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#melancholic monday
nebulous-girlthing · 1 year
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it's girlthing monday! pet a girlthing to celebrate!!!!
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yuseirra · 5 days
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This was so beautiful... these guys can date later if they wish ofc it's their free will but I want THIS to be the canon event that's happened sometime in the timeline too, because this is so sweet and wholesome.
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deus-ex-mona · 11 months
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mallratsys · 2 years
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Male V Monday (4/?)
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yume-fanfare · 6 months
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sena narumi birthday….
SENA BIRTHDAY!!!!!
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petorahs · 1 year
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i watched oshi no ko and while i was doing that it kept popping into my mind that the mom (who is a cute pathological liar idol orphan) is goro while the boy looks and acts like makoto yuki (by virtue the girly has to be kotone) .... that brings me to this strange au where goro is the biological mother (?) of both makoto and kotone LMAOO
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anyways have a look at this flower
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violaeadde · 1 year
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everyone give it up for melancholic monday :(
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weavingsilver · 2 months
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Tate Britain, London
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edgydepression · 1 year
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tenisperfection · 2 years
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One direction was right. It does drive me crazy just how fast the night changes.
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sgiandubh · 1 month
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Bittersweet, but a cargo of tea
This, just in (gracias, querida 😘😘😘😘):
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Watch this clip - once, twice, three times. Watch it and honestly tell me what you think, in comments and/or Anon, please. Thank you - really interested.
Despair is a good teacher of sorts and although *** didn't seem to have fully realized the extent of its abysmal PR strategy, maybe some mid-level heads did roll, after all, allowing the above to happen. Hey ***, you can stick your 'sincere thanx' you know where, by the way: it's not nearly enough for all the lies, the shitshow and the mediocrity.
That is not exactly fan service and you'd have to be blind or intellectually challenged not to see we're still walking on a thin, red line here. After all these years.
The more it changes, the more it stays the same, Sassenach.
It's been a long, busy, melancholic day. Thank you, Both of You, for this unexpected moment of grace.
PS: dear witty Anon, I have not forgotten you. And Holy Monday - here we come, too. Also, your comments on the Greek post made me cry like an idiot and it has to be age, damn it!
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eds6ngel · 8 months
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✎ when i kissed the teacher | part five
summary: with summer break starting, it's time for you to pack up your things and leave hawkins elementary. so, will you be able to find a new job? and will you ever reunite with steve, the man that not only started this whole mess, but that you also love?
part one ♡ part two ♡ part three ♡ part four ˚⋆。˚ full masterlist.
warnings: dad!steve. singledad!steve. 90s!au. fem!reader. use of y/n. swearing. mutual pining. slow burn. a lil bit of hurt. tons of fluff by the end. mentions of food. job interviews!! slight age gap [r is 25, steve is 29]. roommate amy being the best friend we all need. no more warnings as this is the finale!! [3.6k].
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Finishing up your last week at Hawkins Elementary was not the easiest. Not only were you met with multiple days of children’s tears, hours spent reassuring them that everything was going to be okay, but the other teachers began to judge you. You would enter the staff room to dirty looks and ignorant comments. But, of course, adults bullying co-workers wasn’t fire-worthy, was it?
You packed your classroom up last Monday, the white walls, once covered in student’s artwork and decorative pieces, now bare. It made you feel melancholic and nostalgic simultaneously. Almost three years ago, you were walking into that first grade classroom for the first time, ready to made your dedicated space feel like home.
And now you were leaving, much earlier than anticipated. This should’ve been your second home for the rest of your life. But, now it was going to belong to someone else. Someone else was gonna fill the walls of student artwork, of decorative pieces, of their own little trinkets to display appropriate parts of their personality. It should’ve been you. It should’ve always been you.
Your permanent record was updated the day of your departure, the job search becoming increasingly difficult by the hour. Teaching positions cropped up everywhere, especially since you lived so close to Indianapolis, a mere twenty minute drive.
