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creativeashproductions · 3 years

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Songbird Shenanigans // Charlie Gillespie

IN WHICH: The reader will routinely sneak away from her band/hotel to continue her tour shenanigans in parking garages. A way for the young star to return to the stupid years where the concert venue was a car and the mic was the steering wheel. As each city comes and goes with the tour, one thing never changes, driving to parking garages to scream songs at the top of your lungs.

Warnings: Swearing, Mamma Mia songs (oops), and fluff

Words: 4.0k (with lyrics included)

A/N: There’s something endearing about Charlie randomly going a stranger in a duet and dance without a care. This was loosely inspired by the chaotic live they did when Jeremy and Charlie stayed at Owen’s place. I loved Charlie’s tropical shirt giving Animal Crossing vibes.

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Masterlist

A moment you had desired for a while finally came around in Oklahoma City during the free day between the two concerts. The pure quiet away from the interviews, photoshoots and demanding life of a musician. Yet despite wanting this time, you definitely felt bored, which only meant one thing.

A new video for your followers as you had done since the beginning of your successful career. Back before, you had the prominent following you had; now you would travel singing in your car, and then one video got viral. That elevated your following until you had signed a record deal with your brand new agent.

A series was then born of driving at night to the parking lots and garages in the city you temporarily visited. You'd park and sing any suggested songs from a previous video for an hour to see if a fan could find you. It was a fun game you had developed.

Y/N Y/L/N: Another installment of Songbird Shenanigans. From 9pm to 10:30pm, I'll be somewhere in Oklahoma City. Come find me for the prize!

Your agent both hated and loved the series as it brought attention to your career and songs but also was a hazard during the tour. The risk of losing your voice made your agent nervous, but the positives outweigh the negatives.

"What song are you doing?" Maddie asked from her chair in your hotel suite with a ratty book in her hand. Her rich dark hair pulled up in a high bun with a few pieces of bangs pulled down to hang free.

You didn't know if you could do what you do if you didn't have Maddie by your side as your singing partner and chief stylist. Maddie also always knew without looking on social media when you had a new installment coming.

"My most requested video is Train Wreck by-"

"James Arthur." Maddie snickered with her grey eyes pinned to the page she was reading faithfully. The book had seen better days, but it was her absolute favourite one by far and one of the only physical books she had.

"Somehow forgot you had it on repeat for a week straight." You snorted, shoving a hat on your head for warmth. A plain black coat pulled over your arms that matched the warm boots you had chosen, "I'll send you my location."

Maddie waved on hand in response, having known the routine since you first started this fun series. It allowed you a bit of your old life when the concerts you performed was solely in your car with the steering wheel as the microphone.

Judy, your agent, was sitting in the lobby with her binder surrounding her when she looked with a sigh. Without a word, she tossed the keys to the rented car she knew you'd need, so in each city, she rented one. A smile of gratitude shared before you were out the door with your hood up.

"Be careful!" Judy exclaimed just as the sliding doors closed behind you, sending you out in the cold night.

Almost instantly, your cheeks turned a light pink in the cold winter air, even if the walk to the war was short. As requested, the car was a newer model but one that would blend in with other city cars. It made finding you harder, but the windows couldn't be tinted.

"Here's to hoping I get a place with good acoustics." You muttered, starting the hatchback vehicle. Despite the cold winter weather, the road conditions were surprisingly okay, but then again, you were from a small town. Roads were shit in general.

You didn't bother playing music as you used the drive to find a parking garage and warm up your throat. Your vocal coach would have your head if you didn't warm-up, and then Judy would kill you even more.

You lucked out in a parking garage to a building that seemed to be a renovated warehouse with insanely cool windows. The metal was a dark shamrock green with a multitude of small rectangular glass between the metal. The panes swung open upwards in a fascinating design.

"Perfect." You muttered, signalling to turn into the parking garage that was easily accessed and without any trespassing signs. It was desolate, with cars parked here and there in the stalls.

A bright orange Subaru definitely took the cake as the most 'flashy' vehicle among the more nondescript ones. Not that it caught your attention when you lowered your windows marginally while simultaneously clipping the phone onto the dash. Immediately you double-checked for any apparent signs to your location before declaring it safe; with a tap of your finger, your Instagram live began.

"Welcome to another part of our Songbird Shenanigans. This time I'm in Oklahoma City for a two-day concert. The most requested song is Train Wreck by James Arthur."

Laying in the silence

Waiting for the sirens

Signs, any signs I'm alive still

I don't wanna lose it

I'm not getting through this

Hey, should I pray? should I pray

A natural instinct of closing your eyes as you got more into the music occurred. Your voice belted into the garage beautifully. Tons of comments appeared in the insta live chat of both supportive and haters.

username3: I suggested this song!!!

username88: Your voice goes perfectly with the song.

The song came to an end quicker than you would have liked since it was definitely one of your favourites to sing.

Unchain the reactions, I'm not ready to die, not yet

Pull me out of the train wreck

Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out

No action was helped back from taking a swig of water from the reusable bottle you had brought along. Your eyes scoured the comments for more suggestions or things that stuck out.

"Why don't you include hints in the Songbirds?” You read out from the comment section with a smile barely held back, "Why would I? You all know that my windows are often down, and even the most unoriginal locations have tells. There's been a few people that have found me."

Username13: I think I know where you are (insert heart emoji)

↳Username63: username13 where?! How do you know?

↳Username13: jatp is streaming all day and the guys are in a car. Same background

Your eyes read the short but interesting conversation between the two different accounts on something called jatp? Whatever that was.

"Any other requests?" You asked, scrolling through the suggestions, "Sing something from jatp? I'm sorry, guys, but I have no clue what that is? Is it a movie? OH! It's a show. My bad."

The comment section was flooded, "Okay! Let me look up the lyrics and the melody!"

Three males: a blonde and two brunettes, walked between the rows of both occupied and unoccupied parking spots. The blonde wearing a black t-shirt with BEANS written across the chest and the brunette with short slicked-back hair crowded the middle guy. All three pairs of eyes watched the iPhone stream the television series.

"I call shotgun!" Owen spoke as the car in question came into view, "We gotta Livestream in the car again!"

"Your neighbour sucks, man." Charlie groaned, nudging Jeremy to unlock the car when the older man hesitated.

"If we're going live in the car, we should cover your license plate," Jeremy suggested to a resounding agreement.

Charlie drove an obscenely vibrant coloured car that could be picked out quickly, so he didn't need any help in broadcasting his location. Owen grabbed the book from the passenger seat to angle it to lean against the plate.

"Done!" Owen called, racing back to climb into the car with his friends. The blonde-haired man bounced in his seat as the owner of the vehicle set up the screen.

In seconds, the streaming went from the app on the phone to the car's built-in screen to the boys' delight. In a moment of what some may call brilliance and others stupidity Owen went live on Instagram with Charlie joining him swiftly.

"Do you rem-"

Username76: Songbird chose a shitty location.

↳Username 39: Or we just got a Hail Mary hint

"Who is Songbird?" Charlie questioned, leaning closer to his friends in the front, catching a few comments.

The comments were mixed among other unrelated ones, but all had Songbird, Shenanigans or both words. The mystery was so intriguing the boys turned down the show to scour the comments for tidbits.

"Wait? Do you hear that?" Jeremy questioned, scanning the parking garage with his blue, green eyes. Soon his head was sticking out the window, "Someone is singing here."

Jeremy's hand turned the key of the car, "Is that-"

"Oh, no." Owen groaned, seeing that specific light appear in Charlie's eyes just as it did each time one of the songs came on. His pink beanie slid around his long blonde locks.

The two guys watched as the second oldest in their group did some kind of shimmy after pushing his phone to Jeremy. Jeremy's hand scrambled to get a grip on the phone as Charlie delved into his love for these songs. Sharing a look, Jeremy and Owen followed the Canadian to a car with a girl singing in the open hatchback car.

(Italics is you! Italics and bold is Charlie and you! Just bold is Charlie!)

When you were lonely, you needed a man.

Someone to lean on, well I understand

It's only natural

But why did it have to be me?

Your eyes remained shut as you neared the middle of the first verse. You completely stopped when a voice joined. Your e/c eyes met the twinkling brown of a handsome guy with the best voice you'd heard in a long time.

Nights can be empty, and nights can be cold

So you were looking for someone to hold

That's only natural

But why did it have to be me?

Your lips parted in a grin as you grabbed the hand being offered to be pulled out of the car; on your way, your hand nudged your phone. Your phone was in a mount attached to the roof of the hatch. When you followed the stranger, the phone turned in perfect view. Your free hand turned to hover over your forehead, legs bending to feign a swoon.

I was so lonesome, I was blue

I couldn't help it, it had to be you and I

Always thought you knew the reason why

Charlie beamed playing being shot by the arrow you pretended to shoot with a grin planted on your own lips. Charlie's hand flirted with your hip as you sashayed around his body from his left to his right. Hand grabbing a first full of his white with light teal with light pink design to tug him chest to chest.

I only wanted a little love affair

Now I can see you are beginning to care

But baby, believe me

It's better to forget me

In turn, Charlie grabbed your wrist to twirl you into his arms straight into an impressive dip with the toe of your shoe pointed to the far wall. Your fingers just barely caressing the rough paved lot.

"I'm Charlie," Charlie murmured during the instrumental between the chorus and the second verse. Your eyes scanned his features with an expression you would later be glad was hidden from the lighting in the garage.

"Y/N." You breathed, clutching his shoulders still low in the dip, hoping subconsciously that your breath was still fresh.

"Wanna finish this?" Charlie spoke, searching your eyes with his own; up close, you could see his eyes were a mixture of colours. You only nodded before he continued singing to the music.

Men are the toys in the game that you play

When you get tired, you throw them away

That's only natural

But why did it have to be me?

"Are you seeing this?" Jeremy whispered to Owen as they watched Charlie literally sweep a stranger off her feet. Owen could only nod as Charlie went into the next verse, still dancing as if he was in Mamma Mia 2.

Falling in love with a woman like you

Happens so quickly, there's nothing to do

It's only natural

But why did it have to be me?

