#the album is so pete wentz lives in la !!!

[thekidsare-not-alright]

sometimes I remember that the first time I listened to SMFS (besides LFTOS and HBFSG of course) was in Chicago. wild

#it's got nothing to do with chicago!!!!!! #the album is so pete wentz lives in la !!! #but!!!!!! YKNOW?!!!!!!/1? #fall out boy #fob #pete wentz #patrick stump #joe trohman #andy hurley #smfs #gaHhhHHHHHHHHHh #i literally sat on my friend's recliner and cried with them up on youtube. #I think I specifically remember crying during kinstugi kid. but in my defense I had been dumped three weeks prior LOL

[fuck-showers-in-general]

d. do you want to tell us about the history of panic at the disco. i feel like you want to do that.

YES I DO (small unreality cw for a few of the jokes i make in this)

so back in like 2005. this emo boy from suburban nevada named ryan ross and his childhood friend slash the only drummer he knew (spencer smith) decided to start a band together called pet salamander. they also got this other guy named brent wilson to play keyboard but brent is a bitch and they kicked him out after the first album so this is the first and last time you will hear me mention him. ryan was singing, playing guitar, and writing music, which was a lot of work for a depressed teenager in his first band ever, so they ended up trying to find someone else to either play guitar or sing, and end up putting out an ad in some newspaper or something. up turns this kid named brendon urie! he can do both. they end up just having him sing though, because ryan still wants to play guitar. it was also some time around this that they realized pet salamander was a stupid ass band name, so they changed it to panic! at the disco. and thus the most band of all time was born.

ryan, pretty much by himself, writes an album called a fever you can't sweat out, which takes heavy inspiration from chuck palahnuik (im totally spelling his name wrong but idc), moulin rouge, and ryan's own childhood living just outside las vegas. it toes the line between pop punk and cabaret goth, or more accurately pirouettes along the tightrope between them. it is a picturesque score of scandals, sins (not tragedies), classic literature, dark circus couture, and a troubled childhood. it still genuinely astounds me that this album was made by a bunch of teenagers. it is an absolute fucking masterpiece. panic! records a few demos, and then gets the bright idea that "hey, ryan's a huge fan of fall out boy, right? that pop punk band from chicago that's really popular right now? like, he's super obsessed with pete wentz's writing. and pete is really active on social media. what if we shot him a few demos?"

and what does peter lewis kingston wentz the motherfucking third, known lacker of common sense, do?

he makes an entire fucking record label just to sign panic!.

ma'am what.

pete decides to start decaydance records, a sublabel of fueled by ramen, and signs a bunch of his friends' bands, along with these random kids from nevada, because he thinks they have potential or whatever. panic! fully records afycso, and releases it on september 27th, 2005. it becomes a smash hit near immediately, and i write sins not tragedies remains to this day a staple of 2000's emo hits. and what, logically, do they do after this? well, first, they go on the nothing rhymes with circus tour, which i would have absolutely killed to get tickets to had i been, like, alive at the time. but after that they, of course, get this guy named jon walker to join the band as a bassist, take the exclamation point out of their name and retreat into the mountains to hotbox a cabin and write a classic rock album. of course. perfectly logical next move. ...look, they swore to shake it up and we swore to listen. this is on us.

some time in mid to late 2006, panic emerges from the mountains with an album called cricket and clover. after recording demos for pretty much the whole album, they realize, oh, we totally cannot release this. so they rework it into an album called pretty. odd., which is an absolute masterpiece. i don't understand why people don't like it. it's so fucking good. if pretty. odd. has 10000 fans i am one of them if pretty. odd. has 10 fans i am one of them if pretty. odd. has 1 fan it is me if pretty. odd. has no fans i am dead. i don't have as much eloquent stuff to say about p.o. as i do with afycso. i just really like it.

[bad wilbur soot impression] it was at this point that brendon decided to become a problem.

so ryan was struggling with a lot of mental health issues right? you would expect your bandmates, especially the one you trusted to sing the lyrics you expressed and processed a lot of those mental health issues with, to not make fun of you for that, right? you would think? brendon did not think. ever. that man has not had a thought in his life and i mean that as an insult. things get so bad eventually that panic splits in half, with ryan and jon splitting off to form a band called the young veins that released one album in 2010 and then broke up, and spencer and brendon being left with the record deal but being explicitly told by ryan to not use the name panic at the disco. which, technically, they didn't. they went back to panic! at the disco. but still. dick move, man.

panic! is still touring pretty. odd. at this point (late 2009), so they need some touring musicians, because they no longer have a bassist or a guitarist. so they hire. i believe ian crawford? but don't quote me on that. as a guitarist, and, more importantly, dallon weekes as a bassist. dallon becomes a full member of the band soon after, because they flat out don't have a bassist anymore, nor a songwriter, but dallon just so happens to have written music for a (very good) band called the brobecks since before panic! at the disco was even a twinkle in poor ryan's eye. justice for ryan ross. but dallon writes an album called vices & virtues, featuring a couple of songs (mostly bonus tracks) from our good friend pwentz, a song brendon wrote about his wife (the worst song on the album honestly), and like half a song left over that ryan wrote when he was still in panic!. which makes vices & virtues the only panic! album that has had every official panic! songwriter on it. four of them. what is wrong with this band. v&v is a fucking amazing album though. i love it so much.

after that, dallon gets to work on panic!'s fourth album, too weird to live, too rare to die!. his original draft is a fucking masterpiece, but unfortunately most of it never sees the light of day (as in, basically nothing minus all the boys, a demo of far too young to die, and the original lyrics to vegas lights) because brendon comes in and ruins the whole thing and turns it into a marketable alt pop album. as he does. justice for dallon weekes. justice for anyone who has ever interacted with brendon ever actually. twtltrtd is still an amazing album, don't get me wrong. just not as good as it would have been without brendon's meddling. i may be a little bitter.

dallon, inevitably, leaves the band, because not only has brendon been fucking up his writing, he's been harassing him, harassing his wife, and on top of it all, paying him so little he had to get a second job to support his family. spencer also leaves, for unclear reasons. so brendon's got three albums left on a record deal for a band that no longer exists. what does he decide to do? pretend the band still exists and is more than just him, of course. this band and its associates have a history of logical decision making and everything they have ever done was a good idea. of course. he releases an album called death of a bachelor in 2016, which was actually pretty good. you will come to see this is a fluke.

two years later, in 2018, brendon! at the disco releases their sixth album, pray for the wicked, which had like four good songs on it total. however, something much more important happened that year. see, something had been happening in the shadows of salt lake city. someone had been plotting. playing shows. a band that didn't exist had been popping up around, with a disturbingly long name. were they here from the past? were they, perhaps, back from the future? we'll never know. all we know is that the band consisted of dallon weekes, a man* who definitely had no connection to panic! at the disco, and ryan seaman, a man who definitely had no connection to falling in reverse. both of whom had dubious connections to the brobecks. and in 2018, they released their first single, a song called modern day cain.

THATS RIGHT THIS POST IS ABOUT I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME NOW BBY

iDKHOW ended up also releasing their first EP in 2018, called 1981 extended play. it is an absolute masterpiece. i did not care that it was 6 songs, i listened to those 6 songs on loop for months on end. they did not release a full album until 2020. so clearly those months turned into years at some point. i lost track. their first album, called RAZZMATAZZ, came out in october of 2020, after making everyone wait way too fucking long for a full album. you may recognize that album name. that is because it's my name. i am way too obsessed with this band. they haven't been around for very long, so they don't have much history for me to infodump yet, but i am very proud to say i was one of their first fans, and i'll be a fan until the day i die.

nowadays, jon's still releasing solo music (also we are tiktok mutuals), ryan is a hermit, dallon was never in panic! at the disco at all why am i mentioning him, and brendon released an album called viva las vengeance that bombed so hard he announced the formal disbandment of panic! at the disco last month. the evil is defeated. thanks for coming to the circus, everyone. you can go home now.

[quispy-quisp]

AFYCSO vs VLV, what... even...

disclaimer: this is just a really totally biased kind of "deep-dive" into the difference between AFYCSO & VLV. yes I know there's a 17 year gap between these albums but it's such a stark contrast I can't not talk about how crazy it is to me!! (this is gonna be a long ass post lmao sorry) Panic! At The Disco and my feelings about the band

Growing up I was definitely into TWTLTRTD & DOAB era Panic! (blame my yeemo phase) but now that I'm a little older I think that AFYCSO & Pretty. Odd. are some of my all-time favourite albums. Nothing Panic ever put out pre-split makes me feel how Ryan Ross's lyrics did and every song off AFYCSO is very close to my heart. I am also a pretty avid disliker of Pray For The Wicked so just keep that in mind. All things Fever A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was released on September 27th 2005 with band members Brendon Urie, Spencer Smith, Ryan Ross, & Brent Wilson from Las Vegas. Their first album for the most part was received with a pretty mixed reaction, they were praised for not really sounding like anything there was at the time (there still isn't a band that sounds just like early Panic did) but criticized for their extremely lucky break by being signed to DCD2 which was a newly formed label owned by Pete Wentz & Patrick Stump as an off-shoot of Fueled By Ramen. In terms of sound, it's kind of hard for me to classify but there are very theatrical elements to most of the songs on that album. The album is split into two distinct sounds of music with the first half of the album being more dance-oriented and the second half being a lot more "emo" Ryan Ross, who was the main lyricist for this album, takes a lot of inspiration from author Chuck Palahniuk and his own personal experiences with infidelity & his relationship with his father. I honestly love this album I don't really have anything bad to say about it. I think Camisado & Build God, Then We'll Talk are some of my favourite songs ever so if you haven't listened to this album yet I can't recommend it enough.

Viva Las Vengeance

I don't know much about this album, unfortunately, I've listened to it ONCE but I can tell that I'm not the biggest fan of a lot of this album, it was released on August 19th 2022 under the artist name Panic! at the disco even though it's been just Brendon for a good amount of time now (that's a whole other can of worms).