Yet, so far, none had even given you an interview offer. Many point blank stated that your record was the issue, the others you could definitely assume by their rejection wording.
The sound of your apartment door opening disrupts you from your job search, and from you continuing to stare into space.
Your roommate Amy arrives home with a paper bag full of groceries in hand, the fruit collection peeking out of the top. “How is your wonderful afternoon going?” she cheerily asks, a smile on her face, placing the groceries onto your kitchen counter.
You huff, placing your head in between your hands, “Shit. I’m not getting anything, Ames. I’m gonna have to resort to becoming a fashion retailer or something. I’m running short on money to split the goddamn bills with you.”
“Well,” she smirks, pursing her lips and creeping up to you, whipping a sheet of paper out from behind her back, “I may have a solution for you.”
You take the sheet of paper from her, inspecting the cover as it reads: TEACHING POSITION AVAILABLE. $30,000 ANNUAL SALARY. SECOND GRADE TEACHER. FULL-TIME. ERNIE PYLE SCHOOL 90.
“Ames, this is such a prestigious school! Aren’t they in, like… the top ten in Indianapolis or something?”
She hums, “Mhm, which is exactly why you should at least put an application in!”
You groan at her optimism, “I have a permanent mark on my record. They’re gonna turn me away the second they see it!”
She heads back to the kitchen, beginning to un-pack the groceries, mumbling out, “Well, you never know.”
And, she wasn’t entirely wrong. Even if it was a one in a million chance, a chance is still a chance.
“Screw it,” you thought, you were gonna put a damn application in. The highly likely rejection was just adding to the list by now, it wasn’t even a sharp sting in your heart like it used to be anymore.
Why not take a chance?
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And, my God, was that chance worth taking.
It was a Sunday afternoon, you relaxing on the couch reading your favourite book, when all of a sudden, the landline phone rings.
Amy was currently out on a date with her boyfriend, so you had the house to yourself. You put your bookmark in its place, moving from your comfy position on the couch with a groan, walking over to grab the phone from its stand placed on the wall. “Hello?”
“Hello. Is this Miss. L/N?”
“It is her, yes,” you reply, the voice of an older-sounding man speaking down the phone to you.
“Nice to hear from you, Miss. L/N. I am calling from Ernie Pyle School 90 regarding your application for the second grade.”
Great, another rejection to add to the overgrowing list.
“We do see that there is a strike on your permanent record, but we also do take notice that you have a lot of other qualities we admire here. So, we would like to bring you in for an interview, if that’s all right? That way, we can get a good idea of your character and what the strike really entailed from your perspective. Does that sound good with you?”
You had to knock yourself back into reality as the words are spoken down the line. They were actually offering you a fucking interview.
“Umm… Yeah! Yeah, that sounds amazing, thank you! When would you like me to come in?”
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So, two days later, you were dressed up in your smartest attire, walking into the brown-bricked building, the school a lot smaller than you had anticipated.
An older man, who seemingly matched the voice on your landline, greeted you at the entrance, the school empty for the Summer Break.
He directed you to his office, you neatly placing yourself on the chair in front of his desk, sitting appropriately, trying to appear as professional as possible.
“So, I’m sure you’re aware of the interview process from your previous work listed on your CV, so if you wouldn’t mind telling me a little about yourself,” he begins.
You breathe out, smiling at him, “Of course. I grew up in Indiana, more towards the north in a quite rural area. Growing up as a child in the seventies, I really felt under-appreciated as a student, as if I wasn’t valued. So, that’s where my love of teaching started to grow. I wanted to lead the next generation of students in a way that I felt, and many other of my friends at the time felt, would’ve been beneficial.”
“Well, as someone who has been working in schools since the seventies, I can see why you thought that way,” he chuckles. “It seems your generation has been the leader of change. Okay, we all know that students can become a handful at times. So, tell me, how would you deal with a stressful situation?”