Charlie spun you back away from his body in a graceful twirl your choreographer would be incredibly proud of. The moves you made somehow made sense, with the movements matching the spontaneous duet-er.

I was so lonesome, I was blue

I couldn't help it, it had to be you and I

Always thought you knew the reason why

Once more in his arms dancing, he dipped you once more as you finished the end of the last chorus breathing heavily. The two strangers staring intensely into each other's eyes with an intense look that had tensions in the parking garage.

I only wanted a little love affair

Now I can see you are beginning to care

But baby, believe me

It's better to forget me

"Intense." Owen chuckled as Charlie raised you back onto your feet with a matching grin to yours, "Oh! Look at the comments!"

Username24: Holy shit! They ooze chemistry!!

↳Username9: lol, okay Alex.

"You aren't a viewer, are you?" You breathlessly laughed, taking a step away from Charlie as the music faded away.

The equally breathless spontaneous performing partner laughed as well, "I heard the song and hoped for the best."

"Are you Songbird?" Came a voice from a few feet away. Behind the once upon a time stranger stood two males approaching slowly.

"Oh!" You gasped, turning on your heel to see where your phone was pointing, "Well, that's convenient! One moment."

Jeremy and Owen flanked Charlie as you repositioned the phone at the moment with practised precision. You kept the three people out of the shot for privacy reasons.

"There is about ten minutes away from the end of this installment being over. For the first time since we started this series, I had a duet." You playfully laughed, looking over at the trio, "It's completely up to my sudden partner, but would you like to meet your audience?"

Charlie simply shrugged, "Sure. They've seen you be serenaded by a stranger."

A short laugh came from the three individuals around Charlie as he moved into the camera frame with a large smile. As soon as he was in sight, the comment section went nuts, furthering when Owen and Jeremy came into view.

Username1: DREAM COME TRUE

↳Username4: omg jatp in Songbird Shenanigans?? Life accomplished.

You couldn't hold back the snort at the comments you could read quickly as they disappeared after new ones. The three guys couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"I've never seen these guys before. If you could introduce yourselves." You asked the three guests, to which each sent a reassuring smile to your hesitance.

"I'm Charlie Gillespie, and these are my friends Owen Joyner and Jeremy Shada." Charlie took the liberty of introducing both his friends and himself. His heart fluttered at the adorable smile that had appeared on your pretty face.

"I'm afraid this concludes this edition of Songbird." You apologized to the camera as the time passed the allotted hour and a half. The comments turned sad before most of them started sending questions, "I'll let you know when I do another edition! Bye for now!"

Your finger clicked the end button firstly before clicking the save button for when you would upload it to your account later.

"Thank you for doing that. I'm Y/N." You chuckled, shaking hands with Jeremy and Owen, who each grinned back, "So what brought you guys to the parking garage with three phones and a live-action Animal Crossing shirt?"

Amusement was found on all four young adults in the parking garage, pinning a gaze at the material. You had to admit you kinda adored the shirt, or maybe the person wearing it was the reason.

"We're trying to get Julie and the Phantoms to number one again." Owen offered as he displayed the live still going on his phone.

"That's a tv series. That was the second song I did on the live before Charlie joined the little concert." You told the boys all the while aware that thousands of people watched from the phone still streaming.

"The phone's about to die." Owen piped up, catching the single decimal number broadcasting the percentage. Without any prompting, he ended the live to save it solely for the little performance Charlie did.

"Did you save it?" Jeremy asked, lifting on his tiptoes to check the phone Owen had commanded for the last half hour. Like Owen, Jeremy wanted to save it solely for the stellar performance.

"So, how'd this series start?" Charlie questioned, pushing his hands into his pockets, ignoring the subtle glances of his best friend.

"I needed an escape from touring so many cities. It's reminiscent of the days before I was discovered. When my audience was the dials in my car and my family." You half-smiled, recalling all the times you had simply driven around to sing.

"You're a musician?"

"I am. I'm currently on tour for my second album. Every second or third city I'm performing in, I take the rented car to parking lots or garages to sing. I always have a prize for the fans that find me."

"Could I get your number?" Charlie hesitantly questioned. His features twisting with the manipulation of nerves.

His palms had gone clammy enough to inconspicuously wipe them on his legs; this version of Charlie was unfamiliar. Owen and Jeremy had only ever seen him as this bundle of joy and energy, not to say he didn't have his low days, instead of nervous. Owen slipped his fingers behind his back to cross them. He hoped his Canadian friend would get it.

"You don't leak mine, and I won't leak yours." Your e/c eyes twinkled with the brush of Charlie's warm fingers on your own. The new contact waiting for his information, "Maybe we can meet up with each other?"

"I'd love that."

Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, Unspecified Date

The sounds of screams and heavy instruments blocked by the unique in-ears explicitly made for your ears alone. You'd heaved, catching a breath after such an energetic song you'd just performed for the sold-out venue. You just jogged to the side for a chug of water as your band switched instruments.

"Are you having fun tonight!" You asked the crowd who had fought tooth and nail for tickets. The crowd screamed back louder than before.

Selling out MSG for completely insane even after touring the country with your band three times. It was still a little jarring, going from a nobody with untapped potential to selling out concerts and very successful albums, in all honesty.

"That's what I like to hear!" You beamed, pushing a strand of your unruly hair away from your face. Your eyes momentarily cast to the side stage with the equipment hiding the crew, "I have a surprise for you. A couple years ago, I had a spontaneous duet partner during one of Songbird Shenanigans. I'd like to invite my fiance Charlie out here."

The crowd went nuts as Charlie wandered towards you from the side of the stage away from Owen, Jeremy and Madison. Charlie's hazel eyes scoured the oceans of your e/c eyes he got to wake up to each morning. Mostly when Julie and the Phantoms had been offered to open for you; to be frank, it was more of an unspoken co-headlining.

"Can we tell?" You asked, keeping the mic covered and away from your body. Your body bounced, waiting for the smile from him.

Charlie nodded, accepting the guitar from one of the crew members. It was a song you had written a few months back. Charlie had memorized the entire piece with the deep adoration he felt for it.

The couple perched on the bar stools brought to the middle of the stage with a secret smile. One that only they and their immediate family understood.

Three months ago, you had sat Charlie down in your home to play him a little song that changed everything.

Charlie placed the last bag of groceries on the counter when he felt arms wrap around his midsection. He immediately knew that it was you welcoming him home from a very short trip to the store. In a swift move, he had manoeuvred you to sit on the counter while he scooched himself between your legs.

"Hi." Charlie breathed, rising to press a kiss against the smooth skin of your cheek, leaving heat in its wake.

"I want your opinion on a song." You burst out, unable to refrain from showing him a song you had been secretly working on. The French Canadian was beyond intrigued by the sudden announcement from his fiance.

"Oh?"

"Come." You coaxed the man from the kitchen to the designated music room filled with instruments of all kinds—even a recent addition of a recording booth in the corner with high-end equipment.

You bypassed everything for the grand piano you didn't play as often as you wished to be able to. Your fingers brushed the ivory keys for a mere second before you began playing the melody.

I, I have known love before

I thought it would no more

Take on a new direction

Still, strange as it seems to be

It's truly new to me

That affection

The smile that grew across Charlie's expressive face was uncapturable from the best of the best; he adored your voice. He had a personal ringtone you had explicitly done for him a few months into the relationship.

I, I don't know what you do

You make me think that you

Will change my life forever

I, I'll always want you near

Give up on you, my dear

I will never

You thrill me, you delight me

You please me, you excite me

You're all that

I've been yearning for

I love you, I adore you

I lay my life before you

I only want you more and more

And finally it seems

My lonely days are through

I've been waiting for you

Charlie's frown, however, faltered as your face ever so slightly paled with trepidation coating your pretty irises. Your voice even quivered with nerves he'd never heard before, but it made sense from the third verse started.

I'll carry you all the way

And you will choose the day

When you're prepared to greet me

I'll be a good mum, I swear

You'll see how much I care

When you meet me

You finished the song with the last note drawn out ever so softly, freezing as the room went quiet once more. This song was definitely vulnerable and personal; you felt naked under Charlie's silent stare.

"You're really?" Charlie breathlessly chuckled, his wide eyes screaming disbelief.

After a few years together with an engagement ring on both of your fingers after you had both proposed to each other, with the relationship very serious, you two had decided to stop contraceptives and let everyone happen if it was too happen.

"Yeah." You laughed as he swept you off the bench into his arms, "We have little Birdie to prepare for."

"I love you so damn much." Charlie choked out, spinning the two of you around in his arms. The smile never fading as he drank in the special moment of learning you had created a life together.

PRESENT

"With the impending arrival of our child, I will be taking a break to prepare. Even though I wouldn't be performing, I will still do Songbird Shenanigans. I'll just have to up my game on staying as hidden as possible." You informed the audience as the song came to an end.

Next thing you knew, you couldn't discern between the crowd and your friends now on stage screaming. You were able to feel Charlie's hand on your barely-there baby bump and his lips pressed against your temple.

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#charlie gillespie imagines #charlie gillespie fanfiction #charlie gillespie x reader #jatp fanfic #luke patterson imagines #charlie gillespie #luke patterson #charlie gillespie imagine #caitsy and ash productions

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lorewhoresam · 3 years

Text

They Didn’t Even Have To Plot

AO3

Relationship: Castiel/Dean Winchester

Tags: Fluff

Summary: Castiel becomes human after losing his grace on a hunt. Charlie comes to visit, and gets Sam to make Dean talk about his feelings. It was easier than either of them expected.

Something I wrote for a fic exchange a while back, hope ya like it guys

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

Castiel should have known better.

He should have known a witch powerful enough to capture the Winchesters wasn’t actually interested in money. He should have known it was a trap.

No one that smart ever wanted money.

She knew he was an angel. She knew to pray when they asked him for the ransom.

When he arrived at the place the witch had ordered him to drop off the money, a flash of bright, white light blurred his vision before it went black.

Castiel struggled against the bindings on his wrists, ankles and neck, but found himself stuck, the cold metal digging into his skin. He can’t break free using his grace, so they must have been warded against angels.