From what I've read about the lyrics I think this is supposed to be a concept album but whatever the concept or underlying story is it's lost on me. I do like that they brought back the more orchestral/theatrical feel of the first albums but it still falls flat for me.

Brendon's lyrics to me feel very surface-level and almost rudimentary but I will say that Don't Let the Light Go Out is kind of a banger.

A good chunk of the time when a certain lyric is repeated at the beginning of the album and then repeated at the end, it symbolizes some sort of change in the perspective, for example, one of my other favourite albums Armor For Sleep's What To Do When You're Dead repeats the lyric "don't believe that the weather is perfect the day that you die" showing that the narrator for the album (who dies in the first song) has given up on trying to get the people who are living to hear him, in contrast to the beginning where he feels like he needs these people still (if that makes sense lol).

Brendon I feel tries to do something similar with the lyric "shut up and go to bed" repeating in the first and final track but I still really don't know what this is supposed to symbolize. it feels like there was no growth in this which makes it a lot harder for me to grasp what this album is about. Another thing I really did not enjoy about this album was the use of an 8-track tape, most if not all modern artists use auto-tune and that was really something that was lacking in this album. Brendon has always been known as the guy with the voice, with the decision to use the 8-track tape, it means you can't really auto-tune (as far as I know I might be wrong) and you can hear that Brendon is struggling to hit a good chunk of these high notes which makes some songs a lot more difficult to listen to and makes Brendon's voice a lot less palatable.

One thing I did notice in at least Middle Of A Breakup and Sad Clown is that there's this build-up for a big drop that just doesn't happen and it really throws me off. Some of these songs could be a lot better if they followed a more standard composition because without it they just sound a little wonky/off. And my last gripe with this album is Local God. If this isn't about Dallon Weekes and Ryan Ross I genuinely do not know what on earth this is supposed to be? It is extremely disrespectful to reduce two extremely creative people that you used to be close with to has-beens and "local gods". if this song is supposed to be a sincere song, then I think it may be a little tone-deaf and inappropriate especially as Ryan Ross is one of the main people responsible for Panic! At The Disco even being a thing, and Dallon Weekes being one of the most genuinely creative artists I've seen in a while. What Happened? Not only do I think the passage of time really affected the sound of Panic albums I also think the loss of the original lineup hurt the band's sound. I don't think everything post-split is bad but there's just something about the first two albums that are unmatched compared to everything else in their discography. even when Brendon is going for a more authentic sound using the 8-track tape, it still sounds wildly corporate to me and I think that's why I love the first 2 albums. I know emo doesn't really sell anymore but going the pop root honestly made me a lot less interested in panic than I was growing up. This album more than anything just made me miss pre-split more than I already do and really disappointed in Brendon for continuing the Panic! At The Disco name after everyone had left. It's really sad knowing most people only see Panic as Brendon when it was so much more back in the 2000s.

Anyway, that's the end of my post thanks for reading this, remember this is just my opinion I'd love to know what you think so shoot me a DM or comment whatever. Listen to AFYCSO and don't listen to Viva Las Vengeance for the love of god. Have a good night!!

#pre split panic #brendon urie #ryan ross #pre split patd #afycso #panic! at the disco #viva las vengeance #dallon week #long post

[popentertainmentconcertreviews]

Fall Out Boy, Bring Me the Horizon, Royal and the Serpent & Games We Play – BB&T Pavilion – Camden, NJ – August 6, 2023

Stardust and Spectacle: Fall Out Boy’s Unforgettable Night in Camden on the So Much for (Tour) Dust Finale.

Fall Out Boy brought an explosive performance to Camden, New Jersey on the final show of their So Much for (Tour) Dust. Under an 80-degree sun, the band delivered an almost sold-out spectacle at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, a venue in the New Jersey and Philly area, on Sunday, August 6th. With a set lasting an impressive 1 hour and 50 minutes, they played classics from the band's first days as well as tracks from their latest album. The band concluded their two-month-long US tour on a high note, heading next for Japan.

The evening commenced at 6:30pm with the first opening act, the Los Angeles-based band Games We Play. Their super fun and energetic show included three original songs, among them their latest release "All My Untalented Friends (ooo la la)," along with a cover of The Killers' "Mr. Brightside." Their performance ignited the audience and set the tone for an interactive and enjoyable evening.

Shortly after, at 7 pm, Royal and the Serpent took the stage for a 25-minute set, featuring some of their biggest hits like "Nation Underdogs" and "Overwhelmed." The band delivered a stunning rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," showcasing the lead singer's and New Jersey native Ryan Santiago’s incredible vocals. They wrapped up their set by expressing that this had been the best summer of their lives, having the privilege to perform alongside some of their favorite bands.

Building on the success of Royal and the Serpent's performance, the British band Bring Me the Horizon took the stage, starting their set with "amEN!" and captivating the crowd with hits like "Happy Song," "Can You Feel My Heart," and "Drown." Lead singer Oliver Sykes even ventured into the audience during "Drown," making fans further from the stage feel included. The band expressed gratitude to Fall Out Boy for being one of their favorite bands and sharing the stage with them. Their electrifying set concluded with the hit "Throne."

At 9:10 pm, Fall Out Boy emerged on stage, delivering the highly anticipated and unforgettable show that everyone had been eagerly awaiting. Making their return to the Philly area after the 2021 Hella Mega Tour with Green Day and Weezer, Fall Out Boy gave Camden a night to remember. With pyrotechnics, dazzling light displays, stage changes, and fiery effects, they treated the Camden waterfront to a 1 hour and 50-minute spectacle.

The performance kicked off with an intro of "We Didn't Start the Fire," followed by the band playing the lead single from their latest album So Much (for) Stardust, titled "Love from the Other Side."

Their set list, consisting of 30 songs, included five tracks from their newest album released in March 2023, such as "Fake Out," "Baby Annihilation," and "Hold Me Like a Grudge," as well as timeless hits like "Dance, Dance" "Thnks fr th Mmrs," and "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark." Fall Out Boy enthralled the crowd with pyrotechnics, fire, smoke, magic tricks and surprises, such as inviting Ryan Santiago, Royal and the Serpent’s lead singer on stage to perform "Dead on Arrival,” which she then said was her favorite Fall Out Boy song.

The Chicago band also treated the audience to a cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and a partial cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman." In a delightful twist, they played two additional songs compared to the rest of the tour. Unexpected moments included a magic 8 ball on the screen, with Pete Wentz asking questions like "What song should we play next?” The highlight was the live debut of "Pavlove."

The lead singer also took to the piano to deliver a captivating performance of "Save Rock and Roll," and a medley of ‘’Jet Pack Blues / I’ve Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song) / Golden.” Concluding the night with "Saturday" from their second album, the band left the audience in awe. Amidst magical props, a giant dog head on stage, fire, bubbles, and smoke, Patrick Stump's remarkable vocals, Pete's exciting speeches, and the crowd's energy combined to create an unforgettable night. A mix of nostalgia, electricity, and enthusiasm filled the summer night at the Camden waterfront, marking the conclusion of the US leg of the So Much for (Tour) Dust.

Brenda Franco

Copyright ©2023 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: August 8, 2023.

Photos by Kaylee Marie © 2023. All rights reserved.

#Fall Out Boy #Bring Me the Horizon #2023 #BB&T Pavilion #Camden #Brenda Falco #Kaylee Marie #Concert Reviews

[freakwiththeknifecollection]

can you please tell me your panic! favourites 🥺 maybe song per album because i know how hard this is dhjsjdjdkd

THIS IS ALWAYS MY FAVORITE QUESTION YES

Favorite per album:

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

Time to Dance

Pretty. Odd.

Northern Downpour

Vices & Virtues

Trade Mistakes (this, memories, and ready to go are my faves from this album. But I have to go with trade mistakes I think probably because Pete Wentz was one of the co-writers of the song and I just love his lyrical style. The nom de plume line has Pete written all over it)

Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!

Far Too Young to Die

Death of a Bachelor

HOUSE OF MEMORIES. BY FAR. MY NUMBER 1 FAVORITE PANIC SONG I'M SO NORMAL ABOUT IT (I have a fic named after this song lmao)

Pray for the Wicked

High Hopes !!

Viva Las Vengeance

(I just wanna say I LOVE this album I don't care what the haters say, it fucks from start to finish. A no skips album for me)

Don't Let the Light Go Out (this song is so!!!!! I'm OBSESSED with the lyrics it paints such a picture I looovvveee this song)

#Jo ❤ #answered #beloved mutuals #p!atd #panic! at the disco #about me #music

[souryogurt64]

begging for your thoughts on pax am days

i like pax am days, i think it has a lot of really good lyrics and the songs are really catchy! it all kind of runs together and its difficult to distinguish the songs from each other a la tttyg but thats to be totally expected from a 13 minute ep that was recorded in one day. overall i think its really underrated and really love it and the more pissy punk rock-y-ish sound. it feels like old fob but with some of the bitterness thats on srar and in the book and the god complex thats on infinity on high and mania the most.

i also love that it also started with ambient sound, i think that was such a cool thing fob did with every album back in the day, and i love that patrick is playing the role of a sleazy catcaller. i love when he does spoken bits in fob songs like yule shoot your eye out, i think hes actually quite good at it and often spoken intros can be corny but the characters they have patrick do are so unique its not shitty

patricks "king is dead" vs petes "long live the king" is one of my favorite moments in a fob song and i feel really showcases their dynamic

i also feel it has a lot of veeery Pete Wentz lyrics which i love. patrick and the rest of the band filter his vitriol and misanthropy a lot and give it a new flavor but it really comes through in some of their demos and this EP

"best looking pony in the glue factory," the whole "theyre not taking us alive" bit, "of all the pretty pretty miscalculations, you have got to be my all time favorite," "welcome to the demolition derby that is my heart," "i am your savior now and i am your secret too," "you get scared when you look at me cause im so fine? its me, love, mr superstar," all of caffeine cold but especially "dont breathe life into a monster then complain when he destroys it all again" like UWAHHH

[gothedrals]

definitely diff opinions on where patd goes bad, but id agree w the other anon in that first two albums w ryan are excellent (ive rlly enjoyed ur fever liveblogging btw, i also think the transition/interlude parts are the best). i personally love v&v bc it’s quite baroque and funky (and pete wentz helped write it so the lyrics are still good), and then too weird is pretty good and doab is alright - like they have their bops but they don’t quite hold up to earlier stuff.

personally i stopped listening after doab bc i fucking hated high hopes so much lmao i tried to listen to all of pray for the wicked but it’s just obvious where brendon was being carried by other songwriters, and where he’s left to his own devices. there’s a gr8 video essay i saw from mary mahoney who tried to take viva las vengeance seriously and GOD that album is a mess.. it’s a good watch if u end up listening through more of their discography bc then u have the context of. what the fuck went wrong.

honestly I’m excited to listen to even their bad stuff bc of the personal vendetta I’ve had against brendon urie since he butchered bohemian rhapsody. hater fuel <3 I’m glad you enjoyed the live-blogging lol I didn’t even mean to liveblog but I feel like I’ve started something that I need to fully throw myself into now. I’m getting so much varied feedback on which albums are good and bad so I guess I just have to see for myself

#ask g

[5ft2sunflower]

What Charli XCX’s Roblox Concert Reveals About the Future of the Music Industry

The music business is setting its eyes on the wildly popular tween gaming universe. But what are concerts inside Roblox actually like?

