently until you’ve set your phone down and offers you a bite of the mochi. You close your eyes in delight as the fragrant taste spreads through your mouth and Lucien chuckles. “Good?”

🌸 You nod as you open your eyes to find Lucien gazing at you in adoration. Blushing, you move to return the favor and his grin widens

🌸 After finishing the desserts, you bring Lucien to the park where you can see couples setting up blankets underneath the pink blooms

🌸 “Careful,” Lucien warns as the two of you navigate through the crowd

🌸 You sigh, “I didn’t expect there to be this many people. There aren’t any open spots!”

🌸 “Look over there,” Lucien directs your attention to a little grove hidden a ways from the bustling crowd, “I think there might be some cherry blossom trees in there, would you like to check it out?”

🌸 You walk towards the grove and glance at the crowds behind you. They didn’t seem to be interested. The trees part to reveal a little clearing in which five cherry blossom trees sat undisturbed, branches laden with faint pink blossoms. You gasp in delight. “Lucien, how did you know these were here?”

🌸 He shakes his head, smiling, “I didn’t. I think we just happened to be lucky” WhAt a CoINcIdEnCe

🌸 You run up to the gently swaying trees, eagerly taking pictures. “It’s really so beautiful!” You gush

🌸 “Yes,” Lucien murmurs, but he’s gazing at you, “Truly beautiful” You don’t notice RIP

🌸 “Did you know that cherry blossoms are the embodiment of mortality?” He suddenly inquires after a moment. You look at him, a little startled by the topic. Oops here comes a lecture by Professor Lucien. He smiles as to reassure you and continues, “The Japanese Samurai believed in this principle to appreciate the inevitability of death without fearing it. This was carried over by the Japanese pilots during World War II who painted their kamikaze warplanes with cherry blossoms before embarking on suicide missions to ‘die like beautiful falling cherry petals for the emperor.’ It’s a beautiful contrast, isn’t it?”

🌸 You look at the delicate blossoms thoughtfully, “Yes, but you forget that cherry blossoms also embody spring,” you say quietly. “Spring and rebirth goes synchronously with cherry blossoms. The Japanese also worshipped these cherry blossom trees in the spring to grant them a bountiful harvest. So even though they are fleeting, they teach us to appreciate the fleeting moments in life and admire their beauty”

🌸 Lucien stills, “Indeed,” his dark eyes are on you, ever so unreadable, but you detect a faint fondness within those violet pupils

LOL this was my attempt to write a scholarly scene like the one they exchanged during the Blossom Date in the Chinese server EPIC FAIL RIP

🌸 You smile at him, “So instead being sad about these fleeting moments, shouldn’t we be happy that we get to see such beautiful blooms?”

🌸 “Yes,” he answers and his voice is a little thick with emotion

🌸 “These moments spent with you, no matter how fleeting, will always be beautiful”

Victor: Hidden and Exotic Foodie Gems Across Town

(Count how many times Victor calls you “Idiot” or “Dummy”)

🍽 You’re doing a segment on undiscovered food joints around town

🍽 You ask Victor to join you since he’s a chef he owns Souvenir (one of the original hidden gems)

🍽 Doesn’t want to (“Dummy, just interview Mr. Mills and film it at Souvenir”)

🍽 You explain that since you already covered Souvenir, people want to see new content and new restaurants

🍽 Dummy “I’m busy”

🍽 A little disappointed, you say you’ll go invite Lucien someone else

🍽 Are you an idiot “Goldman, cancel all my appointments for today” (GiVe GoLdMaN a RaIsE) “Which restaurants are we going to?”

🍽 You excitedly show him a list of restaurants which includes a restaurant that has a soup dumpling recipe spanning over five generations, another which all their ingredients come from their home farm, and another restaurant which promises a unique sensory experience like no other. “So I was thinking having soup dumplings for breakfast, then the farm-to-table place for lunch, and then finally the multi-sensory restaurant wrapping it up for dinner!” You ramble, not noticing Victor sitting at his desk watching you, a small smile playing around his lips

🍽 “Dummy, so are we going to get going or not?” He interrupts you, “I do have a company to run, you know”

🍽 “Let’s go!” You cheer, pulling Victor from his desk. He refuses to admit that your enthusiasm is infectious

🍽 The soup dumpling place is located in the older part of the city and you’re entranced by the architecture of the buildings and quaint cobblestone streets. You take pictures of everything. Victor rolls his eyes, but secretly he’s smiling on the inside. Seeing you excited, he couldn’t help but feel the tingle of excitement as well

🍽 The dumplings were delicious and you captured everything with your camera, even stopping Victor from eating in order to take that perfect shot

🍽 Dummy “You’re not running a food blog”

🍽 After breakfast, you inform Victor that the next restaurant is up in the mountains. His brows crease. “Are you going to drag me all over the city?” Yup

🍽 “These are the restaurants the viewers want to see most,” you tell him as you trek up the picturesque trail through the woods

🍽 Dummy “Watch where you’re going”

🍽 You don’t listen to him as you continue yammering away and taking pictures. You don’t notice how Victor is watching you intently to make sure you don’t trip over a tree root or smack into a branch

🍽 Suddenly your foot misses a step and Victor grabs your arm before you could fall. Your momentum propels you into his hard chest. You hear a sigh above your head, “Didn’t I just say to watch your step?”

🍽 “My oh my, what a lovely couple!” You hear a cheerful voice say before you can retort. Victor lets you go carefully, still holding onto your arm. You both turn to find a little old lady smiling at you

🍽 “Hi!” You break away from Victor, a little flustered. You introduce yourself to the woman and your reason for coming. She warmly welcomes you guys into the restaurant

🍽 “Would you like to see the farm first?” She asks and your eyes light up. You look at Victor. He coughs

🍽 “You know, you don’t need to ask for my permission,” he says, rolling his eyes

🍽 “The two of you are so sweet,” the lady coos as she leads you guys to the farm

🍽 The two of you spend a lovely afternoon, eating the freshest ingredients. You ask the lady many questions about her restaurant until you feel like you got enough material. There were many pictures taken

🍽 By the time you guys leave the farm, the sun is just starting to set. “Perfect timing!” You beam up at Victor, “I can’t wait for the multi-sensory experience”

🍽 Idiot “You’ve done nothing except eat all day. How can food excite you to this extent?”

🍽 “It’s the experience, not the food,” you tell him, waiting as the two of you arrive before a nondescript steel door. “And...it’s who I’m with,” you add, more softly as your cheeks redden. The door swings open then, saving you the embarrassment

🍽 The two of you are blindfolded, with earplugs in. You hold on tight to Victor’s hand as a server leads you two inside. You are gently directed to sit down and a hand removes your blindfold. You blink, eyes adjusting to the light and then you gasp. Multiple lights in a wide array of colors are projecting lazily onto the walls and table. Soft music play in time to the revolving lights. “Wow!” You exclaim in delight

🍽 “I see that it doesn’t take much to impress you,” Victor says quietly and you turn your head just in time to see a soft smile across his lips

🍽 You stare at him because did Victor just smile? And he sighs, “If you keep ogling at me, you’re going to miss the show”

🍽 Show? You’re about to ask when suddenly the music stops and the room darkens. There is a blast of fanfare and lights explode. You smell something absolutely fragrant and your server enters the room.

🍽 For the rest of your meal, every course is paired with a matching scent as the lights dance to the music. Your senses are completely assaulted. You miss Victor smiling at the way you eagerly scarf everything down

🍽 At the end, the music quietens and the lights dim. You put down your utensils and turn to Victor happily. He’s looking at you with something inexplicably soft in his eyes. You blush, feeling self-conscious. “Wh-why are you looking at me?”

🍽 “You have sauce on your face, dummy,” he says without skipping a beat. VICTOR, CAN YOU NOT

🍽 You pout at him, after wiping your mouth. “So...you didn’t enjoy it?” You ask quietly. You can’t help but feel hurt, and you wonder if you had wasted an entire day of Victor’s busy schedule

🍽 There is a sigh and Victor reaches for you, pulling you close and you tumble into his lap. GUYS, YOU ARE STILL IN A RESTAURANT

🍽 “That’s not it, dummy,” You hear him sigh and then-

🍽 “I’ll always enjoy the time spent with you. That time is never wasted, as long as it’s with you”

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

See I can write fluff sometimes, it’s not just angst all the time and not smut 😅 Wow this ended up being longer than I had previously planned to be. They turned out to be like minifics whatttt rip i’m sorry (Also there were some technical issues-forgot to save) 😓 But I hope that this was what you had in mind! Hopefully I got the characterizations of the boys right!💖

Requests are open!

