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honey-dewey · 2 years

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Bookstores, Blood, and Black Eyeliner

Pairing: Shane ‘Dio’ Morrissey/GN! Vampire Reader

Word Count: 1,888

Warnings: blood, but that’s it this is all fluff

Permanent Taglist: @phoenixhalliwell @star-wars-hell

A/N: This is a part two to my previous Shane one shot, Between Old Friends and New Lovers. It isn’t a requirement to read it, but it does help.

The prompt for this week’s Writer Wednesday was given, as always, by the lovely @autumnleaves1991-blog, and the masterlists are created by @clydesducktape.

“Babe?”

“Hm?”

Shane rolled over in your bed, yawning and snuggling up to you. “Why don’t you ever leave the house?”

You chuckled, running your fingers through Shane’s mess of hair. “You know why, my love,” you breathed, kissing his forehead. “I can’t risk anyone finding out about me and what I am.”

Shane pouted. “You won’t even leave for me?” He pushed quietly, and you smiled.

“Maybe I will,” you said. “If your offer intrigues me.”

“Really?” Shane sat up so fast he almost upended you, and you laughed, holding him close so he didn’t spill out of your bed.

“Of course,” you promised. “But not today. Today I only wish to rest here with you.”

Shane smiled, burying himself under the thick blankets once more. You could tell he was tired, his skin dappled in bruises and bite marks letting you know just how much he needed to rest. “I think we can do that,” he said. “I don’t have to leave for a while.”

You held him close, reveling in his warmth and his heart beating under your palms. His life, all sprawled out in your bed, ready to offer himself to you. There was nothing you could possibly love more.

A week later, you got a call.

“Your Grace?”

“Yes Camille?” You said, sighing and looking over your paperwork again. The day had been long, and it seemed the day was perfectly content with dragging into the night as well. “Did you find everything alright?”

“Yes, Your Grace,” Camille said. “I have all the groceries. But I was calling to say I ran into the Lord Dio while I was out.”

“Camille,” you said lightly, twirling the phone cord around your finger and smiling. “You can call him Shane.”

“Apologies,” Camille said quickly. “He asked about this weekend. Asked if you were free.”

Your dead heart began to flutter, your unbreathing chest filling with hope. “I am,” you said, not bothering to check your calendar. “Tell him I’ll meet him at the manor on Saturday.”

Camille chuckled into the phone. “Shall I cancel your appointments on Saturday while I’m at it?” She asked.

You smiled. “Yes please Camille,” you said. “Thank you.”

The wait for Saturday was agonizing. On Saturday, you eagerly waited by the door, pacing back and forth across the hall. Shane was to pick you up at two, and you would spend the hour and a half drive into the city together, although you had hinted that Shane didn’t need to drive you. You had your methods.

A knock at the door startled you, and you jumped, opening it instantly and embracing Shane tight. He laughed, spinning you around and lifting you off your feet. “Excited?“ he asked with a smile.

“You have no idea,” you said happily. “I haven’t been on a date since, well, ever.”

“You haven’t been on a date in over a century?” Shane asked, looking genuinely surprised. “Well I better make this one memorable.”

You giggled, leaning against his arm. “As long as I’m with you, my love, I will be content.”

Shane smiled. “I guess we better get going then,” he said. “Come on.”

You followed Shane to the car, slipping your sunglasses on and rubbing your wrists to ensure you were still wearing your gloves. He opened the passenger door for you, and you looked over the rim of your glasses at him. “Such a gentleman,” you purred. “However will I survive this date with you Shane Morrissey?”

Shane climbed into the driver’s seat and twirled his keys around his finger. “You may not,” he said humorously, starting the car. “I may just seduce you to death.”

“Wouldn’t that be impressive,” you mused. “Seducing me to a second death. Camille would be mad.”

“Would she?” Shane asked, beginning the long drive down your driveway.

You nodded, adjusting your hat so it blocked the sun from warming your skin. “She’d need a new job,” you said. “And the job market isn’t exactly kind to the former staff of vampires.”

Shane chuckled. “No, I suppose it wouldn’t be,” he agreed.

The drive into the city was very calm. You and Shane talked, swapping stories. It was interesting to get a glimpse into Shane’s perfectly mostly mundane human life as he complained about his job. You regaled him with tales of being a Duke/Duchess, and he sighed longingly as you finished.

“Is it easy?” He asked. “Being a Duke?”

“Lord above, absolutely not,” you said quickly. “Especially now, at the turn of the century. With everything changing, being what could be considered old royalty is hard, even if I am a vampire.”

Shane shrugged. “Didn’t consider that,” he mumbled. “Times are changing.”

“It’s especially jarring to watch it,” you added. “I mean, I was born in 1831. I watched this nation change and grow, and I was forced to change with it. It’s been-“

“Hard,” Shane finished for you, his voice somber. “But you’ve done it alone for almost a century.”

You nodded. “I have,” you said softly. “Now I have Camille, and of course I’ve got you. You and her are my lights. The reason I haven’t stopped and let my estate fall to ruin.”

Shane smiled, reaching across the console to take your hand. “You’ll have me for as long as I can stay by your side,” he said softly, and you felt your chest swell.

“Thank you,” you breathed.

Shane thumbed over your knuckles. “You’re very welcome.”

Finally, you entered the city. Watching in complete rapture, you smiled as building after building passed you, a thousand cars all around, making so much noise and providing so many colors.

“Enjoying New York City?” Shane asked with an amused grin.

You nodded. “It’s so bright!”

Shane chuckled. “It’s a city. It’s always bright.”

“Always?” You asked eagerly.

“Always,” Shane confirmed. “But we won’t be going to New York City proper.”

“What?”

Shane smiled. “New York City is split into two sections,” he said. “Well, kind of. Aside from streets and shit, there’s New York City proper, like Broadway and Times Square. Then there’s the tamer parts, which is where we’re going.”

You nodded, content to watch the city go by around you as Shane drove.

Some time later, Shane finally stopped the car outside a small strip of stores, gently nudging you. “We’re here.”

Climbing out of the car, you did your best to contain your childlike wonder to something a bit more appropriate for someone your age. Shane smiled, taking your hand. “Come on.”

He led you down the street, ducking down a dim alleyway and looking around. You looked as well, seeing chairs and tables and strings of lights everywhere. Finally, you reached a storefront, and Shane pulled the door open. “After you.”

You entered the store, immediately feeling the breath leave your chest. The store was a small rustic bookshop, packed floor to ceiling with haphazardly stacked books on crooked wooden shelves. In every few corners, you saw plush armchairs or small wire tables with thin chairs around them. Signs hung down from the ceiling, showing you where the different genres of books were, and the lights hanging around the space gave everything the feel of glowing.

“What do you think?” Shane asked. “Not bad for a first official date, hm?”

You nodded, almost tearful. “Yeah,” you breathed. “It’s. Oh, Shane, it's perfect.”

Shane gently pulled your glasses off, tucking them into his jacket pocket and putting an arm over your shoulder. “Shall we?”

The pair of you must’ve spent hours in the store, happily browsing and eagerly showing each other your finds. You grabbed a new vintage copy of Dracula for your personal library, and Shane was able to grab you a complete first edition set of the Chronicles of Narnia. You climbed on top of a box to nab a beautiful book of poetry for Shane, and he just barely managed to catch you as you toppled off your makeshift stool. Eventually, the pair of you curled up in one of the armchairs, you settled in Shane’s lap while he read his book of Greek poetry to you.

“Never wade through the pretty ripples of perpetually flowing rivers, until you have looked at their lovely waters, and prayed to them, and washed your hands in the pale enchanting water,” Shane read softly, leaning his head against yours. “Are you asleep?”

“Maybe,” you breathed, cracking an eye open and smiling softly. “Don’t we have to get going soon?”

“Like, half an hour ago,” Shane murmured. “Do you want to go? We can go back to your estate, but my apartment isn’t far by.”

You thought for a second. “Yours,” you decided finally. “Don’t wanna drive all the way home.”

Shane chuckled, shutting his book and putting it into his bag. “Give me two seconds,” he said softly, kissing your forehead and standing, leaving you curled up in the teal velvet armchair.

Eventually, Shane came back, easing you up and into the car. The sun had sunk below the skyline, the final few days shining dimly through the buildings, but it was mostly dark as Shane drove you to his apartment.

“Well,” he said as he unlocked the door. “It isn’t much, but this is home.”

You were too exhausted to really look at the apartment, but you decided it was cozy as you snuggled yourself up on the couch and yawned widely.

“Such a fearsome creature of the night,” Shane teased as he scooped you up and carried you to his bedroom.

Sticking your tongue out at him, you began to wiggle out of your clothes as soon as you were on the bed, ditching the leather jacket and hat in favor of wrapping yourself in thick blankets and yawning again.

Shane walked away, coming back after a while with a shot glass. “Here.”

You took it carelessly, sipping the mystery liquid and immediately swallowing down the contents. Blood, warm and fresh, and it was only when you were done that you realized where Shane had gotten the blood. “Shane Morrissey!” You scolded, grabbing his wrist and turning it over, exposing the fresh bandage. “Don’t do that!”

Shane shrugged, crawling into bed with you. “I called Camille,” he said softly. “She knows you’re staying with me.”

You pouted, cuddling up to Shane all the same. “Mad at you,” you decided with a huff.

“I know,” Shane promised you. “I know. Get some rest,” he added.

“Read to me?” You asked softly, and Shane chuckled, reaching over you to grab a book left on his nightstand.

“Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does the beauties of nature. The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions, seems still to have the power of elevating his soul from earth.” Shane shifted and began to stroke through your hair, urging you to sleep. “Such a man has a double existence: he may suffer misery, and be overwhelmed by disappointments; yet, when he has retired into himself, he will be like a celestial spirit that has a halo around him, within whose circle no grief or folly ventures.”

You hummed softly, feeling the gentle wash of sleep overtaking you as Shane held you and promised you eternal safety wrapped in his arms.

#NYPD Blue #shane 'dio' morrissey #dio morrissey #dio morrissey x reader #dio morrissey x you #Pedro Pascal #My writing #writer wednesday

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perfectpaperbluebirds · 3 years

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@sicktember Prompt # 20: Doctor Visit/Checkup

Title: The Best Medicine

Fandom: N/A

Based on this post by me. (Sick doctor)

A physician leaves work miserably sick. His RN girlfriend takes care of him.

(Author’s Note: This breaks the rule I set of less than 2k words but I wrote it before I decided to do this challenge and thought it worked well here. I just needed a sick doctor having PE performed on them ok 😅)

Due to the fact that it was 6:30 AM and she was still more asleep than awake, it took her a while to realize the man she was dating was standing behind her as she waited in line for coffee. However, in her defense, she had never seen him in this coffee line at this time of day before (and she herself was here at this time every day).

It wasn't until she heard a familiar, sniffly yawning noise that she turned and caught his eye.

"Shane? What are you doing here? You're usually sleeping right now." She didn't go to greet him right away, mainly because she didn't want to lose her place in line, and only two people stood between her and caffeination.

He too looked startled, though happy to see her. "Molly, hey," he said. There was a squeaky rasp to his voice and he had to clear his throat before he could continue. "Had an early meeting that got cancelled at the last minute. Since I was already awake, figured I'd come into the office early and clear out my inboxes."

"Gotcha. Well cool, that means I get to treat you to coffee for once. You find a place to sit and I'll get the drinks."

He shot her a grateful look and stepped out of line.

Molly ordered, received, and paid for the coffees quickly, tipping generously, before going to join Shane. He kissed her on the cheek as he took his cup, and they shared a warm smile as they made their way to a little sitting area, sharing a bench against the wall.

"Kathy's coffee is the best in the hospital. You'll love this."

"So you've told me many times. I'm glad I finally get to try it. What did you get me?"

"A surprise. You'll like it, trust me."

"Cheers, then." With another smile, they tapped their cups together before taking long pulls of their beverages.

"This is delicious," he said after a moment. "Best I've ever had from here. Thanks, babe."

"My pleasure." They sat for a bit in companionable silence, sipping their drinks. However, Molly couldn't help but cast sidelong glances at her partner with increasing frequency. Now that she was next to him, she saw he looked quite unwell. He was pale and shivery, with a flush over his cheeks and ears, and looking overall rundown and uncomfortable, a far cry from his usual easy smile and warm, steady demeanor.

"Is everything ok, doc? You really don't look good."

"You're saying I look ugly today?" he countered teasingly, dodging the question.

She nudged him playfully. "You're just as handsome as ever. I'm saying you look sick. Are you feeling ok?"

He shrugged. "Think I'm just tired. Not used to being up so early. My head and throat are kinda sore I guess."

"Just tired, huh?" She reached out and placed her palm to his forehead, then his flushed cheeks, and finally his neck, where she could feel the swollen lymph nodes she had already seen. She clicked her tongue scoldingly.

"That's a fever, Doctor Mitchell, and a high one at that. Why in the world did you come to work today?"

"No kidding, really?" Shane leaned back against the wall, rubbing his neck and looking sheepish. "I can't even remember the last time I had a fever. Had to have been before medical school. Guess I forgot what it feels like."

"Hmm. Well regardless, you need to go home. You can't risk infecting your patients and staff."

"Yeah, of course. I'll go now."

When he stood, she did as well, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Feel better. Get lots of rest and fluids."

"I know the drill," he rasped, smiling a little. "I am a physician."

"Sometimes I have my doubts, mister 'doesn't know what a fever feels like.' Sports medicine doesn't deal with the flu much." She kissed his shoulder fondly.

"Yeah, yeah." He pulled away, running his thumb over her jawline. "Thanks again for the coffee. I'll see you later. Text me when you have time. I'm sure I'll be bored out of my mind."

"Will do."

She watched him go wistfully, wishing she was going with him.

Naturally he wasn't far from her thoughts for the rest of the day. The hospital OB-GYN clinic was as busy as ever, and the hustle and bustle kept Molly, an RN, quite distracted, but every moment of downtime found her wondering how Shane was doing.

She texted him a few times as he requested. The first time he replied right away, saying he had made it home safely and was relaxing on the couch. The second time he replied a few hours later, saying how tired he was and how he really was starting to feel unwell, but he was doing fine. The third time he never replied.

Her plans for the weekend had been solidified in her mind as soon as she felt how feverish he was. She practically ran out the door as soon as she clocked out. Her first stop was her house to change clothes, shower, and gather some supplies. Her second stop was Shane's favorite soup and sandwich place for two quarts of soup and two sandwiches to go. From there, she headed to Shane's condo across town.

She hadn't informed him she was coming because she had wanted it to be a bit of a surprise. Initially her plan was to leave the soup and sandwich on the stoop and ring the bell, then duck out of sight until the last minute. However, her plan changed when she caught a glimpse of him through the front door.

He was fast asleep, sprawled out on his stomach on the couch. Bundled under two blankets and snoring with his mouth open, surrounded by a nest of used tissues and dishes, he was the picture of illness.

She didn't have the heart to wake him by knocking, so instead she used her copy of his house key to let herself in quietly, being careful not to let the cold air in with her. He didn't stir even after she shut and re-locked the door. After removing her coat, she deposited the items she had brought in the kitchen, then returned to his side. Perching on the edge of the couch, she ran her hand over his face and through his hair to wake him.

He stirred weakly, mumbling and snuffling as he opened his eyes. His face lit up upon seeing her, and he quickly sat up, leaning all of his sleepy, overly-warm weight against her for a tight hug.

"Molly, you're here! I'mb so habby to see you," he croaked earnestly.

She hugged him back just as tightly. "Of course I'm here. When you stopped replying to my texts, I knew I had to come check on you. You look so sick, poor guy, and you're so stuffed up. Are you surviving?"

He shrugged, pulling away. "I guess. I'mb doi'g ok. So achy and tired. Just been sleebi'g all day." He licked his cracked lips and tried to swallow, which resulted in a grimace. "Budt you should go, babe. I don'dt wandt you to catch this. It's ndasty."

As if to prove his point, he turned away from her to cough productively into his elbow, thick and chesty. He followed it up with a honking nose blow that was far less productive. She watched this display sympathetically.

"I'm not leaving you all alone and sick like this. And anyway, if I do get sick, I think I know a doctor who could take care of me." She bumped her shoulder against his. He smiled wanly. "Now, have you taken any medicine recently?"

He sheepishly averted his eyes. "Umb… ndo. I… don'dt really have anythi'g to take."

"Ugh, Shane. Don't tell me you're one of those 'it only treats the symptoms' purists."

"Ndo, it's ndot thad. Like I told you, I just haven't been sigck in years. I've never thought to buy cold mbedicine."

"You're such a guy," she sighed. "Even if you are a doctor. You at least got your flu shot right?"

"Yeah. Budt they're already sayi'g it's probably ndot goi'g to be very effective this year."

"Of course they are." She sighed again. "However, I had a hunch this would happen, so I came prepared." She quickly retrieved a bag from the kitchen which rattled with medications, sitting down beside him again. She selected the ones she wanted and shook them into his hand, watching closely as he swallowed them.

"You're acti'g like you don'dt trust mbe to take care of mbyself," he teased, taking several gulps of water to chase the pills.

"That's not necessarily true. I just want to do everything possible to help you feel better."

He had to cough harshly again before he could answer, hard enough to redden his face. "I love thad you wandt to take care of mbe. Budt you should really go. I'mb so contagious right ndow, and I don'dt wandt to try to stay away from you."

