#both the main singers are almost/just out of my range

[kedsandtubesocks]

dance away your cowboy blues

Country Singer!Joel Miller x F!Reader

summary: who knew the man with the voice of an angel could break your heart this bad?

warnings/tags: 18+ ONLY MDNI, modern/no outbreak AU & Joel has both his daughters, exes to lovers with eventual husband!Joel, angst followed up by good sweet fluff, concert venue, light drinking mention, Joel being stubborn & bad at feelings, hints of spice, fools in love, reader is addressed as ‘honey, darlin,’ use of song lyrics in fic, Pearl Jam & Taylor Swift song mentions, soft & heartbroken!Joel, lovesick!Joel

word count: 6k

a/n: here we are - the last installment in our ‘Let’s Rodeo’ series & I’m so incredibly grateful to finally make it here, also this is my mini tribute to our boy and his SAG award! The main song Joel sings is this one and I highly recommend! Thank you to my forever babe @the-wild-wolves-around-you for letting me scream about plot holes & aiding my Joel brainrot, @tightjeansjavi for always being down to chat about Joel, and to @lowlights & @ahauntedcowboy for being my ever guiding forces for this series, thank you all… And finally to you reading this, thank you so much ♡

A year ago, Joel broke up with you on a warm early spring morning.

He arrived at your apartment, sat you down and shattered your world. You felt every range of emotion as he simply stood there like a man of steel.

So upset and angry, you wanted to rip your heart out and throw it at him.

Then later that week you found out his record was officially getting picked up and you crumbled.

Ending your relationship simply because he was about to step into true proper fame - you never took Joel to be a man so somberly callous. However, you began wondering if that’s what fame sometimes did to people.

When curiosity gnawed too hard, you’d Google him or even check Spotify. Simply catching glimpses of how big he’s gotten sent you spiraling. Last Thanksgiving, your favorite aunt threatened to lock your phone away when she found you upset in the bathroom after discovering Joel was performing at the Dallas Cowboys holiday game.

From that point on you refused to even check any amount of social media or update on him.

A few clunky first dates and a couple of ghosting experiences later, you’ve now decided to simply work on yourself and embrace the selfcare of being single.

It’s why when your best friend called you earlier today eagerly explaining how her parents had extra tickets to the Rodeo tonight, she playfully teased how she knew you didn’t have anything planned for this Saturday night.

You almost hung up on her, but you excitedly scrambled to get ready.

Now the smell of fried foods, popcorn, and beer cloud the air. The fairgrounds hold a chaotic but controlled lively energy. You never knew so many cowboy hats could exist in one space.

Once you meet up with your best friends' parents, you’re transported to a whole new area you never believed could exist during a rodeo. Lux and cozy, the VIP lounge gleams with its elevated experience. You knew your best friend’s mom worked for the construction company managing the arena. You just didn’t realize how big of a hookup it was. The VIP tickets allowed for full premium dining along with a couple of free drinks.

More importantly - it came with the best concert seats.

“In the dirt” is how they’re described because the tickets are literally stationed on the floor, in the dirt of the rodeo stadium, right by the stage.

Ecstatic and bubby energy now fills you. The food being served is divine and you gladly enjoy the free various drinks.

“So wait, did we figure out who’s performing?” You ask curiously while you lounge taking advantage of the nice seating area.

“Uh, I think my dad said it’s that band named Midland is performing today.” Your friend answers but then is quickly pulled away to meet more of her mom’s coworkers.

You’ve never heard of the band, but for a free concert you’re open to enjoy some live music.

It’s a trait you gained from Joel.

Because of him you grew to love music performances, the energy that comes with hearing the band, being among the hum of the crowd. The trips around Austin seeing not just him perform, but enjoying other concerts with him, let you appreciate and admire live shows.

Waiting for the concert allows you to enjoy some of the actual rodeo event. But the main performance of the evening soon arrives.

“You kids go enjoy! We’re getting a little too old and are just gonna stay back and enjoy the free food.” Your best friend’s mom grins with a wink.

The ticket advertisement wasn’t joking when it said close to the stage. The ground level truly sits on the dirt floor. The arena swallows you whole surrounding you like a strange fishbowl. A small crowd already lines the front railing closest to the stage. However sneakily you find a nice open spot by the side that gives a clear sight to the stage.

Even if you don’t know the band, giddiness bubbles in you electric.

You take in the massive general admission floor section already packed full. The band must be popular. So you take plenty of pictures and happily enjoy the time with your dear friend.

The lights dim and excitement crackles in the air. The stage lights up. The large backdrop screens on the stage flutter to life beginning to showcase different picturesque black and white shots of Texas.

Midland, you remember, is a city in Texas so the images make sense. A low strum of a guitar begins playing. The melody dances soft but in a quick beat, a hypnotic tune trying to rev up the crowd.

The tune brews up its intended magic that you even get swept up in the anticipation. The sound gets faster and the strumming is rather simple but so striking.

Then the music stops. Suddenly the lights of the entire stadium shut off. Wild galvanized screams erupt.

The lights brilliantly dance forth back to light. They all focus now on the performer who, like magic, now appears on the stage with the rest of the band.

And the lead singer is Joel.

Your knees almost give out.

Dressed in the most dangerous plaid green button up, it so simple yet beautifully compliments him. More grays pepper his beard and highlight his tousled curls. The brilliant stage lights bask him in a heavenly glow.

Your soul momentarily leaves your body the minute his voice sings his first note.

Instantly your best friend whips towards you panicked. She rapidly screams asking if you’re okay as she apologizes over and over.

“My dad must have gotten the dates wrong! God I should’ve fucking doubled checked or some shit!” She cries deeply apologetic and hurt.

You earnestly tell her it’s not her fault and it’s alright. It was just an unfortunate mixup.

“Do you wanna leave?” Your friend leans closer to you. Her eyes shine understanding and considerate. “We didn’t pay for these tickets and I promise you my parents will completely understand. We can say fuck it and bounce.”

You haven’t even completely processed it’s Joel. It’s like your brain went cloudy and now blinking out of the fog, your eyes return to the stage.

Joel isn’t an extroverted man. He’s reserved, quietly charming, even holds a gruff but poised grace. But right now, he’s an absolute sun on the stage. He’s radiant, naturally swaying to the music while singing his soul soul.

Maybe it’s the piece of you still horribly in love with him, or just the curiosity to see how this goes, whatever it is - you shake your head no.

“We can stay.”

Your best friend’s eyes go wide as saucers hearing your answer.

“Are you sure?” She presses and you nod your head.

“Yeah, let’s stay. Afterwards we can laugh about how old he’s gotten.” You laugh bitterly about him looking more aged even after a year.

When truthfully the stronger wrinkles around his face, the vibrant grays, all of his aging only intensifies his striking looks.

A canyon wide sized hole rips through your heart.

The song flutters to an end and the crowd claps with a thunderous roar. With a reassuring squeeze to your shoulder your dear friend nods then turns back to the concert.

You pray this isn’t the worst decision you’ve ever made.

Then Joel speaks.

“Howdy everyone,” his voice is still so devilishly thick and smooth as a shot of moonshine. His accent does his home state proud. The crowd absolutely adores him, screaming loud just hearing him speak.

“Thank y'all for comin’ out tonight. I’m Joel Miller and m’here to sing y’all a few songs.” So simple, casually eased, and it’s so Joel.

His gruff southern charm made you fall in love with him so fast and now it’s a unique brand of magic charming everyone under his spell.

Joel strums a few notes, rapidly shifting the tune and transitions into the next song.

You now fully soak in Joel.

He seems otherworldly, a god of music reincarnated as a Texan cowboy. You think back to the days sitting in his living room and listening to him play. You were honored to see that side of him, to hear him strum to life so much magic.

During the holiday’s Joel’s daughters, Ellie and Sarah, would often pester him to sing silly songs. He’d grumpily obliged but you knew he basked in their attention and love.

He loved to sing. You always knew he was destined for the stage like it was woven into his veins.

You still remember the day one of Joel’s acoustic performances blew up online gaining so much attention. The excitement and absolute joy you felt then still lingers in the corners of your heart. Although, those feelings have been gathering cobwebs.

There’s of course a bitterness seeing him, but also, an unbearably small twinkling pride knowing he’s here living his dream. The song finishes and again the stadium rumbles in applause.

“How y’all doin’ tonight?” Joel asks and your heart jumps hearing his voice again.

The crowd cheers back at him.

“Good good, let’s keep it goin’.” He yells back and then strums the guitar sharp.

That’s when the stage slowly starts moving.

It’s slow but with the surprise purpose to look out to the entire crowd. For some reason you almost laugh thinking of that man, who couldn’t even remember how to FaceTime on his ipad, on a full rotating platform.

However, the lyrics start and you realize he’s singing a heartbreak ballad.

If you’re going out with someone new, I’m going out with someone too…I won’t feel sorry for me, I’m getting drunk but I’d much rather be somewhere with you…

It’s hard hearing him now with how exhilarated the crowd screams at the stage moving. But you try to hear how the rest of the song unfolds.

At the chorus, your throat tightens.

I can go out every night of the week, can go home with anybody I meet, but it’s just a temporary high… ‘cause when I close my eyes, I’m somewhere with you

The words sting every inch of you, but you believe it has to be just a simple heartbreak story and isn’t about you, isn’t directed at you. Yet the words feel like sharpened edges of a broken mirror that seem to reflect every moment of your time with him.

Then the stage rotates to your side of the floor.

There’s no way he can see you or will even spot you. There’s a whole crowd stretching before him. You’re just a fish in a sea of fans.

Joel continues strumming, allowing his voice to so beautifully carry the emotion.

The stage, in its slow movement, is now front and center to your line of sight. Some girls at the very direct front of the railing scream and wave frantically at him.

A small smile tugs at Joel’s lips as he waves back. Joel’s eyes scan the rest of the crowd -

And that’s when he spots you.

Quickly, you rationalize he could be staring out behind you at someone else alongside the side railing.

But Joel’s eyes even narrow trying to focus more. Your gaze stays on him, like something inside of you refuses to waiver.

His eyes flicker with realization then turn into full moons.

He knows it’s you.

Joel continues singing the chorus but emotions cloud his face. His brows are furrowed hard, almost confused like he’s trying to really comprehend what’s going on.

You understand. You’d be so confused too if you were in his position. You’re still even baffled as to why you stayed in the first place.

The stage starts shifting back to the main center direction

But Joel cranes his face to the side, refusing to have his eyes leave.

His focus stays on you.

It’s obvious enough that your best friend now shakes your body.

“Is he staring at you?!” She tries to whisper but she ends up partly screaming.

You think maybe it’s a hallucination.

Yet Joel’s deep inky eyes stubbornly stay locked on you as he sings now.

If you see out on the town and it looks like I’m burning it down, you won’t ask and I won’t say… but in my heart I’m always somewhere with you…

Your world twists warped, melting into a sea of so many emotions you can’t stay afloat.

Joel finishes his song and the crowd enthusiastically cheers. Yet, it sounds muffled as a numbness crawls over you like a thick soupy fog.

You should leave. You need to. But you’re here now. And decide to see the end of this. If he’s singing about someone lingering within him, then you might as well make true to those lyrics.

Joel lowers his face for a moment and shakes his head. The mic faintly picks up his cough of a disbelieving laugh and your heart sinks.

“Alright folks, let’s jam.” He announces composed and brings his guitar to life.

He’s beautiful walking around with it. Strums effortlessly until he shifts from one guitar, his classic, to a more sleek all black styled one.

Joel lets the music and band take over while he makes the switch. He also leans in to whisper something to the stage hand.

Then as if nothing, Joel steps back into the limelight and illuminates the stage.

He walks around freely now that the stage stopped rotating. The current song is lively with a great beat and you hate how badly you want to bounce around to its infectious sound and the way Joel’s voice elevates the tune.

Caught up in the melody, you don’t notice until it’s too late. Joel walks over to the side of the stage directly facing you.

The guitar carries a large piece of this song’s bridge allowing his eyes to flicker across the crowd.

Until they return to your gaze. Stuck in his stare, Joel suddenly cocks his chin towards you.

Most of the crowd around you screams at his simple action. Even your best friend yells out a loud ‘holy shit’ but you stay quiet.

Not knowing how to react, all you do is stupidly shrug.

It’s awful, not even the best reaction you can give.

But Joel barks a laugh, a true laugh that thankfully happens at the tail end of the song, but your knees go weak.

You made him laugh.

On stage.

Heartache finds its way back into your system fiercer than ever and it poisonously tastes of adoration as well.

Joel transitions into another song. This time moving around the stage more towards the other side.

Yet, either his eyes flicker back to you, or he ends up walking to your section.

A part of you wonders if he’s doing this now to mock you, almost showing off how good he is knowing you’re here. You don’t believe Joel would be that heartless, but you hate how that option still lingers.

“He’s been walking over here a lot.” Someone even behind you even notices.

“Well he is old.” Someone yells back. “Maybe he’s just trying to keep his joints in shape.”

You almost want to snap back that he’s looking damn good for his age and in good enough shape that he kept you bent like a pretzel for practically a whole weekend, but you swallow back the protective bite.

You simply go back to enjoying the show, and it’s fantastic. You can’t deny that. Joel is a performer, keeps the crowd focused and engaged. He isn’t showy or dramatic but takes control of his presence on stage.

You think of the days seeing him at small bars around town, sitting on a stool playing till his heart's content.

Then he booked Stubb’s in Austin and when you watched him own that stage - you knew this was meant for him.

You’re reminded of that so vividly tonight.

“Alright, gettin’ to the end here.” He announces and the crowd sounds heartbroken.

“I know, i know,” he coos back soft and low. “But just wanted to say y’all have been lovely.”

So many shrill shrieks crack in the room and you almost roll your eyes.

Your best friend snickers beside you. “Gotta give it to him, man can work a room.”

She’s right of course. Though it’s still so surprising for a man grumpily reserved and introverted at times.

“This next one I hope maybe some of y’all will know.”

He strums the cords to Pearl Jam’s ‘Alive.’

What gained Joel traction online was his renditions and covers of various songs. He added his own country twang and twist to all the songs he covered.

Pearl Jam happened to be one of Ellie’s favorite bands. A hollow nostalgia rip through you, thinking of the two girls you miss.

The crowd ignites recognizing the familiar rock ballad now turned into the tune of a country song by Joel’s touch. He owns the solo and his husky voice melts into the lyrics beautifully.

Under your breath you sing along. You used to sing along when you cooked breakfast at his place or during drives with him and the girls.

It’s a beautiful fondness, yet one still barbed and so aching.

The song ends with the intense but small burst of fireworks that has the stadium cheering. You even clap.

“Appreciate y’all.” He addresses the crowd. “That’s a one of my daughter’s favorites so always means a lot when I get to play it.”

A smile you can’t fight tugs at your lips at the mention of Ellie.

“Now my daughters, they’re like night ‘n day.” Joel continues and your heart fills up so overwhelming fast for those girls.

“One of them, like I said, loves some Pearl Jam. Now my other daughter…” Joel pauses.

“She’s a big fan of someone by the name of Taylor Swift.”

The crowd absolutely explodes and you think you even feel the arena shake. Sarah honestly was a big fan and Ellie loved to tease her about it so much.

“Normally for this next and final song, I’d play ‘‘shake it off.’” Joel had a few songs of hers that he covered. That one was a fan favorite.

“But tonight, I'm itchin’ to play somethin’ else.” He continues.

You even perk up curious.

“So let’s end this on a high note, yeah? Sing along if you know this one.” Joel concludes.

Then the drums begin and the song bursts to life.

The stadium swims in a dizzying frantic energy.

The way Joel sings, he’s pouring his heart out. He’s memorizing. Utterly heart wrenching.

This is the finale, the end of this strange unreal dream you’ve wandered into. You wonder if he feels it too.

The song’s chilling bridge comes and Joel walks to stare directly at you.

I thought I had you figured out, can’t breathe whenever you’re gone. Can't turn back now, I'm haunted…

His eyes never leave yours.

The lyrics sear through your heart. You think about screaming the song to back him. He’s the one who left, the one who’s ghost lives among your ribs.

Then Joel hits the final high note, lets his voice carry the powerful finale, and the crowd roars in earth shaking excitement.