“Witch! Let me go, I have your money!”

“My dear Castiel, did you really think I wanted money? I want your power. Your grace.”

She said it like it was the most normal thing in the world, and Castiel couldn’t help but be taken aback by it.

“Where’s Dean?” he hissed, glaring at her.

A smug smile spread across the witch’s face.

“Sounds like I got the right bait. So what’s going to happen now, is you’re going to give me your grace, or I will rip your little pets apart, piece by piece.”

Castiel knew what he had to do. It's not like he had a choice, Dean and Sam would both die if he didn’t do this. Besides, it’s not like he hadn’t been human before, and it hadn’t been that disastrous, even without any guidance. At least this time he would have a home.

“Get these off me. And give me my angel blade back.”

“So you’ll do it.”

“Of course.”

A few hours later, he was back at the bunker, Dean and Sam with him, alive and well, but without his grace, and without his angel blade.

“Cas, you okay? You seem a little out of it.”

Dean sat down next to Cas on the couch and looked at him, obviously concerned.

“Yes Dean, I’m fine, don’t worry,” Cas said, looking down to avoid Dean’s gaze. “Bullshit, but I’ll take it for now.”

Castiel knew he should have told him that he lost his grace, but he just couldn’t. He didn’t want to be a burden, and he knew Dean would blame himself, even though Castiel made that choice himself.

He’s exhausted, and although he has been human before, he’s still not used to it. falling asleep is easier than he remembered, but maybe that’s just because he has a home now.

Waking up is harder than it was before. Castiel fades in and out of consciousness, and he can’t force himself to stay awake for more than a few seconds at a time. Suddenly he feels a hand on his cheek, rough and calloused, but warm. He hears someone murmur words in his ear, but he can’t understand them, and he’s abruptly aware that he’s being held, and he panics for a moment, before the steady rise and fall of his chest let’s him know that whoever it is isn’t restraining him. He turns his head against the chest and drifts back off to sleep.

When Castiel wakes up, he feels the body under him shift.

“Hey sunshine, good nap?”

Castiel grumbled in answer and sat upright, stretching his body.

“Now, you wanna tell me what the hell is going on with you?”

“I lost my grace.”

Dean’s eyes widened in concern, and he gently put a hand on Cas’ shoulder.

“What happened?”

And he told him. And he could see the guilt form itself in his eyes.

“Dean, it’s not your fault. I made that choice. I was the one who did not realise there was something wrong.”

“I know Cas. I just– Fuck!”

Dean punched the side of the couch and jerked Cas towards him, holding him close.

“If you need anything, you can come to me. You know that right?” Dean said, without letting Cas go.

Instead of answering Castiel just pressed himself closer to Dean’s chest and let himself cry. He had considered becoming human before, but he wanted to choose that fate, and do it on his own terms, and now that choice has been taken away, and he didn’t know what to do. He was lost.

----------------- Castiel hid in his bedroom the few days after the incident, only coming out to go to the bathroom or to eat. It was very frustrating, hunger and exhaustion, and it didn’t help that he was constantly fearing the moment the Winchesters would decide that he was never going to be useful again, and kick him out.

His thoughts were interrupted at once by a loud knock on the door.

“Cas, can I come in?”

Castiel got up from his bed to open the door for Dean.

“Hello Dean.”

They both sat down on the bed, and Castiel looked at him expectantly.

“Alright, so Charlie’s here, and we’re going shopping, because you need clothes.”

“Dean, I have clothes.”

Dean rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, mine. Not that I mind, but it would be nice for you to have your own. And you need to get out of here for a while. See some actual light.”

Castiel sighed, and agreed reluctantly, if that is what it takes for him to stay even a few days longer, he’d do it.

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

It was actually quite nice, browsing through clothing racks, chatting about nothing in particular with people he loved. After a few hours, they decided to go to a diner— mainly because Dean wouldn’t stop whining about how hungry he was.

“So how are you doing Cas?” Charlie looked at him worried.

“I’m fine.”

“Cas,” Dean said sharply.

Cas sighed and rolled his eyes.

“I’m fine, I just… I don’t want to be a burden.”

Dean looked at him in disbelief before hugging him.

“You’ll never be a burden,” he whispered, and pressed a soft kiss to his temple before releasing him.

“You two are so disgustingly cute together,” Charlie said while making fake gag sounds.

Dean and Castiel both flushed and stumbled over their words trying to clarify that they were not, in fact, together. Charlie just raised her eyebrows and smiled knowingly.

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

“So, Sam, what’s going on between those two?”

Charlie sits down on top of the map table where Sam is reading a lore book.

“You know perfectly well what’s going on Charlie. They may be too stupid to see it but you definitely aren’t.”

She rolls her eyes and claps his book close.

“We should do something about it.”

“What do you mean?”

Sam would complain that he was reading that, but this was definitely more interesting.

“Oh you know perfectly well what I mean Sam,” Charlie mocked him, a mischievous grin appearing on her face.

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

“Cas.”

“Yes Dean?”

Dean looked at him worried.

“Come tell me if you need anything at all. You’re not a burden.”

“Dean, I know that without my powers I am useless to you. You don’t need to pretend I’m not for my comfort.”

“Fuck Cas! It’s not about whether you’re useful to us or not, you’re family! We love you!”

Castiel stood there, paralised, when he felt a tear roll down his cheek, and suddenly he was sobbing uncontrollably. He felt himself be enveloped in warm arms and pressed against his chest, but it was as if it was happening to someone else, like he was just a spectator to the scene. He only realised his breathing had sped up when he heard Dean tell him to stay calm and take deep breaths.

“Hey buddy, I’m here, you’re okay, you’re gonna be okay.”

Dean rubbed soothing circles on Cas’ back until he had calmed down.

“I think I just had a panic attack,” Cas said matter-of-factly. “Thank you Dean.”

“Do you want to go get some air?”

Dean stood up and reached a hand out to Castiel.

“Yes, that would be nice.”

He took the hand and stood up as well. To his surprise, Dean didn’t let it go and they walked handed-in-hand into the cool autumn air.

“Maybe we should plant a garden here. What do you think Cas?”

“That would be nice.” Does he know he’s still holding my hand?

“We could put a bench over there.” Does he mind that I’m still holding his hand?

“Hmm.” Does he mind?

“Are you okay, Cas? You look a little pale.” Am I making him uncomfortable?

“I’m fine, Dean.”

Dean gave his hand a light squeeze.

“You’ll tell me if you’re not, right?”

Cas gave him a short nod in response.

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

Sam leaned against the door frame of Dean’s room.

“Hey Dean, how’s it going with Cas?”

“He’s not doing so well, but better than a few days ago.”

“At least he’s getting better. And how are you holding up?”

“Me? You know me Sammy, I’m always fine.”

“Yeah, but this stuff with Cas, it’s got to be taking its toll on you too.”

“I mean yeah, but not any more than on you.”

“Dean. The way I feel about Cas is very different from the way you feel about him and we both know it.”

Dean reddened at his ears and stared at the ground.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he murmured, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

Sam raised an eyebrow and looked at his brother expectantly.

“Yeah, okay, you’re right. But he’ll never feel the same way, so it’s no use admitting it.”

“Dude. You were holding hands an hour ago. And yes, me and Charlie both saw that.”

“Look, I don’t– I don’t think he gets the meaning of that. It’s probably normal for angels!”

“Dude, he literally has every single piece of media Metatron ever consumed in his head, I’m pretty sure he knows what it means. Just please, talk to him.”

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

A few days later Castiel is obviously less miserable than he was before, and he’s gotten used to being human again.

“Hey Cas, do you want to watch a movie?” Dean yelled from the kitchen, where he was making popcorn.

Cas had agreed, naturally, and so it happened they were on the couch together, a bowl of popcorn and a healthy amount of distance between them, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly playing on the television.

They were about twenty minutes in when Castiel began to complain.

“Dean you’ve made me watch this movie five times already, how are you not sick of it yet?”

“Dude, you can’t get sick of Clint Eastwood, it’s just not possible.”

Castiel rolled his eyes and grabbed another handful of popcorn. Dean cleared his throat and turned around to face him.

“Uh Cas?”

“Yes Dean?”

“I uh– Sam said– I need to tell you something.”

Cas turned off the tv and turned to him, worried.

“Is something wrong?”

“Uh, no, not– not really. I uh, I just need to get this off my chest.”

Castiel nodded for Dean to continue.

“I uh, I think I–” Dean shook his head firmly. “No, I know I’m uh, I’m in love with you.”

It stayed silent for a while, the air thick with tension.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“If I still had my grace the lamps would be shattered.”

“Cas!”

Castiel gently cupped his face with one hand.

“I love you Dean.”

He moved forward and pressed a soft kiss to Dean’s lips. A warmth spread throughout his body, and he smiled into the kiss.

“I guess good things do happen,” Dean whispered softly, before leaning forward to kiss him again.

“I guess they do,” Cas said after they pulled apart, and he put his head on Dean’s shoulder, smiling in satisfaction.

#I'm sorry this is so cheesy #my writing #destiel fic #deancas #charlie bradbury #creative writing

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warriorlid14 · 4 years

Text

Career Advice

Summary: Ron finds an ingenious way to choose his major. College!AU

Words: 1,564

You can find this story on AO3 and FFN.

“Okay, Harry. I’m going to do it.”

“Right.”

“This is it, mate. The decision I make here today will define my life forever.”

“Okay.”

“Remember this day, Harry. Friday, October 18 at-” Ron checked his watch with a look of utmost concentration on his face. Harry grinned. “11:02 p.m. No, wait. It’s now 11:03. Or actually at whatever time Hermione gets here.”

And as luck would have it, at that exact moment there was a knock on the door, and a feminine voice that was clearly out of breath called out, “I’m here! Let me in!”

Harry stood up from his bed and opened the door, and a winded and anxious Hermione rushed in, saying, “What’s going on? Is someone hurt?”

“Hermione!” Ron exclaimed, beaming at his girlfriend from his space on the floor. “You’re finally here!”

