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harley-sunday · 3 years

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Encore [01]

Summary: The new Disney+ show ‘Encore’ brings together former castmates of a high school musical, tasking them with re-creating their original performance in a high school reunion like no other. Emotions run high as you face faded friendships, long-forgotten controversies, killer choreography, and an ex-boyfriend you haven’t seen in eighteen years.

Pairing: Chris Evans x reader [unnamed OFC, nicknamed ‘Ace’)

Warnings: None

Word count: 8.4k

AN: So, here it is, the re-write of Encore. For those of you who have read it when it was first published, there are some subtle changes in this first part, but the real fun doesn’t start until part 2, which will be online tomorrow. Hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think :)

Masterlist

Cursing quietly you set out in a jog, one hand holding your purse close to your body while the other is clutching the double espresso that made you late in the first place. You make a mental note to check if they’ve replaced the coffee machine in your hotel room when you get back tonight, because you really don't want to go on another early-morning Starbucks run tomorrow in case they haven’t.

Still, you’re parked relatively closeby and so it’s only a short run to the double doors which you all but burst through, coming to a sudden stop when there are two people in your way who look like they’ve been waiting for you. They introduce themselves as part of the crew and help you with your microphone, telling you to keep it on as much as possible and not to forget to hand it back at the end of every day. You only half listen because all of a sudden the familiarity of the place hits you and you’re surprised to see nothing has changed, not really anyway. It’s almost like time has stood still and the sense of melancholy that washes over you makes you a little weak in the knees.

There’s no time to reminisce any further though, because once your mic is in place they tell you everyone else is already here and waiting for you in the theater room, and so you’re off again, running towards the other end of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School for the first time in eighteen years.

You’re a little out of breath when you get there and want to allow yourself a moment to catch it again, maybe calm your nerves a little, but you know they’re waiting for you and so you take one last deep breath and open the door.

There’s a group of nine people on the stage who, like you, are the show’s main cast. They’re all talking to each other amicably and you wonder if they’ve kept in touch all these years. One by one they turn to you as you make your way towards the front and it does absolutely nothing to calm your nerves. Some of them look surprised to see you and you don’t blame them, because once you left Sudbury after graduating high school you had no intention of ever coming back and so you cut ties rather vigorously.

Two of the four cameras that are spread out across the room are now trained on you, but you try your hardest to act natural, because that’s what it said in the production brief they sent you last week, and so instead you try to focus on the people you haven’t seen for so long.

It’s Nicole Matthews who greets you first, running towards you as you walk on stage. She presses a kiss to your cheek before she gives you a hug, a quiet, “So glad you made it, babe,” whispered into your ear. You hang on to her just a little longer because now that you’re finally getting to hug your best friend again for the first time in eighteen years it’s hard to let go.

After Nicole you make your way down the line at a steady pace, greeting everyone with a hug, except for Michael Pratt who insists on doing the secret handshake he taught you during rehearsals all those years ago. You hand your coffee to John Ryan on your right, because unfortunately you’ll need both hands for this. It takes a little practice but then you remember the full routine and you can’t help but laugh when you nail it on your third try, earning you a wink from Johnny when he hands you your coffee back, “Still got it, huh kiddo?”

All too soon there’s only one person left to greet and you know all eyes are on you when you walk towards Chris, the talking from before quieting down to a hushed whisper. It’s fine. You get it. You would want to know what happens next too.

“Hi.”

He seems unsure what to do and after a second or two he pulls you in for a hug that’s a little awkward and might have not been such a good idea after all.

You give him a quick pat on the back before you pull back, and step to the left, trying to hide from view a little. There’s a whole range of emotions you’re going through right now and you’re not sure which one to settle one. If somehow you could walk out of here and just forget this ever happened, you probably would, even though you are sure Nicole would never let you.

It’s then three more people walk in and so everyone’s attention shifts to the newcomers before they have a chance to ask questions you don’t have any answers to.

The two men and one woman introduce themselves as the director, choreographer, and musical director for this project and tell you there’s a lot of work ahead of you, even though from tomorrow there will be some professionals to fill some of the minor roles and help with the choreography. They seem so unfazed about having a celebrity there that you can’t help but wonder if they got instructions from production or if they’re just used to working with well-known actors. You suppose, and hope, it’s the latter.

“So, Grease,” the director, Coy, comments with a smile when he hands the scripts to Nicole to pass down the line, “that was already a classic by the time you performed it.” He asks everyone to tell him who had which role in the original production, taking notes and nodding fervently when he hears who played who.

Coy looks up and smiles, “So, we have a lot to do, of course, if we’re gonna do a show in five days, but Grease doesn’t work unless you have fun. Unless you’re having fun, the show falls flat.” He looks to Adam, the musical director, “So today we’re gonna have a little bit of a singing session. That’ll let us know where you are, vocally.”

Adam has the group form a semi-circle and hands each of you a piece of paper with the lyrics of ‘I Want it that Way’ by the Backstreet Boys on them, because, as he reasons, it was one of the biggest hits the year you performed Grease and you all need to go back to that place in time.

Nicole starts, a little hesitant at first, but then she decides to go for it and it’s amazing and, like nineteen years ago, you are absolutely in awe of her voice. As more and more people sing their rendition of the song, you are actually surprised at the level of singers in the group and how serious everyone takes this. That is until Johnny and Michael decide to remake the song into a duet once it’s Johnny’s turn and their very serious facial expressions and interpretive dancing have you crying from laughter in no time.

Chris is up next and finally you get to take a good look at him. He’s wearing a dark blue sweater that stretches across the muscles in his arms and chest, paired with black jeans, and sneakers, and it suits him. His voice is soft but clear and you can’t help but wonder why he never did more musical theater. You’ve followed his career, of course you have, and you’re proud to see what he’s accomplished, because you know how hard he’s worked to get there.

It’s your turn then and instead of butterflies it feels like there’s a herd of elephants stomping around in your stomach. You step up anyway, because, with the exception of the three professionals, they’ve all heard you sing before. You haven’t sung in a long time, but you still know how to carry a tune, although you never really take any risks, and so if anything your rendition errs a little on the boring side. Still, you make it through the song without any real struggles and at the end Adam praises the group, saying he’s impressed at everyone’s vocal capabilities.

Coy looks up from his seat then, where he’s been taking more notes ever since Nicole started singing, and informs you that they have decided to honor the original casting.

And so here you are, once again playing the Rizzo to Chris’ Kenickie.

The rest of the day passes by in a blur of read-throughs, choreography, and more singing, and even though you know you’ll be dead-tired once you get back to your hotel tonight, you also can’t help but feel excited. You never pursued a career in acting or performing and so Grease was both your first and last venture out into the theater world, but God, did you like it.

You’re a little lost in thoughts, watching a scene you’re not in from the side of the stage, thinking back on your days as a theater kid, when Chris comes up beside you, “How you holding up?”

You know what he wants you to say, because this has been your spiel whenever you found each other in the wings, but you just can’t get the words out, there’s eighteen years worth of pain and heartache that needs to be dealt with first. Instead, you keep looking straight ahead at the scene in front of you, shaking your head ever so slightly to let him know, what, you’re not exactly sure.

He takes a step back and doesn’t say anything else until it’s his turn to enter the stage.

There’s no time to unravel what the hell just happened because Nicole comes off stage and joins you then, gently bumping her hips against yours, “You ok, babe? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“The ghost of my fifteen-year old self,” you mutter quietly. A little louder then, hoping she’ll let it go, “Don’t worry about it, Nic.”

“Well, at least no one’s gonna complain about the age difference between you two now,” she says with a grin, nodding towards the stage where Chris is going through his scene. She shakes her head, “God, I still can’t believe it was such an issue back then, only because he was, what? A year older?”

“Almost two,” you offer. You remember Mrs Linton pulling you aside to inform you there had been complaints about you being cast as Rizzo. She told you there were some people who were worried the age difference between you and Chris could be perceived as inappropriate, especially because you shared one very steamy makeout scene right before intermission, that went on for at least a few minutes. You were just a junior and so shocked to learn people had a problem with you that you offered to step down, but it turned out Mrs Linton was on your side, and she told you she’d kick your butt all the way back to second grade if you even so much as thought about letting them win.

You never found out who she meant by ‘them’ but you always thought Jessica Mullen, the girl playing Sandy, and Fiona Warren were behind all this. Jessica and Fiona were best friends, two of the most popular senior girls, and it was no secret Fiona had a huge crush on Chris back then. She also auditioned for the part of Rizzo, but Mrs Linton favored your approach to the character and so Fiona ended up being offered a role in the ensemble, which she declined with a temper-tantrum unprecedented by anything any two-year old has ever thrown.

Ultimately, as a compromise, Mrs Linton made you and Chris skip the makeout scene during rehearsals, which seemed to stop the protests somewhat. You've often wondered if she would have done things differently had she known Chris and you were already dating for two months by the time rehearsals started and so steamy make out sessions were part of your daily routine anyway. Then again, you always had the feeling she very much knew about your relationship and was just playing her part.

Nicole nudges you then, pulling you out of your memories, “It’s your cue, go!”

The producers thought it would be nice to have all of you go out to dinner after the first day back together, and so you find yourself at the Oak Barrel Tavern, sharing a table with Nicole, Johnny, Michael, Eric, and Chris, enjoying what everyone still considers to be the best burger in Sudbury. Funny how some things never change, you think, as you take a bite of your fries.

Except for you and Michael, the rest of the table all graduated in the same year and are already two beers deep into a play-by-play of the many senior stunts they pulled. You watch Chris as he animatedly tells the story of how he, Johnny, and Eric toilet papered the principal’s house the night before graduation. Two cameras circle your table and you are certain some part of this story will make it to air, because it’s too good not to. Johnny tries to chime in, but instead keeps letting out these roaring laughs whenever he remembers another detail of that night and you can’t help but smile at the familiarity of it all.

It’s strange, you think, how something as insignificant as performing a musical together made you form a bond with these people which even after nineteen years is still there. Sometimes you wonder if leaving Sudbury all those years ago really brought you the peace of mind you were looking for. Maybe you wouldn’t feel so restless now if you had just accepted that this would always be your hometown and this group of people would always be here. You realize then that there’s hardly been any catching up going on tonight and so you figure they must have all kept in touch in some way or another.

You and Eric get to talking then, during a lull in the conversation, and he easily admits that hadn’t it been for Chris he would have liked to asked you to go to Senior Prom with him, revealing that back then he had a major crush on you. Your cheeks heat up at his confession and you can’t help but glance at Chris, who quickly adverts his eyes when you do. Turning back to Eric you try to make a joke about how he should have, because at least then you would have had a date, but the moment the words leave your mouth the awkward silence that follows makes you wish you hadn’t said anything.

Chris throws you an angry look and Nicole just stares at you in disbelief, before coming to your rescue and telling everyone that it’s getting late and maybe it’s time to go home.

You throw her what you hope is a grateful smile and get up, following the rest of the group outside, where the same crew that fitted you with your mic this morning is waiting for you and so you hand everything back to them like they asked you to

With a wave and a, “Goodnight everyone,” you head towards your car, not completely surprised when Nicole catches up with you.

“What the hell was that?”

“I-” you shake your head, “I don’t know. It came out before I knew it.”

“Well,” she says as she puts her hand on your shoulder and kisses your cheek, “we’ll discuss it over dinner tomorrow night.”

“Can’t wait,” you answer, a hint of sarcasm in your voice even though you are in fact looking forward to it. “See you tomorrow, Nic.”

“Bye, babe,” she says as she opens her car door and lowers herself into her seat. You wait until she’s backed up out of her parking spot before you give her a little wave and continue on towards your car while you rummage through your purse to try and find the keys to your rental. You push the button needed to unlock the car and are about to open the door when you hear someone come up behind you. Of course. You let out a sigh, “I know what you’re gonna say-”

“You don’t,” he says, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans and his foot kicking at the loose gravel near your tire. He looks up at you, his voice much softer when he says, “I can’t believe it’s been eighteen years, Ace.”

Hearing him use his old nickname for you sends a shiver down your spine and you hate how it brings back an onslaught of memories. You don’t say anything, just look at him, wondering where he’ll go with this.

“Eighteen years is a long time.” He looks up at you, a sadness to his eyes that would make you a little weak in the knees had it not been for his next words, “Do you think that maybe it’s time to leave the past behind us? Maybe we could just start over?”

“We could just- Sorry, what?” You open your mouth to say more but find yourself at a momentary loss for words after what he’s suggested and so you stand there gaping like a stupid fish, which makes you even more angry. You shake your head and get in your car, “Goodnight, Chris.”

The drive to your hotel only takes a couple of minutes, which means you’re still pretty upset when you get to your room. Your purse ends up being flung into a corner somewhere before you make your way to the minibar and grab all four of the miniature bottles of whiskey that are in there, taking them out onto the balcony with you. Downing the first makes your throat burn in not an entirely unpleasant way, although it does nothing to relieve you of your anger.

Putting your feet up on the railing you lean back in your chair, head resting against the wall, and uncap the second tiny bottle. To hell with your good intentions of going to bed early, you think, knowing you won’t be able to sleep now anyway.

Today’s run to the theater room is almost a carbon copy of yesterday’s, down to the Starbucks cup in your hand because they didn’t replace the coffee maker in your room like they said they would and of course you forgot to check. The only difference is that you have a pounding headache and might just be a tad hungover. Oh well, there’s a first time for everything, you think as you make your way down to the stage once they've put your mic on.

Nicole eyes you suspiciously but doesn’t say anything, although you do see her glance in Chris’ direction not much later, the rest of the group just nodding and some of them mumbling a “Good morning,” to you. Chris keeps his distance, probably thinks you’re still mad at him, which, you know, you are. Sort of, anyway. It sounded so casual when he suggested leaving the past behind you, like none of what happened matters anymore. Then again, maybe it doesn’t. It’s all just very confusing and you guess that’s what annoys you most of all.

Adam steps onto the stage then and tells you his plans for today, wanting to go through the songs in order, with choreography, for now not bothering with the scenes in between. It’s the only thing you’ll do today, except for some wardrobe fittings after lunch, and so he warns you it’s going to be grueling and that you won’t get to stop until everyone’s at least ninety percent there. A few more people come on stage and are introduced as the extras, professional actors who will make up the ensemble and help with the choreography where needed.

Your headache-induced bad mood helps you pull off ‘Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee’ with an attitude your sixteen-year old self wishes she had and even ‘There Are Worse Things I Could Do’ goes as well as it could. But then ‘We Go Together’ has you paired up with Chris for the first time and it’s awkward, and stiff, and when Coy reminds you that Rizzo is no longer mad at Kenickie at this point, you just nod and try to put in some extra effort to make it seem like there’s nothing going on between you and Chris, wanting to get it over with.

Coy doesn’t comment on it any further, but pulls you and Chris aside at the end of the day, when the rest of the group is dismissed after what Kelly, the choreographer, deems "A great day of work."

Both you and Chris are sitting on the edge of the stage, Coy standing in front of you, looking from one to the other and back, almost as if he’s studying you. He waves his hand around then, “What am I missing here?”

You shrug and out of the corner of your eye you see Chris do the same. You can’t help but smile when you realize it’s still very much you two against the rest of the world, even now, even when you’re sort of fighting.

“Fine,” Coy says with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, “you don’t have to tell me. I’m just sensing some history here that I hope won’t get in the way of your performance.” He looks up at you, “Don’t let this become about you two, ok? There are eight other people who deserve this to be a good show. So whatever it is, work it out.” And then, before you have a chance to respond, he walks away, muttering something that sounds like, “High school drama, man.”

Next to you, Chris sighs and looks at you, “Maybe he has a point.”

“Hmm,” you shrug in a very non-committed kind of way. Your headache has reappeared, and you’re tired, and honestly, you just want to get back to your hotel room and take a quick nap.

Chris seems unfazed by your attitude, like he always was, “We really should talk about it.” He jumps down from the stage, “Why don’t you come over? We could get some takeout and, I don’t know,-’

“Chris,” you scoff.

“You rather do this here?” He raises his eyebrows and nods towards the camera on your left, which, no doubt, is still rolling.

“I’d rather not do this at all right now,” you mutter quietly, although you know it’s not fair. A little louder then, “I’m having dinner with Nicole tonight, so-"

He just nods, “Fine,” even though his jaw sets in a way that tells you it’s anything but.

“Come in, come in!” Nicole steps aside to let you pass and tells you to walk straight ahead to the kitchen, where you are greeted by the rest of her family. Her husband introduces himself as Keith and tells you it’s great to finally meet you, before he points at the two little boys sitting at the table, “That’s Leo, and the other hooligan’s Robby.”

“I’m five!” Leo exclaims proudly, holding up four fingers.

You chuckle, “That’s awesome!”

“The boys wanted you to sit in between them,” Nicole says from somewhere behind you, “hope you don’t mind?”

“Are you kidding me?” You wink at Robby, who looks at you expectantly, “Best seat in the house.”

Dinner is spent catching up with Nicole, or trying to anyway, because Leo and Robby keep interrupting, wanting to tell you about anything and everything they deem important enough to share. Which, as it turns out, is a lot. After dessert, Nicole asks Keith to take the kids into the living room, because, as she puts it, “Mama needs some peace and quiet,” and so you find yourself, glass of wine in hand, on the back porch not much later.

“You have a gorgeous family, Nic,” you tell her before you take a sip of your wine. “It’s really nice to finally get to meet them.”

“Thank you.” A mischievous smile then, “So. You wanna tell me what’s going on between you and Evans?”

Never one to beat around the bush, you think and laugh, “Nothing’s going on, Nic.”

“Uhu,” is all she says in reply, folding her arms in front of her chest as she keeps looking at you, one eyebrow raised for good measure.

You just shake your head but her looking at you like that makes you a little nervous and so, against better judgement you offer, “It’s complicated.”

“Uhu,”

“It is,” you reply, your voice suddenly an octave higher. You hesitate for a moment, but then you figure she knows most of it already anyway, and so you turn in your seat so you can face her, “You know I haven’t spoken to him since we broke up, Nic, and I don’t know it’s- It’s weird.”

She nods, encouraging you to go on.

You sigh and rub your temple, “Eighteen years is a long time, Nic.”

“It is,” she agrees, “but maybe it’s time to bury the hatchet and at least try to be friends?” Her eyes grow kinder then, “You were always so good together.”

“I don’t know, I mean- And I know I keep saying this,” you hold up your hand when she starts to protest, “but it’s been such a long time. So much has happened. And none of it we went through together, you know? Does that even make sense?” You shrug and shake your head, “I guess our history together is both a blessing and a curse at this point.”

“You need to get out of your head, kid,” she offers with a stern look. “You’re setting this up for failure before it has even started.”

“This?”

“Oh come on,” she shakes her head, “don’t tell me it never crossed your mind.” She sits up, “I’m going to ask you something and you need to swear on Bubbles’ life that you won’t give me some bullshit answer.”

“Nicole,” you gasp, hand to your heart in pretend shock, but laughing at the same time. “You want me to swear on Mrs Linton’s dead goldfish? That’s fu-” but then you hear the french doors open and see two little boys running towards and so you have to adjust quickly and throw her a look for good measure, “-funny. Super funny. Funny haha. You’re funny.”

Nicole lets out a laugh and throws you a wink before she holds out her arms and smothers her two boys in kisses once they jump onto her lap, “Goodnight my little rebels, I love you.”

A chorus of “I love you, mama,” makes you smile and you watch the boys run back inside where they give you a quick wave from behind the door before they disappear upstairs.

“So?” Nicole asks, as if nothing ever happened.

You glare at her, knowing she’ll never let it go, “Fine.”

“Would you have come back to Sudbury to do this show if it weren’t for Chris?”

You let your bottom lip roll between your teeth while you contemplate your reply, but of course you know the answer already. It wasn’t just for shits and giggles that you searched all the gossip sites for any information on his relationship status when you first agreed to do this. And so you shake your head, “No.”

“You know I told Keith I wasn’t sure you’d even come back, right?” Nicole shakes her head, “After all you’ve been through after you and Chris- You know-”

“Yeah,”

“I still have all your letters,” she confesses with a smile. “Every single one of them.”

“Nic-”

“It was my way of keeping you close,” she says and shrugs. She tries to act as if it’s no big deal, but her voice catches on the last word and when she tries to smile it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She clears her throat, “I’m just glad to have you back.”

They’ve replaced the coffee machine in your room while you were out yesterday and so there’s no running towards the theater room once you make it to Lincoln-Sudbury this morning. You walk through the hallways at a leisurely pace, enjoying how much everything still looks the same, down to the blue color of the lockers lining the wall.

You’re actually a little early and so you’re one of the first to arrive, only finding Johnny and Michael on stage. Michael insists you give the secret handshake another go and you can’t help but laugh when you nail it on the first try this time.

Johnny gently pats your back, “It’s really good to have you back, kid.” He runs a hand through his hair, letting it rest at the base of his neck and looking a little flustered, “We always wondered what happened to you, you know, after you and Chris broke up and you left Sudbury-”

“Thanks, Johnny,” you reply with a smile, “that means a lot.”