Two Fridays ago, I rode a hoverboard around a giant facsimile of Charli XCX’s body and bounced on a smartphone as if it were a trampoline. This all happened in Samsung’s Superstar Galaxy, a virtual concert experience featuring the pop star, staged in the online games platform Roblox to promote a silly-looking flip phone. For five weeks before the performance, participants could roam around a gleaming white space station, completing mini-challenges in order to unlock virtual prizes like a Charli XCX cheerleader uniform. My avatar, one of the platform’s default characters, looked like an emoticon version of Pete Wentz in a beanie, shaggy hair, and a pizza sweatshirt. It took a “selfie” in an in-game photo booth, did the “running man” in a neon arena called “Cyber City,” and encountered a Lego-style fellow in a red shirt who asked questions like, “How do you think your friends would feel about you having a Samsung phone?”

To understand why Charli XCX agreed to perform in this setting in the first place, consider this: Half of America’s children play Roblox, making it one of contemporary society’s most formidable youth culture engines. It’s not a standalone game like Elden Ring or Zelda; it’s more of a storefront and creation platform, where users can develop a wide range of virtual experiences and share them with millions of other users. “Anyone can make their own game there, so it’s more akin to YouTube,” Polygon writer and Roblox reporter Ana Diaz tells me.

Because its applications are so open-ended, it is one of the major frontiers of the metaverse, even if it’s branded for kids. Spotify launched its own island in Roblox, recently unveiling a K-pop-themed theme park. The Recording Academy hosted a Las Vegas-themed Grammy Week there. Charli XCX was only the latest in a succession of major artists to play on the platform, including twenty one pilots, Lizzo, and Lil Nas X, whose 2020 concert gathered 33 million views. If all goes smoothly, artists can reach a new generation of listeners and trigger a secondary layer of content creation, as Roblox-centric Twitch streamers, YouTubers, and TikTokers rush to append their own commentary.

Roblox activations are part of the music industry’s larger push into gaming, which accelerated during the pandemic amid the loss of live shows and led to supercharged endeavors like Travis Scott’s Fortnite world tour. Gaming hasn’t provided the music industry a temporary fix so much as the opportunity to rethink its entire financial strategy.

A 2021 report by the UK research firm MIDia summarizes the difference between the gaming and music sectors as rooted in its audience’s willingness to spend money: “As music fans expect to consume ever more new music for the same all-access price, gamers dive deeply into the games and platforms they obsess about–spending as much time and money as they can afford.” Essentially, while your average music consumer might not feel compelled to invest beyond a Spotify subscription or a one-time concert ticket, gamers are constantly making small purchases—a new skin, bonus features—to unlock new experiences and amp up their engagement. (They also stream music at twice the rate of your average consumer and are more likely to buy music merch.)

Artists who’ve sold digital accessories within Roblox have seen a big payoff. Within six months of hosting a “Dance Party” in Roblox to promote her album Poster Girl, Swedish pop star Zara Larsson made over a million dollars off the sale of virtual merchandise, including a neon cowboy hat, flower crown, and Zara Larsson-branded face mask. Looking at my cheugy, 2000s-hipster default avatar, I could understand why someone would buy virtual swag—you might as well look cute online if you’re spending time there, just as you would want to in real life. “The nice thing about it is that exposure isn’t limited to that one-time event,” Diaz says. “People will continue to wear those items on their avatars throughout other games, and it will ripple outwards.”

The Charli show itself was bizarre and messy, like the fever dream of a sadistic gay fan. A large digital Charli emerged in a black minidress and boots—the singer’s real movements were broadcast in-game via motion capture suit—and stomped around to her song “Good Ones” while little avatars scuttled near her feet. (Step on me Charli!) If the HAIM sisters and Dua Lipa got shit for their wooden dancing, Charli’s avatar was like a character from Toy Story. Glitches abounded: At some point there were two versions of the British pop star, one levitating motionlessly in a T-pose while the other prowled around awkwardly. Multiple recorded tracks would play at once, worsening fatigue from an already-limited song selection. I attempted to talk to other viewers in the chat by asking whether they liked Caroline Polachek, but the phrase “Caroline Polachek” was inexplicably censored.

“Concerts like this usually get a little messy,” a 15-year-old Charli fan and Roblox player named James told me. Ava Max’s avatar fell into lava at her Heaven & Hell launch party. Zara Larrson said “I fucking love rhubarbs” at her event, even though swearing to an audience of children violates the terms of service. This time, a stan war broke out in James’ server (“CHARLI OUTSOLD FLOPKANYE”), and people in mine tossed digs at Samsung (“Apple outsold.”) Viewers observed Charli from odd angles, basically getting upskirt shots in what I assume was a programming malfunction, and while the avatars were on hoverboards, they were able to zip through her body as if she were a ghost.

To put it euphemistically, Roblox concerts tend to be more interactive than your average live show. Obstacle courses, quests, and the opportunity to survey the virtual landscape keep players immersed. According to Josh Neuman, the president of Roblox-centric development studio MELON, Roblox offers the opportunity for artists to invest in more permanent experiences: “Destinations can continue to be updated and refreshed, and then artists can continue to feed music and experiences through the platform. The next time you want to put a song out, you’d come back and create gamification around the theme of that song.” Imagine if Taylor Swift, whose fans are already always on a wild goose chase for Easter eggs, had her own Roblox universe—the Swifties would never log off.

All of this might leave out smaller artists, who don’t have the fame and financial resources to generate a dazzling virtual experience inside of Roblox. According to Neuman, MELON is creating their own world on the platform, which would have multiple tiers of music programming: “We’ll be able to include artists at all different levels as long as the music is compliant with the platform.” This is how I imagine the Spotify Island will eventually operate, with users being able to discover new music by wandering around different parts of the space—not that dissimilar from finding a new song on a playlist, and raising the same questions about which artists are prioritized during curation.

That might require some complicated licensing negotiations; last September, Roblox settled a $200 million lawsuit from the National Music Publishers’ Association over copyright concerns. There are other issues artists and developers will have to contend with, like content moderation and navigating the balance between authentic expression and catering to kids who only know one TikTok hit. “We’re in the brave new world,” Neuman says—and for now, that new world looks like Charli XCX cosplaying Jesus Christ nailed to a virtual cross.

[brendonuriegotcancelled]

Crush Music Management

Crush Music is a New York City and Los Angeles-based musician management company that manages Sia, Green Day, Panic! at the Disco, Lorde, Train, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy amongst others. The company was founded by Jonathan Daniel, formerly of Electric Angels and several other glam rock bands, and Bob McLynn, formerly of The Step Kings. 

Jonathan Daniel founded Crush Music in 2002. I wont get into every detail about A&R, Music Distribution and the business of music because it’s only somewhat relevant in the purpose of this post. To make this make sense to you (and me) I’ll give a quick run down. Crush Management manages some of the musicians on Fueled by Ramen’s Label. Fueled by Ramen is a subsidiary label of Atlantic Records. They mostly use the big guns like Atlantic, WMG etc for Marketing and Distribution. We know that Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy signed Panic! at the Disco to his own subsidiary label of DCD2 (formerly Decaydance Records) in 2004. DCD2 is a subsidiary of Fueled by Ramen. Make sense so far? Well, FBR moved fresh out of marketing, Scott Nagelberg, to a manager position with FBR as Panic! at the Disco’s manager. Scott has been around for a long time but the first time anyone publicly saw him was in 2006.

It is tagged quite fittingly as “Brendon Urie and guest” (I am spicy today)

I am talking about Crush Management because I think a lot of people were pretty upset when the drama of 2020 was ignored by them, to the point of them blocking people for only inquiring. However, they were harassed pretty heavily and there was probably a purpose to staying quiet. I think the purpose was that if Zack was to apologize for his behavior publicly, it would be an admission of guilt on EVERYTHING (because that’s how the internet works, right? and I am guessing that Crush Management did not see that as a wise move.) But don’t worry....there are other reasons we don’t like Crush Management.

What holds Brendon to Crush is over a decade of loyalty & writers/producers that he’s comfortable working with on the Crush roster.

Examples: Suzy Shinn, Jake Sinclair, Morgan Kibby.

I don’t think he will ever LEAVE that management, however I do think he needs to be clear about things he wants with them, and I think he needs to put his foot down in terms of what he will and won’t do. Which started to happen at the end of 2019 and into 2020.

Let’s talk about the thing that bothers me the least and gradually move on to the thing that REALLY made me not like Crush.

Fame is the Thirst of Youth vs Pray for the Wicked

While I can’t entirely blame Crush for this, I think that he and the rest of CM were the one’s that opted to have ‘Pray for the Wicked’ as the album name for marketing purposes. Below is an article from the UK Independant

Panic! At The Disco frontman talks new album 'Pray For The Wicked', Broadway, and why LA is 'the best and f**king worst place in the world'

Panic! At The Disco‘s new album Pray For The Wicked was originally going to be named after a Lord Byron quote: “Fame is the thirst of youth.” Frontman Brendon Urie played with the idea, but ultimately decided that it didn’t touch enough on what the album is about.