It’s magical, magnetic and utterly devastating in both the best and worst ways. Another few sets of indoor fireworks go off and the show ends.

Joel wishes the crowd a beautiful night and you’re left in a tangled web of emotions.

Your best friend immediately turns to see if you’re okay. While the crowd starts leaving, you and her take a moment. Out of the edge of your focus, you notice a crew member of the arena approaching the side of the rail. You don’t think anything of it.

“Excuse me,” until that crew member stands in front of you on the other side of the barrier.

Blinking absolutely confused you turn towards the man.

“I’ve been asked to escort you backstage.” He explains and your best friend gasps.

You wonder if the ground opened below and dropped you into a free fall.

Quickly you stammer out that you couldn’t. There's no way. Maybe the man must’ve mistaken you for someone else.

“Mr. Miller said you’d say something like that.” The crew member says reaching into his pocket to hand you something.

It’s a keychain.

Not just any keychain, but the one you gave Joel.

It’s a cartoon armadillo, dressed up as a cowboy, holding a guitar. When you first saw it you immediately thought of Joel. His daughters got a kick over it, giggled at how cute it was, and your heart had bursted when you saw it constantly among his keys.

Now the worn little cowboy creature sits waiting for you. It’s sweet marble like eyes stare up at you like a day hasn’t gone by since you gave Joel this.

Your best friend gasps, maybe not fully recognizing the keychain but understanding the significance.

You ask the crew member if your friend can maybe accompany you backstage, but he shakes his head a sad no.

“Then I…I can’t.” You shakily breathe out.

“Yes you can!” She interjects. “You gotta at least hear him out!”

You turn to her and find determination fiercely burning in her eyes as she nods.

“But what about you? I don’t want you or your parents waiting around for me.” You urge.

“Don’t worry about me or especially about them!” She reassures, even offering to wait for as long as you need.

You’re grateful, unbearably so and embrace her tight.

“You call me if he gets stupid. I don’t care backstage or not, I’ll go get you.”

You laugh watery at her well meaning threat and thank her. With a quick sweet goodbye, you follow the crew member along the rails until exiting.

The walk out to the backstage area fills you with a hurricane of emotions. What else could Joel say to you? A part of you wonders if he’s going to be cruel about this, having you simply show up to his dressing room just to laugh so arrogant and smug about how wonderfully famous he is now.

No, Joel isn’t that type of man.

Or you hope fame hasn't warped him into that type of man. Arriving at the green room door, your heart races loud in your ears.

The crew member knocks and before you can compose yourself, Joel opens the door.

He’s bathed in the golden amber light of the backstage room. It highlights all those grays again but also illuminates more of the time passed on his face. More winkles line against his eyes and when he fully stares at you, you wonder how different you might look in his eyes.

A jackrabbit like urge rushes over you to maybe flee, call your best friend to come get you.

“Thanks for comin’,” he mutters out. “Was worried ya wouldn’t show.”

You want to bitterly joke that you didn’t want to, but the armadillo keychain you hang onto holds the truth.

The door closes leaving you and Joel alone. Awkward stale air chokes the space.

You simply keep your attention on examining the room. His classic weathered jacket rests thrown over the couch. The rider is stacked with so many classic Joel snacks like his favorite jerky, popcorn, and even a few familiar favorite treats his daughters love.

Then your eyes catch the mug on the counter and you grin softly.

It must be filled with Joel’s classic drink - chamomile and ginger tea with honey for his throat.

“It’s…yeah. That’s it.”

You didn’t even realize you said anything out loud until Joel replies casuing your heart to jump. Finally your eyes find his.

It's a curse that your greatest heartbreak is this handsome. Exhaustion weighs in you and feels ancient, like if you carry the sum of so many lifetimes before.

“So…You wanted to talk to me?” You speak first, trying to keep yourself strong.

“I…uh yeah.” Answering so cryptically, his shoulders deflate. “How ya been?”

“Good.” You answer simple, curt almost.

There’s too many things that could’ve slipped out if you said anything more. Like how you selfishly kept one of his shirts and hate that the smell of him on it has faded like a wistful memory. Or how you can barely listen to Dolly Parton or Johnny Cash anymore because you’re reminded of Joel singing along to their songs.

So you turn the conversation back to him.

You ask how the girls are and Joel perks up, eyes shimmering with fatherly pride.

“Good, yeah they’re good. Uh, Ellie’s playing softball for the school again ‘n Sarah’s busy with student council. They’re still just bossin’ me all around.”

“As usual.”

You both say the same line at the same time and it chokes you up.

Joel inhales and his lips press tight, a hard line. The air tightens. No one says anything and now annoyance, frustration and maybe even a bit of panic claw at you.

“Joel, why am I here?” You ask him again.

Sighing, so weary and tired, he looks down.

Feels like ages pass between you and him. The faint noise of the stadium leaks into the room muffled.

You think of your best friend waiting and of your own heart waiting to end this.

“Look, it was good to see you,” you half lie. “You did great, hope you and the girls take care”

You turn to walk out.

That’s when he blurts out your name and you stop.

“I miss you.” He exhales.

“Miss ya so g’damn much. Every fuckin’ day.” He mutters.

When you turn back around, he stares at you unwavering. You don’t know what to say.

“Seein’ ya out in the crowd…thought m’heart was gonna give out.” He barks a weak laugh.

“Almost stoppin’ the fuckin’ show just to make sure it was you… y’look beautiful as ever.” His eyes haze over slightly, almost nostalgic.

Suddenly a heated spark rips into your chest, jagged edged and angered.

“You broke up with me.” You snap, voice already raw.

“I know,” Joel nods. “Worst damn decision of m’life.”

Your lips tremble. Everything hurts like a live wire is burning up your veins.

“Then why? Why did you do it?” You croak. You want to scream, maybe even storm out and not even give him the chance to speak.

“What? Did Mr. Big Country Star hate having a partner that wasn’t famous too?” Venom leaks bitter and poisonous in your mouth, choking your throat.

“Y’know god damn well that ain’t it.” He snarls back hard.

“No actually I fucking don’t know Joel.” You reply with a fierce bite. “You so conveniently left out any real damn reason why you were breaking up with me.”

“I said our paths were going in separate directions.” He glares hard at you now.

“And that’s about it!” Your voice raises and you hate it.

The tears come quicker than you hoped for and you hate that more.

“No real explanation,” you exhale, wanting to stay as calm as you can. “You couldn’t even give me that…what else am I supposed to think?”

Even dabbing away your tears, your composure is slowly slipping.

“I couldn’t do this to you,” he breathes out and it’s broken. His eyes are shimmering obsidian pools.

“This life, all the fuckin’ mess that comes with dating someone in the limelight, I couldn’t just throw that on ya.” He explains and the truth rings out a quiet hum.

“And you didn’t think to talk to me about this?” You whisper out now hurt. “Joel, I thought we were a team.”

“We are- were.” He slips and corrects himself fast. “I just knew if we fuckin’ talked about it you wouldn’t have understood.”

“Understood what?” You’re frustrated and it leaks into your voice.

“That I didn’t want ya fuckin’ hatin’ me!” He finally screams the weighted truth.

Stunned quiet but still slightly confused, you ask Joel what he means.

Pain travels across Joel’s handsome face as his jaw clenches hard.

“This shit…it takes away a lot.” He croaks out. “Hell I’ve even missed things with the girls. Didn’t want ya sacrificin’ your life or wakin’ up one day and realizin’ how much you’ve lost ‘cause of me…couldn’t let myself do that to you.”

Your chest aches like a rocket got shot into you. You’re angry he took that chance for you to decide, but you understand.

Joel never wants to be the cause of pain to others, especially those he loves.

He agonizes so much over his decisions and how corrupting he believes he is. When in reality every action he takes you know simply stems from his endless deep devotion to keep those he loves safe.

His decision to end your relationship was him, in his own frustrating Joel way, trying to keep you safe. Even if it was from himself.

Your lips tremble and you cuss bitterly hard under your breath.

“You damn stupid man.” You hiccup. “I didn’t…I don’t care what life fame would’ve given me with you. I would never resent you. For better or worse I just wanted a life with you, that’s all I ever wanted.”

Through a few sobs, you wipe the tears fogging up your sight.

Before you can see it happening, strong sturdy arms suddenly wrap around you and shock you breathless. Curled in Joel’s arms, it’s like a sad coming home party and you cry even more.

“M’so sorry, my darlin’.” Joel whispers against your forehead.

“I hate you.” You don’t. Even on your hardest days, you never could.

“I know, hate my fuckin’ ass too.” Joel replies.

His arms squeeze you tighter.

“Never stopped lovin’ you. Never will.” His voice wavers and now your arms wrap around him.

“You left.” You whisper back so small while tears continue to prickle in your eyes.

“I know honeydew, ‘n I’ll never forgive myself for it.” He replies fiercely like a strike of lightning with its bright force. “Been a fuckin’ mess without ya. Tommy would be the first to agree and the girls too.”

You absorb his words, basking in the safe haven that is Joel. Hours, maybe days pass just in his arms.

“Please forgive me, baby.” He whispers hoarse against your head.

You nod a soft yes.

Because even the part of you that wants to yell and stubbornly say no knows the ultimate answer is, and always will be, him.

“Of course…I love you.” You mutter half dazed against his strong chest. “Love of my life.”

Pressed so close to him, you feel how hard he swallows and his arms squeeze you impossibly tighter against you.

He says your name and you hum out a soft noise.

“Marry me.”

Your eyes, which have sort of glazed over, snap open wide.

“What?” You mutter out, maybe think you misheard him.

“Marry me.” Joel repeats himself.

You practically squawk like a confused bird and scramble in his arms.

“Joel Miller, you can’t be serious?!” You shriek through the tears still lingering in your voice.

Your face snaps up to him. His face is composed, almost serene in a way as he look at you with molten eyes.

“Serious as that g’damn ring I bought ya.”

His words are a mumble but so soft and unwavering. Your soul leaves your body like you were thrown into a cold lake.

“You what?” You stammer out.

“Y’heard me.” He nudges his chin to you. “A ring. Bought it after you dropped everything to go take care of the girls when they got sick.”

Too many emotions overwhelm you and the tears return with a vengeance.

Joel, like a steady man in the storm, places his warm hand on your face to gather you back into his embrace. He places the softest kiss to the side of your head.

“We gotta have a chat about discussing your feelings with me more, Miller.” You manage to chide him through your tears.

“I know.” He mutters against your skin while he continues softly kissing you with utter tenderness. “‘N I’m not lettin’ ya go again.”

You squeeze him hard, trying to burn his memory into your arms worried you’re going to wake up and find this is just a heartbroken hallucination.

“Baby,” he begins.

“Hm?”

“Stay with me for the night.” He urges. “The bus got plenty of room-”

“Ooo, is this what you say to all your groupies, Mr. Miller?” You tease with a snort.

“Behave.” His hand playfully squeezes your hip but his underlying somber tone even with his chuckle ignites a familiar heat brewing in you of the times he’s reprimanded you like that before.

“No groupies.” Joel reassures you. “Only you sweetheart, only ever gonna be you.”

His words flutter into your heart and make a nest there.

Gently you draw back to stare at Joel. Your hand moves to his face, aching to just touch him. Even in his arms you’re waiting for him to vanish from your touch as if he’s a figment of your wrecked heart, a ghost of lovers past haunting you now.

But his stubble tickles against your palm. Running warm as usual, his face feels like a soft morning sun. Your thumb strokes his cheek and his eyes close, melting into your hold.

Gently you place a soft kiss against the corner of his lips.

Joel now tilts his head so he can deepen the kiss before you can even draw away.

It’s not a consuming passion that you expected. No frantic fierce clash of lips or an overflow from a year passed between you two.

Instead it’s a soft welcome home. It’s a kiss you’ve given him when he’s come home late or when you leave for work.

Because his blood, his soul, you believe are simply stitched into the very fabric of you. It’s like a piece of you is returning back to you, or maybe back to your other home with him.

“So you gonna stay with me?” He mumbles against your lips.

“I don’t know Miller, you haven’t even offered to sign anything for me. What kind of famous country singer are you?” You smirk against his lips.

He laughs, hearty, a true wild deep one sweeping you into its joy.

“Hell yeah I’ll fuckin’ sign something for ya, our marriage certificate.” He snaps in classic grumpy Joel fashion and you almost think about dragging him to a courthouse.

You text your friend a million apologies and even take pictures of all the signed merch you’re bringing back to her.

Now in the cocoon of Joel’s cozy bed on his tour bus, among the warmth sheets, you hold the ring up in the dim light inspecting it. Because of course your secretly romantic man kept the ring with him.

“You sure you weren’t keeping this around for someone else?” You ask.

“Fuck no.” He growls low. “S’yours…only yours.”

From behind his arms slide around you and you’re encompassed by his swallowing presence. His beard scrapes against your shoulder.

“If ya don’t like it, can get ya another one.” He mutters casually but hesitant softness peeks out from under his gruff tone.

“It’s perfect.” You reassure him.

It’s the ring Joel got you then and it’s the ring you want now and always will. You even tell him that.

The kisses places on your bare shoulder whispers of his devotion.

“Honey.” However, his voice now is hesitant and makes you pause on your ring inspecting.

“I gotta ask…but do ya have my armadillo keychain?” Joel asks with an utter somberness.

You burst out laughing and it shakes your body.

“Honeydew, I’m being serious!” He growls out. “Want that lil’ fella back!”

Wheezing with giggles you lean back against Joel, floating so blissfully floating in renewed adoration.

Twisting in his arms your lips find his.

“Tryin’ to distract me ‘cause you lost him, huh?” He mutters.

You snort, shaking your head.

“No I just love you so much, you dumb cowboy.” You tell him.

“Your dumb cowboy. For better or worse.” He vows, kissing you back firmer now.

“For better or worse,” you nod breathing into him.

In this carved out slightly cramped space it feels holy, sacred, chapel like. You’re even afraid it might be gone tomorrow morning. However, the ring on your finger is the steeled reassurance it isn’t going anywhere.

But, just in case, you gather this glory and Joel into your arms with the promise of never letting go.

#my heart is so full and I can’t thank yall enough I wish country singer Joel could perform for you personally in your living room #let’s rodeo fic series #country singer!joel miller #Joel miller x reader #Joel miller x f!reader #Joel miller fic #Joel miller fanfic #Joel 🤎

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Sorry for the random asks, I just get random thoughts.

If the Wobbly Hearts AU Ninja were in a band AU who would be doing/playing what?