For more of my work: 📖

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krsnbgirl · 4 years

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Fly High! || Kageyama xFem!Reader || Part 5

Summary: Hinata and Kageyama come over for a tutoring session since exams are right around the corner. Finally, they have a chance to have a little peek of your personal life at home after getting to know you more through your lunch time tutoring sessions. Kageyama also touches base with you about your decision which has finally come to an answer.

Pairing: Kageyama Tobio x Fem!Reader

Genre: Rom-Com, Slice of Life, Sports

Warnings: None for this chapter

Chapter's Word Count: ~3.1k

Author's Note: This is somewhat of a filler chapter, well in some cases hahaha. There are more moments with Kageyama though! All interactions with the story are much appreciated, but I would love to hear some feedback through the comments ; ^ ; I'm not sure if my writing is any good, but I'm assuming it's been going alright considering all the notes on the series?? Don't mind me, just being a little insecure about my writing atm...^^;

Taglist: @misnmatchedsox @monviemoo @love-beyond-words

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || || Part 5.5 || Part 6 || Masterlist

The blaring sound of a phone going off echoed through the bedroom as you sleepily reached out for it and took it off its charger. Squinting at the sudden brightness, you saw who was calling you and sighed. Right when you pressed the green button, the upbeat voice of your best friend could be heard. Still trying to wake up, you changed the call to be on speaker as you listened to Nishinoya ramble about his morning. Then you winced when he suddenly exclaimed about the new information he received from his fellow teammates during their morning practice.

“You’re tutoring the two idiots later today?!”

You yawned and stretched to get your body to feel more awake before replying, “Oh yeah...Hinata asked if they could squeeze in some more studying time before exams this week.”

“(Y/N)-chan, you’re a girl and you can’t just have two boys over when you’re home alone!”

You rolled your eyes and picked up your phone as you got out of bed. Making your way towards the kitchen, you smiled to yourself as you saw the plate of food your mom left. Taking a seat in front of the food, you settled down to enjoy your meal.

“You’re being overprotective Yu-nii. Just because our moms went on a trip together doesn’t mean you’re in charge of me.”

“UH YES I AM, I AM OLDER THAN YOU BY A YEAR.”

You laughed before digging into the food and said, “Okay and if it’ll ease your mind you can come over if you’d like and join us.”

“Ugh I wish I could, but I already promised Ryuu and Ennoshita that we would study together...we’re not trying to let you first years beat us!”

“Wait, how did you know they were coming over anyway?” You asked before taking a sip of your water.

“We had an early practice today and during our jog, Hinata was saying how excited he was to hang out with you.”

“Aw, that’s cute. He really is a ray of sunshine, isn’t he?” You snickered.

“(Y/N)-CHAN! Do you have a crush on Hinata?”

You burst out laughing and immediately said, “No I don’t Yu-nii, he seems like a brother to me at this point. Because of how innocent and bright he is, it makes me just want to take care of him like an older sister y’know?”

“Oh okay, that’s good to hear. Well, I’m glad BECAUSE I’M NOT READY TO LET YOU GO TO ANYONE ELSE. YOU’RE MY PRECIOUS LITTLE (Y/N)-CHAN.”

“There, there Yu-nii. You’ll always be my best friend, no one’s ever going to replace you. Even if I did get a boyfriend you’d just have to live with it.”

“Ugh whatever, I don’t even want to think about it yet. Anyways, I’m stopping by for dinner tonight. I’m going to need a breather after studying with the guys.”

Finishing up your breakfast, you hummed in response and gathered your dishes to clean them.

“What do you want for dinner? I’ll bring it over!”

“Oh~ if it’s your treat then I want takoyaki and yakisoba pan!”

“You’re so cheap.”

“Oh? So if you’re okay with paying more I want tonkotsu ramen, carbonara pasta, fried chicken, onigiri-”

“OKAY, OKAY TAKOYAKI AND YAKISOBA PAN IT IS. Geeze, you’re more simple than I thought.”

“I’m being easy on you, Yu-nii.”

“Alright, I got it. I’m about to go over to Ryuu’s house so let me know if Hinata or Kageyama do something you don’t like. We’ll be there in a flash to whip those two in shape.”

“Yeah, yeah~ take care Yu-nii.”

“You too (Y/N)-chan, I’ll let you know when I’m on my way later. Bye-bye!”

You smiled to yourself as you dried your hands and put away the dishes. It was always nice to know that Nishinoya would always be looking out for you even if he did so in such outgoing ways. His positive personality always lifted up your spirits especially since you were the more reserved one between the two of them. Taking a look at the clock the time for the boys to come over was nearing, so you decided to go ahead and get ready before cleaning up the apartment.

‘I wonder how today is going to go?’

---

Hinata and Kageyama were walking side by side as they made their way towards your area. The two had met up at the intersection they usually split up from to walk together since they didn’t want to awkwardly show up and make a fool out of themselves in front of you if they had shown up by themselves.

“Hey Kageyama, I wonder what her room looks like? Do you think it’s all frilly and pink like on TV?”

“I don’t know.”

“I hope she doesn’t think we’re even more stupid since we’ll be studying with her longer.”

“Who knows?”

“Kageyama, you also need to be more welcoming to her.”

“Shut up, Hinata. I already know what I need to do.”

“Are you sure, you seem pretty scary towards her if you ask me.” He laughed.

Kageyama clicked his tongue before slapping the back of Hinata’s head. “You’re just imagining things, you idiot.”

He quickly fastened his pace to get a head start and the boys began another race to see who would reach there first. In a matter of seconds, they were standing in front of your apartment complex and Hinata called you to let them in. The boys made their way up and Kageyama knocked on the door to let you know that they had officially arrived. They could hear your footsteps approaching and their eyes widened at your appearance. Your hair was out of its usual braid and you were wearing an oversized graphic t-shirt that was tucked into a pair of light denim high-waisted shorts.

“Hinata, Kageyama-kun I’m glad you guys made it.” you smiled at them before walking into the apartment.

“H-H-Hi (L/N)-san! T-Thanks f-for h-having u-us!” Hinata stuttered as he clumsily took off his shoes.

“Y-Yeah, excuse us for the intrusion,” Kageyama said softly as he followed Hinata towards the living room.

“We’ll be studying in my room if that’s okay with you guys?” you asked as you began to make some tea for them.

“A-A-Are you sure?” Hinata asked as he blushed.

“Hinata, relax. You don’t have to be so formal. I thought we’re all friends at this point.” you replied as they watched you rummage around for their cups.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, haha. My bad…” Hinata sheepishly said.

“It’s the room at the end of the hall, make yourselves comfortable! I’ll be there once the tea is finished.”

The boys followed your instructions and entered the room. They were surprised to find it very minimal. The walls were painted white with black trimmings and were filled with medals and certificates from the years that you played volleyball. There was a bed at the corner of the room next to your balcony and a desk that sat at the center and against the opposite wall. An array of polaroids were posted on the wall where your floor desk was. It had your laptop and textbooks neatly on top with a floor chair and your blazer hanging over it. On its side was a shoe rack and had a volleyball sitting on the corner of its top rock. A white coffee table sat in the middle of the room on top of a black rug with a couple of cushions for guests to sit on. Your closet was closed and located nearest by the door; painted with a chalkboard medium that was filled with all sorts of critiques for volleyball, self reminders, and important dates to keep an eye out for. Along the wall where your bed was, there was a body-size mirror snuggled on the opposite corner and a bookcase near it. You had a record player sitting on the floor with a couple of your favorite albums sitting in its holder.

“Woah...it’s so organized,” Hinata muttered as he let his bag drop by the coffee table and wandered over towards the wall where all your medals and certificates hung.

Kageyama let his eyes wander as he took in all the small things that you kept for yourself. He made his way over towards your desk and looked at the different memories you captured through your Polaroid. There were many of you and Nishinoya throughout the years from early childhood days to when you went to middle school together. He noticed that if you smiled hard enough, there was a small dimple that would appear on your left cheek. His eyes softened as he continued to see small tidbits of your life before you came to Karasuno. There were funny ones with your old teammates and a couple of photos with you and the upperclassmen. The one that mainly caught his attention was one that Nishinoya probably took for you. You were surrounded by your teammates as you held up the national trophy with happy tears streaming down your face, sitting in a wheelchair to celebrate your victory.

