#ten years later still a fantastic song

[absentlyabbie]

The Wolf - Phildel

--

And you once said "I wish you dead, you sinner" I'll never be more than a wolf at your door, for dinner And if I see you 'round like a ghost in my town, you liar I'll leave with your head, oh, I'll leave you for dead, sire

#phildel #the wolf #ten years later still a fantastic song #Spotify

[talkdutchtome]

Glitch- chapter ten

pairing . . . max verstappen x reader / mason mount x reader )

summary . . . when mason mount finds out that his assistant has been harbouring feelings for him for years, he makes it clear he doesn't feel the same way. but once he sees her become closer with formula 1 world champion max verstappen, he realises he may have underestimated his feelings towards the girl he has now pushed into the arms of another )

genre . . . angst )

song . . . glitch- taylor swift )

series masterlist . . . available here )

a/n . . . not proofread sorry, i had to take a break from writing my dissartaion to write this and i cannot fathom looking at my laptop for any longer tonight. also this chapter is v v angst so prepare yourselves <3 )

Y/N stared at her buzzing phone, her heart pounding in her chest. Mason's name flashed on the screen, a stark reminder of the tangled web of emotions she found herself caught in. She knew he must have seen Max's unexpected PDA on the TV, and she could only imagine the turmoil it stirred within him. 

Part of her wanted to answer, to offer some kind of explanation or reassurance. But another part, the part that had brought her to Monaco in the first place, urged her to leave the call unanswered. She wasn't sure if talking to Mason would only complicate things further, or if it would bring some clarity to the chaos swirling in her mind. 

So, with a shaky hand, she silenced the ringing phone and tucked it back into her purse, her decision made but her uncertainty still lingering like a shadow in the back of her mind, but she tucked her worries away the best she could and went to watch Max’s press conference.  

After Max finished his press obligations, he diligently scanned the bustling area, his keen eyes searching for Y/N amidst the crowd. When he spotted her, patiently waiting for him, a genuine smile stretched across his face, illuminating his features with a warmth that mirrored the affection he held for her. 

Approaching her, he caught her eye, his gaze softening as he reached her side. "Hey," he greeted, his voice laced with genuine appreciation. "Thanks for being here." 

Y/N returned his smile, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "You were fantastic out there," she complimented, her voice a blend of pride and affection. 

Max's smile widened at her words, his heart swelling with gratitude. "Thanks," he replied sincerely, his appreciation evident in his tone. "It means a lot to have you waiting for me as I step out of the car" 

As the press area buzzed with activity around them, Max's expression shifted slightly, his demeanor taking on a more serious tone. "Listen," he began, his voice tinged with a hint of concern. "I have to stay late for a few meetings with the engineers. It might take a while." 

Y/N nodded understandingly, though a flicker of disappointment flashed across her features. "Okay," she acknowledged, her tone tinged with understanding. "I'll head back to your house then." 

Max's eyes softened at her response, his gratitude evident in his gaze. "Thanks," he murmured appreciatively. "I'll join you later." 

Just before he turned to leave, Max leaned in, his movements gentle yet deliberate, and planted a quick, casual kiss on her lips. The unexpected intimacy sent a shiver down her spine, leaving her momentarily stunned as she watched him walk away. 

As Max disappeared into the throng of people, Y/N stood rooted to the spot, her mind whirling with a myriad of emotions. The brief encounter left her feeling both exhilarated and bewildered, unsure of how to process the sudden surge of intimacy between them. It was so quick and casual, like it was something they had done a thousand times before. 

Feeling a whirlwind of emotions swirling within her, Y/N decided to divert her thoughts by immersing herself in a familiar task. With a determined stride, she made her way to the nearest supermarket along the route to Max's house. As she perused the aisles, memories of the cozy café in London where she and Max had shared hot chocolates flooded her mind. 

Gathering the ingredients for the comforting drink, Y/N found solace in the routine of selecting the perfect items. She carefully chose the finest cocoa powder, the creamiest milk, and a sprinkle of cinnamon for that extra touch of warmth. With her purchases secured, Y/N made her way to Max's house, the weight of the bag in her hand a reassuring anchor. She greeted Max's two cats, Jimmy and Sassy, with a fond smile before retreating to the kitchen to prepare the hot chocolates. The routine of the task brought her a sense of calm, the rhythmic motions soothing her frazzled nerves. 

As she waited for the milk to warm and the chocolate to melt, Y/N couldn't help but replay the moment of the kiss in her mind. It had been so quick, so casual, yet its impact lingered, leaving her with a flurry of questions and conflicting emotions. She pushed aside the uncertainty, focusing instead on the simple act of gratitude she wanted to express to Max for his hospitality and kindness. 

When Max walked through the door and caught sight of Y/N standing in the kitchen, a wave of warmth flooded his chest. The comforting aroma of hot chocolate enveloped him, filling the air with a sense of home. Yet, as he approached, he noticed a hint of uncertainty in Y/N's demeanor, her eyes flickering with a touch of insecurity. 

Before she could overthink it, Y/N launched into a ramble, her words tumbling out in a rush of nervous energy. "I, uh, wanted to do something to say thank you for letting me stay here, but I can't cook, and I just didn't know what to do. But I know how much you liked the hot chocolate from that café in London, so I thought I could try and remake that, but I'm sure it won't taste the same, and I th—" 

Max gently interrupted her rambling with a soft smile, stepping closer to wrap his arms around her. "Hey," he murmured, his voice warm and reassuring. "You didn't have to do anything. But I love it, really. Thank you." 

His words washed over Y/N like a soothing balm, easing the knots of insecurity that had tightened in her chest. With a shy smile, she poured them each a cup of hot chocolate, the familiar ritual grounding her in the moment. 

As they settled on the couch to watch a movie, Y/N felt a sense of contentment wash over her. The warmth of the hot chocolate and the comfort of Max's presence enveloped her, lulling her into a sense of relaxation. Soon, she found herself drifting off to sleep, the steady rhythm of Max's heartbeat a soothing lullaby. 

When she stirred slightly in her sleep, Max gently lifted her in his arms, carrying her to her bed with a tenderness that made her heart flutter. As he laid her down, she murmured softly, her words barely audible in her half-asleep state. 

"Stay," she whispered, her voice tinged with vulnerability. 

Without hesitation, Max nodded, his heart swelling with affection as he settled in beside her. Y/N snuggled close to Max, seeking refuge in his comforting arms. He held her tight, their bodies entwined as they melted into the warmth of each other's presence. In the soft glow of the moonlight, they found solace, their breaths synchronized as they succumbed to the tranquility of sleep, their hearts beating in unison. 

As the sun rose over the horizon, casting a warm glow through the windows of Max's apartment, Y/N gradually emerged from the depths of sleep. She reached out instinctively, her hand searching for the comforting presence of Max beside her, only to find the space next to her empty. Blinking away the haze of sleep, she noticed a neatly folded note on the nightstand, Max's handwriting scrawled across the page. 

She unfolded the note, the words written in Max's familiar script inviting her to help herself to breakfast and join him at the track whenever she was ready. A soft smile graced her lips as she absorbed his thoughtful gesture, a warmth spreading through her at the reminder of his presence. 

Rising from bed, she made her way to the kitchen, where the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. Max had left everything she needed for breakfast, from cereal and fruit to freshly baked pastries. Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she savored the quiet solitude of the morning, the gentle hum of the city outside a soothing backdrop to her thoughts. 

After a leisurely breakfast and a refreshing shower, Y/N dressed quickly, anticipation building with each passing moment. Grabbing her bag and Max's spare pass, she made her way to the track, the excitement of race day tingling in the air. The paddock buzzed with activity as teams made final preparations, the energy contagious as she navigated her way through the crowd. 

Spotting Heidi among the throng, Y/N waved eagerly, her spirits lifting at the sight of her friend. They exchanged warm greetings, their conversation flowing easily as they made their way to a prime viewing spot. As the race began, Y/N found herself swept up in the exhilarating spectacle, the roar of the engines and the thunderous applause of the crowd filling her with excitement. 

With each passing lap, Max's car surged ahead, his skill and determination evident as he battled for position. Y/N cheered him on with fervor, her heart swelling with pride at his remarkable performance. Beside her, Heidi shared in her enthusiasm, their shared love of racing forging a deep bond between them. 

Amidst the chaos of the race, Y/N's phone began to ring, the sound interrupting the roar of the engines. Surprised to see Ben's name flashing on the screen, she stepped away from the crowd, the noise of the garage fading into the background as she answered the call, a sense of curiosity piquing her interest. Her and Ben never really speak to each other outwith the time they spend with Mason or Reece, so she wasn’t sure what Ben could want. 

As Ben's panicked voice relayed the troubling events, a knot of worry tightened in Y/N's stomach. "Y/N, it's Ben," he began, his voice urgent. "You need to hear this. Mason... he... he snapped during the match today. Tried to start a fight, punched someone. He got a red card and just stormed off. Reece and I went to his house right after, but he won't answer the door or his phone. We're really worried about him." 

Y/N's heart sank at Ben's words, her mind racing with concern for her friend. "Oh my god, Ben. Is he okay? Where is he now?" she asked, her voice trembling with worry. 

"We don't know," Ben replied, his voice strained. "His car's outside, but he won't let us in. If there's anyone he'd talk to, it's you. Can you try calling him, check if he's okay?" 

With a sense of urgency, Y/N assured Ben that she would do everything she could to check on Mason. "I'll call him right away, Ben. Don't worry, we'll find him," she said, her voice determined as she ended the call and hurried back to Max's apartment, her mind completely forgetting about the race and Max. All she wanted to do was get to a quiet, private place to check on Mason 

As she made her way through the city streets, her thoughts were consumed by concern for Mason. She couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had settled over her since Ben's call, her mind filled with questions and worries about her friend's well-being. 

Finally reaching Max's apartment, Y/N wasted no time in dialing Mason's number, her heart pounding with each ring. "Mason, it's me," she said urgently as the call connected. "Ben told me what happened. Are you okay?" 

As Y/N arrived back at Max's apartment, her fingers trembling with anxiety, she wasted no time in dialing Mason's number, her heart pounding in her chest. "Mason, it's me," she said urgently as the call connected. "Ben phoned me. I'm really worried. What happened?" 

There was a heavy silence on the other end of the line before Mason finally spoke, As Y/N listened to Mason's voice on the phone, she could hear the raw emotion in his words, his voice hoarse and strained as if he had been crying. It pained her to hear him like this, knowing that he was hurting. "I don't know what to do, Y/N," he confessed, his words heavy with despair. "It's like everything's falling apart. I don't want to lose you, but... I don't know how to fix this mess. It's all my fault." 

Her heart ached at the sound of his distress, her own worry deepening. "Mason," she said softly, trying to offer him some comfort. "I'll be back soon, okay? We'll figure this out together. But no matter what happens, you won't lose me. You're my best friend, and that will never change. I promise." 

There was a moment of heavy silence before Mason spoke again, his voice trembling with vulnerability. "I saw Max kiss you on TV," he admitted, his tone filled with anguish. Y/N's breath caught in her throat, and after a moment of silence, she sighed deeply, the weight of his words settling heavily upon her. "I know," she said solemnly, her voice tinged with sadness. 

"I wish... I wish I could go back a few weeks ago. I wish it didn't take me so long to figure out how I feel about you. I had you, and I threw it all away" 

Y/N's heart sank at his words, unsure of how to respond to his confession. "Mason," she murmured, her voice laced with sadness. "Let Ben and Reece in. When I’m back in London I’ll come and we’ll talk about all of this okay. I’ll be back before you know it okay. But you can’t do that on the pitch okay. Don’t throw your career away because of all of this, it’s not worth it. 

When Mason asked her to stay on the phone for a bit longer, Y/N couldn't refuse. She understood his need for some semblance of companionship in this turbulent moment. "Sure, Mason," she replied softly, her heart aching for her friend. "Just go let Ben and Reece in, and we'll chat for a while." 

Mason agreed, and soon the three of them were engaged in a conversation that danced around the unspoken tension lingering in the air. They talked about anything and everything, deliberately avoiding the elephant in the room. Ben shared a hilarious story about a disastrous date he once had, and they all laughed together, if only to momentarily escape the weight of their troubles. 

However, as the conversation flowed, Y/N's attention was suddenly drawn to the sound of a key turning in the door. Reality crashed back in, reminding her of Max and the fact that she had left the race midway through without a word to him. With a heavy heart, she interrupted the conversation. "Guys, I... I need to go," she said, her voice tinged with regret. 

There was a moment of silence before Mason spoke up, his voice filled with concern. "Everything okay, Y/N?" 

Y/N hesitated for a moment before replying, "Yeah, everything's fine. I just... I have to go. Take care, okay?" Without waiting for a response, she ended the call and prepared herself to face Max, her mind racing with uncertainty and anxiety. 

Max entered the apartment with an unmistakable storm brewing behind his eyes. His expression was a mixture of anger and concern, evident in the tight set of his jaw and the furrow of his brow. "Where were you?" he demanded as soon as he saw her, his voice laced with frustration. 