“But you’ve been good?” Michael asks.

You nod, “I am now. It’s good to be back.”

The door opens then and you see Chris and Jessica walk in together, Jessica telling him something that makes him laugh and all of a sudden you feel a pang of jealousy that you’re not necessarily proud of. You try to get back into the conversation with Michael and Johnny, but they’re talking about last night’s football game and so you just stand there, trying your hardest not to stare as Chris and Jessica step onto the stage. Before it can get awkward though, the rest of the group walks in and so all of a sudden there are nine people surrounding you and your attention is diverted elsewhere.

Nicole waves at you from the other side of the stage and you smile back at her, mouthing a, “Morning,” at her.

Coy, Adam, and Kelly walk in next, followed by the ensemble, and not much later you find yourself reciting your lines over and over again because Coy wants to do a complete runthrough of the show this afternoon to prepare for the two dress rehearsals planned for tomorrow.

You find Chris on the side of the stage in between scenes and stand beside him, not saying anything because you’re so nervous you don’t even trust your own voice right now. But, you promised Nicole you’d do this, promised her you would try to make things right, and so here you are, reaching for his hand, your finger’s brushing against his skin before you gently tap the inside of his wrist four times. Tap-tap-tap-tap.

Meet me after practice

It’s been nineteen years since either of you last used this shorthand, but he must remember what it means because he nods in reply.

You wait for him in what used to be your usual spot, all the way in the back of the parking lot where there’s a bench tucked away in the tree line. It’s been a while since you were dismissed by Coy and you worry he might not show up making your stomach turn.

Letting your eyes fall to the ground you distract yourself by trying to get your breathing under control, hoping it will help you calm your nerves. When you look up again you can’t help but smile, because there he is, walking towards you and looking just as nervous as you feel, “Hi,”

“Hey,”

“Listen, Chris-” you start, just as he says something that you don’t quite catch. He nods for you to go first and so you clear your throat and start again, “You were right. We should talk-”

“Come again?” He grins, “Did you just tell me I’m right, Ace?”

You stare at him, shaking your head, but there’s a smile playing on your lips because this is the best response you could have gotten and so you shrug, “I guess I did.”

“I guess you did,” he echoes. A little more serious then, “What do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know,” you reply, because honestly you didn’t think this far ahead, “maybe grab a bite to eat somewhere?”

He smiles apologetically, “I have somewhere I need to be tonight, but why don’t we do this tomorrow? That way we can both think things over a little and-”

“I’d like that,” you admit easily.

“You want to come over to my place or should I book a table somewhere?”

Biting your lip you weigh the pros and cons, quickly realizing you much rather have this conversation in the privacy of his home than somewhere in a restaurant and so you nod, “I’ll come over.” You give him your phone number and watch as he saves it in his phone, smiling when he puts you in as ‘Ace’.

He pockets his phone when he’s done, “So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah,” you nod. It’s a little awkward then and so you turn around, a quick wave over your shoulder to tell him goodbye.

You hear your name being called from somewhere behind you when you walk from your car to the entrance of the school and can’t help but smile when you see Nicole hurry to catch up with you. You kiss her cheek once she joins you, “Morning.”

“Hi, gorgeous,” she beams back, “you excited about today or what?”

“Dress rehearsal?” You shrug, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Uhu,”

You raise your eyebrows and look at her as you push the double door leading into the building open, unsure if she’s saying what you think she’s saying. You shake your head when she starts laughing, “How do you even know?”

“I didn’t,” she holds up her hands to let you know she’s telling the truth, “but I saw you in the parking lot together after practice yesterday and I just figured, you know, maybe you kept your word about wanting to work things out with him. And then you totally gave it away just now, so-”

“I hate you,” you mutter quietly as you pick up your pace.

“You love me,” she counters, easily catching up with you. “And you’re going to tell me exactly what you’ve got planned for tonight.”

Like he promised, Coy wants you to run through the entire show at least twice today, choreography, outfits changes and all, and so you take your place, not particularly looking forward to all the dancing. The first half of the show goes as well as it could, although Johnny keeps forgetting his lines, and Jessica takes too long whenever she has to do an outfit change, and ok, fine, you mess up the choreography more than you care to admit too.

When you finally get to the part right before intermission, where you and Chris have to make out for at least two minutes, Nicole is quick to inform Coy that you never rehearsed that scene when you first performed the show, and wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t do it this time around either? Coy seems interested as to why and so Nicole gives him an abridged version, and to your surprise he quickly agrees to skip the scene until the show tomorrow, because, as he reasons, it will add some drama.

A quick glance at Chris earns you a wink from him and you know he’s probably just as relieved as you are.

You find Nicole in the dressing room not much later, where she’s getting fitted for her Frenchy wig and when you walk up to her all you say is, “Thank you.”

She nods in response, “Of course.”

At the end of the day you’ve run through the show almost three times and Coy seems somewhat confident that you’ll manage to pull it off tomorrow. He has some kind words for everyone and tells you all to get a good night’s sleep and to meet back again here tomorrow afternoon at five, for a last dinner together.

Chris texts you his address after practice and tells you he’ll have dinner ready around seven, with a smiley face at the end that lets you know he’s just as nervous about this as you are. It’s funny how easily you can still read him after all these years, you think, as you connect your phone to its charger before you hop in the shower.

Your outfit of choice is simple and not too dressed up, but still nice enough for whatever this is. Definitely not a date, you think, but then again, maybe it is. You grab your phone and purse before you head out, nerves suddenly taking over and for a moment you wonder if you should just cancel. You’re going back to Philadelphia on Sunday anyway, so maybe it’s better to just leave things the way they are, you reason. You give yourself a very stern talking to then, because you can’t keep running away from this. You’ve been doing that for the past eighteen years and look where that’s gotten you. No, time to get some closure, you decide as you close your hotel room door behind you and head downstairs to your car.

You pull up to a heavy iron gate about fifteen minutes later, only the roof of his house visible from the road. Pushing the call button you tap your steering wheel to the beat of the song that’s playing on the radio until he answers with a kind, “Hi.”

“Hey,” you reply with a smile and watch as the gate opens in front of you. After about half a mile the house comes into full view and you let out a quiet, “Wow,” because it really is a beautiful farmhouse. You park your car next to his not much later and just as you step outside his front door opens and a dog comes running towards you.

“Dodger, sit,” Chris says from where he’s standing on the front porch and the dog does as it's told.

“Hi cutie,” you say as you walk up to the dog and scratch behind its ears, “hi.” It gives you a moment to take a deep breath, because you’re so nervous it feels like there are hundreds of butterflies fluttering around in your stomach right now.

Dodger runs back to Chris then and so you follow him, meeting Chris on the steps, where he holds out his arm and pulls you in for a side hug, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“Chris,” you protest quietly, although you don’t really want him to let go either.

“I know,” he whispers, “I know. I’m just glad you’re here.” He lets go then and motions for you to follow him inside. He leads you through the house to the kitchen, where the opened French doors reveal a large deck where a table has been set for two.

“Come on,” he says and walks outside where he pulls out a chair for you, “sit down. I’ll be right back.”

You watch him walk back into the kitchen, curious to find out what he’s up to but then Dodger sits down next to you and gently puts his paw on your knee to let you know he’d like some more scratches, thank you very much and so you don’t really see Chris come back with two glasses of champagne until he puts one down in front of you.

He sits down on the opposite side of the table before he raises his glass and smiles, “It’s good to have you back.”

“Yeah,” you reply, before you clink your glass against his and take a sip.

Dinner’s a little awkward, both of you not quite ready to stray away from the small talk and so you mostly just tell him what you’ve been up to these past eighteen years, albeit it a slightly abridged version. No need to tell him about how you’ve never really seemed to have been able to find your place in the world and still feel like an outsider everywhere you go just yet.

He tells you about his career, how much everything has changed once he agreed to play Captain America, and how he secretly would like to do more behind the camera from now on. Maybe step away from the spotlight a little because he still gets these bouts of anxiety and your heart goes out to him because you remember how much he struggled in high school.

To lighten the mood you tease him about doing this show because it seems so small in comparison to what he’s been doing, but he assures you he never even had to think about it when they asked him to take part.

“I’m guessing you were a little more hesitant?”

You nod, “I was.”

He doesn’t push it any further and you’re grateful for that.

You offer to help him clear the plates after he suggests to maybe move things inside because it’s getting colder. It takes two trips to the kitchen to clear the table and once again you compliment him on the amazing pasta dish he tells you he made from scratch. You believe him, only because you know his mother taught him well and you fondly remember her cooking.

He tells you to make yourself at home while he clears away the last things and so you find yourself in his living room, smiling when you see the wall filled with family pictures. Most of them are recent, but there’s one of him and his brother Scott that you know for a fact was taken at his parents’ house right before Chris’ Senior prom. You know this because you were the one that took it. And because you were his date.

“That was a good night,”

You look over your shoulder to see him walk towards you, holding a glass of whiskey in each hand, and can’t help but smile, “It was.”

He hands you one of the glasses and touches it with his then, “To all the good memories.”

“Chris-”

“I know,” he says, “but it wasn’t all bad, Ace.”

“No, it wasn’t,” you agree easily. “It was good, Chris, right up until the very end.”

“Yeah, about that-” He clears his throat before he speaks again, “I just want you to know that I’m sorry. For everything.”

You want to tell him that it’s ok, that it was no big deal, that maybe you overreacted at the time, but you guess you both know that’s not true and so you just say, “Thank you.”

He nods.

You take a sip of your drink then, relishing in the way it burns your throat, as a welcome distraction to the tears that have started to form in your eyes. You let your gaze drift back to the same picture when you say, “I wish you would have just told me.”

He lowers his head, “I know.”

“That’s what hurt me the most,” you swallow back a fresh set of tears. “Because it wasn’t so much that you couldn’t make it to my Senior prom, I mean, I understood working on your first movie was more important at the time but- To find out you were at some random B-list celebrity’s party- And not because you told me, but because someone shoved a magazine with your picture in it under my nose-” you shake your head trying to rid yourself of the memories, but failing -”draped over some girl.” You lift your glass and put it to your lips, fully intending to finish whatever’s left in one go.

He starts to say something but you hold up one finger to let him know you’re not done yet. A tear rolls down your cheek and you’re not sure if it’s because of the whiskey or because of everything else, but it doesn’t really matter anyway. There’s something you have to admit, “Maybe I should have reacted differently, or at least given you a chance to explain, but I-” a sob escapes you then, “I was so angry. So hurt. For me breaking up right then and there was the only thing that made sense.” Another tear spills over but you don’t even try to wipe it away, knowing more will follow soon. Instead you let out a humourless laugh, “But then suddenly every single thing in Sudbury reminded me of you and every memory was like a knife to the heart, and so I had to- I just had to leave.”

He nods and from the corner of your eye you see him run a hand through his hair.

“Turns out it hurt all the same no matter where I was,” you continue softly, “but it took me years to figure that out.” You clear your throat, trying to find the right words. Yes, it still hurts, but maybe it’s time to let the past be the past. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry too, Chris. I should have-”

“Don’t,” he says, his voice kind. “There are a lot of things we both could have done differently, but we were still so young and, I don’t know, I think we both did what we thought was best. We can’t change what happened,” he turns towards you, “and I don’t want to make excuses for what I did, because,” he clears his throat, “it would be far too little, far too late.” He lowers his eyes, “All I know is that it’s been eighteen years and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of you.”

“Chris-”

He looks back up at you and smiles, “It’s my turn now, Ace.” A hand on your arm then, his touch soft and a gentle squeeze to let you know what he’s going to say next is important, “I know there’s still a lot left unsaid, but we’ll get there, eventually. And this might sound crazy, and I’m not saying we should forget what happened but, I don’t know, maybe we could try to start over and just see where it leads us. What do we have to lose?”

You let the weight of his words sink in, wondering if you are able to just forgive and forget this easily. It’s then you remember admitting to Nicole that you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Chris and the possibility to get some closure and so you agree with a quiet, “I’d like that.”

He seems a little unsure of himself then, so you put down your glass and take his hands in yours, draping them over your shoulders before you wrap your arms around his waist. He holds you tight, presses a soft kiss to your temple that feels maybe like the most intimate thing he’s ever done, and quietly whispers, “I’ve missed you, Ace.”

He offers you his guest bedroom after another round of whiskey and some smalltalk, because somehow you’re both still hesitant to open up completely. It’s ok, you tell yourself, you’ll get there eventually and there’s no need to rush. You find yourself in the ensuite bathroom not much later, putting on one of his Patriots shirts to act as your pyjamas for the night. It’s all a bit surreal and you’re grateful you’re on the opposite side of the house, because it would be too weird otherwise, even though you know that doesn’t really make sense either.

Sleep comes surprisingly easy once you’re under the covers and so the next thing you know there’s a knock on your door and for a moment you’re confused because this isn’t your hotel room. You hear his familiar chuckle on the other side then before he lets you know breakfast is ready if you’re up for it and it’s then you remember where you are.

You take a quick shower before you make your way to the kitchen where you find him leaning against the counter top, enjoying a cup of coffee, Dodger at his feet. He pushes a full cup towards you and smiles at you from over his, “Morning.”

“Morning,”

“Sleep well?”

“I did, yeah,” you admit, even though it still surprises you. You pick up the steaming hot cup and wrap your hands around it, the smell of freshly brewed coffee waking you up even more.

He motions to the kitchen island where there’s a plate of pastries, “I got you some Danish,” he almost looks embarrassed then, running a hand through his hair, “you used to like those, right?”

“I did.” You’re quick to correct yourself, “I do. Thank you.”

“You got any plans for today?”

You shrug, “Not really, maybe drive around a bit to do some sightseeing, you know, see how much has changed over the years.” You grab a pastry then and immediately Dodger’s attention shifts from Chris to you.

“No,” Chris warns him and Dodger’s quick to lie down again. “Good boy.” He looks back at you, “Until when are you here?”

You’ve just taken a bite and so it takes a while before you answer, “I’m flying back on Sunday.”

“To?”

“To Philadelphia.”

He nods appreciatively, “That’s not too far.”

You spend a few hours driving around the area, thankful that he didn’t ask if he could come. You guess you both needed some time alone.

The trip down memory lane is nice, but after a few stops you don’t really know where else to go and so you drive back to your hotel, where you have a few hours left until you need to get ready. You kick off your shoes once you’re inside your room and sit down on the tiny balcony before you fish your phone out of your back pocket and call Nicole, who picks up on the first ring.

“Tell me everything!”

“Hi Nicole, how are you,” you mock, but can’t help but laugh. “Lovely weather today, isn’t it? Are you excited for tonight?”

“I hate you,”

“No, you don’t.”

“No, I don’t,” she agrees, “but you better start talking, babe, or else.”

And so you do. You tell her about dinner, about the talk you and Chris had after, about how you spent the night, laughing when you hear her curse quietly after you’ve told her nothing happened, and how you and Chris agreed to start over.

“Oh honey,” is all she says, but you know exactly what she means.

#Chris Evans x reader #Chris Evans fanfic #Harley Sunday x Chris Evans #Chris Evans #Encore

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shapa-likes-art · 3 years

Text

Chapter one: Now or never

Warnings: death of major characters, food/battery poisoning (it's unclear). Tell me to put more warnings if needed.

Pairings: Eventual Prinxiety and Intrulogical

Summary: upcoming band, sunset curve, are about to make their debut at the orpheum when a serious tragedy occurs on the night of their performance. (Set in 1995)

A/n: here is my crappy writing bringing to you my Julie and the Phantoms au- er, Roman and Phantoms in this case? Haha, sorry! Besides that, there is are going to be links right before a performance/singing scene and it's highly recommended that you give it a listen before continuing on!

First | Next

Taglist: @that-peach-anon @thunderholtz @anxious-chaos-art @arcticfrostdoesthings @cirishere

It was a loud and busy night in sunset boulevard, there were crowds of people lined up right outside the orpheum, a line that was so long that it almost surpassed the width of the building. There was excited chatter amongst people- fans of the band that had yet to play in the building.

Up on the Marquee read: Sunset Curve - Sold out.

The sound of a distant guitar riff from inside the building seemed to rile up the excitement in the crowd.

(Listen to the song before proceeding)

There were three clacks of drumsticks hitting, "One! Two! Three!"

"Take off, Last stop! Countdown till' we blast open the top!"

A man in his late teens with purple-dyed tips and ripped jeans sung with a playful smirk. he seemed to be the lead singer of the band Sunset curve.

"Face first! full charge! Electric hammer to the heart-"

He looked in his element, effortlessly playing the guitar while singing. Three other voices joined the lead in harmony.

"Clocks move faster 'cause it's all we're after now, oh"

The lead looked over to a guy with a baby blue leather jacket a bass and he cocked his head to the side as if to say 'come over'. The bassist jumped over and sung in the same mic.

"Won't stop climbing, 'cause this is our time! yeah!"

The singer pushed him away playfully and the bassist went back to his own mic. They quickly moved to the prechorus

"When all the days felt black and white, Those were the best shades of my life!"

The singer belted with a grin, swiftly moving to the chorus, the other band members joining in every shout

"Don't look down!"

" 'Cause we're still rising-"

" Up right now!"

"And even if we-"

"Hit the ground!"

"We'll still fly- Keep dreaming like we'll live forever But live it like it's now or never!"

The singer turned away from the mic and to the drummer as if passing it off to him with a shine in his eyes and an almost never-gone grin.

"We ain't searching for tomorrow," The drummer sung, "Tomorrow" The bassist repeated

" 'Cause we got all we need today," "Today!"

The lead took over momentarily

"Living on a feeling that's been running through our veins,"

The bassist smirked as he took in a deep breath, running his and through his hair,

"We're the revolution that's been singing in the rain"

Each band members stopped playing their instruments, clapping and clacking their sticks together to a beat as they repeated the start of the chorus

"Don't look down! 'cause we're still rising up right- now!"

They picked their instruments back up, a fire and smoke effect errupted around them as they played their instruments once again and delved into the final chorus

"And even if we hit the ground we'll still fly- Keep dreaming like we'll live forever but live it like it's now or never!"

There were more effects blowing around and lights shining on them as they harmonized at final part of the song

"It's now or never!" "Now or never"

Both guitarists and the bassist turned to the drummer as they strummed their last chords. They panted, catching their breaths as sweat fell down their faces and yet they had wide grins. They soon turned around and did their bows.

There was applause and cheers from the orpheum employees as the band members stood straight, "Whoo! Excellent!" A Girl cheered from the table she was wiping down, clapping alongside the employees,

The bassist chuckled, it sounded bubbly and sweet, and grabbed the mic, "Thank you, we're sunset curve," he said with a small wave before turning to the other bands members, who were immediately going on about that performance as the put away their instruments.

The lead and the second guitarist bumped their fists together with a smile, "Too bad we wasted that om a sound check," the second guitarist said, "that was the tightest we've ever played!"

The lead singer just smiled as he turned to the empty spot where the crowd would have been, "Just wait until tonight, when this place is packed with record execs," he said, his eyes lighting up at the mere thought. It was almost hard to believe and yet there they stood on the stage.

"Logan, you were smoking!" The bassist said to the drummer- Logan- who just huffed, pulling out his glasses from his shirt and sliding them back onto his face

"I oppose that, Pat, I was just warming up... In fact, you guys were the ones on fire," he said with a small smile and a faint blush on his light brown skin.

The bassist- Pat- pouted, "Aw, c'mon, lo! Can you, just this once, own up to your awesomeness? Hm?" He huffed, grabbing a few of their t-shirts and CD cases. The lead, who had been listening in, looked at Logan with a knowing smirk and an eyebrow raised.

Logan relented, biting his lip as he looked to his band members, "Fine, I was... 'Killing' it," he said, offering a small smile.

The lead smiled and went to lightly tap Logan's Shoulder, "ok, well, I'm thinking that we fuel up before the show," he took in a deep breath, "I'm thinking street dogs?" He suggested

Logan and Pat made sounds of affirmation. It had been a pretty high-energy performance, so having some hotdogs wasn't such a bad idea. At the time.

A female employee watched with a fond smile as she wiped down a table, and it seemed that she had captured the second guitarist's attention and interest

He went to walk off the stage and approach her.

"Hey Toby-" the lead saw him jump off the ledge of the stage and followed after, "Where you going?" He asked, the other two members right behind.

Toby turned to them, "I'm good," he said waving his hand dismissively and turned to the girl, smiling as he leaned against the table she was wiping.

"Vegetarian. Could never hurt an animal," he said, as if explaining. The others stood next to him, the three of them holding unimpressed and fond looks, seeming that they knew it was a lie.

"You guys are really good," she said with an impressed look on her face, a small spanish accent to her as she spoke. She had tan skin, shoulder-length voluminous curly hair, and a sleeveless sequin shirt.

"Thank you," pat chirped, resting his arm on Logan's Shoulder, to which said man didn't mind.

"I see a lot of bands," she continued, "Been in a few, myself," she smiled, "I was really feeling it,"

The lead smiled, "Well, uh, that's what we do this for," he said with a small awkward laugh before realizing something: "I- uh, I'm Virgil, by the way," he introduced then gesturing to Pat.