“Well, firstly I would find the identifier of the situation by calmly asking the child what happened, as that helps me form a route to solve the issue. At my previous school, I had a student who got pushed into the mud and his favourite t-shirt got ruined, which made him extremely resentful and angry towards a boy. I got him a spare t-shirt to change into and promised I would scrub it out as best as I could during lunch break, which I followed through with. I then brought the two boys together, asking the other boy why he did it and he said that his friend allowed him to do it the previous day, so I taught the lesson of consent and how our feelings towards a situation can change from moment to moment. The boy apologised, the other boy accepted that and rode through his emotions. And by the end of the day, his t-shirt was just like before, mud stain-free. I’ve found that it’s much better for myself to understand the reasons behind something, instead of resorting to a lack of control over my own emotions and lashing out at one or both of them.”
The principal smiles at you, replying, “That’s a wonderful answer, thank you for that. Now, as you brought your previous school up, I do have to ask you about the strike on your permanent record. It says here that you, quote, ‘Broke student confidentiality,’ so I was hoping you could talk me through that situation. We here at Ernie Pyle like to overview a situation before immediately judging, much like yourself with stressful situations. So, please, go ahead,” he directs you.
You breathe out, trying to present your answer in a non-biased viewpoint, “There was a student’s father that I can confirm we both mutually did have feelings for each other. I set my boundaries in place last Christmas as he did try to ask me out, but I told him exactly that: student confidentiality. But, the school’s Easter Brunch rolled around, he helped me tidy up my classroom whilst the kids were on recess, and we kissed.” You purse your lips, having a sinking feeling that this was not going to secure you the job, “I would say he initiated it, but I also leaned in, because as I said, we both did have feelings for each other, so that part of my brain took over. However, I did pull back fairly quickly and asked him to leave promptly. The kiss was caught on the security cameras, and since it happened, I got fired for that reason.”
You bite your lip in nervousness, anticipating the rejection. However, you were presented with a far more mature answer that you were expecting.
The principal presents a thoughtful expression, “Hmm… I see. You said that you stated your boundaries before, yes?”
“I did sir, yes.”
“And that kiss was initiated by the male parent, to which you reciprocated for a short amount of time, before eventually pulling away, removing yourself from the damaging situation?”
“Correct, yes.”
He looks you in the eyes, leaning forward in his seat, “And have you contacted this parent outside of the school hours, whether that be after school, during school breaks or over the weekends?”
You shake your head, “I have not, no. The only time we spoke after school hours was when he aided me in running the school’s Christmas Fayre.”
“I see…” he pauses for a moment, “I’m going to ask you one more question before making my decision, if that’s all right with you,” to which you nod with a smile. “You worked at your previous school for three years, and I’m sure you’re aware that we really value applicants that have that prior experience. So, what skills have you learnt or improved as your time as a teacher of elementary school children?”
You look off to the side, sighing happily at the memories of your previous students. You turn your head to look back up at the principal, your answer coming confidently to your brain, no fears present. “I’ve learnt how to time manage and be organised. I would schedule my day in the morning to have certain worksheets and items stored in accessible places for me to switch over in between recesses and lunch breaks. Also, not all kids learn at the same pace, so I have to factor in extra activities for the children who complete their work a little faster than some of the other students. But, I think the most important thing I learnt was empathy. Children are just smaller, more innocent versions of us adults. I’ve found that many adults believe they must control their children, but I’ve learnt from my experience as a teacher that it’s better to approach every child with warmth, kindness and love. I’ve heard lots of children say that they hate school as young as five years old, and I want to be the one to change that. I want my students to feel safe and loved in my class, and for them to have it be one of their favourite parts of their day.”
He leans back in his chair, sighing out as he takes his glasses off, “I’m just… Wow. I am truly amazed by your answers, Miss. L/N. They are absolutely phenomenal. These are the exact values we like to promote here at Ernie Pyle and you would be a great addition to our team.”