Y/N felt a pang of guilt as she faced him, knowing she had caused him worry. "I... I had to go," she stammered, feeling the weight of his disappointment bearing down on her. 

Max's frustration spilled out in a torrent of words. "I got out of the car looking for you, and you were just gone. No message, nothing. Heidi had no idea where you were. She said one minute you were there, and then you weren't," he recounted, his tone laced with frustration. 

He took a breath, his anger softening slightly as he continued, "I brought you here because I wanted to show you what my life was like. But you just left. I was really worried. Nobody knew where you were. I tried to phone you a hundred times, and it kept saying your phone was engaged." 

Y/N felt a pang of remorse wash over her at the realization of how much she had worried him. "I'm sorry, Max," she apologized, her voice laced with regret. "I didn't mean to cause you any worry. But, Mason needed me and i nee-” 

Y/N felt a pang of remorse wash over her at the realization of how much she had worried him. "I'm sorry, Max," she apologized, her voice laced with regret. "I didn't mean to cause you any worry. But, Mason needed me, and I needed to be there for him." 

Max's brow furrowed deeper, his frustration evident in the way he clenched his jaw. "Mason, Mason, Mason," he muttered, his tone tinged with exasperation. "It's always about him, isn't it?" 

Y/N recoiled slightly at the sharpness in his voice, her heart sinking with guilt. "It's not like that," she protested weakly, her words faltering under the weight of his accusation. 

Max's anger flared once again at her response. "Isn't it?" he retorted, his voice rising in frustration. "We spent an amazing week together, and I was feeling really positive about us. But one word from Mason, and I'm dropped." 

Y/N's heart ached at his words, the truth of them cutting deep. "I didn't mean to make you feel that way," she admitted softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I care about you, Max, I really do. But Mason is... he's my friend, and he needed me." 

Max's frustration was palpable, his anger radiating off him in waves. "I don't know what to do," he continued, his voice strained with emotion. "I want to be with you, but I can't keep competing with him for your attention. What do I have to do? Is there anything I can do or will Mason always come first.” 

Max's question hung heavy in the air, filling the room with an unbearable tension. Y/N felt the weight of his words pressing down on her, but try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to respond. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat, suffocated by the suffocating silence that enveloped them. 

Max watched her intently, his eyes searching hers for any sign of reassurance, any glimmer of hope. But as Y/N's gaze fell to the ground, avoiding his, he felt his heart sink with a profound sense of disappointment. He had laid his heart bare, baring his vulnerability for her to see, but her silence spoke volumes. 

"F- fuck this," Max muttered, his voice thick with emotion as he turned away, his footsteps heavy against the floor. With a sharp exhale, he stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him with a resounding thud. 

Left standing alone in the wake of his departure, Y/N felt a surge of anguish wash over her, swallowing her whole in its bitter embrace.  

After everything Y/N couldn’t help but think that this what she deserved, to simply be alone.  

Tag List

@nightlockcornucopia @jaydensluv @girlytots19 @formula1mount @alwaysclassyeagle @aundercover @sofifiia @dessxoxsworld @lpab @lorarri @thelovehypothesis @torrie421 @ironmaiden1313 @celesteblack08 @glow-ish @urfavouritef1girly @alwaysclassyeagle @barnestatic @simxican @formula1mount @charli123456789 @mac-daddy-210 @lazybot @imguce @azxulaa @mehrmonga @sunny44 @skepvids @drunkinthemiddleoftheday @chimchimjiminie16 @tyna-19 @hoely-maria @stevesworld9 @f1lov3r @elliegrey2803 @heyyhelloohii @landosgirlxoxo @skepvids @aundercover @andydrysdalerogers @illicitverstappen @bbygrlllllll @kageyamama-hinatatata @imagandom @bibissparkles @sofifiia @dark-night-sky-99 @viennakarma @tyna-19 @wcnorris @storminacloud @girlintheredscarf @yourbane @anotherfan07 @hiireadstuff @valiantduckhumanclam

#f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #formula 1 #max verstappen #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen x y/n #mason mount #mason mount x reader #mason mount x y/n #football x reader #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 x you #formula one x reader #f1 imagine #f1 fics #footballer x reader #footballer x y/n

[cherrycola27]

false god

Series Warnings: Mythology!AU. Language, alcohol, drinking. Military inaccuracies. Mutual pining, unrequited love. Allusions to and eventual smut. Minors DNI. 18+. Individual chapter warnings will come as needed. Banner Credit @thedroneranger

Masterlist Previous Part Next Part

...........................................

Chapter 6: My Type

You and Bradley were both thankful that you were at a good place again in your friendship. The two of you returned to your previous routine of your Wednesday night hangouts, and the rest of August slipped away into a moment in time. September brought you two closer together as you still danced around the line of friends or something more.

It also brought along Mickey's birthday, and after the way the last party ended, the squad was ready to have a fun night out that didn't end in chaos.

Fanboy had never outgrown his punk rock phase, and for his birthday, he asked that every attend a cover band concert La Jolla. He had gone all out and even rented a party bus to take the group to and from the venue. Unfortunately, you had plans that night and wouldn't be able to attend. You made sure to send him a nice gift, though. Mickey was over the moon when he opened the autograph Star Trek poster and immediately forgave you for missing out on the fun.

Bradley, however, was extremely disappointed in the fact that you weren't coming. He was hoping that tonight would finally be his chance to lay his feelings on the line for you, but instead, he was drinking a beer, sandwiched between Payback and Bob, while Jake and Coyote made use of the stripper poles in the bus.

When they arrived, he couldn't wait to get off and get some fresh air. He had texted you a few times, but you hadn't responded. He checked his phone again to see that his messages were still unread. He sighed in disappointment before tucking his phone away and heading inside with everyone else.

Inside, an EDM DJ was playing some throwback Coldplay while a few techs were setting up for the band. The Daggers found a section near the right side and settled in. They gave their drink orders to a waitress who winked and Mickey when she found out it was his birthday.

Moments later, she returned with drinks and the promise to come back and see if they would need anything later.

With his whiskey in hand, Bradley leaned over to Fanboy and asked, "What's the name of this band again?"

Fanboy rolled his eyes. "The Styx. They do a mix of punk rock, eighties hits, pop, and some original songs. I heard them at a festival about a year and a half ago, and I've seen them a few places here and there. I'm pretty excited to see them again, though. Their lead singer left the band about five months ago to go solo, and apparently, an old friend of the lead guitarist stepped up and has been with them. I haven't heard her, but apparently, she's way better than the old singer." Fanboy explains.

Bradley nods his head and sinks back into his chair as he and everyone else waits for the show to start.

About ten minutes later, the DJ finishes, and some filler music comes through the speakers. The owner of the bar tells everyone that the band will start shortly. More people pour in. Bradley's mind wanders to you, and what you might be doing tonight.

...............

"How's the crowd out there?" You ask Lyla as she checks over her guitar once more. "The energy is fantastic. The place is pretty packed, too." She tells you with a smile.

"Great." You sigh.

A packed house

More people to watch you fail

"Don't worry, babe, you're going to kill it like you always do!" Mariana, the drummer and Lyla's sister, tells you. "Exactly. Just relax, we've got this!" Derrick, the bass player, says to the group. "If anyone boos, I will jump off the stage and shove my keyboard down their throat." Trent, Derrick's husband tells you. You can't help but laugh. You want to say something witty back, but you hear the stage manager start to introduce the group.

You can do this

You love doing this

You're going to be great

You take a deep breath and give yourself a once over in the mirror before stepping out. You look good— really good.

Netted tights cover your legs before disappearing under your cut-off denim shorts that show off your thigh tattoos.

A cropped black vintage Bon Jovi shirt covers your torso. You've cut some of the neck out of the shirt, so the lace of your bralette underneath is visible. Layers of silver chains with charms hug your neck and cleavage. A red flannel is tied around your waist.

Heavy, black, Doc Marten boots are on your feet, and your hair is loose and wild around your face. Sultry dark makeup graces your features, and you've traded your signature cherry red pout for a sensual shade of burgundy.

Rings and bracelets adorned your fingers and wrists. You truly looked the part of a rock queen. You look like sex on legs

Maybe you should pay Bradley a visit after this was over

You were broken from your thoughts by the cheers of the crowd. You took a deep breath as the rest of the group stepped out onto the stage. It was dark, thankfully, you couldn't make any faces out, and they couldn't see you just yet.

You turned to Lyla and the rest of the band who gave you the go-ahead.

..........

The Daggers, especially Fanboy, waited with baited breath as the band set up. Bradley sat there with a fresh glass of whiskey and prayed they were as good as Fanboy had made them out to be. There was nothing worse than sitting through a shitty band.

Soon, the opening sounds of Fallout Boy's "Centuries" filled the room. The band stayed shrouded in dim lights until the opening chorus finished, and then bright lits illuminated the stage.

Fanboy screamed in excitement as he leaned over to say something to Fritz, but Bradley's eyes didn't leave the stage. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He wasn't drunk. Surely, his mind had to be playing tricks on him.

Just as he was about to say something, it seemed like the entire group came to the realization at the same time.

"Oh my shit." Jake said. "It's that—"

"That's Hades." Bradley said before Jake could finish his question. "Holy shit." Bradley breathed out as he watched you on the stage.

You owned the space. You presses filled the room and demanded the attention of the crowd.

Bradley was captivated by you. He knew that he was attracted to you before. He'd tried so hard to keep his feelings pushed down, and when he kissed you, he knew he'd ruined his chances. But then—then you wanted to be his friend again, and he got the chance to fall for you all over again.

And this time, he fell harder.

Now, there was no denying his attraction for you. As he watched you on that stage, enthralled with your beauty and this new side of you he'd never seen before, Bradley couldn't help but let his mind wander.

The music continues, but now, it's all background noise to Bradley.

He isn't even sure what song you are singing right now. He's too busy watching the way your body moves to the beat and how he's sure you wore that outfit just to mess with him.

He knows that the last part isn't true because surely you didn't know that the Daggers would be here tonight. Fanboy had only asked if you were free tonight. He'd never told you the plans, but in the back of Bradley's mind, he likes to think that you wore that cropped Bon Jovi tee for him and the moment you'd shared months ago.

He watches the hem of your shirt catch on your fingertips as you drag your hands up your body and sway with the music. Bradley hasn't stopped staring at the patch of skin that is just visible between it and the waistband of your jean shorts. He is eager to know what you might have on under it and how it would look on his bedroom floor.

Maybe it was wrong of him to think it, but Bradley didn't care.

Haunting melodies poured from your wine colored lips. They weaved through the crowd and flooded his ears. Bradley was hanging onto every word you sang. His mind wandered as he wondered if his name would sound just as pretty as your songs did when it tumbled from your lips as he brought you to the peak of pleasure.

You were absolutely fearless in the way you put on a show. You worked the room and had everyone captivated. Bradley hoped that one day, he'd be able to find out if you would put on a show just for him in the privacy of his bedroom.

God, you were so fucking beautiful up there. And he knows he probably looks like an absolute ass because he has been ignoring the rest of your friends for almost the entire forty-five minutes you've been on the stage, but he can't help it.

He's so awestruck by you and this part of your life. It's another piece of the puzzle that makes you so unique and so amazing to him.

You're smart, witty, beautiful, funny, and talented on more than one front. Bradley loves that he's learned something new about you.

He wants to learn more new things about you. He wants to add more pieces to the puzzle until he has the whole picture.

He would give anything to spent eternity figuring you out.

You announce the final song of your set list, a rock cover of "Bad Romance," and Bradley finds it ironic because he would take any kind of romance with you. Good or bad.

With this being the last song, you go wild. You release all your inhibitions as you move about the stage and command the room, just like you command the sky.

Bradley has to discreetly adjust himself through his jeans because he gets distracted by the way your necklaces move.

The layers of silver chains of various lengths with charms scattered throughout them hugged your neck in the best way. Bradley didn't realize he could be jealous of a few pieces of jewelry, but as he grips his glass of whiskey tighter, he finds himself longing to replace them with his hands. He just knows that you'd look so fucking beautiful with his long fingers wrapped around your throat while he fucked you like the good girl he knows you would be for him.

Just when he thought you couldn't surprise him anymore, that night, you prove him wrong. When the bridge of the song comes up, you switch to singing in French. French? Since when did you know another language?

Now he wanted to know if you were fluent in it, and if you were, would you talk dirty to him in it. Fuck, you were still a mystery to him, in the best way.

As the song came to an end, you hit your knees for the final high note, and the entire crowd jumped up and screamed for you, the Daggers included. Bradley isn't embarrassed to say that he was definitely the loudest.

After you and the rest of the band thanked everyone for coming out and bidded the audience farewell, Bradley watched you disappear behind a black curtain.

More filler music started up as the squad sat down and looked at each other.

"So, Hades moonlights as a rockstar." Coyote said, breaking the silence of the group.