"Hi, I'm Patton,"

"Logan,"

"Toby,"

"Nice meeting you guys," she said with a curt nod, "I'm Rose,"

Patton seemed to perk up, "Oh! Uh-" he held out a CD, "Here's our demo," he said, sliding it over to her, then grabbing a T-shirt, "and a T-shirt, size: beautiful," he said with a grin. Logan groaned at that. Patton had the tendency to flirt as a joke and not meaning any of it.

Rose just smiled, talking the T-shirt, unfolding it and holding it up to he body, looking down at the design, before looking to the band, "Thanks," she said with a smile. She went to fold it in half and put it on her shoulder, looking to the table, "I'll make sure not to wipe tables down with this one," she said a little awkwardly.

"Oh, good decision," Logan said with a nod, "whenever they get wet, they tend to- uh, fall apart in your hands," he provided with a small smile.

Toby huffed, "Don't you guys have to get hot dogs?" He asked.

Virgil just smirked, "Yeah," he said then leaning close to Rose, "He had a hamburger for lunch," he said, cocking his head to Toby's direction before going to push himself away from the table and walk towards the exit, leaving an exasperated and disappointed Toby alone with Rose.

Virgil, Logan, and Patton grabbed their jackets before they went, shrugging them on as they went out the backstage exit.

Virgil hummed looking around, rolling on the balls of his feet "That's what I'm talking about," He said with an almost giddy shine to his eyes

"The smell of sunset boulevard?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow, readjusting his ripped denim jacket.

Virgil rolled his eyes and lightly punched Logan's arm, "No, smartass," he said with a small laugh, "It's what that girl said back there-" he said, walking in front of the others and kicking a puddle in his adrenaline-induced happiness.

"-about out music Alright?" He turned to look to the others, making a vague gesture with his hands, "It- It's like an energy," he said, slowing down a bit and walking beside them with a hum.

"It connects us with people- they can feel us when we play," Virgil hummed, walking behind them then hooking his arms around their shoulders, "I want that with everybody tonight,"

"Well then, we'll need a lot more shirts," Patton said, looking to the two ones in his hands. Virgil could help but let out a small laugh at that, "C'mon, let's go," he said.

They walked by a line of people- the people lined up for their show. Patton noticed two girls who were excitedly talking to each other and he went to diverge from the other two.

"Ladies," he smiled, giving them the last two shirts he had on hands before going back to the other two.

The two girls seemed confused, unfurling the shirt. Their eyes lit up as they realized who gave them the shirts

"Patton, wait!" One of them shouted, "oh my God, Patton!" The other one shouted. They both jumped in excitement, "oh my God, hi! It's me!"

As they walked away, they felt a little bit of pride bloom inside. They saw just how long the line was and it blew their minds. So many people lined up to see them and hear them play. This truly was a night none of them would ever forget.

They soon found a hotdog spot in an alleyway about a street down from the orpheum. They quickly got their hotdogs and went to putting on their toppings and condiments

Logan grimaced as he looked to where the condiments were stored- the trunk of a car along with a car battery.

"Virgil, there should be better places in Hollywood than this," he huffed, going to reach for the tongs to grab his topping of choice

Virgil didn't exactly look that crazed about it Either but he shrugged, "It's the closest spot to the orpheum and we cannot- for the life of us and our future- miss this gig,"

Logan just took on a deep breath, going to take a pickle to put on his hotdog, a slice slipped through the tongs and fell on the battery's cables. Great, just great, "I can't wait to eat someplace where the condiments aren't served in the back of an Oldsmobile," he grumbled.

Virgil just huffed and leaned against the trunk, waiting for Logan. This was going to be the one and only time they're eating at this spot. After tonight, they'll eat anywhere they want.

Logan finished with assembling his hotdog and turned to the vendor who was grilling hotdogs and patties, "Excuse me, uh... I got some pickle juice on your battery cables. Sorry," he said.

"No problem, it'll help with the rust," the vendor responded, giving Logan a pat on the back and a laugh

Logan looked dumbfounded, "That can't-" the vendor only chuckled and turned back to grilling. Logan looked to Virgil, who cocked his head over to a couch.

"Ok.." Logan sighed as he shook his head, defeated.

Patton let out a small sigh and he plopped on to the couch, followed by Virgil then Logan, they all leaned against the ratty and patched-up couch that was in the "dining area" of this pop-up shop.

Virgil hummed as he looked up to the sky, a small smile appearing on his face. Tonight was the biggest night ever and he could barely believe it, "This is awesome, you guys," he said, looking to his friends. "We are playing the freaking orpheum- I can't even count how many bands have played here and then ended up being huge!" He exclaimed

Patton chuckled lightly and smiled wide while Logan tried to suppress one. Virgil let out a small laugh of disbelief, "We are going to be legends," he smiled. He looked to the hotdog in his hands and lifted it up.

"Eat up, Boys," he said, the other two lifting their dogs as well, " 'Cause after Tonight... Everything changes,"

They all brought their dogs together as if a toast and bit in. As soon as Logan bit down, he tasted something metallic and ashy, "That's an odd flavor," he mumbled. Something felt very wrong.

"I'm sure It'll be fine," Patton mumbled. There was sudden sense of dread, "street dogs haven't killed us yet," he tried to joke.

They looked to the sandwich in their hands and reluctantly took another bite.

Only a few moments later, the siren of an ambulance wailed, driving towards sunset boulevard.

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eerythingisshaka · 3 years

Text

Ficmas Day #2 “A Chris Gets His Wings”

[Chris Evans x Reader]

Word Count: 1.6K

“Reena! Pick up your phone! I already texted you and I know you seen my messages!” You hang up the phone as your friend Dez shivers next to you, rattling her sheet music.

“Maybe we should just call it a night. Caroling this year will just have to be a bust.”

“But we always do caroling! Why should this year be any different?” You enthusiastically wave your hands for emphasis but lose a sheet or two in the process.

“Dammit!”

“Come on, we can still hang at my place and warm up with some cocoa and try another night. We have like two more weeks before Christmas,” Dez offers.

You straighten up, adjusting your knit cap over your head. “I know but this is our night. We can’t always reserve this spot in the park with the piano. It’s too high in demand and she is our pianist!”

Dez shakes her head. “I don’t know what else to do, but let me think about it in a warmer environment. I’ll be in my car, you are welcome to join when feeling comes back to your brain.”

“Love you like an ingrown too, queen,” you remark as she heads for the parking lot.

You stand alone on the brick pavement under a gazebo trimmed with white lights in a place called Angel Park. The black piano that sits silent is so worn from weather and graffiti, it’s hard to believe any beauty can come from it. A slight hitch of panic pulls you to its keys, walking your fingertips over the cold white bars as the random notes play out loud.

You stop, satisfied with what you’ve heard that it is indeed a functioning piano but what can you do without a player? You and Dez could try to sing it a capella, but your vision of caroling is complete only with a piano at the helm of it all. That’s what will pull people in, otherwise you are just two random people singing, not carolers.

You sigh, feeling the cold hit your toes, you walk around a bit and work some heat back to them. You feel your phone vibrate and get excited, checking for the sender

Dez You heard from Reena yet?

You No

Dez It’s still warm in here if you wanna wait in my car

You No, I’ll wait like ten more minutes

You put your phone back in your coat pocket and look mindlessly at your sheet music. Rudolph, Christmas Song, Frosty; you know them all by heart but caroling without sheet music seemed to not fit your image of Christmas either. You imagine about five people standing ear muff to ear muff, taking a deep breath together as their eyes study the paper in front of them, watching the slight bob of their head or tap of their fot to keep time and joyfully sing about the Christmas season.

You, unfortunately, stand solo outside of an empty gazebo as passersby walk on without a glance in your direction. As you look up at the sky, barely able to make out a star, you hear a few notes coming from the piano. You turn to see a stranger in a turtleneck and peacoat working the keys over creating a random tune that fills the air warmly.

You walk up to him in a huff. “Excuse me, sorry, but this is my time to be at the piano. I already reserved it with parks and rec.”

He looks up at you, white breath coming from his lips. “Is that so? Well,” he stops playing. “Let me not hold you back.”

You shift your weight back and forth, looking at your feet. “Thanks.”

A few seconds pass between you both as neither of you moves on.

“So… are you planning to play during your reserved parks and rec session?” he asks.

You clear your throat to hide your embarrassment. “I didn’t say that I am playing necessarily. I just reserved it for...music.”

His eyes go wide as he knocks his head back for an animated nod. “Sure thing, just usually people who want to take time with a musical instrument for music, they plan to play said instrument, though is it just nice to look at. Check this writing here: FOR A GOOD TIME CALL 816-5…”

“Ok! I made plans with some friends to carol and it just fell through, from the looks of things.” You pull out our phone and check for any missed messages: none yet.

He plants a hand to his chest in awe. “Caroling! Oh! I love caroling! Some say caroling at Christmas time is the one chance you get to catch an angel having a good time on earth instead of you know, doing God’s work, so to speak.”

“Well that may be, but ain’t no angels coming for me tonight it seems. Look, I think I’m going to head-”

“How about I teach you a chord or two? Make this time worth a little something, right?”

Your mouth moves as your thoughts move quicker than you can say them. “What’s your name?”

“Chris! Like Christ, without the cross. Get it?” He smiles with a chuckle that makes you smile mildly for the first time all night.

“Cute. Well...it couldn’t hurt. It’s the Christmas season after all!”

You round the piano to join Chris on the bench, rubbing your hands together fervently.

“Ok, so how about we start with Jingle Bells? Make it simple and sweet. Start here, then here….”

You study his fingers as they push down one key after another, trying to remember the pattern.

“...so it just follows that same pattern basically the whole way.”

“So I can just like Chopsticks this?” you ask, trying out the keys for yourself.

“Yeah! I swear I don’t mean to dumb it down by the way, just for time purposes…”

You wave him off, smiling at him genuinely. “No! You’re being so nice, I’ll take whatever lesson you’re giving. I’m a singer first off anyway.”

“So that’s your instrument! Well we will be quite the pair. I’ll play with you but give me a bit of vocal too while you’re at it.”

You giggle with excitement, no longer bothered by the cold as you both share a space on the bench and prepare to jam. Chris starts off the chords as you do your mini part, stumbling here and there but thankful Chris is carrying the melody all the way.

As you sing, a couple of people notice, smiling at the two of you and quietly bobbing to the jingle. When the last line is sung, you both are welcomed with a round of applause, which Chris joins in for you.

“Oh please! Clap for you!” you exclaim, coming to a standing as he holds his heart gratefully.

“Thank you! Do you have time for one more?” Chris asks.

You check the time on your phone. “Maybe? It depends how soon someone might need the space.”

Chris brushes your worry off. “Ahh come on! One song and it’s quitting time. Park it here!”

You scoff at his demand but follow nonetheless. Sliding next to him, your hip touches his, making you jump. He doesn’t seem bothered but you give an inch just in case, noticing his gorgeous eyelashes for the first time.

“‘Baby It’s Cold Outside?’” he asks, looking to you to confirm.

“Well I’d say it is.” you respond, laughing into your chest at your own quip.

Chris gives a warm snicker as well. “That it is, baby. But can you sing it?”

“Sing yes. Play? Not even close.”

“Well here’s what we’ll do. I’ll play this time, and you just handle the lady part of the duet, I got the guy to help you out.”

You think about this a moment. “Ooh, know what could be fun? I’ll do the guy part, you the lady.”

Chris stretches his face in understanding. “ I got it, let’s do it!”

Chris starts off the song, “I really can’t stay…”

“Baby, it’s cold outside!”

“I’ve got to go away!”

“But baby it’s cold outside!” You give him a puppy dog look that almost makes him break as his face reddens. You get up from the bench and a bit more flare to your dramatics as you move around the gazebo, maintaining the chemistry with Chris as he gets into the show too. The crowd has tripled in size around you both as the song builds to its final big note, clapping in rhythm as the attention is fixated on you stepping out to sing the last line.

“OUT! SIDE!” You give a bow as the crowd erupts. When you come to stand, Dez is in front of you.

“Girl, I wondered why you hadn’t picked up your phone. I called you a couple times, I thought someone snatched you up!”

The crowd begins to dissipate as you catch your breath. You put a hand to her shoulder, taking off your knit cap to fan yourself a little. “No issue here! I was just with a friend-” You turn back to point at the empty bench. Looking around, there’s no sign of Chris anywhere.

“Reena said she overslept so she has to make it up to you on the caroling, but you said ten minutes and you know me, once it has hit 11 minutes I am coming for you.”

You put your hat back on, and walk out to where the crowd was. “He was just here…”

“Girl, everyone was here. I can’t believe you did a solo and didn’t text me to see it. That’s brave of you regardless. Come tell me about it on the way to the car.”

You whip around to meet your eyes with Dez. “You swear you didn’t see a guy at the piano?”

“Child, the piano was empty as ever when I came up. I didn’t catch what you sang, I just saw the crowd clapping and found you. He wasn’t a creep was he?”

You shake your head. “No he was really fucking great. Just came to have a good time I guess.”

#shakafic #ficmas #chris evans x reader

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sole-cuore-amore-e-droga · 3 years

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Italy brings the rock’n’roll youth of tomorrow to Rotterdam 2021

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It’s the final day of doing my yet again botched attempt at a review series and I’ve been dying to post my gigantic write-up for my newly beloved Italy, at the top of the bookies, darling of all hearts, ready to rock Eurovision, and even more! Vai vai~

ARTIST & ENTRY INFO

Representing them this year is Måneskin, a band made up of four - singer and possibly the hottest motherfucker to grace the planet Earth Damiano, guitarist Thomas, drummer Ethan, and the cherry on top - bassist Victoria, whose half-Danish heritage is the reason Måneskin is called Måneskin (= Moonshine). They thought of this name at a “battle of the bands” that they won, thinking they might as well change it to something different, but in the end... say it with me now

They have known each other since highschool, made a band in 2016, won the “battle of the bands”, started out making a living as buskers in the streets of Rome, from which they gradually grew through playing small gigs, and later tried out for X Factor Italia season 11, on which they came 2nd.

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They went on to release an EP titled after their debut single of the name of the song above, including some of their X Factor covers, and later on got to get big through releasing an album, getting it certified all kinds of goodnesses, having singles from that album be popular, even releasing a documentary of themselves... they’ve done so much in life and they’re only 20-22 years old... aw man, the life is just ahead of them, for them to be so young and win Sanremo on their first try. (And I’ve always wanted them for Eurovision ever since I was aware of their existence, because their music is very nice, and they just feel like charming human beings. So imagine my joy seeing them announced for Sanremo 2021? And them WINNING months later??? man what kind of luck do I have even if just for a year lmao <333)

“Zitti e buoni”, the last song title alphabetically this year, is purely of the band’s making, and the lyrics are talking about not abiding the rules in general, how they’re out of their minds but they’re not like “them”, and how people talk but don’t know what they’re talking at all.

REVIEW

IT’S A PRETTY CRAZY GOOD ROCK SONG AMEN HALLELUJAH OPRAH WOOOOOOO

wbk I love it. Yeah sure it might be composited of something that sounds like standard rock riffs and what not, but it’s the ENERGY that goes into it that gets me more excited for this than for Finland, a fellow rock song of this year’s final.

Damiano’s vocals have the specific kind of rockstar tinge to them, and they’re very complimenting to the song. The way he says everything is beautiful, the “e buonasera signore e signori” line in particular is just a moment that shows the beginning of power somehow, I don’t know. The chorus is great, eventhough it’s just one line repeated but it changes the pronoun each time (going from “I’m out of my mind” to “you’re out of your mind” to “we’re out of my mind”) - MAGICAL.

And the bridge. YES, the bridge. Along with the outro it’s the best part of the song. The chord progression. The lines repeated on that bridge. The emotions going on. The delivery of the lines of the emotion. It’s a convincing little bridge, to the point that it sounds just as great with violins! Wish they brought one, because according to Love Love Peace Peace, nothing screams winner quite like a violin.

God damn to the Måneskinsters pump this song up to the maximum. It was originally a ballad song, and I think that’s for the better for them to present it as a rock song, because a Sanremo ballad in a pool of Sanremo ballads... unless it stands out according to demoscopic & press juries, and there seems to be a no better option at hand that could make them stand out other than just sending a classy ballad, it just fizzles out in a spectacularly lame fashion. Måneskin’s one real shot through was with a song that would make them stand out, and they did it, and they’re here.

Everyone has put in their work, their passion, their skills into this, and it shows off in spades. Måneskin themselves are fantastic and chill human beings, who too, just like Flo Rida, get to enjoy how crazy amazing Eurovision experience is. And for that I salute them with my whole heart. Whatever they do tonight on Eurovision, they’ll leave a lasting mark in it. And for a good reason.

Also an Italian Eurovision edit that doesn’t suck, once again, yay! (In their defense, they didn’t have a whole lot to work with, so they released theirs early - just a few trimmings here and there, and a lyric change so that they skate by EBU easier with their anti-swearing policies. Gahddamn swearing~)

Approval factor: FUCK YES Follow-up factor: The funny thing about this is that last year their entry is about making noise but the song was a love ballad, this year it’s a song titled “shut up and behave” while dressed in a loudest motherfucking musical setting lol. Fuck the rules! It was solely on the Sanremo’s last year’s winner Diodato not to send an entry he thought that would fit for Sanremo, and that’s good on him - he can return next year replenished as all hell, and maybe aim for the trophy again? wishful thinking? aaaa. Anyway on a personal scale “Zitti e buoni” is a marvelous follow-up from “Fai rumore”, even if skipping 2020 entirely, especially after “Soldi”, which was already a fab follow-up after “Non mi avete fatto niente”, and even from “Occidentali’s Karma” on. And so it is subjectively a good follow-up. Italy SLAYS. AQ factor: As I write this, the odds are very much in their favour, if not a little bit too persuaded over the fact that Måneskin gave a good rock performance and knew what they would be doing, or it’s just that the Italians like overbetting for their acts way too damn much. But nevertheless, I just wanna hope for them to break the expectations people set on rock songs in Eurovision and SMASH themselves a victory. Or a top 2. Or a top 5-10. Anything will do, goddamn.

NF CORNER

Well, I promised that I will talk about Sanremo in a NF corner, because this is the first year I actually cared to watch it myself, unlike when I would’ve sided with someone whose reviewing style I love in not caring to watch it, and usually just check all the songs on the last day lol.

One thing about Sanremo that I sorely underestimate is that a handful of artists on there can come across as very versatile, and the one song you loved of one genre they presented several years ago, can be completely different and leave you baffled for days if you’re not very familiarized with their discography and the Italian music scene in general. Which now I’m going to pay an extreme amount of attention towards following Sanremo 2022 on out because hot damn did I never see gems like Willie Peyote coming!

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Did I call him a gem over his entry? Yes, somehow. Am I even sure if I’m being serious?

I think I can somewhat agree when I say that for the international fam watching Sanremo at least, “Mai dire mai (La locura)” was a major expectation destroyer, at least for the crowd whose main lookouts in a lineup like this years were Ermal Meta, Annalisa, Arisa, etc. You know they’re gonna bring a ballad, and their ballads are usually decent, but what about the unexpected? That’s where a handful of acts, including Willie, comes in for me. The bass hooks in the second the song starts. The beat is minimalistic but strong enough to slap. The steady rap flow is mesmerizing, paired with that somewhat specifically Italian(?) vocal timbre. The chorus is greatly catchy, and it is a sung chorus, with this song still being largely a rap song. The electric-esque guitar soundwaves interspersed throughout the song are magnificent and magical, and on the chorus they even make a constant melody riff that repeats and may get annoying on multiple listens, but I still adore them. I really love the bridge as well and all that goes into it. A fantastic surprise of the season for me personally.

Now I figure that the lyrics may hinder the enjoyment for some, especially the points raised in some lines that may seem questionable and shady (if this went to Eurovision and got a “twerking” comment on Youtube, I will not be surprised if the description of choice is “patriarchic twerking”), but am I supposed to be fully offended at some points of it if I’m not its target audience, although I see some of what I do nowadays in those lines? “Mai dire mai” is probably dedicated to the Italian media and the Italian trends and what not. I’m not even disappointed it didn’t win, because if it went to Eurovision, it would’ve likely been met like a lesser “Occidentali’s Karma” - catchy song with lyrics that fly over listener’s heads which might as well be very accidentally mocking how we live our lives.

“Mai dire mai” has just less of a memorability-in-history value and no memorable gimmicks (Francesco had a gorilla, what is it visually going for on Willie’s performance?), besides, it would’ve suffered even WORSE post-Eurovision-edit than OK has - a lot of the bits and bobs that pass me by but when I notice them they make a really great entry, but other than the (presumably copyrighted) removal of a sample from a TV series (spoken by a fish character, nonetheless), what else is there to remove???? With Eurovision’s rules specifying that brands (Spotify, TikTok) and swearwords (lots of the good old Italian ones that Italian radios would digitally scratch out to emphasize that there were a LOT in the second verse) can’t be sung live, the song loses some of its lyrical charm. And you can’t just go around the song like Francesco Gabbani chopping off entire verses full of content full of witty lyrics and a reference to Chanel in order to present the more lyrically singable-along-to lines and not let go of the long chorus to whom his gorilla can dance to. “Mai dire mai” is RIFE with lyrics, that’s what a rap song is. It would have absolutely fallen apart.

