#the fucking blast mine debut

[thisgodwontforgiveyou]

the triple combo of ad mare being what it is + the introductory picknmixx series being what it is + the jypn uploads it all makes my head swim

#the fucking blast mine debut

[romanstheory]

Match Me a Roman Reigns One Shot

Roman x female

Warnings : smut, language, risk of being caught

Word count : 900

18 +

Since I am debuting today, Hunter thinks it’s time to reunite with Solo and finish the job with Kevin and Alexa. The only thing standing in my way of reuniting with Solo is Roman Reigns. He kind of runs things on the main roster, but that’s never intimidated me. I haven’t gotten this far tip toeing around others and I’m not going to start now. The show opens with Roman addressing the crowd and Kevin Owens. I quickly walk over to the entrance to the ramp into the arena. “Play my music” I demand to the tech guy.

My music begins blasting and the crowd roars as I walk out into the arena. Solo’s face lights up almost making him break his seemingly permanent scowl. Roman’s face twists up in confusion. I make my way to the ring, Solo sitting on the ropes to let me in as Roman shoots him a look of disapproval. I pull Solo into a tight hug, it felt like forever since I had seen my best friend. “I hate to break up the reunion…… but what the hell are YOU doing here” Roman says sending me a look of absolute disapproval.

“Don’t worry Joe, I’m not here for you” I begin as the crowd roars with a loud oooo. “I’m here because Solo and I have unfinished business with Kevin and Alexa”. Roman frowns and looks over at Solo. “I don’t give a damn about none of that” Roman barks at me “you think you can come in my ring and start giving orders to MY cousin”. I let out a sarcastic laugh, letting the crowds reaction fizzle out. “No… I’m in MY rings telling MY friend we still got business to handle” I bark back at Roman, getting closer to him. He’s a lot bigger than I am, but I’ve never cared about that any way. I look up, staring dead into those dark brown eyes of his. Part of me wanted to punch him square in the jaw and the other part wanted him to fold me up like a pretzel, and I think he knew that.

“I’m big dog! This is my show! This is my ring! Who the hell do you think you are?” Roman continues to bark. I smirk at Roman’s anger as Jimmy, Jey, Solo, and Sami stare at us both wondering what’s going to happen next. You could cut the tension between us with a knife. “Well big dog, if you don’t step aside and be quiet you’re going to have a bug problem” I say never breaking eye contact. The rest of the bloodline looks on in disbelief.

The night wraps up and backstage empties out. I can hear Roman in a nearby office bitching to Hunter. I laugh to myself as I walk passed and hear the door shut. “Hey” I hear him say. I turn around seeing a still irritated Roman walking towards me. “What the fuck was that” he says. “What was what” I say with a smirk. I swear you could see steam shooting from his ears. “You made it seem like I was bitch out there” he continues. “Did I? Or have you just finally met you match, and you’re embarrassed that your match is a woman half your size” I say sharply. Roman goes silent for a while just staring at me. “Or is it because you know you want to pick me up right now and fuck the frustration out of me” I say giggling and turning around to walk away.

I feel Roman grab my arm firmly. He pulls me in close to his body, his cologne smells like heaven. He picks me up, pushing me against the wall and pressing his soft lips against mine. I wrap my legs around his thick torso as his big hands squeeze my firm ass. I begin ripping my clothes away while he unbuckles his pants. Neither of us are thinking about if anyone is left in the building to see us, we really wouldn’t care anyway.

He picks me up again, pressing himself into me causing me to gasp at his size. He pins my arms against the wall and begins stroking. He glides into me like he has a point to prove. He plants kisses on my neck sending shockwaves down my spine. This man both infuriates me and sends me into a lustful frenzy. I push my arms off of the wall while he continues to stroke me. I wrap my arms around his neck, pushing his face into my breasts. He slips one into his mouth effortlessly and I can already feel my climax riding.

He moans into my breast as his strokes become sloppy. I reach my climax and yell loudly while Roman quickly covers my mouth. He lets out a muffled groan as he quickly pulls out, shooting his load at the wall under me. We both stare at each other, breathing heavily. “Hello?” We hear a familiar voice from around the corner. We rush and put ourselves back together. Sami turns the corner “Oh….. what are you guys doing?” He says looking at the two of us. “None of your business” Roman says emotionless “Go tell Solo start training for his mixed tag match” Roman glances over at me……. I always get what I want.

#roman reigns #roman reigns one shot #wwe #wwe smut #wwe fic #roman reigns smut #roman reigns x female

[bteezxyewriter12]

"Accident"

Pairings- Jin x Named Reader

Word count- 1.3k

Includes- wall sex, sex from behind, rough sex, dirty talk, fluff

Masterlists- check out for more fics

📝Masterlists 📝 BTS Masterlist

📝 Jin Masterlist

⭐gifs are from google

Jin in green shirt gifs- @kth1-main @kth1

Glaring at the monitor backstage, I seeth in annoyance at my fiancee

This is the umpteenth time during this concert that Jin had a fucking Jimin "shoulder accident"

I had to watch him perform in his light pink button down and white tank top, it constantly falling off his magnificent shoulder

It's like the dumb shirt wouldn't stay on him

And now his green hoodie, one side has completely fallen off, his shoulder and upper arm exposed and he's not even pretending to fix it

Just leaving it hanging and fucking turning me and every girl watching him on

The nerve

The song ends and I watch him and the guys walk off the stage

He's going to have an ear full right now

He's got like ten minutes before he has to go on again and he's gonna pay for this

I cross my arms, a glare on my face, waiting for him

He comes down the stair, his eyes looking for me, a huge smile bursting on his face when he sees me

I can't help but start to smile

He is my everything, the love of my life

I knew he was the one for me when we first met

At ten

I moved to Korea and ended up living right next to him

We spend our childhood playing together and grew close as friends

When I went to his debut to support him, he brought me backstage and as I was praising him, he pulled me to him and kissed me

From that day we've been together and he proposed to me last week

I'm marrying the man of my dreams, my best friend and I'm over the moon

I force the smile back as he gets to me

He leans in to kiss me and I pull back a little

"Princess?", he asks confused

Taking his hand, I pull him, dragging him with me through the backstage area

"Princess what's wrong?"

Pulling him into an empty dressing room, I lock the door, then turn to face him

"Baby?"

"You're driving me crazy Jin!", I exclaim

He looks at me bewildered, "I am? How?"

"That stupid Jimin shoulder thing your doing!"

"Uh..."

"Don't play dumb Jin. I'm watching you. You purposely having those Jimin slips with your shirt, showing your shoulders driving me insane! Making me so horny"

His looking at me, eyes wide, "I uh...sorry?"

"Three times Jin. Three times during one concert. Jimin didn't even do it that many times"

He swallows hard, not knowing what to say

"You have to make this up to me"

"I uh...ok", he says slowly

"Good", I answer, going closer to him, "You're going to hold me and fuck me hard against the wall. Right now"

I see the moment he processes what I said, his eyes filling with lust as he pulls me against him, his lips on mine

His hands tear at my clothes, ripping them off my body and throwing them around the room

I push the green hoodie off him, his tank top off in a second, his pants and boxers on the ground instantly

His lips are kissing me hard, his tongue playing with mine as he steps out of his clothes

Turning me, he shoves me against the wall, his hands lifting me up as I wrap my legs around his waist

His hand guides his cock to me and the next thing I know, he shoves himself inside, impaling me on his length

"Jinnie", I cry as he moans loudly in my mouth

His hips start moving fast, his thick cock hitting deep and hard, right against my spot, opening and stretching me around him over and over

And fuck it feels amazing

"Is this what you want princess?", he murmurs, "Am I fucking you into the wall just like you want?"

I moan in pleasure, his voice driving me crazy

I'm a sucker for his voice

His singing voice, when he speaks and his sex voice, when it's deep and such a fucking turn on

"Hmm? My bad girl, dragging me away to be fucked because you couldn't wait for my cock until we got home?"

"I...I", I stammer, stars blasting in my vision

"Answer me. Am I giving you what you want?"

"Yes Jinnie. God yes fuck so good"

"Good princess"

I cling onto him, my arms around his neck, my fingers in his hair, pulling hard

His hips move faster, fucking me senseless and wild, his fingers gripping my ass so tightly I know I'm gonna get bruises

And wear them proudly

Pulling his head back, I press kisses all over his beautiful neck, feeling his sweaty skin against me

God I love it

"Fuck princess. God you feel so fucking good", he moans

He feels good

Big thick cock impaling me over and over, I can't get enough of him

"More Jinnie, please", I cry, so close

I don't know how but his hips move faster, fucking me into the wall

"C'mon princess, cum for me. I don't have all night. I have a concert to finish", he urges, "I need this pussy to cream my cock right now"

His head slams into my spot, white light blaring in my vision as I'm thrown head first into an orgasm

"Seokjin fuck!", I cry, not caring who hears me

The pleasure is too good, too intense, for me to care

"That's it princess. Such a good girl, so pretty when you cum for me", he praises, "My pussy feels so good throbbing on me, drenching me. So fucking tight. I fucking love being inside you"

I can speak, I'm in too much bliss but I hear everything he's saying

"Mm is my baby too fucked out to answer me? Did I fuck you dumb already?", he teases

I nod, not able to form words

When I finish, he pulls out, making me whine as he puts me down

"Shh princess, I'm coming back inside your pretty cunt, you can count on that. Hands up baby"

He spins me around, shoving me against the wall, my hand stopping me from completely smacking into it

Fuck he's getting really rough and I'm so turned on

"Open baby"

I widen my stands, the familiar feeling of being filled with his cock hitting me at once

Again he doesn't wait, immediately moving and splitting me on his length

I get it, he doesn't have much time, this whole thing completely surprising him

He pulls my ass out more, rolling his hips into me, the sound of my ass hitting his legs sounding in the room

His hand reaches around me, his fingers pressing into my clit, rubbing furiously

"Jin!", I shout, coming immediately, the pleasure fantastic and I know I'm squirting on him

He can make me squirt so easily, it's honestly shocking

"Yes baby, so pretty, gushing around me. My princess is such a good girl"

His pace doesn't slow for a second, his cock barreling in deeply again and again

"Princess, I'm gonna cum", he says in my ear and I nod, "Gonna fill you baby"

"Yes Jinnie", I moan, ecstasy shutting my brain off

His cock throbs and twitches, hot cum pouring inside me as he yells my name, squeezing my hip hard and setting off another orgasm

"Seokjin!", I whimper, both of us coming together, pure pleasure running in my veins

"Baby, Jo, my princess", he moans, holding me on his shaft as he cums

He keeps me on him until my orgasm finishes

Kissing the back of my hair, he pulls out, turning me to him, his hot sticky cum all over the inside of my thighs

"Princess-", he starts but I just nod

"Go baby"

I know he has to run out of here and get changed, then go back on stage

"When we get home", he promises, rushing to put his clothes back on

"Yeah baby. Go. Hurry"

He gets his clothes on in record time, presses a quick kiss to my lips then runs out of the room.

I get to the door, closing and locking it, then grab tissues cleaning up his cum from me

Getting dressed quickly, I leave the room and head backstage to watch the love of my life perform

Hopefully with no more "accidents"

#ksmutclub #jin fanfic #jin smut #jin fic #jin fanfiction #bts jin fanfic #bts jin fan fiction #bts jin smut #seokjin fanfic #seokjin fic #seokjin fanfiction #seokjin smut #kim seokjin fanfic #kim seokjin fic #kim seokjin fanfiction #kim seokjin smut #bts seokjin smut #bts fic #bts fanfic #btsfanfiction #bts smut

[astridsfavs]

First Favourite Character

So this is my blog, where I shall ramble about my fav characters. Isn't that fantastic? And I figured I should start with the most famous viddy game franchise of all.

Tetris Super Mario! Mario has a sheer ocean amount of characters, through the platformers, kart racers, party games, RPGs, there's a million bajillion nerds to choose from. So is it the Brothers themselves I love? Princesses? Koopas? Or is it...

WARIO!

The big bad German/Italian/Something Anti-Mario. Super Capatalist Fucker. sigma male. I've loved Wario since day 1. My first Mario game was Super Mario Land 2, the game Wario debuted in (and it came out in Europe the month after I was born, so like, I was a newborn baby with Wario in my life. (the game boy was my parents, not mine originally)). Like, I didn't even know who the fuck Bowser was, or Luigi. When I was a wee bitch, I knew Mario, Wario, and the three fucking pigs who ruined my life in Mario Zone.

We also, at some point, got the first Wario Land game, and I liked the heavier, stronger style of gameplay, and the treasure hunting aspect. The collecting of coins gave the same "yes" feeling as collecting the rings in the Snoic. And the world evolving as you go through the game made it so cool. The tide coming in after finishing world 1, so early levels now are flooded, MT Teapot's lit crashing down and changing some of it's levels layout. And most importantly, Wario with his evil crosseyed grin, a fucking bastard of a man.

And to be honest, for a long while, that was it for me and Wario for a long while, I loved these two games, but I never like, played as him in Mario Kart 64 when we got our Nintendo 64, I was always Yoshi. I had borrowed a copy of Wario Blast from a friend once. And when we played on the playground, like, if we played Mario, which we did shut your mouth, I played Wario and just, "Elbow Bashed" everything (I didnt realise til long later it was a Shoulder Bash actually shut up), and doodled fanart of Wario in "Smash Bros 2"(he was just another Mario clone, but with yellow fireballs instead of red)

Anyhow, years later, I got Wario Land 3 from Woolworths, and that unlocked some shit in my brain because from then on, he was my guy. The cartooney transformations, and the way Wario behaved was like, that was the shit, and then Wario Land 4?! I was in, I am in and in for life! I love this cartooney shit!

Thing is though, again. that was it, I'd now play as him in the Wii games, Strikers, Smash, Kart Wii and Party. But I never played WarioWare until THIS year actually on the GBA Console on Switch. But that doesn't matter. There is SOMETHING about Wario that draws me in, even if I can't afford his own games.

So what do I love? I love an Anti Hero, I love powerhouses, I love selfish agendas (and Wario's love for gold being the drive for all his adventures is selfish AF) and I love hidden hearts of gold, Wario with Shokora shows he isn't entirely selfish, willing to team with others, heck he's got a huge group of friends in Warioware, and even when with the Mario gang, he pals around with Waluigi.

I love that he is allowed to dress up compared to other Mario characters.

He has so many outfits, this isn't even all of them. I love playing as him in Mario 64 DS, I know he's "The Worst" in the game, but punting goombas to hard it takes like 5 seconds for them to land and die is just a silly little fun. I love he is able to punch the fuck out of Tox in Shifting Sand Land.

I love he's a suer arrogant, rude, brash, super like, macho manly man. An Alpha actually, like, man has women throwing themselves at him, and some men too probs. He's a bitch dickhead, but he draws people in, and bitch like, me too.

Also he has the best cast of characters in the Mario series. Mona? Shokora? Syrup? Jimmy T? fuckit the whole warioware crew? Bonko the CLown or whatever his name is? All iconic!

ALSO! SAKURAI. Mate, bud, I love you, listen, Smash is fantastic, Kirby is superb, Kid Icarus Uprising is yum. But my fucking god, Wario is the WORST repped character in Smash. Like Sonic might have a basic spindash only style moveset, which is a bit boring, but whatever. Wario? We got a shoulder bash and his bike, yup, that's it. And a weird amount of farting, calm it down man.

Also give me a Next Level Games made Wario game, it would be so cool. Listen I know Strikers Charged did the fating rubbish too, but Striekrs 3 showed me they got Wario's character down to a T.

So this is my first post, so I'm figuring out the format of my rambles, it might get more organised in the future, but maybe not, maybe people like the way I write. Who knows.

ANYWAY! RUNNERS UP!

PRINCESS DAISY- I will be her.

WALUIGI! Not a meme, he is such a funny, Wacky Races goofy character, Next Level Games puts so much life into his animations in the three Strikers Games, he's a fantastic loser self-pitying dweeb. WAAAA.

#super mario bros #super mario #astridsfavs #rambling blog #blog #longpost #long post #wario land #waluigi #princess daisy #wario #warioware #Wario is the best #mario #smb #Charles Martinet's Best Voice

[hibiscera]

I want to know your opinions on the other metropolis rogues!!!!! mr mxyzptlk bizarro and the like

OKAY SO, a lot of my biases are based on STAS and the DCAU, since I still have a lot of Superman comics to read, so I hope that’s ok!

Obviously we know the favorites. Toyman, Parasite (Rudy our boy Rudy), and Ultra-Humanite, so I will put them aside for now.

I’m gonna get Darkseid out of the way first since idrc about him, HOWEVER. I fucking LOVE Kalibak. I have some ideas for him I want to try executing one day I just need to read more with him in it…

tbh I feel like I’m a lot more interested in the characters surrounding Darkseid rather than Darkseid himself. To me he exists more as a narrative piece of that makes sense.

I honestly love Brainiac quite a bit and also really want to draw a take on him as well… I’m a sucker for rogue AI characters (Mother Brain my absolute beloved) like him.

Livewire is PHENOMENAL, she’s always a blast in everything I’ve seen/read her in. The concept of a shock jock turned supervillain is great, and I particularly LOVE how that was translated in DCSHG G2 haha. That’s probably my favorite take on the character, she’s just so much fun in DCSHG and I love how unapologetically a jerk she is.

I have a soft spot for Bizarro, because my dear beloved sweet baby boy TFA Toxitron is based on him. 😭 He’s one of those characters I need more exposure to, but his episodes in STAS are great and I gotta look into more of him!!

Mr. Mxyzptlk is legendary. His debut episode in STAS has to be an absolute favorite of mine, I appreciate how he really pushes Clark to have to think outside of the box. I don’t think I’ve read any comics featuring him, but I really want to, I’m so curious to see what kind of creativity gets pushed from his whole deal.

Titano is a monkey :D This automatically makes him the best!

I have to continue reading the current Superman run, I kind of fell behind, but I quite liked what I read of Pharm and Graft this far, if anything just for their designs alone.

I was about to say, welp, I’ll finish here and see if I forgot anyone later!

Lex Luthor. I fucking forgot Lex Luthor.

I have… complicated feelings on him? I think he’s a fantastic character and a perfect antithesis to Superman, but it’s hard for me to get invested in him outside of him serving that purpose. I DON’T MIND HIM BEING FLESHED OUT, that’s extremely important to add to his purpose in a story imo. But it’s just… he’s not For Me outside of storytelling. If any of that makes sense?? 😭

Okay NOW I’ll end it here and add on if I remember anyone important I forgot.