-froginninjago

bro ur asks are fun so this works out HGLKSJDF

Okay, i had to think a bit hard on this one but here we go

Jay - Lead Guitar: Bro has some wild speed which would be dope for shredding amazing for finger picking, this, ofc, is in reference to his elemental power of lightning. I'd think he can play several different types of guitars ranging from a standard electric to the banjo. He also likes to be front and centre a lot of the time and absolutely thrives off of attention so guitar solos would really give him a chance to shine. I imagine he'd play with a speed similar to this guy though likely not with that type of guitar

Kai - Bass guitar/backup vocalist: I'd actually give Kai the bass cause it's criminally underrated (like kai in the show it feels like sometimes) and it kinda lends itself to the fact his character ends up being more of a supporting role (specifically to Lloyd in the show) in the background rather than the main protagonist. He's extremely skilled in a way that not a lot of people notice, an avid bass defender and hype man and only slightly annoyed that Jay has more fans than him. He likely posts lots of bass shredding vids online

Cole - Drums: I mean come on you had to have seen this coming. I know it almost feels basic to put him but it fits so WELL. He's the one who keeps the team on track in the show and on beat in the band. He's so steady and consistent that it kinda blends together and you forget he's there sometimes. He's the one band member who can go out in public and not a single person will recognize him and he's cool with that. He has an amazing voice and could easily be a lead singer but he's content where he is. He's wildly skilled on the drums and I imagine people would start taking notice in him when he has like a drum solo that happens and its kinda like how Jay is crazy on the guitar he'd be outrageous like this dude

Lloyd - Lead Vocals/drums: Lloyd's currently learning drums from Cole and he's having a lot of fun with them. (a nod to my hc of Cole teaching Lloyd how to lead in the show.) He has the best voice out of the group with an INSANE range in his vocals. He can go from more like straight up angelic sounding to like hardcore screaming and so he's pretty versatile. (A nod to his oni/dragon sides.) He doesn't enjoy singing as much as he does drumming but he's good at it so he doesn't mind being the lead. Though he's not a huge fan of his fans. They're a little crazy. If you want to see him smile ask him to play the drums for you, he gets really winded and is always grinning with his hair a complete mess afterwards. He gets a lot of dopamine from da drums. He also enjoys helping Nya out with writing their lyrics

Nya - Stage Manager(previous)/Backup Guitarist/Second Lead Vocal/Songwriter: Nya is pretty versatile in what she can do. She knows the basics of base, is a pretty solid contender for lead guitar, she's also learning drums from Cole alongside Lloyd. She used to handle the behind the scenes stuff at some point before she actually joined the band. Her ability to both carve out her own place and easily fill in for the other's if they need to tap out lends itself to her element power of water something something. I kinda think of Walk Off the Earth with their two lead vocalists and how their voices blend together really well and the harmonies are really nice for how Nya and Lloyd would sound together. She also has a huge hand in writing the bands songs obviously. Kai did a lot of the lyrics for a while but he's not the most creative person. The whole band kinda has a hand in writing and its a group effort but Nya's usually the one leading it

Pixal - Stage Manager (current): I'm thinking Pixal used to be like, a solo act for a while or something? I dunno I actually couldn't get many ideas for her. But a soloist songwriter and maybe singer and she eventually retired from that and runs things behind the scenes for the band, booking stuff, getting transport, she's great at her job and the whole band loves and appreciates her, Kai regularly dramatically falls across her lap to ask "What would we do without you?" when she hands him a juice box after a set. She also handles the technology (with some assistance from Nya and sometimes Zane) and any more digital sounds they want added to their music

Zane - oh screw it, it's gotta be violin doesn't it??: come on just listen to his Falcon Chase song what else would he play??? All his songs in this show are literally strings!!! Cello, viola, violin, fiddle. i imagine he's classically trained in a lot of the bow + stringed instruments. I'm thinking Lindsey Stirling type playing probably or something. It lends itself to his controlled but emotional?? way of dealing with stuff? You can get a wide range of emotion from these types of instruments and he knows how to pull at your heartstrings (get it cause strings instrument--[gets hit with a chair])

Am i well versed enough in music to know if all these instruments would work well together? No, no i am not. But the concepts are cool and I guess i can be a lil silly goofy with it

#asks #knox rambles #froginninjago #LEGO Ninjago Wobbly Hearts AU #LEGO Ninjago #Ninjago #ngl this would be a really fun AU on its own #i dunno if you were expecting a response this long i certainly wasn't what a fun thing #wowee anyway wooo i looked up and like an hour has passed whoops #i thought about this for far too long #you can tell i kinda ran out of steam at Zane a bit i'm more rambly #WELP OKAY TIME TO POST AND YUP OKAY

[playroom-sekaii]

Hiiiii! You might know me from ao3 (@imani_i!) , if requests are open could you make a little akito fic/hcs? I loveloveloveeee your works <33

Omg hi, thanks for always giving so much love on my fics, it makes me so happy ^w^ I'll try to get a little Akito fic done as soon as I can (I've been busy with school and other fics lately >m<), but for now, here's some headcanons for this little guy!

-Age range is normally around 4-7, but he can end up as small as about two in situations such as being extremely stressed or sick. Not like he'd ever willingly admit that he was feeling that small, he's a big kid!

-Akito's quite embarrassed over being a regressor in general, it took a lot for him to finally admit it to the rest of VBS, despite the fact that they're all little sometimes too. He thinks it's embarrassing and weak, and he often tries to shove away the need to feel small, the rest of his team are working on helping him feel less ashamed of this part of him, it helps with his mental health, it's nothing he needs to beat himself up over!

-The main things that make him slip are exhaustion and stress, if things get too much it's almost like his body shuts down and simply can't handle being big anymore

-He's only told VBS about this side of himself, though Ken has figured it out, Akito still hasn't realized he knows. Him and Ena are also both at a stalemate of "you've seen me while I'm small and you seemed okay with it but I'd rather die than tell you", neither knowing the other's a regressor too.

-Toya is his main caregiver, and he and Akito are still attached at the hip when he's like this, and when Toya's small too Aki works his hardest to be strong and tough for him, he's usually littler than him after all! The Street Sekai virtual singers, aside from Rin and Len, also tend to look after him, and very rarely will An and Kohane as well.

-Somewhat of a bratty little one, though nowhere to the extent of someone like Ena. He works his hardest to insist that he's a big kid, he doesn't need to be coddled, or any baby stuff like sippy cups or pacis! Deep inside he doesn't mind these things, and he's a bit clingy in reality as well (especially with Toya or Meiko, little guy can hardly bear to be without at least one of them), but it takes a lot for him to actually admit what he wants.

-Very active little one! Let him run around and play outside and he'll be very happy, especially if someone else plays with him! He also very much enjoys drawing and coloring as well, even if he doesn't do so as much while big.

-He still absolutely loves singing, doing so often, even without realizing it. While big he's a bit ashamed of how off his singing is while he's little, but he still has fun doing it! One day while the rest of VBS was little too, they ended up putting on an "event" for the virtual singers, very much worthy of a standing ovation!

-It's very rare to see him without Tsuki, a little plush fox that Toya got him. He'll never straight up say that the stuffy makes him feel safer and comfy, that'll make him seem like a baby! Tsuki just doesn't like being alone, yeah, that's it!

-When he's sleepy or extra small, he's oddly cuddly! He will cling to Toya and not let go, and Toya's slowly working to be able to pick him up!

#project sekai agere #akito shinonome #kohane azusawa #an shiraishi #toya aoyagi #vivid bad squad #ken shiraishi #ena shinonome #meiko vocaloid #mine ♡ #enanan-mybeloved

[lovecatsys]

Academy X/Hellions/X Kids Band AU

keno and i were talking abt a potential academy x band AU a while back and then I came up w a very elaborate plot with lots of ideas and headcanons so. here we go.

The Hellions

Julian Keller - lead vocals/main songwriter

Noriko Ashida - lead guitar/songwriter/occasional vocalist

Brian Cruz - rhythm guitar/backing vocalist

Laura Kinney - bassist

Quentin Quire - drums/songwriter

Kevin Ford - percussion & synths (as recurring background/guest musician)

Details/Plot/dynamics/etc under the cut!!

The Backstory

the basic story is that in this AU, they're mutants, superheroes and supervillains still exist, the x men and subsequent teams still exist (and their history is somewhat known) but the kids did not go to the Xavier school and are just mutant kids (mostly) unaffiliated with the X-Men

Julian is a good singer and songwriter, a proud mutant young adult, who wants to start a band. So! he starts the band with his girlfriend (Laura, her backstory is the same she just met Julian and they started dating) and best friend (Brian). Laura has been learning bass for a little while, Brian knows a little guitar, they start to figure out the logistics & gain skill practicing Julian's songs, while looking for more fellow mutant musicians.

They find Nori (her backstory is the same) who's a very talented guitarist and also a songwriter, as well as Quentin, a drummer and songwriter. Both these kids are proud mutants and punks, so they fit along with Julian's ideal vibe for the band.

So! the band cuts a record, their first album, they blow up as a political all-mutant band, pissing off all the right people and gathering a large following of youth, punk, mutant, queer, and counter culture alike.

Julian has always looked up to Emma Frost, and names the band the Hellions after her student team, the rivals of the new mutants.

The Music

The band ranges over a few genres, generally categorized as alternative rock, with punk and industrial elements occasionally.

Julian is considered the "main songwriter" of the band, though Nori and Quentin probably contribute an equal amount of songs. I imagine his voice as being fairly smooth but a bit nasally, with a medium pitch range. His songs are lyrically very sound, and generally stick to an alt rock vibe, with occasional industrial elements (usually due to Kevin's influence/backing musicianship). I'm envisioning him as having a very strong voice. Julian will write about a great many things, generally political messages about anti-mutant sentiment and mutant pride, love and sex (he's such a cheesy romantic), or just whatever. Huge influence for Julian song's vibes is Placebo

Noriko adds an element of electric punk to the band. Her songs are lyrically not very interesting, but she makes up for it in the melodies and her musicianship. Nori has a special guitar designed where she can channel her powers into it and doesn't need to use her gauntlets. This gives her a very unique and HEAVY sound. She also writes about mutanthood and its political aspects, along with other political stuff, womanhood and racism, I'm imagining she has something of a riot grrrl vibe going on (which I've always headcanoned her as being into). Her songs and guitar style in my head are very similar to Nova Twins.

Brian adds a steady contrast to Nori's heavy, unusual guitar sound. His playing is a lot softer and more clear. He does a lot of backing vocals, and there's probably a song or two where he gets to do the lead vocals- either Julian or Quentin may have written a song specifically for him to sing. I imagine he has a very soft and beautiful voice. Though many critics would probably call him the "useless" or least important member of the band, he's actually a very important part of their sound– his rhythms make their sound feel whole in a way. He only really became a musician because Julian wanted to start a band and he wanted to be a part of it, because he loves Julian and in a way almost revolves his life around him, but he becomes an integral part of the band.

Laura has a killer bass line, I imagine she has a great level of precision to her playing, strong hands already skilled from her extensive fighting capability. She may not have learned bass until her late teen years but she got the hang of it really quickly and became a phenomenal bassist. Her bass playing is heavy and precise, and her bass lines aren't exactly the most elaborate, but they're effective and fun (Georgia South from Nova Twins vibes).

Quentin is the most punk member of the band, every song he writes is punk, he is actively part of the subculture, and his mutant pride shines through the most out of all of them. almost all of his songs are political, most often about mutant pride and anti-mutant sentiment, he probably has multiple songs that are about the genocide of Genosha. He also writes a lot about his struggles with mental illness, substance abuse, trauma, and his insecurities. He doesn't sing and generally gives his songs to Julian to sing. He is a very good drummer, his drumming is heavy, loud, and fast– he uses his telekinesis to aid his drum playing. I'm imagining he has an extended drumset he put together himself, and uses psionic drumsticks. However, his drum playing is not as precise as he would like it to be, as he's not a very skilled telekinetic (at least, not like Julian is).

Kevin is not an official member of the band, he's a freelance industrial solo musician who makes all his music himself using a variety of forms of percussion and synths. But as he is an active mutant musician in the alt industry, he collaborates with the Hellions a lot, and Julian, Laura and Brian become close friends to him. He generally works on Julian's songs (or occasionally Nori's) and adds an industrial element to them with synths or various forms of percussion unrelated to a drumset.

I'm also imagining a song where Roxy makes an appearance as a guest rapper.

The Story

After their first album blows up, the band goes on tour and rapidly gains a huge following. They experience a lot of anti mutant sentiment, and protesters at their shows. They generally respond with lots of "f us" and flipping them off. Julian, Nori, and Quentin all use their powers to make all sorts of fantastic displays for the show (who needs light shows when you have telekinesis and electricity manipulation?).

Julian, Nori, and Quentin are the biggest names in the band, and the loudest personalities. They may all be incredible musicians and songwriters who work together very well on stage and in the studio, but they do NOT get along and have massive personality conflicts. It can be pretty playful and ridiculous at times, but it can also lead to serious conflicts that are detrimental to the band. They're all incredibly egotistical and in general don't work together when it comes to deciding who's songs go on the album and who's doing this and that and such.

The band manages to put out two new albums, while experiencing a lot of internal drama, AND on top of that, a lot of anti mutant hate at shows, on the news, on the internet, basically everywhere. Laura realizes she's a lesbian at some point and breaks up with Julian, which causes some heartbreak and conflict, but eventually gets resolved and they remain friends. Brian struggles with depression and feeling like he's useless to the band, he also struggles in his relationship with Julian due to the fact that he's in love with him. Brian also becomes very close to Quentin, and Julian gets jealous, feeling like Quentin, who he's never liked, has stolen his best friend. And well, Nori and Quentin and Julian don't get along, obviously. Quentin also struggles with substance abuse, which becomes more and more serious as the band's history goes on. After their third album comes out at they go on tour, they're already considering breaking up the band due to all of these issues.

On the tour for their third album, the band experiences a serious hate crime- anti mutant bigots organized together and got tickets, pretending to be fans, and bombed the stage during their performance. While no one dies, Julian loses his hands, Brian almost dies, and they all sustain very serious trauma from the incident. While Julian and Brian are in the hospital, recovering, the rest of the band agrees to break up the act. when Julian learns of this, he becomes extremely angry and upset that they made that decision without him.

They all go their separate ways, Brian moves back to Puerto Rico and lives with his family, who help him through the trauma, and he gets therapy. around this time is when Logan dies and Laura takes up the mantel of Wolverine, starting her official career as a superhero. Nori and Quentin both go on to be solo acts. Nori's music becomes even more aggressively political and ANGRY because of the event. Quentin's substance abuse gets progressively worse. Julian retreats into himself and becomes extremely depressed, ashamed of his disability and traumatized by the explosion.

The band remains broken up for a long time, around 4-5 years. During this time, Brian tries to reach out to Julian and help him out when he finds out how terribly depressed his best friend is, but Julian ignores him. Nori eventually decides to do something with all her rage and trauma from anti-mutant bigots, and starts doing activism work for mutants and mutant youth especially. She uses her fame to become a huge figure in the fight for mutant rights, and continues to make political music, though it becomes less heated over time. Quentin eventually gets his shit together and goes sober, and also starts doing some minor activism work, he and Brian also reconnect and date for a little, though they don't make their relationship public and it doesn't last very long, they still remain friends and have a much healthier relationship than they originally did when the band was still together. Laura finds Gabby and finds herself in a very good place in her life for the first time ever as Wolverine (the same basic plot of All new Wolverine happens).

Emma Frost has never actually listened to the Hellions' music, as she knows she would despise it and doesn't want to taint the image of the band in her head, but she's always been aware of them and thinks very fondly of them, especially of Julian, who received public criticism when the band was formed for naming them after the Hellions, who were "supervillains." She was rightfully angered when the concert was bombed, and at some point towards the end of those 4-5 years, she wonders to herself whatever happened to Julian Keller. She seeks him out via cerebro, and when she finds him living incredibly depressed on his own, surviving along only with his residual money from the band's years of fame, she refuses to let it stay that way. She comes into his house one day, paying a bunch of people to clean, giving him prosthetic hands to use with his telekinesis that she had made, and insisting that he needs to get his life together already. She helps him get back up on his feet financially, pays for therapy for him, and encourages him to get back to recording music again (and get a life). Emma basically forces herself into Julian's life and becomes his mentor and mother figure.

Julian starts putting together an album, and meets the love of his life through Emma, a dancer named Sofia Mantega. After his album gets released, and the rest of the band hears about it, they all slowly start to reconnect, keeping it quiet at first, hanging out and catching up, having jam sessions where they play old songs and new songs. They all find that they get along so much more now that they're all in much better places of their lives, though they can still be bitchy and mean and get annoyed with each other, they all build healthier friendships and find that they really missed writing and playing music together.

Eventually they officially announce that the band is back together and will be releasing an album and going on tour soon. Their album is a completely different style and tone than their music was previously. It leans more towards punk and regular rock, and it's a lot more uplifting and cathartic. Lyrically its about overcoming their trauma and not letting the weight of it get them down, continuing despite the fact that anti-mutant hate is still happening. (Placebo's Battle for the Sun is the kind of vibe this situation and musical shift is)

Fans are overjoyed, they make sure to take extra security measures on the tour, and they're all incredibly happy to be back making music with each other again. Their career continues after this, keeping the same new style and generally keeping their music more positive than it used to be. Julian eventually marries Sofia and she features in a few of their music videos as a dancer. Julian also writes many, many songs about Sofia and their relationship and his love for her.

Random Headcanons

Julian has a diva phase, he also wears bright red lipstick and/or a dress on stage multiple times

Quentin leans into his omega gang outfit in the early days, also leans heavily into the omega branding thing

They cover Queen Bitch by David Bowie, alt-ify it and Julian puts his whole pussy into it.

I made a playlist with a few songs that I think capture the style of the band– I do have individual explanations for each song but I've already eluded to some of the artists/albums in this post so I'm not gonna go into it more, feel free to ask though!