“Ron! What’s the emergency, what-” She stopped to look at the bottle on the floor that was a third of the way empty and at the empty shot glass next to her boyfriend, who was still looking up at her with a grin. “Are you drunk!?”

“No!”

“Yes,” Harry said at the same time. Ron shot a glare in his direction, then looked up at Hermione with the most innocent expression he could muster.

“He’s lying, he is. You shouldn’t believe anything he says. The traito-”

“Is this what the big emergency is!? You wanted me to drink with you?? I was scared to death!” Hermione’s voice rose in pitch and her eyes flashed in anger, and if that look was directed at him, Harry would have jumped out the window already in order to escape.

“No! And anyway, you wouldn’t want to drink this. It’s nasty. I think it’s supposed to be some type of tequila?” Ron picked up the bottle and squinted at it.

“Why are you drinking it then?” Hermione yelled.

“Well, I nicked it from Charlie’s last weekend, and I didn’t have time to look through his stuff. And I don’t have a mixer right now, so.” He shrugged and began to pour out another shot.

“What? No, you don’t have to drink it at all, Ron.”

Harry stifled a laugh again, this time at the way Hermione had been so quickly distracted by her boyfriend’s antics. It was only Ron who was able to make her lose focus and distract her this effectively.

“Wait, so what’s going on, then?” she asked, remembering what she was here for. “You said it was life or death.” This time, her glare turned to Harry, and he held up his hands in a “don’t shoot the messenger” position.

“Hey, don’t look at me. It was all him.” Not even twenty minutes earlier, Ron had sent her a series of text messages then taken Harry’s phone and sent more messages to Hermione including “COME QUICK”, “IT’S LIFE OR DEATH”, and “WE NEED YOU NOW”.

“Right!” Ron said, and jumped up with an impressive amount of grace. He snatched up the notebook from his bed that he had been writing in and mumbling about for the past five hours. “You were summoned for what is probably one of the most important decisions of my life. Tonight, we will determine my entire future.” He handed her the notebook with utmost care, as if he were handing her a baby. She snatched it up angrily.

“Computer science, communication, engineering, economics, radio and media… Ron! Are these all majors!?” she yelled.

“Yup.”

“You told me you’d decided on business a week ago!” Her eyes were accusatory.

“They’re all rich snobs, Hermione! I’m not a rich snob,” Ron said defensively. This time, Harry did laugh.

“Ron,” Hermione said, almost pleadingly. She looked down at the notebook again. “The deadline is at midnight! And there’s ten majors on here!” Her voice had taken on a panicked tone. “How are we supposed to pick one in time?”

Ron grinned at her. “I have a plan.” He walked five steps back to his desk and grabbed a pair of scissors and a cup. “It’s fool-proof.”

“What? What are you-” When he began to individually cut out each major he had written, Hermione’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh. Oh no.”

Harry was grinning like a maniac now. “Oh yes.”

“Ron, you can’t leave your career up to chance!” Harry laughed again at her horrified expression. “And why are you supporting this?”

Harry shrugged. “I mean, it’s not like he has much of a choice right now. Deadline to declare is in-” He looked at his watch. “Fifty-one minutes.”

She fixed her attention back to her boyfriend. “Did you even look through the pamphlets for all the different majors that I gave you? Did you go to academic advising?”

“I did!” Ron defended himself, continuing to cut out the majors. “I did all of that and I was still just as conflicted as when I first applied to Uni.” He paused and leaned down to pick up the shot he had poured out earlier.

“What about the pro and con lists?”

“Did them.”

“And did you talk to your brothers?”

“Yes.”

“Ron! You can’t make this decision like this! This is your entire future!”

“I know!” He folded up the last piece of paper and put it in the cup. “I know it’s not ideal. Do you think I want to do this? Why do you think I’m drunk off my arse right now? I don’t know what else to do!”

He ran a hand through his hair and continued. “You’ve known what you’ve wanted to study since you were eight, Hermione. And you’re brilliant at it! You’re going to graduate with honors, top of the class and with half of the majors this school has to offer.” He smiled at her, and she blushed. Hermione was currently a pre-law student majoring in government. And sociology. With a minor in criminal justice. And a certificate in government. “You’re going to be the best civil rights attorney in the country.” She smiled at him too, and suddenly they were looking at each other with the sappiest looks Harry had ever seen and leaning in towards each other and-

“No sex with your roommate in the room!” Harry shouted suddenly and they broke apart.

“We weren’t going to!” Hermione shouted, but she was blushing profusely.

Ron rolled his eyes, but he was blushing as well. “Anyway. And Harry has this whole inspirational story about how this police officer named Angry Eye said he would be the best police officer alive and give the most parking tickets in history.”

“Okay, his nickname was Mad-Eye Moody, and he said that I’d be an asset to the MI6 and that I should go into criminal justice,” Harry clarified with a mock glare. Ron grinned at him to let him know he was joking and not actually mocking his dreams.

“The point is,” he continued. “You guys have known what you wanted to do for a while. And I don’t. There’s nothing I’m good at-”

Both Harry and Hermione began to protest at once.

“That’s not-”

“Hey, don’t-”

“Okay, okay,” Ron said, holding his hands up. “I’m good at some stuff. But there’s nothing I’m passionate about. I don’t have a life-long ambition like you two. Or at least nothing that I’ve found yet.” He held out the cup. “What I do have is a list of possible careers that I could see myself doing. That I’d probably be decent at, and that pay fairly well, and that I’d be content with. And I mean, it’s just a job right? As long as I like it, I don’t have to love it, do I? I mean, I can be passionate about other stuff, right? Like, helping out family and friends and making sure they’re happy. Right?”

Hermione leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “There’s nothing wrong with that, Ron. And besides, you don’t have to stick with whatever you choose today for the rest of your life. You can change your mind later if you want.”

Ron smiled at her and gave her a small peck on the lips. Harry groaned, and Ron had the decency to look sheepish. He quickly cleared his throat and said, “What about you, mate? Any final objections?”

“Hey, you know I support you no matter what.” Ron grinned at him and then took a deep breath. “Okay. Maybe one more drink for luck?”

“No!”

“You’re running out of time!”

“Okay fine!” He covered the top of the cup with one hand. “Harry, drum roll please.” Harry obliged and began to tap on the wall.

Ron shook the cup for a few seconds, then pulled out a small piece of paper. Both Harry and Hermione leaned in eagerly as he unfolded it.

“Well, what does it say?” Hermione asked impatiently.

Ron held up the paper with a blank look on his face. “Government.” He was quiet for a second, then said, “Okay. If that’s what the universe decrees. I can work with that.” He smiled up at them. “Hey, we’ll all be in similar fields, right? Hermione, maybe we’ll take classes together! Although, I don’t want to go to law school. But it’s fine, there’s other jobs you can get with a government degree, right?”

“You hate it, don’t you?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, I do,” Ron said and began shaking the cup again.

#warriorlid writes #ron weasley #hermione granger #harry potter #college au #modern au

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hamitome--imagines · 5 years

Text

A Trick or a Treat

John Laurens x Reader

Modern

Prompt: person a meets person b when they are handing out candy on halloween and opens their door to see person b taking their kid trick or treating [x]

A/N: So I used this prompt for inspiration but it’s strays a little. It’s a Halloween story! I was excited to write something for this season, it’s one of my favorite holidays. So enjoy this little story. I may slow down stories even more soon, I’ll let you know what that’s about soon but it won’t be until January. So for now, enjoy!

Word Count: 1,927

You tugged on your dress clothes to make them lay correctly. You decided to go to a Halloween party as a stereotypical red-carpet celebrity. You didn’t have a costume and didn’t want to pay for a cheap on you’d only wear once. You weren’t a fan of Halloween parties but this one was being thrown by the Schuyler sisters. They were fairly good party hosts. Angelica would throw a crazy party but Eliza would reign her in while Peggy made sure that everyone was having a good time. So you figured this party would be alright.

You walked into the Angelica’s house. It was pretty much like you expected it to be. Loud music and a plenty of drunk people. But once you retreated into the dinning and kitchen, it was much quieter. You could still hear the music from the large living room, enough to enjoy it but not enough for it to be bothersome and louder than conversation. This was were Peggy and Eliza were hanging out. It was peaceful. Then, in from the living room burst a short, drunken man. He ran right up to Eliza and hugged her.

“Eliza, we should go dance.” He said. He was dressed as what appeared to be a soldier from the colonial era.

“Alright.” She agreed around giggles. They walked out of the room as another man walked in.

“I tried to stop him, I promise. But you know how he is when he gets a few drinks.” The man in question went to the counter and grabbed a can of Dr. Pepper. You studied him. He was wearing a pair of khaki cargo pants and a polo shirt that had the logo of the nearby zoo on it. Sticking out of one of his pockets was a stuffed turtle.

“What exactly is your costume?” You blurted out. He glanced down at his outfit briefly.

“It isn’t obvious?” He asked. You shook your head. “I’m a herpetologist. Basically a turtle researcher.” He patted at the stuffed turtle’s head for emphasis. He walked up to you. “Never thought I’d meet a…” He paused while he studied your attire. “Red carpet celebrity at this party.” He commented with a confident smirk. “Then again, Angelica is the host. If any of us knew famous people then it would be her.”

“Is my costume that bad?” You asked.

“No, I think it’s that good. I could actually tell what it was.” The man replied. He held out hand. “John Laurens.” He introduced.

“Y/N L/N.” You responded. “How long have you known the Schuylers?” You asked.

“Oh, my closest friend is dating Eliza. They have been for a little over a year. Angelica had a party a few months back and my friend, Alexander the drunk idiot from before, asked if his friends could come. His friends are me; Lafayette, a tall Frenchman; and Hercules, the meanest looking kind tailor you’ve ever seen. How about you?”

“I met Peggy when we worked at a coffee shop together. That was about six months ago.” You said with a shrug. “So, a turtle researcher?” You asked.

“I like turtles. That’s all.”

“So why don’t you just become a turtle researcher. You’re an adult.”

“My dad thinks it’s a dumb career path.” He shrugged.

“Sounds like your dad is dumb.” You muttered., not looking at the man. He, however, shot you a look. He was smirking.