#mir answers #anonymous

[officialvoiceofgenerationx]

Nirvana And Me

In '90 or so, somebody gave me a mix tape. I immediately lost the J-card with all the bands' names on it. These things happened. Most of it was fairly mediocre late '80s bar bands with distortion pedals, but there was one section that fucking ripped - a half-dozen songs, obviously by the same band. I blasted that part over and over.

In '91, people started talking about some band called Nirvana. Some co-workers were sure that I would love them. By that point, I hadn't been interested in anything that was one the radio for five years or so, and the idea that I would want to hear a band that was on the charts was absurd. I wanted nothing to do with the latest corporate-radio whores.

One day, I was riding with somebody and a song came on the radio that caught me by surprise. I asked the driver what it was and they told me it was Weird Al's parody of Nirvana's hit single. Man, did I have to take a step back and eat a bit of crow. If Weird Al's version was that good, the original had to be fuckin' rad. Next thing ya know, I was a Nirvana fan.

I discovered a lot of bands in the '80s when they started getting a lot of attention - there was no internet and I lived in a tiny town in the rural south. You just couldn't find out about bands until they showed up in Spin magazine or the college kid who you convinced to buy beer for you told you about 'em. So, the first albums I heard by bands were frequently their first big ones. I would then go buy their back catalog and I pretty much always liked the early stuff better - Husker Du, the Replacements, Soul Asylum, Sonic Youth, R.E.M. All those and more that I can't remember off the top of my head taught me that the worst thing that could happen to a band was that they get huge and sign to a major label. Usually, a band's major label debut was still good - and some bands were able to put off sucking a little longer - but it was inevitable that making it big meant turning to shit.

So, I went out and got Nirvana's first album and discovered that I'd been listening to them for a year or so. The songs I loved on that mix tape were one side of Bleach. Kinda funny.

Nevermind was a great album, and some of the B-sides and out-takes that were on Incesticide were good. I expected In Utero to be a disapointing release by a formerly great band and that's what it was - in my humble fuckin' opinion. By that point though, I didn't care - the whole grunge explosion had thrown a lot of bands into the public eye and there were a lot who I liked better than Nirvana. Babes In Toyland, 7 Year Bitch, Team Dresch, Bikini Kill - bands of women, some more horribly noisey than others, but all of them much more interesting to me than some whiny white boys. I didn't care about Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or any of those dudes.

I heard Hole before I heard Nirvana. A friend of mine had their first couple singles - "Dicknail" and "Retard Girl". Those were smashing. I got Pretty On The Inside and I liked it, but Courtney Love was such a blatantly shitty person that I couldn't get too into them.

Anyway, Cobain killed himself, which should've surprised absolutely no one - the guy telegraphed it all over the fuckin' globe. It was a bummer, but I had moved on from Nirvana by then. I'm writing about them here because they were among the biggest cultural touchstones of Gen X - for what I'm doing, I gotta mention them. And they expressed the nihilism, depression and utter hopelessness that was Gen X.

Today, I'd enjoy "Teen Spirit" if it came out of a speaker, but I will never go out of my way to hear it. There were bands I liked better in the '90s, and a lotta great bands have blown the doors off with distorted guitars and bad attitudes since. The ones I like best have tits out front. Check out the Petrol Girls - bitches rock.

#gen x #generation x #nirvana #kurt cobain #90s grunge #90s punk #90s music #90s #grunge #riot grrrl #voice of a generation #petrol girls

[the-wild-wolves-around-you]

hear those bells ring deep in the soul (a katsuki bakugo/reader fic)

Summary: Pro Hero Dynamight was Japan’s Number Two Hero. He'd worked hard to achieve his position, his fame. And now it was all going down the damn drain, along with his hearing.

~*~*

Bakugo is suffering from hearing loss as a side effect of his quirk, and he struggles with how to face this new challenge. Enter Reader with a healing quirk.

Pairings: Katsuki Bakugo/Reader; Katsuki Bakugo/You

Rating: M(ature)

Warnings: Blood & violence. 

A/N: No spoilers or anything. This is just a self-indulgent AU fic with aged up characters. Everyone’s in their mid-20s. Fic title is from a song called “Achilles Come Down.” 

Ao3 Link: Here 

*****A/N Part 2: This post has now been updated to include the links to Ch 2

Ch 2 Tumblr Link: Here 

Pro Hero Dynamight was Japan’s Number Two Hero. Actually, he’d argue he was tied for first place with the current Symbol of Peace, Shitty Deku. Their victory statistics were basically the fucking same, the only difference was the freckled idiot was made of smiles and sunshine and stupid fucking sugar or something. The whole world ate out of his scarred, fucked up hand, and Darling Deku ate up all the media’s attention in return. 

In contrast, Bakugo wasn’t a “people person,” as Deku loved to put it, but… he also wasn’t the same fifteen-year-old brat who got muzzled on live national television. Pro Hero Dynamight was known for his crass, blunt language, his vicious streak of justice when it came to villains, but people also looked up to him. Extras cheered for him in the streets as he exploded past mid-battle. Children ran up to him on patrol and asked him to sign their books, their photos, their Dynamight merch. On one memorable occasion, that he may or may not have saved on his computer, a national news channel ran a live clip from a disaster site, a villain attack turned rescue mission after a building collapsed. The soundbite was only thirty seconds, a close up of a pale, dusty woman with a shallow cut on her brow. The splash of crimson and her bloodshot blue eyes were the only spots of color on her, everything else washed out in white plaster and cement dust, tear tracks carving grooves down her cheeks. 

But the smile on her face could have lit up goddamn Tokyo. 

“Dynamight saved us,” the woman had said to the news reporter, her voice full of awe and tears. “I-I got stuck under some debris, but I heard the moment Dynamight arrived, and I just knew we were safe. The battle was over a minute later, and then he just… pulled me out of the wreckage. He pulled us all out. He’s… the greatest hero I’ve ever seen.” 

That was a nice stroke to his ego. And the dazed woman had been right. He had pulled everyone out of that building, and not a single person died that day, which only confirmed what he already knew: 

Katsuki Bakugo was the best of the best. Deku might have been the better show pony, but Dynamight was an undefeated hero, fierce, fearless, ferocious. 

Except right now… he was fucking scared out of his mind. 

This couldn’t be happening. 

“What?” he snarled at the extra in the white coat standing before him. 

The man flinched and visibly recoiled, shuffling back a step and partially ducking behind his tablet device. When he spoke again, he’d raised his voice an entire fucking octave. 

“I-I’m sorry, sir,” the doctor stammered, but then he seemed to regain his composure and lowered his voice a little. “I… I wish I had better news for you, Dynamight, but…” 

He trailed off and swallowed, the jut of his Adam’s apple bobbing beneath the thin skin of his throat. 

“But what?” Bakugo spat, something like magma roiling in his veins, pops of heat crackling against his palms like splatters of hot oil from a stove. 

“B-But this… can’t come as a complete shock to you,” the doctor said as he glanced back at his tablet. “Other physicians before myself must have warned you of the risks.” 

The risks. Bakugo bared his teeth in a silent snarl. What did this fucking extra, with his soft hands and softer body, know about risks? The heat in his palms grew until he could see their red-hot glow out of the corner of his eye. 

“Well, who and how much do I gotta pay to fix it?” Bakugo demanded as he shoved his hands in his pockets. 

“That depends,” the doctor hedged and adjusted the square black glasses perched on his stupid face. “There are a variety of aid types—” 

“I don’t want fuckin’ support gear or aids,” Bakugo sneered. “I want mine fixed.” 

Now, the doctor’s face grew pitying. “I’m afraid that’s just not possible, given a number of factors, most importantly your current occupation.” 

“My current occupation?” the hero seethed, teeth bared again like a wounded dog, a cornered wolf, snapping at the world. “Are you fucking KIDDING—” 

A hint of fear sparked in the doctor’s eyes, but he suddenly raised a hand, palm out in the universal symbol for stop. “Dynamight, sir, I know this is distressing, but there are other sick patients in these walls, so please refrain from using your quirk.” 

“I’m not usin’ shit,” Bakugo snapped, but then the doctor’s eyes flicked downward, and Bakugo followed them to his hands, wreathed in sparks and flares of flames, lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. 

The breath stuttered in Bakugo’s lungs. 

He hadn’t even felt himself call upon his quirk. 

Even worse… he hadn’t heard it when he did. 

He dropped his hands quickly, shoving them back in his pockets. Bile rose in his throat, but he washed it down with blood as he bit through his tongue. 

“There has to be… something,” he gritted out, curling his hands into fists in their confines. “A healer—” 

“Healers are rarer than you think,” the doctor sighed and shook his head. “And what’s more, they’re usually specific and limited. Their abilities are tied to blood types or restricted to relatives or even limbs. One nurse here can only heal femur bones.” 

“Bullshit they’re rare, I’ve met at least two goddamn healers just this month,” Bakugo spat. “These paramedics—” 

“And how strong where they?” the doctor cut him off again, raising an eyebrow. “You said paramedics, so I’m going to assume their talents mostly lie in the superficial and basic: triage, stopping the bleeding, knitting skin back together, etc.” 

“What’s your fucking point?” He was this close to punching the asshole right in the glasses. 

“My point is the inner workings of your ear are much more delicate than a broken rib or lacerated arm,” the doctor said in a really condescending tone that Bakugo did not appreciate. “But let’s say you do find a healer specific enough and skilled enough to restore the hearing you have already lost without damaging anything else in the process. What then? I don’t imagine Japan’s Number Two Hero retiring less than ten years after his debut and hanging up his quirk.” 

Bakugo scowled, heart kick-starting in his chest, his gut tying itself in a knot. 

No. No, that wasn’t possible. Katsuki Bakugo was a hero, the best of the best. It was all he’d ever wanted, and he would be damned if it was taken from him. 

The doctor must have seen as much on the blond’s face because he sighed and adjusted his glasses again. “Exactly. Which means you’re just going to keep destroying your ears again and again, and even if say Recovery Girl was still alive, the repetitive healing sessions would destroy your own body’s healing factor, and after a while, you would still lose you’re hearing.” 

“Tch.” Bakugo looked away and gritted his teeth so hard they ached. 

The doctor sighed. “You’re already at moderate hearing loss, Dynamight, so while we do still have some options, they are limited. Honestly… I’m surprised you didn’t come in sooner.” 

He should have. He fucking should have. He’d been noticing little things for years, but he just brushed it off, yelled at Deku to speak the fuck up and stop mumbling, told himself his phone must be a piece of shit and that’s why he didn’t hear a call or message. The low persistent ringing he’d been experiencing since UA was harder to write off, but after a while, it was also easier to ignore. 

Then, on his last mission, Bakugo was shoving some weak ass villain at a couple of cops. The battle had lasted less than five minutes, and he was still itching for a fight, his quirk burning just beneath the surface of his skin, like embers waiting to explode back into flame. In the next moment, a hand had suddenly clamped down on his shoulder from behind, and he’d reacted out of reflex, flipping his attacker over his shoulder and nearly blasting them in the gut for good measure. 

“Whoa! Fuck, dude, it’s me!” Kirishima had yelped, his skin rippling and hardening in an instant. Wide, red eyes gaped up at him, and Japan’s Number Three Hero even looked a little worried. “Didn’t you hear me? I called your name like five times.” 

Bakugo had dropped Red Riot like he was on fire. No. No, Dynamight hadn’t heard his patrol partner. In fact, all he could hear in the moment was the muted wailing of sirens, the low murmur of shouting extras, and the blood roaring in his head. 

Now, two days later he was standing in front of a doctor who was telling him there was nothing more they could do. 

But that was fucking unacceptable. He couldn’t lose his hearing. What kind of shitty hero would he be if he couldn’t hear where the villains were in battle or where stupid extras in need of saving were in rescue situations? 

He wouldn’t be a hero at all, just a fucking liability. 

Bakugo tried to imagine having to retire, to hang up his hero costume, to leave Shitty Hair in charge of their joint agency. What would he do? He’d wanted, and planned, to be a hero since he was five years old. He had no other skills, not really. It wasn’t like he could work a damn desk job. Well, UA might throw him a bone, offer him a pity faculty position. 

The thought left a sour taste in his mouth. 

“What… are my options?” he asked haltingly as he snapped his eyes up and locked gazes with the doctor. “You said I still had some.” 

The man in the white coat blinked in surprise, but then he straightened up and tapped at his tablet. “Currently, you have a few options, but you’d receive the best outcome if we did them all together. First, we can get you fitted for some hearing aids for you to wear while you are off duty. They would significantly increase your hearing capacity in your normal day-to-day life.” 

Bakugo felt his face pull into a scowl. “Off duty? I need them while I’m on duty!” 

“If you wear them while using your quirk, you’ll ruin the rest of your hearing in one blow,” the doctor said with a straight face. “Hearing aids amplify sounds. Amplifying your explosions is the last thing we want.” 

“Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do then?” the hero snapped, heat flaring through his body with a supernova. 

“Since I assume you’re going to continue your hero work, I would recommend contacting a support gear company.” The doctor made a note on his tablet. “We’ll email you the contact information for several companies the hospital has connections with, and once you chose one, we can send them your file. There are numerous noise-cancelling devices out there, but given your situation, you will probably need to collaborate with them for something custom. The goal is to having something to protect your ears-- a helmet, headphones, anything really—while you are using your quirk. Between such a device and the hearing aids, I hope we can preserve what’s left of your hearing and maybe give you a little bit back. But I will warn you… you’re hearing will never be as it was. You should know that now.” 

You’re hearing will never be as it was. 

You’re hearing will never be as it was. 

You’re hearing will never be as it was. 

The words cycloned through Bakugo’s head, round and round and round, destroying every other thought in their path. He felt detached from himself, the doctor��s voice fizzling out into a muffled drone. His vision seemed to narrow and darken, like he was viewing the world at the end of a very long and dark tunnel. One minute, he was standing there in that examine room, and then he blinked and was on the street, people rushing past him like a river unbothered by the boulder in its current. 

He glanced down at his hand, at the paperwork for his follow up appointment and his fitting for the hearing aids. Heat squirmed under his skin, in his veins, like something living, something that wanted to get out. 

Bakugo bared his teeth, crumpled the paper in his fist, and let the heat rush through his body, down through his arm, and into his hand. He didn’t hear the crackle, but he saw the flares of light, trapped between his palm and the paperwork like fireflies. 

Then he opened his hand, and he watched the wind catch the ash and carry if off down the street, out of sight. 

He needed a fucking drink. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Several hours later, Bakugo stumbled out of his usual dive bar, the taste of whisky still burning a hole through the back of his throat. The night was colder than he anticipated, colder than it should be for the beginning of autumn, and he grumbled and cursed as he hunched against the wind. He squinted at his phone, debating on whether to call a car, but in the end it was too much trouble. He was less than a half an hour’s walk from his apartment, and it was late, so he wouldn’t have to worry about extras coming up to him for photos or goddamn autographs. 

Besides, the whisky hadn’t helped to quench the heat writhing through his veins, in fact the alcohol only made it worse. Bakugo felt restless, all pins and needles and ants, so maybe the brisk walk would burn off some of that energy. 

Decided, Bakugo turned in the direction of home and began the long, stumbling journey through the midnight streets. 

Time passed as sluggishly as his feet, which he made sure to stare down at so he didn’t trip over them. Like he anticipated, he passed no one on the sidewalks, and few cars rumbled past him. It wasn’t surprising, this neighborhood was mostly shops that closed by sundown and a few residences. The dive bar he’d left was a holdover from past decades when this side of town was rougher, but Bakugo suspected the old man who owned the joint would live on for at least another decade, if only to spite the development companies that kept trying to buy him out. The ornery bastard was half the reason Bakugo loved that bar, the other half being their decent whisky and usually empty stools. 

“Shit,” he mumbled as he suddenly slipped, tittering on the edge of the curb. 

He shook his head and managed to regain his balance, but when he took another step, he wobbled again. 

“Come on, you drunk idiot,” he hissed at himself as he stumbled once more. 

Except… he’d been standing still that time. 

“Hah?” Bakugo squinted down at his feet. 

The pebbles around his shoes rattled and jumped. He didn’t think he was that drunk, but he slapped his cheek with a bit of heat to his palm. The snap of warmth and pain woke him up a little, but when he glanced back down at the ground, everything was still moving. 

“What the fu—” 

Then the road undulated under his feet like a living thing, and the shockwave hit him a moment later. 

Bakugo barked a curse as he was bucked several feet into the air, twin explosions blooming from his palms so he could right himself and land on his feet. He snapped his head up as he skidded to a stop, and the breath stilled in his lungs. 

Up ahead, a man stood in the middle of the intersection, staring down the road to Bakugo’s left. Black rubble and goo floated around him like asteroids trapped in a planet’s orbit, and even from a distance, Bakugo could see the crazed smile on the man’s pale, black-streaked face. 

A moment later, several heroes lunged out from around the corner and barreled straight for the villain, only to be blasted backwards as the villain flung out his hands and commanded the black debris and goo to slam into the idiots. 

The villain threw back his head and seemed to laugh maniacally. Bakugo couldn’t hear it, but that didn’t matter. Lava was starting to boil in his veins, burning off the last of the whisky, and Dynamight felt an equally crazed smile stretch across his mouth. 

This idiot had chosen the wrong road to fuck up tonight. 

Heat condensed in his palms like collapsing stars, and then he was exploding forward, the taste of ozone and nitroglycerin on his tongue. 

Within moments, Bakugo was able to determine the villain’s quirk revolved around asphalt. The bastard was able to pull large chunks of it out of the road and then liquify parts of them until they were scalding and sticky. 

The other heroes—whoever they were, Bakugo didn’t even care to check—struggled to evade the villain’s attacks, but evasion wasn’t Dynamight’s style. He came at the bastard head on, exploding every rock and tar puddle in his way. 

Of course, asphalt was flammable, so flames were flaring up all around the street now, but Bakugo wasn’t stupid enough to get burned. If the other heroes were, that was on them. 

Dynamight was here to get the job done. 

“Come here, ya sonvabitch,” Bakugo snarled as he blasted apart a chunk of asphalt aimed for his head. 

The villain shrieked out something high-pitched that Bakugo didn’t catch, and then the fucker was swinging out his arm, a blob of black tar following the arc. 

Bakugo let out a controlled burst toward his feet and backflipped through the air, crunching down on the roof of a parked car. He could see some of the other heroes waving at him from the corner of his eye, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying over the wailing of the car alarm below him. 

The villain’s sneer was a white slash on his black, goo-streaked face, and Bakugo bared his teeth back in an expression halfway between a feral grin and a beast’s snarl. He could feel the heat crackling along his palms as he contemplated his next move, but then the villain shouted something, and all the asphalt floating in the air rocketed back towards him like the fucker was a magnet. 