“My despair at the current state of the world, and wanting to reflect back on my childhood...” the 31-year-old explains. “I thought it was a really beautiful line, but I’m definitely not as thirsty anymore, not as youthful... and that shit doesn’t matter to me anymore. Fame, all that shit, is a by-product of the things I really care about.”

On Pray For The Wicked, which might be Panic!’s best album yet – certainly the most well-produced and thought-out; Urie explores those themes of hedonism and guilt that are present both in his upbringing as a Mormon, and in the town in which he now resides. It certainly sounds like he had fun making it.“That’s how I live my life – I feel if I’m doing harm to somebody then I’m not a good person, but if I’m not, then where’s the harm in that?” he asks. “If I’m doing the things I enjoy, how could that be bad?”

Even the cover provokes devilish imagery, recalling a scene from the recently-revived, LA-based series Lucifer, with its titular character watching over his city of sinners (“Sure, I’m the devil,” Urie chuckles). 

“The things I’m talking about are definitely from the past couple of years, but I also wanted to link it to my childhood, think about my past and who I used to think I was, maybe romanticise some of the memories, and essentially wonder: ‘How did I get here, why am I still here?’ What it comes down to is: I love what I do, and if I didn’t then I wouldn’t still be doing this.”

Closing the album is a song called “Dying In LA” – a piano ballad which ends things in a highly unexpected and poignant way. Urie wrote the track with Morgan Kibby (”one of my favourite people”), and once it was “pretty much done” spent time speaking about what each lyric meant to them.“It was that thing when you’re not one of the top 3 artists on your label, nobody gives a fuck, so at times it feels like you could be dying in LA and nobody would care, but who gives a shit?” he says. “It doesn’t matter, everything relies on you. So that’s a little sombre note to the end of the album which I love, because the rest of the album is so high energy, and it’s good to have that juxtaposition. “LA is the best and also the worst f**king place in the world,” he adds. ”It has given me the most opportunities I’ve ever had, and has amazing networks and people to hang out with, and great weather, but also the worst people: selfish, out to get you, f**k you over, don’t give a s**t, don’t-have-any-real emotions people. It’s a very seductive town, you get here with hopes and dreams, see the stars on the boulevard...But I don’t want to rely on a town. I want to bring something to the table that actually matters.” 

Here are a few videos of Brendon talking about the tentative title and fame.

This theme runs throughout the entire album and I am unsure why he chose to go with Pray for the Wicked but as I said before, I believe it was because it was marketable and that’s what was suggested to him by management. I believe he had some internal turmoil about it as well, saying that he felt pretentious in wanting to use it.

Kinky Boots

This clip kinda speaks for itself but in several interviews, Scott is mentioned as the one who brought the role to Brendon and convinced him to do it. In this particular clip Brendon let’s it slip that Scotty didn’t want him to take it because he wasn’t going to be making any money. The truth is usually what you accidentally let slip. I believe this, 100%. Management; no matter who they are working for, are far more committed to anything that is going to make the artist more money because it makes THEM more money.

This is a perfect Segway into 2019/2020.

PFTW TOUR & After

Just a timeline of events to keep in mind before this final segment.

2016

Death of a Bachelor release, tour, Grammys & collab work, Award Shows, Music Videos, Photoshoots, Press etc.

2017

Kinky Boots while still working on music in his dressing room. Brendon took on several Broadway shows a week while working on what would be Pray For The Wicked.

2018

Pop-up shows, Pray For the Wicked release, Music Videos being made, Pray for the Wicked tour leg 1 & 2 leading into 2019

2019

“THEY HAD TO CUT MY DOOR”

Taylor Swift collab & tour still. At this point Brendon has been working constantly for 4 years straight. Brendon is absolutely exhausted. While on twitch he talks about the last day of tour and how they had to bolt cut his door open because he fell asleep so hard due to exhaustion. The only person that cared enough to get the venue to break the door was Zack. Zack thought Brendon was dead. This is the one that makes me the angriest. Management booked him so many shows at the end of tour even when he explicitly asked them not to do that.

https://youtu.be/5J82WiwaUWU

After Brendon’s collab with Taylor Swift and while he was trying to rest, he was getting consistent offers to work which were brought to him by Scott. He would refuse these, categorically. Here are a few videos of Brendon talking about it. We know his feelings on what fame is to him, and how it means absolutely nothing. To Brendon right now fame = more work, more crazy situations he’s put into, and more privacy being taken away. The man is fickle enough already but it was clear towards the end of the 2019 that he wanted to fade out for a while. Unfortunately being cancelled wasn’t the fun way to do it. I think he was exhausted emotionally & physically. So in a lot of ways I am glad that he has taken the time away from the spotlight. It had a detrimentally draining effect on his life and view of what he loved.

“I want people to forget about me”

“I’m not workin’ I’m not doing shit, I’m not reading a thing, I’m not…auditioning, I’m not”

Brendon is a stubborn man without pressure but the more you ask him to do something the less he’s gonna wanna do it. Especially if it’s something that exhausts him.

By the end of 2019 he was DONE and needed to rest. Fame=strain.

I could have gone into a little more depth with all this and I think we’re all pretty upset about how his cancellation was dealt with by management.

Thank you for reading the second part of my series. A very happy birthday to the king himself. I hope he is lounging with the people he loves and not texting his manager back.

#brendon urie #crush management #Scott nagelberg #fueled by ramen #dcd2

[tameila]

April Week Two Albums.

April 11th: Ma Fleur, The Cinematic Orchestra

familiarity: Was in the mood for some orchestral flourishes on this fine Monday and went, “You know what always sounded right up my alley but I only ever listened to one of their songs? The Cinematic Orchestra”. So, anyway, here we are!

favorite(s) before listen: To Build a Home

favorite(s) after listen: To Build a Home, That Home, Music Box, Time and Space

April 12th: London Calling, The Clash

familiarity: I would say that I know all of The Clash’s hits  but I have never sat down and actually listened to one of their albums. recommended by @jabletown​ 

favorite(s) before listen: London Calling, Lost in the Supermarket

favorite(s) after listen: London Calling, Lost in the Supermarket, Hateful, Wrong ‘Em Boyo

April 13th: Wet Leg, Wet Leg

familiarity: This album popped up in my Spotify recommendations and, after also having them pushed to me through my tiktok algorithms, it felt like a good time to check ‘em out

favorite(s) before listen: N/A

favorite(s) after listen: Chaise Longue, Angelica, Wet Dream, Ur Mom, Too Late Now

standout lyric: that part in “Ur Mom” where she’s like,”I’ve been working on my loudest and longest scream”? cathartic. wish that were me.

April 14th: ¡Viva la Cobra!, Cobra Starship

familiarity: Foreseeing a rough end to the week, I decided to revisit another old pop punk haunt that was also recommended to me by my best friend. Cobra Starship was never amongst my “favorites” of their era, but I saw them open for FoB once and their songs that I did love I loved very much, so it felt only natural that I should give them the “lemme see if I was missing something” treatment. Also, I meant to start with their first album but only realized halfway through this one that I’d chosen the wrong one. I was just eager to hear “Kiss My Sass”. That’s their best song.

favorite(s) before listen: The City Is at War, Guilty Pleasure, Kiss My Sass**, Damn You Look Good and I’m Drunk

favorite(s) after listen: The City Is at War, Guilty Pleasure, Kiss My Sass**, Angie, Prostitution Is the World’s Oldest Profession, My Moves Are White (White Hot, That Is)

additional notes: I love “Damn You Look Good and I’m Drunk”. I do. That “S-C-A-N-D to the A to the L-O-U-S” chant? iconic. but it has been forcibly removed from my favorites because I just can’t stomach the transphobia of the “VIP party boys” interlude these days

April 15th: While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets; Cobra Starship

familiarity: Cobra Starship’s New Jersey energy is so strong that, even though I never knew that they were from New Jersey...I knew.

favorite(s) before listen: Send My Love to the Dancefloor, Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)

favorite(s) after listen: Send My Love to the Dancefloor, Bring It (Snakes on a Plane), The Kids Are All Fucked Up, Keep It Simple

additional notes: I feel like this first album was very run-of-the-mill, standard pop punk. Like, if I didn’t know it was a Cobra Starship album, nothing about the lyrics or sound would have stood out to me as being their style. Their personality as a group really jumped out in their next two albums.

April 16th: Hot Mess, Cobra Starship

favorite(s) before listen: Good Girls Go Bad, Hot Mess

favorite(s) after listen: Good Girls Go Bad, Hot Mess, Nice Guys Finish Last, Pete Wentz is the Only Reason We’re Famous, Living in the Sky with Diamonds

April 17th: Night Shades, Cobra Starship

favorite(s) before listen: You Make Me Feel...

favorite(s) after listen: You Make Me Feel..., Anything for Love, Don’t Blame the World It’s the DJ’s Fault, Fucked in Love

additional notes: I never really got into this album and, if I had to guess, it’s because this album felt like a more matured version of their first and let go of the more campy, playful style that they embraced with their two middle albums. I just feel like this album had nothing to offer that I couldn’t get from any other pop punk album. A decent listen, but it’s a shame that this is the album that they finished off on.

#one album each day 2k22

[prettyoddfever]

Panic at the Disco at the 2008 Grammys

"We got one nomination, for an un-televised award. So we're gonna clean up.” – Spencer to MTV

The 2008 Grammys were on February 10th at the Staples Center in LA.  Panic at the Disco was nominated for “Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package” for the AFYCSO box set. So obviously that was all sorts of exciting.

here’s a tag for pictures from the event.