Was he actually kidding? This sounded like an acceptance…
He sits in his chair with his eyebrows furrowed, a thinking look on his face, “However, I do run into this issue of your strike… But, I’m willing to find a way around it. Willing to put in some extra rules.”
You nod, perhaps a little too eagerly, “Anything. I’ll take on any extra rules you require.”
He looks at you once more, “Okay, I’m willing. These are what your rules are gonna be: You cannot speak to any male parent alone in your classroom, whether that be with their child present or not. If they ask you a question whilst dropping off their child, you must direct them to Mrs. Lane, who is going to be your teaching assistant. As well as this, obviously following the previous rules, no parent can aid you in any after school activities, events, or anything of a similar nature. If you need guidance with an event, you must ask another member of staff to aid you. These are the rules I’m offering you, okay?”
“Of course sir, I completely understand.”
“And I’m going to be super strict with this. If I even see you step slightly out of line, I won’t hesitate to add another strike to that record of yours. Do you understand?”
“100% sir. Absolutely,” you respond.
He smiles, raising from his seat, you copying his action as he extends his hand out to you, saying the words you’ve been waiting to hear for a long time: “You’re hired. Welcome to Ernie Pyle.”
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You walk into the front door of your apartment, your hair now a disheveled mess from the windy storm forming outside. Amy looks up from her seat on the couch, re-runs of old episodes of Friends playing on the TV mounted on the wall.
She simply snorts, “Jesus. You look like shit.”
You shut the apartment door behind you, replying with a chuckle, “Yeah, tell me about it.”
She stands up, walking over to you where you had dumped your purse onto the small table where the pair of you eat, “So, how did it go?”
You decided to play with your best friend’s emotions, sighing solemnly as you act sad, mumbling out, “Turns out I have to start taking care of kids five days a week again…”
She furrows her eyebrows, before gasping, putting her hand over her mouth in shock, “You got it?”
You smile widely and giggle, “Yeah, I got it.”
She screams a little too loudly, lifting you off the floor in a hug in excitement, squeaking out, “Oh my God, this is amazing! I told you you would get it!”
You part from each other, you playfully rolling your eyes, joking, “Yeah, yeah. You were right again.”
She smirks overdramatically, “Of course I am. When am I ever wrong?”
You chuckle as she jumps up and down, still in shock at your news, “Holy shit, holy shit! You have to call Steve!”
You part from her again, looking at her with a confusion expression as you let out a “What?”
“Steve. You know, the guy you’ve been crushing on for almost a year?” she says with a smile, “You have to call him!”
You sigh out, pinching the bridge of your nose, “Ames, they just put a bunch of extra rules in for me because of that whole situation. I don’t think they’d be very happy if I suddenly start speaking to him.”
Amy groans at you in frustration, “But, Y/N, he’s not your student’s dad anymore. What are they gonna do? Fire you by association? If anything, that’ll make them more at ease as you’ll be taken, so less likely to become flirty with other student’s dads!”
You let out a long breath, thinking over your best friend’s words, before shaking your head, “Nope! Nope! I’m not doing it, Ames!”
She nods eagerly, “Yes you are!” she teases, running back to the living room and grabbing the phonebook from off the bookshelf, before returning to grab your hand, dragging you onto the couch as you plop down. She shoves the phonebook into your lap, pointing at you, “You’re gonna look up his last name and I’m going to watch you pick up that phone, dial his number and call him. Okay?”
You huff, your breath blowing the hairs out of your face as you complain, “Fine! I’ll do it.”
Amy smiles widely, clapping her hands together and shouting, “Yay!”
You open the phonebook, flipping through until you reach the letter ‘H.’ You scan through the names, reaching the correct starting letters. Hare-, Hari-, Harp-, Has—
“Uh.. Ames?” you say, blinking rapidly, her humming at you, “It’s not in here.”
“What do you mean it’s not in there?” she questions, walking over and sitting next to you on the cream-coloured couch.
“His last name is Harrington. Look,” you point to the page, “It says Harps, and then skips on to names beginning ‘Has.’ He’s not fucking in here.”