"Then don't. I came here to be close to you. I don't care if I get sick. It's the weekend anyway. I'm here for you and only you. Besides, you were probably contagious yesterday too, and we still made out. So it doesn't matter anyway."

"You're too good to mbe," he mumbled, finally succumbing and leaning his full weight against her, closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms loosely around her. "Budt I still don'dt approve. You're staying AMA, just so we're clear."

"Call me a rebel, then," she murmured, stroking his sweaty hair.

He sneezed suddenly, only once, but wet and laborious, catching it in his elbow. She quickly pulled a tissue from the nearby box. He took it gratefully, blowing his stopped nose as best he could before resting against her again. He sighed deeply as she resumed her petting.

"You're lugcky the desire to be taken care of when sigck is a deebply ingrained biological traidt," he continued to mumble, sounding sleepier by the second.

"I am, huh? Well you're talking an awful lot for someone who has no voice."

She felt him smile against her, but he did fall silent for a while, aside from his sniffling and soft coughing. She thought he was going back to sleep when he spoke up again.

"You know whad would mbake mbe feel even better thad mbedicine? Sumb soubp."

"Hmm, well it just so happens you have a girlfriend who thinks of everything." She gently shifted him off of her, going back to the kitchen and returning with a quart of soup and a sandwich.

"Sal's chigcken rice?" he rasped, his eyes lighting up hungrily as he sat up straighter.

"Naturally. We've been together almost two years. I know what you like when you're not feeling good."

"You're a lifesaver," he groaned, taking the proffered food and digging in right away.

"I'm glad you have an appetite anyway. I won't ever forget last year's stomach flu incident."

"Ugh, don'dt rembind mbe," he said with a shudder. "Bud other than thad one time, I'll always have an abbetite for this soubp. This is all I've wanted all day." He wolfed down the food with unexpected vigor.

"Well then you're lucky I think of everything, like I said. And to think you wanted to kick me out."

"I ndever *wanted* you kigck you oud. I'm just goi'g to hade mbyself whed you ged sigck," he mumbled, swallowing a mouthful.

"Maybe I won't get sick, did you think of that? And like I've been saying--" She leaned in to kiss him fully on the mouth, long and hard, until he pulled away gasping. "--I don't care. As long as you promise to take care of me if I do, I won't complain about a few days off. So stop worrying."

"Ugh, take it easy babe," he moaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. "This fever has mby blood flow all mbessed ub. You can'dt be usi'g your lips on mbe like thad."

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to seduce you today. Unless you instigate it of course." She gave him a wicked look and he flushed.

"You're something else, Mol," he muttered, unable to hide a smile.

"Just eat your 'soob'."

He did what he was told while she tidied up his sick bed area. When he was almost done, she fetched another bag from the kitchen and began rummaging through it. He eyed the items she pulled out suspiciously.

"How much crabp did you bri'g? And whad are you doi'g ndow?"

"Something I've always wanted to do. And something I think will make you smile."

"I feel like I've been smili'g since you godt here."

It was Molly's turn to flush and smile. "Something that might make you laugh, then."

She sat close beside him on the couch with her stethoscope around her neck, placing a little tablet of paper and a pen in front of her on the table.

"Constitution:" she both said this out loud and wrote it on the paper. "Well-nourished. Unwell appearing today. Complains of malaise and myalgia. Lymphatics:"

She had been neatly writing everything down as she spoke. After the last word, she reached out to gently palate the visibly swollen lymph nodes in his neck. He moaned softly as she massaged them, the moan turning into a cough.

"Cervical lymphadenopathy noted. Lymph nodes tender to palpation." She wrote this down as well.

"Whad are you doi'g, Mol?"

"You get to be a doctor all the time. Today you're definitely the patient, so I'm taking my turn being the doctor and doing a physical exam on you. We need to make a diagnosis after all."

"Ah, of course. Mby apologies, please continue," he said with a little laugh, wiping his nose with a tissue.

"Thank you. Open your mouth please." Inserting a thermometer under his tongue, she also took his pulse with her watch as the thermometer calibrated.

"Resting heart rate is elevated at 86 bpm. Temperature is abnormal at 101.8 degrees Fahrenheit."

"I could've told you thad. I just toogk my tembp before you godt here."

"I find that hard to believe since you were sleeping when I got here. Now shh. Actually say 'ah'." She situated a tongue depressor in his mouth, peering in. "Throat erythematous and inflamed," she said and wrote. "Now lean forward a bit if you would."

He did as he was told, looking slightly put-upon and she slid the diaphragm of her stethoscope under his worn university tee shirt, placing it on his back as she listened to him breathe for a moment. "Minor ronchi noted. No crackles or rales. Minimal concern for pneumonia at this time."

"Well thad's a relief," he said, sniffling wetly.

"Shh, I still need to listen to your heart," she said, sliding the diaphragm of the stethoscope around to his chest.

"Terrible beside manner. I'm leavi'g a ndegative review."

She gave him her sternest "doctor" look. He merely smiled impishly. She sighed, biting back a smile of her own, and listened again.

"Normal rhythm. L-1, L-2 heard."

Setting aside the instruments, she slid her hands under his shirt, feeling gently.

"Skin is overly warm or feverish. Abdomen is soft, non-tender and non-distended."

"You didn't have to go under mby shirt, you know. Abdominal exam cad be done over clothi'g," he said, smirking.

"I was being… thorough," she said with a wink.

He chuckled hoarsely. "Someone's godt the hots for their patiendt. Thad's trouble," he murmured, stifling a yawn as he pulled his blanket closer around himself with a shiver.

"Neurologic: grossly normal. Tremors noted due to chills. Psychiatric: patient is oriented to person, place, time. Behavior normal, but appears lethargic, fatigued and sleepy."

After writing down these final notes, she cuddled up beside him on the couch, wrapping him in her arms and pulling him close as he started shivering in earnest. He nestled against her wearily.

"How did I do?" she murmured. "Did I make you laugh a little at least?"

"Very thorough and efficiendt," he mumbled sleepily, coughing. "And yes you did. Whad's your diagnosis and treadtment plan, doctor?"

"At best a severe case of rhinovirus. I'm more inclined to think influenza due to the fever, but we'll continue to monitor. No active intervention needed at this time. Bed rest at home, OTC medication as needed and adequate hydration recommended." At this she handed him his water bottle. He drank several big gulps before handing it back to her and snuggling in again.

"If that's what the doctor orders," he sniffled, closing his eyes.

She held him for a while, since that seemed to be all he wanted, just rubbing his back and stroking his hair. However, they were forced to move when Shane pulled away to break into one of his barking, painful coughing fits. He tried to settle again after the fact, making a face.

"I don't feel good, Mol," he mumbled pathetically. "This sugcks."

"I know, doc. But I'm doing everything I can to help you feel better. I didn't realize your fever was so high though," she murmured. "And that was after you took medicine. But you seemed just fine yesterday. You don't do anything by halves, do you?"

"Thad's one of the reasons you have the hots for mbe, you know id is," he croaked.

"The only thing with the hots around here is that fever. You're sweltering."

"Sorry," he mumbled, yet made no effort to move off of her. Instead he sneezed wetly into his elbow.

"Update, you're sweltering *and* gross," she said conversationally. Yet she made no effort to move away from him either, kissing his forehead instead. He yawned as she did. "And sleepy."

"Thingk I'm just sigck," he muttered.

"Yeah, let's go with that. Do you want to go back to sleep right now?"

"Ndo. Ndot while you're here. I'm too sigck to sleeb anyway."

"There's no such thing as being too sick to sleep. But if you don't want to sleep right now, I have one more present for you."

"You've already given mbe too mbuch."

"There's no such thing as that either." She carefully shifted out from under him again and attempted to head to the kitchen once more. Before she could take more than a step though, he caught her hand and made her turn around. Seeing his imploring look, she stepped back into the V of his legs. He wrapped his arms fully around her, burying his hot face in her abdomen.

"Thangk you mbuch for the soubp and mbedicine, baby. You really are a lifesaver. I just wanted to tell you thad."

She nuzzled her face into his messy hair. "Anything to help you feel better. I can tell you're still miserable though."

"Nodt miserable with you here."

"Just sick."

"Mhm," he mumbled, sleepily as ever. She let him hold her for another moment or two before speaking again.

"Seriously though, I have something else I want to give you. It'll just take a second to grab."

"Fine," he sighed. As he pulled away, she saw a hazy, pre-sneeze look cross his face. Sure enough, as she trotted to the kitchen, behind her she heard him emit a pair of messy, rough sneezes.

"That soup really got your nose going, huh?" she asked as she reentered the living room.

"Guess so," he sniffled, blowing his nose thickly. "Thad's the poindt though, right?"

"Indeed it is." She moved to the entertainment center and quickly plugged her laptop into the TV.

"Now whad are you doi'g?"

"Maybe you should stop asking questions and just wait and see."

"You know I hade surprises."

"That's not true at all in my experience, so I'm calling your bluff on that one. But you won't have to wait long for this one either way."

After a few setting changes to allow the laptop display to be projected on the TV, Molly popped a disk into the drive and started it up.

"Are we watchi'g somethi'g?"

"You and your questions." She tossed a thick DVD case into his lap. He picked it up, his eyes widening happily.

"The original Jurassic Park trilogy? Holy crabp, this is awesome!"

"I'm glad you approve," she laughed, stepping into his arms again. "It was going to be your Christmas present, but I figured a sick day at home is an even better occasion."

"This is perfect, love. You're ambazing," he mumbled, squeezing her tightly.

"Anything for my best guy." She nuzzled his hair again fondly. "Anything to help you sleep."

"I don'dt wandt to sleeb while you're here though. I don'dt wandt to mbiss out on seei'g you."

"Well then you're in luck, because I'm planning on staying here all weekend. So I'll be here when you fall asleep and when you wake up. No time wasted at all."

A grin split his face. "You'd do thad for mbe?"

"I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise. Doctors need to be looked after too, especially by their nurse girlfriends. So you stretch out and get comfortable and leave the rest to me."

"You're cooler than anadomy and dinosaurs combined, you know thad?"

Molly giggled happily. "I don't know if I'll ever come back from such high praise. You better quit while you're ahead, Dr. Mitchell."

"Only if you promise to make mbe coffee in the morni'g. Your good coffee."

"Sounds like a plan," she said with a grin and another kiss.

#sicktember2021 #sickfic #everyone is hotter with a fever #prompt 20

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mattsboldyy · 3 years

Text

The 24 Days in the Bubble | WJ Canada

CHAPTER 3 | SELECTION CAMP

Summary- Selection Camp begins. Y/N and Kaiden begin getting closer. Y/N also makes some new friends. Selection camp can’t be that bad, right? And final cuts are made. Does Y/N make it onto the final roster?

Requested- No! Idea come from myself :)

Words- 2k

Warnings- mentions of covid, fem!reader, covid testing, cuss words,

Requests- Closed for now :)

Taglist: @2manytabsopen @prettyboyjackhughes @sorokns @ricohenrique @cherrylita @tonyspep @lovereadinghockeyy @only-goalies-allowed @hawksgirl1 @mysoftboybowen @hoespill @tysonsjosty @cherrybarzy

Authors note- I got all of my information from google, websites, & from the documentary Team Canada put out based off of the 2021 Tournament therefore, some information that takes place in this series may be false, but just know that I got all my information from the documentary and the internet. Thank you and enjoy!

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

“Hey Y/N!” Kirby said, as you entered the locker room where you, and 46 boys were dressing for the start of selection camp.

”Hey Dacher!” You said, walking over to your stall, putting down your backpack, and pulling out your phone to text your family.

’About to go in for the first day of selection camp! Love you guys!’ Was the text you typed out to the groupchat you had made with your best friends and family before hitting the send button and putting your phone away.

“Alrighty guys, are you already?” Andre said, adjusting his mask.

A mix of “Yeah!” and “Yes!” were thrown around the room.

After getting out on the ice, selection camp in Red Deer began.

“Hey, you’re doing great out there!” Kaiden said, skating up to you and tapping his stick on your kneepad.

“Thanks Kaiden! Not to bad yourself!” You said, touching his helmet as he went back to skating and stickhandling.

“Soooo what's that about?” Jamie asked, when you turned toward the other end of the ice, not realizing he was standing there.

“Holy shit Jamie! What are you doing here?” You asked, eyes wide.

“Uhh I’m at selection camp... why wouldn’t I be? But you and Kaiden like each other. Just admit it.” Jamie asked, giggling and wrapping his arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side.

“What? No!” You said, skating away from him and hearing Jamie laugh so hard you were sure he had tears coming out of his eyes.

Anyways, you couldn’t really decide if it selection camp was easy or not. You couldn’t feel your legs, and it seemed like nobody else could either. Andre and the assistant coaches made all of the players stick handle, timed skates to the far blue line and back, and a few of the players helped the goalies by shooting slap shots at them and acted like you were in a shoot out.

NOVEMBER 21, 2020

You were just about to leave your room to go to the locker room for the first intersquad game when you heard your phone ringing. You looked over and saw that Andre was calling you.

“Hello?” You asked, picking up your backpack from the floor, sitting down on the hotel bed.

“Y/N? We just found out that a non-core staff member tested positive for covid and they had come in contact with assistant coaches, Michael Dyck and Jason Labarbera so they are quarantining. We don’t have to cancel the intersquad games so far, though. Just a heads up and wanted to let you know.” Andre said.

“Oh I hope they’re okay! Thank you for letting me know!” You said.

“Yep, no problem. See you in a few minutes.” Andre said, hanging up.

You put your phone in your back pocket and sighed. This was the type of stuff you would have to deal with.. and really what anyone in the bubble would have to deal with. You put your mask on and opened your hotel room door, and headed to the locker room of the area you and 46 other guys were playing at.

“Y/N! Y/N!” Kirby called, passing the puck to you. ‘Shoot the puck. Shoot the puck.’ was all that you were thinking while skating as fast as you can down the ice. You shot it, and it went in, past the goalie that would possibly be on the final roster along with you, and a bunch of other guys. “Yeah!” Kirby said, hugging you and laughing while your other linemates tapped each others helmets. You gave your bench high fives and sat down on the bench as the puck dropped again. “Nice job.” Jamie said, tapping your helmet as you sat down next to him. “Thanks!” You said.

A few minutes later, when the period ended, you stood up from your seat on the bench when you heard someone calling your name. You turn and see Kaiden.

“Hey Y/N! That was a sick goal!” Kaiden said, smiling down at you.

You laughed. “Thank you Kaiden!”

“Yeah well I better score one or else I can’t be here with you on the final roster.” Kaiden said, laughing.

“What? What if I’m not on the final roster? Why so sure of yourself, Guhle?” You asked.

“Y/N, you’re an amazing player. Why wouldn’t you be on the final roster?” Kaiden said, looking at you.

“T-thanks. You’re an amazing player too.” You said, heart starting to beat faster.

“Well Jamie is probably going to come looking for us if you don’t go.” Kaiden said, smiling at you.

“Yeah! Stalkerrr vibess!!! Anyways, see ya Kaiden, and good luck!” You said, turning around and fast walking down the tunnel.

‘Why does Kaiden make you feel like this if I only liked him as a friend? I mean he does have a really cute smile, and face, and hair, and... oh my god. Do I have a crush on Kaiden?’ You thought while walking into the dressing room.

“You’ve got something on your mind?” Braden asked, while sitting in his stall.

“Not really, just focused on the game.” You said, smiling over at Braden, knowing the words that just came out of your mouth was a complete lie.

“Okay.. but Y/N.. I’m always here to talk if you need me.” Braden said, getting up from his stall and going over to the dressing room door as the 2nd period was just about to start.

Maybe you should talk to Braden. Especially since you didn’t have your mom or best friends to talk to in person. You thought Braden would be a safe space to talk to about things.

NOVEMBER 24, 2020

“Y/N?” Andre said through the phone, with his voice sounding a bit stressed and frantic.

“Hey! What’s up?” You ask, putting your stick tape in your bag, getting ready to head down to the locker room for the last intersquad game.

“Two of the players tested positive for covid. We have to post-pone the last game. I just wanted to let you know so you don’t get all of your stuff together for nothing. Have a great day and contact me, Michael, or Mitch if you have any symptoms.” Andre said.

“Oh my god. Okay that you Andre. You stay safe too.” You said before hanging up and immediately texting the group chat with you, Kaiden, Kirby, Braden, Jamie. The people you were closest with during this whole quarantine thing.

‘guys did you hear about the covid positives?’ You type out, hitting send and immediately seeing speech bubble pop up on your screen.

Kaiden Guhle :)

Yeah. I’m disappointed. That means we’re stuck in this hotel room for 14 days.

Kirby Dach

It sucks. We’ll get through it though.

Jamie Drysdale

Yeah. It sucks a lot. What the hell am I supposed to do in a hotel room that I’m trapped in for 14 days?

Braden Schneider

Guys we will be fine. I hope.

Jamie Drysdale

YOU HOPE?

Kaiden Guhle :)

Okay guys, calm down. Let’s all facetime, okay?

i’m in.

You and the group chat ended up facetiming for two hours. You told your parents about the two covid cases among the players. They were scared you were going to get covid, but you told them about the 14 day hotel room situation and they calmed down. (thankfully)

You had to get used to this. It was part of being “apart of camp.”

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Some time had pasted and December finally had come. Well, you shouldn’t be that excited about it. It meant cuts and the final cuts to the roster were coming. Kaiden and a bunch of other people were very reassuring when it came to your worries about being cut.