BEFORE THE GRAMMYS

A couple days earlier the band was at the Fuse pre-Grammy party. Pete Wentz DJed (how do you type the past tense of DJ lol) and Panic at the Disco played a short set. Alt Press was shadowing the band at that time, so their spring cover article mentioned:

“It’s the week before the Grammys and folks are lining up behind the barricades in front of the Goa Super Club in West Hollywod where Fuse is holding its awards-show event…Panic at the Disco are about to play a brief set, their first public appearance in more than a year.” (side note from me: THAT LAST PART IS NOT EVEN REMOTELY ACCURATE – the article had several big errors). “...When the songs end, the applause is minimal, but this doesn’t seem to matter to Panic. Neither does hanging out with celebutard dilettantes: shortly after midnight, the four of them take a cab back to their hotel, where they close out the night by watching music DVDs in Ross’ room.”

There were a few videos from this day... did anyone save those? I’m not seeing them in my hard drive or on youtube anymore. One blessed us with these expressions:

MTV asked the band before the Grammys if they’d be going to any parties afterwards and Ryan said "There's a few parties. We never really get invited to hang out at them. Also, who knows if Brendon will be able to go.” (Brendon & Spencer weren’t 21 yet).

AT THE GRAMMYS

spinner.com was live blogging the red carpet and said “6:46 pm: Panic at the Disco are bringing awkward back.”

Many blogs & news sites didn’t seem to know why PATD was even there... a few guessed it was to promote the new album that was coming out next month.

the band made lists for best-dressed and worst-dressed.

Jon’s vest at the Grammys was made by Anthony Franco.

the band sounded like they really didn’t enjoy their experience at the Grammys... I thought this Miley Cyrus moment summed up how they were treated.

Ryan told Alt Press: “We had to stand around outside looking like idiots due to some miscommunication about our credentials. We did the red carpet, and then we were asked how it felt to be not that famous and not yet really a mainstream band, but still be attending the Grammys. I said ‘It wasn’t my idea, I didn’t want to come to this.’”

Spencer told Kerrang that “We realized that sitting in an arena for three hours surrounded by people in suits wasn't going to add up to a good time.”

Alt Press wrote that “The band didn’t even stick around for the proceedings, instead going back to the hotel early. Although Ross admits the highlight of his evening was watching Ringo Starr walk into the Staples Center.”

So the guys went back to their hotel to hang out and then they did this interview in their bath robes the next day.

here are some moments from the red carpet & before the event:

I love Spencer’s reaction at 00:25 when they’re asked about the missing exclamation mark yet again... he’s like nope I’m done:

Brendon & Jon look hilariously tiny:

THE MAIN POST

#spring08

[benzeneteen]

i see people raving about cobra starship and like i love the band the whole vibe of it seems really rad but i have yet to listen to their music, ive heard pete wentz is the only reason we’re famous but that’s it. i feel like i’m missing out, so if you want to you mind sharing some of your favs?

listen to basically like. all of viva la cobra and some personal favs from other albums are like,, being from jersey means never having to say you’re sorry, you belong to me, fucked in love, fool like me, hot mess, scene is dead/long live the scene, nice guys finish last :)

sorry if that’s a lot lol

#asks

[thecynical-idealist]

2020 Year In Review

I was tagged by the one and only @classical-vanity - thank you darling dear!!

Rules: answer the questions about 2020 and tag some people to pass it on.

5 favourite films you watched in 2020:

- Mulholland Drive, dir. David Lynch

- She’s Funny That Way, dir. Peter Bogdanovich

- F For Fake, dir. Orson Welles

- Black Swan, dir. Darren Aronofsky

- Curiosa, dir. Lou Jeunet

+

- Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu, dir. Céline Sciamma

5 favourite tv shows you watched in 2020:

- Big Little Lies, dir. Jean Marc Vallée

- Sharp Objects, dir. Jean Marc Vallée

- Rewatching Fleabag and Killing Eve because self-care

+ I enjoyed the lightness of Emily in Paris.

5 favourite songs you listened in 2020:

- Hurricane, 30 Seconds to Mars

- All My Tomorrows, Frank Sinatra

- Watermelon Sugar, HS

- Blinding Lights, The Weeknd

- The One That You Love, LP.

Top 5 albums of the year:

Not really listened to full albums except for Harry’s Fine Line.

Top 5 books you’ve read in 2020:

- Antigonick, Anne Carson/Sophocles

- Oedipus rex, Sophocles

- Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn (!!!!!!!!)

- Gray, Pete Wentz

And that’s pretty much it, as B. said, I read trash too, plus I couldn’t always focus.

How did you spend your birthday this year?

Awfully. I think one of the worst birthdays. Won’t go any further but to put it mildly I ended up crying on the kitchen floor and after a while my parents found me. My shrink at the phone urging to call an ambulance. 

What was your most  memorable day this year?

Not day but moments: coffee at the Florian in Venice. San Marco at night. Rosie Huntington Witheley noticing my book! Starting my masters. Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia in Trieste, at night - so majestic and so royal. 

What was your most memorable meal this year?

Aside from that 20 euros coffee at the Florian, a carbon pizza in Trieste with wild olives, cherry tomatoes, creamy cheese and bottarga. Mmmhh sooo good.

Did you find any new hobbies or interests in quarantine?

Online shopping?

5 good/positive things that happened to you in 2020:

See above at Most memorable moments and meal.

Biggest messages or lessons learnt from this year?

“Trust no one take no shit”. I am the MOST important thing in my life. Health is fundamental. Most people don’t give a damn/are deeply ignorant. NOBODY changes except for those who live something traumatic - everybody else is just static or just gets worse. NO second chances - fool me once, shame on you and farewell, bye bye, adieu. Also everyone should see a therapist. 

And what are you most looking forward to in 2021?

Mastering myself.

I tag @c-erudio @toujoursdramatique @littleannasun @devaneiossuspensos @heatherannchristie @blancstripes and @luxe-pauvre @thecrownedgoddess even if I think you’ve already been tagged.

Stay safe XX

#Personal #tagged

[5sosbitchfest]

Correct me if I’m wrong but all time low is an acfive band? Right? They don’t all live in the same state? Doesn’t one of them literally live in Hawaii. 5sos can literally live in four differnt states If they absolutely wanted to. They should think about getting out of LA, too many fans know where they live and all that which makes Shit dangerous. If they lived up in a log cabin in Alaska I don’t think anyone would be desperate enough to be on the alert to find them

ATL just released an album this past year, so yeah I would assume they’re active. As for their living situation, I’m not sure?? I don’t know all the much about them. I know that Pete Wentz lives in L.A. while the rest of FOB, I believe, live in Chicago still. Don’t Twenty One Pilots also still live in Columbus, OH? 

The point is, you absolutely do not have to live in L.A. just because you’re famous. I understand it’s ideal when you’re first starting out because of the job opportunities L.A. offers, but once you’re established...I see no reason to stay. Plenty of famous people live places other than L.A..

#link #Anonymous

[harryandmolly]

Ten Years - Part Three (Final)

summary: ten years after 2007 Warped Tour, Shawn and Val come face to face in London

warnings: Language, NSFW (unprotected sex), A Sense of Finality (TM)

WC: 5.9k

--------

He bought her tiny headphones.

Shawn called at least six of his friends he knows have kids -- Mark Hoppus, Travis Clark and Pete Wentz among them. He asked them what kind of noise-deadening headphones they bought for their kids when they were babies. He did research about decibel levels and infant hearing development. He splurged for the best pair.

Alice’s first Forefront concert is on February 26th, 2018 at the O2 Arena in Greenwich. Val has been planning Alice’s concert outfit for at least a month, which of course is foolish, because Alice is growing like a weed. They don’t know who is more excited about it, Shawn or Val. Alice, in her tiny Chuck Taylors with giant cushiony headphones that look like oversized Princess Leia buns over her ears, is clueless.

Forefront is playing a quick series of four shows at the O2 to round out the final promo push for their last album before Shawn really settles into writing the new one. They’ll be the last Forefront shows until the holidays. Shawn wonders where he’ll be then.

He heads to the arena early for soundcheck, so the girls will meet him there before the show. He put Diet Coke on the rider for Val and Farley’s Rusks for Alice. He wants them to feel at home there with him, wants to show Val that this kind of family, though unconventional, could work for all of them.

It’s been a couple months since they returned from their holidays. Adjusting hasn’t been entirely simple. Shawn barely slept at his rental flat for the first couple weeks after New Years, spending every spare second he had with Val and Alice, but they soon realized that wasn’t the best way to begin this.

It needed to make sense. Practically living together so quickly gave both of them an uneasy feeling of deja vu drawing back to the night before he left her on Warped Tour with an armful of hastily made promises. What made sense were baby steps.

They spent a lot of time on FaceTime at first. Slowly, they found ways to incorporate Shawn into Val and Alice’s fairly strict routine. They started taking walks around Farringdon a couple nights a week to lull Alice to sleep. He began spending the night on weekends, then staying over after their night walks and learning the morning ritual. He’s gotten good at it. He’s even helpful now.

He’s trying not to think too far ahead. He knows writing the album can only take so long. When it’s done, they have to record it, which they’ll be doing in LA. On the other side of the world. When he thinks about it, his blood feels thick and sluggish, dragging through his veins as panic sets in. He’ll be so far away. He’s going to miss them so much it’ll feel like he left a limb back in England. 

This is why he doesn’t think about it.

He’s curled up on the sofa in the green room with an acoustic in his lap, riddling out what this song in his head is trying to say when there’s a knock. Andrew enters wearing a very self-satisfied grin, toting Val and Alice behind him.

Aside from the child in her arms, Val looks about as much like a tired mum of an almost-one-year-old as Shawn does. Her hair’s blown out in soft, touchable curls. Her now vintage Forefront tee is strategically worn and torn, tucked into the tightest high-waisted jeans he’s ever seen that get swallowed up by thigh high leather boots.

The noisy green room full of Forefront members, assorted crew and some London-based friends all fall almost silent. If Val notices, she doesn’t let on. Shawn bets she’s used to it. Val’s never walked into a room where she hasn’t drawn every eye. Even with a squirming, squealing baby in her arms.

Shawn practically throws the guitar beside him and leaps to stand. Val beams, her red painted lips spreading eagerly. It’s all Shawn can do not to kiss her like they’re alone. The guys whistle anyway.