“You’re not joking with me? You aren’t making up that name to not call him?”
You look her dead in the eyes, “I’m not kidding. He’s not in here.”
“I mean, he must be one of those rare people who really values privacy. Had his name removed or something,” she replies.
You huff, rolling your eyes and slamming the book shut, placing it back on the bookshelf, “I guess the Universe is telling me really not to go through with it, huh?” you direct at your best friend, turning around and storming into your room, closing the door forcefully behind you.
You would be lying if you said you weren’t at least a little bit disappointed… Okay, maybe more than a little.
But… maybe not all hope was lost.
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You and Amy took turns taking on the weekly adulting tasks, splitting the boring household chores between the two of you.
You had travelled into Indianapolis, grabbing your weekly groceries for the two of you. You were browsing the selection of cheeses, deciding which one would taste the nicest in relation to your budget. However, a tall man was leaning over you, trying to reach an item located above your head. However, once he spoke, you recognised that voice from anywhere
“I’m so sorry, I just need to grab—” The man looks down at you as you look up at him, your eyes connecting in an intense gaze, “Holy shit… Y/N?”
“Steve?” you breathe out, trying to register the fact that the man you thought you would never see again in your life is standing right in front of you. He’s wearing a Wham! t-shirt, light blue jeans, and a denim jacket in a similar shade. And my God does he look gorgeous.
And he thought the same about you as you stood there in your yellow, flowy dress. Perfect for the warm Indiana summer, and perfect for you. It hugged you so well, in all the right places. It made you look breathtaking.
“Um, hi! Hi… How— How are you?” he asks, blinking rapidly as he tries to form a sentence, his body still shocked from not only how beautiful you look, but the chances of you two meeting in the same grocery store out of your towns.
“I’m doing good, how have you been?” you respond, trying to keep the conversation as casual as possible.
“Pretty great, yeah…” He pauses for a moment, staring at the ground, afraid he would blush if he looked at you again, “Alena’s great too, by the way. Just in case you wanted to know…”
You nod, “I’m glad you two are doing good. I know that me leaving and all probably took a great toll on her, and I wanted to say sorry—”
However, he interrupts you, “Wait, you left the school?”
You sigh out, realising that Alena must’ve not shared the news with her dad, most likely too nervous to tell him that it was because of his actions. “Yeah… I got fired. They caught us kissing on the security cameras and you know… student confidentiality, you know all about that shit.”
“Shit…” he breathes out, sinking in the fact that his actions were the reason for your job loss. “I’m sorry. I never should have kissed you. It was completely my fault and I—”
But now, it’s your time to interrupt him. You giggled, “Steve, I promise, it’s okay. Besides…” you look up, smiling, “I may have found a better teaching job that pays more anyway. You kind of saved me in a way.”
He chuckles awkwardly, “Yeah… I suppose I did…”
The two of you laugh together before the air falls into silence again, the sounds of regular shoppers and beeping machines filling the atmosphere.
Steve was the one to speak what seemed to be the thought lingering on both of your minds, “So… Does that mean I can ask you out again?”
You decide to tease him, “Depends what’s in store, Harrington.”
He laughs at your comment, “Well, I was thinking I pick you up, I take you to a fancy restaurant, and then we shoot the shit, see where the night takes us… Not in a sexual way of course! I just mean in general…” He mentally face-palms himself. Why did he have to phrase it like that?
You giggle at his ramblings, “I like the sound of that,” you smile up at him, your heart fluttering all the more faster, “When are you thinking for?”
“Um… Friday night, seven o’clock at your place?” he asks.
And you verbalise the answer that he’s been wanting to hear for almost a year, the two of you finally being allowed to love each other: “It’s a date.”