“Yeah, he kinda is.” You looked up and noticed his smile at your comment. You gave a small smile too. “Wanna go dance?” He asked with a nod toward the living room.

“Only if we stay outside of the mass of drunken people.” You conditioned.

“Deal.” He agreed with a small smile. So he set his drink down, grabbed your hand, and pulled you into a living room with loud music blasting in your ears. But it was more manageable while dancing with John. You were laughing and enjoying his company. At some point, he glanced at his watch. “Oh, I need to go soon.”

You looked at the time as well. “It’s kinda early.” You commented.

“Sorry, I have something planned for tomorrow. It’s Halloween after all.” He said. “Don’t worry, it’s not a date.” He said with a wink.

“Does this mean I can have a phone number in order to make a date with you?” You asked. John smiled and held out a hand for your phone. He sent himself a text via your phone.

“Let me know when you’re free. But not tomorrow. See ya, Y/N.”

“See ya, John.”

—

The next day you were sitting in your living room, watching dumb and not scary Halloween movies, with a blanket tossed over your lap. On a small table by your door was a bowl full of candy. And in the kitchen was extra bags of candy. Every time the doorbell rang you’d go to the door and pass out a piece of candy to little kids dressed in adorable costumes.

You stood up, in the middle of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and walked to the door. You grabbed the bowl and pulled open the door. “Trick or treat!” A cute little girl cried. She had curly pigtails sticking out from under a green stocking cap. She was wearing a long sleeve yellow shirt with a green cardigan and green jeans. On her back was a cardboard circle, a homemade turtle shell.

“Well, you’re probably the cutest turtle I’ve ever seen.” You commented. “I made a friend the other day who liked turtles.” You grabbed a piece of candy at random to give the little girl and dropped in her green bucket.

“Oh yeah?” Someone behind the girl spoke up. You just now noticed her chaperone. “Was he cute?” John asked with a smirk. He was dressed in the costume from the other day, but no stuffed turtle today. His turtle was the little girl he was with. The little girl who was most likely his daughter. A daughter he failed to mention in the few hours he spent with you last night.

It wasn’t a deal breaker, but he could’ve mentioned it. He wasn’t exactly being secretive last night, he was open and honest when you asked questions. So why not mention the little girl? You knew he might be reluctant to share information like that, but he could’ve told you. At least mentioned it. Hell, he told you he had plans today. He could’ve casually mentioned he was taking someone trick or treating.

“I don’t know.” You responded. “I thought so but certain things are making me reconsider.” You said with an even stare. He furrowed his brow in confusion. “Good night, guys.” You shut the door after that. You huffed angrily. You continued handing out candy to kids in costumes. But you kept being angry at John. You just wanted to know why he didn’t tell you. Was that too much to ask? When the flow of kids slowed down you turned off the porch light and ate some of the remaining candy that was left. Way more than you’d like to admit.

—

Your phone pinged. You were at work a few days after Halloween. Peggy gave your a small wave of the hand, telling you to go ahead and check it. You saw a test from John Laurens.

John: You free to meet up?

You rolled your eyes, not exactly wanting to deal with him yet.

Y/N: Work.

You forgot that you told him you met Peggy at work. He walked in and flashed a bright smile to both you and Peggy. He walked up to the counter where Peggy was waving at him. They spoke in low voices for a moment. Then Peggy walked up to you. “It’s slow, go on break.”

“Why don’t you go on break?”

“You got here first, you break first.” She gave you a light, barely there, push toward the lobby. You sighed and untied your apron and walked out into the lobby of the cafe. You dropped into a chair at a table and pulled your phone out of your pocket and started scrolling on social media. Someone lightly rapped their knuckles twice on the top of the table. You looked up and saw John standing by your table and giving you a gentle smile.

“Hey.” He said softly. “Look, I know it’s shitty to come to where you work. But I wanted to figure out what was going on here.” He waved between the two of you. “You seemed really interested at Angie’s party and then totally shut me down on Halloween night. I just wanna know what’s going on. Then I swear I’ll never track you down on purpose again. I can’t promise I’ll stop coming here, after all, this is a great coffee shop.” He paused for a minute. “Can I sit?”

“Sure.” Might as well sit through this. What’s the harm?

“So what’s up? Why did you shut me down the other day?”

You sighed. “Look, I sort of get it. But I just…why didn’t you tell me I had a kid?”

John blinked in confusion. “I don’t have a kid.”

“John, you took her trick-or-treating!” You nearly shouted at him

“Oh, Martha!” He said in realization. “She’s not my daughter. She’s my niece.”

Now you were slightly confused. “Why were you taking her trick-or-treating?”

“Oh her older siblings refused to be seen with their younger sister. My sister couldn’t take her cause she had to stay home with the littlest baby, it was too cold for him to go out. And She wanted to go trick-or-treating with her cool Uncle Jacky anyway. The coordinating costume was pretty cute, huh?” He leaned back in his chair.

“Sorry…I jumped to conclusions.”

“Nah, it’s no big deal. I can understand.”

“I want to explain. It wasn’t exactly that you had a kid. It was the fact that I thought you had a kid and didn’t tell me.” You told him.

“Oh I swear I would’ve told you if I had a kid. Especially if the kid was as cool as my niece.”

“She did seem pretty awesome.” You admitted.

“So…do you think we could maybe have that date now?” John asked and leaned forward across the table.

“I’m off in a few hours.” You answered with a smile.

—

1 Year Later:

When you got to Angelica’s apartment, you pulled your jacket off and smoothed down your polo shirt with the zoo logo on it. “Y/N!” Someone shouted from behind you. You spun in time to see the stuffed turtle flying in your direction and catch it. You stuffed it into a pocket of your cargo pants.

“Well, you look pretty good as a herpetologist.” John said walking up. He pulled you close and kissed you soundly. He was wearing a matching costume.

“Are we that couple now?” You asked, gesturing to your matching outfits.

“Oh definitely. But I had to make sure we that we looked great as turtle researchers if we were gonna take Martha and her brother trick-or-treating tomorrow.” John commented. “I’m glad we can dress her brother as a turtle cause she refused to dress as one this year. Apparently kimono dragons are cooler.” He said with an eye roll.

“Well, dragon is in the name. They might actually be a little cooler than turtles.” You said teasingly.

“Oh, you are so lucky I love you.” He said before kissing you again.

#hamilton #John Laurens #john x reader #john laurens imagine #john laurens x reader

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andiwantitliao-blog · 5 years

Text

Kaitlyn x MC (AU). Its set at highschool where kaitlyn and MC meet for the first time.

All characters are mine other than kaitlyn.

-----

The New Girl. Part 2

Charlotte sat down to dinner with her mum and brother. Pushing the food around her plate, she was still thinking of what Laura had said earlier that day. She couldn't believe that Laura had taken that step. That on a trip to aspen, she met a college guy and they...

It wasn't surprising. Laura had always been the most flirtatious girl she knew and the most impulsive. Charlotte's mind though, couldn't let it go. Not the fact that it had been Laura that did it; it was more the subject of sex itself. It was difficult to avoid the subject at school. Kyle and sara weren't going to be much help with that considering the way they were going at eachother. Add that to the fact that most of the guys were constantly bragging and a lot of the girls weren't much better. Teenagers can seldom escape it being pushed at them, but it was something that never seemed interesting to Charlotte. In all the romantic movies she watched, sex scenes were amped up to be a huge deal, but with any of her past boyfriends, the urge to go any further than kissing was just never there.

After dinner, Charlotte went to her room to start on her creative writing assignment. She pulled some fresh pyjamas from the closet and walked over to draw her curtains. As she stood at the window, she noticed a man carrying a large box into the house directly across the street. Without a second thought she closed the drapes and got changed. Writing felt like second nature to her as she burned through her homework, trying desperately to wipe the thoughts of Laura's vacation escapades from her mind.

Once she had finished, Charlotte called Connor upstairs so they could watch a movie together before his bed time. Within minutes, they had fallen asleep together on her bed with the movie still playing.

Arriving at school the next day, Charlotte noticed the twins looking uneasy. Rushing over to them with concern, Charlotte asked.

"What happened?"

"Oh god, it's terrible!" Justin began.

"Just awful!" Kevin carried on.

"Guys, focus. What's happened?"

"Actually, we don't know. Laura is on the war path and either, no one knows how to calm her down. Or they're too scared to."

"Urg. Fine, where is she?"

"Follow the trail of terrified freshmen and you'll find her." Kevin laughed.

Charlotte ran up the school steps and through the doors. The twins weren't wrong, it looked as though Laura had snapped at every one of the students in the hall. As she jogged down the hallway, she heard crying softly coming from the girls bathroom. Charlotte opened the door slowly and already in the mirror she could see Laura's bright blonde hair draped over her face.

"Lor... can I come in?" Charlotte asked softly. Without a word of reply, a hand gripped charlotte's wrist and pulled her through tell doorway. "OK. OWCH! What the hell Laura?!"

Laura didn't say a word. Instead she handed Charlotte her phone which had the social media account of someone called Joe Huckstep open on he screen. Charlotte scrolled down and it became quickly clear who this guy was. Several pictures of Laura in her underwear... and worse had been posted online and had already gained a large following. Charlotte locked the phone and threw her arms around Laura, holding her without saying a word.

"I don't... how could he?! My life is ruined! It's RUINED!" Laura screamed. Charlotte had no idea what to say. The humiliation must have been unbearable and the betrayal even worse. "I... I need to go. I've got to get home.." Laura mumbled frantically, pushing her hair away from her face and dabbing at the corners of her eyes. "I've got to..." She was cut off by charlotte's arms wrapping around her shoulders again. Her hand came up to hold the back of Laura's head to her shoulder as the last few tears spilled out.

"Go home babe. I'll explain that you had to leave. Maybe you can..." charlotte's voice was cut off as the door of the bathroom opened again. This time, in walked kaitlyn who stopped in shock as she saw Laura nuzzled against Charlotte's neck.

"Oh, sorry... I just wanted to..." before she could finish, Laura's eyes shot up to meet kaitlyn's, burning through her with white hot rage. "Um.. I'll just..." she said quietly as she pulled the door closed behind her.