Coach Andre made an announcement via email stating that the first cuts had been made. The players were, Matthew Robertson, Mason Millman, Xavier Simoneau, Daemon Hunt, and Ridly Greig, leaving you and 41 other players in camp.

When you read the email, and didn’t see your name, you felt like a weight was lifted off your shoulders... but, you still had 3 more days till the final cuts were made from the roster.

DECEMBER 10, 2020

That day, seven more players were cut from camp. The players being goalies Brett Brochu and Tristan Lennox, and forwards Adam Beckman, Tyson Foerster, Hendrix Lapierre, Cole Schwindt, and Shane Wright, leaving you and 34 other players in camp.

‘One more day.’ Was what you were telling yourself, trying to ease the anxiety of being cut.

“You aren’t going to get cut, Y/N/N. I know your not.” Kirby reassured you through facetime.

“We’ll see Kirby, we will see.”

DECEMBER 11, 2020 (FINAL CUTS TO THE ROSTER)

You heard a knock at your hotel door, quickly getting up from your bed, and tossing on a hoodie. When you opened the door, you saw a few staff members and one seemed to be holding a phone.

“Hey Y/N! We have a few people who want to talk to you!” The staff member said, making you put on a confused face before them handing you the phone. You saw your mom, dad, and brother gathered all around the screen.

“Hey sweetie!” Your mom said.

“Hi guys!” You said, looking down at the phone, seeing a bunch of smiley parents and brother.

“Congratulations, honey! You made it onto the final roster for Team Canada!” Your dad said, your mouth immediately dropping and looking at the camera crew and staff members, wiping tears that came down your face from being so happy.

“Really? I really did it?” You asked, jumping up and down.

“This is not a reaction we’ve gotten before.” One of the staff members mumbled to the other, slightly chuckling.

After saying goodbye to your mom, dad, brother, and staff members, you went back into your hotel room and immediately check your email, making sure you, Kirby, Kaiden, Jamie, or Braden weren’t cut from the roster as they were the people you were closest to.

“We’ve made the final cuts to the roster. Team Canada is releasing forwards Mavrick Bourque, Graeme Clarke, Gage Goncalves, Seth Jarvis, Samuel Poulin, and Jamieson Rees and defensemen Lukas Cormier, Ryan O’Rourke, and Donovan Sebrango. Thank you.” You mumbled out, not seeing any of your friends names, smiling even wider. You then texted Kaiden to congradulate him.

Wow, you did it. You really did it.

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theonetheycallhannah · 4 years

Text

The Treatment of Capt. Syverson-Chapter Two: Therapeutic Procedure

Pairing: Captain “Sy” Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)

Summary: Shane and Sy share some moments during their treatment sessions…and a phone call that could set the tone for the next few weeks.

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: None, yet… ;)

Author’s Note: Sorry, I was so eager and excited to post the first chapter of this last night, I totally put some inaccurate info in my description notes. I will correct that in the original post and try to do better henceforth! Hope you enjoy Sy and Shane totally flirting some more and getting more friendly in this chapter. Feedback is appreciated! Even constructive criticism! :D

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

Tags: @onlyhenrys @cavillryarchive @summersong69 @titty-teetee

Let me know if you wish to be added to the list! I’m happy to do it!

Shane woke up that morning with knots in her stomach. She dropped every product she picked up in the shower, she was shaking so much. She accidentally ordered the wrong coffee on her way to work and was now drinking something much less caffeinated and far too sweet for her taste. The barista had informed her it was a grande caramel macchiato with an extra pump of vanilla and extra caramel drizzle…with only two shots of espresso…she couldn't begin to describe how wrong that drink was for her. But it was better than nothing, she told herself, not fully convincingly.

She had chosen her clothes with extra care, even though, with the dress code, her options were limited. And she had made sure to put on a bit of mascara and just a touch of perfume, even though they weren't strictly supposed to wear it…she didn't know why she was bothering.

Well, actually, she did know why. She had been checking her schedule extra diligently lately to make sure she didn't look like a hobo when Sy was coming in. He'd been coming for three weeks now, and after the initial bellyaching about Jordan not being as pretty as her…her heart!...and his feeling extra sore after his visits with him, they were on a roll and had a great chemistry together as far as their treatments went…she tried not to think about…beyond the world of therapy.

She thought back to their first session after she got back from her trip. And the conversation they had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I think the next time you can't see me, I'm just going to cancel." he had sulked as he wiggled his mass of muscle onto the mat.

"Sy, no. you need therapy. Don't be like that to Jordan. He's an excellent therapist."

"He ain't you though." he smirked, sending her heart racing with that smile that somehow managed to look both boyish and rakish under his full, dark beard. Fucking hell. He needed to stop.

"Well, we can't fault him for that, can we? Lay back, Mister." She demanded. Done with the niceties of the evaluation and onto the treatments where she was in charge. The boss.

"Yes, sir!" she laughed at his clear avoidance of calling her ma'am.

"So where'd you go last week? Vacation or stay-cation?" he asked, the term "stay-cation" sounding downright comical coming out of his country-boy mouth.

"I went to the beach. Gulf Shores."

"I thought you looked like you got some sun."

"Yeah," she pretended his noticing the detail of her awesome tan did not send her reeling. "My folks rented a condo right on the water for my siblings and I to come and stay with them. They're still there. It was tough to leave all that beauty." the beach, pretty much any beach, was her favorite place to be.

"I bet…" he looked at her, something dreamy in his eyes, but he looked away before she could process it. "I thought I had my fill of sand and sun when I was over in Iraq. But you make it sound…like paradise." he smiled softly up at her as she worked on his knee, trying to break apart some of the scar tissue from the injuries and surgeries he'd had…and focus on that, and not the warmth rising in her.

"That's the perfect way to describe any place on the Gulf of Mexico. I doubt it's anything like Iraq, since there's so much water around. It's my favorite vacation destination. Well, apart from London."

"Them British folks always seem so stuck up. Don't know if I'd get along with any of 'em."

"It felt like a second home for me. Everyone was very kind and polite, for the most part. At least it was no worse than it is here."

"Maybe it's just because you're so nice."

"Wait 'til about week eight or ten of your protocol. You won't think I'm nice then. You'll be cussing me out and ready to ring my neck."

"Promise?" he asked, a dark grin on his lips and in his eyes…she faltered for a moment, gulping.

"Cut it out, Syverson." she rolled her eyes, covering…without great effect the way he made her feel.

"Yes...ma'am." he smirked with satisfaction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now, today, she'd be treating him again, fairly early in the day, and she had to prepare herself. She'd checked the policy, and although there wasn't anything strictly against dating a patient, it was clearly a conflict of interest, and would be frowned upon by her frigid tyrant of a boss. Best to let things remain platonic for now.

Her 9:30 was a no show, so she finished up some notes and was working on some continuing education credits when messenger popped up around 10:00.

Sergeant Sexypants is here. He's quite early and he knows it…*smirk emoji* he must like you, Shane!

Heather, come on, be respectful…he was discharged at the rank of Captain! *rofl emoji* and I think you might be right about him liking me…*nervous emoji*

Oooooooooh!!! You guys are gonna *couple kissing emoji* *eggplant emoji* *okay emoji* *explosion emoji* *baby emoji*

Omg…*three facepalm emojis* I am going to go ahead and start him early since my 9:30 was a NCNS.

Don't finish him too early. Make it last. *smirk emoji*

Jeez. She closed the chat and went to grab him from the waiting area.

"Hey Sy, you ready?"

"You bet, sunshine!" he flashed her a crooked smile. He was calling her sunshine now…ad that to the list of things she'd have to pretend didn't make her swoon.

"Great. Let's start on the bike. How's the knee feeling today?"

"Oh, it's…about the same. Stiff. Lil' sore."

"Well, it's a slow process, like I told you at your eval. You've got a lot going on in there."

"I know…just…it hasn't taken me four weeks to do anything in my life." he sulked. "So…thinking about this taking…twelve or more…" he grimaced as he sat down on the bike, and adjusted it for his longer than average legs, putting his feet in the pedal stirrups.

"You may not see it, Sy, because you're so close to it, but trust me, you're making progress. I can tell you're doing your exercises at home, and you're always willing to put in the work here. You have no idea how much that sets you apart from…some of these other people." she leaned in closer and spoke the last part more quietly to him. It was true. So many of her patients were either lazy or just in it to appease their MDs into writing them scripts for pain meds. That wasn't Sy.

"You really think so?" he gave her the side eye with his baby blues, crushing her with the color like the waves of the ocean she'd just returned from.

"In fact, I know so." she placed a reassuring hand on his broad and thick shoulder. She felt the tension between them hum, like electric current.

"Now, level one, and a steady pace. You're not trying to win any medals here. I'll take those crutches."

"When ya think I can 86 'em damn things?" he griped as he handed over the assistive devices.

"Well, you see Potter again tomorrow? I'll write an update today and send it to him. If he likes what he reads, or more likely pretends to read, regarding your progress, he may discharge them. Do you feel like you can be good to the knee and treat it nice without using crutches? I don't want you to regress and re-injure yourself. That's not gonna get you into your running shoes any sooner."

"I'll be nice. Real gentle." he winked at her…he wasn't just talking about the knee. And she knew it. But again, she pretended she didn't, ignoring once more those butterflies threatening to choke her they were multiplying so fast in her belly.

"Okay, I'll put that in my note. Patient compliant with instructions to be nice." she laughed.

They talked as they biked, Shane sat on the one next to him and pedaled along with him for something to do other than be idle. She thought it made him feel better as well. Like he wasn't doing it alone. They covered the subject of her siblings, an older brother in IT and a younger sister who was an MA, and his German Shepherd, Aika, which he was allowed to bring home from Iraq after they were both honorably discharged. Music, both of them completely in agreeance about the superiority of classic rock.

"I noticed you've worn a Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt a few times and meant to say something before now."

"Yeah, they're one of my favorites. But there are a few newer groups that I like a lot, too. Kings of Leon got me through some tough times, honestly."

"Oh, they're great! I love their sound. And their lyrics…poetry."

"No shit. Sorry." she shook her head and raised up her hands to indicate that he didn't need to apologize to her for swearing. She'd been known to make sailors blush when she was off the clock. "Only by the Night…that whole album is…it's just in my blood, ya know? Ya ever have an album do that?"

"I have. Whole artists catalogs, actually."

"Which artist?" he prodded.

"The Beatles. Pretty much every song. Like you said, it just, like, I dunno, it's almost deeper than the veins. It's in the marrow. My soul." she stared off out the windows ahead of them, thinking about her favorite band in the world and how magical it was to experience Sir Paul McCartney playing some of her favorites live…twice…and the timer on the bike went off, pulling her from her daydream.

She looked over at him, startled by both the noise, and the dreamy look in his eyes that was becoming all too familiar.

"Sorry." she stood, grabbing his crutches for him and handing them back to him from where she had leaned them as they rode.

"Hey, don't be sorry for…ahem…for loving what you love. We should all…hold on to the things that make us feel like that." she nodded.

"Thanks…I don't think a lot of people…understand the way I…my tendency to take things like music, movies, and shows…books…so deeply to my heart." they walked to the treatment room from the gym, taking their time, since they had it. A rare occurrence for Shane, always needing to capitalize on every spare minute. To make productivity a priority.

"I think…that…well, seeing a pretty grim side of the world like I have…seems like there's enough darkness and bullshit making everyone miserable. If we find something…or…someone…that brings us some happiness or even just makes that misery bearable…we oughta hang onto 'em real tight. Cherish it like gold." the silence in the small room was loud with that electrical hum of their tension again. He'd said all the right things, as he always seemed to, but under the absolute wrong circumstances. She just nodded.

"They teach you philosophy in Basic?" she giggled. He laughed back in response.

"Oh, no, Basic was way easier than…whatever goes on inside of us."

"Speaking of which," she segued deftly, "lay back, and let my try to get some range out of that knee before I take new measurements for this update I'm gonna write."

"Yes, ma'am!" he chuckled.

"You get some sick thrill out of calling me that, don't you?" she scowled playfully at him.

"Oh, you have no idea…ma'am." he winked at her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Shane was wondering how Sy's appointment went as she ate her soup at lunch and caught up on her morning notes. She got a ping on messenger.

You have a gentleman caller…*eggplant emoji* hehe, he's on line three.

Geez…thanks Heather.

No need to ask for a name. She knew Heather meant Sy.

She picked up the phone at her desk in the treatment room.

"Hey Sy! How'd the appointment go?"

"Hey, sunshine…eh…he said I'm doin' good, but he wants me to stay on crutches another two weeks." she could hear grave disappointment in his voice. She felt for him.

"Aww, I'm sorry Sy. I know you wanted off those. And I know they're a pain. Literally and figuratively."

"Why wouldn't he want me off 'em?" he was so frustrated. He must have just left the office.

"Did you ask him that question?"

"You know doctors, Shane. Not like I would have got an answer in plain English. Figured you'd know."

"Well, I haven't seen your post-visit report, but it's my presumption that he wants to play it safe. You know he spent most of his day in the operating room with you, right? An eight hour surgery, you had. He probably doesn't want to undo all that by d/c'ing the crutches too soon."

"I was gonna be careful though, Shane!" he was worked up properly, and she could hear it over the roar of his pickup in the background.

"I know you were, Sy. I'm sure you were going to take all kinds of precautions. But what if you're walking into your kitchen, during a storm, and there's a loud clap of thunder, and Aika gets startled and busts past you? What if you're feeling good one day, and forget about it, and jog to catch up to someone holding the door open for you and miss a stick or something under foot? You can't prepare yourself for every pebble or patch of mud in your path, Sy. Accidents will happen. Some circumstances are beyond our control…we just have to do the best we can. The crutches are going to help you until we get you stronger. That's what we'll focus on until those two weeks are up."

"Why is it you can calm me down like this?" he asked, sincere and truly calmer than he had been.

"I'm just a good therapist, is all."

"Ya don't think that's really all, do ya?" the sound of his deep drawl in her ear from the receiver made her shiver. He was implying something that she just couldn't entertain. It wasn't possible for them right now. Maybe…down the road…in a few weeks…

"I'll see ya tomorrow, Sy. Come ready to work that knee."

"You didn't say no…" he was too hopeful. Damn it, he was cute when he was hopeful. She was glad she couldn't see his face light up like she knew it was doing.

"You may have noted I didn't say yes, either."

"Yet. See ya in the mornin', sunshine."

"Bye, Sy."

She put the receiver in the cradle and her face in her hands.

"Shit."

She had a feeling this particular patient was about to become much more complicated.

Up Next: Chapter Three-Therapeutic Activity

#netflix sand castle #sand castle #henry cavill #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x ofc #captain syverson #captain syverson fanfic #captain syverson x ofc

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lazarus-lazuli · 4 years

Text

i want to add my two cents because even though a lot of the people who are saying jenna was bullied off youtube have shit takes that make them think that way... it’s still kind of true? i understand where people are coming from in saying that it was on her, but i’d also like there to be a little more of a nuanced conversation here.

prepare yourself for the most obvious sentence on the planet: people make decisions for a reason. she’s not doing this out of the blue without any actions or feelings influencing her.

it was a genuine apology and a needed apology, the people it’s actually for can accept it or not, but at the end of the day she didn't deserve to have her mental health affected by this to the point where she felt the need to leave youtube. and honestly i support her bc if being harassed everyday by people white knighting and winging over shit that doesn't even affect them personally was making posting videos toxic for her than she gets to do what's best for her. don’t try to front like it was only people who were hurt by her actions asking her to acknowledge and apologize for them, it would have been a VERY different outcome if that was a case. don’t try to pretend that 90% of cancel culture isn’t people hopping on a bandwagon and twisting something that could be an opportunity to hold someone accountable for the fucked up shit they did into a toxic, overblown parody of itself. just look at what happened to james charles (and half the shit being said about him wasn’t even TRUE). that’s the problem with cancel culture; it spirals out of control.

jenna marbles is a person who again and again has proven that she is more than capable of growing and changing and owning the bad shit she’s done. she is not one of those youtubers that makes a fake ass video crying on camera then is right back on their bullshit once things die down. not that she needs to be treated like a perfect angel bean - she stated herself she hates that and it makes things even harder - she’s just a decent fucking person. the bar is low and she clears it. yet people treat her like she’s shane dawson, who also made racist videos (to an even more severe extent, he had entire characters that were just blackface/parodies of black people) and to this day continues to be a shitty person? he’s just replaced his edgier jokes with ~relatable~ ones. but this isn’t about the shane dawson cult of personality so i digress.

not that this decision can’t also be attributed to her wanting to distance herself from content she’s disgusted and ashamed of, she made that pretty clear. but the fact people keep throwing those videos in her face can’t be helping. if someone feels they’ve grown and changed, having the shit they did constantly pop up again feels bad because they know how awful it was. like they’re definitely not the hero of the story, but nobody likes being held down by their past. the only valid reason to keep bringing it up would be if the person refuses to acknowledge it despite supposedly learning from it. jenna is not one of those people, however, she’s made it pretty clear time and again.

not to mention we’re talking about a woman who’s been dogpiled on over shit like putting her fish in a bad setup. much less serious than racism yet the backlash still came hard and fast. people put her on a pedestal and are very eager to knock her down when she does something even remotely problematic. honestly, this situation has to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

did she deserve to be held accountable for her racist videos? yes, of fucking course, she’s made some disgusting content before her videos became what they are today and it had to be addressed and dealt with. did she deserve to feel like she had to fucking leave youtube in order to rectify the situation/satiate the people who took things too far and won’t leave her alone? no. did she deserve to feel like she can’t come on her platform because of how toxic things have gotten for her? fuck no. considering how her current actions don’t reflect her past actions, and how genuine she is, she is NOT the type of person who deserves to be deplatformed. and let’s be real, even though she has power in her following, she’s still just a human being at the end of the day.