As Bakugo watched, the debris and goo coalesced into a singular shape, liquifying and hardening in turns until a giant black arm the size of a semi was hovering over the road. The fingers wiggled in a jaunty little wave as the villain shouted something again that was lost to the car’s still wailing alarm, and then the giant hand curled into a fist and dropped down on Bakugo like the hammer of some god. 

He exploded out of the way and up into the air right before the fist smashed into the car he’d been standing on, and the siren cut out with a muffled crunch. 

Bakugo had barely landed before the arm was shooting out again, but this time it wasn’t aimed for him. 

A stupid fucking extra had stumbled out of one of the buildings and stood gaping like a goddamn moron on the sidewalk. Several of the on-scene heroes rushed forward, but the hand swatted them aside like annoying flies. The idiot civilian was still just standing there, though, and Bakugo found himself airborne before he could even process the thought. 

“Run!” he roared as he reached the extra and shoved him out of the way, but an instant later, he felt stony fingers wrap around his torso and squeeze. 

Bakugo wheezed out a curse as the giant hand lifted him into the sky, the pressure around his ribs increasing with every second. The asphalt was hot in some places, too, scalding the skin of his left arm where it was pinned against his hip. He wrenched his right arm around and tried to aim at the wrist of the asphalt appendage, but the angle was off, and the few chunks he was able to blast were quickly replaced by more rubble and boiling tar. 

“Fuck!” Bakugo screamed as the fist clenched down around him. His ribs strained, his lungs unable to expand, pain licking at him like the flames flickering in his peripherals. 

Distantly, he heard the villain’s laughter below him, and as the arm swayed to the side, Bakugo realized he was right above the bastard. His vision swam, his ribs screaming, his arm burning, but Bakugo gritted his teeth as he aimed his right palm down. He concentrated every ounce of his quirk into his hand until it glowed white-hot, and the asphalt around him began to liquefy again. 

The villain’s eyes widened as he realized what the hero was doing, and the fucker wildly swung out his arm in a last-ditch effort. The giant asphalt limb responded in kind, but Bakugo unleashed his quirk right before the arm flung him through the air. 

A massive explosion rocked the street an instant later, and the subsequent shockwave slammed into his back and propelled him through a window. 

He felt the impact and pain as he struck the glass, and then… 

Nothing. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ouch, fuck!” you cursed as your pricked yourself for the millionth time. 

A red drop of blood beaded up on the pad of your index finger, and you scowled before you sucked the smarting appendage into your mouth. It was more of a reflex than anything, since by the time you pulled your finger out, the pinprick of a wound was already healed. Healing such a small injury would usually barely even register to you, but the clock above your desk was inching closer and closer to midnight, and you’d been up since 6am. You also skipped dinner so you could finish altering the dress you were currently working on, which didn’t help your energy levels, but you were just a few stitches away from completing your task, so you hunched back over and powered through the next five minutes. 

When you were finally done, you sat back in your chair with a sigh and threw down your needle and thread. The sewing table before you swam and doubled as your vision struggled to focus on something, and you rubbed at your tired, burning eyes. You always tried to work reasonable hours, have a healthy work-life balance, but somehow you always found yourself slaving away into the dark hours of the night. You tried to tell yourself it wasn’t your fault. You’d lived here less than a year, so you didn’t know many people beyond your few neighbors and the old ladies who frequented your alterations shop. 

You were also trying very hard to keep your grandparents’ business afloat. 

Your grandfather had been a tailor, your grandmother a seamstress. They’d opened a shop together over fifty years ago, and if your parents hadn’t moved to America before you were born, you were sure you father would have taken over the family business. In the end, though, after your grandparents passed, you were the one to take up the needle and pull up your roots. You’d always loved making your own clothes, and you’d always felt… disconnected in America. Nothing had ever felt… right, no matter how many jobs you hopped around to. The US had been the only home you’d ever known, but when you and your parents spoke Japanese together, it had made something ache deep in the center of you, something you couldn’t name or place. 

So, when your father said he was taking a trip to the homeland to sell his parents’ shop, you’d gone with him and somehow convinced him to sign everything over to you. Which was more than just a little insane. Your prior work history had been in food service and clothing retail, and your degree was in linguistics for fuck’s sake. You had no idea how to run a business, let alone in another country. Thankfully, you spoke Japanese fluently, so that had been one less hurtle to overcome, but everything else had been a dramatic learning curve. Getting to know the new city, figuring out the currency, hell even navigating the vastly different social norms of Japanese culture was daunting, and you would be lying if you said you didn’t have numerous fumbles along the way. 

It, everything, had definitely taken some getting used to. 

Now, a year later, things were just starting to really look up. You had used most of the money your grandparents left you to renovate the shop, get new equipment, and fix the upstairs apartment you lived in. About two dozen loyal customers helped to pay your bills and keep you afloat, and one-to-two new customers walked into your shop each month just on word of mouth. You weren’t rich by any means, but you weren’t struggling like you did in America. You felt… happy here, if a little tired. Fulfilled. 

That might also have had something to do with your little… side business. 

You bit your lip as your eyes shot to your window guiltily, like someone was watching you. You weren’t doing anything wrong—right now, anyways—but for the last six months, it’s been hard to shake off your paranoia. 

And your guilt. Which was ridiculous. You weren’t hurting anyone. In fact, you were doing the exact opposite. 

But it was still against the law. Here in Japan, at least. 

That was another thing that took some getting used to. The Japanese government had strict laws on quirk usage, unlike in America where everything was about individualistic rights. In Japan, only heroes were given almost free reign, but even they had some restrictions on when and how they could use their powers. 

For the rest of the Japanese populace, using quirks in day-to-day life, without official permission, was frowned upon at best and illegal at worst. 

Because of your specific quirk, you leaned more toward the illegal side of things. 

Healing quirks were rare. That’s what you’d been told all your life. Your mother’s quirk was the ability to lower fevers by somehow using her own body to regulate the temperature. Nothing super special or powerful, but she’d gone on to become a pediatric nurse, so she had used her quirk to its fullest and made a long, happy career for herself. 

When you were young and your quirk manifested, you thought you would follow in your mother’s footsteps. 

But as a teenager, you’d come to some hard realizations about yourself. 

One, you weren’t strong enough to be a hero. You’d tried to get into a hero course in the States, several in fact. One course rejected you solely on your application, and then you failed two entrance exams. It had been a devastating blow to your youthful dreams and self-esteem, but your mother encouraged you, said being a hero wasn’t the only way to use your quirk for good. 

So, you turned your focus to medicine… and quickly discovered that wasn’t right for you, either. Your mother hated when you said this but… you just weren’t smart enough. You had tried, really did, but everything was such a struggle, like Sisyphus slogging uphill through the mud. It just didn’t click for you like it did for your mom. You also hated to admit it, but you were a little squeamish. You were fine with small stuff, cuts and bruises, broken fingers, but once you had to dissect a large pig in an anatomy class, and the smell and weight of the pig’s slippery organs in your hands made your lunch rise up into the back of your throat. You somehow managed to make it through the class, but directly after you ran to the bathroom and emptied your own guts into the toilet. 

With your dreams of being a hero and doctor dashed, you’d been a little aimless in college, taking random courses to fill your time and see if anything spoke to you. Then, during an 8am linguistics lecture you signed up for on a whim, something ignited inside you. Languages spoke to you like science and medicine never did. So, you’d changed your major to linguistics, minored in Japanese to feel closer to your parents, and took ever other language credit you could get your hands on. In between classes, you’d taken up sewing again while you listened to your audio assignments. It was just something to keep your hands busy at first, a skill your father taught you as a child until you abandoned it, but then your roommates complimented your work and started asking you to hem their jeans or take in their skirts. They offered to pay you, but you always declined, saying it was no trouble, you liked the work, and you liked being able to help. 

At some point, you realized that was all you had ever wanted to do. Help people. And if you couldn’t save them as a hero, you would find some other way to make yourself useful. 

So, you studied languages in the hopes of being able to help others communicate. You altered your friends’ clothes and made them small things like a monogrammed scarf or mittens. And, occasionally, you healed your roommates’ hangovers or food poisoning, stopped the bleeding when they cut their fingers making dinner, pushing through their pain to make them whole again. It wasn’t a lot, nothing really, but it was something, and it made you feel purposeful. 

When you moved to Japan, you mourned the loss of being able to use your quirk on others, but you shoved the thought aside and focused on your work and the shop and figuring out how to settle down in your first home on your own. 

Then, six months after you took over the shop, Mrs. Kojima, a little old lady in her seventies, had brought in her grandchildren’s uniforms to be patched and altered. She’d known your grandparents for many years, so she was always kind and had a story to share with you about your father in his youth or the gorgeous dresses your grandmother used to make. You always looked forward to Mrs. Kojima’s visits, and she always had a way of making you feel younger than you were, but not in a bad way. She just made you feel… nostalgic and safe, like you were listening to your late grandma talk over the phone. 

This was probably why, when Mrs. Kojima slipped and fell in front of your counter, you reacted without thinking. The old lady barely had time to hit the floor and cry out before you were hovering over her, a green aura illuminating your hands. Her pain hit you a moment later, like a heated slap to the face, a bone-deep ache in your leg, but you gritted your teeth and pushed through the discomfort. Then you moved your fingers over to the hip Mrs. Kojima was clutching, and a moment later you felt the drain as your energy siphoned into the elderly woman’s body. Thankfully, it had only been a fracture, not a full break, so you barely even felt the difference in your strength, but as Mrs. Kojima gaped up at you, realization struck you like a freight train. 

You had used your quirk, without a license, without permission, hell without the consent of Mrs. Kojima. Healing quirks were illegal for a reason, so many things could go wrong, and you weren’t properly trained. Your breathing hitched as panic seized your heart, squeezing like a vise, and your entire world had just begun to crash down around your ears when Mrs. Kojima sat up and threw her arms around you. 

“Thank you,” she’d sniffled into your hair in Japanese. “Thank you so much.” 

After the initial shock wore off, you had helped Mrs. Kojima into a chair, and she’d continued to thank you over and over again, saying how money was tight and she would have hated to be a burden to her children with hospital bills and a long recovery. She talked about how a lot of her elderly friends were in similar positions, dealing with perpetual aches and pains but having no way to pay for treatment or seek relief. 

The sadness in her face had twisted something in your chest, an ache you were all too familiar with. It was the one you felt after you failed the hero course entrance exams. The ache you felt when you realized you could never be a doctor. The ache of being helpless in the face of suffering. 

Your mouth had opened without your permission, and you told Mrs. Kojima that you would help her, and her friends, whenever they needed it. The elderly Japanese woman tried to wave you off, saying she didn’t want to get you in any trouble, but you had just smiled and said, “I’m fine with making a little good trouble.” 

You didn’t know where your courage had come from, but you let it carry you past your fears and doubts. 

So, for the last six months, Mrs. Kojima had brought all of her friends, and sometimes their children and grandchildren, to you when they were in need of healing. They always brought dresses or pants or blouses for you to fix as a cover, and you did do alterations work for them, but you also eased flaring arthritis, cataracts, fevers, and scrapped knees in the backroom. You refused to take payment for these secret services, it just felt wrong, but the little old ladies somehow always snuck large “tips” into your register when you weren’t looking. 

Mrs. Kojima and every one of her friends and family members swore to their ancestors to keep your secret, and you trusted them, but you still couldn’t help proverbially looking over your shoulder, holding your breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the police to barge in and take you away. 

It hadn’t happened yet, but the worry of it kept you up most nights, which was maybe another reason why you threw yourself into your work until you were so tired you just passed out. 

You sighed again as you stretched and felt your back pop, releasing some of the tension in your spine. Glancing at the clock, you saw it was just past midnight, and you winced. You had to be up at five tomorrow—today, now—because Mr. Akane wanted to come in early before you opened the shop. His bad knee was giving him trouble again, an old injury he’d obtained as a boy. You were unable to fully reconstruct the joint—that took more strength and stamina than you currently possessed—but you were able to soothe his pain for weeks at a time, which he was immensely grateful for. He always brought you fresh fish when he came by, “gifts” he’d emphasized when you reminded him you didn’t take payment, and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t appreciate the gesture. You weren’t exactly hurting for money, but you also didn’t normally splurge on fish caught just that morning, and you told yourself you deserved the small treat. Besides, the protein helped boost your energy and stamina levels, which meant you could heal more people, so really Mr. Akane was merely investing in his future treatments. 

Your stomach grumbled at the thought of food, and you dragged yourself out of your chair before picking your way across your messy apartment to the kitchen. The apartment wasn’t very large, one large space for kitchen, dining, and living room, with one small bedroom and one bathroom down a hallway to the right when you walked in the front door. But it had been your grandparent’s home for many years before they bought a larger house after having your father, and it sat right above the shop, so you never had to worry about running late for work.

Bolts of fabric, some client pieces, and a few of your own personal sewing projects were strewn over every available surface of the main room, but you had the cleared path through the chaos memorized, so you were tossing leftovers in the microwave barely thirty seconds later. The warmed-up curry and rice—another “gift” from Mrs. Kojima—tasted as good as it had the last several days, and you hummed as the spiced meat slid down your throat and settled in your belly. After the first bite, your hunger seemed to hit you in full force, and you scarfed down every last bite in a matter of minutes. When you were done, the minor headache that had been pulsing behind your eyes abated, and you yawned as you rinsed off the dishes. 

You set the damp plate on the edge of the counter as you reached for a towel, but then a sudden tremor, followed by a loud boom, seemed to shake the building, and the plate tittered on the counter’s edge for a moment before it crashed to the floor. 

“Fuck!” you gasped as you jumped back and away from the ceramic shards, but another tremor-boom combo had you stumbling, and you scrambled to grab the back of the couch so you didn’t fall on your ass. 

Your wide eyes took in the broken plate scattered at your feet before they jumped to the window on the opposite side of the room. The night sky was dark beyond, cut only by the dim street light just beyond the window’s view. You held your breath as your heart hammered in your ears, the hair on the back of your neck prickling, sweat slicking your palms. 

What the fuck was that? Your first thought was earthquake—you hadn’t experienced one yet, but you knew they were common in Japan—but then you remembered the booms. 

Maybe… maybe an electrical box blew? But no, the lights were still working. A car crash? 

Then another boom vibrated you down to your very bones, and you fell to one knee as the breath hitched in your lungs. 

That sounded… closer. 

With your heart in your throat, you half scrambled, half crawled the last few feet to your window, and you peeked your head over the sill just as a flash off white-hot light lit up the night sky. 

“Shit!” You squinted your eyes against the glare as you leaned back from the window, but then you saw a shadow streak through the air before it crashed into a car just at the edge of your peripherals. 

You had the distant thought that Mr. Takeyoshi’s vehicle was very obviously totaled before you realized the thing that had crashed into the car was a person. 

Your jaw gaped open as a hero pulled himself from the wreckage and shook his head groggily. The shadows—only broken by more flares of light as more explosions and fire seemed to erupt along the street—made it difficult to tell how injured the hero was. You didn’t recognize their yellow and teal costume, but you saw patches of blood along the hero’s bulky frame, and bile burned at the back of your teeth. 

Holy shit. This wasn’t an accident. It was a villain attack. 

Just as you had the thought, another explosion rattled your windows, making your ears ring, and you snapped your head to the side to see a man standing in the middle of the road about half a block down. 

The man—villain, you realized quickly—swung his arms around like a conductor of an orchestra, but his instruments seemed to be the black rocks and liquid swirling around him. The debris glistened like an oil slick in the light of the flames, and as you watched, the villain shouted something and slashed his arm through the air. 

Then a figure suddenly exploded onto the scene, lunging out from the shadows in a flare of white-hot light. It moved too fast for you to track, but the villain swung his arm again, and rocks and viscous black goo shot toward the figure still in mid-air. 

A futile scream of warning caught in your throat, but then the figure seemed to explode and backflip through the air, landing on his feet but crushing the roof of a car beneath his boots. The wailing of the car’s alarm split the air, and you clenched your teeth until they ached. 

The flames illuminated this new man’s face, a snarl of white teeth against the flames and smoke, but only the barest hint of recognition flared through you before everything exploded into chaos again. Another shout from the villain had all the rocks and black slime streaking back towards him, and you watched in horror as a stony black arm fifty feet long formed above the ruined street. 

You knew you should be running, trying to find cover, calling the police, but you were glued there, on your knees before the window, you fingers digging grooves into the sill. 

The next fifteen seconds seemed to simultaneously happen in slow motion and at hyper speed. 

The giant rocky hand wiggled its fingers before it curled into a fist and slammed down on the wailing car and the man atop it. 

The man—hero, you distantly thought, although your chaotic thoughts still couldn’t place him—launched up into the air with another explosion that rattled your windows, the car alarm cutting off as the vehicle was crushed an instant later. 

The blond skidded into a landing half a dozen yards away, but then you suddenly saw Mr. Takeyoshi standing on the street, a ghostly apparition framed by smoke and flames. 

You blinked, and the giant hand shot toward Mr. Takeyoshi, batting away several more heroes who tried to intervene. 

Then the explosive hero was just there, pushing Mr. Takeyoshi out of the way, right before the hand wrapped around him. 

You could hear the hero’s anguished scream through your window as he was crushed in the fist’s grip, and the sound hit you right in the solar plexus, knocking the breath out of you, bruising your insides, the pain settling into the familiar ache of being helpless in the face of suffering. 

You watched uselessly as the hero was lifted up into the sky, struggling, setting off explosions left and right. Then the massive arm seemed to pause in the middle of the road, right above the villain, and your eyes locked onto the hero, his pale hair and skin stark against the black, rocky hand that held him trapped. 

In the next instant, a white light, like a star going supernova, bloomed to life around the hero, illuminating the white slash of his snarling teeth before it became too bright for you to take. You slammed your eyes shut against the burning light, and the hair on the back of your neck stood on end, like the moment before lightning struck, as you dropped to the floor below your window. 

Then the world exploded, the building shaking to its foundations, right before the window burst into a million shards of glass.

#bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugo x reader #bakugo x reader #bakugo katuski x reader #bakugo katsuki/reader #bakugo/reader #bakugo katsuki/you #bakugo katsuki x you #my hero academia #mha spoilers #boku no hero academia #bnha #anime #fanfic #my writings #katsuki bakugo

[horansqueen]

You & Me : chapter 1

A Niall Horan fanfiction ; rated MA

Sequel to AM CONVERSATIONS

NOTES:

-one chapter is her pov, the next is his. -4k -im sorry, i never proofread, i hate it. -there WILL be smut. but not only smut. -this is a romance, comedy, smut story. -for the summary, check my MASTERLIST.