Laura called her dad and was gone within minutes, leaving Charlotte to tell the school her friend had to leave and to call her parents to confirm.

Home room was a lot quieter without Laura there to mass attention from the other students. At this point you could hear kyle and sara's lips smacking as they shamelessly made out. The twins sat either side of Charlotte who was in a daze, thinking of what her best friend must be going through.

"So..."

"Spill it!" The twins probed.

"Sorry boys. Its not something I can talk about."

"Ohh sounds juicy." Justin smirked. "Is it to do with Mr college man. The one she's been bragging about?"

Charlotte felt herself blush but just as quickly shook it off. "Don't exhaust your brain cell Justin. I really can't say so don't try and guess."

"Wow. Catty!" Kevin laughed as they both moved back to their seats. Charlotte rested her head in her hands and tried to compose herself. She hadn't noticed the chair next to her being pulled out, or kaitlyn now sitting there looking over at her. She didn't look up until she heard the rustle of a piece of paper being placed on her desk. As she moved her hands away from her eyes, she noticed a sheet of notebook paper, folded up and twisted in to the shape of a small flower.

"What's this?" She asked, picking it up to get a better look.

"You kind of looked like you might need it. There's no decent flower stall in the school so it's the best I could do..." kaitlyn grinned sheepishly.

"Wow. That's... really sweet." Charlotte felt her face warming. Assuming it was just the embarrassment of being caught off guard, she ignored it. "...But, trust me. Its not me that's having a bad day."

"Is it your friend?" Kaitlyn asked timidly. "I saw you two.. kind of, having a moment earlier."

"Its... I dont know. People can be really cruel, you know."

"Oh I know. Before we moved here, I met plenty of those people back in Texas."

"But why? I don't get what someone else gets from hurting someone. Someone that they were supposed to be good to. Why would you hurt someone who's crazy about you?"

Kaitlyn flinched at what Charlotte had said. Her mind raced with all the possibilities of what she could mean. "I don't know. I guess these shitty people make us feel better by giving us a chance to appreciate the people who are good to us."

"That sounds like a really optimistic way of looking at life. And a little unrealistic." Charlotte grumbled.

"I guess. But it's better than 'bad things are going to happen and that's that.'"

"You're right..." Charlotte lifted the paper flower to her face and mockingly sniffed it. "...well, I appreciate the flower. And the good person who gave it to me."

Kaitlyn choked on her breath as she saw Charlotte smile at her. The way her eyes were glistening with pained tears and the color of her cheeks from burying her face. "Thanks. Its nice to be appreciated." She laughed.

School went on as usual for the rest of the day. Charlotte was glued to her phone, waiting for some kind of message from Laura, but there was none. As the last bell rang, Charlotte gathered her things and walked to the main doors of the school. As she sat on the steps waiting for her ride, she found herself looking for kaitlyn. Instead she noticed the twins coming toward her with kyle and sara in tow.

"Hey charlie" kyle said, as though it wasn't the first time he'd spoke to her since school started. "You remember sara right?"

"Yeah, we hung out a lot last term. Though it's weird to see her without you hanging from her face kyle." Charlotte grinned.

"Oh.. um" kyle rubbed the back of his neck while sara dissolved into a mean blush. "Yeah. We got together other the summer"

"I'm glad, you two were always flirting before. Congrats guys."

"Anyway!" The twins spoke up in unison. "We didn't just come over to tell you that kyle's tongue is glued to sara's." Justin added.

"Yeah. We're throwing a party this weekend and we need out favourite girl's presence there." Kevin said with a wicked grin. "And also we need to borrow some party essentials from you."

"There's always a catch." Charlotte sighed with a smile. "No problem. You can pick it up whenever, it's all in the garage."

"Excellent" Justin yelled. "Will Laura be coming?"

"You'd have to ask her. I can't say."

"Fine we will. But just so you know, I'm planning to find out the big secret, if it's the last thing I..." Justin stopped abruptly.

"Charlie?" Kaitlyn's voice carried from behind her.

"Oh hey! I was wondering if you'd be waiting too." Charlotte said gleefully.

"Oh don't mind us..." Kevin said mockingly.

"Sorry. Guys this is kaitlyn. Kaitlyn, this is..."

"I'm Justin." "And I'm kevin" the twins said respectively. "And the symbiote over there is 50% kyle, 50% sara."

"Nice to meet you. I think we're in the same science class right?" Kaitlyn spoke confidently.

"We are!" The twins both grinned. "Anyway Charlie, we'll be in touch, don't forget about the party. Kaitlyn, you should come too." The twins called back as they walked away. Kyle and sara both walked off hand in hand leaving the two girls alone.

"So, a party? At the start of school?" Kaitlyn mused.

"Yeah. The twins have their own way of doing things, but you get use to them." Charlotte laughed. "So are you waiting for your parents to pick you up?"

"My mum usually gets me but she's going to be late today." Kaitlyn sighed.

"I could ask my mum to drop you off. Just text your parents that they don't need to pick you up."

"Oh. No I couldn't ask that." Kaitlyn said as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

"I offered so you don't have to ask." Charlotte winked, sending a flurry of heat to kaitlyn's face.

"Umm, ok. Thank you."

As charlotte's mum pulled up to the school, she ran to the car to ask if kaitlyn could have a ride. With a smile, her mum agreed and Charlotte ushered kaitlyn in to the car.

"Hi. Who are you? Do you go to school with Charlie? Why do you have those rings in your ears? I've seen them on my cartoons. Are you a Renegade Rock Ranger?"

"Connor!" Charlotte stopped him. "Enough questions. This is kaitlyn, she's a new friend and if she were a Rock Ranger, she wouldn't be allowed to tell you. Remember?"

"Oh... Yeah. I guess so." He said with defeat in his voice.

"Playing songs and righting wrongs. Saving the world all night long. All who threaten people's joys, beware our music. Rock Rangers noise." Kaitlyn recited the Rock Rangers oath in a hushed tone to Connor, making him bounce with excitement. "Keep my secret, or they'll kick me out of the Rangers, ok?" Connor nodded his head and wiped the expression from his face as he tried to hold in her 'secret'.

"Where abouts do you live kaitlyn?" Charlotte's mum asked from the drivers seat.

"Reynolds street. The house with the blue door." She said softly.

"Oh.. well that's handy." She replied. "Charlie, you could have said she lived so close."

"I honestly didn't know." Charlotte laughed.

As the car pulled up to kaitlyn's house, she quickly let herself out. Kaitlyn ruffled Connor's hair and brought a shushing finger to her lips as a reminder of his promise. Connor nodded silently, zipping his lips.

"So, I'll see you in home room?" Kaitlyn asked shyly.

"Or before." Charlotte smiled as she tapped the back of her mums seat, signalling for her to go. Kaitlyn looked on in confusion as the car pulled in to the driveway directly across the street from her but relented with a laugh. As Charlotte walked to her front door, she looked over her shoulder to see kaitlyn still watching her with a smile. Charlotte hurried inside, trying to escape anyone seeing the blush that was written all over her face.

#the junior #the sophmore #the sophomore #the freshman #mc x kaitlyn #kaitlyn x mc #kaitlyn liao #kaitlyn #au #playchoices #pixelberry #choices

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vlaur · 4 years

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A Look Into the “Badass” Vintage Market: Black Shag Vintage

The fashion industry has taken a turn and boomeranged its way back into the past bringing vintage fashion and apparel into style as it once was in past decades. Rockstar stage outfits, Harley Davidson apparel, and Levi’s Denims are shooting their way back into the industry as new fashion trends from the old hardcore 60s, 70s, and 80s begin to prevail. Black Shag Vintage, a store in Nashville, Tennessee is highly reputable for delivering the most unique pieces of these decades to the people of Nashville, some of whom are celebrities such as Harry Styles and country singer and songwriter Taylor Swift. Inside you’ll find untouched 80s Playboy magazines, authentic Beatles vinyls, Charlie Daniel’s Band and Foo Fighters concert tees, and PS Kaufman boots, all products that are the “rarest of the rare” for our current time. Owner of Black Shag Vintage is Tommy Daley, former guitarist and artist in the music industry with many years of vintage under his belt, who can attest to the increase of society’s newfound interests in the vintage market and the joys of working in it.

You've spent over a decade in the record business and half a decade as a guitarist and artist in the music business. How has this career led you to opening the “Black Shag Vintage” store and did your time living in New York City and Los Angeles have any influence on your interests and decisions?

Tommy Daley: Well, the record business definitely had some sort of influence on it being the fact that I've always been interested in music and a lot of music and fashion kind of go hand in hand together most of the time. Um, I haven’t been interviewed in awhile so I’m trying to think of how to phrase this. I have been a musician. I moved to Nashville and left the record business just because it kind of sucked my soul out and I wanted to live a more creative lifestyle so I moved to Nashville and started writing songs and learning the art of songwriting and I hired a guitar player and performed and toured all over the world and that involves fashion so i was always looking for cool things to wear on stage. I've always had a soft spot for vintage. I’ve always been a vintage clothing enthusiast my whole life and actually before I was in the record business I worked at a vintage store in Los Angeles so I already had that kind of vintage gene if you will, in my DNA. So once I started becoming a musician here, and I guess that ran its course as I didn't really want to pursue that the way that it needed to be pursued, but you know my music career was a little backwards, I should've done that in my twenties instead of trying to start a band in my forties. But I was in the record business so I lived a hell of a life. I'm not complaining about that. But it all goes back to music. I was a record collector, a vinyl collector so I’ll tell you exactly how it started. I bought a jukebox off of craigslist. I started buying seven inch records out in the jukebox and all of a sudden I had a thousand seven inch records and I met this guy who was selling records at the Nashville flea market and he said, “Hey man you should set up and sell at the flea market! You can probably sell a lot of your records!”. So then he offered to share a booth with me so I set up a booth with him one day and started selling my records and I did really well. What really got me going was I was watching other people in the area selling vintage clothing and making a killing. There was this one guy sitting outside and he was just selling all these amazing vintage t-shirts and cut up Levi shorts and stuff like that. Then there was this really well curated other person selling all this really amazing stuff and I thought, “Wow that’s really cool I could do that. I have clothes like those in my closet. So I started really paying attention and I started going out and deliberately buying stuff to sell at the flea market and all of a sudden, like I did with the records, I had a huge collection of vintage clothing. So I ended up getting my own booth and it ended up turning into four spaces at the flea market. So I would do that once a month and had these amazing displays of vintage clothing. And the first thing that people would usually say to me when they came into my space was, “Oh my god your stuff’s great! Do you have a shop?” And honestly I just got sick of saying no, so that kind of formed my decision to start looking for a shop. And then it turned into full time.