‘She really loved volleyball, huh?’ He thought to himself as Hinata walked up to him and looked at the photos as well.

“Do you think we’ll make it on her wall someday?”

Always leave it up to Hinata to voice some of his own personal thoughts that he could never say out loud. He shrugged and went to go sit down to get ready for their session. Hinata joined him as well just as you walked through the door with some snacks and their tea. As the three of you got out your notebooks, Kageyama couldn’t help but peek at the polaroid wall once more wishing that he’d have a special photo with you soon.

---

Before you knew it, the sun had already begun to set and Hinata freaked out. He was supposed to be on his way home already to look after his baby sister and Kageyama also needed to leave in order to pick up some food for his family. You walked them down towards the entrance and was taken aback to see both of them bow to you in thanks.

“Man, you’re a lifesaver! (L/N)-san, thanks for helping us study on a Saturday!” Hinata exclaimed with a bright smile on his face.

“Thanks,” Kageyama said and nodded at you.

“Sure, let’s do our best on the exam!” You smiled and Kageyama’s eyes slightly widened as he saw your dimple.

‘Cute…’ He thought as you and Hinata engaged in another conversation about your time as a volleyball player. Kageyama sighed and shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. He didn’t understand why his attention slowly shifted towards you whenever he was in the same space as you. His main priority was to focus on getting better as a setter so Karasuno can beat Seijoh the next time they plays against them.

“Oh? The two idiots are still here?” Nishinoya asked as he walked up to the trio with a plastic bag filled with food slung over his shoulder.

“Noya-senpai!” Hinata exclaimed.

“I hope she was a good teacher to you guys?” He smiled at them before taking his place next to you.

“Yeah! I’m gonna ace that exam for sure now! I think!”

Nishinoya burst out laughing and went to slap Hinata on his back for some encouragement. “Just as I suspected, Hinata! You’re always so positive and let’s hope that what you’re actually saying is true! Or rather, I won’t let (L/N)-san’s kindness go to waste!”

“Kindness…'To have a caring heart. A term used to express a caring attitude one has for another.’” Kageyama muttered as he continued to mentally go over what they had been studying for.

Nishinoya stared at him before laughing again. “You better pass too or else you both won’t be able to go to Tokyo. That and you would have wasted my precious best friend’s time.”

You sweatdropped and tried to calm them down. “Now, now let’s have some faith in them Yu-nii. You’re basically in the same boat as them so don’t be trying to act so superior towards them.”

Nishinoya pouted while Hinata and Kageyama gave you thankful looks. You sighed as your best friend jumped onto you and looked at the other boys. “Have a safe trip home Hinata-kun, Kageyama-kun.”

They waved goodbye and Nishinoya let go of his grip on you. He cheekily held up the food he brought and stuck his thumb towards your apartment. “Let’s go eat shall we?”

You playfully rolled your eyes and made your way up to settle down for the night. Once all of the food was laid out in front of you, Nishinoya was about to play the movie you were planning on watching when out of nowhere your cell phone rang. You picked it up and was surprised to see who called you.

“Kageyama-kun?” you answered and Nishinoya sprang up from his seat, pointing at your phone with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

You let out a small gasp but Nishinoya was too quick for you as he tackled you, trying to get the phone out of your hand. On the other side of the line, Kageyama weirdly looked at his phone when he heard the chaos happening in your apartment. He raised an eyebrow at the clatter of the phone and slowly brought the phone back to his ear in time to hear Nishinoya over the line.

“HUUUUH?! KAGEYAMA?! LET ME ANSWER- WHAT ARE YOU- HEY DON’T SLAP ME AWAY- (Y/N)-CHAN!”

“Um...is everything okay?”

You kicked Nishinoya off of you and quickly ran to your room. Locking the door behind you, you walked towards the bed and plopped down onto it.

“Yeah, everything’s fine, sorry about that. Yu-nii was being annoying.” you laughed, slightly out of breath.

“...R-Right…”

Smiling in amusement, you shook your head and caught your breath. You mindlessly kicked your legs and asked, “Um...is there anything you needed, Kageyama-kun?”

“I...um...accidentally left my notebook.”

You sat up and glanced towards the blue notebook that had fallen off of the table. You went to go pick it up and said, “Oh yeah, I see it. Did you want me to give it to you tomorrow?”

“Actually...I’m downstairs…I wanted to try and study more tonight.”

Running towards your balcony, you looked down to see Kageyama looking down and then scuffed the ground with his foot. You giggled over the phone and leaned against the railings.

“Kageyama-kun, look up.”

His eyes widened as he heard you and looked up to see you smiling at him from your balcony. He felt something in his stomach that he only felt when his nerves were high during matches. As he racked his brain for the answer, you waved him up to signal that he could come to pick up his notebook. Clutching the strap of his bag, he swallowed down the nerves and couldn’t believe that he was nervous around you.

“What’s this?”

Kageyama was greeted by Nishinoya and a teasing smile. “Are you trying to get at my best friend, Kageyama?”

The setter clicked his tongue and was about to retort back only to have you intercept and push Nishinoya out of the way. You sheepishly smiled at Kageyama as you lightly pushed him towards the hallway and followed him out. He watched as you glared at the libero and closed the front door, then sigh in relief before turning your attention towards him.

“Sorry about Yu-nii I know he can be overbearing sometimes.” you said while holding out his notebook.

“I-It’s fine...I’m used to it because he’s like that at practice.” He mumbled and gently took it out of your grasp to put it inside of his bag.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, I can walk you down too.” you offered and the two of you began to make their way towards the entrance.

A short and comfortable silence fell and Kageyama was trying to figure out how to start a conversation with you. You looked up and smiled to yourself when you noticed his eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. Trying to help him relax from worrying so much about his social nature, you decided to start the conversation.

“Are you nervous for the exam?”

Kageyama looked down at you as you looked in front of them with your arms behind your back and he shrugged. “Not really, you’ve been a lot of great help to us.”

“That’s good.”

Another silence fell and you finally reached the entrance. You stood in front of him and rocked on your heels, waiting to see if he would say something. He cleared his throat and looked towards the street before he asked, “Have you decided if you’re going to be our manager or not?”

You hummed in thought as you guys ended up looking at the strangers that passed by. “I’m still thinking about it. There are still some things I need to figure out.”

He peered down at you before readjusting his bag and said, “(L/N)-san, at this rate, you can’t move forward. If you want to do this, you have to just believe in yourself that you are able to.”

“Yeah...I guess you’re right.” you softly said as once again, Kageyama knocked some sense into you as if he could read right through the barricade you put up for yourself.

“...And I’d like to have you as our manager too…” Kageyama quietly added.

Your eyes widened as he rubbed his neck, a slight tinge of red could be seen on his cheeks. You chuckled and warmly smiled at him.

“Well if you put it that way, I guess I can’t say no to this offer, huh?” you teased. “I’m kidding, but really though, thanks Kageyama-kun. I guess I can’t let you down after all that you’ve said to me. Just wait for me to settle some things first.” ‘Like going to Ukai-san’s store tomorrow to talk about my past and how we can incorporate my skills into your practice…’ you thought to yourself as a million of new ideas began to form in your head. It also reminded you that there was finally something could do that would help the team raise money for their bus.

His eyes softened and a faint smile could be seen on his face. “You’re welcome, (L/N)-san.”

You smiled widely and excitedly tugged on the strap of his bag. Kageyama raised an eyebrow at you. “In that case, there’s something I need from you and Hinata for help.”

#fly high!#haikyuu!!#haikyuu #Haikyu!!#haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu x reader #kageyama x reader #kageyama fanfiction #kageyama x you #kageyama x y/n #kageyama x fem!reader #kageyama fluff #kageyama tobio #karasuno #kageyama series

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katyobsesses · 3 years

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I've decided to do that fic ask thing that's been floating around even though I haven't been tagged <3

how many works do you have on AO3?

22... apparently? three of those are fic book covers though.

what’s your total AO3 word count?