"Would it be weird if I asked her to get me an autograph from her band mates?" Fanboy asked.

"I don't think so. I just can't believe she didn't tell us." Phoenix said as she finished her beer.

"We all have things that we don't tell everyone about. Maybe she was afraid we'd make fun of her or something. Plus, have you met some of us? A few members of our group aren't the best at respecting other people's feelings." Bob said as he and everyone stared directly at Jake.

"For the last time, I apologized to her! Jeez!" Jake said as he threw his hands up in defense.

.............

Once off the stage, you downed a bottle of water and panted to catch your breath.

"We were amazing tonight!" Derrick cheers as he puts his bass away. "Hades, you killed it with the vocals!" Trent compliments you.

"I'm just glad you didn't have to fight an audience member, I doubt your husband would have bailed you out of jail—again." You needle Trent.

"Oh my gosh, it was one time, and they dropped the charges." Trent huffed.

Lyla and Mariana laugh as they put their things away. "You guys want to get a drink? To celebrate a successful show?" Mariana asks. "Absolutely. Hades, if you keep this up, we might not ever let you go!" Lyla tells you as she slings an arm around your shoulder.

"Lyla, I told you, I'm just helping you our until you can find someone to replace Candice." You tell her.

Lyla shakes her head as the five of you head out of the backstage area and to the bar. You take a seat with your back to the crowd. A few patrons come up and speak to all of you, but none linger too long. You've just put your pomegranate margarita to your lips when you hear a familiar voice call, "Well what do we have here? If it ain't Hades."

You set your drink down and spin on your stool. You're shocked when you turn around and see all twelve of your friends and coworkers standing in front of you.

"Oh my gods, what are you guys doing here?" You ask them.

"This is what I had planned for my birthday." Fanboy tells you.

"Oh, Mick, I had no idea. You should have told me, and I could have gotten you a front row spot!" You tell him.

"You could have told us you were a rockstar." Phoenix says.

You don't have a chance to respond before Lyla says, "Well, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Oh, sorry. Guys, this is Lyla, we were stationed together in Lemoore a few years ago. She was my wingman until she hung up her wings to be a mechanic. And this is her sister Mariana and Derrick and his husband Trent, and they are The Styx." You say.

"We are The Styx." Lyla corrects you.

After a few polite hellos, you turn to your squadron. "And guys, this is Fanboy, Payback, Halo, Omaha, Bob, Phoenix, Yale, Harvard, Fritz, Coyote, Hangman, and—Bradley." You say as you point out each one of them.

"Bradley—er—Rooster, is my new wingman." You tell your band mates.

"You are a lucky duck to be flying with her." Lyla tells Rooster. "She saved my ass several times."

"Don't let her fool you, Lyla had my back, too." You smile.

"So, Hades, how did you end up doing—this?" Bob asks you, never failing to address the elephant in the room.

"Lyla and I lived together in the barracks. We used to do karaoke on the weekends. She always played a little and decided she wanted to do music more seriously. Unfortunately, Lyla was in a training accident and shattered her left hip." You told them. You wince at that detail. It had been the one time that you weren't flying with her because an admiral had pulled you into a meeting.

"Not too long after Lyla's accident, I was transferred. We kept in touch, and she told me to call her if I was ever back in California." You told them.

"And I couldn't get back in a plane anymore after that, so I took to fixing them and playing guitar in my spare time. At an open mic night, Mariana and I met Derrick and Trent and Candice, our former lead singer. We hit it off, and The Styx was born." Lyla explains.

"But, Candice thought she was too good for us and moved to L.A. five months ago, " Mariana adds.

"Thankfully, Hades just happened to get station in San Diego. So, when she called me to catch up, I convinced her to do a show with us, and that's kind of led us here." Lyla finishes.

"Wow, that's insane." Payback says.

"Yeah, crazy." You shake your head, suddenly feeling on edge now that your work friends new more about your personal life. It wasn't that you were trying to hide this from them, but at the same time, you liked your privacy.

Secrets kept you safe

Bradley could tell that you were getting uncomfortable, so he tapped your knee to get your attention before grabbing your wrist and pulling you away from the crowd.

"You were amazing up there, Angel." He praises you as you tuck yourselves into a corner of the club.

"Thanks, maybe next time, you can join me, and we can hit them with some 'Great Balls of Fire.'" You laugh. Bradley chuckles.

A comfortable silence settles over the two of you. You both look at see the Daggers talking and drinking with your band mates.

"How did all of you get here?" You ask him.

"Fanboy got a party bus. Jake was recreating scenes from Magic Mike on the drive here when he was still half sober, I'm terrified to see what's going to happen on the way back." Bradley shutters.

"I didn't even get to have my drink, so I'm sober. I drove here, wanna ride home with me?" You offer him.

Bradley abso-fucking-lutely wanted to ride home with you. And then, when the two of you got home, he wanted to take you into his apartment, strip you down, and hear you sing for him in a different way. And he wanted you to sleep over so he could make you breakfast the next morning before he fucked you in his shower. However, he couldn't say that to you, so instead, he just said, "Yeah, Angel, that would be great."

The two of you quietly snuck out the back of the club. You had grabbed your things already. You made it to the car before Bradley, but instead of opening your door, you stood there, subconsciously waiting for him to do it. He smiled and opened the door and helped you in.

The drive back to San Diego was filled with playful banter, more singing, and flirty touches.

.............

Once you were back at your apartment complex, Bradley made sure to walk you to your door.

You wanted to invite him in, but it was late, and you were still high on adrenaline from performing, and you didn't trust yourself not to drag him to your bed. If you were going to do this with him, you were going to do it the right way.

So, you settled for a simple goodnight kiss on his cheek before tucking yourself inside your home.

After he said goodbye to you at your apartment door, Bradley bolted upstairs to his.

Tonight, he's thankful that he is your upstairs neighbor and that he has a corner unit where his bedroom doesn't share a wall with anyone.

Why? Because of the way your name sinfully falls from his lips while he touches himself and selfishly chases his release.

He's been hard for you all evening, and your flirty touches in your car on the ride home coupled with the way your soft lips felt on his cheek had him spiraling as he fists his cock.

He cums hard, spurts of it painting his hand and abs with hot white streaks. As he comes down from his high and cleans himself up, Bradley can't help but think about how his cum would look splattered on your thigh tattoo or dripping out of you. He groans, already hardening at the thought of it.

After quelling the fires of his desire with a cold shower, Bradley slips between the sheets of his bed and thinks of you and how he could make the two of you something more.

Taglist: @roosterscock @shanimallina87 @teacupsandtopgun @mayhemmanaged @wkndwlff @roosterforme @daggerspare-standingby @dakotakazansky @startrekfangirl2233 @hecate-steps-on-me @cassiemitchell @na-ta-sh-aa @katieshook02 @desert-fern @je-suis-prest-rachel @soulmates8 @sometimesanalice @diorrfairy @eli2447 @xoxabs88xox @djs8891 @roosters-girl @sebsxphia @rosiahills22 @dempy @callsign-magnolia @alchemxx @gretagerwigsmuse @withahappyrefrain @lt-spork @multifandomlover4life @beccaanne814 @bradshawsbaby @seitmai @kmc1989 @bcarolinablr @roosterisdaddy36 @itsdesiree86 @waywardhunter95 @hisredheadedgoddess28 @whatislovevavy @asshlyyyy @inkandarsenic @lillyrosenight @tomanybandstolove @jiminie-08 @dingochef @laracrofted

#cherrycola27 #top gun maverick #top gun #bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #rooster top gun #tgm #lt. bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw smut #top gun rooster #rooster smut #rooster x reader #tgm fanfiction #tgm fic #tgm smut #false god #Spotify

[itsascreambaby96]

Hiiii so I’m not to sure about your rules for request so I’m sorry if any of these cross any lines for that? (I have about two request you can choose whichever you like best!)

So the first one is an Eddie x Reader fic based off of the song, “The Sex is good” by Saving Abel, but maybe they do end up together in the end?

And the second one is ALSO an Eddie x reader based off the song, “18 and Life” by Skidrow. Perhaps reader and Eddie were dating or best friends with Bennifits, they get into a fight, Eddie ends the relationship, and shocker they don’t wrap it before they tapped it! So about ten or so years later Eddie runs into reader and his kid (he doesn’t know it’s HIS kid) and is upset she moved on because he still likes her, and yea you decide how it goes🫶

A/N: I went with the second one. I loved the song! Kinda fits Eddie so well. I know kids are not everyones cup of tea but I love this kind of trope. I changed some small parts. I hope you like it😊

Warnings; ANGST! fluff, happy ending. Mentions of pregnancy, mentions of sex, profanities, name calling, not proof read

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

18 and Life

You knew you were in love with Eddie before you became friends. He didn't know of course. Then one night you two got a little drunk and ended up having sex. The talk the next day was awkward to say the least. You two swore it would never happen again. But a week later it did and suddenly you found yourself in a friends with benefits situation.

It wasn't how you expect things to go. But you told yourself it was enough. Eddie always said he didn't want a relationship. Said he wanted his freedom and stuff. It broke your heart but you understood. And the sex was great. You two worked fantastic together in the bedroom.

You loved snuggling up afterwards, Eddie having his post-sex cigarette.

Eddie found a job after he graduated, he's a mechanic now. And he was good at what he was doing. The pay wasn't the best but it was good enough for him.

He still made some side money with his deals. He didn't do them much anymore just here and there when he needed some extra cash.

Sometimes you asked him if he had any dreams for his future, which he always declined. Joking that this right here was all he needed for now. You hide it from him but it made your heart skip a beat every single time. Hope bubbling up that one day you'd be enough for him. That you are enough for him.

That little bubble was fragile and it was only a matter of time before it would burst.

Your friends told you this was a bad idea, all worried that one of you, mainly you, would get hurt. You waved your hand, denying that this would happen.

Yet here you were now. Eddie had just pulled out of you and laid down next to you, lighting his cigarette. You were ready to snuggle up to him when he pushed you away.

Confused you looked at him. "What's wrong?"

With a deep exhale, Eddie blew out some smoke of the cigarette. "We have to stop this."

You blinked, confused and a weird feeling settling in your stomach.

"Haha very funny." The chuckle sounded worried even to your own ears.

"I'm serious." He got up, his cigarette hanging from his lips as he pulled on his underwear and pants.

Suddenly you were feeling insecure, wrapping the blanket around yourself. The pit in your stomach grew.

"Eddie sit down, come on we can talk about this. If I did something wrong, I-I can change and we can go on like before." You hated how your voice trembled, how desperate you sounded.

"You did nothing wrong. It's just over." He didn't even look at you. No emotion in his voice. Like you meant nothing to him.

"No. At least give me a reason. I deserve as much don't I?"

"I met someone. Is that what you wanna hear?" The harshness with which he spoke made you flinch. He never spoke to you like this.

"You met someone...?" You could feel your heart crack at this. Surely he wasn't serious.

"Yes. And it's getting serious. So we need to stop this." He pulled his shirt over his head.

"You said you weren't looking for a relationship." Yor voice was trembling even more now and you tried to hold in the tears that were welling up in your eyes.

He didn't look at you and his silence confirmed what you already knew deep down.

"... You just didn't want a relationship with me..." You only whispered, and more silence from him followed. Your heart felt like it was wrapped up by a fist that was squeezing so hard it hurt.

"How long have you been seeing this woman?" You gave up holding in your tears, there was no point to safe your dignity now anyways.

"A few weeks." Eddie put on his shoes. The way he treated this whole situation, how he treated you, it made you angry.

"A few weeks?! And you still though Hey why not play a little bit more with her feelings? At least I have warm pussy to stick my dick into before I have a better one?!" Angry and sad tears were streaming down your face and you quickly put on some underwear and a shirt.

"Hey now that's not what I said!" He was getting defensive.

"No but you sure as hell act like this was exactly your thought process!"

"So what if it was? This was only meant to be sex anyways remember?!"

"Fuck you! Get out of my apartment!"

"Gladly!" He took his keys that were on your bedside table and left, slamming the door on his way out.

That's when you broke down. You slide to the floor, louds sobs, that were wracking through your whole body, escaped you. How naive you were to think that Eddie could love you. The whole night you spend crying on your bedroom floor. And most of your next day you stayed in bed.

At one point Steve and Robin came over as they had heard from Eddie what had happened.

Steve was angry but Robin was livid. She threatened to cut off his dick for you, which only earner her a half hearted smile. You were really broken, and it broke their hearts to see you like this. You looked so small and fragile in your bed that day. They tried to comfort you as best as they could. You would be forever grateful for their help

That is why, two months later you were in Robin's bathroom, crying again. And again it was because of Eddie Munson.

A knock on the bathroom door made you flinch.

"It's been 10 minutes. Can you please come out? You are driving us crazy here" It was Robin, Steve probably next to her.

You originally planned a sleepover for tonight but when you were feeling sick all morning for the past week you had bought a pregnancy test, taking with you. You knew you would need the support. And you were right. The two pink lines confirmed your suspicion.