#originally i was going to have Brian die in the explosion but i figured thats probably not a good idea #even though his death is canon he is the only black member of the band (or this AU at all) #and his death in canon isn't even something i think should have happened #cw substance abuse #x men #new x men #julian keller #noriko ashida #brian cruz #laura kinney #quentin quire #kevin ford #Spotify #if i posted abt this before and forgot im sorry i have amnesia #but this is a much more coherent and descriptive post

[silent-sanctum]

Jojos 1-5 as a Boy Group

author's note: now listen, given how funky these men are combined with my deep love for music (and a certain group of 7 men in said music field), my brain had a blast and this is what came out. Might be an au in the future. Might not. Who knows? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

➢ Jonathan Joestar

leader

eldest member and first to audition in Speedwagon Entertainment

main vocalist

a versatile singer whose preferred vocal range is his speaking voice or higher

but can sing low notes… at times

gentle giant who has clumsy tendencies

he's most often clumsy with equipment around him, accidentally breaks some of it because of his strength, and will most definitely apologize for doing so

can play the piano well

the spokesperson of the group in any occasion with the patience of a monk

will get distracted by the smallest of things like a butterfly, a small pet, the elderly, or anything smaller than him which is almost everything

will also join in on Joseph's bullshit for fun (as long as it's not hurting anyone)

chef no. 1 who specializes in European cuisine

loves his members with all his heart and will protect his babies with all his might

has a photo of everyone and keeps multiple collections of them

"this is Joseph and he's a wild fellow, this is Jotaro and he's a grouch but he's a great guy-"

➢ Joseph Joestar

main dancer who specializes in freestyling and street dancing

also main rapper with some sick bars up his sleeves

also also comes up with creative dance choreographies for the group

auditioned for fun and ended up enjoying his stay in the group

the most energetic member of the group

meaning he will create and choose chaos 90% of the time

flirty as fuck with the fans: He will wink, send kisses, hold hands, and participate in fanservice more than the others

but also the same person who will outright deny fans' marriage proposals to him

proclaims to be adonis incarnate 24/7

walks into a spooky situation with a confidence of a lion, only to slowly turn unnerved and spooked along the way

a man who's first response to a sudden jumpscare is to scream and "NIGERUNDAYOOOO"

the ice breaker when interviews become dull and tedious

will crack inappropriate jokes at random

person with the most memes made by fans

not a chef but will recommend eating some New York classics

will explode into a lengthy rant if anything upsets him

will find ways to cheat in any game variety shows will put him in

➢ Jotaro Kujo

leader 2

and yes, he had to play the role of vice because Joseph was too chaotic to be Jonathan's second

interchanges or shares the leadership role during more serious or formal interviews or events

but mostly lets Jonathan take the wheel because being a parent to grown men is exhausting

did not audition but was casted by the company, and joined because supportive mother Holly and musician father Sadao insisted

center of the group: Can sing using chest voice and slightly-higher speaking voice, can dance if required, and can sub as a rapper in case Joseph is unavailable

also visual of the group who draws in new fans and maintain old ones

definitely complained to Speedwagon why the hell he got so many roles

one of the more quiet ones of the bunch; helps build his mysterious aura among their fanbase

will try to calm down the members when chaos ensues but is often done with the group 80% of the time

chef no. 2 who specializes in Japanese cuisine

does not comply with fanservice… at all, but when he does a little bit, both the group and their fans scream and go ballistic

a cute sneeze, him removing his jacket, a smile = The ladies (and gents 'cause we're all equal) quaking in their panties/undies.

despite his resting bitch face, he's surprisingly soft and mild-mannered when talking to fans during fan meets; will show irritation with the more obsessive ones though

whenever he checks his feed, it's just full of "marry me" comments from the fans

during concerts, will see the same thing on the fan-made signs of the crowd

just accepted his fate at this point; but is very flattered though

➢ Josuke Higashitaka

lead dancer and lead rapper

essentially Joseph Jr. literally

but tamer

auditioned because he wanted some money; did not expect to be fully invested with the group

the most carefree member of the group and has slacking-off tendencies

has a skincare routine he refuses to share

"sorry I'm late, my hair was not cooperating with me today"

the most chatty and most friendly among the members when it comes to fan interactions

will also do the most fanservice with the fans and will engage in any requests as long it's harmless

the scaredy-cat of the group

the most jumpy in a scary supernatural situation- will scream the loudest and will astral project out of his body if spooked hard enough

can pull out an angry tantrum if someone in the group pokes fun of his awesome pompadour; will be pout and be grumpy if the fans do it

"you just broke my heart, you know that? you know my hair is cool, right?"

since he can get bored easy when not busy, he prefers to be in entertaining locations like amusement parks or gaming cafes

will engage with fans online and be on the forums all the time to respond to questions

➢ Giorno Giovanna

Lead singer who sings in italics

casted on the streets by the company when he was seen busking by one giant softie

is often seen hanging out with Jonathan as a result

but can sometimes be seen being dragged to places by Josuke

can play both the piano and the violin

relatively quiet and shy as the youngest of the group

though he does want the group to succeed so he does his best and learn from everyone

found the guy to be strangely wise so he seeks Jotaro for advice and mentoring; went home with good advice and lessons

lowkey mischievous and a bit of a klepto; will get the other member's stuff and only pay back when noticed

Josuke being the primary target and Joseph being the second

Can't steal from Jonathan

Doesn't dare steal from Jotaro

will participate in Joseph's and Josuke's shenanigans to some extent

seen as the pretty boy of the group

will talk to the fans with aristocratic mannerisms and a sweet voice; often watched by Jonathan or Jotaro to make sure he doesn't steal from their fans by accident

#jojos bizarre adventure #jojo no kimyou na bouken #jjba #jojo part 1 #jonathan joestar #jojo part 2 #joseph joestar #jojo part 3 #jotaro kujo #jojo part 4 #josuke higashitaka #jojo part 5 #giorno giovanna #jojo headcanons

[thesinglesjukebox]

TEDDY SWIMS - "LOSE CONTROL"

Harkening back to a time when music made you shake, rattle, and roll...

[3.79]

Will Adams: Must be love on the brain. Or maybe just water in my ear. [4]

Ian Mathers: When will The Black Keys be held accountable for what they have unleashed upon the world? [3]

Jacob Satter: "He began playing instruments including piano and ukulele, and watched YouTube videos of singers to help develop his vocal technique. [4][5]" -- Wikipedia [4]

Thomas Inskeep: Oh, yay: another big-bearded, face-tatted white boy who thinks he's somehow "soulful" because he heard a Stax record once. And much like Post Malone and Jelly Roll before him, throw him on the burn pile. [1]

Scott Mildenhall: A great audition: four chair turns and a message from Rag'n'Bone Man. All theatrics are plausibly deniable, but the vocal capabilities are conspicuous, with there never being enough of a song to intrude on them. A strong message to the detractors of treading water in the natatorial world. [5]

Nortey Dowuona: The history of soulful white boys is long and strained. The Righteous Brothers are one example, but they never got more than one big immortal hit (only one did: Bill Medley). There's Michael McDonald, Bobby Caldwell, Tom Jones, and, of course, Fucking Drake. Each time a soulful white boy appears, he does appear acceptable, but only up to a point. Once that point has been breached, his existence becomes an anchor -- not a boon -- receiving enmity and bitterness for both his success and his inability to possess the skill demanded from truly soulful singers. As time has gone on, the five-alarm church runs that once ran R&B have gone out of style with the youngsters, unless coated in patiently brush-stroked Autotune. Even though live performances are a crapshoot with many of them, their excellent songwriting kept them aloft. Sometimes, their voices were so pretty that their lack of range didn't bother us. Now, another soulful white boy who possesses the runs (with scalpel-level Melodyne on them) has risen to the top. The worst part is that his song is well-produced: done by Ammo and Julian Bunetta, a trained jazz drummer whose heavy-handed soul drums anchor the thin mix. The plaintive keys shuffle against the tambourines gently, as Bunetta's bass lopes below and follows the key of the keys. But the songwriting from Mikky Ekko drags down this fantastic effort, leaving a held-back guitar solo by Bunetta bashing its neck against the withholding mix of Serban Ghenea. If only Brent Faiyaz was writing this... [6]

Tara Hillegeist: Oh, this is a very passably lovelorn piece of uptempo romantic angst, the kind that sounds like it could just as easily have dropped off the back of Cee-Lo Green's tour bus, circa "Fuck You." But it's not so passable that I can't help but have my main response to it all be "Wow, your man's such a tatted-up white lad, looks like he belongs on the set of a Guy Ritchie film, innit?" And now I've had that thought, I have to ask myself: when's the last time I heard something like this from someone who didn't, whose name wasn't T-Pain? And now I've asked myself that question, I have to wonder: should that question still matter? [6]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: This is a good time to admit that I always thought Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” was a terrible, plodding song. This sounds like a mellower, simplfied version of that. I find the almost-rapped verse kind of sweet, reminiscent of Ed Sheeran if he had a bit more soul, but then the guitar solo arrives and makes me feel disgust. It is not lost on me that this isn’t so far from Portishead’s “Glory Box.” The difference is that it all feels so rote, the elements already pre-packaged with an understanding of their meaning and import, and they don’t ever come together to bring the track to a greater whole. [4]

Hannah Jocelyn: Does nothing new in this type of song (except for the weird keyboard warble, which I'm not convinced is a good innovation because it sounds like "Dance Monkey (slowed + reverb)"), but the production from Julian Bunetta is phenomenal -- incredibly warm, but with enough muscle that what's probably just a drum loop from Splice sounds massive. Teddy Swims is very much in the Rag'n'Bone Man/Jelly Roll vein of gruff belters, but there's a warmth in his voice that prevents him from coming across like Mr. Roll or, worse, Oliver Anthony. [6]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I get no enjoyment at all from listening to this. Every pained vocalization, every flanged guitar stab and demonstrative snare hit feels empty to me; whatever feelings Swims has do not survive transit. And yet, I feel a certain perverse respect for "Lose Control" despite all this. Perhaps it reminds me too much of the soul revival tracks that my high school pop ensemble teacher favored, the Fitz & The Tantrums-alikes that I dutifully jammed out to for four years. It's not a style that moves me at all anymore, but as I listen to "Lose Control," I can almost conjure bass tabs and keyboard charts to memorize and devote myself to (and can imagine the students of a semester from now who will be playing along to teenage takes on Teddy Swims' adult melodrama). [4]

Alfred Soto: The echo, horn blasts, and Soulful White Man vocal evoke a pop climate at least a decade past obsolescence, a reminder that a certain overstatement will always serve as a crutch. [4]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: This song makes perfect sense if you just picture the woman he’s singing about standing next to him the entire time.  [3]

Leah Isobel: This man said "problematic" like he's on the Tumblr dash in 2011. [1]

Katherine St. Asaph: Thoughts and prayers for anyone persuaded to fuck to this song. [2]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#teddy swims #music #pop #pop music #music writing #music reviews #music criticism #the singles jukebox #Youtube

[starlitangels]

Happy Birthday Zozo!

You guessed it! Here’s my birthday present to @zozo-01, my co-conspirator in almost all things Redacted at this point XD Hope you have a great day, Zo! You deserve it! I love you! 2.4k words

—

A jaunty, too-cheerful ringtone woke me up first thing in the morning. I jolted and grabbed my phone off the mattress beside me. That wasn’t my alarm. That was a phone call.

My eyes hurt too much to look at the caller ID, but it wasn’t just a string of numbers—I could see that much through my blurry barely-awake vision. I slid the Answer option on my phone and held it to my face. “H’lo?” I grumbled.

I heard a deep intake of breath. “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy biiirthday dear Zozooooo! Happy birthday to you!” Asher and his mate sang.

I couldn’t help but groan. “Ash. It is too early in the morning for that song.”

“C’mooon, Zo!” Ash said. “It’s your birthday! Ya gotta let your pack sing to you!”

“I did. I didn’t hang up the second I heard you singing, did I?” I retorted.

Asher just laughed. “Well, regardless, we both hope you have a great day—”

“Happy birthday, Tank!” Asher’s mate called in the background.

“—and we’ll see you later this week!” Ash finished.

“Thanks. Both of you,” I said.

“Byyye!” Ash drawled.

“Bye!” his mate chirped.

The call disconnected.

My eyes cleared up enough to look at the date on my phone. Yup. October first. My birthday.

I grunted, dropped my phone back on the mattress, and flopped back down onto the bed. David and Asher had gone out of their way to make sure I had no pack obligations today so I could have whatever kind of birthday I wanted. Which was nice of them. My main goal was a bit of extra sleep—

That of course didn’t come as my phone rang again fifteen minutes after Ash hung up.

This time I could see the caller ID and recognized Milo’s mate’s name—when had they given me their number? Before Washington? After? I didn’t remember having their number.

I answered it. “Yeah?”

More singing. Milo and his mate were both better singers than Ash and his mate.

“Is this gonna be an all-day thing?” I asked when they finished singing.

“Why, who called first?” Milo asked.

“Ash.”

Milo snorted. “Of course he’s only early when it comes to callin’ for birthdays,” he muttered. “Late to everythin’ else.”

“Anyway,” Milo’s mate put in. “We just wanted to call before both of us left for work. We both got called in even though it was supposed to be a day off. Sorry it’s so early. We hope you’re having a really great day, Zo. Call us if you need anything.”

“Sounds good,” I said, with absolutely no intention to call them for anything. Milo was one of my best friends growing up, but for my birthday I had other plans—ones that didn’t involve very many people.

“See ya later!” Milo’s mate said, Milo parroting the words in his accent a bit further from the mic.

“Bye,” I said. I hung up. “I swear to God if David calls in fifteen minutes I’m going to throw my phone out the window.”

I turned it on silent, shoved it under my pillow, and burrowed back down, trying to get back to sleep.

I must have, because the next thing I knew, there was a knock at my door and weak dawn light was peeking through the blackout curtains, rather than the pitch blackness from before.

I rolled out of bed and stomped through my apartment to the door, peering through the peephole.

“You got here just in time,” I said as I opened the door to Sam. “Sun’s almost up.”

“Yup,” Sam said, hands in his pockets.

I nodded backward and stepped away from the door. “Get in here, cowboy,” I said.

He rolled his eyes—affectionately—and ducked inside. I shut the door behind him, then turned to find him already wrapping me up in a hug. “I am goin’ to let the ‘cowboy’ thing slide just this once on account-a today bein’ your birthday, darlin’,” he said.

“Awww. Is that my present?” I teased.

Sam leaned back, not letting me go, in order to meet my eyes. “What kinda mate do you think I am? I got you a real gift too,” he protested, sounding offended.

I perked up. “Ooh! What is it?”

“A surprise. As gifts are s’posed to be.”

“Well can I open it now?”

“Do you want to, or are you just curious?”

“Those aren’t opposites, Sam.”

He shrugged. “Don’t have to be.”

I rolled my eyes—affectionately. “Okay. I’m not going to deny that I’m curious, but I also want to open it now. With you. Because it’s a gift from you.”

“Yep. And I might regret it.” That last sentence was muttered under his breath, like he hadn’t actually wanted me to hear it. “Alright. This is a gift that comes in two parts,” he said. “Part one…” from the pocket of his jeans, he dug out a small, wrapped package. The paper it was wrapped in wasn’t fancy or decorated. Simple brown paper tied with twine. Cowboy, I thought with a smile.

He placed the package in my waiting hands. It was a lot heavier than I expected for its size. Tied to the twine was a small card.

For the wolf who wants to do everything herself. Happy birthday, my darlin’ Zo. All my love, Sam

I looked up at him with a happy, touched smile. “I love you too, Sam.”

He brushed a bit of my hair out of my face and behind my ear. “Open it up,” he invited softly.

I untied the twine and tore open the paper. “Oh my God!” I exclaimed. “This is beautiful!”

A Swiss army knife. A wolf’s head howling at the moon behind it engraved into the red casing on one side, my name on the other side. The moon was an inset of mother-of-pearl. I tucked the twine with the card into the pocket of my pajama shorts and started to examine the knife, pulling each blade and tool from its place to look it over.

“This is incredible! Thank you, Sam!”

“You like it?” He almost sounded like he couldn’t believe his ears.

“I love it!”