- notes!!! hello to all of you, who gave AM CONVERSATIONS a chance and are ready to join me for this sequel too. thank you so so much, ill never say it enough. you make me want to write and that in itself is incredible for me. i hope i can surprise you, make you laugh, make you a bit frustrated and make you emotional, too. i really hope it reaches your expectations and maybe even exceed them, who knows! (fingers crossed!) please please please, keep the comments, suggestions, ideas, requests, questions and asks coming, it means everything to me! (ill start adding requests to the chapters a bit later btw, i need to set the story first!) so here it is.

Chapter 1 : His chapter

NIALL

Time passed by so quickly I had a hard time keeping track. I thought about Olivia every day and although I did miss the romantic relationship we had, most of all, I missed the friendship. I hadn't seen her in over a year and I was not really sure I ever would again. I did know almost everything there was to know, though, and I was also aware that she had moved to California, which was the place I lived half the year.

After I broke up with her, I had spent a lot of time locked at home just writing songs, and one of my favorite things to do was to check her father's web site and read the reviews she wrote about upcoming movies. One day, though, she published a short story that became popular very fast. She started filming it instead and turned it into a low budget online tv show. Luckyly for me, she didn't have the money to hire real actors and she ended up playing it in herself. I felt like a loser and a creepy ex boyfriend every time i'd lock myself in my room, in the dark, to watch the new episode, but I couldn't help it. She made q&a's videos and she seemed happy but for me, the more time passed, the more I realized that I needed her in my life.

My debut album was doing great and I was leaving on tour in a few months. I should be the happiest I have ever been but I couldn't hide that the songs I was about to sing every night still made me very emotional. My life was not all bad, of course. in fact, it was probably the best time of my life but it was tough for me to realize that I wouldn't be able to share it with my best friend... the girl I still wanted to end my life with.

My phone beeped as I was walking in the busy streets and I quickly searched my pockets to read the incoming text message.

'Don't forget to pick the cake for Joey at the bakery.'

I rolled my eyes and quickly typed an answer.

'Almost there.'

It was not a lie. Ten more seconds and I was pushing the doors of one of the biggest bakeries around. I didn't see the point in getting such an expensive and big cake for a birthday but I also didn't like to argue so I just went along with it.

I leaned against the counter and smiled as an employee moved closer.

"I'm here to pick up an order." I explained in a low tone. "Horan."

The lady smiled and nodded before leaving and I turned around, leaning more against the counter. I took my phone and started checking my messages until I heard it. Something I never thought i'd ever hear again. A laugh. It was clear and happy and although extremely fucking cheesy, it reached my heart like nothing else ever had in my life. I stopped breathing and my heart twisted but it took me a few seconds to react. I looked around the place but couldn't see her anywhere until I realized there was an other room a bit further. I took a few steps closer, a bit scared of what I was going to see but at the same time, I was full of hope.

I saw her first. She was standing up on the side, her head slightly down and her nose raised up. She seemed to glow in a way only she could and the thumping of my heart against my rib cage got even worse. She laughed again and something inside of me seemed to wake up suddenly from a very long slumber. It took me a few seconds to realize she was with Julie and when she noticed me, she hit Olivia's arm a few times to get her attention. With a quick chin movement, she incited her to turn to me and I held my breath when our eyes finally met. I was trying to decipher how she felt through her facial expressions but I couldn't seem to. Did we lose that connection we had? Was it gone forever?

I cleared my throat but walked up to them, trying to act casual as I sent both of them a smile.

"Hey, it's been a while."

"It has, in fact." Julie just replied. "Liam wanted to invite you over soon, so just text him."

My eyes moved to her and I sent her a small smile before nodding. "Will do."

I pushed both my hands in my pockets, feeling suddenly nervous to be around her. Her eyes finally met mine and she smiled to me sincerely. I expected her to be a bit embarrassed, or to feel uneasy, but she tilted her head and I let my eyes roam on her face. She smelled exactly like I remembered, the addicting scent of vanilla and honey invading me completely, and once again, my heart skipped a beat.

"It's been even longer for us." I just said, making her nod slightly. "How are you? How's your boyfriend?"

She chuckled and shrugged. "We're both good, thanks for asking, what about you and your girlfriend?"

"Good, we're good."

My eyes moved on her features and I licked my lips, suddenly wondering if hers tasted like they used to..

"Congrats on your tv show, by the way, it's incredible" I added, trying to keep the conversation going. "I'm very happy for you."

We both heard Julie's phone ring but I kept my eyes on her, giving her all my attention.

"Thank you! I'm having a blast with this I mean, who would have thought acting was so much fun, you know? I knew I loved writing but this is... beyond my expectations." she expressed with passion, making me smile more. "Oh and congrats on your first album!"

"Oh thank you, thanks!"

I moved slightly and opened her mouth to say something just as Julie came back and we both turned around as she hung up.

"Okay so Liam says we have to pick 'chocolate'."

I frowned and suddenly remembered where we were, my eyes roaming around the bakery and I licked my lips again. They had a few plates placed on the counter in front of them with pieces of different cakes and I realized it was probably for a wedding cake.

"I thought we were the ones in charge?" Liv frowned, moving her hands up while looking at Julie. "Since when does he get a say in this?"

"Wedding cake? Can I taste?"

I moved forward and grabbed a fork, taking a bite from the chocolate one.

"Mmhm dis one's gweat!" I replied, my mouth full, making Olivia roll her eyes with a smile. "I agree with Liam." I continued with a smirk after swallowing.

I hadn't seen Liam in a few months and now I knew why he wanted to invite me over. It was only a matter of time until he'd ask Julie to marry him. After all, they had been dating for years and nothing would ever tear them apart. It reminded me of my mistakes and all the things I regretted. My eyes found Liv again and I swallowed the lump in my throat. The way I broke up with her and especially the reasons why I did it were horrible but we would end up together, I was still sure about that, as pathetic as it sounded. I didn't tell anyone, I knew they would say i'm delusional and I didn't want to let them kill that conviction or even make it falter.

"Thanks for your input, Niall." Liv joked, raising her nose up with a smile. "Your opinion's been noted."

I laughed and it made her laugh too and for some odd reason, it brought a bunch of memories in my head. That time we played football together and I fell on top of her... or that time we danced in the living room and tripped over each other... that time we fucked on the stairs of a radio station and had to rush down and out not to be caught... that time we made love for the first time next to my christmas tree... that time...

"Niall?"

"Mm?"

"You okay?" she asked with a frown, a smile still gracing her lips.

"Oh yea, sorry it's just... it's good to hear you laugh again."

This time, her smile turned into a fond one and I smiled too. We kept staring at each other for a while and all I could think about was how beautiful and radiating she was. Even in the way she was standing up and moving, I could see that she was more confident and happy and that her insecurities weren't as bad as they used to be. It was not just a facade.

"You're... glowing." I let out, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with my confession. I chuckled, a little embarrassed, and scratched the back of my head, trying to think of something to add before she could answer. "It's crazy that we meet, I mean, we both moved here and it's a big city."

She nodded, understanding that I didn't want to talk about the first thing I had mentioned and she finally just shrugged and shook her head.

"Yea well, you know what they say, it's a small world after all." she just replied, making me smile more.

"L.A. is a world in itself, it's true." I agreed before laughing again. "Love how you quoted disney, and also not surprised."

"Some things never change."

Her words made something twist in my stomach. The only thing that never really changed in the past two years was the love I felt for her. It was sad how it was still strong and burning my insides. I was still in love with the girl I broke up with a year ago, a girl I was seeing for the first time in months, a girl that did so fucking well without me.

"Just like your love for coffee, yea?"

I glanced up only to notice Julie was tasting cakes, making sure to stay further to give us space, but knowing her, she was probably listening to every single word Liv and I were sharing.

"I.. still love coffee."

"Good, how about one, tomorrow, to catch up?"

Her lips parted and I knew why she hesitated. It was a mix of what we used to mean for each other, the hurt I put her through, the fact that we were both taken and also, the uncertainty of us still getting along after all this. The truth was, I needed a 'yes'. I needed to see her again, to talk to her again. I needed her in my life. This whole plan of us ending up together was based on us becoming friends again but reality had just hit me. If she didn't want to be around me anymore, there were barely any chance left for us to date again. That was something I hadn't thought about too much.

I took my phone out of my pocket again and handed it to her after unlocking it. She glanced at it before looking back in my eyes and I just shrugged.

"If you want to add your number." I proposed gently. "I mean, unless you think your boyfriend wouldn't like that."

The truth was, I didn't care at all, and I knew that would trigger her into doing the opposite.

"He's never tried to stop me from seeing anyone. He's not the jealous type."

I didn't say anything, I just raised my eyebrows with a smile and she finally grabbed the phone from my hand while rolling her eyes with a smile. I stared at her with a grin as she typed and when she handed it back to me, I quickly sent her a smiling emoji to make sure she also had my number. Her phone made music as it received my text message and my smile faltered. I remembered when it was my voice she had used as a ringtone and as a notification for her messages. Of course, I couldn't expect her to have kept it after all this time but it still did something to me to realize that she was now using something else. So many things had changed and despite what I tried to make myself believe, it really fucking hurt.

"Oh is that... the theme of your tv show?"

I knew damn well it was but I didn't want to make it seem like I was obsessed with it only to see her face, even if it was exactly that. When did I fall into this disgusting pattern of regretting my own decisions? Now that I was standing right in front of her, I realized that it was a bit creepy of me but at the same time, I couldn't help myself.

"Yes! It's good isn't it?"

It was, in fact, very good, and I also knew exactly who wrote it and who was singing, but once again, I didn't mention it.

"Yea, definitely."

She sent me a smile that I sent back and we suddenly went quiet. I kept staring at her, wondering what she'd do if I'd just cup her face and kissed her but also knowing i'd never have the guts to do it. Having her so close made all my feelings so much more real, vivid and alive that I could barely breathe in her presence.

We had been friends for decades and had dated for a year but never before have I felt like this around her. Everything about her was shining in a way it never did before and what emanated from her was reflecting on me and illuminating my soul. I had no idea how she did that and most likely, she wasn't even aware of the effect she had on me.

"It's just... so good to see you." I let out, shaking my head as she raised her eyebrows and smiled.

I had missed her. I had missed her energy, her presence, her vibe. I had missed her laughter, her touch and her kisses. I had missed her friendship and her love. It was hard to believe I actually broke up with her for... for what, exactly?

"You too, Nee." she just said, tilting her head. "I'll text you."

I knew in the way that she was looking at me that we weren't on the same page and even though I didn't want to admit it to myself, I sort of wished she would still love me the way she used to. Hell, even just half of the love she used to feel for me would be enough. But there she was, standing in front of me, acting like we didn't have this painful and crazy history, and that hurt in a way I couldn't explain.

"Liv, are you gonna help or not?" Julie let out from a bit further, sticking her fork in one of the pieces of cake. "I'm getting a bit nauseous, you know I don't have a sweet tooth!"

Olivia looked back but turned again to me and chuckled without answering her. It made me laugh a bit when I saw her expression. Finally, something that was still exactly the same.

"Sorry, i'm gonna have to-"

"Yea no, it's cool." I replied, cutting her and frowning as I shook my head and shrugged. "Just text me."

"NEIL HOREIN?"

I grimaced at the sound of my name being mispronounced and cringed slightly, making Olivia laugh even more.

"I should be used to this but I never will." I admitted, my eyes closed. "You'd think after a few platinum albums, people would get it right."

"Well, keeps you grounded doesn't it?" she joked, trying to suppress a laugh.

"For sure." I just agreed, rising my nose up before sending her a smile. "Take care yea?"

Without thinking, I brought my hand up and my fingers brushed against the skin of her arm and I realized I hadn't touched her in over a year. It gave me a shock that seemed to cross my entire body and I held my breath, taking my hand back. She didn't seem fazed at all by this connection and she just raised her hand up as a goodbye sign. I took a step back and finally turned around to reach the front of the shop to pay. I turned to look at her again but she was back to trying out cakes and I took the box the lady behind the counter was handing me before thanking her and leaving.

Everything seemed surreal as I stepped foot out and I held my breath and closed my eyes until I heard my phone beep again. My heart skipped a beat at the thought of Olivia messaging me already but it dropped when I noticed it was only my girlfriend again.

'So? The cake?'

I sighed, slightly annoyed, but typed a quick answer as I was reaching my car.

'Got it. On my way.'

                                                        -----

I quickly opened the door and took my shoes off before closing it with my foot and walking to the kitchen. I didn't know where my girlfriend was and simply put the cake in the fridge before sitting down in the living room, grabbing my guitar and putting it on my lap. I took the notebook I had left on the coffee table and started scribbling the two-line lyrics that had been stuck in my head the whole drive until home.

I was not ready for a new album yet but that didn't mean I couldn't work on new music while waiting and I just stared at the words written for a few seconds without blinking. Quickly, I added a few words before and worked on the verses. I could feel my heart beat hard against my rib cage as I re-read the words and I finally took my guitar and started playing while recording myself. I didn't know if half an hour had even passed when I heard footsteps coming from downstairs and I stopped recording, barely believing I had written something decent enough to be used in a future album. I was so lost in my mind that it took me a few seconds to realize someone was taking to me.

"Niall? Hello?"

"Mm?" I blinked a few times and turned my head, my eyes meeting my girlfriend's. "Sorry love, what did you say?"

"The. Cake." she let out very annoyed, after probably repeating it a few times.

"The. Fridge." I replied meanly, feeling suddenly a bit guilty for being rude. "You're gonna have to try and trust me, you know." I added slightly louder as she reached the kitchen.

She came back with a bottle of water and sat next to me, swallowing half of it quickly. She was wearing her work-out clothes and pushed her high ponytail over her shoulder, taking one of her earbuds off.

"I thought you were going out for a run?" I asked, frowning for a second before closing the notebook in front of me.

I didn't want her to read what I had written or to ask to hear it but I knew it was not likely that she would. She had stopped caring about things I enjoyed a while ago. Why did we start dating again?

"Wasn't in the mood to be photographed." she let out with a grimace, making me chuckle.

"Oh yea? Since when?"

She turned to me and if looks could kill, i'd be fucking dead on the spot. I cleared my throat and shrugged a shoulder, leaning against the couch. I wanted to point out to her that I was right but instead, I closed my eyes, humming my new song and feeling something twist in my chest. How could one person inspire me so much? Was she also going to be the muse for my second album? I desperately wanted to believe i'd be back with her soon and be able to write a few happy songs for the second one but after the short encounter we just had had, I was not even sure she still had feelings for me. It did the opposite for me, though ; i was now totally sure that I was still in love with her.

"Okay well, can you order?" my girlfriend asked, taking me out of my daydream as she put her hand on my thigh. "I need to rehearse a bit more, okay?"

She didn't wait for my answer and just got up, running back downstairs with her water bottle and I closed my eyes again. After I broke up with Olivia, I decided to go out every night, have fun and fuck whoever I wanted. The first few times felt amazing but the more I was fucking around, the more I realized it was not for me. The flirting part was nice enough, and the sex wasn't so bad most of the time but the feeling i'd get when i'd wake up in the morning was horrible, like a bitter aftertaste of some expired milk that remained in your fridge for too long. The truth was, sex with a stranger is good, but never as good as sex with someone you love, for many many reasons. When feelings were involved, there was clearly something stronger coming from the whole moment and after a while, you know that person so well that you know exactly what she wants and what it means when she does a certain face, or moans a certain way. There was something important and safe in the choreography of our bodies and I hadn't found that special feeling and connection with anyone else,  not even my current girlfriend. No, sex was not everything, but with the right person, it was ecstatic and emotional at the same time.

I grabbed my phone and looked at our conversation. There was only the smiling emoji I had sent her yet and I started nibbling on my bottom lip. She hadn't messaged me yet and I was a bit scared she never would. I started typing a message slowly, telling myself that if she'd never message me, at least, she'd know how I felt.

'If honesty means telling you the truth, well i'm still in love with you'

I blinked a few times, staring at the words I had typed from the song I had written, until I couldn't read them anymore due to the tears in my eyes. I couldn't believe I was crying, I couldn't believe it would hurt so much to see her so well without me and at the same time, that thought was so selfish it made me feel guilty. After all, I was the one who had broken up with her, and she didn’t owe me anything. She hadn’t spent the last year dwelling on the past or crying for me.

I swallowed, ready to hit 'send', when my phone beeped. I wiped my eyes quickly and the left corner of my lips raised up. I felt like someone had taken a load off my shoulders and I breathed in deeply as I read her message.

'Coffee tomorrow afternoon, are you free? 🤪'

I chuckled at the emoji and quickly, I deleted the lyrics I was about to send her to replace it with an answer to her question. I wanted to see her and if she had asked me to drive to her at this exact moment, I would have in a heartbeat. Everything I did in the past year was only to lead me to this exact moment.

'Always free for you 🥰'

#niall horan #niall horan fluff #niall horan smut #niall horan writing #niall horan story #niall horan fanfic #niall horan fan fic #niall horan fanfiction #niall horan fan fiction #my fanfics #yam #OPWDJHFALZDFSDZXCV IM SO STRESSED OMG

[calpalirwin]

Somebody to You

Summary: Nothing like a roadtrip to a wedding to make Zyla feel extra sappy about her own husband.

A/N: Sort of in collab with @baldcalum​ @cxddlyash​ and @talkfastromance4​. Thanks for letting me pester you with questions/bounce ideas off of you!

Content: All the soft.

Word count: 3k

And away, and away we go!

__

“My mother warned me about stranger danger, but she never warned me about what to do when the man with the van is your husband,” I joked as I carefully hung up the garment bags in the empty back.

“You could’ve flown with them,” Ashton told me as he started to load up everything we needed. “I drew the short straw, not you.”

I leaned against the van, admiring how his muscles flexed with his movements. God, the fact that this man was my husband still totally blew my mind nearly a year after the fact. “You didn’t draw the short straw. You offered. And we’re a team now, in case you forgot.”

“How could I ever forget the best day of my life?”

I laughed. A sassy retort was on my lips but my phone rang cutting me off. “Hey, Kai,” I answered, barely needing to glance at the caller ID to know who it was.

“Have you talked with everyone about their flight?” her panicked voice asked.

“Yes,” I spoke into the phone. “Their flight leaves later. They’ll get there probably at the same time Ashton and I do.”

“And are you leaving soon?” Kai asked and I could hear the clicking of my friend’s heels as she paced back and forth.

“Yes,” I assured her. “And take a breath. Relax. We’ll probably beat the GPS. You know Ash drives like a madman.”

“I do not,” Ashton piped up at the same time Kai groaned, “If he gets you both killed on the drive out here, I will bring you back from the dead to kill you both myself!”