TL;DR jenna is a grown woman who made her own decision, but that decision was DEFINITELY influenced by how this is affecting her mental health and well being. saying she was forced/bullied off, while an overdramatic way to put it, is not that inaccurate.

ps if you don’t like jenna that’s fine; she may have apologized and changed but she still did racist shit so it’s entirely up to you whether you fuck with her or not.

#jenna marbles #HOPEFULLY this doesn't attract too much discourse???#i feel like i tried to be reasonable

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disneydatass · 4 years

Note

ma'am i missed your weekly L Word ramblings

ahem *cracks knuckles* my time to shine:

micha has anger issues (i get the triggering stuff w his mom) but him moving so fast w his man and then getting mad when he canceled their date after they literally only had one date together??? like Jose has personal family stuff too!!(that we have yet to learn about) Micha is making it all about him

*spoiler alert* I mean didn't we all think Dani and bette were gonna be the first big cheating story?!?! I'm shook disappointed Sophie dipped first

finely remains to be the whack a mole that pops up whenever you dont want and just can't get tf rid of garbage

my throuple is dying!!! I mean we knew it would eventually; and although Gigi is hot, I'm ride or die w alice so whatever makes her happy

I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY BETTE PORTER (+shane) DOESN'T JUST ASK HER PARTNER(s) TO BE IN AN OPEN RELATIONSHIP?!?!?! She cheats alllll the tiiiime like instead of lying and hurting people just say hey i like to fuck around literallyyyy

^^^girl how you gonna be mad tina moved on and is thinking about marriage when you cheated multiple times on her

Quiara continues to be the hottest woman that has ever walked this earth and i would never keep her waiting for dinner!!! and i would have many unwanted kids w her to make her happy lmao!!!

tess is the unsung hero in all this: helping Finley and shane when they both fucked her over and keeping Dana afloat (i want Dana to come down from playing tennis w the angels to be tess' gf)

#anonymous #thanks for asking clearly i have no opinions on the matter and im not obsessed loool #the l word generation q #this is my ask tag now

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wetookanoath · 5 years

Note

It's Jason day, here's a silly prompt: the boys get stuck in a Friday 13th movie, The Final Girls style

(On AO3)

They are not gonna make it.

Movies are easy to experience because at the end of the day, doesn’t matter how intense feelings can get, it’s still on your screen and it won’t actually try to murder you.

But the blood in his hands is real, and so is Ryan’s wound on his shoulder and the fact that all their friends are now dead, and they are freezing in a lake, under a deck, shivering and scared as hell.

All Shane could do was to look at Ryan, the way his body was shaking with the cold, his eyes still wide open in spite of the pain and exhaustion. A part of him wanted to say this is not happening, it’s impossible, out of the realm of reality. But the truth is right in front of him.

Shane knew, as he took Ryan’s hand and interlock their bloody fingers, the man looking at him with frightened eyes as he saw the ruins they were now, they were not gonna make it.

Shane woke up to Devon’s screams and a weird feeling of being watched.

It was not their hotel room, not the city they were in, not any place they have ever known. The only real and constant thing with him was Ryan, trying to make him run, saying it’s happening, it’s Friday the 13th and it’s happening.

When the hockey mask appeared, he laughed. He laughed like a maniac, thinking this time TJ and Ryan really did it, they went beyond themselves for the prank.

It wasn’t until someone’s lady’s head was in his hands that he realized, this was not a joke.

They used to joke that they would survive a situation like this, no one has seen as many horror movies as them and no one is more logical than him. Ryan had been sure they would make such a great team, their survival was secured.

Back then it was easy to joke, all Shane had to do was ignore his feelings and listen to Ryan all the time. The best part of his day, the face he loved. It’s hard to look away and ignore all those feelings when your breathing is difficult and you may never see that person again.

“I love you.” Ryan broke the silence and Shane slowly looked at him, both sitting under the same old and tall tree.

“Would you have said it if we weren’t about to get murked?”

There’s a tiny smile on Ryan’s lips. He knew he wouldn’t, none of them would. They had been running from the truth for so long, ignoring the way things were better with the other around to the point being single seemed to be the only constant in their life from outside their little world.

He should have said it back in that moment. Maybe if they had kissed or stood up to hug, Shane would have seen the killer coming and Ryan wouldn’t be bleeding, they wouldn’t have needed to run, and run, and run, and run, and run…

“I love you, too! I love you, too!”

It didn’t matter how many times he said it, Ryan wasn’t opening his eyes and there was nothing Shane could do.

He thought of the first time he saw Ryan, clean shaven and cheeks round, happy smile and big laugh so distracting, Shane almost asked to be seated somewhere else. But the sight in front of him was a blessing, something beautiful to go work with.

Before Los Angeles, things weren’t right. He had been drown in so much self doubt and emptiness, he had forgotten things could be light, that they weren’t just ruins.

This bright young thing in front of him was a blessing, and his life was turning off in his arms as he hide them from whoever was trying to kill them.

“Ry?”

“Not dead yet.”

Shane sighed, his chuckle sounded strange even to him. Like a sob.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, baby…”

They were just running now, Ryan always so brave was running away from the scene with him, who has always been a coward. He wished he would had given him something else. Hope, perhaps. Hope and bravery in the shore of their lives.

Ryan had a theory. A stupid one. Like every theory in every case of their supernatural segment. But it was all they had.

“I think we are in a movie.”

“I’ll kill you myself if we weren’t being chased by a maniac that thinks he is Jason.” TJ answered, Devon started to cry harder at his side.

“No, I mean it!” Ryan said, Shane kept driving, trying to cancel the sound of his voice.

They were all stressed and scared as hell, of course Ryan would lose it at some point. It was common for the mind to try and explain, a form of escapism when it feels like there’s nowhere to run.

But the entrance to the cabins they had been left in was right ahead and Shane sighed, driving as fast as he could to reach it and say goodbye to this hell.

“None of us remember how we got here because we fell asleep as normal in our rooms. Hell, does anyone actually knows where we are?”

“Drugs, kidnapping…”

“Teej, please. You said it yourself, the sensation of being watched? It’s because we are! It’s a movie!”

“Ryan come on!” TJ said, sounding more angry every time. They finally passed the entrance and Shane sighed, driving as fast.

“And the way people talked to us! Dialogues! They don’t know what to say when we ask different things that aren’t part of the script, the killer can find and reach us even when he goes so slow, we can see in the dark because there’s light enough for the scene to be seen—“

“Guys,” He tried to interrupt, the road was open again, rocks instead of pavement.

“We’ve been dying like in a slasher movie: the adult, the kids that had sex, the smart one, and now…”

“Guys…”

“Christ, fucking fuck, Ryan!”

“I’m the jock, TJ you are the badass, Shane is the nerd and Devon is the final girl!”

“Guys!”

By the time they finally shut up, they were passing the cabins again. The same body they left behind was there, the lights, the other cars. He drove away in silence, faster, faster, faster until they passed the entrance again.

There was a sense of dread in the car, it felt like a graveyard, these ruined fragments of people they had become, with its silence and darkness.

And then, the road opened and they passed the cabins again.

“I got another theory.”

“Shoot.”

Their clothes were damp, Ryan’s shoulder looking worse than a few minutes ago and they were walking aimlessly in the grass when they saw a barn on the other side.

In silence, they walked towards it as most of Ryan’s weight was on Shane’s body and the man kept their hands joined.

“What if when we die, we go back to the real world?” He suggested, Shane looked at him. “Since we fulfilled our part in the story and all.”

“At this point, Ry, I believe in everything.”

In another life, Ryan’s laugh would have been sarcastic, tonight was happy and hopeful. Shane didn’t dare to tell him he didn’t think so, these fragments of stolen moments hitting their ruins were theirs to enjoy for as long as they were able and Shane loved him, he loved Ryan too much to take his hope away.

“Maybe we can make it.” Shane said. “We’ve seen all Friday the 13th movies, right? We can kill this bitch.”

Ryan laughed again, this time seeing a bit more alive. They were close to the barn now, when the door opened and from it, Katie’s head popped, looking frightened but very much alive even if covered in mud and blood.

They stopped walking, holding each other up. He wondered if they were thinking the same, of how if this was a movie, the ruins they had become were not to survive.

But when Katie went out with a big smile, waving at them without saying a word, obviously trying to not catch anyone else’s attention… Her smile was so big, full of relief, Shane couldn’t hate her even just a little bit.

“The final girl.” Ryan murmured.

Shane nodded. “These fragments I have shored against my ruins…” Ryan looked up at him, now fearless but so profoundly sad. “Keep rolling, sweetheart.”

They met Katie at the door and immediately went in.

They were not gonna make it.

#shyan #skeptic believer #shyan fic #driverism #nini got mail #i'm so sorry #mine #my fanfics #answered prompts #bfu #fanfictions #otp: we took an oath

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doomedandstoned · 5 years

Text

Southern Sludge Acolytes Midmourner Talk Roots, Drop New Sounds from Cavity Split

~Interview by Shawn Gibson~

Foreword by Billy Goate

It's been just a few years since I encountered MIDMOURNER at a show. The southern sludge band from Birmingham, Alabama was making a rare West Coast appearance and stopped in Eugene, Oregon to play an all ages venue called The Boreal (which sadly has since closed its doors). I was on hand with my trusty camcorder to capture the action and the sound turned out so well that the band issued it as a live album. For all the savagery of their music (and when you're standing right in front, just feet away, it is quite frightening, believe you me), I found the guys to be quite friendly -- reminding me of the fabled southern hospitality I missed most when I lived in the Bible Belt as a kiddo.

Since that encounter, Midmourner has been busy, most recently issuing a split with the band Cavity. Doomed & Stoned is proud to debut the song "When Knives Still Drove Conversation" from the Midmourner side of the record and, to accompany your listening, we've got an in-depth interview conducted by Shawn Gibson, who has made it something of a mission to document the unsung heroes in the underground sludge metal scene. Here, he speaks with fiery vocalist Shane Geoge and guitarist Bobbie Harris and they take an unexpected turn into the history of the punk scene in the southern states. A fascinating conversation in deed. Enjoy it while you soak in Midmourner's new track, "When Knives Still Drove Conversation."

Give ear...

An Interivew with Midmourner

Shane: Have you got a punk background? Because we do.

The first shows I went to were punk and hardcore shows in high school. That would be early to mid-nineties.

Shane: Beautiful, beautiful.

In school I listened to The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Exploited, Charged, G.B.H...

Shane: Oh, my god!

Misfits, Minor Threat, Day Glo Abortions. I told Billy Goate I love sludge and heavier doom just because it's some of the fucking heaviest styles of music.

Shane: I'm glad you can appreciate it. That's the thing, is people classify us as doom. All of us come from punk backgrounds. I think we hit our limit. Punks discovering metal. We add the heavy element to it. You've got to have the punk background, man. That's what differentiates between doom and sludge. I think that's why I gravitated towards sludge. It still has that "fuck you!" attitude. There is a lot of professionalism in doom that I can't subscribe to, you know?

Bobby Harris: It has a lot of punk D.I.Y vibe to it.

Shane: Exactly.

Bobby: You got old punk rockers who grew their hair long and have beards playing sludge. They dig the doom stuff. It's so metal and we are not metal. It's a little metal, more punk. We grew up in Birmingham Alabama punk scene. We'd go watch Cavity in the early nineties. I didn't know about sludge until I saw Cavity. Have you heard of ATP?

Alabama Thunder Pussy? Oh, yeah, I've seen 'em! Dude, I took my Mom to that show! She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and wanted me to go to The Grand Ole Oprey. "No problem, mom, you have to come with me to a GWAR show." I was not going to tell her about the fluids!

Shane: Everybody must see GWAR before they die!

We were in Charleston, South Carolina. She was in town and Clutch, Alabama Thunder Pussy, and Suplecs played at the Music Farm. I said, "Mom, we got to go to this" and she did. She always jokes, "What was the name of that band we saw?" "Alabama Thunder Pussy, mom!" We laugh.

Shane: All that comes back to Kilara. Eric from ATP played drums. There was also the drummer from Avail, which was the greatest punk band that ever fucking existed, in my opinion. We went to a show, Kilara and Cavity inside a record store one night. Dude! Blew the fucking roof off the place! I don't know if your into Cavity or not?

I have heard of them. I haven't heard their music yet. I'll check em out.

Shane: You need to check em out!

Bobby: Without Cavity, I wouldn't be doing this right now. That's how much Cavity had an effect on me as a kid. That made me realize there was more beyond punk rock. It was more pissed off than punk! How can you be more pissed off than punk?

I'd say punk's pretty pissed!

Shane: Midmourner is Cavity plus Grief. That is Midmourner. That's it right there, man.

Bobby: It's a big fascination with Cavity. It's a big fascination with Grief. Cavity has that pissed off, fast, aggressive sound. Grief has that crushing heavy sound, you know? Together that's what we dig.

Shane: That is why we are tickled fucking pink knowing that next year we are going to play with Come To Grief!

Bobby: This is going to be a dream come true! I've been a fan since 'Disrupt,' man!

Shane: That's definitely a bucket list check, you know? We've got Carl, the merch guy from Come To Grief, with us.

Yeah, I talked to him when I was getting some Midmourner shirts from the table. Good guy!

Bobby: He's awesome!

Adorned in Fear and Error by Midmourner

Shane: So who is your favorite sludge band? Let's hear it!

There's a really good sludge band from Tulsa, Oklahoma I love, Senior Fellows. What's up, James!

Shane: Never heard of 'em.

Bobby: I've heard of 'em.

Shane: Good shit?

Dude go check them out on Bandcamp. 'Ecclesiastical Servitude' (2013) is my favorite album, their first. Very bitter, very dry. Heavy! I think Carl and I were talking about "No Cross and No Crown" attitude and ethos. One of their slogans is "Religion Mandates Oppression." Very pissed off!

Shane: I could see that.

I would say Midmourner is some badass sludge that annihilates. Glad to see you guys live and rip it up!

Shane: What did you think of it? We are interviewing you. How about that?

Uh, wow. First time. Usually the other way around. (laughs)

Shane: We are interested in what you think. How did you get into this, ya know? That's what I'm interested in.

I got into this because I love music! I will always do this. I will always share music that I like and know other people that would love to hear the same music. Music brings us together for a small moment. We are part of a family in this musical scene and I want the world to take notice.

Shane: Beautiful thing. Beautiful thing.

It still feels like a scene for me. I caught the ass-end of tape trading, but I love it and want to keep some that going. Now it's digital. You share music all day, anywhere!

You are going back home and wrap up this tour real soon. You were at St. Vitus bar in New York, as well as Charleston and Birmingham. It is a small world! When you meet people and you go on tour next year with Come To Grief: "Holy fuck, Midmourner! I love you guys, man!" Someone will say that to you guys and they will be stoked to see you live.

Shane: We are definitely going to remember you.

The comradery. I don't think you have this much of a family with other styles of music.

Shane: People don't give a shit, man.

I love meeting people and making new connections. Meeting people that you'll keep in touch with for a long time, if not forever.

Bobby: It's getting to know people on a personal level.

Shane: That's the fun of this whole thing.

It's intimate. It's a bond that some people don't understand.

Bobby: Unfortunately, they don't. I don't get it.

Shane: Keep it small. Keep it underground.

(Billy Luttrell of Hexxus sits down and rolls a cigarette.)

Billy: I'm not interrupting, am I?

No not all. Join us.

Shane: We were talking about influences of Midmourner.

Billy: Molehill.

Shane: I don't know if you know Molehill.

No.

Shane: Sludge pioneers from 2000? '97 to 2000-something.

Billy: '98 to 2002.

Shane: That was the beginning of this. Me and Billy, who is our fill-in guy, we've been friends for thirty fucking years! We did a band called Molehill. We raised a few eyebrows. If you go back and look, you can find it on Bandcamp. Matt, who passed away, and Sonny, the guy taking pictures -- he played bass in Molehill. Now I'm 44 and still doing this shit. It's ridiculous. It's for the love of fucking music, man! That's why it pumps our nads to meet people like you, you know? Who enjoy listening to this shit!

I'm excited to listen to it, to be able to discover new heavy bands or obscure heavy bands that are definitely underground.

Bobby: Oh, we're definitely underground! (laughs)

That's why I'm glad to meet you, shake your hands, hear and feel your music live. We've been talking prior to this show about meeting up, being able to grab an interview in person, and especially grab some merch.

Shane: That is the most meaningful shit.

I've shared this show tonight for awhile now, psyched to finally be here.

Bobby: It was cool because I did know you from Facebook.

Shane: He said your name, I was like I know that fucking guy! Are you friends with Billy on there?

Uh...

Shane: Billy plays in Hexxus. Man I'm promoting all your shit today! He cut in three weeks before we were going to leave. We were going to cancel this shit! He came in and said, "Let's fucking do this, man."

Wow! Love to hear about stuff like that.