Making sure to close all the blades and tools back into their place, I threw my arms around Sam, holding onto him tight. He chuckled. “Well… I’m glad, darlin’. I thought it’d be something you’d like.”

“I do. Very much.”

“Good. Which brings me to part two.” He stuck his hand into the pocket of his flannel and pulled out a different package, wrapped much the same as the first. I set the Swiss army knife on the coffee table of my apartment and took the package from his hand, untying the twine and pulling off the paper.

“What’s this?” I asked, looking at a few different things all bundled together.

“This is a care kit for the knife. Whetstone, to sharpen the blades. Oil for the pivot joints. Polish for the casin’, cleaner for the metal. My…” Sam cleared his throat. “My father gave me my first knife and taught me to care for it. I know you already own a couple knives, but for your first birthday with us together, I wanted to get you a special one. Call it… Collins family tradition.”

He didn’t quite meet my eyes, instead focusing on pointing out the items in the care kit, as he spoke. I had the guess it was because he hadn’t seen his family in a while. The only “family” he really talked about was Vincent, William, and his progenies. I’d never heard much about the Collins family back in the South where he was from. I had a guess that since turning into a vampire, one party or the other stopped reaching out to each other much and weren’t close anymore.

I moved until I was in Sam’s line of sight. “Hey,” I entreated. “I’m honored to be part of your family tradition.”

“Thank you, darlin’,” Sam said. Voice soft and quiet.

“C’mon. Kitchen. I haven’t had breakfast yet and I’m hungry.”

Sam took a deep breath. “At least you’re admittin’ it,” he said. “Actually eatin’ somethin’ instead-a just… drinkin’ more caffeine.”

“I do not need to be called out by my own mate in my own home,” I said, dragging him by my arms around his waist to the kitchen. He was strong enough to resist me, but he didn’t bother. Just laughed as I let him go at the counter island and pecked a quick kiss to my cheek before I could pull away from him. “Charmer.”

“Just for you, darlin’.”

In a blur of movement, he’d hoisted me up onto the counter island.

“Now, howzabout I make you some breakfast? That way at least I know it’s balanced,” Sam teased.

“Fine.”

I watched Sam look through my cupboards, cataloguing everything I had in the house at the moment—mostly nonperishables, but more food than I’d had in the cupboards in a long time—with a sharp silver look.

He started assembling a few ingredients and I stared in surprise. “Oh. You’re going all out. I was gonna grab a muffin from the freezer.”

Sam leveled a look at me. “Well, like I said: I’m makin’ sure you eat somethin’ balanced.”

“I know but it takes so looong to cook a whole breakfast.”

Sam chuckled and went back to making breakfast—but he did toss me a small snack as he worked. “That oughta tide you over,” he remarked.

I scrunched my nose at him playfully. “Awww. Look who’s sweet to me.”

“You’re more loved than you know, darlin’.”

Before I could brush off his statement, his phone buzzed with a text. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at it. A small smile formed on his face. He looked up and met my eyes.

“It’s David,” he said.

I blinked. “Why’s he texting you?”

Sam showed me the text.

David Shaw: Zo isn’t answering her phone. Are you with her?

I swore. “My phone’s in my room—on silent. Under my pillow. Let me go grab it. I’ll text him back.”

I hopped off the counter and went to my bedroom, digging my phone out from under the pillow.

Missed Calls (2) David Shaw & Alpha Mini

Message: David Shaw Hey. Call me or my mate when you get this.

Right as I read the text, my phone lit up again.

Incoming Call… David Shaw

I answered it. “Hey David,” I said. “What’s up? Emergency? Do I need to come into the office?”

“No,” David said. “I just called to wish you a happy birthday.”

“Wow,” I remarked sarcastically. “What has your mate done to the David Shaw I knew as a teenager?”

“Shut up,” he retorted. I snorted.

In the background, his mate started singing Happy Birthday. Dramatically, but staying on key. Exactly what I’d expect from them.

Sam had appeared in my bedroom doorway and was smiling. I knew he could hear what I was hearing over the phone. I suspected he’d texted David while I’d gone to grab my phone, so David had known to call again.

“We love you Zooooo!” David’s mate said when they were done singing.

David grunted agreement.

“Davey!” his mate chided, quietly but the mic still picked it up. “Say it!”

“We do love you, Zo,” he agreed properly. I snorted. What had his mate done to him, indeed.

“Thank you both,” I said. “Now, if you don’t mind, my mate is here, and I was hoping to have breakfast with him.”

“Sure, sure,” David said.

“We just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and tell you we love yooouuu!” David’s mate added. I chuckled. David had called them a menace to me before, and I could see why he’d say that. His mate was always kind and affectionate—perhaps overly so—even to me. Maybe because David and I were so similar.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Love you Tank! Byyyeee!”

“See you later this week, Zo,” David said.

“Bye David. Bye Alpha Mini!”

“Byyyeee!”

“Bye.”

David hung up. I chuckled and looked back at Sam. “I assume I have you to thank for those two calling me again?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny any allegations at this time,” Sam said. Smiling. He held his arms out. I crossed to him and let him hug me. “I told ya. You’re more loved than you know. By so many people. The rest of your pack and their mates—they all love you.”

“I know. And I’m scared to check the pack’s Discord server. Because I just know that Ash has spammed the general chat with birthday GIFs. He does it for everyone else. And once he does it, everyone is reminded it’s someone’s birthday and then the whole general chat is just birthday wishes, even if the teenage members have no idea who it’s for.”

Sam chuckled. “Sounds nice,” he said. He nodded toward the doorway. “Now c’mon. Breakfast is almost ready.”

I followed him back into the kitchen.

—

For the first time in a long time, I had a lazy day. Just me and Sam and no expectations. Mostly just curled up on the couch in comfortable silence, cuddled together. Occasional kisses exchanged—and occasionally something a little spicier. Sam was warm, solid, and strong. I never felt safer than I did with his arms around me. And for someone who was strong enough to fight off vampires and usually felt perfectly safe in my own skin—or my own pelt—that was saying a lot.

As the sun started to go down, I snuggled closer to Sam. “Stay here tonight?”

He chuckled. “I was actually gonna invite you back to mine,” he remarked.

I thought about that for a moment. Sam’s place didn’t have neighbors—especially not ones sharing the walls. But it was so far away…

“Okay,” I said. “Yours it is.”

He smiled. “Thanks for lettin’ me spend the day with you, darlin’.”

“I wouldn’t want to spend my birthday with anyone else.”

He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. Another quickly to my nose, before meeting my lips. “I love you, Zo. Happy birthday.”

I smiled. “Thanks Sam. I love you too.”

His smile turned a bit wolfish. “Now get that cute ass of yours in my truck, and let's get back to my place.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” I smirked back at him—equally as wolfish—and popped off the couch. “Let’s, uh, skedaddle, cowboy.”

“You menace,” he sighed, still grinning, chasing me out of my apartment while I cackled.

#zozo darlin #Happy Birthday Zozo! #hope this makes you smile!

[average-guy-reviews]

Matilda The Musical (2022)

"Matilda, an extraordinary girl armed with a sharp mind and a vivid imagination, dares to take a stand against her oppressive parents and head teacher to change her story with miraculous results."

In 1988 one of the greatest storytellers ever introduced the world to a young girl with “magical” powers. Roald Dahl put pen to paper and gave us the story of Matilda, a young girl who inspired a lot of people at the time, and who continues to do so to this day. I won’t give any specific spoilers here but I think the majority know that this is about good v evil, the battle between authority and those kept down by that authority. The overarching story hasn’t changed in 34 years. What has changed is the way it is told.

Tim Minchin and Christopher Nightingale took on the task to translate one of the most popular children’s books of all time into a stage musical. This can’t have been an easy task, trying to make it new while still doing justice to the characters. The stage show went onto to become a beloved favourite for a great many people. Eventually the time came that someone opted to bring this musical to the big screen, and this could have been a big mistake. Theatre shows work in the theatre for a reason, and not all of them transfer very well to cinema.

I’m very happy to say that this show seems to have survived the transition extremely successfully. It works brilliantly on screen, with fantastic music and slick choreography. The level of professionalism on screen from the dancers etc. is really quite impressive. Important note here......the majority of the cast, performers and singers, is children. They have a level of skill and talent that a lot of more mature people would kill to have.

The entire young cast is great, and the future of musical theatre is in good hands.  The films focuses on three main characters, but before I get to them I want to highlight two of the children specifically. Charlie Hodson, as Bruce Bogtrotter, and Meesha Garbett, as Hortensia, are simply magical and they lead the ensemble like they were born to it. They have, potentially, very bright futures ahead of them.

The three main characters are Matilda, Miss Honey and The Trunchbull. Emma Thompson, almost unrecognisable as the terror that is the hammer throwing headmistress of Crunchem Hall, is just fabulous. She exudes an aura of fear and hatred of children that radiates off the screen.....and yet there is one moment where we do see a slightly vulnerable side to her. Yes, she is imagining a world without children but the moment is still there. It is a great performance from one of my favourite actresses.

Lashana Lynch is the timid, and downtrodden, Miss Honey. Having most recently seen her in James Bond and Dr Strange this was a delightful change. From one extreme to another, she has gone from action roles to bringing to life a wonderful, warm, joy of a woman, and it is always a good thing to see the range an actor has. She inhabits each role, making them individual and a pleasure to watch. One thing I wasn’t aware of before this was just how well Lynch, and Thompson, could sing.  Lynch’s powerful vocals were firmly on show in the songs she sang, a heck of a voice. I’d love to see her in many more musical roles.

The main character is, of course, Matilda. Alisha Weir is a real star in the making. Matilda is an innocent girl, but she has a dark side when she is plotting, and carrying out, her revenges on those that have wronged her. One of my favourite things about this iteration of the character is the way Weir plays both sides with equally joy, and ability. The way she draws you in when she’s telling her story, and the way she almost makes you a co-conspirator is just awesome. If she keeps performing, in theatre or film, she has a long impressive future ahead of her.

Matthew Warchus, from the director’s chair, had the difficult job of making the stage show work on film. Whatever changes he had to make worked really well, and the film works seamlessly. The transitions from scene to scene, the choice of shots, and the performances he drew out of the actors, were all done with a skilled hand and an eye for detail of a person with a lot of talent and experience. I have nothing else to say other than, Bravo, Sir, for a job more than well done.

Overall this is brilliant, fun, storytelling that is aimed at a younger audience, with more than enough to keep adults entranced. Just to put this into perspective.....I am 45. I grw up loving, and being inspired by, the books of Roald Dahl. Watching this film brought back a flood of memories of the joy I felt when I was immersed in his worlds. This is getting a really well earned 9/10, with the highest of recommendations to go and sww it on the big screen before it hits streaming, if you can.

[specialability]

2022 listening

I don't usually do this, but I'm going to make a music of 2022 list. It's funny, my spotify top 100 and my actual music app (musicolet for android, highly recommend) are very different so there's no point in posting either of them. There were a lot of individual songs, but I am still the kind of person who listens to albums from back to front. Going roughly from most recent to least...

spotify playlist (I tried to make a bandcamp playlist but it wouldn't work. :( if the album is available on bandcamp there is a link in the text)

Redcar les adorables etoiles by Christine and the Queens

I found Christine through the COLORS music channel on youtube. She is apparently a mega-star in France but I don't know how many people have heard of her over here. She sings in both English and French with a David Bowie / Annie Lennox electropop + funk style that I adore. Her previous album "La vita nuova" was full of quite sad raw lyrics, but the theme of this album is more romance. "My birdman" gets stuck in my head regularly.

Andor Original Soundtrack (Vol.1-3) by Nicholas Britell

I could gush all day about this show, but the soundtrack alone is very very good. Deep orchestral stuff with lots of hidden motifs and themes. Sometimes soundtracks for very good shows, which fit the show perfectly, are meh on their own, but this one really holds up. It's worth saying: none of the usual star wars themes or references appear in this album at all. If you listen to the main title theme in Vol. 1 and like it you will probably like the whole thing.

Awakening:Sleeping by MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS

A Japanese band that I believe had one or two anime songs at least a decade ago and has since became more indie. I was super happy to buy all their albums on bandcamp after having pirated them a decade or more ago. They started out with shoegaze / heavy alt rock instrumental, balls to the wall fast guitar and drums, added more vocals and went a bit more pop with their 2018 album No New World and have come back to a happy balance of both. "No need ft. Keita Ebina" is a great sample of the raw feeling that I love from them that feels like they're just on the edge of going out of control.

Profound Mysteries I-III by Royksopp

Royksopp said they were going to retire and I was sad I'd never see them in concert. Then they came back and released a ton of songs and went on tour but it's covid. Infuriating! But seriously it's kind of scary how some of these tracks are so Royksopp they could have been tracks from an album that came out years ago. There's definitely some more pop-y tracks and less of the hard electronica I really like, but there is a range of styles throughout. If I had to pick one it might be "Impossible" with old collaborator Alison Goldfrapp on lyrics.

Palaces by Flume

I discovered Flume only relatively recently despite him being completely in my taste (dance / house). His 2016 album Skin is almost wall to wall bangers and this 2022 album is similarly packed with tracks that can totally stand on their own. I was listening to "Say Nothing (ft. MAY-A)" on repeat for a while.

Be Here Soon by iamamiwhoami

Another artist I'm kinda shocked I haven't run into before. This is a video concept album so it's worth watching the videos on youtube to get the full experience. Her 2014 album Blue, which was also a video album, got indie-famous and Be Here Soon feels very much like a natural maturing from that. In the genre of "female singer-songwriters with idiosyncratic voices and not scared to get weird" an obvious comparison being Kate Bush or Bjork. "Zeven" is catchy while also (seemingly) being about OCD.

Pang by Caroline Polachek

I think she is pretty famous by now, but I first came across her via her cover of Breathless by the Corrs. She has a strong pop voice with a bit of that "weird girl" edge that keeps it interesting. And, of course since this is me, quite a bit of synth/electronica. This came out in 2019 but I only listened to it this year so it counts. She has a new album coming out in 2023 which a bunch of singles have already come out for. She also did a song with Flume up there in Palaces called "Siren". "Hit me where it hurts" is the one I was listening to on repeat.

The Green Knight Original Soundtrack by Daniel Hart

The movie was kinda eh, but back in January I got a lot of mileage out of this album. I feel like I don't know enough about medieval music to say whether it's truly historically accurate, but choral Christmas hymns sound different when sung in middle English with a slightly ominous tone and sparse strings in the background. There are some tracks that seem Jóhann Jóhannsson inspired like "Rest them Bones".

YESTERDAYS PAIN / CUT THE ANCHOR by LORN

Man I love LORN. Every single track he puts out is an instant classic for me. This mini-album is only three tracks but I could listen to it over and over. Music for when out walking on a cold dark night. Atmospheric dark electronica. Random snatches of lyrics. Depression music. "YESTERDAY'S PAIN" is so dense it will suck you in.

Dawn FM by The Weeknd

I don't think listing this is going to get me any hipster points, but I just really like his music. It is very clear where his influences lie and since I love electronic music and synth-pop too it's all good. I also appreciate that the album has a theme of decay and death that runs through all the music videos as well. The "Take My Breath" extended remix on Youtube is my favourite track.

Shin Megami Tensei V Original Soundtrack by Tsukasa Masuko, Shoji Meguro, Ryota Kozuka, Toshiki Konishi

Have I gushed about this game enough? No? Well here's something interesting I didn't notice until after I played Shin Megami Tensei 1, but the first CD in the album is string orchestra remakes of the original game's also amazingly excellent soundtrack. An old school synth sensibility, a mix of electronic and orchestral, atmospheric, dark and the occasional fast rock piece like the Da'at Battle theme, which you listen to a zillion times in the game and yet it still gets me pumped up. If you know me you know I love Etrian Odyssey's soundtracks by Yuzo Koshiro and I think this album is up there with those for me. "Spiral" by Ryota Kozuka is the track for the last area of the game and it is appropriately overwhelming and lofty. When I got into the area I seriously stopped and listened to it for a while because it blew me away.

Some bonus:

Nova/Moth by Burial + Four Tet

Looking at your pager by KH

Cybercism by OGRE

#misc #ruth listens to music

[whereishenow]

What music do you like to listen to?