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and that's the end!! i hope you all enjoyed this five part series, i had so much fun writing it!! now... where do we go from here?
so, if you've checked out the masterlist to this series, you may have noticed the 'spinoffs' section. that's because i'm giving you guys leverage over the future of this little au!!
so, what spinoffs would you like to see? steve and r's first date? them officially getting together? first outing as a couple with alena? even future down the line? it's totally up to you, these are merely suggestions!!
i will be opening my asks back up next week for this series only, so i can't wait to see what scenarios you guys come up with!!
as always, thank you for dedicating your time to reading this entire series, it means so much to me!! ♡
taglist: @livsters @bakugouswh0r3 @nix-rose @ihatepeanutss @cats00089 @suitelif3 @clincallyonline17 @crowssixof @starkeylover @eris-rose-86 comment if you wanna be added/removed from the spinoffs taglist!!
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sunayoru-art · 4 months
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Another melancholic Monday has been won
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siriustar8 · 4 months
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Counter Productive
A little new years gift, something that was supposed to become a fully fleshed fic but ended up collecting dust among its siblings, if there's anything I'm loyal to, it's to never finish my work. But it reads pretty well as a microfic so I decided to share it instead ! Hope you enjoy it 🌸
Jegulus - slightly nsfw (really, just mentions of wet dreams and such, no details whatsoever.)
Lately, all his dreams consisted of dark brown skin stretched over the finest fingers he’s ever seen, that just so happen to ghost over his arms, his thighs, and pretty much everywhere on his body. The dreams vary between extremely detailed scenes of absolute debauchery -things that would give his mother an instant aneurysm- and sweet domestic moments, sharing tea and some biscuits, legs entwined under the blanket.
Both extremes have the same effect on him though : he wakes up with a headache, a shit ton of longing in his heart, and more often than not : a hard-on.
Regulus is a simple, simple man. He had an unfortunately eventful childhood, left home at the ripe age of sixteen to live with his brother, and balanced -tried to, really- his studies and a barista job. He had a sort of melancholic complexion, with dark eyebags and pale skin and scarce smiles, and he relished in it, in the mysterious air that kept people away from him. He loved music, sweet cappuccinos, stealing his brother’s boyfriend’s sweaters, and going on long night walks with said brother. Regulus also happens to love said brother’s best friend.
It was inevitable, really. The moment Regulus laid his eyes on James Potter for the first time, he knew he was a goner. There was nothing that could stop him from falling for that smile, for those sparkling eyes and curled hair and beautiful, beautiful hands. James carried himself with the confidence of a man that knows how charming he is, and Regulus is thoroughly charmed, all the way to his bones.
The thing about James is that he is as sweet as he is gorgeous, as kind as he is fit, he speaks loudly yet gently, and walks with a skip in his step as if the world was his to grab and enjoy. He lit up any place he entered, eyes stuck to him like magnets, and so did people.
The thing about James is that everyone loved him, so Regulus never stood a chance. But that didn’t stop him from waiting for James to stop by the café, to give him a dazzling grin and chat away about how he saw a puppy on his way or how a kid smiled at him or how he saved a lady bug from being stepped on. He was so endearing, so soft and mellow and Regulus just wanted to jump over the counter and melt in his arms.
Regulus wanted so many things when it came to him, and they ranged from friendly gestures to inappropriate ones. He would take anything at this point if he could, but he never dared to get close enough to James to do so. In fact, all he did was push him away in a desperate attempt to control his raging thoughts, so he responded to his smiles with scowls, to his laughs with frowns, and to his nicest approaches with grumbles while his insides turned to mush and threatened to spill out of his pores.
He was so enamoured with James Potter, and all he had to show for it were wet dreams and sad poems about unrequited love.
And it was easy to bottle it all up, because no matter how frequently James came by to the shop, it was a few hours a week at the most. So regulus was fine, really. He only needed to pretend to absolutely despise the boy, and he was a fairly good actor if he said so himself.
That was until James was standing next to him, on a monday morning, behind the counter.