As you opened the door, and Robin and Steve saw your red, puffy and wet face they knew. Steve was the first to hug you, almost crushing your bones.

"I swear I'm gonna chop his dick off for real this time!" This time it did make you laugh a little. Steve guided you to the sofa and you three sat down.

"So what are you planning to do?" Steve's voice was soothing and warm. Like a soft blanket around you.

"I have no idea. I just found a job a town over but I can't just show up there pregnant!" You buried your face in your hands. This was all such a mess.

Robin slowly took your hands away from your face, smiling at you softly. "We are here for you. And if we have to move with you we will."

"Wait what?" But Steve was silened with a look from Robin making you giggle a little.

" What I am trying to say: We are the three musketeers-"

"Since when do have a name?"

"And we will get through this." Robin ignored Steve, making him roll his eyes at her. But he smiled at you.

"She is right. We might not have much but we have each other yeah?"

You were crying again. They were really the best friends you could hope for. You were hugging them close thanking them over and over again.

The movie night was still a success and at the end of it you decided to keep the baby.

You still moved to the next town and took the job. They were kind enough to still keep you even though you were pregnant.

Robin and Steve came over almost every weekend, helping you set up the nursery and taking care of you too.

Then you had your beautiful baby girl. She completely turned your world upside down but in the best way possible. You never thought you could love someone so much. You would do anything for her. You named her Amelia. She was the sweetest little child ever.

She had everyone wrapped around her little finger the moment they met her. Robin and Steve fought over who could hold her first, which made you laugh and your heart swell even more with love. You knew that even without her dad she would be loved so much.

Now 5 years later you were back in Hawkins, visiting Steve and his fiancée, for their engagement party. Your other friends were going to be there too. You were happy to see them again. Some of them you haven't seen since you left.

You were late already because your adorable mini you, told you half way through the car ride, that she forgot the picture she drew for Steve and made you turn around.

Now you were finally there. You congratulated Steve and his fiancée, who you met before and liked so much!

You were getting something to eat from the buffet, keeping an eye out for your little girl.

"I didn't expect to see you here." That smooth voice made you freeze. You haven't heard that voice since that fateful night. You turned around slowly. There he stood in front of you. Eddie didn't look different at all. His eyes still as mesmerizing as you remembered. Still his messy mop of hair and that charming smile still made your knees week.

"Hey." Your voice was breathy.

"Hey." Eddie kept his charming smile.

"You look great. Wow I haven't seen you since.."

"Yeah..." There was an awkward silence. Eddie looked over your figure. You were as beautiful as the day he lost you, which he knew was his own fault and he regretted it every day.

"Listen, we should talk sometime there are-" Before he could finish his sentence someone interrupted him.

"Mommy!" And with a jump Amelia was in your arms talking animatedly about her game she played with her favourite aunty Robin. Eddie's smile froze. The little girl called you mommy. He was to late.

"Sweetie, Mommy was talking to someone. It is rude to interrupt."

"I'm sorry mommy."

"It's ok. Sorry what were you saying Eddie?"

"Never mind. So this is your daughter?" You could tell that his mood dropped. You always knew him better than the back of your hand.

Still you replied. "Yes this is Amelia. Amelia this is Eddie. He's an old... Friend."

Your daughter gave Eddie one of her dazzling smiles. "Hello!" Eddie gave her a soft smile in return but his eyes looked pained. "Hello fair princess." It made her giggle.

"I like him mommy. He thinks I'm a princess."

"Yeah I heard. Why don't you tell Aunt Robin that you are a princess now?" With a soft smile and a kiss to her head you set her down and she ran of yelling for her aunty. When you looked at Eddie his face was whiped off of all emotions.

"So did you bring her father here too?" His tone had a bite to it which made you raise an eyebrow.

"No I didn't." It wasn't a lie. You didn't bring him. Eddie came himself.

"What about you? Still got that girlfriend of yours?" If he wanted to be like this so could you.

"No it... It didn't work out." His eyes looked at the glass of champagne he held, not daring to look at you.

"Are you still working at this car workshop?"

"No. There's this other workshop I work at now. Pays better you know?"

"Sounds great."

"Yeah.." Another awkward silence followed. Amelia called you over.

"Guess duty calls for you."

"This little lady knows how to keep me busy. But it was nice talking to you Eddie." Your smile was genuine, which made Eddie's heart clench. He watched you walk over to your daughter, thinking how this could have been his and not some other guys child if he didn't fuck up. He downed his drink and went to grab another glass. He intended to get wasted tonight, wallowing in self pity. He ended up sleeping in Steve's guest room.

Eddie had a big hangover and definitely needed some aspirin. As he walked down the stairs he saw Steve in the kitchen.

"Hello sleeping beauty."

"Suck my ass Harrington" Eddie was never a morning person, the hangover only adding to his foul mood.

Steve didn't care, he was used to Eddie's moods.

"What made you drink that much? Thought you wanted to stay sober after what happened last time." Steve was sipping his coffee, watching Eddie, who took some medicine against his headache and then poured his own cup of coffee.

"Yeah well when you see the love of your life moving on without you and having a fucking kid with another man we can talk." He took a big gulp of the burning liquid.

Steve furrowed his brows. "Who are you talking about?"

"Seriously?" Eddie gave him a look.

Steve knew you haven't told Eddie that the kid was his.

"He made it abundantly clear that he doesn't want anything to do with me. So he doesn't need to know." That were your words back then. And Steve agreed with you back then. That was before he knew Eddie's feelings for you. Now Steve was deep in thought. Should he tell Eddie that the kid was his? Or that you still thought about Eddie and haven't had a boyfriend since. "Who wants a woman who already had a child, Steve?" That was your reasoning but he knew you were still hung up on Eddie, even after all this time.

"Careful Harrington. If you think too hard your brain might explode cause it's not used to you thinking at all." Eddie teased.

"She doesn't have anybody." That made Eddie perk up.

"She doesn't?" Steve shook his head at this.

"What kind of man leaves his girlfriend behind when she is pregnant?" Eddie got mad at this man, not knowing that it was actually him. Steve inwardly rolled his eyes.

"You should talk to her."

"This isn't a movie Steve. This bullshit doesn't work."

"Just try."

"She probably has no time for me and my bullshit anyways."

"Just try it!"

"Besides she has a child. She has other priorities."

"Oh my god Eddie the kid is yours!" Both Steve's and Eddie's eyes widen.

"What?" Eddie's head was spinning. He had a child. A daughter. With you.

"Shit I wasn't supposed to tell you..."

"The kid is mine?"

Steve rubber his temple and nodded.

"Why the hell didn't she tell me?! I had a right to know!"

"Oh yeah totally after you told her you didn't want a relationship with her. While getting into a relationship with another woman."

"I was young and stupid ok? I've changed now."

Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, last night was an accident. You know I don't drink anymore. Can you just tell me where she is staying?"

With a sigh he told Eddie that you were living a town over now, giving him your address. Eddie has never been so fast in his life, running out of the door and into his van and driving as fast as possible.

When he arrived he sat in his car thinking about all the possibilities how this could go wrong. But when he saw you coming out of the building with your daughter, knowing the little girl was his, he got out of the car and went over to you.

Your eyes grew ten sizes when you saw him.

"Eddie what are you-"

"Please can I just talk?" You could tell he was nervous so you nodded for him to continue. Amelia looked at you two curiously. She liked Eddie, he looked funny and called her a princess.

"I fucked up back then. I didn't realise how in love with you I was when I had you. Only when I lost you I did. I thought I liked this other woman but when I was with her all I could think about was you. I compared her to you every single time. She didn't laugh like you. You know that full belly laugh that you have that is contagious. And her eyes never light up when she saw something she liked. Like when I entered the room your eyes always light up. And her smile never made my knees week, not like yours did. Once I realised what a huge mistake I made I immediately broke up with her and went to see you to apologize but you were gone. And I never got to know where you went. Steve and Robin really made sure of that. And I started drinking because I couldn't live with the fact that I lost the best thing that's ever happened to me because I was a stupid idiot. I'm clean now. And when I saw you yesterday I was so happy and thought maybe I can make things finally right and get a second chance. But then I saw you had a daughter and I saw all my chances go down the drain because clearly you had moved on. And I got so sad and started drinking again. I know that's not the point and not your fault. And now Steve had told me that this child is actually mine, which I know he shouldn't have told me cause he promised you, please don't be mad at him. But it made me have some kind of hope that maybe just maybe not all is lost yet."

You were listening intendly to what he had to say. So many information.

"What I am trying to say is, I am sorry that I have been such an asshole to you back then. And I love you. I always have. I was just tok stupid to realise it. And I am hoping that maybe, there is a tiny chance that you still love me too."

You didn't know what to think yet. This was messing with your head. Your emotions all over the place.

"You know how long I've waited to hear you say this? And now that I do hear them I don't know what to feel."

Eddie's heart sank at your words.

"Eddie it took me years to get over you and now you show up here saying you still love me? What am I supposed to do now? You are messing everything up again..."

"I'm sorry... I just thought... Nevermind. I didn't think. Like so often. I will just get out of your hair." Eddie's voice was strained and there were tears in his eyes. Before he could move you pressed your lips against his though. Eddie's eyes grew wide, the tears streaming down his face now, mixing with your own. You were holding onto him for dear life. Eddie got back to his senses and kissed you back with all he's got. He was never letting go of you again.

The giggle next to you two out of your little bubble, making you part.

"This is not me forgiving you. This is gonna take some time. But I am willing to try if you are."

"I am! I so am!" Eddie gave a teary smile. "Thank you."

You looked at your daughter. "You know how mommy said he is a friend?"

She nodded with big eyes.

"Well he is a special friend. He is actually your daddy." Her eyes got even wider.

"I have a daddy?" You nodded softly and Eddie knelt down to her level.

"Is that ok for you princess?"

She looked at Eddie intensely. Studying his features. Eddie grew a tad worried when she didn't say anything. Then a big smile broke out on her face and she threw herself at Eddie who catched her, crying again.

"I have a daddy! I will keep him forever!" That made you both laugh. Amelia hugged Eddie as close as she could.

"Will you be coming with us to the park?" She put on her best puppy dog eyes and Eddie's heart melted at that.

"I will go with you anywhere you want princess."

Her cheer put a big smile on Eddie's face. And so the three of you went to the park together.

"What's an asshole by the way?"

Your eyes grew wide and Eddie gave you a sheepish smile. The same look Amelia sometimes had when she did something she knew she wasn't supposed to. You shook your head, laughing to yourself.

"You are already a bad influence on her."

You knew this was going to take time but it was going to be all worth it, you were sure of it.

#eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson smut #stranger things 4 #bea's writing

[inflammatory]

The 80s. Everyone was young and quick. Not a single album missed. Then the decade passed and some weird vibes got into them and right before Bruce Dickinson left to take some laps making mid solo material they put out FEAR OF THE DARK, a toss-up between the perfect classic maiden guns and some weird bar rock type shit that you could probably safely fuck to without tearing a muscle. Strangely enough, in my opinion this combination made for the perfect ENTRY LEVEL GATEWAY ALBUM, especially for listeners who haven’t yet found the sound of metal quite their cup of tea. Opens with a typical skin ripping gallop track, finds its arguable apex with six minutes of AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS, slowburning into the most hypnotic melodic riffs they ever did. Gems like JUDAS BE MY GUIDE are hidden at the back of a slightly inflated tracklist. They make you listen to the absolute skip that is WEEKEND WARRIOR before you even get to the historical title track. Not Maiden’s best. But the magic that is there still strikes awe. I believe it was for FOTD that they picked up Janick Gers on guitar, who contributes some really fantastic freewheeling lead slop. Think solos that sound like he’s being chased by a murderer simultaneously.

Settling into their sound, a listener must of course sink teeth into the satanic panic classic THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST. A very chewy forty minutes. This was 1982 where Dickinson, the voice you hear on most of the relevant albums, just arrived. And he immediately displays his chops. See title track for one iconic blood curdling shriek. Maiden makes quick work of this album, and saves their very best for last with HALLOWED BE THY NAME, the song that personally first pulled me into the band. They make seven minutes feel like two. To get there, however, Iron Maiden has written some silly shit that they will first subject you to (22 ACACIA AVENUE, skippable). Many members of the band contribute lyrics, but Steve Harris, behind both the band and the bass gallop that made it, oftentimes writes songs that veer comedic.

So we get to SOMEWHERE IN TIME, another rich 80s classic album that keeps gateway listenability by being sweet on melodies and having no overly outrageous Steve Harris lyric moments. On ALEXANDER THE GREAT he does have Dickinson read off a Wikipedia page, ostensibly. But it’s amazing either way. This album also sports WASTED YEARS, considered Maiden mainstream for good reason.