Billy: You don't have to twist my nipples to make me go on tour! (laughs) I do a lot of fill-in stuff because I'm self-employed. I can leave anytime. I do stuff in friends' bands. They hit me up two to three weeks before the tour and Bobby was like, "Can you fill in for this tour"? "Shit, bro. When do we practice? Let's go!"

I'm glad you did! I'm glad you guys trekked forward.

Shane: It's been a blast! This is the last night. I could go another six months, maybe.

Bobby: No! (laughs) You've run out of Molehill money!(laughs) He was homesick before he got to Ohio! (laughs)

Shane: I'm ready to see the wife. I'm excited! It's cool to be talking to Doomed and Stoned again, man! That's cool!

Yeah!

Shane: We were hoping that wasn't a one of a kind of thing.

Not if I have anything to do with it. I would like to keep in touch with you guys. I'd love to share or promote anything I can for you guys. Next year when your on tour with Come To Grief -- holy fuck!

Bobby: We are going to have a new album come out with Matt [Heath] on bass.

Shane: We have a CD coming out eventually. Excited! We were able to keep all bass lines and bass recordings. That was cool as shit. I am looking forward to that! Doing what the fuck ever! Try to have fun!

That's what it's all about, having fun. Life is too short.

Shane: Oh, exactly!

Live at The Boreal , Eugene, Oregon by Midmourner

You guys are from Birmingham? So Roll Tide?

Shane: Absolutely, man!

I'm from South Carolina, so I'm a Clemson fan!

Shane: Uggghhh, sorry man! (laughs)

I player hate on Alabama big time! I give em respect them even though Nick Saban is the devil (laughs)

Shane: I got to give it to you guys, you took it one year.

Renfrow sneakin in there! Whew!

Shane: Tua is the shit man! We're proud, man! It was good to almost see Clemson get beat by Syracuse again.

I was nervous as shit! They pulled it out. Lawrence had a concussion, Brice and the Tigers did it.

Shane: I'm kinda worried about LSU just a little bit.

I saw they beat Miami.

Shane: They beat Auburn, too. I think Georgia is going to fall.

On that note, I'm good with what I have from you guys. Is there anything else?

Shane: Find Midmourner on Bandcamp! Find the latest shit. We have a new CD coming out. We have a 10" split with Cavity coming up. Very fucking excited about that. They are personal heroes of ours! Somebody is putting out the new album on vinyl in Europe, so we will have a vinyl release which is fucking awesome! We are looking forward to the Coming To Grief tour. We got to find a bass player. If you know anybody that's interested. (laughs) Have the gear and the drive to do this shit and we can talk! It was fucking great talking to you, man.

Yes!

Shane: We appreciate it. We love Doomed And Stoned! Fucking cool man!

Bobby: Thanks for coming out!

Shane it was nice to meet you and finally see you guys live!

Shane: Very nice to meet you, too! It's nice to see the actual face behind the posts on Facebook. We have nothing but good things to say about Doomed And Stoned and Shawn Gibson!(laughs)

I've got nothing but nice things to say about Midmourner!

Shane: Thank you very much! It means so much more than people realize! You know, it keeps you going. Unfortunately, the post-tour depression begins now. We are going to get back out there and slug it out!

Hell, yeah!

Shane: Hopefully get back here. That's about it, appreciate the hell out of it!

Thanks again!

Shane: Thank you man! Doomed And Stoned all the way! There's Billy packing cigarettes! (laughs)

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

#D&S Interviews #Midmourner #Birmingham #Alabama #Doom #Sludge #Metal #Shawn Gibson #D&S Debuts #Doomed & Stoned

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the-hindu-times · 5 years

Text

May, June, July 2019 reviews

photo: taken on Nic Bennett’s phone On Wed 1st May, I once again set off to see Idlewild. This time at the Cambridge Junction with support from Hamish Hawk. Realising I had met him before, in his record shop in Edinbrugh, his onstage presence had more in common with Morrissey than someone in retail. Whilst Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason played the larger Corn Exchange, Hamish’s band made way for solo/acoustic number 'Catherine Opens a Window' - his answer to The Smiths' 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' or 'Asleep' - as Hamish gave the occasional gaze over to the talkative bar area during this delicate section. Back catalogue and recent EP songs were performed, which were all new to this audience.

The next day was the beginning of three nights at Outside The Box at the Royal Oak New Malden: Russell Howard on Thursday, Milton Jones on Friday and Al Murray on Saturday. I left the later early to catch Richard Ashcroft at The Olympia but train delays meant that by the time I arrived, he was already on to his '90s nostalgic hit parade, having missed the minimal selection of newer material. We were back at Outside The Box at Langleys, Surbiton for Romesh Ranganathan, before another Al Murray show there.

photo: taken on Nic Bennett’s phone

Having previously seen Dean Friedman at Teddington Arts Centre (a large church near Kingston), a year or so ago, he's continued to be a frequent visitor from over the pond; selling out Pizza Expresses and country pubs. This time, he's deservedly in prestigious theatre, The Bloomsbury, close to central London but sadly only a few are in attendance. It's a similar set to before; covering songs from all of his albums on piano and guitar. Once again, he takes moments to advertise future gigs and what merch he has for sale - but a show just focusing on his wonderful songbook would have been much more credible. He always seems to be looking towards the future whilst his songs tell his past.

photo: taken on Nic Bennett’s phone

On the Tuesday, I was back in Cambridge - this time for the Manic Street Preachers at the Corn Exchange; a venue we were due to return to last month the cancelled Ryan Adams tour. Standing can get uncomfortably crowded in there, and the reserved seating on the balcony gets worse the closer to the front, due to the perspex safety screen. There were a few chairs put out just under the balcony/above the standing, which isn't a bad spot though. Marking 19 years and 8 months since the release of 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours', the adverts suggested that they would be playing the album in order, in its entirety - to which they did neither. Not the only marketing con to help make a fast buck, as it looked like they had bought all the unofficial £5 t shirts from outside gigs in 1998, and were now selling them for £30. The extra money was spent on more live session musicians for the tour, with the highlights being the two songs from latest LP ‘Resistance Is Futile’.

photo: taken on Nic Bennett’s phone

The following evening, From The Jam, were at Epsom Playhouse. The small, all seated theatre saw original The Jam member, Bruce Foxton, battle through the flu to perform acoustic renditions of hits, album tracks and b-sides with Russell Hastings having permanently taken Paul Weller's place, whilst he continues to evolve as a successful solo artist. Support act, Nine Below Zero re-emerge to join in on a couple of numbers for an audience of one type and age bracket.

Monday afternoon's set from James Walsh at the Groucho Club saw Sam Fender and band turn up with journalist, Gordan Smart, and Josh McClorey from The Strypes, whom had to turn down the opportunity to be Weller's new guitarist whilst Steve Cradock's out with The Specials. The next day saw Brushy One String's first ever London show at The Blues Kitchen in Camden. With just one A (5th) string on his acoustic guitar, Jamacain musician, Andrew Chin, performed his Youtube hit 'Chicken in the Corn', along with other originals and Reggae classics. On Thursday, Lights was over from Canada but we decided to see Mull Historical Society’s stripped back set at Bush Hall on a night where the songs without Bernard Butler on guitar sounded best. After All Points East festival on the last Friday of the month, where Bring Me The Horizon topped the bill, we were at the Fighting Cocks, Kingtson for Outside The Box with Nick Helme, before we returned to the same club at Langleys Surbiton (Harry Hill, Matt Forde, Kerry Godliman), West Molesey Barn Theatre (Andy Parsons), Royal Oak, New Malden (Harry Hill [again], followed by just making Andy Parsons [again], after coming back from a live session on Bournemouth Radio, the next night]).

Paul Weller brought his ever changing set list to Bedgebury Pinetum forest before we witnessed David Blaine wow Hammersmith Apollo, the night before we attended Metallica at Twickenham stadium. The following evening saw Rhys James headline the New Malden Sports Ground club before I was back at Outside The Box in Kingston for Romesh Ranganathan, Al Lubel and Adam Bloom.

I wasn’t that impressed with my first trip to Exeter but Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds were mostly on top form at Powderham Castle. I would have liked The Charlatans’ ‘90s’ greatest hits support set to have have been more varied and up to date but they were being pleasing the majority.

photo: taken on Nic Bennett’s phone

After Josh Widdicombe at Outside The Box in Surbiton at Langleys on the first day of July, I was at another Paul Weller show on Sunday, in Greenwich. Another Outside The Box the following evening, in Kingston, saw Angelos Epithemiou top the bill before Wednesday night’s Cosmo Sheldrake gig at the Oval Space was shut down early due to curfew laws – something he won’t have as much of a problem with on his European tour. Bob Dylan and Neil Young at Hyde Park on the Friday was followed by a daytime trip to Dartford’s free festival for The Farm and The Lightning Seeds.

The next day we were at On Blackheath, where Morcheeba had an afternoon slot. The festival seemed much smaller than previous years and the signs for what you could and couldn’t bring in were different to what the security would snatch from you so, we didn’t stick around.

On Tuesday, Doves played a nostalgic set at Sommerset House before The Good, The Bad & The Queen hosted a much better evening of new music. Harry Enfield, Miles Kane and Jeff Wootton were amongst the smaller crowd, to the night before, as Damon Albarn’s group engaged and impressed. After meeting Tom Speight on the train home, we went along to his short set, opening for The Lighthouse Family at a Banquet Records night, before a seaside trip back to Folkestone for Graham Nash at the Leas Cliff Hall. I’m still not sure Michael Barakan (Shane Fontayne) works on guitar for him, although I did like some of his country style, and the show worked much better with the addition of James Raymond on keys.

Nic Bennett

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artificialqueens · 5 years

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Star Struck, Fuck! PT. 2 {Bidadore} Tonksie

A/N: Soooooo I’m not dead. When I wrote part one I had basically always planned to continue it. However my world got really nuts and honestly like… I just didn’t ever finish it. So here you have part 2 for your pleasure. I can’t promise anything else. I will say I am working on another addition to my other Fic Daddy May I sleep with Danger and I’ve done some in that but if anything of mine ever gets done it might be a miracle! But either way I have this so I hope you like it. Thanks to everyone for the support sorry it’s a year late. But hey the ABCD Tour really got me going.

Summary:Danny Noriega’s dreams are shattered! He met his soulmate and doesn’t even remember who he is! Now he’s in a world of color and completely alone in it. His manager and mom try to cheer him up with some Tickets to a VERY special show.

‘Pop Sensation Says he needs to “Take a Step Back!”’ ‘American Idol Alum Danny Noriega Cancels plans for new tour!’

All the news papers were going crazy with this. Danny had a pile of newspapers and gossip rags in front of him in his Manager’s office. She looked at him with this long suffering look of patience that he was starting to get sick of. He fucking hated pity but it was all anyone seemed to have for him. That or frustration which wasn’t any better. No one really understood; no one even could. His mom tried and it was as close as anyone could get since she lost hers so fast and he’d avoided her so long, but it wasn’t exactly the same. Hers had wanted her he just fought it, his hadn’t even stuck around long enough to know.

“Sweetie you can’t hide away forever. You wanted to take some time, I get that, and we are. But this can’t keep going on.” his agent said tossing down a folder in her hands and running a hand in her hair. “How are we gonna get past this?” She asked gently sitting across from him. Danny couldn’t look her in the eyes. He ran a hand through his hair and bit his lip wishing he could just go home and wallow like he had been for the last few months. This was when pity hit a wall. It had been months. Months of him moping and sulking and crying. It was just hard to lose all those dreams.

“Why don’t we release it? Tell everyone I’m looking and if you were at the concert–” Danny tried again hoping that this time would be different. Until he was interrupted.

“You know we can’t do that. It’s no good for your image! You have to look available.” She insisted.

Danny shot up straight ready to fight again“You’ve organized public relationships for me! How is this–”

“Those were casual.” she pointed out trying to retain her calm when she seemed to want to strangle the popstar. “This would be much more serious. It would be a turn off to the fans. Especially if you can’t find him.

“If I put it out maybe–”

“Danny please.” She snapped finally losing her cool a little before taking a deep breath. “Beside, you and I both know that would bring forward a swarm of people. How would you know which one was the right one. There were several thousand people there Dan. And a couple hundred in the first rows not counting the ones your surfed through!” She pointed out. She hated when he crowd surfed.

He shrugged “I’ll just know! Everyone says it you know who it is.” He was pouting but he couldn’t help it. She had good points.

“It’s just not a good idea.” She huffed and walked to her desk changing the subject. “I thought a night of going out and having fun would help. Your mother and I talked and two of those Drag Queens you love is doing a show. We got you tickets. I’d appreciate it if you go.” She said holding out a ticket.

Danny looked down at the ticket and a small smile slipped onto his lips. Bianca del Rio and Courtney Act doing a show together. It wasn’t exactly what he’d wanted but the last time he had managed to sneak into one of her shows with his fake ID he had come out with an entire CD in a few days. It had been the most inspired he’d ever been as he sat in the back wondering if she would ever notice him. She was his favorite queen after all. Besides, maybe it would take his mind off of what he did want, a soulmate that wanted him.

“I.. Ok. Thanks.” He said genuinely feeling a little excited. He wasn’t sure if it would do any good but Bianca and the other Drag Race girls always made him feel better. He had loved watching them for weeks. He lived for all the drama and chaos. Plus, there was something so gratifying in watching someone excel the way Bianca had. Maybe it would help. But there was no way in hell he was going as Danny.

—

Roy wasn’t some whiny bitch that sat around in his pjs and crusty old makeup when he was upset. When things didn’t go his way he dealt with it and he moved on. That’s what he had been doing. In the past five months and fourteen days, not that he was counting, since ‘the incident’ he had thrown himself into every ounce of work he could find. He was producing so many dresses he was pretty sure he had filled every closet he had available to him with new wardrobe for everyone who would let him sew for them. He had new routines and had been working on jokes and shows. He didn’t sleep. He didn’t rest. He just kept going.

He couldn’t let himself stop, he couldn’t let himself think. If he stopped, if he thought, he wasn’t sure he would pick it back up again. Roy was moving from sheer force of will. The amazing thing was, when you got so busy the world almost went back to grey. He could almost pretend he wasn’t looking at colors as he moved from thing to thing barely sleeping and never resting. He didn’t think as much about Danny or the show or the colors.

Without fail something would, eventually, happen though. At first it had been daily, it wasn’t that anymore thank God, but it was still too often. There would be a bright flash of color, or a poster for his kid or there would be some crazy person running around with purple hair and he would remember. He would be thrown into the past and start wondering what would have happened if he had listened to Shane and gone to talk to Danny after the show.

Danny wasn’t looking for his Soulmate though. All the articles about pulling back had Roy curious, and worried not that he’d ever admit it. Nothing had come out about him seeing colors or looking for someone though. Nothing had been released to even make him think that Danny’s life had been affected by the night that had stopped him in his tracks. Danny wasn’t shaken. Danny wasn’t confused. Danny wasn’t affected. That was just Roy. So much for soulmates. Fucking universe would do something like this.

Roy sighed applying another layer of his white eyeliner trying to shut his brain up. Courtney burst through the door laughing and smiling. “Heeey!”

“Someone’s happy.” Roy smirked rolling his eyes. “Dipping into the power already bitch.” He mocked playfully making Courtney laugh and skip over sitting next to the queen still getting into Drag. Shane took the least amount of time to become Courtney so he was always fluttering around before shows.

“One of us has to have a life.” she shot back shrugging and filing her nail. “I took a look out there, just to see what we’re dealing with and you’re going to die!” Courtney said.

“Why is there a poster of your big ass face?” He teased smiling putting on the last touches. “That’s scary enough to give anyone a heart attack!”

“You would be so lucky! Nooo!” Courtney said with a smile having clearly gotten the joke but too pleased with herself. “There is one of the trashiest little baby queens I’ve ever seen. Red hair, huge lips, and a Budweiser tank and cut offs. You’re going to read her for filth!” Courtney squealed happily.

Roy laughed his ass off at that. “God do people look in the mirror before they leave the house?” He asked and quickly followed it up with an answer of “If the mirror breaks before you get a look CHANGE!” He mocked.

—

Adore Delano sat front row at the bar already a few drinks in. There was part of her that was surprised that the show was in a bar with how popular Bianca was but she supposed even with as popular as the show had gotten, drag was still considered counterculture. Which was exactly why Danny wasn’t allowed to mention Adore.

Danny refused to let himself think about that right now though. Outright refused. Tonight he wasn’t allowed to sulk. Danny Noriega was a popstar who’s soulmate wasn’t interested and had run off. Adore Delano was a sexy “it girl” with everything going for her. It was going to be a Party!

She turned in her chair and scanned the room looking for someone cute. Cute guys always cheered her up. She could hit on them and they would flirt and have a fun night and pull her out of her funk.

Since losing her soulmate she hadn’t been in much of a mood for it, but Adore didn’t have a soulmate, Adore was her own person and she could sleep with anyone. Now Danny could too. He was just about to prove it and go for the cute guy at the bar when the show started.

The MC came out and greeted everyone, did a few jokes to warm the house, nothing as funny as Bianca but not bad, and then Courtney came on stage. She greeted everyone and started her set. The songs were great and Adore sang along getting lost in the music and the atmosphere and the voice. That caught Courtney’s eye a few times. Adore wasn’t totally sure why Courtney seemed to have her eyes on her but she was so excited she waved and interacted a little, totally respectfully. It was very exciting for the young queen.