139,883 words

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

On AO3? 3. In general? 4 or 5 i think? I currently write for Glee and Marvel on my AO3 (there's also one Yuri On Ice fic) and I've previously written (and published) for Harry Potter on FF.Net. I do also have a few outlines/ideas for Merlin fics floating around my google docs but I've never posted any, and I used to write Twilight fics back in the day.

what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Ain't No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) Book Cover with 222 kudos (Marvel published 2016) --A book cover for a popular Stucky fic

A Punch In The Face with 101 kudos (Marvel published 2014) --A Young Avengers drabble of sorts, Teddy/Billy meet cute

Express Your Love with 81 kudos (Marvel published 2014) --I cannot remember what this is, I think it's Stony? Something about Tony never saying 'I Love You' to steve but instead showing his love through actions?

In A Previous Life with 77 kudos (Marvel published 2014) --A drabble of sorts. Billy and Tommy talk to Wanda about their life with her before they were reincarnated.

Putting a Punching Bag in the Workshop was Tony's Best Idea Ever with 64 kudos (Marvel published 2014) --Basically what it says on the tin. Stony. Tony is distracted by Steve's arse as he boxes.

Annoyingly these are all fics I'm not that proud of, but they're older so the kudos amounts make sense i guess 🙄 the next most Kudos'd is one I am proud of though - “You took EVERYTHING from me.” with 58 Kudos (2019) - Basically a little oneshot of what I thought could have happened in the 5 years everyone was dusted and how I thought they might have introduced Billy and Tommy into the MCU, it was going to create a whole 'verse but then we got confirmation on things like Kate Bishop and Cassie Lang and Spiderman Far From Home came out and I dropped the ideas. But I still like this fic.

do you respond to comments, why or why not?

most of the time, yes, though sometimes I leave them sitting for too long and then feel awkward about replying to them and i don't (*cough* most of my comments on WTNY(ibwfy) *cough*)

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

probably In Paris With You which I'd forgotten about until scrolling through my fics! I wrote this, orginally, way back in like... 2011 based on a poem of the same name that got stuck in my head as i studied it for my English GCSE. but it's been updated and changed like 3 times since then.

Also my fic As long as I'm here as I am, so are you is rather angsty. Basically Kurt is listening to Ben Platt's album Sing to Me Instead and one song reminds him of Finn. (because it reminded me of them)

do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I've never written a crossover, though I think I once toyed around with some sort of Harry Potter crossover that never made the light of day, I can't remember what it was with though... maybe Merlin?

have you ever received hate on a fic?

not on AO3! But I did have someone call my OC in One More New Direction a Mary Sue on FF.net which wasn't nice, and someone else said they hated my characterisation of Mercedes in a chapter which was weird because Mercedes wasn't even in the chapter it was just my OC talking about her and her impression of her.

do you write smut? if so what kind?

I've tried, multiple times, in my 10+ years of fic writing, but i just can't do it. Maybe it's because I'm Asexual? it just always feels weird even after I've read smut as, like, revision. I feel like a lot of the characters are, like, ace by proxy because i don't know how to write characters being motivated by sex.

have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope! Not that I know of anyway

have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

have you ever co-written a fic before?

not that I remember? I vaguely remember being a Beta for someone like 10 years ago though.

what’s your all time favourite ship?

I honestly don't know! I've definately written mostly Klaine, but I'm such a multishipper that I have no clue. I'm really loving writing Hevans rn mostly because we are lacking Hevans content which is criminal. actually, fun fact, my fic Welcome To New York (it's been waiting for you) was originally going to be Klaine, but as i was writing the outline I fell back into the Hevans hole and decided to switch it up. I'm glad i did because it would have gotten nowhere as a Klaine fic!

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

If i don't think I'll finish something I don't post it. I have a graveyard of fics half drafted.

what are your writing strengths?

I honestly don't know. I like writing dialogue and I know I'm good at portraying something with a small amount of words but you'll have to ask my readers 😊 (in fact, if you've read my stuff please let me know what you think my strengths are! I'm honestly curious!)

what are your writing weaknesses?

I'm terrible at stretching a scene into something bigger if it warrents it. Like i said I'm good at portraying something with few words but sometimes I feel like that throws the pacing off. I use a lot of paragraphs because of that, to make the reader pause and reflect until the next line or to show that the character is pausing and reflecting. idk man. I also hate writing dates, which is annoying because WYNY(ibwfy) is mostly dates. I've been on one in my life and it was shit so i have no idea how to write one lol.

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think that, unless you don't want the reader to know what is being said or the words used are obvious in context, that you should write it in english EG: --"Merci!" Kurt said.-- is fine but if you want to write something longer I would do something like --"hello my name is Kurt Hummel and I love scarfs" Kurt said in french-- or something, it depends on the context.

Actually, going back to In Paris With You. Kurt is french in that, and it's from Blaine's POV so when Kurt speaks french it's in french with Blaine translating what he can in the narration. He's not meant to be able to understand Kurt perfectly, so the audience doesn't either. But if I was writing, say, Kurt and Sebastian talking to each other in French from Kurt's POV I'd write it in english so that audience can also understand that Kurt understands.

(does that make sense?)

what was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter. definately Harry Potter! It was how i got into fanfiction, and how i got into glee <3 JKR is a horrible person, but her books - and especially the fandom surrounding them - mean a lot to me.

what’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

I have no idea. I'm really liking my Love and Friendship series right now, and I love One More New Direction because it got me through - is getting me through - this crazy couple of years. so probably them? I also really love (that makes you) The Scarlet Witch which is kind of like a character analysis of Wanda that I wrote after watching WandaVision.

#long post #katy writes #katywrites #fanfiction #glee #mcu #marvel #harry potter #ao3 #me

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shefanispeculator · 3 years

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Blake Shelton has 28 career No. 1 songs on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, and another seven that have reached the Top 10. It'd be easy just to stick with the singles in making a list of his best songs, but who likes easy?

Find plenty of deep cuts on this list of Shelton's 50 best songs, including his spiritual songs. Those are sprinkled all over the playlist — The Voice coach is a rare singer who can sing about drinking and heartache with as much conviction as his relationship with God. Fans will find a new one called "Bible Verses" on his Body Language album. It does well on this staff and reader partnership.

Songs with ex-wife Miranda Lambert and fiancee Gwen Stefani make the list as well, but the Top 10 Blake Shelton songs are all solo efforts ... with one exception. Is it strange that his most convincing bedroom ballad was a collaboration with a different "Gwen"? Cover songs by George Jones and Conway Twitty, collaborations with RaeLynn and Trace Adkins, and a co-write with Earl Thomas Conley all make this list of Shelton's top songs. Which is your No. 1?

Top Blake Songs: His Greatest Hits + Best Deep Cuts

Taste of Country staff opinion, and the commercial success of tracks from Shelton's 12 studio albums were certainly considered in making this list of the top songs. More than anything, we sought fan input, via sales and direct input. What's your favorite Blake Shelton song, and does it agree with our No. 1?

Below are the The Voice coach's 50 best songs. Lyrical integrity and production were also considered in this ranking. Really it's hard to argue against any of the Top 5, but we understand if there's a debate about placement. Heck, we encourage it!

Warner Music Nashville

No. 50: "She's Got a Way With Words"

Songwriters Andy Albert, Marc Beeson and Wyatt Earp wrote a clever country lyric, but the problem is, it felt too personal from Blake Shelton in 2016. This is the song that stopped Shelton's impressive streak of No. 1 singles. Sonically, very few songs from this era stand apart from one another.

No. 49: "Gonna"

" isn't a bad song — a strong case could be made that it's better than some of the singles ranked ahead of it on this list of the top 50 Blake Shelton songs, actually — the love story from 2014 just isn't memorable in any way. Think about it: At best you said, "I remember that song" but more likely thought, "which one is that?"

No. 48: "The Wave"

" is a unique metaphor for how a good love can wash away all of your troubles. Blake Shelton's song from Texoma Shore is another fan favorite. The mid-tempo track displays his voice nicely.

No. 47: "When the Wine Wears Off"

," an album track from Texoma Shore that could have been a single. The song's structure and flow is very similar to so many hits from this era of Blake Shelton.

No. 46: "Anyone Else"

When asked which deep cut they like most, Blake Shelton fans chose "

," an album cut from Bringing Back the Sunshine. This ballad shows a bitterness that's rare across the singer's discography, and certainly this list of 50 songs. It's packaged in a fairly unoffensive arrangement, but his lyrics really sting.