“So, I get to die twice for something I didn’t do? That hardly seems fair…”

“You married him!”

“Damn right I did,” I smirked before I used my free hand to smack at my husband’s ass as he loaded the last bit of our things into the van for the trip.

“Hey!” Ashton yelped in surprise before turning towards me, his hazel eyes dancing, a seductive smirk beginning to grace his lips, and his dimple making its debut. “I’m supposed to do that to you.”

I snapped my teeth playfully at the man. “Alright, we’re about to hit the road. I’ll keep you updated on where we are, okay?” I told Kai, doing what I could to calm her overworking mind. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” I asked Ashton.

“No!” both him and Kai answered way too quickly.

“Cuss out a guy one time and they never let you live it down,” I muttered, shaking my head.

“Just hurry,” Kai whined. “But not fast. Just regular speed, ASHTON!”

“Yes, Mrs. Hood!” Ashton answered, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice so the woman on the other end of the phone could hear him.

“He’s lucky he’s married to my best friend otherwise I would have killed him already…”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said with an eye roll. How such a low-strung woman as myself was best friend’s with a high-strung type like Kai was beyond me sometimes. I supposed it really was about balance. “Just take a few deep breaths. Set that future husband of yours to good use. And I’ll be there before you know it.”

“And Britt and Holly!” Kai added with a sense of urgency.

“Shit, did I remind Mikey to confirm the rooms?” I wondered out loud with a playful tone.

“Zy!”

I laughed, “Would you relax? I was teasing!” Then, I mouthed at Ashton in case I had actually forgotten for him to “Text Mikey about the rooms!”

“I hate you…”

“No you don’t,” I chirped.

“Kai, if you don’t let my wife off the phone, we’re going to be late!” Ashton said as he quickly typed on his phone.

“She can talk on the phone while you drive!”

“Not if you want us to live!”

I rolled my eyes more. “I’ll text you from the road. And you,” I said, turning my attention from my phone to Ashton. “Did you poop?”

“Did I po- Fuck. Be right back.”

“You seriously need to stop drinking an entire pot of coffee by yourself…”

“Well if someone drank it with me…”

“Just make less! It’s not that hard!”

“You leave me and my coffee addiction alone!”

“Go poop!”

~~~

“That’ll be five dollars,” the bartender told me.

“For a water?” I asked incredulously, pulling out my wallet anyway. “This is why I don’t go out…” I continued to grumble as I started to hand my card over. Whatever Kai had planned that required me to be in a dress and heels instead of on my couch in sweats and an oversized shirt had better be good. Where the hell was she anyway?

“Put it on my tab. I got it, sweetheart,” a deep and smooth voice from behind me said before a large hand was pulling mine away from paying.

“I can buy my own water, but thank you,” I answered, turning to eye the friendly stranger. And I immediately had to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor. His brown hair was perfectly slicked back except for this one stubborn piece that curled between a stunning set of honey gold eyes. A leather jacket hugged his strong shoulders and the buttons on his shirt were undone to a dangerously low level. I struggled to keep my eyes from traveling further down his body, turning my attention to the hand that was now extended to me in greeting. I shook it, noting the damage to his fingers. A drummer if I had to guess. Fuck. I loved drummers.

“Oh I’m not doubting that. But anyone who buys water at a club immediately has my respect. I’m Ashton by the way,” he was saying when I finally refocused.

“Zyla,” I introduced, giving him my award-winning smile.

“I believe this is yours, Zyla,” Ashton said, handing me the water bottle, and I had to hold back the school-girl like giggle bubbling up in my throat at the way my name sounded rolling off his lips and the way his fingers brushed against my hand.

~~~

“Whatcha thinking about?” Ashton’s voice asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Thinking about how we met actually,” I answered honestly, smiling softly at him.

“You looked hot that night,” Ashton recalled, taking one hand off the steering wheel to interlace his fingers with mine.

I laughed, my cheeks turning red. “I was not.”

Ashton scoffed as he raised his hand that was holding mine to brush his lips against my knuckles. “The hottest.”

“Hotter than our wedding day?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“Yes.”

I scoffed and swatted his chest. “Wrong answer, Ash.”

“You didn’t let me finish!” he giggled. “You were fucking stunning on our wedding day.”

“Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!”

“Any regrets?”

“With you? Never. You know why?” I asked.

“Why?” he asked.

“All I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah is somebody to you!” I sang along with the music blasting lightly through the speakers.

“Everybody’s tryin’ to be a billionaire! But every time I look at you I just don’t care!” he joined in.

“Cause all I wanna be, yeah all I ever wanna be, yeah, yeah is somebody to you!”

~~~

“So what’s your connection to the music industry?” Ashton asked, his attention fully on me.

“Oh, I’m this one’s photographer,” I answered, wrapping my arm around Kai’s shoulders. This was their conversation. Their collaboration meeting. What the fuck was Kai thinking inviting me out? Something in the way Ashton kept trying to get me involved in the conversation made me think I had my answer.

“Oh, she’s fuckin’ fantastic. Top of her game,” Kai bragged, and I knew I had my answer.

“I’m alright,” I shrugged. “It’s just about passion.”

“Oh, modest are we? Mind if I look at your work sometime? See who’s assessment is more correct?” Ashton inquired.

“That sounds suspiciously like you’re asking me on a date, sir,” I told him, leaning forward across the table. If he was baiting, I was biting. I’d be a damn fool not to. And Kai knew it, the fucking sneak she was. I made a mental note to both thank and throttle her for this later.

“And if I was?” he asked, leaning forward himself so our faces were inches apart.

~~~

“Yes, they got on the flight.”

“And Ash has the instruments?”

“Yes, we have everything.”

“You remembered his suit and your dress? And your heels? I swear if you wear flats… or gods forbid… sne-snea- Ugh! I can’t even say the word!”

I rolled my eyes at her antics. Since when was comfort a crime? “Yes, Kai. I remembered it all. Relax.”

“Wait! How are you going to take the pictures if you’re in them?! You’ve always taken my pictures! Oh my, God!”

“You know I have a team, right? Like I run a business. I have employees.”

“But they’re not you!”

“I don’t hire amateurs, Kai. And you will get final say before anything goes to print. Now, breathe!” I left out the part that of course I had brought my own camera equipment for the spur of the moment inspiration, because she knew I never traveled without my gear.

“How far have you guys gotten?”

“Halfway give or take.”

“It’s a 6 hour drive, and you left at 8 this morning. It’s almost 1!”

“Well, we can’t just drive for 6 hours straight. We gotta stop for food and pee breaks.”

“You mean coffee and poop breaks?”

“Same thing,” I laughed as Ashton walked out of the gas station with two bottles of water and a huge bag of Cheez-Its. I let out an excited gasp as I reached for the bag. “Yes! I love you!” I cheered.

“I love you too. Now hurry up!”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Kai. But yes. We’ll be there soon. If someone can stop pooping every fifty miles.”

“I wouldn’t have to drink so much coffee if someone helped me drink it. Or offered to drive…” Ashton teased.

“You wouldn’t let me drive,” I reminded him, opening the bag and swallowing a handful of cheesy cracker goodness.

“That's because you get mad road rage, miss.”

“That’s ma’am to you, sir,” I laughed. “I’m a married woman.”

“Are you ever gonna get tired of saying that?” he asked, a goofy grin on his face.

“Fuck no!” I laughed more, reaching up on tiptoe to peck his lips with mine. “Husband, husband, husband.”

“Wife, wife, wife,” he replied, kissing me after each word.

~~~

“You ever think about getting married?” Ashton asked.

“Like in general? Or to you?” I asked, my senses perking into high alert mode.

“Both?”

I shrugged. “Little scary isn’t it? I mean, every relationship runs the risk of those involved waking up one day and suddenly this isn’t what they want anymore. So to divorce in the midst of heartbreak… well… I guess it would depend on how I felt the person asking me to decide if that was a risk I was willing to take.”

“And if I asked?”

“I’d say call Andy and Ryan to make sure there’s photos and video of me saying yes.”

“Really?” he asked, his voice full of amazement and hope.

“Of all the things I want to be in life, yours is easily at the top of that list.”

~~~

“Fuck, this view is gorgeous,” I marveled as we leaned against the van.

“Yeah it is,” he smiled, his eyes on me.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I meant this view,” I said, gesturing out the window to the winter wonderland spread out before us. Kai may be over the top, but the girl had mad style, no question about it.

“I know what you meant,” he told me, wrapping his arm around me and kissing the side of my head. “And out of all the views I’ve seen and will go on to see, none of them matter if you’re not in them.”

~~~

“So, what’s the big secret?” Kai asked, once I had gathered all my girlfriends together.

I answered by sticking out my left hand, letting them decipher the news for themselves.

“Ohmigod!” Britt and Holly screeched in excitement. Britt grabbed my hand to get a closer look while Holly jumped in circles starting rattling off wedding ideas.

I looked at Kai who stared back with a blank expression. “Well?” I prompted.

“I thought you hated the idea of marriage,” was the response, void of any real emotion except genuine confusion. Of all our differences, that had been our one similarity- besides a love of pretzels and an aversion to drinking. While we weren’t necessarily anti-romance, marriage just wasn’t something that had been on our radars. And now for me to be engaged before Britt or Holly, well, it was definitely a shock to the system. I still couldn’t quite believe it myself. The weight on my finger was both surreal and not the least bit heavy.

“I do! I did… I… I dunno.”

“Does he make you happy?”

“Duh!”

“Do you make him happy?”

“I would hope so.”

“Does he love you?”

“Again, I certainly hope so.”

“Do you love him?”

“So fuckin much.”

“Am I maid of honor?”

“Please?”

“Congrats, Zy,” Kai smiled.

~~~

“Kai Theodora Zaher,” Calum spoke, pausing to clear away the thickness in his throat. “You were perfect from the first moment I met you. More than perfect. And while I would never ask you to change anything about you, one thing has always bothered me. Your last name not being mine. Thank you, not only for turning my world on its head, but allowing me to make you Kai Theodora Zaher Hood. I love you, wildflower.”

Kai’s hand gripped my fingers tightly as she held back the squeak and the rest of us choked down our tears. Funny how cynics usually had the softest hearts.

I looked over at Ashton who stood directly across from me besides Calum. If I was closer, the heels on my feet would bring me to the perfect height for me to tuck my head under his chin without me needing to strain up or him needing to slump down. He looked so good in his suit with his hair slicked back for the occasion. And I knew I looked like a bombshell in my own floor-length gown that hugged my small curves in the most perfect of ways. Kai had really outdone herself with this winter wonderland she had created. Every detail no matter how small was absolutely perfect. Ashton’s eyes met mine and his lips moved to mouth “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I mouthed back, before letting my mind take me back only earlier this year when it had been him and I in Calum and Kai’s places and them in ours.

~~~

“I promise to always buy you overpriced bottles of water.”

“I promise to chase the risk that is my life with you.”

“I promise to make that risk worth it.”

“I promise to always be your somebody.”

~~~

“This year has definitely been one for the books, hasn’t it, Kai? See, I dunno if you all know this, but it’s always been Kai and I. Kai and Zy. Zy and Kai. The opposites glued at the hips. Never one without the other,” I paused to squeeze my best friend’s shoulder before I went on with my speech. “All my years with her have been filled with their adventures. But this year? Well, this year started with a wedding. And it’s befitting it ends with one too. Because, you see, Kai and I, for getting married first,” I paused again to smirk over at Luke and Mike who squirmed in their seats under my gaze, “never really bought into the marriage idea. Romance, sure. But marriage was always too messy. And then! Oh, boy, and then these two came right out of left field and messed that right up.” I moved my hand that was squeezing Kai’s shoulder to rest on Calum’s. “Calum, my dear sweet friend, thank you for proving to my best friend what your best friend proved to me. Because while I may not believe in marriage, I believe in mine, and I believe in yours. Best years to you both. I love you.”

I kissed both of their cheeks before handing the microphone to Ashton as he held my chair out for me to take my seat. “Well,” Ashton spoke around the lump in his throat, taking a small moment to clear it. “You’d think that my days as a musician would have prepared me for the opening act completely outdoing the headliner…”

I stuck my tongue out at him and he grinned at me.

“If someone had asked me that the first wedding I give a best man speech at would be Calum’s, I probably would have laughed. That’s how wild this all is. Kai, thank you for flipping his world upside down. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him happier than when he’s with you. And we all know how much he loves his bass, so mad props to you, darling. Cal? Don’t fuck this up, mate.”

~~~

“Good morning, Mrs. Irwin!” Ashton said brightly, waking me up with the kisses he was covering my body with. “How do you feel, Mrs. Irwin?” he grinned when his lips found mine.

“Like I’m on top of the world,” I grinned back.

“Adjusting to that weight on your finger okay?”

“Feels surprisingly light. Like I always meant to wear it.”

“Mmm, that’s probably cuz you were.”

“You really think that? That I was always meant to be your wife?”

“I think you were always meant to be the greatest somebody to me. I just got lucky that somebody was my wife.”

“You’re such a sap,” I laughed, feeling myself tear up at his sentiment.

“Your sap.”

“My sap.”

~~~

“What is it about weddings that makes me want to get married?” Ashton asked as he twirled me in a circle before pulling me against his chest.

“We’re already married,” I pointed out.

“And I want to marry you every day for the rest of my life.”

“And I’ll marry you every time.”

__

Tag List

@goeatsomelife​ @flameraine​ @cashtonasff5sos​ @here-for-the-uproars​ @cxddlyash​ @1-irwin-94​ @baldcalum​ @sparkling-calm​ @tea4sykes​ @youngblood199456​ @5-seconds-of-obsession​ @gosh-im-short​ @aquarius-hood1996​ @talkfastromance4​ @itjustkindahappenedreally​ @philthepegacorn​ @kikixfandoms​

#somebody to you #ashton irwin #ashton irwin fic #5sos #galcal irwin

[bobasheebaby]

Minor Detail: Announcing the Heir [Wacky Drabble #20 & #23]

Pairing: Athena x Liam; past Athena x Percy

Word count: 989

Warnings: angst; evil Liam

Summary: Liam surprises Athena.

A/N: Hoping to be able to wrap this up in two to three chapters maximum. A huge thank you to both @sirbeepsalot​ and @burnsoslow​ for reading an unfinished first draft. This is my messed up take on chapter three(with a time jump).

A/N2: this is a very late submission to @emceesynonymroll​ wacky drabble challenge. 20- Have you lost your mind?; 23-  Leave me out of it. I'm not going.  prompts will be bolded. (Prompts May have changed to fit the story.)

A/N3: I’m hoping this makes sense, between writing part of five and all of four I got a tad distracted from this chapter. Before I could continue with my train of thought our family suffered an unexpected loss, while I wasn’t close to the person their death is greatly affecting my husband and my child is still processing (it’s going to be hell once his dam bursts). I do have chapter four ready to go for 2/29 and I do hope to have chapter five done soon but right now both my boys need me.

I only own Percy, the rest I’m borrowing from PB.

“Hello my queen.”

Athena rolled her eyes at Liam’s sugary sweet words. Since she sprung the truth on him, she’d been sleeping in the guest room, unable to continue to pretend with him since he’d signed her child away. He’d been sweeter, intent on proving she was his. “Unless you are here to tell me you’ve gotten Hunter out of that bullshit betrothal, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Unfortunately, I have not.” He hadn’t even tried to look for a loophole to change the details of the alliance, instead putting his efforts into making Hunter legally his.

“Well, as I said, I don’t want to hear it; you can show yourself out now.”

“I have, however, assembled the court and press to officially present our princess to the country.”

“You did what?” Please tell me I misheard.

“We are introducing Hunter to court today; I had matching outfits made for you and Hunter to mark the occasion.”

Athena blinked. Is he out of his ever loving mind?! “Have you lost your mind? That’s what’s happening here, right? Because I know you don’t really believe I will just parade Hunter as your heir after you sold her off like fucking cattle!” Her body shook with rage. “There is no way that I am parading Percy’s child as your own since your very first act as her ‘father’ was to sell her hand in marriage.”

“She is mine.”

“Excuse me?”

“I spoke to Duke Perceval and he signed his rights over to me.”

Athena narrowed her eyes; he’s lying. “You are so full of shit right now! Percy would never sign away his child! When we thought I was pregnant, he was ready to raise your child, and now you expect me to believe that you spoke to him and he willingly signed away any and all rights to Hunter?” She fought back a scream - all he’d done, and now he was stooping to blatant lies to save his own ass. “Leave me out of it, leave Hunter out of it. We. Are. Not. Going.”

--

“Shhhh, I know sweetie, you need to settle down, Hunter.” Athena said as she shifted a fussy Hunter in her arms. His idea of pretty matching dresses were blue floral monstrosities, Hunter’s with yards of puffy tulle that made her squirm and cry. We both would have been happier in the pink dresses.

“Well, that was a disaster; can you try to calm her so she can be somewhat dignified for the rest of the day?”

“Are you kidding me right now, Liam? It’s your fault she’s unhappy. I told you she would hate this dress, but you wouldn’t listen.”

“The dress isn’t the problem; it’s your attitude, my queen. She senses your unwillingness and is reacting to it, so please remain cordial and presentable.”

Athena clenched her teeth as she continued to rock Hunter in her arms. She wanted to rip the blasted tulle skirt off of her daughter’s dress, screaming at the man she’d been forced to marry. Her eyes met Percy’s from across the room briefly. Her heart ached, she should be by his side as they introduced their daughter to court. How much longer can I parade this lie? Every minute spent with Liam and away from Percy felt like she was slowly dying. She was no longer happy, or carefree. I’m so sorry Hunter, this is not the life I wanted for you. “If you’re so worried about Hunter’s behavior, perhaps you should allow us to return to our quarters.”

“Nonsense my queen.” He rested his hand on her lower back. “I trust that you shall both be on your best behavior.”

--

“I know my sweet girl, it’s okay, mama is here.” Athena said as she swayed side to side, a slight bounce in her movements to calm Hunter who was nuzzled against her chest.

It had been weeks since Hunter’s disastrous debut, tensions between her and Liam only proving to become worse. Any time that Hunter acted less than the perfect princess Liam expected her to be he blamed her. Her hatred towards him was corrupting their sweet child. Her stomach would churn each and every time he would try to claim her daughter.

Oh sweetie I wish I could just make you feel better. She sighed as she continued to bounce Hunter, desperate to help her sick daughter in any way. “Liam, just go without me. Olivia will understand as will the citizens; a good mother and queen would stay with her sick child.”

Liam sighed, it had been months since Hunter was born, and yet Athena continued to act like an ice queen whenever they weren’t in public. “My queen, she will be fine.” He lifted the crying, feverish infant from her mother’s arms.