—

Courtney went on and Bianca watched from the back through the curtains. It took two seconds to see the girl Courtney had mentioned. Instantly about twelve reads came to mind. She sifted it down to a few sure that more would be added depending on how the girl acted. She was so caught up in her head that she almost didn’t notice Courtney come off.

“Good luck following me.” The Aussie called walking by and Bianca rolled her eyes.

“Gassy again tonight?” Bianca called getting the finger from Courtney followed by a blown kiss. Bianca laughed and walked onto the stage waving and greeting everyone. “Hi everybody! Hello! Welcome. Thank you all for coming out. Especially to Raggedy Anne over here. I know it’s hard to get out of the toy box.” He aimed to Adore who laughed brightly.

“I thought I’d play one of the clowns.” She threw back without thinking referring to the ‘clown realness’ joke Bianca always used for herself.

“Oh she’s clever. My show get ya own mic.” Roy said laughing. “That was good though. Nice one.” He assured before getting on with his set. His eyes kept going back to the red hair. Something about the girl was familiar. Something about that face, her behavior and voice. He couldn’t figure it out but he also couldn’t quite pull his eyes away for too long.

Every time Bianca came back to the girl in the front with the red wig she always had a response. She was cute, ditsy, and clearly very different from first expected. Bianca had gotten her once though which had earned here an adorable blush and covered face with a finger aimed at her. She wasn’t mad, she had earned that finger. Besides it was cute to see the queen all flustered.

Adore was lapping up the attention from her favorite queen. Courtney had been amazing but Adore was so in love with Bianca it was unreal. He knew it was pathetic, a fan in love with another RPDR queen but hey what did she have to lose right? She didn’t have a soulmate.

All too soon, and in Adore’s mind it was way too fast, the show was over. Adore looked around not quite ready to leave. This was the most fun she’d had in a while. She looked around for that guy she’d seen when she heard a voice behind her. “You’re good. Except the style.” the raspy read caught her off guard and she turned trying not to squeal.

“Bianca?” He asked shocked. “Fuck you I look hot.” Adore insisted at a whine but her eyes went big and she gave a charming ditzy smile and her rapidfire batting eyelashes.

“Hot mess maybe.” Bianca shot back. “Want a drink?”

“Party!”

“Oh god.” Bianca rolled her eyes. “Come on bitch.” She said laughing at the charming baby queen. He couldn’t explain why he was doing this. He often bought drinks for good sports because it was nice. This one was a little different though, this time he was enjoying himself.

Bianca ordered his drink and told the bartender to add what the girl ordered to his tab. Adore ordered the frilliest thing on the menu making Bianca roll her eyes. “Really queen?” He judged quirking.

“Yeah! It’s fucking good. Try it!” She insisted offering the drink to the older queen.

“Fuck no I’m not gonna try it. That weak shit probably tastes like a diabetic’s asshole.” This girl did not need sugar. She was energetic and loud and charming and sounded like she was at a fucking concert.

“That’s why I like it so much.” She said in an airy flirty tone as she tried to seductively drink out of the straw making the older queen laugh with another muttered ‘oh god.’

“Nice try but I already gave to charity this year.” she mocked sipping her wine.

“What if I said I was a superstar?” Adore flirted. She knew it was probably useless; but fucking Bianca Del Rio, or getting fucked by Bianca Del Rio, would be the highlight of her life. She had to go for it. Even if, supposedly, Courtney was better in bed. He just loved Bianca, her style, her humor, her no nonsense mouth. Danny had always felt like he could learn something from her.

“Sure you are Queen. And I’m Mother Teresa.” Bianca rolled her eyes. The kid was cute but also very drunk and very messy. The style was so unpolished and unlike anything she’d ever experienced. This girl looked trashy but she looked like that on purpose and you could tell. You could tell she actually tried to look like a mess.

“I am though! You even went to my concert.” Adore said smiling and batting her eyes. She had a secret that Bianca didn’t know and she was going to enjoy getting attention by holding it over her.

“You singing along with Courtney isn’t your concert.” He teased. Adore looked shocked. “Yeah I saw you.” It was probably a mistake to admit he’d been watching the girl sing and dance to Courtney’s songs from backstage but he had. It had been a little enchanting too. Watching the way this queen moved. She was so free and caught up.

“No fuuuuck not here.” Adore whined smiling and laughing covering her face with her hands. “No I… I’m going to tell you a secret.” Adore said with a very loud stage whisper. “I’m Danny Noriega.”

There was a moment of stunned silence when he said that. “Bull Shit.” Bianca breathed looking the other queen over. It all added up though. The voice, it was very much the voice from the album. The hair would make sense if he didn’t know colors, that stung a little since Roy could see them bright as day because of the little queen in front of him. What truely should have given it away though was the eyes. They had been the first color he had seen, they had pretty much rocked and shattered his world.

He didn’t know why he hadn’t seen it before. Those eyes were the exact color he had seen from the stage.They were seared into his brain and haunted him everywhere. They were bright and vibrant and big with lips that had given him a lot of very wrong images for a man 14 years this kid’s senior, though the kid was his soulmate.

“No it’s true.” Danny insisted. “My Manager got me these tickets after my soulmate fucking dumped me.” he was pouting into his frilly pink drink now. If that face didn’t shatter Roy’s chilly little heart he didn’t know what would.

Bianca held back a poke at the red wig and instead went in for something a little closer to what had been on his mind the past months. “What do you mean he dumped you?” she asked.

“I mean I guess dump would imply I met him. I was at a concert, actually the one you were at. And like… so when I’m performing I get a little high. Not like on anything or shit like that. I just feel really high and everything is bright and … anyway when I got off stage I noticed that I could see colors… but when I went to look for my soulmate he hadn’t… stuck around. I guess he didn’t want me.” Adore admitted taking another big drink as tear started and she tried to dab them away. “Fuck I must look like such a Chillona right now.”

“Not really.” Roy assured looking around. “You wanna go to my dressing room we’ll have more space to talk there.” This was a bad idea. What was he gonna do tell Adore everything? Then what? There was no rainbows and sunshine in his life he didn’t get happy endings other than winning Drag Race and even then.

“Party.” Adore Sniffed.

“Oh God. Party! Aha I can see colors and still chose a bright red fucking wig. Cool.” Bianca teased which actually made Adore laugh. Adore was grateful for that. She hadn’t felt this light since that night. Right now she felt this weird sense of home, she figured it had something to do with how connected she’d always felt with the queen on the season, like she should have been there. She wondered if she had fans who felt like this.

Bianca led the girl to her dressing room and inside Courtney sat at the mirror. “Took you long enough. I was starting to think you got lost.” Courtney joked looking back to see Bianca then Adore walked in. “Oh you have a guest. Wow. Isn’t that my job?” Courtney joked with a smile.

“Hi I’m Adore.” She greeted with a bright smile. So that was her name. Other than Danny of course. Cute. It fit the sort of personality in a weird way. The charm was there it made her adorable for sure.

Courtney smiled charmingly “Hi Adore I’m Courtney. Nice to meet you.” she said looking curiously at Bianca.

“Yeah I’ve seen you. I loved your season.” She said brightly.

“Oh God. You watch RuPaul’s Drag Race?” Bianca asked way too amused by that discovery.

“Fuck yeah! It’s like my favorite show!” Adore enthused. “Like I love drama and shit!m You were fucking funny.” Adore explained.

“No! You have to stop. If you compliment Bianca her head will swell even more and explode!” Courtney overdramatically warned throwing up her hands.

“My head can’t get any bigger than yours. My ego is well earned.” Bianca said flatly and full of attitude. “Unlike you, I won!”

“See how mean she is to me.” Courtney jokingly wept throwing her arm over Adore’s shoulders.

“No, bitch you deserve that.” Adore said laughing but still pat Courtney’s back as she did. All of this felt so much like hanging out with her friends at home. They talked like this. Heck she would joke with her mom like this.

“Ha see! She’s on my side!” Bianca said. “And hands off this one’s mine get your own.” she added wrapping an arm around Adore who happily melted into the arm of the older woman. That was a nice feeling. Adore felt a rush of heat to her cheeks as Bianca claimed her.

“Fuck yeah! Three way!” Adore joked laughing making the other two pull faces before laughing as well.

“And that’s my cue to leave.” Courtney said. “Excuse me while I go find a man!” She brightly fluttered out and Bianca and Adore laughed at her antics.

Bianca looked at her soulmate and it really hit her for the first time. Roy wasn’t usually into queens but this one was cute even in drag. Danny was bright but grungy and sort of accented Bianca and her dark dry humor. Danny had fit easily into a conversation with Courtney and it felt so natural. It was really something to have someone slip so easily into a bond that the three RPDR queens had built up so thoroughly in the fires of the competition and had insisted no one would understand. They had always felt a little impenetrable.

Even on the show the three of them had made a close bond instantly and really tightened ranks. Sometimes they would talk to Jocelyn and Bianca had won because of her willingness to help Trinity, but no one had cracked their top three. Then here waltzed in this little queen with a bright smile, green eyes, and literally adding colors to Roy’s life and he fit right in.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Adore asked making Bianca realize that she had been quiet for a while. “I know I’m sexy.” Adore joked batting her eyes and tilting her head giving a weird smile with pouted out lips.

Bianca crackled loudly and threw her head back. “Oh sure girl.” She responded amused shaking her head. “I was just thinking about what you said in the bar. About your soulmate.” Bianca said bringing Adore down.

Adore pouted and sighed flopping down into a chair in front of one of the huge prep mirrors. Bianca gracefully sat herself in one across from it waiting. “I mean I don’t really wanna talk about it.” Adore whined. “This is like the first time since it happened I’ve had fun.” she explained.

“But why not just react when it happened? Why didn’t you call it out before going off stage?” Bianca asked hoping it sounded like a response to the story earlier and not just her on memories. When it had happened Roy’s mind had started rushing with so many things. Everything was swirling and crazy and he had been overwhelmed by the situation and Danny’s age and his lack of reaction. He had only been able to imagine one possible reason for why Danny hadn’t responded.

“It’s gonna sound crazy.” Adore blushed looking down.

Bianca smirked “Really? Cause the wig and the clothes didn’t tell me that.” she teased but her tone wasn’t harsh or biting like it usually was. It was welcoming even if the words weren’t.

“Fuck off. Look at your make up bitch.” She joked back laughing.

“I never said I was sane.” Bianca reasoned laughing and enjoying the moment. “So, what was it?”

Adore laughed and shook her head “Basically when I perform, the world– it…. I don’t know it’s just really fucking like bright and shit. So I feel like I can already see colors sometimes, or I did cause now I can. But like… I was flying high and I like honestly didn’t notice until I looked in the fucking mirror after the show.” She admitted.

That made a weird sort of sense. It explained why Bianca’s world had shattered at the realization and Danny’s hadn’t. “You really didn’t see it? Like nothing changed when your hand touched?” He asked trying not to be too obvious.

“No like not at all. Like…I’ve been waiting for that moment for like forever. I always wanted my soulmate. I had this image ya know? Like I knew like how good it would be. He would love me and we would be together and it would work out.” She admitted and looked up. “Fuck I’m sorry. I’m spilling my fucking heart out to Bianca Del Rio.” Adore whined loudly.

Bianca smirked “Don’t worry about it queen.”

“What’s your soulmate story? Like you noticed my hair so you obviously have one and I know you didn’t on the show so…. Like who’s the lucky guy?” Adore asked.

Bianca wasn’t sure what to say. How did she not just basically look up and say ‘you, idiot’? “That’s kind of a long story.” she admitted looking the girl over. Danny deserved to know. It was a mess but he couldn’t leave this beautiful person like this. He had no rights to Danny or his life but Danny deserved to know the truth. Bianca just wasn’t quite sure she was brave enough to say it out loud yet. That felt like it would make it way too real.

“I don’t have anywhere to go.” Adore smirked “Plus you listened to my whiny ass so fuck it right?” Adore smiled wondering if maybe her hero’s story was as sad as her own.

Bianca sighed “Well I was in a crowd and I happened to graze his hand. I noticed and he… didn’t.” Bianca said with a sort of airy shrug that he hoped made it seem like he didn’t care as much as he did. “So Courtney, Darienne, and I went out for drinks and that was that.” He admitted.

“Wait what?” Adore was stunned and confused and didn’t have any clue how to react.

“Well we know what you got on your SATs: Katchup.” Bianca joked trying to change the subject.

“Bitch please I didn’t take no SATs I went to continuation school.” She joked and shook her head refusing to get distracted even as she elicited a loud cackle from the other queen. “No like you didn’t like… run up and tell him or some shit?” Adore asked tilting her head.

“No, and I regret it.” He admitted “But to be fair I honestly thought he just didn’t have the same reaction.” He was being honest here. It was hard to admit but he just couldn’t see his life turning out like his childhood dreams of white picket fences. “It would be my luck that the fucking universe doesn’t give me a soulmate that wants me back. Like I would be that bitch that’s soul is bound to someone who is meant for someone else.” Bianca mused annoyed.

“Fuck no, no way. Like you’re way too good for that shit. Besides once there’s like a soul bond you’re just gonna keep meeting and meeting like even my mom. She met her soulmate and like he tried to keep her away because he was like dying and shit but they kept meeting and meeting. If he’d have just like fucking let it happen he might have been my dad instead of this other asshole.” Adore pointed out with a shrug.

Bianca looked the boy over and thought for a moment. It made sense. I mean how the hell else did you explain his soulmate popping up at a show in drag. Being front row and having a bright red wig and style he was going to read to filth. You couldn’t. “So what if your guy popped up out of the blue?” Bianca asked hesitant and serious, which was rare for her.

“I mean… I’d ask why he didn’t like–” Adore’s voice cracked again and the tears were coming back. She fucking hated this, especially in front of her superstar. This person in front of her always seemed so strong and here she was breaking down. “Why he didn’t stay around and why he didn’t want me.” She admitted swallowing. “Like what I did that made him not stay.” She tried. “I don’t know all the stupid questions that have been like all over my mind since that fucking concert.” She admitted.

Bianca took a deep breath and nodded. This wasn’t her forte. She didn’t know how to do feelings. She avoided those bitches like she was a fat kid and they were vegetables. It was also the first time since that night that she wished she’d listened to Courtney’s cheesy romantic ass and tried walking in and talking to Danny before running out the door.

Meeting Adore like this, and getting to see this person without the pressure of knowing some cosmic joke had you destined to be in each other’s lives forever, was kinda nice. She wondered how different her life would be if she’d met Adore before he knew Danny. What if she’d met Adore much earlier? How would her life have changed having this amazing little queen in it back on the show for instance. “Anyone who wouldn’t want you would be crazy ok.”

Adore looked up with a wet laugh and a smile as Bianca handed her a tissue and she dabbed at her eyes trying not to smudge the liner. “Thanks but… I mean I’m getting over it. Like clearly soul mates aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. They’re still fucking humans right?” Adore pointed out.

“Yeah and ya know your guy may be cracked, and broken but you deserve a lot of love.” Bianca swallowed trying to summon nerve “You’re pretty special and very talented and I regret not talking to you about it.” Bianca admitted. “Cause I should have.” She said hoping it was clever or possibly hoping that Adore wasn’t clever. She wasn’t entirely sure which.

“Wait what?” Adore asked looking up shocked.

“There’s that quick wit again.” Bianca said before she could stop herself, probably partially in a desperate attempt to break the tension she felt talking like this. She didn’t do honest like this either.

“Wait no I’m… I’m confused. Why would you I’m — fuck– what?” She muttered totally confused and lost.

Bianca huffed. She had to stand up. She needed to move. She started to pace taking off her wig, she needed some level of comfort for this shit. If she could she’d have popped her tuck too because she was gonna need her balls for this.

“The night I saw colors for the first time I was at your concert. Courtney and Darienne bought me tickets to your tour for my birthday.” She admitted “Shady bitches know your music is my guilty pleasure.”

Adore broke into a bright smile that still had hints of tears spoiling it. The tracks were running down her pretty face. “Party!” Adore said excited “That’s fucking cool you like my music?” She asked.

Bianca was gonna get whiplash with this back and forth. It was amazing how the girl could light up like a candle after crying and looking so broken only moments before. He laughed and shook his head walking over and pulling the crazy red wig off her damn head, gentle enough to be sure no bobby pins ripped hair out. “Yeah I do now let me finish my damn story.” He smirked “Anyway I reached up with the crowd like a dumbass and saw this huge pair of green eyes staring down at me and I was amazed.” He admitted “Because how in the hell could some baby pop star be my fucking soulmate. I’m old enough to be your grandmother.” he joked.

“I mean, she doesn’t age so that’s not really saying anything.” Danny joked looking up at Bianca out of the wig and smiled. Bianca ran a hand in the boy’s hair making goosebumps erupt on his skin. She gently tilted his head back running short nails over his scalp. “So you’re my soulmate then?” Danny finally asked letting it all sink in as he looked into, currently blue, contact covered eyes wishing they were their natural brown.

“I fucking hope so cause if not this is one sick ass joke.” Bianca said with a wry smirk. Before he even registered what was happening Adore had sprung up from her chair and into his arms and a pair of, very talented, lips were on his. He groaned kissing back hard and pulling the boy close pushing him against the table and feeling something poking into his thigh. Roy blinked and looked down to see a bulge. “Bitch you didn’t tuck?”