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louisupdates · 9 months
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Louis Tomlinson’s Top 10 Songs Ranked
21 July 2023 | 10:00 am | Skylar Flowers
The UK heartthrob has just announced a massive tour of Australia and to celebrate the Vodafone presale starting today, we’ve ranked Louis’ biggest and best songs.
Earlier this week, one-man pop powerhouse Louis Tomlinson announced his imminent return to stages Down Under and if you’re a Vodafone customer (and believe us, you should be), you’ll be able to get your hands on the very first tickets this morning (July 21). An exclusive Vodafone presale will kick off at 10am AEST, running for 72 hours until the same time on Monday (July 24).
You can head here for more info on how to take advantage of that presale.
Come January, he’ll deliver his mind-bending blend of bubblegum, Britpop and rock to his biggest crowds yet in Naarm/Melbourne, Meanjin/Brisbane and Eora/Sydney. The run comes in support of Tomlinson’s stellar second album, Faith In The Future, and although this tour will be his biggest on local soil, we’re expecting tickets to fly right out the gates.
To get the hype train chugging at full steam, we’ve crafted the ultimate playlist to soundtrack your ticket-scoring endeavours: a meticulous, indisputable* ranking of Tomlinson’s ten best solo releases.
10. Just Hold On (with Steve Aoki) [2016]
We’ll happily admit that Tomlinson’s first solo outing followed a fairly safe formula – squeaky clean, harmonic vocals (supplemented with plenty of “woah-ohs”) flowing over the unique kind of pseudo-clubby bubblegum pop beat Steve Aoki is a certified master at – but for what it is, Just Hold On is exactly what it should be. Back in ye olden times (2016), it proved to us that Tomlinson had the chops to carry a pop banger on his own, lapping up every lumen of the spotlight. And listeners seemed to agree: the song went Platinum in five territories (including Australia), came just one spot shy of topping the UK charts, and still pops up in Tomlinson’s live sets from time to time.
9. Back To You (featuring Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals) [2017]
Tomlinson’s second track as the headline act landed some 16 months after Just Hold On, making for one of the most brutal waits we’ve endured between a debut single and its follow-up. But it’s without a doubt that Back To You was worth the wait, shining with an equally cool and catchy beat, and an impassioned vocal performance (carried by emotive lyrics tailored for maximum swoonability) that made it undeniably clear: Tomlinson was always the biggest heartthrob in One Direction, and goddammit, he’s still their biggest heartthrob in his solo era.
Bebe Rexha’s vocals add so much colour to the tune, too, as her smoky swagger gels with the sweetness in Tomlinson’s own delivery. Us here Down Under were especially stoked on Back To You – racking up three Platinum certificates and a peak at #11 on the ARIA Charts, it remains Tomlinson’s biggest single as a solo artist.
8. Two Of Us (2019)
Though it came out a solid 15 months after lead single Miss You, it was Two Of Us that really kickstarted the cycle for Tomlinson’s debut solo album, Walls (which arrived in January of 2020). It was a bold choice for that role, too, as a deeply emotive ballad steered by haunting grand piano chords and widescreen orchestration. But it was a power move: the song itself is striking and cuts deep with authentic pangs of grief, Tomlinson’s vocals swelling from lowkey and melancholic to intensely poignant as the music builds. Thematically, too, it’s one of his most important efforts – a touching ode to his late mum.
7. Walls (2020)
The title track from Walls is another ballad, but this one stands out a little more with its ear-pricking instrumentation, channelling the greats of ‘90s Britpop with its coolly strummed acoustic guitars, droning pianos and atmospheric string- and synth-work. Released as the album’s fifth and final single, it offered a fantastic summary of everything we’d heard thus far, from the searing pain he poured out in Two Of Us to the energised pop-rock of Kill My Mind.
Then there’s the lyrics – some of Tomlinson’s most gripping and evocative – with the chorus in particular standing out for its motivational punch. He sings: “These high walls, they came up short / Now I stand taller than them all / These high walls never broke my soul / And I, I watched them all come fallin' down / I watched them all come fallin' down for you.”