“She is sick. Now give my sweet girl back to me and leave.”

“You are going with me.” He handed Hunter off to Hana. “Hana is more than capable of handling anything that may come up.”

This isn’t right! How can you take a mother from her sick child? Tears pricked at her eyes and her throat tightened at the thought of leaving Hunter behind. “No, she needs me.”

Liam’s jaw twitched. Why must she make this so hard? “She will be fine my love, if it makes you feel better I will leave Bastien with her incase an emergency might arise where they need to leave the palace.”

The thought of being away from her sweet daughter, powerless to help was unbearable. She wanted to fight, but she could see there was no reasoning with Liam, there never was; he always got exactly what he wanted. “Fine, just let me say goodbye to my daughter.”

“I’ll wait in the car, do hurry.”

Athena waited until Liam stepped away, her eyes locking onto the head guards, she kept her voice low to remain unheard. “Bastien, if anything happens to Hunter, call Duke Perceval.”

Feedback fuels me, please like, comment reblog or send an ask. Feel free to scream, I promise I can take it.

Masterlist can be found in my bio.

@speedyoperarascalparty @liamxs-world @annekebbphotography @hopefulmoonobject @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @ao719 @blackwidow2721 @stopforamoment @akrenich @blades-of-light-and-shadow @gardeningourmet @daniv2278 @bella-ca @gibbles82 @tornbetween2loves @choiceslife @blackcoffee85 @sirbeepsalot @mrskamilxh @dcbbw @alicars @mfackenthal @bhavf @indiacater @drakesensworld @kingliam2019 @walkerswhiskeygirl @ladyangel70 @jovialyouthmusic @edgiestwinter @rainbowsinthestorm @janezillow @sleepwalkingelite @texaskitten30 @traeumerinwitzhelden @bbrandy2002 @jared2612​ @blackcatkita​ @darley1101​ @cordonianroyalty​ @lolablackwrites @burnsoslow​ @loveellamae​ @desireepow-1986

#wacky drabbles #liam x mc #king liam #trh au #evil liam #the royal heir #percy x athena #liam x athena #she is and always will be percys #athena morgan #minor detail #part three #minor detail: announcing the heir #angst #im sorry percy!!!!!!! #i blame the chapter and people saying we need an argument and the fact i live to troll liam with percy #long post #read more #athena belongs with percy and that’s just fact

[timeaftertime-chriscornellfanfic]

Chapter 18 - Into The Flood Again

Seattle Washington, March 2 1990

(Andi is 20, Chris is 25)

ANDI: It was a grey Pacific North West afternoon, typical weather for Seattle and I had just finished my short little 4 hour shift at the local used record shop - Bluestreak Records - downtown. Instead of taking the bus back home, I decide to walk. Normally Chris will come and pick me up but he said he would be at Kim's rehearsing this afternoon so I just said that I would meet him there once I stop at home first to clean up a little. 

I wish I could just drive instead of having to catch a bus or a cab or have Chris drive me everywhere. Given my condition, it's definitely recommended that I don't. I wouldn't want to be behind the wheel and suddenly have an episode and end up causing an accident or killing someone.

As I walk out on to the sidewalk, slinging my bag over my shoulder, I take out my Walkman with my headphones and blast Metallica's Master Of Puppets album in my ears. Eventually I make it back home and climb the steps to the front door. Once I open the door, I step inside and take off my bag and my head phones, setting them down beside the door, then slip off my leather jacket and hang it up. The living room was dark as no one seemed to have opened the curtains at all since I left earlier this morning and I could hear the faint sound of Van Halen's first record playing from Andy and Xana's room. I walk over to the far window and open up the curtains to let some light in, though the gloominess of the day doesn't really help much. Then as I make my way down the hallway to get myself ready to take a shower, I see the bathroom door slightly open and a bare foot peaking out from the corner of the door.

"Xana?" I call out slightly panicked but trying to keep my cool. 

Nothing.

"Andy? Is that you in there?"

Still no answer.

I quickly move to the door and attempt to care fully open it but I couldn't as they were laying in front of the door.

"Andy!? Andy!!" I shout but no answer. After a few moments of me pushing on the door, I was able to slide myself through the crack and see that in fact it was Andy laying on the floor on his back, his blonde locks matted to his forehead, only in his blue plaid pajama pants and a syringe hanging out of his left forearm right in the crook of where his elbow bends.

"Holy shit, no... no, no, no, no," I keep repeating frantically as I maneuver myself in between him and the bathroom counter, and try my best to lift up his head, tapping his cheeks to get him to wake up. I lean over him and listen to see if I could hear him breathing and I could, but just barely. I take his right wrist and feel around for a pulse and then move my fingers up to his neck since I couldn't feel anything with his wrist. Eventually I do feel a pulse but it's so incredibly faint, it's almost hard to tell.

"Andy... can you hear me? Please, can you hear me?" I start to cry as I tap his cheek again. He still doesn't move but I hear a little groan emerge from his throat. I then carefully pull out the syringe from his arm and maneuver him into my lap, cradling his head as I attempt to get him to come back to me.

"g-g-g-gone" He groans out, barely able to form words as I hold him in my lap.

"What? Andy... no, no, no... stay with me," I cry and he tries to make out a few more words.

"l-l-l-love y-y-y-you," He mumbles as he tries to open his eyes.

"I'm gonna call an ambulance ok?" I say wiping away my tears.

"N-n-n-no," He mumbles again, and slowly starts to come around. He groans a few more times and begins to try to move. He throws his one arm around me and slowly begins to open his eyes to focus on me.

"I-I'm good... s'ok... I'm... ok," He slurs, still sounding so sleepy.

"I'm gonna call Chris and see if he can find Xana ok?" I say with tears still streaming down my cheeks.

"N-n-no... don't do that, j-just stay... stay here with me," He says closing his eyes again. I move my hand to his neck to check his pulse just to make sure and it's stronger than it was before but still slow.

"j-just stay here... with me... stay w-w-with me baby," He slurs and tries to laugh a little, though I definitely do not feel like laughing.

*****

A couple of hours later, I was sitting in the living room sipping some tea, trying to distract myself by reading an article in a magazine about how the music scene in Seattle was starting a revolution. It mentioned Mudhoney, The Melvins  and Green River as pioneers of the whole Seattle sound and with a strong focus on Soundgarden leading the way for major record labels to want to pick up on the scene emerging. It also mentioned Mother Love Bone as the next big thing with the anticipation of the release of their debut album 'Apple' on Mercury/Stardog records.

Andy was eventually able to somewhat re-gain his composure and I helped him into his room for him to sleep of the remaining high he was still enduring. I was still supposed to go and meet Chris but I was afraid to leave Andy here alone in case something happened. Just as I was reading the last sentence of the article, the door opens and I see Chris coming through with his guitar case.

"Hey baby," I say sweetly, setting my cup down on the table in front of me.

"Hi... I uh... I thought you were going to meet me at Kim's?" He says as he sets his guitar case down and slips off his leather jacket.

"I know, I'm sorry... I uh should've called," I say as I flip closed the magazine, setting it beside me and rise from the couch. He hangs up his jacket, flipping those gorgeous dark curls out of his face and turns to see me. He takes me in his arms and places his lips on mine, in a long soulful kiss. He then breaks away from me and touches his forehead to mine.

"Everything alright?" He asks and I could feel my cheeks flush. I knew I had to tell him what happened, I just have to keep myself calm. But as soon as he asked that question, my brow began to furrow and my bottom lip began to quiver.

"Baby, what's wrong? Talk to me," He says attentively. I shake my head a little trying to rid the feeling but it was hard.

"Chris -I... I don't..." I start but I couldn't get the words out.

"Andi no baby, don't slip if you can help it... tell me, tell me what's wrong," He says sternly but not angry, more like frustrated at the fact that I might disappear before him.

"It's... it's Andy, I came home and I found him on the floor in the bathroom -"

"Was he using again?" He asks quickly and I nod.

"Where is he?"

"He's in his room..." I start to feel faint.

"No baby... stay with me... Andi! " He says and that's the last thing I hear before I find myself in the dark bathroom of Chris's basement.

****

CHRIS: "God damn It!"

I didn't mean to yell but fuck. Why did she have to slip right now? Of all fucking times, why right now? I'm not mad at her I'm just so... it's just frustrating.

I pick up her clothes from the floor and set them on the couch, then make my way down the hall to see exactly what was going on. As I walk into the bathroom, I don't see any sort of evidence that anything had taken place until I see the syringe with a few dirty cotton balls in the trash.

A wave of sadness and hurt washed over my entire body at the fact that she was the one to find him in the bathroom. I immediately make my way out of the bathroom and back down the hall to Andy and Xana's room knocking loudly on the door.

"Hey man, you in there?" I call but no answer. After a few minutes I just decide to head in myself. Normally I wouldn't be so determined but when it comes down to the fucking love of my life, the reason I breathe, finding him on the floor fucked up like that, it's a whole other ball game.

"Dude, you awake...? Andy...?" I ask my voice deep with assertiveness as I grab his ankle at the end of the bed and gently try to shake him awake. He lets out a grumble from the pillow but I couldn't make out just what he was saying.

"Andy wake up," I repeat.

"Whhaaa?" He groans as he rolls over and sees me standing beside his bed. He blinks his eyes a few times and sits up slowly, running his fingers through his hair, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"You alright man?" I ask. I figure I should start with that at least.

"Uh... yea, I think so," He says groggily with his eyes closed.

"What the fuck man? What the fuck are you doing?" I ask trying to not be angry because I know as well as anyone that never works.

"I don't know man," He says.

"Andrea found you, you know that? Just what the hell man?" I say as my anger recedes and I feel worry and hurt bubbling to the surface.

"I never meant for her to find me," He says quietly, his eyes still closed.

"Fuck, you're lucky she did. I mean... what if she never came home from work?  What if she just decided to head to Kim's to meet me without coming home first? What then?"

"Chris man, I'm sorry,"

I let out a sigh and flip my curls out of my eyes looking away for a moment while Andy looks up at me, looking like hell.

"I don't want you to be sorry... I just... I'm worried. We're all worried. We just want you to stop. You quit once before remember?"

"Yea," He says quietly.

"If you need help dude, I'm here. I'll always have your back man," I say and he gives me small smile and holds out his hand. I take it and give him a brotherly handshake patting him on his shoulder.

"Thanks," He says quietly and suddenly I hear a cry from the living room. We look at each other for a moment, then I quickly run out of his room and down the hall to the living room to see Andi sitting up on the couch, pulling down her Aerosmith T shirt and flipping her curls out from underneath.

"Babe?" I ask.

"Uh huh," She says calmly smirking as she reaches for jeans.

"What happened? When did you slip to?" I ask, a little concerned as to why she's so incredibly calm and seemingly much happier than before.

"Um, July '84," She says and pulls up her jeans, hopping into them as her curls bounce around her.

"July '84... oh... oohhhh," I say realizing with sudden lustfulness that seemed to come out of nowhere. She glances at me, sauntering over, biting her bottom lip as my memory of that night comes back to me. She lifts herself up and presses those soft plush lips to mine, lacing her fingers through my hair like she always does, which sends chills all over my entire body.

"You were amazing then, but you are incredible now," She whispers in my ear. She slowly pulls away from me and passes me to walk down the hall and as my eyes follow her, she looks back at me biting that bottom lip again and I couldn't help but practically chase her into the bedroom to relive that night over again.

*****************************************************************************************************

#time travel #Time After Time #chris cornell #chris cornell fanfiction #soundgarden #soundgarden fanfiction #alternate universe #also on ao3 #also on wattpad #mother love bone #fantasy #Andrew Wood #My Story #grunge fanfiction

[littlejeanniebean]

Ep. 1 | The Marauders: Chase Her

A/N: I’m back, witches! ;) With the long-teased BAND AU!! Also @inakindofdaydream​ here’s your tag as promised, hope you enjoy :)) More Marauders in my masterlist! Read on AO3! - J xx

“Oh, Lily, darling, isn’t it a bit…” Narcissa Black appraised the outfit with a derisive sniff, “childish?”

It was a floor-length gown, trimmed to flow with the model’s figure exactly, thanks to Dorcas’ design skills. The highlight was the hot pink lava-lamp-like mixture oozing between the solid pale pink inner layer and the clear exterior material; Lily, a chemistry undergraduate who’d founded the Evans brand on Etsy as a hobby, had made it from scratch. Underneath it all was a complicated circulation system of refrigerant to keep the wearer cool, courtesy of Marlene, who was studying to be a mechanical engineer. Lily had tested it on herself and had the light burns on her legs to prove it, but it was worth it for the 60s-themed Met Gala. That is, if she could convince her client to wear it.

“Hardly,” she responded, “The design says you're playful, but the slinky cut and deep-V neckline say you’re a woman ready to conquer the carpet.”

Narcissa rolled her eyes, “Serves me right for selecting a designer last minute. All the professionals are booked.” 

Lily tried to think of a popsicle or winter, anything to cool the angry flush she could feel burning in her cheeks.

The tall blonde was unbothered as she strutted around the mannequin, inspecting the low back and the spaghetti straps, before extending her arms out to Dorcas and Marlene, who were standing by, “Fine, fit me.”

“I got it,” Lily said quickly when she saw Dorcas’ jaw drop in indignance at being treated like a maid. 

Marlene successfully occupied the deeply offended designer until Mary, the brand's publicist, announced that it was time. 

Lily and their client left the hotel for the iconic New York museum in a chartered limousine among an entire fleet of them. Although dressed plainly in a black sweater and pencil skirt, Lily’s bright red hair made her stand out among the Black family’s monochrome entourage. 

“Sirius, who’s that?” James pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up his nose and tiptoed to get a better look through the sea of celebrities and their teams spilling onto the carpet. 

“I don’t know, but she must be nice because I’m not related to her,” said the dark-haired man, who’d been essentially coerced into attending this event with the rest of his crazy reality television family. 

“Starting to not regret letting you drag me along,” while his friend walked the carpet, James followed the lady with the designer access credentials who looked at everything around her in unabashed wonder.

“James Potter!” someone called out.

He turned around and noticed too late that it was a reporter.

“How does it feel to win a record deal after your performance in the Highland Music Festival?” 

“Will you be performing on The House of Black?” 

“When is your debut album coming out?”

James held up a finger for silence the way he’d seen his mum do plenty-a-time, “I’m so grateful - especially to my music teacher, Minerva McGonagall. I don’t think my best friend will even be on that show anymore and we do everything together. We’re in writing sessions now, just having fun and seeing what we can do, but we’re very excited to share our music with everyone soon, especially our amazing fans.”

“Who are you wearing?”

“Who are you most excited to meet tonight?”

“Are you excited for The Weird Sisters’ performance?”

It went on this way until James could politely extricate himself with the boyish excuse of needing to use the bathroom. He practically sprinted to the tents at the end of the carpet. 

“My armpits are sweating, Lily!”

There she was. A picture of calm amidst the commotion. And her name was Lily.

“Cissy, calm down -”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Siri!”

“See, this is why I can’t work with you lot anymore! You’re bat-shit crazy! Of course, your pits sweat, you’re a human being - not a fucking Barbie doll!”

“You haven’t the faintest idea of the impossible standards I hold myself to because I actually strive to be my best self unlike you, you lazy dog!”

“Are you getting this?” Bella Black, whispered with a toothy smile to the camera that was filming the entire exchange.

"How's it going, Molly?" James addressed the short videographer with auburn space buns. 

She made a funny face at him and he laughed. Molly smiled just a bit in spite of the tensions she worked around daily. 

"Narcissa," a clear voice pulled his attention back towards the girl named Lily, "I believe you've just nicked the wire that runs the cooling system with your heel," she crouched down and hooked it back up, "There you are."

James took this as his cue to pull Sirius away before another argument began. Also, he may or may not have wanted to get even closer to the red-head, "C'mon, mate, let it go, yeah? It's not worth it."

Narcissa huffed and strutted away. Lily had no choice but to follow at her heels, but to her admirer, she made it look like a power move. 

"Ugh, remind me never to do that again!" Sirius collapsed onto the couch in the recording studio they rented next door to their label, Castle Records. 

"James?" Remus asked his less distraught friend.

"Narcissa."

"Ah. At least it wasn't Bella."

The bespectacled boy sat at his drum kit and began to play a couple of mid-tempo rounds on the snare, cymbals, and base, creating the mood of a pursuit. 

"Ooh, I like that," Peter switched the settings on his electronic keyboard to an eighties synth and joined in the jam.

Remus added the bass while Sirius plugged in his electric guitar. 

It was three the next afternoon when Remus finished mixing the track and Sirius had no more unorthodox but cool ideas like, "Record the tires squealing while I  do donuts in the parking lot on my motorbike and add it to the chorus!"

However, James, being ever the perfectionist when it came to music, kept wanting to re-record the drums and the others couldn't even talk him out of it because truthfully, it sounded better every time he did it. 

When they reached the one-week mark, though, Sirius had to take action. "I called Molly. She's going to record our music video today and you know she's quick in post-production so whatever you've got is what we're running."

"Ugh, I hate you!" said James. He didn't. 

Molly arrived at nine sharp and set up the lighting, did their hair and makeup, helped them pick coordinating but not matching outfits, and at ten exactly, called, "Action!"

Don't let her doe eyes fool you

She's been winning since the day she was born

Darlin' don't wanna lose you 

Je ne parle pas français, mais j'adore

So I'm done playing hard to get

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

 You're running circles in my head

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

And every word you ever said

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

Is calling my soul outta my body, must be in heav'n

Whoo!

"LilyLilyLily!" Mary squealed, barging into her friend's hotel room and clambering onto the bed, "We made it!"

Narcissa's lava dress had been trending all week and the Evans brand online store had finally crashed with the volume of orders they were trying to process at once for clothes, accessories, make up, and fragrances.

Her name is bloomin' in my heart

And every beat I beat is hers alone

Darlin' think of what we could start 

Jamais seul ou triste, jamais pas en mode

"Jimbo! Jumbo! Jambo!" Sirius woke up his roommate with their first single blasting from his phone, "We made it!"

Their Chase Her music video had over a million views and the song was number one on Spotify. 

And if our paths cross just this once

Could you be mine and I'll be yours

Tonight, darlin', we dance, we dance

Nous pourrions vivre pour toujours

Sirius guffawed at the comment section, "James: I don't speak French; Also James: Nous pourrions vivre pour toujours."

"Co-written by Google Translate," the singer quipped, putting on his glasses so he could see it all for himself, his smile coming close to breaking his pretty face.

Done being someone you'll forget

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

 Cuz you're all I got gon' through my head

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

Yeah every word you ever said

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

Is calling my soul outta my body, must be in heav'n

Whoo!