Is the flea market in Nashville pretty good? Are there a lot of people showing up?

Tommy Daley: It worked great for me!

What are some ways that in specific that you marketed your inventory and managed your store reputation?

Tommy Daley: Well at the beginning I was learning as I went. When I was at the flea market I had started an instagram account, I started using instagram as everyone else but it wasn't as prevalent five years ago as it was today. So it was a newer platform and more of a social media where you just connected with others and liked their pictures. And then I started an Etsy shop to sell online between the times that I was selling at the flea market. So I started using Facebook, Instagram, and the Etsy store. So I started out with those things and I built up my Etsy store and I was always kind of going for a vision that was in my head and trying to do something that was a little different than everyone else and use my aesthetic and basically what I liked specifically. I would market what I liked and I would buy what I liked. What I would want to wear. And that's what I would try to sell. It proved me right because people really liked what I was buying so that informed me that, ‘okay this is good’ so then I just started marketing it. And I learned like everybody else how to use instagram better I mean I was terrible at first. I didn't know how to use social media! I had to figure it out as I went. So I always protected my reputation. I always wanted to be known for that one thing. I was trying to stay in my lane. There were times where I deviated and tried different things to see what worked and tried to be everything that everyone wanted for a little bit but that’s not the way it goes. You got to just pick your thing. I chose a lane that I call “badass vintage” which is a very rock and roll kind of Harley Davidson biker kind of thing. That would be that kind of badass vintage as opposed to grandma's thrift closet. So that’s what I was trying to be. I was trying to be different. Most of the people in the business I was doing were always run by women and it's definitely become a more male prominent market now but it wasn't really that way five years ago. I'm sure there's exceptions obviously but I was trying to do something opposite of what all the other people in town, especially in Nashville were doing. I learned, just like I've always protected my credit over the years, and I used all my marketing and promotion experience from the record business to know that I had to build a brand and I had to build a reputation. And protect that brand and that reputation. Very diligently. I couldn’t let things slide. I never half-assed anything I always made sure that what I put out there was what I wanted it to be. But building a brand, making sure it was what I wanted it to be and protecting it at all costs.

Where do you get all your hand-picked clothing? Was it from friends? Did you shop in certain stores for it? Is it ever donated, etc.?

Tommy Daley: Well none of it’s ever donated, there's special occasions where people will give you something, but I don't like to do that. The key is to hone your eye and I wasn't as good a picker as I am now. Now that I know who I am, I know who Black Shag Vintage is, I know what we need to sell. So there is no one place for anything. Everything is anywhere. It's all the sources that everyone already knows about. Its online, thrift stores, its goodwills, its salvation armies, its estate sales, garage sales, yard sales, private calls, craigslist. It’s whatever it takes to find the cool stuff. But you’ve got to be willing to make sure that you buy it right. I learned a lot of things from the people at the flea market. One of the best things someone said to me was, “You make your money when you buy it”, and I always remember that when I'm purchasing for the store. Ya know, because yes you're right, everybody is jumping into this game now. Anyone with an instagram thinks they’re a vintage dealer and kids and people like you are out there trying to do this so the competition is much fiercer now. So that's where your honed eye comes in and you have to be able to walk away from things if it's too expensive. You know, you have to make… money. Especially for me now, I have to make money. So you have to buy things at the right price in order to do that. Now since I have opened a huge shop, I have a payroll of employees and there's a lot going on. This is a legitimate business so I have to run it as such. And you're not gonna survive if you buy things for a hundred dollars and sell it for fifteen. Its just not gonna work.

What would you say some of your most valuable products are that you have at the Black Shag? What are your favorite pieces that you have or have found?

Tommy Daley: I like the early seventies, late sixties rockstar clothing. I've been fortunate to get some auction pieces that are from some rock stars from the early seventies. I had a Marc Bolan red velvet suit, and I have a couple stage outfits from this rockstar named Edgar Winter. Those are the things that really get me excited. These are high end pieces, very rare, hand-made for the artist in London and what not. So finding that stuff and platform boots from the seventies and just stuff that you can't just walk into any store and find, that’s the stuff that I love. I call them “show stopper pieces”.

So what are your favorite things about working in the vintage clothing industry? What are your least favorite things?

Tommy Daley: My favorite thing is finding amazing stuff. I still get excited when I find things or go on a private call or someone walks in with a box of old concert t-shirts. I get excited and my adrenaline gets pumped up and I feel great. It's also great when you sell a lot of pieces and people buy things. I mean that can happen on a daily basis and that makes me feel good and it validates my existence and it just makes ya happy and joyous and you just want to keep going. It's just fun. It's fun helping people find something that they lose their mind over so I still get a thrill out of that. My least favorite? I don’t know it gets to be a lot of work when you gotta find stuff. Oh my least favorite is people that don’t understand what vintage is. I do like to educate people but I don’t like it when it's antagonistic. I don’t like when people come in and say, “Oh my god this t-shirt is a hundred dollars and they don’t understand exactly what it is. You have to ask what the historical value of the shirt is and what the rarity of it is and its condition. So I get bummed out about that sometimes but if they’re into it, like you, you ask, “hey this is cool… Why is this like this? '', and I’m happy to explain to them. But when they come at me aggressively that bums me out. I also don't like not having enough money to buy everything I want. Sometimes you gotta buy the good stuff. I've got plenty of inventory. If I don’t buy the good stuff then all i have is an accumulation , someone else told me that one time too. It’s not easy to sell the good stuff either.

#nashvilleculture vintagefashion blackshag badass

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deadcactuswalking · 6 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 15th July 2018

God, this first bit is going to be heavily ironic now, isn’t it?

Top 10

If you’ve been following the World Cup, you’d know that Britain got into the semi-finals before being beaten by Croatia and then Belgium, leaving us in fourth place, which isn’t too bad, but it is kind of sad when you realise that the day after we got beaten by Croatia, the unofficial World Cup anthem “Three Lions” by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and the Lightning Seeds leaped up 23 spaces to number-one, at its 27th week in the chart, and not the first spent at #1, as it has had four different runs at the top of the UK Singles Chart since it was released 22 years ago – “Nice for What” by Drake is the first to break that record in the US, only a few months after its release. Talking about Drake...

That’s a segue I hope to never use again because I don’t want to talk about Drake ever again, to be honest with you. He’s so bad in such a boring way. That has absolutely no relevance to our number-two spot, “Shotgun” by George Ezra, pushed back to the runner-up spot because of “Three Lions”, but I wanted to mention that, especially since I have to talk about him today. More on that later.

“Solo” by Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato isn’t moving at number-three.

Oh, Drake. We meet again sooner than I thought. “In My Feelings”, thanks to a dancing challenge meme and Drake’s album (in which this song is probably one of the worst from), has debuted at number-four. Delightful.

Oh, hey, more Drake! Fantastic! “Don’t Matter to Me” featuring Michael Jackson is STILL in the top five, specifically at number-five after being pushed back three spaces by his own song.

Also thanks to an album, Years & Years’ “If You’re Over Me” is up three spots to number-six, barely missing out on the top five – thanks to Drake. Am I coming off as some anti-Drake protester? If so, I’m sorry, I like Drake for the most part, but his chart prowess kind of baffles me.

Hell, just to prove I’m not too bothered by Drake generally, I get to thank Drake and Years & Years for not letting this next piece of trash get to the top five, or any higher, really. At number-seven, after a four-space boost up to the top ten, we have “Rise” by Jonas Blue featuring Jacksfilms and Jack Black.

“Girls Like You” by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B continues to go up and up the charts, bouncing up two spots to number-eight this week.

Funnily enough, Cardi outdid herself this week, as she pushes down her own song “I Like It” featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin a spot to number-nine.

Finally, down four spots from last week, we have “2002” by Anne-Marie at number-ten, where, frankly, it deserves to be more than in the top five – this is inoffensive enough to be a hit but I do not see the appeal in such a smash hit.

Climbers

This week on the US Hot 100, “Jackie Chan” by Tiesto and Dzeko featuring Preme and Post Malone just debuted at #88 – why did it take so long for this to cross over to the states? In fact, it went up five spaces to #12 this week on the UK Singles Chart, and it’s doing well globally. I know the US is really late to EDM, but, come on, it has Post Malone! Why are you guys so slow to this?

Some debuts from the week before last week are recovering from Drake – “Only You” by Cheat Codes and Little Mix is up 12 spots to #28, while “Ring Ring” by Jax Jones featuring Mabel and Rich the Kid is up seven spots to #29. Otherwise, there’s nothing really of note here to discuss.

Fallers

Former chart-topper “I’ll be There” by Jess Glynne is at freefall at this point, as it’s down six spots to #13. Drake’s “Nonstop” will obviously take a hit, going down 11 spaces to #15. The late XXXTENTACION also suffered, with “SAD!” down four spots to #18 and “Moonlight” down six positions to #37. Liam Payne and J Balvin’s “Familiar” took an unexpected but definitely deserved ten-space shove down to #30. “no tears left to cry” by Ariana Grande and “Paradise” by George Ezra are both down six to #35 and #34 respectively, seemingly ending their runs – that is, of course, until Sweetener releases soon.

Dropouts

Okay, so the biggest drop ever out of the charts is from #2, and I think “Last Christmas” by Wham! holds it. Of course, “Three Lions”, our current #1 will probably break that record, but a drop out from #5 is still impressive, and Drake’s “Emotionless” featuring a sample from Mariah Carey has done just that. Of course, the one I like the most has the least longevity.