No. 45: "Over"

Blake Shelton gives a great vocal performance of a fairly ordinary song during "

," his fourth straight No. 1 single from the Red River Blue album.

No. 44: "I'll Just Hold On"

Shelton relied on a sitar to make this song stand out. It only worked to get him a Top 10 hit. The remainder of "

" is arranged more conventionally, making the outsider instrument something of a gimmick.

No. 43: "All Over Me"

" will always hold a special place for Shelton, as he co-wrote it with an idol, Earl Thomas Conley. The piano-led ballad finds the singer doing something truly unique: Showcasing a timid falsetto during the chorus of this poignant, pure country single. Lyrically it's difficult to keep up with, but sonically it's bold, like so many of his early hits.

No. 42: "Every Time I Hear That Song"

In retrospect, very few songs from Shelton's post-divorce album stack up against his earliest and most recent singles and deep cuts. "

" relies on a vocal hook, but the performance lacks urgency. Still, it hit No. 1 easily.

No. 41: "Sure Be Cool If You Did"

Shelton's Based on a True Story ... album started with "

," but every single that followed is far better and more engaging. This love ballad doesn't hurt for warmth, but the arrangement is milquetoast at best.

Rick Diamond, Getty Images

No. 40: "Drink on It"

Real life couple Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall joined Rodney Clawson for this track from Shelton's Red River Blue album. While still a No. 1 hit, "

" gets a little lost among other more dynamic performances and arrangements on this list of his 50 best songs.

No. 39: "I'll Name the Dogs"

" cast Blake Shelton as a husband in waiting, something his fans and the world in general were hoping for in his real life. The No. 1 hit from 2017 went Platinum on the strength of a pop-rock chorus and a charming lyrical hook.

No. 38: "Happy Anywhere"

" — the second of two straight single collaborations with Gwen Stefani — hit No. 1 and is a total earworm. It's hard to criticize the feel-good jam, but we'll say "Nobody But You" is a superior duet for the country couple.

No. 37: "Neon Light"

In a vacuum, "Neon Light" — a No. 1 hit, released in 2014 — is a funky, country and hip fusion that works. Across Blake Shelton's full catalog of hits and album cuts, however, it tries to do too many things that this singer does better elsewhere. For that reason, this track rates a bit low on this list of Shelton's best songs.

No. 36: "Granddaddy's Gun"

Aaron Lewis' version of this same song was more convincing, but Blake Shelton's "

" wasn't trying to act tough. The more sensitive singer's rendition was more sensitive and polished. The two men were targeting different country audiences.

No. 35: "A Guy With a Girl"

Blake Shelton celebrates his woman during "

" a No. 1 hit from If I'm Honest. The song is a sweet gesture, made atop a radio-ready arrangement.

No. 34: "Nobody But You"

The first of two straight, Gwen Stefani duets to country radio finds the couple trading lines as they tell a love story that can only be described as genuine. The No. 1 hit reached a very pleasing one million downloads quickly. "

" should not be confused with another song on this list. It's a progressive, pop-friendly ballad that truly simmers.

No. 33: "When Somebody Knows You That Well"

Of all of Blake Shelton's official singles, "

" faired the worst. It barely cracked the Top 40, possibly due to an outdated, string heavy arrangement. But it's not a bad little song. Harley Allen co-wrote this ballad and Shelton does OK in finding the right perspective. 'A' for effort, big fella.

No. 32: "Doin' What She Likes"

This charming No. 1 hit is best remembered for a music video in which a bumbling Blake Shelton burns the house down trying to cook a romantic dinner for Miranda Lambert, who makes a vocal cameo early. Sans video, "

" is a warm love song that's fit for a squeeze.

No. 31: "Just South of Heaven"

Another fan favorite from deep in Shelton's catalog, "

" finds the singer relying on a familiar mood over a welcome acoustic guitar and fiddle combination.

No. 30: "Came Here to Forget"

If you expected Blake Shelton's post-divorce album to include some heartache, you were right. "

is a dark country lyric atop an R&B-infused guitar line. His twang keeps it country, but the song is among his most progressive No. 1 hits. Often when he stretches the genre, it's done with a wink — not this time.

No. 29: "Sangria"

Few songs on this list of Blake Shelton's best smolder like "

." The love song rides a warm melody that covers for a barely-there hook. This 2015 hit was one in a string of No. 1 hits for Shelton, most of which went Gold or Platinum.

No. 28: "Jesus Got a Tight Grip"

When Blake Shelton does sit down to write, what comes out is often spiritual. Deep love songs and reflections on a higher power make up his short songwriting catalog. Jessi Alexander helped him with "

," a plucky country-rocker from 2019.

No. 27 Draggin' the River

" tells a dark story of two lovers escaping together, and in that way, it's very Miranda. Shelton's polished vocals and a sweetened production make this track from the All About Tonight EP very Blake, however. While not a single, it was a fan favorite back when they were a couple. We still dig it.

No. 26: "Minimum Wage"

Blake Shelton's blue-collar love song is no "Friends in Low Places" but the spirit of this song still hits today. There's not a lot of love-conquers-all messaging across his catalog, at least not as much as that of storytellers like

" is a mainstream effort that did its job of introducing a new album, but it's hard to put it high on this list of Shelton's 50 best at this point.

No. 25: "Footloose"

Blake Shelton didn't deviate much from Kenny Loggins' original version. The country "

" wasn't a radio hit, but it went Gold and introduced the country singer to an all-genre audience that was just beginning to learn of him via The Voice.

No. 24: "Some Beach"

One could make a case for "

" as Shelton's most important song, as it saved a career that was spiraling after a trio of Top 40 country airplay hits. This is the first time fans got to witness his sense of humor and sarcasm — remember, there was no Twitter in 2004. A pre

Rory Feek co-wrote "Some Beach," showing how wide the singer reached for great songs early in his career.

No. 23: "Bible Verses"

" is the faith song on Blake Shelton's 2021 album Body Language, and it's truly a highlight on the project. The singer approaches the topic with genuine humility that feels as honest as any love or drinking song he has recorded. A great play on a phrase pushes the song higher up on this Top 50 list.

No. 22: "Hillbilly Bone" with Trace Adkins

Blake Shelton proved he's a dynamic duet partner with this partnership with Trace

" is among his most well-known songs, even if it's not a Top 10 song on our list. Amid a catalog of songs with sexy, delicate women, this rocker with tough guy Adkins stands up and demands you pay attention. Even the haters have to smile!

No. 21: "Nobody But Me"

Did you even know that Shelton has a hit song called "Nobody But You" and "

"? The former is his most recent hit with Gwen Stefani, but the 2005 love ballad is the one that deserves a celebration. A jazzy piano carries the country singer atop this pleading love song. It's both memorable and effective.

No. 20: "Savior's Shadow"

Jessi Alexander returns to this list of the best Blake Shelton songs to offer a gentle message about faith and peace. "

" is Shelton's only Hot Christian Songs hit, reaching No. 14 in 2016. He's rarely, if ever, performs the song live.

No. 19: "The More I Drink"

," a Top 10 hit for Blake Shelton in 2007. The singer's early rompers are unmistakably genuine. In his later years, a certain polish would change the raw messaging, but that doesn't exist in this Brent Rowan production.

No. 18: "Playboys of the Southwestern World"

This is a song about best friends. "

" is a critic's pick for this list because we can recall him playing it live. The song is largely shelved now, but it still cooks. As a storyteller, few artists do better than Shelton, as some of the highest ranked songs on this list will prove. Playboys (No. 24 in 2003) is a different kind of story.

No. 17: "Lonely Tonight"

Give Shelton credit: At a time when few solo females could break in country music, he was doing what he could to celebrate talent.

is just one example of the hitmaker looking past stars who would have furthered his career to support Nashville's best. This dark ballad about a one night stand is a provocative conversation that just burned in 2014, a time where Blake Shelton was king. During "

No. 16: "Turnin' Me On"

Blake Shelton hasn't written very many of the songs found on this list of his 50 best. "

" is a rare case where he set out to write a song that became a hit, albeit a minor one. The simmering love song only reached the Top 10 after its 2018 release, but charts aren't everything. Years later it really stands apart from the rest of the songs he released to radio. You can feel his passion as he sings a song that he clearly had girlfriend Gwen Stefani in mind for.