#marauders fanfiction #marauders era #marauders band au #band au #muggle au #jily #dorlene #wolfstar #james potter x lily evans #sirius black x remus lupin #dorcas x marlene #mischief managed #i solemnly swear i am up to no good #moony wormtail padfoot and prongs #jily fanfiction #wolfstar fanfiction #my writing #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #james potter #sirius black #remus lupin #peter pettigrew #moony x padfoot #fluff #songwriting

[doomedandstoned]

Metal Legends Cirith Ungol Return Triumphant and ‘Forever Black’

~By Billy Goate~

Remember when metal was wicked? You know, the harsh, heavy metal vibe and those hammer blast beats that used to scare the bejesus out of your folks See: Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It".

No, you don't know, do you? Because you had the cool mom and dad who not only let you listen to metal, they said you could borrow their records anytime you wanted. I wasn't so lucky.

My metal consciousness awakened just at the tail end of the Satanic Panic, though outrage against heavy metal was far from over in transitioning from '80s to '90s. Initially it was FM radio that introduced me to bands like Ratt, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Poison, Cinderella, and a host of others often derisively labeled hair metal (sure, I suppose they deserve their fair share of digs, but they were still badass). But it was when my family finally got cable TV in the home that MTV introduced me to the wider world of 1988-89 metal -- most memorably to Metallica's "One" and Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine".

The ban hammer came crashing down once my mom saw me rocking out to Scorpions one day and decided this preacher's kid was headed in the wrong direction, with long hair, tattoos, demon possession, and The Number of the Beast not far behind. We were homeschooled then and there in an attempt to rescue us from the godlessness of this age.

I can sympathize with my parents now that I'm older. Imagine how scary it must have been to raise children in the world of "Welcome To The Jungle." It all must have sounded truly wretched to their ears.

Now here's a band that maybe comes closer to personifying those fears, as CIRITH UNGOL frontman Tim Baker immediately strikes a note of dread with his demonic voice box (I pray my pipes are even a third as lusty as this when I'm 63). Add to that dueling guitars and a charging rhythm section and the Ventura band sound downright mean and nasty, like they'll cut you for no good reason if you pass them on the same side of the street.

Had I half the chance, I would have surely relished this sound as a 10-11 year old and cherished it well into my adult years. As it stands, I only had the opportunity to soak in the band's impressive discography over the past three years. Let's just say I've been making up for lost time with a lot of repeated binge listening.

Frost and Fire by Cirith Ungol

Though Cirith Ungol have been together since 1972, their first album didn't appear until the early-80's. 'Frost and Fire' (1980) may not have gotten the credit it deserved for pioneering the heavy metal sound. They did, after all, pre-date Iron Maiden by three years.

Both Iron Maiden and Cirith Ungol's LPs debuted the same year, too, but they were practically an ocean apart musically. There are many songs on Frost and Fire that, while beloved, clearly were composed in the '70s and rightly belong to that era (check out "What Does It Take" and tell me I'm wrong). You won't find vocals this gnarly, this snarly, in most any other band in '72, though, that's for damned sure!

1984's King of the Dead was a huge leap forward for the band musically and forever established their characteristically evil style. The record was a milestone for metal, as well. You'll not hear anything wilder than the opening number "Atom Smasher" from Cirith Ungol's contemporaries.

Where Ronnie James Dio may have brought macho bravura and operatic grace to his performances, Tim Baker, Jerry Fogle, Michael "Flint" Vujejia, and Robert Garven delivered on the menace, striking Tolkeinian fear in the hearts of all those who dwelt in Middle Earth.

King of the Dead (Ultimate Edition) by Cirith Ungol

Two more albums followed in 1986 and 1991, respectively, then the band called it a day, hanging up the hat for some 23 years. Whispers of reunion materialized in 2015 and we got our first teaser of how a retooled Cirith Ungol (still composed of many of its original members, some dating back to the band's '70s era) with the single "Witch's Game" in 2018. This got fans more than a little excited and a live album followed in short succession.

Cirith Ungol's big return, 'Forever Black' (2020), definitely matches the intensity of their oeuvre to date. I'll be straight up with you guys, though. Four songs in, I felt a little exhausted. It's like being around someone with tons of energy who wants to talk your ear off, when all you want to do after work is go to bed.

Well, I decided to do the sensible thing and sleep on it, then revisited Forever Black the next day. What I can tell you is, as a morning person this is definitely a morning person's kind of album. It's got power, plenty of gumption, and the will to fight -- just the kind of thing you need to face the world when you awaken to tackle life's daily struggles.

Speaking of which, the attack of "Legions Arise" makes me want to get up and shout the chorus with a thousand other fans, fists raised staunchly into the sky. It's at this point I noticed how deep and spacious the recording is sonically, giving it that arena feel. You are right there at the front of the stadium, listening to every instrument distinctly and a voice crying out with authority.

I'm especially drawn to the march-like force of "The Frost Monstreme" with its "Holy Diver" beat and those ferocious pipes stoking the faithful minions to take on the Sea Mingols. Two-minutes into the track and we meet with a Sabbath-like transition. In fact, the lead riff of that mid-section sounds like a "wrong note" version of "Iron Man." Definitely digging it!

Judging from the Bandcamp reviews, the big fan favorites are "Stormbringer" and "Nightmare," followed by "Fractus Promissum," "The Frost Monstreme," and "Before Tomorrow" -- all of which are fine songs in their own right.

As solid an album as it is, there is really only one other song that had me wanting return to again, and that is "Forever Black." It comes the closest to matching the emotional punch of Cirith Ungol's classic "I'm Alive" from their immortal debut LP.

Don't misread me: this sound is ideal for open air fests and big stadiums. I can picture the crowd now -- so pumped and ready to fuck shit up. Additionally, I could see myself taking the whole album on a road trip or a long hike without complaint. In my mind, it's music that demands a physical response from you, or at least grabbing the keys and getting out of town.

Dedicated fans of fantasy and science fiction will no doubt be sufficiently absorbed by the album's abundant references to fantasy literature. For the casual listener, though, I'd recommend taking it in doses...as generous and as deadly as you like.

Out now in all formats on Metal Blade Records.

Give ear...

Forever Black by Cirith Ungol

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#D&S Reviews #Cirith Ungol #Ventura #California #Doom #Metal #Epic Doom #Heavy Metal #Doom Metal #Metal Blade Records #HeavyBest2020 #Doomed & Stoned

[kpopmultifan127]

When I Lost You Forever

This one isn’t my best one but I just felt like writing lol.....

I started dating this amazing guy named XiaoJun. He was everything I could ask for. He was tall, amazing eyes, bright smile that lit up the whole room and he always took care of me even when I told him he should rest. What brought us together, you might ask? Well we had mutual friends, our friend Mark brought us together. When I first saw him he was playing basketball with Mark and their other friend Chenle. I had stopped by to give some notes to Mark for our Chemistry class. He wasn’t able to go one day because he got sick so I offered to take notes for him. That day I dropped it off at the basketball gym that’s when I saw him.

Ever since then we’d talk, text and hang out. Then one day he came out and asked me to be his girlfriend. I was the happiest girl that day, even until now he knows how to make me smile. He was always great with little surprises, whether it was something simple as a kiss on the cheek or even little snacks for me to nibble on throughout the day. Everyday with him was an adventure. We all decided to hang out with friends. So we met up with Mark, his girlfriend Bri, and their other friends Chenle and Jaehyun.

We all decided to meet up at the hot pot restaurant XiaoJun’s dad owned. He was so nice to me, I knew where XiaoJun got his caring side from. His dad treated me as if I was his daughter, I told him I grew up without a father and once I started dating XiaoJun he told me to call him dad. When we got there, he already had a table set up for us. “Hi dad,” as I said to him giving him a warm hug. “Ah my daughter in law you are here” he replied. XiaoJun could see how happy we both were together and it was important to him that we got along because that’s his dad.

I noticed something was bothering XiaoJun. “Hey are you ok?” I asked looking at him. He didn’t realize I was talking to him until I tapped him. He quickly snapped out of it. “Oh yeah I’m fine Dee. Let’s eat.” He said as we all sat down. We all began to eat and have a blast. As they just talked about random things that was going on. “Hey XiaoJun when do you leave to go overseas with WayV?” Mark asked him. I wasn’t really paying attention at the time as I was talking to Bri about something we had planned on doing later that week. When Mark asked XiaoJun, he quickly got silent as XiaoJun kicked Mark on the shin under the table and gave him that look to keep a secret. They both got up to get some fresh air as I stayed back with Bri , Chenle and Jaehyun.

“Dee doesn’t know I’m with WayV. And she doesn’t know I’m leaving for 3+ months.” XiaoJun said with a soft sigh at the end. Mark then replied, “Wait you STILL never told her? When do you plan on telling her?” He knew he’d have to tell me sooner or later as they were already preparing for it. His tour was coming up real quick and he had to think of something. The weekend finally came and I know we were all supposed to meet up and hang out. When XiaoJun picked me up I could sense something was wrong again. “Hey are you ok?” I asked him. He looked at me with a smile that didn’t seem sincere, “Yeah I’m fine.”

We had a little barbecue party at Mark’s house. Every weekend we all took turns to where we’d have a little get together at. Just drinking, eating and talking was simple but enjoyable for all of us. And each time kept flying by faster and faster. It was a brand new week and I had a huge exam to study for. XiaoJun always offered to help me with my studies so I’d always meet him in the library. He’s the only person I ever met that was patient with me when it came to my studies. I have a problem with it, sometimes I get distracted easily and I can’t stay focused. I’d listen to what he says but then start to day dream. Sometimes he’d get upset but he knew it was a problem for me to focus. If he saw me slowly drifting away he’d quietly tap the book in front of me to get to snap out of it. “Hey you, focus...your exam is coming up soon.” He told me with a little grin. “I’m sorry..” I replied with a small sad face. He would always just smile and giggle and we’d continue.

A few days have gone by and I barely started to see XiaoJun around. I’d get a text message from him saying he needed to do something for his dad, or I’d quickly see him in the hall between classes but never really had time to hang out with him during exams week. So I was excited for my exams to be finally over. That day has finally come, my turn to get this exam over with. If I don’t pass this exam I’d have to do the makeup test the following week and I really wanted to avoid that. I studied so hard for this and I’m ready for it. I got a text from XiaoJun saying “Good Luck <3. And I will see you after your exam” little stuff like that from him always gave me strength to get through the day.

As I was grabbing a few things from my locker some random guy who seemed very upset came and slammed my locker shut. That pissed me off so I looked at him, “What the fuck was that for?!” he didn’t look familiar, and I’ve never seen him before. He then begins to yell at me “You’re screwing everything up!” I looked at him confused, did this guy get the wrong person? Because I’ve never seen him before ever. I always tried to keep my cool around rude people, “Excuse me? I’m sorry but who are you?” this guy just kept getting more upset with anything that came out of my mouth. Then Mark saw what was going on and walked up to us, “Hey Dee...What’s going on? Oh hey Yangyang what’s wrong?” Ah ok so his name was Yangyang, that cleared up one thing...but now who is this guy. “You know him Mark?” I asked. He then replied, “Yeah he’s in WayV with---him….” I was confused. “Huh? Who’s WayV?” I didn’t understand anything going on. Yangyang then snapped, “WayV is our group that debuted months ago, and we are SUPPOSED to be going on tour! But XiaoJun is losing his focus because of someone!” And looked right at me when he said it. I still couldn’t grasp of the situation because I’ve never heard any of this before, we told each other everything.

He then continued, “You’re causing him a distraction! Our tour is coming up overseas in less than a week and he can’t concentrate because of you!” Mark had to step in to calm Yangyang down. At this point everything started adding up, why XiaoJun wasn’t himself. The vibe I got from him seemed off like he was hiding something from me. I started to get upset and I needed to look for him. “DEE WAIT!” Mark knew I was mad that he didn’t say anything to me but couldn’t stop me from finding him. He was out on the basketball court with Chenle, as I got closer he smiled at me. But I didn’t smile back and was holding back my tears to not let Chenle see. “Hey Dee.” Chenle said. I asked Chenle if I could talk to XiaoJun alone, so he left to go find Mark.

“What’s going on? Are you ok?” He said with a confused look on his face. I did my best to hold back tears but couldn’t do it. He could see my eyes start to get glossy before I could say anything. “Hey...Hey why are you crying?! Did something happen?!” he started to get really concerned. I just looked at him and said, “Why didn’t you tell me?” he looked really confused at what I just said. “What are you talking about?” He asked. I had to look away for a second because I could feel more and more of my tears start to fall. “You’re in a group WayV that is now going on tour!” I couldn’t hold it in anymore everything came pouring out. “Why didn’t you tell me this?! Why did you hide this from me?!” I wanted to let him answer but I just couldn’t stop talking because I was so upset. He sat me down then told me, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’ve been wanting to tell you for so long I just didn’t know how to tell you. Or the right time to tell you.”

I looked down on the ground because I couldn’t make eye contact with him. “You lied to me..you hid this big secret from me. Was it really worth hurting me like that?” His eyes began to get glossy as well after seeing how upset I was. “I’m really sorry. I won’t go if you tell me to!” He said as his tears start to fall. “NO! I’m just a distraction to you.” I said while trying to get up to walk away. He then grabbed my hand, “No you’re not. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I really am.” At this point my tears wouldn’t stop falling, and I knew I already lost him forever. I looked at him with tears falling down, “We’ve been together for almost 9 months now and you’ve hid this from me for so long. That’s why you’ve been so off lately and don’t even want to talk to me anymore.” He looked at me wiping the tears off of my face, “I don’t want to lose you. You mean everything to me.” “OBVIOUSLY not if you kept this from me for so long!” I said angrily. I was so upset that I didn’t know what to do anymore. I wanted to walk away from it all because I knew once he left to the states I’d never see him for however long they are on their tour. By the time he comes back he’ll forget he even had a girlfriend to begin with.

More and more of my tears came down the more he tried to explain, I couldn’t take it anymore. I snapped, “JUST BREAKUP WITH ME ALREADY! You might as well do it now instead of letting me rot here thinking if you’ll ever remember me or not!” I tried to break free from his hand grabbing mines and as I tried to walk away he came from behind to hug me tight, “No I’m not breaking up with you! I don’t want to lose you.” he said as more of his tears fell. I couldn’t be hurt anymore, if he kept this from me who knows what else he’s been hiding from me. I broke free from him, “You already lost me when you didn’t tell me any of this. You should’ve just told me this before. Maybe things would have been different and I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you and be more hurt than I already am now.” I had to get away, I never told him I loved him until just then and there but not on the terms it was right now.

As I was running away Bri saw me and grabbed my arm. “HEY DEE WHAT HAPPENED?!” She said as she tried to sit me down next to her. More of my tears fell as I told her, “XiaoJun and I just broke up.” Bri’s eyes widen at the sudden news I just told her, “WHAT?! You guys were so great together what happened?” I looked at her with my tears and began to tell her what was going on. “He’s in a group he debuted with months ago called WayV. They are going on tour.” She smiled and said, “Well that’s great!” I stopped her midway to explain to her, “....overseas.” Her smile became soft as she knew it wasn’t good news. “He’s going overseas?! For how long?” “More than 3 months.” I told her.

I finally had calmed down from the crying but still couldn’t believe what was happening. I couldn’t even concentrate anymore, and I didn’t get to do my exams yet. When my time came I began my exam and already lost concentration over everything. I came out of my classroom already knowing I didn’t pass anything. As I was walking down the hall there was a crowd of girls screaming and hovering over people. When I got closer I noticed it was XiaoJun and his other members from WayV. News seemed to have spread real quick now that the whole school knows who they were. Me and XiaoJun had made eye contact, my tears started to fall again...I started to walk away and could hear him scream out, “Dee wait!” I acted like I didn’t hear him as I kept walking.

I then felt someone grab my arm and I turned to see XiaoJun standing there. “Please don’t do this. I don’t want to lose you.” He said. I then looked at him with the tears that had already fallen, “You know you were the only person I’ve ever met that I thought would never hide anything from me or even think of hurting me. I’ve loved you for so long and I can’t take it back because my feelings of me saying I didn’t love you anymore would be a lie. But you being gone for god knows how long would just be how my last relationship was….one sided.” He slowly started to let go of my arm knowing that I was being serious. “I won’t forget you I promise. I’ll call you everyd--” I interrupted him before he could finish, “No you won’t….you say you will but you’ll be too busy. Or the time difference will be off. You’ll be too tired to even send a hello text. I know I’m being selfish right now and not supporting you. But you need to be in my shoes right now. With all of these concerts and fan meetings you are going to have, you’ll be having so much fun getting all the attention from other fans. You’ll forget I even existed”

Tears began to fall from his eyes, as mine was too but I tried really hard to hold it in. He then looked at me and said, “I want to be with you, I don’t want to lose you. We had so much fun together. And my dad loves you, we can’t just let this all go.” I then replied, “By the time you come back from your tour you’d already have been bored of me. Knowing there’s all of these other girls willing to throw themselves at your feet, while I’m at home staring at my phone wishing it would ring and it would be you.” Then I grabbed his hand to let go of my arms as my tears fell more and more as I walked away...and that’s when I knew I lost him forever.

#wayv #wayv xiaojun #wayv fanfic #wayv fan fic #wayv xiao jun #nct #nct fanfic #nct xiaojun #XIAOJUN DE #xiaojun fanfic #XIAOJUN FAN FIC

[posthumanwanderings]

while I was on the train to Nakano Broadway to collect more Heisei era Godzilla toys, I thought I’d make a personal list of the best to worst Godzilla films (up until Godzilla 2000 cause that’s around the time I stopped caring, I’ll try again tho) since the new Godzilla film is around the corner and maybe some of you are interested in giving the Big G’s archive a shot (you can delete this caption too if you just like the pic! and yes Morrigan counts as a kaiju, a beautiful one at that)

1. Terror of Mechagodzilla - last of the Showa era, ending with one of Godzilla’s most deadly foes. and I love how fucking big Titanosaurus is, god damn. the cyborg girl was cool too, loved her arc and how she controls both monsters.