We have quite a few other dropouts too: “This is Me” by Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble, finally out from #39, “Flames” by David Guetta and Sia out from #34, “changes” by XXXTENTACION out from #37 and “Girls” by Rita Ora, Charli XCX, Bebe Rexha and Cardi B out from #38.

Returning Entries

Former #1 “These Days” by Rudimental featuring Macklemore, Dan Caplen and Jess Glynne is back to #40 for some reason, but that surely doesn’t matter when we have a much more important return.

So, recently, the current President of the United States – you all know him – Donald Trump, visited the United Kingdom to talk to our current Prime Minister, Theresa May. I don’t really like to get political on this show, but let me just say I’m incredibly happy that people started a campaign to get this to return to the charts this week.

#25 – “American Idiot” – Green Day

So, let me clear up a few things first – this song isn’t about Trump, at all. In fact, it’s pretty much about a President in title only. It’s actually about the American media circa 2004, when George W. Bush was re-elected. Billie Joe Armstrong just bluntly makes fun of rednecks and propaganda in his signature insane, loud and sometimes unintelligible delivery over a now classic guitar riff with a subtle megaphone filtering effect similar to Damon Albarn on “Feel Good, Inc.” at about the same time. The verses are meaningful and packed with political punch while still being catchy enough to sing along, which Armstrong even demands the audience to do in the second verse. The cuts in the instrumental during the verses and after the chorus are pretty intense, mostly due to Tré Cool’s fantastic drumming, which is simplistic but incredibly effective and powerful. Mike Dirnt’s short guitar solo is pretty amazing, too, and all the members come together to make a modern punk-rock anthem that will be remembered for decades to come. These guys were in their 30’s when they made this too, this isn’t from an exciting youthful band, they’d been around for years when the great album this track is from (also titled American Idiot) took the world by storm in 2004.

For curiosity’s sake, I checked when this charted, and it peaked at #3 in the UK 14 years ago, and becoming Green Day’s first ever Hot 100 entry at #61. It also debuted at #1 in Canada! It is funny how a song about criticising America took advantage of the controversy to much lesser effects in the idiot nation itself, huh.

NEW ARRIVALS

Now for the much less exciting songs, I suppose.

#39 – “Panic Room” (CamelPhat remix) – Au/Ra

So, CamelPhat are the guys from last year’s “Cola” which charted at #18 over in the UK, and would have made my best list if they had crossed over to the States. I like these dudes’ other work too, so I was pretty excited when I saw them chart in the top 40 again. Au/Ra, however I have no idea about. From what I can gather on her Spotify bio, she’s an indie pop artist who had her song “Panic Room” remixed (twice, may I add) by CamelPhat, leading her to have her first top 40 hit. There are also four other remixes, as well as an acoustic version, so, yes, there are eight versions of this ONE song. I’ve listened to all of them – excluding CamelPhat’s second remix since it’s just a club mix, so I’ll just say what I think of each one in a sentence or two.

The original by Au/Ra is boring as sin during the verses, although I kinda dig the pitched-down vocals, and it gets much more exciting in the drop with the buzzing synths. It’s also when I listened to this version that I realised this is from an advertisement, which explains why she’s in the top 40 without a Wikipedia page. This version is alright, though, but I understand why it needs a remix.

The acoustic version is a slow painful death. This is also barely acoustic, there’s a pretty blatant digitally-added filter on Au/Ra’s voice at several points.

The Jonas Rathsman remix is seven glorious minutes of 1980’s dance music. I’m not even kidding, this is wonderful. I love the random sounds they add throughout too, they all add up to a pretty cool listen. Au/Ra doesn’t come in until about five minutes, though, and even then, her vocals are chopped-up a bit to fit the instrumental.

The KDA “Stop Saying You Were at Trade When You Weren’t” remix is pretty fun too with some pretty unique percussion, and much shorter than Rathsman’s, but Au/Ra’s vocals are mixed horribly and it never really has a good climax or drop, it’s just a bit of a slog. I like it, but it definitely needs some work.

The Denis First and Reznikov remix is some of the blandest house music I’ve heard. It’s also much shorter and the vocals are mixed pretty badly, once again.

The Sway Gray remix is much better in its vocal mixing, but it feels way too safe – even if the drop is one of the best things I’ve heard in mainstream dance this year, it just doesn’t keep up his momentum throughout. It’s worth listening to for that drop, though.

Now the CamelPhat remix is the one used in the advert, and yeah, these guys have struck the barrel again. Like “Cola”, it’s intense but also damn fun, with a pumping beat, pretty nice synths and pretty interesting echo effects put onto Au/Ra’s voice, including in the anti-drop, where it continues to build up when you think it climaxes – something KDA didn’t really grasp – in fact, during the actual drop, which has a similar buzzing synth to Rathsman’s mix, it’s still building up. The whole thing feels like a hike on top of a mountain, and the vocal manipulation in the drop and crazy synth work during the second build-up are the obstacles that come your way, until you get to what is nearly the tip, relax for a second when Au/Ra’s vocals come back in and the white noise starts to somehow harmonise with time-stretched beeping noises and a nice deep wobble, for the final drop where you take the last steps but it never feels satisfactory. You never get to the top, you just stay right next to it for a while and you’re fine with that because you’ve gotten so far. Like “Cola”, the ending of the song is very abrupt and anti-climactic.

The CamelPhat remix of this song is easily the best one, because it feels like an exciting journey portrayed via house music. I love this. Listen to this, like, right now. CamelPhat are Goddamn geniuses, I tell you.

#38 – “Fine Girl” (remix) – ZieZie

Oh, delightful. ANOTHER remix. ZieZie is another musician without a Wikipedia page who hasn’t had a top 40 hit until today thanks to a remix, but I’m not exactly sure which one out of the four that exist, especially since BBC has made the artwork the original single’s cover. So, naturally, I’ve listened to them all, and I’m counting the original version as the hit single.

So, before we talk about the songs, let’s just make it clear that ZieZie is an incredibly incompetent British rapper – so incompetent in fact that his single “Low Life” has been listed as “ZieZie- Low Life” on Spotify – and that’s just the title. It is listed, on Spotify, no joke as “ZieZie- Low Life by ZieZie”. Now that’s stupid! If you want proof, here you go: https://open.spotify.com/album/5mZIWWiqFQBEGlcdXfojVf?si=uLweMtHjQs6yQHA0Vg0T0Q.

Okay, so the T. Matthias remix isn’t too bad, it has a nice piano melody and it’s a pretty generic but decently-produced house track, with a deep, overbearing drop. The profanity is censored, as normal with EDM songs recently (think “Solo” and “FRIENDS”). Nothing more than what it is and nothing less.

The James Hype remix is more Caribbean-influenced with steel pans, but otherwise is basically the exact same as the Matthias remix for the first few seconds, until the pretty stiff synth melody and bassline kicks in, with some nice vocal chopping, even if it kind of sounds like it sampled Super Mario 64.

There’s another remix without a producer name that just adds a couple pretty decent rappers to the original track. It’s okay.

The ADP remix is also like that, except the guest rappers have much worse flows for the most part.

Now, the actual track – I do like the production here, with the cowbell(?) and typical dancehall production, except being oddly minimalistic with the clicks and pretty cool synth sample, hell, I even like ZieZie here, as he sings the catchy autotuned hook with a decent melody and fun ad-libs, as well as some pretty funny lyrics throughout. He references Chief Keef in the hook, even replicating his signature “bang bang” ad-lib, the fact that he’s proud in ignoring the woman’s body entirely for the fact that she has a nice butt, and how he just kind of uses a lot of nonsense words as metaphors (or just bluntly stating fact) in some lines, like “booty jiggle-jiggle like Jello” and “she wanna tick-tock if you got time” (which, also, despite the fact that it oddly references someone else having time free, unlike the other lines which refer to him having fun with this girl, actually makes sense, because throughout the hook, he’s recommending the girl to someone else). He also HEAVILY channels Fetty Wap, so it’s pretty fitting that in the bridge, he mentions his name and sings Fetty’s signature “yeah, baby” croon that he uses in songs like “679” and “$ave Dat Money”. Yes, he doesn’t only interpolate songs; he basically interpolates two artists’ whole discography, more than once, in the same song. The references to other trap artists and some filler lines are pretty lazy but I do like how he integrates not only Patois but French in an otherwise English song, while referencing African-American artists and the Congo, as well as making fun of British YouTube prankster Jack Jones crying after being hit by a slice of pizza... yeah, I don’t get it either. If anything, this is actually pretty culturally diverse, and catchy, so I don’t mind this and it’s probably the best dancehall song we’ve covered on this show.

#4 – “In My Feelings” – Drake featuring City Girls

Remember last week when I said I thought I’d be done with Drake? Well, lucky me.

Now, this song is hilariously awful. It’s not lazy like “Nonstop” or so-bad-it’s-good like “Ratchet Happy Birthday”, it’s just bloody pathetic and that kind of makes it enjoyable, if you’re into hearing Drake on the edge of insanity over a bunch of chopped samples and pretty bland R&B-trap production. The intro is kind of funny, too, as is the hook which is just him desperately moaning to other women, asking them if they love him and if they’re riding. There’s a few hand-claps in the singular verse too, that try to add any intensity to this, which kind of make it even worse because it proves that effort was put in, when it really doesn’t sound like it. City Girls have a short bridge before the absolutely-hellish breakdown, where Drake’s vocals are all over the place with samples from Magnolia Shawty being repeated and chopped to the point of sounding like a damn parrot, before it abruptly stops and we get treated to Lil Wayne joining the party with a lazy sample from “Lollipop”. The way Drake delivers everything is really funny in this song, especially how he says “TrapMoneyBenny”. It’s kind of like “Fake Love” in a way, everything is just so unintentionally joyful despite how horrible it is. There’s some extra percussion and a sample from an episode of Atlanta too? God, this is a mess.

Conclusion

What do you think? Seriously, you think I’m gonna give Best of the Week to that ZieZie guy? Hell, no, you can figure out who gets what pretty damn easily. See ya next week!

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