But forget entry level listening. We want to cut to the very pinnacle of Iron Maiden output. Rest and relaxation after 1986’s SOMEWHERE IN TIME creates SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON in 1988. The idea of a concept album they waltzed with previously appears fully realised, operatically spotless, SYNTHS. There is no Gers slop here. This is the crystallised daddy of modern prog. Dreamy but white hot. Back to back to back, they put CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS, THE EVIL THAT MEN DO, and the ten minute title track together. It is for this reason that the first acoustic guitars crawled out from the ocean and evolved pickups and tone switches.

…You could probably also listen to Powerslave. They’re quick on that one too.

For later there is the earlier KILLERS. This has Paul Di’Anno before they swapped him for Dickinson. He’s got a grit to his voice that Dickinson doesn’t have, which works perfect for the songs they were putting out. See MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, one which should catapult this album to classic status by itself. I hear the basis for a lot of modern J-rock/metal in this one. Couldn’t explain it to you, but it’s in the melody. And I honestly love the Di’Anno sound. I would’ve put him with guitarist Gers for maximum impact. Too bad they’re star-crossed by a decade. Fun fact about Di’Anno is that Rob Halford of Judas Priest once tried to hit. He did not succeed.

End notes: Yeah, the Trooper is good and you’ve probably heard it, but it’s carrying its album.

#iron maiden #please listen to iron maiden. But also remember you don’t like them as much as I do

[shamandrummer]

Music as a Political Act

Cree singer Sandy Scofield sees her music as a pathway for raising awareness and celebrating culture.

Sandy Scofield is a multi-award winning composer, musician, musical director, singer, songwriter and performer. She has studied classical, jazz, African, Indonesian gamelan and electro-acoustic music. Leader of the all female Cree band of singers, Iskwew, Sandy started making music before she can even remember and has played and sung in many bands over the years. From Cajun to rock, classical and folk, the foundation she had before coming into Cree Aboriginal music incorporated a wide variety of sounds and instruments. She plays piano and guitar in addition to being a singer.

Scofield came to Aboriginal music later in life, embracing her heritage through song. She says, "I went to the Banff Centre for the Arts in 1995 and did a ten-week intensive with Sadie Buck from Six Nations in Canada -- she had this residency for urban women who grew up without oral tradition and she brought in women elders from all around Turtle Island (North America) to teach them their traditions, songs, and song traditions."

When asked whether she feels that what Iskwew does is political, Sandy said, "We have many educated people holding their PhDs and working as doctors and this and that who are changing how society views First Nations people, but largely people still think of them as the drunks down on Skid Road, and that's all part of… So, in answer to your question -- Yeah."

What we're doing is politically showing people the pride in our culture. The fact that we come out and wear regalia, just to show very basic cultural teachings, we're trying to present through the songs. I have a floating group of women based on who's available that comes with me, but some of the other women who've gigged with me are just as vocal as I am onstage. It isn't like I'm leading every song and I'm talking all the time. Some of the other women get in there and talk and talk about teachings and talk about what we're wearing and talk about our role as women in our culture and how we're esteemed.

So that's what we do, and when we get to go play international festivals it's really important because, you know, one of the girls that sings with me, she went to Italy and some guy said to her, 'Where are you from?' and she said, 'Well, I'm Cree Indian from Canada,' and he was just aghast, he was saying, 'No. They were all extinct. They don't exist,' and she's going 'You're crazy!' You know?

But there's crazy ideas out there, so especially if we're on the international stage, we're trying to show the very best of who we are. And in Canada, half of our work is in what we call Indian Country, which is all of the country except dominant society doesn't see us. So we perform for other native people or we perform for dominant society, and so when we perform for dominant society, it's the same thing again. We're trying to show the really fantastic things about our cultures, our collective culture which really concerns community, egalitarianism to a certain extent, just pride, culture, the interconnectedness of all life and that we’re interconnected with one another -- things like that."

#aboriginal music #native american artists #native music #indigenous cultures #cree nation #indian country

[herrlindemann]

Rock Hard - October 1997, interview with Paul

There's no question: Rammstein are definitely THE winners of the hour. The first album 'Herzeleid' is about to go platinum, the singles 'Engel' and 'Du hast' from the second album romped about in the top ten for weeks, and it was foreseeable that the long-awaited album 'Sehnsucht' would also have a huge impact . So Rammstein are well on the way to becoming the most successful German metal band of the 90's - but how are the guys dealing with the new situation?

I can still remember well when I walked past the Motor Music stand at PopKomm two years ago and I was blasted with fat guitar riffs that didn't quite fit the usual program of the Hamburg label. That was a new signing called Rammstein, I was told at the time when I was curious, and somehow I had the feeling that something big was coming our way. This impression was reinforced a few months later by the great debut album 'Herzeleid', on which the band went musically new ways and lyrically wonderfully irreverent. The best counterpoint to the burgeoning PC wave. With their fantastic, effective live shows, they were able to win more and more fans for themselves from tour to tour, but nobody would have thought that they would achieve such a huge breakthrough.

Today everyone is talking about Rammstein, but guitarist Paul Landers, who is sitting across from me, still seems quite relaxed and completely unimpressed by all the fuss that is happening around him. Nevertheless, at the beginning of our conversation, the question arises as to what has changed for Rammstein since the Top 3 hit 'Engel'.

« Actually not that much, because what looks like an overnight success for many people was a very long way for us, which we took step by step. It's like meeting a child once a year and marveling at how big they've grown while the parents don't even notice the child growing because they see it every day. On the other hand, we probably haven't even realized how successful we are at the moment. My phone rang last night and I have a woman on the other end of the line who couldn’t believe that she actually spoke to Paul von Rammstein and that I’m still in the phone book as normal. I may have to change it soon. I just think we're still down to earth and that's not going to change as things get bigger. »

I'm guessing though that mass and mainstream media interest has skyrocketed following the chart success...

« Yes, but since we are six members of the band it doesn't make any difference to us because we can split everything up. And it doesn't matter whether you're talking to Der Spiegel or a school newspaper, the questions are usually the same. »

By the way, some of your older fans were not at all enthusiastic about the fact that your record company pushed the release of 'Sehnsucht' from spring to the end of August for marketing reasons...

"Wait, it wasn't the record company's decision — we're responsible for everything, whether it's covers, videos or singles. We just do what we want, but of course let the record company advise us. Things like Aerosmith, who had to re-record some songs because the company didn't like the first versions, won't happen with us. »

But you must have felt a certain form of pressure, too — for example, the desire of the fans, who simply expect certain things from you, like ambiguous lyrics or elaborate shows, because that's one of your trademarks. You could theoretically run out of ideas...

« That's why we're holding back a bit at the moment, because we don't want to have to land a helicopter on stage next year to meet the expectations of the fans. We still have plenty of ideas, but we're only implementing them gradually so that we still have something up our sleeves. »

On your last tour, did you also have the phenomenon that occurs more frequently with chart breakers, that there were people in the audience who only knew the song 'Engel' from radio and television, but were not familiar with the old material?

« Nope, not at all, because we're not a single band like Fool's Garden, who suddenly appear out of nowhere and of which you actually only know the one song. In my opinion, apart from the title track, 'Herzeleid' only contains good songs, none of which are really suitable as a single, and it's similar with the new disc. 'Engel' pushed us like a fresh battery, but that didn't destroy the whole car. »

I recently re-read the interview I had with Paul shortly after the release of 'Herzeleid', but at the time he said Rammstein had no plans to roam the clubs for months trying to break out by force. But now everything turned out differently, because Rammstein were actually damn often on the road...

"Hm, you're wrong. We've been in the business for quite a long time and accordingly make sure that we don't get crushed. We're often on the road, but our tours are usually quite short, because our life shouldn't consist exclusively of concerts. If other bands enjoy playing up to 200 gigs over the course of a year, that's up to them — we definitely take our breaks and don't let them rush us around. We're just six friends, and when friends see each other every day over a long period of time, it really gets to you. »

Something different: On a recent trip to Sweden, I noticed that your songs are sometimes already being played in clubs there, and you've also had numerous gigs in countries like Belgium, Holland and Sweden. Looks like you're slowly starting to conquer other countries too — despite the language barrier!

«Of course, because at some point we will reach our limits in Germany. We're also excited about new tasks, because actually it's pretty boring to tour as a headliner. It's much more exciting to start all over again in new territory where nobody knows us. We also asked people after the gigs if they would like it better if we sang in English, but most of them think we should stick to German lyrics. After all, music is global and the reactions are often a bit reserved at the beginning, but after a few songs the audience is dancing. We definitely want to tackle the American market in the near future. »

Not a bad idea. In any case, I could well imagine that the Americans are crazy about Rammstein's music - and with such a show you run into open doors there anyway.

Change of subject: The songs for 'Sehnsucht' were all written before the big breakthrough came in the form of 'Engel'. Accordingly, the pressure should not have been too great. Don't you pee your pants thinking about the songwriting for the third disc? After all, you then have to top an absolutely successful album...

« The pressure can't get any bigger, because the first disc was definitely a great success for us. In principle, the songwriting for the next record will be more relaxed for us because we now know that everything will be fine as long as we only listen to ourselves. We've learned that things only ever go bad for us when we let other people talk us into it or when not all band members are present at the creation. So it's our job to make sure that despite all the stuff that's pouring down on us, the band's chemistry is still right. »

Was it an advantage for you that you played many of the songs from the second album live before the studio date?

"Yes and no. The advantage was certainly that we could test the reactions of the fans to the piece. The downside is that the more times you play a song live, the sooner you get fed up with it and have to start composing new material again. »

In the photo session for 'Sehnsucht', Rammstein worked with Gottfried Helnwein, a well-known and respected photo artist who, however, has recently been the subject of negative talk because of his alleged membership in the Schientology skete. Has this collaboration had any negative effect on Rammstein?

"Unfortunately not," laughs Paul. « I wouldn't think it was so bad if we were also put a little in the Scientology corner, which maybe isn't so far-fetched after all...»

The wide grin on the guitarist's face shows that this statement is not meant too seriously, but what’s the saying? Any promotion is good promotion!

"We spoke to Helnwein again after that ominous article appeared in 'Stern'," Paul picks up the thread again, " and I can only say one thing: if the 'Stern' article about Helnwein contains as much truth as their article about Rammstein, then Helnwein is a CDU politician... In addition, the book that the story was primarily about will not appear at all because it is completely far-fetched. Some reports in 'Stern' are apparently as fictitious as stories in 'Neue Spezial'.”

Let's address two critical issues again: Recently, photographers have had to view the photos at your concerts, which gives your management the right, so to speak, and only release certain pics for publication. It's a practice that's especially familiar from big British bands, with the difference, however, that under German law their contracts aren't valid anyway and you can ignore them. However, your management could actually control the photo selection and also use the image material, e.g. from our photographers, for your own purposes free of charge. Why this harassment?

« One of the reasons for this action was - believe it or not - that we don't have any live pics of us in the archive at all, even though we played quite a lot. We also wanted to prevent a picture of Till with the burning coat from being printed in every newspaper. In any case, it's not about wanting to prevent the publication of image material, which we might not have been very good at, or anything like that. We've already considered whether we shouldn't do the same with articles about us, but this doesn't apply to the rock magazines, which thank God only print what we really say, but rather to the countless scraps of paper that sometimes pull unbelievable nonsense out of our fingers that we never uttered. The 'Stern' wrote, for example, that at Rammstein gigs only 30- to 4-year-old mustaches with checkered shirts and beer bellies are in the audience. It's quite funny, but it gets on your nerves in the long run. But actually we can live with all suspicions quite well - as long as we are not put in the right corner. »

The issue should be over by now...

"Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that. Of course, everyone who now knows us personally has long since understood that we have nothing to do with it, but thanks to our success, new media are constantly approaching us, and we have to start all over again with the educational work. »

What remains is your quarrel with J.B.O. — what did the boys actually do to you that you or your record company make life so difficult for the boys?

« There is actually no dispute with J.B.O. — we don't think the matter is as bad as it is currently being portrayed by all sides. »

Well, at least J.B.O. sign a cease and desist letter and re-record the track 'A Little Peace'...

« I think it was just that we weren't credited with the music, although it's clearly our samples that J.B.O. have used there. Okay, I also feel a bit guilty because I may not have paid enough attention to this topic, but with the current situation you lose track here and there. If I always ironed out management or record company mistakes, I would go insane. Someone from J.B.O. called me privately, after which I got in touch with our record company and told them to please come to an amicable agreement with the band. If you do a cover version, you just have to register it beforehand. For example, we wanted to change the 'Das Model' by Kraftwerk covers and the lyric to " She's a whore and she's good-looking ". Kraftwerk didn't agree with that, and that was the end of the matter. J.B.O. didn't ask beforehand, which isn't a bad thing, because if another band plays a song of yours, it means that your song must be really good. One day someone called us and wanted to change a line of text from the track 'Rammstein' to "Rammstein - bad breath is in the air" - as long as he reports it, we have no problem with it. I know how difficult it is to finish a record and I'm really sorry that J.B.O. had to stamp a part of their CD because of this. In the future I'll make sure that something like this doesn't happen again, but of course I can't take care of everything — after all, I also have to make music on the side...  »

#Rammstein #Paul Landers #Till Lindemann #Christoph Schneider #Flake #Oliver Riedel #Richard Kruspe #interview #translation #*scans #1997 #*

[yeonjunszn]

so sick ! — 10

pairing: idol!lee heeseung x non-idol!f!reader

summary: when your boyfriend of almost eight years cheats on you your senior year of university, you decide that you’re done with anything and everything to do with love. that is, until you meet a guy who sings love songs for a living.