2. Godzilla Vs. Mothra (90′s) - Mothra’s Heisei debut, and looking more dazzling than ever and also alongside her evil twin Battra. the fight in Yokohama (after its real life modern expansion when Japan’s economy was at its best) was a nice fresh setting for the climax. this one perfectly balances campyness and just a good kaiju film altogether. 3. Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster - Ghidorah, besides Mothra and Mechagodzilla is probably the next most recognizable kaiju even to nonfans. One of the best moments in Godzilla history is when Mothra desparately tries to convince Godzilla and Rodan to team up against an even bigger menace, then they can get back to their typical kaiju businesses. 4. Godzilla Vs. Destroyah - like how T.O.M. ended the Showa era with a bang, this is the one that ended the 85-95 era with a monster that really beats the shit out of zilla who is already on the cusp of exploding like a nuclear reactor... it ties together the very first Godzilla movie too for plus points. for those looking for a more serious, borderline horror movie kaiju experience.  5. Godzilla Vs. Mothra (60′s) - yup two Mothra movies in the top 5. Mothra fights with Godzilla are always so tense, since Mothra being a giant graceful butterfly appears so delicate against big boi Godzilla, plus her kids are under his threat as well. and on top of that Godzilla moves and fights like a drunkard the whole time. 6. Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla (70′s) - Godzilla faces his robot clone for the first time who has one of the largest movesets of any other kaiju, a true force to be reckoned with. instead of Mothra being summoned by an ancient race, we have King Caesar, a stone guardian puppy dog lion to team up with zilla against the bigger baddie. fun fact: this was filmed right after Japan gained back Okinawa from America since WWII, and makes once again another fresh setting.

7. Godzilla 1985 - I’ll be honest, the lone Godzilla movies with no other kaiju weren’t the top of my interest especially being an ADHD kid, but from a film perspective this is shot really well, the miniature city set had a nice upgrade since T.O.M. from a decade before, and I love the laser beam special effects from the upgraded Japanese Defense Force in this.

8. Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah (90′s) - Not to be confused with the other 5ish Ghidorah encounters, this was the Heisei debut of the 3 headed monster mixed into a time travel plot since movies like Terminator were all the rage in the early 90′s. The tie in plot about WWII had more to be desired and felt very nationalist, but as a kaiju film the special effects were top notch especially with Mecha Ghidorah.

9. Destroy All Monsters - the ULTIMATE Showa era kaiju crossover fest has just about every giant monster Toho made up until the point because why not? It’s another typical story about mysterious aliens mind controlling kaiju to destroy Earth, but this time when they say Earth (and not just Tokyo) they mean it. Plenty of things get destroyed, nice big battle at the end, only thing lacking is they gave Baragon and Varan 3 seconds of screen time and they both are some of the coolest looking kaiju there are out there. big shame

10. Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla (90′s) - in this Heisei take on MechaG, his role goes from super deadly alien robot menace to kinda still deadly robot guardian built by the EDF. he looks cool but just seems more weak compared to the more sinister alien engineered one. Rodan makes a long awaited return and basically has a custody battle with Godzilla over a mysterious kaiju egg. no spoilers

11. Godzilla Vs. Hedorah - probably the scariest Godzilla movie with Destroyah placed next. he fights an alien pollution monster who has been taking big rips from factory smoke stacks only making him bigger every time. Japan’s take on an environmental awareness film and I see nothing wrong with it one bit.

12. Godzilla Vs. Biolante - zilla sees another type of counterpart to himself, this time essentially a ‘PlantZilla’ after a scientist thought it might be a good idea to merge Godzilla cells with a plant for some reason. the story is a bit odd, but this remains in middle ground territory because it debuts Miki Saegusa, the super adorable psychic girl who appears in every 90′s film afterwards and the special effects of Biolante in final form are sick.it also has a disco version of the zilla theme for some reason.

13. Godzilla: King of The Monsters - someone would bash me big time for having this any lower on the list, but this is the one that started it all, grimly filmed in black & white a decade after the end of WWII. fans know this already but it’s the atomic bombs themselves which devastated Japan that influenced the idea for Godzilla, a force of mutated nature that lashes back on humanity for making really bad decisions. I like this and all but it lacks zero charm or kaiju style ‘fun’ but for good reason, since it was meant to be more of a horror flick. 

14. Godzilla Vs. Gigan - for those that do want the campiness, this is one of the best the series has to offer along with a couple more below. Godzilla’s ol pal Anguirus returns for his last Showa effort as they team up against space monsters Gigan (who is edgy af) and once again Ghidorah (who sadly has been fighting on his own the whole time while other monsters always team up to bash him). being in the 70′s, it’s got shades of James Bond / spy films in it and the fashion is on point. we get to hear Godzilla talk for the only time ever too.

15. Godzilla Vs. Megalon - probably out camps #14 for several reasons: this entire time there have been an ancient race of humans living below the Earth who feel enough is enough between pollution and expansion of society and finally unleash their protector, a giant cockroach monster with drills for arms to destroy just Japan all modern civilization (where was he during Hedorah’s visit tho?). 2nd reason is there’s copycat Ultraman who also looks like Jack Nicholson, then there’s the edgy middle-school bully like relationship between Megalon and Gigan and then lastly the infamous Godzilla dropkick you might’ve seen in GIF form, if not well here you go:

16. Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero - probably the 1st 90% campy zilla flick because of the Godzilla victory dance alone, but this was also because as time went by more kids cared about the movies and not the original target audience of war torn adults. the aliens (at least in the dub version) speak super monotone even when they are being huge bad asses, and we get to see G and his on-and-off lover buddy team up again but this time IN #&$%#% SPACE. the setting on Planet X was real cool to see as a kid, but sadly we haven’t seen any kaiju fighting back in space ever since. the NES Godzilla game fixes that itch.

17. Son of Godzilla - well I’ve only ever seen this movie twice, which means it maybe just isn’t that good, even for G fans. it debuts, of course, the son of Godzilla who looks like a cross between the Cookie Monster and Michelin Man. I’ll give this movie credit for distancing zilla away from the city setting in replace with his tropical home territory in Monster Island which only gets glimpses in the other films. the ending shot is real sweet too.

18. Godzilla Vs. SpaceGodzilla - back to spaciness, we do see one last alien monster come to Japan in the 2nd to last 90′s Godzilla movie, appropriately called SpaceGodzilla. while he lacks agility (when not flying on his giant meth crystal) he makes up for it with telekinesis and other long range attacks. the story / acting / mostly everything is pretty so-so and we all know deep inside the only reasons to watch it still are the scenes with baby Godzilla stepping on land mines and more Miki Saegusa wardrobe changes, but the final battle in a crystal filled Fukuoka is really awesome. 

19. Godzilla’s Revenge - wow well I just noticed I put 3 baby zilla focused movies all in a row near the very bottom of the list, my bad. this one takes the cake tho for pure cringe. but it’s better than the last 3 so it can’t be super terrible, right? once again no spoilers but the only thing that bumps this stock footage filled movie more up then from being the worst of all time are the super silly fight scenes against baby Godzilla’s bully Gabara. you know Godzilla has to do it to em.

20. Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster - even tho the former movie just reviewed uses stock footage of almost all the fight scenes of this one, it is somehow worst than #19 because it focuses way too much on a 60′s party cruise, and Godzilla gets a lil King Kong-ish during a scene with the love interest of the movie, and the giant lobster monster with no lasers / projectile claws just doesn’t seem as threatening as all the previous monsters zilla has fought since.

21. Godzilla Vs. King Kong - I’ll admit, I never liked King Kong and probably never will, and because he moves faster than Godzilla they had to use non-slowed down footage to make the monsters fight like kids on a playground slapping each other, and just looks weird. real talk, Godzilla would beat the shit out of Kong with a single radioactive blast and the movie would end right there. but that’s not the ending we got.. let’s start a patreon to rewrite the movie we all wanted.

22. Godzilla Raids Again - alright we finally made it, thee very worst Godzilla movie of all time according to the loser typing this. why? because it went against everything the first Godzilla movie represented, but like... suddenly, since it’s the sequel to the movie and the big G was never meant to return after, which luckily wasn’t the case. it’s superrrr campy but on the acting side, and the fights with newcomer Anguirus are super sped up even more than the Kong fights, and just seems tacky overall in a non-funny way. the suit for Anguirus is honestly one of the coolest kaijus ever tho, and they made little changes to him every time he came back cause it was just that good. 

anyways, thanks for coming to my TED Talk. if I were to recommend just 3 Godzilla movies to someone who has never seen them before to represent each side of the series, I’d pick Terror of MechaGodzilla for the serious pick, Ghidorah The Three Headed Monster for the balance / kaiju fest pick, and Godzilla Vs. Megalon for the most campy and fun one overall. hope this big list can help those who are curious! next up: Godzilla game reviews :)

#feel free to delete caption #godzilla #kaiju #long post #japan #tokusatsu #review #text #had to show some love to a big part of my childhood #mothra

[hmel78]

In conversation with Dave Sturt ...

GONG

In September of 2016, ‘GONG’ released their new album “Rejoice! I’m Dead” Some say it couldn’t, or shouldn’t have, be done. How could Gong exist without Daevid Allen? 

For those who are unaware Daevid passed away in March 2015. ‘GONG’ has had many, many line-ups - Formed when Australian beatnik/freak Daevid Allen quit ‘The Soft Machine’ and moved to France at the tail end of the ’60s. Since debuting in 1970 with “Magick Brother”, the band have remained fluid, even playing without their founder from the mid-to-late ’70s; fracturing and reassembling and constantly taking on new shapes and forms: an undeniably amorphous unit. David Bowie told Vanity Fayre in 2003 that Daevid Allen’s “Banana Moon” is one of his favourite albums, and today everyone from indie artists Temples and Ty Segall to hip hop artist Madlib and techno DJ Surgeon are inspired, and borrow, from ‘Gong’s’ music and ideology. The funky grooves, avant-garde flourishes and counter-cultural stance is timeless. So timeless that ‘Gong’ is proving that it can fully exist, even without their creator and guiding light.  “Rejoice! I'm Dead! came together over several weeks in an East London rehearsal studio. It depends on your knowledge of ‘Gong’ history and what you may feel constitutes as a Gong record, but “Rejoice! I'm Dead!” is classified as their 28th album and it would appear that the ‘Gong’ legacy is the strongest it has been since 1974 . In the words of bassist Dave Sturt: “You bet it's a fucking Gong record!” The current line-up features  Kavus Torabi (vocals/guitar), Fabio Golfetti (guitar/vocals), Dave Sturt (bass/vocals), Ian East (sax/flute) and Cheb Nettles (drums/vocals) - and unanimously they have taken on the mantle of “steering the Teapot further into outer space and the inner ear” ... Helen Robinson caught up with Dave Sturt recently, to find out more ...

HR :  ‘GONG’ has had a total of 52 official members in its 50 year history ; 47 past and 5 current.
What is it about ‘Gong’s’ music which compels musicians to continue to hold the band together in some shape or form?

Dave Sturt : An interesting question..... The Gong family is really unlike anything else. It's so much more than the 5 or 6 musicians on the stage. It's a worldwide collective of freaks, mystics or those who just don't quite fit in to the mainstream .... those who are searching for a different way to be.  It's an ongoing adventure- may it never stop. 

HR :   When you first joined in 2009 you were the new guy! Did you jel straight away? Had you been a fan prior to joining? 

DS : I knew of Gong back in the 70s but it wasn't until the 80s when I began to really appreciate what they had created. I had latched on to the Steve Hillage Band first - I really loved “Fish Rising”. So it was a real honour to audition for the band with Steve and Miquette. I felt comfortable right from the start. My personal journey melded with Gong's at just the right time – I had experience of many kinds of music but needed a focus. Gong wanted a creative bass player with something to offer . . . kismet!

HR :    At the time - alongside Daevid Allen - the line-up consisted of original member Gilli Smith who had returned to sing vocals, with two of the 1970’s staple members Miquette Giraudy, and Steve Hillage - what was it like having them all reunited in the same creative space?

DS : It was a privilege but, initially daunting. I had briefly worked with Daevid a few years before but to have them all in the same rehearsal room was something else. 

I began to get to know them properly in the tour bus around Europe - promoting the 2032 album.  They were all incredibly bright, free thinkers- truly inspiring. 

HR :    2012 saw another big shift in the band’s line-up -  you stayed ; was that by choice, or at the request of Daevid?  Who decided on who was going to fill the positions?



DS : Well I was very keen to continue with the band but it was Daevid who chose the line up that best suited his vision of where he wanted ‘Gong’ to go. On tour he spoke many times of his wish for Gong to continue without him and he chose pretty well.

HR :    Have the rotations of band members been essential to keep it fresh for the main body of songwriters ; for something ‘new’ to be brought to the table?  Or was it simply a tough band to exist in?

DS : Daevid never wanted to play safe. He always wanted to be surrounded by creative people so I guess that was the driving force.  Since Ian east and I have been involved the biggest change was when Steve and Miquette left to re focus on System 7.  Daevid was keen on making the band more guitar focused so Fabio was invited to join - and then later Kavus got the call. 

HR :   You’ve been with the band for the longest, out of the new line-up - do you feel that you have the chemistry right this time, to move forward as a unit and stay together?

DS : Absolutely - no question. This band is a perfect mixture of passion, skill and creativity. The gigs are a blast from start to finish – and we also have a great crew including the Fruit Salad lightshow and projections.

It feels slightly odd – being the longest standing member! It has been a bizarre eight years.

HR :    Following Daevid’s passing in 2015, and Gilli’s in 2016 - did you all consider calling it a day, or is it always going to be imperative to keep their spirits alive through the music?

DS : It was Daevid's wish that the band should continue. We were keen to carry on but unsure that it would work without him. We had gigs booked to promote the I See You album but Daevid was too ill to join us from Australia so Kavus took centre stage and we were astonished by the response. Also, previous members of Gong were very supportive.

Gilli's last tour with the band was in 2012 – and her health was failing then. She had to miss some of the concerts because of a broken foot. Our last gigs with her were in Japan and she spent the last few years of her life in a care home where she held court and entertained guests up until the end.

HR :   Cue studio album #28 - “Rejoice! I’m Dead”. 
It features Steve Hillage, Didier Malherbe, and Graham Clark, along with some post-humous vocals from Daevid. 
Did you feel that you needed to include these in order to transition the band from what was always essentially Daevid’s project, to a new stage in it’s development?

DS : That was partly the reason, but it felt completely in keeping with the the direction of the album. I was particularly keen to include the track Beatrix. It was such a lovely moment that I'd captured on my hand held recorder. We were in an apartment in Brazil - Daevid was listening on headphones to a jazzy musical idea of mine - and he began to improvise a poem about a very special woman in his life. It was so sweet and poignant. 

The album is obviously a reflection on Daevid and life and death so it's seemed completely right to have his presence in there . . . . it really felt as though he was in the studio with us as we composed and arranged the tracks

HR :   The album is receiving some rave reviews, and doesn’t seem to have disappointed the loyal following - were you nervous prior to it’s release, or confident that what you had produced was going to hit the proverbial nail?

DS : We were supremely confident that we had created something really special. The process of composing and recording was a joy. We just followed our own inner voice – without any pre-conceived direction - everyone contributed with ideas that we then arranged, juxtaposed and honed into a beautiful shiny thing.

HR :   With the current line-up being a relatively new group when it comes to working together as ‘Gong’ (not essentially new to each other), how difficult was it to write new material in the vein of some 50 years of compositions, which for the first time were not under the creative influence of Daevid, Gilly, or other alumni?

DS : We are all composers as well as players – and four of us wrote or co-wrote most of the tracks on the previous album I See You so we had no problem in continuing the process. The main key difference was the lyrics. We had no intention of pretending to write like Daevid or Gilli – that would have been completely bogus. Instead Kavus developed the main lyrical ideas throughout the time that the tracks came together – and a truly fine job he did! I wrote the lyrics for the track Model Village – the first time that I'd attempted such a thing.

HR :    For anyone who may be unaware of Gong, and their impressive back-catalog - could you describe the new album in a nutshell, and give virgin listeners an idea of what they can expect?

DS : The title – Rejoice! I'm Dead! - is a line from a poem of Daevid Allen's – 'All I Ask'. It completely summed up Daevid's attitude to death and it informed the concept of the album. That transition into the great unknown – something we all will face at some time. So – should we face it with fear and trepidation or embrace it as part of life's great journey? No one gets out alive so let's enjoy life, live it to the full and don't waste it by worrying about something that you can't avoid.So, the album is euphoric, inspirational and slightly ironic, with the occasional social comment. Musically it is, in turns, powerful; beautiful; intricate; and mystical.

I think I've finally achieved my aim of playing on, what may well be recognised eventually as, a classic album.

HR :   And down the line ... The band claim they you will continue to ‘fly the teapot further into outer space, and the inner ear! 
 Is it likely that any past members will be invited back to the fold for future projects?

DS : It's said that once you've been a member of Gong you never leave - so the door is always open. It's a very friendly, co-operative family – so everything is possible.

HR :   Outside the Gong realm, your solo album “Dreams and Absurdities” was released in 2015. Given all your other commitments, how long was it in the making? 

DS : Dreams & Absurdities came together slowly. It would have happened sooner if I hadn't been so busy over the last 10 years. I have a classic bass player mentality – I'm very supportive and unassuming and I give my all to whichever project I'm working on – which has meant that my solo album never became a priority, until, for some reason, everything fell into place.

HR :   It’s a  purely instrumental  record  - a departure perhaps from the music that people are used to hearing you play. Does it reflect your personal musical comfort zone?

DS : Well, some people will be very used to me working on instrumental albums. I recorded two with Jade Warrior and three with Cipher (my duo with Theo Travis). I find great beauty in instrumental music – especially when it evokes emotions of longing and soundscapes of imagined worlds.

HR :    The album features  a number of impressive guests - notably your  Gong colleagues, and Bill Nelson.   
Bill describes you as “an artist of the highest calibre” - coming from him that’s quite a recommendation isn’t it?!

DS : I am still truly astonished that I have been able to work with such great musicians – and to be held in such high regard by them is overwhelming. I've played with Bill for over 10 years now and it's been a joy. I was a big fan of Be Bop Deluxe and Red Noise and I've had the honour to play material from both bands with the man himself.

HR :   You’ve worked with a number of high profile musicians during your career - what was the most challenging project t o be part of?  And if you could collaborate with anyone at all - who would it be?

DS : The most challenging was probably a session early in my career when I was hired to play on an album by a Canadian band called Strange Advance. Also playing on the album were drummer Andy Newmark (John Lennon, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music) and Earl Slick (David Bowie). It was produced by the great composer and arranger Michael Kamen. It was a huge learning curve for me. It was a great experience but I felt that I was hanging on by my fingertips! In the end, things didn't go well with the producer/artist relationship – and the album was re-recorded in Canada with different musicians.

Who would I like to collaborate with? That could be a very long list! Peter Gabriel, Harold Budd, Jan Garbarek, Andy Partridge, Kate Bush, Steve Jansen, Bill Frisell, David Torn, Michael Brook, Zakir Hussein, . . . I could go on . . .

https://www.davesturt.co.uk/

#gong #bass #prog rock #prog #experimental