Adore laughed “Fuck no, I was hoping I’d need that later.” he flirted in the airy Adore voice pulling Bianca in again with a luscious moan that was way too sexual for a dressing room.

“Bianca I– Oh my GOD!” an Australian voice cried from the door as it opened and she was followed by some man.

“Bitch do you knock?!” Bianca shouted turning around annoyed at his blonde friend for interrupting.

“Never mind I was just… but… I’m … OH MY GOD! THAT’S DANNY!” Courtney said again.

“Danny Noriega! Oh man I love him.” A very dumb sounding man said behind Courtney and tried to sneak in and offered a hand. “Hi Danny I’m–”

Bianca cut in with a withering look. “You’re leaving.” He nearly threatened the intruding man who’s strong jaw line had a possessive streak rising in Bianca. “Queen, you got a man at home! Get out and let me have mine.” Bianca said pointedly to Courtney which made the random man confused.

Courtney nodded “Right sorry I’m just gonna…” Courtney kept talking but Bianca didn’t hear the end. Suddenly there was a chest against her back an a mouth at her ear.

“Why don’t we just go to my place instead?” Danny purred and that was all it took. Roy picked up the two wigs and his bag.

“Oh second thought have it.” Bianca said grabbing Danny’s hand. “You got anything else? No. Let’s roll.” Bianca said with a smirk that Danny returned in kind. This was going to be one long night.

#adore delano #bianca del rio #courtney act #biadore #soulmate au #au #tonksie #star struck fuck #rpdr fanfiction #m/m au #queen au

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thesportssoundoff · 6 years

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“Canada, UFC, October filler” The UFC Fight Night From Moncton Preview

Joey

October 21st, 2018

If you remove the prelim slates (which aren't necessarily fight nights) and throw in the FOX card in December, we're officially at JUST five shows remaining for the UFC on Fox Sports. One day we'll all have a chit chat about how that relationship changed the sport (for the better or the worse) but in the meantime and in between time, let's look at what is by far the weakest of the five cards with a UFC trip into Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. It's a bit of a bummer the UFC canned Tom Wright long before we got to this point because he was pushing for New Brunswick to get a show for a long time. They finally got there and the card---is a card. The UFC's problem is that they basically have zero big time Canadians available and they booked TWO Canadian cards in close proximity SO what do you think happens there? The good Canadians go to the PPV and the other ones wind up here. What's more, what IS a fair card for a place like Moncton anyways? With Colorado, New York, Toronto, Las Vegas, Australia, China, Argentina and Milwaukee all on the docket, I think it's fair to suggest that New Brunswick is the weakest of the markets presented and as such, they kind of got the short end. At least Argentina got what should be a tremendous main event with hometown dude Santiago Ponzinibbio getting the headline spot. Moncton gets a really good LHW fight, some pretty solid undercard stuff here or there but overall, this is the sort of card I'd be giving Fox if I was dipping out in a year. Then again I'm petty like that. Despite the somewhat lukewarm lead in, I've got plenty to chit chat about here so get up on here and have a good old time!

Fights: 13

Debuts: Johnathan Martinez, Te Edwards, Don Madge, Chris Fishgold

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 2 (Zubaira Tukhogov OUT, Michael Johnson IN vs Artem Lobov/Gavin Tucker OUT, Jonathan Martinez IN vs Andre Soukhamthath)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 8 (Volkan Oezdemir, Anthony Smith, Michael Johnson, Artem Lobov, Misha Cirkunov, Patrick Cummins, Gian Villante, Stevie Ray)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: (Misha Cirkunov, Artem Lobov, Ed Herman, Court McGee, Talita Bernado, Stevie Ray)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: (Anthony Smith)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC): 25-28 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!, This is the first one of these I've done where the main card record is OFFICIALLY below .500. I guess we can blame Court McGee and Gian Villante for that.)

Volkan Oezdemir- 3-1 Anthony Smith- 6-2 Michael Johnson- 2-3 Artem Lobov- 2-3 Misha Cirkunov- 3-2 Pat Cummins- 2-2 Jonathan Martinez- 0-0 Andre Soukhamthat- 1-3 Gian Villante- 2-4 Ed Herman- 1-2 Alex Garcia- 2-3 Court McGee- 1-3

Divisional Breakdown:

Light Heavyweight- 3

Lightweight- 3

Welterweight- 2

Featherweight- 2

Heavyweight- 1

Bantamweight- 1

Women's Bantmweight- 1

Too Low- Marcelo Golm vs Arjan Bhullar

Take your pick actually. With Gian Villante/Ed Herman, Alex Garcia/Court McGee and even Johnathan Martinez/Andre Soukhamthath, there's plenty to move off the main card. The FS1 prelims have a few fights that are better; namely the likes of Chris Fishgold vs Calvin Kattar and "This should be on a Euro Fight Pass card" in Thibault Gouti vs Nasrat Haqparast. Either way be that as it may or may not, I'm actually rolling with Fight Pass HW bout Arjan Bhullar vs Marcelo Golm. Bhullar being on Fight Pass is a consistently weird deal BUT him vs Golm is actually a pretty intriguing fight between HW prospects. That's more important to me than Ed Herman vs Gian Villante or the McGee fight. Besides with three LHW fights on the main card, they already decided this was going to be a "big" card with size as the impetus. Might as well give your audience the big boys and go whole hog am I right?

Too High Up- Alex Garcia vs Court McGee

Again half of this main card is just sort of kind of wasteful filler so you could pick just about anything here outside of the main, the co-main and Cummins/Cirkunov. I just don't see the reason why this fight is on the main card. McGee is on a losing streak and BARELY holding onto his spot in the organization while Alex Garcia fights more often than not tend to be drab affairs. This fight isn't relevant at 170 lbs, it's probably not going to be exciting and it feels like a very transparent loser leaves town type gimmick. Just don't see why this is here.

Stat Monitor for 2018:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 27-33-1): Chris Fishgold, Jonathan Martinez, Te Edwards, Dan Madge

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 26-19): Jonathan Martinez, Michael Johnson

Second Fight (Current number: 35-27):

Cage Corrosion (Current number: 19-31): Artem Lobov, Ed Herman, Jessin Ayari

Undefeated Fighters (Current number: 29-21-1):

Keeping An Eye On But Not Really:

The UFC Win Check Test The records of fighters who have 4 or more UFC fights (or three full calendar years in the organization) but 0 wins against people still in the UFC: Artem Lobov, Thibault Gouti

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Has Dominick Reyes made fights like these borderline irrelevant? Some would argue that this was irrelevant to begin with but that sort of no sells the chaotic and frenzied stupidity of 205 lbs. We're talking about a division that has had two dudes as champion since 2014 but about 6 different interim/vacated title fights in the process. There's always a desire for newness at 205 lbs and the fact that Jones and DC run through most of the guys either in the top 10 or previously occupying spots in the top 10 opens up the door for a fast ascending LHW to sneak his way into title talk. With Dominick Reyes on the scene, you can't help but feel like he's the guy one way or another to put himself into that position. For better or for worse, Reyes is the guy who will face Jones or DC or just take the title when both dudes disappear from fighting forever. As such, even the normally somewhat solid cry of "This COULD be a #1 contender fight!" falls flat here. It's just a good LHW fight that's being asked to become relevant enough for people to go out of their way to see it.

2- Anthony Smith has had a long fighting career (and could be one of those Ellenberger/Mein guys who eventually hits the wall a lot sooner than his contemporaries will) but his run in the UFC at 205 lbs is actually pretty flimsy. The best LHW he fought was Thiago Santos when they were both middleweights in a fight that Santos won in violent and emphatic fashion. His wins at 205 lbs are over Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua; two names that saw their best days at least 5-10 years ago. Both fights ended in the first round and showcased what Smith does well but hid his weaknesses pretty comfortably. In a weird way, Smith and Volkan Oezdemir are similar stories. Both came from weight classes other than 205 lbs (Oezdemir was training for a HW title fight when he got the call to face OSP on short notice) and their run to the top of the division always had a weird sense of smoke and mirrors to it. Oezdemir's Cinderella Man style run came to an end vs Daniel Cormier in a fight where the element of danger for Volkan was gone early and Cormier's pressure and all around skill level just wore him out. It'll be interesting to see if Smith, not exactly known as a cardio terror at 185 lbs, can handle a guy like Volkan leaning on him if this fight gets a bit long in the tooth.

3- Is the winner of this fight on a nudge nudge wink wink short list IF Gus or Jones is hurt?

4- This sure feels like the sort of fight Michael Johnson finds a way to lose and I find that unsettling.

5- A year ago around this time, Misha Cirkunov was coming off his first UFC loss in stunning shocking fashion BUT conversely the Volkan Oezdemir buzz was sky high so in theory, it all evened out. Now Volkan has basically disappeared from the radar (through factors not entirely in his control) and Misha is coming off his second straight loss in a blow out vs Glover Teixeira. I don't know if it's fair to sound the bust alarm yet but Cirkunov is getting the sort of soft touch that suggests they're attempting a market correction.Pat Cummins isn't going to give Cirkunov problems on the feet and he probably (?) can't take him down either BUT he can at the very least stick around long enough to give Cirkunov some problems. A loss here and you can sound the alarm.

6- Calvin Kattar started the year in a premier spot for a UFC PPV, taking on Shane Burgos in an upset win. He followed that up in April with a "No shame in that" loss to Renato Moicano and returns on the PRELIMS here vs Chris Fishgold. It's actually a really good fight and far better than at least half of the stuff on the main card. Somehow it's here on the prelims and the only guess I can make is that Kattar has an expiring contract and the UFC's not running the risk of him winning on the main card without some comfort for him re-signing. Very excited for Chris Fishgold as well as he's one of the better Cage Warriors signings the UFC has made. It's of course fair to point out that some Cage Warriors champs have gone bust recently but I don't think Fishgold is going to follow in that pattern.

7- Where does Alex Garcia rank among the all time hyped signings to never pan out? Think plenty of us got drawn offsides there.

8- Speaking of weird prelim fights, Nasrat Haqparast vs Thibault Gouti should probably be higher up. Gouti gave Sage Northcutt all he could handle in a "showcase the star" fight but like most guys set up on the other side of those, Gouti found a way to lose. Nasrat Haqparast as a lot of Kelvin Gastelum qualities (even looks like him) and was absolutely dynamic in running through Marc Diakiese in his sophomore outing for the UFC. I'd rather watch Haqparast ice Gouti in a round than see Alex Garcia vs Court McGee.

9- Let's just be fair to Court McGee here. McGee overcame an addiction to heroin and a lack of natural talent (let's be fair) to have a long career in the UFC. He won TUF over dudes like Brad Tavares, Nick Ring, Chris Camozzi and Kyle Noke and has won fights in the UFC plus he got to be a part of a show in his hometown. He's more than overachieved and deserves a ton of credit. I just don't have a lot of interest in this fight. He also has a win (disputed as it may be) over Robert Whittaker.

10- Stevie Ray is also on the Fight Pass prelims which is weird I guess. The UFC's love of Scotland has come and gone seemingly but Ray is a quality 155er who is better than "guy who kicks off the Fight Pass slate on the card." What weird slotting.

11- Nordine Taleb vs Sean Strickland sounds like a miserable viewing experience.

12-How many guys on this main card are still with the UFC a year from now?

#MMA #UFC #Moncton #Canada #Oezdemir #Anthony Smith #Lobov #Michael Johnson

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survivorghostsisland · 2 years

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Ep 14 Confessionals | "I Am So Girlbossing This Now" - Rose

After Owen's vote out, Rose was on the offensive. She wanted to separate herself from TJ and Shane because she perceived them as running the show and needing to be split up. Once Shane won immunity, this meant she would need to somewhat turn on her duo, Andry.

Before the vote, Bryan was announced to have been eliminated from Ghost Island. The players also began rapidly moving in the Haunted House after leaving it alone for rounds. Maybe someone was tipped off about potential powers that lie inside...

TJ was paranoid going into council, feeling like now would be the time for someone to move against him. His intuition turned out to be correct when Captain mysteriously played an idol someone may or may not have given him in secret, causing TJ to also play an idol. This meant that due to 5/6 votes being cancelled, Andry was sent home in a 0-0-1 split. This definitely leaves the game wide open... perfect time to bring someone back from Ghosts' Island!

WELL i hope yall had fun that council.. i mean i did. sobs for owen tho. he died for me </3

I yelled at Owen at council. It was exhilarating. I feel so good after voting him out because he tried to pull a fast one on us and tried to vote TJ. I'm lowkey embarrassed but then again not really because it was kinda fun? I wasn't't even all that mad, I just hope that Owen was really mad because he felt like I was being selfish, and therefore our alliance wasn't really an alliance if I'm just looking out for myself. And, I mean he's right to an extent. I am being selfish. I am only looking out for myself, but isn't that the game of survivor? Be mad at the game, not the player. This honestly is just the culmination of my plan working really well. He realized what TJ and I were doing way too late, and that's not my fault. Lowkey, doesn't even matter because we just switched who the plan is with. I wanted it to be Owen and Allison but since they felt like they didn't want to be "my chess pieces" (which I didn't see them as but whatever), Andry and Rose are the way to go. I know Rose is willing to turn on us , but we should be good for this vote at least. She won't want to go to rocks next vote I don't think, so I think we should be good for a couple votes. I hope that people don't take things personally and that we all just can understand that this is a game. I'm playing very aggressively, but I am damn proud of the way I am playing. I lowkey think this is one of the best games I have ever played in the way that I feel like I have been behind a lot of the decisions and pulling strings, as Owen and Allison said. This really is the War of the Duos, and I'm happy I chose the right side (for now) at least. I just gotta hope things go the way I hope for the next couple rounds.

Last night's council was a solid win for me tbh. I think Shane and Owen fighting really took the spotlight off the person who really orchestrated last night - which was me. The idea to split was my idea, a)bc I wanted to see fighting and b)in the event of an idol. I think now moving forward, I would like to see TJ go sooner than later because I think he does have a good case to win the game moving forward. I think Rose would be taken out before me (probably?). That's what people are telling me. Shane seems to trust me completely, which is great. On a personal level, he is great - I love chatting with him. On a game level, he has revealed all his cards to me. I am hoping that that works in my favour. I also made sure to tell Shane that Rose was originally gunning for TJ. I want Shane to feel drawn to me and by telling him that, I am hoping it builds trust and also puts a big target on Rose's back. Allison seems like super angry about the vote - which fair! I think though it's not the right approach if she wants to get further. But who knows... maybe I am not in a position to give out advice lol.

Also - one thing I have been doing all game is really trying to make myself seem dumber then I am. These include things like pretending to be surprised by good ideas, saying I would've never thought of that, really reminding people that I haven't made it to the end game in so long. I think it's important to keep that fresh in peoples minds.

Last night, I lost immunity - which wasn't the worst thing in the world. But then my alliance of Rose, Shane, TJ, and I tried to get the haunt to happen (which didn't sadly). I made it to the vault where I did the task and passed, and managed to get a 50/50 Idol Nullifier. I was on call with Shane when I got it, and I told him at first I hadn't gotten anything - but then later retracted my statemen because I knew he didn't believe me. Honestly, I would say that moment was probably the stupidest move I have made all season. It took away some trust that existed between Shane and I. I know TJ and Rose have the only two idols left in the game, so TBH I would like to use it against TJ at some point. It expires at F6 - and I have been operating under the assumption that someone will be coming back after this vote. Right now, our alliance plans to vote out Captain. I think he would win simply because he hasn't rocked the boat too much this season. Also, sending Allison would help Owen in his fight to get back into the game - which we really don't want!!!!!! Also, BRYAN GOT ELIMINATED THANK GOD!!!!!!! Now he definitely won't return to the game. I have NEVER BEEN HAPPIER IN this game. Right now, I need to start pivoting my game to best set me up for the win. I think I would like to sit with Shane at the FSC (final spirit council). Now it's just a matter of deciding who I want to be other person. I hope people would like to sit against me - I think people might underestimate my game, but I know I have played a strong season.

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shane won the necklace which is... good for him. cause i'd be gunning for him if he hadn't won. giggles. anyways, these people are really making things so clear rn. cause no one apart from rose and allison talks to me. and its clear that they're targeting me again. GO GET URSELF A NEW TARGET BABES. like, they'd rather choose the safe route than do something fun i guess. but at least, there's rose who's willing to do something fun. so rose, allison, and i are gonna split our votes: 2 on TJ and 1 on andry. and then rose is gonna give me her immunity idol and i play it on myself. and then TJ will hopefully play his immunity on himself and andry will go. and that's the plan. things could go wrong if they split between me and allison but they only have 3 so idk. but that might happen and i'll ask if there is the split plan or not. until now, we just hope that rose is honest and rlly wants to work with me and allison. or we just pray that i don't get played by anyone. fingers crossed.

Almost forgot to confess! This is by far the most nervous I’ve been walking into council. I want to believe that Rose and Andry know that keeping me makes sense this round but I can easily see them thinking that making the move on me gives them the best chance at the end… Logically, they need to keep me. Logically, I know they know keeping me is good. Irrationally, I think everyone is going to make stupid decisions one way or another. And thus, here I am, preparing myself to potentially see myself fall victim to sixth place once again and just have nothing to do about it. Could I play the idol? Absolutely. But I’m wrong, I waste such an amazing tool and show Rose and Andry I didn’t trust them. So it’s a bad play to use it even it would make me feel better. So I have to do the one thing I hate to do… trust people.