I’m not sure how I’d categorize my tastes in music, I think I listen to a lot of different stuff that varies from genre to time period, and both vocals and instrumentals!

Some of the groups/singers I’ve been listening to on repeat lately are:

-Muse

-Glass Animals

-Junko Yagami

-Mitski

-Mother Mother

-Frank Ocean

-Myth & Roid

-My Chemical Romance

-Billie Eilish

-King Mala

(And lately, since it fits the vibe of the book I’ve been writing, I’ve also been listening to a group called Miracle Musical? Which is a very wild ride of an album lol)

But these can change out on the daily, I guess depending on how I’m feeling. Sometimes I listen to a lot of old songs too, ranging from the 50s-80s.

I also have a weakness for both Citypop and old French music from like the 60s (I believe that genre is called “yé-yé”?)

Also I’d like to take a minute to shout out my best friend, @transjoaquintorres, as they’re always introducing me to a lot of songs that I end up falling in love with. They understand my music vibe perfectly and can probably name or describe it better than I’m doing lol

But aside from that no matter what my music mood is, you can almost always catch me listening to video game OSTs!! My favorite tracks are from the Resident Evil series, Bloodborne, and so many tracks from Akira Yamaoka.

But really I can’t say I’ve ever been too picky with music! I love discovering new songs, and groups/singers, from many different genres of music! I think the kind of music I listen to the least, is country music, which is the only thing I can say for sure isn’t really for me.

Anyways sorry for going on such a long ramble now 😅 this was just such a fun question to think about, as music is a very huge part of my day to day life, often my main coping mechanism for dealing with the world, so it’s very important to me 💖

What kind of music do you like? :D

Here’s a couple of songs I’ve been listening to today!

#thank you for this ask! I had fun looking through my Spotify playlists thinking of my answer 😆 #I bet the list will change by next week or so #I wonder if I should update posts here like ‘what im currently listening to’ #that’d be fun #like a music journal!

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

The Andrew Denton Breakfast Show Musical Challenge 2000 Novelty / Acoustic / Folk / Pop-Rock / Singer-Songwriter / Pop / Comedy / Country / Blues

Unless you're weird like me, and you also don't come from a land Down Under, there's a very good chance that you have never once in your life heard of a comedian by the name of Andrew Denton before, but as someone who's now done the research, I'm here to tell you all that this fella is simply one of the most deeply beloved media personalities in all of Australia. Denton's been a TV presenter, a radio host, and a producer as well, and in 1989, he managed to catch one of his very first big breaks by becoming the TV host of a silly comedy/talk show called The Money or the Gun, which, among other things, would bring on people every week to perform a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."

Here's a B-52's cover band called The Rock Lobsters doing it in the style of the very song that they named themselves after, for example:

But fast forward to the mid-90s and Denton's now hosting his own morning radio program, The Andrew Denton Breakfast Show, which had a recurring segment on it that sort of expanded on his "Stairway to Heaven" concept by bringing a broad-ranging, contemporary 'who's who' of *mostly* Aussie pop into his studio to perform covers of popular tunes that were intended to take the artists *way* out of their own element. The Wiggles would perform AC/DC, alt rock radio one-hit wonders Tonic (of "If You Could Only See" fame) tried their hand at ABBA, adult alternative star Shawn Mullins (best known for "Lullaby") did Prince, etc., etc.

And that fun part of the show then ended up resulting in this y2k-era CD here, which served as the first installment of a trilogy that would see its proceeds donated to a children's hospital in western Sydney.

Now, if this pretty neat idea of unlikely covers was ever to be executed to its fullest potential, I don't really think that this was the absolute best way of doing it, because radio studios tend to be these sort of cramped, limited spaces, especially for live performances, and that inevitably means that some of the acts who were brought on to the show weren't able to bring their actual sound to it—because it would require a full stage and guitar amps and such—and they were then instead reduced down to the use of acoustic guitar(s) and usually not much else. So if this album has one fatal flaw, it's that the hour-plus abundance of almost nothing but acoustic guitar songs lined up back-to-back can definitely get to feeling a bit monotonous.

But be that as it may, you still really have to applaud Melbourne's Taxiride here, because while a telephone was undoubtedly available in the studio for each act, these guys were the only ones who were both clever and resourceful enough to come up with the idea to actually use one in their very own performance. And rather than strumming out the main opening riff from Cameo's "Word Up" on their acoustic—one of my all-time favorite 80s pop hits, by the way—they quite literally chose to dial that melody in instead 😂. And with an added whistling and an underlying beatbox to also accompany the lively acoustic strums too, they really accomplished the task at hand more than anyone else did on this disc, which was to deliver a knock-out combination of being fun, witty, and novel in your approach.

Other than that one very remarkable tune, though, this CD gets to feeling kinda stale pretty quickly. I mean, if this challenge segment ran once a week—and it very well might have—then it definitely would've been a fun thing to always look forward to on a certain day, but to have 26 of these challenges crammed together onto one CD like this really causes the whole novelty of it all to wear off at just a few songs in. And had Denton still had a TV show with a soundstage, like the one he had with The Money or the Gun, then his idea of having musicians performing covers of songs that weren't in their own wheelhouse would've definitely yielded much better and more varied results, and we really might've seen some genuine magic squeezed out of it at a much more frequent rate than we do with this release here.

Highlights:

Neil Finn - "Billie Jean" Taxiride - "Word Up" Alex Lloyd - "You Got Nothing I Want" 

#novelty #novelty music #acoustic #acoustic music #acoustic rock #rock #folk #folk music #pop rock #pop #singer songwriter #comedy #country #country music #the blues #blues #music #90s #90s music #90's #90's music #2000s #2000s music #2000's #2000's music #00s #00s music #00's #00's music

[boricuacherry-blog]

Janice Hunter was a mother of two in her early 20s when longtime lover Marvin Gaye, who was smoking weed and doing coke with her, suggested she have an amorous liasion with a couple they had just met. The couple was also doing coke with them, and Gaye noticed them sizing her up.

His eager to please girlfriend, 17 years his junior, comp

"You loved it, didn't you?" he said.

"Not especially," she replied.

"Oh dear, please don't deny it. You were an animal in heat. You couldn't get enough. This was your dream come true."

"Not my dream, Marvin. Yours."

The next night, when the other couple returned, he told Hunter, "You go off with them if you want. I can't stop you. I won't try."

She refused, the couple left and Gaye told her how he really felt about the fantasy.

"To watch purity turn to perversity is a fascinating thing," he said. "You were once my angel. But now you have fallen. And yes, I do admit, it is exciting to watch you fall."

Jan began to see how Marvin thrived on the emotional turmoil of himself and those around him. He was also deeply jealous and possessive. He tried to convince her to quit school so they could spend all their days together, and offered to be her educator instead.

"I can teach you everything you need to know," he said. "I'll be a far more loving and patient teacher than whomever the school provides. I don't want to share you. "There are all those strapping young high-school football players looking to love on you. They're my competitors."

Another time though, noting a chemistry between Jan and Maze singer Frankie Beverly, Gaye did everything he could to set up an illicit liasion between the two. When Frankie came for a visit, Gaye not only booked him a room at a local motel but booked an adjoining room for Jan, saying he needed her out of the house so he could focus on music.

As Frankie and Jan smoked a joint in Jan's hotel room, well aware of the awkwardness, there was a loud bang at the door. It was Gaye, seemingly hoping to catch them in the act. Frankie crawled back to his room on his hands and knees, and Gaye found Jan alone.

Even though they were married, Gaye would tell Jan he loved her, but that he was not "in love" with her, which made Jan wonder if he viewed commitment as a prison.

In time, their relationship scarred by problems, Jan did cheat, sleeping with Frankie and hooking up with Teddy Pendergrass, Gaye's main musical rival. Gaye's jealousy turned to rage. High on mushrooms and coke, he took a kitchen knife and put it to her throat, leaving Jan petrified.

Marvin told her: "I've loved you too much. This love is killing me. I beg you to provoke me. Provoke me right now so I can take us both out of our misery."

His rage subsided before he could do any physical harm but after that, she left and they divorced.

Shortly afterwards, he tried to kill himself by swallowing almost 30g of pure cocaine while on a binge in Hawaii.

Much has been written about Gaye's cross-dressing pulpit preaching father who shot his son at point blank range, effectively ending his life with three shots. Unfortunately, Marvin Sr never paid for his crime, due to him pointing out wounds inflicted on him from he and his son's prior fistfight, and from the purported discovery of traces of cocaine found in Gaye's body (although Marvin Sr was also drinking that day).

Ironically, the gun toting transvestitute was not only a preacher at the Hebrew Pentecostal Church in Washington D.C., but also a member of the strict House of God Christian sect, which banned sleeveless dresses, open-toed shoes, and makeup. Marvin Sr seemed to flaunt this contradiction, as he was a flamboyant cross-dresser in the home. Not only that, but he was also an excessive drinker and womanizer, even having an outside child from an extramarital affair.

But when he married Alberta [Gaye's mother], she was already a young 20 year old mother. Marvin Sr. refused to bring up another man's child, and forced her to send baby Michael to live with her sister.

The couple went on to have four children together, with Marvin Jr. the second to be born.

The animosity began towards his son before he was even born.

"My husband never wanted Marvin, and he never liked him," mom Alberta has said. "And what's worse is he didn't want me to love him either. Marvin wasn't very old before he understood that."

Apart from the contradictory nature of his father's actions and what he preached, it was the violent outbursts and brutality which made the biggest impression on him. The four children were forced to quote Bible verses at will, and would be severely beaten if they got them wrong - and Marvin got the lion's share of the abuse, being forced to strip naked before being whipped.

Marvin Sr also starved his children, claiming their hunger would bring them "closer to God." One can only wonder if he was simply using religion as a justification for his perverse pleasure in punishment.

Marvin Jr's closeness to his mother infuriated his tyrannical father, who would punish Alberta for giving any attention to her son, even going so far as to accuse the pair of having an incestuous relationship.

When Marvin's talent for singing began to be noticed, his father refused to support any ambition to enter the music industry. At 17, Marvin Jr dropped out of high school and ran away from home, joining the U.S. Air Force. But after a few months, he still wasn't assigned to any real fighting, just behind the desk work. He feigned mental illness so he could be discharged.

On his return, he joined a vocal group and became a backup singer, before signing with Motown. At the same time, he added an 'e' to his original surname of Gay - to shut down any speculation about his sexuality and to distance himself from his abusive father.

He eventually married Anna Gordy, 17 years his senior and the older sister to Motown founder, Berry Gordy. Friends commented that Anna reminded Gaye of his mother, but when Marvin walked in on his wife in bed with another man [people were talking about how she was unfaithful]. It is said she didn't like how meek-mannered Marvin was, as she was very dominant in their relationship. He was soon indulging in affairs with much younger women.

When Anna's 16-year-old niece, Denise Gordy, fell pregnant, Anna faked a pregnancy and the couple adopted her son, Marvin III, to avoid a scandal [there was a rumor that Gaye was the father but this has never been confirmed]. When Gaye met 17-year-old Janis Hunter, that affair effectively ended his marriage. Four years later he and Janis were married, with whom he had children Nona and Frankie. But after that marriage fell through, and Marvin was increasingly dependent on drugs and increasingly in debt, owing $3 million in US taxes and $425,000 to Anna Gordy as part of their divorce settlement, Gaye was reduced to living in an old bread delivery van.

The singer fled to Belgium as a tax exile and managed to briefly kick his cocaine habit before releasing his comeback single Sexual Healing. But his homecoming reignited his love affair with drugs, and after buying his parents a mansion in Los Angeles, he moved in with them to battle his addiction, and to be there for his mom who had just had kidney surgery.

While he and his parents were living together again, his rows with his father were so volatile that his sister moved out to escape the rows. For Christmas, Gaye had gifted his father a gun for protection, which Marvin Sr kept under his pillow.

According to Minister Shelton West, "I remember once or twice Marvin Sr. showing me his gun that he kept under his pillow and sometimes I even became afraid to go over there, because he'd be so upset Marvin and he'd say, 'I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him.' I would try to talk him down, but he was a hard person to calm."

On Marvin Gaye Jr's last night alive, Marvin Sr flew into a rage at Alberta over some lost insurance papers and Marvin, who was used to seeing his father beat his mother, was shielding her in the bedroom. He lashed out at his father, punching and kicking him.

A few moments later, Marvin Sr came back into the bedroom holding a .38 revolver - a Christmas present from his son - and shot him in the chest.

"My husband didn't say anything, he just pointed the gun at Marvin," said Alberta. "I screamed, but it was very quick. My husband shot - and Marvin screamed. I tried to run. Marvin slid down to the floor after the first shot."

That one shot was enough to kill Gaye. But after he fell to the ground, his father approached him and shot him a second and third time at point-blank range.

The singer was pronounced dead at a hospital less than an hour later.

His brother Frankie was holding him as he died and claimed his last words were: "I got what I wanted...I couldn't do it myself so I made him do it."

His sister Jeanne suspects her brother gifting their father a gun could have been a premeditated suicide wish. But she says, "He finally brought relief to mother by finally getting her husband out of her life." Alberta had filed for divorce after her son's murder.

Although the shooting followed an argument, Deputy District Attorney Robert Schirn said Marvin Gay Sr. would be charged with murder rather than manslaughter, because 'There were two shots fired and there was a significant lapse of time between shots to warrant the filing of a murder charge' and that Gay Sr.'s claim of being "brutally beaten" was disputed by police. He only had minor injuries.

Gay Sr claimed he thought the gun had been loaded with blanks.

Ultimately, Gay Sr barely served any time at all and his attorney were successfully able to get him off. Marvin Sr was allowed to enter a plea bargain of no contest to one charge of voluntary manslaughter. He was given a suspended six-year sentence with five years of probation.

Marvin was shot in the house he bought, by the gun he bought. While Gaye's words bled into musical notes and chased away the demons of millions, his own demons never let him outrun them. The father he still sought so hard for approval from, and who had condemned him since birth, ended his life with just one shot, just hours shy of what would be his birthday, less than 14 months after winning his first Grammy.

Marvin Gaye Jr was snuffed out of this earth by the conscious and calculated hand of his father, a retired minister who refused to allow God to dictate his son's ending, but instead chose to play God himself, but without any of the mercy that is usually afforded God's children. In yet another gap between teachings and actions.

"I pulled the trigger," said Marvin Sr. "The first one didn't seem to bother him. So I fired again."

Marvin Gaye is a classic example of a musician who was confronted with an age-old dilemma: continue to make easily palatable, yet lucrative pop music, or make artistic music that challenges the listener but might not turn a profit. Against the advice of his record label, he chose to challenge America when he released What's Going On, omitting the question mark and laying out social ills at large. He made messages that broke the restrictive mold of Motown music, including the melancholy song, "Save the Children."

Motown albums were not designed to have continuity, but rather played like a random collection of singles. What's Going On was a concept album about a Vietnam veteran returning home to an America he doesn't recognize. He illustrated and despair and deliverance can coexist, with his cry for social justice, his search for the spiritual in the sexual, and his emphasis on the sliver of light in the darkness.

In "Time to Get It Together" he sings:

Jesus said time will heal

All wounds

But we have to live right

To get the time

Sometimes it's hard to stay with it

But I'm makin my mind up

To get it together

If he was given the time God allotted to him, he may have lived through his trials. But no-one will ever know. But his message still resonates over a decade later. And nothing illustrates that better than the prophetic words of What's Going On:

Father, Father,

We don't need to escalate

You see, war is not the answer

For only love can conquer hate

You know we've got to find a way

To bring some lovin here today

Don't punish me with brutality

Just talk to me, so you can see

What's going on

What can only hope Gaye has finally discovered a father's true love, his plea affirmed in the embrace of a good and merciful father, one who molded him in His perfect image.