Also no one paged it as a potential Eurovision winner during Sanremo, at least seriously, and it doesn’t have much that would have clicked with the future Eurovision generation and contestants when they would be asked to name their favourite Eurovision song of all times. In a world where from Italy they really like “Grande amore” and “Soldi” and even sometimes could name “Occidentali’s Karma”, is there really a place for “Mai dire mai (La locura)” over “Zitti e buoni”? Who would be naming that song as their favourite of all time? If you raised a hand, you lie to yourself, because that would’ve been me.

Now I don’t know how many of the Tumblr fam would draw ire at me putting out paragraphs worth of me being ultra positive towards this song, because as I’ve learned, there’s an ironic and unironic audience for Mr. Peyote on Tumblr especially, but for me I guess it was pretty worthy, also a thing I was finally able to yell off my chest since, and now I finally said it, I will continue streaming “Mai dire mai (La locura)” in peace.

He might’ve not won Sanremo, but his song won the equally important Mia Martini Critics Award, and also, my heart. Rest in broken shards of the Boris aquarium, my sweet cynical prince~

Måneskin were my 2nd after him so I’m equally happy they won. But what about my other favourites?

• Extraliscio ft. Davide Toffolo - Bianca luce nera A diluted version of the liscio genre, still makes for a very fascinatingly catchy and swaying song with lots of great instruments that are violins and a clarinet. What I figure is kinda a love song. Their performances were also great, with lots of dancers on stage and a genuinely great fun to be had, and you may remember them more after their performance in cover night, which was titled “Rosamunda”. They were the ones with their main singer’s guitar spinning for whatever reason that was there to make their song catchy, I guess.

• Lo Stato Sociale - Combat Pop A little bit of a far cry from their glory heydays with 2nd place in Sanremo 2018, but they returned with an equally banging song and an amazing set of performance chaos they brought in each and every time - dedicating their first night’s one to making a performance to not forget (and being the ones of two to reference the great Bugo&Morgan incident from last year, the other being Willie Peyote), the second competitive one was for referencing politics, and so on.

• Colapesce & Dimartino - Musica leggerissima Sweet melancholic song with the shades of Sebastien Tellier kinda sound, this song may seem jolly at first, but the especially melancholic undertones denote that there’s something else going on. It’s actually about depression, as that’s what the term “musica leggerissima” (very light music) means. But it still found a heart in Italian listeners and the Italian world finally woke up to how great Antonio Di Martino and Lorenzo “Colapesce” Urciullo are, and a handful of viewers were slightly heartbroken to see it not place in the superfinal top 3. Who knows if they would’ve actually won over Måneskin. I just know that their rollerskater girlie is so damn fine~

Bugo has also returned but I think his redemption arc started off the wrong foot, as his return entry, “E invece si”, was a bloated showtune ballad and got obnoxious to listen to at part. I declared to myself that night when I first heard the new entry that regarding on what made “Sincero” great, I side with Morgan.

And a special shout out to Ghemon, whose 2019 song was more than just a “purple rose” unlike I noted on a last proper Italian entry review. I don’t know what expectations I had for him, but I certainly wanted to love “Momento perfetto” more at the first listen, which was also somewhat of a show-tuney piece, but with a bit more funk and pizzazz, also Ghemon was VERY much vibing with his song, and that made me feel great for the few other performances of it that I saw the following days. It’s definitely a grower song, and around 2 months after Sanremo I fell into a bit of a rabbit-hole of his earlier music discovering, and I may be a bit exaggerating but, give Ghemon a bit more of acknowledgement and a stellar enough song, and with a little bit of magic touch, I can maybe see him lifting the Golden Lion trophy one day. Don’t ask why. (also lovely music video for his 2021 entry, which replaces continuous spinning in an aesthetic area to everybody moving their body in a diner (hopefully with everyone in the MV tested and been negative for long enough for the MV to actually happen).)

NF CORNER (NON-COMPETITIVE)

There’s so much needed to be discussed about there. So I’ll restrict myself to the moments that I remember and cherish:

• Rosario Fiorello. Just. Him.

• And the gentleman next to him, Achille Lauro.

tw // body piercing

Belarus 2018 could never

Fiorello and Lauro are perfect matches to each other’s worlds of imagination, and I was more than ever glad to see so much creativity coming from each one of them, a host and a nightly interval act respectively.

• Once again, “Rosamunda Medley” by Extraliscio, I didn’t watch the cover night in its entirety but I think it’s good enough of a medley if it got a 3rd place from the cover night from the orchestra!

• Sanremo Newcomers section of this year. I liked or vibed to almost every song out of the 8, and I’m decently happy with the winner, but if there’s one big shoutout I really want to make, is to “Regina” by Davide Shorty, for it’s such a cozy funky little love song that always makes me happy when I hear it. My personal winner preference, but I don’t mind Davide getting 2nd! For as long as he gets to place 1st in a future main Sanremo event hihihihihi

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• Diodato proving himself to be a dance king at the beginning of his “Che vita meravigliosa” performance, my good Twitter friend made a bunch of videos where he dances to a lot of songs, as per request, check them out and you won’t forget it.

• Since Sanremo 2021 got rid of the audience as per COVID regulations and much to Amadeus’s dread, there ended up quite a handful of audience related memes. Such as the penis balloon et al.

• Remember when Sanremo 2021 audience was supposed to be whisked away in a cruise ship for safety measures? Pepperidge Farm remembers

• SESSO IBUPROFENEEEEEEEE

The guy that sang this song actually has the same birthday as me, so in my eyes, I feel like he has some charm to it. I’m biased lol sorry

There’s way too many more but I am afraid of flooding my post beyond your readability interest. Let’s hope that, in an event of Italy’s victory or non, we’ll get to see an even more iconic event of Sanremo emerge come the future. <3

ANY LAST WORDS?

Måneskin’s big goal was to rock Eurovision, and I think they’ve greatly accomplished that by just... doing what they do best, and that is, rocking. They leave energy lasting for days.

In bocca al lupo, fam. You’ll nail it, and even if you don’t win, Italy shouldn’t not hail you as national heroes after it’s all over.

#eurovision #eurovision 2021 #rotterdam 2021 reviews #italy #måneskin #zitti e buoni #gifs i didn't make

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nicolewoo · 4 years

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The Big Day Part 2

Pairing: Joe Anaoi X Reader (Roman Reigns X Reader)

Warnings: None. Nice and fluffy for you.

Now that the ceremony, the eating and the show was over, we all sat around 2 bonfires, Joe sitting on a log, and me seated in between his feet on the sand.

What surprised me the most was that barely anyone left. Where I was from, everyone came to a family reunion at the beginning, and after the food was served, older members and those with young kids trickled out, but that obviously not the case at a Samoan Independence Day celebration. Babies slept in the arms of parents and family members, older members were seated in comfortable chairs, some with thick blankets over them to keep them warm, and everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) helped keep the young and the old happy and comfortable. This was the Fa’a I’d read about. The Samoan way of revering your elders and working as a family instead of individuals. Truly it was beautiful.

Dwayne had procured a guitar, and sat strumming the instrument, occasionally adding some lyrics, a little Elvis here, a little Moana there. “Ok. Ok. Who is ready to name that tune?” I was a bit confused, but everyone else knew what was going on. I watched and learned. Dwayne would play a few notes, and the first person who could guess the song, had to sing a bit of it; no matter how bad of a singer they were. Obviously, the more tone-deaf singers were cut off early, and a new song started.

I knew the next song by the 4th note but didn’t answer. I waited for someone to start singing. This was an easy one. I waited as Dwayne vamped the 8 notes that should have been easy to recognize. “Awe, C’mon guys. This one’s a classic.” He played the 8 notes again.

I leaned over to Vanessa and Joe and whispered, “Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.”

I must not have been quiet enough, because the next thing I heard was Dwayne say, “Y/N has it.” He vamped the 8 notes again, looking at me expectantly. “You have to sing it now. It’s tradition!”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and sigh out loud. I looked at Joe in a panic. He leaned in close to me. “Baby, it doesn’t matter what anyone said in your past. We are your new family, and we will love and support you even if you can’t sing.” His words were sweet but ignoring that voice in my head that told me I am never enough was impossible.

Seeing that I was anxious, Dwayne said, “I’ll sing it with you.”

They didn’t understand. They didn’t know. It wasn’t that I couldn’t sing. It’s that my singing had been tainted when I was younger. It was never good enough. I was never good enough, and so, I’d locked that part of me up tight and didn’t want to revisit it, but I didn’t have a choice now.

I tried to keep my voice low so Dwayne’s would cover it. “They say there was a secret cord.” Yeah, Dwayne was covering up my voice. “That David played, and it pleased the Lord. But you don’t,” Dwayne stopped singing, so I did too.

Dwayne looked from Joe to me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know.” Joe said.

I looked at Joe who looked awestruck. “Joe, don’t…”

“Now you HAVE to sing it. It’s family tradition.” Dwayne prodded, vamping the introduction again. Now the people around us joined in, trying to encourage me to sing.

I looked at Joe. He wrapped his arms around me until his mouth was next to my ear. “Baby,” His voice was low and sexy, and I got wet just hearing it. “What I just heard was beautiful. It doesn’t matter what happened in your past. We are your family now, and we want to hear you sing. I promise nothing bad will happen. It’s time to replace those old memories with new, happy ones.” I turned to look at him, and I saw complete love. I eyed the others around the fire, and I saw complete acceptance, but still…..

I nodded at Dwayne; a bit surer of myself now. He started the song over, ready to sing along if necessary, but I sang on my own. “I heard there was a secret cord.”

Dwayne smiled big and encouraged me, “Louder. You sound great.”

“That David played, and it pleased the Lord.” I sang it a little bit louder.

Joe whispered in my ear again, “Please baby, Keep going. I want to hear.”

Louder, “But you don’t really care for music, do you?”

“Belt it out Y/N,” Dwayne urged.

My voice quivered as I started the next line, but honestly, I hadn’t sung in so long, and it felt so right to just lose myself in the song, so I looked up at Joe and continued. “It goes like this, the fourth the fifth. The minor fall and the major lift.”

“Let go baby. Let go for me.” Joe whispered to me, and I did.

“The baffled king composing Hallelujah.”

Dwayne stopped suddenly, looking at me. “I’ll make a deal with you.” I was intrigued. “If you really sing the song, like put all of your power behind it, I’ll buy you and Joe an hour-long massage tomorrow.” That was tempting.

“Two!” I challenged.

Dwayne laughed, “Two massages?”

“No. Two hours.” Everyone laughed now.

“It’s a deal kid, but you have to really belt it out. Pretend you’re giving a concert in front of your most adoring fans. Got it?” He challenged me this time.

I just smiled, knowing I was about to blow him away. “Deal.” I said as I rose from the ground to get more lung capacity. I sat next to Joe.

Dwayne began to play the intro, and I let go. I sang like I would only sing for myself alone in the shower.

“I heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord, but you don’t really care for music, do ya?” Joe ran his hand over my back, smiling at me, and I could feel his pride. “It goes like this, the fourth the fifth. The minor fall and the major lift.” I really put emphasis on the last line, “The baffled King composes Halleluiah.”

Trinity yelled out, “Wooo! Get it Y/N.” Her rowdy cheer spurred me on. I looked to see both Fatu families smiling at me. There was complete acceptance and awe in the eyes of everyone around the fire, and as I started the second verse, people wandered over from the second fire, wanting to hear me sing.

“Your faith was strong, but you needed proof. You saw her bathing on the roof. Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you.” The next line should be stronger, but I normally tried to hide my voice. Feeling encouraged, I did it the way it should be sung. “She tied you to her kitchen chair.” Trinity wooted again. “She broke your throne and she cut your hair.”The song built.

Jimmy yelled, “Get it sister Uce!

“And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah.”

I expected Dwayne to stop now, but he nodded at me as he played on. “Let’s hear it. Slay this verse!” I sang the chorus, lost in the music. Lost in the vibrations in my chest and my abs. “Halleluuuuuuuuujah.”

Joe beamed with pride at the crowd around us, which was growing considerably with each note. I noticed Jimmy had his phone out. I wasn’t sure if he was filming or if he was face timing our friends again, but I knew I was making Joe proud, so I ignored it.

“Well, maybe there's a God above, but all I've ever learned from love, Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya. And it's not a cry that you hear at night. It's not somebody who's seen the light.” This was the big moment. I tried desperately to ignore everyone around me but Joe and I belted it out, strong and beautiful. “It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.” The crowd around the fire erupted in cheers and applause.

I stopped, figuring that was enough, but Dwayne keep playing, prompting me to sing more. “Go on baby,” Joe whispered in my ear.

“Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah” I brought the song to a close.

I thought the cheers before were loud. When the song ended, everyone went wild with cheers, applause….. it was insane, and as pride washed over me, I began to feel guilty for enjoying the attention. “That was amazing!” Dwayne said as Joe pulled me closer into his side and kissed my temple.

“That’s my girl.” He said half to me and half to the crowd. He leaned close to my ear now. “Baby, that was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.” I looked to find him smiling at me, soft and gentle and full of pride.

“Do another one!” Trinity yelled, and the crowd started chanting “Another one. Another one.”

Dwayne laughed and looked at me. “What do you say?”

“Let someone else play,” I tried to generously cede everyone’s attention.

Someone yelled “Noooo!” loudly.

Dwayne laughed. “I think we found our winner. Game is over.” He gestured toward the crowd. “Your audience wants another one.” He poised his hands over the guitar.

My mind frantically scanned my memory to pick another song. It would have to be well known so Dwayne would know it. “Ummmm…. Somewhere Over The Rainbow?” I asked, and he answered by starting the song.

@mindofasagittaruis @lclb13

#joe anoa'i #roman reigns

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ramblingqueenfangirl · 5 years

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Who gave them the right!!!!!????

Freddie Mercury, an immigrant boy from Zanzibar who had arguably one of the best singing voices ever just naturally like it belonged there as much as the blood in his veins. He could write #1 worldwide hits in less than an hour and if he took longer, would write what some in the music business have called the greatest rock song of all time. Had an ear for music that is so finely honed he can hear a song once, sit at a piano and play it and most likely even improve upon it. Who only had piano lessons for just a few years in school as a kid, and sang in the school choir at 7 and never again had any training in music or anything that it entails, yet sang better than the most trained vocalist ever. Who had one of the most exotic, recognizable, and in my opinion, sexiest looks along with the charisma of a thousand stars in one man. He could play genius melodies on a piano and secretly played insanely unique and awesome rhythm guitar. He had the talent of at least ten of the best musicians the world could produce, and was generous and funny, and just an all around good person and could control an audience of hundreds of thousands with absolutely no effort who were all in sync better than the back ups in a Jane Fonda work out video, with merely one finger. Who even though was very particular and perfectionist about his music worked so hard that not one person who ever made music with him left feeling he wasn’t the best. Who didn’t know the meaning of the word moderation and lived a life filled with more fun in just 45 years than most humans that live to be 100. Would give interviews with some of the most perfect answers just off the top of his head that are still quoted by many almost 30 years after his death. Who was the most generous celebrity ever, and was loved by most of his contemporaries even when they wanted to be jealous of him. Who sang opera that he WROTE, with one of the best opera singers that has ever breathed air, and had her in awe of his ability while fighting an unknown, excruciatingly painful, and deadly disease. A pairing that came about from one short interview in the diva’s home country and started a enormous and lasting trend of rock musicians singing opera and trying to copy the success that he created on a whim, and all others have failed to live up to miserably. A man whose instinctual movements to the music that poured out of his very soul from every pore, were so graceful, odd, and completely unplanned and awesome that it made him one of the best entertainers that ever stepped onto a stage. Who found true love even with every single obstacle stacked against it and managed to have a relationship that though not perfect was so beautiful no fairy tale could match it. Who never slept alone a day in his life and even when penniless lived like the greatest star that ever lived. Who even though a small man, who weighed nothing and wasn’t extremely tall, managed to be appealing to both men and women and personified the word sexy. Who never once in his entire life lost the beat of, both a life lived completely fully every day, or the timeless and completely inspired music he created with absolutely no effort. Who was so naturally gifted that it’s hard to believe he was actually human. A man that had a long and successful career but only took one 20 minute performance to become the most legendary performer in more than a century, all while sick with a throat infection which he refused to let stop his performance of some of rock’s hardest songs ever sung. Who when he shared a stage with the most popular and beloved artists ever and with no lights or costumes, made them all look like amateurs. Who 60 percent of 1.6 billion people voted as the most iconic and great live music performance that has ever been. Who many people believe is one of the greatest singers and frontman that did and will ever exist. When he died the grief never stopped or wanrd in intensity. Who set records in music,and then over 25 years later set a movie industry record with over 900 million dollars spent to see a biopic about his life.

Brian May, not only can use his fingers to make sounds on a guitar that a guitar shouldn’t be able to make, but was so determined to learn guitar he and his father built one from left over fireplace parts. As a child, learned and studied astronomy and physics well enough to get his masters in the subjects and later a doctorate. Has the most recognizable hair of any rock and roll musician ever naturally growing from his head, and while attaining all this education, mastered the art of guitar playing at the same time. Who has a singing voice good enough to front his own band but finds the perfect band mates by complete coincidence and become sone of the best guitar players ever and played in one of the biggest rock bands ever and be a genuinely nice and kind person as well. Taught school while his band was still finding their fame and even at 70 is still one of the coolest and most recognizable musicians on the planet. Who plays the same guitar over half a century later that he built with his dad from fireplace parts and which no one can ever completely replicate and is still the most legendary guitar in music history and he still plays all over the world and who no one has ever been able to compete with that cost less than 50 British pounds to construct.

Roger Taylor, with his baby blue eyes and long blonde hair who was too pretty to be a guy and can play drums with the best ever. He can sing in perfect range to be in harmony with his amazingly gifted lead singer while drumming at break neck speed. Who was the one who met Freddie first and introduced him to his band mate and friend Brian May and cemented one of the greatest music destinies ever. Who got more women than Casanova and could play drums and sing perfectly even when still drunk or hungover. Who has a bit of an ego, but is also humble and kind to fans. Who is the soul mate of one of the best singers that rock ever knew. Not only did they understand each other’s souls but their voices complemented each other so well only the angels in heaven could harmonize better. He could lead sing in and did, lead his own band where he played guitar yet another talent he possesses in spades. Who was made to be a rock star from the minute he decide he wanted to be. A man who could with very little time be certified as a dentist and studied biology with remarkable grades finishing his degree even though he knew he didn’t have to.

John Deacon, a man who is the definition of the word winning, in human form. A guy who on the outside seemed regular and average but was actually one of the most extraordinary musicians that ever picked up an instrument. A human disco ball who not only played bass guitar better than probably anyone but did it while dancing and writing some of the biggest selling songs of his legendary band without being able to even sing. A man who found himself near a dumpster one day and took scraps and built a custom made amp that would define the sound of his band, an amp that he himself invented and no one has been able to exactly duplicate even now. A man who got married young to the only woman he wanted and then had six children while touring and playing with one of the biggest most popular bands in history. Who can do math so well,he did, and still does, the financial business of the multimillion dollar business that his band became. A man so amazing he just left the entire music industry forever without one regret after losing the lead singer, best friend and surrogate big brother from a heart breaking disease because it just wasn’t worth it without him. A man who’s baselines are so epic and well played that his skill is hard for anyone to imitate. He was told as a prank by his fellow band mate he would need a double bass for a song and went home and learned how to play it in a matter of hours. Played not only the bass guitar with unbelievable skill and precision but any instrument. He wrote some of the most famous songs in rock that are universally loved even now more than 25 years later. He had so much integrity that even after doing the lion’s share of the writing of a song insisted his band mate who would sing the songs, take writing credits even when that singer didn’t really want to. Who was the very definition of loyalty to a lost friend who he saw as irreplaceable and refused to continue playing music without him while the others carried on. He seemed quiet, shy and unassuming but when he wanted to do something didn’t care what ANYONE thought including his band mates even during one recording session for an album picked up his stuff and went to Bali with his family on a whim leaving only a small note behind. Who came up with one of the most recognizable bass lines ever in an impromptu jam session with another artist, went out for pizza with his band mates and completely forgot said bass line then when reminded made the bass line so legendary it’s immediately recognizable from the first four notes. He wrote a song that Michael Jackson the king of pop pestered the other members to release it as a single when they were completely against it and after the single debuted became one of the best selling singles of his multi million album selling band. Who has mastered the art of being a hermit yet also being one of the coolest and most extraordinary humans that ever strapped on an instrument. Who has become the best player of hide and seek that ever was and was happy leaving it behind never once looking back.

Every single one of these guys could have been unbelievable and legendary all by themselves, but chose and found three other equally god-like humans to form a band who would become the most prolific band that ever recorded music and has multi-platinum records in every country on 6 continents in the world that are still as popular and relevant today as they were when they started 50 years ago.

WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT to be so amazing?!Individually, they could be Greek mythical heroes as accomplished and great as Achilles or Hercules, but when put together were more epic than any Greek mythology could even imagine, and changed the world, and music forever!

Who gave them the right?!!!!

#freddiemercury #queen #johndeacon #rogertaylor #brianmay #jimhutton #gardenlodge

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imuybemovoko · 4 years

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I die inside while dissecting Jesus music, part 2

Oh, did the pause in my posts lately make you think I was done with emotional self-harm?

Apparently we both have lessons to learn, because here we go again.

I have a shitload of this stuff squirreled away in a youtube playlist I haven’t deleted yet for essentially this exact reason. I felt like it might be a good thing for me to go through and deconstruct some of the songs. That or I’ve just gotten used to suffering. Can’t tell; don’t care.

Trigger warning, of course. If Jesus music is going to mess with your head too much, please for the love of all that you find holy find something more wholesome to read.

Now that I’ve started down this dark path, I start to wonder, when was the last time I talked about my worldbuilding and other crazy hobbies? I’ve been yelling about my trauma a lot lately. Anyway...

Let’s do this.

"Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men." -Plato, apparently.

If, like me, you like suffering enough to look at the song I’ll be analyzing, here it is. I’m looking at Matt Redman’s “Gracefully Broken” today. This song also features Tasha Cobbs Leonard. This felt weird as shit to listen back to.

I’ll be using the transcription of the lyrics on Genius as my main source for the actual words in the song, though the video I’ve linked does have lyrics on screen as it plays.

Without any further ado, let’s get into the structure of this fucker. There’s about 25 seconds of instrumental to start this studio recording out, then the first verse plays. The last line, “Set me on fire”, is sung twice, and then in this case the entire first verse plays again. (Holy shit contemporary Christian songwriters like repeating things. Did I say that enough last time?)

After this, the chorus plays through once and you basically smash cut right into the second verse. The second verse is half the length of the first one and the words are only said once. In this case, the repetition does that trick where it uses KJV-flavored language and then modern language to say a similar thing twice: “ You won't forsake me, You will be with me”.

Then the chorus plays twice, each time followed by a random tag that reiterates something within the chorus and, in the case of the first one, isn’t found in the lyrics on Genius. I read it as a musical flourish coupled with the lyrical equivalent of yelling “AMEN” during a church service when the pastor says something you find cool. (Not all churches do this).

Genius does something I find a touch unusual here, but I think it makes sense with the way the song plays. It lists two sections as “bridge 1″ and “bridge 2″. After this repeated chorus, bridge 1 plays, repeating the first line twice, the second original line twice, and the last line of the thing four times. After this, there’s another doubled chorus. This time, with even more amen flourishes.

Then the instrumental goes really chill and the second bridge comes in. This is a stanza that they repeat six times (Genius lists it four times) while they slowly build the instrumentals back up and, since in this case there are two singers in Youtube’s edition of this, Redman drops out and Tasha, who he’s featuring on this, sings the first two repetitions of this while Redman does amen tags. On the third one, they switch roles. On the fourth one, they each sing the entire section but Redman leads and Cobbs follows like a round. Then, they have this entire chorus setup on the last two repetitions.

This is the climax of the song. And then everything goes really chill again. They sing the chorus once and then everything fades out to one last piano chord, fade to black. That’s the structure in the youtube video. It’s not exactly uncommon for studio recordings of songs like this, though at live events, Jesus camps, and some church services people will repeat sections of this ad nauseam because of course. Even this structure works to cement ideas really strongly, as if every single fucking thing the song says is very important. I find that this doesn’t happen remotely as often in secular music to anything approaching this degree. They’ll repeat the chorus, sometimes you’ll have lines repeated, sometimes you get a bridge that’s four lines a few times over, but it’s not like this.

Alright. On to the actual content of this thing.

This is going to hurt a bit. :^)

I’ll do the verses, then the chorus, then the bridges. This shit isn’t going chronologically. That would suck.

Take all I have in these hands And multiply, God, all that I am And find my heart on the altar again Set me on fire, set me on fire Take all I have in these hands And multiply, God, all that I am And find my heart on the altar again Set me on fire, set me on fire

This repeats twice; I won’t go over it twice.

Take all I have in these hands is basically saying “I surrender to you”. Which is a thing that’ll come back up a fuck of a lot in this song. It’s kind of the whole message... with a twist I’ll get to later that gets really cursed. This is a message that speaks of letting go of control of one’s life so God can do whatever with it. It’s like a surrendering of agency, at least the way it plays out in fundagelical circles like the one I left a year and a month ago.

And multiply, God, all that I am is, aside from being a sentence that’s weirdified so it fits in a song better, is directly addressing God by name, making this entire thing addressed that way. This basically refers to the concept within at least some strains of Christianity where God is said to increase what people are and what they’re capable of when they’re “right with him”. This is, at least possibly, also a reference to Matthew 13:8 (Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown), which uses a metaphor that relates, as I was taught about it, the word of God to someone sowing seeds into a field, where sometimes you yeet the seeds and they land in rocks and screwy circumstances but other times they grow and give a good crop. I’m inclined to read this line as asking God to fulfill this in the singer’s life because of how heavy of a focus is placed on the concept it contains in many churches. Redman might not have intended it to refer to this necessarily here, but it’s the kind of metaphor and the kind of language that people very often use even if it’s not a conscious reference.

And find my heart on the altar again implies some kind of re-dedication of the core of the singer’s being to God. There’s this strong tendency in your spicier churches towards thinking that believers continually need to re-commit themselves to God after having been distracted; this is at least one of the things that it refers to. I suppose Redman knows his audience. This can also be taken as a reference to Romans 12:1-2, since an altar implies sacrifice most of the time. My instinct is to say it plays both roles.

After that you have this Set me on fire, set me on fire line, referring to a common concept whose origin I’m not that familiar with in which being “on fire for God” refers to having a passion for doing what whoever you hang around thinks he wants you to do. It might be a reference to that scene in Acts 2 where God’s power in the church is marked by tongues of fire that come and rest on people. Of course it’s like the fire from that burning bush Moses encounters because this is an instance of God burning people metaphorically rather than physically.

Sarcasm and gallows humor aside, God has been known to yeet fire from heaven at things and sometimes even people. In both Acts 2 and this song, the reference is more or less metaphorical and refers to a driving force rather than to an attack. This line is basically a prayer for a passion for God.

Verse 1 was sung just by Redman; for verse 2, both Redman and Cobbs are singing.

My heart stands in awe of Your name Your mighty love stands strong to the end You will fulfill Your purpose for me You won't forsake me, You will be with me

I touched on this in the “on the altar again” line from 1, but I typically read “heart” as “core of being” in these contexts. So this first line, My heart stands in awe of Your name, refers to this deep sense of reverence towards God.

Maybe someone ought to tell Redman about the hypocrites, because god damn does this seem like performative righteousness to my outsider’s mind. Maybe Paul’s “renewing of the mind” from Romans 12:2 works both ways lmao

Joking aside, the role of this line is to normalize this feeling of reverence and to try to instill it in the listener. It serves a purpose that isn’t hypocrisy and Redman would probably say the same thing if some cheeky heathen walked up to him and told him about the hypocrites as I joked about.

The entire rest of this verse is essentially saying the same thing in different ways, framing it through God’s love, purposes, and presence in a believer’s life. The idea is that none of these three things are believed to ever fail, and this verse is meant to reinforce that perception and to give thanks to God for it. I don’t feel like saying what these lines are going for three times so I’ll treat them as one unit because functionally, they are.

I’ll do the chorus last because that seems like a fun idea. Bridge 1 is:

All to Jesus now All to Jesus now Holding nothing back Holding nothing back I surrender I surrender I surrender I surrender

oh god oh fuck

so what can we get from this weird disaster where you say the same thing a bunch of times in a row? Basically, the singer surrenders everything to Jesus and holds nothing back. But it’s really really important, so they say it slowly and each piece is said several times. It feels pedantic as fuck looking at it from the outside, but on the inside it instills this mood that makes you, at least in that moment, want to do exactly that. Pretty wacky.

Second bridge:

Your power and work in me I'm broken gracefully I'm strong when I am weak I will be free

It’s this, four times on Genius and six times in the Youtube upload. I’m not copy pasting that full length in here lmao

Basically the first line reads to me as an attribution related to the rest. Like, “what follows is because of God’s power and work in me”. Your spicier evangelical circles will attribute good things in themselves exclusively to the work of God. It gets super goddamn toxic depending on exactly how they handle it, but the general vibe I’m talking about is “I’m a piece of shit and therefore if anything good happens in me it’s God not me”. It’s really a sad thing, and it messed me up real good when I used to think that way.

So that’s fun I suppose.

As for the rest of this, uh... it’s not better. So. “I’m broken gracefully” is just about the most cursed sentence in this section here. To be “broken” in this case is ...more or less what it sounds like. Basically God breaks the believer down in the process of sanctification so that they release their own identity and replace it with one that’s more from God. This is then framed as a grace. I read “gracefully” here as both referring to the grace of God and to its other usage, like “they moved gracefully across the whatever the fuck” as a descriptive term suggesting beauty and elegance. In both senses, this broken state is considered a good and beautiful thing. Which ...is a bit cursed.

“I’m strong when I am weak” is this weird reversal that alludes to several passages in the Bible including, the first one I can think of, John 3:30, which says “he must be greater, I must be less” (and specific wording will vary based on translation). The idea is that a person has more real “strength” when they’re weak in themselves and trusting in God for everything. So this sentence might be expanded to “I’m strong in God when I’m weak in myself”. Which is one of those gaslighty self-denying concepts that is the reason my time in these weird fundagelical circles fucked me up so much. Pretty fun. See why I say it’s emotional self-harm to come back and review this music? It’s not always that dark of a thing, I genuinely want to analyze this shit, but good grief can it get tricky to deal with.

The last line here is “I will be free”, which cements the previous concepts by referring to freedom from “sin” and from the “old, fallen nature”, i.e. freedom to be a slave to God instead of “a slave to oneself”. Another spooky reversal.

And that’s the bridges.

I’ll grab a chorus that doesn’t have amen tags and only happens once:

Here I am, God Arms wide open Pouring out my life Gracefully broken

These first lines speak to someone who accepts God’s calling with open arms. Pretty straightforward I think. It gets a bit funky from here because this “pouring out my life” line is a bit deeper. It could refer to the act of confessing things to God in kind of a spilling of energy and secrets, a breakdown of barriers that believers keep their issues contained within, that kind of thing, and it could be a reference to the Old Testament practice of pouring out blood or wine or both as an offering before God, in a metaphorical sense in this case because believers are called on to offer their lives as a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” as Paul writes. The image of pouring something out is quite a common one within Christianity because of the Old Testament imagery and the degree to which New Testament writers allude to old practices.

In compiling an overarching message for what I read out of this song, I’ll compare it to a sonnet written by John Donne, for a bit of fun hyperbole.

Batter my heart, three-personed God, for you As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new. I, like an usurped town, to another due, Labour to admit you, but Oh, to no end. Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, But is captived, and proves weak or untrue. Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain, But am betrothed unto your enemy: Divorce me, untie or break that knot again, Take me to you, imprison me, for I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

The whole message of this sonnet here is, in a phrase, “I’m having a hard time submitting to you, God, so break down my gates, steal me from Satan, and rearrange my guts”.

Yes, ravish is sometimes a sexual term. In my medieval literature class last fall, the professor understood its sense as such in this context. I agree with that reading because the word immediately preceding the phrase that contains it is “chaste”, which is clearly establishing that kind of context.

Basically, the reason I include this is, without the “fuck me God” part of it, the message of the song I’ve been dissecting is the same as this. It speaks of surrendering to God as something that’s desired, but frames it as a battle through the “heart on the altar again” bit and the “brokenness” part of this narrative that suggests it’s a desired, beautiful act of God. Donne accomplishes this message through much more violent terms, but the end result is very similar.

I know.

So, why did I start this shit with that Plato quote?

Ultimately, because I think that an important part of the role that Christian music like this serves in the church is pretty much the same as Plato’s understanding of the role of rhetoric. If “rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men”, then contemporary Christian music is the result of using shit, repetitive lyrics and actually good instrumental tracks to convince the human mind to yeet itself deeper and deeper into Jesusland.

Which is pretty cursed. I relate, vacuuming lady. I relate.

What was that I said about conlangs again?

#exchristian #christian music #i probably need therapy #john donne #oh god oh fuck

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sexyenquirer · 4 years

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wash it out

Title: wash it out Author: @translightyagami For: @complicatedmerary Pairings/Characters: mikami/light Rating/Warnings: mature/no warnings needed Prompt: “Musician AU: Light Yagami is a pianist, Teru Mikami is a violinist. They are having an affair behind the scenes. Unfortunately for them, Misa Amane is Light Yagami's wife.” Author’s notes: I hope this does the job alright! I know there’s not much music, but I thought maybe for a shorter thing to focus on how Mikami felt about sharing Light - not very into that it would seem... Anyway, it was a lovely prompt, and I love to describe an opera house/small office crap. your choice on who used to love bear claws but... well... lets just say they’re not in the picture anymore... okay! bye!

The opera house stood taller than, in Mikami’s mind, God himself could ever stand. Every moment held in the ancient wood and sinew of its structure was divine: a thing to be worshiped before Mikami slept. Morning sunlight poured over the tented roof and trickled over the ornamental front entrance’s carved mural of angels bearing instruments.

Mikami pressed through the opera’s revolving doors with two coffees and a small paper sack in hand, violin case strapped across his back. Working at the desk was a silent, brooding teenager who scanned his artist’s badge and told him not to eat in the theatre. As though Mikami were such a heretic; as though the drafty hallways and peeling walls weren’t his home.

Even as he slipped through the opera house’s offices, he heard glimmering piano echo through speakers pipping in Light’s morning practice for all to hear. Mikami passed by Roger, an older tweedy sort in the programming department, waved to Kiyomi from her marketing cave and filtered into the practice room.

His entrance was loud and Mikami winced as the door creaked in a monstrous scream. Light’s fingers didn’t stuttered over the keys of Chopin – his shoulders raised a hair but surprise was so slight on him, only Mikami would know. At least, that is what Mikami liked to assure himself: his ownership over the small parts of Light. On the piano’s surface was a metronome, clicking out as Light slowed to an end mid-song. Plinking out a last note, Light turned and let a slow smile effuse over his mouth.

“Did you bring me coffee?” Light slipped the glossy black cover over the piano keys. “You’re spoiling me.”

“I want to spoil you.” Mikami went to the nearby table, covered with discarded sheet music and near finished resin boxes. His palms were hot from coffee and the way Light coddled his tone when speaking. He packaged even admonishment in a fondness no one had ever taken with Mikami. “Did you eat breakfast? Did you come straight from the apartment?”

Perching his elbows on the closed lid, Light dropped his chin into entwined hands. “And if I did come straight from the apartment?” He slide his gaze molasses-like toward the brown bag in Mikami’s fist. “I had an egg.”

“Just one? Not enough.” Mikami hummed and laid out the coffee and bag on it. “C’mon. I’ve brought two bear claws.”

From behind he heard Light’s high laugh and the scratch of the piano bench shoved back. Two arms looped around his waist, pressing the loose grey wool of his sweater to his quivering stomach. Soft crinkling sounded as Light lay his cheek on Mikami’s violin case, his fingers knitted into a belt that Mikami pressed against as he put out twin pastries on white napkins. He looked down, curious, and saw no ring on Light’s left hand. Excitement trilled through Mikami at the click of the continuing metronome.

“I don’t actually like bear claws, you know,” Light said, oddly speaking on beat with the clicks. “Only, I used to know someone who loved them and we’d always split them down the middle. If it’s just half, then it’s not as sweet. Right?”

“Yes. No. Uh,” Mikami bit his knuckle, his other hand covering the fists Light made on his belly. “What are you saying?”

“Nothing.” Light swung around and caught Mikami’s face in both palms. “I’m not hungry. I’d like to kiss you.”

Light’s palms were always cold – how Mikami loved that chill on his cheeks. A compulsive hand-washer, his love was, and even the warm glide of his mouth over Mikami’s didn’t drown out the soap-and-water icy touch. Light rubbed his thumbs right beneath Mikami’s eyes, trailing over cheekbone ridges. Softly a moan caught between teeth as mouths opened to each other, tongues touching and singing – but Mikami couldn’t stop thinking of those cold hands. He slid his own over Light’s and twined their fingers, touching every uncovered inch.

“You’re not wearing it,” Mikami breathed over Light’s teeth. “No ring. You’re not wearing that ridiculous ring.”

“Not now.” Light squeezed and nipped his lower lip. “I never wear it to practice – you know that. It’s in my pocket.”

Mikami let his hand trailed down, treacherous, only to brush the hard raised outline on Light’s hip. Scoffing, he turned from the kiss and frowned. “She’s not even in town,” he said. “She’s missing all of our hard work to make faces at a camera.”

“I told her to go.” A tart note of frustration stung Light’s voice. “Misa is hard to uncouple with. Remember when she was one of our sopranos? Every day, it was like peeling off Velcro.”

“No one forced you to marry the Velcro.” The memory of when Misa worked in the opera house – trailing after Light with a look of hunger and begged for coffee dates, dinners, and to hold the cool hands that weren’t hers to clutch – whipped through Mikami. Yet Light’s eyes on him now, glowing hot along with his reddening cheeks, chastised every ghost of sulking. “Sorry. Yes. You told her to go, so we could use the apartment.”

“Don’t you like having me in the kitchen?” Light smiled – false, fake, too-sweet – and Mikami’s heart fell for it, leaping the moment lip corners lifted. “We could fuck here, on the table.”

“Here? But the speakers –“

“Hooked up to the piano.” A genuine grin melted over the first false one. “I want your hands on me Teru. Can’t you touch me? Feel me?” Light grabbed him by the wrist and slipped Mikami’s hand onto his flexing stomach. “What chords can you pluck inside me?”

“So many.” Mikami ducked to kiss beneath Light’s jaw. His fingers tapped skin at the metronome’s rhythm, muscles tightening in instrumental tension, until a high gasp sung above where he kissed. “I’ll make your body sing.”

Faintly, the tune of Beethoven’s’ Fifth tweeted from Light’s back pocket. He groaned, placing one hand on Mikami’s crown to keep him at his neck and slipping the other behind to snag his phone. Shutting his eyes, Mikami kept licking and sucking marks over the thin throat’s skin, measuring how hazy he could make Light’s voice.

“Hello?” Light answered in a flinty tone, which turned dull on his next word. “Oh. Hello Misa.” His fingers danced through Mikami’s dark hair, pinching his ear playfully while he spoke without interest. “Yes, I’m sure they’re very impressed. You’ve had a fascinating career. Model and singer … Tonight? I’m not doing much.”

Mikami dragged his hand to toy with Light’s pants button, reminding him of his actual nighttime plans. In response, cold fingers nipped his ear lobe.

“I don’t mind being alone.” Light flickered his gaze to Mikami, gesturing for him to come closer. Despite their closeness, his expression remained turned off – guarded from passion or amusement; neutral to a point of robotic. Mikami kissed the cheek opposite where Light held his phone, feeling the rumbling of his parting goodbye to Misa. “I have so much work to do anyway. And so do you, hm? Yes. I love you. Talk to you later.”

The phone skittered across the table and Light took hold of Mikami, thumbs dug into his cheeks.

“Wash it out,” he whispered. “If you kiss me, it’ll wash out what I said and you can taste it.”

Mikami dropped into a hard kiss of Light’s soft, wanting mouth; he licked over the seam of it until lips parted for him. He tasted the dull I love you and its blossom into a lush savory flavor as he held Light closer, kissed him harder. Light opened to him, beckoning with hands and tongue to drink in an unspoken declaration. When they parted, their lips clicked on separation. Mikami grasped Light by the wrist and brought his hand to his mouth.

Slowly, he licked and sucked Light’s ring finger – down to the naked bottom. He imagined that Misa’s awful ring was there, gold on his tongue and stinging, as the metronome clicked on for no music. He’d wash it away; he’d make Light forget her again and again.

#Fic #rating: m #ship: mikalight #20192020 #Light Yagami #Teru Mikami #death note

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tveitertot · 5 years

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I Saw Moulin Rouge On Broadway (PT 2) — My Fave Moments!

welcome back to my “i saw moulin rouge on broadway” series! in this part, i will be listing my favorite moments of the show!

⚠️ WARNING: this post will contain spoilers of the story of moulin rouge and some of the changes that the broadway production has made. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! ⚠️

so without further ado... here is a list of my favorite moments of moulin rouge on broadway:

the show starts before the show starts — all of the performers come out onstage in their costume and character one-by-one. they are all doing different things and interacting with each other in their character. it’s like you’re watching people at the real moulin rouge.

aaron tveit’s (christian) epic entrance — i sat in the 2nd row behind the small strip of stage. i can’t speak for anyone else who has seen the show in a different seat, but i had a breathtaking moment when aaron appeared onstage. i think i explained it in my last post, but i was casually talking to my mom and i glanced at the stage to see what other performers had made their way onstage. that’s when i saw aaron (aka the love of my life) standing on the small strip of stage like 2 feet away from me. he came out of nowhere for me, so i was very surprised to casually glance up and see him right there.