— FINALLY GETTING IT OUT jeez.. i’m not 100% satisfied with it but it’s okay !!!!!!!1!1!2!! i’ll make up for it i hope

— more after the cut!!

ten: stuck together (1.3k)

so far, you’d been having a fantastic morning. you woke up right when your alarm went off, gotten out of bed to freshen yourself and get ready for your classes and then ryujin suggested getting coffee.

the only thing threatening to ruin the great day you were hoping to have, was the looming decision of who your assigned partner for english would be. you were a friendly person, the epitome of sweet and kind, so you knew you’d do all the work on your own without complaints if you were partnered with someone who didn’t care about their academics.

you arrive to the campus starbucks with ryujin, felix and beomgyu waiting for the two of you by the entrance. the brunette smiles widely at the sight of you, waving almost shyly. you reciprocate the expression, your group going inside to order your drinks and morning pastries.

“can i get a vanilla iced coffee and a croissant?” the barista, who recognizes you and ryujin immediately, nods at your request.

“is that all?” she asks.

“y—” you’re interrupted by beomgyu, who slides his hand between you and the counter.

“i’ll get an iced americano. ‘s on me.” he says, pulling out his card to swipe when the light on the keypad turns green. you stand there beside him like a fish out of water for a moment until he moves you so your other friends could also order.

“gyu,” you pout as you sit and wait. “what’d you do that for?”

“consider it a good luck gift. just in case you get a shitty partner in english.” he grins, reaching across the table to pat the top of your hand. you feel your cheeks warm, smiling in appreciation.

as much as he denied that he still had feelings for you, you knew the jokes he would make had a hint of truth to them. when he confessed to you freshman year of university, there was so much emotion behind his words they brought you to tears. and because of that, you had an inkling that that kind of love just doesn’t disappear. maybe in another life, a life where you hadn’t been irrevocably devoted to siwoo for four years (at that point), you’d be with beomgyu, your caring and charming best friend who’d give you the world if given the opportunity.

ryujin and felix join you at the table a couple minutes later, the blonde sitting next to beomgyu. “so n/n, do you know what the project is? or will you find that out today, too?”

“oh! my professor told us on thursday. since it’s a replacement for our final and we’re supposed to work on it for the rest of the semester, he said he wanted to make it something both fun and fruitful— to show what we’ve been learning.” you answer felix, your eyes following beomgyu when he gets up to retrieve your order from the counter.

“ooh, that sounds exciting. what exactly do you have to do?” ryujin asks, tilting her head to the side.

“we have to pick one of the pieces we’ve studied and turn one of the major parts into something different. it can be a visual or audible recreation, if that makes sense. some of the examples he gave were writing a script and acting it out or making a song. stuff like that.” you graciously accept your breakfast from your friend as you finish explaining what your project entailed.

“i see i see, that actually does sound kind of fun. my english prof sophomore year fucking sucked. he just had us read novels and take tests on the material every few weeks,” ryujin deadpans, running a hand through her hair. “which was hard for me because yall know i don’t read.”

you snicker, tearing off a piece of your croissant to eat, offering beomgyu some as a thanks for paying. “i’m happy with my grade right now, and i’m hopeful it won’t change drastically by the end of the semester, so even if me and my partner have a messy project, i’m genuinely fine with it. just as long as i don’t get stuck with someone who’s gonna put all the weight on me.”

“if it comes down to that, we’ll help you. it’s no biggie.”

ryujin coughs into her fist dramatically. “simp.”

felix glances away to stop himself from laughing, while she sips at her drink nonchalantly, as if she said nothing at all. beomgyu’s cheeks change to a light shade of pink and he avoids your eyes. you’re about to say something when you catch a peek at the time on your phone.

“i gotta go guys. class starts in twenty and i’m on the opposite side of campus. i’ll text the group chat after and let you know how it goes!” you rush out, quickly gathering your belongings. you still had half of a croissant left so you slide it over to beomgyu, ruffling his hair. “thanks again! love you!”

with your coffee in one hand and the other gripping onto the strap of your backpack, you hurry across the quad to the english and language building. for some reason, you thought your chances of getting paired with a decent student were higher if you got to class earlier. your logic was a bit off, but you couldn’t blame yourself for the effort.

you settle into the seat you’ve designated as your own since the beginning of the semester, placing your backpack on the floor and your coffee on the surface in front of you. it was the second row from the top, due to the fact that you preferred being further away from the board and the professor. instinctively, you fix the headband on your head, smoothing any flyaways after fast-walking from starbucks to the lecture hall in record speed.

unbeknownst to you, the green haired boy sitting behind you was bouncing nervously in his seat. he adjusts his bucket hat for the umpteenth time since getting dropped off on campus by his manager. he felt like his breathing was heavier, especially because he had to wear a mask to conceal his identity as much as possible.

he had to inform the staff that he’d have to participate in this project in order to get the full credit from the course, which meant his probability of being discovered would go up immensely. he’d have to meet his partner regularly outside of the comfort of the lecture hall, a form of contact with another person he wasn’t used to anymore. had this happened pre-debut, it would’ve been no problem, but now that he’s an idol, he’s forgotten what it's like to interact with other people who aren’t employed by hybe and belift or his group members.

at the front of the room, your professor clears his throat, explaining that once partners were revealed, the remainder of the class could be spent getting to know each other. he understood that working on such an important assignment for two months with a total stranger would be challenging. he also decided against announcing them for everyone to hear (per heeseung’s privacy) ((at least he wasn’t a sadist)), so one by one you went down to get a sheet of paper from him, which had the name of another student and your own written on it.

when you returned to your seat, you unfolded the paper, furrowing your eyebrows at the name. to be fair, you didn’t really know any of your classmate’s names, though they all seemed to know yours.

just as you’re about to venture to find your partner, there’s a tap on your shoulder from the row behind. you spin around, greeted by none other than cute mysterious guy. he gives you a wave and a gentle smile, that you notice even with his mask on thanks to the crinkles beside his eyes.

“it looks like we’re stuck together for the next couple of months.” he says, a smooth voice akin to honey filling your ears. he extends his hand for you to shake and you take it firmly. “i’m lee heeseung.”

“l/n y/n.”

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#enhypen smau #enhypen social media au #enhypen socmed au #enha smau #enha social media au #enha socmed au #enhypen heeseung x reader #enhypen heeseung smau #lee heeseung x reader #lee heeseung smau #so.sick.heeseung❤️‍🩹 #yeonjunszn

[maya-matlin]

More Degrassi asks for whenever you want to answer! 1. Three or four unpopular Degrassi opinions - the more unpopular, the better! 2. Two or three Degrassi couples most fans really like who you're meh or ugh about 3. Two or three Degrassi couples most fans don't like much who you love (spoiler alert: my answer for this one would be Jenna/Connor...please don't hate me! The underwear thing was a horrific choice by the writers, but otherwise I love both lof them individually and together so much. It's so lovely to see someone 'on the spectrum' in a loving romantic relationship, and imo he is actually who she needs and deserves after KC!) 4. Your top seven female Degrassi characters? 5. Your top seven male Degrassi characters? 6. If you could choose to bring just three Degrassi characters back from the dead, who would they be?! Enjoy - I can't wait to see your answers...and feel fere to mock me for loving Jonnor ;)

Thank you for the asks!

Unpopular opinions:

1.) While I don't ship Spinner and Emma, their marriage is far from the worst thing Degrassi ever did. The timing made it all very questionable, but it seemed like Spinner and Emma found each other at just the right time. If not for the marriage itself, I don't think most would have such a big problem with them ending up together. Even though Emma's relationship with Sean was far more popular, in a lot of ways I actually think Emma and Spinner were more compatible. Maybe not for most of their run on Degrassi, but definitely during their last four seasons or so. If there's ever a reboot and those three characters return, I don't want to see Sean and Emma ending up together unless the writing can justify it. But based on how their relationship was written during season 6, I doubt they could.

2.) The definition of suicide is the act or instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally. Therefore, Zig couldn't have murdered Cam and bears no culpability in his death. This shouldn't be an unpopular opinion, but I still hear this ignorance on a monthly basis. It's been almost eleven years. This is ridiculous.

3.) Nine times out of ten, Ashley is correct and 100% in the right. It's just that many fans find her boring and she's consistently pitted against more popular characters played by more charismatic actors (Craig, Jimmy, Manny, Paige). This includes but isn't limited to Ashley dumping Jimmy because he was being passive aggressive and admitted to only considering her attractive on the inside as well as wanting to record and pursue music independently of Jimmy.

4.) Even though I prefer Drianca, the Clare/Drew relationship was one of the best written and executed ships during the later seasons. The writers did a fantastic job building up their feelings for each other and showing how they balanced each other out. It was a complete copout to drop their relationship entirely just so that Clare could end up with her slut shaming, misogynistic, emotionally abusive, overrated ex.

Popular couples I don't ship:

1.) Miles/Lola (They fucked once while his boyfriend was in a coma. Lola's whole thing was not wanting to be someone's second choice. Miles did the same "You're the only one that understands me" song and dance with four different love interests)

2.) Eli/Clare (See my fourth unpopular opinion or just watch seasons 10-14)

3.) Cam/Maya (They're sweet for what they are and I loved Maya's arc, but overall it was a very brief relationship that left Maya with a lot of trauma and negative feelings towards Cam. Also, Zaya was right there. That made it impossible to invest in them)

Unpopular couples I ship:

1.) Clare/Drew (once again, see unpopular opinion #4)

2.) Dave/Alli (Dave was actually a good character and deserves twice as much nostalgia and appreciation as Johnny DiMarco gets for doing the bare minimum. No, they weren't perfect, but Dave unlike most Degrassi cheaters put in the work and effort to win back his ex's trust. I think they loved each other. The timing was just wrong and to be honest, they probably weren't meant to be)

3.) Tristan/Miles (To be honest, I'm currently having some complicated feelings about these two due to being in the middle of a Next Class rewatch and being forced to realize the biphobia was even worse than I'd remembered. But, the simple fact I still technically ship them and the response to admitting you do in the present day is frothing at the mouth and shame means they should be included. For what it's worth, I liked them in season 13, enjoyed the potential in 14, and have positive memories of their second relationship)

Nooooo! Jonnor is amazing! They're one of the sweetest, purest couples on Degrassi. Connor struggled to understand social norms and handled his hormones in a questionable way, but he also didn't have the guidance at the time to figure that out. He left Degrassi to get a grasp on that, so I think it's forgivable. We see during Connor's relationship with Jenna that he's learned a lot and is overall a very respectful, considerate boyfriend to Jenna. I also strongly agree that Jenna deserved better than KC.

Top 7 female characters:

1.) Manny Santos

2.) Maya Matlin

3.) Alex Nunez

4.) Liberty Van Zandt

5.) Bianca DeSousa

6.) Paige Michalchuk

7.) Fiona Coyne

Top 7 male characters:

1.) Zig Novak (I don't even care)

2.) Spinner Mason

3.) Sean Cameron

4.) Marco Del Rossi

5.) JT Yorke

6.) Jay Hogart

7.) Mike Dallas

Three dead characters to bring back:

It kind of has to be JT, Cam and Adam. I wouldn't bring back Craig's dad or Rick. Part of me wants to bring back Wheels's parents from the original series, though.