#marvin gaye #biography

[thesorrowoflizards]

when youre a dramatic bitch like me it’s so much more fun to sing along to musicals bc you can also like. do more of an act while youre doing it. like if youre singing a Bad Guy McVillain Song then you get to like spit in anger or be all creepy/seductive. you can interrupt yourself to do the other parts and abruptly switch between voices. technically you can do this with normal music too but if there’s a musical there’s more of a coherent story and direction to go with this. yes i am ursula and it is so unfortunate your daughter signed a contract

#it so HAPPENS that your daughter signed a contract (NO!) even drew a little heart above the i :) #is it binding goodness yes...unbreakable unless....There Is A Little Something We Could Try (go on...) #perhaps we could arrange a sort of...trade off #maybe swap your daughters soul for say--your own? #sign the scroll and set her free! or else she comes with me! to suffer through etERNITY ALONE-- #the MUTE little hatchling DROWNING in her own sorrow--with no voice left to cry out your name ;) #well? im w a i t i n g #look i was in the little mermaid in high school and #poor unfortunate souls reprise and daddy's little angel are both BOPS #this is also why i like singing to songs by aqua bc like. #both the main singers are almost/just out of my range #but in totally opposite directions #so comedically/dramatically switching between super high pitched girly voice and growly voice #is peak drama and i love it #OUR FRIENDS ARE SO UNREASONABLE THEY DO THE UNPREDICTABLE ALL DOTS AND LINES THAT SPEAK AND SAY WHAT WE DO IS WHAT YOU WISH TO DO #[immediately drops to a low growl that almsot hurts my throat. probably lower than it needs to be. for Drama] #i t ' s a l l a n o r ch e s t r a o f s t r i n g s #d o i n u n b e l i e v a b l e t h i n g s #f r a m e b y f r am e t o t h e e x t r e m e o n e b y o n e w e ' r e m a k i n t h i s F U N #ive never claimed to be a good singer. but i do enjoy it immensely #ezra talks

[in-the-name-of-styles]

Need You.

Author’s Note: Hello! After answering tons and tons of asks, and explaining how Tumblr had deleted the second part “Please Stay” to my one shot named “Only If” for god knows what reasons. I had to do this for you guys. I stopped writing years ago, and but kept my masterlist open for you to come and read my writings whenever you wish to. Trust me, this was so effing difficult for me to do! but I’m kind of proud that I removed the time and managed it. but let me inform you it’s not the same, because I do not remember what happened in the original one clearly. I hope this is a better and hopefully more well-written (amongst my other writings *cringe*) version of the old one.

It’s not proof read. I haven't edited it, so I’m sorry in advance for the typos. 

So, guys, gals and non-binary pals, I present to you (apology for it being light years late) the part two to your favourite little creation of mine “Only If”, with a new identity... please welcome “Need You”!

Do let me know how it makes you feel in the ask box or comment section. I love reading them. Happy Reading!

Word Count: 5K

Warnings: tons of angst with tons of fluff, sensitive harry???? (or do you guys call it sub!harry nowadays??) anyways it’s a cute!harry :P !

.

It’s been four hours, and you still weren’t back. Though it wasn’t new for you to go for a drive after an argument with him, you often came back within an hour or two. The blizzard outside was making Harry quite anxious. Even though the fight was extreme, he wanted you back safe and sound. He now realised how harsh he was on you. You didn’t intentionally leak the song. It was a mistake and it could happen to anyone, himself included. He felt guilty over the way he yelled at you; it wasn’t like him to react like that.

Suddenly, Harry felt the need to do something special for you. Though he planned on apologising to you verbally, he wanted his actions to prove it too. He made his way to the kitchen to cook you your favourite meal. He got a hold of his phone and switched on the playlist which include all the songs both of you enjoyed. the sound of the vessels clucking against each other minimised over the song playing on through the speakers.

A smile lit up on his face as he reminisced back to the moment when you were dancing to this song while making the two of you breakfast.

FLASHBACK

Harry rubbed his eyes as he walked down the stairs, his dimpled smile already making its appearance when he heard your voice blasting through the kitchen entrance. He didn’t know why you bothered turning the song on so loud, you were anyways going to be louder. He stopped at the kitchen entrance, a silent laugh escaped him as he leaned against the door frame and took in the scene going on in front of him.

“You say you want a good time! Well here I am, baby, here I am, baby” you belted out loud, cheeks turning red with the happiness radiating out of you. You’d decided that the whisk was your microphone of choice with batter stuck to it and everything. You’re moving those luscious hips which drive him crazy right to the rhythm of the song.

“Talk to me, talk to me, talk to me talk to me, tell me what's on your mind!” you missed a note but you don’t care. This scene right in front of him, he wished he could capture and watch it forever. Bruno Mars did bring a wild side out of you, and he couldn’t bring himself to be jealous of the multi-talented singer. He would give anything to see you like this. Knowing you’re the shy type who doesn’t enjoy too much of attention, getting to watch you like this was definitely a sight.

He walked right up to you and wrapped his arms around you slowly. You jumped in a scare, as you were lost in your own world. “Harry! You scared me.” You complained, trying to ignore the blush on you cheeks after you realised he must’ve been watching you from a far.

He nuzzled into your neck and sighed, while pressing a kiss there, “Hmm… I’m sorry, m’love. But you just looked so beautiful I didn’t want to stop you.” He murmured while pressing more kisses to your neck, then trailing them up to your jawline. “Y’ look utterly ravishing right now. Forget pancakes, instead I’ll have you for breakfast.” He smiled and went on to kiss your cheeks. His comments made you smile. He saw his chance and lightly bite the side of your cheek. You squealed and tried to push him away.

“H, stop!” you laughed. He tightened his arms around you and swayed to the beat of the song then went on to sing next lyric “Tell me baby, tell me, tell me baby what you tryna do!” he slightly lifted up your t-shirt and moved one of his hands under it, and muttered, “huh? What are you trying to do to me, baby?” and pressed yet another kiss to your cheek.

“Gosh, your hands are extremely cold!” you gasped. He then turned you around to face him. You instinctively wrapped your arms around him. The two of you smiled quietly towards each other, then he leaned down to kiss you properly. You shifted one of your hands into his the nape of his neck and the other went on to cup his cheek. He moved one of his around your shoulder and the other around your waist. Both of you sighed and bathed in each other’s presence.

“G’morning, froggy” you teased as pulled away first and smiled up at him. He frowned and tutted, then smacked your ass lightly. You always teased him for his morning face, said it looked like a cute frog. He rubbed the area he spanked and quickly pecked you once again before pulling away to look at you.

Brushing away the hair stuck to your face, “Morning, precious. How’re you feeling?” he asked, hugging you towards his chest. Let’s just say the rest of the day went on just like this. Him being needy for your attention, and you loving on him without any hold backs.

END OF FLASHBACK

Right as he was getting ready to plate the dish, the doorbell rang. He smiled, happy to finally have you home. He quickly washed his hands and walked up to the door as he rubbed his hand dry with the towel which was once on his shoulder. He buzzed you in thinking you’ll unlock the main door with the security code. But after two minutes of waiting and not seeing you walk through the door, he turned on the camera above his buzzer to see what was wrong.

He frowned when he saw two police officers standing outside his door. His heart suddenly started racing at rapid speed. He rushed towards the door and unlocked them. Coming face to face with the two sombre looking men, he tentatively asked, “G’ evening, officers. How may I help you?”

The two men exchanged looks and the tall one replied, “Sir, there has been an accident and we found an ID on the victim. Is this Ms. Y/N Y/L/N residence? we’re here to inform you about the unfortunate event.”

“I-I don’t understand? What happened?” he stuttered, his legs almost felt as if they were about to give up.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have much information for you. May we ask what’s your relation to the victim?” the other officer asked, and gave him an apologetic smile.

“Fiancé.” He cleared his throat, trying to calm himself down. He could feel his panic attack rising. “I’m her fian-” he shook his head, “Just tell me where she is please…” he pleaded and quickly put on his shoes. He took his car keys and raced up to his rover.

“She’s over at St. Thomas, Mr. Styles.” The officers had clearly recognised the distressed man. “Here’s her ID. We hope everything is well.”

Harry couldn’t bring himself to thank them as he started his car and backed out of the parking spot. He raced up to the hospital, and once he reached, he ran up to the reception.

“Y-Y/N Y/L/N? S-She just c-came in? I’m her f-fiancé?” He gasped out your name. The lady was busy tending to others to notice him. “Hey! Hey! Please ma’am just tell me where she is!” he was on the verge of weeping in front of her.

The old lady looked at him with a bit of annoyance, “Take a breath, young man. I’m trying my best here!” She walked up to him. “Now tell me, what was her name again?”

“Y/N Y/L/N!” He rushed. He couldn’t stand straight. Once he got what he wanted, he ran towards the elevator, up to the fifth floor. The corridor was busy and he couldn’t care less about pushing people aside. He just wanted to get to you as soon as he could. He found your door and barged in, not caring about the doctors around your bed.

“Y/N!” He rushed to your side, dropping beside your bed.

“Sir you can’t be her-” the male nurse tried to pull him back.

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry, precious!” He cried, trying to get the man off of him and get back to you. “I’m here now, okay? I’m not going anywhere- GET OFF ME. SHE NEEDS ME!” he yelled pushing the guy away.

“Hey man you’re no good to her at the moment yeah? Let the doctors do their job!” the nurse tried to make him understand while pulling him back yet again. Tears streamed down his face as he tried to reach to you. He sobbed over your state, blood was streaming down your forehead, and all he wanted to do was protect you and wrap his arms around you.

“No I need to be here! Please let me!” he cried. All of sudden a beep brought his cries to a halt. He looked around frantically wanting to know what had happened. “W-What’s wrong?!” he hiccupped.

The doctor and the nurses around him started rushing around the room. He then heard those words which made his heart stop, “She has flat-lined! Someone pass me the defibrillator!” the  doctor raised his voice.

Harry couldn’t believe this was happening. The nurse had enough of the unwilling man and pushed him out the door, “Sir we cannot help her if you’re being difficult. Please calm down and go to the waiting room. We will inform you about her doing as soon as we can.” and then shut the door to his face. Harry could no longer see you. The group of doctors, covered your body.

He slid down the wall next to your door and sobbed into his hands. Only if he would’ve stopped you from leaving. Only if he would’ve told you that he forgives you and that he loved you more than anything. Only if he would’ve let the argument die and kiss you instead. Only if…

Later, the upset man walked himself to the toilet. He caught his reflection in the mirror. He didn’t care about his red swollen eyes, his sweaty forehead and matted hair. The image of you lying on that bed yet again brought tears to his eyes. The thought of you not making it made him retch and he rushed into one of the restrooms. He dry-heaved and cried. Once he was able to breathe, he took out his phone.

Sniffling as he dialled the only number he could think of, The voice on the other side made him breakdown. “Mum I-” he couldn’t complete his sentence, as he tried to wipe his eyes.

“Harry? Darling what’s wrong?!” she asked shocked at her son’s rapid breathing.

“Y/N s-she is- Mum I can’t lose her. I’m such an idiot. I shouldn’t have let her leave. What if she doesn’t make it?” He wept while running his sticky fingers through his hair.

“Love, what-” she tried to ask him, but he cut her off.

“What if she…What if she dies, mum?” he cried and coughed.

His mother had figured out by now that you were not okay, and might be admitted in the hospital. She tried to calm her son through the phone. Unfortunately, she wasn’t near him and by the time she would reach it might not be enough. So she did the only thing she could once Harry hung up the phone, she rang up his friends.

Harry sat himself down on one of the wating room chairs. No one was telling him anything, he had no idea how you were doing or if you were okay. He was out of tears, and soon enough the exhaustion took over him. He didn’t even realise when he had fallen asleep until he felt a hand brush the back of his head. He opened his eyes and saw his two friends crouching in front of him.

“Hey buddy…” Louis smiled softly. Harry jolted back up, and got up to run towards your room. But before he could stand up straight Mitch stopped him. “H, they just came in here to inform us about her condition.”

“How’s she? Is she okay? Is she awake? She needs me, I need to be beside her.” He rushed. His two close friends, tried to calm him down.

“They said she’s stable now, mate. But we aren’t allowed to meet her yet, okay?” Louis stated.

Harry took deep breaths and looking at their extremely destressed friend, Louis pulled him into a hug. Getting the comfort he desperately needed, Harry started sobbing again. He was tired of crying but he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

“Everything is going to be okay, Harry. She’s our little tigress, she’s going to pull through, yeah?” Mitch ran a hand drown his friend’s shoulder. Harry nodded lightly and tried to slow down his heart.

48 Hours Later

It’s been two days, yesterday Harry was allowed to visit you since they moved you out of the ICU. Thankfully, your internal recovery was rapid, and you could wake up anytime. He was getting a bit impatient. He wanted to see you open those shiny eyes and look at him the way you always did, with so much love that made him giddy and flustered. These past two days he’s been talking to you, continuously apologising for his behaviour, and how he’s going to make up for everything that went wrong. You just had to come back to him.

“and then Louis got frustrated because Mitch was not answering him. But that’s Mitch for you, right?” he slightly smiled and ran the hand which wasn’t holding you hand, through your hair. “You’re going to hate your hair, once you wake up. You always like them a certain way, don’t you? But don’t you worry, I’ll help you wash your hair as soon as you wake up and come back home.” He stated and kissed your hand. He was silent for a while, just continued to run his hand through your hair.

“You’re going to come back to me, right precious?” he asked quietly, “Why aren’t you waking up, huh? Your froggy needs you to open your eyes....” he continued, as he forced a laugh out of his throat which had a huge lump in it. His eyes turned misty as he continued, “I hate it here. Seeing you like this is a nightmare. I miss you so much. I miss you calling me annoying little names. I miss you smacking me when I’m being a narcissistic little prick. I miss your voice. I miss everything about you, and even though it’s just been two day, I feel like it’s been forever. Wake up, baby. Please…” he pleaded.

As the day turned into night, Harry decided to stay back. He asked for an extra blanket and a pillow for his makeshift bed on the couch. He didn’t know why he bothered because he spent the entire night sitting beside you, holding your hand as he fell asleep leaning against it.

You could listen before you could see. The only thing you could hear was the air conditioner and someone lightly snoring against your right hand. You tried to move your fingers as you opened your eyes. The bright light made you squint, you blinked rapidly as your vision cleared. You turned to your right and saw Harry’s peaceful face sleeping against your hand. You felt the need to clear your throat, and your eyes searched the room for a glass of water. But the sound made Harry wake up from his sleep. He lifted his face and wiped the little drool from his face and the little amount on your hand.

“whoops, you’d kill me now if you were awak-” he turned to look at your face, and he had to double take. He gasped, almost falling off this chair. “Y/N…Oh my- you’re awake!” he nearly yelled. He pressed the button to call the nurse and then cupped your face going on to press kisses to your face, “Baby I was so scared. I thought I had lost you!” He laughed his airy laugh and looked at you with utter happiness.

For some reason, you couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. The words he said to you were the only thing swimming through your mind. For you time had stood still, like the fight had happened mere hours ago. You moved your face away from his hands. Harry frowned noticing this change in your mood.

“Hey what’s wrong? The doctor is on her way, yeah. Do y’need anything?” he asked frantically following your eyes round the room. He saw you eye the plastic cup beside your bed, “Y’ want water? Hold on I’ll get it for you.” He ran to the other side and brought the cup up to your face. You didn’t realise how thirsty you were until the first sip hit your throat, you started gulping it down quickly.

“Take it easy, precious. They took out the tube just yesterday.” He explained softly.

Once your thirst was quenched he kept the cup aside then went on to pull his sleeve over his knuckles and wiped the wet corners of your mouth. You moved your face aside yet again, he couldn’t understand what was wrong. But before he could ask you, the doctor came in to check on you. She did her tests and asked a few questions. She left as soon as she was done, and told you even though the injury looked worse than it actually is, you had take it easy for a couple of days.

Neither of you spoke for a few minutes, “How’re you feeling, love?” he asked quietly. You nodded, “I’m okay.” He came up to you and raised his hand to caress your cheek. But before he could touch you, your head turned to the opposite side. He couldn’t take it anymore, so he asked you.

“Will you please look at me? What’s happened, precious?” as he caressed your hair.

“Why should I look at you, Harry? So you can tell me how careless I am, or how I’m not trustworthy?” you rasped quietly. For a minute he was unable understand what you were trying to say. Then flashbacks from your fight the other night came back rushing to him. The things he said to you, and how guilty he felt later. His words had left a huge impact than he thought they did.

He took your face in his hand with very much to little force, he had to tell you this, “Y/N y’have absolutely no idea for how sorry I am for that night-” but you didn’t let him complete.