“Fuck off,” Shawn laughs as he pulls away, but his cheeks and the tips of his ears are pink. She wipes a bit of lipstick off his mouth, though looking at her, you wouldn’t be able to tell that it smudged. Shawn’s never understood that kind of power.

Each of the Forefront boys take their turns greeting her and introducing themselves to little Alice, who has them wrapped around her pudgy fingers with a single nearly toothless smile. Seth is the only one that asks to hold her, and, incidentally, is the only one Val would’ve allowed to do it. Even so, Shawn hovers impatiently beside Seth the whole five minutes before Seth gives up and forks over the baby. 

Shawn scoops her into his chest and showers her little face with kisses as she squeaks and kicks her powerful sausage legs. Val watches, propped on the arm of the couch with her long legs folded.

“Good to see you again.”

Val looks over her shoulder. Francis is wearing the same troublesome smile she remembers. She grins back.

“It’s been a while.”

“Been a fuckin’ lifetime,” Francis laughs, dropping into the seat next to her, watching Shawn let Alice pluck at the guitar he usually doesn’t let anyone else touch.

Even with the smile, he’s different than she remembers. A little more subdued, maybe a little less focused on competing with Shawn for all the attention in the room. He seems more inside himself in a way a man only can be when he’s grown up. Val’s not unfamiliar with this kind of energy shift. Between the Streets of Gold and All Time Low boys, she’s watched a lot of pop punk brats grow up. From impatient, ambitious teenagers, they become kind, wise, thoughtful men. Francis, she can sense, is no exception.

“Haven’t seen him like this in so long,” Francis admits, looking over her with a ghost of ebbing suspicion in his gaze. She understands why.

“Not that he’s been, like, miserable or anything,” Francis assures her, widening his eyes a little to support his words, “But, you know. Maybe a bit lonely.”

She nods. Her eyes are warm and understanding. Francis sees how Shawn could’ve fallen into them and never found a way out again. 

“Me too, I think,” she murmurs.

The room brightens up even more as the guys prepare for the show. The opener is audible and muffled around the screams of tens of thousands of fans. Val, with her daughter back in her arms, watches as the scared, humbled kids she used to watch pout over playing for a dozen kids prepare for an arena show without breaking a sweat. They each take a tequila shot beside the stage. Val tastes it in Shawn’s mouth when she takes one last kiss. Their chests rumble with the drum track that plays to hype up the crowd before they take the stage. Shawn adjusts Alice’s comically large headphones one last time and checks her face for any sign of upset or discomfort. Her big beautiful eyes are wide, taking it in. They snap shut when Shawn kisses her on the nose with a chuckle.

With one last proud, excited glance over his shoulder, Shawn strides out onto the stage, guitar slung behind his broad back, greeted by roaring, adoring screams. Val swallows and bounces Alice against her hip, feeling almost starstruck.

The show is the finely-tuned version of what she remembers. It’s unstructured and free and fun, a celebration of the music, the friends, the night. Every fan in the gigantic room is a friend and everyone’s here for the party. It’s everything a pop punk show should be, but on a larger scale. 

Val dances and sings along, holding Alice’s fingers and twirling to make her laugh. She catches Shawn’s eye several times, her heart vaulting over a beat with each one, giving and accepting more kisses when he jogs back occasionally to change out a guitar.

By the time the show ends, Alice has fallen asleep and been toted off by Bobby’s mom to nap in the green room. 

“You let Louise take her?” Shawn whines as he comes off stage panting, having to yell over the fading cheers and applause, “Bad idea. I mean, just look how Bobby turned out.”

Bobby lets out a cry of protest. Val lifts Shawn’s sweaty, bare arm and slings it around her shoulders.

“‘S ok. She’s asleep. And we’re busy.”

Shawn blinks, the corner of his mouth lifting. “Are we?”

Instead of returning to the green room, Val takes Shawn by the hand and guides him to his private dressing room. He watches her lead him, or watches the pockets on the backs of her jeans twist and flick as she swings her hips. He can feel his pulse in his ears when she locks the dressing room door behind them.

She’s quiet for a minute, and it’s unnerving. But he knows better than to break it first. He can feel it in the air around them.

Val tilts her head, looking him up and down hungrily. She leans against the back of the couch and pushes some curls out of her face.

She’s all leg and dark hair and brown skin and fire. Shawn gulps comically.

“You are so fucking sexy.”

He blinks. He was thinking it, but he swears he didn’t actually speak. It takes him a beat too long to realize she’s the one that said it.

“Oh yeah?” he pants.

She nods, reaching a hand out for him. He scrambles a bit to take it, greedy for her invitation. She smiles knowingly, lovingly, and pulls his hands onto her hips. He allows himself one needy squeeze before he’s determined to behave himself. 

Even though he’s looking down at her, he’s the one that feels like the willing prey to her predator. She reaches up and fingers the necklace hanging against his chest. Her eyes remain steady on his as he waits for whatever’s coming.

“You’re so powerful on that stage. Confident and sensitive and open and in control. Been wet for you since the first song.”

Shawn’s breath hitches. He quirks a smile. She smiles back and it’s like a shot of adrenaline to his heart.

“But you know who’s in control here, papi?”

Shawn’s eyes flutter shut. His shoulders soften. His body relaxes even as he throbs hard for her already in his jeans. He throws himself into desperately desired surrender.

“You.”

The word is like a prayer on his lips. It hangs heavy between them. He opens his eyes to see her nodding hungrily.

“Get on your knees, honey.”

Shawn muffles a groan, slowly descending to kneel on the carpet at her feet. She watches, satisfied as he blinks up at her, wide-eyed and awestruck.

“Wanna take my boots off?”

He wets his lips and lets his eyes drop to the zipper resting against her inner thigh on her left leg. He feels a flash of a memory prod him, the memory of an inhumanely hot day in Texas in the summer of 2007, the feel of sweat dripping down his neck with the taste of the woman he loves on his lips. He shivers.

Val pushes red polished fingers into his hair, seemingly unbothered by the sweat and hair paste that have thickened it. His eyes flutter. He lifts his hands to her leg, pulling the zipper slowly, admiring her as she so graciously lets him, until he pulls the boot and sock off and starts on the other leg. By the time he’s finished with his hands cupped around the backs of her knees, he’s panting.

Val, watching him with a small smirk, reaches down to lift the hem of her shirt with his band’s logo on the front. Her intricately detailed lace bra is nude, the color of brown sugar, almost as pretty as all her bare skin. Shawn shudders a breath that feels like it scratches on its way out. He tilts his forehead against her hot stomach and forces an inhale.

She starts clawing at the shirt on his back. He can feel how desperate she’s becoming through the haphazard dragging of her nails on his skin until she yanks it over his head and pulls him to his feet. Her eyes are flooded and dark. Her lips are parted. She’s staring at him like she’s trying to decide what she should have him do next. He tucks a curl behind her ear, skimming her soft cheek with his thumb.

“Anything, baby. I’ll give you anything. I’m yours. Please.”

His voice is hoarse from the show and from the closeness of her. She inhales sharply, her incredible breasts rising temptingly in her bra before she snaps like a viper, dragging his lips to hers. They kiss like they’re aching. They’re not shy about biting, sucking, moaning, tasting, taking. They need this. And it feels so fucking good.

Val’s lips wander with purpose, smearing Russian Red over his sharp jaw until she hits paydirt, sucking and nibbling at the spot below his ear that gets him loud.

“Jesus Christ, Vally,” he gasps, rocking his hips hard against her stomach. She mewls at his reaction, biting harder, soothing him with her tongue as he quakes in her arms. He can’t keep quiet. His every breath is a gasping moan. He’s outside himself and he’s not even naked yet.

She seems to want to fix that, fingers tripping over hard muscle on their way down to his jeans, which he helps her peel off, along with his blue Calvins. Next come her jeans, which are even snugger and make Shawn’s fucking head spin. Her matching bra and panties are quickly forgotten, wet and useless on the ground.

She’s propped up on the arm of the couch, legs spread to cradle him between as they writhe like teenagers. Shawn’s cock throbs insistently, trapped between them as her nipple rings brush his chest. Their kisses are so wet and messy, they’re nothing more than a way to be connected while they gasp for air.

“Vally, let me give you something. Please. Fuck.” His voice is fucked out, breaking for her. He’s sure she wants something -- his fingers? His tongue? Both? Whatever she wants, it’s hers. But he needs her to take it.

She shakes her head fervently, her eyes glassy. “Can’t. Can’t wait. Need you inside me.”

Shawn’s gasp is so loud it rattles both their chests as they continue to rock their bodies together. He’s nodding so hard he almost headbutts her. She giggles, making his cock twitch again, and eases him away gently.

Shawn stands back, fists clenched, watching her lift herself off the arm of the couch only to turn around and unfurl over it, her ass in the air, her sticky, sweaty hair stuck to her soft back. She spreads her legs enough for Shawn to see her pink and glistening wet for him. He grabs at his dick, giving himself a squeeze at the base as he swears.

“Holy shit, Valentina.”

Val’s grin, the unholy one, the one he’d let drag him to hell, settles in on her swollen, smeared lips. “Let me show you how I like it this way, papi.”

Shawn’s never given up the opportunity to let her teach him a lesson before. He’s not about to start now. He nods again like a fucking bobblehead doll and practically stumbles up behind her, hands gripping her hips.

Val secures a hand around the back of the couch and looks at him over her shoulder again. “Go ahead, baby. I’m nice and wet for you.”

“Fuck, yeah, you are,” he grunts, positioning the head of his cock against her dripping entrance. He presses in slowly, watching her face.

“Keep going,” she murmurs, sounding high on him, spreading her legs a bit further, greedily. Shawn whimpers when he bottoms out.

“Now,” she hisses, struggling to speak coherently, “Keep your hips still for me. Just feel me.”

Shawn begs whatever higher power there is for self-control and slides his hands up to grip her waist as she starts to move. From above her, he watches her body roll, her hips rocking smoothly from side to side as she sets their pace. Shawn’s jaw drops. He holds fast, stunned as she takes what she needs from him exactly how she wants it.