No. 15: "I Lived It"

This Top 5 hit for Blake Shelton seemed to come and go, but we wish it would have stuck around as a catalog cut for the singer. "

" is among his best late model songs as it treads into new, nostalgic territory for a singer who is so often singing of love and love lost.

No. 14: "The Baby"

Blake Shelton cemented himself as one of country music's most promising young storytellers with three of his first four singles, including "

." The heartbreaking mother-son story is a gut punch for older country music fans. Melodically, the chorus gives it wings. This song from The Dreamer would become his second No. 1 hit.

No. 13: "All About Tonight"

" for Blake Shelton, and it's a song that will forever hold a place in his live show. It's kind of the theme song for any country concert, isn't it? In truth, Shelton hasn't released too many all-out jams like this one in the last decade, so it stands out a decade later.

No. 12: "Boys 'Round Here" With Pistol Annies and RaeLynn

Every once in awhile Blake Shelton drops a song that reminds you he doesn't take himself too seriously. It's critical to his artistry and an integral part of his longevity. "

" was his early 2010s version of that song. It's a sort of hip-hop-inspired redneck stomp with callback lyrics and his then-wife's supergroup supporting him. The song is just so much fun to bop along with, even a decade later.

No. 11: "God Gave Me You"

Blake Shelton took Dave Barnes' "

God Gave Me You

" and turned it into a Grammy-nominated, chart-topping country song. But that's just part of the story. The emotive love ballad is also what gave the singer the kick in the pants he needed to propose marriage to then-girlfriend Miranda Lambert. This is a tremendous vocal performance and certainly worthy of a high placement on the singer's best songs list.

No. 10: "My Eyes"

Blake Shelton and

Gwen Sebastian

kept a brother-sister kind of relationship after her time on The Voice. She even joined his band. That changed with "

," a true bed burner that beckons, "Come a little closer, come a little closer / Come a little closer, love the way you look tonight / My eyes are the only thing I don't wanna take off of you."

"My Eyes" was the last of a trio of great male/female collaborations that truly put new female artists on a pedestal. RaeLynn and Pistol Annies joined him for "Boys 'Round Here," Ashley Monroe jumped in for "Lonely Tonight" and Sebastian for "My Eyes." This was a time when women struggled mightily at country radio, but the singer did what he could to help introduce new talent.

Warner Music Nashville

No. 9: "Home"

You see a real change in Blake Shelton's commercial success beginning with his cover of "

" in 2008. One could argue this is his most important radio release, and his vocals stand up to anything else he's put out. Prior to his version of the Michel Bublé song, Top 20 was where he lived. After that, he rattled off a string of No. 1 hits as long as anyone ever: Nineteen of Shelton's next 20 singles hit No. 1.

Warner Music Nashville

No. 8: "Goodbye Time"

There is more than one famous cover among Blake Shelton's 50 best songs. "

" was a

Conway Twitty

hit in 1988, and the younger singer did it justice with a piano-led arrangement that showcased him as a premier vocalist. This song also exemplifies why he was hit-and-miss at radio in the mid 2000s. It followed the chart-topping "Some Beach," which followed a Top 40 song called "When Somebody Knows You That Well." It's good to go back and forth between good times and heartache, but with Shelton, the pendulum swung too far every time. It was hard to figure out who he was for most of a decade.

No. 7: "Ol' Red"

" is not Blake Shelton's best song, but it's his signature song. He can't play a live show without telling this story of a prisoner, a dog and a warden who gets fooled. Early in his career, Shelton wasn't shy about covering other artists, including Conway Twitty and (in this case) George Jones. His tie to the past has loosened in recent years, which is a bummer because songs like this are far more interesting than anything on the radio today.

Warner Music Nashville

No. 6: "Honey Bee"

There's not an easier song in Blake Shelton's catalog to enjoy than "

," his slightly saccharine, but still grinning love song from 2011. The track went triple-Platinum and is perhaps his most recognizable song worldwide today.

No. 5: "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking"

Joe Nichols

cut this song several years before Shelton would make it his best love song. Both versions are exemplary. It starts with the songwriting. Lyrically, "

" is more sensitive and poetic than anything else on this list. Each line is phrased as a question, and each question is one any woman can relate to. The magic is in this hitmaker's personal delivery. His range isn't needed for a subtle romancer that the greats would be proud of. Few country women will resist a warm smile when this No. 1 hit begins.

Warner Music Nashville

No. 4: "God's Country"

God's Country

" rejuvenated Blake Shelton's career. The country-rock song paints a vivid picture but it works so well because everyone who touched the song went for it 100 percent. The chart-topping hit is arguably his best of the last half-decade and an easy pick for Top 10 on this list of his greatest songs.

No. 3: "She Wouldn't Be Gone"

There's no song in Blake Shelton's catalog that paints a breathtaking picture with the same ease of "

She Wouldn't Be Gone

," his No. 1 song from 2008. He begins with, "Red roadside wild flower if I'd only picked you / Took you home set you on the counter" before his second metered stanza that goes, "Yellow sunset slowly dipping down in the rear view / Oh, how she'd love to sit and watch you / I could have done that a whole lot more."

The chorus of this song is where the tension lies, however. Shelton has told great stories before and delivered strong vocal performances plenty of times, but few songs find him so recklessly emotional as this ballad. It's almost unnerving to listen to.

No. 2: "Mine Would Be You"

" is a Top 5 Blake Shelton song because of the twist at the end that just crushes your heart. It's a love song, until suddenly it isn't. Jessi Alexander and company wrote it, but it's the singer's energy that makes the song special. As with "She Wouldn't Be Gone," there's a sense of panic so rare on the radio today. Shelton seems like such a cool character most of the time, but moments like this remind us of his gifts.

No. 1: "Austin"

Fans have, and will continue to, make a case for "

" as Blake Shelton's best song. It's certainly an all-time great debut single — one that would work in any era of country music. Early in his career, the Oklahoma native relied on veteran songwriters and producers like Bobby Braddock to shape his sound. These days everything comes with a little more polish, which is fine and probably even necessary.

You can't compare 20-year-old tracks like "Austin" with modern songs like "I'll Name the Dogs." Lyrically, his newest material lacks depth when held up against the rich tapestry of these early hits. So many songs from Shelton's first two albums make the Top 10 or even Top 20 of this list for this reason. "Austin" at No. 1? It's tempting to select another for the sake of being bold, but doing so would just be dishonest.

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kingstylesdaily · 4 years

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Harry Styles Is the World's Biggest Young Rock Star. Why Won't Rock Radio Play Him?

If you were to invent an artist to keep the flame burning for classic rock in a musical mainstream increasingly unfriendly to the genre's traditions, they'd probably look and sound a lot like Harry Styles.

A dashing, long-haired, highly fashionable and occasionally gender-bending young Briton who dates pop stars and supermodels, makes free-love music videos, worships at the altars of Mick Jagger and Stevie Nicks and sells out arenas worldwide with his guitar-based, lightly psychedelic pop-rock? At times, Styles' superstardom almost feels fictional, like some character a middle-aged writer would draw up for Russell Brand to play in a slapstick comedy, despite the archetype being almost entirely absent from the last decade-plus of popular music.

But it isn't just real, it's still growing. Styles' sophomore LP Fine Line posted one of the best first-week numbers of 2019 -- moving 478,000 equivalent album units in its first week, double the first-week number for his 2017 self-titled debut -- and it's still in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart seven months later. While traditional radio success eluded Harry on his first album, Fine Line has seen two of its singles, "Adore You" and "Watermelon Sugar," wholeheartedly embraced on the airwaves, becoming his first two top five hits on Billboard's Pop Songs chart -- and his first two top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 since his solo debut "Sign of the Times" bowed at No. 4.

Yet for all his current success and acclaim, the world's biggest young rock star continues to be ignored at rock radio. While he appears well on his way to becoming a pop radio fixture, Styles has never even cracked any of Billboard's rock or alternative airplay charts.