#the-stelena-and-mondler-diaries #Long post #suicide tw

[songsfordustmites]

i was tagged by @wormdream to shuffle my music and share the first ten songs that appear. i am doing this from my computer which has some stuff that i don't listen to anymore on it and also has a bunch of live bootlegs and b-side/compilation/unofficial stuff that i'll probably skip for this. thank you, anyways! <3

everything that could have been - kittie. from the album funeral for yesterday. i think there's too much repetition in this song at the end. could have been either condensed down or added some more words to it. i am excited for the new kittie album though!

put your hand inside the puppet head - they might be giants. from their album they might be giants. i love the music video for this song.

a man alone - aaron freeman. i did say i was going to skip the unofficial stuff, but this stopped me in my tracks. i only went through aaron's music once and should totally revisit it again. i have two versions of this on my computer, one is thirty seconds longer than the other. i got the shorter one. very sweet, very somber.

gioco d'azzardo - paolo conte. from his album appunti di viaggio. the instrumentals are great in this. conte is just really good at writing music. i still haven't heard all of his albums though.

paloma - tall juan. my beloved tall juan!!! i got into him in high school whilst looking for free stuff on bandcamp. he is also friends with mac demarco who i used to listen to all the time. i think it's funny how the lesser known artist that i found out about through a bigger artist stuck with me and the larger artist didn't. i was so happy to have seen him in february. he was so nice and very funny.

town to town - hello the band. one of flansburgh's side projects. it's a good song. i think it's interesting to see what they make without the other john.

mad (feat. lil wayne) - solange. from a seat at the table. i haven't listened to this album in a long time. i listened to this a lot in high school. her voice is sooooo beautiful! this is still the only album i have heard by her. i should take the time to listen to her other albums some day. ALSO she had the best song in yo gabba gabba.

the last song - sleater-kinney. from their self titled album. i am still on the fence about them. this is the only album i heard from them, i found it at a thrift store. maybe i'll enjoy their other albums more or maybe i just need to listen to this one more. sometimes whenever i finally listen to an album by a band that is influential within a specific scene, i get the opinion of this is something i would have liked more when i was an angsty teenager and was being introduced to punk with the more well known stuff. like i am at a place where i don't need the introductory stuff, i already have bands that are deeper into that genre that i can jam out to. does that make any sense? they're not bad like listening to ramones or some shit. like why would you waste your time with ramones or sex pistols or some other shitty popular punk band? sleater-kinney i can appreciate and would have loved as a kid when i needed more female fronted bands that were really cool and were more of my style. kittie is another example of this. i do love kittie a lot, but i wish i knew about them before as a kid. we should revisit this topic later.

tender situation - ween. from the album pure guava. ween is another band where i wish i got into when i was a kid. same with tmbg. i think i would have had the opinion that their early stuff was better unfortunately, however, they would have been perfect for fourteen year old me. i could have been burning their stuff onto cds for friends and making them listen to it like i did with daniel johnston. i love ween. i got into them after listening to most of the flaming lips' albums and was so disappointed by their stuff and ween ended up being exactly how i was hoping the flaming lips would sound.

(system)control - bleed the pigs. from the mortis fatum ep. FANTASTIC BAND! exactly what i needed after listening to so much boring indie rock. i neeeeeed to listen to more bands like them. the mixing is exactly what i like with the vocals not being too high up which i find is a problem in a lot of metal and punk and just rock in general. everything about them is just perfect!

well...i won't tag anyone for this. the commentary wasn't even part of the tag game, i just like to talk about music.

#i had a whole different list at first but completely scrapped it #i know that defeats the purpose however i wasnt fucking with it #also for this new list i listened to every song through unlike the first time #i wish i could add all my records tapes and cds to this #i am more diverse with my music when it comes to physical media. it's easier to get into stuff that way for me

[thebreakfastgenie]

Vienna Waits for You

I heard Billy Joel growing up--my mom has been a fan since the seventies and I really liked a couple songs that played on the local classic rock station--but I really got interested in his music when I was fifteen. I was hot-gluing some things together for an English project and I was looking for music to listen to when I found The Stranger and 52nd Street. I listened to the back-to-back and it was the closest this lifelong atheist has ever come to a religious experience. Something changed in me. I started listening to the rest of his albums online and pestered my mom until she bought the ones she didn't have already.

It was 2011. Billy Joel was still on the tail end of his decade of depression that he blamed on 9/11. He wasn't releasing new music, he wasn't touring, and there was no indication he was planning on doing either again. I watched video after video on YouTube from his masterclasses and Q&As and hoped maybe he'd at least do more of those so I could see him, even if I never got to hear him perform.

2012 rolled around. Hurricane Sandy hit. Chris Christie hugged Barack Obama and a bunch of musicians put together the 12/12/12 benefit concert. Billy Joel participated and it went so well that he decided to start performing again. When he announced his residency at Madison Square Garden I was living in Ohio and New York City felt out of reach. He started doing tour dates and I had several failed attempts at getting tickets to the ones close to me. I was afraid he'd stop touring. Finally, in 2015, I saw him in Chicago. I had a few favorite songs I was hoping to hear. He played all of them except one: Vienna.

I could have been happy with that, but a month later while I was in college in western Massachusetts, I found out he was doing a talk and Q&A at the New Yorker Festival. I took a Peter Pan bus to New York City by myself and I got to sit in the front row. I didn't get to ask a question but I don't know what I would have said anyway.

I could have been satisfied with that. It was more than I ever thought I'd get. It was a lot. But the farther away 2015 got, the more desperate I felt to hear him play live again. In 2023, I saw him play in Madison Square Garden. A dream come true. He opened with My Life--a fantastic opener--then played Pressure, which I loved. Next was Everybody Loves You Now and I was still recovering from actually hearing a song from Cold Spring Harbor live fifty-two years after it was originally released, when he introduced the next song. He didn't name it, he just said it was an album track from The Stranger that took on a life of its own.

He played Vienna.

The rest of the show was wonderful, but everything peaked for me in those four minutes. I waited more than ten years and it felt like I was waiting my whole life.

Vienna waits for me.

[you-remind-me-of-the-babe]

Get to Know Me Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @cutestkilla I loved reading your answers 💜

Relationship status: Married for nine years. Hubs and I got married on our 10 year dating anniversary. We started dating when we were 17. So yeah, we’ve been together a long ass time.

Favorite color: Green, and any shade thereof. My eyes are green, so it’s been my fave since I was a kid.

Favorite food: I love bread, though I try to eat less of it now as I get older, as it doesn’t do my body good. Also coffee, cheese and chocolate make life worth living sometimes.

Song stuck in your head: I’m going to pretend it’s not a theme song from kiddo’s cartoon and say Age of Consent by New Order because I adore that song and it came on while watching Paper Girls the other night. (Just started this show and loved the first two episodes.)

Last thing you Googled: “Exit, pursued by a bear.” Was beta reading for @whatevertheweather last night and she used it for a spell and I sadly did not know the reference. Now I do!

Time: 11:05 am

Dream Trip: I would really like to get over my fear of traveling to a non-English speaking country. I’ve only ever picked English speaking locations for vacations for fear of getting lost or not being able to communicate. The only exception was three days in Paris as part of a school trip where we went to London first, and the embarrassment I felt every time I had to ask someone if they spoke English is probably what’s fueling this fear. I live within driving distance of Mexico and have never been, despite taking Spanish in school for years. So yeah, some day I’d like to go to the Mediterranean and just chill if I need to use my phone for help. Or even Mexico. It’s right there!

Last book you read: I’ve got about an hour left of Reputation by Lex Chroucher and am enjoying it. The audiobook narrator does a fantastic job.

Last book you enjoyed reading: Going to pick a different book here and say Boyfriend Material.(Also loved the audiobook narration!) (Very much looking forward to Husband Material!) @bookish-bogwitch crafted an amazing ending bingo for it and I’m SO ready!

Last book you hated reading: I am slogging through the last Mirror Visitor book. I’ve been reading a few pages at a time for months and it is just so slow and boring. I devoured the first three and I can’t tell if Snowbaz brain rot is affecting my engagement or if it’s truly that bad. I turned my friend on to these books and he’s been anxiously waiting to talk to me about the last one and I just…can’t muster the will to read it for longer than ten minutes at a time. RIP. I also hated the narrator who read House on the Cerrulean Sea, so I abandoned that one even though everyone adores that book. Oh well!

Favorite thing to cook/bake: Cookies, scones, bars, pies. I never bake unless it’s a holiday because I can’t control myself if I make something like this and then have a massive amount there. I used to love cooking soups, stir fries and casseroles but having picky children turn their noses up at something I spent an hour or more making really makes me hate cooking these days. The 7 year old is getting more adventurous but the 3 year old hates dinners on principle so I phone it in a lot.

Favorite craft to do in your spare time: Spare time? What is this you speak of? I am not super crafty. I’ve tried a few things over the years but usually abandon these hobbies after a few attempts. I’m frankly shocked I’m still writing fic almost a year later because hobbies don’t usually stick for me. Does weeding and gardening count as crafting? It’s almost an art right? I do like being out in the sun with my hands in the dirt and seeing the way my yard evolves.

Most niche dislikes: This is a fun question. I doubt my dislikes are very niche. I hate the feeling of like a stray hair on my arm or wrapped around a finger. I dislike cilantro. I have a hard time watching a kid attempt a task that is far above their skill level. Watching them struggle when they are almost about to succeed is a joy but watching say, a kid try to open something you know they literally can’t drives me mad. Just give it to me so I can do it and we can move on!

Opinions on circuses, now and in history: What a weird question. Never been to a circus. Closest was a Cirque du Soleil performance which was amazing. I like books about circuses like Water for Elephants and Night Circus. That’s all I got. I feel like this question is trying to get you to say circuses in the past (maybe also now) are bad because of the way they treat animals. And like, you make that decision yourself. You don’t need me to tell you what to think.

Do you have a sense of direction, if not what is the worst way you’ve gotten lost: If I am with someone else I will often miss a turn from chatting and not paying attention so the other person’s ability to co-pilot is critical. I followed @fatalfangirl around in Vegas and just assumed they knew what was up. (Lol sorry I wasn’t helpful!) If I’m by myself I can usually focus and manage. I often have dreams of needing to get somewhere and just not fucking managing because a thousand obstacle get in the way. Worst gotten lost story: some friends and I in our early 20s miscalculated how long it would take to float down a river. We found ourselves with slowly deflating rafts, while it got dark, with no flashlights, and the river had turned away from the roads. We tried to beach our rafts and walk but found a bear instead. Oops, back in the rafts we went. Then we made it to a dam that we had to get out and walk around but we couldn’t find the path, only a path going the other way to the highway so we ditched our boats and followed the path in the dark, ignoring sounds of wildlife. Finally made it to the road and got picked up by a very nice older couple who probably took pity on us because we looked like their kids or something. When we went back to get our boats the next day the path around the dam was very easy to find by the light of day and we were like…a 20 minute float from our campsite LOL. Good times. I can laugh about it now but it was Not Fun when it was happening.

Tagging @fatalfangirl @whatevertheweather @bookish-bogwitch @moodandmist @aristocratic-otter @facewithoutheart @raenestee @martsonmars @sillyunicorn no pressure, only if you want to! 💜

[randomvarious]

Today’s compilation:

Super Bad Is Back: Soul Love 1991 Soul / R&B

Yesterday, I posted about an amazing funk, soul, and R&B release that was put out in 1973 by the prolific Canadian budget compilation label K-tel called Super Bad Is Back. K-tel was a multifaceted company that became a fixture of middle-America in the 70s and was synonymous with cheapness and disposability because of the many albums it released that were pretty much just reproductions of big chart hits. There was no originality to their albums, no serious work done by its compilers to feature slept-on gems; just pure record shop discount bin stuff. But that Super Bad Is Back album was a *stellar* exception to their own rule.

And this release, Super Bad Is Back: Soul Love, which came out 18 years later, isn't. This is just a short set of ten straight-up 70s soul classics that are *mostly* fit for making some love to (more on that later). A bunch of special songs on an unremarkable cheat-code comp; K-tel's wheelhouse, as it were.

So, on here you'll find signature songs from a number of acts whose work defined the surface of 70s soul and R&B: Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," Al Wilson's "Show and Tell," The Chi-Lites' "Oh Girl," Luther Ingram's "If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don't Want to Be Right," and Barry White's sex-blaxploitational "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More Baby." All huge 70s hits. In fact, the most obscure song on this CD is Tower of Power's great "So Very Hard to Go," which was their most commercially successful single, but only hit #17 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #11 on its R&B chart. A good showing for any song, sure, but based on how this one sounds, it definitely deserved more spins and sales.

And now, here's the part where I ruin part of your day by talking about Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." I'll never fault anyone for thinking that this is a fantastic song, because, sonically, it definitely is. But keep in mind what the impetus behind this tune originally was: Marvin Gaye made it with his then-17 year-old crush, Janis Hunter, in mind. She would go on to marry him for a brief period of time afterwards, and they'd have two kids together, but she was only about half of Gaye's age when they first met. Not accusing Gaye of any legal wrongdoing in this regard and I'm not going to painstakingly research 1970s age of consent laws to figure it out, but listening to those lyrics, and knowing who it was that served as his inspiration for writing them, is definitely unsettling, to say the least. Really not trying to apply today's standards to a song from 50 years ago either—the social mores and what was deemed acceptable back then were obviously very different! How many hit songs have there been of grown-ass men singing about underage girls?!—but I also can't say that I really derive much enjoyment from this one anymore, knowing what I've known about it for some time now. Hard to not think about what he was thinking about when he made it, y'know?

This is all out in the open too, by the way. One need look no further than the liner notes for the 2001 deluxe CD edition of Let's Get It On. I promise you I'm not misinterpreting anything here, and I'm not even getting into the turbulence that Marvin and Janis' marriage suffered through, which was allegedly rife with domestic abuse (he wasn’t a great guy!). I'm just honing in on who and what drove Marvin Gaye to record "Let's Get It On" in the first place, a song that successfully transformed him from a righteous, politically conscious musician into an international sex symbol as well.