“lady marmalade” and the opening act — omigod you guys! the opening act was absolutely incredible. “lady marmalade” slaps and it’s even better to hear the ensemble members and supporting cast members show off their voices and dance moves. i thought it was interesting that they opened the show at the moulin rouge rather than christian starting to tell his story (like they do in the movie), but it worked out really well. changing the opening act really helps the audience get a feel of the environment and it also hypes the show up a lot.

henri and santiago trying to finish “the sound of music” and aaron’s “entrance” — y’all, i cannot listen to “the sound of music” ever again without laughing. the whole show is a satirical comedy by telling a story that is set in 1899 through popular music. obviously “the sound of music” hasn’t been created at that time, so when henri and santiago are trying to finish the phrase “the hills are alive...” i couldn’t help but laugh. aaron then comes in and finishes the phrase, singing “the hills are alive with the sound of music...” with his gorgeous vibrato (ugh swoon) and it’s the best thing ever.

aaron’s little dance when he sings “never gonna give you up” — this whole scene was hilarious, but the way he presents “never gonna give you up” is the most adorable thing ever. i watched him explain this scene multiple times when he did his 54 below concerts and he always did a funky dance and a rick astley impression when he got to this part of the scene, but he actually did that onstage. i thought he was just doing an impression and a funky dance because he was trying to explain that he didn’t think this moment was funny (btw it was vv funny), so i wasn’t expecting him to do the same thing onstage.

“royals” and “we are young” — okay, i literally forgot how much of a BOP “royals” is and aaron’s high belt and riff down in “we are young” (more specifically when he sings: “so let’s set the world on fiiiiiRE, we can burn briiiiightER than the sUUUUUUn”). that’s all i have to say.

karen olivo’s (satine) entrance — again, i can’t speak for another person who saw the show in a different seat, but karen’s entrance was a big moment. karen is on a trapeze/swing and she comes down from the ceiling of the theatre, landing on the small strip of stage. from where i was sitting, i could see her legs and feet dangling above me and i was like, “HOLY S**T!”

“single ladies” — karen olivo is a queen. beyonce is a queen. therefore, it was a queen singing a song by a queen. what more can you ask for?

satine mistaking christian as the duke — hahahaha this was so funny when harold (the guy who owns the moulin rouge) is pointing out the duke, but satine is clearly looking the other way. lowkey, i couldn’t chose between either of the guys... i love aaron with all my heart, but tam (the duke) is also pretty attractive ngl.

christian and satine’s first interaction and the dance mashup — christian was literally so adorable and cute when he was all nervous and flustered talking to satine. honestly, i could see a little bit of aaron’s real life shyness come out during this scene and i loved it. the dance mashup was amazing and it was the first true mashup of the show. i loved the parts they decided to mashup like the lyrics “shut up and dance with me” being sung at the same time as “slam, slam, oh hot damn, wish you’d just freak out.”

christian trying to pitch his song idea to satine — this has got to be one of my top favorite moments of the show. by this point, satine still thinks christian is the duke so she thinks she’s going to have sex with christian, but christian is there to pitch his song idea. so when christian says things like, “you might want to sit down because what i’m about to reveal is pretty long” and “i’m quite nervous, actually. i learned about this in school and i’ve practiced a lot today,” it adds a lot of comedy as it has a double meaning.

aaron singing “your song” — can aaron please sing me to sleep every night with that song? thanks!

satine realizing christian isn’t the duke — harold: “satine, i have the duke here” // satine: “the duke?” *looks at christian* “then who are you?” // christian: “I’M CHRISTIAN!”

pitching “spectacular, spectacular” to the duke — i loved this moment in the movie, and i still loved this moment in the broadway musical. i just think it’s the exact representation of my friends and i putting on shows, trying to find props and set pieces with the resources we have. also, the awkward pause at the end is the funniest thing.

christian, the sailor — when the group is trying to figure out who christian was going to be in the show, they ultimately decided on a sailor who "wears tight pants." one of the actors says, "show me your ass" and christian flips his tail coat up and shows off his butt. we were all blessed by aaron tveit's rear end.

the elephant love medley — there are so many songs packed into one mashup but it’s so good (WHEN DOES THE CAST ALBUM COME OUT?!). christian mimics satine’s movement (flicks his leg, puts his head in his palms) in a small part of this mashup and i was like, “aw... he’s flirting with her... how cute.” also, the UMBRELLA™.

“bad romance” and “toxic” mashup — this is by far the best dance number ever. like wow! when “toxic” starts, there’s a really intense rock groove to it and lots of intense lighting. if this show doesn’t get a tony nomination for choreography, i’m throwing hands.

aaron’s launching across the stage — this happens in “bad romance” but i feel like it deserves it’s own bullet point. i knew this lift was coming, but my parents did not. when it happened, all three of us (my mom, my dad, and i) had our jaws dropped.

after the “bad romance” and “toxic” mashup — after the end of the number, the audience is going wild but the line after the applauding dies down is, “okay! i have some notes!” it’s funny because they are in rehearsal in the show, but the number is also the show (if that makes sense lol). also, there’s a line that goes, “we might have to change some of the lyrics like, ’gaga, ooo la la,’ what does that even mean?” which is literally what i’m thinking.

“come what may” — aaron and karen are both super talented singers and i’m blessed to hear them sing this song.

harold and the razor — this part was hilarious omg. so, they are in rehearsal for the show and harold is supposed to say something like, “i’ll cut you with my razor.” the first time they go through this scene, harold doesn’t have an actual razor prop to work with and he complains about it. then, it transitions to christian and a gun scene where christian has a prop gun in which harold has some words to say about. the next time they rehearse this scene, harold brings in a razor and he goes, “with my razor! HAHAHA razor!”

“only girl in the world” — i was not expecting the duke to sing this song but it was great lol. they changed the lyrics to, “i’m gonna make you feel like you’re the only girl in the world,” so it worked with the male’s perspective.

“chandelier” — this was one of my favorite numbers in the show. i thought it was really cool how they incorporated the green fairy as an alcoholic drink (i think they smoked the drug in the movie, but i’m not entirely sure... someone correct me on that if i got that wrong haha), and they used “chandelier” to correspond with the scene. also, christian still envisions satine as the green fairy and it’s such a powerful moment as people are trying to hold him back, but his eyes are focused on the fairy/satine.

“roxanne” — despite the opinion going around that the broadway show ruined the song, this song still remains my favorite in the show. i agree that aaron sings “put on the red light” one too many times, but i’m a sucker for an intense tango number and aaron’s high belt (god, aaron’s high belt is out of this world and it kills me!). also, aaron’s emotions were spot on and the dancing (done by robyn hurder) was incredible.

“crazy” and “rolling in the deep” mashup — ngl, this moment almost made me cry. during this scene, satine already “breaks up” with the duke as she is still in love with christian. but christian was forced to leave because satine had to lie (saying she didn’t love christian) in order obey the duke’s orders and avoid danger. so this is definitely a really intense number because christian is giving up as he is loading his gun (that he uses as a prop in the show) with bullets and satine is getting sicker and sicker with consumption. at the end of the number, christian holds up his gun (like alexander hamilton lol) and satine holds up her bloody handkerchief that she has been coughing into.

the surprising plot twist at the show — instead of the duke chasing christian around the theatre and trying to shoot him at the performance of the show, like they do in the movie, christian points the gun at himself in the “razor/gun scene.” that makes satine sing “come what may” as she knew that the gun was loaded and christian was threatening to kill himself because he believed she didn’t love him. this is when the tears started coming for me.

satine dying — karen olivo died. aaron tveit cried over her body. yes, ofc i was bawling my eyes out.

finale/curtain call — just how the show started out, the show doesn’t end when you expect it to end. there’s about 5-10 minutes more of spectacular dancing and a final mashup of the popular songs they sang throughout the show. also aaron does a can-can kick line and it’s probably the best thing you’d ever see in your life.

overall, this show is a spectacular ;) show and i want to see it again. honestly, it might be the best broadway show i’ve ever seen. there is never a dull moment and you’re on the edge of your seat the whole time... whether that’s if it’s from a dramatic climax or from the amazing dancing and musical numbers. please, if you get the opportunity to, go see this show! you won’t regret it!

look out for part 3 soon — SEE YOU LATER, CHICKENS!

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lady-feste-pendragon · 5 years

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OPTION TWO: KING OF ATTOLIA: THE HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL (and this idea is mine so it’s a looooooong one warning you now)

WE OPEN with a huge ensemble cast song of heckin course in which all of Attolia COMPLAINS about this HUGE PAIN in their COLLECTIVE BUTTS, telling the story of how the thief of eddis DECEITFULLY and WRONGLY kidNAPPED their prECIOUS QUEEN who may have been bloodthirsty and barbaric but who careS she was ouR queen and she’s beAUTIFUL and we loVE her and we hATE the king who forCED her to marry him bOO to the king doWN with the king we hATE him he’s TERRIBLE and the song ends with Aris comes sprinting on stage, disrupting all the singers and sending the song to a skittering halt bc guys!!!!

Costis punched the king!!!

To which there is suddenly a lot of Whispered Talking about oh nO costis is so niCE and now he’s gonna diE bc he punCHED the kinG also what did the king do this time--inSULTed teleus no heckin wonDER costis punched him but still v tragic cut to scene 2 Costis in his cell, pacing, sitting, standing, pacing again, and there’s a knock at the door. It’s the king of attolia, approaching from Stage Right, a bottle of wine tucked under his arm and two cups in his one visible hand. Costis lets him in. The king sets the wine on the table. He lifts his right hand--no. It’s a hook, the audience can see for the first time. The King of Attolia is missing his right hand.

The song neglected to mention that. There’s lots these songs neglect to mention plot twist Nobody talks about How the King lost that Hand it is a Forbidden Topic

There is no song when the king tells costis he’s being promoted, only a stuff uncomfortable silence whenever the king is not speaking. Toward the end of the scene in strides Attolia asking if Attolis has decided whether to hang costis or behead him. Attolis answers neither, costis will be promoted, and Attolia makes a noise of disgust and leaves.

A few songs follow as Costis settles into his new position and since this whole narrative is filtered through his eyes, the audience is lead to believe all the things about attolis from the first song are true. He dresses like a peacock, he has no dignity, he’s spiteful with his servants, he makes costis do stupid things. The queen pulls Costis aside and asks him to Keep an Eye on the King for her, to report back to her occasionally. He assumes the queen will one day do away with this idiot king and he is surprisingly conflicted about that. He gets his I Want song, which is mostly just “I Want This Stupid King To Leave Me Alone” lol.

Another important note: One of the songs is a council song that’s v political and it’s mainly during this song that we learn 1) the king is a v good singer so what was the deal with people complaining about his voice/speech/accent in that first song, and 2) Oh, that’s it, the king can’t rhyme. Attolian formal speech (sung, in this case bc Holy Musical Batman) is traditional broadway style meter and end rhyme. Eddisian formal speech has internal rhyme, has specific meters and important in-meter repetition, but no end rhyme. When Attolis sings, he Never rhymes, although you can see him Trying, actively trying so hard and only getting as far as slant rhyme which makes everyone involved Wince terribly bc Ugh That Accent, This Stupid Backward Eddisian Goat. Attolis and Attolia as of yet have no duet, but they meet in hallways sometimes and greet each other in song and it’s awkward and weighted and Short. Attolis has a lovely I Want song in which he locks all of his attendants out of his room and sings to himself (while costis is Right There, Sir) how homesick he is, and how much he misses Eddis and his freedom. It’s v sad. Attolia also has a solo during the council scene, which is also short, her time is coming i swear

THE KING’S WEDDING NIGHT is a bawdy awful song and an Absolute Bop and dite is terribly proud of himself and everyone’s humming it on and off for the rest of the act. It makes gen horrifically mopey which makes costis’ head hurt but the king is starting to grow on him. like a fungus. after all he sang that really sad song about how much This Sucks and yeah, fair, everybody’s putting stuff in his food and bed and crap and Maybe if we were Nicer to him he wouldn’t seem so Awful (all of the guards make fun of him for this). There is a short “lilies i rule, heads you do” scene that takes place during another short council scene right before The Dinner of the Fateful Dance, and during that council scene Attolis doesn’t even Try to Rhyme and people keep interrupting the council song to hum The King’s Wedding Night and he gets visibly more and more agitated as the coin keeps flipping and the song keeps playing and he leaves in a huff. Attolia tells him as he stalks off that he Has to attend dinner and during dinner he Forces (!!!) the queen to dance with him to a lovely instrumental song, which seems to play first in slow motion while Phriesine sings of Attolia’s backstory, of her first marriage, of the importance of the king’s humor when the queen offers him her wine. Suddenly the song speeds up, and the queen’s hair tumbles past her shoulders, and she’s smiling, why is she smiling? Costis blinks as the king gives her back her hair pins. That was certainly telling, but only if you’re paying attention.

Act One ends with Costis on his day off with a sense of unease, until he passes some guards who are struggling to put away the dogs and suddenly he knows! and he takes off running!!! bc where is the king!!!!!

Act Two opens with Costis desperately singing a prayer (Ten Golden Cups) as he runs and arriving in the garden just in time to see the king easily dispatch the second to last assassin. The third is apprehended as the rest of the court arrives, assuming Costis has done the deed. The assassin is questioned furiously with the king leaning against costis and he spits furious vitriol about the king, the same things everyone was singing about at the beginning but with more bitterness, and ends with “The queen should have kILLED you when she cUT OFF YOUR HAND!!!!” and if there are enough nonfans in the audience and if the actors are doing their job right it should feel like all the air has been sucked out of the room bc you don’t taLK about that!!! the queen arrives then and attolis kisses her and presses his forehead to her shoulder and suddenly everyone is rhyming as the royals are rushed up to the queen’s chambers. The king is put on a bed, spewing blood. The queen faints, the king is Distraught, everyone is shoved out of the room. Attolia is left alone with Costis outside the room and she Sings. It’s a short song, and mostly is Extremely Angery about the assassination attempt in her Own Garden in her Own Court to her Own King. When they’re let back in in the next scene it’s Duet Time Babey!!!!! Attolis and Attolia sing together about their relationship and their Love and their past and their present and how they’ve learned to step past it all and costis watches, feeling like an outsider but also So Stunned. He tells the king about the cups and the king swears they will be there

From here things start happening Very Quickly, It Seems. The king is ill. The queen is singing more often. The queen of eddis comes to visit, not just the king’s cousins as in the book. Unfortunately we have to cut out the part where sophos goes missing bc sophos can’t exist in this universe he adds too many variables we get one (1) storyline and we can’t mess this up. The king speaks with Relius and that’s Scary. There’s another ensemble song during which Costis is the only one to defend the king and he is Uncomfortable when the king’s wedding night motif plays again. And Then the king Destroys the house of Erondites and the queen has relius thrown in jail (also during that time the queen has a vicious, terrifying, short solo that’s more like a temper tantrum and a panic attack rolled into one and the king Soothes her) When the king is Destroying that baron’s house??

he rhymes.

Perfectly, flawlessly, he rhymes. He matches Attolian cadence note for note, word for word, and then he folds Eddisian repetition and internal rhyme into the mix. Attolia joins in, her own musical style rising up to meet his. The exchange lines, ending each other’s rhymes, Attolia ends up using more Eddisian themes than even he does. He proves he could do it all along, he just didn’t want to, and now he proves he doesn’t have to by ending that proclamation in a purely Eddisian way. And the next scene? Relius. Attolis. The dungeon. The King’s Wedding Night: Reprise. Perhaps the most terrifying reprise ever written. And in the end, he lets him go. And Relius returns to Attolia and once again begs her forgiveness and Attolia gets her own terrifying, heartbreaking solo, and in this one? she uses Eddisian cant and Attolis isn’t even in the room. She forgives him in a blend of Eddisian and Attolian that becomes it’s own musical language, and the only one used by the royals for the rest of the show.

Does that sound like the end? because it’s noT guess who haven’t had a duet yet!!!! it’s Attolis and Costis time!!!!! the attendants wake costis bc the king is drunk on a rooftop and he is supposed to Fetch the king. Costis learns to speak the language the king and queen have already been speaking to each other, and the king declares he has work for costis to do. And yeS the king slips, and tumbles, and falls--until it’s clear he can’t catch himself, his foot is off the parapet--and he flails and Something catches him, and pushes him gently back up, and a gentle rich chuckle fills the stage as the voice of a god says “go to bed, Eugenides.” Eugenides and Costis stare at each other, wide eyed, terrified. “The gods really do speak to you,” Costis whispers and Attolis confirms it and a Vow is made, “will you serve me and my gods for all your days?” In the end Costis agrees and asks him to come to sword practice tomorrow.

The final scene is fairly short, Attolis’ defeat of the guard and of Teleus and his being named Annux, and Attolia is there, and i actually am not sold on that as the actual ending, this scene could be moved before the rooftop or could be deleted altogether except we Need the annux line and i want attolia to be there ugh problems problems but either way the curtain closing song is an invocation of hephestia which, invocations should also feature bc i heckin love me an invocation song but that’s it that’s the play can u imagine these idiots singing in front of a live studio audience boy i die!!!!

#the queen's thief #king of attolia #now this one should def go under a read more it's at LEast a mile long #still not doing it #also if u want hit me up for lyrics i've been toying with them for Months but barely wrote them down so good luck if i remember them lol

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boycottphil · 5 years

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Omg if you're writing usuk can you please do something involving the Beatles/Beatlemania or the British Invasion in general? Theres so much good material there but no one really writes about it. I will love you forever

For context, I am taking fanfic requests!

This was a lot of fun to write! I wasn’t too sure if this is what you meant, anon, but if it’s not, feel free to send another ask! I’d be happy to write more. Anyway, enjoy!

Pairing: UsUk Rating: T Warnings: Strong language, mentions of blood, smoking (cigarettes) Word count: 2026

Imagine hundreds of thousands of people screaming your name. Imagine hundreds of thousands of people obsessing over your every step, word, move… Imagine loving every second of the intrusive behaviour displayed by fans.

Arthur, the lead singer of the “best band in history,” lived off of such things. Fame… It brought him joy, joy which he previously thought was impossible for him to feel. He was surrounded by security, yet his favourite moments were those when a fan managed to get to him, and looked at him with amazement in their eyes…

Looked at him as if he were a god.

[[MORE]]

Now, one could say that such thoughts and such behaviour was perhaps a bit… unhealthy. And one would be right. Arthur was sick; getting off on his own fame, and as he gathered more and more fans all over the world with each tour, he felt better. And better.

His band was good, not the best band in the world, per say, but definitely good. Their music was largely enjoyed by a female audience. Girls loved to imagine the songs being sung to them personally. They were written to be perceived that way. No names of girls were mentioned… no hints at any particular gender were given either.

Now, there were rumours, as there always are surrounding any band as huge as Arthur’s. Rumours like selling their souls to the devil, rumours like being robots invested by the government. Rumours like… being gay.

Arthur could only benefit from rumours that claimed he was an alien. It added more mystery to his character, more reasons for people to check out his music, come to his concerts. However…

Rumours that claimed he was gay could destroy his career. The thing is… he is gay. He does not fancy women at all. He couldn’t care less when girls form whole crowds and take off their shirts and bras. He didn’t care about his bandmate’s groupies offering threesomes or foursomes or ogies. He’d rather bang his bandmates if he didn’t despise them all.

He came quite close to having his career ruined, though.

One day, while touring the United States, they stopped in middle-of-nowhere-town of some State that Arthur thought was made up by the Americans to make it to 50 states in the first place. He was still convinced there aren’t 50 of them, but 10 divided into five parts each. But he would not express that opinion. Lest someone shot him for even mentioning the USA in any context that doesn’t presents it as the best country on the planet.

It was a town they were merely passing through, but they had to stop for fuel and food and for the drivers to rest a bit as well. Arthur wore his sunglasses and had clothes on that he wasn’t known for wearing, and decided to walk around town a bit. They had a few hours, and he wasn’t about to pass the opportunity to stretch his legs and turn off his brain a bit. Touring meant little walking and too much work, so moments such as those were few and far between.

He had purchased a box of cigarettes, which he planned to get through before he had to be locked in a fast moving vehicle again; in which he wasn’t allowed to smoke. With a fag already lit and dangling off his lips, he walked out onto the pavement, ready to resume his walk just when…

He was bumped into by some 5 foot 6 tall boy. He groaned as his cigarette fell into a puddle, together with his sunglasses. He grumbled and hurried to retrieve his glasses but, well… the kid already saw.

“Arthur Kirkland?! No way!!” He yelled too loudly, his voice far too deep for what Arthur assumed was a 13 year old boy.

“Shh!” Arthur shushed and then wrapped an arm around the other’s head and covered his mouth so he couldn’t make more noise. He felt screaming behind his hand and the boy seemed to be losing his mind just from being touched. Arthur did love attention… but not in some hick town when he was looking for a quiet place to smoke and meditate until he had to leave again.