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We are about to vote but I have a bad feeling for tonight................. something seems off

#confessionals #surviveorbehaunted #Youtube

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deadcactuswalking · 3 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 27/03/2021 (Justin Bieber’s ‘Justice’, Griff, Lil Tjay/Polo G/Fivio Foreign)

You might think that since I can take time out of my schedule to ramble about charts every week, that I have a lot of time on my hands and this may or may not be true but even I do not have enough time or energy to listen to – or even care about – new releases from both Justin Bieber and Lana Del Rey. So, of course, they make the most impact on the chart this week, even if said impact is still pretty muted. Our #1 is, for a second week, “Wellerman” by Nathan Evans and remixed by 220 KID and Billen Ted, and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

It may not make any sense to you that “Anyone” by Justin Bieber has dropped out of the UK Top 75 – which I cover – on the week of the album’s release, but UK chart rules stipulate that only the three best-performing songs from an artist can chart at any time, which is pretty stupid all things considered but I’m not complaining since it gives me less of a workload... or more, I don’t know. With more album tracks from Justin, I’m sure they would cancel at least some of the other, lower new entries out. This isn’t the Hot 100, however, this is the UK Singles Chart, and hence we follow their rules, which means that we also have the notable drop-outs of “Bluuwuu” by Digga D, “Regardless” by RAYE and Rudimental, “Love Not War (The Tampa Beat)” by Jason Derulo and Nuka, “Afterglow” by Ed Sheeran, “Prisoner” by Miley Cyrus featuring Dua Lipa, and finally, “Lemonade” by Internet Money and Gunna featuring Don Toliver and NAV. It seems like this week in particular is pushing out old hits to make way for the new, and that’s a great thing as far as I’m concerned.

In terms of notable fallers, there are a few as expected from having a lot of action at the top, as we have “Get Out My Head” by Shane Codd at #20, “Bringing it Back” by Digga D and AJ Tracey at #41, “Money Talks” by Fredo and Dave at #45, “Best Friend” by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat at #46, “telepatía” by Kali Uchis at #47, “You’re Mines Still” by Yung Bleu featuring Drake on the remix at #57, “Addicted” to Jorja Smith at #61 off of the debut, “DAYWALKER!” by Machine Gun Kelly featuring CORPSE not disappearing fast enough at #63, “Anxious” by AJ Tracey at #65, “34+35” by Ariana Grande at #71, “Good Days” by SZA at #72, “Heat” by Paul Woodford and Digga D at #74 and finally, “Toxic” by Digga D at #75. That’s before we take into account our album impacts from the last few weeks, as well, as for Central Cee, “Commitment Issues” is at #11, “6 for 6” is at #26 and “Day in the Life” is at #56. As for Drake, “What’s Next” is at #32, “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” featuring Rick Ross is at #33 and “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby is at #44.

So, what’s filling in the cracks? Well, our one returning entry is the title track, “Chemtrails Over the Country Club”, from Lana Del Rey’s newest record back at #62. “Tulsa Jesus Freak” did actually chart below the top 75, so this and the debut for “White Dress” later on is all we’ll see from Lana this week. In terms of our notable gains, well, there’s not much to speak of other than the surge for Majestic’s remix of “Rasputin” by Boney M. up to #49 off of the debut, other than “Didn’t Know” by Tom Zanetti at #48, “Medicine” by James Arthur at #43, “Ferrari Horse” by D-Block Europe and RAYE at #30 and the expected album boost for “Hold On” by Justin Bieber up to #10. With all that said, we won’t be hearing from Justin for a while as we get onto our new arrivals for this week, so let’s start from the bottom.

NEW ARRIVALS

#68 – “Track Star” – Mooski

Produced by Woodpecker

Okay, so this is a song from last year from complete nobody rapper Mooski that got big in the US on TikTok a couple months ago so, no surprise, we get it sometime later. Well, at least this Mooski guy seems to at least want to tell a story here, as the song doesn’t stray far away from the topic of a woman with commitment issues who doesn’t stay with him when times get hard. For what it’s worth, content-wise, at least it’s a narrative, even if lyrics like, “Leave a trail of heartbreak and heartache like, it’s cool” sound closer to emo-rap whining than he probably intended. Not that it needed a narrative, because barely any songs can actually affectively tell them, but there’s got to be sometimes to distract from this squeaky, strained vocal loop and all of the janky melodies surrounding it, not to mention the downright awful 808s and percussion that reminds me more of the Afroswing we got on the charts back in 2018 than any trap-rap. Mooski himself is a complete non-presence, especially when he starts stuttering on the bridge, to the point where I can’t distinguish whether it’s totally embarrassing or subtly endearing. Either way, I can’t see myself listening to this like... ever outside of the context of this episode, especially considering how undeservedly long it is for a song like this.

#66 – “Beautiful Mistakes” – Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion

Produced by Andrew Goldstein and blackbear

Adam Levine recently said that he misses the “bands” in pop music – you know, people who play all of their instruments and stuff like that. Then he continued to release a song under the name of his band where he swaps out more than half of his band with blackbear and Megan Thee Stallion. Of course. Well, you can tell it’s written by blackbear since Adam Levine directly imitates his staccato, monotonous flow in the first verse and the generally very awkward writing throughout... which is fine, I guess, because at least Levine isn’t stretching himself out into his falsetto much here, and Megan on auto-pilot can still carry her verse off of charisma alone, and her singing in the bridge sounds better than it ever has, so I’m not going to complain about her part here. The main issue in this song, I feel, is just lack of detail. The song’s about the lengths Adam and Megan would go for their significant others but I feel like only Megan attempts to describe what’s going on in these relationships as Adam plays word association with the concept. Adam, you can time-travel back to the Kara’s Flowers era any time now. Pop-punk is making a comeback, and I know you’d hate to not be a part of that, especially if you’re longing for new bands in pop music.

#59 – “Know You” – wewaintwraiths

Produced by Oath

I mean, I suppose I’ve heard worse names than “wewantwraiths” although after he buys a new car with the check his label gives him for the chart success of this song, he might want to change it. Maybe “nowwegotawraith”. That’s besides the point, though, as just as you’d expect, we have another week and hence another UK drill track that leaves little to no impact. This guy actually kind of makes himself out like a British Mooski, with his longing, Auto-Tuned flow that I don’t think he even tried to make sound good, especially considering how janky and unstructured the whole thing is. This drill beat is pretty worthless too, as whilst I don’t mind the mesh of vocal samples and the 808 slides, I cannot stand how this is mixed so that the hi-hats are louder than Mr. Wraiths himself. I don’t mind the content, to be honest, as it depicts him finding a girl and the eventual breakup in a lot of detail. By the end, he’s harmonising with the background vocals and there are a couple of cool synth riffs, but it’s way too little, too late to start caring about detail, especially if for the majority of the song, the percussion and vocals sound this bad.

#58 – “Dimension” – JAE5 featuring Skepta and Rema

Produced by JAE5

If you know JAE5, you probably know him for his production as for years, he has been blending genres for some of the most interesting and best British rap, most notably in how he fuses drill, R&B and Afrobeats as J Hus’ primary beat-maker. He also produced songs for Dave, Shakka and Burna Boy, which got him a Grammy win, as well as “Options” by NSG, one of the biggest ever British rap songs and still one of the most infectious. Now he’s embarking on a solo career less like a DJ Khaled and more like a Metro Boomin, bringing along legendary British rapper Skepta along for the ride, as well as an appearance from Nigerian singer Rema, whose wonderful nasal tone really stands out alongside all of the synth ambiance in this production, as well as the stuttering hi-hats and those gorgeous falsetto vocal samples. Skepta sounds pretty checked-out over a beat probably too smooth for him, which shifts over to some staccato piano, as well as some intricacies in this production that sound great, especially the jazzier touches that accentuate the already great groove with some Latin-flavoured guitar and strings. Oh, yeah and the subtle brass on Rema’s verse is excellent, even if Rema isn’t saying much of anything – in fact, content-wise is probably the only place where this song kind of flounders, as Skeppy zig-zags from socially conscious lyrics about Pan-Africanism and the plight that many Africans on and outside of the continent in day to day life, to “Girls sellin’ the coochie for Gucci”. Ah, well, ultimately, the song sounds incredible and I really should check out more of Rema’s stuff if it’s at this same level of detail. I’m pretty excited for that JAE5 album now, whenever that’s coming.

#51 – “White Dress” – Lana Del Rey

Produced by Lana Del Rey and Jack Antonoff

And from Afropop to the whitest singer currently charting this side of Taylor Swift, here’s what I suppose is the next single push from that Lana Del Rey that I practically avoided entirely. I understand that a lot of people are loving this but frankly, I’ve never been a fan so I’ve given up trying. If Norman Fricking Rockwell! couldn’t convert me, I don’t think her subsequent releases will, in fact, I can place a bet that listening to this whole album will make her music sour on me even more. Well, this song is about... being disillusioned with the music industry and public fame. I see. The implications that come with that aside, I have no reason to care about Lana once again breathily cooing over an ambiance that refuses to effectively create an atmosphere that really clicks with the nostalgia tone Lana’s lyrics take here, instead just meandering through this snooze of piano-based blend, only elevating itself through clashing percussion that ends up fading itself out of view way too quickly. Also, shouting out Kings of Leon feels both completely in character and unintentionally hilarious. At least as far as I’m aware, neither they nor the White Stripes, also name-dropped in the song, are blatantly racist on social media... I hope, at least.

#40 – “Headshot” – Lil Tjay, Polo G and Fivio Foreign

Produced by Bordeaux, Non Native, TnTXD, Tahj Money, Dmac and 101 Slide

So this really needs six producers, huh? For a song that’s barely two minutes? Okay, well, after the success of “Calling My Phone”, it only makes sense that Lil Tjay will follow up an R&B crooner with a harder rap cut, and here it is, and it kicks a lot of ass – or at least as much ass that can be kicked with the nasal, unconvincing tones all of these guys have. The main loop of the intimidating strings here, accentuated by that staccato piano melody, is the perfect backing for a hard-hitting trap beat that I almost wish had some more bombast outside of its badly-mastered 808 bass. That said, Polo G kills it regardless, with some of the most energy he’s ever given and the most lyrical detail out of any of the guys on the song, as his fast-paced flow is genuinely menacing... and now I understand why the song needs six producers, because as smoothly as possible, that cacophonous Pop Smoke-esque gunshot percussion comes in and it soon becomes an intense New York drill track more befitting for Fivio Foreign’s verse, who may not have any of the lyrical dexterity but he fills in the blanks with his ad-libs and still carrying the drill beat pretty well, before Lil Tjay comes in as intense as he ever has on a beat that reverts to the trap knock again, very smoothly. I do find it pretty odd that of all people here, Fivio has the longest verse, but I guess his verse is more of a bridge to act as a gap between two overwhelmingly gun-fire verses, both of which have content that can pretty much be summed up as gunplay and flexing, but with some of the bluntest, most deathly lyrics I’ve heard in rap, especially when Lil Tjay just pretty explicitly says he kills anyone he even dares to disrespect them. I’m now thinking I should delete the episode where I gave “Calling My Phone” Worst of the Week. Speaking of that song, this song is so much better it’s almost confusing. Maybe this high-energy gangsta-rap stuff is somehow a more convincing lane for an auto-crooner like Lil Tjay than alternative R&B.

#39 – “Black Hole” – Griff

Produced by LOSTBOY

Again, in stark contrast, Disney pop. Okay, maybe calling it Disney pop is misleading but the main reason Griff is succeeding now is that Disney Christmas advert, which gave her “Love is a Compass”, her first charting song – and a pretty bad one at that. This single, released this January, is a lot more upbeat than that drone of a ballad and hence fits Griff’s limited vocal capabilities a lot better, as she does a good Selena Gomez impression – almost good enough to forget that she’s now whispering over reggaeton so Griff will basically be her replacement in the UK – over some pretty indie-pop that decides to produce itself out of common sense... if that makes sense. The quirky strings and bass start the song before the percussion comes in and it makes sense as it rises pretty regularly, until this one dissonant, chamber-echo bassline comes in and morphs the entire song, only for it to disappear for the first chorus, but given how anti-climactic that first chorus is, there’s no build-up that makes that cathartic, at all... before it comes back in just to disturb the peace for the second chorus and verse. Not that the song’s mixed badly, particularly, I mean, “DAYWALKER!” had a similar discrepancy last week and did it much worse. In fact, I think this production being so awkward makes the song a lot more endearing as it just represent that “black hole” in the content that’s being left where Griff’s heart used to be – because, of course. I wish that chorus made a lot more of an impact though because as is, it feels very much lacking in stakes, both sonically and lyrically, especially since the song doesn’t really go into any detail about how she tries to fill the gap, which I think would be a lot more interesting. As is, I mean, it’s listenable but I don’t know for how long before this becomes grating. Regardless, it’s looking to become a hit so we’ll see how this goes. Maybe mindless bubblegum-indie-pop is what the nation needs right now. Who knows?

#24 – “As I Am” – Justin Bieber featuring Khalid

Produced by Skrillex, Ido Zmishiany, Josh Gudwin and The Monsters & Strangerz

Now we here. These two tracks that debuted are basically the most I’m hearing from this Justice record past the singles, so I was kind of hoping the tracks with Skrillex and Lil Uzi Vert would chart out of morbid curiosity, but it’s seemingly the more R&B-adjacent cuts that are debuting the highest, as Bieber teams up with Khalid for a piano ballad, as Bieber talk-sings over some overly processed instrumental that pretty much goes off the rails as soon as the guitars come in and suddenly, it’s not so much of a ballad as much as it is a janky EDM track. In fact, everything about this is janky, from the non-build-up that leads to a really ugly, almost future bass-like drop that’s just kind of funny in how those distorted synths career in the mix like accordions. Then Khalid comes in pretending to be British as always, and despite his worst efforts, he can’t really harmonise with someone as digitally processed as Bieber when he’s a genuinely soulful and damn good singer. At some point, Bieber just goes insane in the bridge and Khalid’s there to bring him back down to Earth, doing so by forcefully stripping the future bass away and rescuing themselves both back to the safety of a clipping piano instrumental. Yeah, this is ridiculously bad – almost in the way that it makes me want to hear the rest of the album – but I wouldn’t go as far to say it’s so bad it’s good, mostly because I’m pretty aware it’s a fluke in an album that’s otherwise pretty boring, at least going by the singles. Of course, speak of the Devil...

#3 – “Peaches” – Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon

Produced by Shndo and HARV

Finally, electroclash legend Peaches released her comeback single and it debuted at #3 on the UK Singles Chart – or, in reality, Justin Bieber’s milquetoast R&B imitation with two genuinely pretty good alternative R&B singers Justin coasts off of the skill and talent of, debuts at #3 because we’ve got nothing else to do as a country but sit, complain and stream sea shanties. I watched the video for this when it came out, again mostly out of morbid curiosity, and it’s kind of a comedic gem as Justin’s clearly the only one trying (because he doesn’t understand the concept of smooth, low-key R&B), making him feel so out of place when stuck between Caesar and Giveon. It’s like Hailey Bieber knew Justin was going to be lonely on his birthday so she paid the coolest kids in school to humour him for a couple minutes. In fact, that’s pretty much the song as they all croon pretty effortlessly over a smooth, pretty organic drum groove as well as this subtle synth blend... except Justin Bieber, of course, who tries his best to be a presence on a track where he’s literally supposed to be in the background. Thankfully, that’s not necessarily a complaint as this is Bieber’s best vocal performance in years, maybe ever, even if he’s immediately outshined by Caesar harmonising pretty excellently with his own multi-tracking, channelling the kind of neo-soul that people like Tyler, The Creator and Kali Uchis were making together half a decade ago. Giveon is here, also, but I’m not sure if he fits as well as synth-funk as he does on the moodier stuff. I know for damn sure that Sampha wouldn’t feature on a Bieber track, even if this is the most respectable Bieber’s been in forever. Admittedly, by the final chorus, it’s absolutely infectious – even if the lyrics are beyond stupid. The verses are about intimacy with their respective significant others, written in the most inoffensive, lovey-dovey way possible, but the chorus is about getting peaches from Georgia, weed from California, and bringing them alongside your wife to Canada to see the Northern Lights. Sure. If that final synth solo in the outro proves anything, it’s that this song should be great and just kind of falls flat due to lack of focus. That’s not to say the song isn’t good though, because I’ll be singing that chorus quietly to myself without realising it for the next week or so. Good job, Bieber.

Conclusion

Best of the Week is actually going to Justin Bieber for “Peaches” featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon, if only to balance out the fact that he also gets Worst of the Week for “As I Am” featuring Khalid, what a trainwreck. Honourable Mention in that case pretty easily goes to “Headshot” by Lil Tjay, Polo G and Fivio Foreign, but even in a mixed bag week like this, Dishonourable Mention is kind of tough. There’s not a lot to outright dislike here, but I’ll give it to Mooski’s “Track Star” by default. With that said, here’s our top 10:

I can’t really make much prediction for next week other than the drowning out of all of this, although I can see “Peaches” absolutely having some legs. I can safely say Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato will end up here but I’m not as 100% on songs from 24kGoldn or Rod Wave’s albums landing. If the United Kingdom, currently collapsing under our feet, decides to make AJR’s new album chart, I say the Prime Minister gives permission for Scotland to leave while it’s still safe. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week.

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