Hopefully I didn't ruin any special memories you may have that are associated with this song, but, maybe, let's leave this one off the sex playlists going forward, hmm? 🤷‍♂️

And I'm still including it in the list of highlights below, because, despite not really wanting to listen to it again, it is, undoubtedly, a very well-made song.

So, normally when I find an album like this that's comprised of some of your most basic, essential hits, I call it "Baby's first 'x' compilation." But given that this CD is filled with a bunch of sexual soul songs, I can't call it that. So, we'll call this "Consenting adult's first sex-soul compilation" instead, okay?😅. A wholly unremarkable CD if you're already familiar with these songs, but I guess it's also a sweet release for when you need some of...well...exactly that...except for, of course, that one big Marvin Gaye hit....😬

Highlights:

Al Green - "Let's Stay Together" Marvin Gaye - "Let's Get It On" Dorothy Moore - "Misty Blue" Barry White - "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More Baby" Al Wilson - "Show and Tell" Tower of Power - "So Very Hard to Go" The Chi-Lites - "Oh Girl" Luther Ingram - “If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don’t Want to Be Right”

#soul #soul music #r&b #r & b #rhythm & blues #rhythm and blues #music #70s #70s music #70's #70's music

[twenty-words-or-less]

Top 5 Best Films of 2019

Okay, so I don't normally do this, but I've seen so many films this year that I thought I would summarise them by making top 5 lists. This one deals with my top 5 best (or favourite) films of the year.

IMPORTANT: I shall keep these as spoiler-free and short as I can.

5. Midsommar

A film that feels like it was made by a 50+y/o European that was actually made by a 30+y/o American. I initially thought it was kind of 'eh'. However, it did lodge in my head, and the more I thought about it and the more analyses I read/ watched, the more I liked it. It grew on me much like grass grew on our poor beleaguered protagonist in the numerous hallucinations she has over the course of the film.

4. Booksmart

Like the female answer to Superbad only with zero period jokes (thank fuck). Legitimately funny, rewatchable, and the lead characters have great chemistry. Shame that only ten people saw it, but roughly seven of those people - including [REDACTED] and I - enjoyed it immensely. Special mention goes to Billie Lourd, who was a fucking delight to watch in every scene she was in.

3. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

A coherent, beautiful-looking action film that manages to be as good as its predecessors, which is highly unusual in a film series. I still care about the characters at this point, and I'd be happy to follow these characters through many more installments.

2. Doctor Sleep

The only TRULY good 2019 Stephen King adap, do not @ me. Despite one incredibly distressing scene, I would probably buy this on DVD or at least rewatch it. It's good to see Ewan McGregor get work again, especially as a ravaged, PTSD-ridden Dan Torrance, and it's fantastic to see Rebecca Ferguson get good work after the shitstorm that was "The Snowman" and the dull-as-fuck, grossly overrated "The Greatest Showman". Again, it's a shame that only five people saw it (basically). Genuinely good film.

Honourable mentions before we get to my #1, in no particular order:

Ready or Not: Samara Weaving gives it her all in this blackly comic slasher. I want to see her in more things. Also, on a more superficial note, her wedding dress in this was really pretty, even ripped to shreds and completely soaked in blood.

Crawl: A surprisingly good creature feature that was an absolute blast to watch. Also, the dog lives, which I am very happy about.

Knives Out: the best thing Rian Johnson has done since Looper. Strong cast and beautiful to look at (the film, I mean, not the cast), even if I did get a little lost near the end. Oh, and it automatically improves lad culture if you change the title to Get Your Knives Out For The Lads.

Child's Play: a remake that actually managed to update the setting and keep the things that made the original, well, the original? Holy shit. Also, the end credits song is incredibly catchy.

Avengers: Endgame: as anyone who knows me knows, I'm a slut for superhero films. Long as this was, it stuck the landing; it was a 3hr thank you for sticking with the franchise despite most of the films being 'eh'. Also, I LOVED Cap's ending, just saying.

And now, the most important one...

1. Brightburn

Or as I like to call it, We Need To Talk About Kal-El. Jackson A. Dunn was uncannily perfect for the titular role and the gore effects were fantastic (the car scene in particular). It works as a standalone film and the groundwork for any sequels, which I would happily go and watch, btw. I'd been looking forward to this for months, and I got exactly what I wanted from it. End of.

Whew, this turned out to be longer than I anticipated! Thanks for reading if you made it to the end. This has been my top 5 best; I shall post my top 5 worst later today (I'm seeing "Cats", and I anticipate it making the list). 🎵 Stay tuuuned... 🎵

~Mikey

#best of 2019 #2019 #mikey #midsommar #booksmart #john wick chapter 3 parabellum #doctor sleep #ready or not #crawl #knives out #looper #avengers endgame #brightburn #from the vault

[staceymcgillicuddy]

I posted 178 times in 2022 (which is saying something considering I only got started this blog in November)

That's 178 more posts than 2021!

41 posts created (23%)

137 posts reblogged (77%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@cunnninghams

@hellcheerocracy

@chrissy-n-eddie

@hangon-silvergirl

@erythromanc3r

I tagged 158 of my posts in 2022

Only 11% of my posts had no tags

#don't mind if i queue - 89 posts

#hellcheer - 32 posts

#eddie munson - 21 posts

#chrissy cunningham - 21 posts

#chrissy x eddie - 20 posts

#eddie x chrissy - 18 posts

#fanfic - 17 posts

#edissy - 15 posts

#bsc diaries - 12 posts

#hellcheerxmas - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 92 characters

#there is nothing like that hit of pure adrenaline that comes with a new comment notification

My #1 post of 2022

Day 3: Chimney

December 1986 Hawkins, Indiana

@hellcheerxmas

“But how would it even work? The chimney thing?” 

Eddie blinks into awareness and looks at Chrissy, who’s been using his lap as a pillow since they finished passing their second joint of the afternoon back and forth. 

“Huh?” 

“The chimney,” she repeats, gesturing at the television, where Babes in Toyland is still playing. Chrissy’s choice, and he has no idea where she’s getting chimneys from because that movie is fucked up, even for her, but Santa’s not a participant. 

“Chris. You gotta… like. Ten thousand feet, sweetheart.” 

She gets what he means, even when he doesn’t. Lifts her head and twists her little body around, so she’s facing him. “Your chimney. In here. You guys don’t have one, so what did Wayne even tell you?” 

“That’s what you’re concerned about?” 

Blue eyes blink, and she worries her lip between her teeth. Eddie has to kiss her, so he does, only it doesn’t erase the frown marring her pretty face. 

“Eddie,” she says in that voice that means sex isn’t solving my problem, which, yeah, fair. 

“I dunno, it wasn’t, like, a thing? I never really believed in all of that.” Santa was well and good for some kids, but Eddie’s long been disabused of anything fantastical happening in real life. That probably explains the DnD thing—wanting to escape, blah blah blah—if he’s gonna get all psychoanalytical about his shortcomings. Which he isn’t. Doesn’t. Won’t.

“You didn’t?” Her voice quivers, and God, Eddie shouldn’t be so into how his childhood makes her all sweet with him as if he’s some sad Victorian waif, and she’s, like, round yon virgin, so tender and mild. 

(Only she’s not a virgin, and he thinks the tender and mild bit might be about Jesus, but whatever. The point stands.)

“Wayne did shit for me, don’t worry about it,” he says, waving it off and wrapping a hand around the back of her head to pull her close, fitting his thumb into the groove at the top of her neck like he’s done a hundred times before. “And, I dunno. The chimney thing is like… it’s magic. Probably Santa’d come through the roof vent if he had to.” 

Chrissy sighs, and she doesn’t seem satisfied, but she lets him kiss her anyway. 

Two days later, Eddie finds an elaborate cardboard chimney stuck to the outside of his locker, accompanied by a note taped to a candy cane within. 

Just in case. XOXO, C

75 notes - Posted December 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

Tagged by @bisexualchrissycunningham and it only took me four days to get to it, so I'm tagging anyone who hasn't done it yet!

Favourite Colour: a very particular and pleasing shade of blue that straddles the line between 'baby' and 'cornflower'

Currently Reading: Kate Morton - The Distant Hours, and Colleen Hoover - It Starts With Us because EVERYONE I KNOW is reading it and I feel obligated to at least know what's going on. Non-fiction, I'm reading Bi by Julia Shaw

Last Song: Gold Lion by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Last Series: I don't watch TV anymore, I just cry when I think about consuming new media. No, but actually, it was She-Hulk.

Last Film: Rewatch, Fellowship. Brand new, Do Revenge, which was so dumb but my God is Maya Hawke hot.

Sweet/Spicy Or Savoury: Yes

Currently Working On: The Hellcheer Christmas one-shot that was promised, in which Chrissy wears an itchy santa outfit and Eddie is really into the idea of ringing her bell. I'm also still stuck on Chapter 12 of Soul because there is a VERY SPECIFIC moment I want to get right, which means I've stopped writing altogether out of anxiety. So that's been SUPER SWELL.

In my professional life, I have a book that's back from line edit that I haven't even touched, lol. It needs proofread and, like, published? I guess? So I can make money and eat? And then I probably need to write another book or two. But Hellcheer is so much more fun. :(

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #bsc diaries

[gryith]

My Favorite Albums This Year

I’m not a big music person, but I still have opinions on music, so here they are for this year. I’ve decided to go with full albums because if I was doing favorite songs of the year I’d hit Tumblr’s character limit, so here we go, top ten albums (if it was 11 there’d be Laurel Hell in here too fyi but what can you do):

LEVEL SELECT - PIZZA HOTLINE

A chill little EP with vibes of the ps1/dreamcast and early ps2 era, and I think every single person born between 1997-2003 has a lot of nostalgia for that vibe.

World Wide Pop - SUPERORGANISM

Whilst not as good as their debut album, this is still a great entry, and the halved size of the band brings a little more musical cohesion at the expense of some of their unique sound. This was, however, the first gig I went to post-covid (I think), so it was a big deal for me and really helped me like the album.

Nisemono - Ginger Root

It’s a short EP but every track is like something playing on the radio in a good memory.

DISCO4::PART II

HEALTH have gone full dark synthwave in the last few years and I couldn’t be happier, and whilst I wasn’t in love with the first album, this one really hits right, thanks in part to the incredible and talented musical guests. 

I Love you Jennifer B - Jockstrap

After being introduced to, and loving, Wicked City earlier in the year I was looking forward to this, and whilst I wasn’t disappointed, I do wish it was as intense as Wicked City, though this is definitely a better album on a technical level.

THEIR MONEY IS YOUR MONEY - 1 800 PAIN

I like when things are good, this is good, don’t fight back on this.

Ants From up There - Black Country, New Road

With the drawn out, progressive structure of bands like The Mountain Goats, the repetative, rhythmic sounds of more experimental artists like Colin Stetson, and the vocals and subject matter of a contemporary indie band like MGMT (not a coincidence that all three of those have made three of my favorite albums), this is a fantastic journey that’s storyful and emotive, and I’ve listened to it countless times since it was introduced to me.

Digital Spool - Jazz Emu

Despite the fact they’re just silly comedy albums, I enjoy Jazz Emu’s new album when it releases every year, and it’s insane how much improvement he’s had musically in just the last three years. Even moreso than the last album; ‘Humilis’, this album has a lot of self-analysis. Many of the songs on the album ask ‘it’s not right that people don’t take my music seriously on a technical level just because the lyrics are silly’, and that’s made clear from the prologue. It becomes more clear during ‘tonally inconsistent’, which introduces that actually you can have comedy tracks and serious tracks on the same album. we then end with Hummingbird, a fully serious ballad about a pastoral type of innocence that’s simple and understated yet subtly beautiful, then the titular song which states the thesis; ‘do you really hear my music? or do you just hear setups and punchlines?’ it’s his best work yet musically, with some great comedy tracks and leaves him in a place where he can go anywhere he wants on the next album.

Mr Morale & The Big Steppers - Kendrick Lamar

When I first heard this album, I remember thinking ‘nah I’m not as into this one’, but then a few weeks later I was overcome with the urge to play it again, and I liked it a lot more, then a few more weeks later the same thing. As always this is an introspective and simultaneously macrospective analysis of people and person that knows when to be aggressive and when to be soft. Absolutely one of the best of the year.

LABJAMS - Michael Whyckoff

Normally I don’t like to include soundtracks in these lists, despite them constitutuing a good 30-50% of what I listen to, and it has been an extraordinary year for soundtracks; from Bodies Bodies Bodies, Nope, Turning Red and Everything Everywhere all at Once to Immortality, the bad guys and Paradise Killer, but BONELAB’s official soundtrack was so good that it transcends just being a score. Featuring several fully vocalised tracks on top of atmospheric tracks and regular score tracks, this album is at the same time cohesive yet jumps around so many styles and tones and feels, it’s a genuinely impressive feat of music and a genuinely great album (scoring a genuinely great game) and I highly recommend it!

#music #ranking #music ranking #album review #I really did want to include Laurel Hell but it just didn't fit #Also I always stop myself putting in soundtracks because then that'd be the whole list but I had to include one #Spotify