He dragged the other into an alley- not a suspicious thing to do at all- and shushed him until the other stopped freaking out. He rambled about being touched and carried by Arthur, all of which was technically true, but it sounded so much more dramatic coming out of the kid’s mouth.

“Okay, listen here, kid-” he started, but was promptly interrupted.

“Kid? I’m 19!” He argued.

Arthur looked annoyed, but slightly less on-edge about dragging him into a dark alley. “Whatever, mate. Just stop screaming like a bloody schoolgirl. I don’t want this whole town to know we’re here. The paparazzi would hound us for hundreds of miles, like they did in the last town this happened in.” He explained as he lit his second cigarette- he was mourning the first.

“So you really are Arthur Kirkland?” The other asked, already taking off the backpack he had on and reaching for the first paper and pen he had. “Would you please sign this?” He asked, his bright blue eyes shining in anticipation.

Arthur frowned, but he took the pen and, without really looking or even thinking about it, produced a perfect loopy signature.

“Whoaa… That’s so cool! My name’s Alfred so could you…”

Arthur added, ‘for Alfred, stay cute’ at the bottom, as he does for all signatures, merely replacing the name.

“You think I’m cute?! Wow, Arthur Kirkland thinks I’m cute!!” Alfred said, his voice so high pitched in excitement that Arthur almost really did think he was cute.

“No, mate- I write that for everyone. Most of my fans are girls, you see and-” once again, he was interrupted.

“But you do think I’m cute! I can tell. You keep looking at me,” Alfred insisted, perhaps a bit cheekily. Arthur blinked, trying not to seem too taken aback.

“I, uh… I don’t… What?” He was usually never speechless. He always had a way to make a fan swoon over him with smooth comebacks and flirty lines that made girls go absolutely mad. But this was a boy. A boy who had called him out on his obvious interest in him, and a boy who, while excited to see him, clearly didn’t think he was a god.

Weird. He was supposed to always be seen as a god. What else could he be seen as?

“So… if you could keep this meeting to yourself for the next 24 hours, that would be bloody fantastic. Now, if you excuse me…” he mumbled and started walking away. He thought Alfred would be satisfied enough with that; he got an autograph and a hug- sort of. But no…

“So where are you headed now?” Came the American voice of the 19 year old who just decided to tag along.

Arthur felt his blood beginning to boil just a bit. “That is literally none of your business. Literally.” He sighed, exasperated.

Alfred fell into step beside him, keeping up easily even as the Brit tried to speed up. “Aw, come on! I won’t tell. I know how to keep secrets! I’m great at it. This one time, my cousin Austin, he told me that he and his aunt on his mum’s side-”

Arthur stopped abruptly. “How the fuck are you good at keeping secrets?”

“Well… I… You don’t know my cousin Austin, do you?”

Arthur groaned and kept walking, now deciding to ignore Alfred entirely. The teen though; he decided that he would ignore Arthur ignoring him. The Brit continued walking and smoking his cigarette as if Alfred wasn’t right there, and talking his ears off about dinosaurs and spaceships and how much he loved boys and how he knew Arthur could relate and-

Wait.

They had at that point reached a park, which was perhaps the size of two average backyards. There was no one around, and Arthur really appreciated it.

“What do you mean?” Arthur asked, his blood really getting to a simmer.

“Well, you know… You’ve never been seen with a girl, you never touch girls, you don’t talk about girls, you don’t even seem interested to all the girls we just passed while getting here. At all. You’re gay, and I can tell,” Alfred claimed.

“I have absolutely no idea where you get those ideas from. How would you know what I do in my free time?” He crossed his arms, perhaps a bit defensively.

“You look at my lips and arms so much, and you’ve looked at my ass too. I’m not dumb, you know! There’s no shame in being gay, Arthur. It’s all just-”

Arthur was angry at that point. He threw his half finished cigarette to the ground and stepped on it, then turned to face Alfred. “I don’t know who you think you are, but if you’re gay and you think making up lies is going to turn me gay, then forget about it. All right? I don’t even mess with groupies in the first place. Would you kindly leave me the fuck alone now?” He said loudly, keeping his composure enough not to yell at this kid.

“You’re just mean and in denial because you think if you come out that girls will stop obsessing over you. That’s okay. If you don’t want a groupie because all of them are girls, that’s understandable. But I mean… I’m free. I ran away from home a week ago. I have nowhere to be so… I could come with you. Warm your bed at night. Maybe do a few more other things too. Like ride you while you-”

Arthur punched him. He got too heated, too angry, amd he just… threw the punch. His knuckles ached after, and Alfred was holding onto his bleeding nose. It didn’t seem broken, but knowing the consequences of literally punching someone, Arthur began briskly walking away.

He should have expected to see the American again, before he even managed to walk down half a block. How he could cradle a bloody nose and run after him was a miracle.

“That was so rude!! I did not deserve to be fucking punched, man! I was just teasing you, dude! It’s literally not my fault that you are hiding your repressed homosexuality-”

“Stop. Calling. Me. Gay.” He growled, taking one step closer to the teen with each word uttered.

Alfred was practically pinned to a wall just then, looking up at the Brit with wide blue eyes. He was tall and handsome and…

And he kissed Alfred before he could get socked again. Instead of being pushed away and hit, as Alfred expected he would, he was pulled closer and kissed intensely enough to have all the air sucked out of his lungs.

Arthur pulled away seconds later, practically pushing himself off Alfred. Even behind his sunglasses, his eyes looked wide and shocked at what he had done. He looked around, then took Alfred’s hand and ran toward the bus.

He fucked up. He fucked up big time. But that’s okay… No one saw. And if he just kept Alfred with him on tour at all times… No one would find out that he was gay. At all.

“Is everything you need in that backpack?” He asked Alfred, out of breath from running, once they arrived at the bus.

“Yeah, why?” He asked and took off his backpack so he could take some tissues out and clean the blood off his face.

“Good. You’ll be coming with us on tour,” Arthur stated bluntly, not even bothering to listen for a yes or a no. Alfred grinned like a kid and hopped into the bus behind Arthur, already reaching out to cop a feel of his favourite singer’s ass.

Needless to say, Arthur did get himself a groupie. Involuntarily. And now every day became a series of “I almost outed myself to my millions of crazy fans.” It could be worse. At least he sleeps with a cute and annoying twink every night.

#hetalia #Anonymous #usuk #ukus #aph england #aph america #arthur kirkland #alfred f jones #beatlemania #i think #i mean i tried rlly hard n i think i did well #aph

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svetspi-of-kasvrroa · 5 years

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The Interloper From the North

It was in the depths of that cold and dreary time of year of bitter winds, and short, grey days, known familiarly as winter.

I had fallen into the seasonal depression and irritation that came with the time.

Children seemed to revel in the snow, forming it into balls, and tossing them at each other, as well as at various passerby, chattering with a glee that quite frankly baffled me, and left me feeling even more sour than when I had first awoken to see the horrid, white stuff blanketing the yard, and piled up against the windows of my bedroom. The stuff had coated the front walk, and left it treacherous to navigate on my way out that morning. And of course it had been too early in the day for the plowman to have come to clear the drive, and salt the roads.

I had not lived in this town long, and my home was placed (rather awkwardly) on the slope of a hill on the outskirts, where civilization gave way to a dark wood which loomed ominously over the the roads and rooftops.

As a whole, it was not a bad place -quaint, and perhaps a bit more lacking in proper educated folk- but not bad. And regardless of how much or little I liked the place, it was not as if I could just up and leave; I had a reason to be here after all.

I had moved here chasing rumors of a dreadful sort: the resurgence of an old pagan religion, practiced in the old days of antiquity, when European civilization was still young, and horrid things still lurked the deep shadows of winter nights, prowling the tenebrous borders of dark forests just like that which crept hungrily onto the edges of my property.

According to a colleague of mine, who had tipped me off to the place, the cult had taken over the entire town, converting every last man, woman, and child to their barbaric, primitive, ways.

One would think that such a cult, that could entangle an entire village, would be easy to learn about, but alas! Despite my remaining undercover for nigh unto two months in the place, not one cultist had been caught speaking of their pagan ways! I was beginning to fear that perhaps what I had been told was just that: talk! With nothing to back it up but rumors and hearsay.

That is, until, the night of the winter solstice. In that, the darkest, longest, night of the year, I was roused from sleep by a what sounded to my ears like a distant, chanting song, low, and loud, and choral in sound, as sung by hundreds of voices.

A chill ran down my spine, raising the hairs on my neck, and setting my heart thudding loud and quick. My mouth dry, and hands shaking, I slowly pulled off my blankets, and slipped on my robe, and the cold floorboards creaking traitorously as I crept from my bed and cautiously made my way to the eastward window, which faced out, over the town. My hands, set on the sill clenched, my knuckles turning white, and my arms shaking. What I beheld before me was horrifying. A fearful orange light danced across the rooftops, and trees, mixing and intertwining with the phantasmal blue light given by the the full moon overhead, gazing ruefully through a ragged gash in the black clouds above. From the middle of the town, rose an awful column of flame, sending up sparks of red, yellow, and orange, hundreds of feet into the air, and birthing a plume of black, swirling, smoke, that rose up, higher and higher, until mixing with the dark clouds above.

Though the source of the vast flame largely was obscured by shops and treetops, I could just barely make out several figures. Though dark, against the bright light of the flame, and shrouded in what appeared to be robes and hoods, I could well see that there were members both male, and female, and of a great variety of of statures and builds. With each rise and swell of that unholy choir, the dark figures would clasp their hands together and raise them high, swaying with the melody. And, in that moment, I made a horrific observation: among the singers were children. By god, they had children partaking in their awful ritual! Then that would also mean that all the town was likely down their, dressed in the robes and swaying in time with that abominable, alien, music!

I found myself frozen, unable to look away from the scene down below until, at last, the song ceased, the singers dropped their hands, and the fire burned down to simple coals.

When I was finally released from that awful spell, I could not return to sleep. What I had just witnessed was undeniable: it was all true. This was it. Everything that I had been looking for, and yet, I found that it brought nothing but dread. I knew not what it was that I had just witnessed, but I could only fear the worst.

As I sat there, shuddering on my bed, waiting for morning my mind darted and shifted to dark places, and dark things, bringing to mind remembrances of my studies of the gruesome rituals of the fire-worshipping cult of Yax’taztut’thut in the remote sands of Eqypt, and readings on the dreadful Nantucket moon-cult.

When the sun finally rose, after what seemed an eternity, I found myself overcome by a great weariness, and, unable to hold my eyes open any longer, drifted to sleep.

I spent the next several days drifting about my home in a sort of stunned, paranoid, dread, peeking at passerby on the road through the curtains -all of which I had drawn shut- and pacing about my bedroom.

But, alas, I knew that I must eventually venture out from the safety of my home.

It was a frigid afternoon, and a light snow was beginning to fall, big, heavy, flakes tumbling down from the heavens, and breaking gracelessly upon overcoat. I thought that if, in fact, my fears were true, and the entire town had taken part in that dreadful ceremony days before, it is more than likely that upon seeing me, they may realize that I was not among them that awful, dark, solstice, night, and I shudder to think what the penalties for such a thing should be.

As I walked through the village, head down, and hat drawn over my face, so as to obscure it from passerby, I noticed a change had taken place…

Objects of a dreadful, and occult, nature had been hung from the street-lamps. Ropes of blood red, like fresh entrails had been tangled amongst the bushes, and chanting like those which now seemed so distant emanated from some unseen place, loud, and horrible, prying at my ears, and clawing their way into my mind, seeming to batter and tear at my very soul, until finally, I could no longer take it, and with a cry bolted into the general store.

But dear god, I was not safe there, for though the chanting had been blocked from my mind, before me, in the very center of the room, encircled by those same sanguinous cords as were tangled up in the bushes outside was an awful spire, adorned with unholy depictions the likes of which I dare not -nay, cannot describe in human language. And before that awful spire, stood a woman, and a child, festooned in that same visceral red color, adorned in awful pagan, imagery. They were speaking to each other, about what, I do not know, but from the small snippet I did hear, I do not know if I wish to. As the woman turned to her child, she took her hands, and uttered a phrase that made me turn around, and run, as fast as my legs could carry me, non-stop, the full mile back to my home: “He will come tonight. We must prepare.”

Who “he” is, and what sort of preparations “his” coming requires… I shudder to think.

I cannot escape… the road is buried too deep, and the plowman has still not come. The snow is falling faster, and as the night descends on the valley, gloom creeps like some insipid, ghoulish liquid, through the cracks and crevices of the floorboards, and walls, pooling in the dark corners of the house, and forming a wall among the trees, and as it does so I can feel the isolation setting in. There is no way out. I am trapped.

It is night now, and I have barricaded the door with the bookcase. A terrible fog has set in, and the chanting rising from the village has finally, stopped, though a small blessing that is, as, in the dark of the night, high, up above the treetops, glows a single star. Bright white, cutting sharp, and cold, through the swirling fog, and blazing like the baleful eye of some dark god in the timeless, infinite blackness of space. I can feel it piercing my very soul..

Even now, I can hear it’s song creeping into my mind, calling out to me, feeling about the dark like a blind man searching for his cane, rattling about inside my skull, growing louder and louder.

Outside, a red glow bleeds into the air -not the natural glow of the sunset, or sunrise, but a horrible, gruesome, glow, unnatural, and impossible, like nothing that could be produced by mortal minds. I know that he draws near.

His song grows deafeningly loud, pounding with a maddening rhythm in my mind. I can only sit here and cradle my head in my hands in the sitting room, but blocking my ears does no good. Oh! God help me! I can hear him pounding on the walls!

The metal chimney rattles and creaks and… god… he is in the room now! He is formless and gruesome, to behold, a bloated, gelatinous mass, bulging and writhing underneath robes of an eldritch, alien, sanguinous red. His eyes -or the black orbs, inlaid in that crimson, bulbous, expanse of a face, that I assumed to be eyes- seemed to contain in their depths that very same baleful star that shone above, and, as from his mouth billowed curls of greasy smoke, I could not hold back a scream, as from the depths of that gruesome, impossible, form, bellowed, three, thunderous, syllables: “Ho. Ho. Ho.”

#lovecraft #christmas #writing

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eternichi · 6 years

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10 SHINee Years

Happy 10th Anniversary, SHINee! I already wrote this on Amino, but I thought I’d bring it over to tumblr (where I can format it properly lol

10 SHINee Years

I can’t believe it’s been 10 whole years. I found SHINee probably just after their first year, in 2009 when Lucifer was gaining traction online. They were the first K-pop band I ever heard, and the only one I’ve ever loved. I haven’t found another band I’ve ever followed so passionately, and I don’t think I ever will. They’re so unique.

When I first heard Lucifer I was hooked on the spot. My friend was showing me the video and I could not believe how good the music was, and I was entranced by the flawless dance moves and a music video I wanted to repeat. I’ve heard the song a million times but I never get sick of it. Even listening right now. It reminds me of great times in middle school, where my friends and I tried to learn the dance. Though I still don’t know much anymore, I never gave up on learning it. Though we’re not all friends anymore, I see the memories of our happiness in each song you all sing.

Honestly I didn’t get super into SHINee until college when I became very depressed and found myself running across silly SHINee compilations on YouTube. They cheered me up and made me so happy. I learned all their names and how unique and incredible each one of them is, how important they are to k-pop as a whole and to each other. How pure they are, even when it comes to live shows that are always live (what kind of band so talented is BAD at lipsyncing? One with pure talent that doesn’t take shortcuts!). Honestly, I’m still learning how to be a Shawol every day. Even today, I never knew the exact day they debuted (and the day after my birthday no less, whoa!) ;;;

ONEW

The sweet leader, Onew. Onew’s gone through a lot and stayed so strong the whole time. He puts all his love into SHINee and it shows. When he needed surgery for his voice and cried when he could finally return to stage, when he comforted every other emotional member on stage, when he might be stressed but always would give that big smile. How can someone be so cool, sexy, and adorable at the same time? You never fail to keep your fans on their feet. Many would be lucky to have such a kind yet strong leader.

KEY

My personal bias, Key. Key was actually the character who’s part I was assigned to dance to back in the old days. It must’ve been fate because when I got older and learned more about him, I realized how much I admired him. I’m someone with a god-awful memory and not a skilled dancer, so I’m in awe by Key’s incredible ability to memorize dances on the spot and expertly execute them. His ability inspires me to work harder at that alone, but that’s not all! A great singer and fashionista to the max, is there anything you’re bad at? All the while, learning to speak in Korean, Japanese, and English. This inspires me so much, as someone who’s been learning Japanese and hopes to teach Japanese abroad. You must have worked so hard to learn so much, and no doubt to help your fellow members reach their highest potential. And as a singer, student, and fan, you’re one of my biggest inspirations.

TAEMIN

Taemin I’ll admit is a bit of a mystery to me sometimes. I feel like there’s a lot of times you never know what he’s thinking behind that ever-present smile. A little bit of mischief and playfulness, but also clearly someone who, when they want to achieve a goal, will make it happen. Like many others, I watched you grow. My first memories are of a scrawny little Taemini with the long blond hair, so seeing beefy TaeMAN years later was a (welcome) shock. Now you’re making your own albums and clearly pursuing something you’ve always wanted to do. Though the smallest, Taemin’s definitely been a core part of SHINee, and has clearly grown well with love aside his brothers.

MINHO

Though Minho has a huge personality, he was someone I didn’t know much about for a long time. He’s fiery, competitive, playful, determined, and dorkly cool (riddle me that one). Clearly one of SHINee’s biggest fans who will prove them to be the best in any competition, no matter how small, and make up DIBIDIBIDI songs about his favorite people. And no different from the other members, just as talented as a budding drama actor and the group rapper. Though known as the group rapper, it’s no shock he’s just as talented in song. One of my favorite songs he’s sung is Kiseki, a Japanese song I heard before hearing him sing it, but only loved after. No matter what, Minho’s love for SHINee will never fade. There’s no extinguishing that flaming charisma.

JONGHYUN

And finally, Jonghyun. Forever in our hearts and our minds. The lead vocalist, and that is no title given lightly. Those notes in Lucifer, the long high notes, always gave me chills. It was your voice I wanted to hear the most in each song replay. What an incredible talent. The lyrics of each song he wrote packed with emotion and meaning. Every song has a purpose. You could say so much and so little in each line. You have the brightest smile of all of the members, and every time I’d watch a behind-the-scenes video, I’d always be instantly happy when I saw you break out in a huge smile and fits of laughter. Jonghyun worked so hard and did so many incredible things with his talents and immense effort. You did so, so, so well.

Jonghyun, last July I planned a trip to Japan. The winter before, I found “SHINee’s Fine Day”, a show where all of the boys took trips to wherever they wanted. I never finished the series, but when my friends and I decided to visit Japan, I remembered that you also loved Japan and chose to visit it. I began to slowly watch your videos the next months for inspiration. In December, inspiration turned to dedication. In March, I walked purposefully in some of your footsteps in Tokyo. I couldn’t do everything, but I chose 3 specific places that I bought meant a lot to you back them.

I decided to visit the records store you did, Tower Records jn Shibuya, and buy your last album, along with some from SHINee. When I arrived, the store looked different than when you visited, but just like you, I believe to the SHINee section. They had a beautiful set up dedicated to all 5 of you. I took a picture so someday, when I’ve learned enough Japanese, I can read their kind words. I easily found your city, put in a large section for your fans. When I purchased your CD, they gave me a poster of the cover. I still haven’t had the heart to open my CDs or hang up your poster. Someday I will though.

On my way to Tower Records, I had visited Hachiko. All the while I remembered when you took a picture with him too, and fans started to gather in take pictures, which you happily and loudly invited to continue. (Funny enough people took pics of me then too in my fairy kei fashion haha)

In Odaiba, the Gundam statue. I’m not a Gundam fan like you are but I wanted to copy you by taking a selfie in front of the statue (albeit I wasn’t meaning to go in cosplay but that’s how things wound up haha;;; ). I’m glad I could go where you once were. It helped comfort me a lot knowing you once experienced a lot of happiness and fun, enjoying your vacation where i was. And knowing you must be feeling that happiness once again. You deserve all of the happiness in the world.

Jonghyun, I’ll try to keep it short. You changed me as a person. I now stand up for what I believe in. I try to not let others push me around. I know you stood up for what you believed in and it inspired me so much. But you’ve been inspiring everyone around you since the beginning. They all said so; fans, other musical groups, your friends, and your fellow members. You’re an idol in every sense of the word. You’re a star.

SHINee

What SHINee has taught me most of all is something I’ve been trying to prove my whole life: true friendship exists. I hoped it existed with the friends I had back when I discovered SHINee in middle school. There were also 5 of us. But our five wasn’t meant to be, of course, we went different ways. I’ve made more friends and lost them between then and now. My depression worsened because I believed I’d never find friends that would want to be with me, want to work towards the same goals, or help me through hard times. I just had friends that abandoned me, gave up on our projects we started with so much promise, and brushed off my feelings. When I found the videos of SHINee, it broke through this despair I’d built up overtime. I saw them laugh, cry, smile, argue, and work so hard together and knew there were no truer friends in the world. Someday I want the friendship they have. I’m not there yet but I know now that it’s out there. That’s what made me fall in love with SHINee more than any other band ever will. They’re not just the pretty boys with nice voices and incredible dance moves. Their distinct, incredible people who care about each other so much, and put their all into their group. Though they may have different goals and dreams ultimately, and different side talents and projects, it’s clear their #1 focus is SHINee, and the Shawol that give their love to them. They love us because we love this group that they put their hearts and souls into. There’s no way to deny how much they love us. In return, let’s all do our best to be as amazing as they always believe we are.