“That’s only because I got into this accident.” You snapped. He shook his head rapidly, he saw you getting worked up over this. You’ve always been a little firecracker, and you never failed to tell him when he was being a dick or to defend yourself quite amazingly, he always loved that quality. Apropos, he couldn’t let you hurt yourself in this condition.

“First of all, please calm down-” he started, “don’t tell me to calm down, harry!” you raged. He hated himself for smiling when you’re clearly very upset. But for the past few days he had to witness you lie there lifeless which had taken a toll on his mental state. He loved the fact that you were awake, so you yelling at him was more of a reward than a punishment. You looked at him sharply and saw him not taking you seriously, this brought tears to your eyes.

You sniffled and looked away from him to rest your head against the pillows on the raised up side of your bed roughly. Harry’s small smile melted away as quickly as it appeared. He rubbed the side you almost banged to the pillow, “I’m so sorry, precious. I swear I did not mean anything I said.” He pleaded and took a seat down on the chair beside you.

Right then the nurse which pushed him out of the room the other day and now was much like a friend to him entered the room with a tray which had a bowl of soup and jello in it. Harry smiled at him gratefully and took the tray from him as the guy set up the table on your bed.

“How’re you feeling, Ms. Y/L/N?” he asked once he was ready to leave. You gave him a small smile and said you were feeling better. The moment he left Harry looked back at you with a longing look on his face, when you refused to look at him he sighed and set the tray down on the small table and took a seat in front you on the bed. He looked at you as he removed the metal spoon from its cover, and then went on to remove the cover set on top of the soup. He blew light air on the spoonful of soup, then brought it up to your mouth. You refused to touch it. He sighed and looked at you pleadingly, “Y’ know someone told me we shouldn’t remove our anger on food.” He stated, turning your words against you.

You glared at him in anger for minute as he looked at you with a loving smile. “Please?” He moved it closer to your mouth, “You’ve got to eat it, I’m not budging unless you do, Y/N.”

Even though you wanted to stay stubborn, you were kind of hungry. So you let him feed you the soup. When he got to the jello, you refused profoundly. “But it’s the chocolate flavoured one! Remember the time we used to share one when I was here for my fractured foot? C’mon we’ll share this one too, if y’want?” he tried convincing you with his soft eyes.

“I don’t want to share it with you. Actually, I don’t want anything to do with you at the moment to be completely honest.” you snapped. You were aware of the fact that you were being very unreasonable and bitchy but it was his words that has caused extreme hurt to you. Your words hurt Harry, and it was evident on his face. He wrapped up the jello and cleared everything. The day passed, and in the evening your last visitor entered the room.

“There she is!” Louis came up to you and hugged you lightly, making sure not to hurt you. “Hello, darling. How’re you?” he kissed your forehead. Harry left you alone with him as he went to get the two of them some coffee.

“What’s happened to him? Why the long face still? I mean I get that Harry loves to pretend that he’s this macho man and all. S’ a bit ridiculous to be honest. Like who’s he kidding, he’s a puppy.” Louis laughed. You smiled at this.

“I’m still a bit upset with him over our fight. So I haven’t been talking to him.” You explained. Louis frowned at this and then sighed, “Oh love don’t do that... This has been very tough for him. Should’ve seen his state these past few days. The man has been a mess ever since the officers came to your house that night.”

“I’m trying, Lou. But I just can’t forget all the things he said. I was so hurt, I still am!” you rubbed your forehead, as it was beginning to give you an ache.

“He’s very sorry, Y/N. Trust me when I say that I’ve never seen him like I saw him that day. He just wanted you to wake up. He was just blaming himself, how he shouldn’t have let you leave the house.” He took a hold of your hand, “he loves you so much, darling. He’s absolutely mad over you.” He rubbed your hand, “A’bit obsessed if you ask me. If I were you I’d have him get that checked with a therapist.” He joked, you laughed loudly. He smiled with you, and passed you the water you signalled for.

“Forgive him, Y/N. He can’t even bring himself to go home. The only time he went there was to get some clothes, and to put the dinner he made for you in the rubbish bin.” He sassed. “and I know I’m speaking for Mitch too here when I say this, but both him and I could use a break from all the non-stop stress weeping calls we’ve been getting from him.” You gasped at him with a mock offence for Harry, and lightly smacked his shoulder. You were always thankful for Louis in moments like these. He was a great friend to you and Harry.

Harry came back with two coffees and passed one to his blue-eyed friend. He took a seat on the sofa which was against the wall, and the three of you, though it was mostly you and Louis, had a light conversation while the men finished up their coffee. Louis bid his farewell with another kiss on your forehead and a well wish, you thanked him and waved goodbye. Harry walked him out the door, and came back in a second later.

“Y’ need anything?” He asked as he took a seat on the chair beside you. You shook your head as you observed him fidgeting with the cuticles of his nails. He did that when he was anxious.

Neither of you spoke for a while. But the minute you heard a sniffle, you snapped your head towards him. You tried to get a look at his face, the tip of his nose was a bit red and he was now fidgeting with his feet too. He wasn’t crying but he sure was on the verge of it.

You suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of love for the man in front of you. You leaned against your bed and sighed, smiling a little. It’s pathetic how in love you were with each other. You couldn’t even stay mad at him.

“Harry?” You whispered softly. He hummed without looking up. So you continued, “I need you to do something” you faked a stern voice to play with him a bit more.

“Yeah sure, what’s it?” he muttered as he got up and rubbed his hands down his thighs, then finally looked at you. You looked at him without an expression and said, “I need you to come here and give me a good cuddle, a kiss too if I like the cuddle.” And then smiled at him lovingly. He looked at you for a second. You almost thought he was  going to yell at you, but the opposite happened. He started tearing up and heavy tear drops ran down his cheeks.

You gasped and quickly leaned forward to take a hold of his hand which was near you. “Oh Harry..” You whispered as you pulled him near you. He the minute you sat him in front of you, he started crying heavily. You were so shocked yet you’ve never been more mesmerised by him. You quickly tried wiping his tears away and comforted him, “Honey, don’t cry. I’m not upset anymore!”

“I-I’m honestly s-sorry! I promise I didn’t mean what I said that day, Y/N!” he tried to speak while wiping his tears.

“I know, babe. I know!” you tried to say it properly but it came out in a laughing manner and tried to draw the crying man close to you, but seeing you laugh made him more upset and he pushed you away lightly, so you forcefully pulled him into a cuddle.

He told himself he’s letting himself be pulled because he didn’t want to hurt you, but it was actually because he wanted you close, so he went in head first. You lay down against the pillows and cuddle him against your chest. He went on sniffling into your neck and wrapped his arm around your waist.

“Harry why are you crying!” you tried controlling your laughter. He whined and pulled his face away, “Y’were so fucking mean since the moment you woke up. I didn’t expect it.” He said and hiccupped, thanks to the sobbing breakdown he just had. You pulled on your lips so you wouldn’t smile.

“Well now you know, honey. It hurts, doesn’t it? You were so mean to me too!” You teased. He nuzzled back into your neck, pressing kisses there which always made you giggle.

“I’m really sorry, precious. Honestly, I really am.” He said into your neck, yet producing another hiccup. You couldn’t control yourself anymore so you smiled and pressed a quite a few smooches to his temple, and inhaled his comforting scent.

“It’s okay, baby. I forgive you. I’m sorry for my foolish mistake too, I really didn’t mean to ruin your hard work like that.” You apologised. He pulled away and brought the hand that was around your waist to your cheek and said, “I forgave you a long time ago, but you honestly don’t have to apologise at all. It could happen to anyone, m’love. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. Y’know I made dinner and everything as an apology. But then the officers…” his tone dropped and he couldn’t continue. So, you sadly smiled and pulled him in for a kiss.

He sighed and reciprocated the kiss with so much love and passion that you couldn’t help but wrap the arm which around his shoulder a bit more tighter and ran the other through the back of his head gently. The two of you pulled away and looked into each other’s eyes, he moved the hair that escaped from your braid and tucked it behind your ear, “I was so scared. I thought I had lost you.” He whispered softly, and swallowed the small lump, “I missed you a lot, baby” he said and you couldn’t help but peck his cute pout.

“I missed you too, froggy” you replied. The pet name made him reward you with a dimpled smile. He nuzzled into your neck and whispered, “I love you.”

“and I love you.” You kissed his forehead.

“Just for your information, I’m not letting you out of my sight for a really long time.” He stated sternly.

You laughed but stopped when you saw he wasn’t joking, “You know I have to work, right?”

“Y’can easily take a break for a month or two.” He said, as he yawned and cuddle closer to you. “A MONTH OR TWO?! Have you gone mad?” you gasped, lightly pulling on his hair.

“No I haven’t. Try to get rid of me, baby. I dare you.” He laughed a scheming laugh. You knew he wasn’t joking. He tended to become quite paranoid and obsessive over you when situations like these occur. But you wouldn’t have him any other way.

“We’ll see, mister.” You said, and caressed the back of his head.

“oh we will, missus.”

The End.

Author’s Note: I really put in a lot of efforts on this one, so you guys kind of owe me *wink* y'all gotta humour my praise kink now!!! ;P

Love you guys! 

#Harry Styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles angst #harrystyles #harry edward styles #one direction #harry styles one shot #harry angst #one direction fanfiction #one direction imagine #daddy harry #daddy harry imagines #harry feels #boyfriend!harry #one shot #in-the-name-of-styles #1d imagines #1D Harry Styles #original #harry styles fluff #angst #1d angst #harry styles writings #HES #harry styles fanfic #my writing #harry au #harry styles fic #sub!harry #harry styles imagines

[thepeachyouhadtopick]

THE PEACH YOU HAD TO PICK | CHAPTER 30

The thirtieth chapter of my Chris Evans / Original Female Character fic. Please reblog if you enjoy reading it, give feedback, or even suggestions and prompts!

After a perfect night with Chris, Ell receives some unwelcome news

Wow I can't believe how long it's been since I last updated! Time has really run away from me recently and I've had this chapter sitting in my drafts for weeks now. I'm so sorry to keep you all waiting! This is quite a short one to get things back on track. All I'm going to say is things are going to get juicy in the next few chapters...

He wasn’t sure how, but Chris had woken up in exactly the same position he had fallen asleep in, and so had Ell. Usually they would both turn over at various points in the night, one sleepily following the other to ensure that they still had their arms around the other during the night. However this morning, Ell had fallen asleep with her head on Chris’ chest and her arm draped across his stomach, and neither of them had moved an inch.

Chris mulled over last night’s events, and how Ell had finally taken such a big step with him. He smiled as he realised just how much Ell trusted him now. He’d never planned to get in so deep with someone right now - at this point in his life his career was very much the main focus, especially with so many Avengers movies lined up - so his blossoming relationship with Ell had really come as a pleasant surprise.

They started the day sharing breakfast out on the balcony, bathing in the warm sunlight as they talked about their plans for the next few days. They both knew that Chris’ work trip to Atlanta was looming, but Ell knew that she’d be able to keep herself busy while he was away.

As Chris cleaned up in the kitchen, Ell dug her phone out of her bag. She hadn’t checked it since last night and remembered that she was waiting on a couple of important work emails. An explosion of notifications rang through her mobile as soon as she turned it on, pinging and buzzing almost endlessly.

“Jesus,” she whispered as she waited for it to calm down. She was used to getting a lot of notifications but this seemed next level. There weren’t any work announcements being made today so she had no idea what could have caused this.

Scrolling through her messages, she soon worked it out. Another article had been published about her in the Daily Mail. It was all over Twitter and was getting her followers very excited.

Hesitating, her thumb hovered over the link that had already been tweeted hundreds of times. She clicked it, opening the tabloid report.

‘Ell Rose is dating someone and is “very smitten”’

Rumours about Ell Rose’s dating life have been swirling ever since she stepped back into the limelight in recent months, but now Daily Mail can exclusively reveal that the British singer is in a confirmed relationship with somebody, and is reportedly ‘very smitten’ with her new beau.

A source close to the singer has confirmed that Ell has recently got together with a new partner despite plans to take a break from the world of dating. Our source would not confirm who Ell’s new relationship is with, however they confirmed it is not a rekindling of her previous relationship with fellow singer Jamie Allen.

The source said: “Ell has met someone recently and a relationship blossomed pretty quickly. She’s very smitten with them, and she seems happier than she has been for a long time, especially after going through such a messy few years.”

Keep reading

Taglist: @one-sweet-gubler  @lynnettes-stuff  @calimoi  @fangirlfree @marvel-oned @time-for-a-lullaby @fucky-bucky @chrisevansarchives @noshame-bb @alliewritesthings

#chris evans #chris evans fic #chris evans fanfic #chris evans x ofc #chris evans headcanon #chris evans angst #chris evans fluff #chris evans x original female character #chris evans fandom #cevans

[theji]

Xiao Zhan Song Performances Part 2

Since it's the long weekend, I thought I'll continue with my recommendations list, focusing on Xiao Zhan's performance in [Our Song]. You can view Part 1 here if you're interested.

I highly recommend everyone to watch [Our Song] if you haven't already. The format is refreshing and there are many great performances on the show. Of course my bias is towards Xiao Zhan, though I have to concede he's not the best singer there. Special mention goes to Zhou Shen and Ayunga. Go check it out, you won't regret it. It's available on YouTube.

Sharing a few of my favourite moments of adorkable GG on the show: him doing his nerdy spongebob voice and giggling when he finally guessed the correct phrase during a game.

So..back to my list.

My Top 5

1) 阳光下的星星 The Stars Under the Sunlight

This isn't part of Xiao Zhan's competition repertoire. He performed it during the Lunar New Year special. There's no particular reason why I ranked it first in my list; I just love everything about it. The music, lyrics, the meaning behind it, his soulful and heartfelt rendition. It's just my favourite of the lot and I go back to it very often.

2) 爱上你等于爱上寂寞  To Love You Is To Love Loneliness

What I love most about this performance is the raw emotions conveyed. The accompanying music is soft and light, so XZ's vocals really shine through. Both his and Na Ying's voices really complement each other here. Especially as the song heads towards its climax in the second part after the chorus. XZ also does quite a fair bit of harmonising in this song, which is not an easy thing to do as one has to be really focused in order not to be pulled away by the main melody. It is pretty impressive considering that he's not professionally trained and isn't even a full-time singer.

3) 呐喊 Shout

This was one of my favourite songs by Angela Chang back then (original version here) so I was excited to hear their rendition. And I was not disappointed. GG really showcased his vocal range here and he managed to hit the high notes almost perfectly. It's a demanding song and you can tell that he really put in almost his all. The power in his voice is undeniable. See the veins in his neck popping!

4) Faded

Xiao Zhan in a faux ponytail and leather jacket, singing in English and DJ-ing. Enough said!

While Xiao Zhan and Na Ying makes a great duo, his performances with Angela Chang brought out another more explosive side of him that is rarely shown, one that I secretly love. And judging from the reactions of the other teams and the audience, I'm not the only one.

5) 恼人的秋风 (chinese version of ABBA'S Gimme Gimme Gimme)

I was contemplating between this and 心动 Tempting Hearts for the 5th spot. It's not an easy choice but I picked this in the end cos of the performance on a whole. The retro and infectious vibes, Xiao Zhan's attire, his (dorky) dance. It's not something that he would have picked on his own but I'm glad being on the show pushed his out of his comfort zone. He clearly enjoyed performing the song. And his adorkable dance moves towards the end? Priceless!

Bonus

跟着感觉走 Following Your Feelings

I have to give a special mention to this performance cos it really highlights how well Xiao Zhan and Na Ying complement each other. This was their first performance together, the song that cemented their partnership. Na Ying literally pushed the button to confirm her choice after the first verse. That's how good they are together. At this point of the competition, they didn't know who they are paired with, they didn't even rehearse together.  The song was assigned on the spot. And even with little to no prep, they managed to put out an impressive performance.

And that's the end of my Xiao Zhan song list. I love every bit of him but Singer XZ will always have a special place in my heart. Feel free to share your favourite performances with me.

Maybe I'll do a Wang Yibo song list next. I feel the need to defend DD against people who says he can't sing.

#xiao zhan #xiao zhan songs #Our Song #yizhan #i love singer xiao zhan