“Feels so good, baby,” she praises, though she’s doing all the work. Shawn mumbles back in the affirmative, transfixed by the slowly increasing pace of her rocking motion as she fucks him.

“Never done it like this before,” he rasps, shaking his head at her ingenuity. With her hands planted below her, she gives him a pulse with her tight walls and smirks over her shoulder.

“I like to keep you guessing.”

He moans, rattling through into her squeezing wet core. She gasps, rhythm faltering. In a few seconds. She’s using her hands for leverage, pressing back into him and ebbing away, sliding his cock in and out as he remains still.

“Vally, baby,” Shawn growls, shifting one large hand from her waist to caress her back, lovingly skimming every notch of her spine. He takes a handful of her ass, kneading her flesh in his fingers. She purrs his name and his other hand off her waist, trailing it down to skim over the patch of hair crowning her perfect pussy. Shawn takes the hint and presses two firm fingers into her clit, letting her grinding motion serve her best.

“Yes!” she cries, thrusting back harder, riding him unforgivingly. He’s holding on by the skin of his fucking teeth for her. He knows she’ll give it when she’s ready. She’ll be ready once she takes hers.

“Gonna come, Vally?”

She nods breathlessly. With one last flash of dark eyes over her shoulder, she hisses, “Fuck me.”

Shawn’s eyes go wide. He bucks his hips, catching up with her rhythm quickly as his starts strumming his fingers against her clit, watching her come up on her tiptoes beneath him, her back arching.

“Yes! Yes! Harder!”

Shawn bears down, grunting with each powerful swing, trying to ignore the filthy sound of her wet cunt around his shaft. He wants to get her there first before he follows. He shifts his hand, gets her clit between his thumb and forefinger and pinches, pulsing her clit between his fingers as his hips pound her ass.

“I’m gonna come!” she cries, the end of her announcement swallowed up by a squeak that makes his stomach drop. She rolls her hips hard against the arm of the leather couch, fucking back against him relentlessly, her pussy clenching and pulsing as she comes hard all over his cock. 

Her grunting is unintelligible, but Shawn thinks it’s a mix of slurred Spanish punctuated by his name. He can’t tell. His ears are ringing as he follows close behind her, screaming “FUCK!” when he finishes. Their hips roll to a stop. One of Val’s hands releases his ass cheek that she reached back and grabbed, her nails leaving marks. Shawn winces, chuckling, pulling out of her to secure a wet towel from the bathroom.

He squats behind her, leaving little kisses over her ass and thighs as he wipes her gently. She makes a whimpering noise and reaches for him. He unfolds her carefully to stand, weak and supple as she rests against his chest. He continues spoiling as much of her as he can reach with kisses until she’s giggling so hard he laughs with her.

“Holy shit,” she declares, lifting her head to look at him.

He shrugs. “You started it.”

Smug, she grins, “I always do.”

+

On July 22nd, Shawn is booked on a flight to Toronto to see his family for a few days before leaving for LA to begin recording.

He stretched the writing out for as long as he could. He pored over lyrics, samples, suggestions from co-writers and producers, piecing it together, then tearing it apart. The problem is, it was flowing out of him. This album was right under the surface of his skin, not letting him rest until he got it out.

It’s mostly about her, of course. Val knows. She helped write a few tracks. By the time summer came, Shawn had all but moved out of his rental flat and in with Val and Alice, full time boyfriend and dad-like figure. They celebrated Alice’s first birthday in Hyde Park. They made picnics for Sundays in Kensington Gardens and Shawn ran around with Alice in the Princess Diana Memorial Playground. He and Val made passionate, ferocious, intimate, quiet, silly, giggly, perfect love for months on end, knowing a drought was coming.

And then it came. The album was ready. There was no hiding from it, not with the hooting and hollering of the label and his management. The time to leave London hit Shawn and Val like a ton of bricks. They traded off being The Positive One and The Miserable One until… well, until they were both miserable.

Standing outside her flat with a black cab waiting to take him to Heathrow, Val holds Alice in one arm and swipes at her tears with the other. She forces a smile. Shawn’s eyes are red and cloudy. His hair is frizzy from how often he’s been jerking his hands through it. He tries to smile back.

“Come here, papi,” she croaks, opening her arm to him. He shuffles forward, draping himself around his little family. He sniffs into her shoulder, willing himself not to cry again. At least not until he gets in the cab.

“We love you,” she whispers hoarsely. He squeezes his traitorous eyes and cradles his girls, rocking them against his chest. Alice, clueless, grabs a handful of Shawn’s hair and yanks.

He smiles for real this time, peeling her little fingers off his hair and bringing her fist to his lips. She patiently coos at the pecking kisses he leaves all over her face and hair until his throat tightens and his chest rattles.

He pulls back to look at her and glances at her mother, who’s trying to hold it together and failing.

“Listen,” he rasps, tucking a hand up under Val’s soft hair to massage the back of her neck, “I-I know you’re superwoman and you can do this all on your own. I know you don’t really need me. Just… just try to pretend you do until I come back, ok? Please? Don’t forget… that I’m part of the family now.”

Val’s heart splits. It’s clean and sharp and she’s sure he could hear it in her chest as she felt it. She releases a sob, clapping a hand over her mouth as he pulls her close to brush his nose through her hair.

“Baby… we need you. God, we do need you. We love you, we both do, so much. And fuck, even if we didn’t need you, we want you. We chose you. Ok? I’ll remind you of it every day. We love you so much, baby. I love you.”

Val buries her face in Shawn’s neck. His heart is so full it aches. He can only hope it’s enough to sustain him until he can try to wrangle a time for them to visit, or for him to fly back. 

“I’ll finish as soon as I can. I promise. I’ll--”

The cabbie honks. Shawn grunts, irritated. With a slow inhale, he peels himself away.

He swallows. “I love you, Vally. I love you, Alice.”

He steps backward and tucks himself into the cab. Val and Alice wave until it’s long out of sight. 

+

“She’s got another tooth coming in. She’s like a shark, this kid. It never stops.”

Shawn laughs. He’s got the phone up against his ear and a hand resting on his chest like he’s trying to hold his fragile heart together. He’s face up on his bed in his LA rental. West Hollywood is noisy outside on a Saturday morning.

On the other side of the planet, London is quiet and rainy. Alice went to sleep an hour ago, so Val called Shawn to keep her company. It’s been two months and 17 days since he left for LA. He flew out to see them last month for two days because he got so miserable, his band banished him and told him not to come back to the studio until he got his Val and Alice fix. Leaving them was a little easier that time, knowing he wouldn’t be gone so long. The album was practically complete. The process had been slowed down by meetings about planning a tour and Shawn’s personal ventures writing with other artists, even helping produce a single for All Time Low. But in 18 days, Shawn would be home.

Home, home. As in, sending his stuff from Toronto, planting himself permanently on the other side of the pond, home. He’ll be moving in with Val and Alice until they can decide on a newer, bigger, better place -- Shawn likes the idea of a townhouse in North London, quiet and removed. Val wants to stay in the city, closer to the museum, in a three-bedroom flat in Kensington, maybe near the park if they can afford it.

Until that time, phone calls and FaceTime sustain them. Shawn is antsy, has been all day. He thinks he hears the same edge in Val’s voice. Phone sex isn’t at all new. It’s one of the only things that’s been keeping them sane during their separation. Usually Val is the one instigating, though. But he wants her to feel wanted, seduced. He’s just not sure he knows how to begin without stumbling into it.

“So… uh, what are you wearing?”

Idiot.

Val laughs. “A latex bodysuit and red lipstick.”

He grunts and wrinkles his nose. “That’s a mean image to put in my head.”

“Mhmm. Well, what are you wearing?”

He glances down at himself like he forgot. “Uh, sweatpants.”

“Me too. Yours, actually.”

Shawn bites down on his lower lip, worrying the ring with his tongue. “What’s underneath?”

She pauses. “Well, I could lie and say I’m wearing the little red ones you like with the straps and the lace. But really, I’m wearing the boyshorts I sleep in.”

Shawn hums, closing his eyes. His fingers twitch on his chest. “That’s ok, I miss those, too.”

“What else do you miss?” Val murmurs, shutting her bedroom door behind her and dropping onto the bed, getting comfy.

“I miss… fuckin’ everything. I miss the way your hair smells in the morning. I miss your tattoos. I miss the spot under your belly button that makes you squeak when I kiss it. I miss the way you taste.”

Val’s eyes fall shut. She slips her hand down her belly and into the waistband of her panties. Her sigh is enough to tell him what he wanted to know.

“Touching yourself, honey?”

She nods, though he can’t see. “Join me.”

Shawn huffs a breath and wriggles out of his sweats, kicking them at the door. He spreads his thighs, determined to go slow. He’s so keyed up that if he starts hot and heavy right away, he’ll beat her to the finish line. Even by phone, he refuses to do that.

He runs his hand up his inner thigh and gives himself a squeeze through the fabric. Val smiles at his sharp inhale.

“What do you want tonight, baby?”

Shawn’s eyebrows lift. “You’re… you want me to pick?”

She hums, cupping her pussy, rocking into her hand as she lets herself imagine the options. “Whatever you want.”

“Could you… I mean, like, if you want to… I-I miss your mouth.” He goes hot pink and waits.

Val tilts her head back. “God, that sounds so good. I miss being on my knees for you.”

Shawn sighs, wrapping a hand around the head of his cock through his boxers, massaging himself, “Yeah. Feels so good every time, honey. You’re incredible.”

Val feeds off his praise. Soon, her panties and sweats are crumpled at the end of the bed. “I like starting by kissing your chest and your stomach. Soft at first, looking up at you while I taste your skin. Then sharper, harder, leaving marks.”

“Yeah,” Shawn grunts, “Mark me.”

“Little bruises on your chest. I swirl my tongue around your nipples. I know they’re sensitive.”

Shawn flicks one with his thumb and lets her hear his breathing hitch. “Yeah, baby.”

“I like leaving a trail of marks down your abdomen to show you where I’ve been. Shawn, you’re so hard for me.”