Thank you, SHINee. Thank you Onew, Jonghyun, Minho, Key, and Taemin. Your future is shining bright.

( Thanks everyone who read! This was just my view of SHINee, so it may be perceived way different than the next fan. But everyone’s reason to love SHINee is just as correct. We’re all fans of this incredible group and I love all of the dedication Shawol have. Sorry if this was a long ramble and about the tense changes. Take care, everyone. )

#SHINee #shinee 10 years #shinee anniversary #shinee 10th anniversary #thank you shinee #here's to your bright future #chi talks

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gregoryjdillerblr · 3 years

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Ranking all 15 Pink Floyd studio albums, from worst to best.

Those that know me well know Pink Floyd is my all time favorite band. I grew up listening to classic rock, thanks to my parents. My childhood band was Van Halen, and my mother pretty much bought me the entire Van Halen collection, both Roth and Hagar eras. I then went through phases when I was around 12 years old, and I began to listen to a lot Metallica more. And at 15, I began to listen a lot of of more of 80s New Wave, particularly A Flock of Seagulls, which most people in my personal life always picked on me for it, asking “How the hell did you go from Metallica to A Flock of Seagulls?” I’ve always heard Pink Floyd songs, but because my parents were huge fans, that meant I wasn’t a huge fan. I grew up that way: whatever your parents don’t like you don’t like.

But of course, you find your identity while growing up, naturally liking art that you actually once hated because of your influence. I didn’t really listened to Pink Floyd until I was around 17ish, liking the songs from the Whale (a radio station based in Binghamton, NY) that played classic rock songs. It was here that I’ve heard songs like “Run Like Hell,” “Mother,” “Time,” “Comfortably Numb,” “Learning to Fly,” and the more obscured, underrated PF track “One Slip.” It wasn’t until I was 18 (I was still in high school) when I got home from school that my mother had bought The Wall for me, a more surprised gift. From then, I was really hooked from Pink Floyd, asking my mother to get me The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Division Bell, all on that order. By that time I got The Division Bell, I knew Pink Floyd was becoming my new favorite band. Though I explored bands like Led Zeppelin and The Church and Rush afterwards, Pink Floyd, to this very day, 11 years later, are still my favorite.

They opened the sub rock genre Progressive Rock for me. I explored bands like Yes, Rush and Genesis, despite I’ve heard their songs on the radio and seen some of their videos on VH1 Classic, but never bothered to dig into their catalogue till a few years later after listening to Pink Floyd.

I’ve listened to all their 15 studio albums, and this list is about the albums that I keep going back to. Please keep in mind this is my personal taste. There is no right or wrong answers to ranking albums. It’s all about opinions and what you like in the end. I know I might piss off other PF fans with my ranking, but, guys, we all have our favorites, don’t we? Every PF fan has their own album rankings, of course. Here is mine.

15. Ummagumma, 1969. Ummagumma is perhaps Pink Floyd’s most experimental album, and one I truly distaste. It’s a double album, with the first disc is a set of live tracks (which, honestly, I barely listen to because of the sound quality) while the second disc is the actual studio album. PF was lost without Syd Barrett, the true original founder of the band. Each band member then produced their own songs without the influence from the other members. What we get is a mess, and some songs are either boring to listen to or just God awful. Most of it is instrumental, but the ones I like are Roger Water’s “Grantchester Meadows” and David Gilmour’s “The Narrow Way, Pt.3,” which happened to be the only two songs on the entire album that have lyrics. Roger’s other track, “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict” is a bizarre tune that is only done by sound effects by Water’s voice, making chipmunk like noises, and tapping on the microphone at various speeds, with Roger speaking in an exaggerated Scottish burr near the end of the song. The tune is more amusing because it’s rather a funny track to listen to, while Richard Wright’s tracks “Sysyphus (parts 1--4)” and Nick Mason’s “ The Grand Vizier's Garden Party (parts 1--3)” aren’t a joy, just a mess of sounds that I find skipping over and never listen to.

14. A Saucerful of Secrets, 1968. Pink Floyd’s second album, one that introduced David Gilmour after Syd Barrett was beginning to take too much LSD and became very unpredictable. What we get with this second album are lost musicians without a leader, and the sound often jumps around, from forgettable piano driven tracks to the more washed out, space like organ sounds that really isn’t a joy to listen to, to a very bizarre track full of jazz instruments that Syd Barrett sings his only track at the very end of the album. Roger’s track “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” (this song is the only one that has all five members playing, according to Gilmour) and “Corporal Clegg” are the two standouts for me, with the latter hinting of what’s to come with Roger’s anti war lyrics, and Gilmour’s choppy, wah guitar effects hints of what’s to come.

13. More, 1969. Yes, Pink Floyd’s 1968 and ‘69 albums don’t really do anything for me. More is a soundtrack to the French film of the same title. However, More hints of a more calibrated work of the group, and despite that some tracks are more over the place than others, what we get with More is a much more standard album than a band trying to experiment. Songs like “The Nile Song” and “Ibiza Bar” are two heavy hitting PF songs while “The Crying Song” and “Green is the Colour” are softer ballads. Perhaps the best known track from this album is “Cymbaline.” “More Blues” and “Dramatic Theme” just scratch the surface of Gilmour’s incredible, Blues inspired guitar playing style. The album can do without the seven minute track “Quicksilver,” which is nothing but Rick Wright coming up with eerie organ soundscapes that are rather boring than they are affective.

12. The Final Cut, 1983. The post Wall album, The Final Cut sees Roger Waters in complete control, who has become a very egocentric, over baring bastard that this album was PF’s most difficult album to record. Roger has kicked Rick Wright out, since he felt Rick wasn’t contributing anything to the band. What we get with The Final Cut is the only PF album without Richard Wright, and a mess of an album that is trying to find its identity after the success of The Wall. In fact, most of these tracks were based of cut out tracks from the previous album, with David Gilmour arguing Roger that these songs weren’t any good at the time, why should they be good now. Gilmour himself only sung one track, the epic, hard hitting “Not Now John” that has the most f-bombs in any PF song, though Roger does take over in certain spots here and there. For me, the best songs on this album are “Your Possible Pasts,” “The Final Cut,” “Not Now John,” and the album closer “Two Suns in the Sunset” (this song was difficult for Nick for its odd timing, and Roger brought in a session drummer to fill in the spot) while the other tracks don’t do anything for me. Roger felt this was the last PF album, but I honestly glad it wasn’t.

11. The Endless River, 2014. For twenty years, The Division Bell was truly the last PF studio album. However, David and Nick went through their secret vault of recorded but unleashed tracks from The Division Bell. Their focused was to bring Richard Wright’s playing more in the forefront, wanting their audience to hear how important his sound was for the band. David and Nick rerecorded and modernized some parts on these songs, including David adding more guitar and lyrics to their farewell, goodbye song “Louder Than Words,” which I honestly still feel it’s a very underrated track. 99% of this album is instrumental. Majority of this album makes up from one plus minute tracks, which seem more filler than anything. Nevertheless, another song that shines is “It’s What We Do,” which is the most “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” inspired track PF has done in years, and one that brings Wright’s sound to the forefront as Gilmour and Mason intended.

10. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, 1967. Pink Floyd’s first album, and the one that only has Syd Barrett as a lead singer and without David Gilmour. This album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, where The Beatles was recording Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band next door, which Pink Floyd visited, and the two bands influenced each other. Syd Barrett was a much more character driven lyricist, and his songs were more based of fairy tales, hence the title of the album. The album itself is a bit unbalanced, as the later half becomes a folky, acoustic guitar driven album as the first half was a psychedelic rock trip. Most of the songs here was sung by Barrett, while Wright provides some second lead vocals in certain songs. This album showcases that the band is indeed experimenting, playing walls of sounds, but a bit more focused compared to their three follow ups. My favorite tracks are “Astronomy Domine,” “Lucifer Sam,” “Matlida Mother,” “Pow R. Toc H.,” and “Chapter 24.”

9. Atom Heart Mother, 1970. It is here, in this spot, where it’s difficult for me to rank, as these albums are my personal favorites from the Floyd. However, I feel this album is right for it’s spot, since I find myself drawn to the other top 8 more in the recent years. I still believe this album is underrated and underappreciated. Even the band themselves have stated that they hate this album. Atom Heart Mother’s concept is soundtrack to a film that doesn’t exist. The epic, 23 minute title track sounds exactly like a movie, with full on brass sections and choirs that were composed by Ron Geesin. “If” is a Roger Waters’ ballad with a beautifully haunting slide guitar from Gilmour and slowly becomes a rock driven tune near the end. Richard Wright takes turns to lead in “Summer ‘68,” which is about a one night stand Rick had with a groupie, perhaps haunted by the very act he’s done. The song starts with a piano ballad structure that goes on full horn and funky acoustic chops by Gilmour. Gilmour than leads “Fat Old Sun,” which every instrument was done by Gilmour, including the drums. It’s another acoustic ballad that slowly becomes a rock oriented track, with Gilmour reflecting on summer. The album ends with “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast,” which the whole concept centers around Pink Floyd’s roadie, Alan Styles, making breakfast. The middle song of this three part based track, in itself calls “Sunny Side Up,” is my personal favorite part of the entire song, with David overdubbing two beautiful acoustic guitars as well as a another haunting slide guitar work. The whole song was inspired by water dripping out of a faucet.

8. Obscured By Clouds, 1972. Another soundtrack for a film, Obscured By Clouds is the often forgotten, underrated album that is stuck between ‘71′s Meddle and the most successful PF album, The Dark Side of the Moon. By Meddle, Pink Floyd has found its sound after the downfall of Syd Barrett. Obscured By Clouds showcases Gilmour’s guitar in the forefront. Both Gilmour and Waters become the two leads for the band, though Rick Wright does offer the wah driven, piano balled, “Stay.” “Burning Bridges” is sung by both Gilmour and Wright, who duet in “Echoes” on their previous album but now take turns for the lead, hinting the song “Time” on DSOFTM. “The Gold It’s in the...” is one of the very few PF tracks that doesn’t have Rick Wright playing, as it is a funk, harder driven track sung by Roger. Gilmour offers “Childhood’s End,” which is loosely based off a 1953 science fiction novel of the same name by Arthur C. Clarke. “Free Four” is a “Spirt in the Sky” inspired track with dark undertones. Part of it is an antiwar song, where Roger sings about the death of his father for the first time, an reoccurring theme that will play out in future albums like The Wall and The Final Cut. “Mudmen” is an instrumental track that is very similar to “Burning Bridges,” but here David provides some haunting guitar riffs and slide effects. The album closes with “Absolutely Curtains,” which Roger provides an incoherent shout as the song slowly builds and fades into one of Wright’s most beautiful organ textured sounds.

7. A Momentary Lapse of Reason, 1987. Some fans will put this as their worst PF album, but it’s honestly one of my absolutely favorites. It was originally going to be David’s third solo album, but with the disappointed sales of his first two, EMI wanted to be a Pink Floyd album. Most of the tracks were pre recorded by the time Gilmour called Mason in. It marks the return of Richard Wright, who Gilmour had to fight for because of the contract that Roger had written he shouldn’t return in the band. Gilmour was also battling Roger Waters, who was fighting to have the name Pink Floyd remove, thinking the band was done for good. Obviously, Roger had lost, and David had the right to use Richard as a “guest” musician and kept the Pink Floyd name. Like I’ve said, most of these songs were already developed. Nick and Richard provide their sounds in rerecordings. David has had admitted he isn’t a lyricist, and though he might not be as good as Waters, he nevertheless provided a couple of radio classics, such as “Learning to Fly” and “On the Turning Away.” “Dogs of War” and “One Slip” are underrated gems, and “Sorrow” became a live favorite for Gilmour’s heavy fuzz guitar riffs in the beginning of the track. While I do agree the overall sound is a bit outdated and heavily influenced by the current 80s music, AMLOR is nevertheless an album, for me at least, that showcases that Gilmour kept the band going full speed ahead.

6. The Division Bell, 1994. Originally titled as “The Big Spliff,” which was thought to be a near full instrumental double album, Gilmour, Mason and Wright find themselves doing old school ways of how they used to do songs back in the early 70s: by working together. Though other musicians did help the Floyd, the three find themselves coming up riffs that they soon realized it was just too good to be just instrumentals. Polly Samson, a novelist who would become David Gilmour’s wife, provides a lot of lyrics for the album. What we get with The Division bell instead is a reflection of looking back. Not only lyrically but musically, as the Division Bell is full of sounds that PF has done in the past. “Marooned” is a Bluesy guitar driven track that haunts after a listen. “A Great Day of Freedom” is indeed about the collapse of the Berlin Wall, however, one can view that it’s also about David moving on from Roger, suggesting the opening line “On the day the wall came down” may be David singing he feels free from Roger’s toxin influence. “What Do You Want From Me” is the heaviest, Blues inspired track on the album that is about no matter how hard you try to please a certain person, you really can’t, and you have to wonder if Polly wrote this for David on his history with Roger. “Poles Apart” is a beautifully written, DADGAD ballad with slide guitar and a killer solo at the end. Though the song may have a carnival like music in the middle that may drag the song, it’s still nevertheless a brilliant, underrated track. “Take It Back,” “Coming Back to Life” and “Keep Talking” are perhaps the three highlights, back to back, while “Lost For Words” is a “Wish You Were Here” inspired ballad that reflects past relationships. Of course, the album epic closer “High Hopes” is really about looking into the past and try moving forward, without the consequences of your past haunting you in the near future. Till this day, I still feel this album is underappreciated, as for twenty years it was PF’s last studio effort.

5. The Wall, 1979. My first Pink Floyd album, and one that really got me into the band. To be honest, I have a love and hate relationship with The Wall. It’s a classic album, nonetheless, but I cannot help but feel that without the key classic tracks, The Wall is actually a poor album with a lot of filler. Of course, with classic songs like “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt.2″ “In the Flesh?,” “Mother” “Goodbye Blue Sky,” “Young Lust,” “Hey You,” “Comfortably Numb,” “Run Like Hell” and “Waiting for the Worms” really save this album for me, as I tend to think most of these tracks are filler, practically the under two minute tracks. Nevertheless, I did grow into liking a couple of songs. “The Show Must Go On” is a very underrated track that should have been longer than it is. “The Trial” was a difficult track to listen to for the first time, but over the years I grow to like, somewhat. The Wall isn’t a bad album, but I do agree that the first half is stronger than the second half. Now knowing it tells a story (rather a strange one), it tells the story of Roger Water’s father’s death in WWII, and how the main character, Pink Floyd, becomes a drug addict whose behavior becomes unpredictable, which was based off seeing Syd Barrett’s downfall. The album is full of history, one that is inspired of Roger spitting on a fan after the fan threw beer on him. Roger than wanted to isolate the band from the audience, and the idea of The Wall was born. However, Richard Wright didn’t like the idea of having a wall being built between the band and the audience, Roger grew hatred for Wright, accusing him not to come up with any material, eventually firing him from the band. The Wall is indeed a classic, though I do find certain tracks bring it down while the radio classics really help the Floyd to be one of the biggest bands they are today.

4. The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973. The most well known and successful Pink Floyd album. Dark Side of the Moon was influenced when the band finally found their sound from 1971′s success, Meddle, particularly the 23 minute track “Echoes.” The band then wanted to further explore, with Roger coming up the band’s fully first concept album. The concept itself is about life, with the album starting out with Nick Mason mimicking a heartbeat with the bass drum. “Breathe (In the Air)” is a brief track about existence, while the heavily synth driven “On the Run” deals with fear, often about a man running away from an airplane. “Time” reflects how live itself is short, and you should use your limited time on Earth wisely. “The Great Gig in the Sky” is about death, as Clare Torry sings her finest, wordless roar as a grieving woman. “Money” is about greed and how corporations and governments are always thirsty for money while those that work hard are often struggling to make end’s meet. “Us and Them,” one of my all time favorite Floyd tracks, is another antiwar song that is sung by David in a haunting and beautiful delay effect that makes his voice echo. “Any Colour You Like” is another instrumental that is about existence while Roger takes turns to lead in the closing tracks, “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse,” with the former song about Barrett’s descent into madness and the latter about everything you see, touch, taste, smell, and feel is what you make of life and what life has to offer. This album is a classic, yet I still feel, like The Wall, a bit overrated in PF’s amazing catalogue.

3. Wish You Were Here, 1975. With the success of The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd found themselves overwhelmed to come up with a follow up. Originally titled as “Household Objects,” Roger Waters thought it’d a be a good idea to find household objects to make music noises with. However, the idea soon became too time consuming, and Pink Floyd find themselves back at square one. It was the idea of Gilmour’s now famous guitar riff that spark. Roger recorded Gilmour in a giant empty studio, with Gilmour playing the well known riff in what soon became the classic “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” It became apparent that, because of the success of DSOTM, Pink Floyd should pay tribute to their original founder, Syd Barrett. Roger also reflected lyrics on the music business as a whole, how their company is forcing them to come up with a successful follow up. “Welcome to the Machine” and “Have A Cigar” reflect on those themes. “Shine You Crazy Diamond” is a tribute to Syd, who, one day, came in the studio, overweight, his hair and eyebrows completely shaven off, and barely unrecognizable. It was David who then saw this stranger was indeed Syd Barrett, and the man quickly left soon afterward, shocking the band. Wish You Were Here met some criticism when it was released, stating that the band didn’t find any new ground. However, it soon gain an occult following. David has stated this is his personal favorite PF album.

2. Animals, 1977. Another concept album. By this time, it became apparent that Roger was the leading lyricist, and this album shows that Roger was beginning to take over the sound of PF as well, as he leads most of the songs instead of David. Roger saw the punk rock movement, their hatred in Progressive Rock sound, and knew the band should get heavier and grittier. He took this idea and based it off the George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm, giving certain types individuals and classes animalistic metaphors. We got the backstabbing businessmen as “Dogs,” a seventeen minute track which Gilmour receives the only other song writer in a Roger Waters driven album. Gilmour in fact sings the first half of the song, providing his only sung lyrics of the entire album. “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” is about the rich men and their greed, an eleven minute Bluesy track with Wright’s eerie keyboard tunes and Gilmour’s haunting guitar-scape sounds, as well as cattle bells from Mason. The most heaviest is the ten minute epic “Sheep,” about the followers who don’t want to lead, how they are mocked by the dogs. Here, Roger gives it all in his delivery while Gilmour provides funk like, edgy guitar chops that explode in the end. The album begins and end with the two parts “Pigs on the Wing,” which Roger strums an acoustic guitar and talking to listeners that we know that both we and him should care about each other, waiting for influencers to arrive, the pigs on the wing. Besides The Wall, Animals is perhaps Pink Floyd at their most “street” sounding album. It is a gritty album compared to the DSOTM and WYWH, hinting of what’s to come. Yet I am more drawn to this album because it is one of the very few PF albums that doesn’t sound like any other Floyd album. Despite I choose Gilmour over Waters, it is in Waters emotions and delivery that are highlights for me for this album, as well as the darker, grittier sound PF has ever put out.

1. Meddle, 1971. Because of their hatred of the previous albums, Pink Floyd find themselves to look for influences around them. What we got is Pink Floyd’s most folky album they ever put out. Meddle is my personal favorite Floyd album for that very reason, yet there are some harder rock stuff in songs like the opening “One of These Days” and in certain sections of “Echoes.” “A Pillow of Winds” is my all time personal favorite Floyd track. A slow acoustic ballad with slide guitar and beautifully textured organ sounds, there’s something about this song that strike it as my all time favorite from the Floyd. It’s a beautiful and a bit eerie track, which is a rare love song for the Floyd. “Fearless” is another great obscured track that is much more folk rock driven with Gilmour’s delivery on guitar riffs near the end that is a highlight for me. “San Tropez” is a Roger Waters driven track that sounds perfect in a California setting. It has that surf vibe for sure. “One of These Days” is one of the best instrumentals the Floyd has put out, with double basses done by both Gilmour and Waters, with Gilmour then kicking it overdrive with the lap steel. “Echoes” is an epic twenty three minute track that put Floyd on the map. An eerie yet beautiful track, “Echoes” is the song that the Floyd found their sound in, and got inspired by, and the rest is history. “Echoes” provides some funky moments, as well as some hard rock, and an some ambient soundscapes. The real highlight for me is when, within the 18:14 mark, is Gilmour’s most beautifully haunted arpeggio riff. I love it every time it kicks in. While Meddle was the album in which the Floyd found their sound, it is my personal favorite Floyd album, one I still think it’s very underrated in their entire catalogue.

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