6. Bigger Than Me (2022)
Tomlinson’s newest era began last September, when he dropped the lead single from Faith In The Future: a rousing slow-burner called Bigger Than Me. It’s the perfect song to bridge the gap between his first and second albums, starting off as a lowkey acoustic number and growing into a big, bold pop anthem you could scream along to at the top of your lungs. It swells into a peak around three minutes in, where Tomlinson is virtually howling to contest with the operatic strings, spirited drums and scene-stealing synths. When we first heard Bigger Than Me, it felt like a proper reintroduction to Louis Tomlinson – and goddamn, were we keen to learn more about this new version of him.
5. Just Like You (2017)
After launching his solo career with two collaborative tracks, Just Like You marked the very first time we heard Tomlinson without a guest singer or heavyweight producer. Released standalone in October of 2017 – about a month and a half before Miss You kicked off the Walls era – this airy pop gem serves as somewhat of a theme song, very on-the-nose as Tomlinson literally opens it with a verse about how he’s “the guy from the one band” with the “whole world in [his] right hand”, prone to racking up “headlines that [he] can't stand” with his lavish escapades (“Night out and it's ten grand”)... Before explaining that as his fans, we “only get half of the story” when we see Tomlinson revel in all “the cash and the cars and the glory”.
Is it self-indulgent? Yeah, absolutely. But does it absolutely slap nonetheless? Yeah, absolutely.
4. Miss You (2017)
It makes sense that the music video for Miss You takes place at a party: accented by tasteful juts of an electric guitar and a thumping drum beat, the song feels triumphant and energising – the kind of song you’d blast in your room to hype yourself up while you get ready for an actual party. Following on from Just Like You in December of 2017, this was also the first time we heard Tomlinson shine on a track driven primarily by electric guitars, something we’d hear a lot more of on Faith In The Future, but felt like a special treat on Walls.
3. Kill My Mind (2019)
Remember how we noted that Walls (the song) saw Tomlinson channel an ambiguous ‘90s Britpop flavour? We can be a little more straight-up with Kill My Mind – this song is Oasis as fuck. But we say that as nothing but a compliment: charging forward with brisk strumming and animated drums, the artist’s vocals soar overhead, his thick Yorkshire accent gripping as he sings passionately: “You kill my mind / Raise my body back to life / And I don't know what I'd do without you now.” Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without this absolute banger in my morning playlist.
2. Written All Over Your Face (2022)
Walls was a stellar album, no doubt about it – this list features three songs from it, after all – but it’s with Faith In The Future that Tomlinson has really come into his own as a solo artist. The headstrong rock’n’roll energy weaved throughout it peaks on Written All Over Your Face, clear from the outset as, over a punchy drum beat and rollicking bassline, the artist embraces his heartthrob personality, seeped in sensuality as he quips, “Hey babe / It’s written all over your face.” You’re telling us this is the same man that once sang on What Makes You Beautiful!? Sheer insanity.
1. Out Of My System (2022)
The latest single from Faith In The Future – a post-release pick that made impact earlier this year – is a punk-laced belter that stands out with ripping guitars and a downright explosive chorus. It feels like an almost oddly natural fit for Tomlinson, too, as he smashes through the more intense vocal delivery with stunning aplomb – he’s a bonafide rocker, and Out Of My System shows he’s much better suited to reign in this world than in bubblegum pop.
On his upcoming Australian tour, Tomlinson will play three of the biggest and most renowned venues in the country – two in the open air (sorry, Sydney) – and this is the exact kind of song those venues were built for: a rip-roaring anthem-in-the-making that no sane human could stand still (or, God forbid, sit) for.
LOUIS TOMLINSON 2024 AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Sunday January 28 – Naarm/Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Tuesday January 30 – Meanjin/Brisbane, Riverstage
Friday February 2 – Eora/Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena
Presale: vodafone.com.au/ticket
Tickets: livenation.com.au
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