Rock radio's initial reluctance to embrace Styles was hardly surprising, given his musical roots as one-fifth of the massively successful vocal group One Direction. Despite having their own fair share of rock-flavored hits, 1D was considered to be firmly in the pop lane, especially by radio. So have virtually all rock-leaning groups to fall under the "boy band" umbrella, even including acts like the Jonas Brothers and 5 Seconds of Summer who play some or all of their own instruments. Even though Styles' solo debut was clearly more indebted to David Bowie and Queen than Michael Jackson and ABBA, he was still very much "Harry Styles of One Direction" -- and like all the group's alums, had to prove himself as an artist outside of their well-established milieu.

However, at this point, Harry Styles no longer needs the "of One Direction" to establish his place in the musical mainstream -- he is very much a solo star in his own right, with his own identity (and plenty of his own fans) totally outside of 1D's massive shadow. And as his own artist, though many of his songs are pop-accessible, his chosen lane is obviously rock, as evident by his (oft-namechecked) classic rock influences, his full-band setup, and his predominantly guitar- and piano-driven songs. As traditional rock music continues to fade from contemporary relevance, and youth-appealing, streaming-embraced stars like Styles are in particularly short supply, there would certainly be good reason to embrace him as part of the format -- particularly at alternative radio, where many stations have already begun to stretch their playlists to include pop-approved, less traditionally rock stars like Billie Eilish and Post Malone.

There are few indications to this point, though, that many are interested in doing so with Styles. While "Watermelon Sugar" continues to climb at pop radio, only one station monitored by Billboard for our Alternative Songs airplay chart has attempted to play it: Alt 92.3 (WNYL) in New York, which gave it a paltry two spins in the prior tracking week. (WNYL declined to speak to Billboard about Styles for this story.)

Part of the reason for this is, simply, that Styles' label Columbia Records isn't actively working his songs to rock or alternative radio. Even in a streaming age where programmers don't need to literally be sent an artist's song to have the ability to play it, that still matters. Radio columnist Sean Ross (of the Ross on Radio newsletter) explains that songs not being promoted to a certain radio format "tends to be the number one explanation for, “Why isn’t anybody playing this?'"

"I wish radio, in general, showed more enterprise on music," Ross says. "But there’s no reason to expect that even the stations that play a quirky, pop-leaning version of the alternative format would go out of their way to play a Harry Styles song without being asked.”

It's also worth noting that pop radio has also been slow to embrace Styles -- even going back to the One Direction days, where despite the group's massive popularity, they only ever notched two top 5 hits on Mainstream Top 40 (as many as Styles has already as a solo artist). By choosing "Adore You" as an advance single from Fine Line -- following the more reintroductory first taste "Lights Up" -- Styles' team made their priorities clear. "Last time around, Harry Styles presented himself as a rock artist, and didn’t find a home at rock or pop radio," Ross says. "This time, he’s clearly pursuing pop radio with the singles that have been chosen."

One place on rock radio where Styles might have better luck finding a home is at Adult Alternative, where both "Sign of the Times" and "Watermelon Sugar" have received airplay. It's not a ton in either case -- "Watermelon Sugar" is currently only being played at two stations reporting to Billboard's Triple A listing, WCLX in Burlington, Vt. and KVYN in Napa Valley, Calif. But neither station views playing the song as all that out of character for their brand.

"It fits what we’re doing, and we don’t care where it came from," WCLX programmer Chip Morgan explains. "We like Harry... and that’s it. It’s a great summer song." Playing a song by a top 40 artist who comes from the pop world doesn't mean a ton to Morgan, because he says that they "don't pay attention to top 40" at WCLX anyway. "Before ['Adore You'], we didn’t really know that much about [Styles]," he admits.

Despite his younger-leaning core following, it makes sense that Styles might also appeal to more Adult Alternative listeners, because his older musical reference points are actually much more in line with traditional Gen X and boomer sensibilities than the millennials and Gen Z-ers that mostly comprise his fanbase. "On KVYN, it wouldn't be a rare thing to have a mix of music where Harry Styles was donuted in between Tom Waits and the Grateful Dead," explains Nate Campbell, director of music and programming for the station. "I'm sure other radio programmers would laugh at this, and that's fine with me. But that's how we are choosing to try and entertain our market. And reception has been good, I'd say."

It's unclear whether the rock radio world will ever fully accept Harry Styles as their own -- or if Styles' own team will see much advantage in pushing him as such, when they've already conquered the much-bigger pop world. But Morgan and Campbell agree that it's crucial for radio programmers in 2020 to be open-minded when it comes to filling their playlists, and not to be too influenced by what musical world an artist originally comes from.

"I may have some reservations in the back of my mind about 'credibility' when it comes to some pop acts," Campbell admits. "But I think it's important to quickly move past my own biases, based on my belief that [our genre's defintion] IS amorphous now -- it's a completely different listening world now in this streaming era. And it's important to take that into consideration when trying to blend your radio station in with that listening landscape."

via Billboard

#kingstylesdaily #Harry Styles #hs: article #hs: billboard #July 2020

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let-me-write-shit · 4 years

Text

Like We Used To: 20

A/N: Thanks for the love in the last chapter! I didn’t realize how many of you were still reading! It was nice to hear from you!

[Click Here For Previous Chapters]

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CHAPTER TWENTY:

The sun had been brightly shining on her face for hours now, but she managed to avoid it, too tired to wake yet. It was a little after noon. They had to leave in a few hours to go back home. Elizabeth couldn’t be too sure when the last person had gone home after the party, because she had slipped away at 3 AM to go to bed in a guest room. It felt weird going to Harry’s room to sleep, and if she was being honest, she was still a little bothered about his ex-girlfriend being there. She didn’t want to argue with him, after all, he did spend the rest of the night practically showing Elizabeth off to all of his friends, but she did see him saying goodbye to Camille before she left and couldn’t help but doubt herself when she saw his arms tighten around her and thought she saw a bit of sadness watching her leave. He said he was over her, but was he? Or was she just overreacting? Either way, she felt like she needed distance after that to avoid saying things she didn’t mean, so she just went to a guest room to sleep.

She heard the door creak open, the patter of footsteps, a couple clinks on the bedside table, and the bed depress behind her, arms snaking their way around her waist, pulling her in tight. The familiar subtly spicy scent lingered in the air as a smile flicked onto Elizabeth’s face. She couldn’t stay mad at Harry for long, not when his touch was so gentle and sweet. She let herself sink into him for a moment before turning to face him, fluttering her eyes open to be met inches from his emerald green ones, noticing speckles of yellow in them. His eyes twinkled at her.

“What are you doing in here?” Harry whispered, kissing her nose.

Suddenly she felt silly for being insecure. She yawned, “I don’t know. Must have had too much to drink. When did you go to bed?”

“The last person left at 4,” he said, sitting up and reaching over to the side table. “I made you some food.”

He held a plate with eggs, sausage, and fruit, and a cup of coffee in front of her, knowing she’d want breakfast even though it was lunch time. She smiled and sat up, grabbing it. It was weird how quickly the two of them became so deeply invested in each other. Surely them knowing each other since childhood played a part in it, but they had been separated for so long, that couldn’t be the only reason for it. They’ve always had a pull towards each other, some kind of force wanting them to be together. Maybe it was destiny? Elizabeth wasn’t too sure if she believed in that kind of stuff, but there was no other way to explain it. At least, none that she could think of. Maybe she was just really horny. Maybe Harry was just really lonely. Who knows?

After they ate, she took a shower and decided not to wear makeup today as she had to fly for over ten hours and she just wanted to be as comfortable as she could. Somehow, Elizabeth managed to not pack enough shirts. Usually she was over-prepared when it came to packing, but because this was a last minute decision to come here, she must have miscalculated the amount of time she'd be there. She shuffled through Harry’s dresser, grabbing a grey t-shirt with a large yellow smiley face on it, slipping it on before heading downstairs with her luggage.

Harry smiled when he saw her, putting his weight on one foot and crossing his arms, “Is that shirt mine?”

She looked down at herself, grinning back up at him, “Sorry. I didn’t have any more tops. I’ll give it back later.”

He shook his head, pulling her closer to him, “Don’t. It looks better on you.”

A driver came to take them to the airport and it took nearly an hour for bags to be loaded, everyone to get situated, and in the air. Everyone was pretty rowdy as it was nearly 5 PM, but it was a ten and a half hour flight, so it eventually died down. They’d be arriving in London a little before noon on Saturday because of the time difference. Half of the people on the plane had fallen asleep and the other half were either scrolling through their phones or chatting. Harry had an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulder as she rested her head on his chest, talking with Mitch, Sarah, and Jeffrey about plans for the next couple weeks.