Shawn kicks out of his boxer briefs and fists his cock, groaning, “So hard, fuck. You drive me crazy like this.”

She’s barely done anything yet and he’s losing his mind. He thinks absently when she gets hands on him again he’s going to come so fast his head will spin. He blinks to focus.

“I like trailing my lips over your cock, feeling it twitch for me. Shawn, use your fingertips. Nice and light.”

His face scrunches as he obeys. It’s torturously gentle, just like her. He sighs heavily into the phone.

“Is your pussy wet?”

“Mhmm. You know I always get wet sucking you.”

He groans again, louder. “Shit, Val.”

“My tongue is warm on your shaft, sweeping up the vein on the underside. Getting you nice and wet before I take you down my throat.”

Shawn grips himself tighter and starts stroking leisurely. His abs tense and release.

“I know you like it when I suck on the tip, flick at it with my tongue,” she hisses, spreading her legs and toying with her clit.

“I do,” he groans, “Love your mouth on me, fuck.”

Val grins, smoothing her fingers over her wet lips, rubbing faster at her hard button of nerves. Shawn hears the change in her breath.

“Tell me what you’re doing, Vally, please?”

“I’m rubbing my clit just like you do,” she breathes, “Fast and hard like when you want me to come on your fingers.”

Shawn’s jaw drops. His eyes snap shut. His hips thrust up toward his clenched fist. “You get so tight and wet for me, Vally.”

“Mmmm,” she hums, “Wet like my mouth on your cock. I wanna feel you in my throat. Fuck your fist and pretend it’s my mouth.”

“Oh Jesus, Val.”

Shawn tightens his hand and plants his feet, swinging his hips up to meet the thrusts of his fist like she told him. It’s not her, but it’s enough for now.

“Baby,” he whimpers, “Imagine my fingers are inside you. Pulsing in and out like you showed me. Pressing up on your g-spot.”

Val’s chest gives a rumbling moan. Her own fingers do the trick well enough. They’re both on the brink of coming.

“Come in my mouth, Shawn,” Val pants, feeling her walls flutter around her fingers.

“Yeah, yeah,” Shawn chants, releasing onto his chest with a gasp of her name.

“So good,” she chokes, coming on her fingers right alongside him, rolling her hips.

They fall silent soon enough. Shawn blinks slowly and reaches for tissues.

“I’ll be home so soon, baby.”

Val smiles, resting her hand on her stomach. “Counting the seconds, papi.”

+

Val bounces Alice so fast she starts to cry.

A little horrified at her own absent-mindedness, Val hushes her, whispering sweet words in Spanish and starts swaying back and forth instead until Alice quiets and continues tugging at Val’s hair.

Shawn’s flight was late leaving JFK. Never has Val wished so hard for the existence of the Concorde. Tiny Parent Trap-era Lindsay Lohan’s voice mocks her in her head -- 

“Did you know the Concorde gets you here in half the time?”

Val wrinkles her nose in annoyance. What did they really need the Concorde for, anyway? To make a dramatic entrance? Whatever. Val hasn’t seen the love of her life in almost two months. And she’s a single mom with a small baby, so she really should get the Concorde. And--

Val’s ranting thought distraction works. She doesn’t see Shawn when he comes down the escalator, but he sees them. He’s grinning ear to ear, backpack over his shoulder, suitcase beside him. He hustles around groups of passengers milling about, politely excusing himself, dodging, bobbing, weaving. Val has the pram and baby so she can’t do much about meeting him halfway. She has to wait for him to reach her.

Shawn’s brow unfurrows. He drops his hold on his suitcase and slings the backpack to his feet. He throws his arms around his girls and feels everything fall back into place.

“Jesus, I missed you guys,” Shawn whispers, voice thick and throaty. When he pulls away to cup Val’s cheeks, she’s never looked happier.

“We missed you, papi.”

Shawn’s kiss is firm but controlled. His lip ring tickles her as he smiles into it, humming peacefully. She nips at him to make him chuckle, vibrating her lips.

“God, ok,” he murmurs, pulling away, reaching for Alice, “Come here, you.”

Alice bounces in his arms, looking completely overjoyed to have her best friend back. She slaps at his lips and then lets him kiss her plump baby cheeks. He rocks her back and forth, tickles her sides to make her squirm and apparently to make Val’s heart explode in her chest because that’s what it’s doing.

Shawn has the baby in one arm and the suitcase in the other. Val pushes the pram toward the doors, wondering where they can get a cab.

As they stroll, she looks down and murmurs, “We’re gonna need a new pram.”

“I know, she’s gotten huge!” Shawn laughs, squeezing one of Alice’s beefy little legs. She kicks at him with a toothy smile.

“Well, yeah,” Val admits, “And we should probably get one of those big ones that has two seats.”

Shawn keeps walking beside her for about two seconds before he stops. Val turns slowly.

His eyes are wide. His mouth is open. Color rises into his cheeks. He tries to swallow and makes a choking noise.

“Are you-- I’m… Val?”

“I’m pregnant, papi.”

Shawn’s mouth snaps shut. His lower lip quivers. Val walks towards him, taking his hand.

“It’s really early. Just over six weeks. With my history, it’s a lot to be excited about so soon. But we have an appointment with my OB, the one that helped me with Alice. It’s next week.”

She’s sure none of that registered to Shawn. He’s still gaping at her, his eyes filling.

“We’re having a baby?”

Val lets her eyes drift shut. A million memories -- heat drenched, sweaty days on tour, ten years of growth, a chance meeting in her favorite park -- flicker past. She opens her eyes.

“We’re having a baby.”

Shawn hiccups a sob and jerks forward, slipping his fingers into her hair to anchor himself against her lips. Their kiss is a little wet from both their tears, and Alice isn’t keen to be left out of the loop, but this moment is all theirs. 

When they’re done kissing, Val rests her head against his chest and lets him just hold them. Beside the doors to the international arrivals terminal at Heathrow, they’re a long way from Warped Tour. The thought makes Val smile.

“What?” Shawn hums, wearing a goofy grin of his own. She lifts her head.

“Do they make those headphones even tinier?”

Shawn grins and kisses her again.

---------

You guys!!! Thank you for your awesome feedback on this fun little series. I’ve been thinking about it p much since I wrote the original epilogue and I feel great about the ending. If you loved it, consider buying me a Ko-fi (link on main page)!

Taglist: @smallerinfinities @the-claire-bitch-project @achinglyshawn @infiniteshawn @mendesoft @singanddreamanyway @alone-in-madness @abigfatmess @shawnitsmutual @awkwardfangirl2014 @september-lace @grittyisaho @sinplisticshawn @rollingxstone @yslsaint @randi-eve @fallmoreinlove @heyits-claire @itrocksmysocks @parkerspicedlatte @simpledomain @abeautiful-and-cloudy-day @embracehappy @peacedolantwins2 @kitykatnumber

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes fan fic #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes fan fiction #shawn mendes fluff #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes smut #shawn mendes au #dad!shawn #punk!shawn #warped tour shawn #shawn peter raul mendes

[whyfalloutwhenyoucanpanic]

is gabe saporta talented

Hi!

So I never got asked this before, so I’m going to try to keep this ask short.

Is Gabe Saporta talented?

Yes.

This guy was in his emo pop punk band, Midtown while dealing with major life struggles, and played bass and was the lead singer for the band. Playing bass and singing is hard (from personal experience). It takes skill and talent to do that really well. Gabe has talent regarding lyrics and music, especially Midtown songs lyric content. Midtown songs deal heavily with major topics and a lot of the inspiration for the songs he wrote are life experiences, like growing up in what was considered a hard neighborhood to live in, and dealing with the struggles that he, his brother and father dealt with growing up, as well as relationships and friendships, people betraying you, and dealing with the difficult things life throws at you. He wrote these as raw lyrics and songs, taking inspiration from his life, as well as other inspiration from his friends lives.

Following Midtown, he was the lead singer and main lyricist for Cobra Starship. While most of his lyrics written were not really meant to be taken seriously, a few of the songs written were meant to be serious. The song, The City Is At War off the album, ¡Viva La Cobra!, for example is about people in the music industry constantly doing stupid things, because they’re young, dumb, and have money to do said stupid things, while saying that isn’t the life he wants to live, and also that major fame has it’s price. He also mentions and writes the fact people do stupid things to get famous and well known, because of the promised money and lifestyle you get in return if you’re successful. He also writes about people doing stupid things to get higher up in the industry without knowing the price you pay for it. He goes on to say this isn’t the life he wants and he doesn’t give a shit about that crazy lifestyle.

He also has a unique voice too and music style. You notice on the first cobra album, While The City Sleeps We Rule The Streets, theres the combining pop punk and alternative music. Alternative music of this style wasn’t as huge back in the 2000s, so this was seen as different. You notice now a lot of artists are doing the same idea Cobra did, but in different ways. So Gabe definitely made impact on music and the music industry and artists today as well. It’s also interesting he also works his first language, which is Spanish, into a few songs throughout all the Cobra albums, and make references to the language as well. He writes/wrote clever lyrics that can be funny, serious, or just meant to be sarcastic and not meant to be taken seriously. Gabe wrote music for Cobra to be mostly fun, while also talking about serious topics as well, but still in a clever way where it makes you think twice about what he wrote, and to look beyond just the words written.

Despite how people perceive him and how people perceived his music and his bands, he maganged to be very successful and also enjoy being able to have the opportunities he had. He took peoples criticism with mostly a very good attitude, and didn’t throw around insults if people didn’t like his music, or didn’t like him in general. He cares genuinely about fans of both Midtown and Cobra Starship, and never takes the opportunities he got for granted and is always grateful for the opportunities he was given and that people gave him, including most notably Pete Wentz. He to this day, thanks Pete for what opportunities he gave him, and for giving him a second chance.

So yes, I say Gabe Saporta is talented. Both lyrically and musically. He can play bass, guitar and piano and has a unique voice. Plus, his personality and who he is makes him a great person as well, which you can add he has a good, getting along with people, talent as well.

Thank you for the ask!

Also, I apologize for the long reply, but I had to fit this all in lol