“I have the studio booked for you all day Sunday, and then on Monday you have your first meeting with your Gucci stylist for an outfit to wear to the LA fashion show in two weeks,” Jeffrey said.

Harry nodded, “What time are we getting to the studio on Sunday? I really wanna knock out at least two songs. Completed.”

“Maybe we can get there around 9?” Mitch suggested, looking around at everyone who nodded in agreement. “I think we can definitely knock out at least two songs, if not three. They’re practically finished, we just need backing vocals and a couple different chord changes.”

“Have you heard any of the songs yet, Lizzy?” Sarah asked.

Elizabeth shook her head, relaxed as Harry stroked her hair, “Only Cringe. He hasn’t let me listen to anything else. He keeps changing the subject.”

Everyone looked at Harry, slightly amused. Mitch said, “Not even one? You should let her come and listen. What, were you gonna wait for her to hear them once they were released?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Harry shrugged, looking down at her, “You said you were going to be in London with Kate, Lewis, and Matt this weekend, right?” she nodded and he continued, “Maybe we can all grab some lunch together and then head back to the studio?”

Elizabeth nodded, “Yeah, we have no official plans so I’m sure they’d be down for that.”

“Perfect,” Harry looked up at his band mates, “We can play them that one song…”

Elizabeth furrowed her eyes in confusion, but the subject had changed and she decided to let it go, eventually falling asleep. Hours had passed when she felt herself being shaken away. This time, by Jeffrey. She sat up, seeing the plane descending as he woke everyone else up. There were groans echoing in the plane, gathering up last minute items.

Harry wiped the sleep from his eyes and stretched, falling into Elizabeth and resting his head by her stomach while wrapping his arms around her waist. She laughed, fluffing his hair.

“Am I taking you home?” He yawned.

“No, Matt’s picking me up, remember? I just have to grab a few things from my place before we head over to Kate’s.”

He sat up and frowned, “I forgot. I don’t want you to leave yet.”

Elizabeth chuckled, “We’ve been together for 2 weeks straight. Are you not bored of me yet?”

“Not even a little.”

The plane had landed and everyone piled out. Everyone’s cars were pulled up and parked, waiting for them, and Elizabeth could see Matt stepping out of his car wearing a chauffeur suite with a huge grin on his face. She excitedly weaved through everyone, jumping into his arms and laughing.

“You big idiot!” She squeezed him.

“What, and come pick you up from a private jet in peasant clothes? What do you take me for?” He joked, turning his attention to Harry who was walking up to them. They clasped hands and smacked each other on the bag in a friendly hug, saying their hello’s.

“I mentioned to Lizzy that I’ll be in the studio tomorrow not far from you guys if you wanted to grab some lunch and come back with me, I was kinda hoping you all could listen to a song we wrote for my next album,” Harry asked him.

“Yeah, man, that sounds cool. I’ll let the other’s know,” Matt nodded, turning to Lizzy, “You ready to go? I’ll go grab your bags.”

Elizabeth smiled as he headed towards the pile of bags that were being taken off of the plane. She turned to look at Harry whose lips were turned down in a frown again and she laughed, standing on her toes to give him a hug. He squeezed her tighter and nestled his head into her hair, swaying her slightly.

“Thanks for everything,” she whispered.

“Don’t,” he choked up, covering it with a little chuckle, standing up. She could see his eyes looked glassy, “You say it like I won’t see you again.”

She laughed, shaking her head, “It’s one night! I’m going to see you tomorrow!”

“I know. But I got used to being with you.”

Matt returned with the bags, throwing them in the trunk and getting in the car, waiting patiently. She turned back to Harry with an empathetic frown, placing her hands on his cheek and pressing her lips to his. This time, it felt different. The kiss felt more deep and loving than it ever had. She fed into it, letting herself be carried away in the moment before snapping back to reality. When she pulled away he looked into her eyes for a moment and her heart started racing, understanding. She knew it at that moment. The hurt she felt from having to leave, the yearning for more of his touch. The unwavering feeling of comfort by just a look from him. The ache she felt seeing him even remotely upset, even if it was over something so silly. She loved him.

Elizabeth cleared her throat, stepping back. This is a pretty shitty time to come to this realization, a little scared at how fast it hit her. She gave him one more smile before stepping into the passenger seat, waving goodbye to Harry and everyone else as they drove away.

“Things look like they’re going alright with you and Harry, yeah?” Matt said, “Did you guys make it official yet?”

“Not yet,” Elizabeth swallowed, turning up the stereo to his car.

The great thing about having been friends with Matt for over twelve years was that he knew her completely. When she was happy, when she was upset, when she was angry, and when she needed a distraction. So instead of carrying on the conversation, he did what he does best: make her laugh. He blasted the raunchiest songs he had on his playlist and they screamed the lyrics at the top of their lungs, rocking the car as they danced. Stopping at her home was a ten minute ordeal, throwing her luggage in her room and transferring her makeup to a smaller duffel bag with new, clean clothes before going right back in Matt’s car.

They decided to stop and grab some carryout chinese food for everyone on the way to Lewis and Kate’s house, letting themselves right in the door and tossing it on the table before tackling her friends who were spread across the couch. Kate and Elizabeth screeched in excitement, squeezing each other tightly and laughing.

“How was your honeymoon?” Elizabeth finally sat up, giving a quick hug to Lewis as Matt unloaded the food.

“Oh my god, so dreamy! I’m a little sad to be back!” Kate swooned, thanking Matt for her food. “How was LA? I need all the details.”

“It was good, but you first! I wanna know everything.”

Kate and Lewis gushed about their week-long adventure in Cancun, swimming, relaxing, and exploring. It amazed her how much Kate and Lewis seemed genuinely in love, even after twelve years of growing up with each other. A true inspiration.

Elizabeth nearly avoided having to talk about her trip, until Kate remembered. When she mentioned all the things that had happened, she started out vague at first. But towards the end, she wound up spilling her soul out to her friends; telling them about the interviews, about how many times they had sex and how great it was, about her feelings, about how she thought she loved him. They listened, uninterrupting. They let her spill everything that’s been on her chest the past two weeks that she was too afraid to say to Harry. She didn’t realize how much emotion she had pent up until she felt her chest get heavy and her eyes start to well up with tears. Her three friends surrounded her, smothering her in hugs.

“It’s okay to be scared,” Matt was the first to speak, surprising them with how serious he was being. “Listen, after all the shit you went through the last time he left and the bullshit with Kyle, I don’t blame you for being scared. But, Lizzy, he’s not Kyle. I know I talked all this shit two weeks ago about being careful, but he seems ready for this.”

Kate nodded in agreement, “You should give him a chance.”

“I know. And he’s been really patient with me while I try to figure everything out. But it’s not just as simple as ‘I’ll be your girlfriend now’, you know? There’s the press, the fans, the effect on his image. It’s a lot involved.”

“And you should have that conversation with him,” Lewis said. “It doesn’t have to be right this second. But when you have the opportunity where you two can really sit down face-to-face and have a conversation privately, you should tell him how you feel. You should allow yourself to be vulnerable.”

“Yeah, and at least this way you can continue to babystep your relationship. If it starts out more privately it gives you more time to adjust to this new kind of world before the press finds out. I mean obviously there are already people who are assuming you’re dating, but it seems like for the most part people truly believe you’re just old friends,” Kate said.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement, thanking her friends for their words of advice and encouragement. She heard her phone alert her of a text and she grabbed it, seeing it was a message from Harry. She opened it with a slight smile, but as she read, that smile started to disappear.

‘I’m so sorry Lizzy.’

Her eyes furrowed in confusion as she clicked the link that was attached to his text and her throat swelled, palms sweaty as she read the title ‘Just Friends? Harry Styles Caught Kissing An Old School ‘Friend’.’ The picture immediately below was a shot from when they landed back in London as they were saying goodbye to each other. Elizabeth’s hands were on his cheeks and he had her in a tight hug, leaning over her slightly so that she was slightly bent back. Her cheeks flushed as she read the article that had tons of remarks about how Harry had been denying their involvement all week and how they definitely seem to be closer than he’s said, and things like ‘We didn’t know friends kissed like that’. How the hell would he explain that one away?

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